Rrrrrrrr we there yet?

My trek through the stacks continues! Still held up at Philip Reeve's Hungry City Chronicles. 

 Richter, Hans Peter. Friedrich. 1961. In flashback format, we follow the life of Friedrich, a young Jewish boy, through the eyes of his best friend and neighbor, a Gentile. We are shown how everyday occurrences change over time and become more and more difficult for Friedrich's family. An informative time line is included at the end of this book. This is a slow-paced and introspective work; the Holocaust is of great interest to many 8th graders, and is studied as part of the language arts curriculum. This work is better suited to students who have started with other, more immediately engaging titles such as Moskin's I am Rosemarie, Orlev's The Man from the Other Side or Spinelli's Milkweed. 

Robinet, Harriette Gillem. If you please, President Lincoln. 1995 This book is hampered by the title: if it were called Survivor: Ile a Vache it would circulate more. Set just before the Civil War, this story follows Moses, a house slave of a Catholic priest. After escaping, he ends up on a ship of slaves being sent to an island near Haiti to set up a colony and grow cotton. The slaves are ill treated on the ship and in no condition to fair well on the island; smallpox and starvation run rampant. Eventually, the slaves are retrieved and taken back to the US, where Moses and an older man make a life for themselves. An afternote describes how President Lincoln at first thought that relocating freed slaves would be a good idea, but how he changed his mind. It was too late for the group Moses was with, and many people died. Written in a story telling style, this book will appeal to students who like adventure fiction and need to read something historical.

 Ruckman, Ivy. Night of the Twisters. 1984. Based on an actual event in Grand Island, Nebraska in 1980 (my family had friends who lost their house at this time), this follows two boys who are left alone right before the twisters hit. A short and easy-to-read book (which, oddly enough, has the rather high Accelerated Reader level of 6.9 assigned to it!), this story is suspenseful and realistic. Dan and his friend must take care of Dan's infant brother while surviving the storm, which was quite devastating. The details make the danger immediate, but all turns out well in the end. This is used in the 6th grade as a class novel. A good choice, since it should appeal to most children. 

 Ruby, Lois. Skin Deep. 1994. There aren't many books about students involved with Neonazi groups, and this one is well balanced. We can understand why Dan gets involved with a local skin head group; he is recently relocated, living in a small aparment with his mother and two sisters, and unable to find a job or join the swim team because of Affirmative Action. This is a bit overdone, but helps to make the point. It was interesting how Dan first starts dressing the part, and then actually joins a group involved in hate crimes, because that is one thing antidrug programs teach parents-- before students get involved in behaviors, they often dress the part. Walking a very fine line, Ruby shows how Dan goes along with the group until they threaten someone he knows and likes, and he then understands that hating others is not the way to improve his own situation. A very tricky subject, and adroitly handled. 

 Also read Jacqueline Wilson's Candyfloss. This is a book for younger students than I thought, but the 6th graders who think they want to read Rennison's Georgia Nicolson books but aren't ready for them will enjoy it. Floss's mother and stepfather are relocated to Australia for six months and she decides to stay in England with her father, who runs a chip shop. Things are not going well for her father, and there are many problems that arise while she is staying with him. Cathy Cassidy's fans will also find this enjoyable-- a pleasant mix of problems with humor. Do not see Gregory Maguire's What-the-Dickens meeting any needs in my collection, but since my daughter is a HUGE fan of Wicked, I am having her read the book to see if it is something she likes.

National Book Award Finalists

Because I know that I am not going to discuss these books (having decided they don't fit the needs of my library, not because of my extreme prejudice against award winners. Really.), if you follow this sort of thing, I defer to Leila Roy at Bookshelves of Doom:

http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bookshelves_of_doom/2007/10/national-book-a.html

Blood Brothers by Harazin

Don't know how I missed commenting on this one, but Ronni gives a perfect description, and I agree with her completely!
http://ronnisreviews.blogspot.com/2007/08/blood-brothers-sa-harazin.html

There are a lot of new CSI type books, and while it alarms me that students are watching these shows, the books are well done and not nearly hard to deal with. Alane Ferguson's The Christopher Killer series is wonderfully done. Boys who like Blood Brothers may also like Morgenroth's Jude, which is a little grittier than I usually like, but for a longer book has enticed a lot of reluctant readers.

Thanks, Ronni! Tell your friend this is circulating really well at my library!

The author himself tags this as "for readers 14 and up".
http://saharazin.com/

Meyer, Gantos and Fredericks

The idea of being a princess mesmerizes middle school girls, and the story of Caterina de' Medici, as told by Carolyn Meyer in Duchessina is full of the grandeur of royalty, and well as the danger. When her parents died shortly after her birth, Caterina was forced to rely on relatives for her care, and was used by many of them to achieve political ends. Widespread bad feelings for other members of her family put her in constant danger, and she is not safe even while staying with nuns at a convent. Eventually forced into marriage with a man who does not love her, Caterina tries to find happiness for herself despite her unpleasant circumstances. Historical notes inform us that Caterina is remembered historically as something of a villain, but this book (part of the Young Royals series that also includes Patience Princess Catherine, Doomed Queen Anne, Mary, Bloody Mary and Beware, Princess Elizabeth) offers a detailed look at what daily life was like for a spirited young woman growing up in a difficult time. These books are a great way to lure girls into historical fiction.

Reading Jack Gantos' I am Not Joey Pigza is not like a plastic slide, "kid-friendly, but also kid-boring" (Page 9). It is definitely more akin to the metal kind that Joey likes to grease with Wesson oil and slide down. Like this stunt, the ride is frenetic and thrilling, but ultimately painful. Joey Pigza has never led an ideal life, but this story is sadder than the other, and hits dead center at the number one concern students have-- establishing personal identity. His father, who abandoned him at birth, shows up with a new identity. His mother is thrilled with the new stability that the father offers and agrees happily with all of the changes-- new names, a new house, and a new source of income. Joey's dad, however, soon shows his accustomed behavior and even Joey realizes that constant playing and lack of responsibility doesn't lead to a good outcome. Fans of this series will enjoy this books for its frenetic style and amusing anecdotes, but it is an ultimately disturbing book with an unsettling ending. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key is read as a class novel in our school, and readers of this new title would benefit from discussing this book and thinking about the issues involved with some guidance.

Mariah Fredericks' The True Meaning of Cleavage is a book whose excellent and thought-provoking content overrode the provocative cover, but her new Love: In the Cards didn't grab me. There was a lot going on, and I somehow felt that I had come in in the middle of the story and never really caught up. It was hard to keep up with the large cast of characters, and I could not become emotionally invested in the main character. Still, the cover is graphically pleasing, and the idea of using Tarot cards to predict romantic outcomes will appeal to the insatiable readers of "pink" books. There are two more books planned in this series, but I may pass.

Thanks to Anne Levy at http://www.bookbuds.net for providing some tips for bloggers. I will try to improve my posts. My real audience is students and parents who are looking for something good to read, but I would like to be a resource for librarians who don't have time to read books but want to know if something is worth purchasing. I'll try to write in book talk format, but that is hard when I don't intend to purchase a book because I didn't like it. I treat my school library very much like a personal collection, and I find that if I don't like a book it frequently doesn't get as much use. Since funds are limited, I do have to purchase carefully, and this often means finding reasons NOT to buy books.

Gutman, Cabot and Heldring

Have to classify Dan Gutman's Getting Air as a fantasy. Any child who does not like this is dead inside and I can't help. Four children going to see a skateboarding competition (oddly enough without parents) and a plane full of ladies going to a knitting convention are highjacked by terrorists of some unspecified fanatical religious bent. The children overcome the highjackers and crash the plane. They survive with the help of one of the ladies and the beautiful flight attendant. When they are rescued (after turning the wreckage into a half pipe), they find out the terrorists wanted to crash into the US Capitol building, so are rewarded with all sorts of product sponsorships and tv appearances.

Hoaky? Yes. Will the children love it? Yes. Even the cover is great! Mr. Gutman needs to drop whatever he is doing IMMEDIATELY and write a series of skateboarding books. Right now. I think I can trust him to go light on the moral lesson that most skateboarding books want to throw in.

Meg Cabot's Pants on Fire was okay. After a while, it started to remind me of How to be Popular. Good stuff, and I enjoyed it, but it was fluffier than usual. Luckily, even though much kissing was involved, it wasn't like Ready or Not, and I don't feel bad having it on the shelves. Note to publishers: Please stop putting pictures of girl's with bare stomachs on the covers. In 15 years it will just look stupid.

Newcover Thatcher Heldring has a strong start in Toby Wheeler, 8th Grade Benchwarmer. Almost perfect sports novel. Right length, action well-balanced with life problems, realistic rivalry, and even the triumphant ending was believable. I liked the idea of a self-proclaimed "gym rat" joining a team and having a few problems fitting in. Mr. Heldring, hurry up and write some more. Stick mainly to basketball and football, maybe some skateboarding. Feel free to follow Toby into high school. Perhaps Toby Wheeler, 9th Grade ...well, that shows you how little I know about sports. But it would be easy to tell students what was next in the series! There are never enough sports books for middle school boys!

Time, money and Tanglewreck by Jeanette Winterson

Having been forced to buy eight overhead projectors out of the hard-earned book fair money, money is a problem now, but I'm good on time. Seem to have enough. After reading Jeannette Winterson's Tanglewreck, I'm very glad, because I'm still trying to get my mind around it, since I've decided to add it to my list of purchases at some point in the dim future (or maybe yesterday, depending on how Time goes.)

