Heaven is Paved with Oreos by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Fourteen-year-old Sarah Zorn and her best friend Curtis tell people they are dating just to get them to stop wondering. The truth is they are best friends and they do science projects together (like reconstructing the skeleton of a dead calf). Things change when Sarah's hippie grandmother takes her on a pilgrimage to Rome and Curtis decides he wants to stop pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend. This book is Sarah's journal of her trip and her changing feelings for Curtis. It's also the story of family secrets that her grandmother brings to light on the Spanish Steps in Rome. It's a sweet story about travel, family and romance that would be great for middle school girls. BONUS: It's also the companion book to Dairy Queen, which is one of my all-time favorite young adult novels. Curtis is D.J. Schwenk's quiet younger brother and D.J. and Sarah get to be friends in this book. Hopefully this will become a gateway book for middle schoolers to move on to Dairy Queen.

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

In the not-so-distant future, a mosquito-bourne disease has killed off most of humankind. A small group of immune people survive and they have the technology to travel back in time. A group of "travelers" head back to 2014 to try to head off the disastrous future that they know is coming. The day they travel to 2014, a "time native" named Ethan sees a naked girl appear by the river where he is fishing. He notices a number written on her arm. He gives her a sweatshirt and she wanders away, but he never forgets her or her number. A couple of years later she shows up in one of his high school classes. Prenna lives by the rules of her people—she can never tell where she is from, never interfere with history, and never be intimate with anyone outside of her community. She tries to stay away from Ethan but they have a strong connection and when a homeless man tells them the meaning of the number that was on her arm, they learn that they need to take some action together. I enjoyed this book a lot—it's got romance, action, and time travel, and characters that you end up caring a lot about. Recommended for 7th grade and up. (My copy was an advance copy from the publisher. The book will be published in April 2014. Galloway students can borrow my copy until then.)

Reboot by Amy Tintera

Imagine a world where people die and come back to life. It seemed like a good thing in this future society where there was a fear that the human race was dying off. However, people came to fear the "reboots" and humans decided to enslave them and use them to fight battles too dangerous for people to fight. Reboots are known by a number—the number of minutes they were dead before they rebooted. The main character of this book is 178. It's a scary-high number, because it's common knowledge that the higher the number the less human a reboot can be. 178 doesn't is an excellent fighter (and killer) and doesn't feel very human herself until she becomes the trainer for 22, an unusual reboot who hasn't yet learned to give up his humanity. When they find out there may be humans and reboots who want to rebel against the system they find the courage to leave their prison and head off to the slums of Texas.  And yes, they also find some romance along the way. This book was strong on action, especially in the last half of the book. The problem for me was that I didn't fully get invested in the characters. I thought it was a pretty good book but it borrowed a lot from other dystopian books and didn't rise to the level of The Hunger Games or Starters or Unwind, or The 5th Wave, which are some of my favorites. Still recommended for dystopia fans, though. Probably best for 8th grade and up.

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

From the cover this looks like a breezy summer romance book, which it is in a way, but I didn’t find it quite as satisfying as I thought I might. The main character, named Cricket, spends much of her time with her best friend, Jules, and her family, partially to avoid her own divorced parents. When Jules’ mother dies unexpectedly, Cricket finds herself rejected by her best friend, uninvited to stay at their Nantucket home for the summer, and on her own to find a summer job on the island. It’s not the romantic summer she was expecting, but it has its surprises and an unlikely romance (and Cricket’s first sexual encounter). I was moderately interested in this story but I found that I didn’t really like Cricket or Jules, and there was too much going on for me to get very attached to their story (a dead senator, an adopted stepbrother from Russia, a long-lost tell-all diary of Cricket’s mom). This one was just so-so. For a truly breezy romance I recommend This is What Happy Looks Like byJennifer E. Smith. 

