Unhappiness of all kinds

Not only is my own 8th grade daughter, Picky Reader, very fond of books about domestic abuse, many of my other students are as well. The biggest push for these occurs in February, when all I want to read about is girls in poodle skirts and saddle shoes hanging out at the Malt Shop, but I persevere. The other constant need I have is books about war. Bless Chris Lynch for his new Vietnam series, because I am now getting a lot of boys whose grandfathers fought in Korea or Vietnam, and there are very few books set on the battlegrounds during those time. Here's our whopping dose of violence and depression for today!

Boll, Rosemarie. The Second Trial.

Danny didn't know just how abusive his well-to-do father was until the night that he beat up his mother and shot her. The family has been living with grandparents while the father is awaiting trial and the mother is recuperating, but Danny knows that eventually his father will get out of jail, his mother will forgive him, and his family life will continue as it was. During the trail, however, his father is deemed unrepentant and so dangerous that not only does he earn more jail time, the family is told that they must move far away and assume new identities. They get a lot of help from authorities, but money is very tight, especially after their house, which was awarded to the mother in the divorce, is burnt down. Danny, now known as David, hates his new home and school and starts skipping and not doing work. He also falls into shoplifting and is eventually arrested. Can his mother help him to realize that the family can't go back, and that the only way to go forward is to be positive?

Strengths: This one drew me in very quickly. There is so much good information in this book that I will definitely be purchasing it.

Weaknesses: The copy I borrowed from the Cuyahoga County Public Library system (which absolutely has everything and ROCKS!) was paperback, so I hope I can at least get it in a prebind.

Vigilante, Danette. The Trouble with Half a Moon.

Dellie's family is reeling from the death of her brother in an accident that Dellie feels responsible for. Life is hard enough in their inner city tenement, but this event has made it hard for her mother to function at all. Dellie struggles in school, and is having trouble with her best friend, but all of these problems pale in comparison to the life of Corey, a small boy who lives in her building. His mother is neglectful and abusive, and since Corey reminds Dellie of her brother, she tries to take care of him. When a new neighbor moves in who encourages Dellie, she realizes that even though she isn't Corey's sister, she can still care for him, especially when things come to a violent crescendo with his mother.

Strengths: A well-paced, sad story that will definitely appeal to students who like Don't Hurt Laurie, Waiting for Christopher, and The True Colors of Kaitlyn Jackson.

Weaknesses: Wasn't quite as gripping as some tales-- not as horrific, which I liked but which students might not.

Watkins, Steve. What Comes After.

When Iris' veterinarian father dies in Maine, she is sent to live with her Aunt Sue and her surly cousin Book in North Carolina. Her aunt has a farm, but both relatives are very cruel to the animals, and cruel to Iris as well. Iris is a vegetarian, but Sue doesn't care. School is difficult, Sue starts slapping Iris for small infractions, and she misses her father terribly. When two young goats are supposed to be slaughtered and Iris intervenes, the aunt becomes even more abusive.

Strengths: Interesting animal rights story, and also an interesting juxtaposition between life in Maine and in North Carolina.

Weaknesses: Something about this did not draw me in immediately-- I will give this to Picky Reader and see if she likes it.

Watkins, Steve. Down Sand Mountain.

From the Publisher: "In a small Florida mining town in 1966, twelve-year-old Dewey faces one worst-day-ever after another, but comes to know that the issues he faces about bullies, girls, race, and identity are part of the adult world, as well."

This is set during the Vietnam Conflict, but didn't involve enough of the war. Decent enough for issues of race relations and bullying. This is described as being for grades 7-12, and was more philosophical and slow moving.

Interestingly enough, I requested two unrelated books from the public library by this author. Just not what I needed today.

Arnold, Tedd. Rat Life: A Mystery.From the Publisher: " After developing an unusual friendship with a young Vietnam War veteran in 1972, fourteen-year-old Todd discovers his writing talent and solves a murder mystery."

I rather liked the first chapter, where Todd is discussing different options for the first lines of books, but again, I need books about the Vietnamese Conflict, not about veterans afterwards. Have a lot of those. Also, this book was published in 2007, and the library copy of it looks brand new. This cover and the one above are rather overwhelmingly beige and look a bit uninteresting. Again, just not the thing today.

