Posts Tagged «friendship»
Friday, January 6th, 2012
by Wendy Mass, 322 pages, Grades 5-9
Student Review
Three lives are about to be changed forever. Thousands of people gather on a tiny isolated campground to watch something unforgettable: a total eclipse of the sun.
Ally’s family has owned Moon Shadow Campground ever since she was born. She likes simple things like stargazing and comet hunting. And she refuses to imagine it any other way.
Bree is popular, gorgeous and is perfectly happy until her parents ruin everything. She can’t imaging herself camping or hiking. For Bree, fun means putting on makeup, checking out the latest fashions, modeling and being popular – the exact opposite of her parents. What is Bree trying to hide?
Jack is overweight, and a lost cause in school. He is used to sitting alone in his treehouse reading or drawing aliens. When his science teacher offers him a deal that gets him out of summer school, Jack finds himself in a place he would have never even dreamed of. MC
Click here to see if it’s available for check out.
If you enjoy books about groups of friends you might also like: The View From Saturday by E.L. Koningsburg, The Misfits, by James Howe, or The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart.
Tags: astronomy, family problems, friendship, moving, stargazing
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Friday, January 6th, 2012
by Colin Meloy, 545 pages, Grades 4-7
Student Review
Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary until a murder of crows kidnaps her baby brother Mac. They take him into a place called “Impassable Wilderness.” This place is a big green area labeled “I.W” on every map of Portland, Oregon. Prue and her friend Curtis have to venture into this wilderness from which no one has ever returned alive. They travel through forests finding not only warring creatures, and menacing figures, but friendship, as they struggle for the freedom from this wilderness. Prue and Curtis uncover a whole new secret world hidden within the trees; a wilderness called Wildwood. From talking coyotes and birds to bandit camps and an evil governess, Wildwood is packed with mysteries. Can they save Prue’s brother and get out alive? You’ll have to find out. MC
Click here to see if it’s available for check out.
Tags: adventure, brothers and sisters, families, fantasy, friendship
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Friday, June 3rd, 2011
by Eileen Cook 256 pages grades 7 and up
Hailey Kendrick got the whole school on probation; no one can leave campus because of her. She has gone from popular to outcast in one night.
Hailey attends a fancy boarding, so fancy, in fact, children of movie stars, and teen stars themselves, are her classmates. She has no money worries, obviously, she is popular and is dating one of the most handsome guys in the school. Her life seemed pretty perfect until she got everyone on probation.
What is going on? Has Hailey lost her mind, or was there something already boiling beneath the surface that just had to burst free? And, how is she going to manage life when everyone she knows has dumped her?
Other fun realistic fiction with teen girl central characters are: Heist Society, by Ally Carter, Rules of the Road, by Joan Bauer, and a fantasy with a teen girl central character is Matched, by Ally Condie.
Tags: friendship, girls, high schools, identity, realistic fiction, romance, teens
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Thursday, April 21st, 2011
The Mysterious Howling (Book 1)
by Maryrose Wood
The book begins with Penelope Lumley, a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, on a train headed to her first job. Miss Lumley is a teacher and governess; she is especially excited (and nervous) about this first job at Ashton Place. Her interview with the lady of the house goes quite well and she is hired on the spot, even though they were often interrupted by some mysterious howling from outside. The noise, she is surprised to find out, was being made by the children she has been hired to teach. It turns out the master of the house had found these children while hunting and until now they had literally been raised by wolves. Many would run away from such a daunting task, but Miss Lumley is not only optimistic, she is determined to do a good job for these “three waifs;” their predicaments are often funny, and their story is sweetly told.
