Here Lies Arthur

Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve

After the Romans left the British Isles in the fifth century A. D., there were many centuries of pillaging and plunder by one tribe or clan upon another until it became a unified country. It must have been excruciatingly painful to try to raise crops and families. One legend gave them hope, and indeed continues to give hope to this day. That legend was of Arthur, the king who, with the help of a somewhat magical destiny, created a golden island of peace for a short period of time. The legend said it could be done once, so it could be done again.

Well, Philip Reeve has exposed that legend for what it was–a really good story. But no matter, it is the story that everybody needed anyway. Best not to go by the truth on the ground for historical inspiration–we humans are much better at story than we are at deeds. And Philip Reeve is an excellent writer who tells a really good story about an orphaned slave girl who was there and who may have been the only one with any common sense. So in this book, we get hope renewed by trading the ancient story of a legendary and peace-loving king for the modernized story of a sensible and strong-willed girl.

Fans of Reeve’s Mortal Engines series will like this book as will upper middle school and high school readers who enjoy stories of historical fiction with strong girl characters.

Gaby

Slam!

Slam! by Walter Dean Myers
On the basketball court, a player has a clear objective and several people who are seriously in the way. In a young person’s life, there is the goal of reaching adulthood with style and what can seem like shark-infested waters in the way. For Greg, who likes to be known as Slam for his finesse on the basketball court, the obstructions on the court are no threat to his confidence. Off the court is another story. As he makes his way through one successful basketball season, he struggles to transfer some of his basketball skill to his life.

Told solely through Slam’s voice, this story also reveals what goes on inside the head of an African-American youth growing up the inner city, where drive-by shootings are commonplace and drug-dealing is a prevalent career choice. Yet his only real obstacle to realizing his dreams is himself. Slam has grit and heart and a family that he values; if he overcomes his sensitivity to what he sees as disrespect, he will have a clear shot at his dreams.

As a story with a lot of basketball action, this book will mostly be enjoyed by kids in upper middle and high school, boys and girls, who like to play basketball. But the basketball should not be a reason to avoid this book. It is a great story of tackling growing up with both mind and heart.

Gaby

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Number the Stars

That Lois Lowry could write Gooney Bird Greene, The Willoughby’s and Number the Stars is amazing. The first two are fun and silly. Number the Stars is neither. However, it is an excellent book that brings to life the story of how Danes supported their Jewish neighbors and helped them escape the Nazi’s. According to the afterword, almost the entire Jewish population in Denmark was smuggled into Sweden. Wow.

I recommend this book to any child that read and enjoyed the Diary of Ann Frank. It is a suspenseful story, but there is no graphic violence. It does contain mature concepts associated with war and the persecution of the Jewish people. It also addresses the concept of when it is okay to lie, and how sometimes not knowing something is a way to keep people safe. This is a great book to read with a slightly older child as it could foster good discussions. -Jessica

Night Hoops

Night Hoops by Carl Deuker

One of my students said about books  by Carl Deuker, “I like it when sports books have something else going on.”   The pages of this book are filled with basketball. But the story is about focus, compassion, and an open mind, and it keeps up as fast a pace as the action on the court.

A sophomore, Nick is obsessed with basketball–everything in his life revolves around it. But he also realizes that if he is going to be a star player on a winning team, the rest of his life has to work well. He has to keep up his grades, he has to understand his family, he has to respect his teammates, and he has to trust his intuition. As much as he pushes himself to be a star athlete, he also has to push himself to mature as a human being.

Anyone who likes to play basketball or even to watch it will enjoy this book, boys and girls, from middle through high school, or even younger for advanced readers. As a good sports book, it is  an affirmation of the winning combination of ambition and wisdom.

Gaby

Under the Blood-Red Sun

Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury

In this story, author Graham Salisbury captures the panic, confusion, and terror during the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941, told from the perspective of Tomi, a young Japanese boy. Tomi’s father and then his grandfather are arrested out of a mistaken fear that they may be collaborators. Tomi struggles first to make sense of the situation, and then to gather his inner strength. It is  a story that contrasts fear-inspired cruelty with the compassion and loyalty of true friendship.

Under the Blood-Red Sun is well-liked by middle school boys.  There is plenty of dramatic action and a significant event in American history is brought vividly to life with realistic descriptions and highly believable characters.

Gaby

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart

Frankie Landau-Banks just wants to be let in. As a sophomore at a prestigious East Coast boarding school, she is very happy that a really popular senior thinks she is adorable. But he and his buddies have the camaraderie, the intellectual repartee, and the bonding that appears to be creating a potential springboard for their future lives. That’s where Frankie wants to be, but her boyfriend cannot imagine including her. Smart, philosophical, and highly creative, Frankie wants both to be arm candy and also to be, not only included, but the leader of the pack. She will have to choose, and though the going gets rough, she will choose and she will eventually be happy with her choice.