While dealing with the same topic as Kate Thompson's The New Policeman (everyone seems to lack enough time), this is an edgier treatment. In Policeman, there is a fairly benign leak; in Tanglewreck there are people who are stealing time, using it for their own evil purposes, and causing time tornadoes and other disasters in the modern world.

Not a surprise is the fact that Silver, our heroine, is an orphan, and only she can save the world. She is given evil caregivers, some allies, and an indeterminate path to ultimate salvation. She travels through time and space (or are they one and the same?) and ultimately triumphs. Good stuff. Well-written, fast-paced, and intriguing enough to keep my hard-core fantasy fans reading for at least a week, scratching their heads and thinking "How was that again?"

Must pair this with the Michael Lawrence Withern Rise trilogy. Another great old house and thought provoking variances in time.

I think I'll go try to repair an overhead. Must be easier than repairing a gem encrusted Timekeeper!

Good news and bad news

The good news is that after five years of buying books, I finally feel that I can meet most needs. Horror is still a tough one, since horror fans will often not read anything else, but we have a balanced collection of mystery, sports, war, humor, etc., and enough pink books to keep even my three book a week readers in books.

The bad news is that my budget is low, low, low, and the remainder of my purchases this year must be very carefully picked and I won't be able to order until March. This is sad when I read something really good like Robert Muchamore. Perhaps I will break down and go to the trouble of a small order.

My reviews may henceforth become pickier!

Last night: Okay, Sister Souljah's The Colder Winter Ever is NOT for students. Didn't think so, but it came up when I was doing mulitcultural purchases (which have all gone out very well), so picked it up. Hmmm. Lots of drugs and sex, as well as bad grammer.

I did my best with Catherine Fisher's The Oracle Betrayed, since I was hoping it would be a new fantasy to add. Took me three nights, and even now I can't really tell you what happened. The girl is the Bearer of the God, which means she carries scorpions in a bowl and kills the archon with one so it will rain, but it only does a little, then they find a boy who will be the next archon, but people don't want him to be... not a lot of action, mainly politics concerning this god and the keepers. I'll see how my daughter likes it, but my biggest fantasy readers are boys, and I don't see this one being interesting enough.

So I thought that Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant would be good, since it has a great cover, and the idea that a skeleton is helping this girl is a good one, but there was something unsuccessful about the writing. (Page 168: "The gap was gaping. It was a gaping gap.") I'll think about it.

Letters from the Corrugated Castle by Joan Blos was very reminiscent of her A Gathering of Days, which was introspective history. This means that children who don't want to read history are not going to be inveigled to read other historical fiction. On the bright side, I have a student really enjoying Deborah Hopkinson's Into the Firestorm.

And one more, which just goes to show how persnickety I was being-- I love most British children's literature, but Louise Rennison drives me mad. There's not much plot to Love is a Many Trousered Thing-- the appeal seems to lie in the fact that it's just a string of vulgarities in another language. Even the preface hints at this much "I wanted to call it Trouser Snakes-a-gogo! but the grown-ups said that was too rude." That is the appeal. Students ask for the order of the books and I have to say things like "Dancing in my nuddy-pants". *Sigh* Quite reasonable girls love these, and they are harmless, if maddening to adults.

Spy Kids

Michael Simmon's Finding Lubchenko was absolutely fabulous... for the first half. Boy whose father runs a successful medical supply company doesn't get any money from dad so steals office supplies and sells them on ebay. Then, coworker is killed and father is accused. Boy must find murderer so his own thievery is not uncovered. Loved the style (short and choppy-- perfect for the sort of child who wants spy tales), the pace-- brilliant. Was going to buy three copies. Then the boy (Evan) takes off to Paris to find Lubchenko and spends way too long clubbing and too little time doing espionage. On top of that, he and his friends really don't solve the case-- it's all just handed to them. I'll buy a copy, but not three.

So why is Robert Muchamore's CHERUB series in paperback? Good, potboiling stuff here. I started with number five (Divine Madness), but it really didn't matter. 287 paperback pages with tiny print, but it will be great for kids who want Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy. Clean, but lots of shooting and some gross stuff (leaving the building by way of the sewage tank!). Good, intricate plot as well-- a religious cult has ties to ecoterrorists, and members of CHERUB (teens who are orphaned who are trained as spies; yes, much like Thieves Like Us, which has been really popular) infiltratrate to try to save as many people as possible. Children like books where they are empowered, so these will be great. I can't wait to see the rest of the series! Why paperbacks?

Filling the need for what kids need

These things just didn't fill the needs I have:
Disguised: A Wartime Memoir by Rita la Fontaine de Clercq Zubli. About an Indonesian girl who disguised herself as a boy during WWII to avoid dire fates. Not for middle school, but very interesting.

Cynthia Cotten's Fair Has Nothing to do with It. Remember This is Your Captain Speaking? If I want introspection about death, I already have it. Not a big seller.

Andy Spearman's Barry, Boyhound might suit younger readers who read at a high level, but my older readers who read at a low level will find this juvenile and too difficult. I got distracted by the number of different type sizes and styles. Just confusing.

Started Simmons' Finding Lubchenko and am LOVING it. Will report in full when I am done.

And many thanks to the Westerville Public Library for bringing me books-- although I think I was caught speeding on my library card. I had 50 reserves, and they cut me off. I am ashamed.

More Ivy Ruckman and Sharon Draper

Read In Care of Cassie Tucker, which has been sitting on the shelves for a good nine years and has gone out twice. It would help to know that this is historical fiction. Not a bad book-- standard prarie circa 1900 story. Cousin comes to live with family when his parents die of cholera, complications ensue because his parents were "heathens". This will be read when classes do units on historical fiction, but there was nothing in the book that will compel children to check it out otherwise. Sorry to damn it with faint praise, but I don't know what else to say.

Perhaps it just paled in comparison to Draper's Fire From the Rock. Finally, there are books being written about the south during the Civil Rights movement that are not from the perspective of a 13 year old white girl. Like McKissack's A Friendship for Today, what makes this successful is that the main character, Sylvia, has other problems in her life, and they are set against the maelstrom of integration in Little Rock. Always an effective writer, Draper deftly weaves together interesting and diverse characters and makes us feel the ambivalence that Sylvia has about the events around her. Yes, she wants to go to the new school, but she doesn't want to leave her friends. Yes, advantages for blacks are good, but it the price too high.

This is an excellent historical novel, and would provoke lots of interesting class discussions.

Peck's On the Wings of Heroes

While Richard Peck is a very good writer, I don't know that I would call him "The best living author for young adults". While I liked On the Wings of Heroes, it's going to be a really tough sell. It's the sort of introspective writing that students DO NOT want to read. It has its funny moments, it's immediate and effective, but it's also rather dull. I wish that I could get children to read it, because the world is not like this anymore-- neighbors don't let you look through their attics for scrap, people don't band together for causes, grandparents don't move in with families. But it will be a tough sell.

Apparently also a tough sell is Ivy Ruckman's This is Your Captain Speaking (1987). It's been off the shelf twice. Another introspective tale, this time of a boy who befriends an old sailor in a nursing home where his mother works. I loved it, but again, not much happens. It is also cursed with horrific cover art. I'll try to move it, but it may be removed.

Willo Davis Roberts Secrets at Hidden Valley was just sort of disappointing. There weren't many secrets at the trailer park that interested me all that much. Still, fans of this author will read it, and it was okay.

Todd Strasser/Natasha Friend

From Todd Strasser, a long-time author, we have the new Boot Camp. The cover was appealing enough that the student who was processing the shipment this came in wanted to read it. This is a wrenching novel of the mistreatment of an "unruly" student at a private camp meant to take the starch out of the most recalcitrant miscreant. I never felt truly sorry for Garrett (he was dating a teaching, skipping school because he didn't need to be there to keep his grades up, and dabbled in drugs), but I couldn't conjure up any sympathy for his parents, either. He survives the beatings, makes allies, escapes briefly, and eventually gets out. Students will love this (it's very much like April Henry's Shock Point) because of the mistreatment, and also because Garrett is portrayed as the one in the right, but it fell a little flat for me. Garrett doesn't seem to learn anything at all, and wasn't a sympathetic character.

Natasha Friend's Bounce, however was delightful, even though it was a problem novel. Admittedly, it appeals to the Brady Bunch instinct in the modern psyche-- children secretly want to have lots of brothers and sisters, and that's what Evyn gets when her father marries a woman with six children. The family dynamics are realistically portrayed, and I could get emotionally involved with the character-- a sure sign of good writing. I cried when the dog dies. This author also wrote Perfect, a popular book about eating disorders, and Lush, which I didn't buy but will have to reread. The cover art is distinctive. This shouldn't be important, but it is. I get a lot of students who come in and want "that pink book" that their friend is reading!

The next Newbery honor book...

Okay, I've said enough bad things about the Newbery that this might not seem like a compliment. Gennifer Choldenko's If a Tree Falls at Lunchtime was too enjoyable to WIN a Newbery, but quirky/dysfunctional/navel gazing enough to win an honor. I liked the themes of self-acceptance/not fitting in, identity, and acceptance of others, but the big "surprise" plot twist was a bit over the top for it to be believable. (Won't give it away, and since I worked at a school where a man's daughter and his illigitimate twins were in the same grade, it shouldn't be beyond belief.) I did like the well-developed characters, which went beyond stereotypical "fat kid" or "high acchieving black student" sketches. We'll see how it circulates.

