Justice Jack

I recently read Sammy Keys and the Wedding Crasher, and absolutely loved it. I loved the voice, the plot, and all of the characters.


I am sad to say, Sammy Keys and the Power of Justice Jack wasn't as good. It was still enjoyable, but the plot was rather thin. It centers on the character Justice Jack, who imagines himself a super hero, ridding the community of evil doers. At times Sammy thinks he may truly be up to no good, or creating the problems he then solves.


The characterization was still good, but some character developments were resolved a little too neatly. I felt there wasn't truly a huge mystery here, more little inconsistencies that didn't develop much.


I do of course have my suspicions on Justice Jack's future role in the series, and hope the book after that brings him to a nice resolution, as well as bringing back the story quality that Wedding Crashers had

Red Heart Tattoo

I have loved all of the McDaniel books I have read. As I was reading Red Heart Tattoo I became quite anxious, fearing a central character would be found guilty. At times it seemed more a very well developed outline, the characters seemed a bit sketched out versus fully developed, but in the long run, it all made sense, and perhaps not much more will be edited prior to publication on July 24th. The story is set in a typical high school. Initially a prank comes under fire, and then a horrific bombing takes place. As we and one of the victims discover more and more about the plot, and who is responsible, McDaniel successfully builds suspense, while at the same time creating empathy for numerous characters. A good read; perfect for the YA community, and adults who enjoy this genre.

RPG

I recently finished a book that was enjoyable, but will be particularly interesting for those who enjoy RPGs. Erebos: It's a Game. It Watches You by Ursula Poznanski (translated by Judith Pattinson)is part mystery, part psychological thriller...though that aspect is probably somewhat mild.

The book centers on a mysterious DVD that some students are passing around. The students who don't have the DVD fear that something weird is going on, and many express they don't want anything to do with it, yet when presented with it themselves, find they eventually can't resist it either.

Once involved with the game, they seem to lose all perspective for anything else in their lives: friends, school and family fall by the wayside.

Nick Dunmore is the main character, and once he starts playing the virtual world and reality seem to blur. Eventually he and others, including some romantic possibilities, realize they must do something to stop what is happening in the game, from truly affecting the those in the world.

I am not a gamer, far from it, but I found I was easily hooked. The novel was compelling, the characters believable (many quite likeable), and the plot was entertaining.

I have to admit at times I kind of skimmed through the game scenes, but I imagine those scenes were quite nicely done, and true to form.

While I recommend this book to boys who enjoy various computer games (particularly RPGs) I think most will find the novel a great read.

Mystery Genre

Apologies for the lack of recent reviews. I have been reading (re-reading in many cases) Agatha Christie novels, as I created a mystery unit genre for my students.

My honors classes enjoyed these titles: And Then There Were None, A Mysterious Affair At Styles (Her first, written on a dare by her sister), Murder on the Orient Express, They Came To Baghdad and Death on the Nile. I am in the middle of Death on the Nile, and thus far it is my favorite of these few Christie novels.

Despite the lexile level (a method of determining reading level) being within or lower than their range, many students struggled with the novels. This is due of course to the fact that lexile levels don't deal with the complexity of the plot, sentence structure, the need for French translations, a huge number of characters and distractors (red-herrings).

I enjoyed rereading these novels, and had been an avid Christie reader when I was young, after going through a slew of Nancy Drew books.

This go around I was surprised by the use of the "n" word in a few of her novels. A character randomly used the word in A Mysterious Affair at Styles, and in And Then There Were None, it was used twice in a random way. I later learned though that the original title of this book was Ten Little "n" word", later it became Ten Little Indians (and the poem is a main feature of the novel, predicting each death), and then it was switched to its current title.

While I totally understand keeping certain historical novels as they were originally written, I had huge issues with the word appearing in these novels, so randomly, and without any true historical reference. Talked with the students about it...and pretty much moved on...but it was jarring to see.

It also appears in Dumb Witness. I haven't read all of her novels, so can't swear it doesn't appear in others...but in the 10 I have read recently it was in those 3. They remain great mysteries with clever twists.

Speaking of plot twists, nothing beats her short story, A Witness for the Prosecution. I read this aloud to my classes as an introduction to the genre. They all loved the ending. The movie ending is very disappointing, as it changes the ending greatly (just an fyi).