Author E. Lockhart writes books for teenage girls that helpfully explain boys to them and that  also encourage girls to not become dependent on boys for their own identity. She does this in a very entertaining and light-hearted fashion–her books are page-turners. well-written, entertaining, and helpful. The Disreputable History of Franki-Landau-Banks won the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature and was a finalist for the National Book Award. It is a pleasure to recommend it for teenage girls–the content is even appropriate for middle school girls, though high school girls will probably find it more interesting.

Gaby

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt

Fiction tends to follows certain rules, particularly fiction for kids. The reader is satisfied when the bad guys get their due, and when true friendship endures. But fiction based on a real event cannot necessarily follow those rules, because in real life, often good guys lose really badly and friendships get lost forever. In 1911, the lives and homes of the people of Malaga Island off the coast of Maine did get destroyed by some greedy, powerful men from the neighboring mainland. Nothing good came of it; the powerful men never got the tourist attraction they wanted and the people who lived there never came back.

Author Gary D. Schmidt populates this story with the new minister’s son who lives on the mainland and an orphaned girl, the youngest of several generations of African-Americans to call Malaga home. Turner finds his starched white shirts and the scrutiny due to the new minister’s son suffocating. He meets Lizzie, who rows over from her island to dig for clams on the mainland beach. Their instant liking for each other deepens into a solid friendship. He believes he can save her. She tells him he isn’t thinking straight. She is the wiser of the two.

This is a tale of the war between two human instincts: the desire to be generous and kind to others and the coexisting capacity to treat fellow humans cruelly and without conscience. It is told with a cast of colorful characters on a backdrop of  natural beauty by a  sensitive and lyrical writer. Written for middle school and older elementary school kids, it is also a joy to read for an adult.

Gaby

The Truth About Forever

The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen

For years I gave my students books by Sarah Dessen to read because I was confident they would enjoy them. But I only found the time to read one myself just recently. Now I am even more confident. I love giving books to teenagers that I know will help them. Sarah Dessen writes as a beneficent adult but through the eyes and the soul of youth.

In The Truth About Forever, sixteen-year-old Macy Queen grieves for her recently deceased father as she navigates her goals, her peer relationships, and her shaken home-life. The clear path through comes from  deeply buried instincts that seem to fly in the face of what she and her mother thought would get her through. But she makes it because of the unadorned goodness in others that draws her along.

I laughed, I wept, I got involved with the true-to-life characters in this book and wished to get back to them when I wasn’t reading. This is clearly a book for girls; the romance develops very slowly and is deeply committed.  It is a story about strength, the power of love, and pulling through.

Gaby

Story of a Girl

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

Sometimes when I read a book written for young adults for review, I get impatient with the adolescent protagonist who seems to be wallowing in self-pity when his or her situation is just not that dire. That was the case with this book. But by the time I finished it I realized it was an accurate portrayal of how a teenager, in this case a girl, can get trapped in her own disillusionment. Physical and emotional maturity are looming, the safety of childhood is fading away, and her first forays into independence and maturity have left her feeling damaged. People who care for each other hurt each other, and then don’t know how to repair it. It makes for a sad read.

However, all is not lost. She can learn to accept small victories, and to take more charge of her life. This is a rite of passage for many young teenage girls. How I would like it if none of them had to go through it, but so many do and gain wisdom from it, wisdom that will serve them well as they grow into women. This is a book that can help girls who read it, to either recognize some of their own feelings, or realize how to avoid such feelings. Although the entire subject revolves around sex and friendship, there are no explicit scenes. For eight grade and up, I would say.

Gaby

The Endless Steppe

The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig

Exiled to Siberia. After several weeks on a train, “enemies” of the Russian state have been dropped off to be forgotten in this nearly empty five million square miles for four hundred years. Ten-year old Esther Rudomin’s parents and grandparents are accused of being capitalists by the occupying Russians in 1941. They are yanked from their life of luxury and privilege in Vilna, Poland one morning and thrown into cattle cars with nothing but what they can carry. They end up being “lucky” for they are Jewish and the Germans who invade soon after did not practice the art of exile.

Esther spends the next five years in Rubtsvosk, Siberia. Extreme cold, constant hunger, filth, and fear are her constant companions. Yet she can still fret, like any young adolescent, about fitting in with her peers to the point that she will sacrifice food if it means she will belong. She creates, through pure force of will, the early teen years that she desires and when it is time to leave, she experiences the separation anxiety any teen feels when they must leave the first world they have created for themselves.

This is a story of resilience, pride, and determination, an intimate portrait of one slice of a significant time in relatively recent history. Girls from about fifth grade up to early high school will appreciate this story.

Gaby