Hidden by Helen Frost

Darra and Wren were eight years old when Darra’s father stole a car and kidnapped Wren in the process. The two girls never met at the time but their stories intertwined and they have unresolved questions about each other. When they meet six years later at summer camp they instantly know each other but it takes some time before they are able to slowly connect and talk openly about their shared past. This is a really unique book, both in its plot and its form. The free verse style makes it a quick read and deceptively simple. The characters are intriguing, the summer camp setting is perfect for their cycle of emotional growth, and in the end readers discover some hidden messages in Darra’s passages. While the poetic form makes the book unique, at the same time it meant that the book did not go into great detail. I enjoyed the story but felt like I would have connected with the characters more had there been more meat to the writing. I also thought the additional hidden story line in Darra’s narrative (see the author's note for an explanation), didn't deliver any surprising additions to the plot. Overall I did enjoy this book and I will recommend it to middle schoolers, especially reluctant readers.  

Letting Ana Go by Anonymous

Kids today probably don’t know Go Ask Alice, the young adult novel from 30 years ago that was supposedly the true diary of a girl sinking deeper and deeper into drug addiction. Letting Ana Go is obviously a modern twist on this style—a cautionary tale told in the first person about a young person who slowly goes from being a good girl with everything going for her to a psychological disaster. The narrator has no real reason to diet except that she runs cross country and needs to track her calories to be sure she is eating enough. However, her best friend, Jill, is a ballet dancer who begins losing dangerous amounts of weight in order to further her dance ambitions. The narrator counts calories in solidarity with Jill at first, but then finds that she gets positive attention from her new boyfriend (Jill's brother) and that it helps her deal with her parents' breakup. She soon becomes unable to stop her dangerous behavior. I am no expert on anorexia. I cannot say whether this book accurately represents the progression of this disease, but I can say that it did not ring true to me. The narrator's descent into the disease happens rather quickly and her health also fails too rapidly for me to believe. I found it hard to suspend my disbelief enough to think that this girl really would have let this disease get the best of her. I think there is a subset of teen and pre-teen girls who will like this book because of the subject matter and the appeal of “problem novels” but I cannot say that I recommend it to readers in general. If you really want a chilling look at eating disorders try Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.

The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson

This animal fantasy book contains all the elements of a traditional fantasy—it begins when a young protagonist who feels ill-equipped for greatness is chosen for a seemingly impossible task. Aldwyn the alley cat is selected by a young wizard-in-training to be his familiar. Aldwyn is assumed to be telekinetic and will be the boy's companion and protector. He meets two other familiars, a frog and a bird, and they soon must rescue their "loyals" from almost certain death at the hands of an evil queen. The band of three familiars sets off on a pretty predictable quest to save their loyals and along the way they run from spies and fend off an eight-headed dragon. This is a good introduction to fantasy for readers who may not yet have read widely. While is loved by third and fourth graders at my school, the middle school readers mainly thought it just didn't break any new ground for them. I had trouble getting through it also, but I am admittedly not a fan of animal fantasy.

March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

I thought this graphic novel was fantastic. It tells the story of one of my heroes, civil rights activist John Lewis. It begins on a bridge in Selma then moves to his congressional office on the day of Obama's inauguration. The story then flashes back to Lewis's childhood on a farm raising chickens. We see him make it to college (a remarkable accomplishment at the time) and decide to join in the movement to desegregate lunch counters. This is Book One so we must wait for future books to hear about the Freedom Rides and the March on Washington. It's a great story with fine artwork and I hope it introduces many new young people to John Lewis's contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.

