The Call by Yannick Murphy

In The Call, a country veterinarian and his family are shaken when their young son is left in a coma after a hunting accident. Despite this, they try to maintain some order in their lives. He goes out on calls to take care of sick animals all the while to trying to find the man who shot his son. Then one day a visitor arrives unexpectedly and disrupts their pseudo-order once again.

I enjoyed this book. It's quite quirky and is written in a highly structured way that I haven't seen in any other novel. It starts off with brief rigid log entries about the vet's calls out to sick animals and gradually expands to include information about the other things, including some of the mundane ones, in their lives. I was amazed that the book kept to its log-like format throughout the whole book. I appreciated the format and author's discipline to keep to that format, but I might have preferred it if she had broken away from it for short periods. There were a few times where that format didn't quite fit with the situations in the book. I can't name them specifically, but I remember thinking that while I was reading.

I liked the characters, especially the vet. I loved reading about the animals he cared for and the owners he had to deal with. I also got a glimpse into the vet's family life, with his comatose son, his young daughters and his wife. It definitely gave me a new perspective and appreciation for those who making their living off the land. The one thing that bothered me was that the vet kept saying he was determined to find the man who shot his son, but I didn't get his sense of urgency. He thought about it a lot and went to talk to people, but his "investigation" was more roundabout than direct.

I didn't quite grasp the spacecraft or spaceman part of the story. I think I got who he was, but I couldn't figure out what "space" had to do with it. I must have missed something somewhere. I'm a little disappointed that some of its relevance was lost on me because it was a major part of the book. It didn't stop me from enjoying the story, though.

Recommended for those looking for something out of the ordinary.

For more information about this book, please visit the HarperCollins website.

This was a win from a newsletter giveaway on Shelf Awareness. Thanks HarperCollins.

The Call by Yannick Murphy, Harper Perennial (HarperCollins), ©2011. ISBN 9780062023148(Trade Paperback), 223p.

Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon

Newspaper Blackout is a collection of poems by Austin Kleon. Instead of starting with a blank piece of paper, he uses the newspaper and eliminates the words he doesn't need. From the back of the book: "Newspaer article + permanent marker = Newspaper Blackout Poem".

I'm not much of a poetry fan, but I loved this book. I found Kleon's style intriguing and like nothing else I've seen before. The book is fun, unusual and totally approachable. At first, I found a few of the poems hard to follow. Once I got used to the author's style, though, I really got into it.

Poems range from laugh-out-loud funny to profound and serious. The arrangement was loosely based on subject matter and added to my enjoyment of the book. Because I haven't read that much poetry, I really can't say much about the quality of the poems. I enjoyed them, though, and I think others will, too.

My favourites include: "The Bully" (page 12), "Children Play" (page 30), "Martin Strapped in" (page 34), "Kept Secrets" (page 113) and "His Wife Appears" (page 137).

Kleon's introduction about the art of newspaper blackout and its history was interesting. I didn't realize that similar art forms existed. I also enjoyed the section on how to create a newspaper blackout poem, which is included at the back of the book. It's harder than it looks...I know, I tried. One day I hope to post at least one of my attempts.

I found some of the poems visually appealing. It's hard to explain without an example, but the structure and flow of the words made some of them look like pieces of art. Beautiful.

Because this book is unusual, it might not appeal to everyone. Those who like quirky out-of-the-ordinary books will probably enjoy it as will poetry lovers. Highly recommended.

For more information about this book or to Browse Inside, please visit the HarperCollins website.

For more information about the author and to see examples of his work, please visit Austin Kleon's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Harper Perennial for this review copy.

Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon, Harper Perennial, ©2010. ISBN 9780061932973(Trade Paperback), 173p.

The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin

In The Queen of Palmyra, eleven-year-old Florence lives in Millwood, a segregated town in Mississippi. Her mother is the neighbourhood cake lady, who secretly visits the bootlegger. Her father is a burial insurance salesman, who goes to secret meetings at night. During the day, they leave Florence in the care of her grandparents' maid, Zenie. Florence sees how segregation affects those around her, but things really heat up Eva, Zenie's niece, comes to town, in this sensational coming of age story set in the turbulent 60s.

This book was terrific. Written entirely from Florence's point of view, the story takes us through her life as she sees it. She acts as our narrator and witness to these dark, emotional and troubled times. The whole story was extremely sad and had very few instances where there was a glimmer of hope. It was so hard to read at times, but that did didn't stop me from finishing the book. It was so compelling.

At first, I was a little confused. Some events were merely suggested, making it a little hard to know exactly what was happening to Florence. I thought the author might be sparing us the horrid details of abuse, but then I realized that the story was being told from Florence's point of view and she was only eleven-years-old. She either didn't truly know what was happening or didn't have the words to describe it. This would have been an entirely different story had it come from one of the other characters.

Florence was easily my favourite character. I loved her as the narrator. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her, though. She was young and didn't really understand what was going on in Millwood or even in her own family. Her immediate family was a mess and her caretakers were scared, for good reason. She would have been a lot worse off had it not been for Zenie, Mimi, her grandmother, and Grandpops.

Because the book features extraordinary characters in extraordinary times and contains plenty of contentious topics, I think it would be an ideal selection for a book group. I'm sure some of the discussions would be quite lively.

New word alert: There was one word in the text that I didn't know: malfeasance - misconduct

Want to know what others thought of this book? Here are some other reviews: Julie's review at Booking Mama and Katie's review at the Dundee Writer.

Highly recommended. I'd gladly read more of this author's work.

For more information about this book or to Browse Inside, please visit the HarperCollins website.

For more information about the author and her other books, please visit Minrose Gwin's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Harper Perennial for this review copy.

The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin, Harper Perennial, ©2010. ISBN 9780061840326(Uncorrected Proof), 390p.