The Willoughbys

     Lois Lowry is a gifted writer because everything she writes is so unique and different.  You never feel like you are reading the same book repeatedly.  The Willoughbys is no exception.  Unlike her Dystopian novel The Giver or historical fiction Number the Stars or her realistic novel Gossamer, The Willoughbys is a parody of old fashioned stories like Mary Poppins and Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
     Like all good old fashioned stories, a baby arrives in a basket with a note asking the Willoughbys to take good care of her.  The Willoughby parents can't stand the children they have, so are more than happy to have the children dump the baby on a rich, reclusive neighbor who is living in despair.
     In the meantime, back at the Willoughbys' home, the neglected children have hatched a plan to become orphans at the same time their devious parents have decided to find a legal way to rid themselves of their children.  The nanny arrives, and in true Mary Poppins' style, saves the day.
      This is a quick read.  I read it in one sitting, although kids may take a bit more time.  It is laugh out loud funny but much of the humor comes from understanding the stories being parodied.  With that and the difficult vocabulary, it is a good book for kids who love to read or adults who want to enjoy the twisted version of their favorite books they read as children.

 
      

Change Leader

     I really enjoyed Michael Fullan's Change Leader.  It was written in simple language with lots of examples to help you understand the key idea of each chapter.  Michael Fullan offers seven core practices that separate the competent leader from a change leader that is able to bring about and maintain deep and lasting changes in an organization.

     Rather than discuss each one of the core practices, I will share a few of the lessons that were the most insightful for my own growth as a leader.  

• If you want to have any chance of changing a negative relationship you have to give other people respect before they have earned it. 
• The lowest paid, and in most companies, the least motivated people, are the ones who can make or break a five-star operation.
• Leaders are always developing the next generation of leaders as they do today's work.  
• Change is only a mirage unless people actually experience the reality of improvement.  If that happens, they will expect and do even more.  
• If you want to challenge people to change, develop a relationship with them first.  
• You must share three cups of tea before you are accepted in the culture.  The first one is as a stranger.  the second is as an honored guest.  The third time is as family.  
• Behaviors change before beliefs do.
• The fall into the implementation dip will be even greater if high aspirations precede it, so strive for small early successes, acknowledge problems, admit mistakes, protect your people, and celebrate successes along the way.
• Mutual allegiance comes from a commitment to the cause, and people get satisfaction from trying to outdo each other for the common good (and individual pride) even to the point of sharing ideas in a catch-me-if-you-can spirit.  It is magical.  you can have an Olympian spirit without cheating or cutthroat win-lose mentalities.
• Learn to say I don't know and take the blame, even if it is not your fault.
• Be indispensable in the right way - by creating new leaders that don't need you and can run with the changes on their own.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

     This was a book that I wouldn't have picked up on my own, but I'm glad someone required me to read it because it made me understand the Internment Camps of World War II in a new way.  
     The Panama Canal has been boarded up for 40 years when the new owner discovers the belongings of numerous Japanese families sent to Internment Camps during World War hidden in the basement.  When Henry Lee sees the parasol unfurl, he travels back in time to remember Keiko, his friend and first love from his childhood.
     Keiko and Henry are the only Asian American students in the all white school.  Although Henry is Chinese American and Keiko is Japanese American, they just see each other as friends.  The other children taunt and bully them, but their friendship helps them overcome it.
     Keiko's family supports the friendship and see Henry as a good person to be part of their daughter's life.  In contrast, Henry's father watched his parents get killed by the Japanese during an earlier war and wants Henry to stop being Keiko's friend.  He supports the American hatred of Japan and forces Henry to wear an "I Am Chinese" button so no will mistake his son for Japanese.  Henry is horrified to learn that Keiko's family is being sent to an Internment Camp.  He is able to travel to see her twice, and writes to her continually, but she never writes him back.  Henry finally agrees to his father's demands that he study in China if his father will agree to save the Panama Canal, the place where the Japanese American families have hidden their belongings.
     When the hotel is unboarded, Henry begins the search for Keiko's belongings and tells his son, Marty, about his first love.  Through the telling of the story, Henry and Marty learn to see each other as people and the value in giving each other a second chance.
     This is a book about love.  The love between father and son, the love for a country that is making the wrong decision, the love for family, first love, the love of art and music, and the love of friendship.
     The book travels between World War II and the current time of 1986.  It also travels between characters so you get to see the situation from many points of view.  The shifts in time and characters made it difficult for some people to read, but it is well worth the effort.      