Guy Friday-- Adventure Guys!

Petrucha, Stefan. Ripper.
Carver Young wants to be a detective, so when he is adopted from the orphange in 1895 by Detective Hawking of the New Pinkertons agency, he is happy. Several other children in the orphange have been adopted by families in the same circle, his friend Delia by a news reporter. There has just been a Jack the Ripper-like murder, and certain segments of New York society, especially Theodore Roosevelt, the Police Commissioned, are concerned. Hawking puts Carver to the task of finding Carver's father, in order to sharpen his detective skills, and Carver soon learns that Hawking's motivations for adopting him had some evil motives. As the Ripper's violence escalates, can Carver figure out the pattern before there are other victims?
Strengths: Wow. So many. First, Petrucha seriously ROCKS. He prose is always facile and engaging-- he's probably the kind of writer you could entrust with the most random of assignments and he would produce something brilliant. ("Write about a boy who.... lives with a retired super hero... in Bermuda... and gets involved with... a dolphin and.... the mafia! Go!")I did NOT see the ending of this coming. Brilliant.

The second big strength is BOOK DESIGN. At 427 pages, this could be daunting, but it wasn't. The cover by Greg Stadnyk is awesome-- I want to do an entire post on his covers because he really GETS it. The pages have plenty of white space, the text is not tiny, and there are 85 chapters, but they are all short.

I'm not a fan of horror or suspense, but this was done so well, and was appropriate for middle school. Pair this with Maureen Johnson's The Name of the Star for 8th grade mystery lovers.


Is there any bigger compliment than a student wanting to loan me a book he got for Christmas? Don't know that there is. Thank you, Matthew-- I liked this one and will definitely be buying it for the library!

Evans, Richard Paul. The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Series: Michael Vey)
Michael has always known that along with Tourette's syndrome, he has a power no one else has-- he can shock people with the electricity in his body. His good friend Ostin knows this, but his mother tries very hard to keep it a secret, even moving them from their previous location after an incident when Michael's power was revealed. Michael is bullied by some toughs in his school until he uses his powers on them. This brings him to the attention of Taylor, a cheerleader who has powers of her own-- she is able to "reboot" people's brains, rendering them briefly unresponsive! The three teens find that Taylor and Michael were born at the hospital during the same week, and that there was a malfunctioning piece of experimental equipment at the hospital that killed a huge number of babies. While researching this, they are brought to the attention of the Elgen Academy and the evil Hatch, who first tries to entice them to come to his school for special children and then kidnaps Taylor and Michael's mother. Taylor finds that she has a twin sister at the school and gets a taste of how manipulative Hatch is; Ostin and Michael take off to rescue Taylor and find Michael's mother. When they meet up with Hatch, Michael's powers prove no match to the ones at Hatch's disposal, and they are taken prisoner. Michael is put in Cell 25 and tortured, but neither he nor Taylor want to get involved with Hatch's evil schemes and plot their excape. The next book is Rise of the Elgen.

Strengths: There's an underdog main character who turns out to have super powers, vanguished bullies, a hot cheerleader, and high school students who can drive themselves places while behaving in a way that is appropriate for middle school students to read about. Lots of action and adventure, and evil villains. This was a little cheesy, but students will love it. Don't know how I missed this one!
Weaknesses: I was really bothered by Ostin calling their group the "Electroclan". Now have the theme song from ElectroWoman and DynaGirl firmly wedged in my brain. Every time that phrase was mentioned it was like nails on the chalkboard. Other than the essential cheesiness, however, no other problems for me.

Santat, Dan. Sidekicks.
Captain Amazing is getting on in years, but still fighting crime. When he is felled by exposure to a peanut, he uses his time off to look for a side kick to help him out. His pets think that they can help-- Roscoe has been trained as Metal Mutt, Fluffy the hamster has a cool outfit, and Static Cat, who ran away from home after an altercation with Roscoe, has been out on his own as The Claw. Captain Amazing also brings home a chameleon, Shifty, and the pets all attempt to fight crime and prove their worth. They all doubt their own powers to a certain degree, but when Dr. Havoc threatens the world, they manage to save the day.
Strengths: Very, very fun, with a great touch of humanity-- Captain Amazing is tired and just wants to hang out with his pets. Illustrations are appealing-- students will love this!
Weaknesses: The title has been used for other similar books.

