Dervish begins essentially backwards with protagonist Hayat Shah already a college student – feeling “at once brave and ridiculous” eating bratwurst, choosing not to leave a class from which the rest of his fellow Muslim students have fled in anger (and fear) from that day’s “‘in-cen-diary!” discussion, glibly announcing that he’s a Mutazalite (“[a] school of Muslims that don’t believe in the Quran as the eternal word of God … [who] died off a thousand years ago”), and initiating a relationship with a young Jewish woman. By the end of this prologue, Mina – Hayat’s mother’s closest friend from childhood who became his religious enabler – has died … and Hayat’s new love interest gently reaches out and says, “‘Tell me.’”

Mina “had, perhaps, the greatest influence on my life,” Hayat acknowledges. Escaping a stifling, disastrous marriage in her native Pakistan, the independent, lively, gorgeous Mina arrives with her toddler son in the American Midwest and moves into the Shah family home. Hayat is enthralled, and his less-than-happily-married parents newly joyous. Mina warmly, lovingly begins Hayat’s spiritual education which, in his sexually-maturing adolescent mind, eventually morphs into an obsessive attachment to Mina. When Mina becomes romantically involved with Hayat’s father’s medical partner and best friend, Hayat’s single act of youthful jealousy sets in motion an overwhelming tragedy with lifelong consequences …

Dervish will surely persuade you that Ayad Akhtar is one of those very rare writers whose debut titles hit shelves fully formed. Perhaps his earlier dramatic experiences (Brown diploma in theater, serious actor training as both student and teacher, several stage productions) and filmic accomplishments (Columbia grad degree, more screenplays, numerous award nominations) gave him the foundation to do what he does so undeniably well on the page. Clear your calendar for an uninterrupted few hours: Akhtar absolutely knows how to tell this story – achingly, convincingly, memorably.

Tidbit: With such a practiced background, no surprise that Akhtar is also a most excellent narrator: he’s his own reader in the audible version. That Akhtar thanks Firdous Bamji (whose voice alone will make me stick a book in my ears) in his acknowledgments adds another layer of well-deserved approval. Akhtar made my last 50K race pass quickly … too bad he doesn’t have another title to join me for a 50-miler in two weeks!

Readers: Adult

Published: 2012

The first thing I said to the hubby upon return was, “You’ve got to read this one … and you’ll never, ever guess the ending,” to which he replied, “Don’t tell me anything more!”

So if you, too, don’t want to hear another detail, stop here. If you need a convincing shove, read on …

The sliding glass door to the lunch shop where single mother Yasuko works, opens to reveal a visitor she hoped never to see again – her abusive ex-husband. He’s managed to track her down after five years, arriving with promises that quickly turn to threats: if Yasuko doesn’t cooperate, he’ll have to seek out her teenage daughter Misato instead.

By chapter two, the skeezy ex is lying dead in Yasuko’s apartment … and while mother and daughter desperately try to figure out what to do, their next-door neighbor Ishigami – who is a near-stranger in spite of their proximity – appears with an offer to help …

Let me repeat: you will never guess the ending!

Having won the Naoki Prize in 2005  – one of Japan’s top literary awards – Suspect X was already long a bestseller before arriving Stateside last year. Obviously, nothing was lost in translation as the English version was named a finalist in January for the 2012 Edgar (mystery’s Oscar!) for Best Novel (Mo Hayder won for Gone). Mystery lovers might already be familiar with Higashino’s Naoko which made its translated debut in 2004. As eerie as that was, Suspect X is an even better shocker. Promises, promises, for sure!

Readers: Adult

Published: 2011 (United States)

One September weekend out on a Sunday drive through endless corn farms, Auntie Yang happens to notice a field of … soybeans! Way, way, back in the day, soybeans were not the wondrous health food as they’re considered today; half-a-century-plus ago, only cows and pigs ate them. But Auntie Yang is thrilled to find one of China’s most versatile comfort foods and she convinces the farmer to share, laughing at his question, “‘Do you have a little pig at home?’”

So begins Auntie Yang’s annual soybean picnic: such a toothsome treat can hardly be kept secret and the family affair quickly grows to include six Chinese American families the next year, then 30 the following year, until it outgrows Auntie Yang’s backyard and moves to a city park to accommodate the growing Chinese American community … and their appetites!

