What secret asian girl is Reading

The Neptune Challenge by Polly Holyoke

In the first book of the series, The Neptune Project, Nere learns an unsettling truth about her family. Her new-found abilities underwater, as well as some physical challenges which have been the source of some social insecurities, have been in fact, caused by her own mother. In addition to normal teen/parent friction, Nere must now come to terms with the fact that her scientist mother, Gillian, bio-genetically engineered her daughter's DNA for survival. Nere's poor eyesight, shortness of breath, ability to stay underwater for long periods of time, were all deliberate adjustments made by her parents in order to save humanity from a no longer safe existence on land. The down side: it is a life without her family...but not necessarily alone. Nere has the companionship and loyalty of a pod of dolphins she and Gillian had been training with the help of Nere's enhanced telepathic communication skills. She, and the other kids like Nere, adjust as best they can and learn to make peace with their parents' betrayal, no matter how well-intended. The sequel, The Neptune Challenge, deals with the dynamics of her new "mutate family," which brings new betrayal, true evil, and reveals loyalties she no longer thought possible.

I'm always looking for a sophisticated middle school level series that I can recommend to my library customers of that age who are not yet ready for YA but bored by traditional series. Too often, juvenile fiction is in a rush to appear "cool" by introducing obvious mature subject matter or gets bogged down with complicated fantasy which can be distracting. The Neptune series does mildly disappoint by following the typical "teen outcast finds her unique skill which ultimately makes her popular" theme which I normally find unoriginal but the storyline is so exciting and clever, I often forgot it was juvenile fiction. There is also a hint of teen romance but not so much it renders the protagonist catatonic, an insulting and all too common theme in many popular series. 

I found the plot even and edgy, without being contrived. Ms Holyoke is not afraid to cross the line in juvenile fiction that some parents draw regarding reality and violence. There is brutality, torture, death and savagery in these novels, but the author tempers it with sacrifice, commitment and forgiveness without being sappy. I think kids nowadays not only can handle it, but they expect it. There is also the subtle message of preserving and protecting our planet from the dangers of climate change and overzealous harvesting of our seas. Readers who understand the symbiosis of marine and land life will find this series a reminder of how humankind's survival depends on learning to share our planet with all her other occupants.


For more information on these books visit here.
Buy Links:

Barnes & Noble ~~ Amazon ~~ indiebound

Click here to learn more about Texas author Polly Holyoke.

How to Age Gracefully

I love this. Apparently, "Stay weird" is the best advice no matter how old you are.

What secret asian girl is Reading

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

I probably shouldn't have read all the hype and suspicion surrounding the publication of Go Set a Watchman before reading it. Armed with a prejudice against it, I put it off as long as I could until I could no longer escape the inevitable questions, "Have you read it yet?" "I think I'm going to hate it, did you?" When you work at a library, these are daily fodder. No, I did not hate it. I did strongly dislike the construction of the plot, if you can call it that, but the previews prepared me for that. My first curiosity was of the title, which I looked up and, knowing Ms. Lee's predilection for biblical reference and her age, is from the King James Bible: "For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth" (Isaiah 21:6). Since this novel is written from the perspective of the now grown Scout, going by her given name, Jean Louise, I figured it would be about something she is witnessing or realizing for the first time. 

It's no spoiler to say that Jean Louise's eyes are opened to the true nature of her famous father, Atticus Finch, champion of the downtrodden, protector of equal rights, when she follows him to a town meeting of ex-Klansmen and town bigots. If you're offended by the word "nigger," stop right there and don't even read this at all. As offensive as this word is to us today, to deny that it had a place in history is to deny history itself. It didn't take as much courage as you'd think to bandy this word around - and it's used a LOT - when this book was written, as it was more a part of colloquial speech than we'd care to admit. Most of the book is about Jean Louise's reconciliation with the fact that her father, and her town for that matter, has proverbial feet of clay and that he doesn't really care about the little folk but is a true knight of the law, defender of the Constitution as it stands regardless of whether it's right. Jean Louise finds this revelation about her father abhorrent and starts to question her entire childhood. If Atticus can be a racist and a segregationist, then what am I?

At this time, in the mid-fifties, blacks were still living in the long shadow of Reconstruction, especially in the South, and Jean Louis, fresh from a two-year stint in New York, is naive to what is behind the "kindness" and "harmony" Southern whites exhibited toward blacks. Tolerance implies a certain reluctance, doesn't it? Her uncle Jack, whose rambling explanations are so tangled up with literary allusions and anecdotes, is no help whatsoever, leaving Jean Louise to figure it out for herself. Her old standby, maid and nursemaid Calpurnia, now infirm and living with her family, is suddenly cold to her. As a child, Scout lived the life of a protected, and privileged white girl in bright and happy Oz. The reality for many, including Calpurnia, was a black and white Kansas...a life of hardship and denial. What Scout realizes is that the hometown never changed. Her boyhood friend and wannabe fiancé is the same boy he always was. Atticus never pretended to be more than he was. What's changed is how Jean Louise sees the world. Her disappointment is really in herself for not seeing things as they really are. Acceptance, and yes, tolerance, is part of adulthood and as Jean Louise comes to the conclusion that she could never live in a place where she disagrees with so many people, Uncle Jack tells her that's precisely why she must move here and reminds her that a closed society like theirs will never change without fresh blood. He tells her, "The woods are full of people like you, but we need some more of you."

Perhaps Ms Lee never intended for this book to be published because of the popularity of To Kill a Mockingbird, her only other published work. Fans finding out Atticus's true nature might fear ruining his legacy just as Jean Louise had trouble accepting it. Fans, like Scout, may have mistaken her father for God. Or maybe she felt that her readers weren't ready or open-minded enough for the truth. I think readers today are used to characters being more complicated. There's no such thing as a White Knight (no pun intended) and more often than not, princesses have to save themselves. And if you think we live in a post-racist world, you're not paying attention. I liked the message in this book, that you have to try to see past your own perspective to get a better glimpse of reality. You are no longer a child and no one's going to tell you what to accept; you are your own Watchman.