Review: I Am J by Cris Beam

A book about a transgender teenage boy of color. Excellent. A book about a transgender teenage boy of color that I can recommend because it's a great book not just because it fills a void? Awesome.

For as long as he can remember, J has been positive that he is actually a boy. Unfortunately, the rest of the world doesn't see him that way - to his parents, he is still Jeni, their beloved daughter, despite the short hair, boxers, and baggy male clothes. All his life, J has hoped and prayed for some sort of miracle - that he'd wake up one day and be in the body he belongs in. A few months before his 18th birthday, the next best thing happens: he discovers testosterone shots, the best chance he has before surgery of starting to look how he feels.

Comfortable in his decision to truly live the way he sees himself, J still has a host of obstacles to overcome. Parents that don't want to lose their daughter. A self-absorbed best friend that J might have feelings for. And the cute girl at the downtown Starbucks that definitely has feelings for J - without knowing what he's hiding beneath his layers of clothes. But J is determined that nothing will distract him from his ultimate goal - living as the man he wants to be.

Some of J's struggles are incredibly intense. Reading about the discord between him and his parents was terribly painful, mostly because both of J's parents seem like real people. They're well-meaning, but flawed, blinded by their love for the child they want to be raising rather than the child they have. We see more of J's mother than his father, but his father still makes quite an impact on the scenes he's in.

I loved that, unlike many other LGBT novels, the angst and main conflict in this doesn't stem from J questioning his identity and freaking out over it - from page one J knows that he should have been born in the body of a boy, and the conflict arises from his struggle to get the rest of the world to recognize the validity of that feeling. However, I'm not quite sure I buy the fact that J didn't learn about testosterone or chest binders until he was almost 18 - not when he says he's seen pictures of sexual reassignment surgeries online. But it's about the only convenient coincidence in the novel, and having J learn about these at the start of the novel means we aren't subjected to awkward info-dumps on Trans 101.

This is a beautifully multicultural book - one that reflects what New York City actually looks like. All sizes, shapes, colors, genders, and sexual orientations are represented in a very organic way. The downside is this also means the darker side of people comes out sometimes - it was a little uncomfortable to see gay and trans characters calling bisexuals "gross," but it does go to show that just because you are a member of one oppressed group, that doesn't mean you magically understand and love all others.

Being a cisgendered woman, I can't comment on whether J's story is actually authentic or not - all I can say is that it feels totally real, both the good and the bad parts. Beam includes an author's note that details her research process - she's written a nonfiction book about transgender teen girls and the ideas for J's story sprung from her notes and research on transgender boys that didn't fit into her nonfiction work. She definitely seems like she's done the research, and has done an excellent job of shedding light on an under-represented community.

Reviewed from an ARC picked up at ALA annual 2010. I Am J is now available - check it out soon!

Review: The Dark Game by Paul B. Janeczko

Nominated for the 2011 YALSA award for excellence in nonfiction

I've never been much of a fan of spy/mystery stories. I don't have anything against them, it's just that in the huge number of stories that are published every year, other things pique my interest first. Janeczko says in his introduction that he guesses the reader of the book has an interest in spies that "may run as deeply as [his]." Well that's not the case for me, but I still found this to be an incredibly interesting book.

Janeczko covers spying in America and by Americans from the Revolutionary War through early 2001. He picks out a few individual spies or campaigns for the major wars (plus the cold war) the US has engaged in, as well as highlights some of the evolving technology that's important in spy work (such as cameras, naturally). Some of these stories are absolutely amazing - like the tunnel the US and British dug from West to East Berlin in order to tap into Soviet telegraph cables.

Janeczko definitely has a flair for drama, as often these are tales of agents or governments crossing and double-crossing each other. For example, in the case of the Berlin tunnel, just when you think the story has ended and all is well for the US...Janeczko reveals a major twist in the story, illustrating that even the best laid plans can go awry, and sometimes you won't even know it.

