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

Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier by Ying Chang Compestine, Vinson Compestine

Diverse books are necessary to understanding different cultures; yet there are not oodles of choices out there. Some of my favorite multicultural books are written by those that grew up in the culture providing a unique and authentic perspective. Sometimes the books are hard to get from publishers such as Tim Tingle's book, "How I Became a Ghost," that captures the Native American storytelling and cultural mysticism. Kwame Alexander's Newbery medal book, "The Crossover," captures African American middle class and uses poetry to create a unique rhythm and look with text. Ying and Vinson Compestines' book captures Ying's experience growing up in Communist China under Mao Zedong and Chinese lifestyles during the 1960's and 1970's. During this time, communist China persecuted intellectuals and indoctrinated the masses. Ying came from a family of intellectuals and much of her story reflects her experience as she explains in an author's note. The wish fulfillment in this fictional tale is going to appeal to many readers as protagonist Ming Chen strives for a better life and becomes a hero in the process.

Set during the late 1960's, thirteen-year-old Ming is approached by three farmers that unearth a broken terra-cotta soldier. Ming's father is out-of-town collecting his paycheck from the Xi'an museum where he sends artifacts discovered by locals. Mao Zedong commanded the Chinese people to dig tunnels, store grain, and prepare for war against the Soviets resulting in unique items found in the ground. Two years later, people are still digging but the flow of artifacts have diminished to almost nothing, threatening the loss of Ming's father's job. Ming questioned the teacher why they were still digging for so long and no one had attacked from the Soviet Union. She responded by persecuting Ming for questioning the government policies. She'd yell at any student that talked to Ming and the result was a lonely boy bullied by a teacher and wishing he could move back to Xi'an, the town he grew up in before Mao began to rid the country of intellectuals. The teacher is a one-dimensional character that is a puppet to the government representing a type of person that can't think for herself. When Ming becomes a hero, then she is his best friend. She is a hypocrite and oppressive authority figure.

The terra-cotta soldier's head comes to life scaring the noodles out of Ming. The stone soldier tells Ming how to assemble his broken stone body fusing it into its previous grandeur. The soldier has flashbacks to the time he was a soldier for Emperor Quin and worked on building the Great Wall before joining the Calvary. The men that fought for China were allotted land by how many enemy heads they chopped off. It was one of the few ways to improve one's economic position in life. The author does a terrific job mixing the flashbacks with Ming's current drama that involves the Political Officer stealing the terra-cotta soldier from Ming.  The soldier does not talk to the Political Officer but listens to his plot to raid the Emperor Quin's tomb and blame it on Ming's father. In an Indiana Jones type adventure, Ming helps set traps and slow down the thieves. The fast-paced action interspersed with historical fiction and war is going to engage most readers.

Ming is an outcast at school and at the end he has become a hero and popular kid. Ming doesn't think about how two-faced his teacher is (like I did as an adult), but focuses on how proud his parents would be of him. The family units in Asia is generally different than Western family units because many generations live together and take care of each other. It is taboo to put a relative in a nursing home. Chinese women take care of relatives along with inexpensive help hired mainly from Philippino immigrants. The Taiwanese women I work with take their parents to every medical appointment and are expected in order to be "good" children. They are raised with the expectation of making their parents proud by providing for them. Many even give parents part of their income. The authors capture this Asian mentality in Ming's thoughts and also the desire to make lots of money. In a note in the back, the author, Ying has a picture of herself growing up in China before immigrating to the United States. The reader can easily visualize Ming's village and uniformed students. Food adds flavor to the story as well along with Eastern medicine. When the terra-cotta soldier uses acupuncture or presses a spot on Ming to bring him harmony in a stressful situation, it is an interesting and foreign response to me.

Ming's alienation in society is a common theme found in literature, but here his loneliness is driven by other students' fears of reprisals from the teacher. Harsh reprisals are also dealt to the terra-cotta soldier for not following strict military orders. The lack of freedom the common people have in their every day life and the brutal military discipline seems unjust. However, the soldier willingly accepts his fate, seeming to understand the need for obedience in war situations. The punishment didn't seem to fit the crime for the unit was not endangered. I wished the author hadn't foreshadowed what would happen to the soldier as it took some tension out of the plot for me. I found the contrasts on the subject of freedom interesting: The lack of freedom at school for Ming, the lack of freedom for the soldier in a unit, the lack of freedom for the people under communism. While Ming's motivation is to save his father, he ends up doing more in the process. While Ming can't change the culture he lives in he inadvertently does by discovering the Emperor's tomb for he has brought wealth on the village and improved life for everyone. He has freed the people to some extent from a harsh life and elevated the status of the downtrodden intellectual. In the end it is money, not laws that changes peoples lives in Ming's village.

4 Smileys

Be Careful What You Sniff For (Magic Bone #1) by Nancy E. Krulik, Sebastien Braun (Illustrations)

This follows the same vein as the Katie Kazoo series. The realistic story has a magical item that transforms the main character in a unique way. While Katie Kazoo has more of a Freaky Friday magical twist, this one has a rambunctious puppy that gets transported by a magical bone to another location. He bites his bone and ends up in cheer-i-o London. Except everyone is crabby and the cute pooch, Sparky, gets tossed into the dog pound with a bunch of bully bulldogs. He makes friend with a small dog like him and they plan their escape. While I'll get this series for my library I know I'll forget about it. Nothing quite stands out for me. The author does give Sparky specific traits such as him being a hyperactive puppy that uses three-word repetitions that might make it a better read aloud. It reminded me of Mo Willems, "Let's Go For a Drive" (drive, drive, drive-y, drive, drive) which kids love as a read aloud.

The animals have human characteristics and can communicate with each other but are limited in how they can communicate with their human owners. This adds humor and frames the story as the human owner of Sparky only appears at the beginning and end of the story. Notes at the end explain different places in London that Sparky explored. The facts are a good way to give some nonfiction facts in a fiction story. The illustrations should help the reader recognize Buckingham Palace and Big Ben and is a good intermediate chapter book series. Fans of some toilet-bowl humor will think Sparky's peeing at inappropriate times and puking on the floor funny. Can't tell you how many squirts I find in the library howling over books that have this specific type of tickle-your-bones humor. Or in this case it might tickle-their-magic-bone. Light, fun fare.

