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The book reviews on this page have been submitted by students, teachers and other fascinating readers. The books reviewed are listed in alphabetical order by the author's last name. Use the links above to navigate to the author of your choice. To search for a title, use the "edit" menu in your browser and choose "Find on this page." Enter a word or words from the title. To browse, use the same edit function and enter keywords like "mystery," "adventure," "fantasy," "science fiction," "racism," "coming of age," etc. To submit a review, follow the format used on the reviews below and e-mail it tojprivard@bullitt.k12.ky.usa Abbott, Tony. Firegirl. New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2006. (145 pp.) “It wasn’t much, really, the whole Jessica Feeney thing,” says Tom Bender in the opening line of this quiet, first-person narrative, and it isn’t much. Jessica moves to Tom’s town and enrolls in his school, St. Catherine’s, while she is treated at a nearby hospital for the severe burns that cover much of her body and all of her face. Her very presence challenges the basic humanity of Tom and all his classmates as they react to her deformity and engage in that all-too-common human defense mechanism, blaming the victim. Tom is inexplicably drawn to Jessica, and their spark of friendship glows momentarily before she leaves town suddenly, changing Tom’s perspective forever. The characters are appealing, the narrative plain and realistic. This is a simple, intense story and an important book with a place in every YA collection.
(Realistic Fiction; discrimination, bullying, peer pressure, disfigurement, burn victim.) Alphin, Elaine Marie. Counterfeit Son. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2000. (180 pages) Fourteen-year-old Cameron Miller has never received a Christmas present, a Valentine, or a birthday gift. In fact he doesn't even know when his birthday is. His life is a living nightmare. His "Pop" abuses not only him (11 broken bones and a deeply scarred back) but has kidnapped, tortured, abused, and killed 22 young boys. He locks Cameron in the cellar when he perpetrates his crimes. Later he forces his son to dig graves in the dirt-floor cellar for the victims and cover the bodies with lime and acid. One day, Cameron's life is changed. When Pop is killed by police, the teen escapes. He assumes the identity of Neil Lacey, a young boy who was abducted by Pop six years ago. Life as a Lacey is a challenge for Cameron who must be on guard every moment. His sister and brother are not exactly overjoyed at his return with Diana openly questioning the validity of his identity. Even police detective Simmons scathingly asserts that after six years Neil is sure to be dead, that there are no happy endings for such cases. He works diligently to prove Cameron is not Neil Lacey. When Cougar, a former associate of Pop, threatens the Lacey family, Cameron has to decide whether to blow his cover to save them or not. This book is not for the squeamish. There are graphic references to mental, physical, and sexual abuse of young boys. The author has done a good job of getting into the mindset of a victim of perpetual abuse. The plot is fairly realistic with believable characters. The minor flaw dealing with Cameron/Neil's assimilation back into the Lacey household does not detract substantially from the novel's credibility. Even at the end of the book, all issues are not resolved, causing the reader to wish there were another chapter or two.
(Realistic fiction; Mystery; Child abuse, kidnapping, serial killers, mistaken identity, murder, young adult, YA) Anderson, Kevin J. and Rebecca Moesta. Crystal Doors. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2006. (292 pages) Anderson and Moesta create a unique and intriguing world in this opening novel of their new fantasy series. Elantya is an artificial island built on a planet completely covered with an ocean populated by a wide variety of creatures ranging from highly intelligent anemones to giant squids, sea serpents, and a hostile, humanoid species of amphibians called merlons. Elantya was built here because the planet is a sort of hub, a nexus of “crystal doors” that connect the planet with many other worlds across the universe. By mistake, cousins Vic and Gwen are magically transported to this commercial trading center and into the middle of a war between the merlons and the magicians of Elantya. By the end of the novel, we learn that the unresolved war with the merlons is only a piece of a much larger conflict, Vic and Gwen are no closer to discovering their way back to earth, and mysteries about their own origins have surfaced. Despite its slightly episodic nature, this is a great start to a fun new series for middle-school readers.
(Fantasy Fiction, magic, magicians, sages, ocean, mystery, action adventure, cousins, young adult, YA.) Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. Anderson, Laurie Halse. Fever 1793. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2000. (251 pages) Although the Cook family depicted in this novel is not real, the epidemic of yellow fever that struck citizens of Philadelphia in 1793 indeed killed nearly 5000 people, 10 percent of the city's population. In this historical novel, fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. She spends her days avoiding chores and daydreaming. Then disease strikes and Mattie has to assume adult responsibilities to survive. The author meticulously interweaves historical fact, famous quotes, and real people in Mattie's story. The reader can easily identify with the teen's fears and anxieties.
(Hisorical fiction; Yellow fever, Philadelphia, survival, young adult, YA.) Anthony, Piers. The Dastard. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 2000. (296 pages)
If your response to a good pun is "Well, that's just stupid!" then this is hardly the book for you. But if you enjoy wordplay and verbal wit, The Dastard should be an absolute delight. Piers Anthony has written a number of novels set in Xanth, the land of magic peopled by demons, centaurs, humans, zombies, witches, hags, and just about any other magical creature ever imagined. The plot of this one is simple enough. Anomy, like everyone in Xanth, has a magical talent but his is rather non-descript and frankly quite useless in his quest to win the hand of a princess. He trades his soul to the demon D. Test (See? That's just stupid!) for a new spectacular talent. With certain limitations he can go back in time and "unhappen" events. Anomy (now lacking a conscience as well as a soul) immediately sets out to commit as many dastardly deeds as possible. Thus he earns his new name, Dastard. The Dastard and his deeds are a real threat to the future of Xanth, so a number of magical folk are assigned the task of stopping him, namely Becka, girl when she wants to be and dragon when she needs to be, and the three pre-school princesses/sorceresses, Melody, Harmony and Rhythm. That's where the fun begins. If you decide to go for this one, just remember, there's plenty of action in the plot, but the author is interested in playing word games as much as anything else and, if you're plot-oriented, it can drive you crazy.
(Fantasy; Magic, magical creatures, adventure, morality.) Atkins, Catherine. When Jeff Comes Home. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1999. (231 pages) Jeff Hart was kidnapped at knifepoint nearly three years ago. Then one night his abductor dropped Jeff off at his former home. So, the Hart family was reunited and could resume normalcy. Yeah, right. Only in the movies or fairy tales. Jeff's father tried to pretend everything was fine and immediately enrolled him in school, invited his son's former friends over, and in general ignored the need for physical and emotional treatment. Jeff was surly, silent, and uncooperative. Eventually Jeff began to open up, and healing began. Not every aspect of the book is convincing or realistic (how do you go from grade 8 to 11 in one jump; also, what parent wouldn't make an automatic beeline to the emergency room the moment the child walked through the door), but even with flaws is brutally honest and compelling. As a debut novelist, Ms Atkins is impressive with her keen insight into Jeff Hart's psyche.
(Realistic fiction; Kidnapping, child sexual abuse, young adult, YA.) Auch, Mary Jane. Ashes of Roses. New York: Henry Holt, 2002. (246 pages) America has long been viewed as the land of opportunity for both employers and employees. In 1911 five hundred women between the ages of thirteen and twenty-three considered themselves lucky to work eighty hours a week and earn six dollars at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. These young women sewed for hours on end with only a lunch break. The company occupied the top three of ten floors. Doors to the exits were kept locked until quitting time. During this era, there were no safety regulations nor a workers' union. Then the unthinkable happened. A fire fed by thousands of pounds of fabric swept through the upper floors. Within fifteen minutes 146 women were dead. As a result, factory safety efforts were initiated and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union organized. This piece of historical fiction features Irish immigrant Rose Nolan and her sister who decide to remain in New York when the rest of their family has to return to Ireland. Rose, 16, has to find a room for herself and younger sister, a job, and try to adjust to life in a strange, new country. The author does a good job of describing the life of a young immigrant. Everything builds up to the fire at the factory where Rose and her sister work. However, the book just seems to stop within 24 hours of the fire. Naturally, that was disappointing. For history buffs, though, this novel is still a good read.
(Historical Fiction; Triangle Shirtwaist Company - fire; Irish Americans, immigration, labor unions, labor movements, factory work, young adult, YA.) Avi. The Secret School. New York: Harcourt, 2001. (153 pages) In 1925, 14-year-old Ida Bidson is a young woman with a plan. She will pass the eighth grade exit exam so she can attend high school in order to become a teacher and escape the harsh life as a sheep rancher in remote Colorado. Unfortunately Miss Fletcher, the teacher, must leave when her mother has a stroke. Since it's April, the head of the school board dismisses school for the rest of the year rather than find a replacement teacher. Not desirous of repeating nearly a year of school, the students vote to continue their lessons in secret at the school with Ida as their teacher. Naturally the children cannot keep a secret this enormous for eight weeks. Avi accurately depicts the hard life for children and adults in the 1920's, the few career choices for women, and the value of education. Anyone who enjoys this book will also find the writings of Jesse Stuart quite satisfying.
(Historical fiction; Regionalism, one-room schools, gender roles, education, Colorado, young adult, YA.) Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. New York: Orchard Books, c1990. (210 pages) This utterly absurd sea tale is great fun, and I should think very popular with middle schoolers. Avi has a deft hand with character as he paints the wizened and kind Zachariah, the stout-hearted Charlotte, and the malevolent and treacherous Captain Jaggery in careful detail. The minor characters are sketched in with broad, bold strokes and the narrative is well fleshed with dialog. The plot is artful, twisting and turning with sudden reversals and mysterious moments as well as high action and exciting sequences. However, the events really approach the preposterous as Charlotte, among other things, learns to climb the ship's rigging in a matter of days, a task a cabin boy would spend whole voyages in apprenticeship before attempting. But, it's all in fun, and I could forgive, except that the characters of the parents become utterly stereotyped and foolish in the end, which is quite unlike the image Charlotte projects of her father throughout the story. I'm all for a little fantasy, but the final events of the novel are a bit over the top. It's the sort of thing that happens in historical fiction when we project the attitudes of the present onto the settings of the past. (See also Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman)
(Historical fiction; Loyalty, justice, social position, self-reliance, identity, feminism, ships, sea travel, young adult, YA.) Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, c1975. (139 pages) This quirky, offbeat little fairy tale is utterly charming and important as well. It deals with a young girl, Winnie, and her unexpected opportunity to choose whether to die or to live forever. Winnie is kidnapped just as she is about to drink from a spring in the woods behind her home. Her kidnappers explain that they had to do it to save her from drinking the water, which would have stopped her aging right where she was. She would never have grown a moment older, and nothing would ever have harmed her. Immortality, here on earth would have been hers. They impress on her the importance of keeping the spring's secret, in order to spare others the horror they live with - the horror of living without aging. Now Winnie must decide, and it's not as easy to decide as one might think. This is a very nice story, appropriate for fourth grade and up. It's very useful in its positive portrayal of death as a natural part of life, not to be desired, but to be accepted as a destiny that will come when it will come. You can't have life without death, the wise Tuck tells us.
(Fantasy; Circle of life, coming of age, acceptance of death, children's literature.) Beatty, Patricia. Who Comes With Cannons? New York: Morrow Junior Books, c1992. (186 pages) There is something disturbing about this book. Its cover purports deep angst, but what I found inside was a lack of passion that made it one of the thinnest, and undoubtedly the least impressive of the YA books I've read. But there's something more than disappointment here. Tabitha Ruth, or Truth as she is called, comes to live with her Bardwell cousins in North Carolina just before the Civil War breaks out and just after her mother dies of TB and her father goes to California to do the same, which he does early on. Truth discovers that her Quaker brethren and cousins operate a station on the Underground Railroad. She becomes involved in it, helping to rescue an escaped slave. Eventually, her cousins use the same route to escape conscription by the Confederacy, but get caught. One ends up wounded and returns to hide at home. The other is held in a Federal prison camp and the bulk of the action of the narrative involves Truth in a journey to upstate New York by way of President Lincoln's office to free him and return home with him through the secret railroad. The disturbing thing is the blandness of it all. The events seem utterly perfunctory, as if they simply were filled in on an outline and then fleshed out to a prescribed depth. Character development, too, is thin and almost uncaring, worse, formulaic. This is like a great novel that's been abstracted and then gutted to fulfill requirements of length and complexity. I get the feeling it was ordered by a publisher and fulfilled by the author, with just the right amount of research and far too little passion. It feels like a calculated market scheme which doesn't work very well at all. In the canon of adolescent literature, this is puffed wheat to a rib-eye. When Shabanu, Roar of Thunder Hear My Cry, Dicey's Song and Goodnight, Mr. Tom ended, I missed those people. When this book ended, I forgot the characters immediately. It was like they never were there. Perhaps the book was written to be inoffensive to all, pre-packaged pabulum for the masses, like a meal at Friday's; maybe it's a victim of pre-publication censorship. In any case, it's harmless to children; it's probably without benefit, too.
(Historical fiction; Feminism, family, loyalty, faith, courage, young adult, YA.) Blakeslee, Mermer. In Dark Water. New York: Ballantine Books, 1998. (292 pages) Although the main character is eleven, this disturbing novel is for adults. Set in 1958, the Buell family falls apart when David, the eighteen-year-old son is killed in a motorcycle accident. The mother goes into a deep depression, becoming obsessive-compulsive and then abusive toward Dorrie. Eventually Dorrie walks eight miles to take refuge with the Tappen family. The book details the horrors of the treatment of the mentally ill by heavy sedation and electric shock -- typical of the time period. An uneasy ending leaves the reader with more questions than answers.
