Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2011)

Summary from publisher:
Alek and Deryn are aboard the Leviathan when the ship is ordered to pick up an unusual passenger.  This brilliant/maniacal inventor claims to have a weapon called Goliath that can end the war.  But whose side is he really on?  While on their top-secret mission, Alek finally discovers Deryn's deeply kept secret.  Two, actually.  not only is Deryn a girl disguised as a guy...she has feelings for Alek.  The crown, true love with a commoner, and the destruction of a great city all hang on Alek's next--and final move.

Goliath is the third book in Westerfeld's Steampunk alternative-history trilogy that started with Leviathan.  This series has been among my favorites of the past few years, perhaps because I am a bit of a history buff. Readers of this blog know that when I find a historial fiction that includes a bit of romance, I'm hooked.

In this final book, the romance between Alek and Deryn gets ramped up, but so does the tension of hiding the secret that she's a girl.  Add in the electrikal maneuverings of Nikola Tesla, and the situation really heats up.  Westerfeld kept the suspense growing up until the very end, a thoroughly satisfying end, I must say.

Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath are old fashioned, action-packed novels that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

Want to Go Private? By Sara Darer Littman

Want To Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman (Scholastic, 2011)

Summary from publisher:
Abby and Luke chat online.  They've never met.  But they are going to.  Soon.  


When Abby meets Luke online, she can't believe her luck.  He's nice. He's funny, he listens to her and he thinks she's pretty.  He even gets jealous of other guys, which is adorable.  Without Luke, Abby's not sure how she'd make it through her first year of high school. Everyone, including her mom and her best friend, Faith, tells Abby that if she just made more of an effort, she'd be having fun instead fo dreading each and every day as if it's a prison sentence.  But there's nothing fun about being the lowest link in the social food chain.  Abby knows she's not supposed to chat with random guys online.  But Luke isn't random, and he isn't a stranger.  Best of all, he loves her.  So what if she never goes out with her friends anymore and her grades are slipping?  All she needs is Luke.  Luke is her secret, and she's his--it's perfect that way.  So when Luke suggests that they meet each other in person, Abby agrees.  And then she's gone.  Missing.  Without a trace.  And everyone is left to put together the pieces.  If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.

I've been hearing about this book online for a while, and I knew it was going to be a difficult book to read. What I didn't realize was how important it would be for me to read this book.  Right now, my daughter is 10 and still playing on Webkinz.  However, soon enough she will be exploring other places on the internet, and I know I have to teach her how to be safe.  Littman's book provides an insight into the mind of a teenage girl who feels on the fringe.  I was amazed at how easily the predator was able to separate Abby from her friends and family, but I know that it probably wasn't far from the truth.  I work everyday with kids just a bit younger than Abby, the main character, and I know how full of bravado they are.

I had the opportunity to meet Littman this past weekend and hear her talk about her research for the book.  She got the idea for the book after hearing an FBI agent do a talk at her son's school.  She was able to work with the FBI agent as well as her local police department to do her research and to learn as much as she could about internet predators and their victims.  Her research definitely paid off.  This book felt REAL to me as I was reading it.  At times I wanted to shake Abby, to tell her to wake up, and at other times I was intensely sad for her, wishing I could be there for her instead of Luke, wishing I could save her.

I wish I could share this book with my students, however some of the scenes are quite graphic.  Instead, I think I will go through their parents, letting them know about this powerful book.  I'm hoping that some of them will read it, decide it's worth sharing with their children, and then have discussions with their kids about the events in the book.  This is one of those times when it is dangerous to shield children from the all-too-unpleasant reality.  I will be sharing this book with my daughter when she is in 8th grade.

Bigger Than a Breadbox by Laurel Snyder

Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyer 
(Random House, 2011)

Summary from publisher:
Everybody needs a place to rest.
Everybody wants to have a home.
For as long as she can remember, twelve-year-old Rebecca has been singing along with that song--but suddenly the lyrics are making way too much sense.  Rebecca's home is in Baltimore, and so is her dad.  But her mom has dragged her and her little brother off to Atlanta to live at their grandmother's house until she can "figure things out." And it looks like that's gong to take a very long time.  In her gran's attic, Rebecca discovers an old bread box with the power to grand any wish--so long as the wished-for thing fits in the bread box.  An iPod, a diamond, even a seagull from Baltimore--anything she wants is hers...except for the power to put her broken family back together.  For a while, though, the magic bread box makes life away from home a little easier.  Then, suddenly, it starts to make things much, much more difficult--and Rebecca is forced to decide not just where, but who she really wants to be.  

