World Wednesday--Gold Medal Winter

Freitas, Donna. Gold Medal Winter
7 January 2014, Scholastic, Inc.
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Esperanza Flores has worked hard but also been lucky-- her single mother has a supportive community at the Italian restaurant where she works;  Esperanza's Coach Chen moved to her small town, coaches her for free AND has her own rink right next door to a small house the Flores family rents; and she gets on the Olympic team when the girl who scores right above her is injured. Espi's friends and family are supportive of her trip to the Olympics even though her Dominican national mother has some trouble getting a visa to travel to the Olympics. There is a lot of in-fighting on the ice skating team, and Espi is both angry and sad that the other figure skaters can't be nice to her. She is also distracted by two boy skaters, one of whom may just be toying with her emotions for the press's benefit and also on behalf of the injured skater whose place she took. Espi desperately wants to land a quadruple salchow jump, but also wants to make her mother proud AND get along with everyone on the Olympic team.
Strengths: Like Gold Medal Summer, this was a great book about sports, girl drama, AND romance. It's well written, I like the characters, and the plot moves right along. I would never have read a book about girls doing sports when I was in middle school, but I would have loved this one because of all of the great details about traveling, and all the drama. Awesome stuff!
Weaknesses: Hmmm. Nope. Even liked the drama with the two boys, the stuff with the mean skater girls-- can't think of anything I would change!

http://www.dogpacer.com/treadmill-blog/2013/winter-weather-and-your-dog/snow-dogs-at-dogpacer/

And we're finally back at school! It's been too long a break, and too much cold weather. Now I have to get books for all 750 students in two days! (We have a teacher work session on Friday-- Waiver Day, at which I normally love to present three packed sessions of 100 Great New Books, but since my mother is still in the hospital from her extensive back surgery, I'll be with her instead. I am hoping that they will release her to a rehabilitation center and we can spend the weekend getting her settled.)

Enders

Price, Lissa. Enders (Starters #2)
7 January 2014, Delacorte Books for Young Readers
E ARC from Netgalley. com

Callie is back, and things are greatly improved. She is living in Helena's house with her brother Tyler, and friend Michael is nearby, although he is still hurt by her relationship with Blake. While at the mall to buy Tyler new shoes, Callie sees Reece, another worker at Prime, but she looks a bit odd and then blows up! Callie knew that the chip installed in her when she was working at being a vehicle for "ender" tourists still gave her trouble, but since she is still hearing the Old Man in her head, she decides that something needs to be done. That something arrives in the guise of Hyden, who claims to be the Old Man's son, but also claims to be against all of the work that Prime did. He helps Callie gather as many "Metals" as he can, and they have a large community of them in a compound that is inaccessible to the tracking programs the Old Man has. Callie is attracted to Hyden, but because of a scientific accident, he can't touch anyone. When the compound is attacked and the Metals taken, Callie knows that she will never be safe until she can find the Old Man and neutralize him, but she has many surprises waiting for her.
Strengths: This had a lot of action, adventure, and some crazy good science fiction facets! The explanation for the death of all the parents (the Spore Wars) and the explanation of the social hierarchy still works. Callie's relationship with Helena (who is dead but still present in flashbacks) is interesting, and the twists are some that I didn't quite see coming.
Weaknesses: I am not fond of the new covers, because the original was SO super awesome. I didn't like this one quite as well as the first, but I'm not quite sure why.

MMGM- Crash

Monninger, Joseph. Crash (Stay Alive #1)
January 7th 2014 by Scholastic Paperbacks
E ARC from Netgalley.com

When a plane carrying the Team Jump reality show team crashes in the wilderness, the pilot and the twin sister of one of the girls dies. The other 8 people and a dog survive, and try to carve out a place to wait until help arrives. Suryadi is gravely injured and doesn't survive long.  The producer, Seldon, is not prepared to lead the group, but Paul's father, Walter, thinks that adults should take the lead. Titus, however, is an Eagle scout, and better at figuring out what to do next. Jill is missing her sister, but E tries her best to supply food for the group by fishing. Web isolates himself from the group, staying in the plane and hoarding food. Eventually, when no help comes, E, Titus, Paul and Walter prepare to set out to look for help, but at the last minute, Walter becomes ill, so Seldon goes instead. Back at Camp Lollipop (so named because the group keeps their morale up by eating lollipops that they found in the plane), the group is rescued, and search parties are sent to look for Team Four. Titus almost dies trying to cross a river, and Seldon's feet are a mess, but that group is eventually rescued as well.

More books in this series are expected, including Cave-in (#2) in March 2014, Breakdown (#3)in July 2014 and Flood (#4) .

Strengths: There are a lot of students who like survival books and who are looking for a book just like Hatchet. I liked that there were survival tips in the beginnings of chapters, and that the people all did the best they could to survive and followed proper protocols. I can see these being popular purchases at book fairs.
Weaknesses: The cast of characters was much too large, so there was very little character development. The plot, too, seemed weak and somewhat predictable. Still, given the popularity of survival tales, I will look at the next titles in this series and debate purchasing.