3 Smileys 

The Grimm Legacy (The Grimm Legacy #1) by Polly Shulman

Someone told me to read this because it was like the Sister's Grimm series, but I don't think they are very similar. The action in this book steamrolls at the end, but has a slow buildup at the start. The genre is magical realism rather than fantasy. Set in New York, Elizabeth, has landed an unusual job working as a page at the "New-York Circulating Material Repository," a type of library that circulates magical or rare objects to exclusive patrons. The most exciting section is the Grimm collection that contains magical objects from different fairy tales. When certain items start to go missing, Elizabeth gets swept up with fellow pages, Marc, Aaron, and Anjali in an effort to solve the mystery. When Anjali and the library director go missing the three uncover a dangerous plot where the villain wants a magical box.

The plot has some loose ends that I hope are answered in the sequel. I didn't really understand the villain's desire for the magical box. At the library it was used as a holding box and Doc explains it is for keeping gold and spiritual treasure. I'm not sure if the villain wanted to rob people of spiritual parts and trap them in the box or if Doc had stored some part of himself in it and the villain wanted it for that reason. Grace's appearance isn't explained much either. Elizabeth's family is mentioned in the beginning but they don't come up again. I thought maybe the sisters would get involved or the doll collection of Elizabeth's mom's was actually tied in with the other doll collection. Some plot elements are misleading.

The character development has Elizabeth learning to accept herself. Like many teenage girls, Elizabeth wants to be beautiful and have many friends. The message is to like your character more than your looks but I didn't think it was strong enough. Elizabeth worries so much what others think that it undermines her standing up for herself. Jaya has more fire in her. She is mouthy and willing to be contrary; whereas Elizabeth wants to please. She is warm and kind. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I just thought her and Aaron becoming romantically involved reinforced the message that she needs a guy to feel like she's worth something as the new kid at school or with others. And I really didn't understand Aaron's actions with the shrink-ray gun. Was the key enchanted to make him betray his friends? There seemed to be some greed associated with it because both boys were "reluctant" to give it to Elizabeth.

The cranky magical mirror was my favorite character teasing Elizabeth and Aaron by revealing their hidden desires and showing that beauty mattered to her too much. Every time the two would ask a question, the mirror would say things such as "Bitsy Rew is brave and true/ A pity she's not pretty too." Later the mirror suggests that since Anjali is gone Elizabeth should go after Marc. Elizabeth's constant thoughts on how beautiful Anjali is warrants this comment. I think that if the author put more emphasis on inside beauty versus superficial beauty then the message would have been clearer about liking yourself.  While entertaining, some of the character development and plot directions were not as clearcut as I think they were intended. You'll have to decide for yourself.

3 Smileys

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Anyone who works with kids knows the power of words. Words can hurt or heal. Words can build up or break down. Words can inspire courage or fear. Words can dance on paper like wind chimes or remain silent. Felicity has a snicker of magic that allows her to see words on people and objects. The words might reveal a history, express feelings, or predict the future. Words materialize out of nowhere and bring her comfort or knowledge in situations. She jots her words in a blue book she carries everywhere, but words fail her when she has to speak in front of groups. The only good thing about moving all the time is she can leave behind her most recent public-speaking disasters. The bad thing is she has to introduce herself in every new school and new class. Her newest school results in her mispronouncing her name in front of the sixth grade class saying, "My name is Flea..." Hers is an unsettling lifestyle involving her mom's extreme wanderlust that uproots her and her younger sister every few months. Unhappy since her husband left her, Felicity's mom has been on the run, flitting like a sparrow from one city to the next. When the three settle with their Aunt Cleo, the two girls make friends and don't want to leave. Felicity can tell her mom wants to leave after 24 hours. When Felicity uncovers a curse in her family that she believes makes her mom wander, she's determined to break it. With the help of her best friend Jonah, she finds out what really matters in life and learns to believe in herself.

The plot is pretty straightforward. Felicity is able to get her mom to stay in town when she signs up for the school talent show called, "The Duel," named after two magical brothers in town that had the gift of music until they became jealous of each other. The loser of the duel was cursed to wander and leave town. The other brother's magic no longer worked with his brother gone. Now that the family was broken, he too, eventually left town. As a result, the town's magic disappeared except for a snicker of it and other family's left too leaving a sad, broken, and unhappy town. The story is a symbol of the adult characters and Felicity, the protagonist, who are leading unhappy, unfulfilled lives. They are broken and beat down by unrealized dreams and fears. Felicity is terrified of speaking and tired of moving. Her younger sister is tired of always trying to make friends at school. Cleo is a chain-smoking aunt that fell out of love over an argument. Uncle Boone is a washed up singer. Her mom can't stay in one place and is broken over her husband leaving her and their two daughters. Florentine carries a bag of burdens that she cannot put down. Jonah is scared his dad will die fighting in an overseas war. Much of this story swirls around hope, love, and belief or faith that all will work out if a person keeps on working at reaching his or her potential through positive words and support from those he or she loves.

Jonah is in a wheelchair and does kind things for others anonymously. He is a budding philanthropist that believes in Felicity and always says that something good is going to happen. His magic ability is his "know-how" that allows him to predict the future. However, he can't predict what will happen to his dad who is fighting in a war and he is afraid that he will get killed. Felicity uses magic, symbolized in a dove tattoo, to help Jonah deal with his fears, just like Jonah helps Felicity deal with stage fright. The author doesn't really incorporate Jonah's disability into the plot and I forgot he was even in a wheelchair for much of the time.

The end reminds me of the Romantic writings that would describe nature in so much glory it was like a religious experience. In this story, when the magic breaks loose and heals all the broken people it is a miracle that causes a revival of the townsfolk jumping and dancing in joy. It made me think of Colin in "The Secret Garden," who is so moved by nature he jumps up and recites the Doxology. Nature in that book so moves the characters that it is like a religious experience. Magic in this book so moves the characters that it is like a religious experience or rock concert. Felicity is not a flawed character, but is the magic weaver; she weaves words to mend and heal those around her as well as her own heart that is upset that her dad abandoned them. She doesn't understand how he could love them and leave them.  She makes peace with it at the end.

