Athans, Sandra K. Climbing Mt. Everest with Pete Athans: Tales from the Top of the World.

Athans, Sandra K.  Climbing Mt. Everest with Pete Athans: Tales from the Top of the World.  Millbrook Press/21st Century/Copper Beech             63p         $24.00   978-0-7613-65-6-8   2013      ms           E-BN         Nonfiction                           

This is a really well-put-together book that describes what it is like to climb Mount Everest, whose peak is about five miles above sea level, from the initial attempts long ago, to the science of mounting an expedition in the present day. There is a lot of discussion of the four base camps, the role that sherpas play in every expedition, and the equipment and techniques of climbing.  While magnificent photography illustrates various landmarks along the climb, the many hazards are also described in full.  Pete Athans has been dubbed “Mr. Everest” because of his many summits and his vast experience mountaineering, and throughout the book there are sidebars titled “Ask Mr. Everest” to answer questions that would be of interest to younger readers, such as “How do you go to the bathroom on Mount Everest?” (page 17), and “How did you become interested in high-altitude mountaineering?” (page 49).  Other text boxes talk about helicopter rescue on the mountain (page 42), and hyperthermia (page 27).

Mountaineering – Mount Everest                                                        --Lynn Fisher

 

Avi. Sophia’s War.

Avi.          Sophia’s War.  Simon & Schuster  320p  $16.99     978-1-4424-1441-9  2012 ms/jr      VG-BN  Historical fiction                                          

Sophia is in a bind.  She wants to protect her family, especially her father and brother, but she also needs to intervene in a plot she has discovered.  How can she stop the plot without involving her family, or for that matter getting herself hanged.            The book opens with Sophia witnessing a hanging of a young soldier by the enemy.  She is so horrified that she decides to help the American cause in the Revolution. However, she never realized how difficult it will be to be a spy and acquire information that could lead to her death by hanging for conspiracy.

The line she walks is thin indeed when she tries to make sure she will never be recognized and that no one will be able to connect her to her family.  This is a­­ historical story with a bit of doomed romance, a lot of treachery, good and bad guys and an adventure story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

American Revolution-1776–Traitors                                                                                             --Magna Diaz

 

Banks, Kate. The Magician’s Apprentice.

Banks, Kate.        The Magician’s Apprentice.           Macmillan/Farrar Strauss            213p $16.99        978-0-374-34716-1         2012      secondary            VG-BN                      Fantasy                                   

Baz takes on many roles when he is apprenticed, first to a weaver and then to a magician.  He learns both crafts, but truly experiences his best apprenticeship when he learns what is important in life.  “Poetry in prose” is the apt description of this thought-provoking and insightful story.  Kate Banks has taken her own point of view about what is important in life and put it to words through her characters, Baz and a magician and a plethora of lesser characters they meet on their journey together.   They all influence Baz’s journey to self-realization.  Baz first begins his journey by leaving home to become apprenticed to a master rug weaver.  His two brothers have already left home to meet their own destinies, and Baz knows he must go.  Along his journey, he meets cruelty and compassion, confusion and clarity, and finally, peace and harmony.  After he is sold to a magician for the price of a sword, he travels dessert and mountain, meets people who help him learn life’s most important lessons and eventually works his way back home to his family, which he never spiritually left.  The author seems to be saying that all elements of life are interconnected, all chance meetings are deliberate in the whole scheme of things, and peace and knowledge can be attained just by opening our eyes to our life journey, to nature and to trials and tribulations along the way.  Banks has created a masterpiece for readers who can think, readers who are open to change, and readers who seek a certain peace to carry with them upon completing this book.  Her writing style can easily be compared to that of any author who has tried to show humankind the interconnected quality of life.  However, her characters are believable, her plot is creative, and her multiple life lessons are sure to soothe the souls of all who venture inside her pages.  Younger children will not profit as much from their reading as teenagers who have pondered their role in life, but messages abound for both teenagers and adults.  Once immersed in the book, the reader participates with Baz as he makes his journey.