The Hidden Gallery (Book 2)
by Maryrose Wood
This sequel is even more exciting than the first book. Miss Lumley suggests that she might take the children, who had been raised by wolves until Miss Lumley arrived, to London to visit Miss Mortimer, her former headmistress from the Swanburne Academy. Lady Constance, who has been terribly bored and out-of-sorts because the house at Ashton Place has still not been completely repaired after the children destroyed it while chasing a squirrel in the previous story, is delighted and decides to move the entire household to London for a spell. A number of suspicious adventures follow, and Miss Lumley and the children narrowly escape danger while trying to unravel the mystery of the children’s condition and other strange goings on about London.
Another difficult-to-put-down sequel is sure to follow.
Tags: families, friendship, humor, mystery
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Friday, March 25th, 2011
by Wendelin Van Draanen, 336 pages, Grades 7 and up
“‘Fifty-five flat!’ Kyro shouts, ‘Fifty-five flat!’
It’s a new personal best for me.
A new record for the league.” (11)
At sixteen Jessica is on top of her game, about to take league, maybe even go to state, when the track team’s bus is hit by an out-of-control car. One of the team loses her life, and Jessica’s right leg is crushed.
Jessica is a runner; running is not just something she likes to do, it is woven into her identity, so the accident takes more than her leg, it makes her question who she is.
Personal strength, friendship, family, and courage pull Jessica forward on her journey to discover who she is and who she can become. It is as inspirational a journey as the many true journeys of people in similar situations.
The following is a link to a TED talk with Aimee Mullens, also a runner, called “Aimee Mullans and Her 12 Pair of Legs.” http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/aimee_mullins_prosthetic_aesthetics.html
Tags: differently-able, families, friendship, girls, identity, realistic fiction, self-realization, survival, teenagers
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Monday, February 7th, 2011
By Susin Nielsen, 229 pages, Grades 6-8
Violet is having a hard year. She almost poisons her step-sisters (unintentionally, of course), she breaks a classmate’s nose (less than unintentionally), she crashes into a movie star’s car (honestly by mistake), only to name a few of the mishaps of her seventh grade year. Really, Violet is only tying to make it through middle school, survive visits with her dad and Jennica (her dad’s new wife, who is fake in more ways than one), and make sure her mom doesn’t fall for the wrong guy again, but somehow nothing seems to go as planned. If only she could get George Clooney to write her back, she is sure he will love her mom and make her real sister’s and her life much better.
If you enjoy realistic fiction with a bit of humor like Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison, or Absolutely Normal Chaos, by Sharon Creech, then Dear George Clooney… might be for you.
Tags: brothers and sisters, coming of age, divorce, families, family problems, friendship, Hollywood, humor, middle school, realistic fiction, step_siblings, teens
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Monday, February 7th, 2011
by Benedict Carey, 259 pages, Grades 6-8
Until now living in Folsom Adjacent, a trailer park bordering the Folsom Power Plant on a circular island, has been pretty boring. In fact, Diaphanta, a.k.a. Lady Di, and Tamir al-Khwarizmi, a.ka. Tom Jones, had nothing to do but work on trying to pass math and stay out of the way of the bullies until people in their community start to disappear. The Crotona police don’t seem to be doing anything, so when their friend and math tutor vanishes from her trailer leaving behind a clue Lady Di and Tom Jones decide to see if they can solve the puzzle and save their teacher. Di and Tom, and eventually a few other allies, follow a series of math clues through the tunnels under Adjacent and battle adolescent and grown-up bullies trying to save their friend and the dirty little town that is their home.
This book will satisfy fans of Blue Balliett’s Chasing Vermeer, Trenton Lee Stewart’s Mysterious Benedict Society, or anyone who enjoys puzzling out math problems from different points of view.
