“Wanting Mor”

Wanting Mor

By Rukhsana Khan

Young Jameela is determined to follow her mother Mor’s advice: “If you can’t be beautiful, you should at least be good.”  Growing up in a post-Taliban Afghan orphanage, shy, sensitive Jameela finds this easier said than done, especially since she’s not really an orphan.  Her father is alive, but her mother, Mor, has just sickened and died.  the rest of Jameela’s family was wiped out when bombs fell on a wedding party they were all attending.

In response to his loss, Jameela’s father sells the family possessions and rushes to the big city of Kabul to seek his fortune.  She barely has time to say visit Mor’s grave and say goodbye, let alone pack.  Once there, her father marries a boorish widow out of convenience and greed.  When the new “mother” is unable to get along with Jameela, openly despising her country clothes, manners and cleft lip, Jameela’s father takes her to the local marketplace and abandons her.  Jameela is taken in temporarily by a kind butcher.  Unable to manage another mouth to feed, he reluctantly gives in to his wife’s demands and takes Jameela to an orphanage, where she meets some unlikely allies who help her find hope, courage, and the will to pursue a future that’s not just better, but “good.”

An absorbing story with vivid imagery and rich, composite characters, Wanting Mor leaves readers wanting more.  The author paints word pictures of village life in Afghanistan and bustling Kabul that are so colorful, readers can almost taste the dust and feel the jostling crowds.  She also peppers her prose with Afghan verbiage and colloquialisms, bringing a sense of gravitas and authenticity into this well-rounded story.  A glossary is included.

Wanting Mor is based on real events in post-Taliban Afghanistan.  A worthwhile read.

What’s ‘Secret’ About “The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez”?

The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez

by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

Hyperion Books, 2008

Sonia Rodriguez is the family work camel.  The oldest daughter in a family of nine, the 15 year-old wants to keep her grades up and the first member of her family to graduate from high school.  But the demands of caring for her pregnant-with-twins mother (“Sonia….. Ayudame!”) who spends all day, every day watching Spanish soaps, plus cooking, cleaning and caring for her younger siblings as well a endless trips t the tienda for cervezas for her loutish “drunkle” are overwhelming.  In mu cultura, Sonia explains – a culture she both loves and hates – “familia es todo.” (Family is everything.)

So she misses three days of school to make homemade tamales for her drunkle’s birthday fiesta, gets on the wrong side of her manipulate, hyper-religious Tia Luna. And is generally taken advantage of by everyone and anyone except her beloved, hard-working Papa.

Tia Luna insists that Sonia return to “The Old Country,” and demands the young teen spend a summer visiting with the legendary Abuelita (grandmother) in rural Mexico to straighten her out.  Sonia wants none of it.  She’s not interested in becoming a carbon copy of her mother – dependent, whiny, and dominated by men.  Sonia sets her sights considerably higher – and learns that ambition comes at a price when she’s caught in the middle as cultures collide: a daughter of illegal immigrants in El Norte, and a pocha in Mexico.  Where – and how – will she fit in?

***

            Author Alan Sitomer has an uncanny knack for thinking and feeling like a 15 y.o. girl.  His ability to capture teen emotions, frustrations, ambitions and angst is remarkable.  The story is vivid, Sitomer’s characters real, his settings and scenarios crisp.  He also skates perilously close to sermonizing on occasion, and risks losing readers in the process.  The plot seems contrived at times, but is redeemed by solid characterizations and crisp dialogue:

“A tear began to form in my heart for all of the mujeres de Mexico.  I have never realized how much loneliness there was in the hearts of my people, especially the women.  Or how much strength there was to go on, in spite of everything they faced.”

“Do not stoop to their level” is the repeated refrain from Sonia’s proud, industrious father.  And she doesn’t.  By the end of this book, you’ll want to stand up and cheer.

Takin’ a Break

I’m taking a break from blogging for the next month to spend more time with the fam.  Happy New Year and see you in February!

2011 AngelFire Awards

The 2011 AngelFire Awards  recognize the finest in thoughtful, literate blogging over the past year.  Winners must display a high quality of skill in the writing craft.  Additional selection criterion:

- Consistently high levels of creativity, imagination and ingenuity, including new twists on familiar subjects.

- Insightful posts that go beyond pedestrian, predictable re-hashes of tired topics.

- Frequency of guest authors/contributors.

