Middle School

Yummy

| Tasha

Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, illustrated by Randy DuBurke

This graphic novel tells the true story of Robert “Yummy” Sandifer.  In 1994, Yummy, called that because of his sweet tooth, fired a gun into a crowd of rival gang members.  He ended up killing a bystander, a teen girl.  Yummy was just 11 years old when this happened.   The story is told from the point of view of Roger, another boy who knew Yummy from school and the neighborhood.  Roger tries to make sense of Yummy and how he became a gang member and killer.  This is made even more tangible to Roger because his own brother is in the same gang as Yummy.  Throughout this book, deep questions are asked and explored.

Neri’s text creates a great platform to understand the gang wars of the 1990s and the dynamic of southside Chicago.  Though the bulk of the book is from Roger’s point of view, the reader also gets to see what Yummy is going through as he hides from police and is eventually killed by his own gang.  There is a real restraint in the writing that allows the drama of the tale itself to take center stage. 

DuBurke’s illustrations done in black and white are a study in light and dark.  Faces change as the light changes on them, becoming sinister and strange.  The images are dynamic and underline the youth of Yummy and the transition from bully to killer. 

A beautifully crafted graphic novel dealing in brutal subjects, this book is an important exploration of gang warfare.  It is also an even more important look at childhood.  Appropriate for ages 12-14.

Reviewed from copy received from Lee & Low Books.

Also reviewed by:

The Kneebone Boy

| Tasha

The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

Released September 14th, 2010.

I’m afraid I don’t know how to review this book without gushing, but I will do my best.  I’m hoping to see some recognition of it in this year’s awards.

The Hardscrabble family is shunned in their small town for several reasons.  Partly it’s because their mother disappeared suddenly and suspiciously.  Her body was never found.  Partly, it’s because all three of the children are a little odd and unusual.  Their father creates portraits of royals who have lost their throne, traveling around the world.  When he is gone, he leaves them with Mrs. Carnival, but then he makes a mistake and the three children are sent to stay with their aunt in London, who happens to be out of town herself.  So the three children are alone in London with nowhere to stay.  Luckily, they saw a letter from their great-aunt to their father giving vague hints about the truth about their mother.  So off they head to her home, which happens to be a miniature castle next to a very large castle with plenty of mystery and atmosphere.  Before they know it, they are off on an adventure that will change their lives.

Potter, author of Slob and the Olivia Kidney series, has outdone herself with this novel.  I tend to dislike books with a narrator voice that interjects, but here it is a perfect fit, since the text is written as if one of the characters is writing it.  It is less a narrator voice and more of one of the characters telling their story complete with asides.  It works beautifully here, adding to the wryness and intelligence of the book.

When the story reaches the castle folly, the setting really comes to life.  From the escapades on the beach and in the woods to the folly itself, details are shared and the entire world is suddenly bright with interest.  Potter writes these details into the story, weaving them together to create a world that is fascinating, childlike and still sinister.

The three children act like real brothers and sisters, which in a fantasy novel is a pleasure to see.  They are neither enemies or like friends, they are siblings through and through.  Their dynamic is ever-changing and very honestly written.  Potter also writes each of them with a distinct voice and perspective.  This strengthens the novel even more.  The children are delightfully but not distractingly odd.  They are the types of children we all wanted to be friends with when we were little, because we were just as strange too.

I have saved the best for last.  This is a book that reads like a fantasy but is realistic in the end and throughout.  Yes, there are adventures, there are skills, there are castles and there is a secret to be unraveled.  But in the end, it is real, sometimes achingly so.  It is also an ideal book to read aloud to a class, because the adventures will keep them mesmerized and there is plenty to discuss.

A must-buy for all libraries, this book is a winning read.  Fans of The Graveyard Book will enjoy it but so will children who look for adventure and reality.  It is a cross-genre book that fans of both will enjoy despite the fact it is definitely not really a fantasy.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Feiwel and Friends.

Also reviewed by:

Teen Book Reviews by a Teen – Red Pyramid

| Tasha

Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

DO Judge a Pyramid by It’s Color

Hi there. This is Rowan. (I’m Tasha’s son, if you didn’t know.) and this is the first of my Teen Book Reviews by a Teen. Well, without further distraction, let’s begin!

I liked the Percy Jackson series. It’s hilarious take on Greek Mythology was, well… hilarious. The humor is back in Rick Riordan’s new book (and possible series,) Red Pyramid. The switch from Greek Mythology to Egyptian provides a fresh experience with new characters and a new story. I don’t want to go much further, for the sake of the story, but I will say that if you liked Percy Jackson, you’ll LOVE this book.

