by Phoebe Kitanidis
Summary:
What would you do if you woke up in bed with a stranger, not knowing how you got there, or even who you are? Would you run? Would you stay and try and find out? What if they didn't know how they got there either? Or what their name was? Where do you go from there? Elyse and Marshall woke up with no recollection of who they were, but when they are recognized around town, and brought back to their 'homes' they start to wonder about this place that they have supposedly grown up in. What they find will shatter the town to it's foundations, that is if they can survive it.
Review:
The book is a bit confusing, since as the reader you are trying to figure out everything just as the characters are. The entire town's population operates under a fog, which we find out is the result of a magician. I didn't realize the book was fantasy based when I picked it up, but it does a good job of talking about magic without seeming too far fetched, which will make it appealing to those who aren't very into fantasy fiction. Overall it's a good read; it keeps you interested as you try and figure out what's really going on with everyone you encounter in the book. Good for teens.
Genre: Fiction
Age Level: 8-9th Grade
Friday, November 16, 2012
See You at Harry's
by Johanna Knowles
Summary:
Fern loves her family, she really does. But sometimes she just feels invisible. Between her older sister and brother and their antics, and her little 3 year old brother Charlie clamoring for attention, she just kind of gets lost in the mix. But when an accident happens, an accident Fern is sure she caused, the family is ripped apart. You never know how much you can take until you are taken past your breaking point, and Fern doesn't know how her family will survive.
Review:
Knowles' book is a poignant reminder of how easily breakable life is. Fern's family life wasn't perfect before the tragedy, but they all loved each other and were a constant presence in each other's lives. Now she has to deal with her own guilt about the accident, a sister and brother sorting through not only their grief but their own immense issues, and parents who have completely withdrawn from their children. Fern is a great character who you really identify with as she tries to find a way to bring her family back together. A great read for a slightly older tween or teen.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 7th-8th Grade
Summary:
Fern loves her family, she really does. But sometimes she just feels invisible. Between her older sister and brother and their antics, and her little 3 year old brother Charlie clamoring for attention, she just kind of gets lost in the mix. But when an accident happens, an accident Fern is sure she caused, the family is ripped apart. You never know how much you can take until you are taken past your breaking point, and Fern doesn't know how her family will survive.
Review:
Knowles' book is a poignant reminder of how easily breakable life is. Fern's family life wasn't perfect before the tragedy, but they all loved each other and were a constant presence in each other's lives. Now she has to deal with her own guilt about the accident, a sister and brother sorting through not only their grief but their own immense issues, and parents who have completely withdrawn from their children. Fern is a great character who you really identify with as she tries to find a way to bring her family back together. A great read for a slightly older tween or teen.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 7th-8th Grade
Timeless
by Alexandra Monir
Summary:
It had always been Michele and her mother. They had a great life in Los Angeles. But when her mother dies in a car crash, Michele finds herself across the country living with grandparents she's never met. Grandparents who happen to be Windsor's, one of the oldest (and richest) families in New York City. As Michele struggles to adjust to her new life, she finds herself exploring the house her mother grew up in. What she finds is a diary, a diary that takes her back to 1910. Where she discovers that everything she thought she knew isn't quite true.
Review:
For a book about time travel, Timeless is well written and pretty believable. I enjoyed how the author didn't try to explain any 'science' behind the diary's ability to take Michele back in time to whichever time period she was thinking about. I also thought that her interactions with her ancestors were quite fun, plus the idea that she was the impetus for most of their choices is interesting. This book is the first in it's series, something good to know going in because a lot is left unresolved. All in all it's a good read for teens who like romance.
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Age Level: 8th grade
Summary:
It had always been Michele and her mother. They had a great life in Los Angeles. But when her mother dies in a car crash, Michele finds herself across the country living with grandparents she's never met. Grandparents who happen to be Windsor's, one of the oldest (and richest) families in New York City. As Michele struggles to adjust to her new life, she finds herself exploring the house her mother grew up in. What she finds is a diary, a diary that takes her back to 1910. Where she discovers that everything she thought she knew isn't quite true.
Review:
For a book about time travel, Timeless is well written and pretty believable. I enjoyed how the author didn't try to explain any 'science' behind the diary's ability to take Michele back in time to whichever time period she was thinking about. I also thought that her interactions with her ancestors were quite fun, plus the idea that she was the impetus for most of their choices is interesting. This book is the first in it's series, something good to know going in because a lot is left unresolved. All in all it's a good read for teens who like romance.
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Age Level: 8th grade
Monday, October 22, 2012
Bullyville
by Francine Prose
Summary:
Bart's parents worked together in the World Trade Center. It's where they met, where they fell in love, where they worked every day even after his father left his mom for someone else. But no one knew that on the day that the planes hit the towers. On a day he had a fever so his mom stayed home to take care of him instead of going to work. So instead of losing both his parents, it was only his dad that was gone. But he was gone already, but no one quite understands. Now Bart's at a prep school on a scholarship because everyone feels bad for him, but the school is only making his life worse.
Review:
One of the more interesting aspects of Bullyville was reading how Bart dealt with his father's death. He struggles to not only accept his father's death, but to find a way to accept that despite the fact that his father left he is still allowed to grieve. The bullying at the school he attends seems a bit far fetched, however the main story is interesting. It's a good read for boys.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 5th-6th Grade
Summary:
Bart's parents worked together in the World Trade Center. It's where they met, where they fell in love, where they worked every day even after his father left his mom for someone else. But no one knew that on the day that the planes hit the towers. On a day he had a fever so his mom stayed home to take care of him instead of going to work. So instead of losing both his parents, it was only his dad that was gone. But he was gone already, but no one quite understands. Now Bart's at a prep school on a scholarship because everyone feels bad for him, but the school is only making his life worse.
