Acampora, Paul. I Kill the Mockingbird.

Acampora, Paul.  I Kill the Mockingbird.  Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press  2014 166p  $16.99  ISBN 978-1-59643-742-5  ms/hs  Realistic fiction

E-BN 

Three best friends who are advancing to high school, with very different backgrounds and family situations, realize that To Kill a Mockingbird is on the summer reading list.  It is one of their favorite books, but it is underappreciated by other students, so they develop a plan to entice reluctant readers to read this classic.  As the owner of a local bookstore questions the ability of young people to re-shelve books correctly and discusses the ramifications of mis-shelving, Lucy, Elena, and Michael are inspired to exploit the effects of supply-and-demand.

In an effort to get more students to read this particular book, the group sets out to intentionally mis-shelve copies of it, so that there appears to be a lack of availability of the book within their state.  To compliment their effort, Lucy, Elena, and Michael leave behind flyers in the supposed proper placement of the books stating “I Kill the Mockingbird.”  Additionally, they create a website, a “friend” page, and a Twitter account to publicize the unavailability of the book. The ramifications cause this exploitation to go nationwide, and the three find that they need to develop a plan to bring the endeavor to an end in the most positive manner.

Paul Acampora has created a very exciting and action-packed novel that keeps the reader on the edge of his or her seat from the first page to the last.  By creatively using the characters’ diversity and the intertwined themes of social media and its mass effects, the author leaves the reader with a desire to read or re-read To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as to question and experience the effects of mass publishing. The themes of friendship dynamics and the use of social media highlight the  implications of individual actions and the consequences of Internet postings.

Summary: Best friends Lucy, Elena, and Michael create a plan to entice reluctant readers of To Kill a Mockingbird to select the book for their summer reading by using social media and exploiting the effects of supply and demand.

Friendship-Fiction, Literature-Fiction                --Virginia McGarvey

        

Mone, Gregory. Dangerous Waters.

Mone, Gregory.    Dangerous Waters.       Macmillan/ Roaring Brook Press 219p $16.99      978-1-59643-673-2       ms/jr       Good  Historical Fiction

Patrick finds an opportunity to work on board the Titanic to impress his brother, who is a trimmer (coal shoveler) in the engine room. Patrick is trying to dismiss his own preferred intellectual pursuits in order to "be a man" in a physically demanding job.  Titanic heads out on her maiden voyage, and Patrick is transferred above decks, as he cannot keep up with the physically demanding post of trimmer.  After he captures the eye of the wealthy Harry Widener, Patrick graduates from emptying spittoons to becoming Widener’s personal assistant. 

Another passenger, the unsavory Mr. Rockwell, has his eye on one of Widener’s rare books, which he is convinced contains the secret to infinite wealth.  He attempts to recruit Patrick to let him "borrow" the book, offering him a large sum of money to betray Widener.  Patrick is faced with a moral dilemma, which soon becomes insignificant in the face of disaster.  Titanic’s tragic ending is handled with sensitivity.

In the wake of Titanic’s demise, Harry Widener’s mother donates a substantial sum to Harvard to start a library in honor of her son. (This is based on actual events.)  To bring the story full circle, Patrick, now an older, educated man himself, places a volume of Francis Bacon, once the center of a controversy between Widener and Rockwell, to Harvard to be incorporated into the library’s collection.

Titanic-Fiction, Historical Fiction                   --Hilary Welliver

Reese, James. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mademoiselle Odile.

Reese, James.     The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mademoiselle Odile. Macmillan/ Roaring Brook Press  357p  $17.99      978-1-59643-684-8    

ms/hs       Good        Fantasy

Odile comes from a long line of witches. When her parents are killed she and her brother are basically thrown out into the street during the Prussian war in Paris, France.  It is in this setting that Odile tries out a few spells to save her brother, who has fallen very ill and may die if she does not find a special spell to restore his health.  The spell works, but with dire results for her brother, who is now almost a monster but still alive and healthy.  However, she is very much afraid that the spell may break at any moment and cause her brother’s death.

For Dr. Jekyll, who has given Odile and Greluchon a home, this is a stroke of luck, as he begins his journey into discovering his other side, Mr. Hyde.  With the left-over serum, or "salts" as Odile calls them, Dr. Jekyll experiments on himself, but the salts only work temporarily on him, whereas they seem to be permanent for Greluchon!

Can Odile save her brother and Dr. Jekyll before they both become monsters and die, or must she allow Dr. Jekyll access to her salts for his own experimentation in shape shifting?

This story is loosely based on the original classic by Robert Louis Stevenson.  The historical facts slowed the story down quite a bit, making it hard to follow the story of Odile and her brother.  The witchcraft story line is lost in all the historical background.       

Witchcraft, Fantasy, Spells-Fiction       --Magna Diaz

Heard, Georgia. The Arrow Finds Its Mark.