Tags: bullies, friends, friendship, math_clues, mystery, outsiders, puzzles, suspense, Young Adult
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Monday, February 7th, 2011
By Scott Westerfeld, 44o pages, Grades 7 and up
Westerfeld has created an alternative history of World War I and filled it with Clanker and Darwinist war machines. The Clankers use mechanical transports that remind readers of the Empire’s AT-AT walkers in Star Wars while the Darwinists use flying machines that live, breathe and eat. In fact, one of their greatest living machines called Leviathan is really an entire ecosystem; whale DNA, bat, and bird all mixed together to create a huge flying zeppelin manned by the military. Daryn, a girl disguised as a young soldier, joins the Darwinist army and is aboard the Leviathan when the war begins. Alek, the Austrian prince, escapes his country after his parents’ assassination in a Clanker contraption. A near fatal crash, and a famous scientist seeking to save her precious cargo bring Daryn and Alek’s worlds and missions together in the chaos of the beginning of an alternate first World War.
This book’s sequel Behemouth has recently arrived and promises to be another thrilling adventure. Another exciting adventure including a zeppelin and an alternative past is called: Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel. Oppel’s story is less of war and more like an adventure on the high seas with pirates and mysterious creatures.
Tags: adventure, Darwin, fantasy, friendship, identity, steam_punk, suspense, teens, war, World War I, Young Adult
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Monday, January 17th, 2011
Mary Downing Hahn, 182 pages Grades 5-8
Logan is unhappy to have to move to a new city. He knows his family’s new house is a fixer-upper, but he isn’t prepared for the wreck they find or the annoying kid next door. Logan also finds that his parents were hiding the fact that the previous owner died in the house. It turns out that his parents weren’t informed of the whole story… Her murder remains a mystery and it seems that the answer might be found in the creepy, over-grown, abandoned amusement park nearby.
Check out the author’s video trailer - Closed for the Season
Connections: For other recent, creepy tales by the same author, try reading All the Lovely Bad Ones, Deep and Dark and Dangerous, and The Old Willis Place. Other favorite scary, mystery writers include: Lois Duncan, Joan Lowry Nixon and Barbara Brooks Wallace.
Tags: friendship, murders, mystery, neighbors, Virginia
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Thursday, November 4th, 2010
By Blue Balliett, 306 pages mystery for Grades 5-8
Zoomy is legally blind, but he can see things if he holds them close up. He loves to read and play games on the computer, and he also loves to investigate and collect things.
He arrived on his grandparents’ front step when he was a newborn baby. They love him and take him in; they know their son, Zoomy’s father, can’t take care of a baby, because he is running wild; an alcoholic who is always in a lot of trouble with the law.
Zoomy’s life is going along just fine until the summer his dad shows up in a stolen truck and dumps a stolen box in their garage. His father’s mysterious appearance is the beginning of Zoomy’s life spiraling out of control. First, his grandparents let him investigate the contents of the stolen box, then his dangerous dad threatens Zoomy while he is alone at the library, then his grandparents are visited by a mysterious stranger, and finally there is a big fire at his grandparents’ shop that doesn’t seem like an accident.
What will happen to Zoomy? Could it all come down to the contents of the stolen box?
If you enjoy this book you might also like: A Dog for Life, by L.S. Matthews, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon, or The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly.
Tags: adventure, coming of age, Darwin, endurance, families, family problems, fathers and sons, friendship, identity, mystery, visually impaired
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Monday, October 25th, 2010
By Julie Bertagna, 345 pages Grades 7 and up
Sometime in the not-to-distant future, the world as we know it has mostly drowned under the rising ocean from the melting ice caps. Fifteen year-old Mara’s island home is just about to disappear under the waves when her vision of sky cities prompts the village to sail off on dangerous seas in search of a safe haven. When they reach the high-tech city, they find that they and the thousands of other refugees aren’t welcome. Instead, they must fight for their lives and for scraps from the city in the sky.
Connections: For another story of a society threatened by global warming, try reading First Light by Rebecca Stead or read the sequel to Exodus called Zenith. To read about the author’s inspiration for the story, check out her website.
