Guy Friday-- Troublemaker by Andrew Clements

Clements, Andrew. Troublemaker.

Clay has spent his entire school career being mildly annoying to teachers, causing just enough trouble to be sent to the office, but not enough for any of his actions to have serious consequences. He latest peccadillo involves a "free choice" art class and his portrait of the principal-- in the guise of a donkey. His older brother, Mitchell, was also trouble in school, but recently served time in jail after having a temper tantrum while in court for a minor offense. When he returns from jail, he insists that Clay behave himself, even going so far as to trying to get Clay to dress less like a thug. Clay does try to behave, even though he gets in trouble for starting a food fight on his first day of trying. He promises the principal he will do better, and he does, even though his friend Hank tries to lead him back into their evil ways. When someone spray paints a picture of a donkey on the principal's house on Halloween, the police come to Clay's house, strongly suspecting he has done it. Clay learns that reputation can be a powerful thing.

Strengths: Clements is a master of the deceptively simple novel. Students pick them up because the books are short and have the recognizable cartoon covers. The plot moves quickly, with interesting things happening. Lessons and morals are delivered in a way that doesn't slap students upside the head. Things are more gray than black and white, and readers are challenged to reexamine what they think.

Weaknesses: Not every book by Clements is a complete winner, but this one certainly is. I'm trying to think of a misstep of plot or character, but I thought that everything was very well done.

Ganeshram, Ramin. Stir it Up!

Anjali loves her neighborhood in Queens and enjoys working with her family at their roti shop, but her dream in life is to have her own show on the Food Network. She is constantly coming up with new and interesting Trinadadian inspired foods, and also takes cooking classes and would like to go to a high school with a cooking program. Her hard working parents, however, would like her to take the entrance exam to the Stuyvesant school, which is for acadmecially accelerated students. When her cooking teacher tells her about a Food Network kids' challenge, Anjali sends in a video and gets accepted. She is successful on air, and is even invited back to the finals, which are, of course, held on the same day as the exam. How will Anjali convince her parents that cooking, either now or in the future, is the only thing she wants to do?
Strengths: This was a fun book with lots of local flavor and a different ethnic viewpoint. Anjali is motivated, but her experiences seem more realistic than those I have read in similar books.I had fun looking up her neighborhood on Google Earth Street view, and could even see the Tudor style houses she mentioned! There are even recipes.

Weaknesses: Do that many teenagers really watch this Food Network? I'm still having trouble understanding the thrill of cooking shows. Dicing onions. Whee.

Weaknesses:

Goal Line-- Personality Leakage

Technically, this is the last day of vacation, and I am hereby declaring that I have met all of my goals! I wanted to run 100 miles, read 70 books, and sew 50 quilt tops. I have:

Run 102 miles!

Sewn 53 quilt tops!

Read 112 books!

I'm ready to go back to school because resident teenagers keep asking me questions like

"Why are you making chili?" (I was going to bathe in it)

In the line at the grocery store"What should I do with the coupons? (Roll them up and stick them in your ear.)

"Why would I take frozen grapes to school?" (To put between your toes in case they hurt.)

Really, people! It's so busy at work that people only ask me about books. And, oddly, whether I have bandages and tissues. It will be an interesting year, because out of 19 schedules Sustained Silent Reading group visits, 13 are during two periods of the day. Oh, well. Still in my library, and this year we don't have to wait for carpet until the day before the students come.

I hope that everyone else had a productive summer. I was greatly motivated by two fellow bloggers-- Kathy at The Brain Lair who was also reading a Book a Day (sponsored by Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer), and Aaron Mauer at Coffee for the Brain, who is training to run a marathon. He could probably run my measly 102 miles in a week!

Count on more regular book reviews and hopefully, less personality leakage once school starts!

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman

Wolitzer, Meg. The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman.
ARC recieved from the publisher.

Duncan lives with his aunt and poor single mother; he realizes early on that he has the power to read with his fingers. Carl, who is mean to him at school, believes that he can harness this power to win the Youth Scrabble Tournament. April is obsessed with Scrabble, and also a boy she met on vacation years ago. Nate is home schooled by his oddly wealthy writer father. He is forced to play Scrabble because his father competed in the YST years ago. He plays with his friend Maxie. Complications ensue once all three converge at the tournament in Florida: Duncan realizes his father is not dead (he plays the word "panosis" which is the disease from which his father died, but the word is disqualified), April hopes to locate the illusive boy, and Nate's father meets up with his former Scrabble partner, who ends up trapping some of the contestants on a ride at Funswamp, hence the alligator on the cover. In the end, everything works.

Strengths: Can't think of anything that covers Scrabble in this much depth. There is a little bit of action.
Weaknesses: I've not had anyone ask for a Scrabble book, and I can't see the children asking for this any more than they would Sachar's The Cardturner. I found the lists of Scrabble words and the extremely tidy ending to be somewhat annoying, but other people did not:

Birdbrained Books
King County Library Blog
Publishers Weekly

The Absolute Value of Mike

Erskine, Kathryn. The Absolute Value of Mike.