Felicity's magic at seeing words seemed like a metaphor for the author writing a book. Felicity is afraid of speaking and must learn to take the risk of speaking in public just like the author must take the risk of writing a book that can be rejected by the public. "No matter how many words I write, they're still just words. Words aren't the same as talent." Jonah tells her that "Your words are talent." Writing a book is like magic. All those words have to fall into place. It is difficult and requires the author to leave himself or herself vulnerable. When the words above Boone change because Felicity says something positive instead of negative, she realizes the power of words. "Maybe sometimes the words I say are as magical as the words I see." It would seem that the author's way of dealing with fears of rejection are to focus on the positive. When Boone talks about how it is harder to see colors as he ages, it suggests that adults don't believe as readily as kids in magic whether that is magic in a story or magic in changing the future or how a person sees himself or herself. This is a feel good story that looks at how the power of words can magically change people for the better.

4 Smileys

Nightingale's Nest by Nikki Loftin

This book was beautiful and disturbing. The first time Little John hears Gayle singing he describes, "The notes were high and liquid, a honey-soft river of sound that seeped right through me. I stopped when I heard the first notes and just stood there, dropping cedar cuttings at my feet. The song sailed over the fence, like it was meant for me alone." Little John is helping his dad with his business by cutting and removing Pecan trees at a rich man's house dubbed, "The Emperor," when Little John hears Gayle singing next door. She's the same age as his younger sister who just died in an accident. Gayle is a foster kid that is abused by her foster brother, Jeb Cutlin, and his mom, Mrs. Verlie Cutlin. Gayle hides in a nest that she built in a tree and sings to keep from despairing. She believes her parents can only find her in the nest. Little John and the Cutlin's live in poverty and life is difficult at home for Little John. His mom cannot accept her daughter's death and is not functioning on all cylinders. His dad drinks away his pain until he is in a stupor. When Little John makes a series of devastating mistakes he must decide between betraying his friendship with Gayle or saving his family from losing their home.

*spoilers - shucks, I can't seem to write a review without spoilers.*
I don't read any reviews or the blurb before reading a book. I don't want to be prejudiced in any way. I loved the magical realism and fairy tale link to Hans Christian Anderson's "Nightingale." It wasn't until the Emperor called his tape recorder a "cage" that I remembered the story and started to see the connections between the two. The reader first knows that Gayle's voice heals when she sings and the cut on Little John's hand heals. Later when she heals a deer that is near death, the reader knows that this story is part fairy tale. Because of this, the ending worked for me with Gayle's transformation.

Gayle can't heal everyone but she does make an impact on Little John and his dad, the latter smiling for the first time in ten months after he hears her sing. Mrs. Cutlin and Jeb are immune to Gayle's singing suggesting they are beyond curing. The characters are not completely one-dimensional villains. Jeb will vacillate between being a bully and showing glimmers of his humanity. The Emperor wants Gayle's voice for purely selfish reasons. Gayle said she could fix Little John inside. Gayle brings healing just like the Nightingale in Hans Christian Andersen's story. But this suggests that Gayle heals Little John by forgiving him; thus, allowing him to forgive himself for hurting Gayle and causing his sister's accident that killed her.

While Little John's family does not live in extreme poverty, they are poor and struggling at not making enough money to pay the rent. The death and funeral expenses of his sister has wiped out any savings and Nikki Loftin not only shows how poverty effects Little John's family decisions, but leads to insecurity, powerlessness, and susceptibility to violence in the community. Little John wants to do the right thing, but his family needs the money so badly that he intentionally breaks his promise to Gayle of never cutting down her tree or nest of refuge. In addition, Little John is so ashamed of his family's poverty that he breaks off his friendship with his best friend, Ernest.

The author presents some of the ugliness resulting in people's desperate need for money from the bruises on Gayle's arms and face to the whipping that Little John gets from his dad. The Cutlins take in foster children for the money only, not because they want to help or nurture children. When Little John gets beaten with a belt, his father doesn't ask Little John's side of the story; he is just angry about the money and believes the Emperor's side of the story. Money is always the priority for these desperate families; at the expense of character and doing the right thing. Later, the mom asks the dad why he's so hard on the boy and in a heartbreaking explanation the dad says it is the only way he knows how to parent. The physical abuse and harsh discipline might disturb some younger readers, but it is explained after-the-fact and there is no descriptive violence. I was most bothered by the Emperor coming across as a pedophile. He isn't, but the situation captures the difficulty of knowing when it is appropriate to take action as an adult or child. Little John should have talked to his dad about his suspicions. He does talk to the dad about the bruises on Gayle's arm and the dad agrees to let Little John spend time with Gayle. Even the adults don't take the right actions. Of course, his dad's job depends on him treading carefully and his dad can't cope with his daughter's death, much less whether or not his employer is a pedophile.

Little John struggles with the definition of saving people and being a man. He wants to atone for his mistake of causing his sister's death by saving Gayle, but realizes that he can't save her. He wants to protect Gayle from the Emperor, the Cutlins, and loss, but he fails miserably for the most part. The adults force him to compromise his morals for money, from the Emperor threatening to take away his father's job to his dad telling him to cut down Gayle's tree to save them from eviction. Ironically, Gayle loses her "nest" home at the expense of Little John keeping his. The Cutlins use stolen money to have Gayle's tree removed for a garden that will feed them. There is a cycle of violence surrounding money by the adults that disregards the feelings of Little John and Gayle and even Jeb. One reason Jeb is a bully is to try and have some power in his powerless life. This lack of authority reflects the nature of childhood. However, Little John realizes that he can make small differences when he stands up to the Emperor, "He had no power over me. He looked broken, kneeling there. As broken as Gayle. As broken as my dad."

Little John wonders what it is like to be a man and thinks of his dad and poverty and Gayle. He knows that his dad scrapes and bows to the Emperor even though he dislikes him. He doesn't want to be that way, but is forced to because his family needs a home. He knows that the only person who can give him work is the Emperor. However, when he asks for work, the Emperor asks him to have Gayle sing for him again. The first time he did this Gayle lost her voice and was devastated. Little John was ashamed that he used his friendship with Gayle to make her sing for the Emperor who gave him $500. When the Emperor asks a second time, Little John stands up to him and does what he should have done the first time. He says he won't have Gayle hurt again.

