Holiday Vacation

Since it has taken me five minutes just to get to this page at home, I am declaring a Ms. Yingling Reads vacation. I will be back in full force on January 5th, but am afraid if I try to post during the break from school that I will sustain injuries from banging my head against the keyboard while waiting for things to load.

Also, this might turn into Ms. Yingling Quilts, which is what I have been doing instead of reading. Quilted and bound nine baby quilts yesterday, which left little time for reading.

Apologies to loyal readers, but know that there are BIG things planned for the New Year. See you then!

The Door of No Return by Sarah Mussi

Zac's grandfather, who firmly believes that he is descended from Ghanaian kings, is brutally murdered and has historical diaries stolen from him. Zac is sent into foster care but is being followed. He and his friend Ashley decide to try to solve the mystery the grandfather believed in-- treasure hidden somewhere in Ghana. With the help of the juvenile justive system, Zac is sent to do community service work in Ghana.

I wanted to like this, and the first 200 pages were great. Suspense, action, a smart and likeable main character who struggles sucessfully against the odds. Since I've had students from Ghana, I thought it was great to see the cultural heritage discussed. However, when Zac lands at a leper colony in Ghana, the book lost momentum and the next 200 pages didn't appeal to me.

This would be quite interesting for high school, but is too much for the majority of my students. I will look for other works by this author, whose web site seems to be under construction.

Research on Ms. Mussi lead to me this interesting article on young adult lieterature for black teens. I particularly liked this comment: "Barney would like to see books featuring black teens that don't involve a serious crisis, but deal with normal teenage stuff." Indeed.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6620241.html

One fluffy, one fantasy

Rideout and Collins' Girl v. Boy was certainly fun, but there were some more serious messages as well that made it even better. Struggling inner city school is part of a citywide competition to raise money for literacy. The principal decides to make it a competition between the genders in order to raise more money. Luisa Perez is approached to right an anonymous newspaper column representing the girls' participation in the fund raiser, but when she disagrees with the point of view of the boys' columnist, the battle of the sexes heats up. There is a nice romance, if the ending is slightly predictable. The Latina main character is refreshing because that is not the main focus of the book, although there are funny moments when she talks about being one of 11 girls with that name at her school. The only real problem I had with this was that the prize for raising the most money was two weeks off school, and this could never happen in real life. This will be great for 8th graders who have read all my fun "girl" books.

Phillip Womack's fantasy novel, The Other Book, is wonderfully dense and British, so more suited to the reader who has read every fantasy book in the library from Alexander to Yolen, but a must-have for those students. Edward is muddling through his studies at a boarding school when he finds a book that is inherently evil and becomes part of him. If this is not bad enough, an evil school governor shows up and wants that book. Since it is made clear to Edward that he is the protector of the book, and if it gets into the wrong hands the world is in peril, he and his friends fight the forcees of evil. Filled with lots of gory, bloody, violent scenes and enough tangential Arthurian legend to keep those fantasy fans happy, I'll be pleased to order this one even though it made me, once again, wish that I were teaching Latin at Eton instead of being a librarian in Ohio. Ah, well. Sic transit gloria mundi. (Edward would understand.)

Also picked up Alan Sitomer's The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez, but it is a high school level book. Uhlig's Boy Minus Girl looked like it would be a good funny book for boys, but... EW!! Just did not need to know that much about boys' habits. Wouldn't be able to hand it to anyone and say "Read this".

Kathy Mackel's Can of Worms and Alien in a Bottle are ones that I use frequently for science fiction units, so Boost was a surprise, and my favorite book of the evening.

Savvy, an 8th grader who lives for basketball, tries out for a high school age team and makes it, knowing that she is going to have to work very hard. There's a lot going on in her life-- the family has moved to be with an aunt on her farm because the PGA playing father has been disabled, Savvy's cheerleader sister is struggling with eating disorders, the aunt breaks her leg and Savvy has to pick up the slack on the farm, and there is a romantic interest-- a boy whom Savvy likes but who dates her sister. Wow! On top of that, there is the competition on the basketball court. When anabolic steroids are found in Savvy's gym bag, she is suspended from the team even though she doesn't know how they got there. Won't give away the ending, which was nicely foreshadowed. Even girls who aren't into sports will like this one for the story. Boys like stories about steroids enough that after they read Crackback, Juice, and Gym Candy, they might look at this.

