Review: Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Furthermore
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 30, 2016
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Rating: 5/5 "I loved it!"

I borrowed this book from the public library.  Dutton Books and Tahereh Mafi did not request this review.



Description from GoodReads

A captivating and colorful adventure that reads like a modern day fairy tale, from the bestselling author of the Shatter Me series.

Inspired by her childhood love of books like A Secret Garden andThe Chronicles of Narnia, bestselling author Tahereh Mafi crafts a spellbinding new world where color is currency, adventure is inevitable, and friendship is found in the most unexpected places.

There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn’t miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it’s been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she’s about to embark on one to find the other.

But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she’ll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. It will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father, Alice must first find herself—and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.


My Thoughts
Before we get into my thoughts on this book, I NEED to share my story of getting this book into my hands.  Way the heck up here in Northern Minnesota, if KMart doesn't have it, you either buy it on Amazon or consider yourself screwed. Furthermore was my most anticipated book in 2016.  August 30th came.  KMart did not have it.  September 30th came.  KMart did not have it. Neither did our library.  So, I spoke to my librarian friend and told her of my plight!  She came to my rescue and bought this book specifically for our library!  YES!  Then, when the book came in and was processed, she didn't even bother putting it on the shelf before putting it in my hands. I picked this book up and just held it and petted it.  It's so freaking shiny!  I actually ran home from the library and fan-girled to my guy about it.  I'm pretty sure he thought I was either crazy or going to blow up because there was so much squeaking and squealing!

Anyway, at some point I have to tell you about the amazing-ness that is Furthermore.  My absolute favorite part of this book was Mafi's ability to create a new and amazing world.  Even though some crazy things (rainlight, down exits, doors into other worlds) Mafi makes her audience believe that these things are totally possible because the setting is so believable.  I loved that she was able to keep her facts about both worlds in this book straight.  This made it so much easier for me to understand what was going on and what kind of magic worked in what world.

Another thing that I absolutely loved was Mafi's narration.  I loved that she chose to write in a third person omniscient point of view.  This allowed her to really add an extra level of description and plot to the story with ease.  Additionally, the narrator was very good friends with the characters.  This makes for some HILARIOUS chapter headings. I refuse to spoil these for you.  Get the book.  See them for yourself.

Alice was a wonderful character.  I loved that Mafi just allowed her t be the twelve year old that she was slated to be.  Mafi didn't try to make a twelve year old who was well-behaved and a perfect angel. Instead, she presents Alice as a troubled preteen who has a hard time staying out of trouble and deals with parental strife and chaos.  Alice is so realistic, that I could actually picture her fitting in very well with my seventh grade class.

While the length of this book may intimidate some students, I think that it would be useful for talking about the universal ideas of self-acceptance and choices.  Mafi does a terrific job not only providing evidence of these universal ideas, but of stating the theme of the novel right at the conclusion.

About the Author
She was born in a small city somewhere in Connecticut and currently resides in Santa Monica, California with her husband, Ransom Riggs.  She drinks too much caffeine and finds the California weather to be just a little too perfect for her taste.  When unable to find a book, she can be found reading candy wrappers, coupons, and old receipts.

Two Mini-Reviews! A Poem and Short Story by S. M. Boyce

Good morning!

A few weeks ago, I was introduced to S. M. Boyce's work.  I was a little bit apprehensive at first.  However, I am glad that I gave her a chance.



To start out, let me tell you a bit about her poem A Life for Sale.  This poem tells the story of a woman with a final, mournful wish for the living, told through the guise of an estate sale. I felt that this poem was beautifully written. Boyce uses personification and imagery to bring this story to life.  Additionally, this poem has a very haunting tone that forces you to think about the theme and the life of the woman discussed.  


After reading A Life for Sale, I was feeling pretty good about reading her work.  I loved that she had her own style and a wonderful personal flair that really brought her poem to life.  But, I still wondered what she could do with prose.





To answer my question, I read Origins: To Each His Ghost.  This short story describes a woman's troubles and the dangerous situations she encounters after ignoring her own good ghost.  I was blown away by Boyce's use of description and characterization. Although she relies on flashbacks to fill in the missing gaps,  The flashbacks, however, were wonderfully placed.  She only used them when they would truly add to the story.

I currently have her book Lichgates on my TBR.  While it may take some time before I am able to read it, I am seriously excited for the opportunity!

About S. M. Boyce

I’m S. M. Boyce, a lifelong writer with a knack for discovering adventure and magic.  