Based on the real-life memories of two sisters growing up Chinese American in the Midwest – “There were very few Chinese families in the Midwest back then, so Mama and Auntie Yang made sure our families visited often” – Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic is definitely one of those heartwarming multi-generational family tales you’ll want to share again and again. Might I also suggest taking it along on road trips with the young ‘uns, to pull out every time someone asks, “Are we there yet?”

As entertaining as the story is – just adorable, for sure! – Picnic‘s uniqueness-factor belongs definitely to the whimsical, delightful art. Younger sister Beth Lo is a ceramic artist who created a series of handmade, hand-painted ceramic plates to illustrate her retired computer science professor Ginnie’s text! Her style, especially when depicting her characters, is somewhat reminiscent of Grandma Moses’ folksy, ‘naive’ charm, although Lo’s sense of perspective is far more advanced, especially given the rounded, circular surface she’s painting on!

I can almost imagine all the delicious foods piled high on these wondrous creations, and the magical reaction as the food disappears and the pictures are revealed … of course, I’d be a nervous wreck thinking about the potential damage to the art, but the bursting smiles of surprise just might be worth an occasional risk. Talk about a cultural dish! WOW!

Readers: Children

Published: 2012

Her latest how-to is as much a feast for the eyes as the palate: the photography alone is mouth-watering. And yet Simonds promises to “dispel the myth that Asian cooking is too time-consuming and difficult to prepare on a daily basis.” Her pan-Asian recipes here have been updated and adapted to fit the 21st-century lifestyle, taking advantage of short-cuts (my term, not Simonds!) like organic chicken broth and ready-made sauces in order to create fast, healthy, delicious meals. With most supermarkets going global, Simonds makes stocking your pantry with Asian essentials efficient and easy.

Simonds enhances many of her recipes with the ‘food as medicine’-philosophy by adding yin-yang boxes which highlight specific ingredients for “their health-giving properties according to Chinese medicine and scientific research.” The shrimp in her “Fiery Vietnamese Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup” warms the body which increases qi. The spinach in “Wilted Spinach and Scallop Salad with Toasted Sesame Seeds” helps hydrate the body and quenches thirst. The miso that flavors “Grilled Miso Tuna” lowers the risk of heart disease, reduces menopausal symptoms, prevents cancer, and aids digestion. Even dessert can be good for you: the peaches in “Roasted Peaches with Cardamom Whipped Cream” will help replenish body fluids and help dry coughs.

Whatever ails you (or someone in your family), you just might find an antidote between these pages. Although even without miraculous cures, everyone at your dining table is sure to benefit from some delectable fare indeed.

Readers: Adult

Published: 2012

This month, Chow faces his third grisly Chinatown mystery in One Red Bastard. Introduced in Lin’s second novel, This Is a Bust, Chow is the lone Chinese American policeman in 1976 New York Chinatown. Having returned from Vietnam with secrets too horrific for words, Chow can only face the inhumane aftermath of war by drowning himself in booze. While his higher-ups think he’s fit only for ribbon-cutting ceremonies and other such photo ops, Chow manages to solve his first Chinatown murder solo – it helps to speak the language! – and picks up a few true friends along the way.

Personal demons aside, the sobered-up Chow is settling well into his tough-guy-on-the-outside-caring-citizen-on-the-inside leading man role in his second title, Snakes Can’t Run. Still the token Chinese American cop in New York, Chow has finally graduated to full-time detective. When two corpses turn up under the Brooklyn Bridge, Chow’s investigation eventually leads him to chasing down immigrant smugglers – otherwise known as snakeheads – who traffic in human flesh.

Now in One Red Bastard, Chow is finally hoping to earn his gold badge, regardless of the endless obstacles some of his superiors throw his way. Chairman Mao is dead, his fourth wife and widow’s in jail, and their only daughter wants to seek asylum in the good ‘ol U.S.A. Mao’s grown-up baby girl (who hardly knew big Daddy) sends an official representative to check out her immigration prospects. Meanwhile, Chinatown is divided on what Li Na’s defection might mean to the already politically factionalized Chinese American community – especially between the Mao-supporting Communists and the Taiwan-bolstering Kuomintang.

