Middle Grade Monday--Series

When I did interest inventories for the 6th graders, you would not believe how many said that they liked series of books. (And this year, of course, they all like The Hunger Games; a couple of years ago it was Twilight, etc.) As a librarian, I don't like series, because when I get in a new shipment of books and half seem to be continuations of series, it's hard to get them to circulate right away. As a reader, however, I adored them, too. Here are the newest installments in some good middle grade series for girls.

Palmer, Robin. Take My Advice: Yours Truly, Lucy B. Parker #4
10 May 2012

Lucy and her superstar step sister Laurel are back, and this time Lucy is the one thrust into the spotlight when someone suggests that she take over the "agony aunt" column in the school newspaper. The school is all abuzz about the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance, which Lucy thinks is a bad idea, mainly because she's scared to ask her crush, Blair. Lucy answers a lot of questions about the dance, but her advice often goes awry, and the whole school is in kind of a mess.
Strengths: Lots of embarrassing things happen to people, there's a little bit of celebrity culture, and Lucy goes on her merry way with the enthusiasm of the last three books. Book #5, For Better of For Worse, which came out 30 August, will most likely address Lucy's father getting married.
Weaknesses: The covers changed mid series. Argh! My students liked the cartoon ones and will be confused by the photo. I didn't like this one as much-- I get tired of Lucy obsessing about getting her period, and there are a large number of advice column middle grade novels, but I don't know of many schools who actually have newspapers any more.

Devillers, Julia and Jennifer Roy. Double Feature (#4)
3 January 2012

Right on the heels of their trip to New York in Times Squared, Payton and Emma are approached to audition for a Teen Sheen shampoo commercial in Hollywood. Their dad takes them out, they get to stay in a fancy hotel and run into several celebrities, but also find out that the dreaded  Ashlynn. Despite her comeuppance in New York, Ashlynn is still up to her nastiness and tricks. Payton is dismayed when the part of the twin with the greasy hair in the commercial goes to her, and her embarrassment over this leads to a couple more instances of switching places with Emma. Emma also gets to go on a game show, Brainy Mania, which is right up her alley.
Strengths: Tween fantasy at its finest. It's great that this series is written by actual twins who still somehow seem to know that tweens who aren't twins secretly wish they had them. (I certainly did, and even I had fantasies about starring in a movie version of Anne of Green Gables before the Megan Follows one was ever made.)
Weaknesses: Rather unbelievable, and I wished that more time had elapsed. At this rate, there could be about twenty books before the girls get out of high school, and my limit on a series like this is about ten. (Which is more than my fantasy series limit, which is five.)

Simon, Coco. Mia's Baker Dozen.
7 Feburary 2012

Mia struggles with having her dad in New York City while she lives in the suburbs with her mother and step father, but she feels even worse when she is failing Spanish, a language that both her mother and father speak fluently. She even makes a mistake in Spanish that makes a friend mad at her boyfriend! Cupcakes are one thing-- Mia loves to bake and comes up with a lot of good ideas, but she isn't as good at handling her homework load or asking for help when she needs it. She does have some other talents and is a good friend to a neighbor girl, but has to work up the courage to tell her parents about her grade.
Strengths: I like how the blended family is portrayed realistically, and struggles that commonly go on are shown in a positive way.
Weaknesses: Still not understanding the Popular Girls Club or quite buying that the cupcake business is that good, but this is still a fun series. Still need Emma All Stirred Up and Alexis Cool as a Cupcake.

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts. Both sites have lots of links to reviews about books that are great for the 4th through 8th grader.

Nonfiction Monday-- Dressing a Nation

Krohn, Katherine.Calico Dresses and Buffalo Robes: American West Fashions from the 1840s to the 1890s
1 October 2011, Lerner Publications.

These books are very interesting to me, and great for reports that students have to do. Our 8th graders cover the Westward Expansion, so this is a great resource. It covers Native American clothing (and addresses the changes to the culture that putting Native American's on reservations, basic work clothes for men and women, as well as more fashionable items that were rarely worn but reflected European couture. Well-illustrated, with nice bulleted lists of the main clothing for each sort of person, this was a fun, quick read that I hope I can convince students to pick up. My only complaint is that some of the photos of average citizens were very dark and indistinct. I know many older photos are that way, but when using them to illustrate the finer points of costume, I would have looked around a bit more for clearer photos.

Head over to Wrapped in Foil, which is hosting Nonfiction Monday. This meme was started by Anastasia Suen.

Seeing Cinderella

Lundquist, Jenny. Seeing Cinderella.
20 March 2012, Aladdin

Callie needs glasses, so her mother takes her to a run down strip mall where an odd doctor loans her a pair of ugly black frames. When she gets to school that next day, she starts to notice that the glasses allow her to read people's thoughts. This is helpful, because Callie has a lot of problems. She is struggling with math and Spanish, fighting with her best friend, unsure how to help her new neighbor Ana fit in, missing her dad, who has been kicked out of the house, and generally have a miserable middle school time. The glasses do have the added benefit of making her a little more outgoing, so she makes a few friends and has the courage to try out to be understudy for the school play, Cinderella. She continues to be able to read people's thoughts and is able to overcome some of her problems with her friends, even if she is not able to solve all of her family's problems.
Strengths: The middle school drama will please the girls who are attracted to the bright cover.
Weaknesses: It's 2012 and we STILL haven't gotten over the idea that glasses make girls ugly? And I can think of two other books where ugly glasses figure largely in the plot-- Homzie's Things Are Gonna Get Ugly and Haston's How To Rock Braces and Glasses. I just don't get it. Sure, the magical touch is all well and good, but why make them UGLY glasses? Eh. The girls will like it; even in middle school, I didn't care for the drama. For me, Callie wasn't all that likable, although my readers may not feel that way.

