Doster, Stephen. Lord Baltimore. Winston-Salem, N.C.: John F. Blair
Publisher, 2002.
Ensworth Harding is an 18-year-old country-club slacker who
gets a big surprise from his father on his birthday. He is dumped
unceremoniously by the side of a Georgia road with a hundred dollars, a new pair
of sneakers and a request not to return home until he has delivered a letter to
Savannah. If he fails, he will lose his inheritance. Ensworth tells the tale of
his exciting, harrowing, and often quite funny adventures through Georgia on the
way to complete his quest. Along the way he meets the title character, Lord
Baltimore, an eccentric and resourceful British aristocrat, outwits a crooked
and murderous local sheriff, participates in several con games, learns about
Gullah customs, evades a hurricane, and exposes a shady evangelist. In the end
Ensworth finds that he has matured many years beyond his physical age during his
journey to manhood. A novel in the picaresque tradition of Don Quixote, Tom
Jones, and Huckleberry Finn. Lord Baltimore in fact pays homage to many
of the classic picaresque novels of the past. Told from a first-person point of
view.
Read-a-Likes: Anyone, including young adults, who enjoyed Don
Quixote, Tom Jones, Kidnapped Huckleberry Finn, or
Candide, would be sure to enjoy this novel. More recent picaresque novels
that readers of Lord Baltimore might enjoy include James Howard Kunstler,
An Embarrassment of Riches; Peter Carey, The Unusual Life of Tristan
Smith; T. Coraghessan Boyle, Water Music; and Reidar Jonsson, My
Life as a Dog.
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees.
New York:
Viking, 2002.
In the summer of 1964, Lily Owens flees her home to save the
life of her housekeeper Rosaleen. Rosaleen has insulted the local racists and
refused to apologize. Lily’s abusive father may very likely kill Lily for
participating in the entire mess. Lily takes Rosaleen to Tiburon, North
Carolina. Tiburon is the only connection to Lily’s dead mother and she hopes to
make sense of the mother she never knew. Fortunately, Rosaleen and Lily
are taken in by three beekeeping sisters who teach Lily more than she could ever
have hoped to know.
Suggest it for…. teen girls, especially those interested
in issues of race and religion, Oprah readers lovers of southern fiction. Not
for those who… distain “chick” books like blood and guts, need a lot of action
or suspense.
Kingsolver,Barbara. Prodigal Summer
Three parallel stories, taking
place in Appalachian Kentucky during the course of a summer, interconnect at the
end in a satisfying conclusion. Each story with its set of characters, gives
Kingsolver a chance to preach about the importance of nature, ecology and
natural cycle of life. The descriptions are poetic and scenery is lush, making
this a beautiful read. Highly recommended for readers who like issues in their
stories. This would be a good choice for a book discussion.
Lamb, Wally. She’s Come Undone (1992)
The story of Dolores Price
begins in 1956 with the delivery of the family’s first television; this
television becomes Dolores’ escape from life. Dolores is a heroic
character who goes through just about everything bad which can happen to a
woman, yet somehow manages to persevere. In this coming-of-age novel, told in
the first person, we follow Dolores’ life from 4 to 40. She experiences
sexual, physical, emotional, and psychological abuses, yet somehow she is able
to pull her life together and find happiness. The author does an
excellent job of getting us into her head and of writing from a female
perspective.
Oates, Joyce Carol. Man Crazy.
Joyce Carol Oates’ Man Crazy is a haunting novel told
in first person narration by Ingrid Boone, tracing the course of her troubled
life from childhood to early adulthood. In graphic and straightforward
details, Ingrid’s pain at the abandonment by her father and violence at the
hands of men, both physical and emotional, is surreally translated to the
reader. Ingrid experiences the ultimate level of degradation at the
hands of a cult leader, willing to do anything for her twisted version of
“love”. It is from this depth that Ingrid finally emerges with the realization
that she is blessed to simply be alive and have freewill over her choices.
Oates’ writing evokes a sense of darkness and despair that is not easily left
behind when the pages of this novel are
closed.