Review:
One of the more interesting aspects of Bullyville was reading how Bart dealt with his father's death. He struggles to not only accept his father's death, but to find a way to accept that despite the fact that his father left he is still allowed to grieve. The bullying at the school he attends seems a bit far fetched, however the main story is interesting. It's a good read for boys.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 5th-6th Grade
Between Shades of Gray
by Ruth Sepetys
Summary:
Lina knows things aren't quite right in the world right now, but the war going on doesn't seem like it will touch her in Lithuania. The fighting between the Germans and Russians seems far enough away that her family will be safe. Until one night in 1941, when the Soviet guards come and round up anyone who might be a threat to them as they take over the country. Lina and her mother and brother are sent to a Siberian work camp while her father is sentenced to death. But surviving is a daily challenge, and keeping your will to survive the bleak and freezing life at the camp is another. As Lina sees all her hopes and dreams for her future disappear, she somehow must find the strength to keep moving forward.
Review:
What I liked most about this book was that it was about WWII but wasn't about the Holocaust. Instead it told a story few people know about. The gulags of Russia were alive and well during the war years, and innocent people were sent there by the hundreds. Lina's story was not unique, many children saw the future they thought they had ahead of them shattered as they struggled to survive their 30 year prison sentence. It's well written and a great read for older tweens and teens.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Level: 8-9th Grade
Summary:
Lina knows things aren't quite right in the world right now, but the war going on doesn't seem like it will touch her in Lithuania. The fighting between the Germans and Russians seems far enough away that her family will be safe. Until one night in 1941, when the Soviet guards come and round up anyone who might be a threat to them as they take over the country. Lina and her mother and brother are sent to a Siberian work camp while her father is sentenced to death. But surviving is a daily challenge, and keeping your will to survive the bleak and freezing life at the camp is another. As Lina sees all her hopes and dreams for her future disappear, she somehow must find the strength to keep moving forward.
Review:
What I liked most about this book was that it was about WWII but wasn't about the Holocaust. Instead it told a story few people know about. The gulags of Russia were alive and well during the war years, and innocent people were sent there by the hundreds. Lina's story was not unique, many children saw the future they thought they had ahead of them shattered as they struggled to survive their 30 year prison sentence. It's well written and a great read for older tweens and teens.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Level: 8-9th Grade
Dead End in Norvelt
by Jack Gantos
Summary:
Norvelt, Pennsylvania has always considered itself to be a special town. Built because Eleanor Roosevelt herself wanted more places built where everyone could have a house and a job and a life, the town has always prized itself on being a place where neighbors help each other. But now the jobs are fewer and people are moving away. When Jack accidentally fires his dad's rifle (the one he wasn't supposed to even touch), his mother makes him help out Miss Volker, the town's first and only medical examiner, as a punishment. As he helps her write obituaries, Jack discovers there's a lot more to the town than he ever thought. Norvelt has a lot of secrets, and Jack is the one who gets to discover them.
Review:
Dead End in Norvelt is a great read for tween boys. Jack is adventurous and relatable, this adventures with Miss Volker amusing and inventive. The book deftly weaves in a bit of history, reminding readers that there's a lot more to the places we know than we think.
Genre: Fiction
Age Level: 4-5th Grade
Summary:
Norvelt, Pennsylvania has always considered itself to be a special town. Built because Eleanor Roosevelt herself wanted more places built where everyone could have a house and a job and a life, the town has always prized itself on being a place where neighbors help each other. But now the jobs are fewer and people are moving away. When Jack accidentally fires his dad's rifle (the one he wasn't supposed to even touch), his mother makes him help out Miss Volker, the town's first and only medical examiner, as a punishment. As he helps her write obituaries, Jack discovers there's a lot more to the town than he ever thought. Norvelt has a lot of secrets, and Jack is the one who gets to discover them.
Review:
Dead End in Norvelt is a great read for tween boys. Jack is adventurous and relatable, this adventures with Miss Volker amusing and inventive. The book deftly weaves in a bit of history, reminding readers that there's a lot more to the places we know than we think.
Genre: Fiction
Age Level: 4-5th Grade
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
by Emily Danforth
Summary:
The day Cameron Post's parents die is the day she first kisses a girl. She can't help but be relieved that they will never know about her, they will never have to be ashamed that she is gay. But when her extremely religious aunt moves in to take care of her, she finds being true to herself is a constant challenge. As she grows up, and embraces her sexuality, her aunt sends her to a religious boarding school which claims it can 'readjust' her sexual orientation. What she learns there will change her life forever.
Review:
Danforth's book about a girl who has to learn to embrace herself in the midst of a conservative community and family is both well written and timely. This is a great book not just for LGBT teens, but for any who seek to try and understand what these teens go through as they try to be themselves. The hurt and shame that Cameron feels as her aunt tells her she is going to hell for being who she is is something most teens will never go through, which is why reading a book on the topic is important. Highly recommended for slightly older tweens and teens.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9-10th Grade
Summary:
The day Cameron Post's parents die is the day she first kisses a girl. She can't help but be relieved that they will never know about her, they will never have to be ashamed that she is gay. But when her extremely religious aunt moves in to take care of her, she finds being true to herself is a constant challenge. As she grows up, and embraces her sexuality, her aunt sends her to a religious boarding school which claims it can 'readjust' her sexual orientation. What she learns there will change her life forever.
Review:
Danforth's book about a girl who has to learn to embrace herself in the midst of a conservative community and family is both well written and timely. This is a great book not just for LGBT teens, but for any who seek to try and understand what these teens go through as they try to be themselves. The hurt and shame that Cameron feels as her aunt tells her she is going to hell for being who she is is something most teens will never go through, which is why reading a book on the topic is important. Highly recommended for slightly older tweens and teens.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9-10th Grade
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