Also read Andrea Seigal's The Kid Table, which was great fun for me, since I had 38 cousins on my mother's side, only four of whom were younger than I.
This was really more of an adult book, but I was hoping it was younger teenagers. Another example of really great cover design!

From the Publisher: " Ingrid Bell and her five teenage cousins are such a close-knit group that they don't really mind sitting at the kid table—even if they have to share it with a four-year-old. But then Brianne, the oldest cousin, lands a seat at the adult table and leaves her cousins shocked and confused. What does it take to graduate from the kid table? "


Here in Ohio, the temperatures have been in the 70s! I hope that everyone is able to have a great and relaxing weekend even if your weather is not that good!

Outlaw, Night Fall Series

Davies, Stephen. Outlaw.
Jake is not unhappy at his posh British boarding school, but life is BORING there. He and his friends have a game of Geothimble going, where they steal an object from someone else, hide it, and that person has to use GPS technology to get it. While playing this game, Jake ends up walking over a wall into a prison, and then gets kicked out of school. He ends up with his ambassador father in Burkina Faso, which is better than being at school. At a fancy dinner one night, he and his sister, Kas, get kidnapped. Excitement is a good thing, kidnapping is not. Jake and his sister must use their wiles to survive.

At first they think they have been kidnapped by Yakuuba Sor, a wanted outlaw who operates on the Robin Hood principal of taking the righting of wrongs into his own hands, but when they escape their kidnappers and find themselves in Sor's camp, they know that something else is going on. Jake's father, the police, and the British secret service are all after Sor, so he must get them back to their father and prove his innocence. This means uncovering the problems in the police force, which makes Sor even more of a target.
Strengths: This was a wonderful adventure book, and a twist on the usual spy tale. Jake and Kas do not take their situation likely, and realize that they are in real danger and need to cooperate with their captors. The exotic setting is a huge plus. I gave this to Surly Teen Boy, who really liked the story, and hopefully learned something about being kidnapped. They've had a problem with some of that in the Philippines lately, so he should be prepared. Will look for more by this author.
Weaknesses: This is rather violent, with at least three people being killed. It's not done gratuitously, and points out some important information about the characters involved, but I mention it in case students are sensitive to it.

Books like Outlaw make it hard to feel really enthusiastic about something like the Night Fall series from Darby Creek. These short (106 pages), high interest, low level books are great for struggling readers, but they aren't great literature. I've read a couple that were particulartly creepy; Skin involved the murder of a cat. Ick. Luckily, at $13 for a Follett Bound or $6.00 for a paperback, they aren't terribly expensive. I'm debating. I have a lot of 8th grade boys who don't want to read anything at all.

Watson, Stephanie. The Club.
From the Publisher: " Josh and his friends find an old game that promises the players good fortune at the expense of those who have wronged them, but when their luck skyrockets and horrible things happen to their enemies, they try to end the power they unleashed."
This was the strongest of this batch, with a nicely creepy board game gone wrong. New kid Josh tries hard to fit in to his new school, and the local history aspect of a girl from the 1920s committing suicide is an interesting touch.




Karlsson, Val. The Protectors.
From the Publisher: "After the accident that killed Luke's mother, he begins to get messages from the bodies in the funeral home where he lives with his stepfather, who is acting even stranger than usual, and in trying to solve his mother's death, he uncovers a horrifying secret."

This one starts out with rather graphic descriptions of the jobs necessary in a funeral home for preparing a body for viewing. I found it rather hard to read, but students will probably be intrigued. Also includes abusive stepfather, which is always a popular theme. Can't think of many books set in funeral homes except for Coleen Paratore's The Funeral Director's Son!



Watson, Stephanie. Messages from Beyond.
From the Publisher: "Cassandra starts receiving text messages from Ethan, a boy her age who seems to know a lot about her. He says that he goes to her high school, but they always seem to miss each other. The school office has norecord of him. She learns that he died in an accident 20 years ago. Suddenly, strange things begin to happen to Cassandra."

