Nancy Farmer

Reread for Newbery discussion in Children's Books group:

Ok, I'm about 1/3 through The House of the Scorpion. I did read it years ago. My adult son has read it three times over the years. He's even read the sequel.

I don't know if I'll read the sequel, if I'll be up to it. This is tough going. Intense and complex. Not "juv," like most Newbery books, but "YA" which means for ages 13 up. At least 13... I don't know if I'd encourage kids younger than 15 to read it, tbh. (Not that I'd forbid them to, of course.)

I can't guess why the kid's bodyguard is named Tam Lin. Maybe it will make sense later?

Ok done. I did not want to try to sleep while in the middle of this.

Still not sure of Tam Lin's name. He does appear to be a bad guy, then good, then bad..., so that's kinda like the shape-shifting in the folk tale. :shrug:

"Always choose your bodyguards from another country...."

"... coma victims hear everything people say and need voices to keep their brains alive."

"All clones are classified as livestock because they're grown inside cows. Cows can't give birth to humans."

"... some people may think slowly, but they're very thoroughabout it."… (more)

The whole middle of the book was an interesting survival story, the child alone on an island on a lake with only a blade. I liked that part, especially the comparisons of baboons to people. And I appreciated aspects of the ending, though it seemed rather implausible.

Catherine's review says it best: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2989743119

But I can't rate, as it's just not my kind of book. I believe it's mostly well-written, and well-researched (includes notes and glossary), and valuable, and interesting for fans of adventure stories and historical fiction, but not for me.… (more)

About halfway, and enjoying it very much. Yes it's an adventure that takes place in a city of desperate inequality, but it's not entirely dystopic, and in fact it is in some bits funny. And it's as much about the kids as it is about the mutant detectives of the title.
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It's getting a lot more intense & scary. And less funny.

And done. Unfortunately it's actually bloated, and about this white author's impressions of Africa. She did live there twenty years, but her outsider perspective still shows, imo. And while I understand that every adventure, every person met, was chosen by the author to strengthen the themes, and to develop at least the older boy's character, I do think that she could have written a lot more concisely and engagingly.

I disagree with the reviewer who didn't think of it as SF. The advanced technology and the slightly different society are integral to the themes and plot. But I do wonder about the character of the younger boy, as he was meant to be a little lion and all he did during the story was be a shadow, mainly of the Trashman. And I don't like that the older boy expected to have to protect his slightly younger sister - she could have had a much stronger role.

The analysis of Resthaven was interesting, esp. in comparison to that of the community in [b:The Giver|3636|The Giver (The Giver, #1)|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1342493368l/3636._SY75_.jpg|2543234], a recent Newbery winner. There are some strong disincentives to living as the ancestors did, especially for women, but the woman who worked so hard to earn a place there makes the case for the advantages of a community that is bound unto itself and isn't unraveled & tangled like the Outside.

I understand that this is an early work. I expect to like [b:The House of the Scorpion|13376|The House of the Scorpion (Matteo Alacran, #1)|Nancy Farmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1401734230l/13376._SY75_.jpg|868252] much better, when we get to it in the Newbery Club for which I read this.

"The martial art instructor was small and extremely tough. ... he looked like a buffalo that had been boiled down until only the gristle was left."… (more)