Guy Friday--Before You Go

Preller, James. Before You Go.
17 July 2012

Jude is enjoying his summer as much as he can, hanging out with his geeky friend Corey who is obsessed with zombies and working in food service on the beach, wearing a dorky paper hat and an orange and black uniform. He makes another friend in coworker Roberto, who encourages him to get to know the attractive Becka, one of the cashiers. Being at work and hanging out with friends gives Jude the chance to get away from his health nut father (who, embarrassingly, runs in spandex shorts) and his depressed mother who has never gotten over the death of his four year old sister, who drowned years ago in the family pool while Jude was supposed to be watching her. Becka is interested in Jude, and they spend a lot of time hanging around together, but when another tragedy happens, Jude has a lot of trouble dealing with not only the recent events, but the aftermath of years of supressing his sister's death as well.
Strengths: This was an effective and engaging read. The depiction of working food service on the beach was highly entertaining, and the romance was realistic. The fact that Jude has to deal with the deaths of two people close to him is a bit unusual, but does happen.
Weaknesses: While mostly appropriate for middle school, the topics and self searching in this book make it more suitable for high school students.This strikes me as a bit like David Lubar's Dunk.

The Vanishing Game

Myers, Kate Kae. The Vanishing Game.
14 February 2012, Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Jocelyn is reeling from the death of her twin brother, Jack, in a car accident. After years of abuse at the hands of their promiscuous mother and her boyfriends, and then in an evil foster home, they were finally happy and pursuing activities that they both enjoyed. When Jocelyn gets a cryptic letter that she believes is from her brother, she assumes he is alive and goes back to Seale House to try to find him. She encounters Noah, who was also in the abusive foster home with her and was best friends with Jack, and also worked with him on computer programming for a security company. Jocelyn has no luck at all-- her car is stolen with all her paperwork, she is attacked when she goes back to Seale House, and she is dealing with both the demons of her past and someone in the present who doesn't want her to find out what is going on. With Noah's help, she manages to revisit many sites from her childhood and start to come to terms with Jack's death, as well as her feelings for Noah. Just when everything seems to be coming to a conclusion, however, a shocking twist makes us question everything we have learned.
Strengths: Good creepy cover, nice romance with Noah, and oddly, the scenes of child abuse will make this a good choice in February, for 7th grade girls who all suddenly want to read depressing books.
Weaknesses: A few mentions of sex and misconduct by the mother; nothing awful. The twist at the end was effective but one which I don't care for (similar to Alphin's Picture Perfect or Springer's Possessing Jesse.) This feels more like a Young Adult book, but since I got a hard cover copy at a book look, I'll probably go ahead and put it in the library and see if it circulates.

Behind the Masks

Patron, Susan. Behind the Masks: The Diary of Angeline Reddy, Bodie, California, 1880
1 January 2012, Scholastic


Angeline Reddy's father, a lawyer in their small mining town, has supposedly been knifed to death, but she doesn't believe it. Struggling to help her mother, who is recuperating from a very bad abscessed tooth, Angie enlists the help of Mr. Duval, who works with her father, and Ling Loi, a Chinese girl who comes to her aid. She also makes friends with Eleanor, who is in her class. A vigilante group called the 601 is not happy with the work that Mr. Reddy is doing and are taking matters into their own hands, kicking people out of town. Since Angie feels that her father is still alive, she helps the ladies of the town plan the big fourth of July celebration, since her mother is not well enough to go to the meetings. Mr. Johl, a butcher who has been kind to Angie, asks the committee to let his wife work with them, but the ladies decline because Mrs. Johl was once worked in a brothel, and it wouldn't be proper. Angie stands up for Mrs. Johl, which turns out to be fortuitous, since Ling Loi was raised in the very brothel where Mrs. Johl worked, and considered her a mother figure. When the Johl's are run out of town by the 601, Angie is even more compelled to fight against them, even though she suspects that her friend Eleanor's father is working with them. When Mr. Reddy shows up at the town's elaborate fourth of July masked ball, he produces a list of the 601 that was stolen from Eleanor's father and results in the 601 being dealt with properly, which is difficult since the town sheriff and constable are both in the group. Notes and pictures following the story tell what parts of the story are based on real people and events, and which are fabricated. 
Strengths: Unlike many of the diary books, Angie is NOT overly concerned with her own issues, but instead is focused on the welfare of her father and the town. I especially liked all of the details of daily life that were included, like how to moth proof the carpets. This will be a big hit with fans of this series.
Weaknesses: The sub plot with the ghost child seemed very out of place to me and the book would have made more sense to me if this story line had been omitted.

