Thursday, May 8, 2008

Royal Savvy



I know I promised that I would only hit you with new entries on Monday, limiting your bloglook to one day a week, but people keep giving me fun ideas to write about.


Recently, a customer who is totally devoted to celebrity biographies gave high praise for The Diana Chronicles. Since my stack of unopened books continues to grow (and yes, it does include a copy of Barbara Walter's book, Audition) I didn't want to add another. Instead, I picked up the CD's at our wonderful Manitowoc Public Library, and have been listening to them as I drive. I enjoy audio books when they are read by the author as this one is. She starts with Diana's tragic death, and then goes back to her early years. At times, the author appears to be mocking, and trivializing Diana's life, making sure to highlight personality flaws, and general inadequacies. According to Brown, Diana's greatest accomplishment in grade school was winning an award for "Best Guinea Pig." The rest of the family gets the same royal treatment! However, the copious attributions lead me to believe the book is far better researched than the Tom Cruise biography I so foolishly read a few weeks back. Like many people, I am intrigued by the enigmatic Diana. I was in London the day she and Charles were married; having been in that electric atmosphere, watching the ceremoney with a two English grannies named Gwen and Petronella, and seeing the strong national support for the event and for the royal family, contributes to my interest in her and in all things British.


**********Summer vacation is coming, and already, my junior
high regulars are stopping by. They love to talk about what they are reading, and I try to stay as current as possible with new books for their age. I find young adult novels to be fresh, topical, well written, and occasionally a bit sassy! Savvy has all of those qualities.
Mibs Beaumont is about to turn thirteen, which, in her family, means that her "savvy" will strike. She was hoping that her particular savvy would be x-ray vision, but before she can celebrate her big day, her father is in a life-threatening accident. She begins to hope for a savvy that will heal her father. She hops a bus to the hospital, but it heads in the wrong direction, taking Mibs and all the other passengers on a ride they will never forget.

Reading this fantastical tale of the Beaumont family will leave you as changed as is you had discovered your owns savvy. What if your grandma moves mountains, one of your brother causes hurricanes, another creates electricity? What Savvy would you wish for?