Middle School

Review: One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath

| Tasha

one year in coal harbor

One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath

Return to the world of Horvath’s Newbery Honor winning Everything on a Waffle in this follow up.  Primrose Squarp is back living with her parents in Coal Harbor and everything should be just fine, but there’s more trouble brewing in town.  Primrose just knows that if people would listen to her, it would all work out fine.  Like Uncle Jack and Kate Bowzer: Primrose knows they are in love, but they just won’t admit it.  Then there’s the lack of a best friend, though the new foster kid might just be the right person.  And finally, there’s logging happening outside of town that’s bringing in protesters and developers, making for all sorts of excitement.  Horvath lives up to the first book here, giving readers another chance to spend time in Coal Harbor.

Horvath has created a beautiful setting for her book that is so much a part of the story that it could not have happened anywhere else.  She has then taken that setting and populated it with amazing characters.  There are snotty girls, loving friends, intriguing strangers, and at the heart an extended family that provides support through everything.  While the characters may be wild at times, there is such a network of community in the book that it all makes merry sense.

Though there is a sense of community and family throughout, Horvath also deals with some darker issues here.  There is the question of development of wilderness and the death of a pet.  While this darkness is there, it is not all encompassing.  The town continues to function and life goes on. 

Horvath’s writing is also exquisite.  I particularly enjoy the parts where Primrose (who is wise and interesting and exactly the sort of person any reader would want as a best friend) is thinking about life.  Here is one of my favorite passages from page 148:

…but it was as if he and I and the hills were all part of one thing, separate from other things on Earth. Just as my mother and father and I were part of one thing, separate from all else. And these small subsets within the universe, I decided, are maybe what people love best. Whether it is you and the ocean or you and your sisters or you and your B and B, your husband and children.

Fans of the first book should definitely read the second, and truly, who in could ever pass it up!  I envy new readers of the pair of books who can read them back to back and spend an extended time in Coal Harbor.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from digital galley from NetGalley.

Review: Laugh with the Moon by Shana Burg

| Tasha

laugh with the moon

Laugh with the Moon by Shana Burg

After her mother dies, Clare’s father takes her to Malawi where he had worked as a young doctor.  Clare is determined to never speak to her father again.  She has lost not just her mother, but her best friend and the potential for her first boyfriend at school.  Now she is stuck in Africa where there is little hot water, mosquito netting over the bed, and monkeys screaming outside.  As Clare starts to relax into life in Africa, she begins to make incredible friends at her new school.  Memory, a girl from the local village, quickly becomes her closest friend.  Memory too has lost her mother, though the girls don’t speak of their losses together.  Memory makes sure that Clare has things that she can eat, explains the school day to her, and even warns her of the bully in class.  As Clare faces her new school with its new language, visiting chickens, and scurrying insects, her relationship with her father starts to get better.  Clare still has big issues to face, including teaching English, putting together a play, and another large loss in her life.

Burg truly brings Malawi to life with its strong culture, the stark differences between America and Africa, and the warmth of the people.  Her writing is an invitation to explore Africa.  She celebrates both the differences in cultures and the universal aspects of life, filling the book with details that paint a full picture. 

Clare is a complex character, grieving from the loss of her mother, at first she seems remote and difficult to relate to.  Happily, she soon grows past that, becoming a vivacious personality with opinions and skills.  Her art forms a connection between her and other people who may not speak the same language, but it is her open personality that does the rest. 

The book would make a good choice for reading aloud in a classroom setting since it explores so many themes and topics.  There is plenty to discuss from death and grieving to dealing with living in another part of the world.  The glorious cover will get this moving from the shelf into young hands directly too.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Delacorte Press.

