Fradin, D. B. & J. B. Fradin. Zora!

Fradin, Dennis Brindell & Judith Bloom Fradin.  Zora! Houghton Mifflin/Clarion      180p  $17.99  978-0-547-00695-6  2012  ms/hs  E-BN Biography

Passionate in both her life and her works, Zora Neale Hurston comes alive in this biography, which includes a look at all aspects of her career.  Successes and failures in relationships, in her vocation and in her attempts to break down barriers are included.     The font, layout, photographs, writing, research and, yes, even the cover combine to make the life and times of Zora Neale Hurston come alive.  The presence of stellar biographical data depicts the life of this woman who fought for her rights as an independent author during a time when women did not have many rights.  The paradox is that she should have become famous during her life, not after her death.  She did her best writing about African Americans, her best research about African Americans and her best living with African Americans; yet her fame extends to people of all races.  The Fradins’ writing style is exciting, and the book should be required reading for all high-school students, whether or not they are fans, for it demonstrates the drive necessary for one to become successful in the face of adversity.  Several highlights come to mind:  the account of Fannie Hurst’s introduction to Jonah’s Gourd Vine is one of the most interesting anecdotal stories in the entire biography.  Hurston’s feud with Langston Hughes at the midway point of the book reads like a novel, and Hurston’s foray into plagiarism is amazing in light of the fact that, with her talent, she could have easily used her own words to pen an article for the Journal of Negro History.  Hurston’s relationships with everyone around her were fiery, passionate and authentic. 

Readers will either enjoy the authors’ conjecture, which is entirely their own, or they will be upset that the Fradins inferred certain pieces of information that they included in the text, as on page 37, where they state that Zora was probably not very impressed by the famous patrons she met while waitressing at the Cosmos Club in Washington.   That being said, the Fradins offer their readers the chance to form opinions about this dynamic author for themselves, and that is what makes this book so good.

Hurston, Zora Neale–Biography                   --Martha Squaresky

Wadworth, Ginger. First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliet Gordon Low.

Wadworth, Ginger.   First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliet Gordon Low.            Clarion see Houghton Mifflin

,2012.  210p.   $17.99.  ISBN 978-0-547-24394-8     all ages E-BN              

At a time in U. S. history when women were still kept in the background, Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low was a somewhat controversial woman who was truly ahead of her times.  She encouraged young girls to look forward to being not just a housewife, but also a professional woman in any field of study she should choose.  Although perhaps I am biased because I was a Girl Scout and gained a lot from being one, I must say that this book is about a gutsy woman who was willing to stand up for what she believed in and was passionate about -- namely, the capacity for women to achieve more in life than was the norm at the time.  Well researched and illustrated, using information gleaned from diaries and news articles, this book takes the reader through Juliette Gordon Low’s life from her youth as a girl with a hearing impairment to her relationship with Lord Baden Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts, and her eventual founding of the Girl Scouts in the United States.  Black-and-white images that bring the text to life are lightly sprinkled throughout.  The book concludes with an author’s note, the music and lyrics to the classic Girl Scout song “Make New Friends”, a chronology, copious source notes, a bibliography and an index.               Subject:  Low, Juliette Gordon, 1860-1927.                   Lynn Fisher

Schmidt, Gary D. Okay for Now.

Schmidt, Gary D.  Okay for Now      

 Clarion see Houghton Mifflin  2011  360   16.99 978-0-547-15260-8 

 ms/hs E-BN  Realistic Fiction      

Three brothers, all abused, navigate their way through trials of growing up in turbulent times, the 60s.  One withdraws, another uses his wits to survive and a final, oldest son, returns from Vietnam spiritually and physically wounded.         You will feel every emotion that exists while reading this book.  When Christopher lifts his older brother gently into his wheelchair when Lucas returns from Vietnam without legs, you will cry.  When the principal verbally assaults Douglas by telling him that every teacher in school does not give a rip about him, you will be angry.  When the gym teacher makes Doug remove his shirt for gym class, revealing a tattoo that his father forced on him, and embarrassing Doug beyond imagination, you will cringe.  When Doug’s father beats Doug and his brother regularly, you will resent him, and when the warm moments melt in between the abusive ones, you will smile.  Only Gary Schmidt can do this to a reader.  His language is poetic, his descriptions of a meal are delicious, and his storytelling ability is sublime.  Doug is the storyteller, and he is quirky, fast-witted and believable.  He lives to outsmart his brother Chris and to hide his pain from the world around him.  He is an artist, a baseball trivia giant, a friend and a boyfriend, and as he tells his story, the reader becomes his friend.  Famous birds from Audubon’s Birds of America help him to tell his story, and as Doug learns to draw each bird, the birds come alive.  Simply stated, Schmidt has a book that you will want to read from cover to cover in one night.  It is a reading teacher’s delight, especially since Doug managed to get through school illiterate, until the year a teacher discovered that Doug couldn’t read and did something about it.  What a message for struggling students everywhere!  Someone cares.  Schmidt knows children and what they want to read.  Abused children and resilience is a powerful combination.    Martha Squaresky