Blog Tour: Brainwalker Review

Title: Brainwalker

Authors: Robyn Mundell & Stephan Lacast

Published by: Dualmind Publishing

Publication Date October 1st 2016

Genre: YA Scifi/Fantasy
Rating: 5/5 "I loved it!"

Buy Links: Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback

http://brainwalker.net/

Summary from Goodreads:

Fourteen year-old Bernard is full of out of the box ideas—ideas that nobody appreciates. Not his ultra-rational father, not his classmates, and definitely not his teacher, who’s fed up waiting for Bernard’s overdue science project. You’d think with a hotshot quantum physicist for a dad, the assignment would be easy as “pi”, but with his relationship with his father on rocky ground, Bernard is under more pressure than a helium atom.

And Bernard’s impulse control flies out the window when he’s stressed. So instead of turning in his project, he moons the class and gets suspended. Now his dad’s got no choice but to bring him to his work. At the Atom Smasher. It’s the chance of a lifetime for Bernard, who knows smashing atoms at the speed of light can—theoretically—make wormholes. How about that for the most mind-bending science project ever? But when he sneaks into the particle accelerator and someone hits the power button, Bernard ends up in the last place he’d ever want to be.

Inside his father’s brain.

And it’s nothing like the spongy grey mass Bernard studied at school. It’s a galaxy, infinite and alive. Like, people live there. A mysterious civilization on the brink of extinction, as unaware of their host as he is of them. But there’s zero time to process this. Bernard’s about to be caught up in an epic war between the two sides of his dad’s brain over their most precious resource:

Mental Energy.

With his father’s life at stake, Bernard must go up against the tyrannical left side of his father’s brain to save the dying, creative right side. But how the heck is he supposed to do that when he’s just a hopelessly right-brained kid himself?

Add to Goodreads



My Thoughts
From the very beginning, I loved this novel.  I loved the concept. I loved the characters.  I loved realizing that my students would love this and that it would be a wonderful tie in with teaching about the brain and even theme in literature.  

I have honestly been telling all of my friends that they are required to read this book. I even have one committed to doing so!  YES!

OK, the first thing that I want to mention is how realistic the characters are.  For example, near the beginning of this book, Bernard moons his whole class.  I've actually been mooned by a student.  Another thing that you come to expect as a teacher is that students often think creatively when we expect them to think more logically.  In my two years as a teacher, I have learned not to ask why a student does something.  They either won't know or I really don't want to know.  Bernard is a perfect example of this aspect of junior high.

As previously stated, I loved the concept of this book and that it can be used to teach theme.  In a sentence, the theme could easily be stated as "It is important to use both creative and logical thinking."  This theme is blatantly obvious throughout the entire book.  Heck, Bernard is on a mission to save Floyd from only thinking logically!  I think that this is an important concept for middle school individuals to consider.  It is difficult to mature into adulthood while maintaining a healthy level of creative thinking.  I love that this book will inspire children to keep that part of their thinking alive.

I strongly urge you to read this book! Please let me know what you think!



Check out a Q&A with the authors, HERE!

        

                                                                                  About the Authors

Robyn Mundell is an award winning playwright. A graduate of New York University, she performed in dozens of plays in New York and was part of David Mamet’s Atlantic Theater Company. She studied with such theater legends as Uta Hagen, Lee Strasberg, and Stella Adler.

Robyn wrote and performed in several of her own plays including Pieces of O and Traveling Bowls of Soup, produced by Pulitzer-prize winner Beth Henley. Traveling Bowls of Soup opened at the Met theater to rave reviews and received several Drama-Logue awards. Robyn has since been selling original screenplays and TV pilots to major film companies and networks. She is the daughter of Canadian Nobel laureate Robert A. Mundell, and is married to actor-playwright Raymond J. Barry. Together, they have four children.

French-Born Stephan Lacast likes to think of himself as a geek, which depending on your  dictionary means either “knowledgeable about computers”, or “boring social misfit.” At the age of twelve his idea of fun was building computers and programming, and by fifteen he was a contributor to a computer magazine. A graduate of Paris-Dauphine University, he holds a Bachelor in Economics, a Master in Business Administration, and a Master of Advanced Studies in Information Systems.

After teaching at Dauphine University, Stephan went on to work as a consultant and engineer for one of the top ten Information Technology services companies in Europe, before deciding to leave Paris and move to the United States.

Author Links:

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Blog Tour Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours