A lengthy but thorough and valuable treatment of living in China.
An American records his daily experiences as an English teacher in China.
“China is still China; crazy and fascinating.” That’s the upshot for Joe Brennan after six years as an English teacher in Beijing. Brennan started his second career in 2004 when transitioning from 25 years as a Silicon Valley technical writer. The teaching program prepares students to attend Western universities. The entire account is in journal format, which records daily happenings, samples of student papers, English signs, speeches and dialogue. A daily submission might be several paragraphs or simply stated in one line. There are entries for ongoing matters, such as pay negotiation or bargaining a taxi fare, but also for single incidents, as when the teacher is given an apple that’s stolen by another student. The diary format seems mostly unedited, so the final product often reads like a raw travel guide. Observations glossed over in more conventional guidebooks receive more consideration here. The reader thus learns more about public nose-picking or same-sex affection. These discussions often fall under several categories or themes familiar to the global traveler. These themes combined with Brennan’s wry humor and the sometimes good-natured communication between guest and host, and the result is a sardonic take on world affairs. Where else could one find amusement in the stereotyped Westerner as a “wealthy foreign devil.” This humor however, is balanced by Brennan’s more serious views on issues like China’s raging pollution or their high suicide rate. The author’s purpose in writing is never explicitly stated, so it might be difficult to determine a well-defined audience. At 300-plus pages, the journal format has its benefits and drawbacks. The dozens of entries over a six-year period will offer impressive insight to someone considering the same vocational or lifestyle path, whereas an extended vacationer reading the account would gain plenty of knowledge but might be hard-pressed to read such a lengthy treatment. Absent also is storytelling in the tradition of beginning, middle and end; however, the unrefined conveyance is still thematic and coherent enough for an unconventional framework.
A lengthy but thorough and valuable treatment of living in China.Pub Date: July 23, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 508
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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