Zevin, Gabrielle All These Things I’ve Loved

Zevin, Gabrielle  All These Things I’ve Loved    

Farrar Strauss see macmillan children's pub group     2011  354p  16.99 978-0-374-30210-8     ms/hs E-BN  Realistic Fiction  

Falling in love with the new DA’s son is not the best idea for Anya Balanchime, daughter of the city’s notorious crime boss. But then who would believe that coffee and chocolate would be illegal in New York City at any time.     The author has written a realistic novel that features the challenges of teenage years along with the impossibilities of an commitment between a DA’s son and a crime boss’s daughter.
    Anya is a very realistic girl who shoulders the well being of her sister and brother. She strives to maintain a low profile after the death of her father so that they family is not put into foster homes. Her grandmother (on a ventilation machine) maintains residence but it is still up to Anya to manage the household.
     Anya’s family controlled the distribution of chocolate in New York City. It was when someone (a cousin) tried to cause trouble by poisoning a batch that Anya got in trouble. The story’s action picked up paced with the readers grimacing as the story line continues.
     The author has created a fast paced suspenseful intrigue and heart tearing impossible romance with strong characterization for young adult readers. The intricacies of the story will appeal to readers as they gain insight into the world where paper is scarce and water is increasingly more costly.                  Family life- fiction    Linda McNeil

 

Lynch, Chris. Angry Young Man.

Lynch, Chris Angry Young Man
Simon & Schuster/Little Brown 2011 176p 16.99
978-0-68984-790-5 hs Family, alienation, terrorism VG-BN


Older brother Robert narrates this compelling tale of his impoverished family, but mostly his younger brother Alexander (Xan) who has become involved with a radical group advocating violence as a means to their ends. A realistic and engrossing look at anger, terrorism and family dynamics, this latest novel by Chris Lynch is sure to strike a chord with teen readers, especially boys. The tension is palpable as Robert narrates the story of his well-meaning and passionate younger brother, as he falls in with a radical group. Readers will wonder who is at fault - Xan, Robert, their struggling mother, or society at large. A fast-paced and creepy thriller, yet short and compelling enough for even the most reluctant reader. Readers will be on the edges of their seats as the story progresses, and will not be able to put it down until the realistic ending. Conflict Naismith, Pat

Tashjian, Janet. My Life As a Book.

Tashjian, Janet My Life As a Book
Henry Holt/macmillan children's pub group 2010 210p 16.99 978-0-8050-8903-5 elm/ms family life - Summer - Secrets VG-BN


Derek Fallon is 12 years old and a holy terror. His parents are at their wits end when they decide to send him to a Learning Camp where he will be reading and writing to catch up in school. Derek does not easily into the routine of the learning camp until he uncovers a secret that changes his life.
For Derek a regular day begins with mischief and ends with mischief. At times his parents feel that Dennis the menace has invaded their son body. Tired of all his antics his mom decide to send Derek to a learning camp. Where he will be doing school work while hopefully he is having fun. However, Camp has yet to begin and school just let out and so his mom needs to get a babysitter for Derek so she can do her errands. Derek challenges the babysitter but she is quick on her feet and does not let him get into trouble on her watch. She does mention an incident that stop Derek cold in his tracks. He does not recall the incident and when he asked his mother about it, she dismissed it as nothing. Now really curious, Derek begins an investigation and what he uncovers changes him overnight.
The boy in the this story is truly scary and in need of strong discipline. His antics border on dangerous and outrages and out of control. The good news is that as the story progresses he seems to find order and wonders about the incident that could have easily caused his death but instead was the cause of someone else's death. This then becomes his goal to uncover what happened that fateful day on the beach when he was a baby.
I admit that the ending of the story more than makes up for the distressing beginning and the perfectly horrible child. By the end of the book, Derek sees the errors of his ways and the author ends the books on a very positive note.
Realistic Fiction Diaz, Magna

Potter, Ellen. The Kneebone Boy.