Many students weren't able to read the Christie novels, and I found some titles that they are enjoying. Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach is very engaging, well written, with nicely developed characters. Perfect for the average 4th-7th grade reader.

One I highly recommend is Sammy Keys and the Wedding Crasher by Wendelin Van Draanen. This is the 13th in the series, featuring Sammy who is now in the 8th grade. I had read the first years ago, and decided rather than catching up I would just jump into this, her latest. I loved the characters, and the mystery. I think every middle school student will appreciate it as well. Sammy and others are accused of threatening their history teacher, Mr. Vance. It was realistically told, and Sammy as the narrator, has an engaging voice.

Free duds with a couple of exceptions

I have been reading but not reviewing, and realize it is high time I wrote something.
Recently I have been browsing free eBooks, finding the titles via Amazon and a source I came across on Facebook.

Many of the descriptions haven't been alluring, but a few have tempted me. Unfortunately the majority have been pretty dismal.

Titles I am not recommending include:
Entangled by Barbara Ellen Brink. The main character makes random choices in life that make utterly no sense. She gives up a law practice to run a winery left to her by someone she met once. She has no interest in wine, and she leaves her clients and employees in a lurch, essentially telling one employee, "oh, yeah I am not coming back..sorry you no longer have a job..good luck feeding your kids" There is a secret she has been suppressing but anyone with half a brain knows what the secret is early on (and figuring out the perp is pretty easy as well). Even if this title is still free, avoid it.

The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont...potentially good, but I gave up since it won't be appropriate for my students, and it truly didn't interest me as an adult. If you went to a prep school in the 80's and are very, very wealthy you might relate to this book...this is a title from the group I write reviews for, and this is the first I am not terribly impressed with. I might give it a try later on, recognizing it could just be my mood. The writing quality is certainly decent.

A Tale of Two Proms by Cara Lockwood. Another title from the publishing group. This is the 4th in the excellent Wuthering High series. I read the first three in 2008, and anxiously awaited the 4th concluding novel. 3 years is a long time to wait, and it shows in the writing. Perhaps Ms. Lockwood had a baby, or was dealing with other family matters that took away from her focus, but this book is a lackluster ending to a truly delightful series. Read Wuthering High, The Scarlett Letterman, and Moby Clique; they are excellent. A Tale of Two Proms does a decent job of ending the series, but the first half irritated me, primarily because it seemed to be a first effort in writing, versus Ms. Lockwood's genuine ability to produce entertaining, well-written novels.

One free novel that I will recommend, despite a few quibbles with plausibility, is Irreparable Harm by Melissa Miller. The main character, Sasha, ends up being someone I cared about, and I am glad this is the beginning of a series. For a debut novel it is decent, and the author certainly has strengths to build upon.
Sasha is skilled in defending herself, to the point of implausibility, though she is trained it still stretched reality.
It is a thriller based on the premise that there is a device that can control planes from a cell phone. Planes crash, bad guys are in abundance, and Sasha finds a romantic ally in her pursuit of the truth.

An Act of Self Defense by Erne Lewis was thought provoking. He is a true libertarian who wrote this book after the Patriot Act was written. It is set slightly in the future, but could easily be present day. A group is formed that wants term limits, and threatens to kill long serving members of congress if they don't resign, or bring about an amendment that creates term limits. Though I am not a libertarian nor would I ever advocate violence, the author's knowledge of the ramifications of the Patriot Act on our civil rights, and his political points regarding lobbyists, corporations, and congressmen being beholden to many corporate benefactors, proved to be very interesting.

Finally, young readers might enjoy, How to Create a Golem by Alette J Willis.
An interesting coming of age story, that details one girls fears and how she overcame them.

Thought Provoking

Gemma Malley's trilogy, The Declaration, The Resistance, and The Legacy offers a thought provoking series dealing with population control, health, longevity, and human rights.

I came across the series when working with my students, in a literature circle unit (book club). The premise in The Declaration is there is a drug that offers immortality. All adults who take it, must agree to not have any children. Those opting out of the drug can have a child, but can only have one. Any other children born are taken from the parents, and are considered "surplus." They are raised in institutions like orphanages. One young student of mine, who picked this book, struggled with it, due to being raised in an Albanian orphanage. She was adopted at the age of 5, and her parents rightly felt the themes in the book might be a bit much, so she switched to Peak, a novel I have mentioned in another review.

