Saturday, March 24, 2012

Somebody Please Tell Me Who I Am

by Henry Mazer and Peter Lerangis

Summary:
Ben had it made.  He was accepted at a great college, popular at school, had a great girlfriend he just proposed to.  No one could understand why he chose instead to enlist in the Army.  Why he wanted to go serve his country when he knew he was going to deploy to Iraq.  Then the unthinkable happens.  He is severely injured in an attack over there.  But once his body recovers, his family must cope with another reality. That while he can physically recover, his mind, his memories, might be gone forever.

Review:
There are not a lot of books which address this aspect of war for children or teens.  What is interesting is that the book tries to address the reasons for which Ben feels compelled to serve, despite coming from a background where the most common path is college and a white collar job.  It could do a better job on that, but it does at least try to address it.  The book is about the aftermath of an injury, one which is affecting more and more soldiers in a war where IED's are the most prevalent interaction with the enemy.  The impact this has on Ben's family is both real and sad, the guilt and anger felt by them and his fiance are understandable and relatable.  Overall a good read, but not one for a tween looking to read about the action and adventure of being a soldier.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 8th Grade

Thursday, March 15, 2012

You'll Like it Here (Everybody Does)

by Ruth White

Summary:
I'm sure you've heard the stories.  About aliens living among us, just like normal people.  Meggie Blue and her family are the perfect example.  Of aliens that is, not normal people.  Forced to escape Earth when they are found out by their neighbors, they land on a planet eerily similarity to the Earth they just left.  In fact it is Earth, but a different Earth.  An Earth divided by war. An Earth in a different time.  In Fashion City, the place where they land, everything is regimented.  Everything they need is taken care of by the Fathers.  Everyone tells them how lucky they are to be there, but maybe they aren't lucky after all.  Maybe they've landed in place worse than where they've ever been before. 

Review:
White has created a fun story for kids about aliens, but one which also addresses the issues of social control and identity.  The book is well written, with fun characters, and melds the fantastic with normality.  It's a good novel for kids who like fantasy or those who like more dystopian novels but are not old enough for the heavier ones.

Genre: Science Fiction
Age Level: 5th Grade

Desert Angel

by Charlie Price

Summary:
Two nights ago Scotty killed her mother.  Yesterday he tried to kill her.  Today Angel is running from him, with nothing but the clothes on her back and the kindness of strangers keeping her safe.  But can she justify putting others in danger to save herself?  Is her life worth more than theirs?  She knows Scotty will stop at nothing to find her.  So maybe it's time to turn the tables.  Maybe it's time to find him before he finds her.

Review:
Angel is a girl with a difficult life.  Her mother dragged her from boyfriend to boyfriend, resulting in a skewed and jaded perspective on life.  When she finds people to help her, people who never met her and have no connection to her at all, she must confront the fact that she can't go it alone like she wants.  The book is an interesting read about a strong female character who learns that it's ok to lean on someone else once in awhile.  The book does have language and violence in it, and addresses the topic of illegal immigration.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Also Known as Rowan Pohi

by Ralph Fletcher

Summary:
Bobby Steele used to be able to blend in.  People didn't used to know his name.  But after that incident with his father, that landed all over the papers, everyone seems to know who he is, and it's not to his benefit.  But he might have found the perfect escape from his normal life.  It began as a joke, with he and his friends applying to an elite prep school as new transfer student Rowan Pohi.  But when Rowan's acceptance letter arrives, Bobby realizes he may have just created a perfect out, a way to become someone else. Someone cool.  But is he really going to be able to outwit an entire school?

Review:
Fletcher has created a great character in Bobby.  Bobby is recovering from the aftermath of witnessing his father beat his mother, of his father going to jail, and of his mother leaving him and his little brother behind in her effort to escape his father.  Bobby is struggling to understand and deal with his anger and hurt over the entire situation, when he finds a way to use his creativity to escape.  Not to escape like his mother, but to escape in a small way that he can use to better his situation.  Bobby is a great character for boy tweens, witty and popular, able to turn any situation to his gain.  A fun read.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade

Want to go Private?

by Sarah Darer Littman

Summary:
Abby knew high school was going to be different than middle school, she just didn't expect everything to be so hard.  Her best friend Faith is making new friends left and right, joining clubs and having fun, but Abby can't seem to find her place.  Combined with parents who just ignore her and the most annoying little sister, it's no wonder she prefers to spend all her time online with her new friend Luke.  She's never met him, in fact they met in a chat room on her favorite website, but he understands her more than anyone else.  When she's fed up with everything he suggests they have a fun weekend together.  He loves her after all, so Abby decides to meet him.  But what happens when online fantasy changes to reality, what's actually real and what's not.  For Abby it might be too late...

Review:
Want to go Private? is a story about the dangers of the internet, about the dangers that anyone who goes online is exposed to.  Abby has been taught all about how to be safe on the internet, that she shouldn't give out personal information to people she doesn't know, but Luke slowly gains her trust and she is convinced she's doing the right thing by telling him her name, about her life, giving him her address.  The book is a chilling reminder that even when someone knows the facts about something, all it takes is someone pushing the right buttons to get them to forget themselves.  A really good read for older tweens and younger teens about the dangers of falling for a fantasy.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 7-8th Grade

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

How to Save a Life

by Sara Zarr

Summary:
Over the last year, Jill's life has been turned upside down.  She is still coping with the unexpected death of her father last year, when her mother decides that the best way to cope with her grief is to adopt a child.  But not just any child. 

Mandy might be almost 19, but she is not ready to cope with the child she is carrying.  In Jill's mother she sees her salvation, a person who can get her away from her hometown in the midwest, away from her mother and terrible home life. 

When Mandy arrives at Jill's, both are faced with decisions they didn't want to make.  With a situation neither expected.  With time, and patience, maybe they can come to understand each other, perhaps things will finally work out for both of them.


Reviews:
Zarr's book is a poignant look at a teenage mother who is faced with the decision of whether or not to give up her baby.  Mandy is a character who doesn't know any better.  She was raised with a set of morals that Jill, the product of an upper middle class family, can't understand. Mandy comes to live with Jill in the type of house she has only seen in magazines.  Both have to learn to understand the other in order to find a situation they can both live with.  It's a book with a happy ending, not a perfect one, but one that is definitely the best for all involved.  Really good read overall.

All Good Children

by Catherine Austen

Summary:
Imagine a world where kids don't talk back to their parents, eat their vegetables without complaint, and are completely devoted to the success of society as a whole.  What used to be the stuff of horror movies is quickly becoming Max's life.  It all starts with a shot. A shot they say is just to keep you healthy, but instead it turns you into a zombie with no ambition but to listen and obey.  Max has watched all his friends turn into these robots, and by pure luck has tricked the system into believing he has had the shot.  But his small acts of rebellion are betraying the fact that he still has feelings, that he is an individual still.  He's not sure how much longer he can hold on.  If it is even worth holding on any more.

Review:
All Good Children is a story about the dangers of too much societal control.  How much is too much?  Security cameras might prevent crime, but when do they intrude too much into personal issues.  Mobile devices might help us keep in touch with friends, but when they are used to track your every move and see what information you are looking up is it worth the price? The book examines the problems of too much control, and the ease with which people might adapt to a more 'perfect' society, forgetting the costs that make this 'perfection' possible.  It's definitely a good read for any tween into conspiracy theories or those who like books about good intentions spun out of control.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age level: 8th Grade