Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

From the get-go you know this is going to be a different story with the first line of chapter 1: The corn was talking to him again. A mix of fairy tale, Greek myth, mystery, science and realism, Laura Ruby creates a tale of her own that doesn't quite adhere to any one genre. I'm not sure how my realistic, non-fantasy reading buddies would like it (Angela and Karen). It worked for me and reminded me a bit of a young adult version of "Breadcrumbs," by Anne Ursu. Layers of meaning are honeycombed throughout the plot making for discussions on abuse, bullies, definition of beauty, treatment of women, disabilities, parental absence, peer pressure, and more. The imagery, word choice, and symbolism found in the bees, names (or lack of), agrarian setting, and myths of past literature enrich the plot and make for a page-turner targeted toward middle school, high school, or adult readers. This goes on my burn-the-dinner list.

Eighteen-year-old Finn O'Sullivan doesn't look anyone in the eye, but the small town of Bone Gap accepts his idiosyncrasies until the day Roza disappears. As the only eye-witness, Finn watched her leave and is not sure if she went of her own free will or was kidnapped. Finn along with his older brother, Sean,  try to cope with two people abandoning them in their lives. Their mother had left them for an orthodontist a few years earlier spoiling Sean's plans to go to medical school and leaving Finn in his care. Finn can't describe the man Roza left with in great detail and blames himself for letting her go or not rescuing her.

The various points of view include Roza's story that takes a magical turn when her abductor does the impossible of creating alternate worlds and answering her any wish, (except the only one that matters which is to set her free). The author shrouds Roza in mystery slowly unveiling her past, providing good pacing and tension. When a magical black horse shows up and Finn takes interest in Petey, an unattractive peer, the mystery or myth starts to unfold and take shape drawing all the different elements and genres into a satisfying ending.

*spoiler* I'll try not to reveal too much of the plot.

Comparisons with the Greek myth of Persephone and Roza are obvious. Persephone represents the harvest and fertility of vegetation. Much imagery is devoted to Roza who can grow anything in the boy's garden, goes to school for botany, and whose plants wilt and die after she leaves. In the myth Persephone's beauty draws unwanted attention from other gods and when Hades kidnaps her she becomes Queen of the Underworld. Roza's preternatural  beauty causes her to be abducted by a man in a black SUV who gives her anything she wants but won't let her leave his domain; there is even a reference to pomegranates. Roza has had to deal with unwanted attention from men in the past and she reflects on it while imprisoned.

When a magical black horse shows up at Finns house, he and Petey take some midnight rides that don't seem quite real as the horse leaps distances that are impossible. I knew I was missing the significance of this reference and it wasn't until I read a Maile Meloy's New York Times article  did she remind me that Persephone's mother, Demeter, went in the form of a black horse. She's referring to the myth where Poseidon raped Demeter when she was searching for Persephone; they were in the form of horses and she became pregnant from the episode. The river in the book is surreal too and reminded me of the River Styx.

The subplot of Finn falling in love with Petey and the idea of beauty evolves throughout the story. Roza and Petey are judged by their appearances but the two do not let the world define them as such. Roza is competent and practical. She can stitch up a gash, grow enough food for the three, and jump out of a moving car to save herself from unwanted attentions. Petey, who is considered ugly, determines that she is interesting, even beautiful, inside. The way Petey reflects about this through the science of bees is fascinating and not overly technical.

Finn and Sean, as characters, must deal with male expectations. Sean is expected to be a conventional hero and save Roza, but he is broken and hurt inside from being abandoned by his mother. Finn, being good-looking and "pretty", is attracted to what society would label an unattractive girl. Both boys have to come to terms with societal versus individual expectations and find the courage to be true to themselves. The author's deft character development is one of many elements well done in this tale. Don't miss it.

5 Smileys

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

Ali Benjamin sure knows how to infuse her plot with tense emotional situations. From death to changing friendships to bullying she captures middle school and all its ugliness and uncertainty with an identity crisis that brings about self-understanding and confidence for the main character. For the most part she does this well, but other times misses the mark a bit as Suzy becomes too extreme as the nerdy, factual character that is hopelessly inept socially - to the point that I thought something might be wrong with her medically. But then Benjamin pulls back and I was able to get absorbed by the story again. I can recommend this to students that like "Wonder," "One for the Murphys," and "Out of My Mind." A strong debut novel that will have me on the look-out for more books by this author.

