Review: The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

As part of my district's Local Author Book Club, we read The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum.  We actually met last month to discuss the novel, as well as had the chance to have a Q&A with the author.  This has been a really great opportunity to read more local authors, and for me, a chance to participate in a book club again!  For whatever reason, book clubs have proven to be impossible for me in the past, so taking another shot at one has been a great experience.

Synopsis:  Abby is having a perfect senior year and has the perfect boyfriend.  That is, until the new Italian student Dante arrives at school and throws everything out of whack.  Dante seems mysterious and spontaneous, while her own longtime friend and current boyfriend is predictable and a little disconnected from what she really likes.  Besides the intrigue that hangs over Dante, Abby finds that she's feeling off kilter a bit.  In fact, she has moments that just don't seem set in the present or at any moment.  Dante seems to have the answers that help Abby feel back in the present moment again, maybe because he doesn't come from the present, but more like the past?

Review:  In the beginning I really struggled to relate to the relationship between Abby and her long-time boyfriend.  While I understand that teenagers can fixate on their young love, I was a bit nauseated at times by the seemingly over the top romantic elements of the story.  Having spoken to some of my students who have read the novel though, they loved it and felt it tapped into ways they felt, so it must just be my age and experience (yes, and even my job as a teacher of teens) that gets in the way.  Abby isn't a totally helpless character, but she definitely has the "damsel in distress" element going for her, as the male characters play into the hero portion of the story. 

Once the story hits about the mid point, it really picks up speed.  There is a time-travel element to it that is intriguing, as well as references to classical literature that kept me on my toes.  Because of the unique twists in the story, it's hard to know exactly where the story is going, which is nice.  Yes, it has a love story.  Yes, a problem (a BIG problem) pops up to try to separate the couple.   However, you can't really predict what is going to happen, at least not completely.  In fact, the ending is so surprising in a way, that I'm glad I don't have to wait for the next book to be published to find out more!

One thing I did question in the novel, that really isn't a criticism of it, per se, but about young adult novels in general.  Where are the parents?  It seems like there are fleeting references to them being involved in their child's life, or even questioning them, but where do they go when their child is falling apart or risking life and death in some over the top action sequence?  I'm sure an author has to keep the parents less involved than some, so the character can experience a more dramatic conflict than the parent who keeps tabs on their child 24/7, right?  I get that you can't have the parents interrupt the story too much, but I've always wondered why the parents don't pick up on more of the craziness going on around them?!?

Overall, this is a fun book to read and consider.  While it had it's slow opening, and sometimes frustrating character interactions, it had a unique set of circumstances that kept me reading.  As a teen novel, I can say from experience with my students that they really liked it and felt connected to the story, which is a great thing when you're wanting to captivate young readers!

Lisa Mangum has also published Book 2, The Golden Spiral.  The final book in the trilogy, The Forgotten Locket will be released in May 2011.  For more information, see Lisa Mangum's official website.

*FTC Disclosure:  This review is based on a personal copy of the novel.

This review also counts as one of my 7th in the TBR challenge.  I'm not sure I'll be able to finish the challenge, but am happy to be able to say that this was one of the books I've had for awhile and meant to read!  Why I don't pick away at more from my pile, I'll never know. 

The Sunday So-So's

This past week was LONG.  I spent a good deal of my last week trying to get up to speed on our new term we just entered, so I could settle in for Term 2.  By the end of the week, things were looking pretty decent though, so I have high hopes for this coming one!

My BFF Doc is in the process of interviewing for medical internships across the country.  I don't understand most of what's going on, nor how this crazy process works or is feasible at all, but I was lucky enough to have her hanging around my place this weekend.  Although she had to work on an assignment on her laptop all day, we sat around in our pj's watching random stuff on DVR, and I worked on crafty things that I honestly hadn't touched in over two years! Below is the afghan I finished crocheting on Saturday.  It's now right on time for the holiday season.

For some reason, the picture isn't so great, but it is a "knobby" (if that's the right word) yarn and stitch that gives it a bit of character.  I was also working on a felt advent calendar, that was just for fun, but I doubt I'll really make much of a dent on that one before Christmas!