Philosophy–Fiction, Fantasy                                                                                                            --Martha Squaresky

 

Bodeen, S.A. The Raft.

Bodeen, S.A.  The Raft.    Feiwel&Friends/Macmillan Child Pub Gr                   231p      $16.99  978-0-312-65010-0   2012             jr/sr                         VG-BN                      Realistic fiction                    

A routine airplane trip becomes an elemental battle for survival in Bodeen’s dramatic novel.  No one knows Robie took a last-minute flight from Honolulu to her home on the Midway Atoll.  When a storm knocks her flight from the sky, Robie must survive until rescue arrives.  But if no one knows she was on the plane, will anyone be looking for her?

                   
Fifteen-year-old Robie lives with her research scientist parents on remote Midway Atoll.  When the island’s isolation becomes overwhelming, Robie grabs a ride on the supply flight to Honolulu to vacation with her aunt and enjoy civilization.   Robie is having a great visit when her aunt’s job calls her away.   Living alone turns out to more challenging than Robie thought it would be, so she takes the first available flight to Midway, even though her parents and her aunt have no idea she is going home. 

Unfortunately, a storm hits mid-flight.  The engine dies, and the copilot, Max, makes an emergency landing.  Robie finds herself in a raft, with injured Max, a bag of Skittles, and no sign of help.  Robie deals with one calamity after another, from shark attacks to a dwindling (make that non-existent) water supply.  How far will Robie go to survive?

As Robie’s mental state slowly erodes and her chances of survival grow increasingly slim, a surprise twist in the plot reveals a disturbing dimension to Robie’s story.

Readers, even reluctant readers, will recognize Robie’s authentic voice.  She is an imperfect teen facing overwhelming choices and situations.  She does what is necessary to survive, but still makes mistakes or behaves childishly at times.  The plot moves along briskly and readers will be swept up in the drama of Robie’s tale.
Survival-Fiction, Adventure                                                                                                                         --Hilary Welliver

 

Coats, J. Anderson. The Wicked and the Just.

Coats, J. Anderson.  The Wicked and the Just.        Houghton Mifflin/ Harcourt Brace 344p                $16.99  978-0-547-68837-4  2012              hs/adult  VG-BN                    Historical fiction                                

Cecily’s family is lured to medieval Wales by the promise of cheap land and the duty of all Englishmen to subdue the “vicious” Welshman.  Her new Welsh servant, Gwenhwyfar, enlightens Cecily on the natives’ view of the English conquerers.            

Cecily’s life is a series of disappointments.  Her uncle returns from the Crusades and her family must leave the estate her father managed for his brother her entire life.  They move in with another uncle, temporarily, but the crowded conditions encourage her father to move to Wales, where land is cheap and a fine burgage awaits him.  Cecily deplores her family’s eroding lifestyle.

With ill grace, Cecily takes up residence in occupied Wales.  Cecily is critical of the town, the residents, her new home, and her father’s new life and job.  She resents the native staff, who speak poor English and the barbaric dialect of Wales.  Civil unrest restricts Cecily to the house, and short funds further restrict her entertainment options.  She amuses herself by picking on the hired boy and taking classes in deportment from a snobbish local lady.

Cecily is unaware that Gwenhwyfar, her maidservant, once dreamed of being the lady of the house that Cecily now occupies.  The English destroyed the lives of everyone Gwen knew. She resents Cecily’s airs and spoiled, ungrateful behavior, especially as she and her brother are eking out only a marginal existence – and, although Cecily does not know it, the boy Cecily enjoys picking on is Gwenhyfar’s younger brother. 

Tensions are rising, both within the house and outside the city walls.  When the breaking point is breached, Cecily finds herself reversing roles with Gwenhyfar, who becomes a vindictive mistress. 