Doeden, Matt. Tools and Treasures of Ancient Egypt.
1 Feburary 2014, Lerner Publications
E ARC from Netgalley.com

This very brief book is better suited to elementary students wanting an overview of Egypt rather than to middle school students doing research projects. This is well illustrated, with a map, picture or illustrations on almost every page, but there are only about three or four sentences of information to accompany them. There are many books with brief overviews out there, but what I really need would be a book about this long JUST on the tools or JUST on the treasures of Ancient Egypt. It's hard to find books for students to use on research projects that are on their level but contain a good deal more information. I've been searching for years, so shall continue!

Norwich, Grace. I Am Cleopatra
7 January 2014, Scholastic Paperbacks
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Another entry from the Scholastic I Am series, this is actually a very helpful book because Cleopatra's life is so hard to follow. This does a lovely job at explaining things that don't quite make sense if students don't have a good understanding of Egyptian culture at the time, and addresses certain topics like the practice of marrying one's siblings, or the fact that Caesar and Marc Antony already had wives, briefly but without belaboring them. Since our 6th graders study Ancient Egypt, I may buy this one and see what kind of circulation it sees. I'd love for students to read more of these so they can have a better knowledge of people in history. 

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers. It's also Nonfiction Monday at Anastasia Suen's blog. Instead of having to visit lots of different blogs, all of the nonfiction posts will be at Nonfiction Monday!

Happy New Year Blather-- A Bit Late!

Resolutions. Yes, I always make them, and do fairly well at implementing them. I know what I can and can't do. For example, I should resolve to spend more of 2014 on the computer. But I really don't think that will happen. Part of this is because I am old, and I'd much rather type on my Smith-Corona.

There really are no words to describe how much I HATE to work on the computer. While I will gladly sit for hours and hours reading books, when it comes to reviewing them, posting them on Goodreads and YABC and wherever else... no fun. Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter... I would rather clean out the linen closet than spend time gazing at a screen with anything on it! (Except a book... I'm cool with my Nook.)

This is a problem. This defeats the whole point of Twitter, for example, which is to scroll through endless feed to see what other people are saying. I do really try to read book reviews on blogs, and I spend the most screen time looking for new releases... so I can read them. It's rather amazing that most blogs, even book review blogs, don't have all that many book reviews.

Things that will happen.

I will read 720 books. It was touch and go for a while this year-- my goal was 700 books, and I didn't think I would make it because I did not read as much this summer.

Recently, on someone's blog, a teacher-libarian said she would be reading for quality, not quantity. I thought about that a lot, and decided that quantity works for my purposes most of the time. I need to know a little about a lot of books so that I can recommend them to students. For the Cybils awards, of course, I have to look at quality, but I think I can zip through Empire State of Slime or Stick Dog Wants a Hot Dog and not pay too much attention to detail.




 
I will run 700 miles.  Since I'll be coaching Cross Country again in the fall, I feel I really should, not that I can ever keep up with 8th graders.

Have sort of stalled at 5 and1/2 miles right now, because the temperatures got down to zero (I don't go out when it's under 15) and the treadmill stopped working. Did break down and buy a new treadmill, since that's the only way I can get Picky Reader to run at all, but it won't be here for a while. Picky Reader is thrilled that the new treadmill doesn't make weird noises or skip when the speeds go over 6 miles an hour. I never had a problem with that...




 I will do some more writing. Got about seven chapters of my middle grade novel done this summer, and it amused me, but at some point writing made me cranky. I'm turning a small bedroom into an office for myself, which will be nice for blogging and keeping multiple books and papers arranged anyway, but maybe that will be a good thing. You will all be relieved to know that I don't intend to talk about the writing process-- I like to believe that books arrive fully formed like Athena popping out of the head of Zeus. I find reading about the process about as interesting as Pinterest.


And, since I am going into my third straight year of blogging at least one book every day, I will continue to blog, and will try to keep the blathering to a minimum. Happy New Year!

Full Ride

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Full Ride
November 12th 2013, Simon & Schuster

When Becca Jones' father is sent to jail for running a variety of scams and embezzling a lot of money, she and her mother decide to move from Georgia to a small Ohio town where their generic last names insure that no one will connect them to the criminal father. It is tough to start over again, but Mr. Trumbull, their lawyer, has arranged it so that Becca can enter school with just home schooling test results, and her mother can get a job as a nurse. Things go swimmingly until Becca starts her senior year and starts to think about college. She would like to go to Vanderbilt, but realizes that she would need financial aid-- and her mother tells her that they can never fill out any forms because her father was in bigger trouble than they thought, and there are people who might come after them. Becca applies for a local full-ride scholarship in honor of a girl from her high school, and in doing so inadvertently spills all of her secrets. Not only is this bad, but she finds out from her mother that a large corporation, Excellerand, is involved and perhaps wanting to hurt them. Or is it others from their past who do?
Strengths: This reminded me of some of the Caroline Cooney thrillers and was a fast, interesting read. The details about starting over and hiding from authorities would appeal to my students. This would be a must purchase for high school libraries.
Weaknesses: I'm not sure that middle school students would be all that interested in the college application process/obsession. I could have done without the odd circumstances surrounding the full-ride scholarship for some reason. It was an odd note.

