Bou Meng: A Survivor from Khmer Rouge Prison S-21

#1062
Title: Bou Meng: A Survivor from Khmer Rouge Prison S-21
Author: Huy Vannak
Publisher: Documentation Center of Cambodia (Documentation Series #15)
Year: 2010
86 pages

One of, I think, three more-or-less first-person narratives from the group of 7 survivors rescued from Toul Sleng (S-21), a Khmer Rouge prison in Phnom Penh, when the Vietnamese retook the city. (More than 7 survived Toul Sleng, but the others seem to have been early releases.) Bou Meng's account, which forms the core of this volume, appears to be an edited oral account. With the additional explanatory matter included, it is coherent and easy to understand, if not to fathom. Bou Meng describes his life, incarceration, torture, and preservation by the Khmer Rouge. Like most people held and interrogated in this prison, he has little idea why he was suspect.

Bou Meng sells copies of this book in the courtyard of the prison. For more information, see http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/world/asia/17cambo.html?_r=0

Allegiant (Divergent, #3)

#1061
Title: Allegiant (Divergent, #3)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Year: 2013
544 pages

Better than the first two in the series, this concluding volume explodes the narrative's assumptive frame and answers some of my earlier concerns about reductive culture-building, revealing this to be a structural element of the story rather than a failure of the writing. Good job, Roth!

I haven't read any other reviews yet, but I assume that all teen readers everywhere feel ripped off and angry that Tris and Four's love cannot conquer all. Them's the breaks in a non-wish-gratifying dystopian tale. Again, good job! Roth escapes the genre in the end. That, too, is frame-breaking.

Teaching Mustafa and Other Young Terrorists

#1060
Title: Teaching Mustafa and Other Young Terrorists
Author: Belle Sukraw
Publisher: CreateSpace
Year: 2006
Country: Qatar
126 pages

A disorganized, culturally-suspect memoir of teaching in Qatar. The inflammatory title is used as a teaser that never actually delivers an anecdote. The book contains a number of grammatical errors, which is especially problematic for an English teacher. Disappointing and, I imagine, offensive to her former students and  their families.

Odd and the Frost Giants

#1059
 Title: Odd and the Frost Giants
Author:  Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Brett Helquist
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2009
128 pages

A sweet little story that has its scary aspects (for the reader age group) but no real creepiness, Odd and the Frost Giants is not only a fun tale that includes Norse mythology, but also manages to include some important points about human differences without being preachy or pedantic. A fine middle reader from Neil Gaiman, one I wouldn't hesitate to give as a gift to a bright 8-12 year-old.

Oregon Asylum (Images of America)

#1058
Title: Oregon Asylum (Images of America)
Author:  Diane L. Goeres-Gardner
Publisher: Arcadia
Year: 2013
128 pages

I enjoy this series very much. Presenting a chronology through historical photos is extremely engaging. This volume falls somewhat short on organizational coherence, with two major problems: Material presented out of sequence, and a number of captions that are unrelated to the image they accompany. This is confusing and simply raises more questions. The author has another book about Oregon State Hospital, which may be better organized as it is free of the pictorial-based format constraints of the Images of America series.

Notes from the Jungle - Teaching Abroad in an International School

#1057
Title: Notes from the Jungle - Teaching Abroad in an International School
Author: John Price
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Year: 2010
Country: Brunei
274 pages

Although Price has some interesting anecdotes and ideas, he also has a lot of negative characterizations of his colleagues and educational systems. I can't speak to the issues of British international schools, but little that he describes resonates with my experience teaching in an American international school.

The Enchantress of Florence

#1056
Title: The Enchantress of Florence
Author: Salman Rushdie
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Year: 2008
355 pages

I am of mixed opinions about this ambitious novel. On the one hand, there is Rushdie's always-clever, always-engaging language, a plot intertwined with world-shaping epics, interesting characters, and a puzzle. On the other hand, there's a sagging quality to the narrative at times, a distance from the characters (who grow wearying rather than more complex), and a conclusion that doesn't seem entirely worth the effort.

I might feel differently if I'd read it as a book rather than listened to it. I ranged from 2 stars to 5 stars in different sections, so we'll call it 3.