Tags: altruism, coming of age, floods, friendship, global warming, journeys, leadership, science fiction, survival, voyages and travels
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Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
By Maurice Gee, 252 pages Grades 7-10
When Hari’s father is captured by soldiers from the Company and sent to Deep Salt as punishment, Hari vows to save him even though no one ever returns from these dangerous mines. Simultaneously, Pearl, the daughter in a high-ranking Company family escapes her arranged marriage by fleeing with her maid, Tealeaf, a mystical Dweller. Both Hari and Pearl have the ability to communicate telepathically, and they work together to try and save Hari’s father and their world from the dangerous weapon found in the mine.
Connections: Another fantasy title where the main character is helped by her ability to communicate with animals is Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. For other mature titles where male and female characters fight to save their community from evil, try reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
Tags: Add new tag, class systems, colonization, dystopian world, extrasensory perception, fantasy, friendship, human-animal communication, prejudice, quest, radioactive materials, telepathy
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Friday, April 30th, 2010
by Robin Brande p. 327 Young adult
No exploding volcanoes for seventeen-year-old Cat (Catherine) Locke’s science fair project! Instead, the smart, competitive overweight teen makes herself the guinea pig for her project. Her goal is to live for seven months as a Homo erectus, an early prehistoric human, which means no technology (cars, cell phones, computers except for school work) and no processed foods including sugar. Cat is determined to win the science fair, mostly to get revenge on her former best friend and rival Matt McKinney, whom she believes betrayed her most terribly in seventh grade. All the walking and healthy eating causes her to lose weight and feel better, and after her best friend Amanda takes her shopping for stylish clothes, Cat starts drawing a lot of male attention. This young adult novel is filled with funny, clever teen conversation and portrays friendship at its best.
Connections: These young adult novels also deal with weight and weighty issues: Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen, Life in the Fat Lane by Cherie Bennett, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher and Dough Boy by Peter Marino.
Tags: diet, eating, fiction, friendship, high schools, hominins, Homo erectus, love stories, relationships, science experiments, self-perception, sustainable foods, teenagers, teens, Young Adult
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
By James Howe, 189 pages Grades 6-8
<!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–><!–[if gte mso 9]> 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false <![endif]–><!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–>“Being who you are isn’t a choice.” Although he had always lived this life lesson, it wasn’t until his favorite aunt gave him a button printed with these words that thirteen, year-old Joe really thought about what it meant for him, as a gay 7th grader, as well as for his schoolmates. Joe’s family and friends have always encouraged him to be himself (including dressing-up in dresses, playing with Barbies and cooking in an Easy-Bake oven) and he has always embraced his originality even when it led to teasing. Through an alphabiography project for his teacher, Joe shares his growing awareness of himself and his friends.
Connection: Joe and the other characters were first introduced in Howe’s novel, The Misfits. For other stories where characters share their life experiences through school writing assignments, try reading Love That Dog or Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge, or Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls.
Tags: coming of age, family life, friendship, homosexuality, middle school, multicultural, realistic fiction, schools
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Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
by Gordon Korman p. 260 Grades: 6-9
Pop! That’s the feeling and imagined sound that comes from taking the hit in tackle football and that sixteen-year old Marcus has come to love. Before this summer, Marcus had always held back as quarterback, fearful of being injured. New in town and hanging out in the park to practice his football maneuvers, he meets Charlie, an eccentric older man who challenges Marcus and teaches him to play rough and tumble football fearlessly. Disappointed that Troy Popovich gets to start as quarterback, Marcus takes on his role as lineman with a vengeance, winning him not only the acceptance of his teammates but also Troy’s former girlfriend. The tension grows between Marcus and Troy when Marcus learns that Charlie is Troy’s father and discovers the reason behind Charlie’s increasingly odd behavior. Korman delivers lots of football action as well as a thoughful story.
Connections: Here are some other good football novels for teens: Crackback by John Coy, Necessary Roughness by Marie Lee, and Gym Candy by Carl Deuker. Matt Christopher writes football stories for younger readers.