I also have to say I'm really impressed that Janeczko highlights female spies, without ghettoizing them into a "lady spy" section. He covers the glamorous Mata Hari as well as Virginia Hall - a woman with a wooden leg who aided the French Resistance in WWII. Women spies also played important roles in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.

Janeczko clearly has a deep interest in the technical side of spying. Not only are advances in technology highlighted in each chapter, but he often goes into detail about various codes that spies use. I'll admit a lot of these codes went over my head, but me and numbers just don't get along (and many of these codes rely on number substitutions), so I'm willing to be that's more of a problem on my part. It's still interesting to see the variety of codes used and how they've changed - with a highlight for me being the Choctaw Code Talkers in WWI, who were able to foil the Germans who were evesdropping on US communications by using an utterly foreign language.

This isn't an exhaustive biography of any one spy - rather this is an overview of how spying has affected US policies by looking at a few of the most influential individuals (both those who spied for the US and those who spied against us). I don't know how well known some of the people and events would be to someone who has a hard core interest in spies - I, for example, knew about the women mentioned in the Civil War from my reading on women's roles during that war - but it's certainly an enlightening and entertaining read for someone totally new to the subject.

Review: Once Dead Twice Shy by Kim Harrison

Found via: Meg in the comments of my review of Devil's Kiss

Because I know my mom reads my blog from time to time, let me preface what I'm about to say with a reminder that I really do in fact love her and think she's all around awesome.

But sometimes I seriously question her taste in books.

Seriously, she'll be all "oh, I read this great paranormal romance! Vampires! Werewolves! Awesome!" And I roll my eyes and say that, no, an awesome book is something like The Hunger Games and she stares at me, aghast that I could find children killing each other to be entertaining, and then I wonder if maybe I was actually adopted from a family of dystopian-fiction lovers, and that family has some mysterious paranormal-romance-loving child in my place.

So when, in the comments to my review of Devil's Kiss, Meg mentioned that my "angels are dicks" refrain reminded her of Kim Harrison's Once Dead Twice Shy...I was hesitant to pick it up. Because the author's name was familiar and once I Googled I saw that this is one of the authors my mom loves.

But then I read more about this actual book and saw that the protagonist, Madison, has purple hair, and we've already discussed my fondness for multi-colored hair. So I had to pick this one up, Mom's taste be damned.

Madison Avery's story actually began in the short story collection Prom Nights from Hell, but it seems like most of the back story is filled in here for new readers (I haven't read the original story, but I'm pretty sure I followed everything). On prom night, in order to get out of a date with Josh, who only asked Madison out as a favor to her dad, Madison runs off with Kairos, a tall dark and handsome stranger. However it turns out that the old adage of you shouldn't talk to strangers is true, because Kairos is actually a type of reaper, as in grim reaper, who was determined to kill Madison.

But Madison is a tricksy girl and manages to steal Kairos' amulet, which grants him his powers, and by claiming the amulet she's able to retain a tenuous hold on her life. Tenuous because she actually is dead - the amulet she now possesses is the only thing giving her the illusion of a body.

Madison is assigned to work with Barnabas, a light reaper, while it's decided what should be done with her. No human has ever taken an amulet before - touching it should have shattered her soul on contact. In the meantime, she hangs out with Barnabas and tries to help him in his work. As a light reaper, his job is to counteract the chaos the dark reapers, like Kairos, try to encourage. Light reapers believe humans have free choice, while dark reapers believe in fate and will preemptively reap a soul if they believe that person is going to do something terrible in the future.

Madison's a bit of a trouble maker, but she certainly doesn't have any evil plans for the future, so she has no idea why a dark reaper might target her.