Homesick

Klise, Kate. Homesick.
18 September 2012, ARC from Baker and Taylor

Benny's mother has finally had it with the junk that his father brings home, especially since he has lost the "store" he was renting to keep it all. She moves out, leaving Benny to try to keep his father in line. Luckily, his very small town has some other supportive adults; his father's friend Myron hires Benny to work at his fledgling radio station, so he can pay the phone bill, his teacher brings him clothing and personal hygiene items, and he is able to confide some of his troubles to his friend Stormy. When one of the teachers enters a contest for America's Most Charming Small Town, his father's messy house (and we're talking SO messy that his father takes all the interior doors off at one point because they take too much room to open and there are rats in the house) comes under attack. Miss Turnipson wasn't completely truthful in her account of Dennis Acres, portraying it as a place with a fountain, gardens, and English thatched roof cottages, so when the town wins and officials are on their way to look at the town and give every household a new computer that will ONE DAY be able to hook up to a world wide network, the town scrambles to fix things up. Can Benny keep it together until his mother comes back to take care of him?
Strengths: Appealing story, very good sense of place, and a problem that an unfortunate number of children have to deal with make this a book that lends itself to class discussion.
Weaknesses: This is one that might appeal to teachers more than students. It is slow paced, and I could not quite place it in a time period. Early 1980s, perhaps? Benny's father insistence that there will ONE DAY be a world wide computer network would make more sense if a date were firmly established for the setting.

Off to go stand in field at Galion for cross country invitational today. Four races, so it will be a long day, but it makes me ridiculously happy for some bizarre reason.

Guy Friday-- Unstoppable

Green, Tim. Unstoppable.
18 September 2012, HarperCollins
Harrison’s mother is not able to take care of him, and he ends up being moved from foster family to foster family. The Constables are on a farm and particularly abusive. Harrison doesn’t mind working, but he does mind the beatings. When the father is accidentally killed, Harrison ends up with the daughter of his social worker, who is married to a football coach. They are very kind, and the idea of finally being able to play football, a sport he loves to watch, helps Harrison control his anger. Unfortunately, some of the other football players don’t appreciate him doing so well as a newcomer, especially when the cute and nice Becky also has her eye on him, and they make his life more difficult. Harrison is able to work through these issues and adjust to life with Coach and his wife, and has great promise as a football player, but when he is sidelined by a knee injury, the unthinkable is discovered—he has a cancerous tumor on his knee, and his leg has to be amputated. Luckily, Coach has a friend who lost a leg in the war, and he moves in to help Harrison with his therapy. Bauer is hard on Harrison, but it’s better than letting wallow in self-pity. While undergoing chemotherapy, Harrison meets Marty, who is worse off than he is, and is motivated by his supportive community to get better and train to once again be a football player. The narrative includes descriptions of real life people who triumphed over similar obstacles.
Strengths: Green writes a riveting sports book, always. Harrison is an understandable character, and the sports details are great. If you have a middle school or even high school library (I was surprised to find that Harrison was supposed to be an 8th grader), just go by two copies right now, because it will never be on the shelf.
Weaknesses: A bit clichéd and schmaltzy, but students will not realize this as much.

***WARNING*** PERSONALITY LEAKAGE***
Last week, the cross country team was short one person for a relay race. Since I didn't hear that we were running 400 relays, I volunteered. I kept up with the pack for about 200 meters, then started feeling a weird tingling in my fingers and wrists. I finished and did not pass out, but it was sad. This was a good lesson in preparation for our runners. If you have nothing to drink but a cup of tea at 6:00 a.m., nothing to eat all day but a handful of almonds, and your daily training does not include speed work, you won't run quickly.

This week has been like that run. I feel unprepared to deal with the work load, but don't know where my training is lacking. The biggest problem has been the fact that the library is closed 2 out of 6 periods in the day for study hall. During the study hall I am not monitoring, I go to classrooms to do the lessons, but somehow this puts me behind on checking in books and doing other library duties. I think the beginning of the year is always like this, but I forget. I had the sort of day yesterday that will make today GREAT!

That, and then I found out the the single biggest traffic source for my blog is Pinterest. Grrr. This weekend when I am waiting up for teenager at Homecoming, I may investigate further!

Later note: No, no, no!! Thank you to everyone who pinned stuff from me and sent traffic here! It's fantastic. It's just that I don't understand how Pinterest works, and I should have awesome stuff on my Pinterest... boards(?) for people to see, so now I have to understand Pinterest. All good! I'm just really old! (The time travel outfit was GREAT fun. I like to wear it just as a regular outfit just for kicks!)

Mystery Thursday

Haines, Kathryn Haines. The Girl is Trouble.
3 July 2012, Roaring Brook Press.