Heard, Georgia.   The Arrow Finds Its Mark.     Macmillan Books/ Roaring Brook Press      40p   $16.99      978-1-59643-665-7     ms/hs       VG-BN Poetry

Thirty poets find poetry in unlikely places.    "Found poetry" encourages readers to take words from text that already exists in a form other than poetry and refashion the words into poems.  Even readers who do not generally gravitate to poetry will look at language, from cereal boxes to dictionaries to texting, with new eyes.  Georgia Heard, the editor of The Arrow Finds Its Mark, states in the volume's introduction: "I believe that creating a found poem has to do with sharpening a poet's vision -- seeing that poetry exists all around us and ultimately having the insight and imagination to find it."

Heard gathered a stable of top-notch children's poets that includes Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis, Paul Janeczko, David Harrison, Mailyn Singer, and fifteen others.  They take a creative, imaginative approach to their assignment.  Encouraged not to change, add, or rearrange words, they could change punctuation, tense, plurals, and capitalization.  They also created their own titles, which often adds another layer of meaning or depth to the poems.

The resulting anthology of more than three dozen brief "found poems" is a delight.  Particularly enjoyable are "Marilynn's Montessori Memo," found by George Ella Lyon in a memo from her son's teacher, "Find a Poem," found by Georgia Heard in "The Oxford Thesaurus," and "How to Write a Poem on Your Computer," found by Bob Raczka from a computer drop-down menu. Instructors will be tempted to duplicate the original assignment -- and may be pleased to discover students completing their homework with little or no grumbling!  The poems encourage readers to play with words.

Reading this slender volume reinforces the idea that we are surrounded by poetry. If you look through a poet's eyes, it is everywhere.                                                                   --Hilary Welliver

Castellucci, C., & N. Powell. The Year of the Beasts.

Castellucci, Cecil, and Nate Powell.  The Year of the Beasts.     Macmillan/ Roaring Brook Press      175p  $16.99      978-1-59643-686-2           ms/hs E-BN  Graphic novel   

Tessa has a crush on Charlie, and she and her best friend are planning a double date, but at the last minute Tessa’s mother tells her she must take her sister Lulu.  Then the unthinkable happens -- Charlie falls for Lulu -- and although Tessa tries to be happy for her sister, this betrayal hurts too much. 

Tessa and her sister were finally old enough to go to the carnival by themselves. Tessa had invited her best friend to go with them.  They were going to meet Charlie and his friend at the carnival.  When they get there, somehow Charlie and Lulu are paired up for one of the rides.  Tessa is not sure what has happened, but by the end of the night she knows that she has lost Charlie to her sister.

Jealousy rears its ugly head as Tessa must deal with the fact that she is the odd man out, while everyone around her is paired up, and, in addition, her best friend Cecil has become very good friends with Lulu.  She is not sure how it all happened, but she is overcome by rage at being left out and is finding it hard to be friends with her own sister, who she feels betrayed her.

Through all of this turmoil we see a graphic novel developing between the chapters that brings the ugliness of the whole situation out into the open while it festers in Tessa’s heart.  The summer ends tragically, and the loss is overwhelming for everyone, making the teen romance almost a fond memory of the past.

The novel includes great art work! The story interlaces itself throughout the book creating an eerie feeling of dread. This is a must-read book!         

Graphic novels, Romance-Fiction, Suspense-Fiction           --Magna Diaz

Matthew Meets the Man

Nichols, Travis   Matthew Meets the Man   

 Macmillan Books/ Roaring Brook Press  2011      164p  $15.99      978-1-59643-545-2           ms/hs   G    Realistic fiction

As Matt enters his freshman year at high school, he is determined to get himself a drum set so that he can be in a cool band.       He feels that he is all grown up, but when he encounters The Man, he realizes that he must learn how to outwit him.  Matthew Meets the Man is about how Matt copes with authority: his dad, his teachers, his boss and any adult who is in charge of whatever!  This funny book takes you through Matt’s freshman year of getting adjusted to high school.  He encounters authority figures at every turn, starting with his own dad, and he must learn how to effectively communicate with every one of them, whether it is his boss at the Mexican place or the principal at school.  Many funny things happen to Matt, including meeting his first girlfriend and wondering if he is ready for the relationship.  Through all of this, Matt does not want to play the trumpet any more. He would rather get a set of drums and be in a cool band, but his father suggests he get a job first and earn the money for the drum set.
The book has many illustrations but it is not a comic book.  The reading level is quite simple, and the book sometimes reads like an elementary-school book. There were moments when I felt it was a 12-year-old telling the story and at other times the voice sounded like a mature adult telling the story.

