Sunday, March 29, 2015

The Cat in the Hat came to our campus Friday, March 27.  He read many Dr. Seuss books to the children from prekindergarten to third grade.  Here is a picture of Cat in the Hat.



Saturday, March 28, 2015

Young Adult Books

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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Alexie, S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. NY: Little Brown.

Arnold and his family live on an Indian Reservation in Spokane.  Arnold is a boy who was born with many health issues.  He is now entering the 9th grade and comes to find out that they are still using books from when his mother went to school.  This makes him very angry.  His Geometry teacher, Mr. P. tells him to leave and go to another school off the reservation so he is not trapped in this world of drinking and no job.  Arnold does this and goes to a school in a town, Reardan, 22 miles from the reservation.  During this time Arnold's best friend Rowdy would not talk to him anymore, his grandmother is hit by a drunk driver, his sister goes off and dies in a trailer fire, and his dad's best friend is shot in the face.  At school Arnold is picked on until he stands up for himself and then he finds friends that stick by him even though his has no money.  Arnold knows that he needs to stay at this school to help him get off the reservation and make a better life for himself and he does.

Even though this book is fiction, it is also an eye opener for the way people live on reservations.  It may not be the same for all reservations, but it is for some.  This book would be could for students ages 15 and up.  


Speak

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Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. NY: Penguin.

Before Melinda started her freshman year in high school there was a party her friends took her to.  Of course, like everyone else Melinda started drinking.  As Melinda was alone, Adam came up to her and raped her.  She called 911 and this is when her troubles began.  Everyone at the party, even her best friend, Rachel, couldn't understand why she did this and Melinda couldn't talk about it.  She didn't say much her freshman year and her grades dropped.  Her parents didn't understand, and Melinda tried to commit suicide.  During the course of the year Melinda found a closet that she made into a get away place at school.  Melinda liked art and used it as a place to forget.  Her art teacher gave her a project, making a tree more than a one dimensional tree, this was one way she felt she could handle her problem.  Melinda was trying to warn Rachel about Adam, but Rachel didn't believe her until after prom.  Adam found where Melinda was taking refugee and tried again to rape her. This time Melinda fought back and stood up for herself and the Lacrosse team came to help her, too.  Melinda still has to live with what happened to her, but she will heal and now people know why she called 911.

This story would be good to use with girls from 8th grade and up.  It is something that needs to be discussed with girls and even boys, it is not alright for someone to rape or touch you.  It would also be good to discuss how to take care of oneself if this does happen.


Feed

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Anderson, M.T. (2002). Feed. MA: Candlewick Press.

If you like science fiction and "Valley Girl" dialogue, then this book would be good for you.  It begins with these high school students going to the moon for Spring Break.  They don't need to talk out loud to each other because they have a "feed" in their brains that help them to communicate to each other.  They call each other "Units", but also by their names.  Titus meets a girl, Violet, on the moon and they all decide to go to this one place to dance.  As they are dancing a man hits them with a rod and this shuts down their feeds. Violet is a girl who was brought up to think on her own and not rely on her feed for information as the others do.  Violet's feed is not the best because her family could not  afford it.  So, hers causes many problems from her legs not working, to her hands and other body parts.  At the end she is more of a vegetable then anything else.

This is a science fiction book that was a little different. It is not one that I would recommend unless students were really looking for something really different.  The author does make some good points about computers not being the most important way to get ones information, books are still needed.

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing

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Angel, A. (2010). Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing. NY: Amulet.

This is a story of how Janis Joplin grew up in 40's, 50's and 60's.  She was born in 1943 in a small town in Texas.  As she was growing up she noticed that she didn't fit in with the rest of the girls.  Her favorite past times were painting and singing.  When she graduated from high school she left to go to college and found a group to sing with.  She didn't stay in college long and moved to California.  Her first band was Big Brother and the Holding Company.  During this time she used drugs and alcohol to help cope with life.  After a couple of years she joined another band, Kozmic Blues, which doesn't work out and she creates her own band, Full-Tilt Boogie.  Janis changes her appearance and starts calling herself Pearl.  She has moved from Texas, to California, to New York and back to Texas and California.  When she turns 27, Janis overdoses on drugs and kills herself.