The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb

I love reading a good nonfiction book about a topic that is new to me. I vaguely knew that a lot of Nazi war criminals escaped to Argentina, but I had never heard the story of how Israeli spies tracked down the notorious Adolf Eichmann and brought him to trial in Israel. Eichmann was the head of the SS during World War II. It was his job to carry out Hitler's plan to exterminate the Jews. He was a powerful and arrogant man during the Holocaust, but he disappeared in 1945 when Germany lost the war. Years later, most of the world had given up and tracking down Nazi criminals, but many Holocaust survivors and people living in Israel still wanted to bring public justice to the worst perpetrators of the genocide. Amazingly enough, Eichmann was first discovered to be living in Argentina by a teenage girl and her blind father. It took several years for officials to believe their story and for Israeli spies to devise the elaborate plan to capture Eichmann, hold him as a secret captive in Argentina, and fly him to Israel—all without the Argentine government finding out anything. The details of how the capture was made are fascinating. This makes for great reading, especially for fans of history and spy books.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

I love historical fiction and particularly enjoyed Elizabeth Wein's previous book, Code Name Verity. This follow-up book, which isn't a sequel but shares one character, was also a great read. Rose is a young American pilot working in Britain during World War II. She longs to fly to Europe instead of ferrying airplanes around the UK. On her first chance things go wrong and she is captured and sent to Ravensbrück, a women's concentration camp that I knew nothing about before reading this book. While there she is taken in by a group of women called the "rabbits" because they were the subjects of horrific medical experiments done by Nazi doctors. The whole concentration camp experience is awful, as you can imagine, but this book is so full of humor and humanity and daring that it is inspiring rather than depressing. I appreciated that the book did not end in the camps, rather it went on to show the aftermath for those who survived. This is a book about friendship and the power it can have to overcome the worst circumstances in the world. The best part of the book for me? Rose is also a poet who loves the poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay. Millay's poems are interwoven throughout the text as are poems that Rose writes. Elizabeth Wein, a pilot herself, is an outstanding writer and this is a must-read for historical fiction lovers. My review isn't going this book justice, so please see this review of Rose Under Fire as well.

The Language Inside by Holly Thompson

Emma is an American teenager who has grown up in Japan. When her mom needs breast cancer treatment, Emma is uprooted and brought to Massachusetts to live with grandparents. This free verse novel explores Emma's reverse culture shock as she adjusts to life in the United States. Emma is a girl who wants to help others—she is torn by the fact that she cannot be in Japan helping victims of the recent tsunami even though she knows she needs to be with her mother during her treatments. She signs up to volunteer at a nursing home and is paired with a stroke victim with whom she writes poetry. At the nursing home she also meets a Cambodian immigrant named Samnang who becomes a friend and a possible love interest, and through him she finds a way to contribute to relief efforts in Japan. While it seems like this book might have too much going on, it's really a quiet, reflective book about a year in the life of an sensitive and introspective teenage girl. I enjoyed it a lot and passed it on to Ms. Chapman, the teacher with whom I traveled to Cambodia this summer. It will especially appeal to readers who are interested in Japanese or Cambodian culture.

To Be Perfectly Honest by Sonya Sones

To be perfectly honest, I didn't really like this book. I have liked Sonya Sones' books in the past but this one is short on characterization. The main character, Colette, is the 15-year-old daughter of a famous movie star who is neglected by her mom most of the time. She lies all the time about both big and small things (and to her credit she knows this—in fact, she tells you she is an unreliable narrator). In this story she and her younger brother, Will, are living in a hotel pretty much on their own while their mom is filming a movie. Colette meets a somewhat older boy who seems interested in her and doesn't know she is the daughter of a movie star. I didn't see much reason for her to be in love with Connor except that he drives a motorcycle and is handsome. I also didn't see much motivation for Connor to be interested in Colette, but the book is full of her romantic dreams and their encounters, and his attempts to go farther with her than she is ready to go. It's also a little creepy because we know all along that he is 18 and she is underage (and Colette's mom doesn't seem to care). Then (spoiler alert) he tells her his deep dark secret which only makes her love him more but then turns out to be a lie. Colette's mom doesn't seem so bad in the end and Colette learns a valuable life lesson. I don't think high school students would buy this story—it's just a little too predictable and trite, but due to the sexual issues explored here I wouldn't recommend it for younger readers. (And that little brother's lisp was really annoying.)

