Alice Cary

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Adventures in Mammoth Cave

Review by Alice Cary

In Jennifer Bradbury’s exciting new work of historical fiction, River Runs Deep, 12-year-old Elias is suffering from tuberculosis in 1842. He’s sent from his home in Norfolk, Virginia, to recover in an underground hut in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. He will be cared for by the real-life Dr. John Croghan, who during one winter ministered to 16 tuberculosis patients, who sought the benefit of the cave's dank air and lived in small rooms built by slaves.

As the world’s longest known cave system, with more than 400 explored miles of passages, Mammoth Cave is a fitting setting for this middle grade adventure. As lonely Elias lies in bed recuperating, he feels like he’s dying of boredom, but soon he meets a cast of characters who draw him into a web of intrigue involving a group of slaves hiding in a large secret chamber and a bounty hunter determined to find them.

Elias befriends several real-life slaves (Stephen Bishop, Materson and Nick Bransford) who show him many of the cave’s wonders and pitfalls, such as the Star Chamber and the Bottomless Pit. As Elias begins to recover, his strength and energy become vital to uncovering a fellow patient’s nefarious scheme to capture the hidden slaves. Elias’ own questioning of his attitudes toward his family’s slaves provides readers with just the right touch of moral perspective.

A map at the beginning helps readers follow the mounting action, and suggestions for further reading are helpful. Bradbury, who grew up near the cave, has created a thrilling underground adventure that’s jam-packed with fascinating historical tidbits.

In Jennifer Bradbury’s exciting new work of historical fiction, River Runs Deep, 12-year-old Elias is suffering from tuberculosis in 1842. He’s sent from his home in Norfolk, Virginia, to recover in an underground hut in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. He will be cared for by the real-life Dr. John Croghan, who during one winter ministered to 16 tuberculosis patients, who sought the benefit of the cave's dank air and lived in small rooms built by slaves.

NonfictionLiteratureEssays

Feeding your literary appetites

Review by Alice Cary

BookPage Nonfiction Top Pick, August 2015

C.S. Lewis wrote that “eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably,” and Cara Nicoletti has made both her life pursuits. As she explains in Voracious: A Hungry Reader Cooks Her Way Through Great Books, her childhood playground was her grandfather’s butcher shop, where she played hide and seek among the beef carcasses, occasionally stunning her friends by pretending to be Laura Ingalls Wilder’s father with a dead pig slung over her shoulder. More often though, she read on a milk crate behind the cash register. 

Fast-forward to the present, and Nicoletti has parlayed her passions into a literary food blog called Yummy Books, as well as this collection of 50 essays about beloved books of her childhood, adolescence and adulthood, each with a relevant recipe. Most of the dishes sound delectable (Anne of Green Gables Salted Chocolate Caramels, Moby Dick clam chowder) while others require courage (Lord of the Flies porchetta di testa, or pig’s head, and a more palatable Crostini with Fava Bean and Chicken Liver Mousse from The Silence of the Lambs).

Nicoletti knows her stuff (serve that pig’s head over a bed of lentils, potatoes or stewed greens, she recommends), having worked as both a pastry chef and butcher. Her blog blossomed from her literary supper club, and Voracious is likely to affect your own reading, making fictional meals suddenly jump into prominence. She explains: “The experience of loving something—particularly a book or a book’s illustration—so much that you actually want to eat it is a sentiment near and dear to my heart. It is essentially what I’m trying to express in this book.”

Throughout Nicoletti’s life, books have remained her emotional stronghold as well as a reliable source of escape, since she’s read everything from Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking to In Cold Blood and Gone Girl. Like a wonderful appetizer, Nicoletti’s entries are easy to digest and full of pleasing surprises.

