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Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated My Wounded Island in Books

Jun 18, 2018

My Wounded Island by Jacques Pasquet is a beautiful book. The artwork is breathtaking. The main character fears the sea. She and her family are forced to move to the center of the island because of the rising sea level. Things are changing and it is scary. The artwork really helps you understand the emotion of the story. It might take awhile for the kids to understand the beast is global warming, but it has a great message about why it's a problem, even though there's no real conversation about how to solve the global warming problem.

The book is a story of Imarvaluk, a young girl who lives on a tiny island near the Arctic Circle. She is part of a strong community that continues to live the way their ancestors had. Still, things are changing. The weather is impacting their small island, shrinking the pack ice and flooding the island. Scientists try to help by studying the impact and new barriers are put up, but there is no stopping the monster of climate change as it ravages the Arctic. The little girl imagines it as a huge sea monster, coming to gobble them up. For now, their homes are being moved to the center of the island but eventually, they will have to decide if they will leave and lose their community.

I recommend this book for bigger kids who are interested in environmental issues.

I received this book from Orca Book Publishers via NetGalley.

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Booksnthreads (19 KP) rated The Things a Brother Knows in Books

Jun 5, 2018

I really wanted to love this book. The topic of returning veterans from Afghanistan deserves a place in young adult literature. Unfortunately, The Things a Brother Knows has some significant weaknesses that overshadowed what should have been the meat of the story.

Reinhardt seems to feel the need to cater to adolescent hormones by throwing in a few unnecessarily suggestive scenes that really lend nothing to the plot. Is she afraid that teenagers won’t read her work otherwise? (In defense of suggestive scenes, I don’t typically have anything against them when they are integral to the story line. One look at my past reading lists should hint at that.)

In this case, the romantic relationships that develop in the story not only come off as improbably and entirely sudden, but personally, I feel they detract from the main plot line of a young man trying to reconnect with and understand his brother who has recently returned home from the war.

I will say, however, that I really do like how Reinhardt has dealt not only with the effects of war on returning soldiers, but also with the family dynamic. Not having any personal experience with this, all I can say is that from an outsider’s standpoint, the portrayals feel authentic. I also really appreciate how she manages to skirt the political issues of the war in favor of focusing on the human aspect.