Jake Meets California

Jake and I enjoyed a little vacay the past week and a half. If you can believe it, Jake had never met most of his family in California. It was just plain unacceptable. So we hopped on a plane to meet the fam! And when I say hopped I mean it was a stress-ful! Getting through security, taking apart and putting back together a complicated stroller MULTIPLE times, changing icky diapers with your elbows practically pinned to your sides while your baby slides around a precarious airplane changing station, sitting ramrod straight for a good hour holding your babys outstretched arms up so he can sleep on your lap like superman and worrying the entire time that any minute your son could have meltdown and your fellow passengers will start chanting, "throw them overboard!!" yeah.

But... Jake was an angel. Honestly, this boy is wonderful. He laughed and talked and slept and cuddled and smiled smiled smiled at everyone: the Indian doctor sitting next to us who even held him for a minute, the flight attendants, the pilot who advised me to feed him on take off so his ears wouldn't get plugged, the ladies behind us, everyone and anyone. He's a gem.

And the apple of my family's eye because they loooovvvveed him. Obviously. :) We had a great time. Jake had plenty of eager hands to hold him and entertain him. And I had some time to get pampered and rest. As always, California is synonymous with wonderfulness.

Jake saw his buddy Dave Figgat off right before his 508 mile bike race (uh wow.)

We went to Lombardis Ranch for some pumpkins! (where Jake connected with his middle eastern roots :)

Jake sat in his bumbo and discovered cartoons.

And he was cuddled and kissed and watched over by many.

See ya in a few weeks familia!

Ever

Ever * Gail Carson Levine

2008 * p. 244 * YA Fantasy

"Falling in love is never easy, but falling in love with an immortal god while your days on earth are numbered is almost more than a young girl can bear.


Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine has created a stunning new world of flawed gods, unbreakable vows, and ancient omens in this spellbinding story of Kezi, a girl confronted with a terrible destiny. Attempting to thwart her fate, Kezi and her love, Olus -- the god of wind and loneliness -- embark on a series of dangerous and seemingly impossible quests."

Kezi, her family, and the whole town are devout worshippers of the god Admat. He is all and everything to them. When Kezi's mother becomes ill, her father makes a promise to Admat that if his wife is spared, he will sacrifice someone in honor of Admat. That someone ends up being Kezi.

The whole family is depressed, needless to say. Kezi has til the end of the month to live. If her father doesn't fulfill his oath, the whole town could perish.

Meanwhile, another god, Olus, has been watching. he likes humans and wishes he was one of them. He has become particularly attached to Kezi and her family. Risking exposure, Olus talks to Kezi and vows to save her. Together they will find Admat and plead for Kezi's life, or make Kezi immortal. Neither proves to be very easy.

I thought it was a great concept, but the writing seemed to lacking to me. Which is suprising since I'm a big Gail Carson Levine fan. Each new chapter switches perspectives--from Kezi to Olus and back again. The sequence of events seemed scattered. It feels more like an oral retelling of an ancient fairy tale. Interesting.

Really thats all I can say. Interesting.

But a good, simple, clean read for YA.

-Reading level: ages 12 & up
-Completely appropriate
-Themes of sacrifice, religion, devotion, obedience, love, courage

LAST ACT

Last Act * Christopher Pike
1988 * p. 226 * YA Mystery
Melanie is new at school and feeling pretty invisible. But when one of the most popular girls in school invites her to try out for a part in the school's play, she's ecstatic, especially since Marc, a handsome and brooding athlete, will also star in the play.

But what Melanie doesn't know, is that everyone seems to be hiding secrets, and what is supposed to be a pretend murder for the sake of the play, becomes very real. A fellow actress is murdered, and Melanie finds herself as the main suspect.

Most people claim it was an accident, others say Melanie hated Rindy and wanted her dead. Melanie doesn't think it was an accident, but neither is she the one who did it. She believes someone DID want Rindy dead, and she's convinced that the only way to solve the murder is to perform the play again. But is performing the play, just setting the stage for another murder?

A great little murder mystery. I read it once before while I was in junior high and loved it then too. Christopher Pike has written many, many more books that are all similar: murder, mystery, science fiction, gore. His books are like a higher level version of Goosebumps. My Young Adult professor calls them potato chip fiction: a mindless, meaningless, but pleasurable read.

They aren't great literature. But they are great books for a reader that is not "into" reading. They are easy to read, generally light, suspenseful and fun reads.

-Reading level: ages 16 & up.
-A few swear words.
-Themes of secrecy, betrayal, friendship, lies!

CATCHING FIRE

Catching Fire * Suzanne Collins
2009 * p. 391 * YA Science Fiction

Book Two begins much the same as the first. Katniss is hunting beyond the fence. Even though she's wealthy now for co-winning the Games, she still hunts for Gale's family now that he has to work in the mines.

Things are strained. Peeta is still hurt over the fact that Katniss pretended to be in love with him. Gale is distant after watching Katniss carry on with Peeta during the Games. Haymitch is as drunk as ever. And there are still rumors that Katniss purposefully was trying to start a rebellion against the Capitol when she pretended to eat those poisonous berries. All this weighs on her mind as she prepares herself for the Victory Tour.

She is less than thrilled to tour the other districts. Before she leaves, President Snow of the Capitol makes a surprise visit. He warns her that if she does not do her best to squelch these rebellion rumors all those she holds dear will be killed.

Yikes. But Katniss is the unspoken leader for the rebellion, even though she may not want to be. As she tours, she notices a few districts have started their own silent and civil demonstartions against the capitol. A mere whistle becomes cause for death. Katniss sees firsthand what she has started and must decide if she will help and put all the people she loves in danger, or abdicate her role and exterminate the hope that has been fueled by her defiant act in the arena.

But a new terror ensues. This year is a Quarter Quell. Meaning a specialized Hunger Games will be televised to "celebrate" the 75th anniversary of the Capitol's rule. A Quell has different rules than the regular games. When they are announced, everyone is horrified. No one, it seems, is safe from the Capitol's cruelty. Especially when the Capitol wants you out of the way.

Dum-dum-dum! Love it! Love it! Love it!

I was sooo excited to read the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy and I was definitely rewarded for my enthusiasm. :) It was amazing. The first book will always hold a special place in my heart, but the second comes pretty close. It was more psycholgical and emotional than the first, though there was still plenty of action.

The love stories are awesome as always. I'm a big Peeta fan.

I just can't get over how good of a writer Collins is. The book was engrossing and the writing excellent. I really hope these books are made into films (good ones, that is.)

I love the complexity of Katniss' situation. There are so many components! She's constantly in a psychological battle. Fight or flight? But when she has to fight, boy oh boy does she! Love it.

-Reading level: ages 15 & up
-Violence. A couple of swear words. Nothing too graphic.
-Themes of fight or flight, courage, rebellion, sacrifice, leadership.
-A WONDERFUL book!

PIRATES!

Pirates! * Celia Rees
2003 * p. 488 (Large Print Edition)* YA Historical Fiction

Nancy Kington is the daughter of a wealthy sugar merchant in 1720's East Coast America. When her father's company (a rather shady one dealing in the slave trade) collapses and he dies. Nancy is left to the will of her older brothers.

To make some quick and plentiful cash, they ship her off to the West Indies and betrothe her to The Brazilian. A cruel, wealthy plantation and slave trade owner. Nancy is shocked and heartbroken, especially since she must leave William, the boy she has pledged herself to at home. So Nancy is shipped to the Indies and William likewise takes to the sea in the hopes of joining the navy.