 

This article was originally published in the August 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

C.S. Lewis wrote that “eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably,” and Cara Nicoletti has made both her life pursuits as she explains in Voracious: A Hungry Reader Cooks Her Way Through Great Books.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Party pooper

Review by Alice Cary

Bernice Gets Carried Away begins with a zinger: “It was a horrible, dreary day, and it suited Bernice’s mood just fine.” This young cat stands sulking behind a tree while her animal friends enjoy an outdoor birthday party. No doubt young readers will sympathize with Bernice’s plight, since birthday parties can frequently be filled with intense emotions and overwhelming disappointment.

Poor Bernice: Her piece of cake had no frosted rose; she got stuck with prune-grapefruit soda; and the piñata burst open before she got a turn. So she pounces at the sight of a bunch of colorful balloons, triumphantly shouting “MINE!” as she grabs them. Her victory is short-lived, because moments later, she floats away, straight up into the sky, where she comes face-to-face with a brooding black rain cloud.

Author Hannah E. Harrison’s plot is compelling, but the real star here is her stunning acrylic artwork, filled with realistic whiskers and strands of fur, and luminous colors that pop in just the right places. Harrison’s expressive menagerie of anthropomorphized animals is reminiscent of Rosemary Wells’ beloved characters, although drawn in finer detail.

As Bernice floats away, the muted tones of the clouds and tree trunks reflect her ill temper. Later, as Bernice pulls herself out of the doldrums, the world around her erupts into a symphony of bright blues, greens, pinks and purples. The story’s resolution (Bernice learns to share) seems simplistic, but nonetheless young readers will be drawn into this beautifully illustrated world.

Bernice Gets Carried Away begins with a zinger: “It was a horrible, dreary day, and it suited Bernice’s mood just fine.” This young cat stands sulking behind a tree while her animal friends enjoy an outdoor birthday party. No doubt young readers will sympathize with Bernice’s plight, since birthday parties can frequently be filled with intense emotions and overwhelming disappointment.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Exploring the world with Dad

Review by Alice Cary

Young readers are lucky to have a new book posthumously published by Bernard Waber, the talented creator of more than 30 titles, including the beloved Lyle the Crocodile series.

Ask Me is a tender story that’s full of Waber’s trademark naturalness. As a father and daughter set out for an autumn walk in the park, their conversation forms the entire text of this book, with the daughter’s words in black and her father’s responses in blue. Their world becomes our world, with no distractions from extraneous descriptions or quotation marks. For example,

Ask me if I like ice cream cones.
Do you like ice cream cones?
No. I love, love, love ice cream cones.

Dad lets his daughter lead their back-and-forth exchanges in a truly delightful way. These two understand each other completely on their day of gentle adventures: watching geese and butterflies; remembering a ride on a merry-go-round; frolicking in the leaves; brushing their teeth together later at home; and finally saying good night.

Award-winning artist Suzy Lee strikes just the right note with her colored-pencil illustrations, creating minimalist, scribbled drawings that shine with exquisite expression, color and movement. Despite the simplicity of Ask Me’s plot, Lee’s art brings this young heroine to life, whether she’s jumping down her front steps, kicking bright red leaves high in the sky or fleeing as her father pretends to be a bear.

It’s hard to imagine a sweeter father-daughter outing than this.

Young readers are lucky to have a new book posthumously published by Bernard Waber, the talented creator of more than 30 titles, including the beloved Lyle the Crocodile series.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Homeward bound

Review by Alice Cary

When author Jen White was 12, she and her sister and cousin were mistakenly left behind at a gas station for six hours during a family camping trip―no one had seen the girls get out of the camper. Years later, White’s first novel, Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave, begins with 12-year-old Liberty being abandoned by her father at a gas station along with her 8-year-old sister, Billie.

The sisters’ lives have been in turmoil since their mother’s recent death, and they’ve only recently been reunited with their estranged father, an uncommunicative, globetrotting wildlife photographer. Liberty is a quick-thinking, likable narrator whose first mission is to get away from the “creepy” attendant at this remote desert location. Running from one fearful situation to the next, they meet a succession of intriguing characters, including a lonely Star Wars fanatic being bullied by his older brother and a truck driver whom Liberty dubs “Tattoo Guy.” Liberty tries to navigate each dangerous situation by writing in her notebook, trying to adopt the defense tactics of various wildlife, both predators and prey. “Dad was like a shark,” she concludes, “interesting to look at from far away, but don’t get too close or you’ll be sorry.”