In this sequel to The Girl is Murder, Iris is back. World War II is still a constant presence in her life, since her detective father lost his leg at Pearl Harbor, and her Jewish mother committed suicide after finding out he was badly hurt. Or did she? Iris comes across photos in her father's files that indicate that her mother died a bloody death in a hotel room instead of ingesting pills, but even the newspaper sticks with the suicide story. At the same time, Iris' friend Pearl and other students in the school's Jewish group are getting threatening letters, and the leader, Michael, approaches Iris to help them. Add to the complications bad boy Benny, whom Iris likes but is slightly afraid of, Iris' father training her to be a detective but dating their landlord's daughter, and her aunt and uncle, to whom she was once close, trying to reconnect, and you have an interesting noir type mystery set in an intriguing historical period.
Strengths: I love historical fiction, and there seem to be more and more students who do as well-- one of my 6th graders listed Moon Over Manifest as her favorite book, which I still don't quite believe. The mystery fells very high school, but doesn't really have anything objectionable for middle school. Fun.
Weaknesses: The phrase "Boy, howdy" was repeated one too many times-- I would have liked to see some of the colorful slang of the times brought in a little more. Could have used a little more description of what life was like at this time-- I know the details, but my students wouldn't.


Balaban, Bob. The Creature from the Seventh Grade: Boy or Beast
13 September 2012, Viking Juvenile

Charlie Drinkwater is a twerpy little kid who rates, by his own admission, a zero for being cool, on a scale from one to ten. He does have two good friends, the tall Lucille and the goth-wannabe Sam. They are extremely helpful when, in the middle of the school day, he turns into a giant mutant dinosaur! The principal, not knowing what else to do, calls Charlie's mom to take him home. She explains that his grandmother was a giant mutant dinosaur, and she had a perfectly nice life, so Charlie just needs to embrace his differences and get used to it. Being a dinosaur has its ups and downs-- the principal is not happy with him, especially when he has a few incidents, usually involving bully Craig, but Mr. Arkady, his teacher, is helpful and the younger kids in the middle school think he is beyond cool. Charlie does his best to make the best of the situation, especially since Alice, the most popular (and cutest) girl in his grade starts to talk to him. Craig, however, continues to be a problem, and Charlie has to find a way to take care of him.
Strengths: I liked how Charlie's transformation occurred at school, and how the principal reacted. Most middle schoolers feel like they are as awkward as Charlie was, so I can see some kid appeal here, especially with the illustrations. I had an ARC, so am not sure if there will be more illustrations, so this could be more like a notebook novel. I doubt it a bit.
Weaknesses: Evil principal, a bully who gets away with beating kids up and extorting money, and a weird insistence on the existence of cliques with names and application processes detracted from the story for me. I'm sure that these things occur in many schools, but they don't at mine, so my students might not connect with the book as much.

Bloodlines

Sherman, M. Zachary. Depth Charge, Damage Control, Emergency Ops, Heart of the Enemy.
January 2012, Capstone

If you are trying to get books to picky, middle school boy readers, just buy this series. Yeah, all eight books are going to set you back almost $150. Or $300, if you buy two sets, because you will need them. On the second day of school, I had an 8th grader make it to the library against all odds (I had scheduled 7th graders that day, and the study hall was so chaotic that they weren't letting students go anywhere) JUST SO he could check out these books because I had seen him at the public library and mentioned that I was ordering them. This is a student who does not read much, but I let him check out all four (our limit is three), because he was afraid he would finish them before he could get back to the library.

Fine. More about the books. They are very short stories, but the brilliant part is that between chapters there is some nonfiction information about the gear, equipment, machinery, historical figures, etc. about the war. And some larger font saying POW from time to time.

Depth Charge is set during WWII and is about Lester Donovan, who has an idea to get code files from a disabled German submarine by killing two Germans and pretending to be them. He gets a WWI era trench lighter from the Englishman he is with. Damage Control follows Lester's nephew (and the lighter) to Korea, where engineer Tony and several others are shot down. They are supposed to wait for rescue but worry that they will be attacked. The attempt to make it to the border, with limited success. Emergency Ops showcases Anne, Tony's daughter, who is a nurse in Vietnam, but finds dealing with so many horrible deaths draining. She does better when on ward duty, but when circumstances demand it, steps up to help out with the wounded at Hamburger Hill. In Heart of the Enemy, we have another Lester (probably Anne's son) who ends up in Iraq, trying to get information from a local war lord and encounters land mines and other dangers while trying to capture a terrorist.

The one thing that bugs me was that this is the same family in the first four books, but I don't know where the characters fall on the family tree.

In an ideal world...

... we would each be allowed to use our best skills. I am fortunate that my school needs my skills as a librarian, because I am not a great media specialist. Pinterest. Bah! I am only reluctantly tweeting, and I bow before all of our high school librarians and their awesome internet resources.

That said, this conversation with my high school freshman made me giggle. It IS possible to brain wash children if one starts early.

"I think my high school librarian suffers from low self-esteem"

"Really?"

"Yeah, she keeps referring to herself as a media specialist, and to the library as a media center."

"Most people think that's a GOOD thing."

Scoffs loudly. "Come on. You know everyone really wants to be a LIBRARIAN."

"Really? Why?"

"Because librarians have super powers. Everyone knows THAT."

Indeed.

Fantasy Tuesday: You Wish and Darkbeast

Hubbard, Mandy. You Wish
5 August 2012

Kayla is having a hard sixteenth birthday, in part because she has a huge crush on her best friend Nicole's boyfriend Ben. Nicole skips her party, a huge affair that Kayla's party planner mother insists on throwing despite Kayla's objections, and things go wrong all night. When the time comes to blow out the candles on her cake, she wishes "I wish all my birthday wishes actually came true. Because they never freakin' do."