Another great read, from Terri Fields, author of Holdup! is My Father's Son. Kevin is doing well splitting his time between his mother and father, and gets along well with both of them. It is a shock when he sees his father's picture on television, identifying his as a serial killer. His father refuses to contact him, and students at school give him a hard time. I thought this would be like Tolan's Plague Year, but it's completely different. What I liked about it most was that I never knew which was it was going to turn. Most YA books are fairly predictable, but this one wasn't at all. It qualifies as a mystery, but I hate to say anything more about the plot and ruin it. Just buy it-- it's quite suitable for middle school, but dark enough that 8th graders will like it.

Laurie Halse Anderson's Fever, 1793 is a perennial favorite with my students, and considering the press on Chains, I think my expectations were high. Certainly, this is an excellent book, and a great addition to a collection of historical novels that fit the 8th grade social studies curriculum, at least here in Ohio. Isabel and her sister Ruth are sold to a loyalist Boston family in 1776, so that book covers both the treatment of slaves and their attempts to gain freedom as well as the Revolutionary War and the struggles of the Colonists to break free. However, the British want to free the slaves, so Isabel struggles. Well-researched, this covers a period in slave history that not many books do, and the characters are intersting and well-developed. Will definitely buy, but I do feel lukewarm. It might be that the book was over 300 pages in tiny print. Hmmm.

Did not care for Kadohata's Outside Beauty. Four sisters, who all have different fathers, are on a road trip with their mother to visit one of the girl's fathers when their mother is in an accident and they are all sent to their different fathers. Too much introspection and not enough action. Read, Read, Read feels similarly, and Library Thing has four reviews of this.

Sydor's My Mother Is a French Fry and Further Proof of My Fuzzed Up Life had the same flippant, nasty tone for too long. The girls might love it, but I'll pass.

Shannon and Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale's Rapunzel's Revenge was an interesting, graphic novel retelling of the story, but I can't think of an audience for it. The pictures are gorgeous, there's a sort of Wild West twist on Rapunzel, but I can't see my graphic novel boys picking it up, and the girls who do venture into graphic novels tend to like realistic, modern fiction. I'll road test it a bit today. Perhaps this is more of an elementary title.

Bad librarian, bad!

I read two books last night. One was quality literature, the other was paperback fluff.

Liz Gallagher's book, The Opposite of Invisible, follows Alice, who suddenly recieves the attention of a popular football player. This moves her into a wider social circle and out of "invisibility", but also alienated her from Jewel, her best friend, who likes her as "more than a friend". Not surprisingly, the football player treats her badly, and she starts to miss Jewel. This slim, lyrical volume does cover some high school issues (drinking), but is a tender treatment of the heartbreak of first romances.

So of course I prefered Shannon Greenland's The Specialist: Model Spy. Geeky but gorgeous orphan Kelly (GiGi) James is caught hacking into a government computer system and told that she can either do time in a juvenile detention center or join an elite spy force of other orphan kids with spectacular abilities. Yes, very much like Robert Muchamore's C.H.E.R.U.B. series, but with more eye shadow romance. Her first assignment is to pretend to be a model in order to free her crush's (and fellow spy's) father from the clutches of evil doers. Lots of action, clever writing, and much, much fun. My 9th grader loved it and will be thrilled to know that there are three more volumes (which I immediately put on my book order): Down to the Wire, The Winning Element and Native Tongue. The first book is entirely suitable for middle school, with no language or anything else to which tender readers might object. I've not read the others, but I am taking a chance on them.

The problem was that the first book read, in the words of my daughter, like something that they would HAVE to read for language arts. Quality literature versus well-written but fluffy books that keep kids reading-- you know what my philosophical musings will be for today!

Must Love Black by Kelly McClymer

Ever since her mother's death, Philippa has clung to black-- it's practical, it doesn't show dirt, and it underlines her general state of mind. When she sees an ad for a nanny who "must love black", she sees this as a way to avoid spending the summer with her father and his new wife. Ten-year-old twins Rienne and Triste are also trying to cope with their mother's death, and the fact that their father is so busy running a spa that he doesn't have time for them and counts on Philippa to keep them out of view of the spa guests and force them to have "fun". In the end, everyone is happier because Philippa allows the twins to have fun in their own way and gets their father to pay more attention to them.

