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In The Littlest Bigfoot, New York Times Best Seller Jennifer Weiner delivers the first of what I hope to be many books for young adults.  This is a story about two girls from two different worlds who have always felt like outsiders but somehow form an unlikely friendship.  There is twelve-year-old Alice, who is ashamed of her unruly hair, and larger-than-average body, and has difficulty fitting in at school. She is being shipped off to her either boarding school at The Experimental Center for Love and Learning, where “everyone has a thing,” and lentil loaf is a dinner staple.  There she meets her bunkmates RiyaRead More →

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A name might be just a word, but it elicits feelings, memories, meanings, and histories associated with it.  When we feel like we need to live up to our names or live down a reputation that a name may convey, names potentially define or limit who and what we become.  Names can also affect our self-perceptions.  Most of us have likely pondered the idea of our given names and whether we would have chosen something different. In his first picture book, Thunder Boy Jr., Sherman Alexie features Thunder Boy, who explores the meaning of his name.  Initially, he celebrates its power and its uniqueness.  When heRead More →

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Twelve year old Peter Lee and his family are avid baseball fans. Even his strict Chinese immigrant father Ba -who has Peter do homework on the way to games- has some regard for the sport. However, once tragedy strikes, and takes with it a cherished loved one, no one talks about baseball anymore. Peter’s mom stops talking altogether. Convinced that what brought them together before can keep them together now, Peter joins a Little League team. The only problem? The league is short one coach. Ba steps in to seemingly save the day, but his methods rub Peter and his teammates the wrong way. Now whatRead More →

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Life is a physics lesson, and each of us plays a part in both weaving and repairing the fabric of the universe.  Both particles and waves of energy link us, bind us, protect us, and remind us that we a part of that tapestry.  These are the lessons that Wendy Mass discloses in her latest installment of the Willow Falls series, Graceful. In this book targeted for ages 8-12, readers will reconnect with familiar characters: Angelina D’Angelo, Grace, Bailey, Amanda, Leo, Rory, Tara, Connor, and David.  The latter seven comprise Team Grace, the guardians and advisors for the next Willow Falls Protector.  In a multi-genre format—with inventor’sRead More →

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On a perfect day for getting lost on purpose, the story of Ms. Rapscott’s Girls by Elise Primavera begins in pictures.  Although they are perhaps not as sophisticated, the drawings remind the reader of those in The Invention of Hugo Cabret written and illustrated by Brian Selznick, who also uses pictures to carry the story line artfully forward. Because it shares mystery, magic, adventure, and satirical issues about parental involvement, Primavera’s story can be compared to Lemony Snickett’s Series of Unfortunate Events.  Young readers will likely find the eight-year-old characters interesting in their familiarity.  Although the girls have been called loud, lazy, foolish, or unable to doRead More →

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Earlier this Autumn, Newbery Medal winner Christopher Paul Curtis returned to Buxton, Canada, with The Madman of Piney Woods.  It’s forty years later than his last visit and the children we met have grown and the town has flourished.  11 year old “Benji” Alston loves roaming the Piney Woods that surround Buxton, whether he’s playing American Civil War with his friends, or visiting the secret swimming hole, or just passing time outside.  Benji’s set his sights on being a newspaper man and is thrilled when he gets an apprenticeship at the newspaper in neighboring Chatham.  “Red” Stockard is a scientist, observing the world around himRead More →

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All Jack wants is to live up to his namesake: “maybe I was born to be great, but great at what?” (2)  And that’s really hard, considering that “we lived on a little farm in a small village, where nothing big or great has ever happened in all my twelve years.” (3).  Young Jack was named after a distant grandfather who purportedly conquered nine giants and married the daughter of a duke.  Ever since Jack can remember, his humble farmer father has told him stories of this grandfather, and Jack has longed for any chance at adventure to prove his right to such a greatRead More →

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In: Elementary Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction (YA), Middle Grade Reviews, Realistic Fiction, Realistic Fiction (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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It’s been awhile since the last time I fell head over heels in love. And, like all really good loves, I wasn’t looking for it.  Sure, I was anticipating a good story (I loved her first effort) but, “Hi-Yo, Silver”, I was not prepared for my intense reaction to Kristin Levine‘s The Paper Cowboy.  I’ve set aside everything else and have read this book 3 times (and that’s saying a lot) because there is just so much to unpack within these amazingly written 333 pages.  Rumor has it that there’s already buzz for the Newbery list (I hope so!) and I can’t wait until someoneRead More →

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“Here is a girl trying to change her story” (276) Mysti Murphy knows that the people in her family – “a person who paints and cooks and never leaves the house … a person with a job who gently tries to get everyone to leave the house together … a bratty little uninformed person who practices raising an eyebrow as a hobby … [and] a girl person who would just like everyone to leave her alone by the window…” (7) – would make for an interesting story.  Her strange story begins within a story, since she came into this world believing she was a characterRead More →