The Best At It

The Best At It by Maulik Pancholy   336 pages

Rahul (pronounced Ra-hool) Kapoor is a young man of East Indian descent living in Indiana in the U.S.   His parents are both doctors and he has many Aunties and Uncles both family and honorary in his life.   Rahul is going into the seventh grade and it is a very anxious time for him.   More peer pressure, more expectations he is putting on himself to fit in as there is only one other student at his school who is from India and that student still has an accent and is the butt of ethnic stereotypes at school.   Rahul has no accent, his family has been in the United States since before he was born and he is Indian-American but basically he considers himself to be just another American.   That is until the school bully, Brent Miller starts picking on him with racist slurs and rude actions maligning the Indian people, Bollywood, etc.   Rahul would do just about anything to fit in and while he is a thin not too athletically built boy, he would do just about anything to fit in so people wouldn't make him feel so different.   So much so that he is talked into trying out for the football team which fortunately for him was a wash out.   When the opportunity comes to audition for a local bank's t.v. commercial he gets so nervous he sweats through his clothes beforehand and his best friend, Chelsea tries to put some make-up on his face to make it look less shiny and soak up some of the sweat.   Unfortunately the makeup is too light for his fleshtone and while he thinks that is a good thing it will make him fit in more with lighter skin it actaully worked against him by caking up and flaking off and just looking weird - then too when he got to the audition he took his bestie in with him instead of his mother (mistake) who got the already somewhat hostile banker leading the audition to completely ignore him and tell him he wasn't what they were looking for.   He accepted their decision but his bestie got all bent out of shape and told his mother what they said.  Rahul just wanted to go home and get out of his sweaty outfit and wash the caked make up off but his mother incensed by the bankers' prejudice told them a thing or two and later his parents moved their bank accounts from that bank to another.   Rajul's grandfather advised him find something you are good at then practice until you become the best at it.   That will make people respect him his grandfather said and help him to feel more comfortable.  Rajul couldn't seem to find his niche and developed anxiety attacks and obsessive compulsive disorder tendencies from his stress levels.   Chelsea advised him that he was good at math why not join the Math Team competing against other schools for State and hopefully National Championship?   He fought against it for a long time thinking it would just make him look that much more nerdy and Brent would really give him a hard time then.  Finally he caves in and joins.    Much more happens with happy and bittersweet moments all while staring at Justin Emery who he can't decide if he wants to be him (Justin) or if maybe, he likes him.   Life is so hard for Rajul but help is all around him and he has more friends than enemies if he will just let them in.   Very good story, deeper and with more plot twists than I first realized.   I would recommend this book to anyone probably 3rd grade to adult.   There are many fun conversations and a lot of information on the Indian culture to be learned here.   Good book.

Building A Bridge

Building A Bridge: How The Catholic Church And The LGBT Community Can Enter Into A Relationship Of Respect, Compassion, And Sensitivity by James Martin, SJ, 150 pages

“The New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage turns his attention to the relationship between LGBT Catholics and the Church in this loving, inclusive, and revolutionary book. On the day after the Orlando nightclub shooting, James Martin S.J. posted a video on Facebook in which he called for solidarity with our LGBT brothers and sisters. "The largest mass shooting in US history took place at a gay club and the LGBT community has been profoundly affected," he began. He then implored his fellow Catholics--and people everywhere--to "stand not only with the people of Orlando but also with their LGBT brothers and sisters." A powerful call for tolerance, acceptance, and support--and a reminder of Jesus' message for us to love one another--Father Martin's post went viral and was viewed more than 1.6 million times. Now, Martin expands on his reflections in this moving and inspiring book, offering a powerful, loving, and much-needed voice in a time marked by anger, prejudice, and divisiveness. Adapted from an address he gave to New Ways Ministry, a group that ministers to and advocates for LGBT Catholics, Building a Bridge provides a roadmap for repairing and strengthening the bonds that unite all of us as God's children. Martin uses the image of a two-way bridge to enable LGBT Catholics and the Church to come together in a call to end the "us" versus "them" mentality. Turning to the Catechism, he draws on the three criteria at the heart of the Christian ministry--"respect, compassion, and sensitivity"--as a model for how the Catholic Church should relate to the LGBT community.” Every Catholic should read this book.  I feel like the audience is fairly narrow for this book but it should be required reading for every member of every Catholic church, at least in the United States.

