Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Mockingjay


Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: New York : Scholastic Press, 2010.

Plot Description:
            Book 3 begins with Katniss waking up in District 13, a place which until now everyone thought was completely abandoned.  Instead it has become ground zero for the rebellion against the Capital.  And they want Katniss to become the official face of the rebellion for all the districts.  As Katniss struggles with the horrors of what happened in the arena with the power she possibly yields as the Mockingjay and her worry about Peeta who was left behind in the arena, she realizes that evil exists in many forms, even in those who are trying to eliminate evil in one form.

Review:
            The concluding book in the Hunger Games trilogy exceeds any of the readers expectations.  Powerful and moving, Collins has created a character in Katniss who is realistic and impressive.  Her hesitation in becoming the face of the rebellion demonstrates remarkable intelligence.  Her willingness to examine the reasons behind taking the paths she takes as well as the fact that she does mentally struggle with everything that happen is a very realistic look at how someone copes with the horrors of war.  Absolutely fantastic.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading level: 9th grade

Similar Books: Hatchet, Tomorrow, when the war began

Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- Awesome
Subjects/themes- Fiction, Rebellions, Adventure, Survival, War
Awards-
Series information- Book 3 of 3
Character names/descriptions-
Katniss- survivalist who volunteers herself in the Hunger Games to save her sister
            Gale- Katniss’s friend from District 12 who helps her hunt for food
            Peeta- Katniss’s male counterpart in the Hunger Games, who also loves her
President Snow- The man in charge of all of the districts, who will stop at nothing to keep them all in line
President Coin- Leader of District 13 who wants Katniss to be the face of the rebellion
Haymitch- Katniss’s trainer from the arena, often her best source of advice

Annotation: What if you were forced back into the arena you had barely survived the first time, what if you found yourself fighting not only for your life, but also for those of everyone you cared about?

Rifles for Watie

Rifles for Watie
Author: Harold Keith
Publisher: New York, Crowell [1957]

Plot Description:
            Jefferson Davis Bussey is ready to go to war and fight for his country.  As the nation divides amongst itself at the beginning of the Civil War, Jeff signs up to fight for the Union, hoping that by doing so he can help keep his family safe from the raids that are taking place in Kansas.  As he sees his first real action he soon realizes that war isn’t what he thought, it’s full of sadness and horrific events.  He watches as his commanding officer becomes a turncoat and goes to fight for the Union.  As Jeff gets promoted, he finds himself a scout behind enemy lines.  And his former commanding officer is there too. And he’s not content to let Jeff escape back to Union territory.

Review:
            Rifles for Watie is an excellent book about the realities of war told through a young mans perspective.  It details dangerous situations and fighting without being overly graphic, but still lets the reader really imagine what it must have been like to fight in these battles and witness the aftermath.  There is a love story involved as well, which helps draw female readers to the book, but the main focus is on how Jeff copes with war and gains the courage and wits to survive. 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Reading level: 9th Grade

Similar Books: Johnny Tremain, 5th of March, Hunger Games

Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- really good read for anyone interested in historical fiction or war
Subjects/themes- Fiction, Historical Fiction, War, Survival
Awards- 1958 Newbery Medal, ALA’s Notable Children's Books of 1957
Character names/descriptions-
            Jefferson Davis Bussey- books protagonist who learns about war
            Lucy- rebel girl he falls in love with who is the daughter of a Confederate commander
            Captain Clardy- Jeff’s commanding officer who turns to the rebels

Annotation: Jeff signed up for the war to get the rebels back in line, but in war the lines between good and bad aren’t as clear as he believed.  

Coraline


Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: New York : HarperCollins, c2002.

 
Plot Description:
            Coraline is an explorer.  When her parents move into a new flat, with Mr. Bobo and his mouse circus upstairs and Misses Spink and Forcible below, she takes it upon herself to learn all about her new house.  Including the mysterious door in the parlor which opens to a brick wall.  After hearing strange noises one night, Coraline opens the door to find not the wall, but a corridor leading to another flat.  A flat with her other mother and other father.  Where things are just a bit different from her real life.  Where everything is full of menace and traps. Coraline will have to outwit this evil version of her mother to get back to her real home, but will she be able to?

Review:
            I found Coraline to be an excellent.  Well written and engaging, the book is suspenseful and a big frightening without being overly so.  It touches on the themes of imagination and family, as well as the concept of a parallel universe. My favorite part was where Coraline is talking to other mother and the other mother offers her everything she has ever wanted and Coraline states that she doesn’t want everything because then nothing is special.  I thought that this demonsrated wisdom beyond young Coraline’s years, though on a number of occasions Coraline shows remarkable clarity and intelligence.  A really good book for both boys and girls.

