"Hope's Boy" by Andrew Bridge

320 pages


Andrew Bridge's childhood was never stable. His dad was never in the picture, and his young mom, Hope, was so overwhelmed with him when he was little that she sent him to live with her mother in Chicago, while she lived in southern California. Andy loved living with his grandma, and he was happy. Then, when he was five, his mother decided she wanted him back. As much as he adored his grandmother, he was excited about being with his mother. It didn't take long, however, for it to become clear that Hope was not ready to be a mother. In fact, she could barely take care of herself. In only a few years, Andrew is taken into foster care, where he remains until he becomes an adult. Here, he chronicles his rocky time with his mother and subsequent journey through the foster care system. 

Andrew has a heartbreaking story, and it's totally inspiring how he came out of his situation and used education to make a better life for himself, and how he works to help foster children now that he's an adult. It's a story that's been told before, but I think it's important for people who have been in these circumstances to tell their stories so the rest of us know what happens to these children. It makes the statistics seem more real. It's not a book that I enjoyed reading--it made me sad--but I am glad I did.

"The Other Wes Moore" by Wes Moore

233 pages


Two boys named Wes Moore. Both lived in the same decaying area of the same city. Wes A, as I'm calling him, grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, White House fellow, and business leader. Wes B ended up in prison for murder. When Wes A's mother told him about the man from the same neighborhood with the same name who was going to jail, he was intrigued. He began talking to the other Wes while he was in jail. What started with a few letters became in-person visits, and slowly Wes A began to unravel the two men's lives and what made them different. What he found, however, was that for every question answered, new questions came up.

This is a fascinating story. Ultimately, there never is a big, clear answer as to what separated the fates of these two men; there are lots of small things that contributed to the paths their lives took. I feel like this story is a bit unorganized--it would benefit from some more structure--but it's well-thought out and engaging.

"Bitter End" by Jennifer Brown

359 pages


When Alex falls for Cole, the cute new guy at school, everything seems perfect. Sure, he seems a little jealous of her good friend Zach, and any other guy who comes near her. But he's sweet, he loves her, and he understands her like no one else. As time goes by, though, it seems like something's wrong. Soon Alex can't ignore Cole's put-downs, threats, and increasingly violent behavior, but she can't seem to let go of her first love. As things get worse, Alex realizes she's going to have to make a big decision before it's too late.


I'm really happy to see a teen novel that addresses violence like this without being too preachy. That said, I didn't really enjoy the actual story very much. It felt very predictable to me and I thought several aspects were oversimplified. I wish there was more backstory on both of the main characters--Alex and Cole--to help me understand how they ended up in the positions they were in. Although limiting their stories emphasizes that dating violence can happen to anyone, as a reader I wanted more. 

"Going Underground" by Susan Vaught

336 pages

Del has always been a good kid; he stayed out of trouble at school, obeyed his parents, and made good grades. All of that changed after one seemingly innocent incident when he was fourteen--an incident that made Del a social outcast and a felon. Now he's just trying to stay under the radar until he turns 18. He goes to school and his job at a graveyard--that's it. No social life, no dating. Then a mysterious new girl in town--one with plenty of baggage of her own--threatens the balance he's finally achieved.

This is a really interesting story. I felt a real connection with Del right away. He's someone who's paying big time for a mistake he made a long time ago, and I think a lot of us can relate to that on some level. I got a kick out of the secondary characters as well, especially Fred the parrot, who provides some comic relief. Del's situation got me thinking about some controversial issues, and Vaught does a great job of showing aspects of these issues that are often overlooked. The side story with Del's boss is moving as well.

"Poor People" by William T. Vollmann

314 pages

William T. Vollmann has never been poor, but as a journalist he has seen a lot of poor people. This got him thinking, so as he traveled around the world he began asking the impoverished a single question: "Why are you poor?" They responded in shocking different ways. For Buddhists in Thailand, the answer was simple: They had done something wrong in a previous life. Mexicans attributed their ill fortune to the misdoings of the rich; in Yemen, the poor refused to acknowledge their poverty because to do so would show ingratitude to Allah and make it seem like they weren't satisfied with what they had been given. The Japanese also tended to deny being poor, but for a different reason: personal shame. Vollmann's stories shed light on the complex factors that contribute to poverty in different parts of the world, with lots of photographs to illustrate what he's talking about.

This book does a great job of explaining different factors that create poverty and is especially good at humanizing the impoverished people he talked to and got to know. He took the time to get to know them so he could share their stories well, and the photographs also help the subjects feel real. One thing I don't like is that although the entire final section of the book is called "Hope," I really didn't feel hopeful at all at the conclusion of the book. It doesn't seem like any of the people he talked to were making progress toward getting out of poverty, and he doesn't offer any solutions or strategies for helping. I didn't expect him to find the answer, but I guess that the title of the last section got my hopes up for some kind of happy ending. Nevertheless, "Poor People" creates a well-rounded picture of poverty through a combination of in-depth research (Vollmann did LOTS--check out the works cited in the back) and personal anecdotes.

Snow Falling on Cedars

by David Guterson, 460 pages

When local fisherman Carl Heine is found dead in his own net, the unnerved, wary eyes of his 1950s Washington community quickly fall on the head of another fisherman, Kabuo Miyamoto. Local newsman and war veteran Ishmael Chambers doggedly follows the ensuing trial, but his motives are soon revealed to extend far beyond mere journalistic interest. As one man's life hangs in the balance, another's reaches a crossroad.

I enjoyed this quiet, lyrical tale of racism, lost love, and war's lasting effects set in the Pacific Northwest in the years following World War II. As the links between the variously scarred characters are slowly revealed, a picture of a dark, often-neglected chapter in American history takes shape alongside a very personal journey through adolescence, first love, and the often bitter, character-shaping lessons that come with growing up. A puzzling mystery, tense courtroom drama, bittersweet love story, and snapshot of cultural history all rolled into one atmospheric tale, Snow Falling on Cedars reminds me a little of Faulkner's Intruder in the Dust and Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird with just a pinch of Rose's Twelve Angry Men. Very nice.

The book also has the distinction of having been banned (it was our in-house book discussion title in celebration of Banned Books Week!) as well as of winning the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award.