When Books Went to War

     I bought this book as a present for my sixteen-year-old son who loves war topics, but isn't so keen on reading lately, so he would have a good book to read for his English class.  He got halfway in and quit reading, so I offered to read it so we could talk about it and motivate him to finish reading it.  I got halfway in and almost quit.
     The topic is very interesting, but it gets bogged down in the middle with lots of publishing information and political infighting that gets boring if you don't have enough background information to keep you interested.  However, when it refocuses on the soldiers and their experiences, it is a good read.
     The book is a true story of how books were used to fight Hitler's attack on books and ideas in World War II.  The book starts with a chapter on the Nazi's book burning and "whole war" attack on differing thoughts, ideas, and philosophies.
     Many people in Europe began hiding books in caves and castles hoping Hitler wouldn't find them, while others began shipping the books to other countries.  H. G. Wells began gathering the titles of the banned and burned books and created the Library of Burned Books in Paris in 1934.  When Germany invaded France, the Nazis put the library under lock and key and only let their high ranking officials in to see the books.
     When American librarians heard of the book burnings and banned books and authors, they were outraged.  They wanted to find a way to use books to counteract Hitler's attack on free thought.  When America men were drafted to begin training for war, the librarians began book drives to send books with them.  However, there were several problems that kept their original idea from succeeding.  The training camps were in disrepair and sorely lacking in equipment and supplies.  There was no place to house the books and it was hard to justify spending the time and money to build libraries when there were so many other things that needed to be built.  Soldiers didn't even have weapons to train with and had to use cardboard props to practice shooting artillery at fake planes.  Another problem was that Americans used the opportunity to clear out books they no longer wanted, so the librarians got books on knitting, religion, and children's books, which were not things the soldiers were interested in reading.  When Americans were sent to the front, the military was adamant that the soldiers needed things to read to counteract the boredom, fatigue, and horrors they were experiencing each day.  With the budget cuts and paper shortages, the librarians had to be creative in finding new ways to print books.  They came up with two pocket sized versions that were easy to read in any type of lighting, were small enough for a pocket or knapsack, and were light enough to not weigh the soldiers down.  They were so successful, the men couldn't get enough of the books.  Men who hadn't picked up a book since being forced to read in school fell in love with reading.  It gave them hope, courage, a new mindset, and an escape from the realities surrounding them.  The plan was so successful that when the men returned from war and used the GI Bill to go to colleges and universities, they were the best students.
     One of my favorite parts were learning how the American soldiers saved The Great Gatsby from obscurity because they loved reading it on the front.  My other favorite part was reading about the difficult places that the men read - from hiding in foxholes and trenches while Japanese tanks continually drove over their heads to lying wounded at the foot of the cliffs on Omaha Beach reading while they waited for medics to arrive.
     It is a great book and I learned a huge amount of information on a topic I knew nothing about.  However, if you plan to give it to a boy to read because he likes war, you may want to warn him that some chapters are boring and he may need to skim them in order to be willing to read on to the chapters that go back to the soldiers.  Your guy may be different, but this might help you if you have a kid like mine that won't finish books when he gets bored.  

