Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller

I could not put this book down. It is the story of one month in the lives of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller. Annie was only 20 years old when she took the train to Alabama to become Helen's teacher. Six-year-old Helen's family loved her but had almost given up on her—she was blind and deaf and had no way to communicate, and so she behaved like a wild animal. Annie Sullivan knew what it was like to be blind and lonely and desperate for human connection, and she was also a tenacious and gifted teacher. When she arrived she realized what Helen needed—discipline, love, and words, which are the key to human thoughts and emotions. Annie tried to discipline Helen, but she fought fiercely, physically, and with great intelligence. Helen knew that her parents would give in to her slightest tantrum and she pulled all the right strings to get her own way. Annie had to take her away for a week in order to begin to civilize Helen's behavior. But even when Helen's behavior improved, she didn't immediately understand the concept of language that Annie was trying to teach her. I was amazed at the courage and talent of this young woman. It is a fiction story, but it's closely based on the letters of Annie Sullivan, and I imagine that the emotions and events are very true to life. Sarah Miller did a fantastic job of writing this historical fiction novel.

Diva by Alex Flinn

Caitlin is an opera singer, but it's not cool at her high school to let people know she doesn't care about cheerleading and all the other usual high school stuff. After shedding extra weight and leaving behind an abusive boyfriend, she secretly auditions to attend a high school for the performing arts. She gets in and attends the new school (in spite of her mother's objections) and Diva is the story of how she takes on new challenges and begins to become the person she dreams of becoming. One hurdle to overcome is her own mother, who dresses like a teenager, dates a married man, and is unsupportive of Caitlin's music. Another hurdle is the memory of her abusive boyfriend (whose story is told in the book Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn). One big benefit of her new school is that she is among kindred spirits—artistic teenagers capable of becoming true friends. I think any teenage girl could relate to Caitlin, but girls with an interest in singing will definitely want to read her story. It's well-written, thoughtful, and most importantly, an enjoyable read.

Swear to Howdy by Wendelin Van Draanen

What does it mean to be a good friend? Should you keep a promise no matter what? Those are the big questions in this funny/sad book. Rusty and Joey are best friends. They do lots of "guy" stuff like catching frogs, harassing their older sisters, and shooting at tin cans. Every time they do something they might get in trouble for they "swear to howdy" that they won't tell a soul. Then they hammer fists, punch knuckles, prick their fingers, and mix their blood to seal the pact. Joey is the wild one of the two, but he always means well. Unfortunately he has a father with a drinking problem who is a dangerous man. So when Joey makes mistakes, he really needs Rusty to keep his secrets. This short, funny book takes a big turn at the end that will really make you think.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

I'm not sure what I can say about this book. I'm sure it's already been discussed to death. I liked it, as I have liked all of the Harry Potter books. I should confess that I have never actually read a Harry Potter book. I listen to them on CD and I absolutely love listening to Jim Dale do all the voices. Here's what I liked most about this book: the focus on the friendship of Harry, Ron and Hermione. What great friends. I also like the other Hogwarts kids—Ginny, Nevile, and Luna. And I particularly enjoyed learning so much more about Dumbledore—he's one of my favorite characters. Rowling really made him into a complex person in this book. And Harry, almost in spite of himself, consistently chooses the honorable path that stems from his inborn sense of right and wrong. I like that he is so real and so good, but not in a preachy way. Now for things I didn't like. The story dragged a bit in the middle when they were living in the tent and didn't know what to do. I thought the ending with Snape was very predictable—I knew all along he was going to turn out to be good (or at least not evil). The part I really didn't like was the epilogue. It made Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione seem so BORING! So they fought off evil and now they just raise kids and send them off to boarding school. I'd like to think they have more excitement in their lives than that. (It reminds me of how I felt reading the later Anne of Green Gables books—grown ups are just so dull!) In spite of my few criticisms, I really did enjoy the book and I'm looking forward to listening to the entire series again from start to finish.

Marie Curie by Kathleen Krull

If you have to read a biography of a scientist, make sure you find one by Kathleen Krull. She digs into the lives of famous people and finds the things that normal people (like me!) find interesting. Yes, Marie Curie was a great scientist who won the Nobel Prize and discovered radioactivity, but Krull tells us all the other interesting stuff that we really want to know. How did this smart girl from Poland overcome the prejudice against women that kept women from studying science? How did her love affair with her employer's son almost get her into trouble? What was her relationship with her husband like? What about the affair she had after he died? If you read this book you will know all about Marie Curie the scientist and Marie Curie the human being. And she was amazing in both categories! You can't go wrong with the Giants of Science biographies. Sigmund Freud and Isaac Newton are also part of this series.