When Nancy reaches her new tropical home in Jamaica, she instantly witnesses the cruelty inflicted on the black slaves. Cruelest of all is The Brazilian. As the cruelties continue and speculation mounts on Nancy's strange kindness to the slaves, Nancy concludes she must runa away. With her slave and friend Minerva, they buy passage with an old naval acquaintance turned pirate.

The two friends start their journey as female pirates on the high sea, running from The Brazilian, pillaging, acting, working, fighting, and learning secrets about each other that will bind them together forever.

The book was difficult for me. The whole premise seemed like it would be a very thrilling and adventurous book, but it ended up feeling very dull and mechanical.

It is written from Nancy's perspective as if she were writing in a diary. Which is ironic. You would think then that the book would be heartfelt and you'd find insights into Nancy's mind and thinking. But I felt like I didn't know her at all.

The dialogue was hopelessly void of emotion. The plot seemed to go nowhere but everywhere at once. The love story between William and nancy was nonexistent and frustrating. Nothing was developed as it should have been. Disappointing.

I strongly recommend Rees' book Witch Child over Pirates! It was leaps and bounds more interesting than this one.

-Reading Level: ages 13& up
-A few swear words. A scene of attempted rape. But nothing graphic.
-Themes of sisterhood, courage, ethics, slavery.

THE HUNGER GAMES

The Hunger Games * Suzanne Collins
2008 * p. 374 * YA Science Fiction

In the future, North America is now the country of Panem which is made up of 12 districts and controlled by the cruel and domianting Capitol. The Capitol's iron grasp keeps the districts virtually powerless and on the brink of continual starvation to squelch any possible rebellions. Long ago, District 13 tried to rebel and they were demolished.

As if to make the point clearer that another District can have the same fate if they rebel, each year the Capitol hosts the Hunger Games. A boy and girl from each of the twelve districts, between the ages of 12 and 18, are chosen out of a large ball. If chosen, they are committed. In the Hunger Games, it is kill or be killed. There is only one winner. Everyone else must die.

Every part of the Games is televised, and everyone must watch.

Katniss Everdeen, 16, from District 12 is supporting her mother and little sister, Prim, in virtually every way. She hunts and trades and by so doing keeps her family alive. She is an excellent hunter, quick and witty.

When her district must choose their boy and girl tribute for the Games everyone holds their breath. Katniss is older and so her odds of being chosen are greater. But her heart stops as Prim's name is called.

"There must have been some mistake. This can't be happening. Prim was one slip of paper in thousands! Her chances of being chosen so remote that I'd not even bothered to worry about her. Hadn't I done everything? Taken the tessarae, refused to let her do the same? One slip. One slip in thousands. The odds had been entirely in her favor. But it hadn't mattered.

'I volunteer!' I gasp. 'I volunteer as tribute!' (22).

Katniss volunteers as tribute to save her sister's life. And so, she and Peeta Mallark, the boy chosen from her district, must go together to the Capitol and enter the Hunger Games. Peeta has saved her life a long time ago. And things are awkward, because if she wants to ever come back home she will have to kill him and 22 other tributes.

WOW.

I read quite a bit, but its only every once in awhile that I read a book that I just LOVE.

Love! I cry, I squeal, I smile, I shout, I can't put the book down. It's actually a rarity. So THANK YOU Suzanne Collins. You just got added to my list of authors that I want to personally hug.

The Hunger Games is A-MAZING! Seriously, wow. So good. But darn you Suzanne for leaving the ending the way you did! Now I have to be obsessed over it until the next book comes out. (its ok actually, I don't really mind :)

I consider this a science fiction book for people who don't like science fiction. There's adventure, romance, tons of tension with twists and turns, heart-wrenching scenes, etc. Wonderful!

I gathered the follwing info on how Collins came up with the idea for the Hunger Games:

"She also cites the Greek myth of Theseus, in which the city of Athens was forced to send young men and women to Crete to be devoured by the Minotaur, as inspiration for the nation of Panem; she explains, "Crete was sending a very clear message: 'Mess with us and we'll do something worse than kill you. We'll kill your children.'"

EVERYONE should read this book.

-Reading level: ages 15 & up
-Violence. Obviously the book is about teens that must kill or be killed. But the violence is tastefully done with few details and prolonged gore. I get squeamish over violence and gore, and this book did not effect me in that way at all.
-Themes of survival, courage, slavery, trust, love, sacrifice.
-LOVE IT!

THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND: The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book One

The Amulet of Samarkand: The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book One * Jonathan Stroud
2003 * p. 462 * YA Fantasy

The Amulet of Samarkand is written from the 1st person perspective of two characters: Bartimaeus, the anciently cheeky and mischievious demon, and Nathaniel, the revengeful apprentice wizard that has summoned him.

Nathaniel is apprentice to the ridiculous wizard Underwood. Underwood treats him as a burden, and fails to see the amazing potential that Nathaniel possesses to becoming a great wizard. And when Underwood also fails to stick up for Nathaniel against the attacks of the slimy Simon Lovelace, Nathaniel vows to seek revenge on both Lovelace and Underwood. To do so, he must go behind his master's back, dabble into wizardy levels he's too young to know, and summon a great and powerful demon to do his bidding.

Nathaniel summons Bartimaeus. And he is anything but willing. But since he has been summoned and put under an obedience charm, Bartimaeus follows the boy's commands and steals a powerful possession from Simon Lovelace: The Amulet of Samarkand.

But stealing the amulet puts a series of events into motion that Nathaniel did not anticipate.

I thought the book was far too long for what it needed to accomplish. I found myself struggling to just read a chapter each night. Not a good sign usually.

The saving grace of the book was Bartimaeus' witty and funny remarks to those around him and inside his head.

"The boy's mouth hung so low and loosely, a rodent could have used it as a swing"
(428).

Also, much of Bartimaeus' lines are given explanation in footnotes and they are pretty funny.

"1 In both senses. And I can tell you I've been in some sticky places in my time, but for sheer waxy unpleasantness, his earlobe would be hard to beat" (415).

To give the book credit, the last 80 or so pages were suspenseful and entertaining. However, my disappointment with the book on a whole does not have me running out to buy the 2nd and 3rd books.

-Reading level: ages 13 & up
-Completely appropriate
-A New York Times Bestseller
-Themes of revenge, trust, ambition, courage

A CURSE DARK AS GOLD

A Curse Dark as Gold * Elizabeth C. Bunce

2008 * p. 392 * YA Fantasy

A Curse Dark as Gold is a retelling and expanding of the classic Rumpelstilstkin fairy tale. The author, Bunce, says she wrote this book to clarify some of the confusing points of the fairy tale and give the miller's daughter more of an admirable and strong character. And Bunce does just that.

The miller's daughter, Charlotte Miller, is left to run the family mill when her father dies. The Millers are proud and stubborn. Charlotte and her younger sister, Rosie, are no different. Despite being women, they plan to run the mill alone.

Their efforts are not without extraordinarily bad luck and the constant rumors of the curse that has been on the mill and the Millers for generations.

"The Stirwaters Curse. I had grown up hearing those words every time something went the least bit awry. True, we Millers did tend to more than our share of bad luck--from the very first Miller of Shearing, old Harlan, who had built Stirwaters and this house. But down through the years of market collapses and roof collapses--which could happen to anybody--one dark thread bound the Millers apart from ordinary ill luck: No Miller had ever raised a son who lived to inherit Stirwaters. The mill had been handed down along a crazy zigzag path from brother to cousin to nephew...to daughter. Stirwaters could only be inherited by Millers, and Rosie and I were the only ones left" (23).

