Becoming Naomi Leon

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Summary: Don't fear, my darling. The lion sleeps tonight.
Review: "Esperanza Rising" was okay. It wasn't the best book I'd ever read, nor did it leave an indelible mark on my heart and mind. After reading it through I felt that author Pam Munoz Ryan was a fine n' dandy writer, but that it was probably unlikely that she'd produce a book that would really make me sit up and take notice. When I start reading a children's book with a mild prejudice already established in my mind (as there was when I picked up "Becoming Naomi Leon") it takes remarkably good writing to bash that prejudice into soft mushy pulp. And bash this book did. By its end I was flabbergasted. I went into this novel with the vague dread that it would read like so many other works of fiction that are ostensibly "good" for children. I worried that it would be beautifully written and dull as day old dishwater. Instead, it was interesting, bright, cheery, but with just enough reality and cynicism to make you feel that Naomi's fight was one worth battling out. In short, I've been completely seduced by "Becoming Naomi Leon". It is perhaps the underrated children's novel of 2004. Hands down.

Naomi begins her book with the chilling statement that she can now point out the exact moment that her sense of peace and security began to unravel like those cartoons where a dog wearing a sweater gets a string from his shirt caught in some way. "Pretty soon the poor dog is bare to its skin, shivering, and all that had kept it warm is nothing more than a bedraggled string". And it all began the night her mother came to town. Naomi had been living a nice quiet life with her great-grandmother (or just Gram, as she calls her) and her little brother Owen. Owen has a slight birth defect that affects his neck and voice, but otherwise he's pretty much a certified genius. Both kids were abandoned years ago by their wayward mama Terri Lynn (self-renamed as Skyla), who has just as randomly swung into town to see them. More exactly, to see Naomi. With the firm belief that she is the rightful mother of her child (Owen's physical condition jars with her), Skyla has every intention of grabbing her daughter and dragging her to Las Vegas to take care of her boyfriend's young daughter. Naomi's fright is understandable, but fortunately her Gram is a force to be reckoned with. And before our heroine knows it, she's whisked away to Mexico to briefly escape her lunatic mother and to find her missing father, wherever he may be.

Yeah, I know. It sounds a little heavy-handed. A mite bit unbelievable. A smidgen over-the-top. And with any other author, it would've been. Other reviewers of this book have complained, ludicrously, that Skyla is portrayed as almost too evil and that no such mother like this exists. Sure they do. They exist all the time. They just don't get very good press. And Skyla is beautifully tempered as a character. Some moments she's swimming in charm, buying her babies every pretty present she can think of. Other times she's slapping Naomi upside the face and making thinly disguised threats against Gram. What Ryan does to even out the more unwieldy plot elements, like these, is introduce Naomi's penchant for carving. The daughter of a carver, Naomi carves soft soaps when she can, creating doves, lions, and squirrels. This all comes to a head when she and her family travel to the fabulous (and very real) Oaxacan Night of the Radishes, where expert carvers converge to create large beautiful radishes into varying animal, biblical, and mythical scenes. Adding this detail of Naomi's personality to her otherwise soft-spoken self makes her a very real and understandable heroine.

To my mind, "Becoming Naomi Leon" whops "Esperanza Rising"'s butt. It's a book that will have you alternately gripping your seat, reading with deep intensity, and laughing at its good humor. Gran alone is worth the price of admission. For a surprisingly thoughtful, intelligent, and incredibly readable book (reading this aloud to kids would work incredibly well, methinks) choose "Naomi Leon" any day of the week. A book that promotes tolerance and wisdom.


Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful & Moving Story
Review: Becoming Naomi Leon is one of the best children's books that I have read in many years. It is the touching story of a bi-cultural brother and sister abandoned by thier mother and living in their Grandmother's trailer named Baby Beluga in Lemon Tree, California. Naomi is a shy, quiet girl who carves soap into animals and makes lists. Owen is an FLK (Funny Looking Kid) who dreams of bicycles and wears tape on his clothes for comfort. Grandma is a fiesty, postive thinking, loving woman who tries her best to expose the children to their Mexican culture. They live in relative happiness until one day, their mother shows up. She devotes her time and gifts to Naomi, ignoring Owen in spite of his obvious desire to have her love.

