After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

Jordan Sonnenblick has done it again. Another great middle school story that makes you laugh, makes you cry, and makes you want to keep on reading. It's the follow-up to Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie but it's really not necessary to read the first book to enjoy this one. The focus here is on Jeffrey, who has survived childhood leukemia and is now in eighth grade. Jeffrey walks with a limp and has some learning problems related to his cancer medications. His big problem is that he has to pass the state math test in order to go on to high school. His best (and only) friend, also a cancer survivor, takes on the task of tutoring him. The best part of the new school year is that there's a cute new girl in school who wants to be friends with Jeffrey. This book follows Jeffrey and his two friends through eighth grade as they help each other become the best that they can be. It's hard to describe how enjoyable a Jordan Sonnenblick book can be--you just have to read one to understand. A great read for all middle school kids.

Unsung YA Heroes Lists

Here are my favorite YA books that many people may not have read. My list slants toward middle school because I am a middle school librarian. Sorry I don't have time to annotate this--I'm home with a hungry baby. These are in no particular order.

See other people's lists at http://yannabe.com/2010/01/21/best-books-not-read/

• Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo (If you have not read this book go read it now!)
• Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes
• Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet's Life by Alan Wolf
• Secrets Of A Civil War Submarine: Solving The Mysteries Of The H. L. Hunley by Sally Walker
• Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion (Scientists in the Field Series) by Loree Griffin Burns
• Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson
• Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman
• True Believer (Make Lemonade Trilogy) by Virginia Ewer Wolff
• Hitler Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
• Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas (NOT a middle school title but fabulous)
• Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going (also mature and pretty well-known, but I love it)
• Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick

What I've been Reading This Year

Well, I have been on maternity leave from my middle school this year and while I've continued to read middle school books, I don't think I'll ever get around to blogging these individual titles. But I want to remember them so here's what I've been reading lately.

The True Adventures of Charley Darwin by Carolyn Meyer (good!)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (great sequel to The Hunger Games)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (I know it won the Newbery and all but it just didn't do it for me--seemed too contrived)

Maze Runner by James Dashner (I was hoping for another Hunger Games, but this one lacked character development in my opinion)

Octavian Nothing Traitor to the Nation Book One by M.T. Anderson (compelling but hard to imagine it being very interesting to kids)

Octavian Nothing Book Two by M.T. Anderson (ditto)

Things Hoped For by Andrew Clements (a pleasant surprise--I liked it a lot)

Marching for Freedom by Elizabeth Partridge (good solid nonfiction)

Butterflies and Moths by Nic Bishop (stunning!)

Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (The final volume of the Dairy Queen trilogy. So good it made me cry to see it end.)

Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia

Wow. This book is just disturbing. It's a day in the life of three high school girls. One is angry about being benched from playing basketball and plans to beat up another girl after school (for no reason). The girl about to get jumped is innocent and oblivious and self-absorbed. And the third girl knows what's going to happen but is too concerned with her broken fingernail to intervene. It's a mature book—definitely for high schoolers—with lots of urban slang. I'm sure it would be useful for discussions on ethics and right vs. wrong, especially in similar urban environments and rough schools. Mostly this book just depressed me. The two characters at fault here don't ever take responsibility for their actions or grow in any way. They just do what they do and think it's ok. If this is the future of our world it's scary.

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

I was excited about this book because of the huge popularity of Alex Flinn's previous fairy tale book, Beastly, which had boys and girls clamoring for it at my middle school. This one is the story of Sleeping Beauty set in modern times. The princess Talia has been asleep for 300 years when a modern slacker teen named Jack finds the hidden kingdom of Euphrasia and decides to kiss the beautiful girl he finds there. Of course, she wakes up in the 21st century to a lot of problems—mainly that her father the king is furious with her. She runs off to Florida with Jack, who doesn't actually like the spoiled princess, and there suddenly becomes diplomatic and kind and brings out a new side in the formerly unmotivated Jack. Normally I can suspend my disbelief and just enjoy fairy tale stories, but I never got into this one. I thought both Talia and Jack changed rather suddenly and their romance seemed forced. And the return to Euphrasia seemed like a tacked on ending that didn't fit with the rest of the story. It wasn't a terrible book—I'm sure that some fairy tale fans will enjoy it—but I didn't find it as satisfying as Beastly or some of my other favorite fairy tale novels. And one more complaint—I am tired of middle school fiction containing scenes of wild drunken high schoolers partying. It's fine in a book like Speak where it's integral to a serious plot, but I just don't think it's necessary in every story about teenagers.