Tags: Alzheimer's Disease, fathers and sons, fiction, football, friendship, head injuries, high school, humor, pranks, sports, teens
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Sunday, March 14th, 2010
by Eric Berlin p. 227 Grades 6-8
Want a puzzling puzzler?! Seventh grader Winston Breen and his two best friends enter a contest at the local pototo chip factory to win $50,000 for their school. All they have to do is be first to solve all six puzzles which take them and their obnoxious chaperone all over town and beyond. The biggest puzzle, however, turns out to be figuring out who is cheating. Someone has been sabotaging some of the teams by causing flat tires, locking people in bathrooms, and stopping the ferris wheel. The reader is expected to solve puzzles as well as solve the mystery.
Connections: Another Winston Breen title is The Puzzling World of Winston Breen. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin and Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet are other good puzzle mysteries.
Tags: cheating, contests, friends, friendship, mysteries, puzzles, teachers, word puzzles
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Sunday, March 14th, 2010
by Mary Downing Hahn p. 182 Grades 6-8
Just before starting seventh grade, thirteen-year-old Logan moves to a small Virginia town with his parents. The house looks pretty rundown and has been on the market a long time. The real estate agent had neglected to tell Logan’s parents that an old lady was killed in the house–pushed down the stairs–and the crime has never been solved. In fact, the kids in town call it the Murder House. The murderer appears to have been looking in the house for over $1,000,000 that Mrs. Donaldson was suspected of embezzling from the Magic Forest amusement park. The Magic Forest has been “closed for the season,” and it too has fallen into disrepair–entangled in fast growing kudzu. With his neighbor Arthur, Logan sneaks into the Magic Forest to try to find the money and the key to Mrs. Donaldson’s demise. More than the kudzu is creeping around in the amusement park! Dangerous suspects, unsavory characters, and clever heroes make this an exciting mystery.
Connections: Other suspenseful mysteries with middle school sleuths include View from the Cherry Tree and Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts and Someone Was Watching by David Patneaude.
Tags: amusement parks, bullies, crime, friends, friendship, mystery, suspense
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Sunday, January 10th, 2010
By S. Terrell French, 353 pages. Grades 5-7
While forced to stay with his wealthy, manners-obsessed aunt and uncle so his mother can photograph temples in China, twelve year-old Julian Carter-Li discovers emails describing his uncle’s plan to level an old growth redwood forest and the even more horrifying plan to ship Julian off to math camp for the summer. With the help of his buddy Danny and a new email buddy, Julian creates Operation Redwood in the hopes of foiling both plans.
Connections: For other eco-minded adventure stories, try reading Gloria Skurzynski’s National Park Mystery series or Hoot or Flush by Carl Hiaasen.
Tags: adventure, email, environmental protection, fiction, friendship, northern California, protesting, redwoods, tree-sitting, trees
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Sunday, November 15th, 2009
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. p. 196 Grade: Young Adult
During the summer before eighth grade, Kenny Sykes has begun each morning rescuing the hundreds of crickets that keep jumping into his backyard swimming pool. As an inside joke with his little brother, Kenny assumes the super-hero identity Cricket Man and creates a t-shirt that he wears to school concealed under his regular shirt. The rest of his time he spends skateboarding or spying on and trying to get the attention of his beautiful sixteen-year-old neighbor, Jodie Poindexter. When Jodie appears to have fallen into a deep depression, it’s Cricket Man to the rescue.
Connections: These novels for young adults also focus on special and unusual friendships: Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes; The Wild Kid; Stoner and Spaz and Define Normal.
Tags: depression, fiction, friends, friendship, heroes, middle school, realistic fiction, skateboarding, super heroes, teenagers, Young Adult, younger brothers
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Sunday, November 15th, 2009
by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. p. 274 Grades 7-8
What a summer! Fifteen-year-old D.J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, works dawn to dusk on her family’s dairy farm after her father has hip surgery. Life is pretty dismal until the coach from her high school’s rival team asks D.J to coach his budding quarterback, the gorgeous Brian Nelson. While training and doing farm chores, the two teenagers become friends, but things get complicated when D.J. tries out for her high school’s football team.