Jerry Spinelli's Love, Stargirl didn't have the charm of the original, mainly because it is from Stargirl's point of view and felt a bit labored. If I remember Stargirl correctly, the charm there was that we could see the quirky things she did through the eyes of someone who slowly got to know her and understand her, and realize how she didn't fit into society. It made me think of all the quirky people I knew, and made me feel that perhaps I should have taken time to get to know them better. Love, Stargirl has Stargirl meeting a host of even quirkier characters-- an agoraphobic neighbor, a five year old named Dootsie, a deaf man who spends his days at the cemetary at his wife's grave, a well-to-do thief. All a bit much. Still, readers always love a sequel.

Karasyov and Kargman's Summer Intern was frothy fun, about a girl who interns at a fashion magazine. Since I recently was forced to watched The Devil Wears Prada, I could see some similarities. This book was not much different from some of the career romances from the '50s (I'm thinking Hatbox for Mimi in particular). There are some serious issues, character development, some values, but people are meaner now, and that ruins some of the enjoyment. The evil characters never really learn, although they do get their comeuppance. Cool cover.

My favorite was Cathy Cassidy's Sundae Girl. As always, this author does a fabulous job of showing children in tough circumstances, who nonetheless perservere and make it. Jude's grandmother has Alzheimer's and her mother descends once again into alcholism, while her father is getting remarried. Girls love problem novels, and I appreciate ones that show problems, but also strong girls dealing with them in the best way they can. I just wish that an American publisher would put out all of Cassidy's work in hardcover. I have to have the paperbacks rebound.

It looks like I need to read some "boy" books tomorrow, although If a Tree Falls... is not completely girly. Good unisex cover, and alternate chapters are from the boy's point of view. (I started Strasser's Boot Camp this morning, so that's got a very masculine cover!)

Dyan Sheldon/ Let them read Captain Underpants!!!

Last night I read Dyan Sheldon's I Conquer Britain. It is a companion piece to Sophie Pitt-Turnbull Discovers America, and it made me waaaay happier than it should have. Lots of descriptions of London sites and life, although I must mention that I only had two cups of tea when I went to London-- people don't go around offering stangers cups, but Cherokee Salamaca was staying with Sophie's family.

Is it great literature? No. Oh, there is subplot or two, some character development, and it's well-written, but it's just fun.

So, here's a slap, which I actually delivered to one of my SUPER parent volunteers who was in yesterday and shelved tons of books (thankyouthankyouthankyou!). This parent said that she wanted to make sure her child was challenged.

This always raises my hackles, and I gave her my spiel on how students who read well don't really need to be challenged as much as they need to keep reading. She took it, I hope, in the spirit in which is was intended.

Why does this always anger me? I thought this one through. The major reason is that we lose kids as readers in middle school. We make it not fun to read. This is why my youngest has decided that she hates books. I brought home a book on cheerleading which I thought she would enjoy, and she couldn't read it because the Accelerated Reader level was too low. Her teacher is very reasonable, but I will still have to have a talk with him. We need to make sure that middle school students are having fun when they read, or they will stop. Really.

The second reason is that even though I was a good reader in middle school, I wasn't reading War and Peace. I was reading Ellen Conford and Paula Danziger and having fun. Do I read challenging things? Occasionally. I'm capable of it. But what I like best is something fun. The average adult reads, what, 5 books a year. I read hundreds because I am having fun. Which is better? Reading 5 books that are okay, or reading a whole big bunch that make me smile?

Also, my own kids are fairly freaky bright. My 6th grade son (Code name: Norbert) loves Star Wars books and Bruce Coville as a steady diet. Yet, on his own initiative, he read all of the Lord of the Rings and is starting on The Silmarillion. My 8th grader (Hortense), who can still be found rereading Animorphs, sucked down Wicked in a few days and has also read some whopping big fantasy books her friends have recommended.

So, parents out there, take a deep breath. Let them read Captain Underpants. They are challenged enough at school. Let them enjoy their reading!

P.S. Yes, there are a few children who need to be challenged. One student this year has turned down all my best reluctant reader titles because, and I quote, "they just aren't nonstop freaky violent stuff". Hmmm. I will have an ongoing conversation with this child. I do have the suspicion, however, that perhaps this boy's parents are not overly concerned about what he's reading. There was some mention of a lot of tv and horror movies.

Fairies, Vampires and Native Americans.

Not all in one book!

Read Neil Gaiman's Stardust. Thought I had already, but pulled a complete blank when I had it in my hand. The movie has just come out, and my daughter loved it. When a question about an objectionable passage came up, my daughter didn't recall it, but there it was on page 25. The short but fairly graphic and totally gratuitous sex scene really didn't add anything to the book, which was boring anyway. A little too precious, not much happening, and then that, so I think it's going to the high school. I bought it years ago (at a deep discount) because of the popularity of Coraline, but it only has circulated once or twice, and I don't think anyone ever got all the way through. Argh.

Heather Brewer's The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites also had it's annoying moments, but my vampire fans will adore it. They will adore it because it starts off with two pages that suck you right in (come on, it's early) and there is a lot of gross description of Vlad's donated blood snacks (not much actually biting of people). Decent plot, a bit of bildungsroman, some teen angst, some action and bad guys. Also on the bright side, cool cover, decent title, and a couple of good descriptions. "Vlad's heart sank into his stomach, then squeezed its down his leg and popped out of the hole in his shoe, where it struck the floor and broke". There were a couple others I forget. A solid first book.

My purely adult objections-- trite names, overly precious "this is vampire legend but isn't it wrong/actually right" musings, and the whole Goth thing. Like Vampire Kisses, it was too full of the "I'm Goth and I'm soooo different, just like all the other million of Goth students out there" attitude, although Vlad does mention that he only wishes he could actually join the Goths.

I guess it's a geek thing. If you want to be truly different, go find some day-glo polyester disco shirts. Dress like Laura Ingalls Wilder. Everybody who wants to be different dies his hair black. Maybe it was the cover blurb of the author that alarmed me "Today, Heather can be found writing in her funky, black Happy Bunny jammie pants, dancing under the full moon, devouring every book in sight, and attending renaissance faires in costume (and in character)."

It made me feel sorry for her children.

Man, I'm in a BAD mood, apparently.

The best thing I read last night was Conrad Richter's The Light in the Forest from about 1953. Young boy stolen from the settlers at age four and stolen back at 15, much against his will. There are lots of Indian captive books (I am Regina; The Ransom of Mercy Carter; Wait for me, watch for me, Eula Bee; Indian Captive: The story of Mary Jemison) , and this was especially well done. Everyday life of Native Americans as well as settlers was well covered, but the touching part was the wrenching emotional journey of True Son. He tried to fit back in to the settler life, but just couldn't be happy.

Carolyn Reeder/Neal Shusterman/Etc.

Have not been motivated to read lately, but did get through a few things this weekend.

Carolyn Reeder's Shades of Gray and Captain Kate were both good historical fiction. Not too long or confusing, interesting plots, quite serviceable. Shades of Gray was a bit on the philosophical side, with a young boy going to live with an aunt and an uncle who did not support the Civil War. Takes a while for the boy to realize that this is because of the toll that war takes, not because his uncle thought that the North was any better. This would not be a good fit for a boy who wanted an action novel, however. Captain Kate almost fits into the survival fiction mode-- young girl and her stepbrother attempt to take a canal boat 180 miles along the Chesapeake and Ohio canal on their own. And my 14 year old claims she is not competent enough to vaccuum!

Also read Shusterman's What Daddy Did. Father shoots mother, that's what he did, and the book deals with how the son copes. It's odd, though, because there wasn't a history of violence or abuse, and everyone is very forgiving. Father gets out of jail in three years. Good, but struck me as odd. Not what he's been writing lately, either.

Rottman's Hero was good. Boy abused by his mother and abandoned by his father ends up doing community service on a ranch where the owner takes an interest in him and with the help of a colt turns the boy around.

Since Madeleine L'Engle's death, I have been looking vaguely at her works on the shelves, which have sort of gone out of fashion. Thought I had read them all, but picked up House Like A Lotus, which I must have missed. Must say I didn't get it, and it is that sort of overwrought 1980s pointless drama that was in vogue. Sort of Cynthia Voigt-like. I somehow didn't care. I am sure that I will get grief about this from my best friend, who is a huge L'Engle fan, but I couldn't even care that it was Meg's daughter. Meg grows up and has 6 children. I was just disappointed.

Odd assorted titles

It's almost as if Gary Paulsen were reading my mind. I slogged through The Cookcamp, The Island, and a lot of other lyrically written but ponderously philosophic books and thought "Why not more action?" Well, in The White Fox Chronicles, he gives us plenty of action, but it's not well-written. On the upside, it is an easy read for some of my struggling students, but I wish that we could hvae the nice writing and the adventure. (Basic plot, from the back cover-- "The year is 2057. Endless wars have torn the USA apart and enslaved Americans to the evil Confederation of Consolidated Republics. Growing up in wartime has made Cody wise in survival skills...")

Melody Carlson's Fool's Gold is quite timely-- it discusses shopping addiction, and talks about $200 Prada t shirts and the like. A lot of the "pink" books I have been coming across drop name brands frequently, and they mean little to me and will date the books. Since this is in papreback, I don't feel too bad, and it is a differenet side of the phenomenon.

Will Hobbs' Crossing the Wire is also timely--15-year-old Victor attempts to cross from Mexico into the United States by himself, with the help of a few people he meets along the way. As always, Hobbs researched this well, which lends it a great immediacy. Since I can't get anyone to check out Patricia Beatty's Lupita Manana, this is a good addition to the topic of illegal immigration.