Saturday Morning Cartoons--Hard Luck

Kinney, Jeff. Hard Luck. (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #8)
November 5th 2013 by Amulet Books

Greg is upset that Rowley spends so much time with his girlfriend that he is not there to hang out with Greg. He's not there to warn Greg about dog poo on the walk to school, carry Greg's heavy backpack, or protect Greg from the kids who infest the woods. Not only that, but it's even hard to get him to do Greg's homework. Greg tries unsuccessfully to train other classmates to fill this position, but nothing works. Greg finds a Magic 8 Ball while snooping in his mother's closet, and for a while, uses it successfully to navigate his life, until it gets broken. Further complicating matters is a visit by his mother's extended family and a hunt for a missing diamond ring. Thankfully, Rowley breaks up with his girlfriend and can get back to helping Greg.
Strengths: Of course, students love the anecdotal format of these, along with the pictures. At this point, Kinney could publish a list of kinds of soup and kids would line up to prepurchase it. Has some funny moments.
Weaknesses: These could be decent books if more attention were given to plot arcs and character development. Wouldn't it be nice to have something kids wanted to read that was actually pretty good. I still vastly prefer Big Nate or Charlie Joe Jackson, because more attention is given to literary merit.


Tiwart, Vivek. The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story
(Philip Simon (Editor), Andrew C. Robins (Illustrations), Kyle Baker (Illustrations)
 November 19th 2013, Dark Horse

A graphic novel about the manager of the Beatles! What a great idea!

But sadly, not for middle school. Drat. At least we know right away, when the first page has a quote from John Lennon that includes the f-bomb.  Of course, there is also drug use, and a lot of exploration of Epstein's homosexuality.

It's a bit confusing, too. I'm glad I looked at it, but obviously won't be buying it. Important to note that it was, in fact, in the adult collection of my public library.

The Fallout

Bodeen, S.A. The Fallout
September 24th 2013, Feiwel & Friends 

This sequel to The Compound shows the Yanakakis family starting over in Seattle after escaping from the family patriarch. Eddy, who spent the last six years with his grandmother in Hawaii, feels somewhat guilty but is able to accept that his family is back. The mother is completely paranoid, not wanting the children to leave the house. Eli wants things to get back to "normal" but has no idea what that is. He decides to investigate the charitable side of the family business, which leads him to visit a Progeria research facility, where he meets Verity, who brother has the disorder. He likes her, but isn't quite sure how to go about dating her when his mother barely lets him out of the house. This is for a good reason-- Eli finds online that people are stalking them, especially doomsday preppers. In side stories, his older sister, who is adopted, wants to find her birth mother, and Eddy makes a friend in Tony, who helped find a lost younger brother when the group was out. It turns out that Tony is not who he says he is, and before long the three oldest children are kidnapped by the person whom they trust the least. Will Eli's life ever go smoothly?
Strengths: Like The Compound, this is a thriller, so I can't say a whole lot more or the mystery would be revealed. This was a convincing sequel to a gripping book, and I was surprised at how easy it was to read-- it's certainly a page turner. The emotions of the entire family after their ordeal in The Compound are very realistic, and the twists at the end... whew. Good stuff.
Weaknesses: The big problem when there are a lot of years between a first and second book is that the first book wears out! I may have to get another copy. I love that the covers are similar, though!

Perfect Season

Green, Tim. Perfect Season. (Football Genius #6)
October 1st 2013 by HarperCollins 

Troy has a job using his "football genius" to help the Jets, so he and his mother move to New Jersey. Because his father ran off with the $5 million he had been paid, Troy has to go to Summit and not the fancy private school that his cousin Ty is attending. Summit's football team is awful, and their stadium is falling to pieces, but Troy manages to talk Seth into interviewing for the coaching position, and he gets hired. Seth thinks it's a good idea for Troy and cocky new student Chuku to try out for the high school team, and they get on it. The high schoolers are less than pleased to have to play with 8th graders, and give them a hard time. Things aren't going well for Troy with the Jets, either-- he has lost his ability to predict plays, which means he could end up losing a lot of money. Add to this accusations that Seth has bribed students to play for Summit, and the "perfect season" of games might not turn out to be so perfect. Luckily, Tate uses her investigative skills to uncover what is really going on with Summit's football program, and things eventually end well.
Strengths: Lots of good football plays, interesting characters, and a mystery will make this popular with the readers who enjoy this series and author. The writing is easy to read and flows smoothly.
Weaknesses: Having just read an article about high school athletes transferring schools and having to sit out for a year, I wondered why this was not the case for Chuku and Troy. Also, while it was nice to see Tate back, the device of having her father in an accident seemed far fetched. I also didn't quite believe that Chuku and Troy would be encouraged to play for the high school. While all of these things didn't seem possible to me, I'm sure that they make the stories more appealing to students. What 8th grader doesn't want to make $5 million and play high school varsity football?

Who Stole New Year's Eve

 Happy New Year! To start off this year, here's the only other middle grade book about the holiday that I can think of besides Harrison's Charmed and Dangerous: The Pretty Committee Strikes Back. Anyone know of others?

