James and the Giant Peach

 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl is a classic, but it is also a Banned book.  So we read it for the BNC Banned book group.  

It is a cute children's story about a young boy who loves his parents but they both go away together and are killed by a runaway hippopotamus.  That is so extreme it is funny.  they a series of silly and funny things happened to James.  He is taken in by two aunts who treat him terribly.  One day he meets a small man who gives some magic green bugs which he drops under a peach tree.  It magically grows a giant peach.  Inside the peach are a number of bugs.  James joins them on an adventure. 

The book was written in a different time and there are some inappropriate words or phrases that were acceptable then but are not appropriate today.  But I think instead of banning or changing the book, it should be read and the inappropriate passages discussed.  Also there are ideas that children can read about and laugh at to make them feel more secure and safe.  Like reading about how the mean aunts are killed by the giant peach and how there is a happy ending.  So children can feel that even if things are bad sometimes there are also good outcomes and positive experiences.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murders

 Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murders is a new delightful novel written by Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Vera Wong is a sweet little Asian woman living in San Francisco's Chinatown.  Her husband has passed and her son is a very busy lawyer.  He does not listen to her motherly advice and is always too busy to answer her text messages and phone calls.  Vera Wong owns and runs the Vera Wang Famous Teahouse.  She brews just the correct tea mixture for every person and every occasion.

When a dead body is found in her tea room one morning, Vera's quiet life is turned upside down. Vera decides to take matters into her own hands and investigate the death of the young man found on her tearoom floor.

In the course of her investigation she meets four very nice young people.  They all have a connection to the victim. They all have secrets they are keeping.  Slowly Vera tries to solve the crime as she cooks her way to being friends with these young people.  The victim's wife and daughter, Julia and Emily ar in need of some loving care.  Sana and Riki are looking for love and also benefit from Vera's delicious meals. Oliver needs some love and the protection and support of a Chinese mother.

This is a funny, warm story of how lonely people find each other and support each other.  The food description make your mouth water.  Sutanto is the author of the Dial A for Auntie mystery series.  I thin k I will look those up and try reading that series also.

Come See the Fair

 Come See the Fair  by Gavriel Savit is the newest book by this wonderful author.

This time the novel is a fantasy that takes both the reader and the characters to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair .  "Come see the Fair!" is a call that 14 year old Eva Root cannot resist.  She is an orphan, who rescued from the orphanage, by Mrs. Blogget, now works for her conducting seances.  One night during a seance, the voice calls to Eva and she is the only one who hears it.  Later that night she takes all her worldly possessions with her and jumps a train to Chicago.  One the train she meets Henry, a young artist who is sketching intricate drawings of places he has never seen.  He also has been called to the fair.

Eva who has always wanted to be a part of a family is quickly enveloped in the magical world the fair and Mr Magister.  Henry becomes her best friend, something she has never had before.  Together they spend their days going through the twists and turns of the Pavilion of Magic.  There is no sense of time and it is impossible to get an understanding of the layout of the building.

Henry is given special glasses, but he is not sure if they help him to see better or if they distort his perception even more.  Eva never really had any power call up the dead but maybe she has more magic in her than she thought,  She has a peach that she can eat and then holding the pit she can bring back the delicious fruit again. 

But sometimes what we wish may not always be for the best.  Eva wants what she thinks is family and closeness.  She learns that there are compromises and you have to give as well and receive. There are people who are too controlling and only think of themselves.  

This is an entertaining novel, but also there are some difficult passages, the Chicago fire and death.  Learning to how to suffer a loss and how to stand up for one's self.  These are important lessons in this book.