Poor Mike. He's got a math disability, but his autism spectrum professor father (never said, but one suspects) thinks he should be an engineer. Not only that, but since the death of Mike's mother, his father has taken little care of Mike, expecting Mike to take care of both of them. When the father is called away to teach for the summer in Romania, he sends Mike to stay with his great aunt and uncle, Boo and Poppy. Things get worse there, because Poppy is completely uncommunicative after the death of his son, and Poppy doesn't have enough money to keep the utilities on all the time. Never fear, though, because Mike is used to holding everything together. He also gets drawn into the town's quest to help Karen, a local minister who has suffered many losses, adopt a Romanian orphan before the country closes foreign adoptions. In doing so, he meets a huge variety of increasingly quirky characters. Can he snap Poppy out of his funk? Will the town raise enough money for Karen to adopt the orphan?

Strengths: This was fairly readable, and this type of cover (think Milo, Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze, My Life as a Book) has been popular with boys who like humor. Fast-paced story, funny moments.

Weaknesses: The Quirky Quotient on this one is off the charts. I started to wonder what was in the water in Poppy and Moo's town. This, combined with Mike's disability, puts it on track for a Newbery. It would be better than having another history book win, but I didn't love it as much as the following people:

Zoe's Book Reviews

Waking Brain Cells

Reading Year

Six Boxes of Books

Bermuda Onion's Weblog

Lynch, Chris. Angry Young Man.

Robert is trying to make a go at it. He works at a garage, goes to college part time, and is doing some work in schools toward his goals. His brother, Xan, however, doesn't do anything to help out their financially struggling mother. He is antisocial and possibly has some undiagnosed mental illness, especially when he starts obsessing about animals in a local shelter. When he gets involved with a group of radical activists, Robert has to figure out how to get his brother on the right path (and save his mother from loan sharks) before things get really bad.

Strengths: This is listed as grades 9-12, but I can't remember excessive swearing or sex. It is definitely more for 8th graders who want problem novels.

Weaknesses: Those who know Lynch from Slot Machine or Cyberia will not be as happy with this one. Lynch definitely has a dichotomy in his writing.

A Boy and His Bot

Wilson, Daniel H. A Boy and His Bot.

On a school field trip to the place where his beloved grandfather mysteriously disappeared, Code Lightfall spots a metallic bee and is sucked into the alternative universe of Mekhos where all of the creatures are robots and his grandfather is the king. The problem? His grandfather's body has been taken over by an evil robot, Immortalis, who is instructing all of the robots to report for self-destruction. Once they are all destroyed, the portal between our world and Mekhos will reopen and Immortalis may wreak havoc on Earth! Code must travel to the main city where the self destruction will occur and find the Robonomicon manual in order to stop it. He meets several robots along the way who help him, but is beset by many more who wish him harm. Will he manage to avert destruction, and more importantly, will he be able to save his grandfather?
Strengths: Short, action packed science fiction with lots of great robots. Dr. Wilson has his PhD in robotics, and I really, really want to read his Where's my jetpack? : a guide to the amazing science fiction future that never arrived as well as How to Build a Robot Army and How to Survive a Robot Uprising. The SRA reading kits promised that there would be jet packs, as well as self-driving hover cars, and I want mine now!

Weaknesses: I was greatly distracted by the Wizard of Oz parallels in the story, and felt that I was missing a ton of literary illusions. I don't think the students will mind. The plot was also somewhat harder to follow because

of the anecdotal appearances of so many different types of robots, but given the dearth of good middle grade science fiction, I'll have to buy this.

Barrett, Tracey. Cold in Summer. (2003)

Ariadne is not happy with the move that her family has made from Florida to Tennessee, but she quickly makes some friends at school and also May, who seems to be homeschooled and comes and goes awfully quickly. The town where Ariadne lives has a large lake that was part of TVA projects that is over a flooded town. (Like in Westlake's Drowned Hopes!)As part of a school project, Ariadne starts researching the town, interviewing the former residents, and finds out that May was a girl who disappeared years ago and who has haunted young girls ever since. Can Aridane solve the mystery and put May's spirit to rest?
Strengths: Very Betty Ren Wright-esque, or like some Mary Downing Hahn. Slightly creepy but not scary, nice history, generally good.

Weaknesses: Don't know how I missed this title, but it's still in print.

Flat Broke

Paulsen, Gary. Flat Broke.

Sequel to Liar, Liar. Kevin, in the wake of his disastrous run of bad luck with lying, has been cut off from his allowance and is in need of some spending money. He can't get a break-- even the little boy whom he babysits has parents in the midst of a divorce and financial difficulties, so they can't pay him. Kevin gets creative, starting poker games, snack delivery to the college, and cleaning out garages whenever he can. He assembles a loyal but quirky staff who stick by him even when things don't go well. Will he manage to improve his finances enough so that he can ask the beauteous Tina to the dance?

Strengths: Again, a surprising and successful turn into humor for Paulsen. This is a very short book, but one that doesn't look overly young. There's even a problem in it, so it will be perfect for boys who put off reading problem novels until the week before the 8th grade unit test. Fans of Project Sweet Life will like this one.

Weaknesses: This suffers a little less from The Fourth Stall Syndrome than many books; the jobs that Kevin dreams up are within the realm of possibility, but still a bit of a reach. Again, the boys seem to like that but it bothers me.

Ford, Michael. The Poisoned House.