It's been a few months since prom, and Madison hasn't made any progress on learning the reaper-tips that would help protect her should Kairos come looking for her - and it's certainly only a matter of time before he does. Also back in her life is Josh, who isn't so terrible despite being in cahoots with her dad for a date. But being involved with a dead girl isn't the safest position, so Madison finds herself using all of her wits and burgeoning supernatural abilities, plus a feisty guardian angel sidekick, to keep herself and Josh safe until someone "upstairs" is finally willing to explain to her what this new existence means.

Unlike Meg, I didn't come away from this with a huge "angels are dicks" feeling - there actually are some different personalities here and while some are dickish, others are just as confused as poor Madison.

Madison herself I'm kind of torn on. Overall I like her as a character, but I think Harrison was trying too hard to be witty with her teenspeak, because she'll say things like "son of a dead puppy" or "puppy presents" instead of actually cursing (I swear all of her phrases didn't involve canines, but those are the two that stuck in my mind). It's just a little too cutesy for my taste.

On the other hand, kudos for this clearly not being a paranormal romance title. The burgeoning romance with Josh is clearly secondary here, though it's also pretty clear that future stories in the series are going to build up that relationship. Madison has much bigger things to worry about than boys, so while she spends a lot of time with Josh, most of her thoughts are "how can I keep him safe?" rather than "how well does he kiss?"

Also, I totally love Grace, the guardian angel, and Nakita, a badass dark reaper that Madison tangles with. Through her supernatural characters, Harrison weaves in some very interesting musings on what it is to be human. Aside from the usual commentary on free will that angels often blather on about, there was also fear, which totally caught me off guard in a very fun way.

Cover thoughts:

I wanted to give HarperCollins some recognition here for not lopping off Madison's head here. The headless girl cover is almost as irritating as whitewashed covers. Madison's purple hair isn't present, but at least the monochromatic cover is tinged with purple. Very goth and cool.

On a final note: I told my mom I had read this book. She told me she had beaten me to it - but hadn't mentioned it to me because she figured that would turn me off completely! Sometimes we think way too much alike. Maybe I really am related to her after all.

Review: The Morgue & Me by John C. Ford

Found via: BBYA 2010 nominations

Before I get to the review, allow me to toot my own horn for a moment: happy blog-birthday to me! On December 11th, 2008 I posted my first blog review for Audrey, Wait. There have been some ups and downs in the past year in terms of my blogging schedule, since back in February I got married and also started a new job, and working two jobs from February to July didn't leave me much time for blogging, but in the last couple of months I think I've settled into a nice blogging pattern :-)

So, now that that's out of the way, time for that review, right?

It's the summer before Christopher Newell starts college and he needs to find himself a job. His parents are professors at a nearby college and offer to get him some kind of internship, but Christopher wants to strike out on his own a bit. When he sees a help wanted ad for a janitor at the local morgue, he pounces on it. Christopher hopes to be some sort of spy someday, and hopes he'll get some insights into forensic science by hanging out at the morgue.

Christopher never thought that he'd be walking into a murder cover up.

It's a perfect modern-noir tale. Christopher tries to play it cool as a pseudo-hard-boiled investigator, but it's clear he's just a kid who's in a little over his head. The cover up involves the highest authorities in town (or does it?), and a pattern of corruption that goes back for several years. Since the police may, or may not, be involved in the cover up and/or bribery scandal, the only person Christopher can trust is the femme-fatale-ish reporter, Tina, who hopes that this story will be her big break to get her out of Petoskey, Michigan and into a paper like the Detroit News.

Ford piles up mystery upon mystery here - what starts as an investigation into a murder cover up becomes more and more complex, dragging unexpected characters into the mix, completely isolating poor Christopher, save for his fellow investigator, Tina. This was definitely a book I couldn't put down - as I was reaching the climax of the story, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, but abruptly looked up at one point because I realized I hadn't checked the subway stations in awhile - for all I knew I had sailed past my subway stop! I hadn't, luckily, but I was a lot closer to home than I would have thought.

For all that I loved about this book, I do have one small nitpick: if Mr. Ford did in fact grow up in Birmingham, Michigan, you would think he would have remembered to reference a carbonated cola beverage as "pop" rather than "soda!"