Well, now they do, from all her previous birthdays. Her Raggedy Ann doll comes to life, as does a bright pink My Little Pony. Ken ( as is Barbie and) thinks he's her boyfriend, and follows her around. It's bad enough that all of her wishes from when she was younger come true, but what about the wish she made that Ben would be her boyfriend? While Kayla is dealing with some of her goofier wishes, she also has to deal with her real life problems of Nicole becoming distances from her, popular girls giving her a hard time, her father who lives in Italy wanting to reconnect, and Ben finding her more interesting than he is finding Nicole.
Strengths: This is a clever twist on the wish fulfillment novel. I'm sure that most readers can think of some silly wishes they made over birthday cake, and some that are not so silly. There is a nice balance between the two, and while Kayla does learn a lesson (which you have to do if your wishes start coming true), its never too preachy. Much, much fun. This author also wrote Ripple, which was a surprise hit with my students.
Weaknesses: Available in paperback and prebind, and the print is a bit small for middle school. This is appropriate for middle school, but probably a bit more YA.

Keyes, Morgan. Darkbeast.
28 August 2012, Margaret K. McElderry Books
Book recieved from publisher; also reviewed at Young Adult Books Central.

Keara's pivotal birthday is upon her-- she will turn 12, making her an adult in her medievalish world, and she will need to kill Caw, her darkbeast. All children have companions that are bonded to them at birth and to whom they take all of their rebellion and bad qualities. Most children hate their darkbeasts, who tend to be rats, snakes, and toads, but Keara has always loved Caw, a crow, and finally decides that instead of killing him, they will run off together with the Travelers, roving actors who put on sacred and common plays throughout the land. The Travelers are leery of taking in Keara, but she is willing to help them, and makes friends with Vala, who is her age. When the troupe wants to win a competition, they put together a new sacred play that involves all 12 gods at once, but are then accused of heresy. This is bad for Keara, since failing to kill her darkbeast was also an affront to the gods, and she lives in fear that an Inquisitor will hunt her down. The Travelers seem to be the safest people to stay with despite their cultural differences, but will they stand by her?
Strengths: This was a very well-constructed fantasy world, and Keyes did not make the mistake of over-explaining the differences-- they were just shown through the narrative. Keara's actions are motivated by how she has been raised, even though she is flying in the face of the biggest cultural expectations. The characters are also well-developed and likable, and the action and adventure pulled me in to the story. Great cover!
Weaknesses: I didn't buy the whole driving point of the story-- that Keara really loved Caw. Not sure why-- just didn't, and this made it hard to accept the rest of the story. I'll be curious to see if my hard core fantasy readers feel the same way.

Middle Grade Monday-- Invisible World

One of our time travel destinations last week was going to be the Salem Witch Trials, because the 8th graders are currently studying that. There are a number of books on the topic, but I liked this one because my time travel outfit is not that much different from what the girl on the cover is wearing!

Weyn, Suzanne. Invisible World.

28 August 2012, Scholastic. Paperback from Scholastic Bookfairs.

Elsabeth has the power to read other people's minds, and her grandmother was a healer and midwife. Her father is trying to scientifically study her abilities to prevent her from being persecuted as a witch, since these powers are not understood in England in the 1690s. When the family decides to relocate to America with their faithful nursemaid Bronwyn, Elsabeth is ready for the opportunity, but the ship goes down in a terrible storm and her father and sister are killed. Elsabeth washed up in South Carolina and is taken in by slaves on a plantation, where she comes to feel very fondly toward Aakif, the boy who finds her. Things go well until the weather cools and the owners of the plantation come back. Elsabeth is no longer allowed to talk to the slaves, and is packed off to a relative of the owner's in Salem. On the ship there, she meets Bronwyn, who is in the throes of demonic possession, and a young Catholic nun. Things are difficult in Salem in the house of Reverend Parris, especially since Bronwyn is loose on the community, and the evil force within her starts to attack young girls. Can Elsabeth work with Tituba, the young nun, and others to save not only the community, but herself?
Strengths: Interesting twist on the run of the mill Salem story, because it combines historical facts (like the ergot of rye) with fantasy elements of the supernatural.

Weaknesses: This got a bit confusing with all of the moving about, and there were some things that didn't ring true for the historical period.

Check out

Middle Grade Monday

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Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe

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What Are You Reading?

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Teach. Mentor. Texts.

The Giant and How He Humbugged America

Murphy, Jim. The Giant and How He Humbugged America.
1 October 2012, Scholastic. ARC from Netgalley.com

It's hard for middle school students to understand how hard up for entertainment people were in the 1860s-- heck, they have trouble believing there were only four television channels forty years ago. But at the time, the discovery of a ten foot tall fossilized "man" in New York State was big news. Scientists and other experts were brought in to opine of the nature of the find, newspapers reported eagerly, and people came from all over to see  the Cardiff Giant. Early on, there were doubts as to the authenticity of the "man", but this did not lessen the appeal of seeing it. In fact, after Barnum was not able to purchase it for his own shows, he had one made, and THAT attracted large crowds. Eventually, facts came to light that the Giant was a hoax, and interest in it died down.
Strengths: Murphy always does a great job of researching any topic, and his writing is breezy and interesting.
Weaknesses: In an afterword, Murphy discusses how he had been interested initially in doing a book about Bernie Madoff or Ponzi, but he didn't find either man compelling enough to research. I felt rather the same way about this book-- the Cardiff Giant was of limited interest to me. The illustrations were sometimes rather random; having just read His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg and enjoyed the photos, documents, etc. so much, I found the lack of pertinent illustrations disappointing. Perhaps this will be different in the print version.