Twelve-year-old Suzy Swanson has decided to stop talking to people after the death of her best friend, Franny, in a swimming accident. After seeing an Irukandji jellyfish on a school field trip, Suzy develops a theory that her friend drown because this venomous jellyfish stung her as a result of global warming and it being found in parts of the world never before. She researches everything she can on the fish and decides that an expert in Australia can help her prove her hypothesis.

Suzy tells the story with flashbacks to when she and Franny were friends. They had a falling out that is slowly revealed as the author unfolds details leading up to their split. The cruel killing of an amphibian might upset some readers. Flashbacks oftentimes do not hold my interest like the narrative, but that is not the case here. Benjamin does an excellent job weaving forward and back in time to create an engrossing story.

The study of jellyfish and Suzy's hypothesis of what happened to Franny makes for an interesting juxtaposition between nonfiction and fictional narration. Suzy is presented as a misfit along with Justin who has ADHD but understands it better than most his age. While I liked him as a character giving some relief to Suzy's seriousness, he seemed a bit too old and mature. Perhaps it was him poking fun at being ADHD and understanding how it affected others negatively. I grew up with an ADHD person and Justin's character lacked some authenticity for me. The bullying seemed a bit over the top. It makes the story more emotional but at one point I felt I was being manipulated and wondered how their friendship could have turned into something quite so nasty. And Suzy's justification of what she did back was weak. These are minor points and don't detract much from Suzy's character arc. Add it to your to-read list.

5 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

Nine Open Arms by Benny Lindelauf, John Nieuwenhuizen (Translator)

The past eleven years I've been a wanderer like Fing's (Josephine's) family. "We were globetrotters within our town. North, south, east, west: we were able to go everywhere but didn't feel at home anywhere, and now it seems we were about to move again." That is a good description of a career as an international teacher. Many counter it by purchasing a home somewhere. At least then it feels like you have roots in a place, even if you are only there a couple of months. This theme of wandering is one of many throughout this story. Others include lies versus truths, disabilities, bullies, lost love, and more. The story is divided into three parts that comes together with a strong ending.

Fing's Dutch father is always starting some new venture that doesn't quite succeed. He's eternally optimistic and and tells his six children to "First believe, then see" and to choose the "opposite of worrying." Their mother is dead and their gruff and loving grandmother, Oma Mei, with a swivel-eye does most of the disciplining, feeding, and caring for the children. The family has arrived at a new home at the end of Sjlammbams Sahara, a road with a house facing the opposite direction of the road and full of secrets. Fing and her sisters start to uncover those secrets and find out why Oma Mei has been lying to them.

The setting is in the Netherlands during the 1930's, while the middle part is a flashback to the 1860's. The last part travels to 1937 and pulls the story together. I struggled the most with the first part because the pacing was slow and the character traits of the girls took awhile to materialize in my brain. It could be my brain though. I wasn't feeling well and had a headache when reading this so try it yourself to see what you think. My reading buddy, Angela, didn't have a problem with the first part but found the flashback weird. Either way we both agree it came together at the end well and had some unique twists.

Jess, Fing's younger sister, has a twisted spine and has to wear a brace. She is teased at school and hates it that she can't perform the same tasks as her older sister. When she makes friends with a bum, it suggests that the two have an understanding of what it means to suffer and be marginalized in society. Rather than calling her disability by a medical term, they call it her wreckbone. The wreckbone becomes a metaphor for suffering that happens in the family mentally as well as physically. The secrets that the grandma is hiding about her husband are not healthy and the father moving all the time looking for his next "successful" career is wearing on the children that need to settle down and make friends. The ending suggests healing and hope for the future.

In the United States and Britain, very few books are translated. Jack Zipes gives a figure in his book, "Relentless Progress: The Reconfiguration of Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Storytelling," but it is checked out and I can't look up the exact numbers. Needless to say, I do remember that the market for books in English is the largest and that the statistics quoted for translated books were miniscule in comparison. Hopefully this will change more in the future. Studying other cultures brings tolerance and empathy. We really are not much different from each other and what better way to show that then in a story.

