Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick

Laugh-out-loud humor will draw readers into this second novel by eighth grade English teacher Jordan Sonnenblick. The story is simple--16-year-old Alex, angry at his divorced parents, gets drunk and crashes into a neighbor's yard, decapitating a lawn gnome. The judge sentences him to 100 hours of community service, which he serves as a companion to an elderly man in a nursing home. As Alex develops a relationship with Sol, the threads of the plot come together and it is clear why the teen and the older man were placed together. The brilliance of this book is in the characters. Alex, a self-centered but likeable teenager who needs to take responsibility for his actions, and Sol, the cantankerous and sly old man with the wisdom of Solomon and a life story that needs to be told. Throw these characters together with jazz music, a strong friendship, a budding high school romance, and divorced parents who are dating each other, and you have an engaging story with a poignant resolution. Highly recommended for middle school readers.

E.E. Cummings: a poet's life by Catherine Reef

This biography of poet E. E. Cummings thoroughly covers his life at a level that middle school students can easily understand. Interspersed are many examples of his poems and some explanation of what they mean. His life as an artist, his family dynamics, his friendships with other artists, and his loves and marriages are all described and brought to life through numerous quotations. The author's research appears to have been done mainly in other biographies of Cummings, not through primary sources. Cummings life story is adequately told, but lacks the sparkle of some other biographies of twentieth century figures such as Our Eleanor by Candace Fleming or The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler by James Cross Giblin. Also, the first chapter begins with Cumming's childhood without ever giving the reader context for why Cummings is important in literary and artistic history, something that middle school students likely do not know. All in all, this is a solid biography of a brilliant poet, and it will likely be appreciated by a reader with an existing interest in E. E. Cummings.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

This is another MHL book for this year and it's a thick one! It's a fantasy set in a world where huge airships are the way people travel (much like they used to travel on luxury ships like the Titanic). The story involves Matt Cruse, a poor but ambitious boy who works on the ship and dreams of becoming a sailmaker. He becomes involved in a wealthy traveler's quest to discover the truth of her grandfather's strange journals. When the airship is boarded by pirates and crash lands on a remote island, Matt and Kate find out that there really are flying carniverous beasts in the air, but their biggest problem is that the pirates have a station on the island. This book starts our a little bit slow then gets really exciting. The vocabulary is rich and the author never talks down to his readers. This one will be perfect for good readers of all grade levels.

The Clique by Lisi Harrison

This book is wildly popular with middle school girls, including several girls in Pageturners Book Club, who recommended that I read it. I will start off by saying that I can see why this book is in demand. It is fast-moving, has characters that you love to hate, and is full of contemporary references to fashion and popular culture.
However, I also have to say that this is one of the worst books I have read in a long time! The characters are completely shallow--even the "good" girl (Claire) that we are supposed to identify with. I just did not believe that a) Claire would want to be friends with the awful clique of girls after the things they did to her and that b) she could sneak into the mansion and text message from Massie's computer. And the final scene in which Claire and Massie are in a bush listening to their drunk fathers sing 99 Bottles of Beer is about as contrived an ending as I could think of.

The mean things that the clique does to the new girl are truly awful, and I'm sure there is some therapy in reading about kids who are meaner than the people who are mean to you. There is nothing wrong with reading these books--kids love series books and of course everything a person reads doesn't have to be well-written, but I just had to give my true opinion of this one. If you're looking for a better book about the horrors of middle school, try The Girls by Amy Goldman Koss or Define Normal by Julie Ann Peters.

Soldier X by Don Wulffson

Wow. This is one of those books that taught me a lot. Erik is a German teenager and he is forced into the Nazi army at the end of World War II when there was really no hope for Germany. Although he is half German, his grandparents are Russian, and his language ability comes in handy when he is wounded in a battle on the Russian front. He takes the clothes and identity of a dead Russian boy soldier, and he recovers from his wounds in a Russian army hospital. There he meets an orphaned teen named Tamara, and they flee together from both armies. Full of the horrors or war and details that evoke the smells, sights, and sounds of battle, this book has strong characters, a strong plot, and will be of great interest, especially to boys.

Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes

This is a MHL nominee for next school year. It's about a high school English class in the inner city and the Friday poetry readings that reveal the lives of the students and bring the class together. It's loosely narrated by Tyronne, who at first thinks school is a joke and that he has no future. The format is to read a little of the inner thoughts of a character, then to read the poem that that character reads to the class. Janelle is overweight and wants people to see her as she is on the inside. Devon is a smart jock who secretly goes to the library to read and study. Chankara was smacked by her boyfriend and is through letting people beat up on her. Raul is an artist who wants to paint the beauty of his people. Gloria has a baby and is determined to go on to college. Lupe wishes she could have a baby to love her. I did think it was a bit unrealistic that all these kids could (and would) write wonderful poems revealing their inner selves, but it was fun to read their stories and poems, and it is most definitely a well-written book. I'm not sure how middle school students will like this one--it will be interesting to find out.

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

Wow. I learned so much from this book. I knew vaguely that Navajo Indians had made codes that were used in World War II, but I didn't know any details. Joseph Bruchac, who is himself a Native American, obviously did a ton of research to write this book. The character in the book is a young Navajo who enlists in the Marines and becomes a Code Talker. I found the story to be gripping, and I knew as I was reading it that it was entirely grounded in fact. The most fascinating part to me was the descriptions of what it was like for the Marines who fought the Japanese on the islands of the Pacific. Conditions were horrible, and so much needless killing occurred. Any reader interested in war will devour this book, and will enjoy a fast-paced war story with the added advantage of the perspective of the Navajo Indians who were told their language and culture was worthless, and later told to use that language to help their country.