As Naomi's mother spends more time in Lemon Tree, her motives for coming to see her children become threatening and Grandma and the wonderful Mexican neighbors band together to protect the children.

Becoming Naomi Leon is eloquent and moving story of an extended family, a mother that is a danger to her children, a hunt for a father that takes you to Oaxaca and the beauty there. It is simple and elegant; painful and sweet. This book will touch your heart and show you love in it's purest form.

Pam Munoz Ryan has written an ageless and beautiful story that will stay with me for a very long time.

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Summary: Amazing new novel
Review: In Becoming Naomi León, Pam Muñoz Ryan treats readers to another beautifully written novel. Naomi León Soledad Outlaw is a shy and extremely quiet young girl, living in the suburbs of San Diego, California with her great-grandmother and her younger brother, Owen. When Naomi and Owen's mother comes back into the picture, she brings excitement, chaos and uncertainty. What follows is a suspenseful, sad and humorous journey as Naomi has to discover who she is and where she has comes from.

Having read Ryan's Esperanza Rising, I was expecting a similar novel, but was pleasantly surprised by the change in tone, pace and characters. Owen is my favorite character, optimistic to the end with his FLK (Funny Looking Kid) label and his protective tape habits. Naomi is a character readers can truly empathize with and rejoice in her simple joys. And more than one of us could relate to her obsessive list making. The situations in this book are all too familiar in real life, but Ryan gives readers hope with a "fairy tale" ending, so to speak. A good novel to start discussion, Becoming Naomi León is well worth it and has become one of my favorite children's novels.


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Summary: Baby Beluga Brigade
Review: It is charming and humorous writing complimenting the deft tension for the peril of family separation. It deserves recognition as fine children's literature.

The resolution is fine--I would have preferred a showdown with Skyla in Oaxaca!

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Summary: Heartwarming...Couldn't put it down!!!
Review: Naomi Leon's full name is Naomi Soledad Leon Outlaw. This book chronicles a couple of months in Naomi's life in which her mother returns after abandoning the family, leaving Naomi and her brother Owen with their great-grandmother. Over the course of these two months, Naomi learns who she really is.

Naomi's brother Owen has some physical impairments and it was interesting to see how they dealt with school children teasing Owen, as well as his own mother not wanting him. The point can really be made about how we each have something different about us, and it hurts our feelings when people make fun of us, etc. Naomi's mother is alcoholic, and Naomi learns what that means and also what effects it carries into the life of the alcoholic and his or her family. I really think this is something both boys and girls will want to read, especially if they have a little background in the Spanish language and the Mexican culture.

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Summary: Do you know any mothers like this?
Review: Naomi Leon's mother is an alcoholic who goes in and out of institutions. She leaves Naomi and her brother alone for a weekend to go shopping when they are toddlers. She abandons them thereafter for seven years with no contact. She shows up abruptly one day and tells her son, who has some birth defects, that he is a freak. She wants to take Naomi with her in a move to Las Vegas so she can collect support from the state, but won't take her son. How many mothers do you know who are this evil? This book is a typical product of the politically correct American book publishing industry, pushing their usual message: parents can be detrimental to kids, feelings of hate towards your parents can be normal, and "alternative" families are often better. The book adds a trip to Mexico to escape the mother to fit in with the publishers' demand for alternative, non-Western, "authentic" experiences. I don't know any kids who like being hit over the head repeatedly with these sorts of obvious political messages. Is it any wonder that the British publishing industry -- which publishes J.K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, Eva Ibbotson, etc. etc. etc. -- has far outstripped us in producing books that kids actually want to read?