Connections: The sequel is Off Season. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher is another football romance.
Tags: family problems, farm life, farms, fathers and daughters, football, friendship, high schools, love stories, realistic fiction, romance, teenagers, Wisconsin
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Sunday, November 15th, 2009
by Michael Winerip. p. 329 Grades 6-8
Adam Canfield is literally shoveling in the money on a Snow Day by clearing his neighbors’ walks–when older bullies pull up in a van and mug him. Not only is he a victim of a crime, but he also becomes the embarrassing focus of a media campaign by The Slash to stop bullying. This sequel to Adam Canfield of the Slash is as good as its predecessor. While Jennifer and the other Slash staff take on bullies, saving a tree, and discrimination, Adam launches an undercover operation to expose the fact that parents are doing their kids’ science fair projects.
Connections: If you enjoy the Adam Canfield books, try these other novels based on school newspapers: The Landry News by Andrew Clements and Thou Shalt Not Dump the Skater Dude and Other Commandments I Have Broken by Rosemary Graham. The Watergate Scandal in American History by David K. Fremon describes how Washington Post investigative journalists broke the Watergate case.
Tags: African Americans, bullies, bullying, fiction, friendship, journalism, middle schools, newspapers
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Friday, November 13th, 2009
by Ellen Booraem. p. 318 Grades 6-9
In a world where things and places are simply named for what they are and people are named for what they do, how would you expect a boy named Medford Runyuin to fit in? He doesn’t. Instead the people of Island are wary of him and the children teasingly call him Raggedy or Plank Baby because of his messy look and his arrival on the island tied to a plank when he was a baby. To make matters worse, Medford has a secret that he is trying keep hidden from the people of Island, and the mysterious arrival of the stinky Goatman is likely to blow his cover, literally.
For other stories of characters fighting the unfair rules/laws of their world, try reading The Giver by Lois Lowry, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Among the Hidden or Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix
To learn the story around the creation of the crazy character the Goatman, check out the author’s website http://www.ellenbooraem.com/evolution.html
Tags: change, coming of age, Ellen Booraem, friendship, individuality, outsiders, satyrs, science fiction, utopias
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Sunday, September 20th, 2009
by Sid Fleischman, p. 180 Grades 6-9
The Great Freddie is a washed-up ventriloquist (he can’t speak without moving his lips) living in Europe following WWII until one night in Vienna, Austria he opens the closet in his hotel room and finds a dybbuk or Jewish spirit of a boy (Avrom Amos Poliakov) killed by Nazi soldiers during the war. To repay a debt he owes the boy for an incident that happened during the war, Freddie allows Avrom to possess his body and speak through him for the purpose of tracking down the boy’s killer and becoming a bar mitzvah. In the process, Avrom turns The Great Freddie’s ventriloquism act into a smash success and finds a platform for speaking out about the atrocities against Jews by the Nazis during the war, but Freddie finds himself in some awkward situations with his girlfriend.
Connections: Some other great fiction titles that illustrate the treatment of Jews during World War II try reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, or Hitler’s Canary by Sandy Toksvig. Check out this video interview with the author.
Tags: anti-Semitism, bar mitzvah, dybbuk, Europe, friendship, ghosts, Holocaust, humor, Jews, justice, predjudices, revenge, Sid Fleischman, spirit possession, ventriloquism
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Thursday, August 27th, 2009
by M. J. Auch p. 246 Grades: 5-8
The summer before sixth grade, Norm loses his left hand when it gets caught in a meat grinder. Poor kid! His mom’s not cutting him any slack, and his dreams of making the baseball team seem hopeless–until he hears about a one-handed major league baseball player and a customer gives him a right-handed baseball mitt. Now it’s up to Norm.