G     Magna Diaz        Self-realization, Realistic fiction, Hi-Lo books

 

To The Mountaintop: My Journey Through the Civil Rights Movement

Hunter-Gault, Charlayne To The Mountaintop: My Journey Through the Civil Rights Movement  

 Macmillan Books/ Roaring Brook Press 2012  198p  $22.99

978-1-59643-605-3       ms/hs  VG-BN     Nonfiction             

This volume chronicles the Civil Rights Movement, from the point of view of Charlayne Hunter-Gault, one of the first black students to integrate the University of Georgia.  Supplemented with historical articles and photos, this narrative gives personal insight into the lives of many of the young participants in the movement, including that of journalist Hunter-Gault.  The narrative represents six years, 1960 though 1965, and it is interspersed with details of her journalistic career. 

Each year is separated by facsimile newspaper stories and illustrated with archival photographs.  Each newspaper story represented in the chapter headings is also included in the supplemental material at the end of the narrative.

Additional supplemental material includes a detailed time line running from 1787 to 2009 and a comprehensive bibliography and index.  But it is Hunter-Gault’s own story that makes this book memorable.  A very useful and readable addition to Civil Rights collections in middle and high school libraries.    

     

VG-BN Pat Naismith      Civil Rights Movement, Race relations

 

Bad Kitty for President

Bruel, Nick       Bad Kitty for President 

 Macmillan Books/ Roaring Brook Press      2012  142p  $13.99      978-1-59643-669-5    VG       elem        Animal stories

When Old Cat resigns as president of the Neighborhood Cat Club, Bad Kitty decides he would be a good replacement and runs on the platform of getting rid of stray cats in the neighborhood.  Bad Kitty hires a campaign manager, learns about garnering election money, enters debates, earns a party endorsement, and sets out on the campaign trail.  With the 2012 presidential election coming up in November, this is a perfect book to introduce young readers to the election process.  There is a nonfiction feel to the book that is heavy on facts and only uses Bad Kitty as a vehicle to explain the election process.  The mudslinging ads by rival candidates, the reason money is contributed to nominees, and the arduous process leading up to voting day is told by Kitty, his adversaries, and Uncle Murray.  Edna Prunelove is on hand in the appendix to explain election terms denoted with an asterisk in the text.  Children may miss some of the barbs embedded in the text, but adults will chuckle, especially at Edna’s definitions of words like "debate" and "delegates" and the split in values between the left and right sides of the street cats.  Uncle Murray and Edna provide many interesting facts about the election process, including the fact that North Dakota does not require people to register to vote and the origin of the word "ballot".  This is the perfect reading experience for children grades 1-5 to understand the upcoming political election.         

VG    Lois McNicol      Elections, Electoral politics

 

Smith, Lane. Grandpa Green.

Smith, Lane.  Grandpa Green.  Roaring Brook Press see Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, 2011.  $16.99  ISBN 9781596436077     elem  E-BN  Misc.

     This is a beautiful tribute to an extraordinary grandfather, told through the vision of a topiary garden, and it is a fun book to read with your children or grandchildren.   The book will take you through the life of a grandfather who was born before computers, cell phones and television sets; who grew up on a farm and got all the childhood illnesses; who read the classics, but most of all enjoyed horticultural activities. He had wanted to study horticulture, but life took over and he did other things instead, all the while practicing cutting his trees and bushes.
     This beautifully illustrated story is told by the great-grandson who shows us his vision of a beautiful garden where the story unfolds.
     Not a lot of color is used, but the colors of green and red and sometimes gold are used very strategically to help tell the story and take us through the whole history of this very much beloved great-grandfather. It is a story you will want to read many times over with your children, grandchildren and maybe even great-grandchildren.                 

Subjects: 1. Grandfathers - Fiction.  2. Gardens -- Fiction

Magna Diaz

 

O’Brien, Caragh M. Prized.

O’Brien, Caragh M.  Prized.   Roaring Brook Press see Macmillan Children's Publishing Group,  2011.  356p.  $16.99  ISBN 978-1-59643-570-4  hs   E-BN  Mature high school readers

     Gaia tries to be true to herself while trying to change Sylum.  In the sequel to Birthmarked, a 2010 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults book, sixteen-year-old Gaia has left the Enclave and is found in the Wasteland.  She and her infant sister are brought to Sylum, a dystopian society where the women rule over the men, who vastly outnumber them.  She has much to learn about the rules of this society where kissing is a crime.  Due to the low birth proportion of girl to boy births, the society is dying out.  As a trained midwife, Gaia can be helpful, if she can learn to follow the rules.
     Torn between feelings new to her, Gaia finds that three different men are attracted to her, and the feelings are mutual.  As she works her way through all this, she butts wills with the Matrarc, ruler of Sylum.  Eventually she comes to see that she must change some of the rules for the survival of herself and the society.
     The sections of the battle of wills between Gaia and the Matrarc are quite intense but very realistic.  Among the themes that make this title best for mature readers is the discovery that many of the men are infertile because they also carry female organs.  This, combined with the awakening sexuality in Gaia and the whole dystopian society make this a mature selection.
     It is very well written.  You keep wanting to know what will happen next.     

Subject: Futuristic Society  

Joan Theal