Plum Rains

 Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax, 389 pages

Kara wrote about this book here when it was actually the Orc & Aliens book two months ago. I am late to the party, but this book was interesting enough that I wanted to come back and finish it anyways.

This book moved at a pretty leisurely pace, but I think it stayed interesting throughout. The juxtaposition of historical fiction and science fiction segments created some interesting back and forth. It actually reminded me quite a bit of the short story "The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling" from Ted Chiang's Exhalation, which I just recently reviewed. My only gripe is that I didn't like how it ended very much. Overall I would still recommend it.

Tall Story by Candy Gourlay 296 pages

A brother and half-sister who had never met and were separated by oceans are reunited when the brother finally gets his government approved travel papers. Bernardo, the brother must leave the only home he has known with his aunt and uncle in a small Philippine village. There are a lot of complications. The village has a superstition that his presence will prevent a devastating earthquake (so his aunt and uncle try to sneak him out). He is also afflicted with a condition called Gigantism which has shot him up in height past eight feet (hence the book title). On the way to his new home he has a seizure and his mother fears that he has even more medical problems. It is a good thing that his mother and step-father are both nurses, but it also means that they work all the time and his young half-sister, Andi is reluctantly forced to take care of him. Andi is passionate about basketball and her dream is to play point-guard for her new school's all male basketball team. Bernardo's best friend, Jabby was also crazy about basketball. Bernardo would seem to be a natural because of his height, but he is very physically awkward. There is a bit of magic in this warm family story which has humor and heart.