Chow’s girlfriend, who’s working hard to establish her career as a journalist, scores the one interview with the Chinese official. Of course, he wants to meet over dinner, in his swanky Plaza Hotel room – but he swears they won’t be alone, as he has bodyguards galore. But in the wee hours, his bludgeoned body ends up dumped in Chinatown, and – surprise, surprise! – the police insist Chow’s girlfriend was the last person to see the foreign official alive…

Okay, so spill it… Which side are you on? KMT? Commies?
I never pick sides! Well, shoot, let’s remember that the KMT and Commies have been really good friends and terrible enemies at times over the years. It was a coalition of Chinese nationalists, Republicans, and Socialists that brought down the last “Chinese” dynasty, the Qing, in 1912. I put that in quotations because it was a foreign dynasty founded and run by the evil Jurchens [an ethnic group who inhabited present-day Northeast China, who adopted the name "Manchu" in the 17th century] who colonized China and treated ethnic Chinese people like second-class citizens over the 250 years-plus of their reign. Members of my family have been a part of the Commies, the KMT, and the native Taiwanese movements. It always helps to have more than one membership card in your wallet. Even better to belong to a few secret societies, too. You never know when the wind’s gonna change. Look at what great buddies the KMT and Commies are right now, agreeing about how Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. Phooey!

And how did you choose Mao’s youngest daughter – and only child with his infamous fourth wife, Jiang Qing, Ms. One-Quarter-of-the-Gang-of-Four – as your focal point for Red?
People always talk about how cunning Mao was, but what about that Jiang Qing? She was an actress early on, and you can never trust them. They lie. Like Mao, Jiang changed names and traded up with partners and spouses when it was expedient. I wondered what life has been like for Li Na, the daughter of Mao and Jiang, who spent her early life hidden away with distant relatives. (She is 71 or 72 now.) She has lived a quiet life, and only a handful of old photographs exist, which is a little strange for the sole offspring of two of the most infamous people in modern Chinese history. I’ll bet that Li wanted to get away from it all at some point. She would have wanted to give America a shot since it was the most fascinating country to Chinese people after Nixon’s visit.

Does this upcoming trip to Taiwan have anything to do with your affiliations?
Sorta. I haven’t been to the island in years and I want to see what’s up. I’m going hardcore Taipei, since I’ve never really been to that city. My father’s family is from central Taiwan, a real benshengren stronghold. They are Taiwanese who originally came over from China centuries ago, as opposed to the Johnnies-come-lately waishengren who washed up on Taiwan at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. There have been all kinds of tensions over the years between the benshenren and waishengren, not to mention the Hakka people and indigenous Taiwanese. My trip is a vacation in the disguise of research for another book. On a different note, I discovered that there is a university in Beijing that has an Asian American literary department. I’m going there in June to deliver the keynote address for their conference.

I don’t want to allow any spoilers, but who’s the “one red bastard”? Uhh… lots and lots of “red” bad guys, but you’re sort of leading your readers astray on purpose, aren’t you? ‘Fess up!
It’s a mix of “red” herrings with the literal and figurative meanings of “bastard.” I love to trick people. It makes me feel smart. [... click here for more]

Interview: Feature: “An Interview with Ed Lin,” Bookslut.com, May 2012

Readers: Adult

Published: 2012

Hiaasen’s books for oldsters are not unlike his highly entertaining formulaic titles for younger readers – he’s definitely got the ‘don’t fix what ain’t broke’-theory perfected! His adult titles add a little more sex, a lot more cursing … and, even if they’re not particularly plausible and somewhat predictable, their goofball fun-factor keeps you giggling and laughing.

In Nature Girl, three narrative threads quickly combine for quite the rollicking romp through Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands off southwest Florida’s coast. Sammy Tigertail, a hapa Native American born Chad McQueen, buries a dead man in a river and tries to recover his ancestral roots. Honey Santana, a divorced mother who hears bad pop music in her head, cooks up a preposterous plan to teach a rude telemarketer a lesson he’ll never forget. Boyd Shreave decides to prove to his statuesque mistress – whose last adulterous lover murdered his wife for her! – that he’s not some boring distraction by buying a tacky new wardrobe and presenting her with airline tickets for a Florida vacation. Let the collisions begin …!

Crazy antics abound, including digit-amputating crabs, helicopter rescues, a talking corpse, mating lizards, and an undercover detective who manages to get shot. In between the eye-rolling, you’ll be chuckling along as one nutty adventure compounds another, disintegrating body parts and all!

Readers: Adult

Published: 2006

In the non-fiction section, if Guy Delisle’s 2005 graphic memoir, Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, was entertainingly surreal, then Blaine Harden’s Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, which debuted last month, proved to be the most inhumanely devastating. Barbara Demick’s lauded 2010 National Book Award nonfiction finalist, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, offered something in between uncomfortably comic and unrelenting shockfest.

