Showing posts with label adoption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adoption. Show all posts
Jun 1, 2016
Jul 2, 2015
Greenglass House - Kate Milford
Summary: At Greenglass House, a smuggler's inn, twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son, plans to spend his winter holidays relaxing but soon guests are arriving with strange stories about the house sending Milo and Meddy, the cook's daughter, on an adventure.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* It's Christmas break and adopted Milo and his parents are looking forward to a vacation all to themselves at Greenglass House, the inn where they live and routinely host benevolent passing smugglers. When five unusual guests unexpectedly arrive, and their belongings—which all have something to do with the house—start disappearing, Milo finds himself at the heart of a real mystery. With the help of Meddy, the oddball girl who arrives with the cook, and a role-playing game that gives him the courage to poke around where he knows he is not supposed to, Milo uses his knowledge of the house and his skills of observation to find the missing objects, piece together the mystery of the house, and discover a secret about the legendary folk hero who used to live there. The puzzling mystery is perfectly matched by the offbeat world of Nagspeake, a fictional harbor town enhanced by folklore and history rich enough to sound convincingly real, and the dreamy Greenglass House, with its enviable attic, snug corners, and thrilling past. Milford (The Boneshaker, 2010) weaves together compelling clues, crackerjack detective work from Milo and Meddy, and well-rounded characters to reveal heartwarming truths about Greenglass House and its residents. An enchanting, empowering, and cozy read. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
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Apr 1, 2015
Wolfie the bunny - Anne Dyckman
Summary: When her parents find a baby wolf on their doorstep and decide to raise him as their own, Dot is certain he will eat them all up until a surprising encounter with a bear brings them closer together.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* When the Bunny family find an adorable baby wolf on their doorstep, Mama and Papa are thrilled. Voice-of-reason Dot says, "He's going to eat us all up!" And she keeps saying it as Wolfie gets bigger. And bigger! When he eats all the carrots, his parents send him (dressed in a large pink bunny suit) and Dot down to the store, and for a moment, it looks as if her prediction is about to come true—at least where she is concerned. But it's not Dot Wolfie is staring at. It's Bear, who, as it turns out, is very hungry and ready to eat Wolfie, pink suit and all. Dot to the rescue! She gets the drop on Bear, who hightails it out of there. Then—oh my goodness!—Wolfie pounces on Dot. Was she right after all? Nope, it's only to give her a hug. This gets all the elements of the successful picture book just right: a familiar scenario (sibling rivalry), a scary adversary, a display of courage, and a happy ending. And then there's the art! OHora's unique acrylic illustrations have the look and feel of woodcuts. Big and bold, with strong yet simple shapes, the pictures are also intimate enough to capture Wolfie's goofy smile when he gets his pink bunny outfit, and the frightened but fierce expression on Dot's face. A crowd-pleaser for crowds big and small. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
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May 1, 2014
In a country of mothers - A. M. Homes
Summary: Jody Goodman, an aspiring filmmaker, and Claire Roth, a middle-aged counselor of troubled souls, develop a friendship that allows each to escape her prescribed role - (Baker & Taylor)
Publishers Weekly Reviews
In two previous books, Homes ( The Safety of Objects ) has written about people caught in the midst of change and unable (or unwilling), at first, to control or understand it. Naturally, one of her best subjects is adolescence; Jack , her first novel, tells of a boy coming to terms with his estranged father's newfound homosexuality. Here, Homes enlarges her scope with exhilarating assurance, paying equal attention to people young and mature as they pass from what they once were to whoever they must finally be. The novel concerns Jody, a frail but driven young woman pursuing a film career, and Claire, a successful, middle-aged psychiatrist who, many years ago, gave up a child born out of wedlock to foster parents. The third-person narrative shifts between the two women as Jody becomes Claire's intermittent patient and steady obsession, and the doctor, though happily married with a family of her own, becomes convinced that Jody is her long-lost child. But for Homes, this plot twist, despite its considerable suspense, serves mainly as a useful route for exploring the flux, passion and perversity of binding love. She does this with wit, skillful pacing and a sympathy for characters and their dislocations that borders--agreeably--on the uncritical. (May) Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information.
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Yotsuba&! - Kiyohiko Azuma
Summary: Yotsuba is the charming new girl in town in this all-ages shojo manga by the author of the popular Azumanga Daioh series. In seven stories, the green-haired four-year-old discovers air conditioners, doorbells, cicadas, swings and more, and does it all with the energy of a small hurricane. Her excitement is contagious and infects her handsome young adoptive father as well as the gaggle of pretty girls next door, all of whom get tangled up in her adventures as they try to keep up with her. But is there something strange about Yotsuba's lack of familiarity with the earthly world?
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Yotsuba is the charming new girl in town in this all-ages shojo manga by the author of the popular Azumanga Daioh series. In seven stories, the green-haired four-year-old discovers air conditioners, doorbells, cicadas, swings and more, and does it all with the energy of a small hurricane. Her excitement is contagious and infects her handsome young adoptive father as well as the gaggle of pretty girls next door, all of whom get tangled up in her adventures as they try to keep up with her. But is there something strange about Yotsuba's lack of familiarity with the earthly world? The mystery of her origins is partially revealed in the final story: her father, Mr. Koiwai, found her and took her in, but Azuma seems to hint that there's more to be explained about Yotsuba. Koiwai sums up the reaction everyone seems to have to this little bundle of energy: "She can find happiness in anything," he says. "Nothing in this world can get her down." The plots here are little more than setups to explore everyday objects or concepts through the eyes of the irrepressible Yotsuba, but the genuinely sweet formula works, thanks to Azuma's solid storytelling and deft humor. (June 6) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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Apr 1, 2012
This is US - David Marin
Summary: It was no mystery why California had 98,000 children stuck in foster care. There were not 98,003 because I was stubborn.
When David Marin fell in love with three abandoned children desperately in need of a home, there was only one thing he could do. Give up his relatively carefree life and learn how to become a parent. In the process, he found the future he had always wanted, but he also learned some hard lessons about single-parent adoption, the Kafkaesque side of Social Services, and America's anti-immigrant sentiment: Heartbreaking, funny, and inspiring, This Is US chronicles Marin's quest to create a better life for these children?and for himself.
- (Perseus Publishing)
ForeWord Magazine Reviews
Good books often give us some laughs and/or add to our knowledge about a relatively unknown subject. In addition to satisfying on both of those counts, this story had to be told—as a form of therapy and pride for its author, but mostly to hold up a mirror to our nation's incompetent social structure, in which far too many children are considered disposable.
Like any new parent, David Marin pulls the narrative equivalent of adorable photos from his wallet. His four-year-old daughter's recitation of the alphabet: "A-B-C-D-E-F-G, H-I-J-K-I'm a little pea," or the fact that his youngest prefers to be called "Shrek" and carries an ID with that name from a family visit to an aquarium.
In some ways, his three young children are typical, growing out of their shoes by the day and delighting in McDonald's. Their memories, however, distinguish them: Nightmares in which "robbers," aka cops and social workers, repeatedly take them away from each other and the people they love; how rubbing food on your lips can keep hunger at bay for a while longer; and that taking lettuce from the pet rabbit's cage when no one is looking is one way to survive. When the two-year-old messes his diaper for the first time in their new home, his four- and six-year-old siblings stand between him and the author, their new dad, to protect their brother from the wrath (and abuse) they've come to expect.
As a single adoptive parent of foster children in California, Marin sees his sacrifices as few, and his rewards innumerable: Instead of golfing seven times a month, he'll golf seven times a year. He is unapologetic about his desire to not be alone as he ages, or, as a light-skinned, redheaded man, to celebrate his late father's Puerto Rican heritage by adopting Latino children.
Marin's frustration with "the system" over the three years it takes to finalize his dream, plus his increasing horror at learning the details of what his beloved "angels" endured, structures a mostly discouraging tale. A chapter titled "Walnut" tells about the social worker who makes a surprise visit, and, while completely ignoring the children, offers to buy his daughter's walnut bedroom furniture because she's been looking all over "for a set just like it." The stats about prospective parents who begin the foster-cum-adoption process and ultimately burn (or opt) out are chilling.
Throughout his story, Marin receives much-needed emotional support, advice, and help from a woman he dates, who is a mother, as well as his own mother and sisters. He also gets released from a good-paying job and is forced to relocate after he makes public his plans to adopt. He subsequently sues his employer.
When a judge finally grants the new family's long-awaited adoptions, he says to Marin, "There are people out there who would try to save their sperm or hire a surrogate mother . . . ?But you went out and found kids who needed a home, and I am impressed with that." It's impossible not to be.
This is US is a celebration of difference. It will educate all prospective adoptive parents about what to expect from the adjustments required in building their new families, but will be especially valued by those willing to welcome the neediest children.
© 2011 ForeWord Reviews. All Rights Reserved.
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Aug 1, 2011
Secret daughter - Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Summary: Interweaves the stories of a baby girl in India, the American doctor who adopted her, and the Indian mother who gave her up in favor of a son, as two families--one in India, the other in the United States--are changed by the child that connects them.
Kirkus Reviews
Fiction with a conscience, as two couples worlds apart are linked by an adopted child.Gowda's debut opens in 1984 with poor Indian village-dweller Kavita giving birth to a second daughter. When her first was born, husband Jasu immediately arranged the child's death. Girls are a luxury the couple can't afford; they need boys, who don't require dowries and can help with the labor of surviving. This time around, Kavita stands up to Jasu, names the baby Usha and takes her to an orphanage. Adopted and renamed Asha, she becomes the only child of Krishnan, scion of a wealthy Bombay family, who is now a neurosurgeon in San Francisco, and his American wife Somer. Asha's arrival assuages some of Somer's pain over her infertility but brings its own cultural problems. Asha grows up feeling incomplete, cut off from half her heritage by her mother's fears and neediness. As a college student, her flair for journalism leads to a fellowship, and she chooses to spend the year in Bombay (now Mumbai), giving Gowda further opportunity to describe India, mainly its gender imbalance and the social divide between the wealthy and the grindingly impoverished. Somer and Krishnan's marriage goes through a rocky phase, and Kavita and Jasu have problems too, but Asha's visit inevitably provides the opportunity to connect some, if not all, of the loose ends.A lightweight fable of family division and reconciliation, gaining intensity and depth from the author's sharp social observations. Copyright Kirkus 2009 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
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