Tulsa Book Review June 2014

Tulsa

event guide

INSIDE!

Book Review 5 8 13 15

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 8

F R E E

June 2014

NEW AND OF INTEREST

C H E C K

The 30-Minute Vegan: Soup’s On!

New to vegan cooking? Start here! Page 4

The Art of Falling

I T

Falling into life Page 6

Screaming at the Ump

O U T

Sliding under the tag Page 11

The Essence of a Mother Conscious parenting Page 12

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald Scribner, $15.00, 170 pages Join “One Book, One Tulsa,” a communitywide reading initiative featuring The Great Gatsby. See Page 16 for more details. What makes The Great Gatsby such an enduring work of literature? It was not, after all, a bestseller when it was published, yet it is still in print 90 years after its original publication. It has sold millions of copies, and is taught in high schools and universities as an American classic. The novel holds up well to re-reading, each time revealing more depth and richness than the time before. Fitzgerald’s plot is fairly simple, but the

themes are universal and the novel captures the zeitgeist of the Roaring ‘20s to perfection. It is difficult enough for an author to distill the cultural nuances of an age given the advantages of hindsight and history, but it takes a keen observer to pull it off while immersed in it as Fitzgerald was, especially when viewing it through the booze-induced See Gatsby, cont’d on page 8

The Secret World of Oil Exposes the underbelly of oil Page 15

45 Reviews INSIDE!

Book Reviews Category

Popular Culture SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

The Most of Nora Ephron By Nora Ephron Knopf, $35.00, 576 pages Check this out! In 2012 the world lost a great artist, Nora Ephron. The Most of Nora Ephron offers the reader a comprehensive sampling of the various literary forms Ephron mastered throughout her career. This posthumous collection is divided into 9 parts which showcase each of her writing pursuits. Among them: journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and blogger. Ephron was all of these

things—wearing many hats while staying true to her hilarious and candid nature. The pieces her editor and friend Robert Gottlieb selected for this volume allow you to witness the sublime arc of her life and career in one place. From her early essays as a magazine journalist in the 1970s to her recent blog pieces from the Huffington Post, Ephron’s personality bursts through every page with sardonic wit and unapologetic truth. Her screenwriting devotees will find both the screenplay for When Harry Met Sally as well as the complete Heartburn novel in this collection. For any writer or fan who ever considered stopping short of their goals, Ephron’s career is a testament to keep going while laughing at every stumble and setback. Never one to take herself too seriously, Ephron still remains a journalist at heart, a witness to the world around us, both personally and politically. Reviewed by Sakena Patterson

Category

Mystery SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

The Resistance Man: A Bruno, Chief of Police novel By Martin Walker Knopf, $25.95, 336 pages Check this out! There are three main characters in The Resistance Man by Martin Walker. Bruno, chief of police in St. Denis; the town, country, cooking, and order of St. Denis itself; and the antagonist, the forces of lawlessness and chaos that intrude on both Bruno and St. Denis. An old resistance fighter dies clutching a bank note from the biggest train

robbery in history. A visiting Englishman is brutally murdered. There are linked burglaries. Bruno’s old flame is assigned to the town to protect the government from the politically sensitive case. This is a delightful book, written with an eye for the beauty of the countryside, and a sympathetic view of the people therein. Bruno is just flawed enough to be interestingly human. He unravels the mystery methodically; there is no hidden surprise that is not deductible. The plot is plausible. My enjoyment of this book, and indeed the series, is the description of another place; one where the pace of life is enjoyed like the wine, dinners, and conversation that make up Bruno’s town. Like the epicurean delights that Bruno serves dinner guests on occasion, this book is meant to be enjoyed not only for the mystery, but also the personality of the characters and the town. Reviewed by Ralph Peterson

Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 2

Asian-American

2 01 4

Celebrating the Colorful Cultures of Asia Saturday, June 7 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Martin Regional Library 2601 S. Garnett Road 918.549.7590

Celebrate and learn about the colorful cultures of Asia with entertaining, educational events for the entire family. The festival features authentic arts and crafts booths, crafts for kids, plus a food concession with traditional Asian cuisine. Visit www.tulsalibrary.org/asianfestival for a schedule of performances and participating groups.

Tulsa

Book Review

IN THIS ISSUE Popular Culture..............................................2

Tulsa City-County Library 400 Civic Center Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103 Ph. (918) 549-7323 EDITOR IN CHIEF Ross Rojek ross@1776productions.com EDITOR/COORDINATOR Jackie Hill Tulsa City-County Library GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT James Rasmussen COPY EDITORS Gretchen Wagner Holly Scudero James Rasmussen EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Audrey Curtis Christopher Hayden

WEBSITE TulsaBookReview.com

Mystery..........................................................2 Cookbooks.................................................. 4, 5 Historical Fiction............................................5 Fiction.....................................................6, 7, 8 Kids’ Books.....................................................9 Picture Books.................................................9 Teen Scene....................................................10 Tween Reads.................................................11 Mind & Body Fitness.....................................12 Nature & Science..........................................13 Business & Personal Finance........................13

FROM THE PUBLISHER Last month I had the honor of meeting with several local dignitaries on the steps of the vacated Tulsa Central Library to help kick off the public campaign for Tulsa Central Library Renewed, the fundraising effort for the renovation of Tulsa City-County Library’s most central location. It is a very exciting time for Tulsa, as our area receives unprecedented investment that will turn our great community into an even greater home for all of us, our children and grandchildren for generations to come. There are many ways for everyone to contribute to this shared vision. New books may be sponsored. Your name or a loved one’s name may be included on a donor wall. This summer you may purchase a Libraries Change Lives T-shirt, gel bracelet or front license plate. All proceeds from these sales benefit one of our community’s key resources and one of our most valued assets – our shared Central Library. Purchase items from Amazon via the library’s link http://tccl. us/giftshop and a portion of the sale flows to the Central Library project. Or join us at our countywide Panera Bread® fundraiser on Thursday, June 5 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the 41st/Hudson and 15th/Utica locations as a percentage of the proceeds will benefit the renovation project. While the Central Library is closed, please visit the Librarium or one of our other 23 locations across the county. There you’ll find fun activities like the Asian-American Festival taking place at the Martin Regional Library on Saturday, June 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; a good book listed in this Tulsa Book Review issue; a family-friendly DVD; or a piece of information that just might change your life. Have a great time reading this summer!

Biography & Memoir.................................... 14 History & Current Events.............................15 The Tulsa Book Review is published monthly by City Book Review. The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Tulsa Book Review or City Book Review advertisers. All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders. All words ©2014, City Book Review

Adult Summer Reading Program..................16

Gary Shaffer Tulsa City-County Library CEO

Coming Up! Tulsa City-County Library’s Genealogy Center will present its annual Family History Month series in July, featuring a variety of free workshops for new genealogy researchers as well as lifetime enthusiasts. Check the July Tulsa Book Review/Event Guide for more details.

Book Reviews Category

Cookbooks SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Almonds Every Which Way By Brooke McLay Da Capo Lifelong Books, $18.99, 237 pages Check this out! Almonds Every which Way is a nice, well-rounded cookbook with many good recipes from breakfast through desserts. However, it’s not for the traditional cook. Brooke McLay has written her cookbook specifically for those on alternative diets: vegetarians, vegans, those on a paleo diet, with many recipes for people on dairy-free, gluten-free and grain-free restrictions. Each recipe is labeled with icons as quick reference suitable for the various diets. All recipes include almonds and their derivatives: almond flour, almond milk and almond butter. The recipes are well-written with easy-to-follow instructions, all with great layouts and relatively few ingredients, most generally available if you have access to a health food store. In the introductory first fourteen pages you’ll learn all about almond and its cousins, how to use them in cooking, and how to substitute them in traditional recipes. The recipe head notes are very good, and complete nutritional information accompanies each recipe. The recipes vary greatly but many draw from international repertoire, and some are of fusion cuisines (e.g. Thai/Mexican). This is a no-nonsense, unglorified cookbook with no illustrations except for sixteen pages of photos bound in the center of the cookbook. The index is thorough and well cross referenced. Reviewed by George Erdosh More Quick-Fix Vegan By Robin Robertson Andrews McMeel, $16.99, 212 pages Check this out! This vegan cookbook is nothing like the popular high-end-designed cookbooks of today that are filled with stunning photography and plenty of fluff. More Quick-