A teacher loaned me Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I was fully prepared to hate it. The back cover is filled with "Advance praise" which compares the main character to Holden Caulfield (never a good sign), and the author bio described him as "One of the moste well-known and beloved literary writers of his generation". Huh? Never heard of him, but the term "literary" makes me want to grab a stack of BabySitters' Club books and run screaming into the wilderness. The cartoon illustrations didn't help.

However, I liked the book. It was an entertaining story of a young man facing numerous obstacles with good grace. Well-written, quirky, interesting. But I won't buy it. For one, there are a couple of gratuitously crude and offensive remarks (you can do that when you are 'literary'), and it's not the sort of thing that students will ask for. The whole quirk/dysfunctional navel gazing thing. If I had a larger high school collection, I would buy this.

Richard Peck

Apparently in my trek through the collection I missed Are You In the House Alone. Since it was published in 1976, it's conceivable that I read it in high school. I was looking for quality mystery/horror/suspense, since there is an insatiable demand for it this year, and picked it up, mainly on the strenghth of the catalog blurb, and I quote:
"Gail Osborne, a high school girl in suburban Connecticut, is swept up into a world of terror when she begins receiving threatening and obscene notes and telephone calls."

Well, sort of. The terror isn't quite there, and I knew from the first who the culprit must be. This book is primarily about an acquaintance rape. Nothing too graphic (the victim is hit in the head with a poker first, and therefore unconscious), but there is some clinical detail. Probably rather shocking at the time, I hope that the general treatment of victims of rape has improved in the past 30 years-- since the attacker is from an influential family, the police are reluctant to do anything and blame the girl! Luckily, the parents and others don't, but it's still a disturbing snapshot.

While I wouldn't recommend this for someone looking for a straight mystery, girls who like problem novels will like this. It is beautifully written, and reminded me in an odd way of the film All That Heaven Allows. Very evocative of small town New England and the crisp autumn weather and bright blue skies. Odd association, but very strong! (Great cheesy movie, by the way. Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson.)

Notes from a Spinning Planet

This Melody Carlson title, Ireland, is available only in paperback, but the "color Me" titles by this author were so popular that I went ahead and bought it. Fueled by the success of 13 Little Blue Envelopes, travel titles are doing well (See Students Across the Seven Seas).

This book is interesting in that it doesn't just describe the landscape and way of life in Ireland, it also tackles "the troubles" and explains the fighting between the Protestants and Catholics. I have a series from the early '70s by Joan Lingard that I haven't been able to get rid of that chronicles a romance between a Protestant and a Catholic-- girls who read this book might well start that, and understand it better.

This book tries too hard in some ways-- I got plain tired of the main character taking offense at people having a pint (of beer) because she was Christian and didn't think Christians should drink. Also, the intrigue of one character who was supposedly dead but wasn't, and was supposedly involved in the IRA somehow seemed contrived.

Still, I liked this. It covers an area of the world the readers might not normally see, and would actually make a really good made for tv movie. Melissa Gilbert might not be quite old enough to play the aunt, but it could be quite fun to watch!

Marissa Marsh's Field Guide to High School

Loved the cover on this one.

Very vintage and fun. I also enjoyed reading this-- girl's older sister goes to college and leaves her with a notebook of her best tips for surviving the private school she will attend. A slim book, a quick read, but on the insubstantial side.

The whole private school discussion would leave my students flat. I taught at one, so can understand.

Nyah. I want to buy it, but just can't justify it.

Amnesia

What are the chances that I would read TWO books on amnesia within a week?

Last night I enjoyed Gabrielle Zevin's Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. Naomi falls at school, bangs her head, and loses the memory of the last four years, including some traumatic family events and her boyfriend. Told in a believable way, it's an interesting portrait of how someone who doesn't quite know who she is yet can forget what she does know and start over. The amneisa isn't debilitating-- it just leads to many philosophical introspections. There is something riveting about Zevin's prose, and she tells stories from odd viewpoints. My enitre family was riveted by her Elsewhere.

In Lee Weatherly's Kat Got Your Tongue, the amnesia is total. Kathy doesn't remember who she is, doesn't remember her mother, or any of her friends. She doesn't understand anything she liked before-- she looks strange even to herself. Teens are always wondering about what things would be like-- this is a great story if they wondered about what it would be like to forget everything. I like Weatherly's books a great deal-- Child X, Missing Abby, and Breakfast at Sadie's were all phenomenal. Love the new covers, too.

Todd Strasser's Mob Princess

Can only think that Todd Strasser has fallen on hard times. When I think of this author, I think of social issue books like Give a Boy a Gun and Can't Get There From Here, or some serviceable humor or adventure books. While the first book in this series (For Money and Love) was sort of fun, and I bought it sight unseen because it deals with the Mafia and an odd number of students ask for this sort of thing, it was...pulpy? Dime novelish? I guess I was expecting something more along the lines of Korman's Son of the Mob, with some self-deprecating humor. It read like someone said "Todd, we would like you to write a book about a girl whose father is in the mob, and please include these plot twists."

That said, this will be popular. Will I put it into students' hands? No. More of a high school book, it has some intimations of sex and some alcohol. It would ruin the guilty pleasure if I handed it to someone.

Do I wish I hadn't bought it? Almost. Will this book start some reluctant readers on the series. Definitely. That's the fine line that has to be walked.

Jonathan Stroud

This author brought us the very witty and popular Amulet of Samarkand series, but before that he wrote a rather wonderful fantasy novel set in the English country side-- Buried Fire. An odd, possibly Celtic cross is unearthed beneath a church while the foundation is being shored up, and strange things start to happen. Michael and Stephen, two brothers, end up with otherworldly powers that torture them, and they soon find out that the cross has unleashed a dragon that has been slumbering underneath a hill near their village.

Reminded me a bit of Dorothy Sayers and something else-- well-paced, good character development, nice conclusion to the story, unlike so many fantasies that go on and on to many, many books. Some fantasy fans just want one book, and I will highly recommend this one.

And no, not just because he uses the word "wodge" which is such a satisfying word to say. Slips in a "needs must", too. Lovely use of language.

Lasky's The Last Girls of Pompeii

While this book was a bit short of a plot (we all know that eventually Vesuvius is going to blow), it is about the best book I have ever read as far as details of ordinary life in Ancient Rome. What made the book all the more effective was that Julia is going through her ordinary days, waiting for her sister's wedding, putting up with the summer heat, and all along we know that she is not going to have to worry about her slave being sold or anything else... they are all going to be toast.

Will anyone escape? This kept me riveted, and was a wonderful trip to Ancient Rome to visit with a Roman family and realize that they had many of the same worries that we have today.

AND Vesusvius.

Sequels

Had to chant to myself "Kids like series. Kids like series." in order to finish Lemony Snicket's The Austere Academy (#5). I am still not getting the series. It's drab, predictable, and the children love it. I'm glad they do.

Beany Malone series makes me way happier than anything should. Great literature? No.

Still, Ellen Schreiber's Dance with a Vampire (#4) irritated me. Will it be popular with the girls who like vampire romances? Absolutely. Do I have two copies? Sure. Is it annoying? You bet. How many times do we need to hear that Raven wants to be a vampire and loves her vampire boyfriend? How many black, alt-designer outfits must she mention by name? Part of my dislike is that Raven seems to think she is original, when she is merely a lemming of another color (black). If she really wanted to be original, she would wear double knit polyester dresses and probably wouldn't drone on about how she wanted a group of friends who were just like her.

I sense personal feelings intruding on my enjoyment of the book.

Thieves Like Us-- Stephen Cole

This was great! Enjoyed completely! Five teenagers, all with special abilities (lock picking, reading body language, hacking into computer, mesmerism, breaking into security systems) work for a man who steals antiquities for clients. All five have run afoul of the law and have no families, so they are glad for his protection.

In the first book, they travel to Egypt to try to discover the secret of eternal life. The students will like the thieving aspect (it is tempered with some morality-- they are often retrieving items from people who acquired them illicitly), I liked the antiquities tie in. In Thieves 'Til We Die, the teens go to an Aztec temple to retrieve Cortes' sword. Action, suspense, a bit of crude humor but surprisingly little foul language, this series will be a hit with students who like Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider books.

Jennifer Holm's Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf

Was very much looking forward to this title, with its Conford/Danzigeresque title, loved the cover, but was temporarily put off by the format, which befits the subtitle, "A year told through stuff": IM's, notes on the refrigerator, 'articles' from teen magazines, bills, bank balances, etc. I usually hate that sort of thing, but as I kept reading, I really was able to get quite a complex story from all of this. There are a few poems to keep the reader on track, but I came away with the conclusion that this was really rather clever, and was something that reluctant readers might pick up.

This author also does the Babymouse books, which are primarily for younger readers. They are graphic novels, and while I have one at school, it's a hard sell to middle school girls.

The Creek is a wonderful suspense/mystery, and is checked out frequently by the girls who don't want to read mysteries but are big fans of Boston Jane. The Boston Jane books are great historical fiction.

Rounding up my Holm collection is Our Only May Amelia which has its fans. I am not in their number. Can't remember why.

Back again!

Haven't found anything that has made me happy, but it might be the weather. Looked through several longish fantasy books that just didn't reel me in. I've read some good ones this summer, so I should look at these again, but for now I will pass.

Lyn Gardner's Into the Woods was too Lemony Snicketesque in that the writing was high flown and the situations over-the-top and unbelievable. It might be good for die-hard Snicket fans, but it was a long book. The best part was the Mini Grey illustrations.

Avi's Traitor's Gate was reminiscent of some of the older Avi work that I've deaccessioned because no one read them. Oddly, these works were the only ones listed in the "Other books by" section in the front. Should have known. For die-hard Dickens fans. We get so many in middle school.