Nonfiction Monday was started by Ana Suen and is hosted today at Books Together. There are always a lot of people reviewing great nonfiction for all ages, so take a look!

Read-Aloud Poems, Hacked!

Hale, Gloria, ed. Read-aloud Poems: 50 of the World's Best Loved Poems for Parent and Child to Share
11 September 2012, Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers

This good sized collection of poetry had some very good entries, but almost all of the poems were very old (before the 1920s!). While this gives us a good cross section of the better poems of Emily Dickinson and Longfellow, it also focuses heavily on more sentimental poets like Edgar Guest and other very little known writers, including Christopher Morley's "The Plumpuppets". The illustrations are also overly sentimental and from the early 1900s. I'm really torn on this one, since there are some really good poems; some are so sappy. The biggest problem is the section on humor-- rather dated.


Gerber, Linda. Hacked: Lights, Camera, Cassidy #3
14 June 2012, Puffin

Cassidy is in Costa Rica with her mother and father, who are the hosts of the travel show When in Rome. Because of the following that Cassidy's blog has, the producers of the show have asked her and Logan to do short teaser spots that will run on television. Cassidy is also ramping up her fashion so that she can plug scarves and accessories from certain designers. She loves Costa Rica and is having a great time until someone hacks into her blog and posts unflattering things about the country. When she finds the first post, she takes it down and doesn't tell anyone. When it happens again, she's in even deeper trouble, and the security breaches come to the attention of the show's crew. In trying to locate where the posts were made, they find that they have come from where Cassidy is staying, so someone near her is trying to sabotage her career and her parents' show.
Strengths: Gerber writes the most fantastic travel stuff, so this is a great series for girls interested in other parts of the world. The celebrity angle and romance doesn't hurt, either!
Weaknesses: Published in paperback, I have to wait to get them in prebind. Boo! Publish Gerber in HARDBACK!

Celebrity was the first book in this fun series, and I'm waiting for Paparazzi and Drama to come in the next Follett order.

Saturday Cartoons-- Baby's in Black

Bellstorf, Arne. Baby's in Black: Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliffe, and The Beatles.

May 2012, First Second Books.

Even forty years after The Beatles broke up, students (especially my youngest daughter, whose wardrobe is about 90% Beatles tees) are still interested in the group. This graphic novel does a great job of getting a different view of the very early days of the group. An end note says that Astrid Kirchherr collaborated extensively with the author of this book, so the group's days in Hamburg are portrayed. Klaus Voorman's involvement is also included, and we learn a tiny bit about Paul, John, and the very young George. Stuart Sutcliffe is of course the focus of this, and his art and relationship with Astrid are explored. The narrative ends in 1962 with the death of Sutcliffe from a brain hemorrhage.

Strengths: A great back story that students might not know, in a graphic format that they will enjoy.

Weaknesses: Wow. Did people smoke that much back then. Apparently. There are two f-bombs, both spoken by John, which is realistic. This might be of more interest to high school students, and I may pass on this one, even though I enjoyed it personally.

Guy Friday-- Inner City Guys

Moore, Wes. Discovering Wes Moore.
11 September 2012, Random House Children's Books

This young adult version of The Other Wes Moore follows the author’s experiences growing up and struggling with hard choices under difficult circumstances. His father, a well respected television news reporter, dies when Wes is young, and his mother tries her best to take care of her three children.  They move in with their Jamaican grandparents in the Bronx only to find that the neighborhood in the 1980s is riddled with crack addicts and gun violence. Afraid for Wes’ safety, his mother enrolls him in an exclusive private school away from the city, where he befriends one of the few other black students, Justin. Unfortunately, Wes misbehaves and does poorly, so his mother ends up putting him in military school. He manages to turn his life around and is fortunate to have opportunities to go to Johns Hopkins as well as be a Rhodes Scholar. When Wes is in Africa studying, another man named Wes Moore in Baltimore (where his mother has relocated) is arrested for a robbery and killing a police man, and the author is glad that he was not in town at the time lest he be arrested accidentally. Intrigued by the choices that brought the other Wes Moore to his eventual incarceration, the author contacts him and interviews him about his life, which is outlined in the second half of the book.
Strengths: This is not very long, and gives a lot of detail about life in the inner city that many of my students find interesting. There is a lot of information about the obstacles that young black men face in an urban environment, and a positive message about choices.
Weaknesses: This ends on an overly preachy note that some readers might just skip.

The freshman class at Kent State had to read the adult version of this book over the summer.

The time traveling went pretty well on Wednesday. Our art teacher, Brad Blankenship, took this fun picture. The students and I decided I could go back and save workers from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911, be a Harvey Girl in the 1880's, or go to the the first Women's Rights Convention in 1848. Although the outfit wasn't right, I might know enough Latin to go to ancient Rome for a while, and I could go to the 1960s and stock up on some cool dresses to put in a storage locker somewhere! Our secretary and I were thinking of going back to 1979, but only if we could be the age we were then. We wouldn't come back. I would take up running and be on the first girls' cross country team my school had in 1982!

Mystery Thursday--Creepy Possession!

McNamee, Graham. Beyond.
11 September 2012, Random House Children's Books
Reviewed at Young Adult Books Central; copy from there.