Genre: Horror

Reading level: 4th-5th Grade

Similar Books: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Alice in Wonderland

Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- good horror story that is not too gruesome or violent
Subjects/themes- Fiction, Horror, Parallel Worlds, Rats, Cats, Family
Awards- 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers
Character names/descriptions-
            Coraline- young girl who finds a parallel world on the other side of a door
Other Mother- Coraline’s mother in the parallel universe, turns out to be evil, has buttons for eyes
            Misses Spink and Forcible- former actresses who give Coraline a rock for
protection
            Mr. Bobo- upstairs neighbor who has a mouse circus
Annotation: Sometimes opening a door can be the wrong move to make.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Maniac Magee


Maniac Magee

Author: Jerry Spinelli
Publisher: Boston : Little, Brown, c1990.

Plot Description:
            Maniac Magee had a family once. But not anymore.  He might have originally been called Jeffrey.  But now everyone calls him Maniac. They call him Maniac because he runs.  Constantly.  They call him Maniac because he does things no kid has ever done before.  Like run on the rail on the railroad tracks.  Or kiss a baby buffalo.  Or sit on Finsterwald’s doorstep.  Or cross from West to East Hector street and back like there’s not a line between them.  Maniac can’t see why anything he does is special, or why people on both sides of Hector Street think he’s crazy to be going back and forth.  Maniac can’t understand why the color of someones skin means that they have to live on a certain side of town or why they should think the others live differently than they do.  Maniac’s a special kind of kid.

Review:
            Maniac Magee is a fantastic book which allows kids to explore the problem of racism from both sides of the fence.  Maniac lives with an African American family and learns the value of family from them.  He also is exposed to racism for being the only white kid in the neighborhood.  He lives with a white family who decides to arm themselves for when the blacks decide to attack them.  Maniac approaches these situations with confusion, the scene when he talks about how he doesn’t understand why people call him white when he’s really a pinkish color is a great illustrator of this.  He also demonstrates wisdom beyond his years in dealing with these situations and helping others overcome their own prejudices.  It’s a great read for boys and girls alike, definitely recommended as a way to show how racism flowers in  communities with no one there to stop it.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading level:  5th Grade

Similar Books: Esperanza Rising

Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- one of my favorites from childhood, has an even better meaning to it reading it now
Subjects/themes- loss, racism, prejudice
Awards- 1992 Newbery Medal
Character names/descriptions-
            Maniac Magee- runs all night, lives with families on both sides of Hector street
            Grayson- old baseball player who befriends Maniac and teaches him about family
            Amanda Beale- first person to take him to her home, gives him her room and
eventually reminds him that her family is his family
            Mars Bar- toughest kid in East End
            John McNab- toughtest kid in West End
Annotation: Running might be hard for you, but for Maniac it’s a way of life. 

Esperanza Rising


Esperanza Rising

Author: Pam Muñoz Ryan
Publisher: New York : Scholastic Press, 2000.

Plot Description:
            Esperanza has never known what it’s like to be poor, or even sad.  Until the night before she turns 13.  After the tragic death of her father, and plans by her corrupt uncles to take over their property, Esperanza and her mother decide to travel with their former servants to America to start a new life.  Unfortunately for Esperanza, this means learning not only how to live in a new place, but having to work for the first time in her life.  The reader watches as Esperanza learns to survive and that while life might not be what she grew up expecting it would be, so long as she has family and friends things are ok.

Review:
            I found Esperanza rising to be very well written.  It addresses hot topics like racism and workers rights without being preachy or taking a side.  It is set during the Dust Bowl and while it doesn’t delve deeply into the reasons behind it, it does talk about the problem of being underpaid with a large available workforce and the differing treatment of workers of different nationalities.  The book is well written, and both boys and girls will enjoy the uplifting way the book is written.

Genre: Fiction

Reading level: 6th Grade

Similar Books: Riding Freedom

Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- A good story about migrant workers
Subjects/themes- Migrant workers, workers rights, loss, family
Awards- Pura Belpré Award
Character names/descriptions-
            Esperanza- privilege daughter of a farmer who has to learn to take care of her
family after her father’s death
            Miguel- son of her father’s worker who is her friend and brings her Abuelita to
America
Marta- girl who makes fun of Esperanza for her privileged upbringing while she organizes strikes for workers rights, and who learns that someone’s background is not the only thing that makes someone who they are
Annotation: It was supposed to be a wonderful new life in America, but instead Esperanza found that you have to build that sort of thing, it doesn’t just come from nowhere.

