The Teenage Brain by Frances E. Jensen, MD with Amy Ellis Nutt

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A stark departure from my usual posts, this non-fiction book is the product of a neuroscience researcher who also survived as a single mom raising her own 2 sons through their adolescent years.  It is written for parents – not just for those of us who work with adolescents – so while it is somewhat technical, it also is quite readable.  While the authors describe many studies about how the brain functions and how adolescent brains function uniquely, they also pepper the chapters with anecdotes about specific individuals who illustrate their points.  The stories are quite poignant and really keep the reader engaged.

What I like about this book is that it is not all negative and bad news.  Adolescents often get slammed when written about, with emphasis only on the risky behaviors and the poor decision-making that they are capable of.  While there is some of that here, there is also explanation for why they are vulnerable to unwise decisions – their still developing frontal cortices, primarily.  In addition, there is also very positive discussion about the plasticity of their brains, which enables them to learn much more easily and quickly than those of us who are older.  There is interesting discussion about why adolescents are more vulnerable to addiction, whether to smoking or drugs or gambling, etc., and there is also discussion of mental illness and legal issues.  Finally, there is also discussion of the emerging adult, or the post-adolescent, which is a newer area of investigation.

In this text, you’ll find reasoned parenting advice, strategies to help teens cope with difficulties, and resources, which any parent of a teen can benefit from.  This book is not for everyone, but if you are a parent of teens and have questions or issues, I would recommend this as a resource.  Also, if you work with teens in any capacity, this is a must-read.   Check it out!

 

 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

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Well, JK Rowling seems to have done it again.  We meet Harry once again, now as an adult with 3 children.  His middle son, Albus, seems to have inherited Harry’s knack for being awkward but charming, and his only friend is, shockingly,  Scorpius, the son of – you guessed it! – Draco Malfoy.  This unlikely pair get themselves into a mess of misunderstandings and potential unleashing of evil in the world, and Albus, just as his father did before him, shows his own form of bravery and a love that conquers all.

It is important to remember that this is a script of a play and not the rich, descriptive prose of a novel.  More is left to the imagination, and the story is left more to dialogue and direction.  That said, the plot is still full of twists and turns and catches the reader off guard as always.  There are still allusions to prior books and it builds on a knowledge of the world of Hogwarts and its history.  And it still remains as a testament to love overcoming evil, as all the Harry Potter books seek to do.

Having experienced the book release parties at midnight this past weekend and reveled in the enthralling enthusiasm among people of all ages over this book – A BOOK!! – I am still just overwhelmed by the gift of this author.  She has succeeded in revitalizing, almost single-handedly, a love of reading across generations.  She has given the world a gift unlike any other in history – and we must be thankful for this.

If you have not read the Harry Potter books, do it now.  It doesn’t matter how old you are.   Anyone can relate to them as they are fantastical but completely relatable.  They are brilliant and imaginative and just plain fun!

Thank you, Ms. Rowling – thank you!

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

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Where to begin on this sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird?  I guess, to begin with, it is a typical sequel, which is to say that it is not nearly as great as the original.  Few books can be, though.  On the other hand, it is a fascinating and horrifying commentary on the White, Southern perspective on segregation/integration and the resentment toward the Supreme Court’s decisions’ overriding of states’ decision-making.

Jean Louise, or Scout, as she was called in her youth, is visiting her home town for a 2-week vacation from her new home in New York City.  She is returning to her father, now riddled with arthritis, her aunt who has not lost her prudishness, and her dear friend, Henry, who is hankering to marry her.  She believes she will slip back into the familiar rhythm of her home, until she finds a repulsive pamphlet advertising a meeting in support of maintaining segregation.  Hiding in the back of the courtroom where the meeting was held, she is stunned to see her father and boyfriend sitting in the front row.  As her world is rocked, she is forced to reconcile her idea of who her father is with who her really is.

The themes in this story are all too relevant today.  Race is front and center in the news everyday and it appears we have made only baby steps in progress toward justice and equality.  Even in this story, where Scout is supposedly arguing to defend Blacks in the South, she still espouses such prejudice and the belief, for example, that Blacks could never be in positions of authority.  There is the assumption that there are inequalities that are inherent rather that imposed and I think this is really what underlies prejudice.

