Charles and Emma

Charles and Emma: The Darwins Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman was interesting and thought provoking. This year celebrates the anniversaries of Abraham Lincoln's and Charles Darwin's birth - both were born on the exact same date - and while I had heard of many books that were published to commemorate Lincoln's birth, this is only one of two books that I have seen recently published about Darwin. I will also admit that besides my rather limited knowledge of Darwinism I knew nothing about Charles Darwin's life.

Heiligman's book does a wonderful job of creating a picture of Charles Darwin as a real person - one who struggled with his scientific findings and what that meant to his own personal religious beliefs and those of others, specifically his wife Emma's. Emma was a devout Christian and when Charles was first interested in marrying her, his father, Dr. Darwin, instructed Charles to keep his religious doubts a secret. Charles didn't heed his father's advice, and luckily for him, his wife was open-minded and one of his strongest supporters. Emma and Charles' marriage was a true partnership. The two had ten children together, losing three before adulthood. Emma supported her husband's work, and while she continued to pray for him and remain true to her own religious convictions, she was able to see the value in Charles' work and believed in the things he had discovered.

Heiligman does a wonderful job of making the Darwins real people. She also does a wonderful job of showing what a true moral/religious dilemma Charles' discoveries created. While no right or wrong beliefs are given, there are many things to think about while reading this book, and it is very apparent what sort of dilemma Darwin's work presented to devoutly religious people.

This book is best suited for high schoolers - perhaps younger students could understand the story, but the issues involved may not be entirely understood or evaluated by younger readers.

The Secret Keeper

On Friday I received The Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins in the mail. On Saturday morning I started reading it and was finished by Saturday night. This is a wonderful young adult novel set in Bangladesh in the mid 1970s. Indira Gandhi is the prime minister and there is a great deal of unrest. Asha Gupta is sixteen years old, trying to grow up and keep up with her beautiful older sister, Reet. Their father leaves the girls and their mother in the care of their uncle while Father travels to America looking for an engineering job. The search takes longer than anyone likes and the family's need for money begins to cause some stress. Reet is old enough to be married off so Uncle begins to look into that, and Reet, despite her own feelings about marriage, goes along with Uncle in order to please her mother. Asha has a harder time conforming to the traditional role set before her. She dreams of going to college and can't wait for Father to send for them in America. Helping her pass time is Jay, an artist who lives next door. The two meet to talk on the roof of their homes in secret, since doing so publicly would not be allowed. When they finally hear from Father the whole family is left to cope with their new status and Asha continues to struggle with her promise to her father, that she take care of her mother.
I have never read Perkins' work before, but enjoyed this book thoroughly.

Healing Water: A Hawaiian Story

Healing Water: a Hawaiian Story by Joyce Moyer Hostetter is a wonderful historical novel about the island of Moloka'i, where those who were afflicted with leprosy were exiled to in the late 1800s.
Pia is a teenage boy growing up in Hawaii. While he does not know who his father is, he enjoys his friendship with Kamaka a family friend who is older and takes Pia under his wing. When Pia discovers he has leprosy he is especially hurt by Kamaka's behavior toward him. Kamaka who always has seemed so fearless is terribly frightened by the disease. As happened to all leprosy victims, Pia is sent to live on the island of Moloka'i with all the other lepers. There he may receive mail or gifts from his family, but he will never be able to see them again because of the fear of contagion. Moloka'i is not the place the government established it to be. The original intent was that the inhabitants would work together as the Hawaiian culture had been established, yet because the inhabitants lacked enough food and proper shelter, a different kind of culture emerged. Pia, who is a fictional character, had to steal for food and many of the residents lived in small caves instead of in the town.
Pia is angry about having leprosy, angry about being sent away from his family, and angry at Kamaka for deserting him. He is taken in by a man, Boki, who provides Pia with the things he needs to survive, but who treats him poorly in other ways. When Kamaka moves to the island because his wife has been stricken Pia is forced to face his anger. And, when Father Damien moves to the island of Moloka'i to help care for its residents Pia gets a lesson in forgiveness.
This was such a wonderful book. While there is an adult novel, Moloka'i (still on my TBR pile) that focuses on the island designated as a leper colony, I have not seen anything out for young adults before. Hostetter includes notes in the back of this book giving more historical information about leprosy and how it affected Hawaii historically and today. The outcome for people with leprosy was eventual death during Pia's lifetime. Hostetter was able to create an ending for Healing Water that was perfect - still imagining Pia living on a beautiful island learning about forgiveness and living at peace with others.

A YA Lockhart and a Memoir Lockhart

This morning I was writing information in my book journal about the latest book I had just finished. Last night I stayed up a little later than I should have to get through Mother in the Middle: A Biologist's Story of Caring for Parent and Child by Sybil Lockhart. I thoroughly enjoyed her memoir, but chuckled to myself when I entered the name, author and number of pages in her book into my book journal. Directly above that entry was the book Dramarama by E. Lockhart with the exact samenumber of pages. Same author name? Same number of pages? I figured I must have not been paying attention very closely to the information. It is true, though. I read two books by a Lockhart in a row with the same number of pages. That seems to be where the similarities end.
Dramarama by E. Lockhart is a YA title centered around Sarah from Ohio. She loves all things theatre and when she and her best friend, Demi, who happens to be black and gay (and therefore has a hard time fitting in in the small town he is from) are accepted to a theatre camp for the summer their friendship is tested. Sarah, who goes by Sayde at camp, realizes that she doesn't really fit in there and also is not as talented as she would like. Demi, however, is completely at home and flourishing in this new environment. The two have a few arguments, trying to decide where each belongs. Lockhart also includes transcripts from some tapes the friends make of their conversations, recording things for posterity. This book received a starred review when it was published and I almost purchased it then. I enjoyed it, but had so many starts and stops in my reading that I had a hard time getting into it. As someone who enjoys musicals I appreciated the references to different shows like Cats. This was a quick read, one I would have definitely liked in high school.

Mother in the Middle: A Biologist's Story of Caring for Parent and Child by Sybil Lockhart is the other book I have been working on. Lockhart's story seems all too familiar to many: a professional woman quits her job to stay home with her children. In addition to that, she is caring for her aging mother who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Lockhart is a biologist so she includes information about what is happening to her mother on a scientific level as well. The writing is interesting and engaging and I felt as though Sybil and I could be friends. The challenges she faces are ones many can relate to. Not only does she write about her mother's illness, but also includes her challenges with mothering, her marriage and her struggles in her professional life. This was a wonderful memoir and I enjoyed every word.

I can't believe it's back to work already today. The weekend went so quickly. I did get to talk books with a friend on Saturday, so even though I didn't find a lot of time to actually read anything, I was at least talking about reading.