Little John wants to protect Gayle and while he is able to stand up to Jeb, his peer, throughout the novel, he learns how to stand up to powerful adults even if it means loss of money or home for his family or a whipping. In a nice scene that foreshadows the resolution, Little John tells Gayle she can't fix all the hurts and she says neither can he. In a beautiful parable called, "The Treasure Nest," at the end, Little John describes Gayle's singing that symbolizes him as a tree and her as a bird. They are both broken but find beauty in friendship and protection. Gayle teaches that, "Treasures don't come from the store, Little John." A subplot on Little John's friendship troubles with Ernest shows that he has learned that friendship is a "treasure" and that true friends forgive the mistakes of others.

Tree stumps symbolize Little John's (whose nicknamed, "Tree," by Gayle) growth internally. When Little John cuts down Gayle's tree, he gets sick over his betrayal of their friendship. He muses over the leftover stump a symbol of their injured friendship. The tree has not been completely dug up or burnt suggesting there is time to salvage the friendship. In another instance, Little John looks at a different tree stump that is in their yard - the one that killed his sister - and it painfully reminds him of her and how he caused her death when he jumped from the tree and his sister imitated him breaking her neck in the fall. His memories slowly turn from hating trees and himself to forgiveness. He is responsible for her death and must find a way to forgive his mistake. He's like the stumps. Broken and cut to the core, but from his friendship with Gayle, the singing nightingale, he can begin to heal. Little John looks at situations with a raw honesty that is moving and memorable. He refreshingly takes responsibility for his actions and admits when he is wrong. Forgiveness is a strong theme in this novel. Even the Emperor asks for Gayle's forgiveness, although he loses his voice as a consequence of his actions. When Little John climbs the tree to give Gayle the nest he made with his hair, he shows someone of great character that is willing to face his fears and live life in a positive way.

The writing is gorgeous in this book. "She nodded, her head bobbling like a heavy sunflower on a too-narrow stalk, and edged out a bit more on the branch. Her feet were bare, and dirty. Her toes were a thin as the rest of her, and kind of long - she used them to clutch the branch she was on just like a baby bird would." The contrast between poverty of the characters and the beauty of the singing helped balance what could have been a dark, depressing book. The author also shows the community trying to help Little John's family during their troubles by bringing them dinners and showing kindness. Amidst the desperation, hope shines forth. This rich and complex book has the elements of an award-winner that sings. Don't miss it.

5 Smileys

Seven Stories Up by Laurel Snyder

When I stand in front of a class with a stack of 15 books my book talk is similar to an auction chant, "Here's a book 'bout a girl locked in a room. That's right, locked in a room. She's rescued by her granddaughter who's traveled back in time. Imagine that, grandma as a teen. Who wants to read this book? Do I see a taker? Adventures in a hotel. Explorations in dumbwaiters. Flights down fire escapes. Travels in laundry chutes. Again who wants to read this book? Do I see a hand? One hand up, do I see two, will ya give me two? Two hands, now three, will ya give me three? Going, going, gone! Sold, to the first person that raised her hand." Just kidding. I have never tried that before. Might be a good way to mix things up in the routine. Either way I will chant about "Seven Stories Up" in my next booktalk.

Annie Jaffin travels with her mom to visit her estranged grandma in a Baltimore hotel where she grew up. The grandma is hostile and mean making 12-year-old Annie wonder what happened to her in life to make her such a nasty, rotten egg. A strange storm hits in the night and Annie wakes up 50 years earlier in 1937 where she meets her grandmother, Mary Moran, a young girl who is locked in a room because she has asthma and her parents are afraid she'll die if she's around others. Mary, who goes by the name "Molly", wishes so hard for a friend that Annie magically appears there although Molly doesn't know Annie is her granddaughter. Annie knows that Molly will live to be old and talks her into escaping the "Lonely Room." The two have fun adventures that capture childhood and friendship and how small or large decisions can have consequences as to how a person will grow into an adult.

I have a folder labeled, "Great starts," to a novel. I added this book's beginning to that folder. The first pages hooked me with the tension and great description of setting and character. "You're supposed to cry when your grandma is dying. You're supposed to be really sad. But as Mom and I sped through the dark streets of Baltimore, I couldn't stop bouncing in my seat. At last I stuck my head out the window and leaned into the muggy night. My hair whipped around. The sharp rush of air felt good on my face." I was immediately drawn to the liveliness and energy of Annie that could not be contained. She sounds like a puppy who gets to go for a car ride and life is just too much fun to be sad. Annie's mom is mysterious about her past and Annie doesn't really know her grandma. Her character is such that she is brave and inquisitive, making her actions consistent throughout the entire story, which is necessary in the development of her relationship with Molly.

One of the best things about reading children's books is it reminds me of the fun kid-things I used to do such as playing games like "Jinx" that Annie and Molly play. The two also play hand-slapping games and have fun exploring the hotel.The laundry chute and dumbwaiter escape from the "Lonely Room" is great fun and the late night run for food that they dubbed, "Sneakypies," was something I know my best friend and I would have acted out if this book was written in the 1970s. The "Sneakypie" connection in the future at the end with the restaurant was a nice touch as well. I particularly liked it when the girls make a list of what they want to do for the next day that leads them into a pretend game of dreaming big. Annie says she wants to travel to Egypt. Molly says she wants to fly. They add famous people and pizza to the list. It is imaginative and shows how children don't set boundaries on themselves like adults do. When Annie adds to the list that she wants to save someone's life, meaning she wants to save her grandma from a lifetime of unhappiness, she is revealing the overall story arc. Every action points to Annie trying to help her grandma.

While the book references "Eloise" who lived in a grand hotel and the magic of the wardrobe in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," it is mostly patterned after "The Secret Garden." Mary Lennox in "The Secret Garden" was spoiled and unlikable to people. She is so lonely and isolated that her only friend is a maidservant. Molly in "Seven Stories" is also unlikable and mean toward her nurse at first before becoming friends. The relationship between Molly and her nurse felt rushed to me because Annie is telling it from her point of view. Molly's point of view would have given me a feel for what she was thinking and feeling. As is, Molly's bossy attitude toward her nurse changed because of Annie's scolding and it happened quickly. I kept expecting Molly to be more nasty and self-centered. She is more likable than the characters in "The Secret Garden."