Connections: Here’s some other great baseball fiction: Hang Tough Paul Mather by Alfred Slote; Some Kind of Pride by Maria Testa; Choosing Up Sides by John Ritter; High Heat by Carl Deuker; and Hard Ball byWill Weaver. Browse 796.357 for baseball nonfiction and search baseball biography in the catalog for famous players.
Tags: baseball, cooking, determination, disabilities, friendship, historical fiction, humor, multicultural, post-World War II, resilience
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Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
by Shenaaz Nanji, p. 210 Grades: 7-10
What do you do when your whole world seems to be falling down around you? Do you deny that it is happening? In 1972, when President Idi Amin of Uganda gave all foreign Indians 90 days to leave the country, fifteen year-old Sabine didn’t think that included her family, as they were all Ugandan citizens. When her uncle disappears mysteriously, she convinces herself that he will turn up soon. When her best friend, Zena turns against her, Sabine hopes she will come around eventually. But, when the soldiers come looking for her father . . .
Connections: Some other stories that deal with conflict between different groups within one country include Girl of Kosovo by Alice Mead, Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata, or Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
Tags: ethnic relations, family life, forced migration, friendship, historical fiction, Idi Amin, multicultural, prejudices, race relations, Shenaaz Nanji, Uganda, Young Adult
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Monday, July 20th, 2009
by Kathi Appelt p. 313 Grades 6-8
This amazing book has it all–chills, thrills, tears, fears; strangers and dangers; monsters and heroes; prehistoric and modern times; dogs and cats, love and hate; cruelty and compassion; animals and humans; magic and realism, shape-shifters and kittens; revenge and redemption; loneliness and friendship. This strange and magical story begins in a Texas bayou when a calico cat about to have kittens hears the lonely howls of a chained up dog. She and her kittens take up residence with him underneath the shack where the hound’s cruel master, Gar Face, has chained him. They are safe until one of the kittens ventures out from the underneath and is caught by Gar-Face.
Connections: If you like sad animal stories, try these titles: Old Yeller by Fred Gipson, Sounder by William Armstrong, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien, and Watership Down by Richard Adams are other wonderful fantasies where animals form communities to help each other.
Tags: adventure, animals, bayous, cats, compassion, dogs, fantasy, friendship, kittens, loneliness, magical realism, sad stories, shape-shifters, snakes, survival
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Monday, July 20th, 2009
by Susin Nielsen. p. 248 Grades: 7-8 
What do a 7th grade misfit with a severe peanut allergy and a twenty-five-year-old ex-convict, former drug addict have in common? SCRABBLE!!! After Ambrose nearly dies when three bullies slip a peanut into his sandwich, his overly protective mother removes Ambrose from school and has him do a correspondence course from home. While she is at work, Ambrose secretly forges a friendship with his landlords’ son, Cosmos, who has just gotten out of prison. He cons Cosmos into taking him to the West Side Scrabble Club. While Ambrose becomes hooked on Scrabble competition, Cosmos becomes hooked on beautiful Amanda, who runs the club. This moving book is filled with lots of humor, word play, interesting characters and even danger.
Connection: Other good reads with clever, outsider characters are Schooled by Gordon Korman, the Shredderman series by Wendelin Van Draanen, Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick, and Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of the Tree by Lauren Tarshis.
Tags: allergies, bullies, friendship, humor, outsiders, quirky characters, runaways, Scrabble, single-parent families, word play
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Monday, June 15th, 2009
By Neal Shusterman, p. 247 – Grades 6-9.
If you enjoyed meeting Antsy (Anthony Bonano) in the Schwa Was Here, you’ll love encountering him again in this humorous teen novel in which he gives Gunnar Umlaut a month of his life. When classmate Gunnar tells Antsy that he only has six months to live, Antsy draws up a contract giving Gunnar a month of his life, which earns him the attention and a kiss from Gunnar’s gorgeous older sister. Soon other kids and even the principal want to donate months of their lives to Gunnar. Time passes, and Gunnar isn’t showing symptoms. What’s up?