Survival Strategies is a page-turning adventure story about two sisters who are understandably wary to trust adults as they desperately seek safety. Although this plot occasionally has far-fetched moments, White writes in a fresh, believable voice while touching on heavy subjects such as mental illness and serious misfortune without being morose. There are many moments of humor and grace as Liberty learns vital lessons about self-reliance and trust in this compelling, sensitive tale.

When author Jen White was 12, she and her sister and cousin were mistakenly left behind at a gas station for six hours during a family camping trip―no one had seen the girls get out of the camper. Years later, White’s first novel, Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave, begins with 12-year-old Liberty being abandoned by her father at a gas station along with her 8-year-old sister, Billie.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Creatures of night and day

Review by Alice Cary

I have long been a fan of the superb artwork of Wendell Minor, and Daylight Starlight Wildlife is yet another winner in his long list of children's publishing accomplishments. It's a simple book, suitable for young preschoolers, yet full of understated depth in both prose and illustrations.

Minor explains and contrasts the variety of wildlife that surrounds us night and day, painting spectacularly luminous images such as a red-tailed hawk soaring over the treetops and a barn owl swooping through a full-moon night. These images are realistic, yet appealing―without ever being anthropomorphic or overly cute―containing scenes of mothers and their young and solitary animals making their way through the wilderness. A raccoon leads her cubs through swaying stalks of grass. An opossum forages as her family clings to her back, the bristling hairs of their fur begging to be touched.

Unlike some creators of this genre, Minor never talks down to his audience. Each page contains one stately sentence, for instance: “As the sun rises, stealthy bobcat and her kitten scope out the summer landscape.” As an informative nature guide, he also adds a short section of fun facts at the end.

At both its beginning and conclusion, Daylight Starlight Wildlife asks readers to consider the wild visitors that may lurk outside. “Look and listen,” the artist urges. Whether they’re searching for wild turkeys, swallowtail butterflies, luna moths, skunks or flying squirrels, young readers will be ready to do just that.

 

I have long been a fan of the superb artwork of Wendell Minor, and Daylight Starlight Wildlife is yet another winner in his long list of children's publishing accomplishments. It's a simple book, suitable for young preschoolers, yet full of understated depth in both prose and illustrations.

NonfictionHistory

Shuttering the schoolhouse door

Review by Alice Cary

BookPage Nonfiction Top Pick, June 2015

Kristen Green was born to write this book.

Growing up in the 1970s in Farmville, Virginia, she attended an all-white academy founded in 1959 by her beloved grandparents and others when white town leaders closed the public schools rather than comply with federal desegregation orders. Farmville’s schools remained shut for five years, depriving 1,700 black children (and some white children) of an education.

“During my childhood,” Green writes, “my family rarely discussed what had happened, and only in broad strokes.” 

After leaving Farmville, she became a reporter and married a man of Native-American descent, with whom she has two daughters (one named Selma). When her young family finally settled in Richmond, Virginia, Green began researching Farmville’s troubled past. 

The result of her investigation, Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County, deftly interweaves the personal and the historical into a compelling narrative that leaves no stone unturned. Green writes as only an insider can, with the added benefit of being a skilled journalist and the mother of multiracial children. 

Her account is not only fascinating but cinematic, with scenes such as the day in 1951 when 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns organized her classmates to strike in protest of dismal conditions in Farmville’s black high school. Their dissent resulted in a lawsuit that later went to the U.S. Supreme Court as part of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case.

Green also writes about her family’s adored housekeeper, Elsie, who sent her only child to be educated in Massachusetts after the Farmville schools closed. Although Elsie’s daughter refused to be interviewed, Green concludes with her own apology to Elsie for wounds of the past.