Fix Vegan is simple, basic trade paperback, written for real cooks without bells and whistles, and it is excellent. Robin Robertson claims “30 minutes or less,” and in most recipes this is realistic though a beginner cook needs to scramble. Besides, such short prep time assumes cans, packages and frozen items. Robertson gives scratch alternatives but then the prep time easily doubles (like roasted peppers in jar vs. roasting yourself; canned beans vs. your own). Some one-hundred-and-fifty recipes are widely varied and are very good. She also includes a chapter for even quicker meals provided your pantry is fully stocked. She includes plenty of alternate ingredient suggestions. Recipe writing and layout are great, one recipe per page. The book has a few monochrome photos but basically it’s a simple, un-illustrated no-nonsense cookbook for serious vegan cooks. You do need a nearby health food store, a blender and a food processor. For optimum flavor, in many recipes the list of ingredients is substantial and a beginner cook would likely be intimidated. The index is well cross-referenced. Reviewed by George Erdosh The 30-Minute Vegan: Soup’s On!: More Than 100 Quick and Easy Recipes for Every Season By Mark Reinfeld Da Capo Lifelong Books, $17.99, 288 pages Check this out! For the uninitiated, adopting a vegan diet can be challenging, particularly when the focus is on what you cannot eat. No dairy. No meat. No eggs. What else is there? If you’re ready for a change and you have a good guide, you’ll find plenty of alternatives. The 30 Minute Vegan: Soup’s On is an excellent starting place with its singular focus on one type of food. There’s no need to totally restock your kitchen with uncommon ingredients because Mark Reinfeld of-

fers an accessible means for easing into vegan cooking. Thankfully these recipes, ranging from vegetable-based to creamy to raw and dessert soups, feature commonly used items to create appetizing, uncomplicated soups that will make you reconsider veganism. Veggies, grains, beans, pasta, and lots of spices feature prominently in most of the recipes. Soups like African Peanut and Corn Chowder are prepared using almond butter and nuts, respectively, instead of heavy cream. Readers will learn other substitutions to make nonvegan dishes vegan, and Reinhold provides variations for many of the soups. Consult the chapter on garnishes and side if you’re unsure what to serve with your soup. Appendices provide additional opportunities for expanding your knowledge of vegan and healthy cooking. Reviewed by Africa Hands

A Lighter Way to Bake By Lorraine Pascale Ecco, $29.99, 285 pages Check this out!

T h e Lighter Way to Bake excels in every aspect of a cookbook. Even though the author, Lorraine Pascale, is a British chef, this edition is for the American market, with the correct measurements without conversions. Pascale’s aim is to produce excellent food while reducing fats, sugars, and total calories. Many of the recipes are traditional favorites, while others are her own creations, yet all have one thing in common: less calories. She also explains that many properties, such as texture and keeping qualities, will be different and so will the flavor, but it is still excellent. This is a double purpose cookbook: the professional food photography is so wonderful that this book can happily live on the coffee table for leafing through. (A bit too

Please join Tulsa City-County Library on

Thursday, June 5 from 4-8 p.m. Panera Bread® locations at 41st/Hudson and 15th/Utica will donate a percentage of its sales during the event to the Tulsa City-County Library’s renovation of the Central Library when you show this flyer.

Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 4

Note: Panera Card® gift cards, Panera® catering and other retail purchases are excluded from the event.

Book Reviews many of the author’s photos.) Of the huge selection of recipes, the author concentrates on desserts, but we also find baked breakfasts, savory bakes, and breads to choose from. Recipe writing, layout, and head notes are superb. Every recipe is illustrated with a large photo or two (a little intimidating for a home cook), as well as complete nutritional information with a comparison information of a traditional recipe (presumably the same serving size). The well cross-referenced index is very good. Reviewed by George Erdosh The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook By Editors at America’s Test Kitchen Cook’s Illustrated, $26.95, 336 pages Check this out! In Boston is a test kitchen run by the folks who publish Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines. The mission of the people who work in this kitchen is to test and retest recipes until they are the best they can be. In other words, someone else with a lot of experience and expertise is doing your cooking homework, taking your tests, and cleaning up after. With over a hundred recipes, thoroughly tested and many with

possible variations, this can be a great help to those who need or wish to avoid gluten. Each spread in the book has a mouth-watering color photo, information on why the recipe works, ingredients list, and very specific instructions. An introductory section covers strategies for glutenfree cooking, troubleshooting, evaluating flours on the market, what is needed for a gluten-free pantry, rating gluten-free breads and pastas available at stores, and looking at gluten-free grains. Recipes cover breakfast cereals, pasta dishes, comfort foods, breads, cookies, cakes, pies, and other desserts. It also has conversions and equivalencies. This is a wonderful resource for anyone who wants or needs to get gluten out of his or her life and is a perfect addition to any glutenfree kitchen. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck

Madam: A Novel of New Orleans By Cari Lynn, Kellie Martin Plume, $15.00, 336 pages Check this out! In Madam: A Novel of New Orleans you will find yourself transported to a time when the grime and grit of the city would shock even the most liberal of us. The novel follows Mary Deubler, a rough but scrupulous young prostitute, caught in a business of selling herself to support her brother’s family. Things take a turn when her place of employment – The Alley, as they call it – is threatened by changing city ordinances, but the change brings about an opportunity for Mary to embrace the old American adage of pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps. As easy to read as it is entertaining, this is a great book for a look back at a time in our

history when men were men and women were practically disposable. While there are some plot holes, the book sends you hurtling into New Orleans in the late 1800s, so that you can almost smell the dank alleyways and hear the shouting of the newsies on the rough streets. Many of the characters are rich in detail and the historical details will undoubtedly leave you wondering where history leaves off and fiction begins. Reviewed by Jennifer Tatum

Category

Historical Fiction

Traveling the Mother Road this Summer?

SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

The Museum of Extraordinary Things: A Novel By Alice Hoffman Scribner, $27.99, 384 pages In earlyt went iet hcentury New York City, Coralie is a featured exhibit in her father’s tourist attraction The Museum of Extraordinary Things, full of people and objects that are abnormal. She is the Human Mermaid, simply because she was born with webbing between her fingers. Her father, who has a shady past as a magician in France, hunts down the unusual and dis-

plays it in such a way to make it seem even more freakish to the crowds who visit his museum. But his desire for an amazing attraction that will pull in more visitors drives him to do unspeakable things. And one day, Coralie stumbles upon something that will end up pitting her against her father and pull her towards a young man she can’t help but fall in love with. Eddie Cohen has run away from his poor tailor father, the only family he has left since the two fled Russia. He scrapes together a living taking photographs, mostly for newspapers, including the horrible Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that needlessly killed so many young women. Alice Hoffman seamlessly weaves a compelling story of young people trying to find their own way with interesting historical elements that transport the reader right back to that place and time. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim

Download the Guide to Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives for diners on this route and many others.

Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 5

Book Reviews Category

Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Up at Butternut Lake: A Novel (The Butternut Lake Trilogy) By Mary McNear William Morrow, $14.99, 384 pages Check this out! Two years ago, Allie’s husband Gregg died during a deployment. Now, tired of the constant pity and wariness from her friends and neighbors, Allie has decided to pack up her five-year-old son and move to her family’s summer cabin on Butternut Lake, where hopefully a new environment will enable them to start their lives moving forward again. Allie lucks out when she discovers some old friends are still living local: Caroline, an empty-nester who owns the town’s diner, and Jax, a mother of three whose past mistakes are coming back to haunt her. What Allie was not counting on was her new neighbor, Walker, who lives across the lake. Walker brings out feelings in Allie that she hasn’t felt since before her husband’s death, feelings she’s not sure she’s ready for. Is Allie ready to let go of the past and finally move forward? Up at Butternut Lake is a pleasant little read, a mostly heartwarming story of moving on from painful parts of one’s past. Wellwritten with realistic characters, this novel is one that you will find yourself wanting to finish in one sitting if you can. And readers who enjoy this story will rejoice at the thought of more novels in the future set in this charming little town. Reviewed by Holly Scudero The Wily O’Reilly: Irish Country Stories By Patrick Taylor Forge, $25.99, 336 pages Check this out! Beyond the appealing rhyming title, The Wily O’Reilly is a real treasure for fans of the Irish Country series. These are the hu-

mor columns that started it all, published monthly from October 1995 to December 2001. Also included is a more recent, but lengthier short story that was originally published in electronic form only, and is now included for those fans without e-reader technology. The stories are lovely, but I’m just not sure that there’s much new in here. I’ve only read the most recent of the Irish Country novels, but many of the anecdotes told in this collection were already familiar to me. What makes this book such a gem is that we get to experience the development of the characters we’ve grown to love. This collection provides fabulous background, and the stories are perfect for when you want a little Irish Country fix, but only have a few minutes to spare. In an earlier review, I had compared Fingal O’Reilly, Irish Doctor to listening to my grandma’s stories. This book hasn’t changed my opinion any—just like grandma’s stories, I may have heard these before, but I still love them. Reviewed by Randy-Lynne Wach Deceiving Lies: A Novel (Forgiving Lies) By Molly McAdams William Morrow, $14.99, 336 pages Check this out! Deceiving Lies is the continuation of Kash & Rachel’s story from Forgiving Lies. Rachel has moved to Florida to be with Kash. They are beginning to plan their wedding when Rachel is mysteriously abducted and due to his relationship with Rachel, Kash is quickly removed from the case. Kash quickly goes rogue with Mason to collect intel when it seems like the police are no longer doing their jobs. Rachel soon finds herself confused by the feelings she has for her captor, Trent. Trent has taken her against his own will and ensures her safety