Three Books that Made Me Cry

This summer I read (and re-read) three books that made me cry. Read about them here at my Dashing and Bold Library blog.

Torn by David Massey

This is an interesting story and a welcome departure from all the dystopian YA books being published recently. It's the story of Elinor, a young British medic who is sent to a war zone in Afghanistan for her first military assignment. She immediately is placed on life-threatening patrols where at any moment her squad could be killed by insurgent explosive devices. She also very quickly is drawn into a mystery—why are Afghani children fighting against the British troops as well as the Taliban, and who is the mysterious girl with green eyes who appears whenever someone is in mortal danger? American Navy SEALS join the British troops and together they go deep into Afghanistan on a mission to find hidden weapons, investigate the warring children, and find a missing child. I liked Ellie and her British comrades and having a glimpse into the war in Afghanistan. The plot (and the romance) may have been a bit contrived, but it's a book that held my interest all the way through and I think some teens (8th grade and up) will enjoy.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

I'm sure this is going to be the hot book of the school year among 7th-12th graders. There are many dystopian novels coming out these days, and this one stands out. People my age remember the movie ET, when a cute little alien ended up stranded on earth. This alien invasion is nothing like that. The Others have swiftly wiped out most of the earth's human population without ever landing on earth or being seen. In the third wave most people died of an ebola-like disease, but sixteen-year-old Cassie and her father and brother survived. Now after the 4th wave, Cassie is on her own and she is convinced that it's the only way to survive. She doesn't choose companionship, but after being shot in the leg she is rescued by a young man named Evan. She's not sure whether to trust him or not, and she is determined to get well enough to set off toward the military compound that houses her younger brother, Sammy. There's lots of action, violence, and constant uncertainty about who is good and who is bad. This one keeps you on the edge of your seat. I definitely rank it up there with the two biggies of dystopian YA fiction, The Hunger Games and Divergent.

Discovering Wes Moore by Wes Moore

This autobiography of a man named Wes Moore has an interesting twist. While it is mainly the story of the author's life and the circumstances that led him from a life on the streets to a successful military career and a Rhodes scholarship, it is also the story of another man named Wes Moore who grew up under similar circumstances but ended up imprisoned. The author's story is compelling by itself—he lost his father at age three and his mother struggled and sacrificed to keep him on the right track. The other Wes Moore's story gets less time in the book—he lived in the same Baltimore neighborhood, but fathered several children at a young age, got into drugs and crime, and was arrested for his part in the murder of a police officer. The two Wes Moores have become friends and the author's point is to show how fine the line is between their two lives. He credits many people with watching out for him, caring about his future, and holding up high expectations for his behavior and education. This is the young people's version of the same story by the same author. Unfortunately, it felt too simplified to me. While I like the story I think that even middle or high school kids would be able to handle more depth and complexity. However, this may appeal to kids who will see themselves in the two Wes Moores. I think it would be best received by middle schoolers—and it would certainly be a good choice for a biography assignment.

Far, Far Away by Tom McNeal

The best part of this fairy tale-ish book is that the narrator is the long-dead ghost of Jacob Grimm. He is wandering the world trying to finish some unknown task. He has latched onto the only human he has ever found that can hear his voice—a boy named Jeremy Johnson Johnson. Jeremy's mother, long gone now, left him with a love of fairy tales. Jeremy's grandfather, now deceased, left him with a small bookstore that makes no money. Jeremy's father lays in bed all day watching TV. At times it seems that the ghost of Jacob Grimm is Jeremy's best friend. He even helps Jeremy try to earn some money on a local game show. Things change when a wild-haired girl named Ginger includes him in her schemes and befriends him. Unfortunately she leads him into trouble with the town baker who becomes an integral part of the story. What happens next is dark and disturbing and very much like a Grimm Fairy Tale. This book is intelligent, haunting, and unique. I would recommend it to readers from 7th grade through adults, especially those who like variations on fairy tales.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