4 Smileys

Fish In A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

I read oodles of books. Always have. Always will. Sure wish these blogs were around when I was growing up in the age of typewriters. My reading experiences are quite different than the students I chat with on a daily basis. They come at books with their own unique perspectives. Just like me. Just like you. This book has an appealing emotional punch that is similar to "Wonder," by R.J. Palacio and terrific character development. As an adult reader who has many favorites when it comes to books on children with disabilities, I'm getting pickier over what is original and stands out in the herd. While some parts of this story were touching, others fell short.

Sixth grader Ally is in school and her teacher is going on maternity leave. She asks her students to write a short paragraph on themselves for the long-term substitute teacher. The teacher and Ally get in a power struggle because Ally doesn't want anyone to know she can't read or write. Ally gets angry at being forced to write and scribbles hard on the desktop because she knows she'll get out of the activity. The teacher sends her to the principal and cleans the desk. Hmmm... usually the kid would clean the desk but this is one frustrated teacher. And she plays right into Ally's hands.

Ally's brain will think one thing and she'll blurt out another. Making friends is like washing peanut butter out of hair. She is bullied by Shay but also laughed at constantly by other kids in class. Most think she is trying to be funny and her quick-witted responses are often accidental - she doesn't mean to be a jokester or sassy-mouthed. The result is she fools the adults around her and successfully hides her disability. Other outliers in her class are picked on such as Albert, the scientific genius; Oliver, the ADHD tornado; and Keisha, the cooking prodigy. When the new teacher shows up he figures out that Ally has dyslexia and the two bond as she deals with her learning difficulty. More importantly, he draws out the potential in her and she learns to read and believe in herself.

The beginning sets up the stereotyped teacher that can't manage students and is exasperated by an uncooperative student. Her character is flat and perhaps it makes her a more obvious foil to the substitute teacher, Mr. Daniels; however, her lack of complexity made me not as engaged in the plot until Mr. Daniels chalks his way into the classroom scenes. Ally's inner monologue shows the emotional turmoil of a kid that is full of self-doubts. Students will empathize with Ally as she agonizes over making friends, feeling like a loser, and dealing with her problem. She lashes out at others and desperately wants to fit in with her peers. When she makes friends with the other misfits, Albert and Keisha, she finds power in friendship. Although when Ally first meets Keisha she asks her if she likes eggs and rambles on about all the different ways she likes eggs. This painful exchange magnifies her social ineptness. By the end this drastically awkward girl has all but disappeared.

The middle of the story takes off with characters defined by distinct traits and voices. Ally's brother shows that he has an engineer-type brain but suffers from the same learning fate as Ally. The dad is deployed overseas in the Middle East and the mom is doing the best she can with her children. The brother's ingenious design of windshield wipers without a motor reveal his innovative and inventive spirit. Mr. Daniel's character shows he's not always perfect either. Sometimes he singles Ally out to praise her and give her confidence that makes her feel like a charity case, other times he shares her secret. The complexity of trying to teach Ally is captured not only with her fragile ego, but with Mr. Daniel's not always making the right choices when dealing with her. This strengthens the authenticity of their relationship and shows that Ally can forgive even when she's been hurt by adults. I thought Mr. Daniel got preachy at times changing the focus from Ally's internal changes to a slight didactic tone on how to behave, especially at the end.

The humor balances the darker themes of bullies, anger, and misunderstandings. Ally tells Albert and Keisha why Shay is hell-bent on making her life miserable and it is easy to see why they don't get along. And it is Ally's fault. I won't spoil it, because it is so Ally. Needless to say Ally's mistake and Shay's relentless put-down's are understandable. Shay's mother is a bully, as well as her daughter, making Shay's character more understandable and engaging. The author creates strong characters that pull the reader into the plot along with themes such as self-acceptance, confidence, and communication, to name a few.

The ending doesn't seem authentic because Ally goes from this impulsive kid that is a bit odd to a leader in the classroom that the kids look up to, ask advice, and want to be friends with in a very short time. It did not add up with the evolution of her character. Perhaps when Keisha, Albert, and Ally fantasize about the future about how successful they will be and are dreaming big, it sent me spinning off the cliff. I just needed them to be settled in their skin and instead the focus shifts toward them being successful in the eyes of the world and that jarred with me because up to that point they were being successful in their own eyes. In the book, "Absolutely Almost," by Lisa Graff, the boy learns to accept himself without outward success and it seemed more authentic; whereas, this is more wish fulfillment. There is nothing wrong with it, but it made the resolution feel off.

