Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman

Image courtesy of Net Galley.com

Sky Jumpers 

by Peggy Eddleman

Sky Jumpers is a dystopian lite novel; for those who might not like their future so bleak.  Hope lives in the town of White Rock, after WWIII.  The 'green bombs' of the war have wiped out all modern technology and the town is dependent on it's citizens reinventing the conveniences of the past.  Hope is terrible at inventing, but great at finding adventure.

Her love of 'sky jumping', jumping into deadly clouds left behind by the 'green bombs', usually would get her into trouble.  But when a couple of crooks come to town after their medicine, Hope's talent proves just as useful, if not more so, than inventing.  

The future of this town and the society built around adapting after war hangs on Hope and her friends.  Will they work together to save their town?  Read Sky Jumpers to find out! 

The Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice

Image courtesy of netgalley.com

The Heavens Rise

by Christopher Rice

 

 

The Heavens Rise is a story about a young couple who in a fit of passion take a dip in the wrong pool.  Infested by a parasite, both discover a newfound power.  While Nikki uses her power for good, Marshall is intent on ruining everyone he feels has wronged him.

 

Although the story is both compelling and frightening, the narrative is often disjointed.  During many of the action scenes, I felt myself becoming lost as to what was happening.  It could be that I was reading too fast, or maybe I was unable to picture things as they unfolded.

 

Told from the perspective of the different characters, The Heavens Rise is set in New Orleans.  The story starts pre-Katrina and the post-Katrina landscape is as much a character as Ben and Marissa. 

 

The science fiction/fantasy aspect will appeal to a broad range of readers.  I think both boys and girls will appreciate this book.  Because of some graphic sexual scenes, I would keep this book in the High School library. 

 

 



Mr. Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt

Image courtesy of NetGalley.com

Mr. Max: The book of lost things
by Cynthia Voigt


Although the premise of this book is far-fetched, I found Mr. Max to be quite a charming character.  Abandoned by his parents, Max is determined that he is going to be independent.  Supported by his grandmother and eventually by a boarder, Max finds his way toward that independence.

Not quite a detective, nor a private investigator, Max does solve the townspeople's problems while also trying to unearth the biggest mystery of all, what happened to his parents?

If you can get over the unlikelihood of parents leaving their 12 year old to fend for himself, you will find the adventures of Mr. Max to be delightful.  The characters that we meet along the way are well-developed and interesting.  The writing is engaging and when I finished the last page, I found myself wanting more!

This story is young enough to have in either an elementary or middle school library but adventurous enough to attract the older student.  Mr. Max is scheduled to be a trilogy and I'm looking forward to reading more of Max's exploits!

Under the Wide and Starry Sky

Image courtesy of Net Galley.com

Under the Wide and Starry Sky

By Nancy Horan

In the same vein as Loving Frank, this next novel by Nancy Horan proves that sometimes the truth is a lot more interesting than fiction.  In her latest novel, Under the Wide and Starry Sky, Horan mixes the truth with some of her own interpretations to tell the story of the marriage of Robert Louis Stevenson to Fanny, his American wife 11 years his senior.

We are initially introduced to the relationship through Fanny, who has escaped to Europe with her children to put some distance between herself and her philandering husband.  Fanny tries desperately to provide her children with a life steeped in the arts.  She sees herself as an artistic soul and is not dismayed when she is told that the local art school does not accept women.  It is among a group of ex-pat artisans that she is introduced to Stevenson.

Enter Robert Louis Stevenson.  Stevenson comes from a family of successful lighthouse designers and builders.  Louis is the only child of Thomas and Maggie Stevenson, and Thomas does not consider 'writer' to be an appropriate career choice for his son.  However, spending much of his childhood sick in bed, Louis became dependent on story-telling and sought adventures to write about.  It was returning from one of these adventures where he meets Fanny.

While Louis was enamored of Fanny from the get-go, Fanny was not impressed.  Under the Wide and Starry Sky (a line from a Louis Stevenson poem) chronicles the courtship of the couple, Fanny's divorce and their subsequent marriage.  Along with the ordinary trials and tribulations of marriage, Louis and Fanny navigate his writing career, Fanny's creative endeavors, drama with her children, travels and finding a home, all while attending to Louis' chronic illness.

