Title: LOVE-ISH
Author: KAREN RIVERS
Genre: MIDDLE GRADE FICTION
Length: 236 PAGES
Publisher: DANCING CAT BOOKS
Type of Book: SOFTCOVER
Received From: THE AUTHOR
Release Date: APRIL 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-77086-492-4
Price: $12.95 CDN
Rating: 4 OUT OF 5 STARS 🌟🌟🌟🌟
DESCRIPTION:
Mischa “Ish” Love knows she’ll be one of the first settlers on Mars. She’s applied to – and been rejected from – the Mars Now project forty-seven times, but the mission won’t leave for ten years, and Ish hasn’t given up hope. She also hasn’t given up hope that Tig will be her best friend again.
When Ish collapses on the first day of seventh grade, she gets a diagnosis that threatens all her future plans. As Ish fights cancer, she dreams in vivid detail about the Martian adventures she’s always known she’d have – and makes unexpected discoveries about love, fate, and her place in the world.
MY REVIEW:
Most Middle-grade books, especially those targeted at female readers, seem to contain little more than what I call “fluff.”
From their stereotypical pink covers to the oh so dreamy boy the main character has a crush on, Middle-Grade books for girls SUCK!!!
I LOVE that LOVE, ISH is different from any other book targeted at Middle-grade readers.
The cover of this book is awesome. It shows off Ish’s long red hair, and the artist’s decision to have her standing on the globe of Earth and looking towards Mars is 100% perfection.
I was not as happy with the description on the back of the book as I was with it’s cover. It does not really do this book justice, but I have the feeling that this was done on purpose to grab the interest of the target age group. Once they begin reading and are pulled into the story, they will realize that this book is truly one of a kind. Readers will discover that even though there are some very serious issues discussed in this book, they will want to keep reading despite the fact that they will be learning in the process.
Parents who do not try to keep their middle-grade children in a bubble and who realize that kids are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for, will want to buy this book for their sons and their daughters. Just because the protagonist is female, does not mean that this is a girl’s book. In fact, both boys and girls will be able to relate to Ish and to her struggle to find her place in the world [or, maybe on Mars instead.]
The writing style of author KAREN RIVERS draws middle-grade readers into the story instantaneously. Her knowledge of what clothing and footwear appeal to this age group is an example of her attention to detail, sibling rivalry and the jealousies that seem petty to adults but feel so very important to tweens and teens are another example.
Ish’s dream is to be the first woman/girl to live on Mars. In pursuit of this goal, she has read anything and everything that she could get her hands on that has to do with Mars and about the difficulties of colonizing a new planet.
I love that this book encourages readers to dream big. Ish found a website where people can apply to be part of the first Mars colony expedition. She is only twelve years old and has already applied more than 40 times. She has received a rejection every time so far, but she will not give up hope. She plans to keep applying until they finally accept her. The message implied by Ish’s actions is twofold. First, young people have dreams and aspirations and should be encouraged to follow those dreams, no matter how unlikely they seem. Secondly, the message to others is to be tenacious, and to not allow setbacks (or the opinions of others) to stop you from pursuing your dreams.
This book deserves a very high rating. There is so much contained in it’s pages that is unlike any other middle-grade book on the market. In fact, even though the target readership is ages 10 through 15, I believe that readers of all ages will fall ìn love with LOVE, ISH and that upon completion, they will recommend it to their friends and families.
I rate this book as 4 out of 5 Stars in the Middle-grade Fiction category. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
FAVORITE QUOTES:
“Living with Elliott is sort of like coexisting with a talking, breathing shard of broken glass. You never know when it’s going to poke you in the foot and leave you bleeding all over the clean floor.”
“My brain is basically a salad spinner, whirling unrelated ideas.”
“The thing with chemo is that it is the worst and also, it sucks all the energy out of me, leaving me as floppy as a piece of paper. I feel like I’m constantly carrying something heavy, but that heavy thing is me.”
***** CAUTION *****
*****STOP READING THIS REVIEW NOW IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW WHAT ISSUES ARE BROUGHT UP IN “LOVE, ISH.” *****
So, if you are reading this, you have decided that you want to know. Good for you! I would have made the same choice.
Some very important social issues are discussed in LOVE, ISH. Some of these are discussed below:
Ish lives on the shores of a lake in California and, just like in real life, the lake is getting smaller and smaller.
In fact, the lake pictured below is called Lake Cachuma which is Santa Barbara’s primary water source. According to the New York Times, it is currently only at 7% capacity and is expected to dry up completely by the end of 2017.
– Above is a picture of Lake Cachuma as it is today.
– Below is a picture of that same lake when it was full of water. The difference is staggering.
[To learn more about California’s very real and extremely terrifying present-day water crisis, click HERE]
Not only is the lake water disappearing, but before that started happening, a large chemical company located on the opposite side of the lake from Ish’s home, spilled a large amount of toxic waste into the lake.