Finders Keepers

     Finders Keepers is the second book in a trilogy by Stephen King.  The trilogy begins with Mr. Mercedes and Bill Hodges' rush to find the serial killer, Brady Hartsfield, before he can kill again.  At the end of the first book, Brady Hartsfield has just awoken from a coma in a state mental hospital.  In the second book, he is semi-comatose, but Bill Hodges is convinced that Brady is faking.  The nurses report that strange things happen when Brady is around, including water turning itself on an off.  One of the nurses has just killed herself while on duty, which was one of the things Brady loved getting people to do in Mr. Mercedes.
     Although Brady was the main character in the first novel, he is only the structural support at the beginning and end of Finders Keepers.  In the second novel, we meet Morris Bellamy.  He is enamored with fictional character, Jimmy Gold.  Morris is angry that author John Rothstein stopped writing novels, but especially enraged that Rothstein let Jimmy Gold settle into a regular life.  When Morris hears that Rothstein has been writing in seclusion all of these years, he breaks in, steals the notebooks, and kills Rothstein.  Morris manages to bury the notebooks and money before he is picked up for a different crime and spends 30 years in prison.
     While he is in prison, a new family moves into the neighborhood.  Peter Saubers and his family live in Morris' old house.  Times are hard for the Saubers.  Peter's dad is one of the people injured by the Mercedes Killer in Mr. Mercedes.  He struggles to walk and is addicted to pain pills and alcohol. Peter's parents are on the brink of divorce when Peter discovers the trunk full of writing and money.  He sends $500 to his family each month until the money runs out four years later.  It is enough to get through the hard times.  Over the four years, Peter also reads John Rothstein's writings, including the final two books featuring Jimmy Gold.  Peter feels the same love and devotion to Jimmy Gold that Morris Bellamy feels for the character.
     Things are looking up for the Saubers, but Peter is concerned about sending his little sister to the best school so she will have a chance to overcome the hard times and go to a good college.  He asks his high school English teacher for a good place to sell a found novel from the past.  Peter chooses to take the notebook to the disreputable salesman to see if he can make enough money to send his sister to school.  The salesman blackmails Peter and threatens to call the police if Peter doesn't give him all of the notebooks.  Peter thinks that is the worst of his troubles.  He doesn't know that Morris has been paroled and is ready to kill anyone who stops him from having his notebooks.
     Bill Hodges joins the fray and finds himself in another race against time to stop a murder.  Jerome and Holly, from Mr. Mercedes join in and the trio sets out to get to Peter before Morris does.
     I like this book a lot.  It is a great look at a literary life.  There are lots of points to ponder like, "What makes a book worth being remembered?  Is an author's characters more valuable than the human author?  Who does the author owe the most responsibility to - himself, the character, or the reader?  Does an author follow where a character leads or force the character to do what the author wants?  Are there things that matter in life or in the words of Jimmy Gold, 'Shit don't mean shit.'"
     I would have liked this book even more if it was a stand alone book and not part of the trilogy.  The characters unique to this book were well-developed, intriguing, and plausible.  The second half seems more forced as Stephen King brings in Bill Hodges to save the day.  It also feels forced to come back to Brady Hartsfield at the end of the book.  However, since this is part of a trilogy, this may all come together in the third book and change my take on the ending of Finders Keepers.  
     The book reads quickly, even though there is not as much action as Mr. Mercedes.
     I really like the character of Morris Bellamy.  He is a unique character that is so obsessed with a character that he is literally willing to kill for him.  His obsession gives him something to live for, even in the darkest moments in prison.  This single-minded focus makes his final actions believable and even more powerfully horrifying.
     You do not need to read Mr. Mercedes to enjoy or understand Finders Keepers.  The author gives you enough background to understand who the people are and what is happening.
     You should be cautioned that there is some language, violence, and sexual violence; after all this is Stephen King.