Buddha Boy by Kathe Koja

Buddha Boy is one of the Maud Hart Lovelace books for next school year. I listened to it on CD this week. It's about a new kid at a high school who at first seems pretty weird. His head is shaved and he begs in the lunch room. It turns out that a lot of what the new kid does is based on Buddhism, and when Justin unwillingly becomes his friend he finds out what an incredible artist he is. Unfortunately, the powerful jocks of the school pick Jinsen to harass, and Justin has to decide where he stands. This book has lots to think about--religion, art, friendship--and is short and easy to read. It's only mature because of some of the language in the book, which isn't anything everyone hasn't already heard, but it is not language you can say at school. I think this one will be enjoyed by 7th and 8th grade boys and girls alike.

Next year's Maud Hart Lovelace Nominees

For all you over-achievers out there, here are next year's MHL nominees. (This info is online at http://www.maudhartlovelace.org/) The OMS media center already owns at least one of all of them except Buddha Boy, which we now have as an audiobook. The books have been ordered and 20 copies of each will be here any day.

Division II: (grades 6 - 8)

Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
* Buddha Boy by Kathe Koja
Blizzard's Wake by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Rising Water by P. J. Petersen
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John Ritter
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde
* Soldier X by Don Wulffson

* Titles for mature readers.

Statewide Maud Hart Lovelace Winners

The results are in, and among 5,270 Division II voters across the state, the winning book this year was Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. The movie of this book is coming out soon, so it will only get more popular. Pageturners Book Club members were disappointed—it wasn't their favorite. They liked House of the Scorpion, but that was probably too advanced for many readers.

Here are the numbers of votes for the top 6 books. Interestingly, Hoot only had 13.8% of the vote, and City of Ember had 13.6% of the vote.

Hoot 728
City of Ember 719
Full Tilt 643
House of the Scorpion 632
Once Upon a Marigold 476
Skeleton Man 464

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

This book is already popular at OMS, maybe due to its very cool cover (which violates the school dress code, by the way). Ginny, a 17-year-old girl learns about herself while on a sort of scavenger hunt across Europe. Her beloved aunt has died and left her 13 envelopes in various places in Europe. She travels around alone with almost no money and no advance plans–maybe a little bit unrealistic for a girl so young, but it's fun to imagine. This book contains a nice combination of adventure, romance, growing up, and also coming to terms with disappointment and sadness.

I love to travel and my travel bug began at a young age when I read Betsy and the Great World by Maud Hart Lovelace. 13 Little Blue Envelopes might have the same effect on kids today when they read about Ginny's adventures in England, Paris, Italy, and Greece.

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

I was so surprised by how much I loved this book. It's about two Irish brothers who fight in World War I. On one dramatic night one of the brothers, in an attempt to stay awake all night, relives his childhood. You are immersed in the world of a poor Irish family, and an incredible relationship between the brothers and the girl they both love. In the end, the events of the war cause a heartbreaking choice with no good ending. I was shocked to find out that this story is based on a shameful piece of history. As one 8th grader said to me when she returned this book, "I didn't know this was going to make me cry!" Highly recommended for 7th and 8th grade readers and for adults, too.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

I kept hearing about this book from good readers and I decided I had better get it for our library and that I had better read it myself. Actually, I listened to it on CD in my car. I would say it's all about romance, but it's the vampire fans who have been reading it. At the risk of telling too much, I will just say that Bella falls in love with Edward, so much so that she is willing to live with the fact that Edward can hardly keep from killing her. As is always the case, love that is up against impossible obstacles is the strongest. If you can hold out through many chapters of longing and love, you will get to some good action in the end. Some reviews said this was for high school readers, but in my opinion there was nothing inappropriate for younger teens. Highly recommended for fans of romance and/or vampires.

Maud Hart Lovelace Winners

The OMS results are in for the Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Contest.

Out of 169 votes, Full Tilt was the school-wide winner with 39 votes. Second place went to House of the Scorpion and 3rd place went to The City of Ember. Speak came in 4th overall, but if we subtracted all the 6th grade votes, Speak would have been the overall winner, so it was popular with the older crowd.

Now we are waiting to hear the state-wide winner, which will be announced on April 25.

All 12 books got at least one vote here at OMS, which shows that it was a pretty good list of books. Thanks everyone who read them and voted!

Totally Joe by James Howe

This book is funny and fresh, and a great example of first-person writing from the point of view of a 7th grade guy. His teacher assigned a big writing assignment--an alphabiography--in which Joe has to write his own autobiography by going through all the letters of the alphabet. Joe writes about his family, his current crush, his supportive group of friends, and about being harassed at school. Joe is dealing with normal 7th grade issues, but many of them are magnified by the fact that Joe is gay. Lucky for him he has a teacher he can confide in, and aunt who supports him unconditionally, a good group of friends, and a family that accepts him for who he is. If this book were about a straight middle school student everyone would love it. As it is, I know some people will not care for it. If you are ready for this kind of book, read it and enjoy. If you are not up for it now, read something else now and maybe try this one later. If you are able to get into the mind and heart of Joe, you will find a good hearted, smart, funny kid with a great story to tell.