This book includes a time line of Janis life along with pictures.  This book is good for students in grades 9th and up.  It would be good for a book talk about singers from that time period.  If you like Janis Joplin another book to read would be On the Road with Janis Joplin, by John Byrne Cook.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

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Angleberger, T. (2010). The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. NY: Amulet Books.

Timmy is doing a case study on Dwight's Origami Yoda.  He believes that if you ask it a question it will give you an answer or a suggestion of what you should do.  On the other hand Harvey is trying to prove that it is not working and Dwight is making it up.  Whenever someone ask Dwight's Yoda a question he will answer it the way Yoda would.  He is asked many different things that sixth graders would want to know about; girls, sports, etc.  There is a big challenge between the boys to see if Origami Yoda's advice is true or not.  At the end there is a dance and Yoda's predictions do come true.  Timmy is dancing with the girl he wants and so is Dwight.

This is a good story for 5th grade to 7th grade, mainly for boys. This book is about friendship and being in that in-between age of still wanting to be a boy and also a teenager.

Cherokee Bat & The Goat Guys

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Block, F. L. (1992). Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys. NY: HarperCollins Children's Books.

This story takes place in California.  Cherokee, her almost sister, Witch Baby are at home while their parents are making a film in another country.  Witch Baby is depressed because Angel Juan and his family are sent back to Mexico, and doesn't want to do anything. Cherokee goes to Coyote, who is supposed to be watching them, to get something to help Witch Baby out of her slump.  He tells her to make wings for her and she does. Raphael is Cherokee's good friend and likes to play the guitar.  Witch Baby's birthday is coming up and Cherokee is trying to get her to come inside to celebrate, but she doesn't want to.   Angel Juan shows up and Witch Baby is happy and comes in.  She plays the drums, Cherokee plays the tambourine, Raphael plays the guitar and Angel Juan plays the base.  They start a band called The Goat Guys.  Cherokee wants to make recordings and start playing in different places.  During this time there is drinking and drug use.  During one of these after parties Raphael is paying attention to someone else.  Cherokee gathers all the goat items and walks on the roof and tries to jump off and fly, but Coyote saves her.  Her parents return home, builds the band a stage and they play for friends and family.

This is the third book in a series by Block.  This book would be good for 8th grade and up. I would recommend reading the first books in the series before this one.  I had a hard time understanding Witch Baby and her connection to Cherokee.

The Tequila Worm

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Canales, V. (2005). The Tequila Worm. NY: Wendy Lamb Books/Random House.

Tequila Worm is about learning what it means to be happy, what family means and how important they are, but to also follow your dreams and keeping what is important close to your heart. Sofia comes from McAllen, Texas and from a strong Catholic and Mexican traditions family.  She works hard in school after someone calls her a Taco Head because that is what she has for lunch everyday.  Sofia is first in her class and has a chance for a scholarship to a private school in Austin, but she has to raise $400.00 for her room and board and convince her mother to let her go. She does by working in a cucumber sorting house and shows her mother she is a good comadre with her cousin and sister.
She goes to the private school, graduates and becomes a Civil Rights Attorney.  When she goes back to the Barrio she builds her mom a new house and builds a garden where her family home was.

This would be a good book to discuss traditions, being a good comadre and family values.  This would be good for middle school and up.

Stolen

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Christopher, L. (2010). Stolen. NY: Chicken House.

Gemma is at Bangkok airport getting coffee when Ty comes up to her and buys it for her because she doesn't have the right amount. Ty drugs her and takes her to the Australian outback, nothing but desert.  While she is captive, Gemma finds out that Ty has been watching her since she was 8 and then deciding to take her when she was in her early teens. Gemma tries to escape, once on foot and once in his car.  But, both times Ty had to come and rescue her.  Ty likes to paint and paints this wonderful scenery and they watch it as the sun goes down.  They fall asleep on the sand and the next day Gemma goes looking for Ty and is bitten by a snake.  Ty saves her and is arrested.  Gemma writes this to Ty after her kidnapping and while he is in prison.