(Realistic Fiction; Depression, death, mental illness.) Booth, Martin. Doctor Illuminatus. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2001. (173 pages) When Pip and Tim begin investigating Rawne Barton, the English country estate they’ve just moved into with their parents, they very quickly discover that the wall separating their rooms is extraordinarily thick and apparently conceals a secret compartment. No sooner does Tim knock three times on the hollow wall than this unique and utterly captivating adventure begins. Tim’s three knocks are answered and he and his sister immediately become acquainted with Sebastian, the alchemist’s son, Dr. Illuminatus. Sebastian appears to be an adolescent, but he is actually centuries old and has the ability to remain suspended in time, to hibernate, if you will, until such a time as he is needed to counter the evil machinations of de Loudeac, an evil alchemist who was his father’s nemesis. Tim and Pip’s attempts to aid Sebastian while keeping their inquisitive mother at bay are equal parts tension and fun. This is a wonderful, charming fantasy that belongs in every young adult collection. Equally suited for middle school readers and teens, the characters are engaging, the action swift, and the style accessible yet sophisticated. Mr. Booth has created a fabulous beginning for a very promising series, and I eagerly look forward to his next installment, Soul Stealer, due out in the spring of 2005.
(Fantasy Fiction: alchemy, sorcery, England, siblings, adventure.) Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. New York: Delacorte Press, 2001. (291 pages) A pair of jeans purchased in a thrift shop is passed around one summer among friends Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen. Although the girls are separated for the first time in 15 years, the jeans "witness" the teens' adventures and keep the strong bond of friendship alive. This first novel by Brashares is impressive in the way she mixes humor and friendship with serious issues such as the remarriage of a parent, death of a friend, and first love. Although there is closure for each of the girls, it is uneasy and open-ended -- not the happily-ever-after type. The sequel is The Second Summer of the Sisterhood.
(Teen fiction; Coming of age, relationships, friendship, jeans, young adult, YA.) Brooks, Martha. Being With Henry. New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, 2000. (216 pages) Laker Wyatt doesn't like his new domineering step-father. The teen finally comes to blows with him and surprisingly, his mother tosses Laker out. Drifting aimlessly in a nearby town, Laker is taken in by eighty-three-year-old Henry who is a lonely, crochety widower. This is a story of an elderly man dealing with his physical and mental decline and a teen's coming of age. The plot is a bit far-fetched, stretching one's credibility at the tidy ending. The book is a mediocre read at best.
(Teen fiction; Old age, coming of age, stepfathers, young adult, YA.) Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000. (569 pages) This isn't detective fiction in the classical sense of the term, but what else would you call a novel that begins with a horrific murder and charges its main character with solving the crime and preventing further mayhem by its perpetrators? Fr. Leonardo Vetra, renowned nuclear physicist, has been murdered and a strange ambigram reading "Illumanti" branded on his chest. Maximillian Kohler, head of the CERN nuclear research center where Fr. Vetra worked, immediately calls in not Interpol, not Scotland Yard, but Dr. Robert Langdon, well known professor of art history at Harvard University. This is a roller coaster action/adventure with the pace of a runaway freight train. Langdon is awakened by an early morning call from Max Kohler and the rest of the novel is akin to falling down an elevator shaft. Chapters are short and the action relentless. The novel is packed full of detail about art and architecture in Rome and Vatican City and Mr. Brown assures us that those aspects are accurately represented. The structure of the narrative is rather more like a film in words than a novel, and much of the plot is improbable if not downright unbelievable, but it's great fun from start to finish.
(Detective Fiction; Art, architecture, Rome, Vatican City, action, Catholicism, Illuminati.) Cadnum, Michael. Zero at the Bone. New York: Viking, 1996. (218 pages) Family relationships are dynamic rather than static. A first child entering kindergarten can produce a traumatic ripple as percussive as the last child leaving the nest. So, it is possible to envision the impact that the disappearance of a child would have on each individual within the structure of the family. Such is the case when 17-year-old, recent high school graduate Anita Buchanan doesn't come home from work one evening. As weeks pass with no definitive answers, her parents and brother Cray struggle to cope with dread, uncertainty, and loss of closure. The style, tone, and pace of the book augment the plot. Things move in such slow motion that the reader wants to nudge and prod the somnambulistic characters into forward motion.
(Realistic fiction; Missing persons, family relationships, young adult, YA.) Cain, James M. The Postman Always Rings Twice. New York: Vintage Books, 1934). (116 pages) This short classic novel made an explosive entrance when it debuted. It was immediately banned in Boston for its violent and erotic content. Since then, it has earned a spot on the top 100 American novels of the twentieth century list and also served as a model for Albert Camus's The Stranger. The plot involves a roaming, amoral young man who becomes involved with a former beauty queen. Unfortunately, she is married. The ensuing intricacies involving murder schemes, blackmail attempts, and eventual arrests provide a bleak view of mainstream Americans in the 1930's. Surprisingly, this black romance is a quick yet thought-provoking read. The diction of the setting was not difficult to understand, distracting nor unappealing. It is on the same level of classic as Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.
(Realistic fiction; Murder, adultery, violence, 1930's in America, film.) Card, Orson Scott. Ender's Game. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1977. (357 pages) Andrew Wiggin is a Third, a third child. On the future Earth where Andrew is growing up, couples are not allowed to have a third child, but the government is looking for a special child for a special purpose and Andrew's older brother and sister were so promising, so close to what they needed, that Andrew's parents were allowed to have him, a Third. By the age of six, it is apparent Ender (Andrew) is special and he is invited to the I.F. (International Fleet) battle school to be trained for a command position in Earth's impending war against the Buggers, an alien race whom Earth forces narrowly defeated when they last invaded. From there this tightly plotted, fascinating novel races to its surprising conclusion. Orson Scott Card's characters are compelling, especially Ender, and the flat, undecorated narrative style adds to the tension of this taut adventure. This is a great read, difficult to put down, and eminently satisfying in the end. Four novels follow Ender's Game in this series; Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind and Shadow of the Hegemon.
(Science fiction; Action / adventure, military, genocide, space, aliens, young adult, YA.) Card, Orson Scott. Speaker for the Dead. Return to Index Clark, Mary Higgins. Before I Say Good-bye. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. (332 pages) An intricate plot full of serpentine twists and turns plus multiple players, each with a motive or piece of information critical to the solution of this whodunit, keep the reader captivated until the end. Nell MacDermott, granddaughter of former congressman Cornelius MacDermott, quarrels with her husband Adam Cauliff over her dicision to run for her grandfather's vacated seat. Hours later, Adam and three others are killed when his new cabin cruiser explodes. For the rest of the novel, Nell and a cast of others work to solve the murders. The book is fast-paced and a nail-biter to the end. However, there are nearly a dozen main characters which makes it tricky to keep them all straight, even at the end.
(Detective fiction; Murder, mystery, suspense.) Cohn, Rachel. Gingerbread. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2002. (172 pages) With a name like Cyd Charisse (after a famous dancer/actress), you know this teen is bound to have problems -- lots of problems. You quickly learn that Cyd has been kicked out of her expensive private school, lives with her mother and step-father (also named Sid, called Sid-Dad) and two half-siblings, has a coffee shop boyfriend named Shrimp who loves to surf, does community service at an assisted-living facility, and totes around a rag doll named Gingerbread -- definitely weird behavior for a 16-year-old. When Cyd's mother becomes frustrated to the max, she sends her to New York to spend three weeks with her biological father. There, Cyd has to come to terms with the fact that her "fantasy" dad is nothing like the "real-life" workaholic, womanizer with two grown children she comes to live with. You sense that the three weeks away from home in New York could be critical to Cyd's maturation process; however, the book ends rather poorly so you don't really know. I can't say the book was very well written. Cohn seemed to have a cavalier attitude about drugs, alcohol, and sex in the teen setting. Her attempt at modern slang often fell short of ridiculous. This book is a mindless read that really doesn't go anywhere.
(Realistic Fiction; teens, abortion, relationships, family problems, drugs and alcohol, young adult, YA.) Collier, James Lincoln and Christopher Collier. My Brother Sam is Dead. New York: Four Winds Press, c1974. (211 pages) Tim Meeker is a fourteen-year-old boy whose older brother Sam has gone off to fight with the Continental Army against the crown and its army of "Lobsterbacks." Tim lives in a predominantly Tory community and his father is opposed to the war. He isn't particularly pro-British, just anti-war. Tim becomes increasingly anti-war, as first his father dies on a British prison ship after being arrested by colonials for selling beef to the British, and then Sam is executed by the Continental troops for stealing cattle from his own family. It is terrifyingly ironic that a man might be shot for stealing his own property, and that is just what happens to Sam Meeker in this novel set during the American Revolutionary War. It would be terribly affecting, too, if suspension of disbelief made the details of the tragedy somehow a little more plausible, and for me that hurts the novel badly. I don't mind fate dealing the Meekers one more cruel blow, but I need to be able to believe in it. The authors obviously did a great deal of research and the book is full of much accurate historical detail, but in the appendices they hedge away from saying that a man was shot in these identical circumstances, but only that a man was shot and that he served as the model for Sam. I would feel a lot better about the book if they assured me that a man was shot in exactly these circumstances for these reasons, in spite of the glaring ease with which justice could have been done. Another weakness that shows occasionally is that the narrative becomes a vehicle for the research rather than the research enriching the narrative. The book has some strengths. It has a nice balance between patriotism and Tory leanings, with a genuine confusion and indecision reigning in the protagonist's mind. The characters are well drawn and the theme is an interesting one. The portrayal of life in time of war is uniquely realistic and valuable reading for a unit on the period. I liked the book, but the final plotting seems contrived, and that sort of pat portrayal of an uncaring administration, swatting the lives of individuals for the benefit of the whole in the long run because they just haven't the time to get it right always bothers me. (see also Dangerous Minds)
(Historical fiction, pacifism, coming of age, family, responsibility, American Revolution, young adult, YA.) Conan, Carolyn. What Jamie Saw. New York: Puffin Books, 1995. (126 pages) Nine-year-old Jamie had a baby sister, Nin, who often cried. One night step-dad Van picked up the crying infant and hurled her like a football across the room. Fortunately, Jamie's mom was in the right place at the right time and caught the baby. Jamie's mother quickly bundled up the children, tossed a few belongings into her old car, and spirited them away to a friend's place. Jamie narrates the saga of the family's struggles to put their old life behind. The author successfully portrays the thoughts, diction, and actions of a 9-year-old.
(Realistic fiction; Child abuse, domestic violence, family, young adult, YA.)
Recommended for: middle school to early high school Conroy, Pat. The Prince of Tides. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1986. (664 pages) If you've seen Barbara Streisand's movie based on this book, you know it includes the story of Tom Wingo, a thoroughly Southern man, and his affair with Susan Lowenstein, a New York psychiatrist. While that is almost the entire substance of the movie, it is only the framework of the novel. Tom's wife, Sallie, informs him that she has been having an affair with a fellow physician and may leave Tom to marry him. On that same night, Tom learns that his famous sister and poet has, once again, attempted suicide and he must go to New York for an indefinite period to attempt to aid in her recovery. Savannah refuses to see him, but Dr. Lowenstein insists that anything Tom can tell her about their childhood will help in her treatment of Savannah. Thus the tortured, grotesque and strangely comic story of the lives of Tom, Luke, and Savannah Wingo is told in flashbacks along with the realtime story of Tom's struggle to restore himself and to choose between returning to the Carolinas to his wife and children and embracing his love for Susan Lowenstein. The prose is beautiful and lush with imagery and the plot well crafted as the events of the present are intricately woven with and enlightened by the past. Full of psychological darkness and waking nightmare as well as all the eccentric comedy of the South, this is an emminently satisfying novel.
(Realistic fiction, psychology, the South, mental illness, abuse, abusive relationships, film.) Cormier, Robert. Tunes for Bears to Dance to. New York: Delacorte Press, 1992. (101 pages) Henry discovered where the mysterious old man who lived in the insane asylum next door went every day; he went to a craft center where he worked at his art, woodcarving. He has built a complete scale model of his village in Germany, which was used as a concentration camp by the Nazis. The old man, Mr. Levine, had lost his entire family in the holocaust, and now he has rebuilt his village, complete with tiny figures of the actual people who had lived there. His work wins an award, and is to be displayed at city hall. Henry's employer, a grocer who abuses his wife and beats his daughter, attempts to coerce Henry into destroying Mr. Levine's work of art. Henry now must choose to act in his own interests, or according to his conscience. Dark and haunting, simple and direct, the story is a beautifully crafted analogy for what actually happened to Mr. Levine's village. Men who hated, small petty men, had used fear to coerce people to engage in evil, and when too few stood up to them, their power nearly overwhelmed the world. Mr. Cormier's development of character is outstanding, and his integration of tone and mood to create theme make him one of the outstanding writers in this or any genre.