The cover on this (there is also a tag "Get your Goth on") is very misleading. Yes, Philippa wears all black, but she's not really Goth. While this was a fun, amusing read, it really didn't address the Goth issue, and I wish that it had. Other than The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod or Vampire Kisses, I haven't come across anything with Goth main characters. Perhaps I haven't looked. Anyone seen anything?

Good history/bad history

I've already had students asking for the sequel to Michael Ford's Fire of Ares (reviewed April 08, 2008), and they will not be disappointed with Birth of a Warrior.Lysander has been accepted by the Spartans despite his Helot mother-- after all, his grandfather is the ephor. For training, Lysander is sent with his enemies Demaratos and Agesilaus to survive in the mountains with limited food and clothing. When the group returns from this adventure, they are thrust into war with Persia.

Not only is this book packed with action and intigue, it sneaks in wonderful moments of personal growth and identity. Mr. Ford studied Classics at Oxford, so the historical details are rich and accurate. A must have series.

It was for the historical inaccuracy that I could not abide Carolyn Hennessy's Pandora Gets Vain, the sequel to Pandora Gets Jealous (reviewed April 16, 2008). DISCLAIMER: I was a Latin teacher. I am picky.

The language was still grating (calling her Pandy), and there were multiple descriptions of the girls' togas. Google "toga". It's very clear that this is a loose outer garment worn by ROMAN men. Pandora would wear a tunic, or a chiton. The only women who wore togas were prostitutes. I could almost stomach that, but then Pandora, who is already in the company of Helen and Homer (vastly different eras), meets up with a Chinese woman, a Mayan, and several other vaguely mythological beings. The Greeks did not really know about the Chinese until the time of Alexander the Great. I know that this is just a fun myth-BASED romp, but I really do fear that it will confuse students who read these because they are enjoying learning about mythology, especially when we are trying to get their time-lines straight.

Beedle the Bard

Everyone will have to buy two copies anyway, but here goes: This slim and horribly bound volume consists of five stories traditionally read to wizard children, with notes from Albus Dumbledore and J. K. Rowling. The stories follow fairy tale conventions and point out different lessons that wizard children need to know. They don't add much to the Potter tales, but are pleasant enough. There is one funny bit about a Mrs. Bloxam, who bowdlerized the tales, making them "more suitable". (And Wee Willykins kissed and huggled the hopitty pot and promised... never to be an old grumpy-wumpkins again" pg. 19)

Would have liked this more without the commentary but with more tales.

G. Neri's Chess Rumble

Came across author Greg Neri at Boyrsread.org while researching a "Connecting Boys and Books" paper. Chess Rumble is a slim volume about Marcus, who is having a difficult time. His sister has died, his father has moved out, and his mother is stressed. Home life is difficult, and school is not any better. Marcus gets involved in fights. His principal introduces him to a chess playing mentor, but it isn't until he meets the man again in the park, in the company of other students, that the man and the lessons he offers click.

This is a great pick for reluctant readers. The cover will appeal, because inner city settings (like Bluford High) are popular, and the spare text does not look too hard for students struggling with reading. My only reservation is that the size of the book looks a bit like a picture book, and this does make a difference.

Not what students ask for.

Several interesting books, but just not what I need for my library.


Nicholls' Ways to Live Forever was a very effective story of an eleven year old boy dying of leukemia. I cried at the end. However, the book centered more on the boy keeping a journal to try to figure out who he was and to answer imponderable questions. Koss' Side Effects addressed the reality of cancer treatment more clearly, and even that sits on the shelf most of the time.

Scott's Perfect You was realistic and reflects current events--Kate's father quits his job to sell vitamins at a mall, with disastrous effects on the family's budget. Brother is unemployed after college. Mother is stressed. Kate is involved in a less-than-satisfying realtionship. Grandmother nags and spoils. Not a happy read, but not depressing enough to take students' minds off their own lives-- which may be very much like this book.

Julie Halpern's Get Well Soon is based on her own experiences in a mental hospital, but I did not like the characters. Students ask for books like this, but prefer specific problems: McCormick's Cut, Levenkron's The Best Little Girl in the World, Shaw's Black-Eyed Suzie, Neufeld's Lisa Bright and Dark and even Greenberg's 1964 I Never Promised You a Rose Garden all have more compelling characters. (Must have enough on this topic!)

9th grader picked up Rinaldi's The Letter Writer, because she covered Nat Turner's slave rebellion in class, but made the comment "It's not about the rebellion." It centers on the life of a white girl who gets herself tangentially involved with Nat Turner. Interesting depiction of the times, but not what we wanted from the book. One told from Turner's perspective would be better.