Molly in "Seven Stories Up" has asthma and is so sick the parents think she will die. Colin in "the Secret Garden," suffers from some spine problem that isn't explained and confined to a bedroom just like Molly is in this novel. Colin is the most ill-tempered character of all having spectacular temper-tantrums. Molly is not as cranky as either Colin or Mary in "The Secret Garden," being more desperate for a friend to play with on a daily basis. Colin believes the garden can heal him because it has Magic. Molly believes a bottle of Magic potion will heal her from her asthma. While the garden was a symbol of rebirth for the two kids who lost their parents in "The Secret Garden", Molly's rebirth occurs from being saved by Annie who gives her the courage to stand up to her dad and not be locked in a room. Annie will turn Molly from the future unhappy grandma into a person who is not stunted by fear and loneliness. This message actually reminds me of  the Chronicles of Narnia where unhappy humans are portrayed as people that do not reach their potential; hence, they never find happiness in life and are stunted in their growth as individuals.

An interesting note by the author in the back explains how she had a grandma who owned a hotel and was a very unhappy person. While the story is not about the grandma it is the author's fantasy of changing her relative into a person that led a full life full of joy and happiness. This reminds me of "The Hundred Dresses" where the author wrote it to change how she reacted to a girl being bullied when she was little. In that book, she stands up for the girl and rights a wrong. Life can be full of regrets and disappointments. Books help readers and authors cope with life. Another book that is patterned after "The Secret Garden" is "The Humming Room" by Ellen Potter that readers might like. "Seven Stories Up" is a great addition to any library. Going, going, gone! Sold, to the "girl chewing her thumbnail."

4 Smileys

Unhooking the Moon by Gregory Hughes

I loved to cross-country ski on the Red River by Fargo, ND, with my sheep dog, ski-skating at high speeds. Relatives protested my solitary exercise for what if I fell through the ice? Northern Minnesota is generally one solid block of ice in the winter, but there are always drownings from either snowmobile or ice-fishing accidents. Those concerned relatives took away my peaceful days on the river replacing them with thoughts of collapsing into frigid waters. I was so mad that I let those fears take root. Marie Claire Debillier has fears, but hers are of pedophiles and being alone. She has visions that leave her shaken because they generally come true. She recognizes a person by his or her spirit in a way that is not normal. She sees people after they are dead which makes her quite practical about death. Her brother, Bob, is the narrator and he swings from annoyance to fascination with his sister as they go on an adventure to find their uncle. While the book says 9-12, it is more for the young adult, with quite a bit of swearing and topics such as death, drugs, and child abuse. It's a book written for the "knowing child" versus the "innocent" child.

Twelve-year-old Bob and ten-year-old Marie Claire's mom died three years earlier and they are living in Winnipeg with their dad. Their transportation to and from school is paddling on the Red River in a canoe. They are free spirits with an odd assortment of friends. Bob has a crush on his teacher and Marie Claire suffers from seizures that give her visions of the future. It isn't clear what is medically wrong with Marie Claire although it appears that she has epilepsy and suffers from grand mal seizures. When their dad dies, the two decide to find their uncle in New York. With no address or phone number and the only clue that he is a drug dealer, the two hop a train and travel east in search of him. They end up in New York meeting all sorts of oddballs before finding answers.

This story is really about siblings and their relationships. I couldn't help but think of how much I did with my brother and how he was fascinated and annoyed with me at times. He'd push me when annoyed or slug me in the arm, but then protect me if someone else hurt me. In touch football I got creamed by a guy that injured my neck and my brother hit him so hard in retaliation that he had to leave the game. Bob is the same way with Marie Claire. He shouts at her and protects her. Except Marie Claire likes trouble and lives each day like it is her last on this earth. She's a bit of a wild girl that thinks of fun as joining a hustler on the street and turning it into an acting audition. When she gets into serious trouble Bob goes to extremes to get help from adults. I know my brother would have done the same.

The characterization of Marie Claire is interesting but she acts too old for a grade 5 child. Her dialogue sounds like an adult. It is funny so I didn't mind, but all the coffee she drank and comments that an adult would say that comes from experience didn't ring true. She's a goofy duck who is entertaining but lacks authenticity. Bob spends most of his time reacting to Marie Claire and he bored me after a while. While there is plenty of external tension, by the time they got to New York his patterns were repetitive of just protecting Marie Claire or being annoyed. I wanted more explanations on Marie Claire's medical condition and Bob's character to change more. The ending came off as too abrupt and while I liked the beginning of the book, I lost interest from New York with Ice and the aftermath.

The plot has quite a few conveniences that are supposed to highlight the personality magnet of Marie Claire, but they felt contrived to me. Joey, Ice, and the homeless man to name a few. A plot technique I am somewhat tired of is the use of dreams to foreshadow the plot. This book uses Marie Claire's seizures as such. For me, the plot becomes too predictable. I know it is supposed to add tension, but I get annoyed by them. This is a matter of taste on my part. I have some friends that like realistic fiction and they really liked this book with its small bit of magical realism and kooky characters. It did have its moments for me. You'll have to decide for yourself.

3 Smileys

Meltdown Madness (Looniverse #2) by David Lubar

The characters in this book are not developed well. I think I should have read book one to get the full picture of who is who, but someone checked it out of my library so I tried jumping into the series with book two. Boohoo. This book was a head-scratcher for me. The protagonist, Ed, can't play on the soccer team unless he sells a box of chocolate or wrapping paper. (I've never been at a school that has that requirement to play sports.) When Ed gets outside he realizes it's hot and tells his friend to run the box home, but his magical coin makes the boy run so fast he goes like a rocket, heating the candy to a liquid softness. Ed determines the bars are unsellable and he spends the rest of the story coming up with cockamamie ideas of how to earn enough money to buy the bars.