The Frog Scientist by Pamela S. Turner

Many people have heard of frogs being found with extra legs and other strange deformities, but did you know that scientists have found many male frogs that are producing eggs instead of sperm? And did you know that frogs across the world are mysteriously dying out and going extinct? Many people think this is being caused by chemicals that humans use to kill weeds and insects. Dr. Tyrone Hayes is the Frog Scientist who is investigating the effects of these pesticides on frogs. In the excellent tradition of Scientists in the Field books, this is both a profile of a fascinating scientist and a lesson in biology and the scientific method. The writing is excellent, the photographs are stunning, and the fact that Dr. Hayes is a cool-looking African American scientist make this book a winner in every way. This ranks as one of my favorite nonfiction books of 2009. Give this to your middle or high school life science teacher today!

Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species by Sneed B. Collard III

Can you imagine a place with 13,000 snakes per square mile? That's the reality on the island of Guam. The brown tree snake didn't used to be found there, but it moved in and has taken over the environment and scientists can't get rid of them now. And instead of trying to remove the snake from Guam, they just try to keep those snakes off of boats that go to islands like Hawaii so the snakes won't take over new islands. That's one of the invasive species covered in this book. The author also covers fire ants in Texas, melaleuca plants in Florida, and the zebra mussels in midwestern waters. (Minnesota is doing a great job keeping the zebra mussel out, and that is mentioned here.) This book goes in-depth on each of these invaders, but to keep kids' attention I think perhaps the book should have featured a few more invasive species examples in more general terms. It's a fascinating topic, but I'm not sure how many middle schoolers will stick with this text. But, as always, the Scientists in the Field series has excellent photos and information for kids who want to dig in to some fascinating nonfiction topics.

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

If you read this author's outstanding nonfiction book called Hitler Youth, then you have heard of Helmuth Hubner, the German teenager who was executed by the Nazis for daring to speak against Hitler. In this historical novel Bartoletti takes the facts of Hubner's life and works them into a story that will be eye-opening to many readers. You know from the beginning that Helmuth is imprisoned and could be executed at any time. Through a series of flashbacks you see how he grew from a trusting boy to a teenager who saw through Nazi propaganda and lies and dared to speak against them. Helmuth's weapon was his own intelligence and ability to write. His crime was distributing pamphlets that spoke against Hitler. Readers will see how he secretly listened to British radio broadcasts, selectively involved a few of his friends, and ultimately was betrayed but never lost his courage or moral outrage. Looking back we all like to think we would have done the same, but I think very few people could have shown his bravery. Recommended for readers with an interest in World War II or history in general. This doesn't have war action like Soldier X or Soldier Boys, but it goes a long way in explaining the terrifying conditions in Germany and the reasons for Hitler's rise to power.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I have read several books about teenagers caught between life and death. The Afterlife by Gary Soto, Everworld by Neal Shusterman, and Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin all come quickly to mind. If I Stay is in a class by itself. It's the moving story of Mia who is an outstanding cello player, a good kid, and part of a loving family. Best of all, she's in love with Adam who is a musician in an up-and-coming band. Both are passionate about their music and though they are very different it's what brought them together. The premise of this book is that Mia and her family are in a fatal car accident. Her family is dead and Mia's body rests in a coma while Mia finds herself outside her body deciding whether to live or die. The moving part of this story is how Mia's family and friends pull together to try to bring her back to the living. In the end it is Adam who helps her make the difficult decision she needs to make. There are humorous flashbacks that make this book less serious and also let you see just how rich and full Mia's life was and how much she has lost in the loss of her family. I think it's an outstanding book but it is mature. I would only recommend it to high school students and possibly eighth graders.