Freeman, Martha. Who Stole New Year's Eve?
5 September 2013, Holiday House
ARC from Baker and Taylor

Alex's neighborhood is all set for the Ice Festival as well as their annual Twelve Days of Christmas decorating, but the arrival of new neighbors makes some of them  unhappy. Eve, who's father is working on a "grassoline" project at the university, moves in from California, and Alex's friend Yasmeen is NOT happy. It doesn't help when Eve laughs at her singing efforts. When first an ice statue of Eve (that was a present from her father) is stolen, and then the others that were done for the festival, Alex has to investigate. Yasmeen doesn't want to help, but Eve does, as well as past regulars Sofie, Bub and Alex's mother, Detective Parakeet manage to figure out the mystery. This is Book 5 in the Chickadee Court Mysteries.
Strengths: This book took QUITE the unexpected turn at the end, which I always appreciate, but which makes writing a synopsis difficult. I thought this was a light, fun mystery, but it got really serious at the end. I don't know how I missed these books; I will have to take a look at them, since I always need more mysteries. Added bonus: Yasemeen's family is from Trinidad! The only other MG fiction book I can think of with a character of that origin is Ganeshram's Stir It Up!
Weaknesses: A little on the goofy side, but not too bad. The thing I couldn't believe was that when Alex's clearly beloved cat, Luau, goes limp and is ill, he allows his father to take the cat to the vet without him while he goes off to investigate. And he forgets about the cat! Clearly, this is what needs to happen to sustain the plot, but when my dog Sylvie went limp at exactly this time last year, you can bet that my daughter and I both rushed her to the vet. But, clearly that's just my experience talking!

The Eye of Minds

Dashner, James. The Eye of Minds.
8 Ocotber 2013, Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Michael, Sarah and Bryson don't know each other in real life, but meet frequently on the VirtNet, the method of choice for gaming in the future. Their real bodies lay in "coffins" with wiring to let them experience feelings in the VirtNet. Michael spends much more time there than he should, to the extent where he hasn't seen his busy parents for a long time, and is instead taken care of by a nanny. Odd things have been going on in the VirtNet-- a well-known and successful gamer, Skale, has gone missing, and gamers are being found in a vegetative state in their "coffins" after their virtual selves  have difficulties. A villain named Kaine is suspected, and before long, Michael is approached by VirtNet Security to try to hunt him down. Michael and his friends are reluctant, but soon realize they have no choice. They are told they need to find "the Path" and that it will lead them to Kaine. After a long and arduous journey that involves much pain and loss of virtual lives, Michaal alone realizes the solution-- and it's not one he ever would have suspected. The first book in a series.
Strengths: My students are fond of video games, but there are few books out there about them ,mainly because they would be kind of boring if they just talked about kids playing video games. But to get sucked into one... Dashnet does a good job of making this an exciting book with lots of action and twists. I think it will be very popular.
Weaknesses: I found this to be rather violent, starting out with a girl jumping off a bridge to escape being imprisoned by Kaine. It makes me worry about violent video games. The ending didn't seem quite right, but I'm sure the next book will explain more about what's going on.

MMGM- Dog 4491

Collard, Sneed B. III. Dog 4491
November 1st 2013, Bucking Horse Books
Copy provided by publisher

Sam finds a dog wandering around his neighborhood, and notices that she has an odd collar-- it has her name, Sophie, and the phrase Garden 4491. With the help of his grandfather Horace, Sam tries to figure out where the dog belongs, and makes a trip with his grandfather (who is in a wheelchair) across the Expressway to the neighborhood where the number was used... before the 1960s. There, Sam and Horace meet the Cheesebro brothers who are interested in the house, and a reporter who is concerned that the city is going to expand the Expressway and lead to more urban decay. They don't meet anyone in the house, though, so can't return the dog. Eventually,  Sam returns to the house and ends up traveling back in time to 1926 and meeting Sophie's owner, Rollie. The two boys hit it off and discover that the time travel is facilitated by Sophie as well as a closet that was hit by lightning. In Rollie's time, his father, a judge, is being threatened by ancestors of the Cheeseboro brothers, and in Sam's time, there is government corruption preventing the implementation of mass transit and urban regentrification. The boys work together, aided by Horace, and manage to put things to right in both time periods.
Strengths: Admittedly, the cover and the phrase "time traveling dog" put this at the bottom of my TBR pile for far too long. Once I started reading, I was intrigued by Sam, his feisty grandfather, and the circumstances surrounding their urban neighborhood. The interchange with Rollie was believable, something which is tricky in time travel books, and the political intrigue in both eras was also realistic. Mr. Collard apparently shares many of my political leanings; aside from the interest in mass transit and walkable neighborhoods, there is also a brief mention of testing in Sam's school-- the TIL (Testing Instead of Learning) Test! While the ending was somewhat too neat, it was also very satisfying. Given the time travel role that the old house plays in this, I will have to let Charlotte at Charlotte's Library know about this one!
Weaknesses: I could have done without the grandfather's folksy phrases, and perhaps without his run in with the Cheeseboro brothers. And the cover could be much better. Drawings, while they seem like a good idea, are so frequently passed over by students, who seem to prefer stock photos.

Norwich, Grace. I Am Walt Disney
7 January 2014, Scholastic Paperbacks
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Confession: I used to check out two Childhood of Famous Americans books every day in fourth grade, when I was a library helper at recess, so I am predisposed to love breezy biographies. This I Am Scholastic series has books that are quick and fun to read, with a variety of subjects, although none of the people covered are especially unknown, which would be more fun. (Robert Fulton? Elias Howe? My favorite, Phil T. Farnsworth? My students have no idea.)