 

Reef. Jane Austen: A Life Revealed

Reef, Catherine   Jane Austen: A Life Revealed   

Clarion see Houghton Mifflin  2011  192p  18.99 978-0-547-37021-7 

 hs/adult      VG-BN       

 A well-research biography of the popular 19th century author, Jane Austen.  Created for students wanting to know more about the enigmatic author who left little behind but her novels of romance and social controversy.  Set within the context of 19th century English society in which Austen lived, this exhaustively-researched biography sheds light on an author about who relatively little is known.  She did not marry, nor keep a diary, and most of her letters were destroyed.  Yet, Reef has managed to create a definitive, readable and well-researched biography.  She really does bring Jane Austen, as well as her family and times, to life. 

Black and white period drawings, as well as photos from film adaptations of her novels supplement the text.  Twenty-four pages of bibliographical references are appended at the end of the biography, as well as an exhaustive index and list of credits. 

Although the publisher has indicated that this biography is aimed at students and young adult readers, adults will also enjoy this readable, interesting and well-researched volume.                   Naismith(3), Pat

 

MacCullough, Carolyn. Always a Witch.

MacCullough, Carolyn    Always a Witch    

 Clarion see Houghton Mifflin  2011  276p  16.99 978-0-547-22485-5 

 ms/hs VG      Supernatural      

 Tamsin’s talents are once again needed, as she travels back in time to thwart Alistair’s evil plot to obliterate her family in 1887.   Good vs. evil, withcraft, time travel, and a little historical fiction all combine to create a satisfying sequel to Once a Witch.  Tamsin, now aware of her considerable talents, and keeper of the Domani, must travel back in time to save her family from extinction.  Details of Victorian family life are seen through her eyes as she becomes a ladies maid in the Knight household, hoping to thwart Alistair, who has also traveled back in time to keep the Domani from being made and allowing the Knight family to ascend to supremacy by the use of blood rituals.  Of course, hunky Gabriel, her love interest, manages to find out where and when she is and complicates things.

For the supernatural romance reader, this is a decent addition to the genre.  Details of Victorian life will intrigue the reader and Tamsin’s triumph is satisfying.  It adequately stands on its own, but to understand all the characters and the necessary witchcraft background, readers need to read Once a Witch.               
PatNaismith

 

Jeschonek, Robert T. My Favorite Band Does Not Exist

Jeschonek, Robert T.    My Favorite Band Does Not Exist      

Clarion see Houghton Mifflin  2011  324p  16.99 978-0-547-37027-9     hs/adult    VG    Fantasy      

Idea Deity and Reacher Mirage share a destiny that is linked to the reality of “Fireskull’s Revenant,” a fantasy novel they have both been reading.   Readers may feel they’ve fallen down the rabbit hole, in a contemporary fantasy similar to “Through the Looking Glass.” Parallel universes collide when a hoax (the creation of a website offering elaborate details about a fictitious band) perpetuated by a webmaster on one world  actually mirrors the reality of a band in another plane of existence.  When characters cross between the two realities, the twin characters and their adversaries square off for battle. 

The convoluted plot which switches back and forth nearly every other chapter between “our” world and the “other” universe may be daunting for many readers.  In addition, chapters of an “omniversal” novel (”Fireskull’s Revenant”) are interspersed, and further complicate the action. The result is very complex, with three different but highly integrated plot lines, that weave in and out of each other, sharing characters and experiences as realities leak into each other.

The characters are difficult and confusing as well.  Our “heroes,” Idea (the webmaster) and Reacher (the band’s songsmith and lead singer) share a girlfriend (who is blonde from the front and brunette from the back or vice versa, depending upon which world she is in).  The girlfriend is the link between the two worlds and “Fireskull’s Revenant.”   Despite the graphic-novel-like plot, Idea (who suffers from a psychological complex in which he is convinced that he is trapped in a book and will die in Chapter 64) manages to rebel against the omniscient, and all-powerful author of his fate, and choose a destiny of his own. Hilary Welliver
       

Adoff, Arnold. Roots and Blues.