Science Fiction--Clones and Aliens

Jennings, Patrick. Invasion of the Dog Nappers
24 April 2012, EgmontUSA


Logan is on the bus to school when he sees a dog just vanish! He is absolutely sure that space aliens are responsible, and when his friend Kian's mother's dog also disappears, he resolves to find out what is going on. He forms the Intergalactic Canine Rescue Unit and starts to investigate. Suspicious people, like the strange bearded man with an accent, are all under his magnifying glass, even when they turn out to be perfectly harmless Greek immigrants with sons his own age! Soon, however, Logan finds a creepy man in a wheelchair, who turns out to be... an alien! Logan finds himself floating with all of the dogs that have been kidnapped, and in the custody of a dolphin-like alien creature whose job it is to collect dogs to take back to the home planet. Logan manages to convince the aliens that they should return the much loved family pets they have stolen and instead go to animal shelters and take all of THOSE dogs back to their planet. The aliens agree, and Logan is able to return the pets to their grateful owners. 
Strengths: This is a fast-paced, easy read that would be an excellent choice for first or second graders who are strong readers but are tired of Magic Treehouse type books.
Weaknesses: This was too young and goofy for my middle school students


McKissack, Patricia, Frederick and Pat.  The Visitors (Clone Codes #3)
1 February 2012, Scholastic Press


Marcus, the son of the director of the space program and an ardent believer in the Wholer movement, and Leanna, a clone who was illegally raised as human, are back for a third installment. Leanna is recuperating from having been kidnapped by the evil Chancellor Graham's forces, who tried to turn her into a purple clone, and her mother and Dr. Ayala are still in prison. With the help of Rizin, they hope to be able to get the two free and also fight against the chancellor and his killer bots, who have some support becomes he claims that cyborgs and clones are dragging down advancements in space exploration. They have the help of RUBy, a rock-like, Cystalline creature who is not the ship but controls the ship, and communicates via computer. However, RUBy must return to her own planet in time to complete the ritual of splitting. The Crystallines are even more discriminated against than clones and cyborgs because people do not have any idea that they are anything more than rocks. When Leanna's mother and Dr. Ayala are brought before the World Supreme Court to decide if their raising of Leanna as a human was illegal, RUBy comes along. The court needs to decide once and for all if the chancellor is right and can continue to descriminate against clones and cyborgs, and the existance of the Crystallines will help sway their opinion-- but in what direction?
Strengths: Leanna and Marcus are both interesting characters, and the futuristic elements are not all grim-- there is a lot of fun space travel and technology. All three books are short, and excellent for science fiction assignments!
Weaknesses: Still a tiny bit heavy on the civil rights parallels, but in this book this theme does not interfere with the pacing or character development as much as it did in previous books. 

Middle Grade Monday--The Kindling

Bell, Braden. The Kindling.
10 July 2012, Cedar Fort, Inc.

Connor and his friend Pilaf (really Olaf) have a hard enough time dealing with bullies like Geoffrey at their school, but when a mysterious man starts stalking him, his sister Melanie and his friend Lexa, things get weird and scary fast! Terrible storms start popping up, and Connor finds that his anger can often storm out of control-- he didn't really mean to set Geoffrey's pants on fire, did he? It is soon revealed that Connor, Lexa and Melanie all are Magi (warriors for the Light)who powers have just Kindled, and they are in danger because the forces of the Dark are trying to get them. Luckily, most of their teachers are also Magi, and are working hard not only to keep them safe, but to teach them survival strategies and lots of magic! After a few large mishaps, there is a "Parent-Teacher Conference From Heck", and the parents decide that they don't want their children to have anything to do with the Light. Then they take them to Disneyland. Silly parents! That won't work. Soon, Connor is kidnapped and at the mercy of Lady Nightwing, who is doing awful experiments on children who are on the cusp on Kindling. Will his teachers have the power to save him? Will Melanie and Lexa also be at risk? More importantly, how will all of them make sure that the gateway to the Otherworld won't stay open and make it easy for the Dark to come into our world and wreak more havoc?
Strengths: Funny, funny lines! Any book with the first line "Connor Del didn't mean to set anyone's gym shorts on fire" will be a popular book. I also thought that the world of magic was realistically and clearly defined. Using a school setting more than home worked well in this instance. The magical names and activities were all coherent and cohesive, which is a big plus, since so many magical realism books struggle to get this right. There is a nice blend of action and strategy. Very pleased.

Weaknesses: This is published by a small press (Sweetwater Books, Cedar Fort, Inc.) and might be hard to find, although paperbacks are available. This book could have used a bit more editing-- with some more polish and attention to pacing, etc., it would be absolutely brilliant.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Whitney Messenger. Every week, she lists blogs that feature middle grade reviews. Hope over to Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe to get great recommendations.

