A Girl Named Zippy - Growing up Small in Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel

The year is 1965, and Mooreland, Indiana was a lot like the towns where many people my age grew up.  My town, for instance, had no theaters, no doctors,and no department stores. We did have drugstore with an actual pharmacist.  My great aunt ran the dry goods store, and our next door neighbors ran the IGA.  Mooreland, Indiana had a population of 300.  That number really never varied.  My hometown had the same population.  This book started me on a trip down Memory Lane.  Ah - the memories!

It appears that Zippy and I had somewhat similar childhoods.  While I didn't end up in the emergency room quite as often as Zippy, our lives have similar parallels.  Both of us had an assortment of animals- at one time I had over fifteen cats.  (My mother was NOT happy.)  However, Zippy bonds with a chicken named Speckles and a pig named Sam.  The reader will also enjoy the hijinks of a the cat named PeeDink and a dog named Kai.  The visits to her friend Julie's farm bring back memories of visits to our friends' farm.  We slogged through the fields while trying to stay away from the cows. We jumped in the shelled corn, and hid in the corn fields.

Her parents and my parents were quite dissimilar,  but as I read about her parents and their relationship, so many memories came flooding back.  I can vividly remember having to try on dresses that my mother was sewing for me for one event or another.  The worst possible thing that could ever happen to me was having to try on those clothes while there were still pins in them.  I can also remember having to go to Easter Sunrise service while it was still dark, and quite chilly. Having to eat liver - oh!  The horror!

One of the most difficult chapters to read was about the items that Zippy's father lost while he was gambling.  Life wasn't easy for some of my classmates in the 60s.  Zippy develops coping skills, and does  persevere.   One can see Zippy changing from a precocious child who ignores a classmate having an epileptic seizure to a more mature child who notices that a friend wants to stop music lessons because of the instructor's inappropriate behavior.

This book is a Rosie book that has been on our list for ten years. It is a book for anyone who grew up in the 60s or has an interest in that time period.  It is a blast from the past for those of us who grew up in small towns and remember the crocheting craze, and the other popular hobbies of the time.

Even if you didn't grow up in a small town, anyone who grew up in the 60s will relate to this book.  Kimmel no longer lives in the small town where she grew up.  I still live in my hometown, and my thoughts these last two weeks have drifted back to my childhood many, many times.  Ah - the bittersweet memories!

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Quentin Coldwater is searching for happiness.  He cannot seem to find it - at his school, with his friends, or spending time with his family.  The only time he is truly happy is when he is reading the books he loved as a child about a magical place called Fillory.  But this place is a figment of the author's imagination, or is it?

Quentin is a senior in high school when he realizes that magic is real.  He finds himself admitted to a prestigious school of magic called Brakebills which is located in upstate New York.  He starts rigorous training to become a magician.  Will Quentin find happiness and start to like himself, or will he still be the same old Quentin with magical powers?

For those who liked the Harry Potter series, this book might just might bring back the Hogwarts magic. There are monsters, spells, and complex characters. Sadly, Dumbledore does not make an appearance, but Dean Fogg does have some Dumbledorian characteristics.  

However, a few words of warning - this book is not for children.  If you are familiar with the Harry Potter series, you will know that each book became increasingly darker.  The Magicians has a lot of darkness in plot and theme.  The characters are flawed, and sometimes unlikable.  They are, however, very human in their thoughts and feelings.  There are also instances of the strength of the human character, bravery, and the growth of an individual.  Finally, friends are what get us through the darkest of times.  Friends sometimes have to rely on each other to survive.

So, who is up for some grown up fantasy?  This book is the first in a series of three.  I would love to hear your thoughts once you have gone over to the dark side.