Review: Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee

Found via: Amelia Bloomer Project

OMG. Don't read this book while you're on the train to work in the morning. You will be grumpy all day and find yourself sneaking to read short chapters under your desk when no one's looking.

I'm really not even exaggerating there.

Shawna hasn't seen her mother for ten years, not since she ran out on Shawna and her father to live with another woman in New York City, when her mother's partner - Fran - calls one night to give Shawna terrible news: her mother's had a stroke. She's going to die.

In the aftermath, Shawna's life begins to fall apart. Her dad is still the executor of her mother's will - she and Fran couldn't be married in New York, so legally Fran has no rights to shared property, any of her partner's belongings - maybe not even the two boys she raised as her own. Unable to live in New York on her own, Fran moves herself and her sons to Ohio to live with a relative - a relative not too far away from Shawna and her father, coincidentally.

As her controlling and overbearing father continues to show his true colors, Shawna finds herself facing more and more questions about her family history, what it means to even be a family, and how to be herself.

As I tweeted the other day, I hated Shawna's father. With a burning passion. I mean, as a character and a foil for Shawna he worked wonderfully, but if we were giving out literary awards for "Worst Parent of the Year," he would be at the top of my list. The way he always called Shawna stupid, opened her mail, and refused to help care for his own elderly father all just made me livid. I don't remember the last time I had such a visceral reaction to a character. Man he was a jerk. He's the reason I was grumpy on Friday morning, because I hated him, but I also desperately wanted to get back to the story. Of course, every time I went back he revealed a new "charming" personality trait, which would almost make me regret picking the book back up, but I had to keep going to see how everything resolved!

I also loved Shawna as a character because she was believably flawed. She had a huge personal growth journey to undergo in this story, and she advanced in fits and starts - sometimes taking several steps backward before she made any real progress. Outside of her family drama, there's a great subplot at her school about other kids calling her a lesbian either because her mom's gay, her best friend may be gay, she wouldn't sleep with a guy, or some combination of the three.

This is another book that isn't the easiest read, in part thanks to characters that seem a bit heartless at times, but I absolutely couldn't put it down.

Review: Peace: The Biography of a Symbol by Ken Kolsbun

My second National Geographic book in a month! I feel so educated.

This was a nice little book about the history of the peace symbol, from it's creation as a symbol for nuclear disarmament to the multitude of causes it represents today. Most fascinating to me were the legal battles the peace symbol has been part of, including whether decorations (such as peace signs) can be added to American flags.

On the other hand, I wasn't a fan of the layout of the book. The introductory summary to each chapter had a quotation in large letters that was interspersed with the narrative text (so you'd read a couple of lines of summary, and then be faced with a couple of words of quotation, and then go back to the summary). And then sometimes there'd be a picture in the middle of the page, but instead of splitting the text into two columns, the text continued all the way across the page. While neither choice made the book unreadable, they seemed like poor design choices from my perspective.

Review: Helen's Eyes: A Photobiography of Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller's Teacher

Wow, that's a long title for such a slim book.

For years I've been fascinated by the life of Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan. They were a dynamic pair, and I think they always held my attention because they were a pair of women who lived their lives largely unaided by men - great role models for my young feminist self. Both women did marry, but they maintained a strong friendship and working relationship for almost fifty years.

This is a solid photobiography of Anne Sullivan's life, especially for younger readers who may know about Helen Keller but not so much about Anne Sullivan. There are lots of pictures, naturally, but they're not always the most compelling as the photography of Anne's lifetime didn't lend itself well to candid or action shots. The layout of the book is nice, though if you want to get the most of the photographs read it in a well lit area, as often they will layer sepia-toned photographs on top of each other, placing a letter or a picture of a house behind photos of Annie, Helen and other people in their lives. The sepia-on-sepia tones make it hard to see any details unless you're in direct light.