This one had so many references to popular culture that it will not last long at all. It got to be a bit annoying after a while, especially since I was already uncomfortable about the girl being stalked.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again

Boyce, Frank Cottrell. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again.
The Tooting family finds itself in a position that many families are experiencing these days-- the father has lost his job. Since he is clever and upbeat, he has decided this is an Opportunity and takes to unemployment with a flourish, but his family decides he needs a project. They get an old camper van which the mother thinks can't possibly be fixed, and tell the father that when it is fixed, they will travel around the world. Of course, he does fix it, so Jem, Lucy, little Harry and the parents take off on a trek around the world. It is soon apparent that Chitty, who has the engine of the car from the book by Ian Fleming, is on a mission to restore itself with original parts, so the family finds themselves in all sorts of unusual places, including sitting near the Sphinx in Egypt selling pancakes! They also meet an assortment of villians along the way, including the Circe-like Nanny who tries to get them to stay for a very long while at Chateau Bateau while she destroys the car. The Tootings, however, are nothing if not motivated and clever, and manage to escape. What will Chitty's next adventure be?
Strengths: The Tootings are a fun, resourceful family, and the adventure is well plotted. The different places to which they travel are interesting.
WeaknessesThe tone is rather goofy, and British goofy is a slightly different flavor from US goofy. Also, very few of my students are familiar with the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang movie, much less the book, and I see this being a harder sell because of this unfamiliarity. Does make me want to keep the 1964 Fleming original, even though no one ever checks it out!

Stewart, Mark. Movie Blockbusters
(The Ultimate 10 Entertainment series from Gareth Stevens)
This 48 page book is at Lexile 840, slightly below the recommended level for grades 6-8, but still an interesting read. Many students will not be familiar with The Wizard of Oz (which was aired yearly, mainly in March, until 1991! My mother would always tell us that the horses didn't really change color; it just looked that way because our eyes were tired. This is the same woman who claimed the Easter bunny didn't deliver to the end of the alphabet until Monday so that she could buy candy on clearance!) or The Sound of Music, so there is a bit of a history lesson. At this point, I want to find some high interest nonfiction, and if students just spend a study hall reading it, and least they have practiced some reading skills! I'll get the $15.00 cost out of it.

Vermond, Kira.
The Secret Life of Money: A Kid's Guide to Cash.
This illustrated, two color guide (in green, obviously!) has a ton of information in it. It covers such various concepts as the relative value of salary, what people need spend money on, what people WANT to spend to money on, how credit cards work and the perils of them, ways to save money, ways to invest, and anything in between. It is skewed a bit heavily toward the nonmaterialistic, saving aspect of finance, but I'm okay with that. What was harder to get behind was the tiny, tiny text, which leads me to believe that this is pitched more toward high school students, despite the comic style. While I found it very interesting, I'm not sure that my students will slog through the 9 point font and the detailed information. This would probably be more useful in a middle school as a reference book rather than something to read for enjoyment.

Scary British Books

Priestly, Chris. The Dead of Winter.
In Victorian London, Michael's mother dies, leaving him an orphan, since his father was killed in a war. Luckily, he died saving Sir Stephen Clarendon, and this gentleman is now going to take Michael in. Michael ventures out to the windswept moors where Sir Stephen lives with his sister Charlotte and a variety of caretakers, and will stay until it is time for him to go to boarding school. All is not well at Hawton Mere-- Sir Stephen is haggard and haunted, and Michael soon is hearing noises and seeing visions in the house as well. It is known that Sir Stephen was abused by a controlling father as a young boy, and that his wife committed suicide, but what else is going on in the house? If Michael figures everything out, will he be able to survive?
Strengths: Fantastic cover! This is one that students will definitely pick up. The story pulled me in very quickly, throwing intriguing bits of information at me just when I was getting a bit tired of hanging about the manor house hearing noises. First rate.
WeaknessesThe Victorian Era is not quite as intriguing to students as it is to me, but fans of Lemony Snicket will like this one.

Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls.
Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd
Conor’s mother is dying of cancer, and the end is coming more quickly than Conor is willing to admit. His father has come in from America for a rare visit, and his grandmother is trying to prepare Conor for the fact that he is going to have to come and live with her. During all of this, Conor is having strange nightmares about the yew tree in his yard. It haunts him nightly, telling him strange stories and distracting him from the other things going on in his life, like the troubles he has at school and his difficulties with friends. As his mother’s situation worsens, so do the dreams.
Strengths: This is a beautiful book, with gorgeous plates on heavy paper, and the writing is lyrical and a great tribute to Ms. Dowd, who passed away in 2007 after a battle with cancer.
Weaknesses: This looks like it should be a super scary horror book, and it is really more of a problem novel. This makes finding an audience for it a bit tricky.

Everyone seems to have liked this much more than I did, including
Alison’s Book Marks ,Book Duck , Cannon Ball Read 4 , Novel Novice and The Readventurer .


Murphy, Glen. Stuff that Scares your Pants Off!
This compendium of things that people find scary covers the science of fear and supports that information with statistics. For instance, in the chapter about fear of animals, it gives statistics about chances of being attacked by a shark as compared to a list of top killers in 2003. (Heart disease, cancer and strokes.) The book continues with fear of weather, doctors and diseases, and paranormal phenonmena. There is a ton of information; in fact, probably too much for my readers who are drawn to this type of book. Also, the pictures are in black and white with a touch of lime green-- my students would prefer something like the Guinness Book of World Records, with gross pictures. *Sigh*

Time Slip Tuesday-- Beswitched

Time Slip Tuesday is a recurring feature over at Charlotte's Library. Charlotte also posts a weekly round up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy book reviews as well as a monthly list of new releases. Definitely check out her blog if you haven't already.

Saunders, Kate. Beswitched.
Flora is not happy that her parents are sending her off to the posh Penrice academy so that they can go to Italy, collect her ailing grandmother, and install her in their home in Wimbledon, especially since her grandmother has always lead a profligate life and not really cared about Flora. On the train to the school, Flora hears strange voices while she is sleeping... and wakes up in 1935. Several roommates have found an old book of spells and summoned her. Flora is even more unhappy about this turn of events, especially since she has never studied Latin and has to wear horrible clothes and use soap to wash her hair. Her roommates help her navigate the strange and sometimes trying oddities of school life at this time, and she starts to think that 1935 is not so bad. She knows that she has to get home, though, and once she does, she learns some interesting things about her family and her grandmother that would not have been clear to her without her adventure.
Strengths: *Sigh* I loved everything about this. Time travel, British boarding school, reconnecting with grandparents-- all there. The mode of time travel made sense, and why shouldn't Flora have come into that time in period dress? She was really switching places with another girl. Reminded me very strongly of Charlotte Sometimes.
Weaknesses: I'm still getting nose wrinkles from my students when I suggest time travel books.

Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday was started by Anastasia Suen and is hosted this week at Rasco from RIF.

Feel I should apologize for complete lack of mojo last week. Since then, our levy has passed, my mother is out of the hospital, and my cold is gone, so I'll try to be a bit more interesting with reviews!


Mecozzi, Maureen. The Uncanny CanThis short (34 pages) book told me everything I could want to know about the "tin" can, including the history of preservation, the reasons that food needed to be preserved and carried about, the types of metals that go into cans and the science behind that engineering, crops grown specifially for canning, advertising for canned food, and even a bit about recycling. This is well illustrated with plenty of terms explained, glossary, index, places to go for additional information etc. While paying $18 for such a short book rather hurts, this was an appealing selection for students.

Next year, the language arts curriculum will start its slow slide away from fiction and toward the Common Core, which will be heavy on nonfiction reading skills. Since many, many students wrinkle their nose at the thought of nonfiction, it will be very important to find high interest, intriguing books that support the curriculum. This would be one of those books, and even includes science!

One thing that is very confusing about the Common Core is the Lexile Level. Even though Lexile.com seems to indicate that lexile levels should not be tied to grades (instead, students should be tested, given a level at which they are reading, and books should be chosen at levels that will build their skills), the Common Core explanations I have seen DO tie lexile levels to grades. Specifically, grades 6-8 are assigned 955-1155. Of course, I found this out AFTER I placed a nonfiction book order. It is of note that ATOS levels differ somewhat from lexile levels, so a book that has an ATOS of 6.9 might come in at an elementary level on lexile. Whew.