As unexplainable debts, deaths, vandalisms, etc occur and Charlotte fears she'll lose the mill, Rosie turns to faerie aid. Thus enters the character of "Rumpelstiltkin." Though he is never called by that name. Though this mysterious man may seem to be the answer to their prayers at the moment, the sisters soon find that making a bargain with a faerie brings nothing but trouble. So Charlotte Miller seeks to find the origins of the curse and how to break it before she loses the mill and her family.

I enjoyed this book, but I wouldnt necessarily categorize it as a fantasy. It seemed more like a historical supernatural mystery, if that makes sense. The details of mill life, fabrics and the coming of the industrial revolution are very complex, but easily understood. The writing was excellent. I was a little disappointed though that it was not more of a fantasy. But nevertheless, I highly recommend it.

-Reading level: ages 18 & up
-Morally appropriate for all ages
-High diction more suitable for seniors and above
-Themes of pride, judgement, communication and tradition
-Won the William C. Morris Debut Award by the ALA

WINGS

Wings * Aprilynne Pike

2009 * p. 290 * YA Fantasy

Laurel has been homeschooled all her life. When she and her parents move from their secluded forest property to a bigger town and Laurel must start public high school, she finds that she is different in more ways than one.

Laurel feels smothered in anything but shorts, tank tops and flip flops despite the cold. She eats only veggies, fruits and an occasional Sprite. Though these things aren't crazy out of the normal. Laurel soon finds that she is not normal.

What starts as an out of the norm "zit" on her back, turns into a softball-sized lump that eventually sprouts petal-like wings!!!!! Needless to say, she is freaked out. She turns to her new friend David from school, and together they keep her secret and piece by piece discover that Laurel is not human. She is a faerie!

What I thought was so nice about this book is that Pike took a relatively normal and genuine problem such as puberty, and gave it a twist: wings. It is the experience of having your body change and being freaked out. In that sense, I think every teenager can relate.

"A beam of sunlight shone down from a break in the trees above, making her silhouette stretch out on the grass in front of her. The outline of her shadow looked like an enormous butterfly with gauzy wings. And in the same strange way balloons cast shadows, the blackness had just a tinge of blue in it. She tried to make the wing-things move, but although she could feel them--feel every inch of them now, soaking in the rays of sunlight--she had no control over them. Something so life-shattering shouldn't be this beautiful" (50-1).

The book is suspenseful towards the end and I enjoyed it. It was definitely left open, hopefully, for a second book. There were a few parts that I thought were random and left a little unanswered/unresolved.

But I loved the love conflict between Laurel and the boys David and Tamani. I almost cried at the end. (I'm a sap for romance.)

Overall. I loved it. Especially, from the middle to the end.

-Reading level: ages 14 & up.

-A couple references to sex. (just the word.)

-Themes of puberty/change, devotion, being unique/special.

-A great mature fantasy for teens.

NEW MOON

New Moon Stephenie Meyer

2006 * p. 563* YA Supernatural

Bella Swan has had the happiest summer of her life. She has her unbelievably gorgeous vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen, at her side. Edward has even relaxed a little from his incessant worrying over Bella's safety in his vampire world.

But when his brother Jasper takes a snap at Bella after she cut her finger, Edward's fears are realized again. He leaves, telling Bella that its just too much to handle. With all of the Cullens gone, Bella feels utterly abandoned. She soon becomes a shell of a person. A walking zombie.

After months of this depression, Bella decides if Edward left her she can do whatever she wants. She no longer has to keep a promise to try and be safe. So she seeks thrills and escapes.

Thus enters Jacob Black. Bella's friend on the Quilete Reservation. Jacob's infectious optimism and sunny personality bring Bella back to the land of the living and together they seek adventures riding motorcycles, hiking and cliffdiving.

But just when Bella begins to finally cope, Jacob abandons her too. He has a secret that he can't share and Bella blames the reservation boys. She thinks he has been taken into a cult. But like everything else in Forks, nothing is what it seems.

Bella finds herself between the world of vampires and werewolves. And like everything with Bella, danger finds her.

This is my fourth time reading New Moon. Needless to say, I love it. Many readers dislike New Moon because it lacks a dominant appearance by Edward. I love Edward, too. But...I think this book was masterful in carving an even deeper understanding of the conneciton between Edward and Bella. They cannot live without each other and the book showcases this. Without his absence, the reader would not see how attached they are, that their love is more than a mere adolescent infatuation. It also deepens the struggle Bella has as she teeters between the world of immortality and normal human life.

-Reading level: age 14 & up

-A few mild swear words, recklessness, disobedience to parents

-Themes of love and friendship

-WONDERFUL!!!!

SUN AND MOON, ICE AND SNOW

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

Jessica Day George

2008 * p. 317 * YA Fantasy

Pika is the ninth child of a very poor family. And a girl. So displeased was her mother that she had another worthless girl that she pretty much left her to fend herself, and didn't even give her a name. Pika simply means girl.

Though she doesn't have a name, she grows up with identity nonetheless, strong and caring. She is mostly attached to her kind eldest brother, Hans Peter. He returned from his travels after a few years, but now seems lifeless. And he is now a disappointment to their fortune-seeking mother. Pika knows something happened to Hans Peter, but he never speaks of it.

Pika's family live in The North where it is always winter and conditions are harsh. When a white reindeer, a magical creature that grants a wish to whoever captures it, is seen in the countryside everyone wants to find and capture it. Pika, more out of curiousity stumbles about the snow in Hans Peter's parka. She happens to find the magical white reindeer stuck in a prickly bush. She frees the white reindeer and is suprised to find that it can talk. Though Pika says a wish is not necessary, the reindeer grants her two remarkable gifts: a name, and the ability to talk to animals.

Her secret name becomes a source of courage and confidence for the Pika. Her ability to talk to animals also because crucial when an isbjorn comes to the village. An isbjorn is a large white polar bear. The isbjorn has the Pika come with him and live in his palace of ice for a year. After the year is over she can leave.

The Pika finds that the isbjorn is kind and nice to talk to. She is given beautiful dresses, elegant meals, and kind service. But things turn strange when servants start to disappear, a weird smell pervades the palace and a strange young man comes to sleep next to her every night in the dark:

"After her second night in the palace, the stranger was her constant bedfellow. The first two times the stranger climbed into bed with her, she climbed right out and slept on the divan, but the third time the lass tried this she was awakened by someone lifting her. Without a word the stranger carried her to the bed and tucked her in. Then the visitor walked around to the other side, got in, and went to sleep, back turned to her.

She knew it was a man, because on that third night, after he had carried her back to bed, she dared to reach over and touch him. She ran her fingers over his face: he had high cheekbones and a shapely nose. His hair was straight and very thick, worn long so that it brushed the collar of his nightshirt (and she was relieved to feel he had one)" (99).

The Pika soon learns that everything is not what it seems: the palace, her brother, the isbjorn, and her role in the bargain. Aided by magic and true love she seeks to free her isbjorn.

I enjoyed this retelling of the fairy tale The Polar Bear King. However, I thought that the isbjorn and Pika's relationship wasn't as developed as it should have been. It never moved past "the friendship stage" for me, and as events unfolded I found it felt shallow because of the lack of "love." Compared to George's Princess of the Midnight Ball, I thought this book was more silly (in a good way) than suspenseful. The descriptions are more ridiculous than scary and would be appropriate for a younger audience.

