Middle School

13 Treasures

| Tasha

13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison

After being tormented by fairies and waking her mother in the middle of the night, Tanya is sent to stay with her grandmother in her dilapidated manor house.  Tanya sees fairies at her grandmother’s house too: they fill the grandfather clock and make mischief in the kitchen.  But fairies are nothing compared to the dangers of the woods that surround her grandmother’s house.  As Tanya struggles to come to terms with her second sight, she is helped by several unlikely allies, including the local witch woman, the annoying son of the manor’s caretaker, and a girl has had far worse luck with the fairies.  Will Tanya be able to solve the mystery that surrounds her with their help? 

Harrison excels at creating an immersive world that truly is brought to life through her writing.  Her attention to small details and willingness to truly describe settings have helped make a world that is tangible.  Exploring the manor house, one can almost smell the dust of neglect, see the encroaching ivy.  The fairies are offered with just enough detail to make sure readers remember that they are not friendly, sweet butterfly-like creatures.

Harrison also has a good ear for dialogue, which helps complete her world building.  Tanya is a tough but also friendly girl who is trapped in a nightmare no one else can see.  The tense relationship between her and her grandmother is written in actions rather than explanations.  There are plenty of tense moments, strange events, and bizarre happenings to keep the pages moving briskly.  For me though it was a book to savor, a world I longed to linger a bit more in.

There is plenty to love here.  It is a book of evil fairies that works for children who are not ready for Holly Black and Melissa Marr yet.   Beautiful writing and  incredible world building.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Little Brown.

The Dreamer

| Tasha

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan and Peter Sis

Released April 2010.

Neftali is a boy with the spirit of a poet.  He loves to write series of words anywhere he can, he collects small objects like stones and keys, and he daydreams amazing adventures.  He is also a boy with a father who wants him to focus on the real world and become a doctor or dentist, definitely not a writer.  His father is a domineering force in his world, blowing a whistle to call him to attention and sneering at his scrawny build.  Despite this, Neftali continues to dream and write, eventually becoming one of the most read poets in the world, Pablo Neruda.

Ryan’s prose is profound and exquisite.  She has created here a book about a real person that takes you directly into that person’s mind, allowing a deep understanding.  She has taken some of the seminal events of Neruda’s life and written scenes that sear into your mind with their beauty and importance.  She writes to honor a great poet but also to allow people to understand him on a new level.  Beautifully done.

Combined with Ryan’s prose, Sis’ illustrations exude a simplicity and delicacy that work marvelously with the subject matter.  His illustrations verge on the surreal, taking us into Neruda’s thoughts and dreams.  The illustrations are deceptive in their simplicity, revealing far more than they seem to.  The partnership of these two has created something magical.

The Author’s Note at the end of the book is interesting and important.  I also appreciated the inclusion at the end of some of Neruda’s poems, because readers of this book are sure to want to read his poems.  I know that this book will reconnect me with his writing again.

A moving and beautiful tribute to a poet’s youth and development, this book also shines because of its focus on self-esteem, social consciousness, and individuality.  I can see it being used as a read-aloud in classrooms, though part of its beauty is reading it and savoring it.  Appropriate for ages 9-13.

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy received from Scholastic.

 

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