Drums, Girls, + Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

I was thinking this reminded me of "Wonder" with its emotional punch and melodramatic ending but it was written ten years before "Wonder" by R.J Palacio, so to be more accurate, I should have reversed that statement. Terrific pacing and a strong voice make this rise above the typical school story. It starts out framed using the convention of a middle school kid writing in his journal in English class but that gets dropped halfway through the novel. Some parts are predictable and a bit dated as this topic has been in the media for ten years with students at schools helping others in need or that are battling cancer. What makes this story particularly good is the strong character development, the protagonist's interest in music, and humor that lightens the serious topic of a sibling dealing with his five-year-old brother who has been diagnosed with Leukemia.

Thirteen-year-old Steven is in eighth grade, loves to play the drums, play with his younger brother, drool over the hottest girl in school, and tool through school as the funny kid when life changes the day his brother fell off the kitchen stool and gets a nosebleed that won't stop. Steven's mom comes home from the hospital only to inform them that Jeffery's nosebleed has revealed that he has Leukemia. First all of them feel guilty for not seeing that Jeffrey was sick. Then Steven's dad withdraws into himself going into denial, while Steven feels anger over the Jeffrey's rotten diagnosis. To top things off, Steven's mom is now gone all the time and his brother is having painful chemotherapy treatments. Steven hides it from everyone at school until an intervention is called and he is forced to deal with his brother's cancer.

Steven's character arc goes from him being angry and resentful because his parents are not paying any attention to him, to one that is not so self-centered. In the end he stops feeling sorry for himself and he recognizes how his parents are doing all they can to help Jeffrey. Steven deals with his anger by banging on his drums for hours learning new musical pieces and driving out his worries at least temporarily. This came across as really authentic. The author says he is a drummer and it comes through in the detailed writing. I particularly like it when Steven talks about being in "the zone" while playing the drums. Anyone that has played sports or been on a team that clicks in a way that all of them work like one unit or just made an individual effort above and beyond, knows the magicalness of moments like that.

At times Jeffrey responds to Steven in ways that sound too old and jarred me out of the narrative. Steven even comments about how does Jeffrey say this stuff and I wonder the same thing. I just can't picture a five-year-old using the phrases like "magnet babe". But who knows? His brother is 8 years older. You'll have to decide for yourself. It does add humor so it isn't annoying. The parents are normal and loving but they too are trying to deal with their lives being turned upside down. Steven sees that it is hard on them but their issues stay on the plot's fringes allowing the reader to get completely absorbed in Steven's point of view. I found this book hard to put down and a fast read. I also thought the subplot with Samantha helped tone down the melodramatic ending. It is a sobering reality but one that many cancer patients have to face. Not everyone survives the disease. A gripping story.

4 Smileys

Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin

Nikki Loftin has realistic, gritty plots with a touch of magic in her books. Her first book, "Nightingale," shows poverty and how it affects lives and decisions tied in with the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale. This book shows two kids that don't fit in with their peers and a protagonist that isn't accepted by his family. The magic in this story is an oasis where nature soothes the soul and heals. While entertaining, this one doesn't come together particularly well in character development and plot.

Peter Stone's family has moved from the city to the countryside so Peter can get a fresh start. Something terrible happened to him and while his family is supportive on the outside, they keep trying to change him on the inside. His mom and dad fight more than is healthy and Peter has to get away from the noise. While wandering the countryside he finds a peaceful valley that literally speaks to him through the animals and insects. He meets Annie Blythe, artist extraordinaire, with a cancer riddled body. Together they face their problems trying to overcome bullies and adults that subvert their voices.

Peter's family comes off as neglectful at first then overly protective later. They don't communicate with Peter and the parents are having marital problems since his dad lost his job. The beginning presents the parents as not really caring about Peter who goes off for hours and no one notices. Then they suddenly notice and everyone is worried to the point he is grounded. Peter is supposedly fragile but his internal voice seems awfully clear-headed to me. I didn't see him as having serious problems. The author shows his fears and inability to speak, but that is it. I wanted more. The one-dimensional bullies never really come to life either and while it is revealed their parents abuse them and one of them is not as cruel as the other, I thought the accident would expose them and their parents with a telling scene. That action is left hanging and unresolved.

