The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers

The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers Richard McGregor

China's often a contradiction-- a booming market economy but a communist government. The West used to say that we needed to do business with China because for we'd be selling democracy with every hamburger, but it hasn't worked out that way.

In this book McGregor lays out a fascinating account of how the Party controls government and the economy (including how much control they have over many large Chinese firms that look like they're not held by the state.) As someone with a long-term interest and knowledge of China, McGregor's book didn't hold many surprises, but it did confirm many things I've long suspected and laid out exactly how they work.

I think it's best put in the quotation from a professor in Beijing that starts the first chapter. "The Party is like God. He is everywhere. You just can't see him."

The most interesting chapter for me was the one covering the Sanlu milk scandal. This was a story I remember following in the news as it unfolded. At first it was a little weird as McGregor mentions Sanlu and then seemingly changes topics and talks about something else for 5 pages and then ties it to Sanlu and then seemingly changes topics and talks about something else for 5 pages and then ties it back to Sanlu and then seemingly changes topics (you get the point.)

But, in the end, you get a thorough background that shows the general corporate culture and tensions between Party and economy so a scandal and cover-up like this was almost inevitable. A interesting thing that was an "oh, duh" moment for me was that one of the reasons for the cover-up was timing. Sanlu first because aware it had a huge problem in May, 2008 but the government wanted to have such a good image for the Olympics in August, they put extreme pressure not only on newspapers to not report negative news, but also on companies to not *have* any negative news.

McGregor also uses several recent high-profile corruption cases to show how the Party works-- how it places people in power and can remove them just as quickly-- and what happens to non-members who run afoul of it.

In the West, it's hard to wrap our heads around how the Party is the government and the oversight and the army and the police and the fourth estate and even big business. Although I found the writing to be a bit clunky in the beginning,* McGregor clearly untangles the Party's web to explain it to the outside observer.



*The example that still sticks in my head is when he described China as a panopticon and then spent half a page explaining what the panopticon meant. If you don't think your readers will get the reference, don't use the reference!

Book Provided by... my local library

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Poetry Friday

This is a weird year with no reading resolutions to set for next year. Somewhere around the summer solstice there will be a Rothschid-child arriving and I know enough about parenthood to realize that next year is a year to make few plans and just roll with the punches. Or dirty diapers.

I'm at that fun stage where you can't tell if I'm pregnant or had too many cookies. Secretly, I think I've had too many cookies, but I'm saying it's the baby.

But here's a poem about Christmas and babies.

Each Night a Child is Born

For so the children come
and so they have been coming.
Always in the same way they came—
Born of the seed of man and woman.

No angels herald their beginnings.
No prophets predict their future courses.
No wise men see a star to show where to find
The babe that will save humankind.
Yet each night a child is born is a holy night.

Fathers and mothers—
Sitting beside their children’s cribs—
Feel the glory in the sight of a new life beginning.
They ask “Where and how will this new life end?
Or will it ever end?”
Each night a child is born is a holy night—
A time for singing—
A time for wondering—
A time for worshipping.

--Sophia Lyon Fahs

Round up is over at A Year of Reading!

Now for more cookies. (They're good for the baby, I hear.)

Fat Vampire

Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story Adam Rex

I really wanted to like this. I liked the premise-- fat geek boy gets turned into a vampire against his will, doesn't have awesome super powers, and will be overweight and 15 for all eternity. To top it off, a basic cable show that is about to be canceled (despite the fact it has a huge cult following) is tracking Doug in an effort to boost ratings.

There was a lot of great homage to geek culture and being a theater kid that I enjoyed.

But... right when it was about to take off, Doug starts getting some human blood (instead of the cows he had been drinking from) and turns into a giant jerk and the book takes this weird turn that... ugh. I was enjoying it fairly well-- Doug was annoying but overall pretty sympathetic and then, BAM! it was like when Jacob turned into a werewolf and became just as bad as Edward. As I told Dan, it wasn't bad enough to just stop reading, but it wasn't good enough to hold my interest for more than 20 pages at a time. And it was supposed to be funny, and trying to be funny, but wasn't that funny.