Review: Tracing Stars by Erin E. Moulton

| Tasha

tracing stars

Tracing Stars by Erin E. Moulton

Indie Lee Chickory is heading to her last day of school where she really doesn’t fit in.  Her older sister Bebe fits in perfectly, dresses like the others, and never seems to smell like rotting fish like Indie does.  That’s what she gets for feeding Monty, her golden lobster, before coming to school.  So whenever Indie does something that draws attention to herself, Bebe is embarrassed.  When Indie accidentally carries Monty to school on that last day, she does a lot more than draw attention, she runs away from school to get Monty into the water he needs.  But when they reach the sea, she loses him and he won’t return to her after the sirens from the police car go off.  Now Indie has to figure out not only how to get Monty back but also how to not be so weird and not embarrass Bebe anymore.  Bebe has a part in a summer musical, so she has a lot at stake.  It’s up to Indie to see how normal she can be.

This is a wonderfully deep and thoughtful book for preteens that explores expectations and sisterhood.  While Indie’s own plans may be to not stick out and not be unusual, readers will be delighted to find out that is not the message of the book.  Instead Indie is clearly her own person and unable to fit into any mold, no matter how much she may want to.  Bebe is actually the sister in crisis, the one desperate to be perfect, the one who would do almost anything to belong.  The book allows readers to figure that out on their own as the book progresses. 

While the book is deep, it is also a great read for summer because it has plenty of humor and action to keep things moving.  The setting is clear and used throughout the story almost as its own character.  The dynamics of a small tourist town, the beauty of the natural setting, and the sea herself all play into the action and the story.  The addition of a theater performance and Bebe being an actor and Indie working on set construction gives the book another element that works particularly well, and also gives the book some of its most interesting characters.

This pre-teen novel about a young girl who is unique in many ways but also wants to fit in will resonate with young readers who will be buoyed by the way the story works out.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Philomel.

Review: Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

| Tasha

three times lucky

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

Mo LoBeau arrived in the small North Carolina town of Tupelo Landing as an infant riding on a hurricane wave.  She was discovered by the Colonel, a man also trapped in the storm who completely lost his memory.  Now at age 11, Mo helps the Colonel and Miss Lana run the café that is attached to their home.  It’s a quiet life, punctuated by the hope of her long-lost mother finding one of the bottles that Mo sends off upstream.  Then the law comes to town and things get interesting.  A murder was committed in a nearby town, then someone is murdered right in Tupelo Landing!  Mo and her best friend, Dale, form a detective agency and try to stay a step ahead of the police as they investigate the murder, try to clear Dale’s name, and worry that the Colonel may be mixed up in things too.  All Mo knows is that it is up to her to continue to trust the people she loves so fiercely and to prove their innocence. 

I must admit that I sighed a bit when I discovered that this was another book set in a small town in the south.  I knew that it would be filled with interesting small town characters, probably have a spunky heroine, and expected that it would be pretty formulaic as well.  It does have interesting small town characters, but also ones that resemble modern society.  As much as this is a story of a family that is created out of love alone, it is also the story of what a small town community can be.  Yes, Mo is spunky.  She is also smart, savvy and wonderfully inventive.  And while the story starts out in a familiar way, it quickly turns into a book that is a fun, fast-paced read.

The story is not as light-hearted as it might seem on the surface.  Dale lives with his mother in fear of his drunken father returning and beating him.  There are families that are divided in other ways, including money.  And without giving anything away, there are twists that are surprising in a children’s book.

Turnage’s writing is filled with humor.  She creates memorable characters, dancing quickly with stereotypes and then reaching beyond them to something that means much more.  She is not afraid of real danger in her book and she is also not shy about deep love.  It is a book about family, community, bravery and friendship. 

This is one to read on a slow summer day, preferably one threatening a nice fat thunderstorm.  Now if someone can just find me a real café like Miss Lana’s I’m all set.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Dial Books.

Review: Take What You Can Carry by Kevin C. Pyle

| Tasha

take what you can carry

Take What You Can Carry by Kevin C. Pyle

This graphic novel explores connections between generations and across races, in an innovative way.  It is the story of two teenage boys.  One is a Japanese American who is sent to the internment camps during World War II.  His part of the story shows the displacement of his family, the loss of their rights, and the realities of the camps.  In alternating chapters, we also get the modern story of a teenage boy who moves to a new community and gets in with the wrong group of boys.  Soon he is robbing stores and eventually ends up in real trouble.  The man whose store he robs was the Japanese teen, who also resorted to stealing in the camps. 