This book is good for grades 9 and up.  This was an interesting story.  It had me feeling two ways, knowing this is not right, but thinking that she was going to fall for him and not want to leave.  It really took a turn when she got bit by the snake and he couldn't help her.  When they story got to the part where he took her to the hospital, I never thought about him being arrested.  A good book to teach about watching who and what goes on around you.

The Chocolate War

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Cormier, R. (1974). The Chocolate War. NY: Delacorte.

This story takes place at an all boys Catholic School.  Jerry is an incoming freshman and tries out for the football team.  Each year the school has a fundraiser, selling chocolates, and it is not mandatory to do it.  Jerry decides not to and the trouble begins.  The "Vigils" is a group of boys, run by Archie, who make boys do different pranks on students and teachers.  Brother Leon is not pleased that Jerry won't sell the chocolates and tells Archie to take care of it.  Jerry is harassed on the phone, beat up and finally there is a staged fight at the school.  It is supposed to be like a boxing match, with students paying to put in boxing hits, but it turns ugly.  Finally it is stopped by one of the teachers.

Mr. Cormier wrote a sequel called Beyond the Chocolate War, it has received good reviews on Amazon.  These books are good for grades 7 and up.  After I read this book my thoughts were this is a book about bullying in the 50's and 60's.

Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes

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Crutcher, C. (1993). Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. NY: Greenwillow Books.


This book talks about friendship and that no matter how you look on the outside, what is on the inside matters most.  Sarah is a young girl who was burned on her face by a wood stove and by her father.  Eric is a young boy who is fat but yet a great swimmer.  They come together in Junior High because of the teasing and bullying both have received over the years.  Eric has this concern that if he loses weight Sarah Byrnes won't like him anymore.  Sarah's father is a cruel man and to escape him she stops talking and ends up at a psych hospital.  Eric goes to see her each day.  She finally tells him the truth and they make a plan to escape.  Mrs. Lemry adopts her and Sarah's dad is killed by Eric's mother's boyfriend.

This would be a good book to use to talk about friendship and abuse.  I was disappointed in Sarah's mother not wanting to come back and take care of her.  I guess she was afraid of Sarah's dad as was Sarah.  This book would be good for grades 7 and up.

The Surrender Tree

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Engle, M. (2008). The Surrender Tree. NY: Holt.

This story is written in poems by the different characters in the story.  The story tells of the wars between Cuba and Spain and the attempt to end slavery. Rosa is a young women who is a slave and treats the wounded.  When the slaves are set free Rosa becomes a healer for the wounded soldiers.  As time goes by she meets Jose, who is also a healer.  During the wars they work together to heal the wounded and sick.  Rosa dies in 1901 with military honors.

This would be a good book for a history teacher in grades 7-12.  To go with this book I would suggest Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang.  Both have great reviews from Amazon.

Annie on My Mind

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Garden, N. (1982). Annie On My Mind. NY: FSG.

Liza goes to a private school in the Heights in New York City, she would like to be an architect and loves going to museums to look at different styles of architecture.  On one of these trips to the museum she meets Annie.  Annie is sitting in front of this painting and singing.  Her singing is what brings Liza into her life.  At first their relationship is about friendship and being able to do things together even though they come from two different backgrounds.  Things move slowly until Spring Break.  Liza agrees to feed and watch Ms. Stevenson and Ms. Widmer's cat.  During this time both Liza and Annie stay at the house off and on.  The last day of Spring Break they are caught and discovered by another of Liza's teachers and a friend.  There are so many mixed feelings going on that Liza doesn't know how to handle them.  Finally, before Christmas Vacation the two girls talk again and know they want to be with each other.

This is a tough subject to talk about, because many girls don't know if that is how they feel and know it is not "normal" behavior.  But, I do believe this book would be helpful to high school, maybe even girls going to college.

Looking for Alaska

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Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska. NY: Dutton.

Miles is a junior in high school in Florida and doesn't have many friends.  He convinces his parents to let him go to Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama.  Miles, AKA Pudge, meets new friends, Chip, AKA Colonel, his roommate, Alaska, a girl down the hall, Takumi and Tara from Romanian.  Miles finds out that Alaska has some issues, she can be very moody, she likes to drink and she likes to smoke.  But it seems most of the students like those same things. The "Weekend Warriors", the wealthy students, liked to pull pranks on the other students at school.  Most of the pranks were harmless until the one they pulled on Pudge.    In January, Alaska and Colonel were in her room drinking and smoking, Pudge was also there but not drinking.  The played truth or dare and Alaska dared Pudge to make out with her.  The pay phone rings, Alaska answers it, comes back all upset and has to leave campus.  The boys help her and the next day they find out she dies in a car accident. Colonel and Pudge try to find answers to why this happened and blame themselves, but they do pull off one more prank during Speaker Day.