In fiction, if Jeff Talarigo’s 2008 The Ginseng Hunter was the most luminous about tortured North Korean lives, then Adam Johnson’s stupendous recent bestseller The Orphan Master’s Son was surely the most harrowing. Somewhere within that horror spectrum emerges the latest North Korea-focused title, All Woman and Springtime, by Brandon W. Jones, a debut novel out this month.

In a North Korean orphanage, two teenage girls become unlikely friends. Withdrawn Gyung-ho (named after a boy because her parents so wanted a son) is her family’s only survivor of prison camp. Irreverent Il-Sun, who would have had a privileged life had her mother not died, is for Gyung-ho the quintessential “all woman and springtime, the embodiment of feminine beauty.”

Under the portraits of Great Leader Kim Il-sung and his son Dear Leader Kim Jong-il, the girls toil as trouser seamstresses. In the book’s opening paragraph, Gyung-ho intently watches the “paradox of sewing, that such brutality could bind two things together.” That “methodic violence” Gyung-ho observes will play out through almost 400 pages, leaving such desolation that even the deus ex machina-ending – in equal measures longed-for and implausible – will provide little relief.

Il-Sun’s rebellious need to escape the daily drudgery of the orphanage and factory lands her into the arms of a less-than-honorable young man. She’s forced to flee – with Gyung-ho literally in tow – setting in motion a tortuous odyssey of sexual slavery first in Seoul, then in Seattle, Washington. Before they cross the DMZ, the two become three, joined by brash young Cho, already an experienced “flower-selling girl” – a prostitute – at 19. Before they cross the Pacific, they will add another when brave Jasmine, already trapped for five years in the heinous business, is ordered to indoctrinate the new girls into their dead-end future.

Amidst constant debasement, each relies on scant personal resources to survive – Gyung-ho, detachment; Il-Sun, vanity; Cho, experience; Jasmine, desperation.

As a story, “All Woman and Springtime” is unfortunately driven by predictable extremes: All women are victims and (with the exception of three minor characters) all men are victimizers. Whether in North Korea, South Korea, or the United States, sex is the universal weapon that keeps women and men viciously polarized.

As a writer, Jones’s lucid prose provides brief reprieves from the constant brutality – he can certainly craft elegant, quote-worthy sentences: “This path of survival, and that path of happiness, did not cross,” or “There was never any plan for the future, only a plan to live until the end of the day,” and “The enemy, she decided, was not the communist or the imperialist, but the lack of understanding between them.” Regrettably, Jones occasionally falls into clichéd romance-speak with “She was a girl with a beating heart who had fully capitulated to some unseen suffering, but whose essence still throbbed beneath the surface,” or irregular 21st-century American teenage vernacular with “I’m just saying.” Perhaps a result of lost-in-translation moments, he shortens Gyong-ho’s name to “Gi” (stuttered, the sound would be a single-syllabic repetition of ‘gyuh, gyuh, gyuh’) and awkwardly uses “teacup” as a term of endearment (in Korean, ‘chajan’ just doesn’t work like ‘sweetie,’ or even ‘cookie’).

In early publicity materials – for better or for worse – All Woman and Springtime is being compared to Memoirs of a Geisha, the exoticized bestseller for which Arthur Golden and his publisher settled out of court after being sued for breach of contract and character defamation by Mineko Iwasaki whose real-life story Golden (mis)portrayed. Readers similar to those who bought Memoirs of a Geisha might also make All Woman and Springtime a bestselling page-turner, although to read of one ghastly violation after another is a dark, draining experience.

Perhaps the best – only? – way to experience this novel can be be found in the words of one of its unfortunate characters: “… that being a witness, she was involved, and being involved, she had a responsibility to act.”

Review: Christian Science Monitor, May 3, 2012

Readers: Adult

Published: 2012

This year, Peiling wants more than anything to experience the whole Christmas shebang. Somehow she manages to convince her reluctant parents to agree to the mistletoe, tree, stockings, and even hosting a traditional (American) holiday meal for the whole extended Wang clan … plus a surprise guest. Somehow, the celebration is not what Peiling expected: who marinates their turkey in ginger and soy sauce, puts longyan in their salads, sings karaoke instead of “Jingle Bells,” and plays mahjong on Christmas anyway?