Nonfiction Monday--Potatoes on Rooftops

Dyer, Hadley. Potatoes on Rooftops.
24 July 2012, Annick Press, E ARC from Netgalley.com

With the growing decay of urban areas and the problem of "food deserts", urban farming is coming into its own. Being the granddaughter of farmers and having lived in the suburbs, I have always put in a back yard garden, but it's great to see that cities are utilizing open space to provide fresh food. This is an excellent short book detailing why it is important to have fresh food available to people, why it's good to use urban areas to do this, and how "food miles" need to be reduced so that the environment is better off. The well-illustrated format is bright, appealingly arranged, and will intrigue students.

Nonfiction Monday is hosted today at A Curious Thing. For a list of hosts for the coming months, check out Nonfiction Monday.

Happy birthday to Elias Howe, O.J. Simpson, and me. As I tell my students, I am as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth!

The Scorpions of Zahir

Brodien-Jones, Christine. The Scorpions of Zahir. 
10 July 2012, Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Zagora’s father is an  archaeologist who had a friend, Pitblade Yegen, who went missing when they were investigating a site but who has reappeared. Zagora, along with her father and “chubby computer geek brother Duncan take off to Marrakech to reunite with him. Zagora is thrilled because she has the journal of Yegen’s grandfather, and knows about the mystery of the Oryx stone, which her father has in his possession. Many other people want it, including Olivia Romanescu, who sent for them, and Mina, who claims that the stone is the property of her people and has magical qualities. The group take off across the desert on rented camels with a young boy, Razziq, as a guide. When their father goes missing, the children have many dangers to confront, including plagues of scorpions, sand storms, and all manner of people who want the Oryx stone for their own.
Strengths: I’m a huge fan of Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody books, as well as R.L. LaFever’s Theodosia stories, and the details of archaeology and the desert in this book are very good.
Weaknesses: I didn’t like Zagora, and there were a lot of improbably plot elements. If Zagora travels with one backpack, I think it somewhat unlikely that she would pack a purple blouse and flowered harem pants. Tiny details like that bothered me because I love this type of book so much.

You can enter to win a copy of this at Goodreads until tomorrow!

Guys Read: The Sports Pages

Scieskca, Jon, ed. Guys Read: The Sports Pages.
10 July 2012, Walden Pond Press.

How many people would pay big bucks to see a Super 8 film of Jon Scieszka doing Frisbee Butt Waterskiing as a child? I know I would! In his forward, Mr. Scieszka does an excellent job of explaining why guys are so obsessed with sports, but how even the most active sports players don't necessarily like to read about sports. So true. Luckily, the guys in my school LOVE that there is a growing Guys Read Library for them, and The Sports Pages will be popular.

Aside from the informative forward, we have the story of why Dan Gutman was instrumental in the 1986 Mets win (I have that kind of power over the universe as well), a more serious Time Green football tale, an odd story of personal identity in middle school as it ties into sports ability by Anne Ursu, personal narratives from Dustin Brown, a hockey player, and James Brown, who must have been a fairly famous basketball player in the 1960s. Rounding out the collection were a good wrestling story  by Joseph Bruchac, a running tale from Jacqueline Woodson, blank pages in the ARC where a Chris Crutcher story will be, and funny turns from Gordon Korman and "I Will Destroy You, Derek Jeter" from relative newcomer and excellent guy tale teller Chris Rylander.

Strengths: Nice selection of stories, some funny, some serious, and on a variety of sports. Could have used a lacrosse or hockey one, but I will not complain.
Weaknesses: I wish that there had been short biographies of all of the writers at the back, and perhaps a bibliography so that boys who read this have some direction when it comes to choosing their next book.

Saturday Morning Cartoons-- Dragonbreath

Vernon, Ursula. Lair of the Bat Monster (Dragonbreath #4)
17 March 2011, Dial

When Danny and his friend Wendell find a bat at the local swimming pool, Danny's mom is not able to help it, so suggests that the two go on the bus (which is somehow magical) to Mexico to consult with Danny's Uncle Steve, who is a scientist studying bats in the area. When they arrive, they are irritated by the amount of bugs, but also by the fact that miners are blasting in caves where bats make their homes. They aren't the only ones who are irritated-- a huge bat comes and kidnaps Danny! Wendell and Steve take off after him, but the jungle is a hard place. Danny is fairly safe-- the giant bat, Camazotz, seems to think he is her baby. He escapes at one point but has trouble surviving in the jungle. Eventually, Wendell and Steve find him, and after some harrowing exploits involving Camazotz's mate, manage to escape and get back home. 
Strengths: These graphic novels are so much fun. I loved the footnotes explaining Danny's exploits. And how's this for a description: "It was like old cheese soaked in cat urine wrapped in gym socks dipped in boiled cabbage." (page 82) I am glad I didn't have to go into THAT cave. 
Weaknesses: Hard to tell if middle school students are going to go for these. I had the first one for a while, and it sat untouched, but when I got most of the rest of the series, they started flying off the shelves. I like them, but have reservations about having a book about were-wieners in the middle school!