I have been railing against so many trilogy's in the YA market, and it seems most are dystopian, but this trilogy is different because the questions raised are truly thought provoking. Not many authors could pull this off, and I discovered that this author studied philosophy, in London. My older son is currently doing so (as an external student...he lives here), and it is understandable how she is able to offer a variety of themes, that make the reader question their own moral stances.

The second book in the series, The Resistance, had some flaws, primarily in continuity, but also added philosophical queries to ponder. I just finished the third novel, and feel it is a worthwhile series to recommend. It too ends with questions, both in plot and dealing with moral issues that were raised, but it is nice to leave a series thinking.

a critical review

I don't want to give away any plot points, but as a middle school teacher, who constantly reads and enjoys YA titles, I was under the mistaken impression that the The End of Everything by Megan Abbot was a YA novel. It seemed to be an interesting mystery as a teenage girl explores the disappearance of her friend. Unfortunately any young girl (or boy) who reads this thinking they might connect with the characters will be sorely led astray. I feel particularly that any child dealing with an adult who sexualizes their relationship will be vulnerable and misled into thinking some horrible aspects are "normal" and/or that the child is at fault.

Specifically Mrs. Shaw's character to me was entirely unbelievable; it is one thing to know that some mothers are in denial regarding what their husbands or 2nd husbands are doing with their own daughters, but for this woman to assist in hiding her husband and bringing the son into it, just doesn't play out for me.

The girls understandings of their "power" is misleading and alleviates pedophiles' actions. It is all portrayed as him not having control, the girls having control, and that they should understand how vulnerable the pedophile was.
The secrets revealed only further these misconceptions; the horror of what happened is too vaguely portrayed.

How high is height?

We've Got a Job by Cynthia Levinson, was a very interesting book. I had of course heard of the March on Washington, and knew of some events that took place in Birmingham, Alabama, but I didn't know anything about the Children's march, nor the events that took place in Birmingham in May, 1963.

I was a toddler in '63, and as I got older I was exposed through news stories and pictures, of horrible events. I vividly remember seeing photos of Bull Connor, and policemen, using dogs and water hoses on civil rights protestors. At the time I saw these, the events had taken place years earlier, but it made me ill to look at them. The raw hatred on peoples' faces as they looked at the protestors, the evil of using the dogs and the hoses, was just incredibly awful.

This book highlights the children's march, and focuses on 4 children who participated. Essentially, Dr Martin Luther King, Mr. Shuttlesworth, and a host of other adult civil rights' leaders, weren't having a great deal of success getting adults to commit to various protests. This was due to fear of losing jobs, being beaten or losing their lives.

The children united Black Birmingham, and all of this resulted in the nation's increased awareness, and the March on Washington in August of 1963.

Though I thought I knew a great deal, I truly didn't and thus learned a lot from this book. I think my students will find it engaging, and they too will learn a great deal.

We have all heard of discriminatory practices taking place during elections, like taxes and questions that were asked of black voters. I knew this was wrong of course, but had no idea the type of questions that were often asked. One was, "How high is height?"

And we of course know about the Jim Crow laws, and of the segregation that existed just a half-century ago.

When the students had their first protest, on May 2nd, they were called to the park through listening to a local DJ named Shelley Stewart. He said, "Kids there's going to be a party at the park. Bring your toothbrushes because lunch will be served."

This code told the kids to meet at Kelly Ingram Park, and that they would be arrested; hence the need for toothbrushes.

The book starts in an interesting manner, as a girl prepares to go to jail, with her parents permission. She is getting ready to attend a protest.

By the end of May 2nd, between 500-800 kids were arrested. This was 2-3 times the number of adults who had been arrested in all of April!

When they were arrested they were crammed into paddy wagons, and soon the police had to use yellow school buses. Prior to being arrested the children were also attacked by dogs and had water hoses...at a super strength..used against them. The water sheared off the hair of one girl's head.

The kids had no rights as they were interrogated (this was 3 years prior to the Miranda case) and they were exposed to some pretty horrific questioning, and had horrible experiences in jail.

I think this book will hook all readers, and that all, whether a young child or an older adult, will learn a great deal as they read the book.

There are numerous pictures and documents, that highlight the historical events.

All school libraries, and many classroom libraries, should obtain a copy of We've Got a Job.

