Sunday, February 7, 2010

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jiménez

01/31 K. Elliott gave 5 stars to: The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jiménez
status: Read in January, 2010

Picked this up from the library on a whim. On the back cover, one reviewer says: "A jewel of a book. The writing is full of sentiment, but not sentimentality. ...A must for the general reader, students, and professors alike. In brief, a joy to read."

Well, I have to disagree about the "joy" for the most part, some of it was very hard. But it was worth the glimpse into the life of an illegal-immigrant-migrant-worker family. The author really knew how to put it on to paper.

Some of it was agonizing, some sweet, some just made me cry in pity. He didn't describe much of their life in Mexico, but I had to wonder if it really was any better here. Perhaps it was since they stayed. ?

The ending was horrible, just too abrupt. Obviously things worked out as the author is a professor in California now, but it just felt...well, I suppose it felt a lot like the characters felt--uprooted again right at the beginning of something good.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Master Skylark: A Story of Shakespeare's Time by John Bennett

01/31 K. Elliott gave 5 stars to: Master Skylark: A Story of Shakespeare's Time by John Bennett
recommended for: History and adventure lovers
status: Read in January, 2010 — I own a copy

Picked this up a long time ago at DI, just felt like reading it--so glad I did!

This was a fabulous book! I think I'll read it aloud to my kids sometime. Young Nick is endearing for many reasons, but most of all for the love he has for his mother.

The author dedicates the book this way:

"All that Nicholas Attwood's was to him, and more, my own mother has been to me. And to her here I inscribe this book with a never failing love."

Isn't that sweet? It sets the whole tone for the book.

An adventure tale set in Shakespeare's time, it was a great and detailed story of life in that time. I love the descriptions and the characters are interesting and compelling. One think I appreciated was that the author didn't see fit to make the characters speak in Elizabethan English :) I loved the descriptions of Shakespeare and others.