Adoff, Arnold     Roots and Blues    

Clarion see Houghton Mifflin  2011  86p   17.99 978-0-547-23554-7  

elm/ms      E-BN        

 “ Lyrical text explores how Blues have been part of everyday life throughout history, from its origins in the sounds of the earth, through slaves' voices singing of freedom, to today's greatest performers--and listeners.”     

Upper elementary and middle school students who enjoy poetry will love (once they get used to the different format)  this new title by Arnold Adoff featuring sixty poems on a variety of topics around the history and culture of blues music.  Adoff’s presentation of poems is not in the usual poetic form, rather in his own style of shaped speech.  The shaped speech is rather unusual and the text placement has gaps, which help indicate pause.  These poems trace the history of blues music, from traveling on slave ships through plantations to chain gangs, and sharecroppers.  The poems are telling a story in a sequence, or in a chronological order with many “Listen” poems which help describe the sounds of the place and time. The “Singing” pages help engulf readers into the poems and story. 

Illustrated with beautiful color paintings by R. Gregory Christie, readers will gain an insight into the what times may have looked like in their eyes.  Students are introduced to several blues performers including Bessie Smith, Lonnie Johnson, Son House, Charlie Patton, and others. Blues (Music) Poetry.      Charleen Forba-Mayer

Harris, Lewis. A Taste for Red.

Harris, Lewis. A Taste for Red.
Clarion see Houghton Mifflin 2009 169p 16.00 978-0-547-14462-7 elm/ms

What happens if your sixth grade science teacher is your mortal enemy? Svetlana Grimm thinks she is a vampire. She is greatly disturbed when her science teacher begins reading her mind and invading her thoughts. Could she also be a vampire???? Svetlana has been home schooled until her mother takes a job as she is entering sixth grade. Life for Svetlana is going to change drastically when she enters Sunny Hill Middle School. First of all she doesn’t fit in with the other kids and she does strange things such as eat only red food items. The activities in the school we also strange with kids disappearing and Mrs Larch the science teacher causing problems.
The author has written a fantastically funny story that will appeal to middle schooler everywhere. Who wouldn’t want to imagine that their science teacher is a vampire. The feelings and emotions the characters undergo in this novel accurately reflect some of the insecurities that middle schoolers confront daily.
It is a good read that will be very popular with teenagers today as it parallels the current vampire reading rage. LM

Harris, Lewis. A Taste for Red.

Harris, Lewis. A Taste for Red.
Clarion see Houghton Mifflin 2009 169p 16.00 978-0-547-14462-7 elm/ms What happens if your sixth grade science teacher is your mortal enemy? Svetlana Grimm thinks she is a vampire. She is greatly disturbed when her science teacher begins reading her mind and invading her thoughts. Could she also be a vampire???? Svetlana has been home schooled until her mother takes a job as she is entering sixth grade. Life for Svetlana will change drastically when she enters Sunny Hill Middle School. First of all she doesn't fit in with the other kids and she does strange things such as eat only red food items. The activities in the school were also strange with kids disappearing and Mrs Larch the science teacher causing problems.
The author has written a fantastically funny story that will appeal to middle schooler everywhere. Who wouldn't want to imagine that their science teacher is a vampire. The feelings and emotions the characters undergo in this novel accurately reflect some of the insecurities that middle schoolers confront daily.
It is a good read that will be very popular with teenagers today as it parallels the current vampire reading rage. LM.

Hahn, Mary Downing. Closed for the Season.

Hahn, Mary Downing. Closed for the Season.
Clarion see Houghton Mifflin 2009 182p 16.00 978-0-547-08451-0 elm/ms

Quirky neighbor Arthur befriends the new boy on the block and reveals to him that a murder took place in his new house. The unusual pair solves the mystery and becomes heroes of their school. Mary Downing Hahn knows how to tell a good mystery that will have children choosing her books! The eerie Magic Forest is an abandoned children's paradise, complete with children's favorite childhood characters like Old King Cole and Humpty-Dumpty. Now covered in eerie kudzu vines, the park houses a dark secret. Who stole the park's ticket sale money, and how did Myrtle Donaldson, the ticket lady, meet her demise? Could she really have stolen thousands of dollars and gone to her grave with the secret of where she stashed it? When Logan's family moves into the house where she was murdered, next-door neighbor and sleuth, Arthur, steps in. With more than typical childhood curiosity and lack of good manners, he is the teenager that nobody wants to befriend. He "adopts" Logan, and they set on an adventure that leads them to become young detectives. With excellent characterizations of the main characters as well as of the shady characters and a setting inside a closed amusement park, the book will capture the interest of a reluctant reader. When the boys solve the mystery, and the father of a popular student is implicated in the crime, we learn that sometimes children do pick friends who add a certain "je ne sais quoi" to their lives, despite what adults think! MS.