Shelf Awareness--Our Violent Ends

YA Review: Our Violent Ends

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 512p., ages 13-up, 9781534457720)

Our Violent Ends continues the satisfying, high-stakes tale of forbidden love that began in These Violent Delights. Chloe Gong brings the duology to a close amid a culture of moral decay and an ever-increasing body count.

This sequel picks up four months after the "monster of Shanghai" was killed, and the madness associated with it has abated. But even as citizens celebrate, the bloody gang war between Scarlets and White Flowers rages on. Confrontations between Communists and Nationalists heat up as well and, in the emerging political landscape, both Scarlets and White Flowers stand to lose all their hard-won power and territories. Scarlet heir Juliette Cai hasn't seen ex-lover and White Flower heir Roma Montagov since she saved his life by pretending to shoot one of his closest friends. In the ensuing months, Roma, certain Juliette betrayed him, has become a bitter, angry killer intent on vengeance. But now the pair must work together again to track down a blackmailer who demands payment in exchange for the city's safety: while only one monster caused chaos and destruction before, "I have five," the blackmailer's note warns. "Do as I say, or everyone dies."

Chloe Gong revisits Romeo and Juliet--"one of Shakespeare's best plays" Gong states in her bio--and sets it in the "uproarious decadence" of an alternate 1920s Shanghai in political and social turmoil. At the heart lies the smoldering romance between Roma and Juliette, which simultaneously threatens to blaze into deadly violence and amorous love at any moment. Against such a ruthless backdrop, with loyalties tested, how can true love possibly win out? --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Discover: This sequel to These Violent Delights continues a satisfying, high-stakes tale of forbidden love set amid a culture of extreme decadence and an ever-increasing body count.

December Recommendations

Picture Books:

When EVERYBODY IN THE RED BRICK BUILDING begins, the inhabitants of said building are all sound asleep. Until… Baby Lizzie goes “WaaaAAH!,” Rayhan’s parrot goes “Rraak! WAKE UP!,” Benny, Cairo, and Miles “pitter, patter STOMP!” and so on!! This wonderful story builds cumulatively to a car alarm’s “WEEYOOOWEEEEYOOOOO!!!! before the sounds soften “shhhh shhhh” for the sleepy finish. Anne Wynter’s text is clever and fun to read, and is accompanied by Oge Mora’s exceptional collaged art.

FARM LULLABY by Karen Jameson, illustrated by Wednesday Kirwan, is a stunning bedtime book from two very fine creators. Rhyming lines will soothe even the most active readers as night falls on the farm, and finally “moonbeams shine on evening blush/Nighttime’s blanket settles. Hush.” Jewel-toned illustrations of animals “settling in, hoof to chin” will invoke many a classic bedtime tale.

CAT DOG, by Mem Fox and Mark Teague, is perfectly silly book that features a “scary dog, right?” Nope. But there is a cat who narrates this book that’s full of contradictions. Cat and Dog sleep and pounce their way through a series of questions which are usually followed by “Yes!” or “No!” And, whatever the answer, the pictures often show that the opposite is closer to the truth. The acrylic paintings bring fun perspectives, a great color sense, and a knack for neatly depicting both the truth and the fiction described within these pages. Kids should love it!

THE LOST PACKAGE, written by Richard Ho and illustrated by Jessical Lanan, describes how, after a package is lovingly packed, sealed, and “given a personal touch,” it’s processed at the post office and loaded onto a truck bound for the airport. But along the way, it falls out of the truck and is “LOST.” A boy and his mom find the now “tattered and muddy” package and serendipitously deliver it to its intended destination across the country. The book has a strong narrative arc, plenty of emotional heft, and also manages to explain how mail is processed! Lanan’s watercolor illustrations deftly enhance Ho’s rich text.

¡VAMOS! LET’S CROSS THE BRIDGE, by Raúl the Third, with colors by Elaine Bay, is another installment in this exuberant look at border life. “Today is the big celebration! ¡La gran celebración!” and Little Lobo has packed up his new truck with “piñatas, cakes, rockets,” etc. for the party that’s “across the river in another country.” When they get stuck in a huge traffic jam on the bridge, it looks like Little Lobo and his friends will miss the fun. But, never fear, with all those party fixings, they have a great time celebrating right where they are. The art is so colorful and complex, it’s worth poring over with many, many readings. In fact, the whole thing is the height of madcap fun, tells a terrific story, and “Beep! Beep!” is a celebración for everyone!

MISTER WATSON’S CHICKENS, written by Jarett Dapier and illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi, is the silly-sweet and wonderfully-told tale of Mr. Watson and Mr. Nelson and their expanding chicken population. What begins as a very sensible “handful of chickens,” soon grows—and grows—to an astounding collection of 456, including one named Aunt Agnes who sings very loudly. Something must be done!

--Lynn

December's Book of the Month--A House

December’s Book of the Month is the deceptively simple A HOUSE, created by picture book wizard Kevin Henkes.

A HOUSE consists of a series of graphic renderings of said house, accompanied by pertinent questions.“Where is the door? What color is it?” and “Where is the window? What shape is it?” Seems basic enough, but there’s a lot going on here: “Where is the sun? Is it up? Where are the birds? Are all of them flying?…Where is the moon? Does it look like a window? Where are the stars? How many are there?”

Small changes to the image will have readers conjuring up questions of their own. But then the book takes an emotional turn when the narrator exclaims “Look! Here comes a dog. Here comes a cat. Here comes some people.” And we learn that, actually, we have not been studying a house. Rather, we have been studying a home.

Henkes’s gentle, perceptive questions encourage readers to think deeply on what constitutes a house, including how it relates to the things around it. And, more importantly, how it relates to the things that are in it. Using an art stye reminiscent of his lovely book WAITING, with brown ink, watercolor paints, and colored pencils, the author/illustrator has created a(nother) surprisingly perfect picture book.

--Lynn