Chaffey Memorial Library's Check It Out!

Winter 1999 - Volume 3 Issue 1

Snow Falling on Cedars takes place during 1954 and in the shadow of World War II. In the town of San Piedro, a Japanese-American named Kabuo Miyamoto stands trial, charged with cold-blooded murder. The people of the town believe he killed Carl Haines.

Hatsue is Kabuo's wife. When she was ten years old, Ishmael Chambers, a neighbor boy, taught her how to swim and one day he kissed her. When he was fourteen years old, Ishmael had known Hatsue for six years, and she had begun to interest him deeply. They had played together as children, walked together from the school bus, met on the beach and in the woods, and during the strawberry season, they worked for Mrs. Nitta. Ishmael confessed his love for her. For four years, while they were in high school, the two met inside a hollow cedar tree. They were seniors in high school when the war started.

Hatsue's father was arrested and the U.S. War Relocation Authority announced that islanders of Japanese descent had eight days to prepare to leave for a camp in Manzanar. Ishmael and Hatsue would communicate through letters in one of their friend's names. When Hatsue's mother found out, Hatsue had to tell Ishmael that everything was over between them.

After receiving the letter from Hatsue, Ishmael trained as a marine rifleman and radioman. He was later wounded and lost his arm. Meanwhile, Hatsue met Kabuo in the camps. They both wanted a strawberry farm. When the Japanese had to leave, Kabou's father wasn't able to make his last two payments, and Etta, Carl's mother, sold the farm to someone else.

When Kabuo and Hatsue returned, Kabuo wanted to buy the land back. When the new owner, Ole, was going to sell, both Carl and Kabuo were interested. Carl bought the land back. After he is found dead, caught in his own fishing net, Kabuo seems to be the only murder suspect. And there is some evidence that Kabuo killed Carl in anger over his family's lost land. Would a man murder an old friend as revenge for his family? Would he kill to have his property restored? Find out!

I chose to review I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings because I have previously read works by Maya Angelou and have been deeply influenced by her work. Although I struggled getting into the book, once I found its drift, it swept me away.

This is the story of Margurite and Bailey Johnson and their development in life. Brother and sister, and only a few years apart, they were delivered to their grandmother's house in Stamps, Arkansas by their parents who divorced when the children were three and four years old. 'Momma,' their grandmother, was a very successful black woman, very religious and owned her own merchandise store in Lafayette County.

Their father one day comes to get them, and for the first time, they can remember, they met Bailey senior. He takes them away to meet their mother, Ms. Vivian Baxter. Maya (Margurite) is molested by her mother's friend, Mr. Freeman. Vivian doesn't know how to take care of Maya and sends the children back to Stamps.

I rented the movie to give Maya and the rest of the characters a face other than the one I had in my imagination. It was a good movie, but a disappointment in comparison to the book itself. In the movie, the conclusion is dropped as is the discussion of Maya's sexual curiosity and the birth of her son.

I rate the book a 10--Angelou's words show the life of African-Americans, the innocence of kids, and the life of God.

**"Six months older than Elaine and one year ahead of her in school, I learned to read before she did…From the moment I read [my]first paragraphs to my mother, I was obsessed not only with reading, but with reading aloud. Everywhere we went, I insisted on reading every sign and billboard along the way. 'Why are you doing this?' Elaine asked. 'Oh, you'll understand someday,' I replied. 'Once you start reading, you can never stop.'" -- Doris Kearns. Wait Till Next Year. A memoir of a Dodger fan in 1950's New York.

Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol
By Nell Irvin Painter/370 pp.
Reviewed by Leica Cooksey

This is a biography of an ex-slave that became an abolitionist, a strong woman that became a symbol for African-American women in her own time as well as ours. Like Harriet Tubman, she was said to be a Moses of her time.

Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Van Wagenen, a slave, in the late 1790's in New York. This is interesting because most people think that slavery originated in the South, but that is not true at all. Isabella re-christened herself as Sojourner Truth on June 1, 1843.