Potter, Ellen The Kneebone Boy
Feiwel&Friends/Macmillan Child Pub Gr 2010 282p 16.99 978-0-312-37772-4 ms/jr Families VG-BN


The Hardscrabble children are weird. Their father paints portraits of deposed monarchs and deserts his kids when he goes away on a painting assignment. Their adventures they have while their father is away will keep readers guessing about what is next.
The author has created an unusual family. Otto, the oldest, doesn't speak and constantly wears the same scarf around his neck. Lucia has a very blunt and shameless way about her. The youngest is Max, who who is the most normal of the three, but he still has quirks as he insists about sitting on the roof of the house.
Usually their father has a local widow baby-sit the children when he is called off on a job. On this one occasion he calls the children╒s aunt to have the children come to her for the duration. Unfortunately, in his absent-minded way he forgets to make sure his message got through to the aunt. Thus begins the trio of adventures on a train, sleeping out in a city, and delving into the mysteries of a local legend.
Young readers will love the fast paced unusual happenings as the trio finds their aunt in a miniature castle. The adventures will keep everyone guessing as the story builds to a climatic ending that answers some questions for the three children. Conflict McNeil, Linda

Klise, Kate. Grounded.

Klise, Kate. Grounded.
Feiwel&Friends/Macmillan Child Pub Gr 2010 196p 16.99
978-0-312-57039-2 elm/ms grieving-fiction VG-BN


Mother and daughter must learn to cope with loss, and that is the theme of the book! However, during their spiritual journey toward acceptance of death, they deal with unique jobs, family members and small-town turmoil.
Tragedy in the form of a plane crash robs Daralynn and her mother of family members, but it robs them of so much more as both try to come to terms with the death. There are a flim-flam man, a wacky sister-in-law, a Vietnam veteran brother and a senile grandmother as supporting cast. After the funeral, Mother takes on a job of doing hair of dead people at the local funeral parlor, but it does little to assuage her grief. Daralynn shows her creativity early on when she, herself, decides to cut hair and cuts all of the hair off a girl, thinking she╒s a boy! She covers up her error by calling this the new French look! When Daralynn comes up with the idea of having living funerals, both mother and daughter see it as a way to recover, but Aunt Josie╒s new beau steals their business by setting up a crematorium nearby! Clem, as he calls himself, wins the affection of Aunt Josie, but not of Mother. In the end, it turns out that Daralynn solves the mystery of the toupee she found while fishing. However, the toupee is just one small body part of what she discovers hidden in the lake. Clem has been claiming to cremate dead people; instead he hid them in the lake in an attempt to swindle the townspeople. Although the reader learns to distrust Clem early on, the falling action is so comedic, fast-paced and fun that he/she forgets that the book centers on death and coping. Kate Klise is known for originality, and interesting, quirky characters, especially in her book, Dying to Meet You, and although the idea of a living funeral is not new, she has put a certain country charm and a bit of a twist to the plot to keep the reader engaged. All books about life & death should be this well-written! Error on p. 11. Cut ╥r╙ from the word ╥her╙ to read, ╥like he╒d said after he gave me, etc."
Realistic Fiction. Squaresky, Martha

Misty Gordon and the Mystery of Ghost Pirates

Kennedy, Kim. Misty Gordon and the Mystery of Ghost Pirates
Amulet see Abrams, Harry 2010 218p 15.95
978-0-8109-9357-0 ms/hs Realistic Fiction VG
Misty’s discovered a pair of glasses and a notebook while helping her parents with their antique business. They give her the ability to see things in the past. The story tells of Misty’s struggle to find the treasure before the pirates. It is full of mystery, intrigue, and pirates.
This takes place in a small New England town that is full of stories of pirates and ship wrecks. Misty and her friend Yoshi team up to try and solve the mysteries of a lost treasure that is rumored to have mystical powers that was buried in the area by pirates long ago.

Misty’s parents run the Deceased’s Estate and Antique Dealer business. From time to time Misty will help her father pick up items in their van. In the course of one such trip, she finds a pair of eyeglasses and a notebook at Madam Zaster’s home. The glasses give the ability to see ghosts and the notebook provides answers for as long as she has it.