(Realistic fiction; Power, evil, courage, hate, prejudice, survival,young adult, YA.) Dean, Zoey. The A-List: a Novel. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2003. (243 pages) MEEE-ooowwwwwwww!!! It's saucer-o-milk time at 90210. When Anna Percy, the gorgeous and perfectly proper daughter of old New England money, shows up at the wedding of "a-list" celebrity Jackson Sharpe on the arm of Ben Birnbaum, whom everybody who is anybody at Beverly Hills High is crushing on, the claws come out and the action is swift, vicious, and very well dressed. Anna left Manhattan to live with her estranged father in Beverly Hills and try to introduce a little adventure and spirit into her tradition-bound life, so when she met Ben on the plane, she could hardly turn down his invitation to attend the Jackson Sharpe wedding, the social event of recent memory. Little did Anna know just how eventful her evening with his classmates would be, or just how her evening with him would develop. Under all the expensive cars and designer labels that festoon the novel's characters, this is still a story about everyday teens dealing with the usual concerns - sex, alcohol, drugs, parents, relationships, etc. Some good character development and a no-nonsense narrative style make this a better book than the usual teen romance.
(Romance; coming-of-age, sexuality, relationships, family, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, young adult, YA.) Dean, Zoey. Girls on Film: an A-List Novel. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2004. (250 pages) If you enjoyed The A-List and were hoping for more of the same, you won't be disappointed by Girls on Film. Zoey Dean's newest "a-list" novel picks up right where the first left off, in fact just days later. All the same characters are back; Cammie Shepherd remains Anna's nemesis, Dee continues in her endearing but ditzy way, Ben is as attractive and as disturbing as ever, while Adam offers the solid, safe, "nice-guy" that Anna came to California NOT to date. Susan, Anna's co-dependent sister, and Sam Sharpe undergo significant character development as Cammie uses Susan against Anna and Sam finds herself strangely attracted to Anna and inspired to, shudder, moments of nobility. The action of the narrative centers around a school project, a film that Sam and Anna are making together about themes in The Great Gatsby, but the central question of the novel is the same: What to do about Ben?
(Romance; coming-of-age, sexuality, relationships, family, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, young adult, YA.)
Recommended for: advanced middle school to high school Dessen, Sarah. Someone Like You. New York: Viking, 1998. (281 pages) An unlikely pair, Scarlett and Halley have been best friends for years. Scarlett is popular and flamboyant at school yet acts like the parent at home, trying to keep her nail tech, dates-any-man-who-walks mother in line. Halley, the quiet sidekick, has a popular, radio-talk-show-host dad who frequently mentions her embarrassing childhood escapades on the air and a therapist mom whose books are on display in the school's counseling office. Then during their junior year, the friendship is tested and the balance shifts when Scarlett becomes pregnant and Halley becomes the stronger one in supporting her friend's decision to keep the baby. Also, Halley pulls away from her controlling mother and deals with her first serious relationship. The author does a good job of depicting teenage girls in the way they think, act, talk, and interact.
(Realistic fiction, pregnancy, unmarried mothers, teenage friendship, coming of age, relationships, young adult, YA.) Dickinson, Peter. A Bone From a Dry Sea. New York: Laurel-Leaf Books, 1992. (199 pages) Cleverly written, chapters alternate between the narration of Li and Vinny. Li is a female humanoid who lived four million years ago in Africa. She describes her life and its changes as her tribe adapts to geological shifts. Vinny is visiting her father who is searching for fossil remains on an archeological dig at the same site where Li and her people had lived. If you enjoy books about prehistoric man or archeology, this is a must read. In fact, you'll hate for this fascinating story to end.
(Historical Fiction, prehistoric man, archeology, children of divorce, British lit., young adult, YA.) Fox, Paula. Monkey Island. New York: Orchard Books, 1991. (152 pages) Ms. Fox has a remarkable ability to reveal character in simple but powerful strokes; the truths in her work stand sharply and clearly without the clutter of purpled prose and the preachy tones that destroy credibility. This story is founded on strong characters and a stark realism of setting that serve well its themes of the devastating condition of homelessness, especially for children, the true meaning of home, coming of age, adulthood, and perhaps most importantly, the nature of forgiveness and the idea that forgiveness itself isn't really enough - we have to move beyond forgiveness to a place where we can reestablish broken relationships. The plot is actually a fairly simple one. Clay's father loses his job, then abandons his son and pregnant wife. They eventually end up in a public housing situation. Clay's mother abandons him one night and he takes to the streets. The rest of the book deals with Clay's experiences on the street and the eventual resolution of his situation.
(Realistic fiction, adulthood, survival, home, relationships, parents, young adult, YA.) Fox, Paula. One-Eyed Cat. New York: Doubleday, 1984. (216 pages) This is a very quiet book about a very sincere young man who commits, in his own eyes, a grave transgression; he takes the BB gun which his father, the local minister, has forbidden him to touch and sneaks out with it one night. He just wants to fire it once. He does fire it, at a sudden movement he sees in the shadows. Afterwards, feeling much disturbed, he secrets the gun in the attic once again. The next day he and an elderly neighbor see a cat with one recently damaged eye and he concludes that this cat is the victim of his irresponsible action. Not a great deal happens in this simply plotted story, but much is there under the surface as Ned attempts to forgive himself or, at least, to gain the forgiveness of another. He has a few other struggles as well with his mother's invalid condition, his neighbor's infirmity, and the housekeeper's strange sort of bullying. The plot resolution is the resolution of an internal struggle which makes the ending a bit difficult for action-oriented readers, but the characters are endearing and the mood interesting.
(Realistic Fiction; coming of age, invalid, guilt, family, New York, forgiveness, elderly, reconciliation, young adult, YA.) Frank, Hillary. Better Than Running at Night. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. (263 pages) Ladybug Yelinsky was beginning her freshman year at NECAD, New England College of Art and Design, (nicknamed nekked by her dad) determined to leave behind her loner high school days. She had been voted "Most Unique" because she favored dark clothing and make-up and showcased her artistic talent through macabre, bloody, and violent paintings. It had been years since anyone had called her by her real name, Ladybug, since she'd morphed it into Ellie. She'd been given the name allegedly because her parents had been "tripping" hippies who both coincidentally had had a hallucination about ladybugs on an April first. They hadn't known each other at the time. But, you'll find out more about this when you read the book. Ellie becomes moderately popular and has a short-term relationship with a boy she believes could be her soul mate; others considered him a scumbag in the first degree. Most of the book deals with Ellie's first year at NECAD and her relationships. This book was quite interesting and well-written. It was realistic and didn't end with a happy-ever-after. The author was knowledgeable about art and art school since she herself had attended one. The only quirky thing about the book is its anachronistic setting. If Ladybug's parents had been hippies, then the setting should have been no later than 1990 and that would be stretching it. While no date is given in the novel, the reader senses it should be more recent. The plot and theme are timeless and nothing in the story dates it but a young adult reader in this genre would not identify with it. I definitely would recommend this book, though. It's realistic yet funny, too.
(Realistic Fiction; art schools, interpersonal relationships, sexual relationships, young adult, YA.) Frank, Lucy. Oy, Joy. New York: Aladdin, 2001. (277 pages) This young adult novel dealt with several plots and sub-plots in the life of the fifteen-year-old main character, Joy. The major ones include adjusting to high school, getting a boyfriend, the break-up of a childhood friendship, dealing with a bratty, pre-adolescent brother (and having to share a room with him and his pet mice), and finally, the biggest one: Uncle Max coming to live with Joy and her family. The characters are well developed. You feel within a few pen strokes and conversations that you know what Uncle Max looks like, how bad his rarely bathed dog smells, and the emotional turmoil of Joy when her friend Maple abandons their friendship. The book moves along at a fast clip with nary a dull moment whether you are laughing at the dog's antics or cringing during the family arguments. You definitely don't have to be a young adult to enjoy this book.
(Realistic Fiction; Coming of age, uncles, friendship, family life, interpersonal relationships,young adult, YA.) Gaiman, Neil. American Gods. New York: HaperCollins Publishers, 2001. (588 pages) What if there were many gods? What if, in fact, all the gods people had ever created still existed but had simply fallen out of favor? What if the old gods and the new gods went to war against each other? That's the world situation Shadow finds himself in when he is released from prison. Of course, he doesn't know this immediately. He only knows his wife Laura is dead, and his best friend Robbie who owned the Muscle Farm and had offered him a job after his release is dead, too. That leaves Shadow with no wife and job, just a funeral to attend. But the mysterious stranger sitting next to him on the plane home, who calls himself Mr. Wednesday, insists he has a job for Shadow, a very lucrative, legal job, one an ex-con can't afford to pass up. Shadow finally accepts Mr. Wednesday's offer and they seal the deal with a draught of mead; thus begins Shadow's strange, headlong plunge into the murky and mysterious world of American gods and their impending conflict. Shadow is a delight and the characters he meets are always intriguing if not always endearing. The plot twists and turns, discovered in bits and pieces, and the final revelation is quite satisfying. Mr. Gaiman is a noted writer of comix, most notably the Sandman series, and this novel reads very much like a comic book. Fun and compelling, the book is not recommended for those who might be offended by occasional, strong sexual content.
(Fantasy; adventure, mythology, Wisconsin, mystery.) Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. New York: Harper Collins, 2002. (162 pages) This supernatural novel is reminiscent of The Twilight Zone. Coraline, whose name is constantly mistaken for Caroline, is a precocious child who likes to explore and go on adventures. She doesn't seem to belong to her parents who both work computer-related jobs from home. When the family moves into an old, three-story house in England which has been converted into "flats" (apartments), Coraline busily investigates the extensive grounds and neighbors -- 2 elderly retired theatre performers and an equally creaky former circus performer and trainer. Eventually she finds the "door" into a mirror house with another mother and father who at first glance seem identical to Coraline's own parents. The rest of the book features Coraline's struggle to free the souls of children who have been trapped in this world for years, locate her real and now-missing parents, and defeat her "other" mother enabling her return to her normal existence. Gaiman is an eclectic writer bouncing from comix to mature young adult, to children's literature. Although skeptical when I saw this book was recommended for ages 8 and up, I did not find it to be a childish novel. This would be perfect for the younger advanced reader for whom it is often difficult to find a suitable theme on his/her level. Yet, adults would enjoy it also as a change from their normal selections.
(Fantasy; supernatural, adventure, theater, family relationships) Giff, Patricia Reilly. Nory Ryan's Song. New York: Delacorte Press, 2000. (148 pages) Between 1845 and 1852 more than one million of the eight million people in Ireland died from starvation or illness during what has been labelled the Great Potato Famine. The potatoes would turn black instead of maturing, rottening in the fields, becoming inedible. To make things worse, the English rejoiced in the misfortune because they wanted the Irish land for sheep grazing. If a person couldn't pay his taxes, his house was demolished in front of his eyes and his property reclaimed for England. In this story 12-year-old Nory Ryan relates how families were separated and uprooted. Eventually three million Irish immigrated to the United States. Few American people in modern times could imagine trying to subsist on seaweed soup or one egg a day much less trying to find the courage to survive. Although classified as historical fiction, this book is extremely realistic and well-written.
(Historical fiction; Ireland, famine, brothers and sisters, survival, emigration and immigration, young adult, YA.) Giff, Patricia Reilly. Pictures of Hollis Woods. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2002. (166 pages) When you are a Newbery Honor Book winner, it clearly shows in the writing. Pictures of Hollis Woods hooks you before the end of the first page. Never mind that the main characters are a twelve-year-old orphan and a senile octogenarian and you are probably a reader somewhere in between. You are immediately drawn into the innovative style of writing. Giff opens every "chapter" with the description of a picture drawn by Hollis, followed by an explanation of its significance to her life. You don't know exactly what Hollis looks like. It doesn't seem important. But, you do know how she has lived her life and how she feels. Hollis is a "runner." Abandoned when she was one hour old without even a blanket around her, Hollis bounces from foster home to foster home. After a while, she just moves on. When she's 12, she finds a family who wants her and she wants them, but then the accident happens and she runs again. Hollis ends up with Josie, an artistic, fun-loving, erratic yet senile lady. She immediately bonds with the elderly lady and stays around to keep her from being put into a home. There's more to the plot, but the key to everything is Hollis' natural artistic talent -- called a gift by everyone she comes in contact with. The question is, can she look at her pictures and see the truth that they reveal. A good book for a quick read, yet not a fluff book.
(Realistic Fiction; orphans, foster care, elderly, aging, young adult, YA.) Sticks and Stones. Custer, Washington: Orca Book Publishers, 2002. (86 pages) Jujube was excited to go to a school dance with Brent. When he lured her out to his car on the pretense of getting a piece of equipment for the band, she thought nothing of going. She didn't mind making out a little while, but refused to go further. That was the night her reputation changed. Being seen getting out of the backseat of a car with a boy nicknamed "Warp Speed" now earned her snickers, snide remarks, and graffiti in every bathroom stall. Over the next few weeks, she and other recipients of bad reputations carry out a plan to get their good reputations back. Although set in Canada, this story could have taken place anywhere in the world. The author did a good job of depicting both high school bullies (reputation breakers) and victims. This is a quick and easy read.