Novice readers have limited emotional experiences and reading is one way they can live vicariously through characters and be exposed to emotions before they happen in real life. This exposure helps prepare them to have empathy for others. By representing the inner qualities of a character such as feelings, beliefs, assumptions, intentions, and thoughts, an author can produce a way for readers to empathize with fictional characters giving them a strong emotional engagement that supports their cognitive and social development. This book does just that. And while I'm coming at it from as an adult reader and see some holes, I know that most will want to be on team Ally. A great addition to any library.

4 Smileys

The Vanishing Coin (The Magic Shop #1) by Kate Egan, Eric Wight (Goodreads Author) (Illustrations), Magician Mike Lane

Mike needs drugs. I'm serious. Poor guy. He shows symptoms of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Okay... maybe drugs aren't the answer. In this case he needs magic. Magic tricks. Magic books. Magical moments. Ah yes, Mike is struggling in school. He can't control himself and is bullied by Jackson a kid twice his size and in his class. Mike can't understand why he just jumps up and has to move in class, but he does. He can no longer be on the soccer team because of his poor grades and he has low self-esteem. He ends up meeting Nora when their mom's decide to carpool and share watching each others kids after work. Mike discovers that Nora is quite smart, but she is also confident and kind. When the two go to a magic shop, Mike finds that he is not only good at magical tricks, he's better than Nora. He teaches himself how to perform and entertains other students at school making new friends and learning to believe in himself.

Students will love the inserts that explain how to do magic tricks. I thought this read would take me longer than 45 minutes, but the big font and illustrations make it a quickie. A magical twist at the end shows that this is the first book in a series. While Mike is a fourth grader, the book is also a good read for younger students.

I've seen ADHD handled in many ways and Mike doesn't really get good support or the adults don't seem to be giving him behavior strategies for dealing with it. Many times teachers will warn me if a kid with it is having a bad day and they torpedo around out-of-control. They get sent to the counselor's office where they can blow off some steam if it is really bad. Mike gets scolded and sent to the principal's office. At this point it has been identified that Mike had problems last year so it seems that the adults are not treating it as ADHD. But then no one ever says Mike has ADHD, that's just my interpretation of his symptoms. Mike is more of a borderline kid and says he can't control himself. Usually by 4th grade, kids have grown out of hyper, impulsive behavior which is why it seems that he has a disorder. The adults are not implementing any behavior interventions such as helping him stay organized and helping with a book report. It appears they think he can control himself and be more responsible. I'm not so sure. Mike's the kind of kid that falls through the cracks at school not getting the help he needs because he isn't severe enough, but he obviously needs help.

Nora helps Mike the most showing him one-on-one how to take notes on index cards and how to write a report for class on the magician Houdini. She takes his interest in magic and turns the homework into something doable for him. She even plays soccer with him to pick up his spirits one day. She's the voice of reason and becoming a friend he can count on. So much so that when his friends ask him to return to the soccer team, he isn't sure he wants to because it means not spending time after school with Nora. A good story for readers that are not ready for a challenging text but need some depth.

4 Smileys

Sasquatch in the Paint (Streetball Crew, #1) by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld

Basketball does not dominate this plot but supports the themes of growing up, learning to manage time, and making friends. Good character development and a fast pace kept me engrossed in this story. Theo Rollins has grown six inches over the summer and is on the 8th grade basketball team. When Coach Mandrake decides to create an offense around Theo's height he feels pressure to improve his game. He's not an experienced, good player. In fact, the coach implies he might get kicked off the team if he doesn't improve. Theo decides to engage in some pickup games but the extra work hurts his other after school activity which is his science club's trivia competition. Unable to keep up with the two he must decide how he'll spend his time. When his cousin is the victim of a theft and Theo is accused of the crime, he finds that he's running out of time for everything.

The theme of managing time and learning to be responsible is one every coach watches young adults go through. Some can manage heavy loads and others can't. When Coach Mandrake threatens to kick Theo off the team if he doesn't perform, I didn't really think buy it. Coach knows Theo is inexperienced and it seemed that it was only the team's second game - I never did get a clear indication of how far into the season they were. Mandrake also spends time pointing out Theo's mistakes when he should have been pointing out the strengths he could build on. By the time he does it is on page 178, but then he implies that if the team loses on Friday, Theo would be off the team. I know the author was trying to up the tension for Theo, but it was contradictory. I don't coach basketball but what I've observed is that most basketball coaches will go out of their way to develop a kid that has height and potential.