Vernon, Ursula. Revenge of the Horned Bunnies. (Dragonbreath #6)
10 January 2012, Dial

Danny is off to camp, and unfortunately his annoying cousin Spencer (who likes to relate entire plots of television shows and give running commentary when Danny is playing video games) is coming to Camp Jackalope as well. Things start off okay (Spencer isn't in Danny's cabin), but when Spencer goes missing, Danny worries. With his new friend Christiana (an ardent left wing feminist!), they go looking for him and find out that he has found an actual jackalope! Unfortunately, counselors Lenny and Earl want to sell powdered jackalope horn and so are trapping as many as they can find. Danny uses his ninja skills to track them, finds the jackalope prison, and manages to free them. Lenny decides he won't "gank" the campers for finding him out, because it always ends messily, but he is arrested for embezzling money from the camp anyway. Book 7 in this series is When Fairies Go Bad, and I think I'll have to buy it for the library!
Strengths: Again, clever for children and for adults. Quick to read, graphically pleasing. Would have to buy this, if only for the phrase "crapmonkeys!" which I intend to use often this summer, and the idea of a s'more that is made with "carob and gluten-free graham crackers". You just KNOW that some health conscious mother somewhere has actually tried that. 
Weaknesses: Not sure of the appeal of the jackalope, but if more books come out, I may be able to do a themed shelf of them! (Emily Ecton's Project Jackalope being the other title I've seen recently.)

Guy Friday-- Rockin' Guys

In honor of Guy Friday, check out this post on Michael Morpurgo's Blog. I love the photo caption: "It's not about testing and reading schemes, but about loving stories and passing on that passion to our children."

Now, put on Rubber Soul or your Beatles' LP of choice, crank the volume, and get into these rock and roll related books just in time for Ringo's birthday tomorrow. (Sorry, Paul-- don't have any connection with you in any of these items, but from what I hear, you're doing pretty well!)

Behnke, Alison. Death of a Dreamer: The Assassination of John Lennon.
1 January 2012
The fascination with the Beatles still continues among middle school students even though it has been over 30 years since the death of John Lennon. On the morning of 9 December 1980, there was a noticeable pall over my high school, and all my friends could talk about was Lennon's death. I had no real idea who he was, and couldn't have named any Beatles' tune if asked. In college, I became familiar with all of their works, but this book shed a lot of light not only on Lennon's life but the changes in society during his floruit. Concise and nicely illustrated, this book covers Lennon's early life and his involvement with the Beatles, but continues on with his marriage to Yoko Ono and his activities involving pacifism and social justice. A brief chapter explains Chapman's supposed motivations and mental illness, and the book concludes with the aftermath of Lennon's death and his social and musical legacy. At 96 pages, this is a perfect length for students who have even a faint interest in the Beatles and Lennon, and is an attractive enough book that casual readers might pick it up and be interested in learning more about this artist.

Briant, Ed. I am (Not) The Walrus.
8 July 2012
Growing up in Port Jackson without a dad and with a mum who is struggling to make ends meet, Toby's life is difficult, but he makes do. He and his friend have a Beatle's cover band that they are trying to name (and there are so many fun choices-- The Day Trippers, The Nowhere Men, etc.) and get gigs for. Toby is lucky to be able to use his brother Shawn's equipment, since Shawn is off in the military, but when he finds a note in hi precision bass that it may be stolen, he starts to wonder whether or not he should keep the instrument. Trying to return it proves interesting but perilous, since a shady guy named Rupert is very eager to get his hands on the guitar, which was used at one time by George Harrison. With the help of a girl he meets, aptly named Michelle, Toby tries to make his gigs, figure out what is going on with the guitar, and come to terms with his difficult family situation.
Strengths: This was a great realistic fiction book for boys, with a nice romance and great music connections. I'm sure that there are a lot of boys in high school who are in bands who would like to read this. It's clearly British in tone (set near London), but not distractingly so, and over the twenty years that I have been teaching, the Beatles have never waned in popularity among a small number of students. Picky Reader, who loved Jan Page's Rewind, might even read this one.
Weaknesses: Sometimes scenes dragged on with too much descriptive detail, but not often.