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot

This is the long-awaited sequel to Airhead. (Well, it was long awaited by a couple of my voracious 7th grade girls.) In Airhead, a video-game playing feminist teenage girl is killed and her brain is transplanted into the body of Nikki Howard, international modeling sensation (who also happens to have just died of a brain aneurism). Unfortunately for Em, she is now basically held hostage by Stark Enterprises and is unable to tell anyone but her immediate family that she is alive. In this book we see how Em is going on with life in the body of Nikki. She knows that she is constantly watched and that everywhere she goes there are surveillance devices to monitor her. In spite of having a life that many girls would envy, all Em wants is to win the love of her old best friend Christopher. But of course he thinks she is dead and in a surprise twist wants to avenge her death. When Nikki's previously unknown brother shows up and tells her that their mother has disappeared, the book turns into something of a mystery with Stark Enterprise being the bad guy. I loved the book right up to the end, but I hated the ending, which seemed to me like a contrived lead-in to book three of the series. I can't say this was a great book but it was lots of fun which is what books should be, after all.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Wintergirls takes readers into the mind of Lia, a teenager spiraling out of control. Lia and former best friend Cassie used to compete to see who could lose the most weight. Now Cassie has died from her eating disorder, leaving Lia to feel guilty for ignoring her phone calls and haunted by hallucinations of Cassie encouraging Lia to continue on her destructive path. Lia, who has no friends and struggles with her family relationships, is alone with her own negative thoughts and inner voices telling her she must lose more weight and cut herself. In Anderson's hands it is poetic and insightful and certainly a cut above any other "teen eating disorder" book I have ever read. However, for some reason this didn't fully capture my attention—I kept hoping for a little more of a plot or some other thread to bring me out of Lia's inner turmoil. I know teens will love this book and it will touch their lives deeply, so I do recommend it to readers mature enough to handle the difficult subjects presented.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

I love Michael Morpurgo's books, especially Private Peaceful, but I never had read this one before, probably because I knew it was narrated by a horse. But I had a 7th grade student read it and love it so I decided to try it myself. Joey, the horse telling the story, was a farm horse before he was taken to be in the World War I cavalry. In this book you see the horrors of war through Joey's eyes and limited perspective. Joey is repeatedly a victim of human violence but through it all finds numerous kind, empathetic human beings who care for him and love him. Any realistic book about World War I battles might just be too much to take—it was a horrible war. But through the eyes of Joey the story is accessible to kids and readers will definitely sympathize with Joey and hope that he is someday reunited with his beloved master. Recommended for readers who want to read about war but who might not be ready for more gritty books such as Soldier X or Fallen Angels.

Nation by Terry Pratchett

This unique story is kind of a fantasy, but more of an adventure/survival book. It does take place in an alternate reality, but it's a world much like ours without magical creatures or fantasy elements. Mau is a boy living on a small island and his people call themselves The Nation. He is in a canoe on the ocean when a tsunami devastates his island and kills everyone he has ever known. That same tsunami shipwrecks a young British girl on Mau's island and the two strangers slowly grow to be friends, allies, and creators of a new Nation. Both young characters question everything they have ever known—Mau must ask if his Nation's Gods are real and why they would destroy their own Nation. Daphne questions everything she has learned about what it means to be a proper young lady. Both children find they are more capable leaders than they could have ever imagined and together they unearth a secret about the Nation that changes world history. It's a deep story that is both adventurous and moving and will leave readers thinking for a long time. Recommended for both kids and adults.

The Last Invisible Boy by Evan Kuhlman

If you flip through this book is looks like fun. It has lots of cartoon illustrations and short, compact chapters. But when you read the book it's really not fun at all. It is the story of Finn Garrett, whose father died recently and who is grieving so much he fears he is becoming invisible. His hair is actually turning white and doctors and psychologists don't have any answers for why it is happening. Finn's journal chronicles how he remembers happy memories of his father, connects more strongly with his mother and grandfather, and relies on the support of his best girl friend. It's not a bad story and it does have some humor, but at it's heart it's all about healing from grief, which may not be what readers are expecting. I have no idea how kids will receive it—I'd love to have some reaction from middle school readers.

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke

I am in awe of Irene Gut, the author of this book. She lived in Poland during World War II and rather than giving in to Hitler and the German army she fought to save the lives of the Jews around her. She was only 17 when war broke out and she was separated from her family and traveling with the Polish army as a nurse. Russian soldiers attacked and raped her and she later was forced to work for the German army as a cook and a housekeeper. Her first act of resistance was to pass food into a ghetto. From there she slowly took more and more risks to save Jewish lives until finally she was transporting Jews to a hideout in the forest, hiding them in her workplace, and harboring them in the basement of the home where she was living and working as a housekeeper for a Nazi commander. She was always fearful for her life but never stopped doing what she thought was right. It was heartening to read about numerous others who also were helping in a time of unbelievable horrors. I would recommend this to 8th graders on up through adults.