Abi grew up in Greaves Hall as the daughter of a maid, but was raised with Samuel. When he comes home with a war injury, Abi helps nurse him, to the chagrin of his aunt, Mrs. Cotton, who is cruel to Abi. Once Samuel comes home, Abi is haunted more and more by her mother's ghost, and attempts to figure out why the haunting is occurring only cause more problems. The treatment of servants during this era is very clear, and a large part of the story deals with the everyday difficulties that this class of people had to face. The ghost story, however, plays a larger part, and there are lots of good, Gothic spooky happenings to keep the suspense going right up to the end.

Strengths: Spooky, atmospheric, deliciously Victorian.

Weaknesses: There's so little call for Victorian stories and so many great ones being written right now. Guess I'll have to push them a bit. I am really disappointed that Mr. Ford wrote this instead of another ancient Greece book. His Fire of Ares series is SO popular that I was hoping we would see more of that sort of book from him. He's a good writer, and we do need more ancient Greece and Rome books!

Weekend Reading

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Bird in a Box.

Three children in 1930s Elmira, New York find their paths intersecting. Hibernia, the daughter of the local Baptist preacher, wants to be a singer like her mother (who abandoned her). Willie is in a nearby orphanage even though his mother is still alive, mainly because his stepfather ruined his hands after Willie threw an amateur boxing match. Otis is also in the orphanage after the deaths of his struggling but loving parents. The boys, and Hibernia's father, are all enthralled with the journey of boxer Joe Louis as he is battling his way to the top of his field against fighters such as Max Schmeling. Alternating narrators between

the three, the way that these three intersect is slowly revealed.

Strengths: Very good period details about the economy, plight of African Americans, and social mores of the time. If Bud, Not Buddy is popular in your library, this is a must have.

Weaknesses: As much as I like historical fiction, this didn't quite grab me. I don't do well with alternating narrators, so that might have been why. I was surprised to see that The Happy Nappy Bookseller had the same reaction.

Rennison, Louise. Withering Tights.

Tallulah is thrilled to leave her wacky family behind and travel to the Yorkshire Dales to attend an arts camp. She ends up living with a local family and being disappointed that there are no boys in her program, even though this doesn't stop the cousin of Georgia Nicholson from finding some hotties in other places! Tallulah makes friends easily, enjoys being part of the Yorkshire community, and does her best to find an art form through which she can express herself-- with sometimes frightening but funny consequences. This funny book is light on plot, but fans will just be glad to have something new from Rennison.

Strengths: Good local flavor, funny situations, embarrassing stories that middle school girls love. Not quite as repetitive and precious as Angus, Thongs got to be.

Weaknesses: The Georgia books are not for everyone, and while this is not as quirky, the same may be true. They are funny, but the head long style gets tiring.

Allen, Elise. Populazzi.

Cara's family moves far enough away that she has to go to a new school but close enough that she can keep in touch with her friend Claudia through texting. Every year, the two think that they can change their lives and be popular, but it has never worked. Claudia comes up with a plan involving a Ladder of dating in order for Cara to become more popular. After being thwarted in her heart felt attempts to date Archer, Cara throws herself into a cycle of dating, starting with a Danger Zone boy and working her way into the popular crowd. Once she's there, does life improve?
Strengths: Love the voice, and the Plan is a well thought out one. This was fun chick lit that examines why people are popular and was very true to life.

Weaknesses: DEFINITELY YA. Cara smokes pot with danger zone boy, ends up in several unclothed situations-- there's just too much. I didn't even want to give it to Older Teen Daughter. Amusing, interesting, but perhaps a bit too instructional for a school library. This is too bad. It could easily have been made acceptable for the middle school audience.

Guy Friday-- Adrenaline

Aronson, Marc and Patty Campbell. War Is...Soldiers, Survivors, and Storytellers Talk About War. (2008)

This collection of writing about various facets of war has an introduction by Marc Aronson that finally makes sense of why so many of my boy readers want to read about war. Aronson posits that "People like war." Why?

There is a certain rush of Adrenalin that the war experience provides. People who have been in wars, despite the horrific experience, are drawn closer to those with whom they fight; they feel more alive. This is a very complete collection showing things from how army recruiters are not entirely honest, to women who experiences harassment while serving, to an interview with a chaplain. The stand out, for me, were several essays by World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle. I had heard of him, but never read his work. Why his "The Horrible Waste of War" recounting what the Normandy Beach looked like after the fighting is not required reading in every high school, I don't know. It is powerful stuff, and beautifully written. I will definitely look up the collection of his columns, entitled Brave Men, and will definitely purchase War Is... for my library. Don't know how I missed it.

Sciezka, Jon. Guys Read: Thriller.

Release date 20 September 2011. E-ARC received from NetGalley.

From the publisher: "A body on the tracks. A teenage terrorist. A mysterious wish-granting machine.The world’s worst private detective. The second volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading is chock-full of mystery, intrigue, and nefarious activity. Featuring some of the best writers around, and compiled by certified guy Jon Scieszka,Guys Read: Thriller is a pulse-pounding collection of brand-new short stories, each one guaranteed to keep you riveted until the final page."

Again, that Adrenaline rush. Scary stories, suspense. The Guys Read: Funny Business has been very popular: there's something to be said for a book that says specifically on the front cover "This is for boys to read." I would give more description, but it is so hard to page back through an E-ARC to look at the short stories again. They were all good.

Henderson, Jason. Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead.

