Davis, Danielle. Zinnia and the Bees.

Davis, Danielle. Zinnia and the Bees. Capstone Publishers     2017   240p.   $19.99        ISBN 978-1-62370-867-2          elem/ms            Conflict        E-BN

Zinnia, an eighth grader, is a master knitter. She makes yarn bombs (think tea cozies) for any object. When she cloaks the school mascot, a rattlesnake sculpture, in a full-length yarn bomb as a last-day-of-school prank, her punishment makes her feel like her world is closing in. Her older brother, 18 years old, disappears the next day without notice. After eating an ice cream to console herself over the loss of her brother, she attracts a hive of honey bees that take up residence in her unruly, curly hair without causing her a single sting.  Her attempts to deal with this colony of bees who think her hair is their new hive, trying to find her brother, becoming friends with a boy visiting his uncle next door, and mending the fractured friendship with her girl friends keep this novel humming along. Lots of laughs, plenty of puns about flowers and birds, and even a first-person narrative by the scout of the bee colony all provide the reader with an enjoyable novel about friendship, family and growing up. A unique story featuring a girl whose character changes from being self-centered and angry at her brother and mother to one who is capable of understanding the fears, needs and wishes of others.                           

Summary: Zinnia, an 8th grader, loves to knit. She makes a yarn bomb (like a tea cozy) for the school mascot statue and gets into trouble. Her older brother goes missing, she attracts a hive of bees, and her summer is one she will never forget.  Gr. 4-8   

Friendship, Bees, Mystery                                                  --Lois McNicol

Middleton, Dana. Open If You Dare.

Middleton, Dana. Open If You Dare. Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends       2017  279p.  $16.99          ISBN 978-1-250-08572-6            ms/jr    Mystery-Suspense         VG-BN         

A reader makes a journey when reading, and young teenaged girls will definitely enjoy the journey of three protagonists, stars of this new book by Dana Middleton.  A book of note needs to be special, exuding a certain element of warmth, or drama, or entertainment, as it were.  The strength of this book of note lies in the way three girls change as they navigate their final summer together before Rose moves to England with her family and Ally goes to a different middle school than Birdie, the story’s narrator.  It is plain to see that Birdie is scared of being alone.  But characters need to demonstrate growth, and in this case, all three of them experience new changes that will shape them as they move forward in this world, especially Birdie.  Rose is a violinist.  She is in love with Romeo, a classmate who happens to be in love with someone else.  Birdie is keeping a big secret from Rose, which is that Romeo loves Birdie.  Ally is a baseball star pitcher, undeterred by her female status in a man’s world.  Quite surprisingly, she inadvertently allows her brother to influence her negatively when she overhears him ranting about his lack of success and his sister’s shining talent. 

The incident that launches the plot happens right away, when the three girls find a wire around the base of a tree, a wire that they unravel to reveal a hidden box.  Inside that box is a mysterious letter whose words will become Birdie’s obsession throughout the novel: "If you’re reading this, I’m already dead.”  All the while she tries to figure out who was murdered and by whom, the three girls play out the dramas in each of their lives.  Rose must reconcile her unhappiness at the move to England.  Ally must find out how to channel the angst that she feels with her ever-deteriorating pitching, and Birdie finds conflicts with her family, her friends and herself, especially when she is stymied by two more clues she discovers when trying to solve the mystery of the missing girls.  Middleton knows the true voice of an early teen, she crafts a seamless plot, and her characters share conflicts that are experienced by all of us.                             

Summary: When Rose has to move to England with her family and Ally’s baseball pitching turns sour, Birdie tries to help both. At the same time, she comes to terms with her own feelings about being alone as she embarks on her journey to middle school.  A mysterious letter sets the three on a crime-solving mission that keeps them guessing.           

Friendship-Fiction, Murder-Fiction                      --Martha Squaresky

Middleton, Dana Open If You Dare

Middleton, Dana        Open If You Dare      Macmillan/ Feiwel & Friends           2017   279p   16.99  978-1-250-08572-6            ms/jr  Realistic Fiction VG-BN 

When Rose has to move to England with her family and Ally’s baseball pitching turns sour, Birdie tries to help both at the same time she comes to terms with her own feelings about being alone as she embarks on her journey to middle school.  A mysterious letter sets the three on a crime-solving mission that keeps them guessing.      