This book as many emotions riding through the book.  There are fun times, scared times and sad times.  Emotions that run through high school students constantly. I feel this book would be good for high school students.

Paper Towns

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Green, J. (2008). Paper Towns. NY: Penguin Group.

The story opens with Q and Margo finding a body under a tree in the park and he is dead.  They seem to be the best of friends, but then they arrive at high school and they barely talk to each other.  It is that time of year when everyone is getting excited about prom, except for Q.  Margo is finding out that her boyfriend is cheating on her and to get back at him and her friends who knew, she solicits the help of Q.  She does things to Jose, Betty, Lacey and Chuck. She has Q drive her to the city and the climb to the top of a building, and they break into Sea World.  After this Margo leaves and Q is obsessed with trying to find her.  Q finds clues that Margo left behind.  He finally figures it out before graduation and goes to New York to bring her back, but she doesn't want to come back.

Paper Towns would be good for high school aged students.  It is a good book to discuss relationships, real vs fake, is being popular always the best things and coping with difficult situations.

It's Perfectly Normal

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Harris, R. (2009). It's Perfectly Normal. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.

This book discusses the development of the human body, both female and male.  It goes into detail how the male and female bodies are different and the changes each go through during puberty.  The author also talks about sex and the four different meanings of the word. The book also goes into protected sex, different types of contraceptives and how babies are conceived.  The author not only talks about the human body but also how to stay healthy, sexual disease and AIDS and HIV.  There is also a section on internet safety.

This book should be read by parents with their children.  This is a good book when your child is 10 or older.  It is probably not one to be in a elementary or an intermediate  library due to the content of the material.  Since I have parent volunteers with older children, I asked them about this book and they couldn't see it being put into a library for students to check out.

Everybody Sees the Ants

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King, A. S. (2011). Everybody Sees the Ants. NY: Little, Brown & Company.

Lucky is a freshman in high school who has been bullied by the same boy, Nader, since he was seven years old.  Lucky comes from a family that is having some difficulties, father is a chef who doesn't come home that often and a mother who swims at the local pool to avoid conflict. Lucky's escape is in his dreams trying to rescue his grandfather from a prison camp in Laos during the Vietnam war.
Lucky and his mom go to Arizona where her brother and sister-in-law live.  This trip is to help his mom work out problems she is having with his father.  Lucky meets Ginny and she helps him to realize that he can stand up for himself and not be bullied by others.  At the end Lucky stands up to Nader, his mother works things out with his father and he realizes he can't rescue is grandfather because he dies in the prison camp.

This is a good book for junior high boys, especially someone who has been bullied and needs to see that things can change.  The ants in the story gave it some humor, but not sure if they were supposed to mean something other that that.

Swindle

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Korman, g. (2008). Swindle. NY: Scholastic Inc.

Ben is always the man (boy) with the plan.  The Rockford house is being torn down to make way for a museum.  Ben makes a plan to have a sleep over to make a stand on building a skate park instead of the museum, but the only ones who show up are Ben and his best friend Griffin.  Ben can't sleep so he explores the house and comes to a desk and in that desk he finds a very rare Babe Ruth baseball card.  Both boys run to S. Wendell Palomino' Emporium of Collectibles and Memorabilia to find out how much the card is worth.  S. Wendell gives them $120.00 dollars for it.  Later that evening Ben finds out how much the card is really worth and makes plans to get it back.  Ben gets a team together to help him get the card back.  It doesn't go well and he has to give up the card to a long lost relative of Rockford.  Come to find out she has a nephew who was on Ben's team and sends the card to Darren.  Darren in turn has to give part of the money to the museum but they also get the skate park.

This was a good adventure story and would be good for middle school and junior high students.  It could be used as a book talk, to discuss if Ben was right in what he was doing or not.

