Penny's Reviews and Chat

NAVIGATING EARLY ON

MARVELOUS MIDDLE GRADE MONDAY

I just finished Clare Vanderpool' second book, Navigating Early. It’s similar to her Moon over Manifest, in that there is a story within a story. In Navigating Early, there are several stories woven together. There’s the story that Early tells of the number “Pi’s” life and adventures—told like a fable. Then there’s the story of Early’s brother and what happened during and after the war. There’s also the story of a missing boy that Early and Jack find out about on their adventures. Then there are the stories of Jack’s life before he meets Early at their boarding school and Early’s life before Jack came, and their life together. All of these stories are narrated alternately by Jack, the main point of view in the story, and Early, when he tells “Pi’s” story.

 

As you can see, Navigating Early is every bit as complex as Moon over Manifest, and every bit as satisfying. It proves once again that Ms. Vanderpool is indeed a master storyteller. She can tell a story from a boy’s perspective, a girl’s perspective, and from older men and women’s points of view. This book is a story of loss, grief, abandonment, friendship, love and hope. The story carries you along on a practically unbelievable adventure, and yet when the author ties all the stories together, you sigh and say, well, of course. It couldn’t have been any other way.

 

If you haven’t read Moon over Manifest and Navigating Early, you are missing an amazing adventure, some mysteries, and several personal stories tied into our shared American history. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about how great or perfect I think some authors are, but Ms. Vanderpool is clearly one of them and deserving of the Newbery honors and awards she’s received. Recommended for Middle Grade, Young Adults, as well as adults who want to read a well-crafted story.

Information on Clare Vanderpool is at

http://www.clarevanderpool.com/home.html

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Tags:
Middle Grade books, Navigating Early, Moon over Manifest, Clare Vanderpool, children's stories, adventure, loss, grief, abandonment, love, hope