I would say this is an articulate piece of historical fiction – but unfortunately it is neither strictly historical nor fiction.

 

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

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Noah and Jude are twins whose mother, an art critic, has decided that they should apply to a high school for the arts.  Noah, who is very much his mother’s son, is ecstatic and dives into preparing his portfolio.  Jude, is less confident about her talent and expresses this by rebelling and turning away from her mother.  Unfortunately, as they each are grappling with their adolescent yearnings and unfolding sexuality, their lives are torn apart by a sudden family tragedy.  Will they be able to retrace their steps to find each other’s heart again?

This YA story is somewhat complicated and engaging, but a bit contrived.  There are a few clever plot twists that sneak up on the reader which definitely took me by surprise.  Unfortunately, there are also a few too many utter coincidences for it to be entirely believable.  It is real teenage struggle and angst tangled in a fairy tale plot.

On the other hand, what saves this book is the writing, which is full of striking imagery and gorgeous sentences.  The way the author ascribes colors and pictures to emotions is quite beautiful.  There is humor and sarcasm and a tenderness in all of the characters that keeps you caring so much about them through the whole book.

An enjoyable, light read with some great writing.

A Well-Tempered Heart by Jan-Phillip Sendker

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Yet another must-read by Jan-Phillip Sendker!  This sequel to the Art of Hearing Heartbeats is just as beautiful as the first – an accomplishment in its own right…

Julia, whose life has been in a lonely downward spiral, has begun to hear a voice.  It is the voice of a woman who is asking who she really is.  Julia, a savvy lawyer in NYC, is terrified that she’s losing her mind.  In her quest for peace from this voice, she encounters a monk who encourages her to return to the home of her deceased father and of her half-brother in Burma, where she might find the source of this voice.  As she begins to discover the story of the voice, she also learns a great deal about herself and what is really important to her.

The writing in this book achieves a level somewhere between poetry and philosophy.  There is more silence than sharp dialogue and it works so well in the context of the story.  What is said is often deeply wise  — so much so, that it needs to be read more than once to be fully appreciated.  And the story itself, while tragic and full of horror, is also incredibly beautiful and inspiring.

Most interesting to me, though, was the sharp contrast between the fast-paced luxury of NYC and the peaceful poverty of Burma.  Julia’s brother, U Ba, has a love of life and an appreciation for what little he has.  Here in NYC, we have so much and generally want more still.  There is a lot to be learned from the simple love, acceptance, and appreciation espoused by the wise characters in this book.

Must read!

 

The 100 Year Old Man Who Jumped Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

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This delightful story is a sort of Swedish Forrest Gump for world history.  Allan Karlsson, on the morning of his 100th birthday, decides that he needs to take back control of his life and leave the Old Folks Home – via the window.  Little does he know that he’d be starting out on a madcap adventure.  But then again, madcap adventures are not exactly new to Allan, as we learn in the flashbacks that tell of his amusingly political, apolitical life.

I loved this book!  The writing is so understated and subtle that it makes the crazy events in the story that much more outrageous and entertaining.  I could not help laughing out loud at some of the dialogue – it is brilliant.  And the way in which the tale winds around historical events is playful and so imaginative.

I haven’t recommended a “must-read” in a long time – but here’s a most definite!  You are bound to love this one.

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

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Joanna has just moved out to the suburbs and is looking to meet new friends.  She notices that while the men in town have a club of their own (that does not allow women to be members), the women do not – and worse, are not even bothered by this.  As she digs deeper into the history of the town, she sees that at one point, there was a women’s club and the women in town actually were once interested in things beyond caring for their homes and their families.  Something was up and she and her one friend, Bobbie, would get to the bottom of it.  But hopefully they’d do it in time…

Yes, I was probably one of the only women who grew up in the 60’s and 70’s who never either read this book or saw the movie before – so I was curious.  Little did I know how utterly creepy this book would be!  The idea that men would turn women into automatons that would only do housework and child rearing was both disturbing and outrageous, and quite a statement for its time.  The theme of squelching those who stood up for the rights of women was probably fairly radical for the very early 70’s, when this first came out.