Laurel Snyder has written a beautiful book about the painful reality of divorce.  Based in part on her own experiences, she writes Rebecca's character with truth.  While the parts about the magical bread box are fantasy, they do not take away from the reality of Rebecca's struggles with her parents' separation.  As I was reading, I found myself comparing my experiences as a young child dealing with many of the same issues to Rebecca, and I could relate to her pain and confusion.

Over the course of the book, Rebecca and her mother both learn some powerful lessons about being true to yourself while also caring for those you love.  This is a delicate balance, no matter what your age and a difficult lesson to learn.

I can't wait to tell my students about this one!

The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

The Year the Swallows Came Early 
by Kathryn Fitzmaurice (Harper, 2009)


Summary from publisher:
"Expect the unexpected."  That's what Eleanor "Groovy" Robinson's horoscope says the morning everything begins to change.  Suddenly, her father is in jail, her plans to attend culinary school when she grows up fall apart, and it feels like maybe nothing will ever be right again.  But the swallows that return to her coastal town every year bring a message of hope that even Groovy can't ignore.  Can she forgive the failings of someone she loves in order to bring her family back together again?

I was somewhat ambivalent about this book.  I didn't love it; I didn't hate it.  It was okay.  I've been struggling with how to write this blog post because I just can't put my finger on why this book didn't leave a stronger impression on me.  In part, I felt as if the plot dragged.  Not much happened; Groovy spent quite a bit of time in this book thinking.  Not that that's a bad thing!  I was younger than Groovy when my parents split, and I know I spent a great deal of time thinking about what was going on and what my new life was going to be like.  Maybe I didn't have stronger feelings because I felt the book was somewhat predictable.  Somehow I just KNEW how it was going to turn out from the beginning.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, either, though.

If I look at this book as a book about separation/divorce/family issues for middle grade readers, I feel like I can give it a more enthusiastic review.  Many students Groovy's age are struggling with their own family issues, and having a book like this can help them see that other kids' families are also troubled.  I think kids will like Groovy and her small cluster of friends, and will be able to connect to the book on many levels.

Trash by Andy Mulligan

Trash by Andy Mulligan
 (David Fickling Books, 2010)




Summary from publisher:
In an unnamed Third World country, in the not-so-distant future, three "dumpsite boys" make a living picking through the mountains of garbage on the outskirts of a large city.  One unlucky day, Raphael finds something very special and very mysterious.  So mysterious that he decides to keep it, even when the city police offer a handsome reward for its return.  That decision brings with it terrifying consequences, and soon the dumpsite boys must use all of their cunning and courage to stay ahead of their pursuers.  It's up to Raphael, Gardo, and Rat--boys who have no education, no parents, no homes, and no money--to solve they mystery and right a terrible wrong.

Trash has been on my radar for some time now, but I just now got around to reading it.  Sometimes, I avoid books that are going to make me sad or books that I know are going to make me think.  It's hard to admit that as an adult and a teacher, but it is the truth.  I knew that Trash was going to get under my skin, because my school district has had a fundraising relationship with an organization that builds schools for students who live in the Kibera slum outside of Nairobi, Kenya.  I have seen the photographs of the children who help to earn money for their families by sifting through the garbage dump that is basically their home.  I am heartbroken and overwhelmed each time I have heard Fred, the man from Kenya who comes from time to time to share his vision of building schools with our students.

I finally worked up the courage to read Trash, and I'm so glad I did.  Yes, I was bothered by the descriptions of the lives of the dump boys and the others who live in a landfill.  I was bothered by the complete disregard for these people's lives.  However, I was also swept up into an exciting mystery!  I was on the edge of my seat as I followed Raphael, Gardo, and Rat as they worked to figure out the story behind the mysterious bag and wallet they found, and I found myself breathless and wondering how the heck they were going to get out of the messes they found themselves in.

Mulligan keeps the pace just right, and this book is definitely NOT predictable.  It's a great read, and I hope I can do it justice when I booktalk it to my students.