(Realistic Fiction; Canada, high school, romance, teen conflict, young adult, YA.) Greene, Bette. Summer of My German Soldier. New York: Bantam Books, c1973. (199 pages) Among the many strengths here is the voice of the narrator, Patricia Bergen. It is unique, clear, genuine, and captivating. It is the key to character, and character is another great strength in the work. The portrayal of Patty, Anton, the escaped German POW that she shelters and loves, and Ruth, the African-American housekeeper, are full and thorough. Patty's parents and grandparents are clearly drawn through Patty's impressions of them and the snips of conversations she hears, as well as their individual actions. The townspeople are fully believable in the background, and even very minor characters like the deputy, Mr. Grimes, and Ms. Laud, the matron of the reform school, are drawn in great detail, mostly through dialog. The plot is quite original, relating the story of a 12-year-old girl, daughter of an abusive dry goods merchant, whose self-esteem is boosted when she falls in love with a German POW. She sees him escaping and leads him to her garage hideout where she feeds him, gives him clothes, and, after a few days, watches him leave. But she knows in her heart that he loves her too, genuinely loves her for who she is. The idea that she is a good person is new to her, and stays with her like a life-raft. The story is a very nice twist on the Anne Frank plot; Jewish girl aids and abets escaped Nazi. The panoply of prejudices that feed into it, against Anton for being a German, against Patty and her family for being Jewish in a small Arkansas town, and against Ruth for being African-American, work to justify the events and to motivate the characters psychologically. There does not seem to be a single contrived moment in the narrative. Plot, character, setting, are worked into an organic whole from which theme grows naturally, and truth simply stands clear. The complex social organizations we find ourselves a part of often twist and corrupt the people that we are underneath. Love can save us, love can save the world, but first you have to know that you're good inside. This is one fine piece of work.
(Historical fiction, child abuse, racism, nationalism, self-realization, young adult, YA.) Hanson, Joyce. Which Way Freedom. New York: Walker and Company, 1986. (120 pages) Private Obidiah Jennings, a soldier in a black regiment of the Union army is awaiting the imminent attack of Confederate forces when he starts to remember how he arrived at this moment. His mind takes him back over the course of his life, and this memory comprises most of the book. He remembers being sold away from his mother at the age of ten, working for John and Wilson Jennings on a tobacco farm in the Carolinas. He recalls the beginning of the war and his escape which first separated him from the young boy, Jason, and eventually from the girl Easter, with whom he had formed a surrogate family on the Jennings' farm. His joining the Union army after abandoning a search for his mother is recounted, and finally the battle is ensued and Obi finds himself among the few survivors. This is a story with enough tension and action built into the plot to hold the attention of most readers, and plenty of worthwhile thematic material to deliver via that vehicle. Each chapter opens with a quote from an historical document, and it is obvious that the author did her research. However, much of the book is told in dialogue and the author uses what is perhaps a genuine slave dialect, dropping most helping verbs and using only nominative pronouns. This may or may not be authentic, but it becomes tiresome, and may turn off some readers. The black and various white dialects used in Huckleberry Finn strike me as more genuine, but they are also more difficult to interpret.
(Cross cultural fiction; Freedom, prejudice, friendship, loyalty, facing reality, African Americans, Civil War) Harrison, Lisi. The Clique. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2004. (220 pages) Maybe the worst thing for Claire Lyons when her parents moved from Orlando, FL, to Westchester, NY, wasn’t the cold New England winters; maybe it was the fact that her family moved into the guesthouse of her father’s obscenely wealthy friend until they could afford their own home. The situation is made a lot worse by the presence of Massie Block, the outrageously spoiled daughter in the main house who is also the ringleader of the coolest clique in the seventh grade at OCD, the elite girls’ school Claire attends. Massie and her friends don’t exactly welcome Claire with open arms – in fact, hostility is open and vicious and as Claire strikes back, she vacillates between longing to be part of Massie’s circle of friends and attempting to make friends of her own. The novel doesn’t do a lot to explore this internal conflict and is mostly taken up with the overt conflict between Massie and Claire. At times, I had trouble liking ANY of the characters in the book. Still, there is a nice moment of near reconciliation at the end of the story, but the girls end up maintaining the status quo which, however dissatisfying that might be to those who seek a more didactic resolution, rings true.
(Realistic Fiction; New York, friendships, relocating, private school, young adult, YA.) Henkes, K. Words of Stone. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1992. (152 pages) Two things stand out about this book; the characters, and the images. The author tells the story using the third person omniscient viewpoint, alternately concentrating on first one of the main characters, and then the other. In the course of the narration, the secondary characters are extremely well developed also. The story centers around two young people, a boy and a girl, both of whom are struggling with family issues. The boy, Blaze, is a very frightened child. He is frightened of the dark, of dogs, of Ferris wheels, of the Fourth of July, of the nightmares that haunt his sleep. Blaze's mother died of cancer when he was five, and the following summer he was badly burned in an electrical fire while he waited in line for the Ferris wheel. Joselle, the girl, is a very angry child. She is angry with her father who abandoned her, with her mother who leaves her at her grandmother's for the summer so she can spend time with her boyfriend; Joselle's mother has frequently abandoned her emotionally to be with the string of boyfriends who have periodically replaced her in her mother's life. This is a story about how Joselle intentionally hurts Blaze very deeply before she meets him, and then falls in love with him and his family after she gets to know him. It's about how Blaze opens up to and trusts Joselle over the course of a summer, only to be devastated when he learns she was the one who had hurt him. It's a touching and realistic tale about the importance of stable families in children's lives, about the need to forgive and to be forgiven, about the pain and fear and anger that the world is so full of, and the fact that we cannot let our fear and anger overcome us and prevent us from becoming the people we were born to be. The story is crafted with many poignant images, some of which become full-blown symbols. This is a wonderful book, very real and very powerful. The action is not particularly tense, nor is the pace rapid, but the characters and their troubles, and the lyric quality of the story will grasp and inspire sensitive readers.
(Realistic fiction, forgiveness, family, honesty, openness, growth, friendship, young adult, YA.) Holman, Felice. Slake's Limbo. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1974. (117 pages) Aremis Slake is runty and nearsighted. He is a clumsy thief who is allergic to smoke and drugs. Gangs, therefore, hunt and hound Slake for sport. His family consists of an "aunt" who forces him to sleep on a cot in the kitchen and slaps him awake most mornings. His meals consist of whatever leftovers he can scrounge from the fridge or cabinets. One day he goes underground to escape his tormentors yet again and decides not to leave. The 13-year-old stays for 121 days. Slake survives and in a way thrives. The ending catches the reader totally unaware. The plot is intriguing, but Ms. Holman's style elusive and inexact. It is difficult to assess at times whether she is trying to write about a 13-year-old or like one. Regardless of the seesaw prose, the book has won several distinguished awards.
(Realistic fiction, subways, survival, homelessness, gangs, drug use, young adult, YA.) Irwin, Hadley. What About Grandma? New York: Atheneum, 1982. (165 pages) Sixteen-year-old Rhys and her mother, Eve, set out to spend a month at Grandma's. Their mission is to go through her possessions and ready the house for sale. The reason: Grandma had broken her hip in a fall a few months before, and Eve and her brother Dave have decided Grandma will now permanently reside at the nursing home where she has been recuperating. The surprise: Grandma has signed herself out of the nursing home and stubbornly insists on living the rest of her life in her own home. June stretches into late August as the three female generations finally open the lines of communication and thus discover the love that connects them. This book is multi-generation in its appeal. Although narrated by Rhys, it could as easily have been written from Eve's or Grandma's point of view. Despite being published in 1982, there is nothing in the story or description to date it. The themes of first love, parent-child relationships, and aging are universal. A second reading might be warranted to catch clues previously missed that hint at the revelations at the end.
(Realistic fiction, aging, family life, women, old age, first love.) Jordan, Robert. Crossroads of Twilight. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 2003. (680 pages) This, the tenth volume in Robert Jordan's huge ongoing series The Wheel of Time, is by far the most disappointing of the lot. As anyone who has stuck with Mr. Jordan to this point knows, the works are not loosely joined but rather contain a single (though heavily subplotted), massive, linear plot that has now covered somewhere in the vicinity of 8,000 pages. Obviously in a story of that length some forgiveness is inevitably due the author by the readers and we have been forgiving before, especially in volumes seven and eight, but to offer us this after we have waited nearly two years for this installation tests the forebearance of even the most patient. The early volumes of the series each have their own climactic event despite the major plot's continuance. This book, however, is little more than interminable exposition. At this point in the series, there are at least six distinct subplots going and all six are visited in the novel but none of them are forwarded to any significant degree. Characters and complications of events that have been absolutely fascinating previously are dallied with at such length that they are reduced to tedium. Getting to the end of this tome became a mere task. In defense of the author, most of the series has been wonderful and I will certainly read the next installment but I hope this lengthy setup bears some fruit. One gets the feeling in this book that Mr. Jordan is simply delaying the conclusion, the long awaited Tarmon Gaidon, reluctant to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. I hope not because this one was pure lead.
(Fantasy, magic, magical power, tribalism, good vs. evil.) King, Laurie R. The Beekeeper's Apprentice or On the Segregation of the Queen. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994. (347 pages) What a clever book! Imagine Sherlock Holmes, in his early 50's, retired to the countryside apparently to study bees. Then in 1914, a fifteen-year-old woman, newly orphaned, comes to live nearby with her snappish aunt. On a chance encounter, Holmes discovers the highly intelligent young woman. She becomes his apprentice and eventually his partner in solving crimes. From the "editor's preface" through the final page, this book is intriguing. However, it goes without saying that you would have to be an aficionado of Sherlock Holmes to enjoy it. You would assume the author to be British, but instead she is a third-generation Californian. She does a superb job using modern British English. Also, she successfully humanizes Holmes, making him less stodgy than the Doyle version.
(Detective Fiction, Sherlock Holmes, women detectives, England, beekeeping, crime.) Kogawa, Joy. Obasan. New York: Random House Books, 1981. (300 pages) Ms. Kogawa is primarily a poet and that shows clearly in the tones and moods of this almost lyrical novel. Built around flashbacks, the story begins in 1972 with the death of the protagonist's uncle (obasan is the Japanese word for "aunt") and then relates her family's experiences during WWII. These Canadian citizens are stripped of their property and forced to move inland either to work on labor gangs, beet farms, or to live in internment camps. Like the surface of a mountain lake, the narrative is slow and quiet, but rippling events in this novel reflect deep disturbances beneath and the author very successfully conveys the injustice and personal pain inflicted on her people by the wartime and postwar policies of the Canadian government. Some elements of the plot turn out to be blind alleys and the political agenda is occasionally overt, but the characters are well drawn and this is an enjoyable as well as important read. There is a sequel, Itsuka. Poetry by Joy Kogawa has been published in four volumes, The Splintered Moon, A Choice of Dreams, Jericho Road, and Woman in the Woods.
(Historical fiction, World War II, WWII, racism, intolerance, Japanese internment, Canada.) Koller, Jackie French. The Falcon. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1998. (181 pages) Permanently blind in one eye and then temporarily in the other, 17-year-old Luke Carver finally begins to "see" the truth about the cause behind his multitude of accidents, his love-hate relationship with his family, and his low self-respect. Written as journal entries for his junior English class, Luke's revelations are insightful, introspective, conversational, and wonderfully detailed. The author did a good job capturing Luke's angst. While the ending might seem predictable, the reader still wants to turn another page to see if the next chapter of Luke's life develops as expected.
(Realistic fiction, honesty, self-awareness, coming of age, journal, personal narrative, Young Adult, YA.) Lopez, Jack. In the Break. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2006. (192 pages) Juan’s friend Jaimie has issues – lots of them. Ever since his father died and his mother remarried, he and his sister Amber have lived in fear of their abusive stepfather, Frederick. Surfing is Jaimie’s refuge and the activity that binds his close friendship with Juan. When his conflict with his stepfather comes to a head and Jamie beats him into unconsciousness, Juan steals his mother’s car and heads for Mexico with Amber and Jaimie in search of a safe haven for her brother. Once safe in the south, the three begin a surfing odyssey, a search for the perfect wave that ends tragically, as the events that engender it foretell. This is a quiet, angst-ridden novel with a very appealing central character in Juan and a much more bitter than sweet coming-of-age story to tell. It will appeal to older teens and to anyone with a fascination for surfing.
(Coming of Age, surfing, stepfather, Mexico, first love, California, Hispanics.) Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, c1993. (180 pages) Science fiction is a genre full of clever but shallow adventure stories and quirky characters, but every now and then a special work comes along. The Giver is one of those very special works. There is an irritating placidness throughout the opening sections of the narrative, until Jonas and his friends turn twelve and are assigned to training for their adult professions. Jonas is selected to a very special position, Receiver. Soon he learns that the Receiver is the Receiver of Memories, the repository for the collective memory of the human race. The memories are telepathically transmitted to him by the old Receiver, who has now become the Giver. As Jonas' training as the "receiver" is carried out, he begins to perceive the nightmarish organization of the society he lives in and eventually challenges its worth. The ending is ambiguous and I have known it to prompt much discussion. This is a great book for advanced readers, with excellent characters and tone.