Sometimes the plot is predictable and other times it is not. The magic is conveniently used when the plot needs to move forward or the humans make a bad decision. This made it feel contrived and at the end when Peter talks to his family he doesn't come across as a broken kid that has learned life lessons, he comes across as a kid that has been wronged by the adults in his life who have misunderstood him and forced him to do things that he didn't want to do.  He says some mean things to Annie but I think the first person narrative worked against giving the reader a well-rounded view of who Peter really was and what he had dealt with in the past. He's not very melancholy or raw emotionally. Instead he tells too much versus showing it.

The artistic Annie has some interesting insights into art. She tries to teach Peter that art transforms and he is transformed to some extent by their friendship. At the end the resolution happens off the page and the wrap up was a bit anti-climatic. The bullying Annie endures doesn't make sense either. Again, I think the point of view worked against rounding out the characters in a more sympathetic way or in a way that I could get sucked into the storyline. As is, I kept noticing the craft which kept me from magically disappearing into the story.

I kept thinking the story might be like "No Fault in the Stars," but it does not look at cancer in the way that one does. It does remind me of the Romantic writers of the 1800's, such as Frances Hodgeson Burnett's, "The Secret Garden," that uses nature to the extent where it is almost a religious experience for the characters in its power to heal. While I like Loftin's word choices and voice, I just couldn't get into this one like her other one.

3 Smileys

All the Answers by Kate Messner

Ah, the joys of wish-fulfillment. Remember Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill that magically wrote when she interviewed subjects from the Harry Potter series? Most of the stories were sensational but one time it was accurate (sort of). I really want a magical pen that will write for me. Just think, papers or book reviews appear with no mistakes. No drafts. No bad-writing days. Now I'm going to add Kate Messner's magical pencil to my wish list. Imagine having a pencil that answered all your questions. Oh, the places you'd go. Or not. Twelve-year-old Ava has found such a pencil and luckily she is morally grounded and learns to not abuse the pencil's magical powers. Her friend, Sophie, on the other hand, does use the pen to hurt others and learns the hard way that she cannot control a person's free will. There's plenty of humor, emotional turmoil, and strong character development. If you liked, "Bigger Than a Breadbox," by Laurel Snyder, then you'll like this realistic book with a touch of magic.

Ava  Anderson is taking a math test when she hears answers to her questions as she writes on scratch paper. She figures out that her pencil is magical and shares her secret with her best friend, Sophie. Messner is good at creating distinct traits in her characters and Sophie is a rambunctious, tumbling gymnast that uses the curb as a balance beam and does back handsprings when she finds out a boy likes her. She's impulsive and it gets her in trouble when she uses the pencil to feel important with other kids in her grade. When she starts to share secrets about others that hurt feelings, it is Eva that reigns her in.

The two friends balance each other out. Eva is neurotically worried about the future. She has so many fears that it can be crippling. Sophie, convinces her to take risks or lets her know when she's out-of-control. Eva is particularly worried about death. Her grandma passed away five years earlier and Eva's grandpa is in a nursing home. She's also concerned about her parents getting a divorce or her mom having cancer. Many of her fears come true so she seems justified in her worries, although it was appropriate that she saw a counselor at the end to help her deal with anxiety.

The plot is a bit overly ambitious with death and divorce and cancer. Seems like one could have been dropped. The subplot of romance is light with the girls interested in boys but no one is serious for very long. It's spot-on for most middle school behavior. The grandpa's storyline is easy to figure out early in the book but it isn't resolved until the end; however, the pencil twist and where the magic comes from was not predictable. Good fantasy writing explains the source of magical powers and while some might find this far-fetched, it makes for a stronger plot. Some criticized it and I know my readers that really don't like fantasy might struggle with this unbelievable part.

The humor helps lighten the heaviness of the topics and I especially enjoyed the father and his attempt to create some famous recipe that would draw people to his general store. A large superstore is coming to town and he is trying make his small grocery store stand out so that people will choose it over the other. When he starts an oven fire and then pulls out a donut that is charred on the outside and raw on the inside, it reminded me of my sister and me making brownies. I preheated the oven and my mom had sixteen boxes of cereal stashed inside (family of seven). I set the cereal on fire and my sister and I lined up like a fire brigade chucking cereal into the kitchen sink with the faucet on full blast. Later we cooked the brownies only to discover we'd read the recipe wrong and the inside was runny. I was 16 and she was 10-years-old. I'm still a hopeless cook, just like Ava's dad.