This is an award-worthy book and an eye-opening companion to other accounts of past injustices like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It’s hard to imagine how events like these transpired not so long ago. Nonetheless, tremendous racial problems continue to plague us, and Green’s powerful book can help to promote much-needed dialogue, remembrance and understanding.

 

This article was originally published in the June 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County, deftly interweaves the personal and the historical into a compelling narrative that leaves no stone unturned.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

A whole new level of wacky

Review by Alice Cary

Lane Smith is a hilarious, irreverent and award-winning children's illustrator and author, with titles under his belt like The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. His first middle grade novel, Return to Augie Hobble, starts out just as one might expect.

Narrator Augie Hobble is a wisecracking, pun-loving kid with some seemingly overwhelming problems. After failing Creative Arts, he’s struggling to complete his portfolio in summer school. Meanwhile, a school bully named Hogg Wills is gunning for him, and there’s plenty going on as Augie helps out at his dad’s rinky-dink amusement park, Fairy Tale Place. Augie’s one salvation is his best friend, Britt Fairweather. Smith puts his humor and illustrating skills to imaginative use throughout by including supposed Polaroid shots taken by Augie as well as notebook pages from Augie’s many failed attempts to complete his art project, elements that kids will relish.

Not surprisingly, the plot makes great use of the amusement park setting, taking many rollicking twists and turns, including Augie’s fear that he may be turning into a werewolf. Just when things seem to be turning utterly silly, they become unexpectedly, completely serious—as in dead serious, with communications from beyond the grave. At first this sudden switch is unsettling, but at this point the book really hits its stride. Augie stops depending on jokes and starts sharing what’s truly in his heart as he begins to dig himself out of a very deep hole.

On his website, Smith writes that he likes “funny, odd books that excite and challenge a child,” and he has certainly created a whirlwind of a tale told by an exuberant, exhilarating narrator. At times there seems to be too many elements swirling around in this story—Smith threw everything into the pot, and perhaps his soup needed a bit more stirring to make all the creative juices and enthusiasm blend together—but kids will undoubtedly enjoy this zany tale.

Lane Smith is a hilarious, irreverent and award-winning children's illustrator and author, with titles under his belt like The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. His first middle grade novel, Return to Augie Hobble, starts out just as one might expect.

NonfictionMemoir

20 years with the NYPD

Review by Alice Cary

Years ago, as a small-town newspaper editor, I spent a night riding along with an officer on patrol. The shift began with a potential car dealership break-in and ended with an encounter with a drunk stumbling along the side of a lonely road. That night―as memorable as it was―pales in comparison to the drama that Steve Osborne shares with readers in The Job: True Tales from the Life of a New York City Cop.

Now retired, Osborne spent 20 years as a NYPD street cop, and afterward began recounting his experiences on “The Moth” radio show to much acclaim. This collection of 14 essays is a nonstop ride-along with a guy who always wanted to be a police officer, and who was told upon entering the police academy, "Kid, you just bought yourself a front row seat to the greatest show on earth."

Indeed, that seems to be the case. Not only was Osborne an excellent policeman (he retired as a lieutenant and the commanding officer of the Manhattan Gang Squad), he's a fabulous storyteller, crafting his memories into well-honed tales filled with drama, humor and heart.

In “Think Fast,” he remembers being a rookie in his squad car in Washington Square Park and witnessing a man whip out a knife, ready to stab another man. With no time to shout a warning or fire a shot, in a split-second reaction, Osborne "hit on the gas pedal and nailed him with the car." With this seemingly bizarre act, not only did he save the victim's life, he prevented a crime that would have sent the aggressor to prison.

Bystanders, however, having no idea what had transpired, suddenly turned into an angry mob and began throwing bottles at Osborne's brand new squad car. In these days of widespread public scrutiny of police actions making regular headlines, it's useful to hear from an officer like Osborne, who reminds us that things aren't always what they first appear to be.