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel

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Larson, H. (2012). A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel. Harrisonburg,VA: R. R. Donnelley &        Sons Co.

Meg and her family are missing their father.  Meg's mom is a scientist and her father is a physicist. Meg and her brother along with Calvin and the Mrs. Whos, Whatisit, and What all help to find her father.  They find her father on the planet Camazotz and rescue him.  As they are making the rescue Charles is hypnotized by the brain of the planet and Meg goes back to rescue him and she does it with love.

I had a hard time understanding this story or becoming connected with the characters.  The illustrations were confusing at times.  I don't know if it were the blacks, whites and blues of the drawings, but they seemed to portray more emotions than the words conveyed.  This book would be good for students in junior high and high school.

Monster

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Myers, W. D. (1999). Monster. NY: Harper.

Steve Harmon is in jail for allegedly holding up a drugstore where the owner was killed.  This story is written as a script for a movie, with journal writings entered here and there.  Steve along with James King are on trail together for the holdup and murder of the drugstore owner.  During a witnesses testimony it was said that he thought Steve was the look-out man and gave the all clear signal. So was he really there as part of the gang or not? The jury found Steve not guilty, but James was found guilty.  Steve continues to make films about his family and friends, trying to find himself.

This would be good for grades 9th and up.  I could see this book being used in a debate class or a social studies class, reenacting the story and discussing laws and how people are considered guilty or not guilty.

The Knife of Never Letting Go

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Ness, P. (2008). The Knife of Never Letting Go. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.

Todd is a month from turning 13 and is looking forward to becoming a man in his home town of Prentisstown.  Not knowing what it means, but knowing something is going to happen that no one will tell him.  Ben and Cillian are two men who have raised him ever since his mother passed away,   In this town men can hear other men's thoughts, which is called the Noise.  Ben and Cillian make Todd runaway before he turns 13 because something terrible will happen on his birthday.  Todd runs away and finds a girl in the swamp, who doesn't talk to him at first and doesn't have the Noise.  She shows him the spaceship she came in with her parents, who are dead from the crash.  Aaron is from Todd's town, and he chases Todd and the girl.  Through out the book it tells of their journey from Prentisstown to Haven, their escapes from trouble and times when all was okay.  In the end Aaron finds them and Viola kills him, she gets shot by Mr. Prentiss Jr. and when they reach Haven it is already taken over by Mr. Prentiss, Sr.

This is a great adventure story, with fantasy intertwined.  This book would be great for students in junior high and high school.  As I read through this story I was cheering for Todd and Viola and was for sure they would make it all the way, but not so.

Alida's Song

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Paulsen, G. (1999), Alida's Song. NY: Delacorte Press.

The boy is 14 and lives in a dysfunctional family, both parents are drug addicts and drunks.  His grandmother, Alida, writes to him and tells him he could have a job on the farm where she works as a cook.  The boy goes and learns about hard work, family, music and dancing.  The boy grows up to become a man with a family and learns more of his grandmother from things in a old cigar box.

This book would  be good for students in grades 5th through 8th.  This book teaches about compassion, love and having fun with people who care about you.  Farm life is hard, but when done together it doesn't seem as bad.  Really liked the killer geese.

Dodger

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Pratchett, T. (2012). Dodger. (Kindle Version) Retrieved from:  amazon.com.

This story takes place in London around the middle 1800's.  Dodger is a tosher (a person who walks around the sewers looking for lost treasure), and comes out of the sewer when he hears a scream from a girl. As he is taking care of the girl when two gentlemen, Mister Charles and Mister Mayhew, find them and take the to Mister Mayhew's house.  Mister Charles ask Dodger to help him find the people who did this to the young girl.  Through out the story Dodger tries to locate these men and shares the adventures Dodger has as he does Mister Charles bidding.  At the end Dodger and the girl, Simplicity and later Serendipity were together.  Queen Victoria knighted him and he became a spy for his country.

This book is a Historical Fantasy as mentioned by the author.  There are some facts in the story, but much of it is made up.  The Charles Dickson mentioned in the story as the writer is really the writer, but Dodger is a made up character even though there were toshers in that time period.  I enjoyed the adventures that Dodger had through out the story.