Catching Fire

Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: New York : Scholastic Press, 2009.

Plot Description:
            In book 2 of the Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss and Peeta have both returned to District 12 after they were both allowed to win the Games.  Unfortunately they will not be allowed to live out their days in the peace and prosperity that Tributes are promised.  In honor of the 75th Hunger Games, the tributes of this year are to be chosen from the pool of former winners from each district.  For District 12 this means that Katniss and Peeta have to go back into the Arena.  This time however, the stakes are higher for everyone involved.  This time, the Districts are starting to believe they might have a chance to get out from under the Capital’s control.  This time, they have a hero in Katniss.

Review:
            Book 2 continues to deliver fast paced writing and the gritty realism of war and surviving.  Katniss is forced back into the arena where she barely survived before.  She is also beginning to realize that she is becoming the face of a rebellion in the Districts due to her survival and the small rebellions she showed against the Capital while in the arena.  One of her most interesting qualities is the fact that she doesn’t want to immediately accept the role of avenging angel of the districts.  She confronts the consequences her actions have had not only for herself and her family, but also for the entire country of Panem. 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading level: 8th-9th grade

Similar Books: Hatchet, Tomorrow, when the war began

Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- Awesome
Subjects/themes- Fiction, Rebellions, Adventure, Survival, War
Awards-
Series information- Book 2 of 3
Character names/descriptions-
Katniss- survivalist who volunteers herself in the Hunger Games to save her sister
            Gale- Katniss’s friend from District 12 who helps her hunt for food
            Peeta- Katniss’s male counterpart in the Hunger Games, who also loves her
President Snow- The man in charge of all of the districts, who will stop at nothing to keep them all in line

Annotation: What if you were forced back into the arena you had barely survived the first time, what if you found yourself fighting not only for your life, but also for those of everyone you cared about?

Tomorrow, when the war began


Tomorrow, when the war began

Author: John Marsden
Publisher: New York: MacMillan, 1995.

Plot Description:
            A group of 6 teenagers takes a camping trip into the outback, only to return to find that in their absence their country has been invaded and their family and friends all taken hostage.  They all must face a difficult decision- turn themselves into these invaders who have taken over their lives and homes for a reason unknown to them, return to the wilderness and hide in hopes that equilibrium will return to the country, or fight for their homes and families.  This book is told through the viewpoint of Ellie, who is chronicling their ordeal so that a record of what they do and why exists. 

Review:
            This book is a gritty and realistic take on how a group of teenagers, saavy about the wilderness and survival, reacts to finding their entire lives turned upside down for reasons they do not understand.  It gives an interesting perspective on how they make the decision to fight for their country on their own with no outside help, and how they decide to do it.  It is an excellent story of not only physical survival against immense odds, but also of the psychological impacts of surviving.  These aren’t kids who were built for war, but their courage and mature decision making make for very interesting reading.  The book is incredibly well written, with excellent character development which ensures that anyone reading will be able to identify with the emotions of the characters involved.  While it could be construed as a bit old for tweens, other similar titles have proven popular with this age group which is why I included this.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading level: 7th, 8th Grade

Similar Books: Hunger Games

Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- Fantastic!
Subjects/themes-  War, Survival, Invasion, Fiction
Series information- Part of a 7 book series, followed by a 3 book trilogy about after the war
Character names/descriptions-
             Ellie- unelected leader of the group, her survival skills and ideas for fighting the enemy lay the basis of their lives
            Homer- the goofy yet incredibly smart second of the group
            Lee- the most serious of the group, he lacks the survival skills of the others but is always ready to learn
            Fi- often the most sensible of the group
            Corrie- Best friends with Ellie, she sees the reality of war first hand
            Robin- level headed and calm
            Kevin- Corrie’s boyfriend, learns that the strength he thought he had is not what he thought it was
Annotation: What would you do if your country had been invaded, all your family and friends taken hostage, and you were the only one left free?

Saturday, February 5, 2011

The Hunger Games


The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: New York : Scholastic Press, 2008.