A nice tie-in with teamwork was Theo's observation that his science club team didn't work as well together as his basketball team. They were too individualistic. The end shows how the basketball team worked together to try and overcome a taller, stronger team and how Theo realized that he could use his intelligence and creativity to try and break the opponents down. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. That was another reason the Coach threat didn't jive with me. Players take more risks when they know they are supported by the coach and they can be creative. Of course, I am a female and I only know girl sports which is quite different than boy sports. And I've never coached boys. I'm no expert so take my musings as is... just musings.

The characters are engaging from Theo's internal struggles with growing up and not wanting his dad to treat him as a kid to him grieving the death of his mom and his family trying to move on. Brian is Theo's sidekick and adds great humor. The girl, Rain, is strong-willed and not afraid to speak her mind or follow the crowd. She's unpredictable and interesting as a character. Gavin looks like a self-centered jerk, but he has an introspective side that actually helps Theo deal with his basketball woes. What begins as a one-dimensional, racist twit turns into someone that is insecure and bluffs his way with others to cover it up.

The plot maybe tries too hard to hit different ethnic backgrounds having minority characters dealing with racism. There was comments regarding the Asian boy, Jewish boy, Muslim family, and being a female. While I really liked the rapport between Brian and Theo and their discussions, I thought the Muslim boys were somewhat stereotypical with using violence against their cousin. I really liked the BIB  "Because I'm Black" jar that represented not making excuses for your skin color. When Theo talks to his dad about the game and blames the kids in the stands for his poor performance because they were calling him names such as monkey, his dad made him put a dollar in the BIB jar. Theo's mom started the jar as a way of not using racism as an excuse. She once blamed a high charge from a repairman on being female. Theo and his dad told her to put a dollar in the jar. The jar wasn't just for Theo but the adults as well. It is a good reminder to not be angry and point fingers at others but take responsibility for actions. Name-calling in sports is meant to rattle a person and Theo had to find a way to deal with his anger. Today, racism in European soccer exists with fans tossing banana peels at black players on opposing teams. One soccer player picked up the banana and ate it, using humor to try and make the tosser look foolish and show he didn't care. Racism is ugly. People have to find a way to deal with it in a healthy manner.

There are some funny lines in this book. When Theo has a confrontation with a kid in the cafeteria he observed that "Everyone returned to what they were doing as if nothing had happened. Theo thought everything in middle school was like that. Students went through the day like pets on a leash. When something shiny or loud caught their attention, they all looked and barked for a few seconds, then continued walking until they passed the next shiny or loud thing." I have some noisy middle schoolers stampeding by my library right now. This book is a "skyhook" winner shot.

4 Smileys

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, Louis Slobodkin

I just read a picture book, "Each Kindness," by Jacqueline Woodson that is basically "The Hundred Dresses" plot except without the redemption or forgiveness part. I've been trying to read more classics because so many have blipped off my brain's aging radar screen. In the forward, Eleanor Este's daughter explains that her mother wrote this book because she was ashamed of herself for not standing up for a Polish girl who got teased for her unusual name and for wearing the same dress every day at Este's school. While in this story the tormented girl, Wanda, forgave the characters, in real life Este was not able to tell the girl she was sorry because she moved away in the middle of the year. Este's book attempts to right a past wrong and heal a mistake that troubled her well into adulthood. This story allows her to forgive herself for a poor choice and resolve to find the courage to stand up to those bullying others. A timeless message that will entertain both adults and children.

*spoiler*
It took me 30 minutes to read this short page turner that appears simple but is psychologically complex as it deals with issues of friendships, minorities, bullying, and classroom dynamics. Peggy and Maddie are best friends who take no interest in Wanda Petronski, a Polish classmate who lives in the poor part of town and comes to school every day in the same faded, clean blue dress. She sits on the fringe of classroom with the other poor students. When another classmate comes in a new red dress all the girls in the class circle her "oohing" and "aahing" at the red fabric. Wanda is standing next to Peggy and says that she has a hundred dresses. The girls immediately assume she is lying and Peggy cruelly teases Wanda every day about her dresses. Maddie is bothered by Peggy's teasing but is afraid to say anything because she takes Peggy's hand-me-down dresses and thinks she might become the target of ridicule if she tells Peggy to knock off the constant tormenting of Wanda. While Maddie doesn't mock Wanda like other students she protects her status with peers by not saying anything. When Wanda moves, the two discover that she wasn't lying about the hundred dresses, but had drawn them for a class contest.