For a story to work, even with fantasy, there has to be some internal logic to the plot. This tale was missing that logic. First, kids aren't going to be excluded from sports because they can't sell a box of candy. It would have made more sense that the boy was selling candy as a fundraiser to go play soccer in a tournament. The next illogical notion is that Ed couldn't sell lumpy chocolate. I remember buying lumpy melted chocolate from my friends fundraising at school. I was so dang hungry I didn't care if it was melted, just like Ed's brother didn't care when he ate a piece. Even though it is illogical, the imaginative and silly side to the story will appeal to young readers.

As a character Ed doesn't give up and he is creative with his ideas of how to make money. He worries about how he speaks because his magical coin responds to his words in unexpected ways. When his sister is playing with her make-up and hairstyling doll head, he manages to let loose pigs and ponies from using the words, "pig-tails" and "ponytails." Ed doesn't show any internal struggles, but mainly external ones. The resolution and how his friend warmed up the milk was funny. A light-hearted illogical early reader. 

2 Smileys

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

I have a Talent for burning food into unrecognizable rock-like chunks that Ker-plunk when tossed into the garbage can. The people of Poughkeepsie either have a Talent or they don't. The worst thing for a person in Pookie - I mean Poughkeepsie - is to have no Talent. Those that don't tend to be "Middlings" or middle children. (That explains my Talent woes). Poor Middling Marigold is one of those with no Talents and she's desperately trying to find it. When we first meet her in the story, she is tooling down her list of possible talents and scatching out, pinata making. Her attempt to make a goldfish pinata ends disastrously when the head breaks off and rolls across the kitchen floor. The domino effect of her breaking it is quite funny with an ironic afterwards of her ruefully looking at the severed head, "Your pinata skills need work, its gaping fish mouth seemed to tell her." Interesting characters and great writing make this a fun read.

Alternating voices tell this tale; however, the main voice is that of Cady, an orphan who has a Talent for baking mouth-drooling cakes. Cady wants to find a permanent home, but it never works out. She is sent back to the orphanage run by the wonderful Jennifer Mallory who adores Cady like a daughter. Jennifer is quite successful using her Talent to find orphans' homes, except it doesn't work with Cady. Marigold's younger brother, Will, has a Talent for disappearing and the chapters he narrates are filled with the imagination and adventure in contrast to the 10-11 year old Cady and Marigold. Will pretends he is a storybook knight whose motto is: "Giants. Monsters. Cake." And whether he's crawling through air ducts or riding a dumb waiter in the walls that no one else knows about, he bubbles and bounces through each day with zest. It is fun as an adult reader to be reminded of the joys of childhood. (Not that I climbed in air ducts! I explored the street sewers like a rat.)

Zane, older brother to Marigold and Will, has a talent for spitting. This gob-spitting maestro can project a glop of mucus with such precision that he uses this Talent for many things such as annoying Marigold. Lisa Graff creates authentic relationships between siblings who bicker and stick up for each other. "I'm going to tell Mom and Dad you spit at me," she [Marigold] retorted. "But she knew it was useless, like a poodle puppy yipping at a full-grown rottweiler." When Zane accidentally shoots down or I should say spits down the mysterious grey-suit-man's hot air balloon causing damage to their apartment, he sets into motion one of the many subplots that ties characters pasts with the present creating one complex muddled knot.

The adult voices of the Owner, Toby, Mrs. Asher, Mrs V, and Miss Mallory were not as engaging for me as the three children. I liked the different voices, although it was confusing at times and I did have to go back and reread some sections because I missed important details. I found that the multiple-voices made what would have been a somewhat predictable plot, unpredictable. Graff drops clues but doesn't recap everything so the reader has to put it all together for the most part. It was quite fun and reminded me of a mystery where clues are left like a trail of crumbs. The plot doesn't answer all the questions and the ending seemed a bit rushed but overall it is a highly entertaining story.

You might want to stop here. I am going to add some spoilers. I don't know how to talk about the author's messages. Sorry. Read this after you've read the book. Or if you are like me and have a Talent for forgetting everything or if you read the last page of a novel, then please read on.  

Mason, Delores, and Zane have problems with feeling worthless and they steal as a way to find self-worth. It is implied that Mason's family thinks he is good-for-nothing. We don't know when or why he steals others Talents. Delores steals a bone artifact as a young adult feeling it gives her worth because she found it on a dig as the only person with no Talent. Her insecurity is reflected in Zane who feels worthless by the Principal at his school. Delores and Zane change emotionally from beginning to end as they learn to like themselves, but Mason stays a one-dimensional villain.

At first I thought the Talents were rigid. You either had one or you didn't, but they are actually fluid. You can lose them and gain them in random or purposeful ways such as Mason stealing them and Cady losing hers. As such they are more true to real-life talents that come and go. For instance, I once had a talent for soccer, but I can't play now because of arthritis. Talents come and go and are nurtured in different ways and at different times in a person's life. As one character says, "A Talent is only rewarding if you wield it well." The idea at the end of the book where the group doesn't use any Talents and creates peanut butter that tastes almost as magical as the original recipe is a statement on teamwork and effort to be good at something without focusing on natural talent. Too bad Mason didn't stick around to learn that with his relatives. Multiple in-depth messages are thrown forth in this novel that make it good for book clubs.

Fate is another big theme. The man in the grey suit is the Fate-maker, but unlike the Greeks who felt Fate was predetermined, Fate-man believes that it is how one reacts to situations, "It's the way we deal with what Fate hands us that defines who we are." He isn't the only one who says this or believes it. Fate is described the same way by Cady and Marigold as they go through their emotional arc. At the end, when Cady slips the jar in her pocket it is clear that she is making a choice as to what to do with Fate. Fate isn't about being a victim. Fate is about choosing your destiny.

The writing has a heavy dose of repetition that helps highlight key points and certain words, such as Mr. Fate-man had "a grin that suggested he knew more about the world than he was letting on" and when the same phrase is used by Cady at the end it is clear that she understands that happiness is being with those you love and love you back and choosing your destiny. Or words such as "Adoption Day" that celebrates a child finding a family which reflects Cady's deepest desire or the repeated "Wha-pop!" of the door at the Emporium and the "click-click clack" of the pet ferret that add texture and emotion to different episodes. The cake recipes sprinkled throughout the chapters connects cooking in a nonfictiony way with Cady's story. Even the mystery book all the characters are reading, "Face Value," is a comment on the superficiality of Talents. The real depth of a person comes from what is inside and how they choose to determine his or her Fate.