(Science fiction/fantasy, community, individuality, identity, compassion, young adult, YA.) Lyon, George Ella. Borrowed Children. New York: Orchard Books, 1988. (154 pages) Amanda's got what her father calls “pencil fever,” by which he means she loves school, but what he doesn't realize is that to her school is an opening to a broader world than the one she knows in Eastern Kentucky's coal country. That's why it's so hard for her to leave school at twelve to take her mother's place for six weeks when she is rendered an invalid by the birth of a new child, the sixth in Mandy's family. She learns a lot about herself and her mother as caretaker of the home, and learns even more on her Christmas trip to Memphis, a reward for filling in while her mother recovers. “The center of things is the kitchen and the cradle...” Amanda's grandmother tells her, but Mandy's not so sure. Memphis offers a chance to see a larger world, and an opportunity to gain a perspective on “centers,” and on her own family history. This is a nicely crafted book, with themes of frugality and frivolity, and some feminism gently but clearly touched. It's a story of coming of age by shouldering burdens beyond one's years. There's some very nice subtleties and images, particularly the quilt image which threads through several times, and the story of the hand-me-downs that end up eventually as braided rugs. Characters are varied and well developed. Tense structure seems a bit odd.
(Realistic fiction, coming of age, self realization, feminism, Kentucky, young adult, YA.) Magorian, Michelle. Goodnight, Mr. Tom. New York: Harper Trophy, 1981. (318 pages) Miss Emilia Thorne had a penchant for Dickens, so all the children suspected her next play would be another Dickens story. I suspect Ms. Magorian has a fondness for him as well which comes through in this very Dickensian tale of a London boy who is evacuated to the rural village of Little Weirwold in 1939. Willie comes to live with Tom Oakley, whom he calls Mr. Tom, the village's reclusive curmudgeon who withdrew from village life some forty years earlier when his beautiful young wife and newborn son died of scarlatina. It is immediately apparent to Tom that Willie's mother abused him; the old man nurses him back to health, mentally and physically. Willie changes his name to Will, learns to read and write, makes many friends and grows in self-confidence until one day, six months later, he is summoned back to London by his mother. There, he finds his mother has a new baby, whom she equally mistreats. The entire cycle starts over and Mr. Tom must rescue Will again, this time from the social system as well as his mother and the injuries she has inflicted. This is a long, detailed story that does not move with much pace, but continually develops its characters in great depth. They are extremely complex and dynamic, psychologically consistent and compelling. The book is less about child abuse than it is about the human need for others in order to achieve complete wellness. Will is healed throughout the book, but Mr. Tom heals himself, too, through his care for Will and his reconnection with the community. A well crafted work that could have difficulty holding the attention of less advanced readers, although the appeal of the characters might be highly effective with a broad audience.
(Historical fiction, child abuse, grief, friendship, community, parenting, World War II, young adult, YA.) Margolin, Phillip. After Dark. New York: Doubleday, 1995. (340 pages) This suspense novel leaves your head spinning as if you just stumbled off a triple roller-coaster ride. Tracy Cavanaugh, a young lawyer, was ecstatic to be hired by Matthew Reynolds, a legendary attorney specializing in death-penalty defenses. She quickly got her feet wet when Prosecutor Abbie Griffen hired Reynolds to defend her on the charge of murdering her estranged husband, an Oregon Supreme Court Justice. The plot was so convoluted and bizarre, it would be hard-pressed for a reader to solve the mystery before Ms Cavanaugh. This was a page-turner, difficult to set aside even briefly. Legalese abounded yet did not overwhelm; thus, the writing style was a fluid blend of fact, investigation, and, most importantly, human emotion. The book was surprisingly clean with no profanity and mostly reference to sex and violence.
(Detective fiction, murder, lawyers, death penalty, court system, crime thriller, young adult, YA.) Marsden, John. Letters from the Inside. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. (146 pages) From the beginning, this young adult novel is flawed and disappointing. The first faux pas is the ability of main character Tracey to place an ad for a pen pal in GDY (we never learn what this is or what the initials stand for, but guess it to be a teen magazine in Australia) without having to pay for it. Thus, the book which consisted of nothing but letters between teens Tracey and Mandy is a stretch from the beginning. The continuation of the correspondence after Mandy's parents find out that Tracey is an inmate is also farfetched. Furthermore, the Australian English and teen slang interrupts the flow of the novel. Finally, the conclusion is poorly written and not very believable. I find it difficult to believe that the editors of this award-winning author would allow him to submit -- much less publish -- such a shabbily written book.
(Realistic Fiction; prisoners, emotional problems, family problems, young adult, YA.) Martin, George R. R. A Song of Ice and Fire. (series title). New York: Random House, Inc., 1996. (Ongoing.) Fans of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series will find this work by G. R. R. Martin ultimately satisfying and, up to this point, perhaps even better. Like Jordan, Mr. Martin's series is ongoing, but, unlike Jordan, he is not driving the story toward some predestined ending event to which he (Jordan) now seems to be reluctant to wend his way. The books in Martin's series are so good that I feel I might be willing to allow him to wend indefinitely, despite the fact that the books do not stand on their own but are comprised of a single, complex plot. The action is swift, the plot intriguing, and the characterization so good that there are sympathetic players on nearly every side in the conflict. The narrative structure (each chapter is told from a different character's point of view) contributes to that objective effectively. There are some sexual references and some sex scenes, not gratuitous but enough to make this material most appropriate for upper teens and adults. (Reviews of the individual titles in the series follow.)
(Sword and Sorcery, supernatural horror, feudalism, fantasy, chivalry, knights, magic and mages.) Martin, George R. R. A Game of Thrones. New York: Random House, Inc., 1996. (674 pages) The novel opens with the execution of a deserter from "The Wall" and we begin to become acquainted with the Stark family of Winterfell, as well as with the nature and social structure of this world which is not earth but which closely resembles medieval Europe in its government and technology. Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and bannerman to the King, Robert Baratheon, performs the execution himself as is his custom. Afterwards, he and his sons return to Winterfell to receive the King who is making a rare visit to this far northern part of the kingdom. The purpose of the visit is to ask Lord Eddard to assume the office of "King's Hand," formerly held by his wife's brother-in-law. Eddard is very reluctant to accept, but, when his wife receives a letter from her sister revealing her conviction that her husband was murdered, it becomes obvious that Eddard must go. Thus begins a long and fascinating political intrigue as various forces in King's Landing jockey for power. The struggle is reminiscent of the English War of the Roses as murderers, spies, usurpers, the honorable and the foolish, vie for the throne. There is a touch of supernatural horror as well. North of Winterfell, stretching from sea to sea effectively blocking off land access to the environs of the realm is "The Wall," an unbelievable eight hundred feet high in places and everywhere hundreds of feet thick. It is manned by the men of the night's watch who guard the south against the Others, Wildlings, and Wights who dwell beyond the wall. It seems obvious that these creatures will play a larger role as the series develops, but they are not greatly involved in this opening volume. This is a fabulous novel and it left me hungry for the next.
(Sword and Sorcery, supernatural horror, feudalism, fantasy, chivalry, knights, magic and mages.) Martin, George R. R. A Clash of Kings. New York: Random House, Inc., 1999. (969 pages) No fewer than five kings emerge to claim thrones in this second volume of A Song of Ice and Fire and their clashes militarily and politically comprise the focus of the plot. Arya's flight, Sansa's struggle to survive in the snakepit court of King's Landing, Tyrion's campaign to control his sister and his nephew and secure the throne for his family all figure pominently in the narrative, providing enough action to satisfy any reader. A new force is introduced in the presence of Melisandre, the red priestess of the Lord of Light and her sorcery figures largely in the developing struggle. Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys leads her khalasar on her quest to return to Westeros and claim her father's throne from the usurper and this portion of the plot grows ever more interesting. Every bit as enjoyable as the first volume, this continuation of the series does not disappoint in any aspect.
(Sword and Sorcery, supernatural horror, feudalism, fantasy, chivalry, knights, magic and mages.) Martin, George R. R. A Storm of Swords. New York: Random House, Inc., 2000. (924 pages) I loved the way this series developed in the first two volumes for a number of reasons and among them was Martin's knack for twisting his plot in unpredictable yet wholly plausible ways. Events in this third novel offer strident testimony to that gift. Any thoughts I had about anticipating where this series is going or who the ultimate victors will be have been abandoned and that sudden universe of possibilities makes for marvelous fun. The fact that I know the release of book four is still months off because I attempted to buy it from Amazon.com today rather than wait for it to become available at my local library speaks more about how much I like this series than anything else I might say about it.
(Sword and Sorcery, supernatural horror, feudalism, fantasy, chivalry, knights, magic and mages.) McCafferty, Megan. Sloppy Firsts. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001. (280 pages) This is supposed to be a poignant, hilarious novel with appeal to current teenagers of both sexes plus adults who should be grateful that they don't have to go back and grow up all over again. It is written in the ever-popular journal and letter genre. However, I found little humor in the novel. True the character did narrate the ups and downs of her daily life and show signs of maturity at the end, but nothing made this book "refreshingly different" or better than others on the market. In fact, I felt it harder to read than most because it didn't flow. Bear in mind, it's not a terrible book, just mediocre. In the novel, Jessica Darling's best friend moves to Tennessee, thus setting up the letter-writing scenario. But, Jessica has a few things she doesn't want to share with her so she writes these things into a journal. Naturally, the reader gets to view both, learning, for example, that Jessica is fascinated with Marcus Flutie a "dreg" who was the best friend of Heath, a stoner. Now, Heath (who died of an overdose) was the brother of Jessica's best friend, Hope. The main theme involves Jessica trying to get on with her life without Hope. There is a sequel called Second Helpings.
(Realistic Fiction; jounal, journaling, letters, coming of age, friendship, drugs, relationships, young adult, YA.) McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsong. New York: Atheneum, 1985, c1976. (202 pages) Menolly wants to be a Harper more than anything, and she has the talent and the training to be a great one. But girls aren't supposed to be Harpers, not on Pern, and especially not in Half Circle Sea Hold, of which Menolly's father, Yanus, is Lord Holder. Yanus forbids Menolly to compose music, or even play and sing, and when she badly cuts her left hand, nearly crippling herself, she is certain she'll never "tune" again. Rejected and oppressed in her own home, Menolly runs away to live alone amid the dangers of Pern. A long and twisting tale of adventures brings her to Benden Weyr, to the Hatching and Impressing of a new clutch of dragons, where she finally meets her destiny. This is a lovely and charming tale set on another planet in an entirely different, and yet familiar culture. McCaffrey creates this other world with just the right amount of detail; enough to make it credible and understandable, but not so much as to burden the narrative with complex explanations. As different as the world of Pern is, the experiences of the protagonist are all too familiar. She finds herself pressured by parents and society to fit into the roles they imagine her in, but, through her persistence and a string of fortuitous events, she eventually realizes her dream - to be a musician. This is one of a virtual multitude of novels in McCaffrey's Pern series. The opening novels include Dragonriders of Pern, an exciting and much longer work that provides a great deal of background that enhances this one, although it is capable of standing on its own as are most of the others in the Pern series. I recall, though I enjoyed this story, the early novels are a good deal better.
(Science fiction / fantasy, feminism, self-expression, fulfillment, relationships, young adult, YA.) McCarthy, Cormac. The Border Trilogy (series title). New York: Random House, Inc., 1992, 1994, 1998. (1020 pages) Mr. McCarthy's trilogy, comprised of All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain, is a gritty, unrelenting, and primarily tragic epic of the American West. But it is not the frontier West that McCarthy is concerned with; rather he takes up the fading West, the 20th century West where cowboys work cattle on horseback while highways filled with automobiles grow up around them. It is a West in which the old way of life is dying out and one must go south, to Mexico, to live it in the way of the characters' predecessors. The language of the novels is beautiful in its imagery and style, ranging alternately from long, poetic structures to blunt simplicity reminiscent of Hemingway. The narrative is peppered with dialog, much of it in Spanish, but meaning is easily derived from context and the Spanish adds much to the texture of the tales. Each novel stands on its own, particularly the first two, but the main characters from them are united in the third in a fascinating culmination that brings the span of the trilogy to three quarters of a century, from the middle 1920's to the new millennium. Packed full of sand, cowpoke wisdom and Spanish philosophy, this award-winning work satisfies like a good T-bone with beans and a strong cup of coffee around an open fire. (Reviews of the individual titles in the trilogy follow.)
(Realistic fiction / adventure, Spanish, cowboys, the West, romance, Mexico, horses and horsemen, Latin culture, film.) McCarthy, Cormac. All the Pretty Horses . New York: Random House, Inc., 1992. (302 pages) John Grady Cole's grandfather has died and his mother has decided to sell the ranch and move to San Antonio. John Grady was born to work cattle like the long line of male ancestors stretching into the past behind him, so he and his buddy Lacey Rawlins head south to Mexico where in the 1950's cowboy work was still readily available. Despite Rawlins' objections, they ride a ways with Jimmy Blevins, a thirteen-year-old with a pistol and a fabulous horse and not much else, not even sense, a decision that eventually has tragic consequences for them both. After much travel they do get work on a large hacienda with a wealthy patron, a beautiful young daughter, and an old crone of a grandmother who chaperones her. John Grady's incredible, instintive ability with horses wins him the favor of the patron and all the elements of this rugged, tragic romance are in place. The most striking aspect of this novel and the two that follow it is the stark, skeletal beauty of McCarthy's prose. It is the poetry of the plains country and the flat, bluntness of his dialog only adds to the lyric tone of the story. Interestingly, he also writes a large portion of the dialog in Spanish which adds much color and tone while remaining largely comprehensible in context. Winner of the National Book Award, this is a very satisfying novel and the basis of a pretty good film directed by Billy Bob Thornton and starring Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz and Henry Thomas.