This coming of age story is set in the 1960
suburban New York; The suburbs in this case are in lower Westchester County; We
see life through the experiences of 12-year-old Maggie Scanlon, her mother
Connie and her extended family. She is struggling to understand what is
happening to many of the relationships surrounding her everyday world. Old
friendships seem foreign, mother/daughter tensions are on the rise, her
grandfather's views are up for scrutiny, and puberty is just around the corner.
The must satisfying aspects of this novel are the identifiable situations of
both mother and daughter. It is not everyday that the realization of who is
important, not what, can be explored I through humor, emotion, and honesty as it
is in this work. The ability to see a Maggie come of age in her pre-teens and
Connie rediscover herself in her thirties is a triumph for the reader.
Life was hard in rural Kentucky in the 1950s; but then growing up would
have been difficult just about anywhere for Icy Sparks, an orphan being
raised by her grandparents in Appalachia who, at the age of 10, begins to
have fits of violent tics and uncontrollable cursing. Try as she might to
control them, her croaks, groans and spasms keep afflicting her, and for
years her behavior is surrounded by mystery, confusion and humiliation. As
an adult, in an epilogue which ties together rather too neatly all the loose
ends of the story, she finds out that she has Tourette Syndrome. Narrated
by the grown Icy, the book chronicles her difficult journey to
self-acceptance. A bright, curious, and pretty child (these qualities do
make Icy appeal to some of the local characters , while they seem to make others
resent her even more), Icy is helped through ordeals that include a cruel
teacher, a stay in a mental institution, a sexual initiation that ends badly, by
the love of her grandparents (Matanni and Patanni, as she calls them), her
friendship with Miss Emily, an obese woman who knows what it’s like to be an
outcast in this insular society, as well as the supportive understanding
of her school principal and some of the staff at the mental institution. Her
talents and energy, coupled with her strong urge to experience life beyond the
hills, enable Icy eventually to cut through all the barriers to find
community and acceptance---or so we learn in the epilogue. Most readers who
would like this book are those who go for the tough and depressing parts,
anyway, especially the Oprah book club readers (this was one of her selections).
Older teenagers who are into angst would love it.
In this historical coming-of age novel, prequel to ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR
MY CRY and its sequels, the protagonist, Paul Edward Logan, is the
narrator. He tells of growing up during the Reconstruction period, right
after the Civil War, as the son of a white father and a half-black, half-Indian
mother. His father makes sure he learns to read, write and have the trade
of carpentry. He faces the realities of, “different rules for white
children and colored children.” At 14, he breaks with his family and
leaves the home he shared with his mother and sister, Cassie. Mitchell,
his black friend during childhood, leaves with him. Paul-Edward’s goal is to
find work, save money and be a land owner. His strength of character enables him
to endure unheard of hardships and struggles. Paul-Edward grows to manhood
achieving his goal and falling in love.
Fast pace science fiction, spy thriller set in future New York. Told in the
third person, this murky tale ventures into the dark underworld; the seamy city
streets wrought with gangs and violence and the mysterious realm of the
overseers where “big brother” watches all. Cat (the wise guy, streetwise yet
strangely likeable main character) is forced into becoming the bodyguard, under
the guise of a personal assistant, to a government official who is the target of
an assassination plot. In this unlikely role, Cat goes through
several transformations during the course of this rollercoaster
novel.The first change is his
appearance from a “punk rock” style to a toned
down more acceptable look and his eyes are temporarily
altered so helooks less foreign. The more profound changes are to his
soul.As an orphan he learned to
mistrust everyone and not to get too emotionally close to anyone but he gradually learns about
friendship.During his tragic life as an
outcast he suppressed his telepathic abilities,having to use his powers to accomplish his mission made
him accept this skill and to feel more complete. At the end of the novel, he seems more at peace with himself and content to have
someonecare about him.
Reminiscent of a Brave New World and Handmaid’s Tale, this novel could also be
enjoyed by espionage fans.