Trent Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society also involved an orphan and dire/mysterious circumstances in somewhat precious language, and was also very long. However, my son deemed it his 9th favorite book.

All three books certainly have something to recommend them, but they are for larger collections or perhaps older readers.

Some good books!

I had my doubts about Gordon Korman's Schooled. Boy raised on commune with no experience in a modern middle school suddenly thrust into one. Ooooh. Train wreck. But it was surprisingly good and funny, which I should have expected, because Korman is about the best there is when it comes to writing humor. He's also great at suspense and adventure. Shouldn't have doubted for a moment!

Roland Smith's Peak was fabulous. Can't say I ever really wanted to climb Mt. Everest, but this was a good vicarious experience. Lots of details about climbing, lots of ...cliff-hangers. Okay, bad I know. Loved the familial interplay, and everyone's sneaky motivations. Exquisite. Will recommend to everyone.

Another surprisingly good book-- Rune Michaels' Genesis Alpha. Surprised because she is an Icelandic author, and I've weeded a LOT of stuff "translated from the Russian"-- this was apparently written in English. Starts with an online game scenario, so will drag reluctant readers in, and then turns into a very complex mystery and psychological thriller. Great cover-- more of this foil, abstract stuff with cool typefaces that will not date as much as somewhat poorly drawn pictures of people.

Harry Potter

Read ...and the Deathly Hallows in one gulp. Seven hours. I usually pace myself, but when I was looking at how many chapters there were to figure out how many chapters I could read a day, I saw the epilogue, and I knew the epilogue would ruin everything... so I had to read it.

Won't spoil anything here, but good does trump evil. Found some of the book confusing-- apparently everyone has to reread the part where Harry goes into Snape's memory. Still, explains a lot.

I was a bit disappointed because Harry wasn't in school at Hogwarts, and the magical academy part was always my favorite bit. And what did the great battle of Hogwarts do to the standardized testing schedule? Did everyone graduate? If you save the world from evil, it still matters what you get on your NEWTs. Is there wizarding college? What sort of majors are there? What jobs are available?

All things that we can think about in spare moments. It doesn't bear thinking about Harry folding laundry and washing dishes, no matter how much he might like the sanity of the mundane. Like any long series, it's possiblefor the author to go on too long and say too much. Didn't really need to see Anne of Green Gables grown up and a mother. That's not why I loved her.

Sigh.

Quick Notes

Before the marauding horde realizes I'm on the computer, here's what I have been reading:
Fantastic:
Abdel-Fattah, Randa. Does My Head Look Big in This?-- Australian girl decides to wear the hijab full-time, even though it means dealing with some people who don't understand why she is doing this. Very different!

Carroll. The Awakening: Quantum Prophecy 01. How can a book about children who begin to realize they are Superheroes not be good? Lots of action. For fans of Stormbreaker.

Rallison, Janette. Playing the Field. Baseball, but also BOY middle school problems. Really good balance.

Good
O'Brien. Mary Jane. A problem novel about Spiderman's friend Mary Jane. Oddly riveting, but alas, out of print.

Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines. Extra points for NOT using the f-bomb but wanting to so badly that he found an author who used "fug" to get around censors, and employs that.

Rinaldi, Ann. Hand 1,000 Trees with Ribbons. Phyllis Wheatly. Rinaldi at her best.

Rees. Lightning Time. Quite good, but liked Vampire High way better.

Han, Jenny. Shug. Well, we can tell the author has the MFA in kid lit, but it's still good despite the dysfunctional Southern navel gazing. Nice cover. Pink fans will pick it up, although it's one of those books that makes more sense as an adult. I'll buy it in March if there is money left.

Roth. Iceberg Hermit. Oldie but goodie; survival fiction. Eating whale blubber.

Not good.
Saldana. Whole Sky Full of Stars. Sounded promising, but couldn't keep my interest.

O'Dell. Bad Tickets. Set in the '60's, just odd.

Burnham. Goddess Games. Too much name dropping. Will age poorly.

Cooper. Tell Me Lies. More 60's, this time in England. Commune. No.

Turnbull. No shame, no fear. Odd historical time in England.

Burgess. Sarah's Face. Stopped reading when the boy was examining her, um, chestal region and comparing it with puppies. Smack was good, if inappropriate, this... wasn't.

And yes, I plan to start reading Harry Potter, but I have to share two copies among four people. I think somehow that I will survive.

Daemon Hall by Andrew Nance, etc.

Definitely buying this one. Great cover ( shimmery copper skull with corpses for eyeballs!) and a great tag line:" Is a contest worth dying for.

This is basically short stories, but strung together in a Monster House sort of way. Five students are invited by author Ian Tremblin to stay the night in a haunted house and tell stories to freak each other out. Some fun ghost stories in a variety of formats. The cover alone would encourage check out, so it's nice that it also has some literary merit. Rare that there is horror that I like. Note: blood and gore somewhat limited.

Garfinkle's Stuck in the 70's also had a fun cover, and having been a teen in the 70's I had to read it, but all middle school librarians need to know is this: Brief but very graphic sex. Okay. So, no. Also, very vague and disturbing ending and message. Were the 70's supposedly better than now? And if so, why? Just because mothers made homemade meals and people wore more clothing?

Rabin's Black Powder has a promising premise-- boy whose best friend is killed in a gang related shooting travels back in time to stop Roger Bacon from discovering gun powder. Might have worked if there weren't so many subplots. The students who might be drawn into the historical/sci fi aspect because of the gang violence would probably give up on this one. Think I'll pass.

Hautman's All-in had its moments, but I need to get up to speed on the previous adventures of Denn Doyle in No Limit. Intriguing story about gambling and Las Vegas, but I have concerns about his relationship with Cattie. Hautman's Sweet Blood and Mr. Was are very good, but I haven't been as thrilled about Rash, Invisible or Godless. He writes mainly for high schoolers, I think.

Demon Keeper, Buckingham; assorted

Demon Keeper was quite a fun read. Not as horrific as some of my students would like, although I wouldn't personally want to be hunted down by any of the monsters, but not funny in a way that my horror fans will find obnoxious. In fact, I think this would be an excellent book to get die-hard horror fans to transition to some good humor books for boys. Definitely buying.

Mull's sequel to Fablehaven, The Rise of the Evening Star, was a worthy successor to the first book. Great realistic based fantasy with adventure, fun characters. The brother needs to grow up in the next book and stop doing stupid things, though!

Davis' Smart Boys and Fast Girls was rather fluffy, but my daughter, who runs cross country, loved this light romance about a girl who is good at sports but not so good at math. She gets tutored by a boy who doesn't like jocks, and it's no surprise that a romance develops. Still, strong girl and some life lessons. Since same daughter is begging to read Beany Malone, we need a lot of discussion!

Papademetriou's Wizard, a witch, and two girls from Jersey looked promising, and certainly understands the fantasy genre really well (some of the names made me laugh-- they are so typical of high fantasy that takes itself too seriously), and aforementioned daughter liked it as well, but we both agreed that it would not draw in girls who had to read fantasy but didn't want to, but also wouldn't be picked up by girls who liked fantasy. Will have to pass, but it was quirky fun.

I do not for the life of me know how Carney's The Adventures of Michael MacInnes got published for the YA market. Boys' boarding school in 1920's, some mention of dysfunctional, um, Noel Coward type male relationships...just can't see anyone asking for it. Just somehow disturbing.

Charlie Price's Dead Connection looked promising, but was a bit too disjointed. For students very interested in paranormal phenomenon.

The Wereling: Wounded, Stephen Cole

Think the series is The Wereling. Book one is Wounded. I think that readers of Twilight would like this one, although it lacks the romance, and readers of Cirque du Freak might like it, even though it comes close to romance and isn't as fantastic. It was certainly a worthy addition to the werewolf genre.

Bad news: Tom falls into a river and is almost killed. Good news: He is rescued by a family who helps him recover. Bad news: They turn him into a werewolf. Good news: He's a wereling, who can keep hold of his humanity and not snack on everyone he meets. Bad news: The werewolves are following him.

Plenty of action, an interesting story line, and a sympathetic teenage werewolf, Kate, who dislikes her mother and helps Tom run away. Bad feeling that it's only in paperback, but I'm getting the series anyway.

Note on the series: There is a second and even a third book, but they could be difficult to find. The Westerville Library has them, but I still don't have the second one at Blendon because it has not been available in a prebind edition. Guess I should buy a used paperback for the students who like this one!

Absolutely could not get into either Moloney's The Book of Lies or Scott's The Alchemyst: the secrest of the immortal Nicholas Flamel. There are so many fantasies out there, and these are fine-- they just didn't have that extra spark that I need in order to buy something for my small collection.

Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress

Tina Ferraro's first young adult book was great fun. Unabashedly pink on the cover but more serious on the inside, this will be a hugely popular book.

Had to put the cover here because it is so great-- must be same illustrator as the S.A.S.S. books, Jeanine Henderson. (Who very nicely emailed me back and said she did the interior illustrations, and that the covers are done by someone named Zuko.) This illustrator must have read a lot of 1950s teen fiction illustrated by Joe and Beth Krush. The Krushes are my favorite illustrators. Couldn't find much info to share.

Nicolette is dumped right before prom, and left with the perfect dress. She needs something perfect in her world-- her father has left, remarried, and has a two-year-old daughter; her mother is struggling with her job; her best friend is not happy with the budding relationship between her brother and Nicolette. There is still schoolwork and volleyball team to contend with, so keeping all the balls in the air keeps Nicolette busy.