(Realistic fiction / adventure, Spanish, cowboys, the West, romance, Mexico, horses and horsemen, Latin culture, movie version.) McCarthy, Cormac. The Crossing . New York: Random House, Inc., 1994. (426 pages) Set just prior to WWII, about 15 years earlier than All the Pretty Horses , this second novel in Mr. McCarthy's trilogy centers around Billy Parham and three trips he makes to Mexico, the first of which is to release a wolf he has trapped into the rugged mountains she came north from to prey upon his father's cattle. On none of his three trips does Billy come back with what he went for and that seems infinitely appropriate for this deeply sorrowful novel. Less unified than the first book, this one is much more philosophic as well and Billy's adventures bear out the fatalistic view of the absolute naturalist.
(Realistic fiction / adventure, Spanish, cowboys, the West, romance, Mexico, horses and horsemen, Latin culture.) McCarthy, Cormac. Cities of the Plains . New York: Random House, Inc., 1998. (292 pages) This third book in The Border Trilogy unites the two main characters from the first two novels, John Grady Cole and Billy Parham. They work on the same ranch on the Texas / Mexico border and hold a deep respect and friendship for one another. When John Grady falls in love with a high-priced Mexican prostitute, Billy warns him that the prospect is a very dangerous one, but John Grady will pursue his love. Having read the first two novels, it is impossible to be mistaken about the nature of this one's outcome, but there is something deeply poetic about the journey, not only of this book but of the whole work, as McCarthy brings the trilogy to a heartrending end in the new millennium.
(Realistic fiction / adventure; Spanish, cowboys, the West, romance, Mexico, horses and horsemen, Latin culture.) McCormick, Patricia. Cut. North Carolina: Front Street, 2000. (168 pages) This is the struggle of fifteen-year-old Callie, a resident of "Sick Minds" (as the patients have nicknamed the Sea Pines Residential Treatment Facility) to confront the family trauma that triggered her self-destructive behavior of cutting herself. At first Callie refuses to speak to anyone so she is tagged S. T. for Silent Treatment. Gradually she begins to open up and at the conclusion feels she is on the way to recovery. The author carefully tackles the sensitive issue of self-mutilation but more importantly lends insight to residential treatment programs. Not all the patients will be cured. Also, if insurance runs out, patients are released regardless of their mental or physical states.
(Realistic Fiction; Self-mutilation, emotional problems, psychiatric hospitals, family problems, young adult, YA.) McMullen, Sean. Souls in the Great Machine. Series Title: The Greatwinter Trilogy. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 1999. (591 pages) When Lemorel Milderellen decides to travel to Libris and begin her career as a Dragon Librarian at the famous Rochestrian library, it isn't for the love of books or learning. It's to escape the small town she grew up in where she is known mostly for the number of kills she's made in duels and sanctioned vendettas. Her skills with flintlock and with mathematics make her uniquely fitted for the profession. In her world, 30 centuries or so in the earth's future on the continent known then as Australica, libraries have become central to the power structure of the society and librarians, thus, very powerful individuals, especially the head librarian, the highliber. Highliber Zarvora, the head of Libris when Lemorel arrives, is developing and incorporating a great machine, a calculor which will become a key component in the rise of Libris, of Zarvora, and eventually Lemorel to very powerful positions in the Australican society. That's just a hint of the plot structure of this grand, sprawling adventure and doesn't even scratch the surface of the world Mr. McMullen has created for the characters of The Greatwinter Trilogy of which this is the first book. It is a strange and diverse place in which electricity and internal combustion are outlawed and everything is powered by wind or muscle, even the trains. Chock full of intriguing characters, highly original constructs, and delightful twists of plot, this is a very entertaining read and a great start to a very promising series.
(Science Fiction; libraries, librarians, computers, future, adventure, intrigue.) McMullen, Sean. The Miocene Arrow. Series Title: The Greatwinter Trilogy. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 2000. (598 pages) In this second volume of The Greatwinter Trilogy the scene shifts from Australica to Mounthaven in North America and a new set of characters save a couple notable exceptions who play major roles. The countries of Mounthaven, unlike Australica, utilize compression engines, particularly for powering small planes which they call "wings." The social heirarchy is based on flight; the lords are pilots, and the guilds of engineers make up the middle class. Additionally, they have banished war and replaced it with a system of "chivalric war" in which duels between lords in "gunwings" determine victory or defeat in conflicts between nations. Into this very orderly world comes a small group of aviad agents with a very insidious plan for destruction, The Miocene Arrow. The novel is taken up with the horrific war that is engendered and the human struggle to prevent the aviads from bringing about the total destruction they desire. This work might not be as inventive as Souls in the Great Machine, but it is every bit as action-packed and the characters are as wonderful as they are varied.
(Science Fiction; libraries, librarians, computers, future, adventure, intrigue.) Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2005. (499 pages) Twilight is a character driven, gothic romance, that is rather short on events and long on everything else. Bella’s move to dark, dank, Forks, Oregon to live with her father is motivated entirely by self-sacrifice, but she finds true love in her biology class with the strangest of classmates. What do you do when your boyfriend is GQ gorgeous and almost a century old? How do you handle it when you know a major element of his attraction to you is an overwhelming desire to feed on your blood? What kind of relationship can there be with a partner who never ages, never changes, won’t die? Most importantly, what would you do if he could make you like him, eternally gorgeous, eternally young? This final question slowly comes to dominate the novel and the writer never really resolves it, leaving the reader to speculate. The characters in this rather macabre version of Tuck Everlasting are well developed and appealing, but very little actually happens in the lengthy narrative. In fact, all the real action of the novel is in the closing hundred pages or so. Romance readers and vampire freaks will love it, but action-adventure fans will be yawning well before the villain shows up.
(Romance; vampires, gothic, dating, divorce, Oregon.) Moore, Christopher. Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. (402 pages) When God becomes displeased with the four gospels that make up the New Testament, he decides to resurrect Biff, Christ's childhood pal, sequester him in a hotel in modern day New York, and have him write the fifth gospel, the rest of the story that was left out by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Amazingly, this basically comic narrative contradicts nothing in the original four gospels, mostly filling in the missing years prior to Christ's entrance into public life at age thirty. Sometimes thoughtful and provocative, sometimes downright irreverent and hillarious, the book is fun all the way through. The book protrays "Joshua," as Jesus is called in this gospel, in a very human light and the melding of Christian and Eastern philosophies is quite appealing. I found Biff's gospel a most enjoyable read, but it is not recommended for the very dogmatic or those with religious sensibilities that are easily disturbed.
(Religious fiction; Christianity, philosophy, mysticism, comedy, mythology.) Mosley, Walter. 47. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005. With a tone more like fable than science fiction, Walter Mosley weaves together the harsh realities of a field slave’s life and the outlandish adventures of extraterrestrials locked in mortal combat for the future of the universe. 47 is a young slave, newly sent to the fields and branded, when he meets Tall John, a runaway from a nearby plantation who becomes the newest field hand on the Corinthian Plantation in a case of neighborly theft. Tall John has traveled across vast, intergalactic distances and warped his way through time to find 47, whom he has conversed with many times in the future and who is to be the hero of the Talam’s universal struggle against the Calash. 47 embarks on a series of adventures with Tall John that embroil him in a struggle with both slave masters and extraterrestrials. The science fiction elements of this story are utterly preposterous and underpinned by no attempt to explain them in any detail; the book reads more like fantasy than science fiction, but that isn’t the point. They serve to contrast the realities of life as a slave in the American South, the brutally genuine details of which are equally preposterous to Tall John, a being with a true outsider’s perspective. The narrative is fairly unadorned, the pace rapid, the characters well developed and sympathetic, the tone both whimsical and dark. This is a novel that works on many levels; it is both high adventure and poignant social commentary and it has a place in every YA collection.
(Science fiction; slavery, plantation life, intergalactic warfare, time travel.) Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999. (281 pages) Steve Harmon is sixteen and he's on trial for felony murder. Steve wasn't in the drugstore when the stickup took place, he didn't pull the trigger, he didn't meet the robbers later, he never got any money. But two of the accused who have turned state's evidence testify that Steve was the lookout, that he checked the store first to determine if the coast was clear. By the New York State Penal Code, that makes him an accessory and an accessory is as guilty as the trigger man when someone is killed in the course of a felony. Now Steve must wait in a jail cell by night and go to a courtroom every day while his lawyer works his case and a jury holds his fate. Innocent or guilty? Innocent or guilty? Even Steve isn't entirely certain. In order to cope with the ordeal, with his incredible fear, Steve records the experience as a screenplay, a movie of Steve Harmon's trial. That's the form in which the story comes to the reader, as a screenplay of Steve's experience. Interspersed in the typed script are photocopies of Steve's journal notes, written in long hand. This is a very interesting book for its creative presentation if for nothing else. But it was probably acclaimed as a National Book Award Finalist, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, and a Michael Printz Award winner for more than its creative presentation. It is also a disturbing look at the murkiness of truth, of innocence and guilt, and the verdicts of courtrooms. Is Steve a "monster," as the prosecution calls him? Or will justice make him a monster?
(Realistic fiction, courtroom, self perception, crime, screenplay, African Americans, personal narrative, young adult, YA.) O'Brien, Robert C. Z For Zachariah. New York: Atheneum, 1974. (249 pages) I found this a very disturbing book. It is well conceived, nicely crafted, strong in tone, consistent, well plotted, nicely executed. The writer is very skilled and imaginative. The story is chilling and surprising in its turns. I wonder about the appropriate age to read it. Advanced junior high? Early high school? The plot is simple enough; nuclear holocaust, 16-year-old girl living alone in what may be the last fertile enclave on earth. She is joined by a man, 20 years her senior, from whom she hides at first, but eventually she nurses him back to health when he begins dying of radiation sickness. Both are aware that they may be responsible for the survival of the race. The disturbing thing is the theme. It is a grim portrayal of human relationship with almost no redeeming moments. I get the feeling that the two of them, living in a fertile valley surrounded by a dead wasteland is a metaphor of a doomed relationship. An interesting way to look at the story is as a reversal of the Garden of Eden story. The valley held everything either of them needed and could, potentially, have been a paradise. But, this time, it's the man and his basic psychological make-up that takes all the blame. It's a dark and chilling vision; I wonder if it's what Mr. O'Brien meant. As I write this, and think back over the story, I feel increasingly certain it is. In any case, this is a disturbing, provocative and fascinating book.
(Science fiction; Feminism, relationships, human resiliency, survival, nuclear holocaust, young adult, YA.) Oughten, Jerrie. Music From a Place Called Half Moon. Boston: Houghten Mifflin, 1995. (160 pages) Edie Jo's grandmother has moved in with them because her house burned down, so Edie Jo has lost her room. The townspeople are giving the family the cold shoulder and mother and father have been feuding ever since Daddy spoke out in favor of letting the Indians participate in vacation Bible school. Now, the sheriff says the fire at Gramma's was no accident; it was arson, same as the fire that burned down Truitt's store and killed him inside. Edie doesn't know if she hates Indians or not, but she does know she's falling in love with Cherokee Fish, the half-breed boy who goes to her school and reads her poetry and plays the harmonica for her out by the sawmill back of her house on the mountainside. Ms. Oughten captures the voice and feelings of a thirteen-year-old with deft accuracy; the narrative is undecorated, but the poetic moments stand out sharply. The regional feel is clear, the theme strong and embellished with a fullness of experience that makes it viable. There is enough mystery in the plot to hold a young reader's attention, but many might feel disappointed when theme remains more dominant than action of plot.
(Cross cultural fiction; Prejudice, grieving, friendship, family life, young adult, YA.) Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilley Hopkins. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1978. (148 pages) Galadriel (Gilly) Hopkins is bright, manipulative, and very careful about getting hurt as she moves into her new foster home, peopled by the obese caretaker Trotter, her other myopic, slow-witted charge, E.W., and Mr. Randolph, the blind man from next door. Gilly's only object in life is to get out of Trotter's filthy house and return to her mother who has sent a postcard from California. Ironically, just as she realizes she has accepted her foster family as her own, she gets her wish, only not in the way she expected. This is a gritty, realistic presentation of a common situation with believable, endearing characters. The voice and tone are notable for their ring of truth; there is only one plot event that seems a bit contrived. Why Gilly's grandmother had ignored her situation for all the preceding years, and just what caused Gilly's mother to abandon her to foster care in the first place is never really dealt with. The author nicely avoids a happy ending though; life is tough, but dealing well with it can be the source of much satisfaction is the closing comment, and one well worth hearing.
(Realistic fiction; Tolerance, acceptance, coming of age, foster care, abandonment, young adult, YA.) Patterson, James. Maximum Ride: the Angel Experiment. New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2005. (422 pages) This is a story about a government-run gene-splicing program which has produced two strains of human hybrids, Maximum Ride and her five fellow escapees, who are genetically human and avian, thus winged and able to fly, and the Erasers who are genetically human and wolf. The Erasers work for the government scientists and happily hunt Max and her companions. The capture and eventual rescue of one of Max’s cohorts followed by the Erasers’ pursuit of them, results in much fast-paced action and a good deal of mystery and adventure. Maximum Ride is a ball of fun if one is willing to accept its comic-book structure. It is comprised of 134 very short chapters and doesn’t really bring the plot to a definitive conclusion. Instead, it works the way comic books work, creating a world for the characters and relating their adventures, leaving off at a point from which one assumes a further installment will continue with a new set of episodes. The characters are well drawn and quite appealing and the pace of the action makes this a real page-turner. If we apply the usual standards of the novel to this work, it doesn’t hold up particularly well as it never truly resolves, it just stops, but if it’s a book with appeal to a large teen audience you’re looking for, this is certainly one.