- Originality.  Are posts fresh, vital, intriguing?  Do they compel you to “turn the page”?  Do they fire the imagination and urge readers to keep reading, thinking, questioning, exploring or consider another perspective?

- Blogs with a significant number of posts evidencing a biblical worldview rise to the top.

- Spelling and punctuation count.  If you can’t differentiate between “you’re” and “your” and “its” and “it’s,” don’t expect your blog to be among the finalists.

- Egocentric, online diary-type blogs are exempt.  AngelFire Awards are limited to blogs that speak to something bigger than the author.

And the winners are (in no particular order):

* It Only Takes a Mustard Seed – By Joanne Troppello, mystery and inspirational romance author.

* Writing and Doing: One Man’s Take on Tackling Life – By Kent Ostby  on “novels, short stories, favorite fake memories, and online novellas.”

* Karin Kaufman - Karin writes mystery novels set in Colorado.

* Soulation - By Jonalyn Fincher. “Engaging and growing human souls” and the “sparkly connection between faith, feminism and womanhood.”

* Simple Church Journal – aka The House Church blog by Roger Thoman. “A way of life, simple church, house church, organic church.”

* The Assembling of the Church – By Ph.D student Alan Knox writes about how “our understanding of the church affects (or should affect) the way the we live our lives among other brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Do you have any favorites to add to the list?  Chime in!

“All is Well”

Splendid, soul-stirring Christmas music from Michael W. Smith.  With lyrics.  Just over 4 minutes.  A treat:

Handel, Alaskan-Style

This is terrific!

Review of “Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25″

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

By Richard Paul Evans

“Is this like a series?  When’s the next one coming out?  Can we get it tomorrow?”

High praise for any book, but coming from my twelve year-old son?  We’re talkin’ statospheric.  I mean, I had to arm-wrestle the kid for Richard Paul Evans’s new release, Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25.   Good thing I’m a fast reader.  I zoomed through all three hundred and twenty-six pages in two days.

I’m not kidding.  Vey is a barn burner.  Page-turner.  Whatever.

Fourteen year-old Michael Vey is smack in the middle of life’s “armpit”: freshman year at Meriden High School.  He seems like an incredibly “average” kid.  The only thing that may set him apart is furious eye-blinking when he’s nervous, attributable to Tourette’s syndrome.  Michael’s one – and only – friend is portly, resourceful brainiac Ostin (he was born in Texas.  His mom was a poor speller.  Figure it out.).

Michael would like nothing better than to be left alone and just try to survive high school, but a trio of local thugs won’t let him.  They’re among the first to encounter Michael’s secret first-hand when they try “pantsing” him after school as cheerleader and drop-dead gorgeous Taylor walks by.

Michael later finds out that he and Taylor aren’t as different as he thought.  They both share special electrical powers. Michael, Ostin and Taylor form the “Electroclan.” Everything’s going swimmingly until Ostin detects some coincides between Michael and Taylor that are way too similar for mere coincidence – like the fact that they were born in the same hospital, in the same state, a day apart, and that nearly all other babies born in the same hospital within that time frame died.  The trio sets out to find out why.  In the process, they stumble upon the “Who?” – and wish they hadn’t.  Enter the darkly sunglassed, mysterious Dr. Hatch.

A megalomaniac par excellence, the ‘ethically challenged’ Hatch (that’s an understatement) has been looking for Taylor and Michael for nearly fifteen years.  When Michael’s mom is kidnapped, as is Taylor,  it’s up to Michael and Ostin to launch a daring rescue against seemingly overwhelming odds.  They must rely on wit, tenacity and each other to succeed.  But who can they trust to help?  Who else is after them, and what do they want?  Will the boys arrive before it’s too late?  And what happened to Michael’s dad?

Evans has ranked high on my Favorite Authors short list for years, ever since The Christmas Box.  As a YA novel, Vey represents a significant departure from Evans’s usual themes and treatments. It’s a different “cup of tea.”  Very different.  And Evans pulls it off beautifully!  The story is a skillful combination of action, suspense, mystery, romance, science and humor into an imaginative fiction with characters that are real and genuine.  We want to meet them again.  The plot is engaging, brisk and clever.  A keeper!

And the next title in the Vey series, The Rise of Elgen?  Not to worry.  My son and have it on hold at the library.  In fact, we’re first in line.