"The Drop" Novel Review

The Drop by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great crime-noir drama that mirrors the likes of "Mystic River" and dare I say the epic "Heat" saga with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

Bob is a bartender at his Cousin Marv's bar which acts as a "drop" for money being transferred between crime syndicates...Everything is hunky dory until the bar gets robbed and Bob and Marv have to come up with the money so that their lives aren't at stake. But there's more to the story that makes the reader interested.

Bob is a lonely man, but not in a creepy way. He attends regular mass and works frequently at the bar, yet he feels like his life isn't fulfilled. Others even question why he is so quiet and distant from everyone else...That changes when he finds a stray pit bull puppy in the trash, and his neighbor Nadia helps him nurse the puppy back to health. Believe it or not (and pet owners will understand completely where I'm coming from), Bob finds a sliver of happiness when he finds Rocco (christened after the patron saint of dogs and bachelors---clever touch I might add!), and even begins to bond more with Nadia. Both of these relationships save Bob and his "home life", especially when the going gets tough at work.

Theres great character development, multi-faceted story lines that intersect, and surprises that you may not see coming, especially one that explains why Bob seems to be so lonely. Did I mention that this is also the source material for Fox Searchlight's film version starring Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini? If it helps, imagine them as the characters and I guarantee you won't want to put it down.

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"The One and Only Ivan" Literary Review

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an adorable little book that helps portray the message of helping others to today's youth! Applegate's Newberry Winner, "The One And Only Ivan" is a must read for young adults and anyone who just wants to read a feel-good tale.

Ivan is a gorilla who has lived at a mall for almost 27 years (!) and has a fondness for creating art. He draws, paints and sculpts for his animal friends Stella, an elderly elephant and Bob, a stray mutt. On the day a young elephant Ruby shows up, Ivan is forever changed by the notion to protect this newly introduced innocence, and he strives to make a change. He is "the mighty silverback" and will stop at nothing to save Ruby from the horrors that come with exotic animal showmanship.

The most impressive feature of this title was the style in which it was told. It is very simplistic and quite easy to speed through. It is a page turner indeed. This is not a style that can be mastered easily, and Applegate succeeds tremendously at telling the story of Ivan's mission to save Ruby, the humor that exists between the animal friends, and the sadness that lies within the backstory of animal captivity. This author will punch you in the gut when she has Ivan tell you his history, as well as have you cheering for him during his endeavors. I don't think I've ever done this for a young adult book, besides for perhaps Katniss in "The Hunger Games".

As a teacher, it is lower on the lexile level for students to read, however I would assign it for them to analyze for major themes, as well as develop connections to nonfiction texts and events, much like the true Ivan in which Applegate based this fiction work off of. I enjoyed reading "The One and Only Ivan", and I believe that many young adult readers will as well.

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