Ish even mentions the fact that the water changed to a bright blue color for several weeks after the incident.
Unfortunately, this type of corporate negligence happens way too often in our world today.
It is an issue that our children will be left to try to remedy when they grow up. Not only that, but the polluted water can (and often does) end up entering into the water that comes from the taps in our homes. Recent news stories regarding the tainted water supply in Michigan prove that this is very much a relevant and legitimate problem.
This will not only affect our children in the future, but it can cause very real, and very scary health problems, right now.
What happens to Ish (being diagnosed with a brain tumor) could, in fact, have been due to the toxic spillage into the lake behind her house. This possibility is not explicitly mentioned in the book, but astute readers will pick up on it anyway.
[To learn more about recent toxic spills into lakes, rivers and oceans click HERE]
Ish passes out on her first day of middle-school and it is discovered that she has a brain tumor. She undergoes chemotherapy and radiation treatments and the author does not shy away from writing about the aftereffects of those treatments.
“The thing with chemo is that it is the worst and also, it sucks all the energy out of me, leaving me as floppy as a piece of paper. I feel like I’m constantly carrying something heavy, but that heavy thing is me.”
I cannot think of any other middle-grade book that writes so openly and honestly about this topic. In other middle-grade books, if cancer is mentioned at all, the authors usually gloss over the details, and, almost always, the cancer sufferer is an adult, not a child. It is my opinion that by doing this, we are doing a disservice to our children. With the prevalence of cancer in today’s society, it is likely that most children will experience cancer in some way; whether it is a friend, or a family member, or even just the old lady who lives down the street.
[To learn more about childhood cancers click HERE]
I give HUGE Kudos to Author KAREN RIVERS for writing such an important and yet entertaining novel. I hope everyone who reads this review runs out and buys her book immediately.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Information was taken directly from the author’s website.
Q & A About Karen Rivers
Where were you born?
I was born in Nanaimo, BC, on June 12, 1970.
Where do you live?
I live in a little green house in Victoria, BC with two kids, two dogs, and two birds.
Where did you go to school?
I did most of my schooling in Victoria. After I graduated, I went to UVic for a couple of years, then I went to UBC and ended up with a degree in International Relations (‘91) and most of a degree in Physiology, that I never quite finished.
Why did you become a writer?
I became a writer because I didn’t have any other choice. Every time I tried to stop writing, a new idea would pop into my head. Sometimes I wish I had a job with regular hours (and a regular paycheque!) but mostly I feel incredibly lucky to be able to tell my stories for a living.
Where do you get your titles?
I don’t know! Much like writing the books, I think a lot of it is magic. And sometimes, my editor comes up with a much better title, so we use that one instead! Writing a book is like being part of a big team.
What were you like when you were a kid?
Karen at age 10
I was a bookworm. I read so many books, it was ridiculous. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of books. I was also really skinny. When I was nine, I got glasses. Big glasses. It was the 1970s and/or 1980s, so that’s what glasses looked like. I had a lot of bad haircuts. I blushed a lot. I never knew how to do a cartwheel. I thought they’d teach us at school but it turned out everyone else knew how to do one before they even got there! I was pretty quiet and very shy. I think I was sometimes funny, too. I was always competitive so I got good grades. I think at different stages of my life, I was a lot like some of my characters. I still am. I think we are all always every age that we’ve ever been, like the layers of an onion.
What’s your favourite book for kids?
For a long time, I avoided reading kids’ books or YA at all because I thought if I read someone else’s book, I might think my own books didn’t measure up and I would be filled with self-doubt. I hate to think about all the great books that I missed by worrying about that. Now I read a lot of YA and Middle Grade, so much that I have a hard time picking a favourite, but today I”m going to say that Rebecca Stead’s WHEN YOU REACH ME is topping the list.
Are you married?
No.
Do you have any pets?
Yes. I have a dog named Happy and a dog named Augie. They are rescue dogs. And I have two birds, named Herbert and Feisty.
Do you write every day?
Yes. Even if I don’t actually write it down, I’m always thinking about the book that I’m working on, and trying to unravel all the tangly bits.
Writing every day is necessary to keep me from panicking. It makes me feel more sane than when I don’t write every day. But I do take some days off. That’s life! You can say, “Oh, every day I will drink 8 glasses of water!” But the truth is, some days you just aren’t that thirsty. The same is true for writing.
What’s your favourite of your books?
I’m so proud of all of them for different reasons, I could never pick a favourite. Usually my most favourite is the one I’m working on right now.
What’s your favourite colour?
Green.
Lucky numbers?
3. And 14. And, of course, 42.
Favourite ice cream?
Coconut
To learn more about this amazing Canadian author visit the following links:
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