Jane has a history of self harm-- she swallowed poison as a child, almost was killed on a train track, and most recently, shot herself in the head with a nail gun. Her parents keep a GPS monitor on her at night because she has also been sleepwalking. It's not her fault, though-- for years, she has felt as if her shadow is trying to kill her. Her friend Lexi (who has creepy moments of her own) believes her, because she was there when Jane could not get off the train track. The nail stuck in Jane's brain would be bad enough, but after seeing a skeleton emerge from landslide while she is with her police constable father, Jane starts to realize that it's not her shadow that is trying to kill her, it's the spirit of Leo, a young man who was killed and buried in the woods. As Leo's control becomes stronger and stronger, Jane and Lexi realize that he is trying to get her attention to solve the mystery of his death. Even though they are in great danger themselves (and Jane especially, since her brain injury gives her many troubles), they work on solving the mystery and bringing the perpetrator to justice.
Strengths: Jane's blackouts and feelings that her shadow are attacking her are portrayed in a way that makes them feel real and creepy. While the connection between her and the boy haunting her seem tenuous, the storyline is gruesome enough that everything works together. I will buy this one.
Weaknesses: This author's Acceleration (2003, although a new paperback version is being published on 11 September, probably in conjunction with this book!) is a huge hit in my library, because the main character is a boy, and the boys will read it. This book would have worked just about as well with a boy as the main character, and would have suited my own purposes better!


Brennan, Sarah Rees.The Lynburn Legacy Book #1: Unspoken.
11 September 2012, Random House Books for Young Readers

***HUGE SPOILERS!!!!***Kami has always had an imaginary friend, Jared, who can talk to her, but that's just one of the things that makes her "weird". She and her friend Angela have decided to start a school newspaper and do investigative reporting (well, Angela just wants to nap!), so when the Lynburn family moves back to the small English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale, they take it upon themselves to find out more about them, especially the two really good looking boys their age, Ash and ...Jared. Yes, it turns out that Jared is the boy that Kami has been talking to in her head for all of these years. When another student informs them that the screams people are hearing at night in the nearby woods may be animal sacrifices, the girls look into this and find that the Lynburn family has been feared for generations. For good reason, they are sorcerers who have performed animal and even human sacrifices for years. To make matters worse, Kami and Jared are connected because both of their mothers drank blood in a ceremony when they were pregnant, and now Kami is Jared's source of power. If she dies, he dies. Kami thinks that perhaps some of the Lynburns might be good, even with their vast history of cruelty, but it's hard to tell which one of them, if any, is on her side.
Strengths: This is a good, bloody, solid, English paranormal mystery. It reminds me vaguely of some of the Green Man legends, where evil inherent to an area rears its ugly head. There aren't a lot of mystery series, and this is book one-- I can't wait to see the other covers, since this is particularly nice. Blue and green next? I also like how Kami is described as being half Japanese and it's part of her character but not the entire focus of the story.
Weaknesses: I adore Brennan's Demon's Lexicon Trilogy. This book, however, has some odd weak spots in it that could have benefited from tighter editing. Hard to explain, but I'd be reading along and Kami would say something that sounded wrong-- either too old or too young. There were also a few scenes where a major event was just brushed over with little character involvement (the first human murder) that struck me as something that was written in draft and somehow escaped refinement. I mention this because it seems unusual for this writer, and surprised me.

Random Midweek Blather

Leather briefcases in the Plaka in Athens, Greece. I bought one exactly like the second from the right in the bottom row 25 years ago. At the time it was raw and new, and I envied the one my professor had that was almost black with wear. As mine is now.

In the first three weeks of school, we've checked out 3,050 books. This is down from 3,892 last year. There are more students, but less access to the library. We've been in school three weeks, but it's still hot out. Oh, right, that's because the school year should have started yesterday. So confusing to my hard wired internal clock. You can't start school earlier because it is totally necessary to go to the Canfield Fair. Unless you are a three hour drive away.

I still have one class of interest inventories to mark. It has taken me longer this year because half of the students list The Hunger Games and Wimpy Kid as the only books they are interested in. *Sigh*

Told the 6th grade students last week that I would wear my time travel outfit today, so am wearing a beige blouse with enormous puffy sleeves and an elaborate lace front that I bought in 1981, a moss green wool riding skirt, a cameo, and brown leather boots. My skirt has a zipper, and I am still lacking a plaid wool shawl (essential to time travel, as is my woven wool bag I bought in Greece), but other than that, I am ready to time travel. Too bad the Verizon rep I talked to this summer confirmed my suspicions that there are no unlimited plans (why else is there a "Go To Date" feature?)-- it's strictly a per visit charge, which is exorbitant.

Picky Reader, who is a very responsible child, broke the screen of the iPod touch her grandparents got her against my better judgement. She was using the metronome app and it fell off of her music stand.This sort of thing cannot be fixed; for $149, Apple will replace the device. Of course, you need an appointment at the Apple store to even take it in. She is debating whether it is worth her hard earned babysitting money, because she feels she spends too much time with it anyway.

My first thought was "Yes, it's an excellent idea to give every student in the school an iPad. We would not break two a day, and they would all pay the school back the $500 when they lost or damaged the device."

Technology is not the answer to everything. Of course, it would not break my heart when an iPad was broken the way it broke my heart that the 1974 copy of McClintock's Cross-Country Runner turned up moldy beyond repair.  I have another copy, but it doesn't have the history that the other one did. I cried.

The Horrible Cost of War-- YA titles

So far, my school community has been very fortunate. We've had family members of students and staff serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, but all of them have come back. Not everyone is so fortunate. Here are too Young Adult books that address this issue of loss.