Under the Wide and Starry Sky is an engrossing read; packed with enough fiction to appeal to readers who enjoy a good story, and enough facts to engage any non-fiction reader.  As much an adventure story as it is a love story.  As much a journal as it is a journey.  Although slow through the middle, this anticipated new work is sure to be a best seller!

The House Girl by Tara Conklin

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

The House Girl
by Tara Conklin

The House Girl is the tale of two women, one a slave living in Virginia, the other an attorney living in New York City.  The lives of these two women entwine as they both look for their place in the world.

Josephine is the house girl for Mrs. Bell, a once beautiful woman, who was disowned by her family when she ran off to get married.  Mrs. Bell is unable to deliver a healthy child, the evidence of this faces her daily in the graves of her 17 children buried on the property of Bell Creek.

Mrs. Bell sees Josephine, in many ways, as the child that she was never able to have.  She teaches Josephine to read and to write, and also gives her access to artistic supplies.  Josephine becomes an accomplished artist.

Lina (short for Carolina) is a young attorney in a high-powered New York law firm.  She has, so far, put all she is into her work.  She lives with her father, who is an artist.  Lina's mother has been gone since she was four, and Lina thinks of her often.

Lina is asked to work on a ground-breaking slave reparations case for the firm at the same time that her father opens an exhibit of new paintings - all of Lina's mother, Grace. 

Through these women, Conklin explores the themes of freedom, family and self discovery.  Beautifully written in the voices of both women, The House Girl is both an engaging story and food for thought.

Come August, Come Freedom by Gigi Amateau

Image courtesy of gigiamateau.com

Come August, Come Freedom
by Gigi Amateau

I feel like I can't talk about this book without talking about Gigi.  Gigi first learned of Gabriel's Rebellion from a marker on the side of the road.  How many times do we drive by similar markers, never stopping?  As she began to research Gabriel and his life, the story started to unfold.  She wrote Come August, Come Freedom after extensive study of primary documents.  It's these documents that make this novel historical;it's how Gigi fills in the rest of the story that makes this novel stick in your heart.

Gabriel was born enslaved in Henrico County, Virginia.  He became a very talented blacksmith in a time where all that was needed to run a household started in a forge.  He was a striking man, very tall and strong.  He also learned to read and write.  By all measures, he was both respected and well liked.

The first part of this book is about Gabriel's success at organizing thousands of enslaved and/or disenfranchised people to march to Richmond and revolt.  Rallied by the success of Toussaint in Haiti and using the blacksmith shop as a way to both repurpose weapons and deliver messages, Gabriel was able to put together an intricate plan that he hoped would free not just himself, but all black people. 

The second part of this book is a love story.  Much of the impetus of a rebellion was his desire to live a life with his beloved Nan.  Gabriel saw a life where his children were born free, he ran his own blacksmith shop and Nan worked on her sewing.  They were able to be together, as a family - something that did not happen with enslaved families.

As many good love stories so often do, this one ends in tragedy.  This heart-wrenching story is made bearable only by Gigi's rich narrative and strong character development; becoming not a story of a botched rebellion, but one of the power of love.  This is the story of the perseverance of hope in the face of adversity.  This story makes us believe that if we truly want something, we need to work at it.  Don't give up, Gabriel warns us.  And it makes me want to pick up his hand and run with him.

Okay for Now by Gary d. Schmidt

Image courtesy of http://www.hmhbooks.com/schmidt/okay.html

 

 

Okay for Now

by Gary D. Schmidt

 

I'm going to start this review by admitting that I had never read anything by Schmidt before.  Another confession, I often write down interesting books that I hear about on the radio - while in the car.  I do, however, try to wait for the red light.  Okay for Now was one of these books (car shorthand: OK 4 now, I got Schmidt wrong).  When the Virginia Reader's Choice list came out for the 2013/2014 school year and Okay for Now was on it, it was the first book I ordered!

 

The story is of a young boy named Doug.  Many of you might have met Doug in The Wednesday Wars, but not having read any Schmidt before, this was our introduction.  Doug's life stinks.  His family has moved, his Dad is a jerk, his Mom is barely coping, his oldest brother returns damaged from Vietnam (and really, who didn't?!) and the middle brother is a delinquent. 

 

Doug's salvation comes in the form of Lil Spicer and John James Audubon.  I can't imagine a more unlikely pair!  This book is clever and charming.  I fell hard for Doug as I was turning the first pages!  He's a great kid, the kind that you'd take under your wing.  I saw much of my students in him, not all of him, but parts; and I feel sure student readers would relate to him as well.