I liked Vampire Rising so much that I nominated it for the Cybils Awards.The second book is a textbook example of how to write for the Adrenaline rush: Alex is chased by two cars, has blood sucking leeches thrown at him by Elle, is attacked by the leeches again in his dorm room, and then the dorm catches on fire. That's just the first two chapters! The boys from Glenarvon have to move in with the girls at LaLaurie school until repairs are made. Shades of Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy!) From there, we find out that the vampires are still trying to take out Alex, so Elle makes several more attempts on his life, and a character named Ultravox is brought in. He's trying to brainwash the LaLaurie girls to carry out an evil plan, using Alex's friend Sid's short stories to do it! This is an absolutely essential purchase if your library's Darren Shan books are in tatters. Still not enough of Ale'x sister, but I think there will be a sequel, and I can live in hope.

Adrenaline. Why things need to explode in the very first chapter of a book for some boys to find it intriguing! That said, adrenaline literally makes me sick to my stomach! I don't like scary books or movies, I don't sky dive, and quite frankly, making left turns in heavy traffic is as daredevilish as I care to get. That's why it's important for me to separate what I want to read from what my students want. If I had my way, we'd have a collection based off of the blogging of The Paris Hat! Ah, rec rooms and saddle shoes. A little more in my comfort zone.

The Juliet Spell

Rees, Douglas. The Juliet Spell.

Release date 27 September 2011. E-ARC received from Netgalley.com

Miranda is convinced that if she can get the lead role in her community's production of Romeo and Juliet that her life will be better-- her father will return, her mother won't have to work so hard, and she'll find the romance that is lacking in her life. She uses a spell book to make her fondest desire known... and instead of getting the role, brings one Edmund Shakesshaft (aka Shakespeare) into our time. He has some trouble understanding all of the changes in society, but soon is passing himself off as an English cousin of Miranda's and acting as Romeo in the play. Miranda soon has a crush on him, but he is intrigued by the loose morals of some of the other women around. When the director has a heart attack and the play is in jeopardy, Miranda, Edmund and the other actors band together to keep the production going forward. Miranda's friend Drew (who has a crush on her) manages to figure out how Edmund traveled through time, but before sending him back, manages to bring his brother, William, into the present as well. Will the show go on? Will the Shakespeares go back to their own time or rewrite history in order to stay?

Strengths: I adore Rees' writing. It's got a fast-paced, slightly snarky tone that is a pleasure to read. Edmund's dialect and old-fashioned attitudes ring true, even while he is assimilating into the present. Rees also has stand out moments when he has parents guard the alcohol at a party, mentions that Latin in the schools is dead (has no one else realized this?), and has Drew driving my favorite car, a Citroen CV2. This is perfect for high school freshman when they are reading the play, Romeo and Juliet. Very, very fun.

Weaknesses: This definitely falls into the high school category. The emphasis on Shakespeare, which middle schoolers haven't gotten to yet, would be enough to put it there, but there is also mention of several characters having relations as well as a completely random (in the ARC) f-bomb at the beginning. Still, for high school readers who love paranormal romances, this is perfect.

Thanks, I Needed That.

I've never been a big Matt Damon fan, mainly because I'm not familiar with his work, but I am now.

What a nice speech, quoted in a Boston Herald Blog. Granted, his mother is an education professor, so he has a bias. I don't care what anyone's politics are, and I know that the economy is bad, but it's one thing to ask me to take a pay cut (which I would willingly do), and another to make mean spirited, ad hominem attacks like many of the politicians and tax payers are doing.

I'm not evil, I knew teaching would be hard, I'm not complaining. It's still nice to hear this kind of comment. Thanks, Mr. Damon.(Photo by AP)

"So the next time you’re feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself called “overpaid;” the next time you encounter some simple-minded, punitive policy that’s been driven into your life by some corporate reformer who has literally never taught anyone anything. … Please know that there are millions of us behind you. You have an army of regular people standing right behind you, and our appreciation for what you do is so deeply felt. We love you, we thank you and we will always have your back.”"

The Dog Days of Summer

It's been too hot to do anything but read, and yet nothing sounded good. My dog Sylvie has taken to lying on her side on the floor, looking at me incredulously when I ask her if she wants to go out or play tennis ball. School starts two weeks from today, so it's hard to get motivated.

Hence, the Reading Death March. Had to get through the TBR. There are a lot of good books here, but none of them quite tripped my own personal trigger,although there are some I will definitely buy for my readers.

Green, Tim. Deep Zone. (Sequel to Football Hero) ( and also sequel to Football Genius and The Big Time—Ty and Troy meet up in this one.)

Release date August 23, 2011. E-Arc received from Netgalley.com

Ty gets to be a ball boy for the Baltimor Ravens because his older brother Thane plays on the team... and both of their parents are dead. Ty’s other relatives are in a witness protection program

because they were involved with a mob gambling situation that went wrong. After Thane injures

his knee badly, Ty gets to play in a football tournament. He and Troy end up playing in the tournament and also being targeted by the buffoonish mobsters who are after them. As in the other books by Green, the wily kids manage to thwart the grownups.

Strengths: Kids eat these books up. They love football books, and for some reason, there has long been a fascination with the mob among middle school boys. Green deserves huge props for knowing this and working it into his books, as well as for the really good descriptions of football.

Weaknesses: While kids love these, I myself prefer Deuker, whose writing is a little more mature, both stylistically and thematically. Will I still have to order two copies? Yes.