Kokie, E.M. Personal Effects.
11 September 2012, Candlewick Press (ARC from Young Adults Book Central, and reviewed there.)

Matt has enough to deal with. His father is very controlling and overbearing, more so since the death of Matt's mother. Matt must do well in school, work a job, control his anger, and most of all, join the military. Since Matt's brother, T.J., has recently died while serving in the military, it's not something Matt is really interested in. He's having a lot of anger management issues, especially when kids in school spout pacificistic rhetoric. His father barely mentions T.J., has taken down pictures, and won't let Matt have his brother's things. When several foot lockers of T.J.'s possessions are delivered to the house, Matt goes through them and finds, among other things, passionate letters from a woman named Celia, along with pictures of a young girl whom Matt believes to be his brother's child. With the support of his childhood friend (who is quickly becoming more of a girlfriend) Shauna, he plans a road trip to meet Celia and try to understand more about his brother's life, despite the fact that he is missing exams and work, and his father doesn't want to go. He ends up learning much more about his brother than he ever expected, and is able to come to terms a little bit more with the way that his family has been falling apart.
Strengths: This was a very powerful book, and excellently written. The scenes where Shauna is flirting with Matt but he is trying not to give in to her because he doesn't want to ruin their friendship are painful to read, but true to life. The dynamics between Matt and his father are also difficult but painful, and T.J.'s secrets are revealed and dealt with in a constructive way, even though this is not easy. I think this may be my nominee for the Young Adult Fiction section of the Cybils Awards this year.
Weaknesses: Too many f-bombs and sexual situations to have in a middle school library. I can understand why these things are used, and they are by no means gratuitous, but it's still a bit much for middle school.


McGarry, Katie. Pushing the Limits.
31 July 2012, Harlequin Teen (ARC from Baker and Taylor)
Reviewed at Young Adult Books Central

Echo Emerson thinks that she is doing fairly well, considering all that has happened in her life-- her brother has been killed in the war, her father has married the woman who babysat her and is expecting a baby, and there is a restraining order against her mother. Little wonder that she is having trouble keeping up with grades, dealing with her boyfriend, and taking part in the activities she enjoyed before everything fell apart. She doesn't appreciate counseling all that much, but when she is assigned to tutor Noah, she finds that it's not so bad. Noah's parents have died in a house fire, he's in foster care, and his younger brothers are with a different family. The two are drawn to each other over their shared problems, and working together helps them to heal.
Strengths: Again, Echo's attempts to deal with the death of a beloved brother are painful but realistic. She would like to finish restoring a car that he had bought, but her father just wants to move on. There are secrets that both characters hide that are revealed slowly but in an interesting fashion.
Weaknesses: Again with the language and the sex. Echo breaks up with her first boyfriend because he is pressuring her, but there is still too much talk about it in general for middle school. Picky Reader, who is in 9th grade now, loves problem novels, but I am hesitating even giving this to her.

Fantasy Tuesday

Wow, was it nice to have an extra day in the weekend. Not to mention the fact that even though we are three weeks into the school year, school does not REALLY start until after Labor Day! At least the schedule has shaken out a little bit, and while I still have an enormous study hall, I think every student in the building has a book checked out. Granted, the vast majority of them are also overdue, but my biggest concern is always making sure kids have something to read.

Of course, I'm not going to read anymore, since I just made my goal of 600 books for 2012.

Riiiiiight. Especially with the 2012 Cybils coming up, you know I'll still be reading!

Plum, Amy. Until I Die
8 May 2012, HarperCollins
Also reviewed at Young Adult Books Central (ARC from there.)

This sequel to Die for Me finds Kate and Vincent dealing with the departure of  friends Charlotte and Charles, and the addition of the very old Violette and Arthur to their group. Since Violette had been romantically interested in Vincent at one point, Kate is concerned. Also of concern is Vincent's general health. He is forgoing dying to save people because Kate can't handle it. She feels bad about this, but he points out that the rest of her life (sixty or so years) is a very short time for him, and he is working on a plan to improve his health. So is Kate, In between hanging out with her sister and going to the movies with Violette, she is investigating an ancient text she has found in her grandfather's Parisian gallery and trying to find a type of ancient healer who can somehow "cure" Vincent. There are also a lot of good fights that alleviate some of the somewhat cloying romance.
Strengths: Really like this series and can't wait for the third book, If I Should Die, which comes out in May. I liked the first book better, when Kate and Vincent weren't yet an item, but the two have a fairly realistic view of their problems and try to work them out. I just wish there was more adventure and less romance, because Plum writes action and suspense really well.
Weaknesses: Again, the romance. However, that is what will draw most of the readers to these books.

Carman, Patrick. 3 Below
1 September 2012, Scholastic
Also reviewed at Young Adult Books Central (ARC from there.)

Remi and Leo's parents get married on the roof of the Whippet Hotel, and Merganzer Whippet show up to send them off on a honeymoon, conveniently leaving the boys alone to solve the current problem-- the hotel owes $700,000 in back taxes. Not a problem, as long as the boys are willing to undertake a dangerous journey to the sub floors of the hotel to retrieve four floogers, a zip rope, and the iron box. Since Ms. Sparks has returned with the grungy Mr. Carp and demanded the payment lest she herself buy the hotel, the boys venture with Betty the duck into a dangerous elevator that takes them into even weirder worlds below the hotel. With the help of burping monkeys, Dr. Flart and his delicious Flart's Fizz, a host of Mr. Whippet's helpers and even Mr. Carp, can the boys come up with the money and save the most sought after piece of real estate in New York from falling into the wrong hands?
Strengths: This has a lot of fun things that younger readers will enjoy-- atomic burps, rooms full of cake, talking robots, and kids saving the day. Blurb after blurb compares this to Ellen Raskin or Roald Dahl, which is a fair comparison. I did like this better than the first book,  Floors.
Weaknesses: Older middle school students will find this to be too goofy-- eight year olds will think it's hysterical, but I can see thirteen year olds losing patience with it.