Despite the nastiness, Coats is careful not to take sides with either the English or the Welsh.  Instead, the author provides two fully realized characters against an authentic background rich in details (especially in respect to language, dress, and social class).  The reader is permitted to draw his or her own conclusions about the characters and the volatile circumstances that have made them mortal enemies.  The last fifty pages are vivid, riveting, and violent.  Long after the last page is read and the cover is closed, this story will linger in the reader’s memory. 
Wales-History-1063-1536-Fiction, Middle Ages-Fiction                                                               -–Hilary Welliver

 

Dallas, Sandra. The Quilt Walk.

Dallas, Sandra.       The Quilt Walk.               Sleeping Bear Press(Cengage)     213p      $15.95  978-1-58536-800-6            2012    elm/ms                  VG-BN                      Historical fiction

                                   

Ten-year-old Emmy Blue Hatchett and her family leave their Illinois farm during the 1860s and head for Colorado to establish businesses to supply the needs of Gold Rush hopefuls.  The challenging journey forces difficult decisions on every family member, as they choose what to keep and what to leave behind, but Emmy is excited by the adventure and keenly observant as the story progresses.  This book would be a fine companion volume to the Little House series by Wilder. While Emmy is similar to scrappy Laura, her mother is reminiscent of Wilder’s “Ma” -- especially when she stubbornly wears every stitch of clothing she owns for hundreds of miles because her husband claims there is insufficient space for clothing and quilts to be packed in the wagon. 

Emmy is a tom girl, so the trek allows her to test the boundaries of her bravery.  There are Indians, and river crossings, and even death on the trail.  Emmy must also bend to conformity.  She must work on her quilt every day, help out with chores, and learn about the bonds formed by women of all ages.  This is particularly evident when she demands justice for a young woman trapped in an abusive relationship.

The novel ends well, and readers can clearly see that Emmy will thrive in the Western frontier.  They will also be clamoring for a sequel!                

Western expansion-Fiction, Adventure                                                                                --Hilary Welliver  

 

Despeyroux, Denise. The Big Book of Vampires.

Despeyroux, Denise.        The Big Book of Vampires.            Tundra Books   112p  $17.95       978-1-77049-371-1  2012             secondary            VG-BN        Story collection                 

                 

This is a collection of vampire lore from around the world.  As indicated by the eye-catching die-cut cover depicting a baleful pair of red eyes staring through the silhouette of a bat, Despeyroux (”Dark Graphic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe,” and “The Big Book of Fairies”) has an affinity for gathering anthologies of arresting short stories with great appeal to secondary readers.  The Big Book of Vampires is no exception.

Gathered here are nine engaging adaptations (six to eight pages each) of outstanding terror/vampire stories representing authors from the 19th century.  In addition to familiar tales, such as Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,”  Despeyroux offers less familiar selections, such as Tolstoy’s “The Family of the Vurdalak,” Hoffmann’s “Vampirism”(thought to be the first tale where the vampire is of the nobility, and female!), as well as “Vampire’s Honor,” from The Thousand and One Nights.  The stories span the globe, and stretch the reader’s perception of the vampire genre and its origins.

Evocative and eerily disturbing illustrations by Fernando Falcone embellish the volume’s lavish layout and atmospheric palette.  Falcone’s thin, misty figures carry the story when the text is too abbreviated (for example, Polidori’s “The Vampire”).

The prose, even though it has been adapted from the original 19th-century manuscripts, is more Anne Rice than Stephenie Meyer in the telling.  Though they may find it a little daunting, teens fascinated by vampires will enjoy this intriguing volume.     

Vampires--Literary collections                                                                                                                                           --Hilary Welliver

 

Greenwald, Tommy. Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Extra Credit.

Greenwald, Tommy.  Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Extra Credit.  Macmillan/ Roaring Brook Press  265p  $14.99  978-1-59643-692-3      2012      elm/ms                  VG-BN           Realistic fiction

                                   

Charlie Joe Jackson just got his report card and his parents are not smiling. His punishment is summer school, but not if he can get out of going.  Thus begins his plan for getting extra credit to raise his grades.  He is going to get all As –- well, not all As, maybe one B.  But he only has one quarter semester left before the school year is out.