Connection: Other humorous novels where schemes get out of hand are The Schwa Was Here by Neal Schusterman, The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian, and Peeled by Joan Bauer.
Tags: coming of age, family problems, friends, friendship, high school, humor, Neal Shusterman, New York City, teens
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Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
by Kristin Levine, p. 264 – Grades 6-9
While many of the townspeople in early 20th century Moundville, Alabama were shocked at the arrival of the new African-American postmaster, twelve-year old Dit was disappointed when he realized the postmaster’s child, Emma, was a girl rather than the playmate he had been hoping for. Adventuresome Dit is sure that he will never enjoy spending time with bookish, refined Emma, but he grudgingly shows her around and eventually the two end up finding common ground in the digging of a fort in Dit’s favorite hill mound. With the start of school in the fall, Dit comes to more fully understand the realities of the Jim Crow laws as Emma is forced to go to a different school and his buddies tease him about their friendship. Racial tensions in the town really erupt when the the town’s African American barber is charged with a crime against the overtly racist sheriff, and as witnesses to the crime, Dit and Emma can’t help but get involved.
Connection: For another story about a friendship challenged by racism, read Tony Johnston’s Bone by Bone by Bone.
Tags: Alabama, country life, family life, friendship, historical fiction, history 1819-1950, Kristin Levine, multicultural, prejudices, race relations
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Sunday, May 31st, 2009
by Laurie Halse Anderson, p. 278 – Grades 8 & Up
This novel, for mature readers, tells the story of Lia who has just found out about the death of her once best friend, Cassie. While they were friends, both girls suffered from eating disorders: Lia- anorexia and Cassie- bulimia. On the night of Cassie’s death, Lia received 33 phone calls and messages from Cassie… all of which Lia had left unanswered. Lia’s family (too busy mother, distant father and clueless stepmother) are concerned that the news will send Lia over the edge again and back to New Seasons the rehabilitation center she has already visited twice.
Connection: For another story that shows a teen dealing with the death of another teen read Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.
Tags: anorexia nervosa, bulimia, death, divorce, family problems, friendship, Laurie Halse Anderson, sad stories, teens, Young Adult
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Monday, May 4th, 2009
by Cynthia Lord, p. 200 – Grades 4-7
Twelve-year-old Catherine’s brother (David) has autism and regularly does things that embarrass her, so she creates more and more rules for him to live by. She also fiercely defends David from bullies like Ryan who lives on their street. During the summer Catherine goes to her brother’s speech therapy appointments and meets Jason, a boy with cerebral palsy who uses a book of words and pictures to communicate. Catherine’s friendship with Jason grows as she adds new (hip) words and pictures to his book. A new girl, Kristi, moves in next-door, opening up the possibility of a new special friendship, but Catherine is not sure whether or not to trust her new friend when Kristi shows an interest in the bully, Ryan.
Connection: The main character in Gennifer Choldenko’s novel Al Capone Does My Shirts also has a sibling with autism. — CRW
Tags: autism, brothers and sisters, Cynthia Lord, friendship, multicultural, people with disabilities, trust
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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
by Tonya Hurley, p.328 – Grades 7 & Up
It is the first day of her junior year and Charlotte is geared up to shift from ignored wallflower to part of the in-crowd. When she gets dream-guy Damen as her physics lab partner, she thinks that the stars have finally aligned. As they leave the classroom with Damen asking her to be his tutor, Charlotte chokes on a gummy bear and dies. Caught in the world between life and eternity, Charlotte and her new Dead Ed. classmates find out that they have some unfinished business before they can really move on.
Connection: For another book about high school and struggles with popularity try reading, She’s So Money by Cherry Cheva –CRW
Tags: death, fantasy, friendship, ghosts, high schools, popularity, teens, Tonya Hurley
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by Wendy Mass, 322 pages, Grades 5-9