MacHale, D.J. The Black. http://www.djmachale.com

In The Light, Marsh Seaver’s best friend Cooper is missing. We find out that Cooper has been killed in a boating accident, and is now in “the Black”, trying to navigate the afterlife. In Cooper’s vision of his howmetown, he meets his grandfather and a girl who lives near his grandfather’s house; Gravedigger, the doodle of Marsh’s that was brought to life in the first book; and Damon, an ancient warrior who has brought Cooper to the

Black because he is intent on world domination and thinks Cooper is somehow a key to it. Can Cooper make contact with Marsh and keep him safe? Will he be able to thwart the Watchers, help Damon, and make it out of the limbo that is The Black?

Strengths: Good, spooky book with mystery and lots of scary characters and action.

Weaknesses: The changing perceptions in the Black, along with a large cast of characters, made this a little hard to follow. I’m imagining that the third and final book in the series will be titled The Blood, since it’s mentioned several times.

Nance, Andrew. Return to Daemon Hall.

Ian Tremblin holds another horror writing contest, and this time Demarius and Wade are back as judges. Tremblin has a book that belonged to the owner of Daemon Hall, and this book transports the assembled writers back to the burnt out hall where they have to act out their stories. They all get sent back and forth through time and terrorized by the book, but then they escape. Or do they? Wade and Millie are in dire trouble at the end of the book, and their fellow writers are all ill or comatose after their run-in with Daemon Hall. I have a distinct feeling there will be a third book.

Strengths: Great scary cover, spooky stories, and a story-within-a-story format that is fresh. The first book is popular in my library.

Weaknesses: Had to pay careful attention to where and when the characters were, which is something I find difficult, but the characters had to keep on their toes as well!

Pearson, Ridley. Kingdom Keepers IV: Power Play

The Overtakers, a group of Disney villains, are back, and still determined to take over Disney World, and the whole world if they can. They spend a lot of time trying to trip up the Keepers by putting them in danger on various rides. It is up to the five teens working as Kingdom Keepers to keep them at bay. The good characters come to their aid, and there are hints to sequels (rumors of 7) that will include Disneyland and Disney cruises.

Strengths: Disney has some appeal for many students, and this is certainly an action packed series. Disney has apparently even put together some sort of activity at their theme park to go along with the book!

Weaknesses: The third book of this series has been a hard sell. My students read the first book but aren’t into the sequels, which is always a difficult thing.

Bick, Ilsa J. Ashes.

Release Date September 6, 2011. E-Arc received from Netgalley.com

Alex has an inoperable brain tumor, so when she decides to quit treatment, she goes hiking in a remote part of Michigan. While there, she meets Jack and his young granddaughter Ellie. When an electromagnetic pulse kills Jack, and a lot of animals and most of the other people in the world, Ellie and Alex must work together with Tom (an army man on leave) to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where the vast majority of people have turned into flesh eating zombies. There is a sequel in the offing.

Strengths: This is plenty gory, and zombie books are popular now.

Weaknesses: The pacing seemed a little slow to me. The beginning, talking about Alex’s illness, will lose a lot of readers wanting a zombie book. This may be more of a YA title.

Wignall, K.J. Blood

Release date September 27, 2011. E-Arc received from Netgalley.com

Will is a vampire and would-be Earl. He’s been a vampire for 750 years, so he knows not to kill beautiful women for blood, he attacks homeless street people instead. He’s pale, light hurts his eyes, and he is very broodingly sexy. He also needs to find the vampire responsible for his lonely but eternal existence, and also find Lorcan Labraid, who is “the evil of the world”. Helped by Eloise, a feisty girl who cannot stay immune to Will’s musty charms, the two start their trilogy based journey to .... do vampire things. Wander around, feel lonely, drain people of blood.

Strengths: It is a vampire book. The main character is at least a male vampire.

Weaknesses: I am SO tired of vampire books, and this just didn’t have the needed oomph or originality to make it stand apart from the dozen of others.

Okay, so apparently my HUGE dislike of Twilight and similar books is working against me here—everyone else seems to love this and think it’s original: I Heart YA Books, Lily Reader, My World of Books,Great Imaginations, I Read Past My Bedtime.

Whew. Good use of my time to get caught up. Too hot to can tomatoes or scrub the kitchen floor, which is what I really should be doing!

Awaken

Kacvinksy, Katie. Awaken.

Parents just make things difficult. In 2060, this is certainly the case for Madeleine. Because of violence and problems in schools, there are no more public schools-- everyone attends school on-line, thanks to Madeleine's father, who runs the national school system. The students are not all happy with this (although parents are) because they miss talking to other humans. At one point in the past, Madeleine hacked into her father's computer files to help an underground movement blow up some of the school equipment, which took people off-line and got her placed under house arrest. When she meets Justin, actually in person, she is drawn to him, but conflicted when he turns out to be part of another movement to "unplug" the digital school, and wants to use her to help the movement. What is more important to Madeleine-- family or freedom?

Strengths: Brilliant and fascinating concept, especially in light of all of the things happening to public schools. Could this happen some day? Will I have to become a virtual librarian? All the more chilling because it seems plausible. People are very plugged in, and this exploration of whether this is really working is interesting.

Weaknesses: This got off to a good start but fell apart at the end. Things stopped happening. Older Daughter did read this one and enjoyed it, but also thought that it needed a sequel, which is in fact coming. I am growing weary of series, and think that this might have been a tighter story if kept to one book. Will need to read the sequel to find out what happens, though!

