Becoming Rosemary

Becoming Rosemary is a rather odd story by Frances M. Wood. Rosemary is a 12 year old girl who begins to enter an adult world. The story takes place in a mountain community in the 1790s. The story deals with religious intolerance, puberty, witch craft, and discrimination.

Rosemary's family has a minor internal conflict with Christianity versus witchcraft. The women of the family interact with the magical world, if they choose, and the family views it as perfectly normal. They keep this aspect of their lives secret from the surrounding community. Some of the family are Christian, some witches. There is no open conflict in the family. Rather there is pressure to choose one side or the other, but no recriminations for whatever one chooses.

Meanwhile, a new family moves into the community. Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the young wife is mistaken as a witch. What results is persecution by the community.

The author is very skilled at describing how a young child awakens to the world around them. Rosemary evolves from a silent observer of the world to one that chooses to interact with it. Still the odd interaction of magic/witchcraft versus religious intolerance is poorly handled. The author vilifies most of the community members who have chosen Christianity. She depicts the traveling minister as an ineffectual, evil leader. It is true, such intolerance and evil has been perpetrated by those proclaiming Christianity in history, but the author's handling of the topic is offensive.

The book is being marketed to children aged 5-7 years. IMO, that is far too young for the topics in the book. In fact, it would probably be best to skip the book all together.

Tatooine Ghost

I suppose it is difficult to write a novel that appeases the fans of beloved characters and a beloved story. Star Wars is probably such a universe that many people have certain expectations, including myself. I had immediate difficulty with Tatooine Ghost because it was hard for me to listen in on the thoughts of Princess Lea or Han Solo. Our usual perception of these characters is in a film where we see or hear their reactions. How can an author presume to know what these characters are thinking? That difficulty eventually disappeared as I read more of the story written by Troy Denning. In the end, the story was a fun escape into the Star Wars universe.

The story revolves around Han Solo and Princess Lea shortly after their marriage. They travel to Tatooine to try and retrieve a piece of artwork that has a hidden communications device. During their pursuit, Lea tries to reconcile her relationship of Darth Vader, his childhood, and all of that back story. I didn't quite get the title of the book. There is no actual ghost - instead it is Lea dealing with her own genetic history - the ghost of the past perhaps. It would have been better to title the book Kilik Twilight - the name of the artwork they are pursuing.

The book resolution falls into a typical and predictable Star Wars ending. Even though the book is fun to read - it's also easily forgettable. It certainly is not earth shattering science fiction. It is merely a book to interest Star Wars fans. Definitely not a must read.

Book Rating: 3 stars

Polio - An American Story

This is probably one of the best non-fiction books I have read in a long time. Polio - An American Story by David Oshinsky is truly an American story. The pursuit of a cure for polio tranformed medical research techniques, charitable fund raising, celebrity involvement, and government funding.

It was amazing to read of the rivalry between Sabin and Salk - two scientists who had two very different vaccines. Both worked, but both had problems. In the end, one comes out the winner but at the cost of a brilliant medical career. This historical sketch makes you wonder about the development, research, and safety of all other vaccines. It is true that polio has been virtually eliminated in most developed countries, but the story isn't over. There is still a lot that is not known about polio.

The author does a good job of placing Polio in its proper historical context and covers just about every vantage point. From FDR to the March of Dimes. He discusses the possible link between polio research and AIDS. Finally, he discusses the long term health status of polio survivors.

This was a long book, but well worth the read.

Book Rating: 5 stars