This is a book for kids who like puzzles and games. It's also clearly a book for those who love libraries and the Dewey decimal system. Alexandriaville has a brand new and mysterious public library designed by the world's premiere game maker, and a group of kids is selected to spend the night there. What they don't realize is that they are part of an elaborate puzzle, and the real trick will be figuring out how to escape from the library. The main character is Kyle and readers will be rooting for him and his team the whole way through. There are obvious similarities to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but in this book the kids are solving puzzles and following clues that the reader can join in with. It's a little hard to keep track of all the kids and sometimes the dialogue between them is a little stilted, but the puzzles are good and my third grader was hanging on every word as we read this one aloud. Luigi Lemoncello and the head librarian mention many, many children's books and it would be great fun to read this to a class of kids and introduce them to all the books and authors that are mentioned, sometimes overtly and sometimes subtly. This is recommended for 3rd-6th graders and all children's librarians.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Conor's mother is dying from cancer and he is having a recurring nightmare every night. A nightmare that he can't tell anyone about. But one night after midnight a monster shows up. It originates from the yew tree behind his house, but this monster is able to walk. It's also able to talk and tell stories and it demands the truth. Conor thinks it can't be real but how else could he explain the leaves of the yew tree strewn about his floor in the morning and the destruction that the monster can cause? Conor's grandma is called in to take care of him when his mother is hospitalized. His estranged father also comes to visit from America. But Conor is essentially alone with his fear about the bleak future of his mother. It doesn't help that he is bullied at school and at odds with his former best friend. Patrick Ness is a fabulous writer and in his hands this story is compelling, creepy, and so, so emotionally true. Perhaps because I lost my mother to cancer I especially relate to Conor's emotional journey. I'm not going to lie to you, the end of this book will break your heart. Recommended for older middle school readers through adults.

Ship Out of Luck by Neal Shusterman

I am a huge Neal Shusterman fan and I especially love his books about Antsy Bonano (The Schwa Was Here and Antsy Does Time). So of course I read this the minute I saw it at The Little Shop of Stories. It did not disappoint. Antsy Bonano is a teenage boy with a fantastic first-person voice. He's awkward, hilarious, and usually good-hearted. He always manages to turn believably introspective (without being preachy), which makes his stories more substantive than they appear at first glance. This time Mr. Crawley takes Antsy's family on a luxury cruise and Antsy meets up with a cute stowaway who involves him in a majorly illegal scheme to help some people in need. Antsy doesn't intend to become an international criminal and YouTube sensation, but it happens. His friends Lexie and Howie are also there, and having some life-changing experiences of their own that all come together in the end. It's not necessary to read the other Antsy books (but I highly highly recommend reading Antsy Does Time because it is such a fantastic read). Ship Out of Luck is a thoroughly enjoyable and recommended to 7th-10th graders.

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

I have to admit that I tend to like sweet romance novels, and this one totally satisfied my summer romance needs. It's your basic romantic comedy for teenagers. The young couple "meets cute" via an accidental e-mail about feeding a pet pig. They connect and continue to e-mail each other for several months, never even asking each other's names. Graham happens to be a 17-year-old Hollywood superstar and Ellie is a girl with a secret who lives in the "middle-of-nowhere" Maine. Graham manages to discover the name of the town where Ellie lives and maneuvers to make it his next movie location. He shows up in the town and goes right to the ice cream shop where he knows his mysterious friend works, hoping to finally meet her. From there you will have to read their story. Definitely fluffy and fun–and totally appropriate for middle and high school readers.

Athlete vs. Mathlete by W.C. Mack

This is the story of Evan and Russell, fraternal twins who never had much in common. Evan is a basketball player and Russell is a smart, nerdy guy on school's academic team. But when the new basketball coach asks Russell to try out for the team (only because he's really tall), the brothers come into competition with each other. This is a quick, easy-to-read sports story that will appeal to 3rd-6th grade boys. It's fast-moving and full of dialogue. As an adult reader I thought it was a little trite, but younger boys will love it (my own 8-year-old couldn't wait to finish it and will be reading the sequel).