I'm still happy with the nonfiction books that I ordered. Some of the books listed as exemplars in the Common Core make me want to hurt myself. Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride? Little Women? The Adventures of Tom Sawyer? Riveting for middle school students. Students gain different skills from reading nonfiction than they do from reading fiction. The key here, however, is that they have to READ it. The ones below (which thankfully come in at about 1220) are ones that students will definitely pick up.

This series is reminiscent of the Rosen series with Marijuana and Your Lungs: The Incredibly Disgusting Story (2000). I liked how each book gave a history of the food discussed, talked about why the ingredients are added to the foods to make them more appealing, gave the different health hazards that the different types of food additives pose, and then describe what healthier alternatives would be. While all four books are fairly alarmist, they have good reason to be. Understandably, the Mystery Meat book is a bit preachier than the others, and the pictures of tapeworms will probably turn a lot of children into vegetarians!

I appreciated that while there are plentiful illustrations and sidebars, the pages are filled mostly with connected text. There is a glossary at the end of each book (although highlighting words on the pages might have helped a bit), a bibliography, and a list of helpful organizations. At 36 pages, this is just the right length to have a student read during study hall, although it hurts to pay $18.00 for a Follett Bound Sewn copy.

Middle Grade Monday-- Mudluscious!

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is the brainchild of Shannon Whitney Messenger, and there are links to a lot of great middle grade reviews at her blog, Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.

Paulsen, Gary. Mudshark (2009)
Lyle is known as Mudshark because his speed and agility have been honed by dealing with triplet sisters who have a tendency to make a bee line for dog chewies and electrical outlets. He also has a knack for solving mysteries, and there are a lot of them at his school. Not only is the faculty restroom constantly filled with hazardous materials, but
the chalkboard erasers keep going missing, a gerbil is running loose in the building, and the librarian has a foul-mouthed parrot that may or may not be able to read minds. Can Mudshark single-handedly get things back in control at his school?

Strengths: How did I miss this one? This is the only book that has made me snort through my nose with laughter more than The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I am going to order two copies, and it won't be enough. I read all of the principal's announcement aloud to my daughter, and we laughed until we cried and gasped for breath. It is hysterically funny. Seriously. Every page had something that made me laugh.

I must also thank Mr. Paulsen for Ms. Underdorf, the "wonderfully unhinged" librarian, who champions the plight of school libraries everywhere with quotes such as these: "It makes me crazy, but the library somehow always comes in last. I mean, really, is it necessary to have an Olympic-size curling rink before the library gets anything? Does the library have to fight for every penny?" (page 73) Since the library budget ten years ago was $12,ooo and it has been reduced to about $4,000 before it was cut off altogether due to district woes, this was apt and appreciated.
Weaknesses: I need an entire Mudshark series! Right this minute! And I must admit that both the title and the cover art are probably what lead me not to pick this up. The same illustrator did Masters of Disaster, and the cover art has not hurt the circulation of that title, but I vastly prefer the style of Liar, Liar and Flat Broke.

Swan, Bill. Mud Run.

James Lorimer and Co., Toronto, 2003

Matt is not happy that his family has moved to a new town right before school starts, especially when he arrives too late to register for hockey. He shows up to investigate the school running club, and while he isn't happy with the hubristic, obnoxious boys who also come, he likes the coach's attitude and decides to join. The group starts out strong, but gets smaller as the training intensifies. Oddly, there are no regular races other than an all school race, but all of the runners are gearing up for the district championships Ganaraska. Matt is besieged by vague problems at home and at school, and right before the big race he is suspended for two days for climbing on the roof of the school. He has done this to save another runner who was dared to climb up and then got scared and stuck; eventually, the other boy comes clean and both are allowed to run. However, another runner is injured in a stupid accident right before the meet, which is a rainy, cold and muddy mess. The runners persevere, and take great joy not only in their victory, but in running itself.

Strengths: There are very few books about running as a sport, and this was a good introduction to this Lorimer series, which has about 65 books on a variety of sports. I was not able to read one before I ordered them, but this and several other titles will circulate well with my boys who only want short sports books. (This was 129 pages.)