Last Night I Sang to the Monster

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Saenz, B. A. (2009). Last Night I Sang to the Monster. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.

Zach was probably an alcoholic by the time he was 15 or 16.  He lived with his mom, who was depressed and an Agoraphobia, his dad is an alcoholic and his older brother was a drug user, an alcoholic and mean.  Events happened and he ended up at Cabin 9, a rehab center.  He was angry, depressed, hurting and he didn't want to remember what happened to his family.  With the help of Adam, his therapist, Rafeal, an older gentleman in the same cabin and the members of his group, Zach learned how to face his monsters and let the truth out.  After 60 days of being in rehab he was able to leave to go to a half-way house, which ended up being with Rafeal.  After several months Rafeal adopted him and Zach called Adam and told him he was a 10 on the happiness scale.

This was a great story.  I had to stop several times to wipe my eyes so I could continue reading.  This would be good for students in high school.
Persepolis

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Sartrapi, M. (2004). Persepolis. NY: Pantheon.

This is the story of Marjane as she grows up in Iran and how the Islamic Revolution effects her life. She introduces her story with the requirement of wearing the head scarf in public.  She lives in Iran until she is 14 when her parents thought it would be better for her to go to Austria.  In Austria she starts by going to a Catholic school and living with the nuns.  Marjane is very out spoken and ends up being expelled.  She than finds a place to live with several guys who are homosexual and then finds a room in a boarding house.  She wonders for several months and then finally returns to Iran.  She takes the entrance test to be able to go to the university, she meets a young man and then gets married.  The marriage only last 3 years.  She finally goes to France to study and doesn't go back to Iran.

This is an autobiography in the form of a graphic novel.  It would  be good for students from 17 on up and I say this because for me it was hard to keep track of what was going on.  There is a lot of politics in the story and so it became confusing at times.

Winger

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Smith, A. (2013). Winger. NY: Simon & Schuster.

Ryan Dean is a 14 year old junior at Pine Mountain Boarding School.  He comes back to school and finds himself in O Hall and his roommate is Chas, the meanest boy on the Rugby team.  Ryan Dean is also on the Rugby team even though he is small and two years younger than his peers.  Winger as he will be called is a "typical" teenage boy who is immature, thinks all girls are beautiful and when he writes uses an array of cuss words.  During the first semester a lot of things happen to Winger, he is picked on, he is in love with his best friend, Annie and begins having troubles with his friends over girls.  Winger also has a best friend, Joey, who is also on the Rugby team and is gay.  During a Halloween party Joey is beat up and is found dead under a tree.  O Hall is shut down and the school moves the boys into other dorms.  Ryan Dean, Chas and Kevin become roommates and friends and Ryan Dean goes home with Annie for Thanksgiving.

This book would be good for high school boys.  There is a lot of growing up going on in this book.  It was funny, sad and taught about the act of forgiveness.  The only concern I had was the amount of cussing in the book.  I am sure it wouldn't bother the students reading it but for me it was a turn off.

The Scorpio Races

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Stiefvater, M. (2011). The Scorpio Races. NY: Scholastic Press.

Sean lives in Thisby which is on an island with other small towns.  Katie (Puck) Connolly lives in the same place.  At the end of October beginning of November the water horses, capaill uisce, come out of the ocean and people try to capture them to ride them in the Scorpio Race.  Sean watches his father die in one of these races at eight years old.  Puck loses her parents to the capaill uisce as they are out on the ocean.  Sean works for a horse breeder, but also has the capaill uisce from his father.  He runs in the races every year with Corr and has won four years in a row.  Puck has no desire to run in the races until she is faced with losing her family's house and needs the money.  She does not use a capaill uisce horse.  Puck has a horse of her own, Dove, who she will train.  Many things happen between her and Sean during the story.  They become friends and at the end they fall in love and she wins the race.

This book would be good for junior high and high school students who like a story with adventure and a little fairy tale mixed in.  This was a good story, but I felt like I knew she would win even before the race was ran.  I did like the ending where Corr came back to Sean even though he was letting him go.

Smile

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Telgemeier, R. (2010). Smile. (Kindle Version). Retrieved from: amazon.com.