One of the two most famous African-American women of the nineteenth century, Truth was more of a speaker than Harriet Tubman. Born a slave, she died a legend.

Rain of Gold
By Victor Villaseñor/551 pp.
Reviewed by Mireya Gomez

Rain of Gold is the nonfiction saga of Victor Villaseñor's own family, a story of poverty, immigration, struggle, and success. It focuses on three generations of Villaseñor's family, their spiritual and cultural roots back in Mexico, their immigration to California, and their overcoming poverty.

Rain of Gold begins in 1911 in the war-ravaged high mountains of Northwest Mexico during Pancho Villa's revolution. The family of Lupe, Victor Villaseñor's mother, leaves their village in pursuit of safety and prosperity in the United States. Similar circumstances set the family of Juan, Villaseñor's father, on their way to California. Juan becomes a successful bootlegger. His path crosses that of Lupe and the two fall in love.

The book is composed of five books put together to make the whole story. These include: "Rain of Gold;" "The Hand of God;" "The Crying Tree;" "Even God Needs Help;" and "A Time of Miracles."

I rate this book a 10+++ because it is wonderful, not boring, and makes you turn the pages with a lot of excitement, wanting to know what will happen next. It's funny and romantic at the same time. The style is easy and keeps the plot moving quickly. The experience of each individual is incredible. Once read, never forgotten. I'm even going to buy it!

Chuck Jones: A Flurry of Drawings
By Hugh Kenner/140 pp.
Reviewed by Dennis Durston

When I graduate from high school, I'm planning to become a cartoonist. That's why I chose a biography about the famous cartoonist Chuck Jones. Chuck Jones is known as the creator of the characters from Looney Tunes--characters such as Bugs Bunny, Wile E. Coyote, and Road Runner. Many know Chuck Jones as a great cartoonist, but not many know how he was discovered. Not many know his great devotion to the art of cartooning. Jones first worked as a cell washer for an animation company just to get close to the field of animation. He was soon discovered and started making his own animated characters.

I learned some new tips on animation from reading this book. I found this biography to be informative.

**"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." -- Henry Adams.

The Octopus
By Frank Norris/472 pp.
Reviewed by Ben Wood

The Octopus is a phenomenon of literature. Although it is famous for being a naturalistic novel exposing the evils of the railroad, it is much more. Set in the Tulare Valley of the late 19^th century, the beauty of nature is sharply contrasted with the blackness of the monopolistic Pacific and Southwestern Railroad. It is a must-read for any California native or anyone who wonders about California's history.

The characters are deep and develop throughout the novel. The reader develops a strong affection for the intellectual and poet, Presley, the novel's protagonist. Stronger, however, is the relationship the reader grows to have with the prune-eating, Dickens-reading, rough-skinned Annixer, a masterpiece of character construction.

A touch of the supernatural gives The Octopus a mystical, romantic quality. Indeed, Norris writes with such style that his language holds surprises for even the most experienced, jaded reader. I wholeheartedly recommend The Octopus.

**Every man who knows how to read has the power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting. -- Aldous Huxley.

The Adventures of Cattie Hazzard
Reviewed by Alli Cardiel

The Adventures of Cattie Hazzard is about a woman who's trying to do what's right while everything around her is going wrong. 

Cattie Hazzard is a tavern owner in a town that's fighting for freedom. She is forced to provide room and board for a group of soldiers that is sent to keep an eye on the town. The man in charge of the soldiers also happens to be Major Sparhawk, a man with whom Cattie had a very brief rendezvous almost eight years before. This makes the new living situation very uncomfortable for Cattie.

In this story, Cattie is forced to make a loot of hard choices. Her main priority is her daughter, but next will she fight for mysterious love or the respect of her town? 

This is an incredible book. I recommend it to anyone who has ever had to try and fight love. With each chapter, you'll find yourself more and more amazed.

**Books for Teachers: Making Sense of Your Teenager by Lawrence Kutner, Ph.D. A Totally Alien Life-Form--Teenagers by Sydney Lewis. No Matter How Loud I Shot: A Year in the Life of Juvenile Court by Edward Humes.

