DECEMBER The Sherlockian by Graham Moore Moderator, Brad Craddock
JANUARY My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallant Moderator, Shelley Davis
Hurtling from present day New York to Victorian London, The Sherlockian weaves the history of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle into an inspired and entertaining double mystery that proves to be anything but "elementary."
In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective's next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning-crowds sported black armbands in grief-and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.
Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had "murdered" Holmes in "The Final Problem," he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found.... Or has it?
When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, The Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagines he's about to be thrust onto the hunt for the holy grail of Holmes-ophiles: the missing diary. But when the world's leading Doylean scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, it is Harold-using wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories-who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.
A brilliant and immersive, all-consuming read about one fourteen-year-old girl's heart-stopping fight for her own soul.
Turtle Alveston is a survivor. At fourteen, she roams the woods along the northern California coast. The creeks, tide pools, and rocky islands are her haunts and her hiding grounds, and she is known to wander for miles. But while her physical world is expansive, her personal one is small and treacherous: Turtle has grown up isolated since the death of her mother, in the thrall of her tortured and charismatic father, Martin. Her social existence is confined to the middle school (where she fends off the interest of anyone, student or teacher, who might penetrate her shell) and to her life with her father.
Then Turtle meets Jacob, a high-school boy who tells jokes, lives in a big clean house, and looks at Turtle as if she is the sunrise. And for the first time, the larger world begins to come into focus: her life with Martin is neither safe nor sustainable. Motivated by her first experience with real friendship and a teenage crush, Turtle starts to imagine escape, using the very survival skills her father devoted himself to teaching her. What follows is a harrowing story of bravery and redemption. With Turtle's escalating acts of physical and emotional courage, the reader watches, heart in throat, as this teenage girl struggles to become her own hero—and in the process, becomes ours as well.
Shot through with striking language in a fierce natural setting, My Absolute Darling is an urgently told, profoundly moving read that marks the debut of an extraordinary new writer.
JANUARY My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallant Moderator, Shelley Davis
In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective's next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning-crowds sported black armbands in grief-and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.
Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had "murdered" Holmes in "The Final Problem," he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found.... Or has it?
When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, The Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagines he's about to be thrust onto the hunt for the holy grail of Holmes-ophiles: the missing diary. But when the world's leading Doylean scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, it is Harold-using wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories-who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.
Turtle Alveston is a survivor. At fourteen, she roams the woods along the northern California coast. The creeks, tide pools, and rocky islands are her haunts and her hiding grounds, and she is known to wander for miles. But while her physical world is expansive, her personal one is small and treacherous: Turtle has grown up isolated since the death of her mother, in the thrall of her tortured and charismatic father, Martin. Her social existence is confined to the middle school (where she fends off the interest of anyone, student or teacher, who might penetrate her shell) and to her life with her father.
Then Turtle meets Jacob, a high-school boy who tells jokes, lives in a big clean house, and looks at Turtle as if she is the sunrise. And for the first time, the larger world begins to come into focus: her life with Martin is neither safe nor sustainable. Motivated by her first experience with real friendship and a teenage crush, Turtle starts to imagine escape, using the very survival skills her father devoted himself to teaching her. What follows is a harrowing story of bravery and redemption. With Turtle's escalating acts of physical and emotional courage, the reader watches, heart in throat, as this teenage girl struggles to become her own hero—and in the process, becomes ours as well.
Shot through with striking language in a fierce natural setting, My Absolute Darling is an urgently told, profoundly moving read that marks the debut of an extraordinary new writer.
My Absolute Darling is a disturbing book about a teenager who is physically, mentally and sexually abused by her father. Her dad refers to her as "my absolute darling and tells her that she is his possession". I thought the book to be very violent. When Turtle (aka sweetpea, Julia, and kibble) makes her father jealous or angry she pays for it in physical abuse. When her grandfather gave her his prized knife, Martin (her dad), destroyed the knife and then punished her by having her hang from the rafter and do pull-ups while he put the knife between her legs.
ReplyDeleteI think our students, who have been abused, will have a difficult time reading it but it might feel comforting to know that they're not the only abused kids out there. The parallels in the book are with nature and Turtle's life. When there is turbulence in nature, there is also turbulence in her life. Even the healing process, where she gardens but things don't grow well because her healing is not going well.