Didn't read much of Greene's The Lucky Ones. Famly problems during a summer spent at the beach. Lyrically written, but I no one asks for a story about (subject headings) family life, brothers and sisters, or conduct of life. Am also passing on Conly's Impetuous R., Secret Agent, since no one asks for talking cockroaches saving their jazz nightclub home from financial ruin. This author's continuation of her father's Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH would be a better choice.

You know you'll have to buy it, because you bought the other eight books in this series, but these are becoming completely indistinguishable from one another. The first couple were clever, and it's funny to ask the librarian to say things like Dancing in my Nuddy-Pants, but really, how does Georgia have a life and write in her journal every five minutes? Prefer the Whytock mentioned earlier this month, Cathy Hopkins' Mates Dates series, and anything by Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy.

Jack: Secret Histories and The Reminder

I wanted to like F. Paul Wilson's prequel to his adult novels, Jack: Secret Histories, but was concerned when my public library didn't have it.Premise: Jack and his two friends discover a corpse in the woods that may be tied to a ritual murder, and cult members start dying as well. The prose was oddly dense and ponderous, and it took quite a while to get the story started. For a mystery, my students would put up with that for a while, but the amount of 1980s pop cultural references were so numerous as to be distracting. Drat. Will pass.


Rune Michaels' Genesis Alpha is a big hit in my library, so I had hopes for The Reminder. Synopsis: "Daisy continues to hear her dead mother's voice, and the overwhelming power she experiences leads her to believe that she might be able to go back and save her mother's life." HUGE SPOILER: Daisy hears her mother's voice because her father has made a realistic animatronic head of her, with whom Daisy talks until her father gets a girlfriend and discards the head. Meanwhile, Daisy has told her friends that her mother died of cancer, but she really committed suicide, and Daisy found her in the bathtub. I have horrific visions of this being unwittingly given to a student whose mother has passed away for bibliotherapy. I want to field test this, but it's too creepy, and not in a good way.

Every last one of my vampire books is checked out, so I was glad to come across Vivian Vande Velde's Companions of the Night (1995). Kerry makes an ill-fated trip to the laundromat to retrieve her brother's stuffed animal, and is pulled into a hunt for vampires. She helps a young man escape from the vampire hunters only to discover that he is really a vampire, and not an entirely good one, either. This is quite different in tone from the newer books, and vampires are not as romanticized. More attention is paid to the mystery and the various kidnappings and man hunts that occur. Still, brush this one off and hand to students far down on the reserve list for Twilight. This does have a very brief chat about how vampires enjoy both killing people... and sex. Nothing graphic, just in passing.


Jean Van Leeuwen's Dear Mom, You're Ruining My Life(1989) has some very dated moments. There are some vivid descriptions of Flashdance fashions, and several chapters dedicated to dance lessons (as in fox trot and waltz) in preparation for a dance at the country club. There are enough fun moments, and nice family interaction that I am not going to weed it. Speaking of dated books, I was very sad that someone lost Doris Gate's Blue Willow, about migrant farm workers during the Depression. Can't justify replacing this one, but I did love it.


Warner's The Woodshed Mystery made me realize that this would have been the perfect series for me when I was in first and second grade. They are very simple, but longer than most books for children that age. Would have been hot stuff.

Chris Lynch's Cyberia

Zane never sees his busy, famous parents, but they know all about what he's doing because his room spies on him. It takes his temperature, tracks his movements, and tells him when he needs to go to the bathroom. This is what the future is like. No one goes outside, because inside is nicer. Zane isn't all that crazy about his lifestyle, but it is made better by Hugo, his dog. When Zane's father drops off the latest gizmo to track Zane, it enables him to hear animals speak. When Hugo lets Zane know that their vet, Dr. Gristle, is behind a plan to microchip and enslave as many animals as possible, the two set out to free the animals and overthrow Gristle's evil plans.

Yes, this strained credulity at times, but it was enormous fun. There were lots of read-out-loud funny moments (Hugo: He even tastes like a jerk. Evil jerk flavor.), fast-paced action, and an underlying important message-- when do our personal identities become subsumed by machinery? Zane is a reluctant but capable hero, and Hugo is now my second favorite literary pet (the first being Gloria from No Flying in the House.) Add a healthy dose of technology and a perfect length (160 pages), and this is a must-buy for elementary and middle school libraries.