O' Talented readers, pick this winner up and enjoy.

4 Smileys

The Water Castle by Megan Frazer Blakemore

Hey folks, meet Ephraim Appledore-Smith, your average kid. I repeat, average. He used to think he was pretty smart until moving to Crystal Springs, Maine. Here everyone is a genius and most live longer than the average Joe Schmo. Ephraim goes from first to worst at school and it is not easy on his ego. Then he starts to wonder what the heck is going on. The town residents, teachers, and students are not normal with their sky-high IQ's. Even his smart sister and athletic brother have gone off the charts since moving there; unfortunately, this strange phenomena eludes him. When he hears the story of people coming to Crystal Springs in the past because of the healing waters, he wonders if that's the reason people are so smart and if it will cure his dad who has had a devastating stroke. The family has inherited the Crystal Springs castle that is now their home with the hope that their mom's mentor doctor-friend can rehabilitate their dad. History of the castle reveals that the healing water was bottled by relatives and sold to people all over the country before the hotel spa burnt to the ground. The bottled water business gave the Appledore family its fortune and the castle its name, "The Water Castle." Ephraim decides to dig into the castle's past and discovers his ancestor was looking for the Fountain of Youth and he takes up the same quest in an effort to heal his father.

Ephraim, his younger sister, Brynn, and older brother, Price, notice the loud humming the house makes and the strange blue glow at night and wonder about it. Ephraim thinks it is related to the healing waters and initially gets assistance from Brynn searching for it, but he soon realizes that he needs more specific help. He forms an unlikely friendship with classmates Will, who is brilliant at science, and Mallory, a black girl with in-depth knowledge of the castle because her family served the water castle owners for generations. Will's relatives have nursed their hatred for Ephraim's family's success for years, convinced that Ephraim's relative stole their idea of bottling the magical waters. Will desperately wants to erase this bitterness in his father and change him from one is jealous of others to one who is content. Mallory's parents are in the middle of a divorce and she wishes they could be a family like in the past. The two are drawn to Ephraim's quest and adventure to find magical waters that will heal his dad, not realizing that they all need healing too.

The characters internal struggles give this story a richness and depth that pulled me into it. Some might feel the start is too slow and be turned off by Ephraim's initial attitude and stupidity, but he changes as the story progresses and his clumsy attempts at socializing make for an authentic character. Teenage years are wrought with awkwardness and Ephraim fluctuates between being a kid who believes in magic and listens to his parents, to one believes in science and facts, and who talks back to his parents in an effort to grow up. Throw in Ephraim's anger and you have a complex personality who is grappling with loss and major life changes. I was discussing this novel with a colleague and she suggested that perhaps Ephraim represents the difficult transition from elementary to middle school. In elementary school, classes are small and students can feel smart. In middle school, students get lumped in classes with everyone else and the discovery that they are a "number" and "ordinary" can be a difficult maturation process. Ephraim also has the middle child syndrome where he is trying to find his place in the family hierarchy. Price is filling in for their father, trying to support their mother and Brynn, while Brynn is the baby who loves those around her. Ephraim, on the other hand, struggles with his identity and lashes out at his mother and siblings.

Not only does this novel deal with three sixth graders transitioning from childhood to adulthood, it tackles the hefty question of living for eternity; thus, creating a magical realism that mixes science fiction with reality. I've only read, "Tuck Everlasting," by Natalie Babbitt that attempts exploring this theme in children's literature. The subplot of Nora and Harry ties in with this theme and while I liked how Blakemore intertwines the story, she had some contradictions and left some plot elements hanging. I like that the ending is open to interpretation, but I didn't like some of the loose ends not wrapped up such as the bottle in the ground with the contradictory message in conjunction with what Mallory's parents discuss on page 179. (I'm being vague here on purpose - I don't give spoil a plot twist.) I also didn't understand in the subplot how Nora could be so highly educated (she knew French and Latin) and why the Jim Crow laws prevalent during the 1900s that disadvantaged African Americans economically, educationally, and socially were never reflected with Nora's situation. She doesn't face racism or discrimination in her story. I wondered, too, the connection between Ephraim's high radiation reading and how it prevented the healing waters from working in him. Perhaps there will be a sequel.

The author's mix of science, history, magic, and realism is well-done and marvelous. Creation stories evolved from humans trying to explain natural phenomenas. Science usurped these stories with their explanations over the years and the three characters use the scientific method to explore the healing properties of the water through the study of radiation, electricity, and genetics. The explanation of the Fountain of Youth in scientific terms is quite creative. The subplot reinforces this theme and Orlando's formal way of speaking helps set the tone of a time past. The writing is nothing short of terrific.

Ephraim was a fresh breeze in my recent profusion of book reading that has been laden with genius protagonists.  I love that Ephraim is normal. No Mr. Genius. No superpowers. Just a kid who discovers that he is normal and that's okay.  I hope if there is a sequel Ephraim does not become a genius. I like him just the way he is.

A great book club book.

Reading Level 5.9
4 Smileys

The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech

I work with a Lizzie-type person. She doesn't take a breath, rattling through conversations like an auctioneer. Sometimes I want to make the timeout sign with my hands, other times I marvel at her yapping tongue. Lizzie Scatterding is Naomi Deane's best friend who has a good heart, is melodramatic, and can be annoyingly talkative.  Both girls are orphans living in the town of Blackbird Tree and their relationship and dialogue is one of the great strengths of this novel. Dizzy Lizzy repeats everything to factual Naomi to which she usually replies something like, "Lizzie, you crawdad. I'm not deaf."  She also asks so many questions that Naomi almost asks her to stop but remembers Joe saying "Lizzie could talk the ears off a cornfield, and it made me laugh, and I wrapped an arm around Lizzie."

Most of the people in Blackbird Tree have suffered in some way. Lizzie's mom died of a disease and her dad of grief, while Naomi's mom died in childbirth and her dad died of an infection caused from defending her from an attacking dog. It mangled Naomi's arm, but she doesn't dwell on it. The two girls don't want pity and when a teacher comes to town she can't believe all the tragic tales the students have in regards to family. Naomi says, "We thought we were normal. All any of us wanted was for somebody to care about us, and if we couldn’t have that, then at least somebody who wouldn’t be too mean and who would feed us from time to time.” When, the two girls meet the mysterious Finn boy, things become complicated as Naomi falls in love with him leading to jealous feelings toward Lizzie.