Weaknesses: Unattractive cover. I am a great advocate of stock photos if there isn't a lot of money to spend on attractive art. The set up of the team was so different from the US cross-country set up that it might be slightly confusing. Matt was not particularly likable.

Meltdown!

Bortz, Alfred B. Meltdown: The Nuclear Disaster in Japan and Our Energy Future.

The Great Tohuku Earthquake occurred a year ago today. It led to a tsunami that devastated Japan, and also to considerable damage at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. This damage resulted in radiation leaks that caused huge areas to be evacuated. This book does a great job at covering the events that occurred, what the result of those events were, and how the failure of this plant to withstand a natural disaster has implications on the types of energy that we use. There is a chapter that covers failures at other energy plants, notably Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Plentiful illustrations, maps and sidebars make this an especially valuable addition to a nonfiction collection.

Girl Sunday

Look at all the girls on the covers. *Weary Sigh* The following will be great for someone, just not for my library, where I haven't been moving much paranormal romance lately. Oddly, a lot of Ellen Conford and Beverly Cleary has been circulating, and girls have been wanting funny, realistic fiction about girls who play sports. Unfortunately, none of these fit that bill.

Shirvington, Jessica. Embrace (Violet Eden Chapters #1)

From Kirkus Reviews, 1/12: " Seventeen-year-old Violet Eden's mother died in childbirth, leaving her to be raised by her detached, workaholic father. If it weren't for her best friend Steph and her trainer (and secret love) Lincoln, Violet would be very much alone. But on her 17th birthday, everything changes. Though finally being kissed by Lincoln is a dream come true, Violet learns that their romantic involvement is forbidden because he and Violet are both Grigori--half angel and half human. They're destined to be eternal partners in the battle against exiled angels on Earth, and romance would make things far too complicated. "

Why This Didn't Work For Me: Just don't need any more paranormal romances.

Agresti, Aimee. Illuminate.

From the Publisher: "Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city- Chicago-and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit. As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem."

Why This Didn't Work For Me: Just don't need any more paranormal romances.

Gould, Sasha. Cross My Heart.

From the Publisher:" After her older sister, Beatrice, drowns in 1585 Venice, sixteen-year-old Laura is removed from the convent by the father who forced her to live there in order to for her to marry Beatrice's fiance, a repulsive old merchant named Vincenzo, but Laura has other plans and after she is accepted into a shadowy society of women known as the Segreta, Laura begins to question whether her sister's death was actually a tragic accident."

Why This Didn't Work For Me: Slightly paranormal and an odd historical period. Young Adult fiction is really much more introspective than middle grade fiction.

Coker, Rachel. Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words.

From the Publisher: "If Sam Carroll hadn't shown up, she might have been able to get to her mother in time. Instead, Allie Everly finds herself at a funeral, mourning the loss of her beloved mother. She is dealt another blow when, a few hours later, she is sent from Tennessee to Maine to become the daughter of Miss Beatrice Lovell, a prim woman with a faith Allie cannot accept.Poetry and letters written to her mother become the only things keeping Allie's heart from hardening completely. But then Sam arrives for the summer, and with him comes many confusing emotions, both toward him and the people around her. As World War II looms, Allie will be forced to decide whether hanging on to the past is worth losing her chance to be loved."

Why This Didn't Work For Me: This didn't seem at all historical, and was confusing and wordy in the way that the writing that my students hand me to read is. I finally looked at the back cover and discovered that the writer is 15. Hey, she's written an entire book and had it published and I haven't, but I think that her writing will improve with age and experience.

Child, Lauren. Ruby Redfort: Look into My Eyes.

From the Publisher: Crack open this new series starring Ruby Redfort - Clarice Bean's favorite all-action heroine - and you will literally be on the edge of your wits. Now in her own starring role, Ruby, a genius code-cracker and daring detective, along with her sidekick butler, Hitch, work for a secret crime-busting organization called Spectrum. Ruby gets into lots of scrapes with evil villains, but she's always ice-cool in a crisis.

Why It Didn't Work for Me: This reads like a Harriet the Spy for the new millenium. Only problem? No one is reading Harriet the Spy. I was also confused as to when this took place-- there was a mention about a house being built a few years previously in 1961, but it seemed very modern.