This is a graphic novel about the author when she was in middle school and fell down and busted out her front teeth.  She tells about her dentist visits and all that had to be done to get her teeth and mouth straightened out.  But it is not just about her teeth, it is about being in middle school and growing up and friends who make fun of you to feel better about themselves.  Raina finally tells her friends to take a hike after a couple of them pull her skirt down in front of the school body.  This is when she realizes her friends are not really her friends and walks away from them.  She meets a new group of people who like her for her.  As Raina puts it people will like you for who you are if you are happy with yourself, not only on the outside but one the inside as well.

I had to read this one twice, because the first time I focused more on what happened to her teeth more than I did on her feelings and how her so called friends treated her. This book would be good for girls in middle school tell about sophomore in high school.  I like the message at the end of the book, be true to yourself.

Leviathan

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Westerfeld,S. (2009). Leviathan. NY: Simon Pulse.

This story takes place at the beginning of World War I, with an Archduke and his wife being murdered.  There are two stories going on at the beginning of the book.  One tells about how Alekander, the son of the Archduke Ferdinand and Princess Sophie, needs to escape to Switzerland so as not to be captured by Germany and the other is of Deryn Sharp who is a British commoner acting like a boy to join the British Air Service.  The Germans and Austro-Hungarians are called Clankers, because they build walking machines to help fight their battles.  The British are called Darwinists who use fabricated animals to fight their battles.  Their two worlds collide when the Leviathan comes down in Switzerland close to were Alek is hiding.  Alek takes medical supplies to try to help the men on the Leviathan, gets taken for questioning and meets Dr. Barlow.  The Germans find them and both Alek and his men and the British work together and get the Leviathan back up and going.  Dr. Balow insist the keep going to Ottoman Empire, which they do.

This story is an exciting story for grades 7 and up.  I like the way the author put an Afterwards at the end explaining some of the facts of the story.  The ending of the story left me hanging.  It never said if they arrived in Ottoman or not, it just stopped with them flying safely over the Switzerland mountains.

Code Name Verity

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Wein, Elizabeth. (2012). Code Name Verity. (Kindle Version). Retrieved from amazon.com.

Verity tells the story of how her and Maddie become a spy and pilot.  Verity is telling this story due to the fact she has been captured by Gestapo and is being tortured by them.  She was in France and looked the wrong way to cross the road so she gave herself away.  Verity goes on to describe how her and Maddie became radio operators and then how she became a spy and Maddie became a pilot. Maddie is flying the plane that Verity is jumping out of in France.  When flying into France the plane is shot and Maddie crash lands the plane, but she is okay.  She is hidden at a farm of the resistance for several months.  They find out what happened to Verity and are trying to rescue her and the other captives before they are sent to a concentration camp, but it doesn't end well.  Maddie shots Verity as Verity ask her to.  Maddie gets back to England and writes her side of the story from where she is shot down until she is back in England.

This is another Historical Fiction story that gives the reader some insight into a different part of the World War II.  This book would be good for high school students especially those who are interested in this era.  I enjoyed this book because of the new insight to women being pilots or even spies during World War II, plus it was exciting and kept my attention.

The Book Thief

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Zusak, M. (2005). The Book Thief. NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

  Liesel watched her brother die on the train that was taking them to foster parents because her mom could not take care of them anymore.  They stopped and buried her brother and Liesel found a book next to his grave and she picked it up, her first stolen book.  Her foster parents are Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Rosa washes and irons clothes for people in town, but as the war progress she has fewer and fewer customers.  Her last customer is the Mayor and his wife, Ilsa.  Finally they can't use her either, but Ilsa shows Liesel her library on the last day she is dropping off clothes.  Liesel is not happy and begins taking books from Ilsa library.  Different events happen during the book with Jews being marched through town, hiding a Jew in their basement and finally their street being bombed.  Liesel is in the basement writing when the bomb goes off so she is safe, but the rest of her family and friends are not.  She was adopted by Ilsa and her husband, the Mayor, she grew up in Australia and married, had three children and grandchildren.

Even though this book in fiction it has many realistic events that happened during World War II.  I enjoyed this book because of the history aspect to it.  The author also gave insight to how some people lived during that time and the battles they have to face within their home town.