Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion, 2008)

Lynn: "Henry Smith's father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you." Trouble does come of course, even to Henry’s privileged New England family, when a truck driven by a young Cambodian immigrant critically injures Henry’s older brother. Schmidt’s signature fluid prose beautifully captures two distinctly different communities, exploring issues of racial prejudice, class, perception and family loyalty. Henry’s friend Sanborn and Black Dog (a terrific addition to literature dogs!) add humor to a leisurely-paced thoughtful coming of age story. There are some problems here including a few exceptionally convenient plot devices and some one-dimensional secondary characters but I didn’t care. Those concerns were swept away for me by the strength of the portrayal of Henry’s journey from childhood to adolescence, the vividly evoked sense of place and the masterfully crafted language. We recently heard Gary Schmidt speak at a conference about his fascination with what event or experience initiates the change from childhood to adolescence. That theme stands out so much for me in this book. Henry’s awakening is written with such subtlety and grace that I am willing to forgive any quibbles I might have.
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Cindy: There's no question that Schmidt is a master wordsmith. I've admired his writing since first reading The Sin Eater and I've read everything of his except Anson's Way. I agree with most of Lynn's praise for this book. The setting is fabulous, his descriptions are lush and the physical and psychological journeys mesh well. That said, I felt like I was being beaten over the head with the Trouble metaphor, especially the refrain about building your house far from trouble. I listened to this on audio, so perhaps that repetition annoyed me more than it would have if I'd read it in print like Lynn. I don't know, I like this book a lot and will booktalk it with teens but I'd have liked a little more subtlety. Listening to Gary tell stories at our conference was wonderful. He is a storyteller in every sense of the word. You just want to spend an evening by a fire and listen to him spin tales. Black dog is a keeper for sure. I'd like a whole book about his escapades. His effect on the house mimics that of my teenage daughters who leave a similar trail of destruction behind.

Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd (Random House/David Fickling 2008)

Cindy: From the haunting cover, readers are warned that this will be a novel of sacrifices. Fergus finds a body buried in the peat he is digging in Northern Ireland. It turns out to be from 80 AD, another body preserved in the bog. He begins to dream about the mysterious past of the girl, who apparently was murdered. Woven into this story is the 1980s politics of the Troubles, and the hunger strike by the political prisoners at Long Kesh, including Fergus's older brother. A romance with the archaeologist's daughter and Fergus's involvement in delivering secret packages that may contain bomb-making ingredients complicate his life. This is very different from the author's A London Eye Mystery, which I also loved. Fans of David Almond's books are going to admire this one for its magical realism bits, religious themes, and superb use of dialect. Even if readers have to scramble to research more about the Troubles, they'll have no trouble relating to Fergus's response to his first kisses: “Why wasn’t the whole world doing this all the time, why?”
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Lynn: Cindy has been after me to read this book for weeks and something always bumped it down the stack. Don't let this happen to you! I was prepared from the blurbs for this to be grim and while there are definitely dark and grim elements here, the overall tone is one of optimism and hope - despite all of man's idiocies, life is full of promise and with joy to be found in the most unexpected of places. Dowd weaves multiple plot threads effortlessly and the pace never falters. I was equally enthralled by the various stories, never impatient with any of them, and captivated by the beautifully developed characters. The cast is large from Welsh border guard to grieving mother to Iron Age girl and all spoke with convincing authenticity. The several mysteries are nicely resolved and the astute reader has all the clues needed. This is a beautifully crafted book that satisfies on multiple levels and deserves to win attention and awards. It completely won my heart and I am saddened again at the loss of this gifted writer.

Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith, illus. by E. B. Lewis

Cindy: I missed the prequel to this, The Way a Door Closes, when it first published, but hunted it down and read it, too, after reading this new sequel. 13-yr.-old C. J. struggles with a full range of emotions when his father returns to the household after a long absence. The poetry is very fine, the illustrations exquisite, and the story will touch the hearts of all who have had someone reinsert themselves in their lives. One of my favorite spreads is the one where the dad and son know that the house is no longer big enough for both of them. The illustration shows who is winning that fight. Caldecott committee, are you keeping the night watch?
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Lynn: We're conjoined souls on this fabulous book! The evocative poetry goes right to the heart and the wonderful illustrations extend and enrich the poetry for a powerful combination. This is a poetry book that will make converts out of people who think they don't like poetry. I love how this book speaks to the issue of changing family roles. So many of us have experienced that whether it is a traveling spouse, shift changes, divorce, stepfamilies etc. and this captures the complexity of emotions that lies beneath the question of who locks the door at night. Now I'd never tell an award committee what to do but....:-)