Miller, Barbara. Rock God: The Legend of B.J. Levine.
17 January 2012, Sourcebooks

BJ moves with his lawyer mother and ex-rocker father from Cleveland to New York City. He's excited that things might be different-- he'll be cool, not called "Dockers" by classmates, and he'll have the same close relationship with his father that his best friend Kevin has. When the weird Merv shows up and drops a book about how the Good Supreme, a legendary rocker, BJ decides to follow the vague instructions and try to become a rocker himself. He recruits Jann, a guitar player who earns money playing sappy songs at birthday parties and for the Cotton Candy Twins, as well as drummer Layla. They manage to break into a Daughters of Glenda concert and sing for her on stage, and end up traveling to Cleveland to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the company of Terry and the Pirates. BJ meets Sammy, whose father was in a bad with BJ's father. Sammy is tired of the rock life style and wants to run off to California to find her mother, but the two are railroaded by B.L.A.S.T. (Bayonne League of Angels for the Sacred Two) who believe that Sammy and BJ are the answer to a prophecy that states they will be the next Sacred Two, i.e., the two lead singers in a rock band. Complications and running around ensue, and BJ has to figure out some family secrets before he can decide if his destiny is to be a Rocker or a "Docker".
Strengths: This book had a lot of goofy, frenetic activity, and I can see it being very interesting to reluctant readers who are interested in rock music. The fast pacing makes this move quickly, and the mixture of goofy and details about being in a rock band is very fun.
Weaknesses: Sometimes the quick, goofy tone made it hard for me to follow the plot.

On the Day I Died

Fleming, Candace. On the Day I Died
10 July 2012, Random House Children's Books (ARC from Netgalley.com)

Mike is hurrying down a country road trying to make curfew when a girl appears in the road, dripping wet, and asked to be taken home. When he drops her off at her house, she forgets her shoes in the car, but when he knocks on the door, an older lady answers. Every year on the same date, someone shows up with Carol Anne's shoes, because she died in a canoeing accident. The woman tells Mike to take the shoes to the cemetery, and when he does, he sees 55 pairs of weathered saddle shoes about, and is confronted by the ghosts of teenagers who all passed away. Their stories span the decades and are all set in Chicago. One girl dies in a fire when no one will believe her about a classmate who is an arsonist, another robs funeral homes during the Great Depression and meets a terrible end. The 1893 World's Fair and the State Asylum figure in the deaths of two other teens. Some meet their ends at the hands of demonic hood ornaments and an aunt who was a mob moll. At the end, we find out that Mike has met these ghosts because he was close to death himself, driving distractedly.
Strengths: This was a largely historical book that will be easy to give to students because of the ghost story element. It's good and creepy, but nothing that will keep students awake at night. I think this will be good for readers who like Schwartz's or San Souci's collections of scary stories.
Weaknesses: This would be more popular closer to Chicago, but I don't think students will care too much.

Life, LIBERTY and the pursuit of barbecue

Hope everyone has fun plans for the holiday! I'll be marching in the local parade with some of the cross country team, and then cleaning the garage if I haven't fainted because of the heat.

I'm back from a week in Iowa with three teenagers in a Hyundai Elantra for hours at a time. This was somewhat traumatic! There was not a lot of reading that occurred during that trip, so I hope I'm not letting the Team Librarian for the Summer Throwdown down! 

DeVillers, Julia. Cleared for Takeoff. (Liberty Porter: First Daughter #3)
12 July 2011, Simon and Schuster

Liberty is still trying to get used to her Dad being the president-- it's not like she can have tourist kids up for play dates, more's the pity. She's bored when she is on vacation and everyone else has to work, even when Max Mellon shows up with his mom on their way through D.C. When her dad has to go on a trip to the country of Georgia, she's thrilled, but a little worried that she will mess up. She's glad when she finds out that James, who is her age, and his mother, who taught the Young Diplomats course on manners to her class, are going as well. Riding on Air Force One is fun, and she manages not to make too many mistakes when meeting other American families or attending big parties with the Georgian people. She even uses her mom's phone to Skype her class so they can all see what the party is like as well. She has one embarrassing moment when she mispeaks in the language of the country, but the people are so glad that she tried that all is forgiven.
Strengths: This is a popular series among my 6th grade girls and imagine that it is even more popular for younger students. The look into what life is like in the White House is tantalizing. It is interesting that the author is now living in Georgia with her husband, who is posted there!
Weaknesses: Liberty's enthusiasm is nice, but her knack for getting into scrapes is a bit wearing. The students like to read those columns in magazines about "My Most Embarrassing Moment" a lot more than I do, which is some of the appeal, I guess.

