STACKED

books

Audiosynced: When the narrator doesn’t work

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In the effort to keep abreast of the hot titles circulating and in hopes of making it to my local library’s book club (which didn’t happen), I finally got hold of Katherine Stockett’s The Help on audio. Notice the “finally” in that statement, and you will understand why I didn’t make it to the book club.

I’m still not quite done with listening to it, as it is 15 discs long. It is, as Janssen put it, a quick read but because I’m listening, it is taking longer than I’d hoped. But, I’ve heard enough to discuss a little about what’s working and what isn’t.

The Help, for those of you in the dark, is a story told through multiple voices about being “the help” in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter, a white woman, is interviewing the local help to write her first book, and presumably, the help — African American women who do the housework for wealthy and/or helpless white women — are giving her insight into their lives. Stockett’s story uncovers a myriad of worlds within worlds, and the story itself is fascinating as it is at once the story and a story about a story. The voices and the setting are engrossing and engaging. And, obviously, since it’s southern fiction, I’m pretty much in love. It’s quite a painful story, but it is done so tactfully that it never feels like it panders or lessens the real issues at stake.

On audio, there are multiple narrators: Cassandra Campbell, Octavia Spencer, Bahni Turpin, and Jenna Lamia. Does the last one sound familiar? It should.

Let me say, I think this is absolutely one of those books that is better read to you than read silently. The narrators really set the scene and with their deep southern accents and their dialects, it is unmistakably 1962 Jackson, Mississippi. I’m finding myself falling into the story deeply and really caring about each of the characters. I feel along with Aibilene and Minny, as well as Skeeter. In the scene with Minny in the bathroom after discovering why her employer has been so sullen, the audio heightens the tension and the fear and shame in a way that would no way compare in print. This was a moment I literally needed to stop the car and stare off in shock because of the utter emotion the audio imbued in the scene.

Though I’m mostly enamored with the audio, there is one thing bothering me: Jenna Lamia’s performance. She was amazing on Saving CeeCee Honeycutt as an 11-year-old girl. But in The Help, she plays Skeeter, a 23-year-old college graduate and she sounds identical. Her voice is much too young and immature for the role; even though Skeeter IS immature, the voice is not quite deep enough for me, and I find that this is impacting the experience of the book itself. Readers for Aibilene and for Minnie are so strong and spot-on with age, location, and race, but Skeeter stands out in a less-than-spectacular manner.

Despite Lamia having a large part of the book, I am going to continue listening for the sheer pleasure that listening to the book has brought into the story itself. I’m afraid that Lamia’s earlier performance has tinged my listening to her, but I do think even without thinking about her as an 11-year-old, I’d still believe the voice is much too young for this story. Though she’s a hot name and does a fantastic southern voice, I think that the reading could have been better done by someone else.

I often wonder if I had made the book discussion, whether or not anyone else listened to the book rather than read it. I think that the book groups who can talk about the listening experience would have a great additional element to discuss when it comes to the story itself. Who reads and how they read it really does make a huge difference, and for me, I’m going to remember this book for being 2/3 well read and 1/3 a bit too juvenile. I do have to say, though, I am very glad that the producers didn’t rush this one out as soon as it became a hit. It’s clear as a listener this was a well-planned audio book production, as there are no quality issues with sound or rendering. It flows smoothly and it is quite easy to follow whose perspective we are in.

Have you listened to this one? What do you think? Do you think your experience with the book would have been different with a reading versus a listening?

Who wrote this one?

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When I took my first actual class on young adult literature, I learned the name Richard Peck. Know it? If not, don’t fear: I didn’t either. But when you hear about a book called Are You in the House Alone and see the very, uh, amusing covers for what was one of the first true adolescent novels (and horror ones at that), you remember the name.

So since then, I haven’t thought too much about him, but I know his name well now that I work regularly with his books. I noticed something really interesting, as he’s always been easily identified as a classical young adult writer. You can kind of get that idea from his book covers. Check out this non-comprehensive gallery from the 1970s to 2008. His books hit all genres and since these cover a wide range of time in design aesthetics, it’s interesting to look at:









Not always the highest of design or appeal, but the author’s name alone can sell the book. Imagine my surprise when his forthcoming title was on more than on “Waiting for Wednesday” post. “What?” I thought to myself. I don’t remember people ever getting that excited about a new Richard Peck book (kind of like they don’t get excited about a new Gary Paulsen book or a new Ann Rinaldi book, since these are standard authors who ALWAYS do very well). But look at the cover and tell me what you notice:


Ah, how refreshing: it’s like every other paranormal-looking cover on the market now. And to me, it seems like his name is no longer the center stage to sell the book. It’s the cover.