 

The first thing that I wanted to do when I finished Okay for Now was to call Gary D. Schmidt and thank him for bringing Doug into the world.  He's a character that I won't soon forget.  It makes me want to find the time to read The Wednesday Wars, I just can't get enough.  Doug has a long, tough road ahead of him, but Schmidt does a great job of letting the reader know that he will be okay; and isn't that what we all want to know?  It will be okay, for now.

 

Just in case you think I'm a chump, read this:

 

The Yellow Shank wasn't the first thing you saw at all.  You saw his world first.  It was fall, and the grass was getting duller, and the tress were gold and that reddish brown that looks like the color of old bricks.  The Yellow Shank was walking in a sunny spot, looking like he owned the place.  The water in front of him was dark, and the woods beyond were darker still.  Really dark.  But Audubon knew something about composition: he kept the top of the bird's back as straight as the horizon, right smack in the middle of the scene, with a beak held up just as flat and just as straight, and an eye that said I know where I belong.  You couldn't help but be a little jealous of this bird.

Okay for Now is a story about how a boy figures out where he belongs.  And I thoroughly enjoyed his journey.

 

 

New fav dessert

Image courtesy of G-ma's bakery

 

Chocolate Caramel Crackers

Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody

Image courtesy of Netgalley.com

 

Will in Scarlet

by Matthew Cody

 

Having thoroughly enjoyed Powerless by Matthew Cody, I was excited to read Will in Scarlet.  I wasn't disappointed!  Cody has an effortless writing style that propels the reader through his characters' adventures.  The Will of Will in Scarlet is a young boy who suddenly has to become a man when his father is off to war his castle is raided, his uncle killed before his eyes and his mother is whisked off to safety to her homeland.
 

The adventures are what will appeal to young boys, but the story is what captivated this old librarian.  Will must chose between revenge and friendship.  I'm happy to say that he chooses wisely.  Young readers will see themselves in some of the situation that Will encounters.  Although this story is set in medieval England, students today will easily recognize having to choose between letting their anger get the best of them and sticking up for what is right and good. 

I think that Will in Scarlet would make a good addition to a school library, primarily for grades five through seven.  Teachers might be able to make some curriculum connections with the story being a re-telling of the classic Robin Hood. 

 



far far away

far far away
by Tom McNeal

The cover of far far away will draw you in, but the story will keep you there.  A smart homage to the Grimm Brothers, far far away makes a nod to several of their cautionary tales.  Perhaps the most notable of those tales is Hansel and Gretel.

Our main character, Jeremy Johnson Johnson, is a shy, fairy-tale-loving child whose mother abandoned him literally and whose father is just not available. He is sole owner of the Two Book Bookstore, a retail facility that has one publication, his grandfather's autobiography.  Did I mention that Jeremy is also haunted (in a good way) by the ghost of Jacob Grimm?  Jeremy is befriended by the beautiful and adventurous Ginger, and it's Ginger's shenanigans that cast them in their own fairy tale.
Although I would have like McNeal to have connected this story more to Jeremy's grandfather's autobiography and his mother's disappearance, this rich narrative had me holding my breath to the bitter end.
The situations that McNeal puts his young characters in allows for detailed character development which made me feel like I really knew Jeremy, Ginger and their supporting cast.  I could practically small the baking Princecakes and the pine trees in the woods with his vivid setting of the scenery.
Although I'm not sure that today's middle school child will find these small town characters familiar, I would consider far far away to be a modern day fair tale with lessons for many middle school children.

Trash Can Days

Trash Can Days

by Teddy Steinkellner

The best part of the soon-to-be released Trash Can Days by Teddy Steinkellner, was that there was at least one character in the story that every middle school student could relate to.  There is Hannah, the beautiful and popular girl.  Her brother Jake, smart and under-developed.  His best friend Danny, who is Mexican and works for Jake's family and grew a foot over the summer.  Dorothy, Jake's new quirky Asian friend who breaks the stereotype by being bad at math.  And a cast of peripheral characters that act as foils to the main characters.

I think many middle school students will see their own lives reflected among the four main characters that Steinkellner has created.  And, in typical, Disney fashion, will learn a valuable lesson along the way.  This book would be an asset on every middle school library shelf.