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Cap (short for Capricorn) is an 8th grader who has spent his life in a 1960s-style commune living only with his Grandmother. He's never had a friend his own age or watched TV or gone to school or done anything that most other kids have done. When his Grandma is injured, he is sent to live with a "normal family" and to go to public school. Right away the popular (but mean) guy in school pegs him for the biggest loser in the 8th grade. And at this middle school the tradition is to elect that loser class president in order to humiliate him. But Cap is so oblivious they can't figure out how to embarrass him. It's a light-hearted, funny book where the so-called loser ends up on top. In a way, this book is Stargirl for guys. I'm a big fan of Gordon Korman, and while I don't think it's his best book ever, I think lots of middle schoolers will enjoy this book.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

There is no doubt that this is a fine book and it will probably win some children's literature awards this year. While it is set in the 1960s, it captures the universal agony and humor of seventh grade as seen through the eyes of Holling Hoodhood. Every Wednesday Holling is stuck spending the afternoon with his teacher Mrs. Baker while all the other kids go to religious classes. Holling is sure that Mrs. Baker hates him, but as the year goes on he gains more and more insight into her life and he learns a lot from her about Shakespeare and running and baseball. This book has many humorous scenes such as Holling wearing yellow tights with feathers on the bottom in a Shakespeare play and the incident when rats fall through the classroom ceiling. It also contains a lot of Shakespeare quotes and wisdom, and numerous current events from 1967-68. Teachers are guaranteed to love this book (especially those who like Shakespeare and grew up in the 60s!). I'm curious how kids will like it.

To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel by Siena Cherson Siegel

This beautiful book is a memoir (an autobiography) of a girl who dreamed of being a ballerina. The author, from Puerto Rico, moved to New York City as a girl to attend the School of American Ballet. She spent years there learning, performing, and working incredibly hard. The artwork in this graphic novel shows the freedom and joy of dance as seen through young Siena's eyes. I learned a lot about the life of a dancer from reading this book. Girls who like to dance (or who dream of dancing) will love it!

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Imagine having a brother who constantly embarrasses you and being stuck babysitting that brother a lot of the time. And then imagine that your parents give all their attention to your brother and never seem to give you credit for putting up with him and helping out with him. That's the story of Catherine's life, and since her brother has autism, things aren't going to change. David doesn't understand how to behave in public, so Catherine is always writing down rules for him to remember (like no toys in the fish tank and keep your pants on in public). It's summertime and with her best friend away Catherine really hopes that the new girl in the neighborhood will be a good friend. But strangely enough, the real friend that she meets that summer is a paralyzed boy who communicates by pointing at cards. Catherine is an artist, a compassionate spirit, and a very believable narrator. She's the kind of friend I would have wanted to have when I was 12 years old. It's more than a book about kids with disabilities—it's about being true to yourself.

The Last Girls of Pompeii by Kathryn Lasky

You kind of know up front how this book is going to end. It's the story of two teenagers who have no freedom—Julia, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and Sura, Julia's slave. Julia's prospects in life are dim because she was born with a deformed arm and at that time it was considered a curse. Well, it's 79 A.D. and they live in Pompeii, so you can guess that they will be trying to escape the horrible eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. In spite of knowing something about the ending, I found the details of life in Pompeii to be fascinating. Lasky obviously did a lot of research into Roman religious practices (lots of animals are sacrificed), wedding rituals, food (flamingo tongues!), gladiator flights, and more. My only criticism is that the actual eruption of the volcano was almost anticlimatic—their escape seemed awfully easy. This book was personally fascinating to me because I actually visited Pompeii for spring break and walked those same streets. This is great for kids studying Roman civilization. My only fear is that there is so much detail and advanced vocabulary that this will be a hard read for the average middle schooler. But nevertheless, I recommend it for motivated readers, especially 6th graders since they study this era in history.

