Numbers

by Rachel Ward

Summary:
Every time you looked at someone, you can see the day that they will die.  What do you do with that kind of knowledge? Does knowing the day you'll die help you? Would telling people stop them from dying? The numbers haunt Jem.  Knowing the day that every single person she encounters will die makes every day almost unbearable.  Until she meets Spider, a boy whose death date is not far in the future. Maybe knowing the date will let her stop if from happening. Maybe he can be the one she saves.

Review:
The premise of Numbers is interesting, but the book itself is a bit disjointed and the language a bit hard to follow at times. The main characters are kids from rougher areas of London, so there is a lot of slang written in that might be hard for some teens to follow.  In some ways the harsher writing (or not as developed I suppose) does help the plot as it makes you feel a bit closer to the characters.  Overall the book is an interesting read but nothing thrilling.  Ok for teens who enjoy books about fate or star crossed lovers.

Age Level: 8th Grade
Genre: Realistic Fantasy Fiction
Series: sequel Numbers: the Chaos

Strings Attached

by Judy Blundell

Summary:
Kit Corrigan has dreamed about being on Broadway since she was little.  Now in New York, leaving her past behind her, she's working in a chorus line in an off-Broadway show just hoping to be discovered.  But when her ex-boyfriend's father shows up, offering her an apartment and a dream job working as a Lido dancer if she's make up with Billy.  But Kit soon realizes that making up with the boy she still loves isn't the only thing that Nate Benedict wants from her.  As rumors swirl about Nate's true occupation as lawyer to the mob, Kit finds herself caught up in more than she bargained for.

Review:
Blundell's book is a great historical piece about life in the 50's.  Kit is a hopeful young girl striking out in the world on her own, eager to leave family troubles behind her.  What she finds instead is that the things you try to leave behind never really stay where you want them.  It's a fun read with a bit of suspense that older tweens will like.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Level: 8th Grade

Revolver

by Marcus Sedgwick

Summary:
When Sig finds his father dead on the ice, he thinks that things can't possibly get worse.  They, along with his sister and stepmother, have lived a hard life in the Artic Circle, though they have always been lucky his father has been able to find work as a surveyor wherever they have been.  But he is about to find out that even the dead keep deadly secrets.

Review:
Revolver is told though Sig's perspective as he struggles not only to deal with the death of his father but with the accusations of a man who has hunted them, unknown to Sig and his sister, since the death of their mother 10 years ago.  It weaves a realistic tale of the harsh Artic life that many life with a story of survival.  It is well written, though the end is a little preachy when Sig decides not to shoot the man himself.  A good read for boys especially. 

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

The Agency

by Y. S. Lee

Summary:
Mary Lang's life wasn't easy.  That's why when she is sentenced to death for stealing, she takes it as her due.  Perhaps dying at 12 is easier than living as a beggar and thief any longer.  But when a stranger offers her the opportunity to skirt the gallows and attend Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls, Mary Lang takes Quinn's place.  And this Academy teaches it's girls more than the usual skills.  This Academy sets it's girls up so that when they are ready they can take their places in the Agency, London's premiere women only spy house.

Review:
The Agency series is an entertainingly written novel about a mythical spy agency run by women.  Mary Quinn (Lang) is an interesting character who's history is revealed slowly through the three novels.  Her Chinese heritage is only hinted at in the first novel, but becomes more and more intriguing during the following ones.  The books are a great spy read.

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

Series Information:
Book 1: A Spy in the House
Book 2: Body at the Tower
Book 3: Traitor in the Tunnel

Megamind

Megamind

Distributed by Dreamworks

Publisher: [United States] : DreamWorks Home Entertainment, [2011]

Plot Description:

            Megamind is the ultimate evil genius.  He has the perfect nemesis in the best of the good guys, Metro Man.  Until one day when he finally defeats Metro Man in a fantastic battle, and Metro City is finally his!  But after years of working towards that goal, he now yearns for the next one, but he has no idea what that might be.  Perhaps being the evil villain is not all that it’s cracked up to be.

Review:

            Megamind is a fun movie that is enjoyable for just about any age.  Younger tweens will appreciate the funny humor, while older tweens will appreciate Will Ferrell and David Cross’s banter.  The movie ultimately talks about how sometimes getting what you wish for isn’t necessarily what you are going to end up wanting. 

Genre: Superhero Fiction

Viewing age:  All

Similar Movies: Shrek

Reader’s Advisory:

Personal thoughts- Fun, particularly liked when he mispronounced things

Subjects/themes- Superhero, Villain, Fantasy, Criminals

Character names/descriptions-

            Megamind- evil genius who wants to conquer Metro City

            Metro Man- has defeated Megamind’s evil plans since they were children

            Roxanne Ritchi- the reporter who Megamind falls for

            Titan- the superhero that Megamind creates for a challenge

            Minion- Megamind’s right hand fish

Annotation: Metro City only has room for one genius.

Al Capone does my shirts

Al Capone does my shirts

Author: Gennifer Choldenko

Publisher: New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, c2004.

Plot Description:

            Mathew “Moose” Flanagan and his family have just moved to San Francisco.  Well not San Francisco exactly but Alcatraz island, home of the worst of the worst of California’s criminals.  His father just got a new job as the islands electrician, and his mother hopes that moving to Alcatraz will help get his sister Natalie into a special school for kids like her who are a bit different.  Moose makes friends with the other kids on the island, including the warden’s daughter.  But when they start a scheme to make money from the other kids at school by having the prisoners wash their laundry they find themselves in trouble with the warden.  But this gives Moose the idea to ask one of Alcatraz’s most notorious criminals for help, that criminal was Al Capone.

Review:

            Much more than a book about a boy moving to Alcatraz, or even about the title character, this book is an interesting take on a family dealing with a little understood disease at the time.  Moose’s older sister has autism, and his mother especially wants desperately to find a cure for her.  Moose is the younger brother who is actually the older brother, the one who best knows how to deal with his sister and understands her the best.  He finds himself ignored by his family as their focus lies mainly on his sister. But overall this book is about family itself, and struggling with difficult choices and decisions to make the best of a difficult situation. 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Reading level: 4^th Grade

Similar Books: Bud, Not Buddy

Reader’s Advisory:

Personal thoughts- Really good book, but especially helpful in helping children understand illness

Subjects/themes- Autism, Siblings, Moving, Criminals, Alcatraz

Awards- Newbery Honor Selection

Series information- There is a sequel called Al Capone Shines my Shoes

Character names/descriptions-

            Moose- loves baseball, but wishes things could be easier in his family

            Natalie- Moose’s 16 year old sister with autism, whose mother insists she is 10

            Piper- the warden’s scheming daughter

Annotation: Sure, asking a criminal for help might not be the best idea, but what if it’s the only one you’ve got?