Disney makes a great read for several reasons-- he had an interesting life, with as many difficulties as successes. It's more interesting to read about people who fail and then triumph than about people who have everything go their way, especially when those people were born more than 100 years ago, when every day conditions were much different than they are today. Since students are familiar with Disney's work, they are more apt to pick books about him to read. This had a nice blend of information about his work and life, and was fun for me since I saw Saving Mr. Banks over break. (Which I recommend watching once it's out on video and available at the library, since it was fairly interesting, if sad to the point of being almost maudlin at points.)

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers. It's also Nonfiction Monday at Anastasia Suen's blog. Instead of having to visit lots of different blogs, all of the nonfiction posts will be at Nonfiction Monday. I'm bound and determined to figure this out this year!

A Grown Up Read for Sunday

It's been a sad state of affairs here, and I'm running out of things to read. Went to the actual library and had no luck, so I've been hitting the Ohio E Book Project pretty hard. Since this is verging on "caught up", I thought I would read a grown up book-- I KNOW, right? I'm glad I did, because I found the most amusing book written for women of my semi-advanced age. All of the librarians and teachers who read my blog need to read this one, even Jim and Iron Guy Carl!


Ray, Jeanne. Calling Invisible Women
May 22nd 2012 by Crown

Clover wakes up one morning and cannot see herself in the mirror. Thinking that she is perhaps having a stroke, she asks her college graduate son (who has moved home because, as a women's studies/history major, he can't find a job) if he can see her, and he doesn't even notice she's not there. Nor does her busy doctor husband. Her good friend, Gilda, does, although her son doesn't. Not quite sure what to do about this turn of events, Clover eventually finds a meeting/support group for invisible women. It turns out, she is not alone. A fair number of women have been taking a combination of Dexter-White drugs (a hormone replacement, a calcium supplement, and an anti-depressant, combined with Botox usage) that has rendered them invisible. This includes Lila Robinson, who taught Clover's daughter and son. Irritated by being invisible and having no one notice, Clover takes matters into her own hands. She convinces Lila to go back to work at the high school and stop students from misbehaving, which is effective but uncomfortable and exhausting for Clover (they have to go around naked if they want to be invisible) but which Lila keeps up with, leaving the principal daily notes on what she has accomplished. After disarming a bank robber and writing a newspaper article about the experience, Clover decides to become more active. Since the Dexter-White people keep postponing meetings, Clover decides she'll take a group and go to the office, and issue an ultimatum. Along the way, we also meet college cheerleader daughter Evie, who is despondent over breaking up with boyfriend Vlad (whose mother is also invisible), and get an interesting view of husband Arthur and son Nick's days.
Strengths: I read so much young adult and middle grade fiction, and occasionally, I want to read books about people my age. There are not many, and the vast majority are either murder mysteries or romance books, which isn't what I want. Still looking for the spy novel about the middle aged librarian, but this was funny and I adored the support group as well as their can-do attitude in taking down Dexter-White. Sure, there's all sort of subtexts about the "invisibility" of older women, but I liked this just because it was FUN.
Weaknesses: Too short! I wish this were more in-depth because I just wanted to keep reading. I may end up buying some copies of this to give as gifts. I didn't quite buy Clover and Arthur's relationship-- he seemed pretty attentive, considering how stressful and hard his job was.

Trip to the Library

I've been reading a LOT, which is great, but as frequently happens, I am running out of things to read! On Thursday, I went off to the library to inspect the new book shelves, only to find that I'd already read the vast majority of the things there. Sigh. Now I have books that are being published in March, and reviews still to post for January. First World Problems, to be sure!

Here were some books that I picked up that weren't quite what I need for my library, but which others may find interesting. There was enough to recommend them that I brought them home and read through most of them, so here we go.

Farizan, Sara. If You Could Be Mine.
August 20th 2013 by Alqonquin Young Readers 

From Titlewave.com
"In Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death, seventeen-year-olds Sahar and Nasrin love each other in secret until Nasrin's parents announce their daughter's arranged marriage and Sahar proposes a drastic solution."

What I wanted: Romance with cultural context, like Lovetorn.
What Didn't Work for Me: While this would be a fantastic GLBTQ addition for high school libraries, and was circumspectly done and really, really interesting, it just didn't feel like a good fit for middle school. Too much angst and longing-- middle school students are more interested in lighter romances, since their own experience with romance is fairly slight.


Friedman, Laurie. Can You Say Catastrophe: The Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair.
August 1st 2013 by Darby Creek 

From Titlewave.com
"Thirteen-year-old April Sinclair gets her first two kisses--from two different boys--and is not sure how she feels about either one, and cannot wait to be at summer camp with her two best friends and away from her embarrassing family, but her parents cancel her camp plans in lieu of a family RV trip."

What I wanted: Funny, light romance for my readers who like the Darling Crush series.
What Didn't Work for Me: April is the most slap-worthy character I've read lately. Yes, many teenagers whine about their parents, family, and friends, but April takes this too a new level of annoying, cringeworthy whining. That said, I will probably buy this one, especially since it is a series, like The Clique, or Dork Diaries. Doesn't mean I have to like it personally.