Philip Reeve's Here Lies Arthur is something I will buy if I have money to spare. Gwyna escapes from the wreckage of her master's home and is taken in by Myrddin, a bard who works for Arthur, doing his PR and arranging many of the fantastical events that stoke the mythology. Gwyna helps, while disguised as a boy. This was a nice spin on the Arthur legend, but was slightly Sutcliffe in the telling. This is more for hard core fantasy fans. There are already several good Arthur books in my library(Sword of the Rightful King, Arthur at the Crossing Places), and they aren't wildly popular.

Also sloggged through Warner's Blue Bay Mystery and Mike's Mystery. These are becoming a bit like Scooby-Doo meets Dick and Jane. The language is really stilted, the plots improbable, and yet for struggling readers, these serve a purpose.

Disappointing Books for Young Adults

All day yesterday, a post I read on The LiteraBuss has been going through my brain, thank to Jen Robinson's Friday Visit.

The original post dealt with books that should not be required reading. This has validity. However, I don't think any librarians or teachers are going to remove all Laura Ingalls Wilder from the shelves because of irrelevancy. Much of the discussion I've seen on this topic has to do with personal opinion, and most of the titles could be argued. (The Borrowers? Where the Red Fern Grows? Certainly, students still read these.)

I felt compelled to list young adult books (no fair listing Vanity Fair, the most boring book ever written) that are without question boring and dated, butI found that most of those books are gone from my shelves, and from my memory. Therefore, I will list some books that are disappointing to many students and yet I can't see to take them off my shelves.

Should I? I checked out I Am the Cheese to a student who was bored and asked for a full report.
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Babbit, Natalie. The Search for Delicious. Disappointment Factor: Tuck Everlasting was so good.

Byars, Betsy. The Summer of the Swans. DF: Nothing happens. It's not funny.

Cormier, Robert. I am the Cheese. DF: Caused my best friend to never trust her high school librarian.

DeJong, Meindert. The Wheel on the School. DF: Won an award in the '50s. Hmmm.

Duane, Diane. So You Want to be a Wizard. DF: Love the series; first book confusing.

Fox, Paula. Any title. DF: Depressing, dated, ponderous.

Fleming, Ian. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. DF: The movie had Dick van Dyke and was really good.

Hunt, Irene. Up a Road Slowly. DF: Small town relationships and coming of age story doesn't resonate with students.

Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terebithia. DF: No student in the last five years has liked this.

Voigt, Cynthia. The Tillerman Saga. DF: Really long, really depressing. Students get about halfway through Homecoming and give up.

Zindel, Paul. Books not about monsters. DF: Once these were cutting edge. Now they are just a little odd.

Banner in the Sky and other titles

This Newbery Honor book from 1954 was a good companion book to Roland Smith's Peak. Rudi Matt, whose father died attempting to climb the highest Alp, the Citadel, near his Swiss home, has climbing in his blood. Tired of washing dishes at a local hotel, he runs off to the mountains and rescues an English climber who is trying to get to the Citadel. Rudi's uncle won't guide the man, but a guide from a neighboring village agrees to. When Rudi finds out, he runs off to join the group. Rife with harrowing details of cold, deprivation, and competition, students would not know this was set in 1865 except for the lack of sophisticated gear and Polarfleece. The notes say that this is based on author James Ramsey Ullman's experiences, with details drawn from the first ascent of the Matterhorn.


Esther Friesner's Nobody's Princess (reviewed November 07, 2007) was a rolicking good read, and Nobody's Prize continued this imaginative tale of Helen of Troy as a young girl. Helen, along with her former slave, Milo, join Jason and his crew of princes on the Argo in search of the golden fleece. Many characters from Greek myth are mentioned, there's plenty of fighting and intrigue, and it's refreshing to see a treatment of Helen that doesn't make her vain and foolish. There are so many people who know that she is a girl that it stretched my credulity somewhat, but students who are interested in ancient Greece, even boys, should like this.



Another "historical" book that is more action and adventure is Bill Wallace's Red Dog. Adam and his family live in a secluded area of the mountains out west. Adam does not care much for his stepfather and is glad when the man goes to town to file a claim on their property and leaves him in charge. Unfortunately, there are evil prospectors targeting the family's land, since they have located gold in the stream, and they take the family hostage. Adam shows that he has what it takes to protect his family, and of course the dog, whom he has trained to track, helps out, too. A great selection for adventure fans forced to read history.