Soulbound

Brewer, Heather. Soulbound (Legacy of Tril #1)
5 July 2012 (or maybe 19 June. Seen both), Dial

Kaya's parents are both Barrons who are trained to fight against the evil Graplars that are trying to take over Tril, but Barrons are forbidden to marry. Each Barron is soulbound to a Healer at birth, but after her parents' Healers died, they fell in love and ran away to live among the Unskilled, where they have raised Kaya. After Graplars attack their village, Kaya receives a notice from the Shadow Academy that she WILL come and be trained as a Healer... or else her parents will suffer for their treason. When she arrives, Kaya is given a guard, Maddox, who is supposed to keep her safe and also away from the Barron to whom she will be bound. Her soulbound Barron died, and Healers can be reassigned, in Kaya's case to the attractive, kind and very skilled Trayton. Kaya is not unhappy to be bound to Trayton, but she does chafe against the Protocol that Healers can't be trained to protect themselves, and also the prejudice that Healers are subject to. She also is intrigues by Darius, an Unskilled who trains student to fight with the Katana. Since Darius is a rule breaker, she asks him to help her train after Trayton refuses. It's good that he does, because Graplars (giant blue monsters who eat humans) are getting into the grounds of Shadow Academy and attacking students. Kaya finds herself torn on many fronts-- she likes both Trayton and Darius, she wants to fight but doesn't want to have her parents suffer from her misbehavior, and most of all, she wants to be a Healer but doesn't want to be considered a second class citizen. The ending of this book has a lot of unexpected twists, setting the stage for book two, Soulbroken.
Strengths: The plotting on this was brilliant; I was able to give a synopsis to my children without having written any notes. Teen girls will ADORE the love triangle-- one hot boy that you HAVE to be with and another one that you sort of WANT to be with. And maybe should be anyway? Good stuff. Readers of Graceling, Alanna: The First Adventure and other kick-action heroines will enjoy this, and it's middle school appropriate, shirtless hot guys aside.
Weaknesses: I suspect that the final copy will have a map. It's that kind of book. And as a high fantasy, I expected more...world building. I did not feel a sense of place that makes Alanna so appealing. Names were inconsistent (Trayton, yes, but once you have him, you can't have a Melanie. Or a Katelyn), there was a vague medieval feel, but then powdered sugar ring doughnuts...I was surprised. I was also not convinced that Healers would be considered second class citizens. A lot of the plot centered on this, and I did not find it believable. If Barrons will die if there aren't Healers, and there is a shortage of Healers, why would they be bullied and harassed? As I said previously, I thought the plotting was excellent, and I liked the characters a lot, so I was surprised by these two weaknesses. Also, Brewer has a huge following at my school... of preteen boys. I don't quite see the Vladimir Tod fans picking this up. I will buy it and do hope that the second book in the series strengthens these areas.

Not quite sure where to put this comment-- bonus points for not using the f-bomb and using "fak" instead; however, loses points by throwing this word around too much, including in the very first sentence. They also use "dek" a lot to mean a person who is being a jerk.

Nonfiction Monday-- Girl Scouts

Nonfiction Monday was started by Anne Suen and the round up is hosted this week at Booktalking.

Corey, Shana. Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette 'Daisy' Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure

1 January 2012, Scholastic


This picture book gives an attractive overview of the life and drive of the founder of the Girl Scouts, and shows her commitment to helping girls be active and contributing members  of society. I thought that this was going to have more information-- it would be essential for an elementary library but doesn't have as much information as I wanted for middle school. The notes at the back of the book were very helpful, as was the list of resources.


Confession: I was a Campfire Girl during my formative years, and to this day am a little biased against Girl Scouts because of this. Is it my imagination, or do they think they are just a little bit better than Campfire Girls. Of course, it's now Camp Fire USA, and Camp Kiwatani is now an upscale housing development because the camp went under... okay, perhaps they are better. But we sold better candy.

Middle Grade Monday-- Suggested Reads

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Shannon Whitney Messenger at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.

I'm not a fan of MUST reads. Picky Reader ( a rising 9th grader), loves books where the children are abused, and Harry Potter, but won't read a paranormal book for love nor money.

But the books below  I could hand to almost any 6th grader and they would be fairly happy. I have them divided by "girl books" and "boy books", not that girls don't read Chasing the Falconers, and boys don't read I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, but you'd have a little more success staying along gender lines.And remember, these are the books that work for me at my school library. But if you haven't heard of these, I'd definitely take a look.

For the gentlemen:

For the ladies:

And for everyone:

Goosebumps!

Stine, R.L. The Haunted Mask.
1 July 2012, Scholastic

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of this classic horror series for children there is a new story issued in hard cover.

