Summer of Fire- Karen Bass

Like Run Like Jager, also by this author, Summer of Fire is another excellent blend of historical and realistic fiction. Del is sent to live with her sister Cassandra and husband in Germany for the summer, due to her  behaviour at home. When she arrives, very much against her wishes, she is met by an uptight, controlling woman whom she barely knows. Del’s reaction to any conflict is a to run, and each time she does this, the response of her sister is almost unbearable. The only saving grace is the neighbour, a professor who befriends Del in small ways and asks her to read a diary of one of her German ancestors, who lived during the second World War. Interspersed throughout Del’s story are Garda’s diary entries, pregnant through a rape by an acquaintance. Garda’s mother is a brutal woman who condemns her own daughter and thinks only of her own reputation. Her father is a meek and ineffective man who allows his wife to send Garda away for the baby to be born and then adopted. Garda’s willingness to face the realities of disappointment with her family  and courage in spite of her circumstances begin to make an impact on Del. It is interesting to follow her gradual change of thinking as she realizes that she is not the only one with huge problems. There is some mild language and some sexual innuendoes but nothing of a graphic nature. I would recommend this for your young adult readers right through high school. The protagonist is 16 years old.

Alex and the Ironic Gentleman- Adrienne Kress

Combine a feisty character with fantasy and high adventure and you have Alex and the Ironic Gentleman. Alex lives with her uncle and is dreading the beginning of Year Six in school. Enter Mr. Underwood, new teacher, who makes the start of the year much more exciting. Fast forward the friendship between Alex’s uncle and Mr. Underwood, the death of her uncle and kidnapping of Mr. Underwood by pirates, and you have the beginning of an adventure extraordinaire. Alex decides she will be the one to pursue the kidnappers while being  pursued herself by the wicked Daughters of the Founding Fathers’ Preservation Society. Eventually, after many hair-raising escapades and meetings with outrageous characters, she finds the pirate ship, The Ironic Gentleman, where Mr. Underwood is held captive. There Alex discovers that he has basically given up on escape, and it is up to her to find out how to save the day. This reminds me of one of my favourite series which includes Captain Jenny and the Sea of Wonders by Duncan Thornton. It has the same sense of rollicking adventure, humour, and a strong female character. This would be suitable for readers from grade 5 and up. Luckily, this appears to be the first of a series, so we can look forward to further adventure and fun.

What Happened to Cass McBride- Gail Giles

This is a mature novel with some language and violence, so I would recommend it for high school. Some of the reviews suggest age 12 and up. If you choose to house it in an elementary library, I would suggest you read it first.

What Happened to Cass McBride is a harrowing and riveting tale of vengeance told with a variety of voices, which seems to be a growing trend. Change of font helps the reader in separating the voices. Cass is popular and knows how to get exactly what she wants. When one of the school dweebs, David, asks her out, she can hardly believe his temerity, but responds with relative gentleness. She then proceeds to write a note for her best friend, but it falls into David’s hands instead. David subsequently hangs himself in the front yard of his home. Kyle, older brother and David’s protector, responds by drugging and kidnapping Cass and burying her alive in a wooden box. He then proceeds to torment her, but is eventually drawn into conversation with her, as Cass is a master manipulator. She comes to understand the extent of what she has done as Kyle draws her into David’s world of stark physical and emotional abuse by his mother.

The other world is found in the confines of the box Cass finds herself in, and you find yourself gasping for breath along with her, you feel the thickness of her tongue as thirst takes over, and you hear the rasp of her voice as she continues to engage in dialgue with Kyle, grimly aware that he holds the key to her survival. But does she survive? You will be kept guessing until the very end.

Fast-paced and gritty, this is a novel that would engross any reader. I know that I found it difficult to put down.

Dreamfire- Nicole Luiken

Dreamfire is another novel which is part of the growing trend towards novels which have a supernatural bent. Brianne, the protagonist in this story, dreams the future, and the future is always dark. Having recently moved with her family in order to escape the troubles associated with her dreams,  Brianne is hopeful that she may have left the dreams behind as well. But this is not the case, and when her waking dream of a giant spider happens during a school lab, she realizes that her struggle is not yet over. Two other important characters take part in this story; Ben who seems to have a past of his own and tries to be understanding, and his counterpart, Rex, who appears to be bent on bullying and humiliating her. Her beloved Aunt Elise has recently died, and it becomes increasingly clear that this death was not innocent. When Rex reveals to Brianne the existence of the wulfdraigles, she begins to realize that it will take all of her courage and strength to find a way to prevent a disaster from decimating her family and community.

Although this story had a fine build-up and a satisfying conclusion, I did not find it as memorable as Haunted by Barbara Haworth-Attard, reviewed here. I do believe though, that it would find many readers among your students and would be appropriate for grade seven through high school.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie- Alan Bradley

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is one delightful read! But once again, I am slightly confused as to who the audience for this book might be. Reasource Links suggests it is an adult book suitable for high school students. It was sent to our Snow Willows committee by the publisher to review for the grade 7-9  awards. The protagonist is an eleven-year old budding chemist, sleuth and all-around enchanting character. Although I might not have picked this up because of that, I truly enjoyed this and would be most willing to read others with this heroine. It reminds me somewhat of Hotel Paradise by Martha Grimes (not one of her fabulous Richard Jury novels), which also sports an adolescent main character.

Flavia finds herself caught up in a most astounding mystery. A dead bird on the doorstep and a dead body in the cucumber patch. A father who is inexplicably afraid, several indifferent sisters and an enterprising inspector combine to make this an unforgettable read. Richness of language and a beautiful flowing plot captivate the reader.