The book became more interesting when she met Brett and Jacob. Brett and Jacob decided to go on a walkabout and they got lost. Turtle followed then and was able to save them, in the process she fell for Jacob. She and Jacob became stranded and she had the survival skills to save them. The book shows that she had to use those survival skills to live with her dad. Those same instincts saved her in so many situations.
The book was all over the place and I would have like him to spend more time on her relationship with Jacob and his family.
The only reason Turtle decided to go after her dad was because of Cayenne, a small girl her dad picked up at the side of the road. Turtle became protective of her and when her dad started to abuse Cayenne, Turtle took action. I wonder how long she would have endured her dad's abuse if Cayenne didn't move in.
This book works well with health because we teach about abuse, how to recognize it and what to do about it. If used in a health classroom, I would only take small parts out of the book for the class to read and address how they would handle it.
The book was very difficult for me to read because of the relationship between Turtle and her father. Having children of my own and reading about the treatment of a child was hard to stomach. That being said it was presented well and is definitely an interesting coming of age novel. It was sometimes hard to put down at times due to the level of action and my interest in seeing what choices Turtle would make. Turtle was a well-developed character who learned how to be self-sufficient in order to be part of life. Turtle’s thoughts are normal to her but it was hard to read about the abuse and criticism from her father. It kind of reminds me of Stockholm syndrome and she got used to the abuse and could not see a way out. I don’t thinkThe book was very difficult for me to read because of the relationship between Turtle and her father. Having children of my own and reading about the treatment of a child was hard to stomach. That being said it was presented well and is definitely an interesting coming of age novel. It was sometimes hard to put down at times due to the level of action and my interest in seeing what choices Turtle would make. Turtle was a well-developed character who learned how to be self-sufficient in order to be part of life. Turtle’s thoughts are normal to her but it was hard to read about the abuse and criticism from her father. It kind of reminds me of Stockholm syndrome and she got used to the abuse and could not see a way out. I don’t think the book would be read by an entire class but it could be used as an outside of class book for older students. It absolutely needs a mature audience in order to understand the text. the book would be read by an entire class but it could be used as an outside of class book for older students. It absolutely needs a mature audience in order to understand the text.
DeleteI enjoyed the Sherlockian by Moore. I found it interesting on how they switched from the Victoria era mystery to a current day mystery. Each era had their own investigator and side kick. In the Victorian era, there was Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram trying to find a serial killer, who was attacking women who were working towards "rights for women". The serial killer would marry the women and then kill them on their honeymoon. Arthur Conan Doyle is the author to the Sherlock Holmes series and as he travel throughout England, people voice their disdain at his killing off Sherlock so that the series ends. I thought that was funny how people responded to him when they found out who he was.
ReplyDeleteIn the current era, Harold and Sarah are the dynamic duo, who want to solve two mysteries, the murder of Alex Caine and who stole the diary of Arthur Doyle, which Alex claimed to possess. It was intriguing how the author connected the Victoria Era with today through the diary and what it may or may not contain. I was astounded to find out that Sarah was married to one of Arthur Conan's descendants but it was just another twist in the novel. I think our HS students will enjoy this book because many of them like mysteries. If I had to use this in health class, I would use the debate at the women's suffrage movement. I enjoyed how some women just wanted to keep things the same but add voting while other women wanted equal rights. I feel like we're still fighting for equal rights in the US and it would show how long the struggle has been going on. I enjoyed this book immensely.
I am not familiar with the actual story about Sherlock Holmes but I had an idea of what to expect. The Baker Street Irregulars gathered each year which is an interesting “club” in the modern age. Harold was definitely a believable character to me who sets out to solve the case. The idea of finding the diary to embark on an adventure is exciting. However, when Cale is found murdered in his hotel room, with no trace of the diary, Harold takes it upon himself to employ his knowledge of Holmes’s techniques, Harold uses his own sharp wits and tenacity to solve the mystery and find the diary. The way that the story ended after solving the case was very abrupt. I though the ending could use more information about what happened as a result of solving the cases. Overall the book was easy to read and I enjoyed the jumping back and forth between the two stories. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good murder mystery. Also, you don’t need to be a Holmes fan to appreciate both the writing and the plot of this book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.
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