The tone was great-- Nicolette doesn't quite understand why the boy who dumped her and the brother are interested in her. The fact that they are interested in her makes this escapist-- the fact that things don't follow the typical teen romance formula makes the book stronger and more edifying. I cannot wait to see How to Hook a Hottie, which comes out in 2008.

Janet McDonald

Sadly, I just found out that this young author passed away in April.
http://www.projectgirl.com/

Read Harlem Hustle last night. First off, great cover. Kids will pick this up since the colors are vibrant and the picture new-looking and appealing. Second, there was no bad language. Considering the amount of it I've had to read, this is a huge help to me. There's artistic expression, but then there's remembering your audience. The schools are trying to teach children to use more creative words. It would be nice to have help from YA authors.

Harlem has had a less than optimal childhood, but has support from the family of a friend. He is trying to turn his life around after being arrested for shop lifting, but violating probation still has some appeal to him. Some of his friends are trying to get away from life in the projects, and while aspects of this are appealing, there are still things about his life he likes. As a compromise, he writes rap lyrics. I did like that when the grandmother of a girl he likes finds the lyrics offensive, he changes them. This woman also gets him interested in some poetry. There is character development, and a positive message about education.

The book was a little hard to read, going choppily from street lingo to somewhat didactic passages. Also, given the topic of changing one's life, I was looking for a more powerful story, more along the lines of Sharon Draper's work. Still, there is a need for fiction about African American students, and in general, McDonald's work provides mainly positive messages. I will be adding this title, Brother Hood, Chill Wind, Twists and Turns, Spell Bound, and the upcoming Off-Color to my collection this fall.

Lots of books, little computer time

The books I will buy:
Jan Page's Rewind was a great time travel story about a boy in a rock band who goes back in time, after an accident in concert, and meets his own parents when they were in a rock band. Some teen angst, some family mysteries and a fairly believable excuse for time travel makes this a fun book. Two of my three children picked this one up, too.

Anthony Horowitz, author of Stormbreaker and Raven's Gate, has two collection of mystery stories out -- Horowitz Horror and More Horowitz Horror. How did I miss these? Quite good, and psychological thrillers than blood and gore, although there is just enough of that as well.

Not buying (remember, I have a small budget!)
Castelucci- Beige. I liked this one, but it was a bit mature for most of my audience. Had it scrubbed the bad language, I might buy it. A little more Sarah Dessen-like than other books.

Joyce- TWOC (Take without owner's consent)-- Looked promising-- a car on the cover, and about boys who steal cars for joyriding. More about the one boy's mental illness. Almost too British. Just didn't do it. Too mature. Got a random sample of British books this library trip.

Hughes. Open Ice. Okay. I'm trying to get more boy books, but came to the conclusion that more books for boys include 1) foul language and 2) groping girls. **Sigh** In the end, this didn't have enough sports-- it was more about the boy's brain injury.

Shields, Gillian. The Actual Real Reality of Jennifer James. In diary format, sort of like the Louise Rennison, about a British girl whose school is chosen for a reality tv show. Got better as the book progressed, and if I am in desperate need of pink books and have money left, I'll buy it, but it's certainly an optional purchase. Would be wildly popular, just not good for people.

Roter. Camp Rules. Loved Girl in Development by this author-- didn't like Camp Rules because none of the characters were likeable and the whole camp experience didn't even sound like fun. I want to go to camp, but this was not a fun vicarious vacation for me.

McNeal. Decoding of Lana Morris. Quirky Dysfunctional. Again, just didn't quite do it.

Question of the Day-- Time Travel

What would you wear if you were time traveling? This is very important, you know. Several people at my school and I have discussed this at length, but I'm curious as to what other people would choose.

One pink, one science fiction

Michael Daley's Shanghaied to the Moon fills a niche perfectly. Reluctant readers who want science fiction to be a littel more serious than Mackel's rmsCan of Worms or Luzzato's Interplanetary Avenger but can't quite handle Heinlein will appreciate this tale of a disgruntled youth who manages to get himself taken into space-- with interesting results.

Stewart wants to be a space hero like his mother, but since her death in space, his father is reluctant to let him go. When his father takes off on a business trip, Stewart meets a somewhat creepy "spacer" who has repaired an old ship and takes him on an adventure. Sure, there are issues with Stewart's grieving, deep family secrets, and conselours trying to get Stewart to forget him mother and move on, but there are also 3-Vid adventure games, trouble in space, and lots of adventure. Told in an easy-to-read style with plenty of action, this will be perfect for handing to students who have read all of my Star Wars books as well as students who HAVE to read science fiction.

One book I may buy for the cover more than anything else is Heather Vogel Frederick's The Mother-Daughter Book Club. A fairly standard book about the difficulties faced by four average middle school girls and their families, (suddent wealth and alienation from friends, parental expectations at odds with reality, separation from parents) it does at least mention Little Women so many times that girls who pick this up because of the great cover may go on to try that book. The writer grew up in Concord, so there is a lot of loca flavor as well.

Charlie Fletcher's Stoneheart

This is a lengthy (450 pages) fantasy book and will be great for my avid readers who have finished ALLof Orson Scott Card's Enders books by the end of 6th grade.

George has some issues, but these are quickly forgotten when, in a moment of rage, he knocks the head off a dragon statue and life quickly becomes strange. Accompanied by Edie, who can see the spirits of stautes, and an assortment of the statues ("spits", the spirits of the human statues) himself, George is regularly attacked by the "taints" (the spirits of the monster statues) of London, and has himself quite the unwilling, but quite exciting, adventure.

To best read this, have a copy of London A to Z by your side. A lot of the action occurs around the neighborhood of St. Pauls' Cathedral and The Monument, and with the directions in the book, it's easy to follow exactly where the character are going. In a way, it's too bad that pictures of the actual statues are not involved.

This is not an easy read. It's quite complex, with a lot of good versus evil that is not clear cut. (Now I really want to see a picture of the Black Friar.) Still, for fantasy readers, this is good stuff. There has got to be another book on the way, although I don't have the title right now.

After this book and Ursu's The Shadow Thieves, it was a mistake to read Buckley-Archer's Gideon the Cutpurse. The time travel aspect always appeals to me, but a whole lot of time is spent in 1753 London and environs, and is more historical than fantastic. I will recommend that my students get this from the public library, but it's part of a trilogy, and I don't think I'm going to buy it. It was good, but will be hard to get into a wide variety of students' hands. HUGE pet peeve with this one-- the binding will not hold up very well since it is a paper over boards "library binding" but also has a cut out in the front cover which will immediately fall apart.

Anne Ursu's The Shadow Thieves

Loved the voice on this one. Quoted half the first chapter to my daughter, because it was just funny and fresh. Here is an example (from pg 326) of what was so enjoyable: "
Charlotte had never been a particularly fast runner; she always finished in the middle of the pack in school fitness exams. But never during the exams had they used vampires to motivate Charlotte, and if they had, she would have been tops in the whole nation. It's amazing the things you can do when you're really motivated."

Now, this is a BIG book. Four hundred some pages. And it took a while for the whole good-vs-evil fight versus fight with Charlotte and her cousin Zee to get going. Oddly enough, I was having so much fun reading that I didn't mind. It occurred to me about halfway through that fans of Twilight might like this one. I'm not sure why.

Not quite like The Lightning Thief, but a good mythology based reads for girls who want philosophy more than action. There's action-- it just comes later.

It was the voice. Delicious. I loved Charlotte, and the way that Ms. Ursu wrote. I am definitely purchasing this and can't wait for the sequel! (Which I think comes out fairly soon.)

Reluctant Readers

My nine-year-old has decided that all books are boring. This was a shocker. I knew she was starting but not finishing things, but she is a strong reader who polished off Zevin's Elsewhere in an evening.

We made a trip to the library to sign up for the summer reading program and stock up on books. She likes action adventure, spies, and magic (Anthony Horowitz, Lemony Snicket, and J.K. Rowling are her favorites.) She also needed to read biographies for her school. Those, of course, were too boring, at least until we found a biography of Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket.

In general, the best thing for reluctant readers is books that are:

• SHORT
• Fast-paced
• Of interest and
• SHORT

When I needed to read something last night, I looked at my pile and could not bear to pick up any of the very promising two inch thick books. There is a huge sense of accomplishment in finishing a book. Many nonfiction picture books are written on a 5th grade reading level, so those can be very successful for some students.

If you have a reluctant reader, work with the child. Make a trip to the library an event (we had ice cream, too). Listen to what they want to read, not what you think they should. I love Dan Gutman, but his My Weird School series seemed a bit low for my reader.

She finished two of them last night.

Also, ask for professional help! We talked to the librarians, because sometimes other people might have great suggestions, and I wanted my daughter to know that. We took home A Cricket in Times Square, Trumpet of the Swan, and The Trouble With Tuck. We'll see how those go.

In Which I Read An Award Winning Book

Yang's American Born Chinese was on the just returned shelf, so I took it home. Won Printz and American Book honors, I think. Not bad. Graphic novel, included a lot of Chinese mythology as well as modern issues of cultural discrimination. I enjoyed it.

Don't think I"ll buy it. The three intertwined story lines were a bit hard to follow. My 8th grader, who read the whole thing, said she didn't get how the stories came together, so the force of it was lost on her. She's a strong reader, and sometimes the students attracted to graphic novels are not, so I think that there would be a lot of confusion. This would be a good book for a high school class discussion.

Kaslik's Skinny would also be better for high school. The story of one girls' struggle with anorexia includes some questionable material that detracts from the main issue. Also, this is a very well-written and lyrical story, with vivid descriptions and philosophical musings. Just not the thing to fill the need for eating disorders for my middle school girls. Again, confusion would be high.