So my recommendation is; adult readers, give it a try. High school readers looking for something a little more challenging but a whole lot of fun, give it a try! I don’t think any of you will be disappointed.

The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins

I took a brief hiatus from my reading for the selection committee for next year’s Snow Willow awards to read The Hunger Games, the first in a trilogy.This occurred partly because of the fabulous reviews this novel generated and partly because it arrived as a mature read with my Scholastic Book Fair, and I wanted to see if it was appropriate for an elementary library.

This is probably one of the most riveting, gripping science fiction novels I have ever read, and I absolutely look forward to reading the next one. In a post North American society, the Capitol maintains control over its populace by choosing two young people each year from the 12 districts to participate in the Hunger Games. This consists of an ornate preparation time and culminates in the young contestants being thrust into a hostile environment, where only one is meant to survive. Katniss and Peeta, both from District 12, are forced to become enemies and yet it becomes clear that Peeta has feelings for Katniss. If it comes down to it, one of them must kill the other. Twists and turns make this an exciting reead and one where you can hardly bear to stop reading. Catching Fire is the sequel. I have it- I can’t wait to read it!

I recommend this highly for all high schools and I believes this is also suitable for your stronger grade 7&8 readers. Adults, worthwhile for you as well.

Not Suitable For Family Viewing- Vicki Grant

Not Suitable For Family Viewing is Robin’s story. With a distant, TV star mother, she feels that her life really doesn’t have much meaning. An accidental discovery of an old high school football ring and a school photo gives Robin the impetus to try to discover just who her mother is and what secrets she might be keeping. Her search leads her to a small fishing village in Nova Scotia where she is taken in by Kay, the owner of the local hostel. And she meets Levi, the local hot guy. But Robin’s own self-image is such that she is unable to believe that he could have any interest in her, contrary to the mounting evidence. As she pursues her investigation of her mom’s past, she becomes embroiled in another mystery and finds her life being threatened.

I particularly like the twists and turns in this story and the ability of this author to keep you on the edge of your seat and make you want to just read a little more. With an unexpected ending, this story is a fine coming-of-age story, a reminder of where secrets may lead and an inspiration to look at yourself as others might see you. I would recommend this for your YA section of your library right through high school.

Haunted- Barbara Haworth-Attard

I have long loved the offerings of this talented author, but in Haunted, she has reached another dimension, in more ways than one. Dee, short for Defiant, lives with her eccentric grandmother, ostensibly having been abandoned by her mother after her birth. If that isn’t enough to cope with, her grandmother is the local midwife with some ability to forsee events surrounding births and rather cold to Dee. Dee herself has the “sight”, the uncanny ability to see spirits. Often, all they need from Dee is assurance that they can rest in peace. But sometimes the spirits are malevolent and when the body of a friend of Dee’s is discovered, she herself becomes drawn into the horror of her death and she is even suspected of some involvement. When the local mentally challenged boy is arrested, Dee knows it just can’t be right, but the only way to truly find out what is happening is to venture back up the mountain, where the girls’ bodies have been discovered. I compare this to The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong and although they have some similar themes, there is no comparison as to how they are handled. Haunted is an exploration of prejudices, of relationships and of ultimate redemption. I recommend this highly for the YA section of your elementary library through high school.

Mackenzie, Lost and Found- Deborah Kerbel

Another look at the Middle East conflict, Mackenzie, Lost and Found is the story of a 15 year-old who recently lost her mother. Her eccentric professor father thinks the best thing for them would be a change, and he re-locates them to Jerusalem for a year. Mackenzie is predictably furious and determines to leave after three months. But the interim brings a cute boy, and a good friend, both of whom contribute to a desire to stay. When the relationship begins to develop between Mackenzie and Nasir, she is appalled to find that it must be kept a secret, especially from Nasir’s parents. The other plot line centers around the illegal disposition of found artifacts, with which Nasir and his family become involved. Mackenzie is inadvertently drawn into this drama and eventually into very real danger. I did not feel the characters elicited a great deal of empathy. There seemed to be an attempt to cover too much history with perhaps an expectation that readers would already understand the background. Surprisingly, lots of our students don’t even know there is a conflict going on. As a somewhat superficial, light read, this would still be a good addition to your library and may serve to pique further interest in readers.

I am reminded of One More River by Lynne Read Banks, which dealt with the same type of issues in a more substantial form. They might be read together and comparisons drawn.

Gravity Brings Me Down- Natalie Ghent

I have a habit of primarily reviewing only the books I love, which is not always a good idea, as I know some of you use my reviews for ordering purposes, and I should probaby let you know about some of the books I didn’t love. That being said, there is nothing essentially wrong with this book, and there may be students who would enjoy it. There is some mild language and mature content, but I think this might still be suitable for  grade 7 through high school.

Although this wasn’t a bad read, I just didn’t feel the plot in Gravity Brings Me Down was developed well enough. Sioux is a character somewhat like Spinelli’s Stargirl, although not as likely to elicit our empathy. In the midst of the normal teen family realationships, crushes on boyfriends, boredom at school, crazy teachers and the desire to be unique, yet fit in, enter “Miss Marple”, a somewhat forgetful, eccentric old lady. She believes that Sioux is her youngest daughter, and although Sioux is a little weirded out, she also begins to develop some sympathy for her. This leads her to visit “Miss Marple” and pretend to actually be the long-lost daughter. I liked the relationship, but it seems to be abruptly abandoned at the end of the story. Having taken Mabel (aka Miss Marple) on a shopping spree after her admission to a long-term care facility, the family’s lawyer forbids Sioux to have any more contact with her. She accepts this with relative ease and somehow, puts all the pieces of her life together. Would kids like it? I’m not sure.  I much preferred Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen by Glen Huser  which had a similar theme.