The parts focusing on Vampire Hunters, the cable show hunting Doug, were the only parts I tended to find humorous.

There were also a lot of threads that never turned into anything, but took up a lot of pages. Sejal is the Indian exchange student that Doug has a crush on. Sejal also has "The Google" which is a disease that is somehow different than severe internet addiction, but how, I never fully understood. But when she tells people she has "The Google" they visibly recoil. This is supposed to be related to some character development in how she learns to live in the real world, except that's never developed very well and everything would have worked a lot better if she were just plain addicted to the internet.

One thing that really annoyed the hell out of my as a reader was Doug's never-ending use of the word "gay" as a pejorative. While I'm sure this is entirely realistic language for teen boys with self-esteem issues that they cover with insults and bravado, page after page of reading it just really turned me off. Doug gets a second of slight redemption when he sticks up for a vampire who Doug thinks is being targeted for being gay but... it doesn't really go anywhere. Also, based on some of Doug's comments about fictional gay characters, I couldn't decide if Doug trying to save the gay vampire from a perceived hate crime was an attempt to show that Doug in a positive light, or if it was just meta. And all the new vampires are turned into vampires by a guy (not the same guy, but a guy) but they all say it was a young, hottt girl. Because they don't want their undeath to be too gay. Part of me understands the issues surrounding teens and sexual identity and comfort in that, but that whole thread... didn't add much. There's also a subtle moment when a friend of a friend (and probably the friend's date) storms off after a long tirade of Doug calling everything gay, but no one ever really puts two-and-two together. Doug sure as hell doesn't. And while I do appreciate realistic dialogue, page after page after page after page got tiresome and annoying. Much the way I'm sure some readers feel about over-use of the f-word. I'm not going to say the book shouldn't have done it, because I think it's realistic that Doug uses language in that way. I do, however, wish that we lived in a society where it wouldn't be realistic. Also, surely at least one of the theater kids that Doug and Jay have started hanging out with, even though the theater kids were too cool for them, would have called him out on it? One points out that one member of the group might be a lesbian but no one ever calls Doug on his shit. It was just so overdone and there was the subtle moment where Doug's homophobic comments makes someone uncomfortable enough to leave, that I thought it was going to some redemptive moment, because otherwise, what was the point? I keep wondering if this, like "The Google," was trying to make a point and go somewhere that just ended up fizzling.

In the end, I was rooting for the vampire hunters to get something right and deal with Doug in order to put everyone out of their misery.

The book held a lot of promise, and has been getting great reviews, but didn't work for me in several ways, on several levels.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Finnikin of the Rock

Finnikin of the Rock Malina Marchetta

So... I loved Jellicoe Road and this was getting a lot of great buzz, but I wasn't going to read it. I'm kinda picky about my fantasy. I'm all over fairy tales. And fantasy that takes place in our world. But made up worlds and ancient prophecies usually aren't my thing. And if it has any sort of talking animal (dragons get a pass) then forget about it. Not that Finnikin of the Rock has talking animals, but if we're getting into my issues on fantasy... BUT this keeps showing up on people's best of the year lists so I thought I'd give it a chance.

Ten years ago, there were the 5 days of the Unspeakable. The royal family was murdered. The people people of Lumatere turned on their Forest Dweller neighbors, who worship a different goddess. They burned them out of their homes and burned their leader at the stake. Before they killed her, Seranonna cursed Lumatere. The ground cracked and swallowed people. People ran for the gates. Many were trapped. A malevolent mist surrounded the country, no one could get in or out. No one's had any news of Lumatere since then. People who left before Seranonna was killed and those who got out before the gate shut for good now live in exile camps, at the mercy of other kingdoms, ravaged by fever and often despised.