(Fantasy Adventure; flight, flying, werewolves, genetic engineering, conspiracy.) Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. New York: Bradbury Press, 1987. (195 pages) Hatchet relates the struggle of a boy who is stranded in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a hatchet. He had been on his way to spend the summer with his father; this is the first summer after his parents' divorce, the first period of alternating custody. The pilot of the two-seater Cessna he was traveling in died, and Brian was forced to crash-land the plane. The events of the divorce are interestingly woven into the story as flashbacks of painful memory which serve to heighten the intensity of the current action with the emotional fallout of the past. This is a starkly realistic, undecorated narrative, void of figurative language or poetic devices. It is tightly designed to heighten tension and drive plot forward with a sense of continuous action. The author is extremely adept at controlling pace. He is particularly skillful at shortening and lengthening phrases and sentences to create a sense of rapid action and thought. His use of single words in machine-gun staccato adds to the effect. The story is told in a single continuous narrative, with the first passage of time coming between chapters 12 and 13, just over the midpoint of the novel. The leap in time is about six weeks. It is a welcome and timely change in the pace, a chance for the reader to get a breath. Up to that point, all the changes in Brian, all his thought processes, problems and victories are related in meticulous detail. Even after this leap in time is made, events that led to character developments, victories like learning to catch fish, are recapped in fairly complete form. Paulsen is a master of detail, and gives his character no breaks. He never takes the easy way out, but creates completely realistic and believable situations, and then has his character deal with them. The ending is abrupt, clever, believable, and altogether satisfying.
(Realistic fiction; Integration with nature, self-reliance, work, maturation, patience, divorce, young adult, YA.) Peters, Julie Anne. Luna. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2004. (248 pages) Regan’s brother, Liam, is a senior in high school. Only Regan knows him as Luna, the transgender girl who dresses up at night in Regan’s clothes and makeup in their secretive basement bedrooms. Now Luna wants to come out, to “transition.” Liam wants to become Luna full time, eventually becoming Luna surgically. But what will her emergence mean for Regan, for their friends, for the family relationships which are twisted enough as it is? Must Luna come out now, just when a boy is finally beginning to pay attention to Regan? This is a story fraught with hazard. It could easily have become an “issue” novel, a PC sermon on yet another group of social exiles, but Ms. Peters avoids that pitfall throughout by concentrating on character and event instead of issue, and the result is an engaging story about very appealing people. While the novel tells Liam’s story, it is really about Regan’s awakening and escape from the shadow of Liam’s needs. The issues surrounding coming to terms with being transgender are illuminated in the course of that story’s development. This is an excellent novel, well written and nicely crafted, substantive without being didactic.
(Coming of Age: dating, transgender, cross-dressing, family relationships, siblings, coming out.) Pike, Christopher. The Last Vampire. New York: Simon Pulse, 1994. (208 pages) Alisa Pern is a five-thousand-year-old vampire. For ages, she has hunted humanity, loved humanity, but now someone hunts her. Who is this person? What is he or she? Another vampire? Alisa is not sure. She thought she was the last of her kind. She has only one lead to follow. A detective, Mike Riley, had tried to blackmail her. In haste, before she could learn everything he knew, she killed him. Now she must go after the detective's son and find out what his father knew. Fifty centuries old, and she must enter high school and befriend Ray Riley, a handsome, shy boy who will attract her like no mortal has in centuries. Ray will make Alisa think the unthinkable, to make another of her kind, something she hasn't done since ancient times. But will Alisa use Ray to help protect her from the mysterious enemy? Or will she just use him as bait?
(Science Fiction, horror, mystery, murder, romance, gothic, vampires.) Pullman, Philip. The White Mercedes. London: Pan McMillan Limited, 1992. (170 pages) When Shakespeare's chorus announces at the opening of Romeo and Juliet that
From forth the loins of these two foes, we know immediately that we are about to experience a tragedy, that Romeo and Juliet are doomed and all there is for us to do as audience is to watch the mechanism of that tragedy work to its inevitable conclusion. Philip Pullman accomplishes the same thing with the stunning opening sentence of The White Mercedes. Chris Marshall met the girl he was going to kill on a warm night in early July... begins this tragic story and that sentence does some interesting things to the narrative. It becomes an excruciating journey as the reader becomes deeply enamored of the characters, who are quite appealing, with the full knowledge that the story will end with one dead and one emotionally devastated. The tale becomes a tragedy in the classical sense as the outcome becomes inevitable and is caused by the flaws of the main character, naivete, jealousy, mistrust, and ill-placed trust. There is a touch of Romeo and Juliet as well as a hint of Othello. Mr. Pullman has worked quite successfully to structure this novel along the lines of a classical tragedy. This structure is not completely beneficial however. It tends to make the plot predictable and at times it feels contrived. Still this is an interesting if disturbing book and the characterizations are well drawn, the plot complex enough.
(Romance; Love, tragedy, England, mystery, detective, relationships, young adult, YA.) Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: Scholastic Press, 2003. (870 pages.) From the moment dementors attack Harry and his cousin Dudley near Dudley's home on Privet Drive in Little Whinging, it is clear that the tone of Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts will be a bit darker than his first four. And, when he is hustled off to the secret headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix, it becomes equally clear that the struggle against Lord Voldemort will be a good deal more serious than it has been and will involve the adults as well as the children. Perhaps I should say "...as well as the teens" since that is what the characters have grown into and that is the source of the tonal shift in the novel. One of the more fascinating aspects of the series has been the maturation of the plot and tone of each novel as the characters grow a year older from book to book. Thus, this work is rife with teen angst and the dark, brooding atmosphere that young adults often live in. The plot is as solid as any of the others and the characters compelling enough, but the story lacks the whimsical inventiveness that made the first four such a delight. But, as I recall, my own adolescence lacked the whimsical inventiveness of childhood and it's difficult to fault the author for continuing to develop the series as she has, allowing the stories to grow up as Harry grows up.
(Fantasy; magic, sorcery, teen relationships, authority, young adult, YA.) Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. New York: Random House, Inc., 1997. (321 pages) This debut novel by Ms. Roy, a well known political activist in India, won England's prestigious Booker Prize in 1997. It tells the story of fraternal twins, Estha and Rahel, their mother Ammu, Great Aunt Baby Kochamma, Uncle Chacko, Aunt Margaret and the events leading up to and following the death of Cousin Sophie Mol in the middle of her visit from England. This beautiful, subtle, poetic portrayal of a culture and a caste system and its effects is also, for sensitive readers, devastating as the warping influence of that system affects the relationships of the characters and the results of their actions. The novel has been so highly praised that it is difficult to find a superlative that hasn't been used. Suffice it to say that I read this story some months before the writing of this review, and, when I began to thumb through it to refresh the experience, I found it absorbing me once again and closed it reluctantly. Two things make this a unique novel. One is the way in which the tale is told. Nearly all of it is told in flashbacks, but the flashbacks are not in chronological order and major events are alluded to from the beginning of the narrative without being clearly related until much later. The entire story slowly clarifies from beginning to end like an image on the Internet slowly resolving from vague, pixellated patches of color into a sharp image. The other is the language. The images are virtually painted on the page, and the voice is quite obviously, quite beautifully, quite uniquely, Ms. Roy's.
(Realistic fiction, India, intolerance, relationships, caste, divorce, realism, twins, social classes.) Rylant, Cynthia. Missing May. New York: Dell Publishing, 1992. (89 pages) "The Reverend Miriam B. Young: Small Medium at Large." This is only one of several things in this tiny story that made me laugh out loud. Ms. Rylant is an absolutely masterful writer who has turned out a perfect bauble of delight. Summer tells the story of how her Uncle Ob, the whirly-gig artist, and herself, with the aid of Cletus, a collector of odd pictures that he keeps in a vinyl suitcase and carries everywhere he goes, complete their grieving process and come to terms with the loss of May, Ob's wife, who together with Ob had raised Summer. Ms. Rylant's mastery is complete; I laughed out loud, and I cried when she wanted me to.This is a real gem. The characters dwell in the hills of West Virginia, in the trailers and tiny white-washed, clapboard houses, watch Lawrence Welk re-runs, eat Vienna sausages from the can and dream of visiting the capitol in Charleston. Far from stereotypes, they are charming, and touching, and as real as my own children. I couldn't help but think of Flannery O'Conner as I followed the story of these three extraordinary individuals seeking to find and let go of May, to rediscover and rejuvenate themselves without May, to get on with their lives.
(Realistic fiction, death, grieving, tolerance, relationships, family, transitions, West Virginia, young adult, YA.) Sachar, Louis. Dogs Don't Tell Jokes. New York: Adolf A. Knopf, c1991. (209 pages) The lessons in this book are clear and almost give it a contrived and formulaic feel, but I don't think that will be as obvious or bothersome to young readers. The jokes are really bad, but there's a point to that. Among the things that Gary Boone learns about humor, like timing doesn't have to do with how a joke is told, but also when a joke is told, is that humor takes work just as much as anything else does, and that success isn't always easy. There's an interesting development here, as the class geek (My friends call me Goon, see you take the G from Gary and the oon from Boone....) realizes that he does have a talent; he just has to learn how to use it, and when. In the end, a performer is born, for better or for worse. Along the way, Gary learns what to value about people, what makes a true friend. Plot is simple. Class geek signs up to do a comedy act at the school talent show. His parents, who are sick of his jokes, (Gary tries to turn everything he says into a punch line, most of which are stupid, so he has only one real relationship, with a brilliant girl who thinks he's funny) offer him a hundred dollars to go three weeks without telling a joke. He goes for the bet and finds that being real requires him to try to have real relationships, and that's not easy, either. In the end, some of his supposed friends attempt to humiliate him during his act, but the prank backfires. It relaxes him, and his routine, which he actually worked very hard on for a change, goes very well and he wins the talent contest. A nice touch is that afterwards he sits backstage in the empty auditorium, staring at the backside of the curtain and cries. Many readers will not understand, but I think performers will.
(Humor, peers and peer groups, identity, commitment, self-image, young adult, YA.) Shan, Darren. A Living Nightmare… Series Title: Cirque du Freak: the saga of Darren Shan. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2001. (257 pages) Darren Shan and Steve Leonard, affectionately know as Steve Leopard, are best of friends and partners in crime in the opening book of Darren’s faux autobiography. Steve has found a flyer for an illicit freak show and they sneak out late in the night to attend its performance. Among the amazing cast which includes the usual - contortionists, werewolves, fat man, snake-boy, etc. - Steve recognizes an aged vampire about whom he’s read and whose portrait he’s seen. Urging Darren to go on ahead without him after the show, Steve lingers to speak to the vampire, but Darren secretly stays behind to eavesdrop and the two are plunged into a secret, dark world that alters their friendship forever, requires Darren to make life-changing choices, and to find courage within himself that he never knew he had. I am not a fan of horror in any format, print or film, and I do not share the universal fascination for vampires, but I loved this book. The pace of the tightly crafted plot is swift and engrossing, the characters engaging and well developed, the ending quite satisfactory despite the obvious fact that this is the first of a series and there is much more to come. This is a wonderful piece in a genre that is often too mature or grotesque for younger readers. I recommend it highly.
(Horror, vampires, freaks, freak shows, spiders, arachnids, young adult, YA.) Sheppard, Mary C. Seven for a Secret. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2001. (189 pages) Cousins Melinda, Rebecca, and Kate have been spending summers together in Cook's Cove, Newfoundland, for eight years. This is the last one together before going their individual ways in adulthood. Usually, they spend their time working, gossiping, and discussing boys. However, this summer is different with the girls finding out several family secrets which influence their decisions for the future. The novel aptly depicts life in Newfoundland around 1960. You could tell the setting was in the past from descriptions of clothing, popular songs, and slang. The only reference enabling you to ascertain the actual date was the mention of Princess Margaret's wedding (which research showed to be 1960). This is a realistic novel of the harsh lifestyle of the Newfies who worked hard and treasured simple pleasures. While a decent read, I'm not sure of it isn't too dated to appeal to the modern teen reader.
(Realistic Fiction, Newfoundland, teens, coming of age, friendship, young adult, YA.) Smith, Sherri L. Lucy the Giant. New York: Delacorte Press, 2002. (217 pages) It's bound to be tough to be a fifteen-year-old girl who quit measuring her height when she passed six feet. Lucy had to endure snickers, crude jokes, and teasing daily. That alone could make life miserable. Also, factor in a mother who deserted the family, being of native Alaskan origin, and having an alcoholic father who could turn mean on a whim. But, the final straw was the day Lucy's dog named Santa Barbara (a stray she'd adopted two weeks earlier) died. Lucy found herself on a plane to Kodiak, Alaska where it was crabbing season in the Bering Strait. She took the name Barb in memory of her dog. No one realized she was a runaway because they all believed her to be in her early 20's. As Lucy settled into the routine of hard work, she made friends and was happy for the first time in her life. Eventually her past catches up with her and she has to decide whether to return to Sitka or remain in Kodiak. This is Sherri Smith's first young adult novel. It takes her a while to find a rhythm. The plot is interesting as well as the heads up on fishing. However, the ending is disappointing. It was almost as if Ms. Smith couldn't decide how to end the book so she just stopped writing.
