(image from Avi's official website)

Most kids would be ecstatic to learn that school is letting out early for summer break. Not 14-year-old Ida Bidson, heroine of Avi's The Secret School. When Mr. Jordan, the miserly school board president, makes the announcement - Ida's teacher will be moving to Iowa to care for her ill mother, so the one-room schoolhouse will be closed until next term, at the earliest - she is devastated. If school lets out early, she will not get credit for the work she has completed, thus delaying her entrance into the high school in town. Her dreams of becoming a teacher are further shattered when Mr. Jordan scoffs at her concerns, telling her, "I'm not so sure a girl needs a high school education" (11). She knows that attending high school was never a sure thing. After all, it's 1925 and things are hard, especially for the sheep farmers in rural Colorado. Still, Ida can't bear the thought of living out her life as a farmer. She has a dream, and she may have to risk everything to achieve it.

When Ida's friend Tom makes a suggestion - "You're such a gravy know-it-all ... You could take over the school when Miss Fletcher leaves" (18) - her hopes revive. Nervously, she accepts the challenge, insisting that the children keep mum about their "secret school." Ida knows teaching won't be easy, but soon she's dealing with a myriad of crises - from an insubordinate student to his ignorant father to an irate school board. All of this is in addition to her usual chores on the farm and her own studies. Soon enough, Ida wonders if she's gotten in over her head. Her childhood seems to be slipping right through her hands.

Finally, a school official agrees to give the students credit for the year only if all of them pass a final exam. Ida worries for her students, and herself. With all the responsibilities Ida has taken on, she's barely had time to crack open her own books. The fate of the school lies in her hands - will plucky Ida be able to save it? Or will her dreams crumble under the weight of her failure?

The Secret School is a short, simple read aimed at young readers. Still, Avi manages to pack in some very complicated and adult themes. At the heart of the book are questions that must plague all teachers - how much of my own life am I willing to give up in the service of my students? Where do I draw the line between being a friend and an authority figure? And, how do I cut through all the red tape and prove to my community that a good education is worth making a few sacrifices? It also discusses issues at stake when a child is teetering on the edge of adulthood - how does a kid get the courage to defy parents and conventions in pursuit of a dream? And, is it disloyal to even attempt it? As you can see, I was impressed with the author's ability to raise so many interesting questions while telling an exciting, compelling story at the same time.

Because of its many layers, I think The Secret School is a book both children and adults will enjoy. Kids will like it for the adventure (the schoolchildren drive Model T's, build a radio, and most exciting, keep secrets), while adult readers will appreciate it for the engaging characters, swift plot and important themes. It's a very quick read with universal appeal. The Secret School gets top marks in my grade book.

Grade: A

I finally finished Joseph Smith, Rough Stone Rolling: A Cultural Biography of Mormonism's Founder by Richard Lyman Bushman, which I read for both the Unread Authors Challenge and the Triple 8 Challenge (and because I was really interested in the subject, of course). It took me about a month to get through it, not because it was boring, but because it is (very densely) packed with information. It required more of me than most things I read, so I wanted to give it the attention it deserved.

Basically, the book is a biography of Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (a.k.a. the Mormons), but it's not a traditional recap. Bushman labeled it a "cultural biography," which seems to mean it's an examination of a people/culture instead of just one member. While the book begins with Joseph's birth and ends with his death, it's really not as much about him as it is about the church he created. In a nutshell, Joseph was a boy who felt troubled about religion. He really didn't believe in any of the churches prominent in his day. Confused, he turned to the Holy Bible for answers, where he found a scripture in James which exhorted him to ask God for answers. When he prayed, Joseph said he saw a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ in which he was told to join no church. He was told he would be given more instruction concerning God's wishes for him, and he was. Through visions and revelations, he was commanded to start a church, which he did. Because he claimed he had spoken with God, Joseph was ridiculed. Yet, people were attracted to Mormon theology and soon Joseph had a large following. He was a man of the people, loved and revered by the Saints (as the Mormons called themselves) as a prophet of God. Outsiders, however, considered him a charlatan, and continually sought the destruction of him and his people. Still, he soldiered on, receiving revelations, publishing scripture (predominantly The Book of Mormon), building cities and temples, leading his people, even running for President of The United States. A controversial figure always, he was martyred in 1844, after which the presidency of the church went to Brigham Young. Today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a thriving church known worldwide.

In retracing Joseph's steps, Bushman uses a plethora of sources from interviews to journals to newspaper accounts to original church documents. The amount of information he presents is staggering (the book is 561 pages long, with 177 pages of appendices and indexes). He analyzes Joseph's actions, revelations and policies in great depth. I've been a member of the Church for 32 years, and I've never read a history as complete as this one. Plenty of the information was new to me.