-Reading level: age 12 & up

-Ideal for young women

-I suggest watching the movie "The Polar Bear King" as a companion to the book if you want something a little more suspenseful and mature. It is excellent.

-Completely appropriate.

TWILIGHT

Twilight

Stephenie Meyer

2005 * p. 498 * YA Supernatural

Bella Swan moves to Forks to live with her dad while her mother enjoys time with her new baseball player husband. Bella is a little awkward, and not spectacular in any certain way. But she is a novelty in the small town of Forks and quickly gains a lot of unwanted attention.

Everyone is admiring. Except for Edward Cullen--her stunningly gorgeous and pale lab partner who keeps to himself and his four siblings. On her first day, Bella is stunned by the revulsion that seems to emanate from him in her direction. She tries to ignore the tension, but eventually glances in his direction:

"I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly ran through my mind" (24).

Edward confuses Bella. One day he can barely stand to sit next to her, and the next he is peppering her with questions desperate to learn everything about her. As time goes on, Bella finds herself drawn to Edward and his enigmatic persona. Edward in return tries to maintain a distance telling her that its for the best.

But as Bella puts the pieces together and Edward warily spends time with her, she discovers that Edward is more than human. He is a vampire. And so begins the struggle. Edward wants to protect Bella from himself, but Bella is attached to his hip and refuses to leave him. Edward must control his thirst to keep his true love alive.

What can I say? I LOVE this book. Probably more than any other. And its not just because of the romance. But because of the feelings of the characters. Bella is self-conscious and normal. That is what I love about her. A lot of the book is her thoughts. She loves unconditionally and fears for others more than herself. Every day she is still in awe over Edward and constantly asks, "Why me?" She can't understand why Edward loves her, and secretly thinks that she is much more in love than he is.

Edward is soooo forgiving. (Read the sequels and you'll see why:) He thinks Bella is this perfect creature and wants to keep her that way. He refuses to make her a vampire and wants her to experience everything that is human and normal, just as she would have if he did not exist. Bella is his reason for living, but he secretly hates himself for selfishly holding onto her.

The emotions are complex and delightful. The story is suspenseful and so original. Wonderful.

I have the movie and I love it because it's Twilight. But, like any great book, only reading it can do it justice. You will not be disappointed.

-Reading level: ages 14 & up

-A few mild swear words and scenes of kissing

-Themes of love, sacrifice, good vs evil, judgment and morality

-Everyone should read this book!

PRINCESS OF THE MIDNIGHT BALL

Princess of the Midnight Ball
Jessica Day George

2009 * p. 272 * YA Fantasy

After the war ends, 18-year-old Galen Werner heads for the kingdom of Westfalin. His family has all died in the midst of the war, but Galen has survived even though he was often on the front lines in the army. He hopes to find his mother's relatives and a place to stay.

Once they are found, he is surprised to learn that they hold a very prominent position as the King's gardeners. So Galen joins the family business. But there is more than gardening in Galen's future.

King Gregor has twelve daughters--all of them named after flowers, from Rose to Petunia. But something is amiss with these daughters. Every third morning their dancing slippers are worn to pieces and they are exhausted. Yet none of them can explain to their father how and why and with whom they are sneaking out to dance.

After meeting and becoming enamored with the eldest princess, Rose, Galen sneakily discovers that the princesses do not want to dance and are being forced by some immortal being underground who has forbidden them to share the secret.

When Rose falls deathly ill things turn for the worse:

"Death alone could free a soul from the Midnight Ball, as the girls knew all too well.

'There's nothing we can do,' Rose said, and a tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and ran down to wet her pillow. 'If I don't go, he'll be so angry.' She rolled onto her side and pulled the blankets over her head again.

...And then, at eleven o'clock, Lily and Jonquil helped Rose out of bed. They washed her face and applied rouge to her pale cheeks and lips... Then they helped her into the yellow dress and the new dancing slippers.

The eldest princess could barely walk. She was near delirious with fever and racked by coughing spells that left her breathless and teary-eyed. Lily and Jonquil had to support her all the way to the Midnight Ball'" (48-9).

Galen is more determined than ever to rescue Rose and her sisters from the Midnight Ball, and the shadows that dance there.

Princess of the Midnight Ball is a sweet fantasy filled with princesses, flowers, magic and innocent romance. It is a perfect book for the sentimental female who loves the world of heroic princes and beautiful princesses who live happily ever after. It was a refreshingly unpredictable retelling of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

-Reading level: age 12 & up
-Completely appropriate for all ages
-German names with pronunciation guide in the back
-Themes of bravery, kindness, trust, love and family
-Ideal for young women

The Dark Light

The Dark Light

Mette Newth

1995 * p. 244 * YA Historical Fiction

The Dark Light takes place in early nineteenth century Norway. Tora is 13 years old and is struck with leprosy. Her mother has committed suicide when she found that she herself had contracted it. When Tora's leprosy is discovered, the town sends her to a leper hospital in the nearest city.

She is taken to St. Jorgen's Hospital in Bergen: basically a hospital for the living dead. The conditions are horrible and disgusting. Death is apparant in everything, especially in the deformed and gruesome faces of the patients.

Tora is pretty much in a state of denial and shock. She is scared to death of dying and the possibility of the non-existence of a God or heaven for her to go to. Her doubt mainly stems from the fact that she cannot read. And therefore she cannot discover the teachings of the Bible for herself:

"The parish pastor had said that there was but one recourse to be found--salvation. She had to surrender herself to God. Surrender herself and endure until He received her, for she was one of His chosen. God chastened those He loved the most; He had given His only begotten son for mankind's deliverance. It was all in the Holy Book, the pastor had said. That Book which she herself could not read" (6).

So though the pastor tells her she was a chosen one, Tora can't understand why everyone who is healthy would treat them so cruelly, abandon them, and pretend they were dead. She wants to know:

"Would He (God) answer the question that tortured her most: Was she rejected or elected?" (7).

Since Tora is not as sick as the others--yet--she is able to work more and help the others. One patient is particularly bitter and angry--Sunniva. She is educated and her family was rich. So Tora helps and waits on her in exchange for reading lessons. Tora finds that knowing how to read has been her greatest joy, and that stories give her an escape from the pain and suffering she must endure.

This book is wonderful. It is emotionally exhausting, however. There are many gruesome accounts and descriptions of leprosy and the cruelty that is shown them by the outside world. But I highly reccommend it.

-Reading level: ages 16 & up

-References and/or small scenes of prostitution, attempted rape, suicide, a few swear words, amputations, and body parts falling off.

-Themes of faith, hope, survival, death, education, love, service, family, positivity, etc.

-Needs a more mature audience

-A few Norwegian words

The author is Norwegian and the book is translated from Norwegian. The story is a fictionalized account of an actual leper hospital in Bergen, Norway.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants

The Adventures of Captain Underpants

Dav Pilkey

1997 * p. 121 * YA Graphic Novel

George and Harold are both troublemakers and like to play jokes on people--like putting soap in the band's instruments or pepper in the cherrleaders' pom poms.