(Realistic Fiction, runaways, family relationships, alcoholism, fishing boats, Alaska, young adult, YA.)
Recommended for: middle school to adult Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. (186 pages) When Stargirl Caraway entered public high school her sophomore year after a lifetime of homeschooling, the other students thought her aptly named since her behavior was so bizarre and alien. In an environment where the average student took pride in conformity, solidarity, and popularity, Stargirl guilelessly shocked her classmates. She might wear a pioneer dress one day and a kimono the next. Her pet rat Cinnamon accompanied her everywhere. She would play her ukulele and sing "Happy Birthday" in the lunchroom. Stargirl ran the gamut of high school experiences eventually fading out of the lives of the students but not their memories when the Caraways moved toward the end of the year. This is a dynamic book full of action and teenage angst. It realistically captures the turbulent times of adolescence. It will appeal to male or female readers since the plot involves the actions of Stargirl as told by fellow student, Leo Borlock.
(Realistic Fiction, individuality, popularity, eccentrics and eccentricities, high schools, young adult, YA.) Stanek, Robert. Ruin Mist: Keeper Martin's Tale. Virtual Press, Inc., 2002. (364 pages) Not one of the glowing comments published on the back of this novel is from a credible review source and that fact should have tipped me off. This is a very accomplished piece of amateur writing, but it falls well short of what I would expect from a professional. The fantasy adventure includes all the required elements; very dark, supernatural evil, human intrigue, mages, elves, a culminating battle, etc., etc. However, the actions of the characters are never motivated beyond the most simplistic levels and much is left to the reader's imagination, particularly the roles of the supernatural evil and the elvish characters. Their interest in the lives of men is never dealt with at all. Thus, the culminating battle is fought between the good guys, who are good, well, just because the author designates them good, and the bad guys who are evil, well, because the author says so. This thinness of plot could be ignored if the adventure were at least well written, but it isn't. The entire narrative is rife with misused words, stilted dialog, lame description, and mechanical error. Poetic license allows an author to break nearly any rule in the pursuit of his own style, but the prerequisite is that the author know the rule and break it intentionally and purposefully. Mr. Stanek is apparently just sloppy or incapable, as is his editor, and coupled with the lack of depth in the story this ineptitude becomes more than irritating.
(Fantasy, good vs. evil, elves, mages, magic and the supernatural, battle.) Staples, Suzanne Fisher. Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989. (240 pages) Suzanne Staples transports us to a world completely different from ours, and yet makes it wonderfully familiar in its basic humanity. She tells the story in the first person, from Shabanu's point of view, and by the end of the book we are so fully imbued with her feelings that her experience becomes as intelligible as any from our own culture. Shabanu is an intelligent, capable girl, developing into a woman in a patriarchal society that will define her role stringently and sell her like a piece of property. She is arranged to marry a cousin; this marriage will suit her well, but tragic circumstances interfere, and a new arrangement is made to marry her to a rich, middle-aged politician who already has three wives. Shabanu's marriage to the politician will bring wealth to her family and protect her sister and her new husband's family. There is great benefit for all, and to refuse is potentially disastrous to everyone. For any Muslim family of the Cholistan, there is really no choice to be made; Shabanu must be sacrificed for the good of all. I could smell the tragedy in this novel in the first few chapters. It develops slowly, exquisitely, with a sense of inevitability and believability that raises the entire work beyond the level of the ordinary. All the various personal, economic, environmental and cultural forces that intertwine to force the characters into the situation of Shabanu's tragedy are organically present, as real as the killing drought that comes to the Cholistan desert every winter. The characters, particularly those of Phulan, Mama, Dadi, Shabanu, Auntie, Grandfather, Sharma, are completely developed and engrossing. They are dynamic, genuine, motivated and multi-dimensional. This is an entertaining tale of a charming and exotic world that becomes an incredibly powerful portrayal of women's suffering and women's strength. It is also a book that is appropriate for advanced readers in 8th or 9th grade, and a book that probably merits some frank discussion.
(Cross cultural fiction, puberty, rites of passage, feminism, Islam, Muslim, arranged marriage, young adult, YA.) Strieber, Whitley. Wolf of Shadows. New York: Ballantine Books, 1985. (97 pages.) Theoretically, nuclear holocaust is followed by nuclear winter; it is this nuclear winter that threatens the major characters in this novel, a woman and her two children who have escaped from the devastated city, and a pack of wolves living in the vicinity of the lakeside cabin the humans have escaped to. In the wolf pack, a new leader emerges, a huge, formerly aloof male named Wolf of Shadows. Both Wolf of Shadows and the woman know one thing; to survive they must travel south. It is this journey and the curious, symbiotic relationship that develops between the wolves and the humans that occupies the bulk of this short narrative. The story is told from Wolf of Shadows' point of view, and this more than anything else makes the novel an interesting read.
(Fantasy fiction, nuclear holocaust, survival, wolves, nuclear winter, animal characters.) Taylor, Mildred D. The Road to Memphis. New York: Dial Books, c1990. (290 pages) Ms. Taylor's ability to build character serves to make this an outstanding piece, nearly as compelling as Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. It was truly a wonderful thing to be united once again with Cassie and Stacy, but not to return to their world. Ms. Taylor tells her story through Cassie with extraordinary power. The helplessness of the characters as they are harassed, hounded, and left at the mercy of the white community with no recourse to or protection from the law stands in stark clarity. The cruelty of the white persecutors is entirely believable; I see it in their eyes, hear it in their conversations today, and I imagine Ms. Taylor's portrayal of it when it was completely unbridled, half a century ago, is entirely accurate. One cannot help but love these characters, and respect them hugely as they continually struggle forward and salvage their human dignity under the absolute worst of circumstances. The story is not without balance either, as Jeremy Simms, the white friend who is caught between the two communities, pays a heavy price for doing what he sees as the right thing. The plot is not terribly complex, although it does involve several sub-plots. Basically, Moe, who loves Cassie, loses control in the midst of being baited and humiliated in front of her while dealing with a flat tire and attacks three white men with the tire iron. One of them is injured critically. Jeremy, cousin to the three white men, helps Moe escape the scene. Cassie, Stacy, Little Willie, and Clarence then take Moe in Stacy's car to Memphis where they arrange his transport to Chicago and the care of Uncle Hammer. The journey is fraught with difficulty, including the outbreak of W.W. II, and takes up the bulk of the narrative. The themes, as with most of the author's other work, center on strong families, good male role models, loyalty, the wisdom of restraint, the capacity of the human spirit to hold up through the most terrible trials, and the remarkable presence of hope.
(Historical Fiction, racism, African Americans, hope, loyalty, courage, strength, self-worth, family, young adult, YA.) Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York: Puffin Books, Penguin Books, 1991, c1976. (276 pages) The night riders are at it again. People are being intimidated, and two men have even been set ablaze. Some kind of action must be taken, and the Logan family, Dave, Mama, Big Ma, and Hammer organize a boycott of the local sharecropper store. They risk the malevolent maneuverings of the local landholder who wants more than anything else to get his hands on their four hundred acres. The risks are high, and the prospects of any kind of success nil, but the Logans know someone must stand up, fruitlessly or otherwise. This is a book, above all, about the resilience, the strength, and the resourcefulness of the human spirit. Undoubtedly, the theme of racism permeates, but the characters are so well developed that it is their heroism, their tremendous courage, wisdom and endurance in the face of such great adversity that moves the reader. This story is a celebration of the human potential for nobility, as well as a display of our potential for unrivaled evil. It would couple very nicely with Tunes for Bears to Dance to, Road to Memphis, and Summer of My German Soldier in a thematic unit, as all four do such a nice job, in different ways, of demonstrating the effects of group behavior, and the potential evil that lies within. Ms. Taylor's manipulation of plot in conjunction with character is masterful. She weaves the troubles of the children, which are large but still within a child's world, with the troubles of the adults, which are far more threatening; intimidation, hangings, burnings, foreclosure. Deftly, she links the two worlds through one character, T.J., as he plays too fast and loose with his real friends, and then moves into the older, white world only to become a victimized dupe, nearly sucking the whole community into his foolishness. The stark reality of Ms. Taylor's portrayal of racism, both institutionalized and casual, is perhaps the book's greatest strength. The Logans fight it, knowing they cannot win in a generation, or probably over the course of generations, but they do what must be done, and what can be done. There are several frank, realistic expositions of the nature of racism and its effects. Ms. Taylor's characters don't preach, and they don't bluster with venom, they just tell it exactly the way it is. The truths just stand for themselves in this book, and that's what makes it a masterpiece.
(Cross-cultural fiction, racism, family, maturation, self-reliance, African Americans, Newbery, young adult, YA.) Thomas, Rob. Rats Saw God. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1996. (202 pages) Steve York is a senior transfer student at his San Diego high school. The son of a famous astronaut, he left Houston and his NASA father abruptly at the end of his junior year and moved in with his mother and sister in California. Once an honor roll perennial, he now cuts classes, hangs out in coffee shops, smokes pot and alienates most everyone he meets with sarcasm and an impenetrable sense of bitterness. He is barely passing classes and is on track to wind up one English credit short of graduating when he is given a unique offer by a guidance counselor. Write a 100 page typewritten paper on a topic of Steve's choosing and the English credit will be added to the transcript. Sort of a "get out of summer school free" card. Well, not exactly free, but Steve figures he's always been a good writer and 100 pages beats the bermuda shorts off of summer school. Thus we get the structure of this remarkably fresh novel which switches back and forth between sections of Steve's personal narrative about his life in Houston and scenes of his current life in San Diego. Rob Thomas' story is an excellent portrayal of a genuine and interesting teen experience. It's not the usual "whiny" teen angst, but rather a tale of love and pain that rings as true as any human experience. The style is unique and the voice of the narrator authentic. This is a great read.
(Romance, love, relationships, divorce, high school, father and son, young adult, YA.) Voigt, Cynthia. Dicey's Song. New York: Fawcett Juniper, 1982. (211 pages) Dicey's song is the middle book of the Tillerman saga, and it certainly feels like it. There is a definite sense from the outset that character has been fully developed before the start of the narrative. However the book stands well on its own as all five of the characters, particularly Dicey and Gram, who is new to the story, are explored to a depth unusual in this genre. That development is both a strength and a weakness of sorts. Plot events are based mostly on relationships and personal developments, as this story almost falls into "slice-of-life" realism. The narrative is concerned with the Tillerman children's adjustment to their new lives with Gram in Maryland, with Gram's acceptance and adoption of them, and her growing reintegration into the community as she comes alive through her grandchildren. Their mother's death and burial is a culminating event that signals their complete transition into this new life. I found the book touching and the characters fascinating as well as believable. Ms. Voigt has an economy of style that is effective and gripping. The development of the story is akin to watching a rose bloom, however, and will try the patience of even the best adolescent readers. I certainly recommend reading the first novel before diving into this one. Children who have had troubled family relationships or who have experienced a loss or uprooting may identify strongly with the characters, but it is not easy reading.
(Realistic fiction, relationships, family, education, responsibility, young adult, YA.) Wells, Ken.
Meely Labauve. New York: Random House, 2000. (242 pages) Life in the Cajun bayou is hard, but especially for semi-orphan Emile (Meely) Labauve. His mother and baby sister died seven years ago. His father never recovered and spent his time either getting drunk and locked up or hunting alligators to sell. Meely Labauve centers around Meely and his struggle to survive Junior Guidry and his gang of bullies. Junior's Leg features bad guy, Junior Guidry, and his downward spiral through life until he hits rock bottom and has to decide whether to stay there or attempt to climb out of his personal hell. Logan's Storm describes Meely's father's journey back from depression and into life again only to nearly lose it in a hurricane. If you like Mark Twain and enjoy realistic stories featuring Cajun dialect, rich detail, and subtle humor, this series is for you. However, there is crudity, violence, profanity, and graphic content which encapsulates the essence of swamp-dwellers.
(Realistic fiction, Cajuns, Louisiana, teenage boys, hurricanes, fugitives from justice, fathers and sons, organized crime, amputees, regionalism.) White, Ruth. Belle Prater's Boy. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1996. (196 pages) Woodrow and Gypsy are cousins without a great deal in common except they have both lost someone. Gypsy's father, Amos Leemaster, is dead and she is none too fond of Porter Dotson, editor of the Coal Station, VA newspaper, who married her mother Love Ball Dotson two years ago. Woodrow's mother, Love Ball's sister Belle, "...left her bed and vanished from the face of the earth," about 5:00 am on a warm October morning in 1953. The family decides it would be better for Woodrow to live with his grandparents next door to Gypsy than to remain with his widowed father, a local coal miner. There begins the relationship between Woodrow and Gypsy which grows into a warm friendship as they discover themselves, their family and its history, and come to terms with their present and their past. This is an utterly charming novel that avoids the insipidness that stories of the sort sometimes fall into. Through the eyes and voice of Gypsy, Ms. White's Coal Station, Va is painted with all the eccentricities we have come to associate with small, southern towns. The world views of the characters are as innocent as we believe youth was in the 1950's, but there is enough pain and grit underneath to make it all seem quite real. This is a very satisfying work.
(Coming of age, the South, divorce, parents, death and loss, stepfathers, young adult, YA.) |