Emily's parents get divorced when her father decides to quit being a realtor and rejoin the rock band of his youth, and her mother, a free-lance writer, decides to move her from New Jersey to California. Missing her father, Emily writes her journal addressed to him, detailing all of the difficulties she has settling in to her new life. My reluctant 5th grader liked this, but while I liked the basic story, the journal pretense wore thin for me (who really writes extensive dialogue in a journal?) and I was slightly irritated that we have yet another "hippy" mother (although she is researching former hippies and emulating them, and not portrayed as an actual one.) Still, a good addition to the Millicent Min trilogy.


Had some trouble with Papademetriou's Accidentally Fabulous, although 5th grader liked it. The Candy Apple books do tend to focus on nasty girl cliques, but apparently that is a big concern, because all of these titles are popular. Thrift store afficianado Amy has a scholarship to the prestigious Allington Academy, and makes friends with a girl in the "League", but must jump through many hoops before the leader accepts her. There are a lot of fake brand names dropped, but I had a hard time believing that 7th graders really pay all that much attention to designers, or that private schools are really that snooty (and I taught in one for 4 years). This was sort of The Clique lite, and I hope that Papademetriou wrote this by order of Scholastic, because I usually like her titles much better.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

First published in 1903, this Kate Douglas Wiggins classic was reissued with new illustrations for its centenary. Rebecca is from a large, poor farm family, and in order to get an education is sent to live with her mother's disapproving sisters. Aunt Jane is sweet but buckles under Aunt Miranda's exacting and self-righteous thumb. Rebecca does her best to follow their rules, but gets into scrapes (leaning against fresh paint in her new dress) but spreads joy wherever she goes.

Slightly flawed but perky characters were something new at the time this was published-- we have Canfield's Understood Betsy, and of course, Montgomery's Ann. These stories were considered somewhat less didactic. There are certainly lots of fun moments, and Rebecca is an interesting, head strong girl, but what I came away with from this book was this: Really, a 30-year-old wealthy man meets her when she's ten, follows and aids her career, and then falls in love with her when she graduates from high school? EWWWW! Okay, in the end, he's 34, she's 17, and Wiggins never specifically says that they get married, but many elements point that way. To our modern sensibilities, this is just wrong, but 100 years ago, this was probably the best way for poor, bright girls to better their lot. Wouldn't buy this one new or go to great lengths to preserve old copy.

Cherry Whytock

I enjoy the stories about Angela Cookson Potts ever so much more than I do the ones about Georgia Nicholson (Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging), and yet there are only three of the Whytock titles that have made it across the pond. Unfair!

Angel lives in Knightsbridge, London, with her thin aristocratic mother, her slighty doddering father, and their housekeeper Flossie. She has three good friends (and a diverse, multi-cultural crowd they are, too), likes fashion, and LOVES food. She struggles with her weight, family and boys. I especially enjoy it when the family goes on vacation to places like an Italian villa. Probably not very realistic, but interestingly different.

If you have a large fan base for the Louise Rennison titles (and I still have to read the latest of those-- Stop in the Name of Pants.), make sure that you order all three of these titles: My Cup Runneth Over, My Scrumptious Scottish Dumplings and My Saucy Stuffed Ravioli.

The British Series, as far as I can tell. Yes, Ronni, they seem to be available at Amazon.co.uk, but the last two are not in the U.S. *Sob!*

Angel: disasters, diets and d-cups
Angel: Haggis Horrors and Heavenly Bodies
Angel: secrets, suspicions and sun-kissed beaches
Angel: loving, loathing and luscious lunches
Angel: deli dramas and dreamy doormen

John Wilson

Must admit that I bought a number of John Wilson titles without reading them, since I was so desperate to provide the students who will only read war books with reading material. I finally got to And in the Morning last night, and was very pleased.

Jim's father dies early on in World War I, his mother succumbs to mental illness, and he enlists in the army at the age of 15. At first, he is full of the thrill of adventure and danger, but as the war continues and he spends years in the trenches, he hopes merely to make it back home to his young wife. Well-researched and told through engaging diary entries and letters, this is especially effective because it does address the fact that young men find war exciting, and then explains why the reality of this is so different.