A reader makes a journey when reading, and young teenaged girls will definitely enjoy the journey of three protagonists, stars of this new book by Dana Middleton.  A book of note needs to be special, exuding a certain element of warmth, or drama, or entertainment, as it were.  The strength of this book of note lies in the way three girls change as they navigate their final summer together before Rose moves to England with her family and Ally goes to a different middle school than Birdie, the story’s narrator.  It is plain to see that Birdie is scared of being alone.  But characters need to show growth, and in this case, all experience new learnings that will shape them as they move forward in this world, especially Birdie.  Rose is a violinist.  She is in love with Romeo, a classmate who happens to be in love with someone else.  Birdie is keeping a big secret from Rose, which is that Romeo loves Birdie.  Ally is a baseball star pitcher, undeterred by her female status in a man’s world.  Quite surprisingly, she inadvertently allows her brother to influence her negatively when she overhears him ranting about his lack of success and his sister’s shining talent.  The inciting incident happens right away when the three girls find a wire around the base of a tree, a wire which they unravel to reveal a hidden box.  Inside that box is a mystery which will become Birdie’s obsession throughout the novel with these words, “”If you’re reading this, I’m already dead.”  All the while she tries to figure out who was murdered and by whom, the three girls play out the dramas in each of their lives.  Rose must reconcile her unhappiness at the move to England.  Ally must find out how to channel the angst that she feels with her ever-deteriorating pitching  and Birdie finds conflict with her family, her friends and herself, especially when she is stymied by two more clues she discovers when trying to solve the mystery of the missing girls.   Middleton knows the true voice of an early teen, she crafts a seamless plot and her characters share conflicts that are experienced by all of us.                                      Squaresky, Martha          solving crime occupies girls’ last summer together

Saenz, Benjamin Alire. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life.

Saenz, Benjamin Alire. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. Houghton Mifflin/Clarion  2017  445p  $17.99  ISBN 978-0-544-58650-5  ms/hs    Realistic Fiction  E-BN

What can Benjamin Alire Saenz say that hasn’t already been said about friendship and family relationships?  In his new novel, he explores the joys and pain of growing up, accepting oneself for all of one's flaws and foibles, accepting others, and dealing with the pain of loss.  How does one do all of this in a short, 400-plus page novel?  Saenz makes it look easy with his realistic dialogue and dialect.  He engages the reader by creating characters who are just kids dealing with all of the muck that life doles out.  He says a lot, and in a refreshingly contemporary way.  Through his protagonist, Sally, AKA Salvador, Saenz shows us a teenager’s conflicted thoughts about a plethora of issues.  Saenz’s philosophical lessons on life fit right into the flow of the text and are not forced down the throats of teen readers.  Furthermore, he encourages his readers to pause to look at their own lives to see what is truly important. 

Sally and his best friend, Samantha, spend nearly every waking moment together.  They talk, they text and they laugh.  When Samantha’s mother is killed in a car accident, Sally’s dad, Vicente, takes Samantha in, and the family becomes Dad plus two now.  Having lost his own mother at a young age (he is adopted), Salvador knows Samantha's pain, or does he?  He has felt a father’s love forever, and his struggles have been within himself.  His self-examination involves finding out why he enjoys throwing a punch at those who “dis” his dad for being gay.  His emotional growth also involves accepting the death of his grandmother, for a huge part of this book lies in the pain of loss.  When Sally’s friend Fito is thrown out of his home, the family of three now becomes a family of four with all of its beauty and angst.  All the while, Sal is looking at those around him and thinking.  As if that weren’t enough, his father’s ex returns to town, fully ready to accept the responsibility of a relationship.  In the resolution, Saenz does not "do the corny" by having Sal and Samantha come together.  Readers who love it when the protagonists come together romantically will instead fall into the reality web that Saenz has spun for them and will not be disappointed.

Summary: Salvador and Samantha are best friends who practice a unique honesty and sarcastic wit that is engaging and entertaining.  The death of a family member knocks at the door of both teens, and they learn the value of family, friendship, loving relationships and acceptance.                       

Friendship-Fiction                                                --Martha Squaresky

Wooding, Chris. Velocity.

Wooding, Chris.  Velocity. Scholastic Press     2017  325p  $18.99  ISBN 978-0-545-94494-6        ms/hs     Science Fiction  E-BN

Cassica and Shiara live in the boonies in a future time after a terrible global war has taken place.  They spend their free time racing vehicles.  Cassie is the fearless, reckless, decisive driver.  Shiara is her mechanic who can build working vehicles from scrap and calculate winning strategies.  Together they make a great team, both in spite of and because of their differences.

After winning a dangerous local race, they attract the attention of a promoter who gets them to participate in a national event.  The girls are considered underdogs, but the crowd loves their gutsy determination.  There are exciting race sequences in which they manage to survive in a world where there are forces out to specifically destroy them.  The friendship is sorely tested but wins out in the end.  The girls discover that the deck was stacked against them from the beginning, and the glamorous world of racing is crooked and not what the projected image shows.
 

This is a wonderful story of a friendship that survives challenges and tests, set among exciting action scenes that desribe the exciting threats and dangers of racing.  Readers in grade 7 and up will be drawn into this explosive world.

Summary: Set in the future after a global war, this is a story of ultimate car racing and the friendship between two teenaged girls.  Exciting action racing sequences with imaginative villains.  Grades 7 up.                       

Racing-Fiction, Friendship-Fiction                                      --Joan Theal