The teacher reads a letter from Wanda's parents saying that they moved because of the cruel treatment of students toward their kids. Peggy and Maddie feel so bad they go to Wanda's house to apologize. When they can't find her they write a letter. Maddie decides to never "stand by and say nothing again" as she realizes that she was more at fault than Peggy for not telling her to stop teasing, because Peggy didn't really see her actions as wrong until she saw all the gorgeous drawings Wanda made displayed in the school. Maddie, on the other hand, was bothered by it long before the contest. When the two write Wanda a letter they don't actually write they are sorry. Instead they tell her she won the contest and her pictures were beautiful. It is hard to say sorry and I thought this was very authentic.

Wanda responds to their letter and it is obvious she forgives Maddie and Peggy. She leaves them two pictures of dresses she drew and Maddie realizes the faces on the pictures are hers and Peggy's. She can't believe it because Wanda drew them when they were teasing her. Rather than hating them as Maddie thought she would, Wanda shows through her present of the drawings that she chose to not hate but be kind even in the face of the girl's meanness. Wanda's grace toward them is a more powerful response then anger and makes Maddie even more determined to change and behave differently in the future. 

I wasn't sure about the plot choice to tell the reader right away that Wanda had left the school, but Este's cleverly flashbacks and unfolding of clues as to why the girls tormented Wanda and why she left school kept the action suspenseful versus preachy. The technique allowed the reader to explore Maddie's psychological turmoil as she tries to process Peggy's teasing of Wanda every day. Maddie comes up with excuses for Wanda deserving the ill-treatment and shows how difficult it is to stop injustices by speaking out. Peggy is the most popular girl in school and Maddie gets clothes from her. Maddie has much to lose by angering Peggy and she struggles with saying or not saying something. In the end, she chooses to not say anything and the result is shame for her behavior. This is the kind of situation happens not only in school, but the workplace, families, and societies.

The subtle message about classroom dynamics and how the teacher who doesn't build a classroom community is one that spoke to me as an educator. Wanda sat in the back of the classroom with the rowdy boys who didn't "make good marks on their report cards." The teacher has relegated those with muddy shoes or learning problems to the back of the room. Wanda is forced to read in front of the class which she can't do because she most likely doesn't know English well enough. When the teacher scolds the class for the letter from Wanda's dad that says they moved because of the students teasing his kids, I thought she was being hypocritical. While the teacher wasn't out at recess and can't monitor unsupervised places such as walking to school, she can control what happens in her classroom and her nonverbal actions show she was just as much at fault as the other kids. In that regard the author's message is not only for children, but it is for teachers as well. We all can take a hard look at ourselves and take stock of how we are treating each other human beings.

5 Smileys

The Amazing Adventures of John Smith, Jr. AKA Houdini by Peter Johnson

Yellow post-it notes litter my desk like a checkered flag. Once in a while one gets stuck to my elbow or purse bottom. I'm optimistic at first that this organization technique will galvanize me into getting my act together. But by the end of the year, I've gravitated toward my natural chaos, casting a jaded eye at the fake wood desktop thinking, this strategy ain't a workin' for me. I feel the same way about some common literary techniques in children's literature. At first, I think, ahhhh... how clever of the author to have the main character use a dictionary to look up words, helping the young reader learn new vocabulary. After coming across this technique umpteen times, it's looking like a checkered flag to me right now. Eventually, I git dawgone tired of it. Maybe my problem is they remind me too much of doing outlines for research papers where my scattered notes looked like confetti. Or maybe it is too much like cooking where I always miss a key ingredient creating a mound of inedible slop. Or maybe I'm too random for a sequential list. I don't know. I do know I get irritated at lists as well. Lists for top ten rules to make friends. Lists for things to do. Lists of favorite words (that's a biggie). Lists on how to pick your nose (just kidding).  Alas, this book has lists. But we don't see them once in a while, we see them ten times over the course of 160 pages. These lists clarify the plot. They are funny. And they irritate me.