You'll Like It Here (Everybody Does)

White, Ruth. You'll Like It Here (Everybody Does)

Meggie and David are all set to enjoy their summer vacation, hanging out with their mother and grandfather, but the town has gotten weirdly obsessed with aliens.Turns out (and very quickly, too-- page 25!) that Meggie's family ARE the aliens, and they must leave earth in a hurry. They can't go back to Chroma, their planet, because it has been so polluted, so they travel to the first likely place that they find, Fashion City. After being discovered sleeping in a park, the people of Fashion City assume that the family has escaped from the Western Provinces, and conveniently help Meggie and her family to settle in. This is easy because "the Fathers" take care of everyone. While this is comforting at first, it becomes more oppressive when the family begins to realize that all choice is limited, music with subliminal messages is broadcast all the time, and anyone who is "grossly unique" is swiftly removed and reprogrammed. Everyone in the community seems to be quite happy to go along with the lock-stepped life that is dictated, and when the grandfather is picked up for his "Vacation 65", the family realizes that they need to escape. Can they locate the grandfather in time? And where will they have to go now?

Strengths: This is a very understandable, middle grade dystopian novel. It is fast-paced, and the world in which the family finds itself is not overly confusing. Had an air of City of Ember about it. I appreciated that it is a gender neutral book, right down to the cover. Quite nice.

Weaknesses: I didn't buy that Elvis and Lincoln and Martin Luther King all somehow ended up in this world, along with several friends of Meggie's. That stretched my credulity for some reason.

This has been getting a fair amount of blog love, so it's definitely a title to check out:

Book Lady's Book Notes, Books Your Kids Will Love, My Brain on Books, and Kirkus Reviews,

Nonfiction Monday

Wakeman, Nancy. Babe Didrikson Zaharias: Driven to Win (2000)

Born in 1911, Babe Didrikson was a natural athlete who once won a track and field competition by herself by competing in eight events and winning five of them! In an era when women didn't necessarily showcase their athleticism, Babe found ways to earn enough income to support her family while doing what she loved. She qualified for the Olympics, made money through product endorsements, performed athletic feats on the Vaudeville circuit, and spent time not playing sports so that she could be reclassified as an amateur and play golf, until it was more lucrative to play as a professional as a founding member of the LPGA. She married George Zaharias, a professional wrestler who managed her career, and was voted the top female athlete of the first half of the twentieth century. Truly and original, she had the brashness and drive to push the limits, both physically and socially, of what women could do, before her untimely death from cancer at the age of 45.

Strengths: This Lerner biography is well laid out, with pictures and sidebars explaining various historical and cultural events. It moves quickly and is readable, although it is also an excellent resource for reports.

Weaknesses: The writing starts out a bit wooden but improves.

The Sweetest Thing

Mandelski, Christina. The Sweetest Thing.

Sheridan's father is a great chef who owns a restaurant in a small town, where Sheridan's grandmother runs a bakery. When he gets offered his own cooking show, the family may need to move to New York City, which Sheridan doesn't want to do, in part because she is afraid that the mother who abandoned her years before won't be able to find her. Sheridan is a great cake decorator who works hard in the family business while trying to have her own life at school. She has finally caught the attention of Ethan, and the two date. She's thrilled, but saddened that her best friend, Jack, finds their relationship so offensive. When her father's show starts ramping up, Sheridan tries to find her mother, hoping that she will come home for Sheridan's birthday. As in real life, things don't always work out.

Strengths: Excellent romance and cake book! Really enjoyed this one, as did Older Daughter. We both appreciated that Ethan wasn't a huge jerk; Sheridan just like Jack better in the end. The way the relationship with the mother worked out was a bit of a twist, and the fighting with the father showed how much the characters meant to each other. REALLY looking forward to seeing what this author writes next!

Weaknesses: Nothing major; I'm not getting the appeal of the cooking show since I never have watched any on television (Unless you count Graham Kerr back when I was in third grade at the babysitter's), but many people seem to like them.

Silhouetted by the Blue

Jones, Traci L. Silhouetted by the Blue.

Serena has a lot going on-- she has been chosen for the lead role in the middle school production of The Wiz, and she's glad because she loves to act, but things are home are bad. Her mother was killed in an automobile accident, and ever since then, her father (who has struggled with depression before) is struck so hard by "the blue" that he can't even get out of bed. Serena tries to take care of her younger brother Henry; picking him up and taking him to play practice, doing laundry, feeding him and checking his homework, but when they run out of food and money and her father is still not responsive, she contacts an uncle to get help. The uncle comes, just in time to avert a tragedy, and the family tries to band together and move beyond their grief.

Strengths: This is the sort of problem novel that many of my 7th graders adore, because it concerns a girl their age trying simply to survive. I thought it was marvelous because Serena was a solidly middle class African-American girl with strong school interests, caught in a bad situation... and the book was NOT about her ethnicity. We need more books about characters of different backgrounds where the story line does not center around the background. Jones is great for that. Finding My Place and Standing Against the Wind are both strong circulators at my school.

Weaknesses: The ending was a bit abrupt and deus ex machina, but given the situation, it's not uncalled for.

Belated Guy Friday-- Guys Behaving Badly

Sorry. It's summer, and the whole turning-on-the-computer thing is tough for me!