Theodore Taylor's The Trouble With Tuck was recommended by the Ms. Patti at the public library (hi, everyone!) and is a good selection for students who like books about dogs. A bit introspective, but the larger story about the dog who loses his sight eventually getting a guide dog was touching. THere are always a few 6th graders who want nothing but books about dogs, and I didn't realize that that's what this one was about. Sad note: Taylor died in October of 2006.

The Titan's Curse

If I had read this last installment in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series and put post-it notes at all the good parts (which would have been helpful for this review), I would have cracked the spine. What was so good?

First of all, the action. No introspective navel gazing here, unless it occurs while flying over a desert with a huntress who feels compelled to shoot at all the Target signs. There is character development. They do discuss their place in the larger cosmos. But blessedly briefly, and these necessary bouts are punctuated by attacking monsters and dramatic getaways. Never boring.

Humor would be next. So much, and deliciously off-the-cuff. No trying too hard. It might be the turn of phrase (The boar saying REEEEEET was somehow perfect), or the situation (fighting monsters in the air and space museum), or just pure silliness (when they are at the dam, they want to go to the "dam snack bar" and buy a "dam t-shirt", which is spot-on adolescent humor), but the whole book breezes along with fun.

The mythology is the basis for all of this. The characters receive a prophecy and see it played out, there is a huge problem percolating with the ancient gods, and the teachers, monsters and other mythological characters Percy meets all ring true. Our 7th grade is thinking about purchasing class sets of The Lightning Thief for core novels to augment the mythology unit. There's certainly twists and reinterpretations, but the book would be great as a springboard to discussion. Plus, the children will enjoy reading it. There's a novel thought in assigned reading!

What will happen next? Will Grover find Pan? Will Percy save the universe? Of course. And I can't wait to be there when he does.

Note to Mr. Riordan: If you don't know what to write next, how about a mystery series with a male protagonist that has this same sensibility. There's enough written for adults. Come over to the Young Adult side. We'll take good care of you!

Also read de Guzman's Finding Stinko, which was interesting, but I would have a hard time getting the students to read a book about a selectively mute child who runs away from foster care, finds a ventriloquist's dummy in a trash bin and finds that he can talk when using the dummy. Newboy takes off for Miami, but the plot was vague and depressing while somehow trying to be funny. Similar in some ways to Melonhead. The girls who want depressing books will think this is too humorous, and the boys who want humor and adventure will find it too depressing. Also, having had several foster children in our school this year, I would like something a little more positive about foster care, even though this ultimately is. For another school, this might be great, but I don't see it here.

Other Blogs, other stuff

Vast downside of being a librarian who is forced to also be a media specialist-- all the overhead projectors, televisions, and other AV equipment come home today to be cleaned and repaired. Sigh. Did learn, though, that if you have a DVD player that keeps loading and refuses to play, it might be fixed if you open up the DVD slot and blow into it. Got the dust off the laser or something. To keep myself sane, I always line up the overheads so it looks like they are worshipping their Overhead God.

Thanks to the School Library Journal February 2007 edition, I checked out several other b logs and put the ones that followed the same interests as this one in the "links" section. I must say that I am distressed that I missed the 48 Hour Challenge issued by Mother Reader-- I can't do it next weekend because I am taking a Children's Literature Update so I can renew my teaching certificate. Still, I think it will be fun to do.

It's important to read lots of reviews as well as lots of books, and balance what is presented. I read a review in SLJ of E.E. Richardson's The Devil's Footsteps (my review, March 15, 2006). That reviewer didn't think it was so great. Huh. I have three copies here, and they have not hit the shelves all year long. If students like a book that much, there has to be something to recommend it.

I hope to be better at keeping up this blog this summer-- when I am at home, children look over my should whenever I am on the computer, and it gets wearing. Still, I have a lot of good books to read, so we'll see how well I can keep up.

Romance

The cover of Dream Factory by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler should have told me that this would not be a good companion to The Kingdom Keepers (Pearson, 2005). The glass slipper on the cover should have let me know that this is a romance and not an adventure story.

The characters at Disney are on strike, and teenagers have been brought in to help out. Since they are all bunking at the park, lots of interesting relationships are formed and reformed. The characters develop well, although I'm a little shaky on the plot, but in general I was not expecting a romance and got distracted. Despite the behind-the-scenes information on Disney, which was interesting, this was just not what I expected. I'm just not sure that my romance/pink book fans will pick this up because of the Disney angle, so I will put off purchase unless I am really needing romance books. Quite good for that, but I'm just not sure of an audience.

Don't know where I even heard of The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman (1995) by Louise Plummer, but I requested it from the public library. I knew when I saw the cover that it was not something I could buy because it looked so dated. In fact, the only available copy is in a prebind. This had its moments, but with romance, it's better to go for the new titles. I do worry about some of the good books now, like 13 Little Blue Envelopes, which has the torso of a girl in low rider jeans on the cover. When these go out of fashion, will it prohibit this book from circulating? It's hard to get girls to check out anything with a girl in mall hair, big glasses, and narrow leg jeans on the cover!

I am very sorry that one of the commenters found this review "lame". I try to be polite in my reviews. Perhaps I should have "no one will read this", but I can't prove that, and it is cruel. I think I do "have a clue" as to what I am talking about, and I do my best to convey helpful information about books. At the very least, I try not to cast aspersions on people's character because of what they write, and I always put my name on things and don't post anonymously.

Gauthier's Happy Kid

Okay-- too proud of myself that I got the picture up. Since smiley faces are the theme of my library, I had to read this book! It will be prominently displayed!

The minute I go listing what I hate, I find exceptions. Basically, Happy Kid is introspective navel-gazing. The whole thing. And hysterically funny. In fact, I don't have it here to quote from because I left it on the kitchen counter to pack up and my son ran off with it. (This is an ongoing problem in my house.)

What middle school student doesn't believe that their school is "the gateway to hell"? What mother isn't always annoyingly suggesting something like having a positive attitude? Friends are constantly moving on and getting involved in other activities and leaving someone behind. And the thing that resonated with me most personally-- is it possible to get through middle school and just not be noticed?

Kyle doesn't have a great attitude (after being accused of carrying a weapon while transporting a screwdriver home from shop class-- sorry to ruin the suspense-- who would?), but he's trying to make a go of it. His mother gives him a self help book, and he negotiates to earn a dollar a chapter for reading it. It has an odd (but not unbelievable or overdone) power to open to just the chapter he needs to deal with the problems he is facing on any given day.

Kyle doesn't think he changes his attitude that much, but the readers can tell that he is making strides in becoming more successful in middle school. Standardized testing takes a ribbing, and while the situation about test ethics isn't fully resolved, I don't quite expect it to be. There's also the problem of a "bad kid" who wants to befriend him-- this could have been more fully explored, but there was too much other stuff going on.

I would not mind at all if there was a sequel. I can see the cover now...

Nancy Springer's Enola Holmes' Mysteries

The thing that struck me most about The Case of the Left-Handed Lady and it's predecessor, The Case of the Missing Marquess, was how exquisitely well-written it was. This is not a surprise-- the first couple of pages of this author's Rowan Hood are among the few lines that I will read to students to get them hooked. The details of Enola Holmes' life are well-described and so interesting that I had to think this morning "Wait, there was a very good plot, too!"

Enola, age 14, separated from her forward thinking (for 1889) mother and loath to return to the care of her brothers Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes for fear that they will make her become a cosseted and over-protected "lady", has established a life for herself in London. She has a detective agency, and is soon embroiled in a case to find a girl not much older than herself, while trying to avoid her brother Sherlock, who is never far away. This is a good picture of the social differences in English society at the time, and as I said, vividly done. You could feel the sooty smog settling on your shoulders.

Good book. I am currently trying to locate a copy of this author's Blood Trail to read.

The only trouble Enola will have circulating is the somewhat odd historical period. Still, mysteries are always needed, strong female characters are wanted by girls, and any fan of Rowan Hood will be glad to pick these up. The book is attractively packaged, as well, and a fun small size. The girls who turn up their noses at the pink and glitter heft of Jaffe's Bad Kitty (another mystery, good but quite different) will love this.

My one complaint: it's "needs must". (Pg. 7, "a scientist must needs be a man"). Oh, okay, The Columbia Guide to Standard American English says they can be used interchangeably, but anyone who has spent a lot of time reading Latin translations done in the 1880s knows that it's "needs must". What? Middle school students won't notice?

Well Done Dialect-- Rick Riordan Rules

After my rant yesterday, I finally got a copy of Rick Riordan's The Titan's Curse in my hand (every time I tried to take it home, a student wanted it). I was greatly enjoying it, when I came across this section (Thanks to the Penguin Australia web site for having this!http://www.penguin.com.au/lookinside/spotlight.cfm?SBN=9780141382906&Page=Extract)

"'Ha!' the man snapped, which made me jump. 'Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee jected!'
He had an accent – French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques. He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colours – one brown, one blue – like an alley cat's. "

The rest of this man's dialogue was slightly stilted, but just that small description and the one word made me imagine that everything he said sounded like Pepe Le Pew. In fact, my children and I cracked up and spent a long time speaking in terrible French accents ("If you do not return zee overdue librarEE boooks, I vill zing on ze morning announzements and you vill pray for death!"); unfortunately, while I was doing that, one of my children snuck off with the book and refuses to relinguish it. Drat. Riordan also hints at Zoe Nightshade's accent, saying that she talks like someone out of an old book, and using "thy" just a few times. Perfect. Now, in my mind, I know what she sounds like.