Alexander, Kwame. He Said, She Said.
November 19th 2013 by Amistad

From Titlewave.com
When a popular football 'playa' and ladies man and the smartest girl in school lead a school protest, sparks fly as their social media-aided revolution grows"

What I wanted: Urban romance with cultural context, socially relevant high school drama, some football.
What Didn't Work for Me: The style and dialect made this one very difficult to understand, and if I struggled with it, I think my students will, too. This seemed like more of a high school book, as well, given the talk about sex. Great cover, and a great choice to attract reluctant readers in high school.

Lennon, M.T. Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child
August 27th 2013, Harpercollins

From Titlewave.com:
"Charlie C. Cooper, reformed bully, gifted hacker, and middle child wants to make "cool" friends at her new school in Los Angeles, but her psychologist tasks her with becoming friends with the school's "biggest loser". "

What I wanted: Fun, realistic fiction title about a girl in a new school, dealing with typical middle school issues.
What Didn't Work for Me: Charlie is just nasty to everyone. At the very beginning, we hear the explanation of how she tried to frame a girl she didn't like by putting laxatives in the cafeteria food, an offense so terrible that her family has to move. And she feels no remorse. Even Charlie's attempts to help Marta didn't feel quite right, somehow. Other girls in her school are even crueler! While Catastrophe was whiny, this one seemed overly mean, so I will pass.


Vaught, Susan. Insanity.
February 18th 2014 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens 
ARC from Baker and Taylor

From the publisher:
"With her deep knowledge of mental illness and mental institutions, Susan Vaught brings readers a fascinating and completely creepy new book intertwining the stories of three young people who find themselves haunted beyond imagining in the depths of Lincoln Hospital."

What I wanted: Creepy book like Poblocki's Ghost of Greylock.
What Didn't Work for Me: This would be an excellent, creepy book for a high school library, but two things keep it from being one I want to buy for middle school: it goes a little more into gory detail about the grandfather who killed 6-year-old boys than I would like, and it gets rather confusing, what with the different perspectives and the different levels of reality. I like Vaught's realistic fiction (Freaks Like Us, Big Fat Manifesto, Trigger and Exposed), but she is very edgy and best suited for high school.

 Now I know how my students feel when they come up to me in the library with pained expressions on their faces and ululate "I need a book!" They don't know what they want; nothing sounds good. I understand, I do. In fact, I'd love to have some recommendations now.

Luckily, I do have two things that look good-- I'm a HUGE fan of Bryson's work; I just want to BE Bill Bryson. Plus, I love nonfiction, and his book on home life looks fascinating. The other thing that is calling my name very loudly is Kate Hanigan's Cupcake Cousins, but since it is not coming out until May, I feel like I am not working hard enough if I read either of these!

Saturday Morning Cartoons-- Kung Pow Chicken

Marko, Cyndi. Let's Get Cracking (Kung Pow Chicken #1)
January 1st 2014, Scholastic Inc. 

Second grade chicken Gordon is accidentally turned into a super hero after an accident in his Uncle Quack's lab, so he now fights crime with the help of his younger brother Benedict. When the chickens in Fowledelphia lose their feathers after eating cookies at a town fete, "Kung Pow Chicken" realize that Granny Goosebumps is behind the evil plot so that she can force other chickens to knit itchy wool sweaters for her to sell to the naked chickens. With the help of Uncle Quack, Gordon is able to catch Granny and give an antidote to all of the chickens so they grow their feathers back.
Strengths: This is from the new Scholastic "Branches" series (and there are 3 other Kung Pow Chicken books) which is aimed at emergent readers. My only children were huge fans of I Can Read Books, and this was rather like those.
Weaknesses: It bothered me that Benedict was still stuck in his shell with no explanation, and the "glowy milk" antidote could have been expressed more eloquently. This is too young for middle school.

Guy Friday- Next

Waltman, Kevin. Next.
December 3rd 2013 by Cinco Puntos Press

Derrick is a good basketball player who has gotten a fair amount of local attention in Indianapolis for his playing. He is on the high school basketball team at Marion High, where he has Coach Bolden, who also worked with his father and Uncle Kid. As the new hot shot on the team, it seems like the older players, especially Starks, are trying to cut him down to size, and it doesn't help that Derrick is trying to make time with Starks' girlfriend, Jasmine. Derrick is struggling with fitting in and playing the way that Bolden wants him to play-- as part of the team, not a ball hog-- and wishes that things would just be easier. His Uncle Kid thinks they can be, as long as Derrick considers the offer from a private school, Hamilton Academy, to attend school there and be on their winning team. The school has even offered his father a security job there, which the family could use. However, Derrick's mother is very proud of their community and doesn't want him to sell out. Derrick has to decide what is most important in his life.
Strengths: Definitely purchasing. This had lots of good basketball descriptions (i.e. I didn't understand what was going on!), but I especially liked the details of how to play well as a team instead of as an individual. The family dynamics were supported but slightly strained, as is typical with teenagers, and even the budding relationship with Jasmine was rather nice. (The two meet at a bookstore, and Derrick buys a book because she is reading it.)
Weaknesses: Bad cover, especially since the library copy I had didn't even have a dust jacket. A teacher who has coached basketball (and isn't much of a reader) just stopped by and wrinkled his nose at the book, saying "What's the title? By Kevin Waltman?"  There are also two gratuitous f-bombs (on pages 140 and 248) but considering that Learning the Game (2005) had many more, I may just employ my spit-and-pencil-eraser technique to gently obliterate them. Authors! You don't want your work bowdlerized, don't be a potty mouth. Geez.