Demonkeeper by Royce Buckingham

Can there be a funny book about an evil beast that hunts (and sometimes kills) teenagers? This book has just the right mix of horror, fantasy, and humor to pull you in and make you keep reading. Nat lives alone in a very scary house where he is the demonkeeper. The job involves controlling his minions (3 little demons who are supposed to help him) and feeding the beast in the basement (a really evil thing that wants to escape). Nat makes the mistake of leaving the house for a date with a girl (strictly forbidden) and while he is gone some kids break into the house and unknowingly release the beast. When a very creepy "thin man" enters the picture, Nat has to fight two evil beings to keep his job as demon keeper. Good thing he finds a pretty understanding girl to help him out of this mess. Like I said, it's creepy and funny at the same time. I think middle school guys will especially like this one.

Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes

I can't say I have been all that thrilled about the books I've read this summer, but I'm happy to say this one was great. It's about a group of 5 high school freshmen who all struggle to fit in at their school until they come together to form a band called Lemonade Mouth. Each of the band members has a unique story, and each tells things from their point of view (so you have to keep track of who is talking). Wen is a nice guy who is struggling with his feelings for his father's sexy new girlfriend. Stella is new to the school and when told she can't wear a certain t-shirt she suddenly develops a reputation as someone who fights against the system. Charlie calls himself a "big fat loser," but he's really a sensitive guy with a talent for percussion. Mo's family is from India and she struggles to live up to her father's strict expectations (while she secretly dates a popular guy). And Olivia, the lead singer, is kind of strange and also so painfully shy she throws up in the bathroom before going on stage. Fate, detention, and a dentist's corny jingle bring the 5 students together, and the music they write speaks to the kids at their school—especially the kids who think of themselves as freaks. This book is funny and clever and the part I love most is the friendship that forms among these 5 kids. It is a high school story, so I recommend it to 7th and 8th graders. An interesting note: this author also wrote I am the Wallpaper, and those characters play a minor role here.

Red Moon at Sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells

The American Civil War comes alive in this novel about a girl from Virginia who sees first-hand the horrors of war. In the beginning India Moody is a smart, optimistic girl who believes that the yanks haven't got a chance against the Confederate Army. She sees her father and many other men go off to war and begins to hear about the brutality and futility of the war. India is tutored by Emory Trimble, a young man who studies bacteria and knows that lives would be saved if doctors would sterilize their instruments. India learns chemistry and biology along with him and dreams of being a scientist. India is poor and her home is in the path of the war. As she grows into a young woman she sees tragedy, understands the inhumanity of war, and sees her home and family destroyed. It's a moving, intense book with glimmers of humanity among the evils of war. It's the best Civil War novel for this age group that I have read. Recommended for 7th and 8th graders and especially for social studies teachers. (And isn't it cool that this is the same Rosemary Wells who wrote my son's favorite Mother Goose collection? She's got a lot of talent!)

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson is a really fine writer. She captures the voice of teenagers and tells tragic, difficult stories with amazing humor. Twisted has a male for a main character. Tyler Miller, a former loser who starts his senior year muscular and tough looking with a bad-boy reputation due to an act of vandalism he committed the previous year. It's the kind of combination that catches the eye of Bethany Milbury, queen of the school. She used to think Tyler was a total nerd, but now she's flirting with him and Tyler can't resist her charms. The downside is that Bethany's brother, Chip, is a real jerk, and Bethany's father is Tyler's father's boss. Things go wrong for Tyler at a big party, and while he is trying to be a good guy and not sleep with Bethany, he is accused of uploading pornographic photographs of her to the Internet. Thus begins Tyler's downward spiral which nearly ends in suicide. This book has mature themes—I don't recommend it to middle schoolers except for mature 8th grade readers—but it is compelling and well-written and very real. I wish high school guys would read this book and discuss the choices that Tyler makes.

Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

This book surprised me. I bought it for the media center because girls love reading about tragedy, and the biography of Bethany Hamilton (the surfer whose arm was bitten off by a shark) is a big hit. I thought this might be a mediocre attempt to capitalize on the popularity of that book. In reality, this is a well-written novel in verse format. The story begins in the hospital after fifteen-year-old Jane has been attacked by a shark. She has just been told that her arm has been amputated. She is depressed and angry and unwilling to be a brave, inspirational poster child. The book is quick and easy to read, but full of deep emotion and introspection. There are moments of beautiful poetry. I think readers will be drawn to the book because of the subject matter and the format, and will find that they are reading a really fine novel. Jane's story isn't full of drama or action—it's a journey of emotional healing. It's a big step up from the usual "chick lit" that some girls like to read.