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John (Dial, 2010)


Summary from publisher:
Eighteen-year-old Piper has gotten herself into a mess.  Because of her big mouth, she has one month to get a paying gig for her high school's hottest new rock band, called Dumb.  In Piper's mind, the band couldn't have a more perfect name.  Just look at the members:  one egomaniacal pretty boy, one silent rocker, one talentless piece of eye candy, one angry girl, and one nerd-boy drummer--five discordant personalities who, when put together, seem ready to self-destruct at any moment.  Getting them an actual gig seems impossible.  Add to that the fact that Piper doesn't know if their music is good or not, because, well, she's deaf.  But Piper is determined to get the band a gig to show her classmates that being deaf doesn't mean she's invisible.  And as she gets to know the five flavors of Dumb, some hidden talents, secret crushes, and crazy rock music emerge.  She doesn't need to hear the music to sell it, but Piper wants the chance to feel the music too.  Does she have what it takes to manage Dumb and discover her own inner rock star?

Five Flavors of Dumb is one of those books about teenagers that doesn't feel dumbed-down.  Piper is more than a vapid girl, worrying about which boy to like or which pair of expensive shoes to buy.  Rather, Piper is trying to figure out how the heck she's going to come up with the money to pay for her tuition at Galludet, the country's best university for students who are deaf.  She DID have a college fund, left to her by her grandparents, who were also deaf, but that fund was raided by her hearing parents to pay for her baby sister's cochlear implant surgery.  Frankly, I would be just as angry as Piper was in the book.  I can see how she felt that her parents were choosing Grace over her, and I can understand her jealousy as Grace, deaf from birth, experienced hearing.

Piper's relationships with the various members of Dumb and her relationship with her younger brother are the true focus of Five Flavors.  I enjoyed watching Piper learn how to navigate the various personalities and power struggles that arose among the band members over the course of the book.  Just as in real life, there are layers to the characters that emerge over the course of the book, some surprising, others predictable.

Overall, I thought this was a great book.  I have a feeling it'll see the insides of many backpacks once I booktalk it to my seventh graders!

Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai

Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai (Scholastic, 2010)


Summary from publisher:
Fadi never imagined he'd start middle school in Fremont, California, thousands of miles away from home in Kabul, Afghanistan--and half a world away from his missing six-year-old sister, Mariam.  Adjusting to life in the United States isn't easy for Fadi's family, and as the events of September 11 unfold, the prospects of locating Mariam in war-torn Afghanistan seem slim.  When a photography competition with a grand prize of a trip to India is announced, Fadi sees his chance to return to Afghanistan and find his sister.  But can one photo really bring Mariam home?

Shooting Kabul is only the third book I've read set in Afghanistan.  The others, A Thousand Splendid Suns and Words in the Dust were mainly about life in Afghanistan.  This book, on the other hand, is about a family fleeing the Taliban-controlled country and navigating life in post 9-11 America.  As the book starts, Fadi and his family are scrambling to meet the truck that will (hopefully) transport them out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan, where they will then be able to continue on to America.  Tragically, the youngest child, Mariam, gets separated from the rest of the family and is left behind.  Fadi feels guilty for losing his sister, as he was supposed to be holding her hand, making sure she gets on the truck. However, in the mad crush of people, her little hand slips out of his.

 I can't even begin to imagine the worry both Fadi and his parents have to endur as they wait for word of Mariam.  Senzai does a great job of carrying the tension forward throughout the book, and I found myself holding my breath, waiting for the next twist in the plot.

I read Shooting Kabul over the course of one day.  Even as I was going about my day, I kept thinking about the book.  Anytime I had a spare moment at school, I picked it up and read as much as I could!  It was that good!

I'm hoping I can do this book justice when I booktalk it to my students.  This is an important book that all of my students should read.  It teaches not only perseverance but also tolerance.

Vordak the Incomprehensible: Rule the School

Vordak the Incomprehensible:  Rule the School (Egmont, 2011)


Summary from publisher:
Greetings, Goobers!
After my latest experiment worked a little too well--transforming my rather fetching figure into something significantly smaller--I've been forced to return to those halls of horror better known as...school.  But going back to junior high may be my greatest opportunity for mayhem in many a mischievous month!  Fortunately for you, I have recorded every maniacal moment within these carefully crafted covers so that you may bask in my brilliance as I plot to RULE THE SCHOOL... and eventually, THE WORLD!  MUAHAHAHA!!!

Okay... if you like tongue in cheek humor and appreciate "farding" jokes, then this book is for you.  The sequel to Vordak the Incomprehensible:  How to Grow Up and Rule the World continues the story of supervillian Vordak and his quest to take down his arch nemesis Captain Virtue.  It does a great job of picking up where Vordak left off and is just as clever and fun.