I wonder if my snarky attitude towards lists makes me too biased to write a review, and maybe it does, but I didn't think this book lived up to its potential. While the craft elements are all there, the end result was like a rock skipping across the surface of a lake with chapters too short and the first person point of view too limiting for me to connect with the characters. The strong start introduces the protagonist, Houdini, who sounds like a smart aleck teenager. He's funny, has an attitude, and spends time with his good friends, Lucky and Jorge. Lucky is actually unlucky when it comes to injuring himself and Jorge likes to swear all the time. The trio deals with Angel, the class bully, and learn to not be afraid of their neighbor, Old Man Jackson, an ex-Vietnam war veteran with one arm and pit bull guard dog. Their neighborhood is rough and life is not easy for the boys. When Houdini's brother goes off to fight in Iraq, the family is fearful for his life, causing Houdini to find an unlikely friend in Old Man Jackson.

A subplot involves Houdini writing a novel. Normally I like this metafictional touch, but here it made me notice the writing craft too much and I felt like I was being manipulated through the story. Dad is political and opinionated. He's about to lose his job and through writing, Houdini notices these changes. The problem is that the first person point of view made the father flat as a character. Perhaps if I could go inside his head, he'd be more rounded. As is, when I first read his views they sounded like a platform for the author's political views. The same goes for Angel. I needed to get inside his head. Why did he change? The first person point of view made it unbelievable. The older brother is flat too. I would have liked to go inside his head to learn about his relationship with old man Jackson. He makes all the right decisions and is more an adult than the father. I think using third person narrative would have pulled me into the story more versus feeling like a detached observer.

In some ways this story reminded me of "Okay for Now" by Gary Schmidt but without the deep character development. The chapters are very short and while I like the authors use of words and arrangement of sentences that create a nice rhythmn, I just couldn't connect with the characters. On the other hand, I can see students liking the nice humor and short chapters.

I did feel uncomfortable with some of the stereotypes: hot-tempered abusive father who is a red head, screaming mother who dresses in tight clothes, wired rapper-looking boy who swears all the time, Vietnam veteran who burns incense and has an insane laugh, mohawk fat bully, and so on. The author tries to show them as human toward the end, but I wished he had not used these stock characters. This is definitely a grade 5 book and older. I know that I am in the minority with this book. My friend Angela really liked it and we tend to agree on most books. It has also won two awards. Maybe the lists spun me in the wrong direction. Maybe coming off reading four great adult novels, I was turned off by the simplicity of this story. I don't know. You'll have to decide for yourself. The good news is it took me only two hours. It's taken me longer to write this review ; )

Reading Level 5.6
3 Smileys

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

What a master of plot twists! Stead can take seemingly unrelated events and weave them into a surprising, unpredictable story with kooky and engaging characters. Seventh grader Georges has just moved, his dad has lost his job, and his best friend has decided to hang with the cool kids. Georges deals with it in his own way and starts to make new friends at school and in his new home at an apartment building in New York. His dad is an architect who writes in perfectly even block letters which they teach in architecture school. I laughed hard at that. My dad and brother are architects and write in perfectly even block letters. I tried to copy them but could never eliminate my loopy letters. They are perfect and I'm loopy. But I digress. 

For Georges nothing is quite as it seems. Safer, a boy he meets in the apartment who is his age, likes to live on the edge, sneaking into other peoples apartments, spying on neighbors, and watching parrots nesting. Candy looks like she's 7-years-old, but she doesn't sound like one. Pigeon, the older brother, is hated by Safer for going to school instead of being home-schooled with Safer and Candy.The teacher's are idiots who seem to know what they are doing with students. They aren't so great at controlling bullies however. Dallas has pegged Georges as his victim to bully. When Georges discovers the lies that surround him, he has to decide if he should confront the hidden truths.

The beginning uses changing relationships, as well as, Georges parents moving and losing a job to add tension. Stead does a great job painting tension with conciseness and descriptive language, I'm hearing a sound. It's a funny, high-pitched buzzing that I think maybe I've been hearing for a while, without noticing. There should be a word for that, when you hear something and simultaneously realize that its been swimming in your brain for five minutes without your permission. This takes on a whole different meaning by the end of the story when George decides to face the truth. Stead is one of the few authors that I read and want to turn around and reread the book immediately so I can see the clues I missed the first time around. 