Interesting marketing technique or genius? I’m not sure. I like the cover and find it really appealing. I think this will get a new generation of readers into his wide catalog of titles. Moreover, what an interesting perspective on how the young adult book market has changed, seen simply from the changes in covers of one perennial author.

Split by Swati Avasthi

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Confession: I’ve been pretty disappointed in a lot of the highly-hyped young adult novels that have been published so far in 2010. I did fall in love with Some Girls Are, but other “heavy hitters” like Before I Fall just flopped for me.

Fortunately, Swati Avasthi’s Split delivered.

Split is an issue novel, and it delves into family violence and abuse. Jace is a high school student who lives under a very abusive father, who happens to be a big named judge in Chicago. Jace’s mother and he struggle with living with his father, but neither feels they can quite escape from the situation. That was the case until Jace’s mother let slip the address of his long-since-gone brother Christian. Christian left the family years ago to escape the violence, unafraid of what the consequences might be.

Jace decides he has to get away, too. But it’s not quite what you think: Jace’s reason for needing to get away in that moment isn’t necessarily the abuse his father doles out. Instead, it is something much deeper and something that will ultimately change the course of his newly emerging relationship with brother Christian and Christian’s girlfriend Mirriam.

This book worked because the issues were dealt with in a manner that was quite realistic. I think that the voice worked for the older teenage boy very well, and I think there was just enough fantasy in his actions — fantasy in the means of solving issues or letting them solve themselves — was spot on.

Moreover, the issue of abuse is tackled tactfully and without making it either overwrought or light hearted. The issue is two-pronged, as well, and I think that Avasthi does a great job of getting to the deeper psychological issues of abuse. Let me step back for a second and say that this book shouldn’t be considered simply an issue book; it’s incredibly well-written that moves fluidly and smoothly in the way that Laurie Halse Anderson’s does in Wintergirls. I would not, however, compare this book to LHA’s, as it is not as unflinching and quite rightfully handles the abuse issue on a different level. That is, there is an entirely different story line here, though the audience for both may be quite similar.

What didn’t work for me in Switched were some of the subplots. I thought that introduction of running as a theme didn’t quite work as smoothly as it could have. It’s introduced a little too late into the book to make it effective. Again, let me go back to LHA and say it didn’t do quite what running did in Catalyst.

I found the last quarter of the book a little hard to follow. There was a lot going on, and I thought some of it was unnecessary or a bit under developed. Avasthi keeps her book to about 250 pages, but I think in the interest of furthering some of the relationships and events that happen in the last quarter of the book — including Christian and Jace’s reconciliation, their relationship with their mother, and Jace’s confessions to the new girl in his life — would have allowed easily for 50-75 more pages. I wish this were stronger, as this was the most critical part of the book but felt like a bit of a let down.

If you like strong writing and an interesting premise that unravels page after page, Switched is one you want to pick up. Avasthi is a fresh voice in young adult writing, and I am excited to see what she does next. She writes believable characters and has developed character relationships that aren’t flat or uninteresting (and in fact, they’re often a bit surprising how they do come to solidify and change). This was easily one of the best books published for this audience so far in 2010, and it is one I daresay should get some attention come awards season. A refreshing one to read after quite a few less-than-exciting reads.

AudioSynced: Don’t Forget!

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Don’t forget! This month’s edition of AudioSynced will be hosted by Abby the Librarian over on her blog. Get your listening ears on and share your March audio experiences on April 1. No April Foolin’!

Thanks again to everyone who contributed for our inaugural edition. I’ve been shocked to see where our post’s ended up and who’s shared it. I hope we are able to keep reaching out and getting people into audio literacy.

From the same photo session

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This isn’t a double take, but it is the same couple and outfits, outside. When I saw the first cover, I immediately thought of the second and realized they were from the same photo session and photo set:

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti, paperback edition, March 2010.

Followed with getting a little more up close and personal with this one:

For Keeps by Natalie Friend, to be published April 6, 2010.

I quite like both of them, as the green really does make them stand out. I like the way the images portray something different on both but give the readers enough sense to know what the book is about (as much as people scoff the idea, I think covers can be one of the best tools for determining content, genre, and tone of a book).

I pulled out my ARC, though, and guess what the cover for For Keeps was? I guess they caught the double take before and chose a different cover for the final book.


Do you prefer one to the other? I think the paperback makeover for Caletti’s title is an improvement from the hard cover, which also was a double take feature.