Book Review | Book Chatter

The Dead and the Gone
By Susan Beth Pfeffer
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
January 2010
321pp

Here’s the blurb from the publisher:

Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life as We Knew It enthralled and devastated readers with its brutal but hopeful look at an apocalyptic event—an asteroid hitting the moon, setting off a tailspin of horrific climate changes. Now this harrowing companion novel examines the same events as they unfold in New York City, revealed through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican Alex Morales. When Alex’s parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland, and food and aid dwindle.

With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful new novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.

The Short of It:

A harsh look at a family, struggling to survive in a city torn apart by disaster. Frightening, but not as compelling as the first book.

The Rest of It:

The main difference between the first book, Life as We Knew It, and this one, is that the first book dealt with rural, Pennsylvania whereas this one takes place in New York City. The other difference is that this family, headed up by 17-year-old Alex Morales, is much more religious.

What I love about this series is that once you start it, you really can’t put it down. The plot is simple. the situation is dire, and the characters are stretched beyond their comfort zone. It’s good storytelling but it’s nerve-wracking! Food is a constant worry. Will there be enough? What will they do if they run out?

Since this story takes place in the city, there are additional concerns to consider. BUT, I don’t think that they were explored as much as they could have been. There wasn’t much in the way of looting or violence, which seemed sort of unrealistic to me. I realize that this is a young adult book but as a young kid, the potential for violence to occur, would have consumed my thoughts. A bit of this did come across through Alex but his sisters did not seem to have any sense of danger and given their ages, early to mid-teens, and them being female, I would have expected them to be a bit more concerned about their safety.

One could get nit-picky with a book like this but I won’t do that. Even though parts of it were unrealistic it was still a fun read. As fun as reading about the end of the world can be! I read it in one sitting, all through the night with my little book light. If you want a book that’s just fun to read, then this would be a good one for you.

The new book in the series, The World We Live In, can be purchased online and I can’t wait to read it. Apparently the characters from book one and book two come together to form book three. I’ve already read a few reviews and so far and I’ve heard nothing but good things.

Source: Purchased.

The Help
By Kathryn Stockett
Penguin Group (USA)
February 2009
464pp

Here’s the blurb from the publisher:

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

The Short of It:

The Help is the kind of book that you make time for, no matter how busy your schedule.

The Rest of It:

I’ve seen The Help everywhere and although it’s gotten wonderful reviews, I held off on reading it. I don’t like to read books that are overly hyped. I’m usually disappointed by them. However, the hype hasn’t died down yet even after all these months, so I figured I’d give it a shot. I’m glad I did. Let me just say, that if you’ve been on the fence about reading it, get yourself a copy, find a cozy place to sit and dig in. It’s good.

As many of you know, the book is a work of fiction but it almost seems auto-biographical in nature. Skeeter is a young woman living in Mississippi. Most women her age focus on marriage and standing, but Skeeter is different. She wants to be a writer and after receiving some encouragement from a publishing house, she decides to write a book. A book about the help, literally. She decides to write a book about the black women of Jackson. The women that make a living taking care of other people’s children, cleaning other people’s houses, and putting up with all sorts of drama.

There’s so much to love about this book. Aibileen’s love for Mae Mobley, her young charge, is written so tenderly that your heart just aches when Stockett mentions them. Raising and loving another woman’s child, knowing full well that she could grow-up to treat blacks the very same way her mother does. Well, that just takes the air right out of my lungs.

Then there’s Minny, Aibileen’s best friend. Head-strong and difficult but so full of life. When Minny walks into a room, you pay attention. She’s quick to judge and has a sharp tongue, but there’s a gentle, vulnerable side to her too. I loved the interaction between her and her boss, Miss Celia.

Oh, and when Miss Skeeter has her”aha” moment, you just want to give her a big hug. Putting everything on the line for what she believes in. She’s not perfect. She has flaws but so does everyone. That’s the point. We are not meant to be perfect.

My only complaint with this book is that towards the end, the pace seemed to drop quite a bit. I suppose it was just me wanting to get to the end to find out how it all turned out, but it did seem to slow down quite a bit at one point. This is a tiny quibble given that the rest of the book is so wonderful. I really enjoyed it and feel like kicking myself for waiting so long to read it. It will definitely make my fave list this year and I can certainly see why book groups across the nation have embraced it.

For those that have read it, what did you think of the dialect? Not what I expected but it worked for me.

Also, I came across this interview with Katie Couric. I was surprised to see that Stockett is so soft-spoken. I don’t know why, but I imagined her to be a lot more aggressive and vocal. I also think it’s interesting that the book groups they feature in this clip are all white.

Source: I won this book in a contest.

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