At first, readers are not sure how the two stories will ever come together into one, or if they ever will.  They seem so remote and separate from one another.  Then when they do, there is a great satisfaction is realizing why the modern boy is given a chance to remedy what he has done.  It is a story that deals with two very personal stories, but that also has a more universal message about displacement, theft and redemption.  Both of the teen boys find ways to make things right in their lives, to accept their conditions, to rise above. 

Pyle’s two stories are shown in different color palettes as you can see from the cover.  The sepia tones work well for the historical story, also emphasizing the wasteland of the internment camps.  The blues of the modern story give it a cool feeling that suits a story where a boy is not making the right choices and where his world is devoid of warmth. 

This intriguing graphic novel is a compelling read that will show young readers not only about history but also about themselves and their own choices.  Appropriate for ages 12-14.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

Review: A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle

| Tasha

greyhound of a girl

A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle

Four generations of a Dublin family come together in this ghost story.  Mary is a modern Dublin pre-teen who finds herself moving away from her childhood rituals but also wanting to cling to them too.  One day on her way home from school, she meets Tansey, a woman who wants her to give a message to her grandmother.  Mary forgets, distracted by visiting her grandmother in the hospital with her mother.  So it isn’t until later that she mentions the woman to her mother, who pales at being told the name, Tansey, because that was her own grandmother’s name.  Soon Mary is having her mother meet Tansey and her relationship is revealed as is her status as a ghost.  The three of them conspire to get Tansey and her daughter together again, even though Tansey can’t survive the harsh lighting of the hospital.  The result is a road trip filled with hellos, memories, family stories, and goodbyes.  Richly layered, this slim volume holds a grand tale.

Doyle plays with the format of a ghost story here, at first starting with a little shiver and danger and then turning the story into that of a family that has dealt with an early death for generations.  It is a story of maternal love and the connections of women in a maternal line.  It is also the story of loss, death and above all, life.  Doyle creates fascinating characters, particularly in the two older women, Tansey and Emer.  Their stories have a pastoral beauty, a vivid warmth, and yet are damaged by death.  It is poignant, lovely and tragic.

The story is character driven and told in a slow, transformational way.  It takes its time, filled with small moments of lives, hands wrapped around tea cups, children on laps, slow steps up stairs for the last time.  Yet it is not a slow story, it is engaging, rich and builds a mood that is inescapable and memorable.

I loved this little book and the world that it created that seemed just for me.  Doyle’s writing is confident and beautiful, meticulously crafted.  This is a ghost story but so much more as well.  Appropriate for ages 11-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Amulet Books.

Review: The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford

| Tasha

secret tree

The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford

The neighborhood that Minty lived in had some very interesting stories.  There was the Man-Bat, a huge combination of man and bat that lived in the woods.  On the other side of the woods was the Witch’s House, where Minty’s best friend Paz was brave enough to knock but then lost her little sister’s favorite stuffed animal when the witch emerged and grabbed her.  When Minty saw a flash in the woods one day, she headed off to see what it was. That’s how she met Raymond, a boy who lived alone in the new development model house.  She also discovered the Secret Tree, a hollow tree where people in town left their secrets.  She and Raymond started collecting the secrets and trying to match them with people.  Who is the person who is only loved by their goldfish?  Who has put a curse on their enemy?  Who is betraying their best friend?  And what secrets are the people closest to Minty keeping?

Standiford has created a compelling story about the power of secrets, but also the necessity for them at times.  The slow unraveling of the mysteries of the secrets makes for fascinating reading that will capture the interest of children.  It is one of those books that reads lightly, but has a great deal of depth behind it, especially as the secrets of the community are revealed. 

Minty is a great heroine.  She is at the cusp of becoming a teen and her best friend is maturing faster than she is.  Minty isn’t interested in laying out in the sun at the pool (at least not without eating a snow-cone) and she doesn’t like the new, older girls her friend is hanging out with.  Instead Minty wants to plan on becoming a roller derby star, discover the secrets around her, and just be herself. 

