Bamboo and Blood

James Church (pseudonym) is, according to the Christian Science Monitor, "one of the most respected analysts of North Korea in the Western intelligence community, with extensive experience both inside and outside that country." It is the little details of daily life in one of the most isolated and secretive countries in the world that bring his stories such richness.
Inspector O, James Church's North Korean protagonist, has gone back in time -- making this a prequel of sorts to his other novels in this series (Corpse in the Koryo and Hidden Moon). All the essential elements are there: clues that aren't supposed to be followed, cases that aren't supposed to be solved, intricate maneuvers and manipulations aplenty. Set during the famine years of the 90's in North Korea, people talk about loved ones starving to death with seeming resignation. There simply is no food--and that is the driver behind what turns out to be intricate attempts to buy, bribe or blackmail other countries into giving North Korea food. It strains credulity to someone raised in an ostensibly democratic society like the United States that Inspector O does not seriously consider defecting when he is given ample motive and opportunity. He is the most dogged of investigators following each thread until he can weave them into whole cloth, in spite of people kidnapping and even trying to kill him. As a reader, I am drawn in with him, never giving up on trying to figure out how everything is connected, even though the odds are against a solution.
Reviews from Publishers Weekly,  Christian Science Monitor, and Kirkus are all uniformly laudatory.

Reading for the NYRA

Although I haven't posted much here lately, it was because I was swamped with reading books for the Nevada Young Readers Award--NYRA (we were working from the 2012 reading list). Lots of grown ups (mostly librarians) read books nominated by kids in different age categories and then have a video conference to narrow down the nominees to about 6-8 in each bracket for final voting. I read in two categories--though not all of them in any category--the final nominees haven't been posted yet. Most of them I could definitely leave rather than take, but these are my personal favorites of those I read:
Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Palacco. Young Readers level with beautiful colored drawings. Wonderful autobiographical portrayal of special needs kids and one truly inspirational teacher.
Two books by Peg Kehret, Runaway Twin and Stolen Children. Middle readers with positive girl role models. The latter was my preferred book, but there was a good dog character in the former.
The Clone Codes by the McKissacks. Also middle reader set 160 years in the future when clones are discriminated against and treated as non-human, much as slaves were in earlier times. A little heavy handed on the didactic message, but still an interesting read.

The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow (also the illustrator). Middle Reader. This is definitely one of the best books I  read—very funny and with a genuine sense of the voice, dialog, perspective of two 5^th grade girls trying to figure out how to be popular before they move to junior high next year. Done as a collaborative journal, complete with passed notes, drawings that vary in quality depending on the artist, and unique handwriting for the two main characters. They learn a lot about friendship. I love Julie’s observation about their attempts to become popular, “Just because you are next to a tomato doesn’t make you a tomato.”

The Lost Children by Carolyn Cohagan. Middle Reader. Tend to agree with Kirkus Reviews that this is rough with missing transitions, but also has a lot of promise. The opening line is great, “ Josephine Russing owned 387 pairs of gloves.” The ending is contrived and confusing. But the heroine is brave and loyal and those are good things. 

The Immortal Fire by Anne Ursu. Middle Reader. Snarky and tongue in cheek narration make this romping adventure to save the world from mythical creatures gone bad pretty enjoyable. Similar to Percy Jackson’s books but with a MUCH more jaded view of the Greek gods who are depicted as a bunch of spoiled brats. Strong teen characters, a little confusing about who is supposed to be the lead character. Both Charlotte and cousin Zee (Zachary) –aged 13, eighth graders--at times feel they are responsible for what appears to be the impending destruction of the world or the end of humanity—or both.

Hidden Moon

Second in the "Inspector O" series by pseudonymous author James Church, we are once again immersed in the Kafka-esque unreality of life in North Korea. A bank robbery--perhaps the first ever in the city of Pyongyang--leaves both O and his new boss Min guessing whether anyone really wants it solved. Everytime O pursues a clue, bodies disappear from the morgue, doors of ministries are shut in his face, suspects turn up dead or disappear. Then he starts disappearing. For days at a time he is taken and questioned in a dark room and beaten when the interrogators don't like the answers. Is this supposed to dissuade him from solving the robbery or "encourage" him to speed up his investigation. As with the first book, there is rampant mistrust and suspicion between government agencies and between representatives of government agencies and the rest of the populace. This book continues the amazing insights into a very secretive country that began with A Corpse in the Koryo. And Inspector O picks up where he left off in educating the reader about the particular qualities of wood--"there's a certain smugness to walnut that you can feel," whereas "acacia knew how to mind its own business and let a person think," chestnut is "very self-possessed wood," while persimmon is "very complicated. Difficult to understand." Who knew?! Thanks Anne for the loan!