Karen Rivers

My Summary: Dexter Pratt used to have a great life. His loving parents would buy him anything he wanted, he was popular, and he had a band and a camera and actually lived in the same house as the rest of his family. But then, all of a sudden, everything changes.

Dex's mom moves out, divorces his dad, and gets married to some politician guy she met online. His dad - so distraught by being abandoned by his wife - attempts suicide. Because of this, Dex is forced to leave his posh new life show more (private school, new car, popular stepbrother) to return home and take care of his dad. But his dad is different now - instead of defending marijuana growers in his law practice, he has become one, supplying the entire town and Dex as well. Dex is so depressed by his current situation that he does the only thing he thinks he can do - smoke himself into a state or surrealism, where he has no idea what is real.

My Thoughts: If you've ever seen the movies Shutter Island or Inception, you'll know what I mean when I say What Is Real is a book that effectively messes with your head (in a good way). Our main character Dex is always so hopped up on his dad's 'stuff' that he hardly knows the difference between what he's imagining (he has quite the active imagination, trust me) and what is real. The reader sees Dex's world through his own point of view, meaning you - like Dex - have no differentiation between reality and imagination. Add to that the fact that there are crop circles popping up in the cornfield next door and the new girl at school is exactly what Dex has always wanted (down to the four freckles on her left cheek), and you'll begin to see Dex's downward spiral taking place.

Despite the controversial behaviour of the main character, I really liked this one! It really worked your mind and confused you at times (purposely and in a good way) so that you, like Dex, had no idea if he was actually experiencing certain things or just imagining everything while sitting in the cornfield smoking. Dex is one of those characters that has lost his way, and throughout the book you begin to wish that someone cared enough to help him out. Tanis was also a great character, and I'm sure everyone has met and 'Old Joe' in their lifetimes (creepy, perverted old man, anyone?). The writing was great - smooth and clear - and I really liked the addition of the 'camera scenes' at the beginning of the chapters.

Final Thoughts: I recommend this novel to anyone looking for a funny / sad contemporary lit book, and anyone who likes having their mind messed with a little. Because of the topic, I think this should be kept to readers 16 and up (or those who are mature enough to handle it). Can't wait for more from the author! show less

Mischa, otherwise know as “Ish,” is fascinated with Mars. She plans on being one of the first people to live on Mars. Her best friend, and Mars partner in crime, Tig, moved away and ceased all contact with her. Ish cannot understand how he can just stop their friendship. Ish cannot understand why, just because she is a girl, no one believes her Mars dreams will come true. Ish cannot understand the other kids her age at school. But the one thing Ish does understand, and will always show more understand, is Mars. Even when cancer enters her life.

When I received this ARC, I read the first couple of pages out of curiosity, even though I was in the middle of another book. After those first few pages, I knew I would have to finish, LOVE ISH before I could come back to the other book. The voice of the main character, Ish, captivated me immediately and drew me in. I wanted to get to know Ish better. I couldn’t stop and read the book in two sittings. Anyone, especially girls/women who love science, will love Ish. Anyone who has ever felt a little bit different will adore Ish. Ish is someone you must get to know. Author, Karen Rivers, knows how to get you wrapped up in a character’s life. A great book for any intermediate/middle-grade classroom or child. show less

Mischa “Ish” Love is a precocious 12-year-old who is heavily into science and environmentalism, to the chagrin of her mom, who wishes she would be more relaxed and enjoy life more. (Ish says her mom “has obviously mistaken me for an ice dancer or a regular girl…”)

Ish for her part is frustrated that she is the only one who seems to be taking the planet seriously, while other kids “run around and throw their candy wrappers into the wind and assume someone else is going to clean up show more their mess.”

Ish did, however, have a great deal of fun when her BFF, Tig Diaz, lived next door, but he moved away nine months prior, and she hasn’t heard a word from him since. Tig shared her concerns and dreams, but just dropped her without a word. She tries to pretend he is just “dead to her” now, but she misses him, and is lonely and hurt.

She tries to think about other things, and occupies her time planning for her eventual immigration to Mars as part of the “Mars Now” project that purports to be equipping Mars for settlements in ten years. She will be 22 then and just knows she will be perfect, if only they will accept her into the program. She and Tig had spent six years planning for what they would do on Mars and how they would survive. She muses:

“If people were all either flowers or weeds, I’d be a weed. Weeds are survivors. Weed are what they need on Mars. Nothing fragile. No one who will die at the first sign of trouble.”

But alas, Ish turns out to be a flower after all, when it is discovered that she has an aggressive brain tumor. She is told it is the size of a Brussels sprout, so she calls it that, or Nirgal, which was how the ancient Bablylonians referred to Mars - Nirgal meant “death star.”

The rest of the book takes us through the states Ish goes through - the sadness, the anger, and the fear. But eventually she manages to find acceptance of her situation:

“Like you imagine your life is this elaborate line that twists and curls and makes beautiful pictures, but the real beauty of life is that it isn’t like that at all. It’s a meteor, streaking across the sky. Meteors don’t twist and turn. They just cut straight across, faster than you ever imagined.”

Ish undergoes chemotherapy and radiation, but the tumor grows fast, and takes over larger portions of her brain. She loses more and more of a sense of her surroundings, increasingly imagining herself living on Mars, planting things, and waiting for everyone else to come. Finally, all she can see are prisms of light - a symphony of light, “playing inside me, singing about all my beautiful forevers.”

Evaluation: This book is not as depressing as it sounds, but it is by no means a “happy” story. The author does an excellent job of describing the processes of hospitalization and chemotherapy, and portraying what it might be like to have brain functions gradually slip away. This little girl’s journey will help kids understand similar situations of sick relatives or friends in their lives. show less

“The thing is, if God is dead, who is looking after us?”

Karen Rivers’ pithy middle grade novel about a girl trapped in a well is an onion—at its surface, we just have a girl who is tricked into falling into a well, much to the delight of a Mean Girls-esque crew at her school. As we progress through the story, our heroine, Kammie, begins to reveal just exactly why she recently moved to Texas, why her father is in prison, and why she even cares what these girls thinks. As Kammie show more begins to suffer from oxygen deprivation, she thinks back to the events that led up to her escapade and even hallucinates about talking goats. By the end of its 215 pages, I was affected, emotionally, by Kammie’s story—it’s certainly not what it seems at first glance. Highly recommended for a quick, thoughtful story. show less