Of course, Peiling will need a little help getting over her disappointments and frustrations. Good friends and caring teachers are always important, but so is one’s own sense of accomplishment, which Peiling gets to test in herself when she’s promoted from understudy to starring role in the upcoming school play.

In a little over a hundred pages, Chen manages to weave in multiple multicultural lessons, generational conflicts, issues with assimilation, challenging relationships in school, and even a budding romance. And while she might offend just a few conservative Christians over the complete secularization of a holy day, they can merely be reminded that such judgment might not be in the proper spirit.

Tidbit: I picked up Peiling last week because I was assigned Chen’s upcoming adult novel (sneak peek: WOW!) to review for one of my regular publications [I always try to read previous titles before writing reviews.]. For the adult market, Chen includes a middle initial – Pauline A. Chen – perhaps to distinguish herself from Pauline W. Chen who wrote the lauded Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality. Amazingly enough, both share Harvard and Yale credentials, as well as the Dr. title – PhD for A., medical for W. So many accomplished Pauline Chens out there indeed!

Readers: Middle Grade

Published: 2007

Ah, well … great things come to those who wait, because finally reading Lysley Tenorio‘s debut was a remarkable gift indeed. Of the eight stories that comprise Monstress, the eponymous opener throws together foreign cult horror flicks, a has-been (or two), and Hollywood wannbe-antics – and out of that chaos emerges a heartfelt love story of loss and (almost) redemption. Did I mention transformative?

Other standouts include “The Brothers,” in which an older brother only truly begins to understand his unconventionally rebellious younger sibling after his death; “Felix Starro,” which achingly follows a young man’s realizations about his grandfather’s ‘faithful’ business; and “The View from Culion,” about two Americans being cared for on a leper colony and the stories they carefully choose to reveal about their lives to one another. The penultimate story, “Save the I-Hotel,” gets the personal favorite nod: on the eve of the forced closing of the legendary I-Hotel in what was once San Francisco’s Manilatown, two old-timers recall their many intertwined decades together, and the secrets and regrets they never shared even now at the twilight of their lives.

Tenorio is both a fierce and gentle storyteller. Each of his eight stories here deal with betrayal and humiliation, and yet his ability to show unguarded, vulnerable moments of humanity are insistent reminders of our deep relationships with one another; even when those bonds are trampled and wounded, connections linger and never fully disappear. In spite of the monster/monstress in us all, even the most tenuous links with lovers, parents, siblings, friends, strangers, eventually (hopefully) bring us back to our humanity.

Readers: Adult

Published: 2012

Literacy, of course, is paramount to easing the path to achievement, and the folks at Lectura Books are well aware that both parents and children need to be working together. To encourage generational involvement, Lectura presents five new titles in May (tomorrow, already!), that offer easy-to-read stories in both English and Spanish on the same page. “Reading bilingual books is one of the most effective ways to acquire transferable literacy skills,” explains Lectura publisher Katherine Del Monte on the company’s website. “Bilingual books are a win-win situation for parents, children and schools.”

Of the upcoming new titles, Birdie Flies Away, is a personal favorite for its adorable story of can-do independence, regardless of size, but even more so because of its enchanting illustrations by Andrea Yomtob. A little girl keeps a regular watch on a family of birds from her window – Mama, Papa, and their four babies. As each of the little birds grow, one by one, they set out to test their wings … but always come back to the nest. Only baby Birdie stays nest-bound, perfectly happy to remain warm and coddled. But even he eventually will make the great leap …

Yomtob distinguishes each of the birds with unique little details – from feather-bows to tiny little spectacles, to a ladybug buddy who never goes far. Mama and Papa are delightfully comical, perched on the branch together, ready with maps and binoculars literally searching high and low for their avian offspring. Kudos indeed to Yomtob for creating such birdie personalities that jump off the page, making the reading adventure that much more entertaining.

One tiny detail that needs correcting: page 22 has a typo in ‘binoculars,’ but hopefully many editions are in the publisher’s future, so an easy fix should be forthcoming.

Readers: Children

Published: 2012

“The gunman is useless,” Messenger begins. The narrator, Ed Kennedy, and his “best mate” Marvin are lying facedown on the floor of a bank, wishing the gunman would just hurry up; Marv’s most worried about getting a parking ticket. Ed – 19, an “underage cabdriver,” an underachieving bibliophile who’s “read more books than I should” – manages to inadvertently foil the gunman and become a local hero.