The humor in the story is sprinkled throughout from the Seurat painting that Georges calls Sir-Ott to Candy who is addicted to candy. She tells Georges she is going to marry someone who likes orange candy, because she hates it, and that way her partner will eat only the orange candy and she'll get the rest. Speaking of Sir-Ott, I have had funny conversations with 5th graders reminiscing about words they mixed up when they were younger. One thought her brother was going to See Attel versus Seattle. Which brings me to my next point. When I read as an adult sometimes I can interfere with the joy of the story. Take for instance, Candy. I found myself annoyed because Georges said she was about 7-years-old but she never sounded like one. And being a putz at details I thought he said she was 7-years-old. She was using words beyond a 1st graders vocabulary such as "seasonal" or "human being" and I was surprised that Stead, who is so brilliant with details, could miss this fact. I wrote in my reading journal to Get Over It because Candy is a fun character and I much prefer her in the story sounding too old than not in it at all (and kids are not going to notice the vocabulary as high). So I moved on. Then, I get to page 95 and Candy tells Georges shes 10-years-old. Ha! Jokes on me. Count on Stead to create a character who is not what she seems.

I did think some of the tension dribbles slightly in the middle part of the story, such as when Georges and Safer are staring at the screen of the front lobby. It ties in with the end and is necessary to the plot but I did lose my focus a tad. (I am somewhat hyper.)The story ends with a bang so if you are an impatient reader, stick with it, because it is a winner.

No reading level
5 out of 5 Smileys

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Heart of a Samarai

Manjiro, a poor fourteen-year-old fisherman, gets shipwrecked with four other Japanese young men on an island where they are rescued by an American whaling ship in 1841. Japan has had 250 years of isloationist policy where if a citizen comes in contact with a foreigner they cannot come back to their country because they are tainted. The Japanese sailors are in a fix when the whaling ship comes along. Do they starve to death on the island or do they hitch a ride with a bunch of barbarians?

Obviously, they choose the barbarians. While Manjiro's  companions stay separate from the crew and make no attempt to learn the language or work the ship, Manjiro is fascinated by sailing and whaling and he quickly learns the language and interacts with the crew. When offered an opportunity to travel to American with the Captain he takes it while his companions are dropped off at a Hawaiian port. In America, Manjiro goes to school where he has to learn to deal with bullies and acceptance. He lives in the U.S. for about 10 years before looking for gold in California. He is successful enough to travel back to Japan where he is imprisoned for years as a spy before policies shift and Japan decides to make contact with the world. Then Manjiro's language and knowledge of American culture becomes critical to the leaders in helping them open their world to others.

This book is written from a western point of view and I found some parts stereotypical, particularly from the thinking in the character Goemon. I found the book lacking in authenticity and understanding of Japanese culture. I would really like to give it to one of our students from Japan and get their view on it. I thought Manjiro sounded American in his thinking not Japanese. Also, Manjiro wouldn't have spoken as well as he did in the book, but it would be really difficult to write how someone acquires language at the age of 14. I just know from living in Asia that he wouldn't be that fluent with tenses and sentences on the whaling ship.  She had some short choppy sentences but then would switch to complete sentences, but these were minor occurences and didn't take away from the story. I did like how the author shows that Manjiro had to face prejudices from Jolly and the bully at school. It was refreshing to see that Jolly changed in the story. I also liked how the author writes about Manjiro being interested in a girl but how he overhears her talking about him and realizes that he has no chance with her being a foreigner. It is hard to be accepted as an outsider.

I thought the plot was rushed at times and covered some huge time periods. I also thought the bond between Manjiro and the Captain should have been established more. The Japanese are so intensely loyal to family that I found it unbelieveable that Manjiro would leave his family behind when he was the breadwinner and follow the captain. It would have been more believeable if he had no family. This is a true story so I wonder if this part was true or not. Sometimes the truth is harder to understand than something made up.

I'm not sure why this is young adult except that the killing of whales might be distressing to children and the vocabulary high. I thought the author handled the whaling well and Manjiro had sympathy for the magnificent whale. It is an interesting book and would be a good one to use for book club because there is so much to talk about in it. There is little violence and just  one small part where Manjiro thinks a girl is cute.

Reading Level: Young Adult

:-) :-) :-) 3 Smileys