from the rest of the men in the crew. Rachel finds herself having to evaluate her feelings and make big decisions for her future. Deceiving Lies is a fast, easy, exciting, and wel l-w r it ten book. Unfortunately I had not read the first book in the series so there were some situations that were referenced that I did not get, but the book was still entertaining, nonetheless. It is a solid four star read and I will definitely go back and read the first book. The characters were well developed and likeable and I’d love to get a better picture of the entire story. Reviewed by Christina Mock The Art of Falling By Kathryn Craft Sourcebooks Landmark, $14.99, 368 pages Check this out! Penelope S p a r r o w wakes up in a hospital room, frustrated that no matter how hard she concentrates, she just can’t get her body to respond. As a dancer, her life was all about motion. The thought of being unable to move was simply incomprehensible. Control of her movement returns with astonishing speed, especially since her hospital stay was from a fourteenstory fall. In the hospital, she meets Marty, the baker whose car she landed on, and Angela, her first hospital roommate, who suffers from cystic fibrosis. Then there’s Margaret MacArthur, a dance critic who seems very insistent on using Penny’s story to highlight the dangers of dancers’ extreme focus on body image. MacArthur, and most everyone around, seems to believe that Penny jumped from that balcony because of a failing career, but Penny herself can’t remember exactly what happened. This story explores relationships, old and new, recovery, physical and mental, and yes, there’s quite a lot on body image here. I’m no dancer, but I do relate to body image problems and the strain it can put on all sorts of relationships. This powerful story drew me in like a train wreck—hard to watch, but impossible to turn away. Reviewed by Randy-Lynne Wach

Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 6

Bark: Stories By Lorrie Moore Knopf, $24.95, 208 pages Check this out! A new volume of short stories by Lorrie Moore is well worth ce lebrat i ng. She is not a prolific writer and each new offering is polished until it sparkles. Her imagination focuses on tiny civilizations and runs wild within their shifty parameters. The reader is left to wonder and marvel, intrigued by unpredictability. Consider the following: A picnic lunch with “difficult peaches. Lurid lingerie and flashing jewelry in a sad woman’s bureau. A lobbyist at a DC gala who survived the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. A late-night, do-ityourself memorial service. A burly group of Harley Davidson riders who crash a wedding. Reading these stories, you are sure to notice that none of Moore’s people lead what might be called an ordinary life yet they persevere in their routines and misapprehensions as though playing by the rules. Because you, the reader, are off-balance from the start (“Every family is a family of alligators”), your choices are limited: stop reading (absolutely not recommended) or keep turning pages and take the ride to wherever it leads. Why not? Every single character is more interesting than most people you’ll ever meet and you get to relish the wry, rueful prose. Reviewed by Elizabeth Benford Deadly Echoes: A Novel (Donovan Nash) By Philip Donlay Oceanview Publishing, $26.95, 325 pages Check this out! Deadly Echoes continues the story of Donovan Nash, this time facing an attack from the past. For those of you new to the series, our hero was born into a rich family but, for reasons which need not concern us here, he felt forced to fake his own death and continue life as Nash. Now a man who knew him in that previous life comes back for revenge, not just against the man, but

Book Reviews

Fiction NOVEL TALK PRESENTS ...

also against the new eco-friendly organization he has created, and all his immediate family and friends. The result is non-stop action building up to one of these climaxes you could well see Hollywood latching on to and doing with great style and an awful lot of CGI. To be clear, this is not a book you read for plausibility. It starts off with our terrorist-inclined villain videoing himself dismembering fishermen in an attempt to frame Nash’s organization for these deaths. More deaths follow as bullets fly, bombs explode, and general hand-to-hand mayhem ensues. In fact, as a thriller plot, this just keeps turning up the pressure until that great finish. My only reservation is the somewhat unlikeable quality of Donovan Nash. If you can get past that, this is a top-class thriller. Reviewed by David Marshall Before We Met: A Novel By Lucie Whitehouse Bloomsbury USA, $25.00, 288 pages Check this out! Hannah has been focused on her career in adver t i si ng. Originally from England, she’s thrived in New York City. Then she meets Mark Reilly during a trip back to England. His business, DataPro, has an American office in New York, where they meet again. Mark’s charm wears down her resistance to commitment. Within months she’s married him and moved to London. This is the unfolding backstory to Hannah’s confusion and subsequent actions when Mark doesn’t arrive in Heathrow on his scheduled flight one evening. He doesn’t call. He isn’t at the New York hotel where he said he’d be staying. Friends are surprised to see her the next day: He’d told them he was taking her to Rome. Uncertainties plague her. Is he having an affair? Is he in trouble? The more she probes, the more unsettling mysteries surface. And because Hannah is the persevering type, she can’t stop probing. The plot is in the hands of a master storyteller. Each new twist moves relentlessly to the next. The characters are multi-dimensional. The ending is a stunner. No spoilers here, but this book is more complex than a mere “thriller”. The story resonates long after the last turned page. Reviewed by Elizabeth Varadan

One Hundred Names: A Novel By Cecelia Ahern William Morrow Paperbacks, $14.99, 496 pages Check this out! Kitty Logan’s life is implod ing. A journalist, Kitty has garnered w id e s pre ad vitriol after reporting what turns out to be an untrue story – and now her beloved mentor, Constance, is dying. Just before her death, she points Kitty to a mysterious file that contains only a list of one hundred names. There is no explanation. Certain that figuring out Constance’s intention will illuminate a path forward for Kitty herself, Kitty embarks on a quest to find the people on the list and determine exactly why Constance had planned to write about them. The search feels urgent to Kitty as she faces pariah status in her community and industry. Kitty lucks out early on: in Constance’s phonebook, the names are highlighted, enabling Kitty to begin reaching out. The journey that follows will please readers seeking heartwarming encounters and fortuitous connections; the unlikely group Kitty collects around her includes a feisty elderly woman, a butterfly farmer, and an eccentric duo attempting a Guinness world record in a pedalo dash. If it all feels a little too pat, it’s redeemed by the moving idea that within each one of us is a story worth telling, a story that must be told. Reviewed by Margo Orlando Littell The Pearl That Broke Its Shell: A Novel By Nadia Hashimi William Morrow, $25.99, 464 pages Check this out! In Kabul, 2007, Rahima and her four sisters live a poor life, with little school and often going without basic necessities; their father is an opium addict who rarely leaves the house, and the girls and their mother cannot go out alone. After hearing the story of

Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 7

Individual Empowerment From 1920 to Today

Tuesday, June 24 • 7 p.m. Dennis R. Neill Equality Center 621 E. Fourth St.

What does it mean to be human?

Are all people, indeed, created equal?

What connects us and what keeps us apart? In one way or another, most literature explores these elemental questions. In her acclaimed novel “The Chaperone,” Laura Moriarty has a strong message of human equality and dignity. Join us for a special Novel Talk program where we will explore issues of women’s rights, gay rights and just plain human rights, and then hear from the author herself about her writing process and research for

“The Chaperone.”

Books sale and signing will follow.