Ed is what you might call a slacker, whose life thus far amounts to a self-described “[n]othing.” He rents a cheap shack he shares with an ancient dog named Doorman. His gentle (alcoholic) father is six months gone, his mother is angry and bitter, his siblings scattered and uninvolved. He spends most of his free time with Marv and their other friend Ritchie. He pines endlessly for damaged Audrey who has replaced love with too much casual sex, but never with Ed because she actually cares for him. Then Ed gets the first message: “It changes everything.”

The Ace of Diamonds arrives with Ed’s junk mail, with three addresses scrawled across the card. One after the other, three more Ace cards will follow, each suit with a set of different clues – a single phrase, dead writers, and film titles. Card by card, Ed’s got multiple messages to decipher and deliver, including to an elderly woman still mourning her husband killed in action decades earlier, to a devoted priest trying to keep his slum parish going against all odds, to a large family trying to make ends meet, to that best mate Marv whose young life stalled early over a wrenching loss …

The one detail Ed can’t figure out is who could possibly be sending the cards … all he knows is that a couple of violent henchmen like to make unexpected visits bearing in-between missives in person. No matter what challenges he faces, Ed turns out to be quite a real hero after all. Message by message, he proves ”[m]aybe everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of …” We should all be such accomplished slackers …!!

Readers: Young Adult (with caution), Adult

Published: 2002, 2005 (United States)

Mega-bestselling author Carl Hiaasen might write formulaic young adult titles, but he’s just so goofball funny, it’s hard to put his books down – not to mention the covers are so irresistible, too. Following the massive success of his YA debut Hoot (which also got the royal Hollywood treatment) about overzealous construction and owls, Hiaasen moved to raw sewage pollution and fishies in Flush. In Scat and Chomp, he gleefully brandishes his secrets of success – an environmental theme set in Florida, good kids in tough situations, rogue (and/or missing) parents, and some of the most inept experts you’ll ever encounter between the pages (or stuck in your ears). By the way, if you decide on iPod-ing either or both, you’ve got some ‘famous’ choices depending on your age … Ed Asner for Scat, James Van Der Beek for Chomp.

In Scat, Nick and Marta aren’t exactly the biggest fans of their biology teacher Bunny Starch, but when she goes missing during a field trip cut short by a sudden fire, the two classmates are willing to risk their safety (and maybe their sanity) to get some answers. Meanwhile, a greedy heir and his aging sidekick from Texas, have insidious plans to drill for oil in protected swamp lands, home to the endangered Florida panther. In the midst of this fast-paced adventure, Nick’s elaborate plans to become a lefty like his soldier-father who returns armless from Iraq, is one of the more worthier tissue-demanding episodes in a many a novel for any audience.

Consciously or not, through his rollicking latest, Chomp, Hiaasen seems to enjoy taking a few jabs at the deadbeat mother in Scat who deserts her husband and son to open a Parisian cheese shop – Chomp‘s fromage isn’t particularly kind to reality stars! Back in the Everglades, Wahoo Cray’s family’s financial straits send his mother to Shanghai to teach Mandarin to ex-pat executives, while he and his wild-animal wrangler father, Mickey, reluctantly agree to work on the next episode of the popular reality show, Expedition Survival! Before they even get on location, father and son unexpectedly pick up one of Wahoo’s classmates – named Tuna! yes, only Hiaasen can make this stuff up! – who clearly needs to escape her violent father. The show’s biggest goal at first seems to be keeping the dimwit star (fake name, fake accent, fake credentials) from becoming a wildlife casualty, although protecting the wildlife from the pampered personality might prove to be the greater challenge. That is, until Tuna’s drunk father shows up claiming his “flesh and blood” … real life survival indeed!

As I wait impatiently for Hiaasen’s next young adventure, I’m chuckling and guffawing through some of his adult titles: brave kids, wacky adults, blind greed, eco-saviors abound … albeit without the PG-rating. First rule of bestsellers proves true: don’t fix what ain’t broke!

Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult

Published: 2009, 2012

What began as a visual marvel in volume 1, surely does not disappoint in the continuing two volumes. ‘Exquisite’ still hardly does the panels justice, but just know that every page will make you want to linger to discover and enjoy the glorious details – the garments alone are breathtaking – of life in 19th-century Central Asia along the legendary Silk Road.