As he begins to implement his plan, Charlie realizes that luck is not on his side, and every time he tries to win the teacher over he falls flat on his face and is in even deeper trouble.  Then his teacher offers him an olive branch and Charlie takes it, until he realizes he will have to perform in the school play. Everything seems to go from bad to worse, until he begins to see things in a new light.

To win you don’t always have to be perfect, but you do have to try!
This is a good, funny story with a good ending, and a book that reluctant readers just might enjoy.        

Middle school-Theater-Fiction, Humor                                                                                                                              --Magna Diaz

 

Hobbs, Valerie. Minnie McClary Speaks Her Mind.

Hobbs, Valerie.  Minnie McClary Speaks Her Mind.               Macmillan/Farrar Strauss 215p                 $16.99  978-0-374-32496-4          2012      elm/ms                  E-BN                  Realistic fiction                                   

Minnie McClary is the new girl in her sixth-grade class at Mojave Middle School.  Her family moved because her lawyer father lost his job after blowing the whistle on some fishy business at the firm.  Her older brother used to be her friend, but he has gone all “teenager-like” on her.  Vietnam War vet Uncle Bill lives in the basement, building a replica of the helicopter in which he was injured.  So Minnie really isn’t sure who she is at all.

The position of language-arts teacher has been a revolving door of different substitutes until Miss Marks arrives.  She doesn’t dress like a teacher, and she makes the students think.  They write their thoughts and questions in journals. 
Some of the parents want Miss Marks fired.  At a school board meeting, Minnie speaks up, just as Miss Marks taught the students to do.  She is learning to stand up for what she believes is right.  Life is beginning the fall into place for Minnie, even if she doesn’t yet understand it all.
This story includes lessons on standing up for what is right, on the value of nonconformity, and on what constitutes good teaching as opposed to rote memorization.  It also deals with friendship across cultural groups.  It is an excelle.nt title for elementary and middle school (grades 4-7).

School stories-Fiction, Coming of age stories                                              --Joan Theal

 

Holmes, Elizabeth. The Normal Kid.

Holmes, Elizabeth.  The Normal Kid.  Carolroda Books see Lerner  241p  $17.95 978-0-7613-8085-6            2012   elm/ms                  VG-BNe Realistic fiction                                   

Three children try to find their niches at home and at school.  Each one experiences a new life journey: Charity’s family has returned from doing missionary work in Africa, Sylvan is facing the divorce of his parents, and Brian experiences life in an inclusive setting.  In Kenya, Charity’s father loses faith when his helper falls off the church roof while putting up a spire.   The family returns to America to start over again.  Sylvan is the son of a man who wants some normalcy in his marriage and his life, and Sylvan’s mother is a woman who fights for every cause imaginable.  When Sylvan gets caught, literally, up a tree helping with one of her causes, his classmates bully him by calling him “Tree Boy”.  Brian is a boy with developmental delays who is brilliant in math and exhibits the characteristics of Asperger’s syndrome, spending his free time jumping on a trampoline.  Although they sound like examples of children who may be a part of a typical school community, their problems become real to young readers, who will enjoy exploring the conflicts that author Elizabeth Holmes has penned to make her characters relevant.  The subplot involves saving their teacher’s job when it is threatened, and with a mother who has taught him to fight for worthwhile causes, Sylvan is a natural choice to lead the others.  Of course, the compassionate Charity is on board as well!   The theme, of children who are unique not needing try so hard to “fit in” because everyone has something to offer, is not a new one, but the way that Holmes lays out her plot puts a new twist on it!  What the reader will enjoy the most is that the story does not end all hunky-dory; instead, both Charity’s father and Brian continue to face their challenges.

Coming of age stories                                                                                                                     --Martha Squaresky