The Secret of Clouds by Alyson Richman

THE SECRET OF CLOUDS by Alyson Richman is, in her words, “first and foremost a love letter to all the teachers I’ve had in my life who contributed to making me the writer I am today.” The main character is Maggie, a young teacher who tutors a homebound and sensitive student, Yuri. Maggie talks about her own passion for teaching: “the thrill of teaching children is that they don’t edit themselves, like adults do. … Deep down I believed that a story could change us, and that if we read it deeply enough, a good book could transform our souls.”  She later remarks, “I looked for clues in every one of my students’ work. … What I believed more than anything was that having something in your life that you loved deeply sustained you.” And Maggie and Yuri bond over his love of baseball. In fact, this book speaks quite a bit about love – like “food is love” when Maggie and her Mom reflect on the family traditions and stories. Another example is Yuri’s parents, Katya and Sasha, who “loved him with so much ferocity that it sometimes felt like a sharp shooting pain in his [Sasha’s] heart.”  Overall, THE SECRET OF CLOUDS is a gentle read, quietly underlining the impact which students and teachers can have on each other.

Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza

Are you a political junkie? Looking for an entertaining and timely novel to finish off your summer reading? Consider CHARLOTTE WALSH LIKES TO WIN by Jo Piazza. This novel chronicles the US Senate campaign by Charlotte Walsh, a 40-something Silicon Valley titan who moves her young family back to Northeast Pennsylvania to compete against Ted “Tug” Slaughter, an aging, bigoted incumbent and philanderer.  The combination of Charlotte’s dysfunctional childhood and successes in the technology field means that she strives for approval. It is painful to observe her transformation during the campaign as actions, although often rational, become increasing self-serving and engineered to up her odds of winning.

I loved the rural PA setting and reference to life there, including details like this: “‘Nice of you to get your doopa out of bed in time for dinner.’ Charlotte muffled a laugh at the local slang word for backside.  It had been years since she’d heard anyone use the word doopa.”  The snarky comments about politics are both sad and amusing: “Tell people one true thing before you tell them a lie.  Then it will be easier for them to believe the lie.” OR “But you’re not lying. You’re just telling people what they want to hear. There’s a difference.”  OR “Each day on the campaign trail was like a scene from Groundhog Day – the same stock speeches, the same requests for cash, the same smile for every photo op.”

Charlotte does seem to change and so does her marriage to Max. He takes a leave of absence in order to care for their three daughters who are five and under. Issues of trust, partnership and purpose abound.  Leila, Charlotte’s long-time executive assistant, also faces some tough choices. Piazza, an award-winning journalist, weaves contemporary issues both big (abortion and gun reform) and small (e.g., type of shoes being worn) along with rumors, sound bites and candid photographs to create an intense, complex campaign story.
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy in order to write this honest review; you can read an excerpt here.

New YA Books by Jeff Giles and Todd Strasser

THE BRINK OF DARKNESS by Jeff Giles is the sequel to his The Edge of Everything; enough backstory is provided to read this new novel on its own, but readers will enjoy both and benefit from the more complete story. There is a compelling blend of dystopia, fantasy, romance, humor, and adventure with a strong female protagonist, Zoe Bissell.  Themes of friendship and loyalty plus good and evil combine with often violent action to make for an exciting tale – I finished it in about a day. The main story focuses on Montana high school student Zoe who loves X. He is a mortal/bounty hunter with certain special powers who was born in The Lowlands, a hellish place where some truly evil people are kept as punishment. Zoe and various other quirky characters (e.g., Ripper, The Ukraine, Regent) are trying to help X escape. Pick up THE BRINK OF DARKNESS for an entertaining read and watch for a likely movie! 

PRICE OF DUTY by Todd Strasser is a blatant anti-war young adult novel which I am not really recommending, despite its attempt to address important issues. The story centers on Jake Liddell, a hero to all but himself. This book presents negative views towards the military, particularly the recruitment process and JROTC. Strasser unfortunately reinforces stereotypes, saying, “for a lot of minorities, the military is one of three options. The other two being an unlivable minimum wage, or crime and incarceration.” And sadly, his writing does not portray women and girls as soldiers or even as independent partners at home. Although suspenseful and relatively short (under 200 pages), flashbacks and chapter titles (using character names who are not the narrators and locations which are not explained) made this book a bit confusing to read. 

Referring to Jake’s “crisis of conscience,” Booklist gave PRICE OF DUTY a starred review and suggested it for readers in grades 7-10, but due to this novel’s rather graphic and painful presentation of military suicide, that grade recommendation may actually be rather young. Conversely, there are certainly other, more sophisticated books (M*A*S*H, Catch-22, Yellow Birds) for our older readers. And for those who want to learn more about suicide prevention, including amongst veterans, Journalists’ Resource has links to recent studies on possible intervention. There are multiple ways to help, including this campaign promoted by the late Jason Fitch and featured on CBSNews.