They also love comics. They create a comic about the fabulous and heroic Captain Underpants- a superhero who wears only a cape and underwear. Everything is all fun and games with the pair until their, principal, Principal Krupp, catches them on film pulling one of their pranks. He uses the tape as blackmail to force Harold and George to behave. But George and Harold hypnotize Krupp to make him forget about the tape. They have fun playing around with making Krupp do things like act like a monkey or chicken.

Suddenly, they get a great idea: make him think he's Captain Underpants!

"Good idea," said George. Snap! "You are now the greatest superhero of all time: The Amazing Captain Underpants!"

Mr. Krupp tore down the red curtain from his office window and tied it around his neck. Then he took off his shoes, socks, shirt, pants, and his awful toupee.

"Tra-La-Laaaaaaaaaa!" he sang (55).

George and Harold think it's funny at first, but when "Captain Underpants" jumps out the window, many troubles lie ahead.

This graphic novel is silly and fun. It even has an interactive section for readers. If a young adult likes comics they will certainly enjoy this graphic novel. The author has also written sequels to the graphic novel.

-Reading level: ages 10 & up

-Appropriate except for a few references to boyish humor like potty humor, etc.

-No real theme. More of a mindless but entertaining read.

-A fast read with mainly pictures and large text.

If You Come Softly

If You Come Softly

Jacqueline Woodson

1998 * p. 181 * YA Realistic Fiction

Ellie is a white Jewish girl. Miah is black boy. They are both fifteen and meet on their first day at the expensive prep school in New York City that both their parents have chosen for them.

They connect in a moment but neither can tell why.

Miah (Jeremiah) says to his friend Carlton (who is half black and half white):

"It's like I know her--like I can look inside her and see everything. I know it sounds craz--"

"You sound like you're in love, man."

Jeremiah frowned. "Nah. I don't even know her." But he remembered that first day, bending with her to pick up her books in the hallway. Something inside him went cold that morning--cold and hot all at once. "I couldn't even tell you her last name." He was thoughtful for a moment. "But I was sitting next to her in class today--and I don't know--I felt like we. . . like we should always be next to each other. I don't know."

Carlton stood up and tucked the ball under his arm. "Sounds like love, man."

"But she's white."

Carlton raied an eyebrow. "Hello, Miah. Look who you talking to, man. It happens. And you know what? It ain't the worst thing in the world" (89).

They think about each other constantly, but it takes weeks before Miah finally talks to Ellie. From then on they are virtually inseperable. They are together during school and often walk to Central Park to talk. They have a lot in common. Both of them come from an unsatisfactory home life. Ellie's mother has left the family twice. But even though she came back, Ellie feels like she can never fully trust her. Miah's parents are divorced. His father had an affair with another woman, and he ow lives with her across the street. Both of their home lives are awkward and a little depressing.

Miah and Ellie become each other's best friend and fall in love almost instantly. But, of course, their races are an obstacle. People look at them strangely and Ellie is afraid to tell her parents.

If You Come Softly is a love story, but is innocent and not cheesy at all. It is more about two people finding a connection that helps them tackle the disappointments of life.

I enjoyed this book, although I was a little depressed afterward. But it is a heartfelt story.

-Reading level: ages 15 & up

-Needs a more mature audience to appreciate the issue of interracial relationships.

-A few swear words

-Themes of racism, interracial relationships, broken homes, honesty, communication

95 Pounds of Hope

95 Pounds of Hope

Anna Gavalda

2002 * p. 90 * YA Realistic Fiction

Gregory Dubosc is 13 years old and in the 6th grade.

"Yes, I know there's something wrong. I'll tell you right away--don't bother to count on your fingers. I stayed back twice: third and sixth grades" (4).

Gregory simply doesn't like school. His parents are fed up with his bad grades and lies about assignments. They've taken him to doctors, and the doctors say he has ADD. Gregory thinks this is ridiculous, and attests that he simply doesn't like school and that everything seems like it's taught in Chinese.

Gregory finds his joy in his Grandpa Leon's workshop. He loves to build things and create. He is truly gifted when it comes to carpentry.

But going to school is inescapable, even though he has been expelled from two schools. His parents decide on sending him to boarding school but no school will take him because of his record. But everything seems to change when Gregory becomes interested in attending a boarding school that focuses on working with your hands and exploring creativity.

The book is short but poignant. Gregory is a typical student who feels dumb because he doesnt get good grades. It is truly sad. He is a good boy and only wants to feel that he is smart and make his parents proud.

The book is honest and a real glimpse into every student's struggles to get good grades. One quote in particular made me laugh and called back memories:

"Then comes the torture of homework. If my mother helps me, she always ends up crying. If it's my father, I always end up crying" (13).

Haha. So true. Gregory is very funny and real and relatable. I didn't find the story on a whole very outstanding or literary, but it is a good choice for students who have similar school problems and need a book that is short and uncomplicated.

-Reading level: ages 10 & up

-Contains a few swear words

-A short and uncomplicated read

-Themes of self-confidence, family, school, and individuality

Jason's Gold

Jason's Gold

Will Hobbs

1999 * p. 216 * YA Historical Fiction

Fifteen-year-old Jason Hawthorn is self-reliant, ambitious and eager to prove himself to his older brothers. He has left his hometown in Seattle and is living in New York City as a newsie when the Klondike Gold Rush erupts. Gold! Everyone has dreams of striking it rich in the Klondike, even Jason.

"Klondike. Jason paused to savor the word. "Klondike," he said aloud. The name had a magical ring to it, a spellbinding power. The word itself was heavy and solid and dazzling, like a bar of shiny gold" (3).

He rushes home to claim his inheritence and set out for Alaska. But on returning home to Seattle he fnds that his older brothers have the Klondike fever and have already left, and with Jason's money!

Jason is discouraged. But he bucks up, and uses his cunning to sneak onto a ship to the Klondike. Jason's goal is to reach his brothers before some of the treacherous obstacles that lie on the path to the Klondike. But nothing proves easy, or what it seems, on the way to the Klondike, where the gold is "as thick as cheese in a sandwich."

Jason is a fictional character set against the historical event of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Jason takes the historic trek through the Dead Horse Trail, Chilkoot Pass, and the Yukon River. He witnesses criminal activity and animal cruelty, saves a dog, meets the infamous Jack London, has a run in with a moose and suffers a great deal.

I loved, loved, loved this book! It was suspenseful and eye-opening to read about a historical event that I knew so little about. Jason is a true hero. He is moral, kind, forgiving, and strong. King, Jason's husky, is the ultimate man's best friend.

It was wonderful.

-Reading level: age 13 & up

-No swearing that I can recall

-A few disturbing/graphic scenes of animal cruelty and an amputation

-Themes of self-reliance, animal respect, greed, perseverance, kindness, and determination.

-An adventure book that will appeal especialy to boys, but also for girls

North of Danger

North of Danger

Dale Fife

1978 * p. 72 * YA Historical Fiction

North of Danger takes place in WWII Spitsbergen, a sovereign of Norway. It is a fictionalized story based on a true event.

The people living on Spitsbergen, which is situated four hundred miles from the North Pole, fled there after the Germans started to invade Norway.

This story is about Arne Kristiansen, a 12 year old boy living in Spitsbergen. Arnes' father, an activist against the Germans, has fled to the North Pole posed as a glacialist to escape capture.

When Spitsbergen is suddenly told to evacuate because the Germans were coming, Arne refuses to leave. His father is supposed to return in 3 weeks, and will be captured if no one warns him to avoid Spitsbergen. Arne hides in the mines. Soon the whole town is evacuated and Arne is left on his own in the ghost town. He waits above the town for a week, keeping an eye out for German ships and his father. Unfortunately, the Germans arrive. So Arne must make the treacherous trek to reach his father in the dead of winter.

