Woods Runner

 Woods Runner

Author: Gary Paulson

Publisher: New York : Wendy Lamb Books, c2010.

Plot Description:

            Samuel is a child of the woods.  He might be only 13, but he is relied on as the main hunter of the entire village he lives in in the wilderness in Pennsylvania.  But war has come to the colonies, and sooner than his family thinks it comes straight to them.  When his parents are kidnapped by British soldiers, and everyone else in his village killed, Samuel faces a choice: flee into the wilderness that he belongs to, or search for his parents in cities that are full of threats.

Review:

            Woods Runner is an excellent story about the Revolutionary War.  It describes the horrors of war through the eyes of a boy who is a survivor, but also a boy who has no true idea what war means or why his country is suddenly embroiled in one.  Samuel is a smart kid who relies on his knowledge of the woods in order to survive and find his parents, but must learn to rely on strangers in order to find his objective.  The book is an excellent piece of historical fiction and provides a look at the war from a civilians point of view.  The book also provides a lot of historical facts to explain much of what happens in the book.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Reading level: 7^th-9^th Grade

Similar Books: Purple Heart

Reader’s Advisory:

Personal thoughts- Good book on how war touches everyone

Subjects/themes- War, Kidnapping, Soldiers, Spies, Fiction

Character names/descriptions-

            Samuel- 13 year old who must find his parents

            Annie- a young girl whose parents are killed by the British and who Samuel

protects

            Abner- lends Samuel and Annie help when they most need it

Annotation: Sometimes you need to hide, but sometimes you need to search.

Purple Heart

Purple Heart

Author: Particia McCormick

Publisher: New York : Balzer + Bray, c2009.

Plot Description:

            Matt Duffey just woke up in a hospital.  Days before he had been in a firefight with insurgents in Sadr City, but he can’t remember the chain of events that led him to wake up in a hospital bed.  As he struggles to remember what happened, and align them with what his unit says happen, he begins to realize that the line between right and wrong is blurred almost beyond recognition in wartime.

Review:

             Purple Heart presents one soldier struggling to reconcile his duties as a soldier with what is morally right.  It is a realistic look at the heartwrenching decisions soldiers make in the heat of the moment and how one boy is copes with the aftermath of those choices.  It is about brotherhood in battle and the camaraderie that develops.  Matt Duffey is an 18 year old recruit who had no idea what he was getting into when he signed up to be a soldier.  One might be tempted to say a book about a soldier in wartime Iraq might not be suitable for tweens, but this book is more that suitable.  It is a well developed book about a topic that is very interesting to a lot of tweens, especially older ones of any who know someone in the military.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading level: 9^th Grade

Similar Books: Woods Runner

Reader’s Advisory:

Personal thoughts- A really good book about the realities of war

Subjects/themes- War, Iraq, Hospitals, Injury, Amnesia, Fiction, Soldiers

Character names/descriptions-

            Matt Duffey- 18 year old soldier with temporary amnesia

            Justin- a member of his unit who was in the firefight with him

            Ali- a young Iraqi boy who befriended Matt on patrol

Annotation: What good is a Purple Heart if you don’t think you deserve it?

Ever

Ever

Author: Gail Carson Levine

Publisher: New York : HarperCollinsPublishers, c2008.

Plot Description:

            Olus is the Akkan god of the winds, but he longs for more than the life of a god.  He wants friendship, love, and more than anything to not be lonely anymore.  Kezi lives a good life with her family, but when her mother is struck ill, her father makes a bargain with the gods that will ultimately cost Kezi her life.  But perhaps, with the love of a god, she can find a way to break this promise her father made, and live a life of happiness with the one she loves.  But before that can happen, both face difficult quests and their deepest fears so that the other can have what they wish.

Review:

            A well written book, a bit of a departure from the books that she normally writes.  The book aptly intertwines issues of love and family with religious themes and the questions of belief.  The characters are well written and developed and the story appeals to tweens especially do to the fairy tale aspect of it.

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Reading level: 8^th-9^th Grade

Similar Books: Ella Enchanted

Reader’s Advisory:

Personal thoughts- good book, but not necessarily my cup of tea, though I like her other books

Subjects/themes- Gods, winds, immortality, love, friendship

Character names/descriptions-

            Kezi- makes a sacrifice which might cost her life

            Olus- wants to find a way to mix both of his worlds

Annotation: Being a god can be a drag.

The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks

Author: Jeanne Birdsall

Publisher: New York : Knopf : Distributed by Random House, c2005.

Plot Description:

            The 4 Penderwick sisters, their father, and their dog Hound have decided to go somewhere new for vacation this year.  But instead of the small cottage they expected to find, they find themselves on a beautiful property called Arundel.  Here they get to explore the beautiful gardens and have wonderful adventures, and make a few new friends.  But the owner of the estate, Mrs. Tifton, is nowhere near as lovely a person as her gardens.  As the Penderwick sisters befriend her son Jeffrey, maybe they will learn to stay out of trouble, or maybe they will cause even more.

Review:

            A really cute story about 4 very different sisters.  The adventures they have together are both sweet and fun, and each sister brings a different perspective to the book, from responsible Rosalind to silly younger sister Batty.  They have a strong sense of loyalty to their family and friends and help to change the lives of everyone they meet.  I especially liked the meetings of the MOOPS and MOPS.  A great story for mid-range tweens.