One of the things I think is hilarious is how Vordak speaks in the third person.  He sounds just as a supervillain SHOULD sound, maniacal laugh and all. I also think the minions are great as well as the names of all of the teachers.  As a teacher in a middle school, I have to say, I recognized some of these characters!

I'm not going to let loose any spoilers here.  If you want to find out if Vordak is successful in his evil plan, you'll have to send one of your henchmen out to purchase Rule the School!

How To Survive Middle School

How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart (Yearling, 2010)


Summary from publisher:
Eleven-year-old David Greenberg dreams of beoming a TV superstar like his idol, Jon Stewart.  But in real life, David is just another kid terrified of starting his first year at Harman Middle School.  WIth a wacky sense of humor and hilarious Top 6 1/2 Lists, David spends his free time making TalkTime videos, which he posts on YouTube.  But before he can get famous, he has to figure out a way to deal with:
1.  Middle school (much scarier than it sounds!)
2.  His best friend gone girl-crazy
3.  A runaway mom who has no phone!
4.  The thread of a swirlie on his birthday
5.  A terrifying cousin
6.  His #1 fan, Bubbe (his Jewish grandmother)
6 1/2.  Did we mention Hammy, the hamster who's determined to break David's heart?
When David and his best friend have a fight, David is lucky enough to make a pretty cool new friend-- who just (gulp) happens to be a girl.  Sophie thinks David's videos are hilarious, and she starts sending out the links to everyone she knows.  Sophie's friends tell their friends, and before David knows it, thousands of people are viewing his videos--including some of the last people he would have expected.  David may still feel like a real-life schmo, but is he ready to become an Internet superstar.

This book was surprisingly good!  Sometimes, books about middle school are completely unrealistic, and as a teacher in a middle school, that drives me crazy.  While there were moments of over-the-topness in this book, for the most part, I felt like David's experiences in middle school were probably similar to those of many American sixth graders, even, unfortunately, the bullying.

David's falling out with his best friend in a moment of frustration also rings true.  I wanted to shake David and tell him to call Elliot to apologize, but like many stubborn people, David waits until it is too late and ends up paying a price.

I could see using How To Survive Middle School as a read aloud in a sixth grade class, and I'm sure several of my students will enjoy reading it.  I know there were parts where I was laughing out loud!

Keeper by Kathi Appelt

Keeper by Kathi Appelt (Atheneum, 2010)

Summary from publisher:
Blue moon, magic moon...good for wishing.
To ten-year-old Keeper, this moon is her chance to fix all that has gone wrong...and so much has gone wrong.
But she knows who can make things right again:  Meggie Marie, her mermaid mother who swam away when Keeper was just three.  A blue moon calls the mermaids to gether at the sandbar, and that's exactly where Keeper is headed--in a small boat, in the middle of the night, with only her dog, BD (Best Dog), and a seagull named Captain.  When the riptide pulls at the boat, tugging her away from the shore and deep into the rough waters of the Gulf of Mexico, panic sets in, and the fairy tales that lured her out there go tumbling into the waves.  Maybe the blue moon isn't magic and maybe the sandbar won't sparkle with mermaids and maybe...Oh, no... "Maybe" is just too difficult to bear.

When I first picked this book up, I had trouble getting into the story.  I was trying to decide if it was going to be a fantasy story with mermaids or a realistic fiction story about a girl trying to figure out who her true family was.  As I kept reading, I got pulled into the stories of the people who surround Keeper and make up her family.  Keeper herself intrigued me, with her hastily-developed plan for how to right all of the wrongs caused by those "stupid crabs."

As this single night wears on,  and Keeper makes wishes on the merpeople Mr. Beauchamp carved for her, Keeper's story unfolds.  Appelt's beautiful writing and her ability to weave stories together into a satisfying whole make this book a little gem, well worth reading (perhaps more than once).

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu 
(Walden Pond Press, 2011)


Summary from publisher:  Once about a time, Hazel and Jack were best friend.  But that was before he stopped talking to her and disappeared into a forest with a mysterious woman made of ice.  Now it's up to Hazel to go in after him.

This book has been geting quite a bit of buzz on Twitter, and I am grateful to my friend Teri Lesesne for passing along her advance reader's copy.  While I preordered this book, I was so happy to get a little bit of a sneak peak!