Gosselink, John. The Defense of Thaddeus Ledbetter.

Thaddeus is a know-it-all who frequently decides to do things for the betterment of his school. Adults don't agree. His latest escapade was a "true emergency drill" that has earned him the rest of the year in In School Suspension. It's Februrary. In frequent notes to the principal, his lawyer uncle, and a narrative of hi

s "defense", Thaddeus tries to excuse his actions and get out of his punishment. The format includes various notes, drawings, etc.

Strengths: This is a humorous tale, since Thaddeus gets himself into unusual and quirky situations. He is not a nice boy. Fans of Wimpy Kid might like the visula format that includes pictures and changes of font.

Weaknesses: Wanted to slap Thaddeus. No school would put up with him for that long in ISS. He's a whiny, bratty kid who thinks he knows everything. Ugh. However, this book may fall into the Unspeakable Evil category-- I am never going to get it because I am a girl. And a teacher.

This is a good time to bring up the lovely essay by Jeff Kinney in Time Magazine. I especially enjoyed this quote: "The topic was how to reach "reluctant readers" (whom I've since come to know by the more concise term boys.)"

In this article, he talks about teachers and librarians handing Anne of Green Gables to boys who just want to read about video games and sharks. It's worth reading. I agree with many of his points, and yet I still really detest Greg, whom I think brings problems upon himself. Do I have the Wimpy Kid books in my library? Multiple copies. Do I ever recommend them to students? Never. I do try hard to give students what they want to read, but there are books that deliver that and don't make me want to slap the main character. Big Nate, for instance. I love Big Nate because he is essentially a good person who just can't control himself. It's a fine line, but acknowledging the line and my problems with certain aspects of it makes me more successful at getting "the right book for the right child at the right time." I hope.

Cerrito, Angela. The End of the Line.

Robbie is in a very strict juvenile detention facility. They remove his bed every day, and he has to earn his food by doing what the guards tell him; make lists, attend group sessions, etc. Robbie has ended up at this facility after being thrown out of a string of others for violent behavior... and for killing a classmate. Going between his current situation and his introduction to Ryan, a troubled boy from a dysfunctional home whom he befriends even though he dislikes him. (The narratives are in different fonts, which helps.) Does Robbie understand the impact of what he has done? Can he be rehabilitated?

Strengths: Some students really like to read about students in detention facilities, and this is mercifully clean of "gritty reality" in dialogue. It details what life is like in one of these facilities, and makes Robbie a sympathetic character.

Weaknesses: Robbie never seems like a cold-blooded, calculated killer to me, so I didn't quite understand why he resorted to his horrible behavior? Guilt? While I enjoyed the book, there was something off to me about the whole motivation and subsequent punishment. I don't think students will notice.

Waiting for You/ Not What I Wanted Wednesday

Colasanti, Susane. Waiting for You.

Marisa has the most enormous crush on Derek, but he is going out with someone else. She gets on with her life-- hanging out with her friend Sterling, who likes to cook, dealing with her combative younger sister Sandra, being confused about her parents' relationship (which is quickly disintegrating), dealing with her anxiety disorder, and hanging out with her friend, Nash. When Nash confesses that he likes Marisa, things get uncomfortable when she doesn't return the feeling. Eventually, Derek goes out with her, but is he the one in whom she is really interested?

Strengths: After reading So Much Closer and finding it appropriate for middle school, I knew I would have to read more of these books. A lot of my 8th grade girls crave romance books and will only read Nicholas Sparks. They will find these books, with their crushes, pining, and eventual resolutions perfect.

Weaknesses: Too painful for me to enjoy. I hated reading about how much of a crush Marisa had on Derek-- because I have been there. Luckily, that was 30 odd years ago and I have recovered. I guess it's a sign of good writing that the books can make me uncomfortable. Definitely buy

ing whichever ones of these are middle school appropriate.

And here are some books that didn't work for me or my library, but I can definitely see them working at different levels:

Meehl, Brian. You Don't Know About Me.

From the Publisher: " Billy has spent his almost-sixteen years with four cardinal points--Mother, Christ, Bible, and Home-school--but when he sets off on a wild road trip to find the father he thought was dead, he learns much about himself and life."

What I Wanted: A rollicking road trip book with lots of action and humor.

Why This Didn't Work For Me: I was about half way through the book, and really enjoying it, when I realized it was too introspective for middle school. While I can get kids to read gently humorous quirky books for a while, this clocks in at 406 pages. Given it's personal identity theme, this would be great for high school. I adore this author's Suck It Up, and his writing style is great. Also, the cover is perfect.

People who liked this include: Publishers Weekly, Jessica Max Stein, YA Reads, A Crowe's Nest, and Kirkus Reviews.

Watson, Paul E. The Robot.

From the Publisher: " Science-loving Gabe and girl-crazy Dover are best friends. In fact, they're practically each other's only friends. So when Gabe's parents leave town for the weekend, he lets Dover convince him to break into his father's basement laboratory-even though he knows it's off-limits under penalty of lifelong grounding. Once inside, the boys make a shocking discovery, one that will turn a boring weekend into a hilarious madcap adventure: a smoking hot robot"

What I Wanted: A rollicking science geek book with lots of action and humor.