Theodore Boone: The Abduction

Grisham, John. Theodore Boone: The Abduction
June 6th 2011, Dutton Juvenile

Theodore's friend April, who comes from a wildly dysfunctional family, disappears from her house in the middle of the night. She's been corresponding with a distant relative who has just escaped from jail, Leeper.  When he appears in town, and the police head right to him. He claims to have information, but only if the police cut him a deal for his other crimes. Meanwhile, April's drugged out mother is wild with anguish, and Theodore is not happy with the police investigation, and he's having trouble concentrating in school.  He and his friends try to interview people and post flyers, but the police (wrongly) tell them that they can't. After a body is found in the river, Theodore knows he needs to step up his game. He decides to track down April's rock band touring father and see if maybe April is with him. With his friend Chase covering for him, Theodore takes off with his uncle to try to locate April.
Strengths: This had its moments, and aside from murder mysteries, abduction mysteries are probably the second most popular in my library. This is fairly fast paced, decently written, and Grisham doesn't condescend to younger readers.
Weaknesses: While this was better than Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer,  it was still super sad. Of course Theodore is devastated when he thinks his friend is dead. I found it hard to believe that the police didn't first hunt down April's father, so the ending fell a bit flat for me. The subplot with Leeper never made that much sense, either, other than to distract the police.

I got this at the thrift store for 40 cents, so I will go ahead and put it in the collection for my mystery lovers.

Merry Christmas!

Darling, Angela. Noelle's Christmas Crush
October 1st 2013 by Simon Spotlight

Noelle Holly Winters loves having her birthday on Christmas, but this year she has decided that her birthday party will NOT be Christmas related, and instead will have purple and pink decorations. She agonizes over the guest list and finally decides she will ask her crush, Noel, whose birthday is on Christmas Eve! Not only is Noel supercute, but he does service projects with the student council and is really nice. When he agrees to go to Noelle's party, she is really excited, so when a major snowstorm hits town and she has to cancel, she's understandably bummed. Her birthday is saved when the family goes on their traditional ice skating outing... and Noel is there, too.
Strengths: I like these, I do. I have two copies of each of the first three because the 6th grade girls adore them. They are sweet and innocent, and didn't many of us palpitate over someone at that age, someone from whom a kiss on the cheek would have made our birthdays perfect?
Weaknesses: So easy to make fun of. My fifteen year old delights in doing dramatic readings of these; they definitely have their cheesy moments.

Waggoner, Susan. Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas
November 1st 2011 by Stewart, Tabori and Chang

If you have ever considered collecting Shiny Brite ornaments or vintage Santa salt and pepper shakers, this book is a must read. Waggoner very completely explains the different Christmas trends per decade and includes instructions for how to replicate the decorating and how to make some of the decorations yourself. There are lots of vintage illustrations in this, which it makes it fun to look at, but it is a HUGE lack that there are no pictures of the vast majority of the crafts, and none of the decorating tableaus that are described. Pity. That would have made the book.

And yes, I have TWO sets of these spinners that my parents bought when they were first married. And I knew that my love for all blue lights was based on decorating I had heard about from the 1930s. (And my parents always had blue lights.) We have quite a collection of ornaments for the tree, but I came to the conclusion a LONG time ago that it was unwise to get sucked into collecting things that only come out for a month every year. Not that I have gotten rid of the small cardboard  box of vintage ornament hangers...

Wishing all of yours peace during this holiday season, and a bright and happy new year!

Christmas at Ground Zero

Well, okay. This is not the cheeriest Christmas Eve post choice, and the Weird Al song mentioned above doesn't have too much to do with The Darkest Path, but I've been a bit behind in my reading, and this is the only fantasy I have to post for this Tuesday! So instead of reading this review, go have a cup of eggnog and put some reindeer antlers on the dog!

Hirsch, Jeff. The Darkest Path. 
September 24th 2013, Scholastic Press 

Cal and his younger brother James were taken by the Glorious Path six years ago and have struggled to survive and not run afoul of the religiously oriented but militant military leaders. Cal doesn't believe in the teachings of Hill, who used bad economics in the US to form his group and take over a large portion of the country with his brutal tactics. After Cal is responsible for the death of most of a military base, he finds a dog. When the officer in charge of animals threatens to kill Bear, and possibly Cal, Cal kills the officer. Knowing he has to flee, he finds his brother and the two take off. James believes in the Path, and decides to return to camp, but Cal and Bear take off on an odyssey around the country, trying to get back to New York state. He meets Nat, who is fighting against the Path because they killed her mother, and thinks he might be safe in her Wyoming community, but the Path destroys that, sending Cal and Nat first to an enclave of spoiled Hollywood teenagers, and then right to the very front of the conflict between the government forces and the Path. Can he and Nat help turn the tide against the Path?
Strengths: For readers who like action, adventure, and militaristic books, this is a grab-you-by-the-throat and never let go kind of novel. The idea of a religiously oriented military outfit going around the country giving citizens "the Choice" is a great way to set up a futuristic dystopia, and Cal and James' different reactions to being taken by this group are realistically protrayed, as is Cal's longing for life the way it used to be, which adds a poignancy to the story without bogging it down. Nat is a good, strong (if misguided) girl character.