Bamboo People

| Tasha

Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins

Set in modern Burma, this novel is the story of two teen boys on opposite sides of the conflict between the Burmese and the Karenni, one of Burma’s ethnic minorities.  Chiko’s father has been arrested for opposing the Burmese government.  Now Chiko and his mother have no money to survive on, so Chiko heads out to be tested for a teaching position.  But the test was a trap, and Chiko is taken into the Burmese army training to become a soldier.  There he uses his wits to survive, befriending a street boy, who knows much more about fighting and survival than he does.  When the time comes to allow his friend to head to the jungle on a dangerous mission, Chiko steps up and offers himself instead.  Through that mission, he is rescued by Tu Reh, a Karenni teen, who has hated the Burmese ever since they burned down his village.  Now Chiko’s life is in the hands of Tu Reh, who sees him only as the enemy.  This book is about the bravery it takes to make decisions that turn boys into men, learning that compassion is the only way forward.

Beautifully written, Perkins has captured a complicated situation in a way that young readers will not only understand but will be drawn to.  Rather than using alternating chapters for the two points of view, Perkins tells the first part of the book from Chiko’s point of view and then Tu Reh enters in the second half.  This lends a great cohesiveness to the story, allowing readers to view the conflict from both sides, understand both, and at the same time get enough in-depth time with each character to see through their eyes. 

Perkins excels at depicting foreign cultures through sounds, scents, and tastes.  Food is used to convey the differences and similarities of cultures.  There are no long paragraphs of description here, instead readers are treated to details woven into the story that bring the entire book to life.  This is done with a skill that makes it seem effortless. 

Her characterizations are also done with the same grace, allowing readers to slowly learn about the two boys, learn about the cultures, and slowly be exposed to the horror that teens on both sides of the conflict live with.  The darker parts of battle and imprisonment are dealt with obliquely, allowing readers to bring their own level of understanding to the atrocities being committed.  Again, this is a testimony to the skill of Perkins’ writing.

Highly recommended, this book takes the horrors of war and package them in a piercingly beautiful story.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from copy received from Charlesbridge.

Also reviewed by many, many other bloggers.  Check out a list of them on Mitali’s blog.

Blindsided

| Tasha

Blindsided by Priscilla Cummings

Natalie has been losing her sight since she was eight.  She is still able to see in a tunneled form, but then receives the news that she will lose her sight completely in a short period of time.  Natalie is sent to a school for the blind to learn the skills she will need to have when she is blind.  She is taught Braille and how to walk with a cane. But she doesn’t consider herself in the same situation as the other teens at the school.  They are blind and she is not.  She does learn the skills, but inwardly refuses to accept the situation, hoping for a miracle to happen.  Eventually her sight does leave completely and now Natalie has to choose between using the skills she learned and becoming independent or remaining scared and protected at home.

This book is a mix of positive and negative for me.  Natalie was a fine character with intelligence, lots of doubts, and complex reactions to her situation.  She was well drawn and interesting.  The information on the school for the blind and her skills were also interesting, though they could have been woven more into the story itself so that they read more effortlessly. 

Unfortunately, the book suffered from heavy-handed writing that was often didactic in tone.  There was a sense that the author had a lot to say about overcoming obstacles and disabilities.  Her need to inform others intruded on the story itself, which would have been much stronger without the tone.  Additionally, there were often moments when Natalie grew to new understanding which the author underlined and pointed out, lessening their impact instead of strengthening it as intended.

I must also quibble with the foreshadowing of the action-filled ending, which would have been surprising except that it was built into the story too clearly with events leading directly to it.  Again, a more even-handed writing style would have raised it to another level.

Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from copy received from Dutton.

Griff Carver, Hallway Patrol

| Tasha

Griff Carver, Hallway Patrol by Jim Krieg

Griff Carver is a legend in school law enforcement, but he was expelled from his old school for going too far in the name of justice.  Now he’s at Rampart Middle School, a school that is perfect on the surface, but seething with crime underneath.  Griff is not a rookie.  He can sense littering out of the corner of his eye, nabbing the principal of the school on his first day on patrol.  Griff finds himself partnered with Tommy, a Camp Scout, who is unable to see past the thin veneer of respectability at his school.  Instead, Tommy accuses Griff of being the bad guy, resulting him getting him kicked off of Patrol Squad.  That won’t be enough to get Griff to stop seeking out the real bad guy who is running a fake hallpass scheme.

Tongue-in-cheek and riotously funny, this book takes the crime genre and sets it in middle school.  Fans of crime fiction and crime programs will love seeing some of the favorite tropes of the genre played with.  The lingo Griff uses is dead on, adding to the humor of the book.  The pairing of the veteran Griff with the naive Tommy is also directly out of the genre.  Adding to the feel is the use of recorded statements and Patrol Squad reports to form the storyline. 

The setting here is humorously drawn as well.  The middle school is depicted not in lengthy descriptions but through the eyes of hall patrol.  I especially enjoyed No Man’s Land, the area on the school grounds where the erasers are cleaned, forming a permanent fog of dust.  What could be more perfect for the genre than a meeting in the fog?

A great summer read, this book will have middle school readers laughing out loud, engaged with both the humor and the action itself.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from copy received from Razor Bill.