The author has done a good job of creating a fast paced scary story with enough mystery to keep readers on the edge of their seats as the girls go to school and keep pace with the various roadblocks that come up in their way. The question remains, will Misty and Yoshi find the golden statue before the pirates? McNeil(3), Linda
Family

LaFevers, R.L. Theodosia and the eyes of Horos

LaFevers, R.L. Theodosia and the eyes of Horos
Houghton Mifflin/Clarion/Graphia/Kingfisher 2010 375p 16.00
978-0-547-22592-0 elm/ms mystery/Detective VG-BN

Theodosia Throckmorton’s parents run the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London in the year of 1907. It is her job to help her parents with the acquisitions department. Or in more exact terms, she must keep magic from running amuck in the museum.
In this next adventure by Theodosia she runs into some Egyptian Black magic. The museum has recently discovered a artifact that is highly sought after by alchemists for centuries. Meanwhile, Sticky Will, her street friend, drags her to a magic show by the Great Awi Bubu. Trouble always seems to be her middle name.
In this fast paced mystery and fantasy the readers will be intrigued by the grandmother who marches into and out of Theodosia’ world as she tries to get an ex-boyfriend buried with honors. They will also see how she deals with the world of street thugs and black magic charlatans.
This is a book where readers will enjoy the refreshing young heroine and her drive to use her talents to keep the black magic out of the museum. In attempting to protect the museum black magic her life is constantly eventful and challenging. The readers will be enthralled by the fast pace and constantly changing humorous and page turning actions.
This is a very well written book that will relate well to many young readers. It is recommended as a basic book for any upper elementary/middle school library. It would make an excellent selection for a basic books list for school libraries. McNeil, Linda

Pauley, Kimberly. Still Sucks To Be Me

Pauley, Kimberly. Still Sucks To Be Me
Wizards of the Coast see Random 2010 374p 15.95
978-0-7869-5503 jr/sr Supernatural E-BN

Mina has decided to join the undead but she never imagined that by doing so she would have to leave everything and everyone behind. This is so wrong and she must devise a way to keep her best friend from thinking she is dead and gone.
Myth:Vampires don’t show up in photographs.
Truth: How silly, the truth is that we’re not supposed to leave photographic evidence just lying around. I mean, think about it.
Mina’s way of dealing with her vampire life and vampire parents is by trying to rationalize everything she does. After all how else would she be able to deal with all the changes she now faces. She had to leave town after her death was setup by the Vampire council. She wasn’t allowed to say goodbye to her best friend. Her boyfriend also a vampire left for Brazil and has yet to even contact her. Her parents are now her brother and sister-in-law! Goodness what else could go wrong! Mina’s new home in Louisiana is some backward town with only 1,258 people. Why that was practically the number of students in my old school. This high school only has about 400 kids. Mina groans at the injustice of it all. Her dad is probably the only one who is happy to be here since he will work with a vampire history professor. Then Raven Mina’s friend from California uncovers the secret code and is able to follow Mina to Louisiana but with her arrival all Hell breaks loose and it get really ugly as Vampires start kidnapping people and an old vampire gang starts terrorizing her new home. Can Mina figure out how to save her dad, her friend and still keep her boyfriend?
The first book “Sucks to be me” tell the story of how Mina became a vampire. Diaz, Magna

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.

Messner, Kate. The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.
Walker & Co 2009 198p 16.99 978-0-8027-9842-8 ms Gianna has only a week to finish her leaf collection for science class. She is looking forward to the big track meet but she won’t be qualified to go if her leaf project isn’t a success. A rival wants to take her place. Zig, a boy in her class and a long time best friend, tries to help with a hike to gather and identify leaves. Gianna has only a week to finish her leaf collection for science class. The assignment was given three weeks ago and Gianna meant to do it but she day dreams, draws pictures and has a lot of other things to do. She is looking forward to the big track meet but she won’t be qualified to go if her leaf project isn’t a success. A rival classmate makes it clear that she would be oh so willing to take Gianna’s place at the track meet. Zig, a very smart boy in her class and a long time best friend, tries to help with a hike to gather and identify leaves. Could this old friend be possibly be turning into boyfriend material? It looks like Gianna is finally making progress on her report but mean girls and family obligations interfere. Her grandmother, who lives with her family, sometimes seems to drift away. Is it dementia, is she day dreaming like her granddaughter? Although this is a school drama there is another layer to the story as some of the other characters such as the mother and grandmother are more fully developed that in many other similar stories. The family business is a funeral home and that too adds an interesting touch. Tatro, Margaret