This book will be published Feb. 1st.

wonderfully wacky

Carl Hiaasen is back! Chomp reminds me of my first Hiaasen novel, Striptease. That novel was full of wonderfully flawed, and fabulously funny characters, and it set me off on a Hiaasen obsession. I was so disappointed the movie didn't translate.

Hoot, his first YA novel, was very enjoyable but lacked the wacky humor of his adult novels. Chomp, is simply great.

I loved all of the characters, except for Tuna's dad, who nonetheless is portrayed as realistically evil. Derek, the "survivalist" will make everyone chuckle, particularly when you picture all of those shows where supposedly a man is surviving on his own..from day one of those shows I thought of the camera crew and chuckled at people who truly believed anything shown might have actually been dangerous.

The hero of the book, Wahoo, is an engaging young man, who works with his dad wrangling animals. His home is also home to a menagerie of animals, and the love he and his dad have for the animals and each other, is very nicely portrayed. They are hired to work on Derek's TV show, assisting Derek with the wild animals of the Florida Keys. Derek's wild antics, and selfishness set up some wonderfully comic moments, some of which are told in flashback highlights of former episodes.

I had been a bit reluctant to try this novel, because I didn't find Flush or Star Island worthy of recommending to anyone.

I highly recommend Chomp, and expect it to become a favorite of many.

A few titles

I just finished The Limit by Kristen Landon; I thoroughly enjoyed it, until the ending. The first sentence, "An eighth grader was taken today." is clearly compelling, and truly from that point forward the story's momentum continues until the poorly developed ending.

This was another bookfair purchase, and I will recommend it to my students because the plot is so engaging. In a not too distant future, everyone has a debt limit..families can only purchase so much, and if they go over their limit their oldest child is taken to a workhouse to work off the debt.

Matt gets taken and soon discovers all is not kosher in the workhouse. Many of the revelations are rather obvious (what they purchase while in the workhouse is of course counted against their debt..increasing what they owe). I wish the author brought in some historical perspective..sharecropping and child labor would have been easily worked in, but the lack of information doesn't truly take away from the plot development.

The ending is truly my major quibble with this novel. It seemed rushed and not well thought out. The fact that the kids remain in the workhouse, and are now happy, makes the theme of the novel less worthy. I did enjoy the fact that each chapter has a bar code, and that nice touch plays into the theme quite well, however it somehow makes the ending seem even more poorly done.

Two other books I read recently are part of the adolescent book club I run. The first, Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio, is a true must have. It is simply wonderful: a beautifully illustrated (Javaka Steptoe) picture book about Jimi when he was a child, discovering music and discovering a "rainbow of sounds." One great line, “A truck engine backfired, pounding like a bass drum, as a neighbor’s rake played snare against the sidewalk. . . . The sounds of life were calling out, and Jimmy Hendrix wanted to answer them.”

After the story is told, there are wonderful references to learn more about Jimi, music and substance abuse.

I held off reading, Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson due to the fact that Patterson has essentially franchised his name. I have been very dubious of his writing for sometime now as a result. I ended up purchasing it though, for my group, since a number of students recommended it.
I was concerned when I started reading it that members of my group would complain that it was inappropriate, and when we meet again in January I might hear comments along those lines, but I suspect those complaints will only occur from people who don't actually finish the book.

The main character sets out to break every school rule there is. Hence, my fear of complaints. However, those who finish the book will recognize there are consequences for his actions, and they will realize the reason he sets out to do what he does. It should make all teachers ponder why students misbehave, and perhaps not merely write off a kid as a "bad" kid.

Interesting adventure

I picked up 2 other books from my school's book-fair; I just finished the second. Sasquatch by Roland Smith, is a compelling adventure story. Cryptids and Cryptozoologists are terms I first heard about 15 years ago when I had a student who had Aspergers. He was fixated on cryptids (from the Greek "κρύπτω" (krypto) meaning "hide", are creatures or plants whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely.)*

Roland Smith is an author I have come to know over the past few years. The first book of his that I read was Peak, a more realistic adventure story centered on a young boy as he attempts to climb Mt. Everest.

Smith has written a couple of other books centered on Cryptids, Cryptid and Tentacles, and Sasquatch is a nice companion to those, though the characters are different.

Sasquatch takes place 18 years after Mount Saint Helens blew up (1980). The premise is that Bigfoot lived there, and many of the Bigfoot hunters believed that they were killed during the eruption.

