Published May 8,2012

Summary: In this slightly more believable version of supernatural YA, lupine syndrome (otherwise known as becoming a werewolf) is running rampant across the United States. Those infected are sent to containment camps where they live out their lives never able to see their families again. The novel opens after Mackenzie’s best friend Amy has been killed by a rogue werewolf. The whole city of Hemlock is on high alert looking for the beast. Mackenzie has seen the evil containment can do and has mixed feelings about the civilian group who has come to look for the killer. Rather than showing “the daily life of a supernatural being” as all too many YA books do, Hemlock draws connections to what situations in the real world mimic the containment of lupine syndrome.

Bechdel Test?: Though Mackenzie spends most of the novel trying to choose between two guys, she does have conversations with her friends about political issues such as the containment camps and the politics of killing semi-human beings.

Rating: 4/5

I truly enjoyed this book for its wonderful portrayal of how a single factor can make society think a person is evil. To me, this spoke to the HIV/AIDS scare in the 90s, the round-ups during WWII and many others. I like YA novels that bring these issues up in an accessible way to introduce readers to complex issues.

Shop Indie Bookstores

Gilt

Gilt  by Katherine Longshore

Published May 15, 2012

Summary:  Though I’veread a lot of historical fiction set during the Tudor dynasty, I had never read a book that chronicled Catherine Howard’s rise to the throne. In Gilt,we see the story from Kitty’s perspective. Kitty is a minor noble who becomes friends with Catherine Hoaward when they are both in service to a wealthy Howard relative. Catherine has lofty ambitions and it is clear from the start that Kitty will follow her every move. The novel traces their friendship from servanthood to the Tower. Along the way both indulge in romances that are dangerous, politically and psychologically.

Bechdel Test?: Surprisingly, I didn’t think so. Even though the two main characters, Kitty and Catherine, are strong women in their own right, together they talk only about plotting love affairs.

Rating: 3/5
A solid historical intregue, Katherine Longshore’s novel was exactly what I thought it would be: fluffy goodness.There wasn’t much that the (informed) reader didn’t realize going in but it was fun to see the way that Longshore jazzed up the well-known story. Overall, I wish that the story had focused more on Kitty since she was the more interesting woman. I finished the book feeling as though there was a great deal more that Kitty could’ve done.

Shop Indie Bookstores
Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity (Elizabeth Wein)
on sale 5/15/12

Shop Indie Bookstores

Drowned

Drowned (Therese Bohman)
on sale 5/22/2012

Shop Indie Bookstores

Timepiece: An Hourglass Novel

Timepiece (Myra McEntire)
on sale 6/12/2012

Shop Indie Bookstores
The Hypnotist’s Love Story

The Hypnotist’s Love Story (Liane Moriarty)
on sale 6/14/2012

Shop Indie Bookstores

The Malice of Fortune

The Malice of Fortune (Michael Ennis)
on sale 9/11/2012

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Published  2011

Summary: Like many memoirs written since the fall of the Taliban, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana tells the story of an Afghanistani woman who disobeyed the strict regime and made a way for herself and the women of her village. In this case, Kamila sets up a small dressmaking factory in the midst of Taliban-controlled Kabul so that she can provide for her family. Selling through the local tailors, the women’s business thrives. As word spreads among the women’s community, young girls flood to Kamila’s house to beg for work. Determined to help all of them in any way that she can she decides to open a school where she will instruct the girl’s in the basics of tailoring so that they will be able to make their own money. Taking the education a step further, Kamila begins working with the UN to education women about business and the Qu’ran. When the Taliban are overthrown, Kamila works with the new aid agencies to re-establish peace in Afghanistan.

Bechdel Test?: Absolutely passes. The women talk amongst themselves about everything from money, to family, to politics.

Strangest Part?: Hearing about the Titanic fever was hilarious. Apparently when VHS tapes of Titanic hit Afghanistan, men began cutting their hair in “the Leo” and the Taliban had to outlaw the haircut. Any men caught with the floppy hair were taken to the barber for a buzz cut.

Rating: 2/5
I’m not loving it. Maybe it’s because I’m in a class on Afghanistan right now (HIST 391: Afghanistan and Central Asia) but this book feels like a million others only less interesting. There has been a major uptick in books about Afghanistan since 9/11 and this is one in the series. It looks only about the surface-level problems in Afghanistan, like women’s education and empowerment. While I agree these things are absolutely essential to nation building, so are roads, access to clean water and basic medicine!

 Notebook Calligraphy Cards $24
Vintage Typewriter Cards $24
Ikat Cards $30
Hot Air Ballon Cards $76
Victorian Fish Lady Cards $76
Letter Holder Cards $54
Big Type Cards $24