{

MEET THE AUTHOR

}

Book Reviews Rahimaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great-aunt Shekiba, who struggled to make her own life by behaving as a boy, Rahimaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family decides to turn Rahima into a bacha posh, a girl who dresses as, acts as, and is treated as a boy. Their lives improve for awhile, until Rahima becomes a teenager and her father decides to marry her off. But the adjustment back to being a woman is a hard one, and Rahima struggles against her fate. The Pearl That Broke Its Shell is destined for a place on the bestseller list. By delving into a curious tradition, this novel gives readers a unique look into Afghan culture in two different time periods. Alternating back and forth between Rahimaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life and Shekibaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, readers will feel their hearts torn in different directions as these two women struggle against the fate of women in their country. Reviewed by Holly Scudero A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain By Adrianne Harun Penguin Books, $16.00, 272 pages Check this out! When the devil comes to visit Leoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unnamed mountain town, he and his friends are too preoccupied to notice. Bryan and Ursie live alone after their motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death and are struggling to support t he m s e l ve s . Tessa lives with her deadbeat sister and a brood of nieces and nephews who all rely on her for their care. Jackie works in the kitchen of a logging camp, a thankless job and backbreaking work. And Leoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s storyteller uncle is slowly dying. Each caught up in their own obsessions, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy to miss the warning signs, the unease inspired by a milky-skinned stranger, the bizarre behavior of a visiting magician. Their lives fall apart on blazing summer day as fires rage in the mountains. Part legend, part myth, A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain reads like poetry. Each carefully chosen word falls like a pebble in a lake, sinking into the readerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consciousness, inspiring unease and a vague disquiet. The bookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only flaw is that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not more of it. I wanted to read more of Uncle Ludâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stories, and I definitely wanted to unravel the mystery of the disappearing girls. Sadly, Harun keeps her cards close to her chest; weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never find the door in the mountain. Reviewed by Tammy McCartney

Fiction All Our Names By Dinaw Mengestu Knopf, $25.95, 272 pages Check this out! Helen and her latest client couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be more different. Helen has never left her Midwestern hometown, and, in her effort to be nothing like her mother, sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mostly succeeded in being no one at all. A social worker for a slowly dying relief agency, Helen meets Issac when she is given the assignment to help the African visitor navigate the intricacies of middle America. From the beginning she suspects that Issac is not his name and that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a story heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not telling. But how can Issac tell his storyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a story of revolution, senseless death, fear, and displacementâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to someone like Helen? To anyone at all? Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s answered to many names since he left his father and his village, and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never go back. Their love is one of silences and the things not said. All Our Names alternates between Helen and Issacâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective. While Helen frets about the state of their relationship, Issac remembers the origins of his friendship with the original Issac: their protests at the university, the devolution of the state into martial law, and the ensuing revolution. As Helen develops the story of her love for the present Issac, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remembering his love for his friend. The contrast between Issacâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s past and Helenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s present make Issacâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story even more surreal and the distance between the two states even more dramatic. Reviewed by Tammy McCartney Shotgun Lovesongs By Nickolas Butler Thomas Dunne Books, $25.99, 320 pages Check this out! L it t le Wing, Wisconsin is a small town with one real claim to fame: Lee, the rock star who calls the town home. While folks live hardscrabble lives working their farms or rebuilding the dilapidated mill as a thriving business and social center for Little Wingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future, Lee returns to town with his beautiful celebrity girlfriend on his arm.

As everyone prepares for a big wedding and Leeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s group of friends reunites, long-buried secrets and new revelations emerge, rewriting the past and changing their lives forever. Shotgun Lovesongs is a story about the story we all tell ourselves, the story of how life was supposed to go, instead of how it went. Butler easily captures the melancholy of realizing what mightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been, turning a bright light on what happens when nostalgia bumps up against reality. Butlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cast of small-town characters - the ones who stayed and toughed it out, as well as the ones who left and came back, having made good on their potential - are immensely believable, recognizable to anyone with long friendships, complete with old secrets and resentments that can bubble up unexpectedly. Shotgun Lovesongs is every friendship (and a few love stories) wrapped up in one engaging package. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas

Gatsby, contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from Cover haze that clouded his reality. Fitzgerald coined the phrase â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Jazz Age,â&#x20AC;? and The Great Gatsby, with its vivid descriptions of new money, wild parties, carelessness and excess has come to symbolize that expression.

Set in the summer of 1922 the book is wistfully narrated by Nick Carroway, a young man from the Midwest who during a few short summer months observes the dreams, disappointments and disillusionments of both his distant cousin Daisy Buchanan and his next door neighbor Jay Gatsby, the mysterious man who has fashioned a life of wealth and extravagance in the hope of wooing his former lover Daisy back into his arms. The language, while beautifully capturing a specific time and place, also feels timeless. The book still resonates with love, lust and obsession, and clearly delineates the differences between the haves and the have nots. Gatsby is at once enigmatic, powerful and pitiable, as he fails to understand the rules of the game. His dreams are realized, and then shattered, as is the innocence of the watchful narrator. In the first chapter Nick describes Gatsby as having â&#x20AC;&#x153;an extraordinary gift for hope.â&#x20AC;? Maybe thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what makes the book so appealing, that naĂŻve, desperate longing to cling to the comfort of the past while simultaneously harboring hope for the future, to reinvent yourself and to relive the past with a better outcome. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.â&#x20AC;? Reviewed by Cindy Hulsey

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A FREE MONTHLY GUIDE TO YOUR COMMUNITY LIBRARY, ITS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES BROOKSIDE LIBRARY

adult/teen events Check the Teen/Tween Summer Reading Program Event Guide for additional events scheduled in June.

Brookside Book Discussion Monday, June 9 • 2-3:30 p.m. Read "Silver Star" by Jeannette Walls and then join us for a lively discussion. This heartbreaking and redemptive novel is about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world – a triumph of imagination and storytelling. For adults.

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A-Book-A-Month Discussion Group Wednesday, June 25 • 2-3 p.m. Read "Paris: A Love Story: A Memoir" by Kati Marton and then join us for this lively discussion. For adults.

DIY Maker: Using a Sewing Machine Saturday, June 14 • 1-4 p.m. Is your sewing machine collecting dust? Have you always wanted to learn to sew, but have been intimidated by your machine? We're here to help! Let us show you the basics of sewing. Learn to wind a bobbin, thread your machine, plus basic machine care and maintenance. Also, learn basic stitches and get started on your first sewing project. We will provide you with resources to pursue your own DIY sewing projects and answer any questions you might have about sewing. For teens and adults. Bring your own sewing machine.

BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY Open Book Discussion Group Tuesday, June 3 • 6:30-7:45 p.m. Read "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern and then join us for this lively discussion. For adults. Read or Die Manga/Anime Club Saturday, June 21 • 12:30-2 p.m. Teens are invited to join us for this Japanese anime workshop. Our Cosmic Neighborhood ABCs: Fathers of Astronomy Monday, June 30 • 6:30-8 p.m. Join the Broken Arrow Sidewalk Astronomers for this awesome presentation. It's not just the planets and stars out there! For all ages.

BROKEN ARROW LIBRARY/SOUTH Novels at Night Book Club Monday, June 9 • 6:30-7:30 p.m. Join us as we discuss the 1920s. Featured books are "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "The Chaperone" by Laura Moriarty. You should read the books prior to the program. Limited copies are available at the South Broken Arrow Library front desk. Call 918-549-7662 to inquire. For adults. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust.

HARDESTY REGIONAL LIBRARY Music Sandwiched In: The Roaring Twenties Wednesday, June 4 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. Location: Frossard Auditorium Immerse yourself in the authentic 1920s movie-going experience as Ragtime Bill Rowland plays a live piano score to two classic silent film reelers: "Knight of the Trail" and "Two Tars." For adults. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust. Council Oak Men's Chorale Presents: Be Our Guest (A Disney Extravaganza) Wednesday, June 4 • 7-8 p.m. Location: Frossard Auditorium Enjoy a sneak preview of the chorale's summer program featuring music from beloved Disney classics like "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "The

One Book, One Tulsa events are marked witih this symbol:

Little Mermaid" and more. For adults. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust. Simple Steps for Starting Your Business: Start-Up Basics Thursdays, June 5, 26 • 6:30-8:30 p.m. Location: Pecan Room Want to start a business? Get the help you need with SCORE experts. Learn the essentials of business start-ups, get action steps for your business and receive one-to-one mentoring. SCORE is a nonprofit association of volunteer business experts. Registration is required. Go to www. tulsa.score.org to register. For adults. Navigating the Genealogy Center's Web Page Saturday, June 7 • 10-11 a.m. Location: Computer Lab Let Genealogy Center Associate Carissa Kellerby be your guide as she shows you how to locate and use the resources and databases featured on the Genealogy Center’s Web page and library catalog. For adults. Registration is required. Class size is limited. Call 918-549-7691 to register. Music Sandwiched In: The Roaring Twenties Wednesday, June 11 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. Location: Frossard Auditorium Enjoy the vocal stylings of Tulsa's musical theater talent Seth Paden, Robert Young and Amanda Hall, as they sing popular songs of 1920s Broadway past and present accompanied by pianist Joyce Shank. For adults. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust. Hardesty Anime/Manga Club Saturday, June 14 • 1-2:30 p.m. Location: Ash Room If you love anime/manga and

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can't stop talking about it, then join us for our monthly meeting. We will create origami. For teens. Music Sandwiched In: The Roaring Twenties Wednesday, June 18 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. Location: Frossard Auditorium Hear blues legend and Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame inductee Dorothy Ellis, aka Miss Blues, and her band play soulful melodies from the timeless blues tradition. For adults. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust. Music Sandwiched In: The Roaring Twenties Wednesday, June 25 • 12:10-12:50 p.m. Location: Frossard Auditorium The music of the Jazz Age would not be complete without dancing. Learn about the different styles of 1920s dance, such as the Charleston, from The Oklahoma Swing Syndicate as they hoof it to jazz classics. For adults. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust.