The Medici Boy

The Medici Boy by John L’Heureux     328 pages

John L’Heureux’s novel about one of the world’s greatest artists who ever lived, Donatello, is a deeply complex and fascinating portrayal of life in Renaissance Italy. L’Heureux, who did much of the research for this story in Florence, takes readers on a fascinating trip to the 15^th century.

Most of the story takes place at Donatello’s bottega (workshop) and is narrated by Luca Mattei, the sculptor’s devoted assistant. Ultimately, the book is about art and sex, specifically homosexuality, and the undulating tides of both passions.

Luca, born illegitimately, discovers women and his artistic talent before he turns seventeen. Three years later, Donatello hires him as an apprentice. He goes on to become the workshop’s accountant.

Donatello’s work involves recreating Bibical scenes and saints in wood, marble, and bronze. His talent earns him favors from the most powerful man in Florence, Cosimo de’Medici. It’s Medici who commissions Donatello to create a five-foot statue of David, the giant killer. But it’s Donatello's obsession with a street urchin, 16 year-old Agnolo, who becomes his primary model, and part time rent boy, that I found the most fascinating.

Supposedly in his 30s at this time, Donatello is at his artistic peak. He has many commissions and a stable of artists working under him. As Angolo comes and goes throughout the story, the bottega is sometimes chaotic and sometimes calm.

But, although homosexuality was common in Florence during this time, I was shocked to the degree in which men were penalized for this behavior. Sodomy was against the law and had a varying degree of fines ranging from a cascading series of monetary charges to hanging to death by fire.

The novel is very well written and completely absorbed me. Not a fast read, but a plot that ebbed and flowed, much like Donatello’s passions. On the book jacket, there is mention of a murder, so on first glance, I thought this was to be a murder mystery. Instead, the book is more literary/historical fiction. The murder doesn’t occur until very late in the novel---which is why I give TheMedici Boy four out of five stars.

Miniaturist

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
400 Pages

In 17th century Amsterdam, Nella Oortman is to marry merchant Johannes Brandy, who she doesn't know very well.  She finds herself part of a strange and unwelcoming household with a distant and unknowable husband.  Only when Johannes gifts her with a dollhouse of their home and she starts to collect wondrous  miniatures, does Nella start to to unravel the  mysteries of the household.


 Somewhat interesting, but also confusing.  Not as good as other historical novels set in the same period.

Openly Straight

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg, 320 pages

Rafe is tired of being identified as just “the gay kid” and decides to go to a boarding school across the country so that he can change his image.  His parents have always been supportive and no one has ever bullied him but he has been overwhelmed with the fact that his gayness is the only thing that identifies him.  His parents don’t know his plan.  They think that he is switching schools to have a better chance at getting into an Ivy League college and are appalled when they find out what he is doing.  Because Rafe, although trying not to lie about being straight, is allowing the boys at his new all-boys school to assume that he is straight.  Unfortunately for Rafe, his feelings and who he really is haven’t changed and when he begins to fall for one of his new friends, he doesn’t know how to tell him the truth without driving him away.  A really good coming out story, different from most of the typical stories but no less valid.  A funny story that a lot of teens both gay and straight might like.

Will Grayson Will Grayson

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
310 Pages

 Someone else on the blog already reviewed Will Grayson Will Grayson so I won't go into a lot of detail on the book. 

The book was enjoyable, the characters acceptable and the plot ok.  Was it the best John Green book?  No.  Would I buy the book and reread it?  No.  Unlike Karen Y I have like David Leviathan's writing, especially when he writes for adults.  I didn't have a problem with the two switching off writing challenges either.