Genre: Fiction

Reading level: 4^th-5^th Grade

Similar Books: Aquamarine, Esperanza Rising

Reader’s Advisory:

Personal thoughts- Really cute story about sisters

Subjects/themes- Sisters, Family, Adventure, Fiction

Series information- Part of a series

Character names/descriptions-

            Rosalind- the practical eldest Penderwick

            Skye- known for he blue eyes, the feistiest of the sisters

Jane- a great writer who is constantly looking for new plots for her character, Sabrina Starr

            Batty- the youngest sister, who never takes off her butterfly wings and loves

Hound

            Jeremy- Mrs. Tifton’s son, who the Penderwick’s show how to have adventures

            Cagney- the groundskeeper who Rosalind has a crush on

Annotation: Summertime brings all sorts of adventures to those who look for them.

The Great Wide Sea

 The Great Wide Sea

Author: M. H. Herlong

Publisher: New York : Viking, 2008.

Plot Description:

            After Ben’s mom died, his father decides to take him and his two brothers on a year long sailing trip in the Caribbean.  It’s the last thing Ben wants to do, but as his father sells their house and packs up all their possessions and buys the boat, he realizes that he’s got no choice but to go.  As they settle into life on the sea things begin to even out a bit for Ben, and he realizes that a year isn’t too bad.  But then one morning he wakes up to find his father gone, and a storm brewing on the horizon.  Together he and his brothers must fight to keep their boat afloat in the worst storm they’ve ever seen and then survive on the island they crash into.  As they fight for survival and hope for rescue they face tougher choices than they imagined.

Review:

            A well written and engaging read about the way a family copes with a tragic loss and comes to find balance again.  Ben is a well written character who will appeal to both genders of tweens.  The skills the boys learn on their year long voyage are what enable them to survive on their own.  They realize more and more during the trip that family is what is truly important, and that being together is what keeps them safe.

Genre: Survival Fiction

Reading level: 7^th-9^th grade

Similar Books: Hatchet, Holes

Reader’s Advisory:

Personal thoughts- Really good book about brothers surviving together

Subjects/themes- Adventure, Survival, Loss, Brothers-

Character names/descriptions-

            Ben- wanted nothing more than to turn 16 and get a car, but instead must keep his

brothers alive when they are stranded

            Dylan- The middle child and incredibly resourceful

            Gerry- the youngest who proves adept at spear fishing

Annotation: Ever wish you could run away from your problems? Ben’s dad thought so, and now he is stuck on a boat for the next year.

The Chosen One

The Chosen One

Author: Carol Lynch Williams

Publisher: New York : St. Martin's Griffin, 2009.

Plot Description:

            13 year old Kyra has never known anything but life on the compound.  She helps her mother with chores and cooking and takes care of her siblings, she goes to church with her family, and is an obedient daughter.  She has never questioned the fact that her father has three wives, or that so many other men on the compound have even more than that.  The only rebellious thing she has ever done is secretly visit the bookmobile and read books that are not the Bible.  Until one day, when the Prophet declares that she is ready to marry.  And not marry the boy she likes, but her 66 year old uncle who already has 6 wives.  Kyra must make the ultimate choice as she faces a future which is uncertain down one path, but devastating down another.

Review:

            A well written book about a subject which has come up a lot in recent times.  It portrays the polygamist culture in a way appropriate for older tween readers.  One of the things that was most interesting about the book was that it didn’t just focus on the polygamist aspect except for her marriage but instead focused on the familial ties that keep so many women in the compounds.  It does lend a sinister aspect to the compounds with the God squads and the beatings that occur, but overall the book is about a young girl who must leave everything she knows behind for a chance at a better life.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading level: 8^th-9^th Grade

Similar Books: Wintergirls

Reader’s Advisory:

Personal thoughts- Really good book about a popular topic

Subjects/themes- Polygamy, Family, Cults, Fiction

Character names/descriptions-

            Kyra- her visits to the Bookmobile give her the courage to run away

            Joshua- the boy Kyra liked, who is beaten and thrown from the compound

            Uncle Hyrum- her father’s brother who she is to be married to

            Patrick- driver of the Bookmobile who tries to help her escape and pays a big

price

Annotation: Leaving everything you know behind is never easy, but when it is your only chance….

Wintergirls

 Wintergirls

Author: Laurie Hale Anderson

Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Viking, c2009.

Plot Description:

            Lia and Cassie were best friends with a common purpose.  They supported each other when no one else would, and vowed to go down fighting everyone who was against them.  But now Cassie is dead, and Lia is left to fight the fight by herself, with no one who understands her and her quest to be the thinnest, to be the one in control of every mouthful of food that goes into her mouth, to not be ruled by food like every other person in the world.  Lia struggles against her family and everyone else as she tries to find a way to survive in a world she can’t understand.  But she doesn’t realize that she is in a life and death battle with herself.  Will her desire to remain a wintergirl be the last one she has?

Review:

            A cutting and intense book about eating disorders and the way they utterly consume a person.  While the subject matter is a bit intense for tweens, I think that this problem is prevalent enough that the book is appropriate for older tweens especially.  This book looks frankly into one girl’s mind as she struggles with herself and comes to realize that she is killing herself and will die if she doesn’t stop.  It is truly a chilling look at someone who is struggling with an illness that is not talked about enough as an actual disease, but more as something to cover in health class.  I would definitely recommend it, especially to someone who knows someone struggling with this.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading level:  8^th-9^th Grade

Similar Books: The Chosen One

Reader’s Advisory:

Personal thoughts- Intense but definitely worth the read

Subjects/themes- Eating Disorders, Anorexia, Bulimia, Best Friends, Guilt, Death

Character names/descriptions-

            Lia- struggles against her family, a workaholic mother, a busy father and a

clueless stepmother

            Cassie- Lia’s best friend, who dies alone in a hotel room after a 3 day binge ane

purge

            Emma- Lia’s younger sister, who is ultimately the one who makes Lia remember

she wants to live and understand the destruction she has caused in the family

Annotation: “Dead Girl Walking” they say, I say I’m stronger than them all.