A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

Set in the fictional town of Bayonne, Louisiana in the late 1940s. Two African American men, proundly different, are both struggling to be men in a racist society.

Uneducated Jefferson witnesses the murder of a white storekeeper during a robbery. The perpetrators are also killed, and Jefferson is put on trial for murder. In Jefferson's defense, his lawyer says not that Jefferson is innocent, but that killing him would be like slaughtering a hog. The all white jury is not swayed by this argument and sentences him to death in the electric chair.

Jefferson's godmother, who raised him, asks a black school teacher, Grant Wiggins, to visit Jefferson in jail and help him to face his death with dignity.

Grant longs to leave the South and is unwilling to take his task seriously. He really doesn't believe it will make a difference. After all, though he is well-educated, he still feels bound and limited by the same racist attitudes that resulted in Jefferson's conviction and death sentence. Eventually, however, the two men form a bond that transforms them both.

Heart-wrenching and thought-provoking. A MUST READ.

When the Legends Die by Hal Borland

Thomas Black Bull and his parents return to the wilderness to live in the old way after Thomas' father kills a man. When his father dies in an accident and his mother follows as a result of illness and grief soon after, Thomas is left alone. He has no desire to return to the white man's world and lives peacefully on his own for several years, befriending an orphaned bear cub along the way and renaming himself Bear's Brother.

Eventually, he is discovered and forced to attend school in town, where he is miserable. The teachers and officials at the school, some well-meaning and some not, try to "help" and "civilize" him. In the process, they make him ever more angry and miserable as they take away his connection with the old ways.

I loved the first and last parts of this book, but the middle, where Thomas becomes a brutal bronco rider known as Killer Tom, lost me. Readers who enjoy action may well like this part, but I was appalled at Thomas' brutality and had a hard time feeling sympathetic towards him.

In the end, Thomas is redeemed and manages to recapture his connection to his past. While the "happy" ending may be perceived as a bit too neat, I like to believe that this is how life is--that we all have the ability, however deeply it hides inside of us, to be true to ourselves.

Overall, I highly recommend this book.

Redwall by Brian Jacques

Book one in the Redwall series.

I picked this up on a whim the other day and was immediately drawn into the beautifully detailed world of Redwall and its animal inhabitants.

Redwall, the home of an order of peaceful mice, is threatened by Cluny, an evil rat who sets his sights upon Redwall Abbey. Young Matthias, an awkward young novitiate, is sent on a quest to recover the lost sword of Martin the Warrior (also a mouse). This sword is Redwall's only hope for defeating Cluny and his horde of mercenaries.

Through his quest for the sword, Matthias finds allies in unlikely places and forms bonds of friendship with a wide variety of creatures, each with a distinct personality, who help him to defeat Cluny.

Marvelous, highly detailed, and packed with action. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for readers of all ages!

Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman

If you read nothing else this month, check out Art Spiegelman's marvelous graphic novel / memoir. In Maus, published in two parts, he recounts his father's experiences as a Jewish survivor of the Nazi concentration camps during WWII.

Intertwined with the horror of the Holocaust is the story of the troubled relationship between father and son. Set against the backdrop of contemporary modern life, the events of the Holocaust seem even more terrifying.

A MUST READ for all!

Maus I by Art Spiegelman

Part one of two.

Art Spiegelman interviewed his father, Vladek, a Holocaust survivor. Vladek's story is told in comic book format, with the Jews as mice and the Nazis as cats.

The graphic novel approach brings a new perspective to this moving memoir. I especially liked the way that Vladek's Holocaust memories were interwoven with the present relationship between the father and son. Not only do we get a glimpse of the horrors of the Holocaust, but we also see the profound and long-lasting effects on the survivors and the generations that followed.

A MUST-READ (don't forget part two)!

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

I have said before that I am not a huge fan of graphic novels, but this is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Three different stories, each featuring characters who are unhappy with who they are--Jin Wang, a lonely boy who wishes his classmates would accept him, Monkey King, a Chinese folk hero who sacrifices much in his quest to be accepted as a god, and Danny, an American teen who is tortured by the yearly visits of his stereotypically annoying Chinese cousin--intertwine in this clever and moving gem of a book. Readers of all cultural backgrounds will find common ground with Jin Wang and his struggles to fit in.

Highly recommended.

Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives, Vol.II by Ellen Schreiber

Second book in the manga version of Ellen Schreiber's Vampire Kisses series.

Raven and Alexander's love story translates exceptionally well to the manga format. I like that the manga books are a parallel series, rather than merely a retelling of the existing books. My only complaint is how short these books are in relation to the price.

Alexander's half-vampire cousin, Claude, is still in town. Claude and his naughty vampire gang are looking for the vials of blood that can turn them into pure vampires. Alexander and Claude's grandmother always refused to make Claude a full vampire because she felt that he would abuse the power. Ruthless Claude will do anything to possess that powerful blood--even if it means putting Raven and her human friends in danger.

Alexander and Raven come up with a plan to trick Claude into returning to Romania, but Raven might just find herself in more danger than ever.