Funny, though, because it seems that while this futuristic/farcical novel was written so long ago, and much has changed, much is still the same.  In so many countries around the world, women are still treated as Stepford wives.  In fact, right here in the good ol’ USA, our likely Republican nominee for president is married to one.  (Her hobbies are “pilates and reading magazines,” according to the New Yorker.)

As to the writing of the book, it is suspenseful and eerie, but I did feel like there was a gaping hole at the end, where there should have been more explanation about what happened to the women and how the transformation was accomplished.  I felt there was almost too much left to the imagination.

But if you haven’t read it, it’s a quick read that does get you thinking…  which is what books are supposed to do!

Life and Other Near-Death Experiences by Camille Pagan

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When Libby receives a series of 2 horrible pieces of news all in the same day, she feels her life is exploding.  While she tries to go to work and resume a sense of normality, she finds she just can’t  continue to deal with her impossible boss and the usual things she normally  has tolerated.  Suddenly, she is off on an adventure and ends up discovering how coping with her past traumas can enable her to face her current ones.

While this story is a little cliche and not entirely plausible, it is sweet and entertaining and actually a delightful read.  The writing is sarcastic and interspersed with sharp vocabulary and compassionately wise insights.

A good find on Bookbub – which I highly recomnend!

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

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I began this book with great anticipation.  It had been recommended to me by a few different friends, each of whose opinions I respected, and the setting was even in Italy, where I’d just been fortunate enough to have visited only a few weeks before.

The story is about Elena Greco, who grows up with her unwieldy friend, Lila.  Whereas Elena struggles with her own identity, Lila, who is fiercely brilliant and strong, seems to be very sure of who she is.  At a very young age, Lila asserts herself as a creative, intelligent and physically strong person who is able to pull everyone around her under her spell.  Elena has great difficulty doing anything of her own volition, as she, more than everyone else, is bound to Lila, somehow.  As they grow older, they are pulled in opposite directions:  Elena, deeper into the direction of more advanced education and Lila, deeper into the roots of their poor neighborhood in Naples.  While gang-style conflicts brew around them, they hold onto their bond as they navigate their way through adolescence.

I didn’t love this book as I’d anticipated, but I didn’t hate it either.   It is a coming-of-age story of young girls and their friendships and the typical adolescents’ striving for identity.  It is also an interesting look into the poor neighborhoods in Italy and into Italian culture in general.  The characters depicted here are colorful and evolving.  But I had difficulty getting past the writing/translation, which I felt was often awkward and grammatically strange.     I also had difficulty believing that a whole neighborhood could be completely obsessed with one individual girl, the premise on which this story is based.

I’m glad I did read it to know what everyone has been talking about.  At some point I may read the others in this trilogy – but I’m not rushing to do so.  Unfortunately, this one is not going on my “Must Read” list…

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

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Ove has lost the one person in his life who understood him (his wife) as well as the purpose for him to get up each morning (his job) and he’s now trying to take matters into his own hands.  All he wants is to be reunited with his only love, his wife, Sonja.  Unfortunately, each attempt he makes on his own life gets interrupted by his prying, needy neighbors.  Even the cat seems to need him.  Is everybody helpless?  In spite of his grumpy-old-man exterior, Ove endears himself to everyone around him who recognize that he is in fact the kindest of hearts and the truest of souls.

Because of the tone of the story, which is written through the prism of Ove’s cynical and rigid perspective, I found it, at first, hard to get engaged in this story.  But gradually, there grew moments of subtle tenderness that were so utterly sweet that I was reeled in.  By the end, I was just mush.  Teary mush, actually.

The writing in this story is really very beautiful.  I so admire a writer who can create such colorful and deeply genuine characters as these and who can create such subtly charming moments between them.  Even when Ove is ranting at another – and he does so at almost every  other character – you feel the affection that is exuding between them.  You cannot help either smiling or tearing up through much of the story.

I highly recommend this book.  Just stick with it – it’s worth it!