Lu-Ann and Devin are both complaining about Polly's Halloween party. Lu-Ann thinks it's boring; Devin won't be able to go because his father has bought a pumpkin farm and he won't be able to attend. After Polly brings out her most used party trick-- using static electricity to hold a balloon on her forehead-- Lu-Ann can no longer stand it and sneaks off to the attic with Brad and Marcus. There, they find the skeleton of William, who was introduced in the first chapter, who owned a mask store years ago. After coming into possession of a particularly evil mask that adhered to his face, he managed to rip it off but died while trying to hide the mask. Not knowing that the same fate will befall her, Lu-Ann puts on the mask. It takes over not only her body, but her personality, and she goes on a violent rampage through the town. After consulting the owner of a modern mask shop, she finds that only an act of especial kindness can remove the mask, but she's too filled with rage to perform one. At the same time, Devin is struggling with evil on the pumpkin farm, which was built over a graveyard. Ghosts, evil pumpkins, and the undead all haunt him. Can the two friends save each other on Halloween?
Strengths: These are still popular because while scary (things are constantly attacking people, evil is unleashed right and left), they are filled with things children don't actually have to worry about. There are very few Goosebumps books left in my library because they have all fallen to pieces. I will definitely buy this book and am investigating The Nightmare Room series.
Weaknesses: Fear Street books are more widely read than this series in my middle school. While this has been updated, with brief mentions of Wii and cellphones, I would have preferred the update just strip all those mentions. Who knows what will happen in the next twenty years? Readers will still want books about evil masks.

Mind if I Read Your Mind?

Winkler Henry and Lin Oliver. Ghost Buddy #2: Mind if I Read Your Mind?
1 July 2012, Scholastic

In this sequel to Zero to Hero (1 January 2012, Scholastic), Billy Brocolli and his ghost friend, Hoover Porterhouse have sucessfully contained Rod Brownstone, the bully who was bothering Billy in the first book, but are faced with another challenge. Billy's class is having a Speak Out Challenge (SOC) and the students need to give speeches about how to do something. Billy feels that he has no talents, other than reciting the alphabet backwards, but Hoove has a great idea; since only Billy can since the ghost, Hoove can gather information from the audience and relay it to Billy, who can then pretend to "read" someone's mind. This works well if Hoove shows up, but since he is doing so poorly on the "Helping Others" section of his report card for the Higher Ups that he may never be able to stop haunting Billy's house, Billy can't really count on him. Hoove desperately wants to be free of the bonds that tie him to Billy's neighborhood, which was the site of his family's ranch almost 100 years ago, so that he can visit baseball parks. When Billy is invited to Dodger stadium by a SOC teammate and goes even though Hoove can't, the ghost is distressed. Billy, afraid that Hoove won't show up to help him with his speech, has to decide how to best complete the competition.
While this book lacks the frenetic energy of the Hank Zipzer series, it would be a good choice for elementary readers who like humorous school stories, although the plot is occasionally slowed down by extraneous scenes, like Hoove causing the washing machine to flood the basement with bubbles, that are not as funny as they could be.

Guy Friday-- Outlaws

Wilson, John. Victorio's War. 
May 2012, Orca


I got excited when I saw a new book by the great John Wilson, but wish I had known that this was book #3 in the series. It would have made more sense!(Digital book checked out from public library.)

James Doolan is taken to Chihuahua, Mexico as a prisoner with a group of Apache women and children who will be enslaved. Since he is an American, he is freed when he runs into an old friend, Santiago. The two catch up with all of the things that Jim has been doing since they last met. 

The West in 1880 was a rough-and tumble place with a lot of fighting over territory and property. Victorio and his band of Apaches are supposed to go to a reservation, which would stop the fighting, but the removal of the army would also hurt the local economy. This isn't too much of a concern because Victorio continues to raid farms in the area. Doolan tells of previous conflicts during which he ran into Victorio-- when the leader took his forces into Mexico and were followed by the Buffalo Soldiers even though it was illegal. When the Mexicans were not happy with Victorio, he took his troops back to the states where they continued to get into trouble. For a while, Doolan was captured by Wellington, who fought with Victorio and considered Doolan to be a replacement for his son. Victorio's forces try to stay alive and have lots of fights with authorities, but eventually get trapped, surrender, and move to the reservation.
Strengths: Wilson's books always have LOTS of fighting, action and adventure. There are few newer books on the Old West, and I think that this series might be a good place for students who have not previously been interested in the time period to start their reading. Then they can move on to some Zane Gray!
Weaknesses: Obviously, starting with the third book put me at a disadvantage. The flashbacks made me even more confused. The series is published by Orca, so is available only in e book and paperback formats, but I might spring for prebind copies.