Plot Description:
            In fictional Panem, in what was once the United States, Katniss Everdeen struggles to provide for her mother and sister, Prim.  Katniss works to shield Prim from the horrors of everyday life in their district, one of the 13 under the control of the Capital of Panem and President Snow.  In retribution for an uprising 74 years earlier, every year each district must send two children to participate in the nationally broadcasted Hunger games, a game where only one out of the 26 participants will survive.  When her sister is selected to be this years participant, Katniss volunteers herself to save Prim. The events that follow show the reader the horrors of what someone finds themselves capable of in the face of death, and teaches that even when we seem to have little free will in a situation, the smallest acts of rebellion can have the most widespread consequences.

Review:
            I found this book to be absolutely fabulous.  It is a gritty but realistic look at what one girl must do to survive a terrible situation.  Collins creates a character who is both strong and conflicted.  The ways in which Katniss copes with the situations she finds herself as well as the acts she finds herself committing is very realistic.  It creates a character who the reader is very sympathetic too.  Originally I thought that this book was a bit too old for a tween reader, but for older or more advanced tweens I can see why it is popular. 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading level: 9th grade

Similar Books: Hatchet, Tomorrow, when the war began

Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- one of the most thought provoking books I’ve read in a long time
Subjects/themes- Fiction, Rebellions, Adventure, Survival, War
Awards-
Series information- Book 1 of 3
Character names/descriptions-
            Katniss- survivalist who volunteers herself in the Hunger Games to save her sister
            Gale- Katniss’s friend from District 12 who helps her hunt for food
            Peeta- Katniss’s male counterpart in the Hunger Games, who also loves her
Annotation: One girl must struggle to survive in the face of immense odds, and in doing so will change the face of her entire country.

Ella Enchanted


Ella Enchanted
Author: Gail Carson Levine
Publisher: New York : HarperCollinsPublishers, c1997

Plot Description:
            Ella is an obedient child.  Not because she wants to be, but because she HAS to be.  Under a spell since she was born, she has no choice but to obey any command put to her, whether it’s putting her dish away or chopping off her own head.  This book is the story of how Ella lives with her curse, and how her realization that some curses can be broken, you just have to have the right motivation.

Review:
            A book about fairy tales, growing up, and making sacrifices to protect the ones you love.  Ella Enchanted is a fantastic book about the pains of doing things you must, and making choices in order to live your life.  Ella is a intelligent and strong young woman who undertakes a quest to break herself of the curse of obedience, rather than waiting around for someone to do it for her.  Along the way she finds friends who are there to help her, and meets a Prince who would do anything to marry her.  She learns that it takes true character to sacrifice her own happiness for the ones she loves, and what it takes to break a curse.

Genre: Fantasy

Reading level: 7th Grade

Similar Books: Ever, Caddie Woodlawn

Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- A great fantasy book with a love story for any girl
Subjects/themes- Fiction, Fantasy, Love Stories, Fairy Tale
Awards- Newberry Honor Book, 1998.
Character names/descriptions-
            Ella- Cursed with obedience, headstrong and ready for adventure
            Char- The prince who falls in love with Ella, and is willing to do anything for her
            Mandy- Ella’s nursemaid since childhood, and her fairy godmother
            Lucinda- The fairy who gave Ella her blessing/curse!
Annotation: What would you do to get rid of a curse that made you obey every command you were ever given?

The Higher Power of Lucky


The Higher Power of Lucky           
Author: Susan Patron           
Publisher: New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2006.

Plot Description:
             Ten year old Lucky lives with her guardian Brigitte in Hard Pan, California.  Unfortunately Lucky is pretty sure Brigitte is planning on going back to France and leaving her behind.  Instead of waiting for her to leave, Lucky decides to take matters into her own hands and run away.  With her beagle and well equipped survival pack she makes plans to strike out on her own, even though it means leaving her friends and everyone she knows behind.  However, she learns that the best laid plans have a tendency to go awry.

Review:
            A very interesting book about a young girl left alone in the world.  It demonstrates the confusion that any child would feel in her situation.  The presence of a guardian who is taking care of her creates angst for Lucky, who is sure that at any moment Brigitte will decide she has had enough of her and leave.  The book is well written and shows the difficulties of those living in the fringes of society, relying on government subsidies to survive, and how one young girl wants to change that for herself.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading level: 5th Grade

Similar Books: From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- Cute read about a spunky girl
Subjects/themes- Orphan, Fiction, Loss, Adventure
Awards- 2007 Newbery Medal
Character names/descriptions-
            Lucky- spunky orphan who collects nature samples
            Miles- 5 year old who constantly wants Are you my mother? read to him
            Lincoln- Lucky’s knot tying friend
            Brigitte- Lucky’s guardian
Annotation: Finding your higher power is easier than you might think.