Briefly reviewed-November, 2007 some older, some not yet published… Some of these are new advance copies that I picked up at the NCTE conference this November. 

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (Henry Holt and Company, 2008).  Another great book.  This one is about a teenage girl who has been in an accident but has no memory of what has happened to her.  As she unravels her own story, we end of up dealing with some of the ethical dilemnas of our possible future.  Excellent novel for high school students (though I am sure it would be enjoyed by more mature grade six and seven students as well.

Beige by Cecil Castellucci (Candlewick Press, 2007).  I liked the Canadian element in this one.  As the main character is forced to spend a summer in LA with her punk rock musician father when her mother who has not lived with her dad since she was a baby, goes from their home in Montreal to an archaelogical dig in South America.  Katy is the “perfect” all Canadian teenager who is not impressed by the alternative lifestyle of Southern California.  Lots of great messages here and neat to see a setting that isn’t typical of teenage novels.  

When Heaven Fell by Carolyn Marsden (Candlewick Press, 2007) is fascinating novel set in contemporary Vietnam told through the eyes of a nine year old whose family doesn’t have enough money to send her to school.  Great excitement is when her grandmother finds out that her daughter born during the Vietnam War, the daughter of an American GI is coming to visit.  This daughter was given up for adoption when she was five and sent to the states.  The different perceptions of this daughter and the family in Vietnam make for very interesting novel.  Grade five up I would say.  

Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park ( Yearling, 2005) is about a four H type project undertaken by Korean-American Julia and her friend, Patrick, about growing silkworms.  Julia is less than enthusiastic about taking on such an ethnic project.  An interesting aspect of this book is the arguments between the main character and the author that are interspersed throughout the novel.  Grade four to five…

Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books, 2008) This is an advance reader’s copy.  I thought this book was excellent.  It’s a story of a family who seems to have it all and in their fortress like New England home have always avoided Trouble but trouble has come in the form of the narrator’s older brother being struck by a truck driven by a Cambodian boy who attends the same private school.  The story that evolves is more complicated and more straight forward than it initially seems.  I couldn’t stop reading this one.  Grade seven and up

Afrer Tupac and D.  Foster by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam, 2008) .  This is the story of the friendship of three girls living in Queens, New York with the whole trials of Tupac serving as a backdrop.  This provides an interesting entry into a world our students don’t know very well but probably can relate to their own lives.  Well done story by award winning author.  Grade six and up

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan(Hyperion, 2005) is a fun story with an interesting twist based on the premise that one can find heroes, the sons of gods in our contemporary setting.  Percy is rather hyperactive and ends up being kicked out of yet another school and then finds himself at a camp for half breeds and accused of stealing Zeus’ lightning bolt and has ten days to find and return it and restoring peace to Mount Olympus.  Having just seen the musical, Xanadu, on Broadway, I am beginning to think anything is possible.  

Grade six-seven

Jakeman by Deborah Ellis (Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2007) is another one of Deborah Ellis’ issues novel.  In this one we meet Jake and his sister in New York City on a bus with other children  on their way  to visit their mother who is in an upstate prison.  Like all Ellis’ books the premise may be grim but the persistence of these children and their own resilience once again turns this into a positive yet thought provoking novel.  Grade six and up.

The Bonemender’s Choice by Holly Bennett (Orca, 2007) is the third in a series by this author.  Not having read this series before I initially was a bit confused but was quickly swept into the story as I think children would be, a story set in an alternative world full of magic and mystery.  A kidnapping by pirates and a rescue complicated by the Gray Veil, a plague that slowly chokes it’s victims, makes a fast paced adventure.  I think I might recommend beginning with the first book in the series, The Bonemender.  Grade six and up.  

December reading

Reviewed by Meredyth Kezar