The story is packed with a lot of historical information and is often a little confusing with some of the Norwegian vocabulary. The characters seem a little flat and everything gets resolved a little too nicely and quickly. But the overall story is well written and a typical adventure story about a boy on his own, battling the elements...and Germans.

-Reading level: age 14 & up

-Appropriate for all ages

-A short, fast read

-A few challenging Norwegian words

-The book has no cover jacket, and may be a harder book to locate

Life Lists for Teens

Life Lists for Teens

Pamela Espeland

2003 * p. 244 * YA Nonfiction

Life Lists for Teens contains numerous lists, suggestions, tips, etc that help teens in 9 different areas: Health & Wellness, Getting Along, Staying Safe, School & Learning, Going Online, Planning Ahead, Saving the World, Focus on You, & Just for Fun.

The book can be read from cover to cover or by just perusing through it. That is the beauty of this book. Readers can pick and choose the topics that they need help with. I didn't spend much time on sections and lists about teen pregnancy and smoking, but I did spend time on perfectionism and procrastination.

The lists are also great because they address different areas of a problem. For example, there is a list of reasons why you shouldn't get a tattoo. But then following it is a list of what to be careful of if you can't be persuaded not to, etc. The book promotes healthy and moral decisions but doesn't preach.

-Reading level: ages 10 & up: teens can go to this book with many different issues and question.

-Appropriateness: it does talk about sex, drugs, tattoos, sexual harassment--but only in the manner of how to combat it, stand up for yourself, and seek help.

-Author talks well to the teen reader and relates with subtle humor.

Little Women

Little Women: Book One

Louisa May Alcott

1868 * p. 377 * YA Fiction, Pre-1920's

"Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us--and those around us--more effectively. Look for the learning."

--Louisa May Alcott.

Alcott's Little Women is considered a classic YA novel and has withstood the test of time. YA novels at the time usually served the purpose of being strictly moral books to teach children lessons and the proper way to behave. Alcott's book however employs these moral lessons in a situation of love, understanding and forgiveness.

Little Women is about the March sisters--beautiful Meg, boyish and outspoken Jo, timid and selfless Beth, and pompous but young Amy. Each have their virtues and vices. They live with their mother who they call Marmee and try to make ends meet while their father is away at the Civil War. The girls love to make plays and act and have wonderful imaginations that help them stay entertained. They befriend their neighbor's grandson, Laurie, who is the same age as Jo. Laurie is mischievious and a teaser and loves the March girls as his own sisters and has a good heart.

The moral lessons of the story are included as the Marmee challenges the girls to follow Christian's example in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. A novel about a man's journey to heaven and all of the temptations he must overcome to release himself of his burden.

References to Pilgrim's Progress are made to continually.

Marmee says, "We never are too old for this, my dear, because it is a play we are playing all the time in one way or another. Our burdens are here, our road is before us, and the longing for goodness and happiness is the guide that leads us through many troubles and mistakes to the peace which is a true Celestial City. Now, my little pilgrims, suppose you begin again, not in play, but in earnest, and see how far on you can get before Father comes home" (17).

I love Little Women. It is just a pure book. It is about sisterly love and devotion, good deeds, overcoming personal trials, and growing up in a loving home where an understanding mother is present to build you up.

Book One is more about the girls growing up over one year and overcoming trials before all of the romantic escapades occur. (That is probably in Book Two.) Meg and John Brook's affection begins and the reader is given hints of Laurie's love for Jo.

The 1994 movie of Little Women is pretty true to Book One though a lot is not included. I would reccomend reading the books first, along with Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and then watching the movie.

-Reading level: age 13 & up.

-Appropriate for all ages.

-Themes of sisterly love, overcoming personal trials, selflessness, sacrifice.

-Lengthy book, with a few vocabulary words that may need to be explained.

-WONDERFUL!

Homeless Bird

Homeless Bird

Gloria Whelan

2000 * p. 212 * YA Multicultural Fiction

Homeless Bird is the story of 13 year old Koly who lives in India. Her family is poor, but loving. Koly is now at the age where she can be married, and soon her parents come into contact with another family who wish their son to be married to Koly. They live far away and Koly has never seen her husband-to-be, Hari. Hari's parents have told Koly and her parents that he is sixteen and will be a good match. However, after they are married and meet Koly and Hari meet face to face, they discover that Hari is deathy ill and the same age as Koly, maybe younger. But they are married, and worse than a deceitful marriage, is bringing shame to the family. So Koly stays with Hari and his parents.

On their wedding night, Koly sleeps next to her sister-in-law Chandra and is not allowed to even rarely speak to her husband:

"I slept very little that night, kept awake by my longing for my home and by Hari's coughing in the next room. As I lay there in the strange house, I felt like a newly caged animal that rushes about looking for the open door that isn't there. I thought I might be able to endure one day in my new home and perhaps two, but I did not see how I could live there for the rest of my life" (24).

Poor Koly's circumstances only get worse. I can't even imagine getting married at age 13 to a sickly boy, living with in-laws that I had never met, being treated unkindly, and never being able to go home for fear of shaming my family.

Hari's parents only had Hari marry Koly to get her dowry so they could take Hari to a holy city and be cured. But Hari is not cured, and dies. Koly is a widow at 13 and must wear the traditional white widow's sari. Now, Koly must live with her in-laws. Her sister-in-law leaves and is married, her father-in-law soon dies, and so Koly is left with her cruel mother-in-law--Sass. Koly is now 17. They are destitute.

Sass and Koly head for a new place to live with Sass's brother. But they stop at Vrindiavan, a holy city. Sass gives Koly some money to buy food for them. When Koly returns, Sass is gone. She has left without her and deserted her in the holy city. Koly is all alone, with little money, nowhere to stay, no friends or family.

Homeless Bird is a wonderful book, and though depressing, it still seems lighthearted. What really struck me is that this is a modern-day book. It is not written about a character that lived in India 100 years ago. It is a realistic, mulitcutluralistic account of life for a teenage widow. Since marriage is everything, to be widowed is to think your life is over. That is the real depressing aspect of the novel: to think that your life is over at 13 and that the rest of your life will be spent as a servant, unloved and poor.

Though I won't share the end, it does end happily. It is a wonderful insight into Indian culture and many terms are use throughout the book. (A glossary of terms is explained at the back of the book.) I loved it. The text is big and the pages are small making it a fast and interesting read.

-Reading level: age 11 & up

-Easy read.

-A reference to a bhang and drug use.

-Appropriate for all ages.

-Glimpse into the Indian culture.

-Themes of hope, endurance, respect and shame.

-National Book Award Winner.

Dealing with Dragons

Dealing with Dragons

Patricia C. Wrede


1990 * p. 212 * YA Fantasy


Dealing with Dragons follows the Princess Cimorene of Linderwall. Her six older sisters have all married a prince and lived happily ever after. Cimorene, however, is anything but a proper and typical princess. She does not want to marry prince. She wants to study economics, make cherries jubilee, learn magic, etc. But all of those things are not proper for a princess to do. Cimorene is fed up, and when her parents tell her they have betrothed her to a handsome but brainless prince, it's the last straw. After receiving advice from a talking frog, she heads out for more advice, and finds DRAGONS.