JENKS LIBRARY Jenks Library Book Discussion Group Thursday, June 19 • 1:30-2:30 p.m. Read the selected book and then join us for this lively discussion. Call 918-549-7570 for book title. For adults.

KENDALL-WHITTIER LIBRARY Teen Gaming Tournament Monday, June 9 • 4-7 p.m. Join us for our annual gaming competition, designed with our monthly Teen Game Night regulars in mind. Hearing loop available. Switch hearing aid to T-coil.

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LIBRARIUM Makerbot Replicator 3-D Printer Demonstration Thursdays, June 5, 12, 19, 26 10-10:30 a.m. • See The Replicator in action and explore the emerging world of 3-D printing. For all ages. The Digital Bookmobile: Download Books and More! Friday, June 13 • 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Visit OverDrive’s Digital Bookmobile in the Librarium’s parking lot and search Tulsa City-County Library’s digital media collection, use supported mobile devices, and download and enjoy eBooks, audiobooks, music and video from the library.

MARTIN REGIONAL LIBRARY 12th Annual Asian-American Festival Saturday, June 7 • 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Celebrate and learn about the customs and traditions of AsianAmericans with a fun-filled day for the entire family. The festival features martial arts demonstrations, traditional drumming and dance presentations, a Japanese tea ceremony, arts and crafts, and an exhibition of children's artwork from Kyoto, Japan. The festival kicks off at 11 a.m. with a traditional lion dance performed by Tulsa Kung Fu. Numerous activities and presentations are scheduled indoors and outdoors throughout the festival, including authentic arts and crafts booths; interactive educational booths featuring crafts for kids, henna painting and more; plus a food concession with traditional and contemporary Asian cuisine provided by India Palace and Lone Wolf. Come dressed in a cosplay costume or traditional Asian dress for a chance to win a gift card or passes to the 2014 Tokyo in Tulsa convention. Visit http://TulsaLibrary. org/asianfestival or call 918-549-7323 for more information. For all ages. Books and Brunch Wednesday, June 18 • 12:30-1:30 p.m. Join us for our monthly book discussion and widen your reading horizon. We love to meet new people, and you don't even have to have read the featured book! Don't forget to bring your lunch. For adults.

RUDISILL REGIONAL LIBRARY Greenwood Battleground: Hannibal Johnson on Tulsa's Past, Tulsa's Future Tuesday, June 3 • 7-8:30 p.m. Location: Ancestral Hall The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 was a major historical event

e v e n t s

c o n t i n u e d

c o m p u t e r

with shockwaves still impacting our community today. Join us for a viewing of the short documentary "Greenwood Battleground" and a presentation by Hannibal Johnson, author of several acclaimed books, including "Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District." Q&A and a book signing will follow. Books will be available for purchasing. For adults. Historic Oklahoma All-Black Town Tour Saturday, June 7 • 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. This year's tour will visit the Melvin B. Tolson Museum in Langston and the Oklahoma History Center's new African-American Exhibit in Oklahoma City. Speakers include Bruce Fisher and Andre Head of Oklahoma City. Two buses will leave Rudisill Regional Library promptly at 7 a.m. and return at 5:30 p.m. Ticket price is $40 and includes breakfast, lunch and museum fees. Tickets are nonrefundable. Tickets must be purchased at the Rudisill Regional Library's information desk prior to the program date on a first-come, firstserved basis. Cash, check or money order is accepted. No reservations can be made without prepayment in full. Children age 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust and African-American Resource Center. Invictus Robotics Team Wednesday, June 11 • 10-11 a.m. Location: Ancestral Hall High School Robotics Team will demonstrate the use of robots in competition. First Robotics is an organization that encourages high schoolers to participate in building useful robots. For ages 5-12. Sponsored by Tulsa Library Trust. Simple Steps for Starting Your Business: Start-Up Basics Saturday, June 21 • 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Location: Greenwood Room This overview is designed to give you insight about the tools, advice and information you need to succeed. Learn the essentials of business startups, get action steps for your business and receive one-to-one mentoring. For adults. Registration is required. Visit www.tulsa.score.org to register. Sponsored by Tulsa SCORE.

SUBURBAN ACRES LIBRARY Tabletop Game Day Saturdays, June 7, 21 • noon-2 p.m. Join us for traditional gaming. We will play Uno, Trouble, Connect Four, Operation and more on June 7, and checkers, dominoes, cards and more on June 21. Challenges to library staff to win as many games as possible have been made, so let's see who can bring the heat! For all ages.

T u l s a L i b r a r y . o r g

A communitywide

reAding

initiAtive

featuring F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic

“The Great Gatsby”

c l a s s e s Greenwood Battleground: Hannibal Johnson on Tulsa’s Past, Tulsa’s Future Tuesday, June 3 • 7-8:30 p.m. Rudisill Regional Library, Ancestral Hall The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 was a major historical event with shockwaves still impacting our community today. Join us for a viewing of the short documentary “Greenwood Battleground” and a presentation by Hannibal Johnson, author of several acclaimed books, including “Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District.” Q&A and a book signing will follow. Books will be available for purchasing. Second Saturday Downtown Walking Tour Saturday, June 14 • 10-11 a.m. Meet at Topeca Coffee in the Mayo Hotel, 115 W. Fifth St. • A guide from the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture will lead a walking tour of some of downtown’s most beautiful buildings. Novel Talk Presents: I AM HUMAN: Individual Empowerment From 1920 to Today, Featuring Author Laura Moriarty Tuesday, June 24 • 7-8:30 p.m. Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, 621 E. Fourth St. What does it mean to be human? What connects us and what keeps us apart? In one way or another, most literature explores these elemental questions. In her acclaimed novel “The Chaperone,” Laura Moriarty has a strong message of human equality and dignity. Join us as we explore issues of women’s rights, gay rights and just plain human rights, and then hear from the author herself about her writing process and research for “The Chaperone.” Books will be available for purchasing, and a book signing will follow.

The following events complement this initiative. See individual library listings in the June and July event guides for additional “One Book, One Tulsa” programs.

Category

Kids’ Books Picture Books SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Have You Heard the Nesting Bird? By Rita Gray, Kenard Pak (illustrator) HMH Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 32 pages Check this out! Most children love birds and have an undying interest in learning about them. This charming non-fiction picture book takes on a great variety of birds and the individual calls each of them has, all the while focusing on the particular quietness of a nesting robin. That is the one bird that makes no call, that doesn’t sing. The reader is taken back and forth to this bird and that bird but with occasional

stops back at the nest to see how the sitting robin is getting on. At last, another robin comes to join the mama robin in the nest as eggs break, and the tiny baby robins fill the nest. At last they are out. Rita Gray has written a book that is full of natural bird calls inserted into a lovely, rhyming text that follows a young boy and girl through their neighborhood as they study the nature around them. The muted illustrations by Kenard Pak expose his love of nature and especially of birds. They will delight young people and their parents as they journey along with the young boy and girl on their nature walk. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck

Panera Bread® wants to invest in the lives of Oklahoma kids! Kids of all ages and their parents are welcome to join us for these interactive seminars. The first 20 children at each program will receive a free gift, plus their parent/guardian will receive a free French baguette and recipe. In addition, every child in attendance will get to enter a drawing for a chance to win a bicycle and helmet from Tom’s Bicycles.

Call 918-671-8981 for more information.

SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

The Loch Mess Monster By Helen Lester, Lynn Munsinger (illustrator) HMH Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 32 pages If you thought there was a monster in the Loch Ness, you would be wrong. There is not a monster, but three! Deep in the Loch, Nessie and her husband Fergus, and their wee laddie, Angus, live. Monster rules need to be followed, and Angus needs to learn them. The most important rule of all is to never, ever go up to the surface of the Loch. Angus

is a pretty good little monster and follows most of the rules but isn’t good about picking up. He has to stay in his room until he learns to follow that rule. All the stuff he doesn’t pick up begins to pile up, and that pile gets higher and higher. It is hard for Angus to get to the top of the pile to sleep, and, when he falls out of bed, it is a loooooong way down. Angus’s pile finally reaches the surface of the loch, and what Angus sees there is unbelievable. Helen Lester has written an absolutely charming story with a good lesson well-hidden within it, but the illustrations by Lynn Munsinger are a real treat and will have little ones (and big ones) giggling through this sweet book. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS MONDAY, JUNE 2 • Fire Safety with the Tulsa Fire Department including a Fire Truck Tour – Panera at 71st/Lewis TUESDAY, JUNE 3 • Healthy Kids Storytime with the Tulsa City-County Library – Panera in Broken Arrow (2201 W. Detroit) WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4 • Fire Safety with the Owasso Fire Department including a Fire Truck Tour – Panera in Owasso (96th Street North and Highway 169) THURSDAY, JUNE 5 • Grow Your Own Vegetables with the Oklahoma State University Extension – Panera at 41st/Hudson FRIDAY, JUNE 6 • Family Fitness with the YMCA – Panera at 71st/Garnett

Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 9

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Book Reviews Category

Teen Scene SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Ice Dogs By Terry Lynn Johnson HMH Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 288 pages Check this out! Fou r teenyear-old Victoria Secord is a young and accomplished musher in a small town in Alaska. Her father taught her everything there is to know about sled racing, dogs, and surviving in the wild. But her father is gone, killed in a terrible accident a year before. Victoria blames herself, and the loss of her father and the guilt she carries has put a huge hole in Victoria’s relationship with her mother. Victoria decides she must have some better dogs, but her mother won’t take her to negotiate for them. After her mother goes to work, Victoria decides to sled to Cook’s place to negotiate on her own. She doesn’t take much gear and doesn’t check the weather. On her way, she comes across a young guy who has crashed a snowmobile. He’s hurt, a blizzard has moved in, and it’s up to Victoria and her dogs to get them both back to civilization. Terry Lynn Johnson speaks from experience in this wonderful middle-grade adventure. She has owned huskies and does a great many outdoor activities in her home in Ontario, Canada. This is a great story that should not be missed by any readers, both boys and girls, who enjoy adventures. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Never Ending By Martyn Bedford Wendy Lamb Books, $16.99, 304 pages Check this out! Korsakoff Clinic isn’t your average rehab center. This mysterious, selective institution welcomes not drug addicts or alcoholics, but adolescents struggling to deal with guilt, sadness, and trauma stemming from the death of a loved one. The clinic, run by

the impeccably professional Dr. Pollard, is the main setting of Never Ending by Martyn Bedford and is where Shiv finds herself after the death of her beloved brother, Declan. At its core, Never Ending is a romantic tragedy with a tinge of mystery. From the beginning, Shiv represses memories of her brother’s death from the reader, who learns bits and bits of the story from Shiv’s jarring flashbacks. The difference between Shiv’s character before and after her brother’s death is at once startling and harrowing. Shiv used to be an outgoing, flirty, cheerful girl with a terrific sense of humor and a mind focused solely on boys. After her brother’s death, she becomes withdrawn, depressed, and at times, violent. At Korsakoff Clinic, Shiv struggles to find the answer to the all-important question: What really happened the night of her brother’s death? Reviewed by Amanda, Age 14 Prisoner of Night and Fog By Anne Blankman Balzer + Bray, $17.99, 416 pages Check this out! Gretchen Müller, seventeen, has grown up steeped in the beliefs of the National Socialist Party. Her brother is a brownshirt and has a mean streak a mile deep. G r e t c h e n’s father is a hero of the party having given his life to save the life of Adolf Hitler, affectionately called Uncle Dolf by Gretchen

and her family. But her life is turned upside down when she meets Daniel Cohen, a young, handsome, fearless Jewish reporter who tells her that her father was murdered by those who claim him as their hero. Gretchen starts searching around her house and asking some pointed questions. When her brother thinks she has been in his room, he brutally beats her. Going to Uncle Dolf for help and protection, Gretchen is cruelly turned away. She begins to realize all that Daniel has told her is probably true, but she wants to find proof, and if she does, she and Daniel will expose the National Socialists for who they really are. Anne Blankman has written an absolute page-turner of a novel through great writing and impeccable historical research. It is certainly appropriate for the young adult audience, but will hold a much wider appeal than that. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck The Taking By Kimberly Derting HarperTeen, $17.99, 368 pages Check this out! Kyra and her father are driving home from a softball game, arguing about college. Fed up, Kyra gets out to walk. A few moments later, she is surrounded by a white light, she hears her father scream, and then blackness. She wakes to find that five years have gone by, and she hasn’t aged a day. She doesn’t remember what happened but she knows she is not the same, and the only people who can help her are others like her, others who have been taken…and returned. The Taking smartly concentrates less on the whys and hows of an unexplainable alien abduction and keeps the focus on Kyra’s struggle to blend back into a life that doesn’t fit anymore. It draws us into her confusion and hurt as she realized that everything she held dear has changed, her family, her boyfriend, even hopes for her future have all slipped away. The love story starts off a bit awkward - a boy that she last saw as the twelve-year-old brother of her boyfriend is now charming, artistic, and connects with her in ways that his brother never could. The Taking is an emotional and exciting story that I really enjoyed. Reviewed by Becky Vosburg

Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 10

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender By Leslye Walton Candlewick, $17.99, 320 pages Check this out! Ava Lavender’s family has a history of tragedy related to love. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender chronicles three generations of her family, from her grandmother Emilienne, who married for security after love led to the death of her three siblings; to Viviane, Ava’s mother, who bore two children for the man who loved her but not enough to marry her; to Ava herself, born with the wings of a bird and sheltered from the world until the age of sixteen, when she finally ventures out and attracts the attention—and obsession—of a man who believes her to be an angel. Ava, it seems, is destined for her own share of tragedy. Leslye Walton’s debut novel is an absolute gem. Written with honest introspection and a subtle sense of whimsy, this story, which should be depressing due to the many unfortunate events that populate it, manages instead to end on an uplifting note and to keep readers feverishly reading until they get there. Walton has a beautiful way with words, and a fantastic attention to detail that makes this novel inexplicably beautiful. Reviewed by Holly Scudero

Book Reviews Category

Tween Reads SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Under the Egg By Laura Max Fitzgerald Dial, $16.99, 256 pages Check this out! Theodora Tenpenny lives a life many thirteen-year-olds would envy. Well, except for that grandfather-dying-right-in-frontof-her thing. But he has a message for her as he lays dying in the streets of New York City. He tells her to look under the egg for a letter and a treasure, before it is too late. That’s it. Pretty cryptic. It isn’t as if Theo has nothing else to do. Her mother doesn’t seem to have a grasp on how difficult their situation is. Mom spends her days working on her manuscript and drinking incredibly expen-

Screaming at the Ump By Audrey Vernick Clarion Books, $16.99, 272 pages Check this out!

sive tea from the very expensive shop next door, even though there is little money left. Theo finds a painting under a painting in her grandfather’s studio, and here begins a quest to discover what the painting is, who it really belongs to, and can it save Theo’s

You must have completed fifth grade to sign up for the Teen/Tween Summer Reading Program. Read six books to complete the program and earn a lava pen and coupons for free entertainment and food items, including: to the Tulsa Zoo • Admission to the Tulsa State Fair • Admission Cinnamon sticks from Mazzio’s Italian Eatery • Snack wrap and bottled water from McDonald’s • Chicken nuggets from Wendy’s • Frozen custard from Freckles Frozen Custard • Glazed doughnut from Krispy Kreme • Iced and decorated cookie from Merritt’s Bakery • Round-trip bus ride on Tulsa Transit • Admission to a Tulsa Shock game • Admission to a Tulsa Drillers game •

home. Along the way, Theo finds a best friend (something she’s never had before), answers about her mysterious grandfather, and help finding answers. Laura Marx Fitzgerald has written a spectacular Tween book, but the characters, writing, and story are great and should grab the attention of many readers beyond the Tween group. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck

C a s e y Snowden has spent his entire twelve years steeped in baseball, but not in the usual way. Sure, he played a couple years of Little League, but most of his baseball knowledge comes from growing up at Behind the Plate, an umpire school that trains umpires for the big leagues. One might

Once you complete the program, you may enter a drawing for cool prizes, provided by the Tulsa Library Trust, including: 360 console with Kinect bundle • Xbox Kindle • $25 andFire Barnes & Noble gift cards • $25 and $50 $50 Movie gift cards • $100 Old NavyAMC gift card • $100 Best Buy gift • Laptop, provided bycard the TCCL Staff Association • Entries for the drawing must be received by Aug. 2. Lava pen and coupons are awarded starting June 16 through Aug. 2. Visit our website at http://teens.tulsalibrary.org to register for the Teen/Tween Summer Reading Program or for more information on teen programming.

Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 11

think such a boy would have dreams of playing in the bigs or taking over the school, but Casey wants neither. He just wants to become the best sports reporter ever, and reporting has amazing parallels to umpiring. Casey is surrounded by interesting characters – his best friend Zeke, a bit of a geek, who is funny, smart, and a true friend; Sly, an eight-year-old girl, who is annoying, bright, and dedicated; Ibbit, Casey’s father and head of Behind the Plate and many other clever characters. There is also Casey’s mother, Mrs. Bob the Baker, who bailed on the family and the school, but now wants a relationship with Casey. Audrey Vernick has written a complex, many-layered story that will satisfy readers from ten up. Both boys and girls and many grown-ups will find this a fun and heartwarming story, and if readers are baseball fans, that’s a bonus. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck

Book Reviews Category

Mind & Body Fitness SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

She: A Celebration of Greatness in Every Woman By Mary Anne Radmacher, Liz Kalloch Viva Editions, $18.95, 202 pages Check this out! “A man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction.” ~ Oscar Wilde. Apparently society has often misunderstood a woman’s place in this world for centuries. The beauty of being a woman is all the things she can be, all the things she embodies. Author Mary Anne Radmacher has long been a voice for women and, in collaboration with artist Liz Kalloch, they have created She (She Harnesses Everything) – a celebration of greatness in every woman Their hope, in this offering, is to help us realize our capacity, our opportunity to celebrate our own individual, unique strengths. The book itself is a beautiful work of art, with gorgeous color and beautiful illustrations. I see this book as a source of empowerment, or even a gentle nudge to help us realize all the things we can be. I foresee it becoming a wonderful book to share with friends, or gifts to graduating girls on the threshold of their young lives. Each chapter features a special talent, something unique that Radmacher so elegantly describes. The coordinating illustrations for each are lovely. Let She remind us all our own capacity for greatness, at any and all levels, and places in life. Reviewed by Laura Friedkin The Essence of a Mother: Being Conscious of the Sacred Moments of Motherhood By Julie S. Jensen Skirt!, $22.95, 224 pages Check this out! What does being a mother mean to you? Do you envision a happy, well-adjusted family, a spotless house, home-cooked meals every night? That’s what author Julie Jensen used to strive for, until multiple sclerosis

robbed her of the ability to keep up with the physical demands she had been imposing on herself. With less ability to do and more time to think, Jensen spent many hours delving into the meaning of her life. Over time, she realized that being a mother means so much more than just being able to be productive, and her musings on the subject are gathered in The Essence of a Mother. In this book, which would make a fantastic present for Mother’s Day or any holiday, Jensen describes a series of essential traits for being a truly conscious mother, including valuing being together, taking it slow, being introspective, and, of course, loving unconditionally. Filled with personal anecdotes, other interesting little stories, and an abundance of inspirational quotes, this book will give you something to think about no matter how many children you have, no matter where you are in your mothering journey. Reviewed by Holly Scudero How Much Is Too Much?: Raising Likeable, Responsible, Respectful Children--From Toddlers to Teens--in an Age of Overindulgence By Jean Illsley Clarke, Connie Dawson, David Bredehoft Da Capo Lifelong Books, $16.99, 368 pages Check this out! Were you overindulged as a child? Do you overindulge your own kids? Most overindulgence occurs directly as a result of good intentions, but not everyone realizes how damaging it can be for children. In How Much is Too Much?, authors Jean Illsley Clarke, Connie Dawson, and David Bredehoft lay out the facts regarding overindulgence: what it looks like (it’s more than just too many toys) and how to identify it in your own life, methods of establishing the structure children need, giving your kids a sense of responsibility and independence, and even how to handle it when other people

are the source of overindulgence. There are three main types of overi ndu l ge nce: too much (money, things that cost money, time), overnurturing (think of today’s helicopter parents), and soft structure (too much freedom, not enough rules). These three types can take many forms, and the majority of the book is dedicated to recognizing them, as well as creating change. All of the information in How Much is Too Much? is based on extensive research that the authors have had a part in over the years. This book is so incredibly relevant in today’s culture; every parent would benefit from reading it. Recommended for everyone who has anything to do with children! Reviewed by Holly Scudero 77 Things You Absolutely Have to Do Before You Finish College By Halley Bondy, James Lloyd (illustrator) Zest Books, $14.99, 192 pages How do you have the perfect college ex-

per ience? What do you need to know as a f resh m a n? What experiences should you have? What should you avoid? What mistakes are inev itable? While every college experience is different, and rightfully so, there are some do’s and do-not-do’s that are universal, and plenty of suggestions that’ll work for most college students. 77 Things You Absolutely Have to Do Before You Finish College does a commendable job of keeping its advice and suggestions as allencompassing as possible. Some are common sense, some are great freshman-year starters, some are college bucket-list experiences, and some are genuinely heartfelt pleas for a happier, more satisfying, and safer college experience overall. And although it’s been a while since I’ve been in college, I can’t think of one thing Bondy missed. Everything from roommates and socializing to studying, weekend fun, See 77 Things, cont’d on page 15

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Book Reviews Category

Business & Personal Finance SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less By Robert I. Sutton, Huggy Rao Crown Business, $26.00, 368 pages Check this out! For the past seven years authors Sutton and Rao have been brooding over the mysteries of Scaling, which they define as spreading a “pocket of goodness” throughout a business or organization. Their study takes them far beyond the cam-

pus of Stanford University into the beehives of some of the world’s most dynamic corporations. What they learned and offer to us in this one-of-a-kind book proves that no single cookie-cutter pattern exists for creating scaling magic. Nevertheless, the insights gained help explain why so often the best genius remains log jammed within the bureaucracy of some organizations, while going viral in others.llThe list of companies detailed is far too numerous to list here Google, Facebook, Mozilla, Jet Blue, Kaiser Permanente, Pixar, to name a few, but the authors continue to refer back to one example in comparison to another allows the lessons of each story to sink deeper. Best of all, the size of the company doesn’t prevent even a single cubical worker from germinating a successful idea that can change an entire industry, if only the conditions are ripe. Reviewed by C.D. Quyn

and Did You Know. There are great photos for each as well. Some of these experiments are very simple, some more complex, but they are fun and they teach solid science anyone can understand and learn. So roll up your sleeves, put on an apron, find a kid, and have some science fun. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You: A Lively Tour Through the Dark Side of the Natural World By Dan Riskin Touchstone, $24.99, 272 pages Check this out! As a father and a scientist, Dan Riskin handles big important questions every day, but one question has plagued him. Knowing what he knows about evolution and biology, he questions whether his love for his son is less sincere or meaningful because

it’s a biological imperative. After all, that affection inspires him to protect his offspring at all cost, but what does that mean about the affection itself? In Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You, Riskin seeks to answer that question by analyzing animal and plant behaviors through a very familiar lens: the seven deadly sins. It’s a thoroughly entertaining concept that allows him to constantly compare human behavior and culture with the peculiarities of various species. Whether he’s talking about bats or parasites, giant mice or shrews, he presents the weird, wonderful, and sometimes gross aspects of nature with heartfelt humor and impressive scientific insight. From sex and parenting to survival and scavenging, the topics Riskin touches on span the spectrum of animal behaviors, making this a terrific glimpse into numerous animal ecosystems without bogging down too much in any one area. This is great stuff all around. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas

Category

Nature & Science SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Dad’s Book of Awesome Science Experiments: From Boiling Ice and Exploding Soap to Erupting Volcanoes and Launching Rockets: 30 Inventive Experiments to Excite the Whole Family! By Mike Adamick Adams Media, $18.99, 192 pages Check this out! Kids have a thousand questions about how things work and why things happen. Now there is a great book for parents to not just answer the questions, but let the kids learn the answers for themselves, with the help of an adult. These can all be done with simple items found in one’s kitchen or junk drawer or garage. The thirty experiments are broken up nearly equally between Chem-

istry, Biology, Physics, Planet Earth, and the Human Body. A good introduction explains who this book is for (just about everyone) and how important it is in learning science to have failures and to push through, repeating the experiments until success is reached. It explains the Scientific Method and the value of that in the learning process. Every experiment has great instructions with How it Works, Here’s What You Need, Here’s What You Do,

Read and download digital issues of your favorite magazines for free! • Choose from more than 125 magazines, including popular, children’s and Spanish selections. • Read online or download to your computer or mobile device. • Keep downloaded magazines forever! Visit TulsaLibrary.org/emagazines and use your library card 24/7 to read and download eMagazines. This free service is funded by the Tulsa Library Trust.

Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 13

Book Reviews Category

Biography & Memoir SNAP IT for additional book summaries.