Mysteries--Summer at Forsaken Lake

Beil, Michael. Summer at Forsaken Lake.
12 June 2012, Random House Children's Books


Nicholas and his twin sisters Hayley and Hetty are sent to a small Ohio lake front town to stay with their great Uncle Nick while their father is off with Doctors Without Borders and their mother (from whom he is divorced) is busy with work in New York City. At first, Nicholas thinks that the summer will be completely boring... until he finds a movie his father made, meets Charlie (a really great baseball player and a girl), and learns to sail. His sisters are deep into Arthur Ransome's We Didn't Mean to Go To Sea and talking in British accents. It turns out that Charlie's mother Fran was a friend of their dad's, and was even interested in him romantically until the movie filming took a bad turn. A scripted boat crash went horribly wrong, and Fran was hit by the mast of the boat, broke her arm, and lost the movie camera. Nicholas and Charlie suspect foul play, so have Fran recreate the boat scene and tell them all the people who were involved in the filming. They then talk to them, look at the wreckage of the boat, and unearth the camera from an unusual source. Meanwhile, Hetty and Hayley plan a boat trip ala Ransome, but things go badly there, with a neighbor having an emergency on shore and a storm rolling in. Nicholas and the twins stay with the boat and rescue a man who has wrecked his boat... and who knows more about the film incident than anyone else they've talked to. Nicholas and Charlie work on completing the father's film, filling in some back story. What are the chances that the two parents, whose romance was so cruelly cut short, might get back together? And what are Nicholas' chances of having a romance of his own?
Strengths: *Sigh* It's not the plot on this one, it's the...summer. Okay, Penderwick's fans, go ahead and laugh, but I loved this book because it made an idyllic summer at the lake, complete with classic literature, mystery, romance and a ROOM IN A TOWER seem totally and completely plausible. Since I am probably exactly the age that the parents are in this book (and I was born on the coast of Lake Erie), it just spoke to me.
Weaknesses: The mystery aspect will draw students to this book, but I do worry a tiny bit about kid appeal. Mr. Beil's mystery series is very popular, so I think I can hand sell the heck out of this, which is something I have not been able to do with the Penderwicks no matter how I try.


Most importantly, Mr. Beil has posted a his own version of The Seaweed Strangler that he made as a child on YouTube. How awesome is that?

Smith, Alexander McCall. The Great Cake Mystery.
3 April 2012, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Precious lives in Botswana with her family, which includes her father Obed, who likes to tell her stories about life in Africa. She loves school, and everyone at her school is very nice and follows the rules, until someone steals a piece of cake that her friend Tapiwa had. Everyone in the school is upset and blames Poloko, who is an overweight boy who likes to eat. Using her powers of observation and a little bit of trickery, however, Precious determines that the thief is not Poloko, and solves the crime.
Strengths: The black and red  illustrations in this are beautiful and remind me of picture books from the 1930s and 40s. It's nice to see a multicultural book for emergent readers. I have not read The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, but readers who have would particularly enjoy this look into the main character's life as a child.
Weaknesses: The mystery was not very intriguing, and the language very simple. Sometimes things that didn't need to be explained were covered in great detail.

Monument 14

Laybourne, Emmy. Monument 14
5 June 2012, Feiwel and Friends

Had Dean known the destruction that would occur on his way to school, he might not have run to make the bus. After a freakish rock hailstorm causes the bus to crash, killing many of the passengers, Dean and several others manage to escape when the elementary bus driver picks them up and crashes the bus right into a Greenway store. Mrs. Wooly helps the children clean up and get to work on making pizza, but then takes off to find help, leaving Brayden in charge. Josie is in shock, Astrid knows how to work the pizza oven, and Dean's brother Alex is a tech geek who realizes that the computer network being down is a very bad thing. The children band together to take care of the elementary students. Niko, who lives in the mountains and is a Boy Scout, tries to get everyone to conserve energy and supplies. The devastation was caused by a volcano, which sets off a tsunami that takes out the East coast and also causes an earth quake in Colorado, where the story is set. The earthquake damages NORAD facilities and releases toxic chemicals into the air that affect people differently based on their blood type. Things look exceedingly grim, and the students deal with this in their own way. Brayden and his friend cope by drinking and playing laser tag, Josie sets up a school for the children, and Dean finds himself in charge of food with 8-year-old Batiste. Eventually, everyone feels that they should leave the store, but what will they find on the outside?
Strengths: Very good post apocalyptic stuff! All the adults are gone AND they are in a Walmart like superstore. Doesn't every middle schooler have a dream scenario like this? (In mine, all the kids were in my middle school, which was across the street from the mall and next door to a K Mart.) The details of survival are very good, and the reason for the devastation believable. I was riveted. Fans of Northrup's Trapped will enjoy this.
Weaknesses: Lots of drinking, and two objectionable scenes that make this inappropriate for middle school. Dean's crush, Astrid, is shown taking off her shirt in front of her boyfriend, and ...things happen. Then, an 8th grade girl who wants to be taken seriously tries to force herself on an adult man who is let into the store. While not overly graphic, these could have been omitted. Yes, I know. So much violence and I complain about the sex?