Cimorene is frightened at first, but then offers herself as a servant princess to the dragons. The dragons are taken aback by this request. Usually they have to steal a princess, but here Cimorene is offering herself freely and willingly. One dragon just wants to eat her. But Kazul, a respected female dragon, says she will take Cimorene.

Cimorene loves being Kazul's princess. She gets to cook all she wants, sort through treasure, and catalogue old and supernatural books. But not everything is perfect. Cimorene has to deal with sneaky wizards, traitor dragons, fire-coughing dragons, persnickety servant princesses, and annoying and persitent princes come to rescue her.

One day, a knight shouts into the cave where Kazul and Cimorene live. Cimorene goes out to tell him to go away and they have this conversation:

"'What can I do for you?' Cimorene asked after several moments had gone by and the knight still hadn't said anything.

"Well, um, if you are the Princess Cimorene, I've come to rescue you from the dragon,' the knight said.

Cimorene set the point of the broadsword on the ground and leaned on it as if it were a walking cane. 'I thought that might be it,' she said. 'But I'd rather not be rescued, thank you just the same.'

'Not be rescued?' The knight's puzzled look deepened. 'But princesses always--'

'No, they don't,' Cimorene said firmly, recognizing the beginning of a familiar argument. 'And even if I wanted to be rescued, you're going at it all wrong.'

'What?' said the knight, thoroughly taken aback.

'Shouting, 'Come out and fight,' the way you did. No self-respecting dragon is going to answer to a challenge like that. It sounds like a child's dare. Dragons are very conscious of their dignity, at least all the ones I've met so far are'" (25).

The conversation continues and its hilarious. Cimorene is outspoken but kind. She is strong and an individual. She knows who she is and what will make her happy in life.

Wrede's book is very humorous. She employs a lot of the classic fairy tale elements and lightly makes fun of them for their often ridiculous perfection. Some of them included are Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc. Cimorene is delightful and fun. The whole theme of the book is being happy with who you are and not letting anything or anyone hold you back, being an individual, and that beauty does not always equal intelligence or compassion.





-Reading level: grade 7 & up


-Appropriate for all ages.


-It was a fun, easy read that girls will most likely appreciate.

Jacob Have I Loved

Jacob Have I Loved

Katherine Paterson

1980 * p. 215 * YA Historical Fiction

"Jacob Have I Loved" follows the life of Louise as she grows up in Chesapeake Bay in the 1940s. Louise is a tomboy. She loves to go out into the bay with her father and catch crab. She has rough, large hands, is too tan, strong and stocky, and is definitely not pretty. Caroline, Louise's twin sister, is. She is petite, blonde, has a beautiful voice and seems the capture the attention of everywhere.

Louise constantly compares herself to Caroline, and throws herself a pity party daily. In the following excerpt, Louise tells about being born a twin:

"I was the elder by a few minutes. I always treasured the thought of those minutes. They represented the only time in my life when I was the center of everyone's attention. From the moment Caroline was born, she snatched it all for herself.

When my mother and grandmother told the story of our births, it was mostly of how Caroline had refused to breathe. How the midwife smacked and prayed and cajoled the tiny chest to move. How the cry of joy went up at the first weak wail--'no louder than a kitten's mew.'

'But where was I?' I once asked. 'When everyone was working over Caroline, where was I?'

A cloud passed across my mother's eyes, and I knew that she could not remember. 'In the basket,' she said. 'Grandma bathed you and dressed you and put you in the basket.'

'Did you Grandma?'

'How should I know?' she snapped. 'It was a long time ago.'

I felt cold all over, as though I was the newborn infant a second time, cast aside and forgotten" (14-5).

But though she isn't the "favored" one, as a reader you don't feel entirely sorry for her. She complains and is also often rude and possessive of others that she wants all to herself. But she is a typical teenager that is going through the growing pains of living in a shadow, feeling inadequate and experiencing the first pangs of love. Can't we all relate to that? She means well.

A few twists and turns dot the storyline: her friendship with rolly-polly, boy scout Call, the mysterious old Captain, the shock of Pearl Harbor, a devastating flood, and more.

"Jacob Have I Loved" felt very nastolgic. The descriptions of the setting of the Chesapeake Bay and life there in the 1940s is really superb.

-Reading level: grade 8 & up

-Appropriate for all ages

-Some references to puberty and becoming sexually aware of the opposite sex

-Themes of feeling like an outcast, family relationships, self-worth and confidence, pride, becoming an adult

The Arrival

The Arrival

Shaun Tan

2006 * p. 128 * YA Graphic Novel

This is the first graphic novel that I have ever "read." When I first heard the term, I thought it meant graphic as in explicit and offensive material. But a graphic novel is essentially book that is mostly drawings and read almost like a comic book.

The Arrival, however, is solely pictorial. The drawings are beautiful, whimsical, and emotional.

Tan "tells" the story of an immigrant who leaves his home for a new country. He experiences the fustrations and awe of being introduced to a new language, culture, and way of life.

No nationalities are given, except I think that the main character, the man on the front cover, is European. I think the new country is America. America is portrayed as a bizarre and beautiful planet. The new country is so foreign and strange to the man that he feels like he is in another galaxy. Tan continues this almost sci-fi feeling througout.

The following are some images from the book:

-Reading level: grade 7 & up

-Themes: Immigration, loneliness, adaptation, community

-No text, only images.

-Read the book in about half hour

-Beautiful pictures

The Westing Game

The Westing Game

Ellen Raskin

1978 * p. 182 * YA Mystery

The Westing Game is a "clue-like" mystery where 16 strangers are brought together at the funeral of a man, Sam Westing, that all claim they never knew. He has left a will and devised a game that all will play to determine the heir of his money and his murderer. Most of the characters are eccentric and have fun and unusual names like Theo Theodorakis, D. Denton Dear, and Turtle Wexler. Also, each seems to know something but hides it secretly, as well as the clues they are given in pairs.

One of the 16 strangers and heirs, Judge J.J. Ford, says the following about the Westing game:

"In his will Sam Westing implied (he did not state, he implied) that (1) he was murdered, (2) the murderer was one of the heirs, (3) he alone knew the name of the murderer, and (4) the name of the murderer was the answer to the game.

The game: a tricky, divisive Westing game. No matter how much fear and suspicion he instilled in the players, Sam Westing knew that greed would keep them playing the game. Until the 'murderer' was captured. And punished.

Sam Westing was not murdered, but one of his heirs was guilty--guilty of some offense against a relentless man. And that heir was in danger. From his grave Westing would stalk his enemy, and through his heirs he would wreak his revenge" (47-48).

I read this book when I was younger and remembered loving it. After reading it again, I found t harder to get into and really enjoy. But it is a relatively fun read.

-Reading level: grade 7 & up

-Fast and easy read

-Appropriate for all readers

Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850

Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850

Susan Campbell Bartoletti

2001 * p. 172 * YA Nonfiction

Black Potatoes gives a history of the potatoe famine in Ireland. I learned much. One of the phrases that struck me was that it was a "man-made famine." It wasn't that there was no food, but rather that people didn't have any money to buy food.

Bartoletti explains many circumstances around the famine: the tension between England and Ireland, between Protestants and Catholics, between Landlords and laborers.

There are many quotes and experiences that are included by Famine survivors and relatives, most of them heartbreaking. For instance, an account of a woman that begged for money to buy a coffin for her dead infant. It is truly a humbling book. I will never look at a bag of potatoes the same again.