This rich novel will be a great pick for classroom reading and discussions.  It is also the ideal summer read, especially for all of us who love a great secret.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

Review: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

| Tasha

false prince

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

It is a strange, unique day when only an orphan boy of no particular breeding can save a kingdom from war.   But that is the plan hatched by Conner, a nobleman, when the entire royal family is poisoned.  The only possible way to save the kingdom from immediate war is to find a young man who resembles the prince, who was thought to be dead years before.  So it is that Sage and three other young orphans are gathered up.  It is made clear from the beginning that this is no joke, and that Conner will do anything to keep this secret safe.  The boys begin learning to be princes, competing for the one spot as the prince.  They must learn to read, write, ride a horse, fight with swords, and use genteel manners.  Among them, Sage is the one with the arrogance, fearlessness and pride to be a prince, but if he doesn’t try at his lessons, he may not be the one chosen.  All of the boys realize what it means not to be chosen – certain death.

Nielsen has created a book that dashes forward, blazing with a strong concept from the beginning.  The idea of the false prince and a life-or-death competition for a single role makes for exhilarating reading.  Her pacing is brilliant, as is the ease of her writing, making the book almost impossible to put down.  In Sage, she has created a boy who could have been dislikable but instead reads as brave, valiant, and true. 

Nielsen does not shy away from violence or death.  This is a world of lies, cunning and manipulation.  Within that world, people will do what they have to in order to get ahead.  That is a large part of the appeal of Sage.  He is somehow immersed in that world of desperation, but remains unwilling to ever be desperate or eager.  He is a complex character filled with charisma.

Written in the first person, a rather daring choice for this sort of book, Nielsen manages to not allow the reader to guess the truth of the story until she reveals it.  While readers may guess at how the book will end, they will not be certain until that moment of revelation.  It’s another feature that makes the book so very readable.

The first in a trilogy, I was thrilled to find a book that stands on its own.  While there are plot points that I look forward to finding out more about, this book has a very satisfying ending.  Get this into the hands of readers who want action, intrigue and enjoy a little sinister darkness in their books.  Appropriate for ages 12-14.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

Review: Caddy’s World by Hilary McKay

| Tasha

caddys world

Caddy’s World by Hilary McKay

If you have not yet discovered the artistic, free-spirited, dynamic world of the Casson family, you are in for a treat!  This is the sixth book in the series that started with Saffy’s Angel.  In this book, we return to a time when Caddy, the oldest of the Casson children, was twelve.  She had three best friends and all of them had a role to play in their little group.  But this year, all of them are facing challenges in their lives.  Alison is completely bored with school and longing for something new, so she starts rebelling against school rules.  Ruby has been asked to try for a prestigious scholarship to a private school but she doesn’t want to leave her friends.  Beth is outgrowing her pony and decides to limit her diet. Caddy too has a challenge, a new baby is coming to the family, and her father who usually lives away from the family in London returns to help take charge.  But things are never that easy in the chaos of the Casson family!

McKay has the ability to speak about serious issues like premature babies, growing older, potential bulimia, and chaotic family life without heading into deep drama.  While the subjects are deep and the emotions are real, she keeps a lighter touch on them than most authors.  My favorite example of this is the chaos of this family.  It’s a family filled with love, art projects, failed cooking, and laughter.  But it’s also a family that is often adrift, rudderless, and late for school.  McKay walks the line, demonstrating that there are many sorts of families and that some of them that may look fragmented are actually strong and true.

McKay is also adept at drawing characters.  Here we get to see younger versions of several beloved characters:  Saffy, Indigo and Caddy.  They are all wonderfully true to their older selves, showing interest that later come to full light.  The addition of the three new characters and glimpses of other previous ones make for a book that is fresh but also warmly familiar to fans of the series. 

This sixth book in the series would work as a stand-alone read.  Taking place earlier than the other novels, it will delight fans and should encourage new ones to enter the world of the Cassons.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from library copy.