Seattle Book Club | Seattle books, travel books, bookstore news, Seattle authors and writer opportunities

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon

Sometimes you come across a piece of children’s fiction that can apply to any age, really. It may be a piece that simply rings true of life, or that inspires you with its simplicity or its art. Patty Lovell’s Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon is one such picture book. It’s a book about loving yourself no matter who you are and not letting the bullies get you down—a timely message if there ever was one. 83 reviews rate the book as positive on Amazon.com with little, if any, bad remarks, so I am guessing that many others hold its universal message dear in their hearts as well.

Molly Lou Melon is a very petite girl. She is absolutely adorable, reminding you immediately of one of Dr. Seuss’s “Whos.” After moving to a new school, she is made fun of for everything from her small stature to her bucked teeth to her squeaky voice. But every time she is bullied, Molly Lou doesn’t cry or back down. She affably takes everything in stride, reacting with grace, humor, and friendliness. By the end of the book, the class bully feels very foolish for even attempting to bully this little spitfire, and he makes a gesture to become her friend.

On the last page of the book, it is revealed that Molly Lou’s grandmother was a very short, spunky lady, too. When Molly Lou had to move, her grandmother had reminded her that if she smiled big, the world would smile, too—right alongside her. Molly Lou writes her a letter at the end of the book telling her that she was right.

It’s such a wonderful book that meets violence and meanness with playfulness and friendship. The only sad thing about it is that I know from personal experience that such a reaction isn’t always possible. I have had bullies treat me badly even when I extended the arm of friendship, offered to help with schoolwork, or otherwise reached out and I always blamed myself. Sometimes you just have to walk away and know that it’s their problem, not yours.

But Molly Lou and her grandmother are also right. Positive thinking and smiling through the good times and the bad are good advice, no matter what! My little girl absolutely loves this book—particularly the character of Molly Lou—and I would heartily recommend it to anyone else, with kids or without.

Books Set In Seattle: Boneshaker

A steampunk alternate history version of 1860s Seattle, plus zombies

Earlier this year I read Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. This steampunk fantasy features dirigibles, digging machines gone mad, and goggles aplenty. If I felt that the story was sometimes lacking, I was delighted by the richness with which Priest created her world, a steampunk alternate history version of Seattle. It was so fully realized that I still remember it vividly, some nine months later. (And I have a terrible memory.)

Boneshaker is set in the mid-1800s. A digging machine has gone awry in Seattle, and dug so far down that it hit a pocket of evil yellow gas that turns people into zombies. This gas, once released, fills the bowl of Seattle's downtown area.

Luckily, the gas is much heavier than air. This means that it can be contained by a wall or heavy canvas. A wall is put up around Seattle, in order to both keep the gas in and prevent the zombies from escaping. Some people remain in the city, scampering from building to building and making ample use of Seattle's Underground.

In another twist of fate, the gas proves useful as an ingredient in a popular street drug. This encourages people to hop the wall (or fly over it in dirigibles) to collect and process it. It also gives rise to drug labs set inside the city. These labs survive by encasing buildings in canvas and rubber gaskets (to keep out the gas) and various armaments (to keep out the zombies). They stick big canvas snorkels up into the clean air, in order to draw it down to street level to breathe.

The gas is corrosive, but you can walk around on the street in goggles and a gas mask - if you want to brave the zombies, that is.

The Seattle of Boneshaker is meticulously realized, with street directions and intersections that Seattle history buffs will recognize. Many of the locations still exist today, of course. (Not the Space Needle, naturally, since it was built for the 1962 World's Fair. Which is too bad, because I quite like the idea of the Space Needle sticking up out of the yellow zombie gas. It would be a handy anchoring site for dirigibles, as well.)

If you have been on the Seattle Underground tour (as surely you must, if you are in Seattle for any length of time) you will recognize the look and feel, as well as some locations. And try not to think about the zombies while you are down there, okay?

Welcome to Seattle Book Club

Post your favorite places in Seattle to write or read by clicking "Add a Post."

Seattle Authors: Neal Stephenson

Science fiction author Neal Stephenson was born in Maryland, and has lived in Illinois, Iowa, and Boston before finally settling in Seattle in 1984. Stephenson hit it big in 1992 with his novel Snow Crash, and went on to write mega-hits Cryptonomicon, the massive Baroque Cycle, Anathem, and most recently released REAMDE, a near-future thriller.

Seattle sometimes features in Stephenson's modern-day novels. I particularly recall a passage in Cryptonomicon where the protagonist consults an alpha geek software mogul named Chester who lives in a mansion on Mercer Island, and who can frequently be found participating in Magic: The Gathering games in a Seattle-area mall. (I always suspected it of being the Crossroads mall in Bellevue, although I can't put my finger on why.)

Stephenson is famously protective of his privacy and free time. His public appearances are exceptionally rare, and his website grouchily (albeit correctly) explains that time is a finite quality, and he can either write or he can attend a public speaking engagement, but not both. And that since we like him for his writing, it behooves him to spend his time thusly.

(Although Stephenson rejects the "reclusive" label. In this essay on the topic, he says that he socializes with people and "frequently take[s] part in parties, dinners, etc." He describes himself as "quite sociable" and "one of the least reclusive people I know." It is just to us, the outsiders, that he may seem to be turning a cold shoulder. But I would argue that the only important exchange between a writer and the public comes in the form of the writer's words. By which measure, considering the heft of Stephenson's novels, he is the exact opposite of reclusive.)

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Stephenson lives in West Seattle, although I can't find the reference now. I'm also pretty sure that I saw him on the bus once. Either Stephenson or an amazing look-alike with a grouchy attitude, working on a laptop, heading up to the U-District on one of the 70-series buses that run up Eastlake every ten minutes.

He saw me do a double-take and glowered, shifting around to protectively hunch over his laptop. This would have been around 2007, at which time Stephenson would have been working on Anathem. Maybe he was heading up to the university library to do some research. Or maybe it was just a case of mistaken identity.

Stephenson's most overt tie to the City of Seattle is his amazing contribution to the Science Fiction Museum. The museum houses Stephenson's manuscript for the Baroque Cycle, which is a stack of paper several feet high. The entire thing HAND-WRITTEN. Mind blowing, if you ask me!