August 20, 2014

The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel

By Cristina Henríquez

The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel should be required reading in American schools.  It tells the story of two Latin American families and their neighbors, who have immigrated to the USA and are living in Delaware.  While the book is fiction, it clearly describes the experiences of families coming to the USA without knowing how to speak English.  The challenges for the different family members are told through first person narratives.  As one who is involved with adult literacy programs, I found the stories to be heart wrenching.  The bibliography at the end contains an excellent list of books that explore the Latin American experience in the USA.  The book of Unknown Americans: A Novel is definitely a significant read. 

Fantastic Mr. Fox

By Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl remains one of my favorite children’s authors and Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of his best books.  I just reread it after viewing Wes Anderson’s movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox.  The book is a simpler version of the movie, but I think that the movie was very true to the feel and intent of the book.  All of the characters in the movie seemed very true to the original characters in the book, as did the plot.  I loved the simplicity and the humor when I originally read the book to my own children and with students in school many years ago.  It was like revisiting an old friend as I reread it today.  Definitely a great read!  Highly recommended as a family read aloud for children 5 to 10 years old.

Big Little Lies

By Liane Moriarty

I picked Big Little Lies up as a vacation book, thinking it would be a light read.  It was a quick read, but definitely not light.  I read it in one day and was unable to put it down.  I thought that it would be about school moms, and it was.  The main characters were a variety of stereotypical PTO parents.  The setting was an eccentric community and grammar school in Australia.  The format was unique, introducing a murder mystery through quotes from members of the community, running parallel to the story.  Trigger alert: While at times very funny, Moriarty’s was a very serious look at domestic abuse.  There were some fairly graphic descriptions of domestic violence throughout the book.  I wasn’t expecting that and I think it’s good to know in advance.  With those words of caution, I do recommend Big Little Lies as an engaging and entertaining read with social value.