My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt

This spare, sometimes cryptic book tells the story of a girl named Angel who is a victim of human trafficking. A man named Call befriends her, says he loves her, gives her cocaine, and then forces her into a life of prostitution. Angel's only friend, Serena, disappears and she is on her own. Writing down her story in her "book of life" is the one thing that keeps her alive. But then Call brings in a little girl named Melli and Angel  finds it in herself to try to protect Melli from the life she is living. This book is well-written and poetic, but is a tough story to read. It's haunting and sad and gives you a glimpse into the harsh reality of girls who are trafficked. Recommended for high school readers.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

There's a quote on the back of this book from John Green (author of The Fault in Our Stars and other great YA books) that sums it up. "Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book." I read a lot of books for kids and teens, and I often find myself mildly interested (or sometimes not interested at all). That was not the case with Eleanor & Park. From the very beginning I was drawn into their interesting, intelligent, and unlikely romance. I cared about both of these misfit characters and I loved how their relationship slowly built up bus ride by bus ride. This book is all about the characters and those small details that are so important when you are young and in love. I also liked the time period of this book (the 1980s) and that these characters weren't the popular kids. If you want to curl up with a romance this is the book to read. Definitely for high school, though!

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

This is a novel of self-discovery, travel, and romance. Allyson just graduated from high school and goes on a trip to Europe before starting college. But she doesn't have a great time, mainly due to the fact that she's not much of a risk taker. However, on the last day of the tour she skips a planned activity, goes to an outdoor Shakespeare play, and meets a Dutch actor who later invites her to spend a day in Paris with him. In a whirlwind day a romance blossoms, but when Willem disappears Allyson is left with many questions and self-doubts. She returns to the U.S.A. and starts college, but she falls into depression and a longing to be the person she was on that one day in Paris. It's really a story about breaking free from the past and becoming the person you want to be with European cities as a backdrop. I love Gayle Forman's books and this is another gem. Recommended for high school readers (not middle schoolers!)

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

This powerful graphic novel about well-known serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is completely unique. The author was an acquaintance of Dahmer in high school. When the news broke of his horrific crimes, Backderf was haunted by his memories of Dahmer's strange behavior and mascot-like status among Backderf's friends. Over the years, he wrote up his memories in graphic form, self-publishing a brief early version several years ago. This complete version is polished, mesmerizing, and based on a lot of research. You meet the strange, alienated Dahmer who imitates his mother's effeminate interior decorator and pretends to have frequent seizures. You also meet Backderf and his friends, who are fascinated by Dahmer, but also realize that there is something truly strange about him. They offer Dahmer some semblance of friendship, but Dahmer never really breaks into their group because of his underlying strangeness. The story is believable, fascinating, and will be of high interest to teenagers who might just think about their own acquaintances and who might be lurking among them. Highly recommended for high school readers.

Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy

Words in the Dust transports the reader to a village in Afghanistan and into the life of a girl born with a cleft palate. Zulaikha does not have an easy life with a stepmother who doesn't care much for her and brothers to take care of. She is not allowed to go to school and constantly told that she will never marry because of her facial deformity. When American soldiers see her and offer to repair her cleft palate she sees it as her chance to be "normal." The author, an American soldier who served in Afghanistan, captures the heartbreaks of Zulaikha and her sister, who goes through with an arranged marriage with some unhappy consequences. It's more than a story about a girl getting an operation—it's about a girl awakening to the possibilities that an education might bring her. I enjoyed the book a lot, and the middle school kids who read it this year loved it. For most, it was their first exposure to a culture very different from their own and they enjoyed the story and learned from it as well. Highly recommended for middle schoolers.