Buck ‘em! The Autobiography of Buck Owens By Randy Poe, Buck Owens Backbeat Books, $29.99, 334 pages Check this out! Imagine yourself backstage with the mavericks of country music, and Buck Owens begins spinning yarns about the music business, the way it was when to get a hit you had to make it happen at the “Grand Ole Opry” in Nashville. Buck went the opposite direction, to Bakersfield, California, and found a way to make it happen in a very big way by buckin’ the norm. Late in life, with “Hee Haw” reruns still getting air time, and his twentyfirst number one hit playing on the country music charts, Buck Owens started talking to a tape recorder about his life. Randy Poe, an author of five other books, transcribed Buck’s words in his memory. In 2006, Buck died doing exactly what he loved. ll Arranged in a series of vignettes that offer plenty of insider information about show business, Buck talks to us with casual frankness about owning radio stations, recording music, and making a hit out of a television program with a funny name. Perhaps the story that tells us the most about Buck is near the end of the book when he buys the old “Bakersfield” sign and moves it to keep them from demolishing the thing. Reviewed by C.D. Quyn Shadows in the Sun: Healing From Depression and Finding the Light Within By Gayathri Ramprasad Hazelden, $15.95, 240 pages Check this out! Imagine growing up in a culture that had no understanding or treatment for a serious illness. Compound that with growing up to view that affliction as a sign of weakness and great shame. Depression is such an illness and it crosses all cultures in countries across

the globe. Author Gayathri R amprasad grew up in a fairy tale like childhood in India. Her parents were a good balance of rich tradition and contemporary forward thinking that pushed their children to go beyond a life in India. But pressures to excel seemingly triggered low self esteem and feelings of worthlessness in Gayathri when she failed a qualifying class that was needed to go on to college. In Ramprasad’s deeply personal Shadows in the Sun readers follow her spiral into a dark descent of depression. Struggling with feelings of doubt and being unworthy, her parents were told she was merely a teenager acting out, dealing with the typical teenage angst. When her conditions worsened, her parents told her to pray to the gods. Living in a country where depression isn’t diagnosed or labeled, her idyllic childhood and adolescence progressed into a tortured coming of age, and then beyond into her adulthood. When her parents arrange a marriage to a virtual stranger, Gayathri is terrified that he will find out about her illness. Reviewed by Laura Friedkin Out of the Woods: A Memoir of Wayfinding By Lynn Darling Harper, $25.99, 288 pages Check this out! There are so many books, work books and self-help programs that encourage us all to find our authentic self. In different stages of our lives, we retreat within to question everything, and try to figure out who we will be, if we survive the aftermath of such happenings as our child leaving home to go to college, or the death of our spouse. Author Lynn Darling deals with both life changing scenarios in her book Out of the Woods. Labelled as “brave” by locals, but knowingly translated as “crazy” she buys an old relic of a rustic place, loosely resembling a home,

in the woods outside of Wo o d sto c k , Vermont. A far cry from her past life in Ma n h at t a n, NY, here she forces herself to figure out what comes next. D a r l i n g ’s prose is reminiscent of fellow woman writer May Sarton, and her writing style is beautifully descriptive. Enchanting and bittersweet, we tag along on her journey to making a new life for herself. As Thoreau once wrote “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach...” Reviewed by Laura Friedkin I Forgot to Remember: A Memoir of Amnesia By Su Meck, Daniel de Vise Simon & Schuster, $25.00, 288 pages Check this out! Memoirs are usually written by people who have interesting stories to tell of

their own life experiences. The root of the word means “ m e m o r y, ” and most memoirists recount many of their harrowing or inspiring or fa sc i nat i ng memor ies. Su Meck’s memoir is unusual, not because it’s not absolutely fascinating or that it’s not about her own life, but because she doesn’t actually remember many of the stories she relates. The nearly-fifty-year-old suffered a brain injury when she was only twenty-two, and it led to the loss of all of her memories from before that time, as well as an often spotty memory afterward. In I Forgot to Remember, then, she works much as a biographer, interviewing those closest to her to be able to piece together her own life. The result is an incredible story of a life that was most definitely unusual, of a woman having to learn right alongside her toddler and baby after a devastating loss of memory and most basic life skills. Meck

Enjoy thousands of full-content newspapers for free! • Get instant access to 2,200+ newspapers from 97 countries in 54 languages, with over 1,200 in English. • Stream newspapers 24/7 while at home. • Use the PressReader App to download up to eight free newspapers per day to your mobile device by logging on to the library Wi-Fi. • Keep downloaded newspapers forever! Visit TulsaLibrary.org/enewspapers and use your library card to stream or the library Wi-Fi to download newspapers. This free service is funded by the Tulsa Library Trust.

Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 14

Book Reviews shares her feelings and struggles and the ways she tried to adapt and “fit in” for the past twenty-five years, knowing she was different from other adults but not knowing just how much so. It’s a remarkable story that readers won’t soon forget. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim The Splendid Things We Planned: A Family Portrait By Blake Bailey W.W. Norton, $25.95, 272 pages Check this out! The Blake Bailey of today has written a number of well-received biog raphies, garnering awards and recog nit ion. But once upon a time, he was the alcoholic, smart-butunfocused younger brother of a completely screwed-up serious alcoholic. His new memoir turns his fine writing skills and keen eye

of observation onto his own family life, and it is harrowing. One always hopes redemption is possible for anyone, regardless of how far they’ve fallen, and the Bailey family — respected attorney Burck, German-born mother Marlies, and younger son Blake — went through endless cycles of hope and despair over the self-destructive antics of older son Scott, who drank constantly, took drugs, regularly crashed cars, and was mostly cruel to those he cared about. Scott was, as is often the case with stories like his, perfectly capable of succeeding in some chosen field and making a life for himself. But some flaw in his DNA, some lack of belief in himself, something — and that’s the big question: what went so wrong for him? — left him angry at the world, blaming everyone but himself for his problems, for his weaknesses. And those were legion. The book is raw and honest, exposing the old wounds of a family’s failed hopes. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it is not to be forgotten. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim

Category

History & Current Events

war-lust of a failing state; this book gives Austria-Hungary its rightful, starring role as cause of the conflict. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner The Secret World of Oil By Ken Silverstein Verso, $26.95, 240 pages Check this out! Oil is the backbone of our modern world, an industry of hundreds of billions of dollars. And, where there is that kind of money, there is corruption. Lots of it. The Secret World of Oil chronicles the types of players in this worldwide game, through brief portraits of some of the main ones. There are ‘fixers’, those who put the right people in touch with each other to get deals made; ‘gatekeepers’, who, with the proper payoff, will open doors to access new territories; traders and lobbyists. Of course there are the filthily rich dictators, impoverishing their countries while taking

a personal cut of the oil companies’ money. And all sorts of hangers-on who, because of their political connections, are courted by the oil industry for favors and good press. Excellent investigative journalism and clear, cogent writing expose the sordid backroom dealings and entanglements. The adage ‘it’s not what you know, but who’, has never been more true. And the costs to ordinary citizens and taxpayers are huge. This book is an essential read – entertaining, enlightening, and infuriating. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner

77 Things, cont’d from page 12 and money management are covered in these pages, often with lighthearted illustrations and chuckle-inducing commentary. (“Booty shaking is the almighty peacemaking universal language of fun” was a particular favorite of mine.) 77 Things You Absolutely Have to Do Before You Finish College is a terrific addition to any high school grad’s gift pile or freshman-year move-in gear. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas

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A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Hapsburg Empire By Geoffrey Wawro Basic Books, $29.99, 464 pages Check this out! A Mad Catastrophe finally brings some clarity to how the death of one Archduke, while admittedly tragic, could lead to the deaths of millions. Author Geoffrey Wawro focuses on the failing Austro-Hungarian empire and its ineffectual but war-hungry leaders, who think a war will redeem the empire’s honor. But inner conflicts and nationalism were tearing the country apart from within, while military leadership was obsolete or nonexistent. The lack of preparation for war was staggering; Austro-Hungarian troops were sent into battle with completely inadequate supplies, lacking food, uniforms, artillery, even rifles and bullets. The corrupt leadership stupidly sent the troops marching and countermarching over impossible terrain to battle enemy armies that far

outnumbered their own. Cond itions were horrific, and troops were ordered at some points to fix bayonets and charge against machine guns. The rotten collapse of the empire was also evidenced by the government’s charge to destroy its own citizens if there were any suspected of treason, and troops committed atrocities against noncombatants with the full endorsement of their leaders. The whole state was rotten to the core, and Wawro’s excellently written book, in chilling detail, explains all the frustrating and infuriating blundering. The war was completely senseless, the insane

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Tulsa Book Review • June 2014 • 15

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Join the conversation! Read this classic novel set in the 1920s, attend one of Tulsa City-County Library’s many summer events for adults and then join the Adult Summer Reading Program. Log “The Great Gatsby” or any other four books you read or listen to this summer on a simple online form available at TulsaLibrary.org/adultsrp and get a coupon for a free bagel from Panera Bread. You automatically will be registered for additional prizes. For a full listing of programs, see the library’s June and July event guides. Rediscover the joy of reading and then spread the word! Those 16 and older are eligible to participate.