Fforde, Jasper. The Last Dragonslayer.
4 September 2012, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (ARC from Baker and Taylor)

Jessica Strange is very busy running Kazam, an agency that uses magicians to do all sorts of odd jobs in the Kingdom of Hereford. Magic is dwindling, and since the disappearance of Mr. Zambini, who ran the agency, Jessica has been running it herself. Luckily, she has a lot of maturity and skill as an indentured orphan, and she wants to keep the agency running. She gets a new apprentice, Tiger Prawns, at about the time she is given a very lucrative opportunity-- if she will predict the date that the Last Dragonslayer will kill Maltcassion, the last dragon, she will get a lot of money because everyone from the king to land developers wants access to the Dragonlands. Only problem-- the dragon really hasn't violated the dragon pact. When it turns out that Jessica herself is that dragonslayer, things become even more complicated. She gets an apprentice slayer, Gordon, access to the Slayermobile and a sword. Now all she has to do is to figure out what the prophecies of Shandar really mean and what is in the best interest of Big Magic-- should she or should she not kill Maltcassion? Song of the Quarkbeast, book two, came out 30 August, which is weird, since Amazon gives the publication date of 2 October for this book one.
Strengths: I liked Jessica a lot, and her struggle to do the right thing was interesting. Fforde unapologetically creates a very vibrant fantasy world.
Weaknesses: This book made a lot more sense once I realized that Mr. Fforde has done more adult fiction. The plot is slowed considerably by a proliferation of odd characters who add color rather than moving the action forward, and names like Gordon van Gordon Gordonson ap Gordon-Gordon of Gordon place this book very close to the edge of twee for me. Can't say I've read a lot of Welsh books, so maybe I just don't understand.

Middle Grade Monday-- Phoenix

Stone, Jeff. Phoenix.
September 2012, Random House, ARC from Netgalley.com

Phoenix is competing in a local cycle race when Ryan, a sort-of friend, starts to ride dirty, grabbing the back of his shirt and eventually kicking him right in the face. Phoenix's tire is ruined and his grandfather is assessing his wounds when he comes to. There's no hope for the race (and Phoenix hates to lose), but to make matters worse, when the pair arrive home, their house has been trashed and the grandfather's "herbal supplement" has been stolen by thugs Phoenix suspects tampered with his bike. It turns out that his grandfather is over 300 years old and only thrives thanks to dragon bone, a fine powder that is very rare. Without the stolen supply, he will die. Phoenix's Uncle Ti quickly arranges for him to travel to China to try to get more dragon bone from either PawPaw, an herbalist, or Grandmaster Long, who lives in the monastery that the grandfather did. Once in China, PawPaw sends Phoenix out on his own with just a GPS; luckily, he meets Hu Die (Iron Butterfly) whose father owns a cycling shop. Hu Die is a master mechanic, strong bike rider, and wants desperately to go to the US. She offers to save Phoenix the hike to the monastery and bike there with him. When they arrive, Grandmaster Long agrees to give some dragon bone to the grandfather, but the same thugs who trashed Phoenix's house show up and steal it. Hu Die recognizes one as Tan Lin, a cyclist who worked with... Ryan's rich uncle who has a team! Hue Die and Phoenix manage to make their way to Texas so that Phoenix can join the team, and so the two can get back the dragon bone.
Strengths: There is no synopsis that does justice to this awesome, awesome book! I enjoyed The Five Ancestors series, and it's been popular in my library, but anything set in the 1650s is going to be a hard sell to some students. Stone does action like nobody else. It wouldn't have occurred to me to read about mountain biking or cyclocross, but Stone describes everything in heart-pounding, muscle wrenching detail. There are fights, traveling around the world, and a bit of mysticism. Students who haven't read The Five Ancestors could start with this and go back to the other series if they wanted. Great stuff!
Weaknesses: I wish the first series were fresher in my mind, since I would then have picked up on a lot of nuances and some of the characters that were in that series.

Rumor Has It (Candy Apple Books)

Mason, Jane B. and Sarah Hines Stephenson. Rumor Has It.
January 2010, Scholastic. Candy Apple Books.

Audrey has a really good friend in Carmen, but when a new girl arrives, Audrey would really like to be her friend. Mailee is fun and exciting, but everyone wants to be her friend and Audrey doesn't know where she stands with her. Even though it's against the school rules (in large part due to her older sister Gen!), Audrey starts a slam book. This quickly gets out of control, and while the questions and answers start out nice, they quickly become mean. Mailee doesn't like slam books, and Carmen starts acting strange. Will Audrey have any friends left?
Strengths: I am always surprised at how much I enjoy these. When I was in middle school, I would have saved all of my babysitting money and invested in these with the Scholastic orders. They are enjoyable, quick reads that accurately describe the problems that middle school girls face, and this one was no exception.
Weaknesses: These do well with my sixth grade girls, but not with the older ones, perhaps due to the cartoon covers?

Had a couple of girls request the Poison Apple Books, and even some who new about the new Rotten Apple ones. Zombies? Sigh.