There are several other titles by this author: Battle Scars and Flags of War (Civil War), Flames of a Tiger and Four Steps to Death (WWII). There are other titles that I don't own (check the Wilson link above), but I will certainly be checking these other titles for purchase. If you have boys who are interested in war books, these are just right.

Assorted Mythology Books

In the sequel to Anne Ursu's The Shadow Thieves (reviewed on Wednesday, June 13, 2007), Charlotte is uneasy. Having defeated Philonecron in his attempts to steal shadows from all the children in the world to make an army, she worries that he will not rest quietly, and she's right. However, after her escapades, she has been "super-mega-grounded", is in therapy, and is dealing with her parents mistrust.

Her cousin Zee has moved to the US, and she's glad to have him nearby, since he is the only one who understands the adventure she was on and the threat the Greek gods still pose to the world. When he starts acting strangely, she starts to investigate. Things come to a head when she goes on a history cruise with her parents and ends up having to save the entire ship from being fed to a monstrous sea creature.

Like the first book, what makes this story is Charlotte's attitude and fresh voice. Sure, she's fighting evil that threatens the planet, but first she has to convince her parents to let her out of her room. This was very enjoyable. The Immortal Fire is due out on June 9, 2009.


Geraldine McCaughrean's Heroes series are all very good. She has a way with telling all of the nitty-gritty details about the myths (yes, Hercules murders his wife and children), but doesn't do it in an overly sensational way. Titles include Perseus, Theseus and Odysseus. Must have books for your fans of Riordan's The Lightning Thief.

Books that everyone loved that were ....eh

John Green and I don't generally get along, although An Abundance of Katherines is my 7th grader's 6th favorite book. I had high hopes for Paper Towns, since everyone else loved it. My conclusion-- this is more of a high school book, and that's why I was not excited about it.

On the eve of his high school graduation, Quentin (rather geeky, with geeky friends) is approached by Margo, his neighbor for whom he has long pined, who wants him to drive her around town on a mission of revenge. Her boyfriend had a relationship with her best friend, and other friends didn't tell her, so all of them deserve fish in their cars/closets, and some spray paint. After this night, Margo disappears, and leaves clues for Quentin to follow to find her.

I didn't like Margo. She is immature, vindictive, and callous to the feelings of those who care for her. I didn't like Quentin for liking her. Her spree and resultant running away seemed like a poor way to deal with the issues in her life. I am in the minority here. For sparkling reviews, read:

Hip Librarians Book Blog
Fyre Fly Books
Bookshelves of Doom
Reader Rabbit

Felt similarly about Michael Grant's Gone, which was donated by my principal when he realized that post apocalyptic tales are not to his liking. My 9th grader liked this one.

During class, all of the adults in the school disappear. When students leave the school to find out what has happened, they find that not only everyone over the age of 15 is gone, but there is a force field surrounding the area that will let no one out, as well as mutating animals and children who are manifesting strange powers. Students from a local school for troubled children arrive in town and try to rule, creating tension among the town children, who are trying their best to care for the smaller children, keep people fed, and perform other adult tasks. There is a lot of action in this book, and there is sure to be a sequel, but half way through I just no longer cared. Again, in the minority. People who loved it include:

Teen Book Review
Reading Mania
YA New York
The YA YA YAs

From the library shelves, I did polish off Wister's The Virginian, which was on the best seller list for over a year... in 1902. It had some charming stories in it, and I can see why it was popular, but I can't envision students today enjoying it much. Also looked at Rosemary Well's The Man in the Woods (1984), and it is moving to a better home. Badly waterstained, dusty, bad 1980s cover, and hasn't left the shelf in eight years.

The Silmarillion

J.R.R. Tolkien kept notes on various aspects of his Lord of the Rings books for many years. In 1977, his son, Christopher, published some of these as The Silmarillion. It is important to know that these notes were in a rough form. The book, while invaluable to the back story of Middle Earth, is very dense and more suited to studying than reading, since the preponderance of names (most of the characters seem to have three or four), places and small details make this difficult going for the casual reader.

This said, I have friends who practically memorized this. If your library is frequented by Tolkien fanatics, you may need a copy of this, although the length of this makes it something that students may want to have for their own.  I have been working on this since August, and seriously had trouble staying awake while reading this.

It has come to my attention that there is also The War of the Jewels : the Later Silmarillion, Part II, The Legends of Beleriand. While the very thought of this makes me want to weep openly, it would be a lovely Christmas present for the person who adores The Silmarillion.