Finnikin is the son of the head of the Lumaterean guard. His father's been imprisoned since the Unspeakable. He's spent the last decade traveling throughout the kingdoms with Sir Topher, the former king's first man. He records the history and of the exiled Lumatereans and tries to advocate for them with their host governments. Then, a messenger comes whispering the name of the prince who might have survived, of Finnikin's best friend. Finnikin and Sir Topher travel to the ends of the land to a convent where they don't find the prince, but instead a novice who drives Finnikin insane, but just might lead them all home.

So, when I finished it, my first thought was "eh. I see why everyone loves it, but it's not for me." But over the next few days, I kept returning to favorite scenes and parts and I think I managed to reread the entire book multiple times so... I obviously liked it a lot more than I initially thought!

Something I noticed (and loved) in the first reading and just picked up more and more of in later readings was how relevant it is to current events. Yes, it's a fantasy, but it's a story of an exiled people.

"Then I will demand that you speak Lumateran when we are alone," Evanjalin said, interuppting his thoughts.

"Will you?" he mocked. "Any why is that?"

"Because without our language, we have lost ourselves. Who are we without our words?"

"Scum of the earth," he said bitterly. "In some kingdoms, they have removed all traces of Lumatere from the exiles. We are in their land now and will speak their tongue or none at all. Our punishment of the pathetic course of our lives."

"So men cease to speak," she said softly.

Men who in Lumatere had voices loud and passionate, who provided for their families and were respected in their villages. Now they sat in silence and relied on their children to translate for them as if they were helpless babes. Finnikin wondered what it did to a man who once stood proud. How could he pass on his stories without a language?

"And how Lumaterans loved to speak..." page 65

Overall it's beautifully done. And there is so much in here about a lost people searching for a home, racked by guilt over what happened during the Unspeakable that clearly resonates today in our world, but hope and love and heartbreak all so wonderfully done. It grew on me to where it's now one of my favorites, too.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Poetry Friday: Snow

Just a little snow, not too much. Just enough to make area schools shut early and open late, which isn't that much in a town that isn't quite sure what to do when the white stuff starts falling.

And I stood in the deserted library yesterday, looking out the window, past the parking lot and into the wooded lot beyond, looking like a Christmas card. Not only was I selfishly hoarding the best view, but also the warm spot near the heating vent.

And now, a poem.

Snow Day by Billy Collins

Today we woke up to a revolution of snow,
its white flag waving over everything,
the landscape vanished,
not a single mouse to punctuate the blankness,
and beyond these windows

the government buildings smothered,
schools and libraries buried, the post office lost
under the noiseless drift,
the paths of trains softly blocked,
the world fallen under this falling.

Read the rest here.


Roundup is over at The Poem Farm. Be sure to stop by and see the drifts of poems we're sharing today!

Year of the Historical: Moving Pictures

Moving Pictures Kathryn and Stuart Immonen

I picked this up after reading Unshelved's Book Club strip on it.

Two stories-- one of how Ila stayed in Paris during occupation to look after the art at the Louvre, to help value it, to help ship it out to be hidden from the Nazis. How she watches her senior collegues escape with the art and she stays, even after the Nazis have taken control of the museum.

The second story is Ila being interrogated by her Nazi boss, theoretically about the missing art, but about other things as well that the reader can only guess at until we get to the various points in the first story.

The art is very angular, with a good use of solid black fill to create a wonderful sense of oppression and foreboding.

At the same time, it's a subtle book, with a lot left unsaid, a lot to be read between the lines (both the lines of dialogue and the lines of their faces).

It's amazing what a hard time I have with subtle books these days. I often finish one and go "huh?" and have to reread it. There's so much written, especially for kids and teens (the bulk of my reading) that's not subtle. Most things are laid out pretty clearly for the reader. It's a good reminder for me to come across a book that I don't initially understand. It reminds me to slow down and to think as I read. Sometimes, being caught up in the story isn't enough.

This story, though, is worth the effort to stop and think and to read between the lines.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Out of My Mind

Out of My Mind Sharon M. Draper

While One Crazy Summer is still my Newbery favorite, this came really, really, really close to knocking it off it's 1st place pedestal. Also, Mockingbird was my favorite for the Schneider and not anymore.