Why This Didn't Work For Me: *Snerk* While this cracked me up, it was not appropriate for me to hand to middle school students. Underaged drinking and salacious interest in the robot.

People who liked this include: Chris at School Library Journal and Ryan the Librarian.This just came out, so there aren't a lot of reviews of it around or I would include more.

Paratore, Coleen Murtagh. From Willa, With Love.

From the Publisher: "As summer comes to a close on Cape Cod, Willa finds herself dealing with bad news from her best friend, a surprising secret from her brother, an unexpected crush, and last minute wedding plans."

This is the fifth book in The Wedding Planner's Daughter series.

What I Wanted: Girlfriend Material with a touch of Along for the Ride.

Why This Didn't Work For Me: While this does have some romance, it is more about Willa's interaction with her close-knit community. I enjoyed this to a certain extent, but the first book in the series is not much read, so I haven't invested in it. Willa did get irritating at some points, not just because Willa has long been a name I've had tucked up my sleeve for a character! If this series is popular in your library, it would be a must have.

People who liked this include: Hippies, Beauty and Books, Kiss the Book, Imaginary Reads, GalleySmith, and What is Bridget Reading?

Sidekicks

Ferraiolo, Jack. Sidekicks.

It's not easy to be Scott. While he has super strength and speed, he's being raised by Trent, aka Phantom Justice, and must perform super hero sidekick duties as Bright Boy. The yellow tights and red cape were cute when he was younger, but after a much televised wardrobe malfunction, he's ready to ditch the costume. At school, he's bullied by Jake and ignored by most of the other students. After being in prison for five years, Bright Boy's arch nemesis, Dr. Chaotic, is back, as is his screeching assistant, Monkeywrench. Since the superheroes all seem to be disappearing, it's up to Phantom Justice and Scott to dispatch the pair, but after one clash, Scott discovers that Monkeywrench is really a classmate of his, Allison. The two become friends, and then things REALLY become interesting. Let's just say that the super hero world is not always what it seems. The twists and turns in this are so delicious that I don't want to give them away.

Strengths: This was great! Not at all what I was expecting, and the interplay between good and evil, always a favorite theme of mine, was brilliant! Scott and Allison's relationship rings true, making this a good book to hand to boys who secretly want a romance book. The superhuman aspect is believable, and the inclusion of embarrassing incidents makes this funny as well. I did like this author's The Big Splash, but the film noir style isn't popular in my library.

Weaknesses: The cover is attractive, but a bit on the cartoonish side. I intend to hand this to a lot of 8th graders, and the cover will make some of them flinch.Also, after an uncomfortable conversation with my surly male resource, we concluded that some of Scott's wardrobe problems could perhaps have been averted with some standard athletic equipment that would probably have been useful when fighting supervillians anyway! Small points; I'm looking forward to having this in my library!

Meyer, Carolyn. Cleopatra Confesses.

It's not easy to be the young Cleopatra, either. From her final moments, she recounts her event filled childhood. Her older sisters resent their father and can't wait to rule the kingdom and enjoy all of the perks ruling offers. Cleopatra, however, is a little more attuned to the people, and knows that her father wants her to rule. Once she starts to share the rule with her father, she develops a crush on Marc Antony, but later, of course, has an affair with Caesar. This is not so much about romance as it is about politics, which have to consume most of Cleopatra's thoughts.

Strengths: The description of every day life make this a valuable book to have. The affairs are described delicately enough that the sixth graders can read this.

Weaknesses: I have to agree with Small Review , who liked this but thought it stopped when all of the real excitement began. I also agree that there were times when the plot didn't seem to go anywhere-- there wasn't much action, more thought. This is similar to the books about the young British queens that Meyer has done, and those are popular, so it may not matter.

Nonfiction Monday- Biographies

Krull, Kathleen. Sigmund Freud (2006)

Discovered an odd thing while reading this: I didn't want to critique the book as much as I wanted to critique Freud's life! Krull always does an excellent job with biographies, like the one on Marie Curie, but I wasn't nearly as interested in Freud. The style was the same, with nice discussions in a sort of conversational, lecture format, but Curie's life was so much more exciting. The more interesting parts of Freud's life, such as how his dog Jofi was "trained" to get up after an hour, I just didn't believe. Isn't it more likely that he gave his dog a signal? I love biographies, having read all of the Childhood of Famous Americans books I could find in elementary school, but I think I'll pass on this one for my library. The inclusion of actual pictures of Freud would have made it more valuable to my collection.

Bertozzi, Nick. Lewis and Clark.

The note at the beginning of this book helped a lot: what the author want to do was to communicate "the experience of that remarkable expedition". This the book does very well. The graphic novel format made it hard for me to follow some of the history, leaving me to want to read a standard biography or nonfiction book on the topic, but this was a good way to impart the highlights (or lowlights as they were!) of the expedition. The book starts when the president gives the commission and ends with Lewis' problems afterwards, and his suicide.

Strengths: I can see this being used by social studies teachers to recount some of the more interesting portions of the journey or to entice students to read further. It is well-researched and the drawings are comparable to other graphic novels.

Weaknesses: As previously stated, understanding the details is sometimes difficult without the support of a lot of text. The one formatting issue I would have changed is that sometimes the drawings are contained on one page, and sometimes it is necessary to read across the entire two page spread to read things in order. Perhaps this is not a struggle for those used to graphic novels, but I had to reread several pages because of the confusion this caused.