Critical Thinking: Book Review

Kersley Fitzgerald

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Growing up Weightless
John M. Ford; Spectra; 1993

Matt Ronay is a teenager living on the moon. He’s quickly approaching the age at which he should decide on a job, but, despite living in an exotic, dangerous environment that Earth-dwellers spend fortunes to visit, all he dreams of is a berth in a space ship. He just doesn’t know how to get there.

There’s more that he doesn’t know—including whether he should join the local theater professionally or hope for something better. He doesn’t know that his father Albin, a bureaucrat responsible for the Moon’s water supply, understands and loves him enough to walk softly around the volatile teen. And he is so un-self-aware, in that way that teens are, that he has no idea he is the glue that holds his band of genius friends together in relative harmony. As he strives to find a life far away, he’s oblivious to how much his friends and family value him.

The writing mixes languid meandering with utter confusion. The part about Albin’s job was pretty much over my head; all that needed to be related was that his job was not what he had wished for when he was younger. I think any hard sci fi tends to go a little overboard on the tech at the expense of the story. And it threw out a point that I diligently followed as a lead to the story’s climax—a point that turned out to be so inconsequential that, not only did it have nothing to do with plot, it wasn’t even an intentional red herring.

For all that, the story is very sweet, and the characterizations ring true. The kids are brilliant and responsible even in their rebellion. The adults are mired in ambiguous politics and responsibilities and learn to look to the kids to remember the spark they once had. I liked this book, and hope the Creature will, too, when he’s older.

For Parents Only: Getting Inside the Head of Your Kid
Shaunti Feldhahn, Lisa A. Rice; Multnomah Books; 2007

Shaunti Feldhahn is a conservative commentator and former Wall Street data analyst. I’ve enjoyed her book For Women Only, which provided insight into Major Tom, and For Men Only, which provided insight into…me. While she confers with counselors and medical professionals for insight and interpretation, her field is data analysis. She surveys her target (in this case, teens), and crunches numbers.

I found this book to be incredibly encouraging. We recently took a 15-yo friend on vacation with us. She’s very mature and incredibly low maintenance. It wasn’t until we got back that her mom told us her school had suffered a tragic loss that had hit our friend very hard. We didn’t have a clue. Teens are so good at hiding how they really feel—especially when they’re not sure how they feel in the first place. This book draws back the veil, a bit, to show not only what they’re feeling, but what they need from their parents.

I’ve already started using some of what I’ve learned from this book with the eight year old. As someone who has to see how to interact with people before I understand it, I very much appreciated the insights into this alien land.

The Girl Who Could Fly
Victoria Forester; Square Fish; 2010

So, the Creature’s school had a book fair. He was terribly excited. So I gave him a ten and told him he had to spend it on BOOKS—not gigantic pens with huge hands on the end. He came back with an alternate history for himself and The Girl Who Could Fly, which he intends to give to his teacher.

I snagged it first. You may have heard me talk about Thunderbird, my WIP#4 (or is it #5?). Thunderbird is about Sana, a girl whose mom keeps her separated from their small village because she’s different. Throughout the course of the book, the girl grows wings and strives to be accepted for who she is.

The Girl Who Could Fly is the story of Piper McCloud, a girl whose parents keep her separated from their small town because she’s different. Throughout the course of the book, the girl learns to fly and strives to be accepted for who she is.

Other than that, they have very little similarities.

The Girl Who Could Fly is cute. Piper is a strong and sweet character who keeps the humor going. The setting is possibly in the Mid West, but it felt like the farm from Babe. I think the action may be consistent enough to keep even the Creature interested.

From a writing standpoint, there was one glitch that kind of got me. The story was such that a great deal of the climax had to be expressed in a POV other than Piper’s. This wouldn’t have been so jarring had the alternate POV character had more of a voice throughout the story. (He had some, but not enough to warrant taking over the apex of the story.)

But it’s a cute story.

I just hope publishers think Thunderbird is different enough.