BUT! How awesome is it that we have multiple strong contenders for the Schneider family award that are also very strong contenders for the Newbery?

Anyway, Melody has severe cerebral palsy. She's confined to a wheel chair. She can't dress herself or feed herself or go to the bathroom without help. At the age of 11, she's never spoken a single word.

Melody also has a photographic memory. She's been diagnosed as severely retarded because she's actually extremely gifted. When she was diagnosed, it was one of those tests that gifted kids also fail because they overthink it. Which of these is not like the other? Tomato, cherry, red balloon, banana? Balloons aren't food, so that's the "answer" but... bananas aren't red and round. Melody knows what the answer is "supposed" to be, but the doctor's a jerk so she won't play his game.

The students at school won't look at her. Her special ed teachers fail her over and over again. And she's trapped and has no way to let people know that she's trapped.

It's beautifully written and heartbreaking. I liked how Draper told a realistic story instead of an overly heart-warming one. I thought it was going the mushy heart-warming route (and I was cheering for it) and then BAM! Draper changes it and... wow.

I also loved Melody's occasional anger, how she gets jealous of her baby sister who can do all the things she'll never be able to do. I loved her loneliness and how she longed for a real friend to share secrets with at recess. But the girls who eventually talk to her still distance themselves from her in public. And Melody notices this and knows what it means. Melody's such a great character and Draper shows us all her depth and it's such a good book.

Gush gush gush gush gush gush gush gush gush.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Goddess Girls

Goddess Girls Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

A lot of my comments on this series hold for each book, so I thought I'd review them together instead of separately so you don't have to read the same thoughts over and over again.

The basic premise is that many of the Greek gods and goddesses attend Mount Olympus Academy, where they learn the things they need to know to become gods and goddesses. There are a few regular humans as well (Pandora) and non-immortal characters (Medusa, centaurs). Everyone's a student except Zeus, because he's the loud, good-natured, and slightly bumbling principal. If you know your Greek mythology, there's a lot of it represented here, but it's rather watered down to make the books more age appropriate* (I'll get into specifics in a bit).

Overall it's a light and fun series. While I'm not sure on the need to refer to everyone as godboys or goddessgirls (it gets a little annoying) there's something about this series that I really enjoy. Also, as a fast adult reader, they're the perfect length to read (and finish!) in the bath.

Athena the Brain

In the first book, Athena gets a letter from Zeus claiming he's her father and that she needs to transfer to Mount Olympus Academy immediately. Through her newcomer eyes, we get a good sense of the social structures and how the Academy functions. She immediately makes an enemy, but Medusa hates everyone so... eh. She also quickly becomes best friends with Persephone, Aphrodite, and Artemis.

Athena's mother is a fly, who still lives in Zeus's brain. They are still rather in love and talk to Athena a lot, giving her the family she always wished for. (See what I mean about watered down?)

This book also features the Trojan War, which is a class project in Hero-ology.

Persephone the Phony

As we learned in the first book, Persephone's mother, Demeter, is very over-protective-- Persephone's the only Academy student who has to live at home! Here we also learn how much Persephone hides of herself-- Demeter's always told her to "go along to get along" so she always agrees with her friends' thoughts and plans, even when deep down, she disagrees.

Then she meets Hades. He's considered a bad boy because he's from the Underworld. No one will really talk to him. Her mother and friends warn her to stay away but she's finally met someone she can just be herself with.

Once again, a little watered down. There's no kidnapping (there is some running away) and no marriage-- Persephone and Hades just want to be friends and while they bond over a pomegranate seed spitting contest, it was all above ground so Persephone's not trapped in the underworld at all. There's also a happy ending and of course Hades isn't a bad boy at all, he's just shy and from the wrong part of town.

What I really liked about this one is that it's a characterization of Persephone I haven't seen before. She's so afraid to voice her own opinion and lets herself be run over by her friends and mother. It was a really interesting take on her character.