By volume 2, the gentle, nurturing Amir has settled well into her new family. The age difference with her boy-husband Karluk seems to lessen as he matures, while their growing comfort in each others’ company is enhanced by the sweet laughter they share often (every marriage should be so blessed!). Amir is beloved among Karluk’s extended family and community, finding a special bond with the talented, headstrong Pariya (go, girl, go!) who is still waiting (not so patiently) to be married off. When Amir’s father, brother, and clansmen appear unexpectedly to reclaim her – using the excuse that she remains childless, but in truth to assuage a wealthy neighboring clan that’s known to “treat their women pretty terribly” (murder seems to go unpunished) – the entire village rallies to keep Amir safe.

The anachronistic Mr. Smith – who turns out to be a peripatetic British linguist doing fieldwork throughout Central Asia – ventures forth from Karluk’s home at the end of volume 2, and takes over (surprisingly) as the protagonist in volume 3. Setting off on a journey of thousands of miles, ultimately heading to Ankara (Turkey), Mr. Smith manages to lose all his belongings not long after Karluk and Amir guide him from their village. In his frantic search, he meets a local young woman, Talas, who invites him to stay with her and her elderly mother-in-law while Mr. Smith waits for his missing guide. The mother-in-law (whose five sons Talas married, and outlived!) worries desperately about lovely Talas’ future and looks to Mr. Smith to provide a possible escape from a less-than-desirable next marriage. But Mr. Smith has his own future to worry about, especially when he lands in jail as a spy …!

As much of a page-turner as the story is (volume 4 can’t come soon enough!), the art is simply so stunning that this is most vehemently not a manga to rush through. If you must know what happens next, read quickly, but then go back to the beginning and study every pane. Really. From facial expressions to tiny blemishes (yup, they got zits back then, too), to wrinkled notebook pages to dirty dishes, to intricate dangling earrings blowing in the wind to the most elaborate stitching on family heirlooms, creator Mori’s dazzling work is proof positive of the idiom ‘god is in the details’ (and that’s any and every god). You can’t help but be enthralled.

Readers: Young Adult, Adult

Published: 2011, 2012 (United States)

Piti becomes ingrained in the hearts and lives of both Alvarez and Bill as they travel frequently from their Vermont home to their organic coffee farm in the Dominican mountains, where eventually Piti comes to work. One night, Alvarez promises she will be at his wedding, “[o]ne of those big-hearted promises … you never think you’ll be called on to deliver someday.” Eight years later, ‘someday’ arrives … and so begins Alvarez’s latest – her 22nd! – title, A Wedding in Haiti.

A week before the Aug. 20, 2009, nuptials, Piti announces his intention to marry Eseline, the mother of his infant daughter, and wants to know: Are Julia and Bill coming?

After arguing with her conscience (she was supposed to attend a conference at the same time), Alvarez and hubby arrive in Santiago, DR, two days before the wedding. They assemble their motley crew of attendees, pack the truck, and head toward Haiti, which Alvarez describes “like a sister I’ve never gotten to know.” In spite of the shared border, Alvarez has been next-door only once before, a quarter century ago. Piti’s family’s remote home doesn’t have an actual address or even appear on any map, but the adventure – long, uncertain, occasionally illegal – will end just in time for Alvarez and Bill to preside as the revered godparents as Piti and Eseline exchange of vows.

The truck must depart immediately after the ceremony, this time with the newly-wedded threesome, as Piti doesn’t want to subject his new family to public transportation. That neither wife nor baby has any immigration documentation is an obstacle they must face at the border. In spite of her fear and frustration with the situation, Alvarez “will not abandon them.… There is a bottom line below which you cannot go and still call yourself a human being.” Over just three days, Alvarez’s familial constellation changes remarkably.

Five months later, the horrific 2010 earthquake hits Haiti: its government reports “316,000 dead, 300,000 injured, 1.3 million displaced, 97,300 houses destroyed.” Piti and Eseline finally learn their immediate families have survived, but Eseline is not well; a trip home is deemed necessary. In July, Alvarez and Bill, Piti, Eseline, baby Ludy, and three more extended near-family, overload the truck and head over the border into devastated Haiti, bearing witness to indescribable tragedies.

“The one thing we cannot do is turn away,” Alvarez insists. “When we have seen a thing, we have an obligation. To see and to allow ourselves to be transformed by what we have seen.” Her bond with Piti allows Alvarez to experience Haiti through Piti’s shocked eyes, and witness his transformation “[f]rom laborer to capataz [supervisor] to president of CJM [Young People of Moustique Cooperative],” as he “work[s] toward the future of Haiti.”

