Smy, Pam. Thornhill.

Smy, Pam. Thornhill. Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press   2017   529p.  $19.99  ISBN 978-1-62672-654-3    ms      Graphic Novel            E-BN

Ella has just moved into a new home that overlooks the old, abandoned Thornhill Institute for orphans. Feeling lonely in a new environment, from her upper-floor bedroom window she sees a girl in the window of the institute and decides to explore the Thornhill property and home to find this new, mysterious, possible friend.

The story is told in alternating voices.  Mary, the girl in the window, tells her story, which takes place in a different time and is told through diary entries that  Ella finds. Ella’s story is told through eye-catching, wonderful illustrations. As the story unfolds, the girls’ lives are paralleled through different times. Mary is a lonely orphan in 1982 dealing with the fact that she has not been adopted as the institute closes and facing a bully.  Ella, living in 2017, is a lonely girl in a new town.

The story is delivered beautifully in contrasting formats that lead to the mystery, excitement, and poignancy of the plot. While the novel could be considered haunting, the manner in which it is written makes it more suspenseful and intriguing than horrifying. The writing is fanatstic and the illustrations are exquisite.

Summary: Lonely Ella has just moved into a new home that overlooks the old, abandoned Thornhill Institute for orphans, where she sees a girl in the window and explores the Thornhill property and institute to find the link between herself and the girl she seeks to befriend.                           

Orphans and Family Life-Fiction             --Virginia McGarvey

Bayard, Louis. Lucky Strikes.

Bayard, Louis.  Lucky Strikes.  Macmillan/Henry Holt  2016  313p  $16.99  ISBN 978-1-62779-390-2         ms       Realistic fiction  VG-BN     

In 1929, during the Great Depression, Amelia and her younger brother and sister suffer a heart-wrenching loss when their mother passes away unexpectedly. But Amelia is a very resourceful young girl. Somehow the three siblings must come up with a way to stay together. Amelia’s idea is to talk a hobo who dropped off a passing truck into posing as their long-lost father. Together they run the small local gas station and try to eke out a living.

The so-called hobo turns out to be an asset when Amelia starts dreaming up marketing ideas for ensuring the survival of the gas station. It is not easy, because a local businessman owns all of the other stations in the area, and he wants theirs because it is on a heavily accessed trucking route. The novel provides readers with insight into the fears and tensions of being an orphan and presents Amelia as a strong and resourceful young girl.
    

Summary: Amelia, the big sister, must find a way to keep her brother and sister out of foster care after their mother dies unexpectedly. Readers will enjoy the family interactions and the dynamics of running a gas station while fighting a local bully.          

Poverty-Fiction, Family life-Fiction, Orphans-Fiction, Great Depression-Fiction          —Linda McNeil

Galante, Cecilia. The World From Up Here.

Galante, Cecilia.  The World From Up Here.  Scholastic Press  2016  309p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-545-84845-9  elem/ms  Realistic fiction         VG-BN

Wren Baker is afraid of everything. Her mother, who suffers from depression, must travel from their Pennsylvania home to an Ohio hospital for treatment, which means that her father must go there as well. Wren’s new-to-town Aunt Marianne and cousin, Silver, offer to care for Wren and her brother, who has Asperger’s syndrome. Silver does not appear to be afraid of anything. As the girls become close, they inspire each other, and when they climb the forbidden Creeper Mountain, they discover hitherto unknown parts of themselves and rely on each other.

This fast-paced, well-written novel is sure to thrill young readers. It is packed with suspense, and its many plot twists will engage and entertain readers. With lots of action, the story comes full circle, and all that is mysterious is resolved and explained, making it a very fulfilling read.

Summary: Wren Baker is afraid of everything, and when her mother is hospitalized in a different state and her father is required to go there also, Wren and her brother with Asperger’s syndrome are force to live with their aunt and cousin who are new to their town.  Silver, Wren’s cousin, appears to be afraid of nothing at all, and inspires bravery in Wren.      

Family-Fiction, Asperger’s syndrome-Fiction                                               --Virginia McGarvey

Leonard, M. G. Beetle Boy.

Leonard, M. G.  Beetle Boy.   Scholastic/Chicken House  2016  270p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-545-85346-0  ms  Science fiction  VG

Darkus is the only son of a single father who has vanished mysteriously. After being relocated to a new school and a foster home, he is taken in by his uncle. At the new school Darkus makes his first real friends. While living at his uncle’s house he discovers a beetle with near-human intelligence. With the help of this beetle, his new friends and his uncle, Darkus is determined to rescue his father, who he knows never would have abandoned him. This is a lively, well-written, easy read that will inspire reluctant readers with its fast pace and will appeal to boys who love bugs.

Summary: Darkus suddenly finds himself living with his uncle after his father’s disappearance. The police have met a dead end in the search for his father, but Darkus, along with his uncle, new friends and some unexpected insect help, plans to find his father and make things right again.   

Family-Fiction, Friendship-Fiction                    --Erin Daley

Lawrence, Lisa J. Rodent.

Lawrence, Lisa J.  Rodent.  (Series: Bullying)  Orca  2016  281p  $14.95      ISBN 978-1-4598-0976-5    hs  Realistic fiction  VG-BN   

Rodent is brutal and raw.  Isabelle is a 17-year-old who struggles at home and at school.  She is raising her two younger siblings and attempting to cope with her alcoholic mother.  Her father is not in the picture.  When Isabelle gets into a fight on the first day of school, her troubles increase. She is bullied. She is not rescued, but Isabelle does find supporters and she hunkers down to survive.

Memorable characters and situations will etch themselves into the reader’s consciousness as he or she races through this fast-paced page-turner.  Orca Books delivers another young-adult novel featuring gritty realism, narrated with an authentic voice.     

Summary: Isabelle longs to escape her life of being responsible for caring for her two siblings and her alcoholic mother.

Alcoholism-Fiction, Family-Fiction                                --Hilary Welliver