Osborne shares a variety of compelling tales of fumbles, fun, triumphs and tragedies. “Big Day” recalls the excitement he felt as he was about to close a major narcotics investigation, and the incredulity he felt as everyone's priorities abruptly changed that horrible day of September 11, 2001.

“End of Tour” describes Osborne's last night on the streets before retirement, which he hoped would be peaceful. Instead, two brothers refused to stop fighting and one punched him, sending him to the ER. "God never wanted me to be an astronaut, or a doctor, or a lawyer," Osborne writes. "He put me on this earth to be a cop. And from the first day to the last, I did my job."

Luckily for his readers, Osborne survived to tell his many wonderful tales.

Years ago, as a small-town newspaper editor, I spent a night riding along with an officer on patrol. The shift began with a potential car dealership break-in and ended with an encounter with a drunk stumbling along the side of a lonely road. That night―as memorable as it was―pales in comparison to the drama that Steve Osborne shares with readers in The Job: True Tales from the Life of a New York City Cop.
NonfictionMedicine

Scrubbing in

Review by Alice Cary

With 3.5 million nurses in the United States, they are the country’s largest group of healthcare providers. So it’s not surprising that after investigating sororities, geeks, overachievers and more, award-winning journalist Alexandra Robbins has turned her attention to The Nurses.

After interviewing hundreds, Robbins narrowed her focus to the personal narratives of four nurses. Although the author relies on pseudonyms and doesn’t identify the names of their hospitals or their locations, their stories are compelling in every way.

While undergoing fertility treatments, “Molly” quits her job at a hospital that treats nurses horribly and signs on with a nursing agency to seek out better working environments. A real-life Nurse Jackie, “Lara” is a highly skilled nurse who accidentally became addicted to narcotics while on the job. “Juliette” is an ER nurse who feels ostracized by a group of clique-y nurses. “Sam” is beginning her career and learning to navigate the ropes, with her first-day mantra being “Just don’t kill anyone.”

Interspersed with these narratives are discussions of nurse bullying, sex, on-the-job injuries, burnout, drug issues, heroism and more. There are horrific anecdotes (a nurse is ordered to keep working after being attacked by a patient, and ends up with a fractured neck), as well as heartwarming moments (Molly wheels a dying man and his wife of 68 years to watch their last sunrise together).

Robbins concludes by offering remedies for the many problems nurses encounter, with suggestions for what patients, families, nurses and aspiring nurses can do to make things better.

RELATED CONTENT: Read an interview with author Alexandra Robbins.

 

This article was originally published in the May 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

With 3.5 million nurses in the United States, they are the country’s largest group of healthcare providers. So it’s not surprising that after investigating sororities, geeks, overachievers and more, award-winning journalist Alexandra Robbins has turned her attention to The Nurses.
Children's & YAPicture Book

A music prodigy’s New Orleans roots

Review by Alice Cary

Troy Andrews is a 29-year-old bandleader and jazz musician who has performed at the White House, the Grammys and with the likes of U2, Eric Clapton and Prince. He developed his own style of “SupaFunkRock” and, in a wonderful collaboration with award-winning illustrator Bryan Collier, shares his story in Trombone Shorty.

Addressing young readers in a warm, embracing style, Andrews integrates the sights and sounds of Tremé, his New Orleans neighborhood: “Anytime of the day or night, you could hear music floating in the air.”

Young Andrews begins by pretending to play instruments with his friends, and when the 4-year-old finds a broken trombone, his brother begins to call him Trombone Shorty. From that point on, “I took that trombone everywhere I went and never stopped playing. I was so small that sometimes I fell right over to the ground because it was so heavy.” In an exciting moment, Andrews’ young career takes off when he attends a Bo Diddley concert, and the famous musician calls him onstage to perform.

Collier’s magical pen-and-ink, watercolor and collage illustrations add perfect harmony to this memoir. In an informative illustrator’s note, he explains that he depicts “the sound of the music as beautiful colors and shapes that swirl out of Troy’s trombone.” Likewise, Andrews includes an author’s note that fleshes out his story and includes photographs of the budding musician.