Sports and History

Our 8th graders just finished up a historical fiction project, and I've helped so many of them with it that it took a bit out of Ann Rinaldi's The Color of Fire. THere are always lots of facts in Rinaldi's books, but they kept distracting me. "Oh, the War of Jenkins' Ear. True or false?" (The students had to find information in the books and then check out the veracity of it.) An odd historical setting (slavery in New York in 1741) didn't help, nor did the fact that I thought the Quilt Trilogy, Wolf by the Ears, Or Give Me Death, and Sarah's Ground were utterly brilliant. This was good, but I was expecting more.

If Jeff Rud wrote 70 more books like In the Paint, I would buy them ALL.This was perfect for the boys who like sports. Lots of play-by-play sports, a simple but important personal message, and clear, direct writing made this very enjoyable. Having made the basketball team, Matt is thrilled, even though two of his good friends don't. One night, hanging out with a team mate, he participates in an unfortunate activity. Struggling with what to do when he doesn't get caught, Matt consults his brother and friend, and makes a good choice. Still, this has some negative effects on the team and his personal safety. Almost preachy but never quite going too far, this is just an all around excellent book. The small size is nice-- it is deceptively long. My only problem was that Orca books must publish paperbacks only, and the hard binding on this has made the margins really small. Still, I just placed High and Inside and First and Ten (both in the South Side Sports series) on my list to purchase in the fall.

Things I Hate

Ronni wanted to know what "introspective navel-gazing" was. I thought I had given my list of things in books that I really, really dislike (by way of explaining why I may damn some books with faint praise), but must not have. So, here it is. I will never be wild about any books that include:

1. Talking animals. Sorry, Bryan Jacques. I have trouble with this.
2. Dialects. It's hard to do this well. Again, apologies about Redwall.
3. Quirky, dysfunctional people. Children never ask for this, and these are the books that always win Newbery awards. One exception: So B. It by Sarah Weeks.
4. Southern Books. Too often they combine 2 and 3. If they don't, they're okay.
5. Introspective navel-gazing. Again, this wins awards. Any time the main character spends way too much time contemplating their place in the universe, it makes for boring reading. Even if I like it (big fan of Jane Eyre), it's hard to get students to read it.
6. Obscenity. Don't care if it's realistic. We don't let the children swear at school. They don't need to read words they would get suspended for saying.
7. Blood and Gore. Students love this, so this is entirely personal. I'd prefer a good psychological thriller. Rarely done well.

Needless to say, if anyone ever writes a novel in verse about cursing, psychopathic serial killer bunnies who live in Alabama and spend a lot of time discussing their tortured childhoods, I won't buy it.

Books for boys

Number one professional failing-- I don't read Booklist or School Library Journal as I should. Maybe just as well. When I was plowing through I stack that I checked out of the library, I came across a letter to the editor that said that since school librarians have girl-centered collections and don't know what boys want, it'sno wonder boys don't like to read.

I've felt bad for days, even though I really do try to get literature that appeals to boys. This spring, I had an entire order that was sports and war books. I do ask all of my students what they are looking for, and try my best to fill it. However, there are not as many boy books published. And yes, as much as I hate to admit it, there is a difference.

There are many more girls who will check out a book a day. There is much more demand for "pink" books. Girls also seem to care more about whether or not something is new. Other than that, girls will read a wide variety of things, including books with boys on the covers.

Not so with boys. They tend to be particular about what they want even if they have trouble verbalizing it. They more often comment "I just don't like to read." In fact, it is often the case that they don't know what to read.

What they don't like: Any book that looks "girly". Tried to check out Tell it to Naomi to a boy who would not read it-- pink and yellow cover. Wrede's Dealing with Dragons had a following of boys this year on the strength of "Well, Johnny read it and liked it." Introspective navel-gazing doesn't go over too well. Problem novels are not wanted until 8th grade.

What they do like:
Sports, especially basketball and football. Could check out a ton of skateboarding books if they weren't "stupid". Rebound, Airball, anything Rich Wallace, Will Weaver, Matt Christopher, Carl Deuker(can NOT wait for Gym Candy), Thomas Dygard, Dan Gutman, Alfred Slote.
Spy novels. Stormbreaker, Spy High, Jimmy Coates and even Higson's Young James Bond series are never on the shelf.
Comedy. There have been a lot of new more mature titles lately. Sure, they love Captain Underpants and The Day My Butt Went Psycho-- in 6th grade. What they want later is books like How to Get Suspended and Influence People, Drawing a Blank, Girls, Drums and Dangerous Pie. Some older titles, such as The Great Brain and Henry Reed are okay, too. And the funniest book in the library: Michael Lawrence's Jiggy McCue and the Killer Underpants. We want the rest of the series available in the US!
Romance. Oddly enough. Soooo few titles. 24 Girls in 7 Days, Son of the Mob, The Girlfriend Project, Notes from the Midnight Driver.
War. WWII and Vietnam, primarily.
Horror. Vampires, werewolves, general mayhem. Cirque du Freak, Werewolf Rising, The Black Tattoo, William Sleator and Neal Shusterman's works.
Fantasy. Die-hard fans will read just about anything. New favorites: Everlost, Fablehaven, Endymion Spring, the John Flanagan Gorlan series, Revenge of the Witch, The Time Warp Trio , Mel Odom's fabulous The Rover and Rick Riordan's superb Percy Jackson series.
History. This has to be recommended. While they won't ask for historical books, ones that combine some of the elements from above will be avidly read. Pankration, Odysseus and the Serpent Maze, Into the Firestorm, The Smugglers, Prince Across the Water. Joshua's Song, Jason's Gold, Ship of Fire and other great Cadnum titles.

Now, you must check out guysread.com. Be patient with the time it takes to load. Dav Pilkey also has a marvelous web site.

Okay. I feel a little better. Of course, what did I read last night? Dessen's That Summer, which struck me as rather classic in its delivery and very smoothly written. It was like an adult read, without anything objectionable. A little navel-gazing, but in an interesting, coming-of-age way. Don't know how I missed it. Also Rallison's Love, Life and the Pursuit of Free Throws, which was a very intriguing book about two girls who play basketball, and how they wind their way through the jungle that is high school. Enjoyed both, but they are for girls. Sigh.

Maybe for other schools

Spencer's Saving Grace was a good examination of one girl's attempts to deal with her brother's death in an accident. She doesn't deal well at first-- alienating her friends, hanging with a fast crowd, drinking (effective in some ways to dull the pain-- the second book in two days I've read to treat drinking this way), and failing in school. When her mother helps to organize a concert as a memorial to the brother, she first wigs out and then seems to do better. The part that failed for me was that there was a girl who seemed to know when Grace was coming unglued and was there for her. Was she an angel? There was too much emphasis on God for my library; this would be better for a religious school.

Laura Ruby's Good Girls would be better for a high school. There was far too much implied sex in this book, and the 6th graders would be the one to pick it up for the cool cover (picture on front changes from picture of girl to title). For high schools, it would be a good story about how small actions can have big consequences. And the drinking again. Must make sure to smell my daughter's breath every time she comes home from high school!

Did finish Trickster's Queen. It's obvious that Pierce has spent 20 years with these characters and that they are fully formed in her mind. I wish I had more time to spend on these.

Aimee Ferris' Girl Overboard was another fun read in the Students Across the Seven Seas series. And I must say, as much as I like S.A.S.S. for the vicarious travel experience, many of them are a bit whiny. Girl Overboard truly was my favorite, because she had a real reason for traveling and missing her boyfriend was the only whiny part. I need to see if this author has done anything else. Very promising. More travel!!!!Smart thing from the public library that I should have figured out on my own-- shelve them all under "F Sas" instead of the separate authors. Sorry, separate authors-- they are far easier to find when altogether, not that they usually make it to the shelves. The girls love them.

Secret Agent by Robyn Freedman Spizman & Mark Johnston didn't quite do it for me. There was something about the staccato delivery of it that was distracting to me. I tested it on some students who just didn't get into it, either. There is not much agenting going on, and I'm afraid I would have a lot of disappointed boys.

Drinking and girls

Catherine Ryan Hyde's The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance is going to be very popular with my 7th grade girls who want problem novels. Cynee's mother is an alcoholic, and finds it hard to take care of Cynee's brother Bill, who has Down's Syndrome. Finally unable to cope (and because a boyfriend indicates that the children make her less desirable), the mother sends Bill off to live with a grandmother, leaving Cynee lonely and hurting. To cope, she uses the only mechanism she has seen modeled-- drinking. Eventually, this causes problems for her (although not as many as you would think) at school, and when she choses to drive under the influence, bigger problems that put her on probation and into AA. Her recovery is difficult but believably drawn.

Robin Friedman's The Girlfriend Project was a nice respite from the gloom of the first book (which does head towards redemption in the end. Reed has spent his high school years as a spectacled geek, but matures over the summer and starts his senior year as a "hottie". Confused about the attention he recieves from girls who previously scorned him, he attempts dating with mixed success. I loved the descriptions of his attempts to talk to girls; this will make 8th grader boys who are just starting to notice girls feel much better about their own discomfort. The blue cover is not girly, and the high school setting does not descend into foul language, excessive substance abuse (there is some beer drinking, but it's painted in an unflattering light), or rampant sexuality (there's some kissing). Reed begins to realize that looks aren't everything, which was a nice message, but also that sometimes what you think you want for really good reasons just doesn't work out. Along with Bradley's 24 Girls in 7 Days, this is a great read for reluctant boys who secretly want to read romance books and just don't want to admit it!