Vol. 10 #1
Just a reminder, the books reviewed here are recommended. I can't see wasting time reading a book I don't like when there are so many fabulous reads out there. Every book here kept me reading instead of dropping it and going on to the next book.
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Young Adult/ Historical
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Will and Gavin de Granville are the sons of Sir Thomas de Granville a descendent of the first Sir Thomas who came to England with William the Conqueror. Living with them is Eleanor de Barre, an orphaned distant relative, and the heiress designated to we Gavin when they grow up. Will wants a mighty courser more than anything even though he dearly loves his horse Sacramenta. While Gavin is away learning to be a good knight, Will is finally sent to select the courser that will carry him and his armor into battle -- or at least the jousts. After selecting a massive strong sturdy horse his eye is caught by a red stallion, too small to be a courser, but Will falls instantly in love with the horse and ends up taking Hosanna home. The teasing stops quickly though when Hosanna’s amazing intelligence and agility prove him to be one of the finest horses ever seen. When King Richard declares a crusade Ellie is left home at Hartslove where she is in danger from a scheming constable. Will, Gavin, and Sir Thomas all head for the Holy Land where they run across Saladin and Kamil, a bloodthirsty boy who last his family to earlier Crusaders. When Hosanna becomes Kamil’s horse life is changed for all involved. This rousing adventure has deep insights into prejudice, intolerance, religion, and politics, told in such a way that middle school readers will gain new understandings. The exploration of Islamic beliefs is exquisitely handled. It is rare for such a compelling page-turning story to pack in so much information and elucidation of such a controversial topic much less to place it against such a fully imagined historical setting with fully dimensional characters.
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YA/ Contempory/ Humorous/ |
When Sam’s mom dies he is sent to England to live with his aunt, uncle, and cousin Matthew Burton who is also thirteen. Matt and his pals have a gang, not like the Crips and Bloods, but like the kids playing in vacant lot type of gang. Their adversaries are members of a girl gang. When the obnoxious Sam Lopez gets the Sheds banned from their favorite hamburger joint, he offers to do whatever they dare him as atonement. They decide that the diminutive, long haired Sam, should spend the first week of school masquerading as a girl to find out what the girls are up to. He ends up really shaking up the school, perceptions, and the the entire 13-year-old male female thing. Blacker, does make a few tiny mistakes with American Sam but leads the reader on such a delightful romp with gender role, a great fortune, and a money hunting criminal getting into the mix. It also has a lot of heart making it a truly satisfying read.
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YA/ Issues/ |
Savannah has experienced quite a bit of misery inflicted by her stepfather but when he goes after her little brother, Henry, she whacks him with a frying pan, grabs Henry and goes on the run. Going first to stay with an old boyfriend then an aunt in Maine, she remembers her nomadic early childhood with the mom who gave birth to her when she was only a teen interspersed with the mother’s story as a teen. Poignant and touching.
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Young Adult/ Contemporary Life
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Hartinger just gets better and better with each book. This sequel to The Geography Club takes Russel Middlebrook along with his pals from Goodkind High’s Gay- Straight - Bisexual Alliance to a summer camp to work as counselors. The first batch of campers are burn survivors and Russ ends up with the bratty 10 year boys who run roughshod all over him until he finds a way to connect and insure mutual respect. Web, one of the other counselors is a gorgeous guy who Russ is immediately attracted to but so is Min. Russ becomes friends with Em who he thinks would be the perfect girl for Gunnar who has sworn off romance. Meanwhile romance waits in the wings for Russ. As Russ learns more about himself throughout the summer he also learns more about human nature in general and relationships. The characters and their relationships are so real one can only feel joy when Russ and Gunnar get together with the right people. It is a delightful book, well written, with depth and thought, as well a darn good storytelling. It is definitely one of the best books of the year.
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YA/Multicultural
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Hava is an Orthodox Jew from New York but she is also an actress, and has a punk style all of her own. After getting in trouble at school she is only too happy to accept the offer of shooting a sit com pilot in Hollywood and thus missing the chance that she will be expelled. On the set of Never Mind the Goldbergs she is not merely the only Orthodox Jew but also the only Jew in the cast. Keeping kosher and dressing punk (but always wearing long skirts) she goes out and parties with another cast member and works out ways to work in such a secular setting without betraying her religious requirements (for the most part). Fortunately a kid from her school is in Hollywood for the summer filming his own real time movie and while she had nothing to do with Moish back in New York he is someone to hang out with once the show is picked up and she has to spend the summer filming. A visit and a revelation from her best bud Ian and a surprise visit from her mom crank up the angst. The details of how Hava makes both her religious and punk cultural ways mix and work makes for a fascinating read. Unfortunately it just goes on too long and could have used some judicious editing. However, I can happily recommend it on the uniqueness of the protagonist and the unusual situations she encounters.
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YA/ Issues/ Crime / Illness
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Alex Crusan has transferred to Pinedale High because of a family move and isn’t any happier about it than the kids who go there who don’t want some AIDS infected kid from Miami contaminating their school. Clinton Cole, football player, former fat kid, and downright mean and angry may be the most outspoken opponent to Alex’s presence. When Alex is sitting in his car at an intersection while making a doughnut run one morning he is attacked with a baseball bat and ends up hospitalized. Daria Bickell, the only witness, knows what she saw but the poem-like thoughts of this girl with Down's Syndrome are hard for her to convey to others. When I first started reading this I was angry at Alex Flinn. The plot seemed like something right out of a YA novel circa 1990, nice kid gets AIDS through no fault of his own and is ostracized and mistreated as a result. Could Flinn, now a well respected YA author, have dusted off an old manuscript? But then, in her best book since Breathing Underwater, Flinn takes it to another level. Using three different perspectives to tell a very 21st century story Flinn lets the reader gradually know each of the characters in all their strengths and weaknesses. As we come to know them they each come to know more about themselves. A great read.
Reading 300 to 400 books a year, not too many books surprise me anymore but I love it when one does and Fade to Black did. I loved the masterful way that Flinn let three very different characters come to life through their words and actions, each in his or her own way. Another brilliant book by an outstanding author.
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YA/ Issues/ Crime
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Black and White also known as Marcus Brown and Eddie Russo, respectively have been buddies since they were little kids. Marcus lives in the projects and Eddie lives nearby. Together they dominate their high school basketball team and league and it looks like their biggest problem is choosing which scholarship to accept for college. Neither one has much cash so they were both saving up to pay their senior dues, the cash required for cap and gown and all that sort of thing when a new kind of sneaker is introduced and they each just have to have a pair. That is when they decide to use Eddie’s grandpa’s gun as a prop to pull some robberies but everything changes the night the gun goes off. Written in alternating voices this quick moving story of how two good boys make some bad decisions and the consequences that arise will appeal to teen readers who like a little edge to their fiction.
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YA/ Contemporary/ Humorous
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