4 Smileys

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora

Eighth graders Lucy, Elena, and Michael want to get people excited about reading their late teacher's favorite book and one on the summer reading list, "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee. It is the beginning of summer vacation and they hatch a conspiracy named, "I Kill the Mockingbird," where they make it hard to get the book by hiding them in bookstores and libraries; hence, limiting the supplies to the public.Then they setup a website and social media campaign inspiring others to do the same. When a famous man tweets about it the campaign goes viral and escalates out of control. The three decide to end it with a big bang having a book burning party. I've acted out books before, but never imitated a book burning bonfire. Thank goodness the characters change their minds on that thought. Book burning is not a good idea and would have landed 'em in a heap o' trouble. Their initial idea is to burn a thousand pages of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and create a big finish to their scheme of getting people excited over reading it. They take old weeded library books from a dumpster and are going to burn them saying it is Harper Lee's book. Their intentions are to honor their dead English teacher through the creation of a funeral pyre in memory of his favorite book, but most are going to misconstrue it as rebellious behavior against reading or think of it as a metaphor of demagoguery, censorship, and suppression.

While the plot is somewhat silly, the character development and dialogue are powerful. I laughed time-after-time with the author's unique phrases and hilarious banter between the threesome. Elena is a hoot and culprit of most, while Michael offers opposing viewpoints and is his own person, and Lucy narrates while dealing with her mother's cancer. While discussing their book burning Elena jumps on the tricycle that African American Michael is peddling and he turns and says, "This isn't Driving Miss Daisy." Earlier Elena is described as looking like a doll that Santa leaves under the Christmas tree. She is also described as a black-haired bulldozer in a pink dress. She's a bit out-of-control which makes her a gas. Michael is figuring out his Little League options and what is best for himself as he and Lucy deal with feelings they are having for each other. All three are anxious about starting high school next year. The trio call themselves "literary terrorists" and the nonstop references to literature are great fun. Oddly, the dead teacher is stereotyped as fat. The author does a great job not making the characters sound too adult. My favorite line is Mark Twain being referenced as an "equal opportunity buffoon maker."

Lucy's mom is recovering from cancer and doesn't take care of herself. Lucy nags her about her unhealthy eating habits and at the end shows how scared she is of her dying. Her mom has a pretty healthy attitude on death even if she doesn't on eating right. The irony adds depth to the storyline. The conversations on religion do not moralize but tend to be funny. When Elena and Lucy are doing a photo-shoot for Lucy's mom as Joseph and the Virgin Mary, she asks Elena to have more "wonder" on her face. Elena quips, "'If I am the Mother of God, then I wonder why I just gave birth in a barn.'" She turns to me [Lucy]. "'Joe, you couldn't do a little better with accommodations?'" Joe [Lucy that is] responds that is what you get for falling for the first angel that came along. "Elena gazes up at the sky and sighs. "'He looked like Johnny Depp, and he promised he'd show me heaven." Later Lucy describes praying to St. Lucy, "My namesake is the patron saint of eye disorders, and her statue is supposed to remind us not to sit too close to the TV screen." She goes on to describe the statue, St. Lucy, holding a tray with two gouged eyeballs on it. St. Lucy poked out her eyes to avoid marrying a pagan. "Now I know that the Catholic thing can be seriously weird sometimes." Another time when Lucy discusses faith she says she doesn't know if it is better to believe in miracles or the randomness of life. Nothing is forced down the readers throat.

Michael presents a fresh opposing viewpoint to Harper Lee's book that is thought-provoking. He calls the protagonist a white tomboy that "worships her father in a town filled with whacky racist Christians and lynch-mob farmers. It's a comedy about old-timey southern people who treat each other badly." He goes on to point out that Atticus Finch isn't a very good lawyer ending up with three executed clients and letting a murderer go free. Later Elena's father, Mort, points out that mockingbirds are aggressive, liars, unconscionable,and territorial as opposed to being a symbol of innocence. When Michael asks if he is joking Mort replies, "contradiction and paradox are the building blocks of great humor." The author practices what Mort preaches as this is found throughout the text.While the short text makes for a good read aloud and discussion, I did wish the plot was longer than 166 pages as I wanted to spend more time with the characters. I know I'll be looking for more books by this author.

4 Smileys