Based on "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Anderson, Ursu weaves a beautiful story of the power of friendship.  Hazel is a misfit in her new school and the only friend she has is her next door neighbor Jack.  Both Jack and Hazel have troubled families, and they rely on their potent imaginations to escape their everyday lives.  Jack, though, has to balance his friendship with Hazel with his friendships with the boys in the class.  Hazel relies completely on Jack to make her feel as if she belongs.  When Jack suddenly changes one day and then disappears the next, Hazel has to venture into the woods to rescue Jack from the Snow Queen.

I loved that while Hazel was in the forest, she relied on her knowledge of how fairy tales worked to navigate her way through the woods.  She knew that where there were woods there would be woodsmen, and that sometimes woods had no rules.   The bits of other Anderson stories scattered throughout Hazel's journeys through the woods were like a treasure hunt, though I wonder how many younger readers would recognize these stories.

I can't wait to share this book with my students!

Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger

Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger (Amulet, 2011)

Summary from publisher:
Not so long ago, in a middle school not so far, far away...
Something amazing happened.  A weird kid named Dwight made an origami finger puppet of Yoda. (That wasn't the amazing thing-just typical Dwight weirdness.) The amazing thing was that Origami Yoda gave great advice.  He could predict the date of a pop quiz, tell a guy if a girl liked him or not, and keep kids from embarrassing themselves in a donzen different ways.  Most of the sixth graders were convinced he was using the force.  But now, a year later, it's a dark time at McQuarrie Middle School.  Dwight has been suspended and may be expelled, which means no more Origami Yoda. Even worse, Darth Paper, a puppet created by Dwight's nemesis, Harvey, has taken Yoda's place.  He spews insults and evil and just may be responsible for getting Dwight kicked out in the first place.  Now the kids of McQuarrie are trying to build a case to save Dwight.  This is their case file.

This is the sequel to The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda, and I might argue it is the better of the two books. I LOVED Origami Yoda, and couldn't stop talking about it to my students, and I'll be doing the same thing  with Darth Paper as soon as I'm finished writing this blog post.  Angleberger writes about middle schoolers as if he walks among them every day.  The way they talk, both to adults and to each other, rings true, and while some of the situations would not happen the way described in a real school, most of the other things that happen feel within the realm of possibility.

Both of these books are told from multiple perspectives and appeal to boys AND girls.  They are fun books to read, but also give kids something to think about in terms of who they are and who they want to become.

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg 
by Rodman Philbrick (Scholastic, 2009)

Summary from publisher:
Twelve-year-old orphan Homer runsaway from Pine Swamp, Maine, to find his older brother who has been sold into the Union Army.  With laugh-aloud humor, Homer outwits and outruns a colorful assortment of Civil War-era thieves, scallywags, and spies as he makes hi sway south, following clues that finally lead him to Gettysburg.  Even through a hail of gunfire, Homer never loses heart--but will he find his brother?  Or will it be too late?

This is another of the twenty books nominated for the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award here in Illinois.  I would have read this book even if it weren't on the list.  Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and when there's a bit of humor added in that makes it even better.

Homer reminds me of Tom Sawyer.  He uses his quick wit and slippery tongue to get him out of scrape after scrape, all the while endearing himself to the reader.  Philbrick's writing style keeps the story moving, and I did wonder at times how Homer was going to find his brother and make it back to Maine all in one piece.

Middle grade readers will enjoy Homer and his adventures and perhaps learn a bit about the Civil War in the process.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic, 2011)

Summary from publisher:
Then:  When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl.  Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from a curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.
Now:  That should have been the end of their story.  But Grace was not meant to stay human.  Now she is the wolf.  And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.
Forever:  Sam would do anything for Grace.  But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world?  The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment--a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.


As an adult, I am over vampires, werewolves, and all things paranormal, but I felt I HAD to finish reading the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.  I'm so glad I did.

When I first read Shiver, I was fascinated by the relationship between Grace and Sam.  I could not figure out how these two kids would ever have any sort of normal relationship.  Then with Linger, new twists and turns were added to the story that moved to continue to keep Grace and Sam apart.  Finally, with Forever, most of my questions have been answered, and I felt the way Stiefvater wrapped up this series was a satisfying one.

It's hard to write about this book without giving away the endings of Shiver and Linger.  That's the trouble with a trilogy, I suppose.

This series is definitely for more mature students.  There are situations that may not be appropriate for fifth or sixth graders, but seventh grade girls will find this paranormal romance to be a fun read.