Mr. Mercedes

     Brady Hartsfield, aka Mr. Mercedes, is a serial killer.  As a young boy, he kills his handicapped little brother with his mother's help.  Once his  brother is gone, Brady and his mother live together in an incestuous relationship.
     In his early twenties, he decides to kill again.  This time he steals Olivia Trelawney's Mercedes and drives it into a crowd of people waiting in line at a job fair.  Eight people are killed and many more are injured.  He is never caught.  The police accuse Olivia of leaving the car unlocked and allowing the murderer access to her car.  Although she swears she locked the car, there are no signs of breaking and entering or of being hotwired.  Olivia commits suicide a short time later and cements the police's belief that she was guilty.
     Bill Hodges was assigned to the case, but retired without catching The Mercedes Killer.  Six months later, he is divorced, lonely, and suicidal.  His favorite pastime is holding his gun in his mouth while watching daytime tv.  He gets a taunting letter from Mr. Mercedes claiming to be the killer of the eight people at the job fair, as well as driving Olivia to suicide.  The letter also taunts Bill about never catching him and of being washed up and suicidal.
     The letter intrigues Bill to find the killer before Mr. Mercedes can kill anyone else.  He is helped by Olivia's sister, Janey, Janey's mentally ill cousin, Holly, and a young neighbor, Jerome.  Together they race against time to stop Brady before he can kill again.
     I really like this book.  It is fast-paced and hard to put down.  The middle slows a bit, but speeds back up to a memorable conclusion at a concert full of young girls and their mothers.
     The characters are well-developed and interesting, especially Brady Hartsfield.  Stephen King does an excellent job of placing us in the mind of a serial killer whose grip on reality is slipping, especially after his mom's gruesome death.  He is creepy, horrible, and yet, still has moments of love, fear, and regret.  I enjoyed the gray shades in this character, rather than a black and white bad guy.           The same can be said for Bill Hodges.  Although he is a retired police officer and one of the good guys, his quick assumptions about people lead to Olivia's suicide, as well as Janey's death.  The gray shadings of the characters show the sophistication of the writer in developing believable characters that are human, in all of the best and worst ways.
     Although parts of the book, especially the ending situation that keeps all of the other police from being available to help, were contrived to fit the plot, I still enjoyed it.  It is a great mystery novel with good pacing and intriguing characters.  It is different than Stephen King's other novels, but does not disappoint.
     It is part of a trilogy.  The second book in the series is Finders Keepers and the third book has a current working title of End of Watch.

Doctor Sleep

     Doctor Sleep by Stephen King is the sequel to The Shining.  This is an unusual story and a unique sequel.  You don't need to have read The Shining, but it adds to the story if you have.  In case you have only seen the movie, the book is very different.
    In Doctor Sleep, Danny Torrance is all grown up, still shining, and still struggling to put the horrors of The Overlook Hotel to rest.  Dan uses alcohol to keep the demons at bay, but he learns he takes himself wherever he goes.  He finally settles in Frazier, New Hampshire, turns to AA to help him recover, and finds a job he loves.  Dan is an orderly in a hospice and uses the shining to help terminally ill people transition to the other side peacefully.
     Abra is born just before September 11, 2001 and shows psychic talents never seen in newborn babies.  As she grows, her shining intensifies.  One night she "sees" a group of psychic vampires torture and kill an eleven-year-old boy.  The group call themselves the True Knot.  They travel the country in RVs feeding off children's steam, the essence the shining gives off when they are tortured and killed.  After ingesting the boy's steam, they become young and healthy again...for a while.  Their leader, Rose the Hat, realizes Abra is there and senses the girl's steam could keep them alive for a long time.  She forms a plan to kidnap the girl.  Dan finds himself helping Abra survive in the same way Dick Hallorann helped him as a child.
     I liked watching Danny live life making amends for his past and coming to grips with his family's demons.  I adore Abra.  She is intelligent, strong, feisty, and loving.  If I had to fight supernatural evil, I would feel safe with Abra at my back.  I also like Rose the Hat.  She is the inverse of Abra.  She is intelligent, strong, feisty, and loving, but she is also an evil witch to be reckoned.
     I like Dan's ability to help the terminally ill people find peace, especially with a cat who has the uncanny ability to know when the patients are about to die.  I also love the way the final confrontation comes full circle at the point the Overlook Hotel once stood.
     Stephen King is a great storyteller and sometimes he is a brilliant writer.  In this book, there are flashes of brilliance, but mostly it is good storytelling.  One of the problems I had was the coincidences upon coincidences that didn't need to be there.  Once I even groaned and thought, "C'mon, you are better than that."  There are also a few points where the story stalls and loses a bit of its intensity.  Many of the secondary characters are not fully developed and feel like they could be anyone.
     Besides these few things, I really like the book.  It is a page turner, and kept me up all night.  I couldn't leave Dan and Abra in danger, so I read it all in one sitting.  It was unique and interesting.  I enjoyed the full circle feel of the two books together.  It was a great tribute to one of his greatest books, and a great tribute to the man who wrote this one sober.