Doodlebug

| Tasha

Doodlebug by Karen Romano Young

Dodo has been expelled from her last school because she tried to sell her Ritalin to other students in her class.  Now her family is moving from LA to San Francisco.  Her parents are hoping for a fresh start for their careers and for Dodo.  Her younger sister Momo is angry about the move, and Dodo is unsure that it will make any difference at all.  On the trip, Dodo discovers that she loves to draw, that doodling makes her calmer and better able to deal with the drive and the move.  Dodo starts a new school, changing her nickname to Doodlebug.  Her doodling is accepted in some classes and forbidden in others.  Momo is desperate to join the school’s choir, so she tries several stunts, like singing into the PA system of the school.  Both girls may have pushed it a bit too far in their new school.  Will Dodo be expelled again?

A fabulous combination of journal, graphic novel and story, this book allows readers to really understand what it is to be a visual learner and to have ADD.  Dodo is a great character, fully developed and complex.  Just as wonderfully drawn are her family members, even the new cat, Sven.  They are all complicated and interesting, portraying a real, multicultural family dealing with change and opportunity. 

Young’s creativity is fully on display here with pages filled with a variety of lettering, lots of drawings and plenty of forward momentum.  Several touches will resonate with young artists who will find the names of the pens used to make the black and white illustrations.  They will get plenty of inspiration to create their own journals, capture their own lives and adventures. 

Highly recommended, this book will be enjoyed by readers who enjoyed the Joey Pigza series, Amelia’s Notebook, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  Appropriate for ages 9-13.

Reviewed from copy received from Feiwel and Friends.

Also reviewed by:

Check out Karen Romano Young’s website.

Scumble

| Tasha

Scumble by Ingrid Law

Released August 24, 2010.

This companion book to Savvy features another member of their extended family who has a savvy of his own to try to deal with.  Ledger Kale just turned 13.  He had been dreaming of getting a savvy that would enable him to run faster than anyone, because his father was a runner.  But instead he gets a rather alarming savvy: he is able to demolish things with a thought.  Small items like watches stand no chance, nor does the motorcycle he busts into bits.  Unfortunately, a nosy would-be reporter Sarah Jane saw him destroy the cycle, so now Ledger has to worry about his entire family being exposed.   When Sarah Jane threatens him, people have to really watch out as his savvy grows bigger and bigger until he manages to flatten an entire barn.  Now Ledger is stuck at his uncle’s ranch because it would be too dangerous for him to travel by car and it’s much safer for him to practice control in open spaces.  In a story filled with great characters and plenty of action, this book extends the world of Savvy in a delightful way.

The cast of characters features those from the previous book as well as new characters for readers to enjoy.  It is an adroit melding of new and old together into a cohesive and interesting story.  Ledger, the main character, learns so much about himself in the novel.  His growth is believable and steady throughout the book, learning that his father’s dreams and his own may not be the same.   The character of Rocket was another of my favorites in the book, a young man who is unable to leave the ranch much at all because of his electrical savvy and lack of control.  He is the ideal character to pair with Ledger, a warning of what could happen, yet also a vibrant and fascinating character himself.

The setting on the ranch is richly drawn, with the marriage glade, the second barn just for insects, and Rocket’s small home where Ledger is sent to stay to minimize his damage.  The ranch almost becomes a character itself as it is so pivotal to the story and such a part of everything. 

It is nearly impossible to meet the expectations following such a successful first book as Savvy.  Law does it with grace, style and a lot of savvy.  Appropriate for ages 9-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Dial Books.

Also reviewed by:

Is It Night or Day?

| Tasha

 

Is It Night or Day?: A Novel of Immigration and Survival, 1938-1942 by Fern Schumer Chapman

As anti-Semitism and the Nazis overtake Germany, 12-year-old Edith is put on a boat by her parents and sent to the U.S.  She travels alone on a boat with many other children separated from their parents too.  She moves in with her uncle and aunt in a small apartment in Chicago.  There she works for them more as a servant than a niece.  Though her older sister is also in Chicago, they rarely see one another and her sister seems to have had an easier time adapting to her new life.  Edith must learn a new language, understand the many differences between the two cultures, navigate the new family she finds herself in, all by finding an inner strength to go on without her parents.  Inspired by the experiences of the author’s mother, this book offers a poignant and often painful look at loss and survival.

Chapman’s writing is beautiful.  It captures the feeling of loss, the desperation of loneliness, and the small moments that help one survive.   The author is so skilled that readers feel deep connection to Edith and her plight without ever feeling manipulated.  Instead the emotions depicted are so raw and real that they are impossible not to feel at a gut level.

Edith is a wonderfully human heroine, filled with both good and bad emotions.  She is at times naive and at others very wise.  She is a complete portrait of a young girl caught in a situation that she cannot fix, trapped in a time without answers.  An additional appeal of the book is this glimpse into a history that few know about in the United States, when children were rescued from Nazi Germany. 

A gut-wrenchingly personal view of historical events, readers will feel connected to Edith and her plight very deeply.  Appropriate for ages 9-12, this book would do well as a class read aloud for learning about World War II from a unique perspective.  Get this into the hands of children who enjoy historical fiction with a lot of truth woven in.

Reviewed from copy received from Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Check out the author’s website for more information on the true story that inspired this book.

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