By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Reviews, Realistic Fiction
With: 0 Comments

At first, Mark Goldblatt’s Twerp brought to mind a couple other books – Scrawl, a bully’s detention-assigned journal about his life and Ungifted, Gordon Korman’s hilarious story about a likeable kid whose bad judgment gets him in to trouble again and again.  But it didn’t take long to get completely lost in this well-written, engaging story about a 12 year old kid, his friends, and a terrible thing they did. Julian Twerski isn’t a bully.  He  didn’t mean for Danley to get hurt and he doesn’t think that what happened over winter recess is one hundred percent his fault, although he doesn’t deny that he hadRead More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, Action & Adventure (YA), Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Multicultural (YA), Mystery & Suspense, Mystery & Suspense (YA), Realistic Fiction, Realistic Fiction (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

Fred Hiatt‘s Nine Days is so much more than an action-packed thrill ride.  Don’t get me wrong, it is an action-packed thrill ride: a story that zips along at a breakneck speed, fueled by a cliff hanger at the end of every short chapter, rife with danger, and near death scrapes. But at the same time, Nine Days is also a story that explores freedom, social justice, human rights, and complex, real world problems.   I found it completely engaging and unexpectedly thought-provoking, enjoying the successfully executed thriller inspired by Ti-Anna Wang, the real daughter of a jailed Chinese dissident. 16 year old Ethan has beenRead More →

By:
On:
In: Arizona Authors, Elementary Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Reviews, Multicultural, Realistic Fiction
With: 0 Comments

Coretta Scott King Honoree Jewel Parker Rhodes tells a beautiful tale of determination, hope, and connection in her forthcoming book for young readers, Sugar.  Reading this wonderful book brought to mind other strong-willed young girls who recognize and rise above their limited circumstances (Lillie in Freedom Stone, Deza in The Mighty Miss Malone, Zulaikha in Words in the Dust, and Addie in A Thousand Never Evers) to become more than their communities or their social circumstances would have expected them to be. Set five years after the end of the Civil War, 10 year old Sugar has lived her whole life on River Road sugar plantationRead More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, Elementary Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Reviews, Realistic Fiction
With: 0 Comments

I’ve said before that I have a rule about reading books about dogs, and for the most part I stick to it – they just tear me up and it’s not worth the emotional upheaval to take a chance.  But every once in awhile I break my rule and, wouldn’t you know it, I am rewarded with a good story, characters I care about, and a dog (or two) that I wish I could bring home and call my own. When Randi Barrow‘s prequel to Saving Zasha, Finding Zasha, came across my desk, I knew it would be one that’d be a rule breaker.  Read More →

By:
On:
In: Action & Adventure, Action & Adventure (YA), Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction (YA), Middle Grade Reviews, Realistic Fiction, Realistic Fiction (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

Christina Diaz Gonzalez‘s second novel, A Thunderous Whisper, brings us to Guernica, Spain.  Here we meet 12 year old Ani, a quiet, insignificant whisper of a girl who lives on the periphery of society, daughter of a sardine seller.  Ani’s father has gone to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War to fight against General Franco’s forces, hoping to protect the Basque homeland from impending seizure.  Left with her cold-hearted, harsh mother, Ani’s life has never felt more bleak and lonely. Then she meets a boy, Mathias, who is spirited, sure of himself, and interested in being her friend.  Mathias is new to Guernica and heRead More →

By:
On:
In: Elementary Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Reviews, Realistic Fiction
With: 0 Comments

In a beautifully crafted, delicately told story about hope, family, and love, Patricia Reilly Giff enchanted me with Gingersnap. Set in 1945 in a small town in Upstate New York, Jayna lives with her older brother, and only family, Rob.  When he’s called to active duty on a naval battleship in the Pacific, Jayna goes to stay with their difficult landlady.  But before he left, Rob told Jayna about a suitcase in his closet that contains a cookbook with a name and an address for a bakery in Brooklyn. Could it be a clue to family they don’t know they have?  Then Rob’s ship isRead More →

By:
On:
In: Middle Grade Reviews, Realistic Fiction, Realistic Fiction (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

In the sequel to his Printz Honor book, Stuck in Neutral, Terry Trueman takes us back into Shawn McDaniel’s life:  “Night before last my dad tried to kill me. At least, I’m pretty sure that was his plan. For weeks and months I’d been worrying about it. I guess Dad had his reasons, but he didn’t do it. Obviously. Lucky me, huh? Sorry, sarcasm is one of the few weapons I possess.” (1) The power of Stuck in Neutral  lay in the dynamic between Shawn and his dad, as both characters struggled to understand and connect with each other.  In Life Happens Next, Shawn’s dadRead More →

By:
On:
In: Middle Grade Reviews, Realistic Fiction
With: 0 Comments

Donovan Curtis is a kid who acts; he just goes with his gut, acts on instinct, and lets the chips fall where they may.  And for most of his 13 years, the chips haven’t really fallen in the best places. He gets in trouble at home and at school – a lot.  His pranks are legendary and his pals love to egg him on and then disappear when its time to pay the piper.  Donovan’s latest, which destroys both his middle school’s mascot statue and the entire school gym, is the worst yet. And he knows there is no escaping the major punishment that isRead More →

By:
On:
In: Middle Grade Reviews, Realistic Fiction, Realistic Fiction (YA), Sports, Sports (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
With: 0 Comments

If there was ever a character about whom you could say “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, it would have to be Harrison Johnson in Tim Green‘s latest, Unstoppable.  Harrison is only 13 years old, but in his short life he’s already faced abusive foster parents, beating and intimidation from his fellow foster kids, a system set up to break him down, and the realization that his own mother will never be able to care for him like  a mother should.  When he catches a break and gets away from his most abusive foster family yet and lands in the loving, peaceful home ofRead More →