Aphrodite the Beauty

Aphrodite has decided that what Athena needs is a makeover. She goes along with the plan and suddenly all the boys are ignoring Aphrodite in favor of Athena! Aphrodite thought she'd enjoy a break from the attention and never thought she'd begrudge Athena anything but... she's jealous. Especially because Ares seems to have forgotten Aphrodite exists. And... even though he's a big jerk, readers of the previous books will realize that Aphrodite has a HUGE crush on him.

Only one boy is still taken with Aphrodite over the new and improved Athena-- the extremely talented but unpopular Hephaestus. So Hephaestus is obviously the good choice and Ares totally sucks, and Aphrodite KNOWS this and knows she shouldn't be so shallow, but... in the end, she doesn't choose anyone, because there's not a lot of romance in these books. There are minor crushes and occasionally characters will dance together at school dances!!! But... watered down for age accessibility.

In a lot of books based on Greek myth, Aphrodite is often portrayed as a shallow mean girl. The immortal equivalent of the evil head cheerleader. OR a complete and total ditz with hearts doodled all over. I do like books that give her a little more depth and explore her facets a little more. In this series, Aphrodite does doodle a lot of hearts and is shallow, but it's something she recognizes and struggles with. She also tries really hard to be a good friend.

All in all, I'm really looking forward to Artemis the Brave, which comes out today and will hopefully hit my library very very soon (it's on order. I already have my hold placed.)

*Reading level puts it at a strong 3rd grade level, but there aren't content worries. I'd put the upper age limit at 5th/6th grade. Reading level might be a little low, but I think it would still appeal, content-wise.


All Books Provided by... my local library

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Giveaway Reminder-- LAST CHANCE!!!

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Cloaked in Red

Cloaked in Red Vivian Vande Velde

From the introduction (after several hilarious pages deconstructing "Little Red Riding Hood"

Okay, think about this. What makes a good story?

1. Memorable characters

We've got a mother, Little Red Riding Hod, a wolf, a grandmother, and a woodcutter. It's hard to call characters memorable when the only one who has a name is, in fact, named after apparel that nobdoy wears anymore.

2. Vivid setting

The woods. Okay, are we talking Amazon rain forest here or a couple of trees in someone's backyard? It's sloppy storytelling if we aren't given enough information to picture where our memorable characters are.

3. Exciting plot

Try submitting a story to your creative writing teacher in which the main character bumbles cluelessly throughout the story, then gets rescued by another character who was never mentioned before. Go ahead and keep your fingers crossed for a passing grade.

4. Important themes--something about the subject to captivate our imaginations and connect with those who read the story.

It's hard to determine the theme of "Little Red Riding Hood." Don't go into the woods? Don't talk to animals who are capable of talking back? If you're going to make fun of your grandmother's appearance, make sure it truly is your grandmother and not a wolf who likes to dress in old-ladies' clothes?

However you look at it, "Little Red Riding Hood" is a strange and disturbing story that should probably not be shared with children.

That is why I've gone ahead and written eight new versions of it.

And eight wonderful new versions is what Vande Velde gives us. We have sinister wood cutters and bumbly blind ones. We have girls in the wood who are unsure of themselves and those who know exactly what they are doing. We have wolves of hunger, friendly wolves, werewolves, and wolves made of rags. We have cloaks that are smarter than their owners, cloaks that are altogether the wrong shade of red, and even one that is actually green.

Vande Velde takes us through several versions of the story, all of which make a lot more sense than the original. It's often funny and at times a bit scary. Each story focuses on a different aspect of the story-- Red's family, the woodcutter, grandmother, the wolf, the cloak... all with excellent results.

I love Vande Velde's take on the issues with the original and her ideas on how to fix the story. I enjoyed every version and this is a must-read for fairy tale fans.

Book Provided by... my local library

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House of Dead Maids

The House of Dead Maids Clare B. Dunkle

The dead hold no terrors for me. I have watched by the beds of those who have passed on, comforted by their sorrowless repose. But this little maid was a ghastly thing, all the more horrible because she stood before me. It wasn't the palid hue of her grimy face that shocked me, or her little gray hands and feet. It was the holes where her eyes should have been, great round sockets of shadow.