In 1998, Dylan's father camps on Mount Saint Helens and believes he sees Bigfoot (in fact, Bigfoot saves him). He joins a Bigfoot Investigation society, and eventually joins a team that attempts to track Bigfoot.

Dylan becomes worried about his father's plans, and essentially tracks him and the Sasquatch hunting party. A great deal of trouble ensues, including earthquakes, a ruthless Bigfoot hunter, and a FBI agent who is tracking D. B. Cooper (an oddly nice tie-in, that works).

Sasquatch will draw in reluctant readers, and keep them hooked. It is a quick read that most 5th-7th graders will enjoy.

*source for Greek spelling etc: Wikipedia.

Black Swans

Caroline Cooney is a staple for any mystery loving teen. Therefore, many of her titles find a home in my classroom library.

I came across Three Black Swans while perusing my school's book fair. The back of the hardcover reads: "Black Swans: events that are hugely important, rare and unpredictable, and explainable only after the fact."

This sets up quite an unusual premise, girls discovering they are part of a multiple birth adoption. Initially I was irritated I hadn't read the first few pages prior to purchasing the book. I found the writing odd, and felt that perhaps Cooney was just writing to meet a deadline.

I gave it time, and ended up enjoying the book despite some plot issues and issues with the characters. The set-up seems implausible. How could girls, who spend as much time with each other as they do, not recognize they are identical? While Cooney does a fair job of explaining this (one girl was quite small when born, and apparently there are cases where identical twins don't look alike until the tiniest grows and catches up)..so okay, I end up buying this.

However there are issues with paperwork and schooling that I don't truly buy, but I go with the flow, because the mystery of it remains intriguing.

That is the only intriguing aspect though. The characters are mere outlines, and that diminishes the novel. Each girl (a third is soon introduced) is only a caricature of what she could be. It is as if Cooney had an outline: this character will react this way, and this this way, and she never got around to developing nuances. The worst by far was the development of the birth parents. While initially it seems plausible they made the decision to do what they did, their reconciliation with ViVi isn't at all plausible.

Nor is it believable that no one in their immediate family recognized what was going on. Cooney should never have mentioned a shower was thrown for the birth parents, because after-all that is done late in a pregnancy, and there is no way a woman giving birth to triplets could pretend she is only giving birth to one, at that stage of the game so to speak.

So...plot holes, lack of character development would normally make for a poor review. And it does, if you are an average reader. But, if you are the parent of a daughter who is "aliterate" someone who can read but chooses not to, than you might want to buy this and give it to her.

The pacing is great; the honing in on how teen girls think, what they fantasize about, how a moment in time with an impulsive decision can have huge ramifications, the whole "I think I am adopted" fantasy many teens have (tripled here) will be a huge draw for those girls who simply can't find a book that meets their criteria.

I know the students I am going to recommend this novel to, as well as a particular 8th grade niece.

Wyatt Hunt

John Lescroart has been a staple in my library. I have read each and every book of his, and have generally loved them all. His novels bring back memories of my time in San Francisco, but more importantly I have enjoyed getting to know Dismas and Glitsky, and their assorted friends and family. The writing has always been top notch, whether one looks at character development, or the development of the legal quandry or mystery at hand.

Recently he has developed another series that deals with Wyatt Hunt. There are clear connections with the former series, and initially I was a bit worried. I feared it would diminish the original series and that the second couldn't possibly hold up.

Fortunately the first venture was quite good, and the latest proves to be even better.

The Hunter, which will be published January 3rd, delves into Hunt's past. He discovers information regarding his birth parents. How he initially starts the process is unique (mysterious text messages) and what he discovers would send anyone into a tailspin.

This is the area where Lescroart shines. Hunt's mental state is beautifully explored. If the reader has ever suffered from an anxiety attack, or knows someone who has, you couldn't find a better description than what Hunt experiences.

The twists and turns of the plot are entertaining, and though at times it stretches belief, (you will find yourself googling some historically infamous people, to see how plausible some of the developments are), the development of both the plot and Hunt's reactions to those developments play out very nicely.

Lescroart's talent lies in his ability to create entertaining plots, without ever losing site of his characters. They don't do things that defy their nature. I have left series due to this flaw of some authors (Cornwell for one) but I continue to read Lescroart, and this latest reminds me why I will continue to read both of his series.