THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING by Krista Van Dolzer for MMGM

The Sound of Life and Everything by Krista Van Dolzer (Dial, May 5, 2015, for ages 10 and up) 

Source: I won this book from Literary Rambles and Krista herself.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Twelve-year-old Ella Mae Higbee is a sensible girl. She eats her vegetables and wants to be just like Sergeant Friday, her favorite character on Dragnet. So when her auntie Mildred starts spouting nonsense about a scientist who can bring her cousin back to life from blood on his dog tags, Ella Mae is skeptical—until he steps out of a bio-pod right before her eyes.

But the boy is not her cousin—he’s Japanese. And in California in the wake of World War II, the Japanese are still feared and despised. When her aunt refuses to take responsibility, Ella Mae and her Mama take him home instead. Determined to do what’s right by her new friend, Ella Mae teaches Takuma English and defends him from the reverend’s talk of H-E-double-toothpicks. But when his memories start to resurface, Ella Mae learns some shocking truths about her own family and more importantly, what it means to love.

Why I recommend it: Ella Mae's voice is spot-on. I was completely drawn in by page 2 and felt like Ella Mae and I were old friends. What also impressed me was the deft and graceful way the author handled some tough issues about life and death, balanced with just the right amount of humor. And finally, I've read a great many MG novels and very few of them give me chills anymore (the good kind of chills that tell me I'm reading something truly special). This one did. Especially when I reached the passage Krista talks about below. Historical fiction with a touch of the fantastical, this is a book I will read again.  

Favorite lines: The Japanese man, on the other hand, watched me through the glass. Neither of us said a word, but we still had a conversation.

Bonus: This book would be a great discussion-starter in classrooms.   

Krista's website: http://www.kristavandolzer.com/

Follow Krista on Twitter: @KristaVanDolzer

I asked Krista if she could explain the origin of the title for my readers, and she graciously agreed. Take it away, Krista!

I'm terrible at titles, so when the publisher said they wanted something a little more accessible to MG readers--the title at that time was THE REGENERATED MAN--I was more than happy to oblige. Except I still had no idea what the new title should be. Editor Shauna and I came up with several dozen titles over the course of several weeks, but nothing felt quite right. Luckily, she was doing one last read-through and stumbled across a passage that included the expression "the sound of life and death and everything" (which we ended up shortening to "the sound of life and everything"). Right away, she knew that line had to be the title, and though it took some convincing, I eventually saw the light. (Like I already said, I'm terrible at titles, so I don't always know a good one when I see one.) I'll let you guys read the book to find that passage for yourselves!


Thank you, Krista! It's a great title.  

Have you read The Sound of Life and Everything? What did you think?

MMGM is the brainchild of Shannon Messenger. Visit her blog for more posts.