So many politics, and political mistakes by England, escalated the famine. An airborne, foreign fungus rotted the potatoes literally overnight. Since harvesting potatoes is what farmers survived on, most were left desitute. Everyone, mostly the laborers, were starving. When they tried to eat corn that England imported for them after months of starvation, the kernels ruptured their sensitive intestines and killed many of them. Landlords evicted residents from their homes. People ate whatever they could find: rats, cats, dogs. Disease spread. And much, much more. Truly, horrible.

The book is informative without feeling like a textbook. There are many illustrations included, most of them sketches from newspapers that reported on the famine.

-Reading level: grade 9 & up

-Big words are explained and have pronunciations

-Many illustrations

-Some disturbing details and stories

-A good segue into talking about the Irish Famine or as a supplementary text

Witch Child

Witch Child

Celia Rees

2000 * p. 260 * YA Historical Fiction

Mary is a witch. She and her grandmother (also a witch) live in 1659 England. The novel begins with Mary's grandmother being seized by the townspeople, thrown into the pond to see if she'll float, and then is hung for witchcraft. Mary is then quickly taken by a stranger and thrown into a carriage with a mysterious and regal woman. The woman barely talks, but has her bathed, fed, and dressed in new clothes. The woman then tells her that she is to be put on a ship to America with a Puritan group.

She is terrified to leave, but has nothing to stay for. The woman tells her that it will be safer for her in America. (The woman's identity is a suprise to Mary; you'll have to read!) So Mary sails to America with the Puritans and is welcomed and companioned with a woman named Martha. On the ship, Mary hopes that she can keep her secret and not run into trouble. She is fearful of being caught and looks forward to reaching their destination: Salem!

I loved this book. What is really interesting, is that Mary was supposedly a real individual who left behind a journal that Celia Rees has fashioned into a fictional novel based on her life.

Mary is a good witch. She is more like a gypsy who works with herbs and has special gifts and talents. She never uses them for evil, and sometimes her powers and visions come even if she doesn't want them. When she suddenly sees a friend's future, and how he will die, she comments:

"The visions came to me unbidden, just as they did to my grandmother, but I knew the gift did not come from her. It comes from my mother. This is art of a different order, beyond my grandmother's power. I felt it settle about my shoulders like a weighty mantle" (83).

The novel is very realistic, suspenseful, and twists and turns many times. I was a little perturbed at the ending. I had questions that weren't answered. But I still loved, loved, loved it.

-Reading level: grade 9 & up

-References to witchcraft (evil witchcraft done by others)

-Pregnancy out of marriage

-A hanging scene (though not detailed)

-A great segue way into teaching about the Salem Witch Trials, or as a bridge to Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath

Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath

Stephanie Hemphill

2007 * p. 248 * YA Poetry/Biography

Stephanie Hemphill tells the story of iconic poet Sylvia Plath through her own poetry. She writes the poems through the eyes of those who knew her: her mother, husband, numerous boyfriends, friends, therapists, associates, neighboors, etc.

It is really captivating. I must admit that I knew very little about Sylvia Plath. This verse portrait is really eye-opening and after you read it, you really feel like you know her through Hemphill's interesting and creative biographical approach.

Sylvia Plath was truly a unique woman. She was beautiful, popular, and brilliant. She was also boy-crazy, sexually repressed, self-harming, self-critical, eccentric, and depressed. Sylvia Plath committed suicide on February 11, 1963. It is a tragic, tragic story. But...really interesting.

Under most of the poems that chronologically tell Sylvia's life, there are brief, but more detailed explanations, facts, and quotes about her. (They really help explain and give the reader a break from so much poetry.) One I read was very interesting and I think really explains Sylvia's nature:

"The author Ronald Hayman asserts in his The Death and Life of Sylvia Plath that Nancy (Sylvia's friend and college roommate) felt that Sylvia sometimes counted on 'crises to give her creative inspiration,' and that 'for the sake of her poetry and her stories she [took] risks and [depended] on other people to rescue her from dangerous situations'" (93).

This novel is really unique. It is all poetry, but for a few clarifications and side notes, but it is easy to read and straightforward, with no guesswork. I really liked that Hemphill also wrote her poetry about Sylvia in the style of some of Sylvia's poems and connected them through the periods in her life. Really interesting.

-Reading level: grade 11 & up

-An emotional and serious read

-References to sex, promiscuity, drinking, smoking, suicide, adultery, self-harm

-A great segue into a study of Sylvia Plath's poetry

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

E.L. Konigsburg

1968 * p. 162 * YA Fiction

Claudia, the oldest of four children, decides that she wants to run away. She is 12 years old and feeling under appreciated by her parents. But she has no money. She spends it all on fudge sundaes. So she decides to pick her favorite brother, Jamie (9), because he is rich and saves all his money. (which he mostly earns by cheating at cards on the school bus.) They keep their plans a secret, and runaway to the Metropolian Museum of Art in New York City.

The sibings hide in the museum as it is closed every night. They sleep in antique French furniture, bathe in the fountain, and roam the museum. When a new addition to the museum comes, Claudia is spellbound. It is a small statue of an Angel. The rumor is that it was possibly carved by Michelangelo. Angel becomes the siblings' obsession, particularly Claudia's. She must find out if Michelangelo carved it, or she will go home humiliated.

I love both Claudia and Jamie's characters. I love a part in the book where they are looking at Angel and Claudia says she wishes she could hug it.

"I still say that it's too bad we can't touch her," Claudia complained.

"At least we're living with it. We're the only two people in the world who live with it."

"Mrs. Franweiler did, too. She could touch..."

"And hug it," Jamie teased.

"I'll bet she knows for sure if Michelangelo did it."

"Sure she does," Jamie said. He then threw his arms around himself, leaned his head way back, closed his eyes, and murmured,"Every morning when she got up, Mrs. Frankweiler would throw her arms about the statue, peer into its eyes, and say, 'speak to me, baby.' One morning the statue ans..."

Claudia was furious. "The men who moved it last night hugged it when they moved it. There's all kinds of hugging" (89).

Claudia is the typical know-it-all big sister and a spendthrift and schemer. Jamie teases, is a penny-pincher, and loves complications. :)

I read this book in either 6th or 7th grade. I could barely remember it before I read it again just a few days ago. I wish I could stow away in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, swim in a fountain, and hug a statue.

-Reading level: grade 6 & up

-Completely appropriate

-Themes of becoming an adult, self-sufficiency, becoming an individual, enjoying learning

-Contains illustrations

-Won numerous awards

The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural

The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural

Patricia C. McKissack

1992 * p. 166 * YA Supernatural

The Dark-Thirty is a collection of stories, tales, legends that come from the South from as early as 1868 up to modern day. A lot of them deal with slavery, racism, persecution, etc as all of the subjects, heros and heroines are African American.

None of them are extremely scary, but more eerie, mystical, and creepy. For example, there is a tale about a woman who begged a bus ride from a white driver on a snowy, chilling night. She needed to get her infant to the hospital, but because she had no money, the driver refused to let her on. She and the baby died in the storm, and began to haunt the streets and bus every year on the night she died.

The author recommends that the tales be told around the campfire at twilight when the spirits come out.

-Reading level: grade 7 & up

-Referenes to the Ku Klux Klan, drinking, a hanging. But nothing detailed or gruesome. I would reccommend it for all YA ages.

-Fast read

-Ideal coupled with the history of slavery, Civil Rights, racism, etc.

I personally would have loved the book more if it was a tad bit more suspenseful.