Rarely do a picture book biography’s text, illustrations and endnotes unite so well to tell such an appealing, engrossing story. This book will no doubt speak to the soul of many young musicians waiting for their own turn to be called onstage.

Troy Andrews is a 29-year-old bandleader and jazz musician who has performed at the White House, the Grammys and with the likes of U2, Eric Clapton and Prince. He developed his own style of “SupaFunkRock” and, in a wonderful collaboration with award-winning illustrator Bryan Collier, shares his story in Trombone Shorty.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

A legendary pen pal

Review by Alice Cary

It’s 1948, and 11-year-old Tate P. Ellerbee’s teacher wants each of her students to choose a pen pal, hoping that “new worlds will unfold in front of you, and you’ll see your own world through fresh eyes.” Tate decides to write to rising country singer Hank Williams. She pours her heart out to her idol in letter after letter, even though he sends her fan photos but never writes back.

At first, Tate’s life in the tiny town of Rippling Creek, Louisiana, seems fairly ordinary. She spends her days with her Aunt Patty Cake, Uncle Jolly and her annoying younger brother nicknamed Frog. But readers gradually learn Tate’s deepest secrets, such as the fact that her father really isn’t a globe-trotting photographer and her mother isn’t a movie star.

Fans of Kimberly Willis Holt’s award-winning When Zachary Beaver Came to Town will welcome another sensitive portrayal of a child trying to find her place as she longs for absent parents. The rich Louisiana culture shines through, as do the daily effects of World War II and a community filled with cultural fears of African Americans, the Japanese and Communists. (The historical aspects are nicely addressed in an afterword.)

As we learn our letter-writing heroine’s greatest secret of all, this seemingly gentle novel about a “simpler” time and place is packed with plenty of punch, all deftly handled by a writer who writes like Hank Williams sang—with heart and understanding.

 

This article was originally published in the April 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

It’s 1948, and 11-year-old Tate P. Ellerbee’s teacher wants each of her students to choose a pen pal, hoping that “new worlds will unfold in front of you, and you’ll see your own world through fresh eyes.” Tate decides to write to rising country singer Hank Williams. She pours her heart out to her idol in letter after letter, even though he sends her fan photos but never writes back.
NonfictionMemoir

The honesty and insight gained through age

Review by Alice Cary

Stephen King called Abigail Thomas’ memoir A Three Dog Life “the best memoir I have ever read,” and Thomas has another winner with her latest, What Comes Next and How to Like It.

The previous book focused on life after a tragic accident left Thomas’ husband brain damaged and, seven years later, dead. What Comes Next shares the aftermath as she contemplates life in her 70s.

Thomas bares her soul in a series of short chapters, some only a paragraph long. The result, while a breeze to read, paints a rich, multifaceted portrait of the author’s daily life in Woodstock, New York, with her beloved dogs. She is both forthright (“I am who I am and it has taken me a long time to get here.”) and self-deprecatingly funny (“Who sits in a dark room watching Burn Notice on a beautiful day?”).

Thomas frames her narrative with the story of how, years ago, her daughter Catherine had an affair with her best friend, literary agent Chuck Verrill, and how the repercussions affected her relationships with the pair for years afterward.

Catherine and Chuck continue to be mainstays in Thomas’ life, but also a source of continuing worry. Catherine, now happily married, undergoes treatment for breast cancer, while Chuck, divorced, suffers from serious liver disease.

When a student describes her as a “nice old lady with a tattoo,” Thomas reports that she is startled “because I think of myself as not nice, not old, not a lady.” That’s all the more reason, of course, that readers will treasure this journey with a writer who comes across as a compelling, lively friend.

 

This article was originally published in the April 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Stephen King called Abigail Thomas’ memoir A Three Dog Life “the best memoir I have ever read,” and Thomas has another winner with her latest, What Comes Next and How to Like It.

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