Weaknesses: So sad. So violent. So many deaths. I know I'm more sensitive to this kind of thing right now, but it was really hard for me to read this. Definitely more of a young adult book; I wouldn't have it in an elementary library.

Reedy, Trent. Divided We Fall
January 28th 2014, Arthur A. Levine Books
E ARC from Netgalley.com

I mention this one because I absolutely adored this author's Words in the Dust and Stealing Air, and they were definitely solidly middle grade. This new title, however, is definitely for high schoolers. The language was coarse but not too bad; what killed this for me was when JoBall texted Danny that she wasn't wearing panties to a party, only her bikini. That's a line crossed right there. However, it's a lot like The Darkest Path, and I know many middle schools will think this would be good. I would read it first to see what you think. From Goodreads.com:

"From the author of the acclaimed WORDS IN THE DUST: an action-packed YA novel set in a frighteningly plausible near future, about what happens when the States are no longer United.

Danny Wright never thought he'd be the man to bring down the United States of America. In fact, he enlisted in the National Guard because he wanted to serve his country the way his father did. When the Guard is called up on the Idaho governor's orders to police a protest in Boise, it seems like a routine crowd-control mission ... but then Danny's gun misfires, spooking the other soldiers and the already fractious crowd, and by the time the smoke clears, twelve people are dead.

The president wants the soldiers arrested. The governor swears to protect them. And as tensions build on both sides, the conflict slowly escalates toward the unthinkable: a second American civil war."

Okay. Here's a cute puppy picture to make us all feel better.

Off to put the sofa pillows in gift bags for my younger daughter. Long story, but we have evil, rogue elves named Jeek and Glendle who deliver presents to our house and are a bit... odd.

MMGM-- The Great American Dust Bowl

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers. It's also Nonfiction Monday at Anastasia Suen's blog. Instead of having to visit lots of different blogs, all of the nonfiction posts will be at Nonfiction Monday, although I am having some trouble getting my reviews posted there, since I'm still such a digital immigrant!
Brown, Don. The Great American Dust Bowl
October 8th 2013 by HMH Books for Young Readers 

This graphic novel style book has the most complete and easy to understand explanation of the reason that the Dust Bowl occurred, and also how devastating it was. I had no idea that the overfarming of the plains with the newly invented gas driven plow in order to provide Europe with wheat after WWI led to such severe erosion, nor did I understand the immensity of the dust clouds or the devastation they caused. This is an excellent accompaniment to any book about the Great Depression, and one that could easily be read aloud to a class. 

I should have a new book on the Great Depression to go with this, but instead I will mention this out of print title. It's the best book I've ever read on the era, and is available for about 75 cents at Half.com if you're not picky about the condition not being perfect. Review from November 27, 2007:



Milton Meltzer. Tough Times. 
October 15th 2007, Clarion Books 

This is a thin historical novel, but it should not be underestimated. It is the rawest and most personal account of living through the depression that I have ever read. When I was done, I thought "This is autobiographical!", and sure enough, Meltzer was born in 1915, making him 16 when this book was set. We should all write so well at 92! (Meltzer passed away on September 19, 2009.)

The details of this book were breath taking. What was it like to have your father's business slowly become less and less viable, until you had to get a job instead of going to school? How hard was it to see a professional man you admire lose his job, and your friend also sink into hard times? When everything around you seemed so dire, how did you go on?

All of my students need to read this. Maybe they would complain less. At the very least, they would learn a lot about the Great Depression, something which figured very largely in the lives of my grandparents, and which young people today know so little about.

Emerald Green

Gier, Kerstin. Emerald Green. 
October 8th 2013, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

Gwen's heart has been broken by Gideon (unless it is made of marzipan, which she can then remold-- a lovely thought), but she still has work to do. She figures out that her grandfather Lucas hid another chronograph right before his death, and she manages to find it, but has to make sure her cousin Charlotte doesn't get her hands on it. This involves much unauthorized traveling about in the past, but also uncovers an additional mystery concerning Lucy and Paul. Gwen is almost killed when visiting the pass, but heals quickly, leaving Gideon to believe she may be immortal, and making him realize that he really does love her. Things are brought to a satisfying conclusion, and Gwen manages to save at least one person in the past from a bad future. Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue make a lovely set with this one.
Strengths: Time travel, intrigue, romance, hidden secrets about Gwen's true identity, fabulous cover-- what's not to like. Xemerius, Lucy, and Gwen's relatives add some enjoyable levity to the book. Admittedly, I gave up trying to make sense of the entire story and just enjoyed reading it. This is one series that would benefit from being read one book right after the other.
Weaknesses: I had no idea what was going on with the intrigue, but that's the fault of my poor comprehension skills and not the book. The Circle? Blood being read into the chronograph? No idea. But I still enjoyed the books!