Richard Lyman Bushman is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He acknowledges that, as such, "pure objectivity is impossible" (xviii). However, I think he did an admirable job of presenting every side of Joseph Smith. He didn't shy away from situations which showed the prophet in an unflattering light, or ignore criticisms from Joseph's contemporaries. He presented the facts and, in effect, said, "Choose for yourself."

I expected Rough Stone Rolling to be a straight biography of Joseph Smith, and it wasn't. I would have liked more information about his personal life, family history and private thoughts. Obviously, there are other biographies out there (including one by Joseph's mother) that contain this information, but I wanted a little more from Bushman himself.

All in all, it was a thoroughly insteresting study that I, personally, found fascinating. Will it appeal to a non-LDS reader? I don't know. Some people's highest praise of a biography/memoir is that it "reads like a novel." This one doesn't. It's not a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, but it is a fascinating, thoroughly researched biography of a man who lived and died in the service of his God. The man who was so reviled in his time left an incredible legacy - one to which Richard Lyman Bushman does great honor in Rough Stone Rolling.

Grade: A

Okay, y'all (yes, I do know I'm not from the South - I just like that word) know how much I love book memes. I couldn't resist this one that Eva made up all by herself. Not only is it a fun one, but she's offering "link love" and entrance into a drawing for a free book, just for filling it out and tagging 4 other book bloggers. What's not to love? Check out her blog for all the details. Okay, here goes:

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? I can't think of a specific one that I'm cringing from right now, but I avoided Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell for a long time. It's just such a big book. When I finally read it, I loved it, so that goes to show you how irrational the whole cringing thing really is.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be? First of all, I don't drink tea, or go clubbing, so it would have to be a more mundane event. I think I would take the Boudelaire kids (of A Series of Unfortunate Events fame) for an afternoon of playing in the park and picknicking. Uncle Olaf, of course, would not be invited. That way, they could have at least one nice, happy day with plenty of food and fun. Since I can spot Olaf a mile away, they would have no worries. Hakuna matata and all that.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): You are told you can't die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realize it's past time to die. What book would you expect to get you a nice grave? This is a toughie. I'll come back to it, I promise...

Come on, we've all been there. What book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you've read, when in fact you've been nowhere near it? Let's see...most Jane Austen novels, Shakespearean plays, lengthy Russian classics ... need I go on?

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book you really thought you had read only to realize when you read a review about it/go to "reread" it that you haven't? Which book? I really thought I had read Jane Eyre, but I don't think I have. Maybe I did once. I don't know. I just turned 32, and my memory's starting to go...

You're interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who's not a big reader). What's the first book you'd recommend and why? (If you feel like you have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP) If the person's not a big reader, I'm going to have to show them that reading can be fun and entertaining. So, I would probably start with some kind of thriller, or at least a well-written mystery. Perhaps I would go with Twilight by Stephenie Meyer or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, since I know several (adult) non-readers who rave about those two.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with? Okay, I know this is probably cheating, but science is seriously like Greek to me, so I would say science. That way, I could read all those scholarly health books and learn all kinds of great, (formerly incomprehensible) things.

A mischevious fairy comes and says you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick? At the risk of sounding like a complete Molly Mormon, I'm gonna go with my scriptures. Although not the most exciting of reads, they would be the most beneficial to my life. Plus, I learn something new every time I read (probably because I fell asleep the first time).

I know the book blogging community, and all its challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What's one "bookish" thing you discovered from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art - anything)? I started my book blog before knowing that anyone else was doing that sort of thing. When I stumbled upon Amanda's blog and started following some of her links, I was astounded that there were so many book bloggers out there. Discovering a whole community of awesome people reading and discussing books was amazing!

The good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she's granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead - let your imagination run free. Oh, that it were true! Well, first of all, I would need a big room with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. I would have several shelves of classics, all leatherbound and alphabetized. Then, I would have my "every day" books - hardcovers and trade paperbacks - perfectly organized by subject and author. On one wall, I would have an enormous fireplace - with a fire always blazing - in front of which would sit a comfortable seating area with a leather sofa, armchair, and oversized ottoman. On the opposite side would be a large picture window, which looked out onto a rain-drenched landscape (since we know dreary days are the best kind for reading indoors). Since I would want to blog about my fabulous reads, I would have to have an enormous desk to work on that magically stayed clean. Ahhh...good fairy, come quickly!

Since I have to tag 4 people, I'm going to go with:

Amanda

Lisa

Cath

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