As for reading, I definitely have plenty that I'm working through.  This coming week we have our Local Author Book Club through my school district, "Teaching Through Literature Discussions," so I'm actually just starting The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum.  I'll really have to get a move on to get that finished by Thursday.  Later this week, I'll be holding a giveaway on this first book in her series, since I already owned a copy before the book club gave me a second!  Keep your eyes out for that giveaway.

I actually met the author at a book signing at a local Barnes and Nobles event in my area.  Just about every author from this area was there, and I went and purchased way too many books that day and had them signed.  I even took a few pictures with the authors.  I'll be honest, the pictures didn't turn out, so I felt it was a fail on my part and didn't end up posting them. 


On the blogging side of things, I'm excited to join in on two book swaps this year for Christmas!  The first swap I joined was the Broke and Bookish Secret Santa swap (open through 11/17). 

The second swap I joined was the Holiday Swap, which I participated in last year (open through 11/14).  Last year, I posted about the gift I sent in my December 3rd post.  Later, I shared in "Let the Holidays Begin...on Wednesday" what I received.  It was a lot of fun not only to participate, but to see all of the other posts that were shared during the swap.  If you're interested in sharing in the fun, I say join!  You still have a little while to join in, so do it today.

That's it for my weekend.  What have you been up to?

Literature in Teaching: Getting Away With Murder by Chris Crowe

The week that Parent Teacher Conferences falls on always seems to be a busy one.  This one was no different.  It's been a great week, but I'm now home sick with one of the worst sore throats I can recall.  I'm glad that I asked for a sub yesterday while I was at school, regardless of the second guessing I did once my voice warmed up by mid-day.  Today I can barely whisper, and even that has me wincing a little.  After sucking down an entire pack of Halls cough drops yesterday, I doubt that would have gotten me through to teach today.

Thankfully, my mind is clear and my fingers can still fly across the keyboard.  This is good, as I can share more about our first meeting for our district's book club "Teaching Through Literature Discussions."  I had the chance to meet Megan from Po(sey) Sessions and Allison from So Many Books So Little Time, who are both book bloggers.  If I missed others, my apologies!  I was rushing in right as it started, having been held up by last minute lesson plans I was writing up for my substitute teacher for today.  Once I left work, I really didn't want to have to return, so that put me in a little bit of a time crunch.

For our first discussion, we read Chris Crowe's non-fiction publication about the murder of young Emmett Till, Getting Away With Murder.  I actually had the chance to take a Young Adult Literature course from Chris Crowe when I was an undergraduate.  His class was rigorous, but exciting, and his teaching style was uniquely straight-forward and engaging.  I remember that we had to read stacks of books over the course of the term, which still adorn my bookshelves.  Thankfully, that class gave me a great foundation for teaching and recommending books to my own students.  At the time, Crowe was most likely just finishing his research on the murder of Emmett Till and finishing up with his first book.  I do recall Crowe sharing Emmett's story with us, as well as more information about his research and trip to Missisippi to learn more about the story.  He has gone on to write both his non-fiction account of Till's story, as well as Mississippi Trial, 1955.

For anyone who might be unfamiliar with the story, young Emmett Till was dragged from his uncle's home in Money, Mississippi on the night of August 28, 1955 and brutally lynched for whistling at a white woman at a local store.  Emmett was only 14 years old at the time and unfamiliar with the racial mores of the deep south, having come from Chicago, where Emmett had experienced much more freedom.  Both men accused of killing Emmett were later acquitted in court by an all-white jury in Greenwood, Mississippi.  They later went on in January of 1956 to admit to Look magazine in an article, "The Shocking Story of Approved Killing in Mississippi" to the murder of Emmett.

Roy Bryant & J. W. Milam in court.

The story is appalling and hard to imagine being a reality.  The details, information, and pictures in Crowe's book are telling, and his writing throughout the book is very engaging and easy to read.  Although the story is hard to take, the emotions it stirs and the impact it had in flaming the Civil Right's Movement into action are undeniable.  I highly recommend this small, yet informative book for all readers as a reminder of the direction that fears can take any person, community, or society.

For more information on Emmett Till, see:

• Emmett Till Murder .com
• The PBS documentary "The Murder of Emmett Till" on American Experience
• This Early Civil Right's Struggles Site
• A rap made by Vigalantee about Emmett Till  (Some disturbing images in the video included.)
• The Emmett Till Memorial Commission
• The Emmett Till Legacy Foundation