The Wanderer

     In The Wanderer, by Sharon Creech, Sophie, three uncles, and two cousins set off on a sailing adventure from Connecticut to England to visit Bompie, father to the uncles, grandfather to the cousins.  Along the way, the uncles and cousins come to better understand Sophie and what she's been coping with.  The storms on the sea and the storms between the crew are told by Sophie and Cody (a cousin) as they write in their sea logs.  

     Note: I love Sharon Creech.  She is one of my favorite authors.  If this book sounds wrong for you, try another of hers.  You will not be disappointed, I've never been.

What I liked:

• Sharon Creech hides a secret about Sophie so well that when it started to come out, I had to re-read the last forty pages to see what I'd missed.
• The chapters all have names, not just chapter 7.  
• The juggling Cody teaches the crew becomes something more.  It becomes a better way for Sophie to escape unpleasant situations.
• The chapters alternate between the voice of Sophie and the voice of Cody.  This format makes the book move real fast.
• Even while writing the two voices, Creech keeps them clear and different.
• Sophie asks the best and most simple questions to the adults.  Why didn't you marry her if you love her?  Why don't you work at a job you like?  Why can't I be different?  
• Not all female writers are good at writing for a boy, and not all male writers are good at writing for a girl.  Sharon Creech is good at writing for a boy.  Cody is very believable.  His words sound like a ten year-old boy.
• Cody reminds me of my younger brother, Jo.  Usually in trouble, always talking, maybe not that interested in school, but very good with people.  It's Cody's patience and love that help Sophie overcome her past and unlock her memories.  He even learns how to handle the snotty cousin Brian.  Like Jo, he occasionally says very profound and insightful things, for a goofball.  Here is his theory on people, pg. 226
  

  '"You know," he said, "maybe that's all anybody wants, is to be useful... And to have somebody else notice it."

What I didn't like:

• I know that Creech's work is often set in very beautiful and well described settings.  The Wanderer is.  But I just can't relate to a childhood of rowing and boating and sailing and swimming in natural bodies of water.  It may be because I've lived all my life land-locked, but it was hard to imagine.
• The kids and uncles are always throwing around words like aft, fore, trysails, and gale.  Since I've grown up land-locked, I don't know much about sailing or coastal weather.  It made some parts a little hard to follow.  

The Borning Room

     I've just finished The Borning Room by Paul Fleischman.  It's a story of a Georgina Lott born in Ohio during the 1850s.  The story is told through the happenings in the borning room, a room set aside for delivering children and death.  As her story is told, Fleischman weaves in issues happening at that time.  Runaway slaves and emancipation, news of the civil war, doctors taking over the role of midwives and their use of chloroform, electricity, sewing machines, and in her later life the Great War.  

What I liked:

• The midwife speaks in a German/English mix.  A mild reminder that we never did speak only one language in the U.S.  
• The Lott family discusses what is right vs. what is law.  Should they harbor a run away slave?  Should women have the right to vote?  Should you have to fight if you are drafted into the war?  It shows that things change bottom up and that we don't have to wait for the top.
• The grandfather and an aunt live in the house, as does Georgina and her husband after their marriage.  Maybe I like my family too much, but I like the idea of a multi-generational household.  It takes a village and it's great that they chose their own village.
• You always learn a little something from historical fiction.

What I didn't like:

• The Lott family is always on the side of right.  I don't know anybody that enlightened. 
• The chapters are long and the dialogue is, well, boring.
• As the grandfather lies in the borning room dying, he is visited by various ministers who are working to get him to repent of his pagan ways so he can go to Heaven.  It was an uncomfortable scene.
• Mr. Fleischman writes a scene where Georgina labors through a birth in the borning room.  I just couldn't swallow how he, a man, had written the birth.  He describes it vaguely, but as very painful.  It's very negative. 

What I'm not sure if I liked or not:

     During the mother's last pregnancy her husband convinces her to switch from the care of the experienced midwife to the care of a doctor, fresh from med school.  The doctor uses chloroform and of course has no idea what he's doing, and it ends terribly.  I like that it's the traditional lay midwife with the knowledge and experience and common sense who is vindicated.  I hated that the father is so impressed by a medical degree.  It reminds me too much of how things are today.  Say 'midwife' out loud and men pounce on you for being dangerous and haphazard.