This book is about a vampire's life from beginning to present. The book starts out in the present with a vampire named Louie telling a reporter about is life. Louie goes back to 1791. His brother had gotten sick and died; his wife and her baby died while she was in childbirth. Upset, Louie invited anyone who wanted to take his life. A vampire named Lestat accepted the invitation. He wanted a companion, and he saw that Louie was lonely, so he chose him.

Louie didn't take the fact of becoming a vampire very well. He didn't like to take people's lives. He tried to survive by drinking the blood of animals like rats, horses, and chickens. After awhile, the slaves on Louie's plantation grew suspicious and started chants to drive away evil spirits. Louie let them go free and then lit his house on fire.

The novel goes on from there to tell how Louie develops a taste for human blood. It also tells who is turned into a vampire.

Interview with a Vampire is the kind of book you never want to put down. It is non-stop action. Even if you are intimidated by bigger books, this one will be no problem. The only thing I recommend is that you read this book where you will to pay attention to what you're reading. I give this book a 10. If you saw the movie and think that was good enough, I say to you, I saw the movie, too, and the book is better!

Are you the type of person who likes to read mysteries? How about horror? Well, Dracula is the perfect book for you. It is full of horror and suspense. Throughout the whole book, something interesting is happening. I'm not the reading type of person, but this book actually kept me awake. Even though it's long, it's worth it.

Count Dracula is lord of the un-dead. He lives in his castle in Transylvania, the country of superstitions. At the beginning of the book, Jonathan Harker is traveling to Dracula's castle for a business matter. Little did he know what awaited him. The first thing that Jonathan noticed was how there were no mirrors in the castle, and no servants. Jonathan had some kind of fear of the Count because of his appearance. He had long, pointed teeth he was old, and his nails were long and sharp. He was also never hungry and always made up excuses not to eat. Later on, Jonathan finds out other strange things.

There are also other characters: Mina Harker, who is Jonathan's wife; Lucy Westenra, who is Mina's friend; Dr. Seward, Arthur Dodalming, and Quincey Morris, three men in love with Lucy; and professor Van Helsing, who was the first to discover who Dracula was. All these characters promise each other to destroy the Count. A lot of strange things happen to them, but they are determined to work hard.

I leave it to you to find out what happens.

Beyond the Burning Time
By Kathryn Lasky/265 pp.

One of the girls accidentally lets the truth slip out to Caleb. More and more of the townspeople are being imprisoned and Caleb tries to help stop it. There is no way to prove that the whole thing is a hoax, so all anyone can do is watch. Pretty soon, most of the religious people are named as witches. Caleb and Mary's mother, Virginia, is also named. The kids try everything to save her before her scheduled hanging.

The book has three girls named Mary which is confusing; but overall, I liked it. There were a lot of elements that made it seem real. It had a part dealing with family values and the crisis is really heartwarming.

Shizuko's Daughter
By Kyoko Mori/214 pp.
Reviewed by Veronica Clair

What would you do if one day you came home and found your mother lying dead on the kitchen floor? Well, that's what this book is about. This happens to a twelve-year-old Japanese girl named Yuki Okuda.

The story begins when Yuki's mother is getting ready to kill herself. Shizuko was very unhappy with her husband; he didn't love her anymore, and he did bad things to her. Before dying, Shizuko writes a letter to Yuki saying that she was sorry for everything she had done and to please forgive her. After her mother's death, Yuki goes to live with her Aunt Aya.

Eight months after Shizuko's death, Yuki gets a call from her father telling her to come to Tokyo for a surprise. The surprise is that Yuki's father will marry his young, pretty secretary with whom he had an affair while Yuki's mother was alive. In two weeks, Yuki has a new stepmother who is only concerned with appearances and treats her like dirt. Yuki's father simply had no lover for her at all.

I think students will like this book because they will see what Yuki had to go through with no one to guide her way.