The terrific writing and the way Sharon Creech puts sentences together made me really enjoy this book. The characters are eccentric and a fantasty-like realism runs throughout the chapters that is quite unique. The play on words regarding names had me laughing such as Lizzie Scatterdinghead who is a scatterbrain and Dapper Dingle Dangle Doodle man, and the muddle-brained Mrs. Mudkin who never says, Naomi's, name correctly calling her "Neema" or "Raynee" to which Naomi replies it's "Nay-oh-me."

The alternate story of the two women in Ireland and the different characters named Finn or Paddy is not clear until the end. I take that back - some parts are clear while others are not. Naomi's Finn is a very confusing character. He's the fantasy element. I have no clue if he is an elf, fairy, leprechaun, or druid. He crops up in three generations of women and tries to cause a rift between friends. He's the ghost of girlfriends past. The gold at the end doesn't make sense to me either. I thought maybe it was the leprechaun's pot of gold and the girls would get three wishes, but that is not the case. Naomi's Finn tells them to not steal the gold in the beginning of the story and at the end we find out that Finnbar died because he stole it. Paddy/Finn wants the trunk because it has gold coins in it. It would have helped me if Paddy actually mentioned the coins in his confrontation with Sybil. The whole Irish folklore needed to be fleshed out and worked into the plot more to make sense to this wee lassie.

At the start of the novel the characters have a southern accent except Nula who sounds Irish but later Irish accents crop up in other characters and I got a little confused on the setting. The ending was rushed as everything was wrapped up neatly for all the women and townspeople. I think the unbelievable way in which everything turned out so well for each character is supposed to tie in with the magic of Irish folklore and wishes coming true but there isn't a strong connection to any specific legend, so I'm not sure how to analyze it. Like Lizzie, I am left with lots of questions and no pot of answers, but inspite of my confusion, I really enjoyed this story and the characters.

Reading Level 4.1
4 out of 5 Smileys

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett

This is one of those books I think English teachers and adults will love, but I'm not so sure about younger kids. It won the 2011 Children's Book Council of Australia award and while it has a reading level for students at the end of 5th grade, most young readers won't be able to comprehend all that is going on. Shoot, I had problems figuring out all that was going on. The story unfolds with bits and pieces scattered like breadcrumbs so that you need to have some background knowledge to guess where the story takes place... and I guarantee... you won't know where the story is going or how it will end. By the time I figured out the setting, I was well into the chapters. That aside, this is a beautifully told story with rich metaphors and lyrical text. Sonya Hartnett is an amazing writer.

Night is personified as a black-clad horseman who uses the moon as a lantern casting its light on a village that has been decimated by war. Night is surprised to see two young boys walking in the rubble. The tone of this fable is set with Night as the narrator introducing a theatrical play against a grim background, shining a spotlight on the two major characters, Andrej and Tomas.

The boys meander through the destroyed village with Hartnett's text creating haunting images that assault the senses: "A flotilla of clouds as dense as battleships was unmoored by the gale, and, when the clouds coasted across the moon, the light of Night's lantern was quenched. Darkness was thrown over the village like a sorcerer's cloak: Andrej heard Tomas whimper, and felt him catch at his sleeve." The two scavenge for food in the village and find an abandoned zoo where the animals can talk. The boys not only have to feed themselves, but their baby sister whom they carry in a backpack and needs tending to as well. The boys read the words in the zoo sprawled over the animals cages that are in Czech. The author doesn't tell you the language is Czech... I just googled the words. This is your first clue to the setting. Several chapters later the wolf calls the boys, "Rom" and gypsy children, so now I know that the story is taking place in World War II when the Nazi's tried to exterminate the gypsies along with the Jews. Again, this isn't explained and you have to come with a certain amount of background knowledge. The Holocaust isn't taught until middle school so most 5th graders are not going to connect the dots.

The boys have animal characteristics and the animals have human characteristics. I thought the story slowed down in the parts where the animals were preaching about the evils of humans and zoos and war. This book doesn't build the story in a subtle way like The One and Only Ivan. No, it is more in-your-face and for the most part, one-sided. The strength of the story is in the style, tone, and symbolism; more-so than the narrative and heavy-handed themes delivered by the animals.

The violence involves Nazi's shooting children and adults, a train being blown up, animals being mistreated, and three siblings losing their parents. Andrej has to think like an adult in order to survive and while there are moments that show him as a kid, such as when the two pretend to be airplanes careening through the village, most of the time he is worrying about his two siblings. The story is propped against the harsh backdrop of war and the themes of freedom and war are filtered throughout with an abundance of symbolism and parallels between humans and animals. It is well-known that gypsies highly value freedom and choosing the main characters with that ethnicity makes the loss of freedom more poignant; plus, their nomadic existence is similar to the animals in the zoo who don't live in one place but cover territories when in the wild. Both the animals and the gypsies in this story have lost their freedom and while the animals physically enclosed behind bars, the gypsies are caged by prejudices and are enclosed by invisible iron bars. There is so much symbolism that I cannot cover it in a review. There is a good teacher's guide if you want to go more in-depth with Hartnett's writing.

The dream-like unfinished ending is different and has gotten mixed reviews. The author explains “Yes, I like leaving lots of frayed ends in my books. I write for people who like to think about what they’re reading, so I litter the books with falsehoods and unanswered questions and minor suggestions of major events. I really hate the idea that I must tell the reader everything in clunking detail. The reader is part of the experience that is a book, and I like the reader to have some input into the creation of the work – to decide what happens in the end, if need be. It’s why I never write sequels – the notion of hammering something out to utter flatness is ghastly to me. I will never tell a reader that the way they’ve read a book is wrong. Every thoughtful reading is a correct reading, as far as I can see”. See what I mean about her writing? Even her interview has terrific word choices and descriptions.

If you want to read this book, the middle school library has it. I won't be purchasing it for the lower school library. It is currently on the 1012 Carnegie Medal Shortlist.

Reading level: 5.7

4 out of 5 Smileys