Alvarez, internationally renowned for her novels, How the García Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies, says of her latest book (in an essay included with the advance copy), “[r]ather than a ‘me-moir,’ I prefer to call this book an ‘us-moir.’” While Piti’s story takes center page, Alvarez also weaves in her own marriage to her beloved Bill, her parents’ decades-long love story still unbroken in spite of the mutual dementia that has stolen most of their memories, as well as the complicated relationship of two less-than-sisterly nations.

Although Wedding occasionally reads too much like an unedited personal journal – especially the first half (which, Alvarez reveals, is how the book began) – Alvarez’s devotion, her admiration and hope, and most clearly, the love for her extended family, is palpable throughout. The small black-and-white-pictures scattered on the pages help emphasize the individual humanity throughout. Indeed, as Alvarez explains, Wedding proves to be “a love story that is many love stories; a story of how history can be reimagined when people from two countries, traditional enemies and strangers, become friends.”

Review: Christian Science Monitor, April 26, 2012

Readers: Adult

Published: 2012

The powerful phrase is truncated from the book’s first chapter, “American Birthrights, Japanese Bloodlines” which introduces some of the imprisoned children – “more than 3,700 infants, toddlers, children, and teens” – who called Manzanar “home” from 1942 to 1945: “The civil liberties that should have been their birthright as American citizens were denied them during wartime. Their bloodlines marked them to be segregated from their non-Japanese peers and playmates. They left their homes, friends, and pets behind.”

Combining photographs culled from official government archives and personal collections with quotes from Manzanar’s children – most of them now in their 80s and 90s! – Children is richly dense with little known history in a single, slim volume. In addition to the Japanese American children are, surprisingly, photos and remembrances from some their Caucasian counterparts, the children of War Relocation Authority staff who lived mostly in a separate Administration Area. [Erica Harth, one of those non-Japanese Manzanar children, would grow up to become a lauded professor and author of Last Witness: Reflections on the Wartime Internment of Japanese Americans.]

Caught in the chaos of sudden uprootings and bleak conditions, societal – especially familial – structures suffered and even disintegrated. Children, in all their innocence, quickly adjusted: “They sneaked past the barbed wire to go fishing, played marbles in the dust, and formed lifelong friendships. They also saw their parents become powerless, witnessed systematic injustice, and faced an uncertain future. … [Y]oung people experienced Manzanar very differently than their parents and grandparents.” And here, you’ll find glimpses of some of their remarkable, diverse stories …

In addition to the stories, editor Heather C. Linquist weaves in little known details (with photos, of course) about Manzanar, including its Toy Loan Library, Hospital School (for children with health conditions or disabilities that did not allow them to attend the regular camp schools), the Children’s Village (run by social workers Harry and Lillian Matsumoto and home to 101 children, many of whom had been removed from West Coast foster homes and orphanages), and even experiences of resettlement and relocation after war’s end. Perhaps the most touching of all is a special spotlight on the now-annual Manzanar High School Reunion which, with its aging student bodies, since 2004 “has been billed as the ‘last one’ but we haven’t stopped yet.” True testimony to the resilience of children … even when bloodlines overshadowed birthrights.

Tidbit: Small world moment I must share … editor Linquist has Smithsonian history! She interned at National Museum of American History where she “discovered a love of exhibit planning and writing,” training she later used to develop interpretive exhibits at the Manzanar National Historic Site!

And, I have to note one minor numbers-related discrepancy: page 122 uses ’110,000′ as the number of Japanese and Japanese Americans relocated while page 133 uses ’120,000.’ I’ve seen both numbers in various places … just not usually in the same book. Perhaps I’m reading something incorrectly … feel free to enlighten me!

Update: Ask and ye shall receive. And I did! Numbers answer kindly (expediently!) provided by Alisa Lynch, Chief of Interpretation at the Manzanar National Historic Site: “This issue is how the people are counted and when. More than 110,000 were ’evacuated’ from their West Coast homes, but 120,313 were in WRA custody (i.e., in the ten camps). That includes nearly 6000 children born in camps, others who transferred in, 219 non-Japanese Americans, etc.” She even provides an easy-to-read visual on page 2 of the Manzanar/National Park Service handout which you can access by clicking here. Talk about oh so grateful, near-instant satisfaction!

Readers: Young Adult, Adult

Published: 2012