The dead girl opened her lips as if she meant to speak. Her mouth was another black pit like the black pits of her eyes. She was nothing but a hollowed-out skin plumped up with shadow. I had the horrible idea that if I were to scratch her, she would split open, and the darkness within her would come pouring out. p. 24

This is a prequel to Wuthering Heights-- the story of where Heathcliff was before.

But, you really don't need to know anything about Wuthering Heights to love this book. I don't even like Wuthering Heights, but I love this book.

The story does little to explain why Heathcliff is the way he is-- he is already that way before this tale begins. But, we have a manor that is not passed down through generations. Seldom House requires a family that is related by death instead of birth. Tabitha is brought from the orphanage to be the maid for the new master. Once there, she is haunted by the ghosts of the maids that have gone before, cold figures with no eyes that slip into her bed at night.

After meeting the new young master, more ghosts appear and haunt them. Tabitha knows something is very not right with the house and the village, but doesn't know how to fix it or what to do.

It's spooky and tense and terrifying in all the right ways. The entire story is filled with an atmosphere for foreboding and doom, and its length (146 pages) give it a sparseness that heightens the mystery and mood.

If it were a movie, it'd be the kind where you throw your hands over your eyes because you can't bear to watch, but you're still peeking through your fingers, because you can't look away.

Totally awesome.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Giveaway Reminder

Scholastic is sponsoring a huge holiday gift giveaway for one lucky winner.

Here's their required text:

Give the gift of reading to your child this holiday season! Scholastic books make the perfect stocking stuffer for any child on your list.

We have a HUGE prize pack filled with the most popular children’s books in the marketplace to offer one lucky reader! Titles include CAPTAIN SKY BLUE, IT’S CHRISTMAS DAVID, OOK and GLUK as well as TONY BALONEY, ODIOUS OGRE and I SPY CHRISTMAS A CHRISTMAS TREE!

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The Princess Trap

The Princess Trap Kirsten Boie trans. David Henry Wilson

I loved loved loved The Princess Plot and almost fell over in glee when I saw that there was a sequel! Because there didn't have to be one. There just is one.

After saving Scandia from a coup, Jenna and her mother are back in the royal family, but Jenna's not adjusting to life in the public eye very well. From being raised in a very over-protected sheltered home to having every move monitored by the paparazzi... ugh. To top it off, the girls are her exclusive boarding school are mean mean mean and particularly pick on the physical characteristics that show that Jenna's father was of Northern descent.

But when she runs away, she ends up running straight into the arms of old enemies who are once again plotting to rule Scandia.

Lots of intrigue and the reader is lucky enough to get every side to this story. The focus shifts quickly between all the different players. I loved how the ruling classes were engineering everything because they didn't want to give up any of their wealth and prestige to the North Scandians.

I also love that when the focus shifts so that we get every side, I mean every side-- we get to see what the adults are doing, too. I KNOW! Adults as valid characters in a children's* book! WHO WHUDDA THUNK?! Although, I could have done with some more Ylva. I needed to see some more of her to fully buy the ending.

This book-- both the story and the way it's told-- is more complex than things we usually see for tweens but I think that's awesome because I know tweens can handle it. I just love that Boie gives them the chance and that Chicken House gave it a chance to have it translated and brought over. I hope to see more of Boie's work in English (because I can't read German and am probably never going to learn how.)

I'm kinda pissed at the SLJ review of the original that says the plot is "often confusing." Just because not everything's spoon-fed to us it's confusing? The only problem with getting every side is that in the first book, the reader often knew what was going on waaaaaaaaaay before the characters did. While that's true in this book as well, there's enough action to in between when the characters are trying to figure out the evil plot that it's actually kinda helpful that the reader already knows what's up and I really didn't mind it at all (and that's something I usually mind!)

*This seems to be one of those books that some libraries have in J, some in YA. We have it in J, but we have a pretty high J/YA break. I think it's good for 5-8th grade-- perfect tween level.

Book Provided by... my local library

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