Res Judicata- Vicki Grant

Prepare for lots of laughs as you read this good humoured sequel to Quid Pro Quo. Although I have not read the first, it certainly didn’t distract me as this story stands on its own very nicely. Cyril’s mom is a young, slightly wacky lawyer who involves him from time to time in her legal education. Thus the title, Res Judicata, and his not surprising penchant for sticking his nose in where it maybe doesn’t belong. First, the big shocker- mom has a boyfriend! And about the time Cyril reluctantly comes to like him, he’s out of the picture. And it all has to do with his mom’s client; the very unprepossessing Chuck. Arrested for murder after presumably accidentally killing a wealthy professor, mom manages to free him. But Chuck comes up with the idea that he should take the police force to court for false arrest. And why is Biff, the old boyfriend, still skulking around? Sometimes it’s hard to differentiate between friend and foe. Lots of action and lots of laughs with quirky and interesting characters makes this a sure-fire favourite for your young adult group. I highly recommend it.

The Schooner’s Revenge- Robert Sutherland

The Schooner’s Revenge is a story for your adventure loving readers. Based on the war of 1812, it centres on fourteen-year old Ben who becomes a cabin boy on the ship Nancy. When it is destroyed by the enemy, the crew must find a way to bring provisions to the beleaguered fort. After successfully accomplishing this feat, they next decide to board and take command of the other two American ships. With great attention to historical detail, this is not only educational, but a fast and riveting read. I would recommend this for study of that particular war, as well as for those who simply enjoy a good adventure. I am reminded of Victory by Susan Cooper and of The Pole by Eric Walters.

Egghead- Caroline Pignat

Another nomination for the Snow Willow award for 2009,
Egghead is another serious look at bullying and many of its resulting injustices. What makes Egghead unique is the story being told from the viewpoint of three different characters; Will, the bullied, Devan, the reluctant side-kick to the school’s worst bully and Katie, one-time friend of Will whose position becomes somewhat untenable as they reach high school. Chapters are short and with the variety in speaker, keep one’s interest well. Immediately the reader is drawn into the fierce emotions at play in this novel. This would be a fabulous read-aloud for middle years students with the potential for great discussion. For those students who enjoyed Schooled by Gordon Korman, winner of last year’s Snow Willow award, this is a must.

Tin Angel- Shannon Cowan

Tin Angel had crossed my desk last year and for some reason, I never read it. It is one of the most unusual topics I’ve come across- that of looking at the court system for juveniles prior to the Young Offenders Act. Not that it is done in any kind of a preachy way; the facts are stated and only in the prologue does the author reveal the premise for her writing.

Ronnie lives with her parents and sister in a wonderful mountain lodge. To her, her life is perfect but financially, the lodge is in trouble. On the scene comes Louis, mom’s old friend who is willing to buy the lodge. Her dad is dead against it, but on his last trip out, he is killed and the family is left helpless. They sell the lodge and move into town where Ronnie is a total misfit, and an incredibly naive misfit at that. I really wondered at times at how she allowed life to just pull her along without any thought as to what the consequences might be. Would she really be as sheltered as this story makes her out to be? Maybe!

Anyway, as time goes on, home life becomes more and more difficult as her mother has turned to alcohol for solace and sister Marcia is spending more and more time with Louis. Ronnie meets and becomes friends with Lee, an escapee from the law. She suggests Raven’s Lodge as a hide-out for him and then discovers he is being hunted. Determined, she hikes to the lodge to warn him and encounters Louis. What happens there seems fairly straight-forward but the facts become confused in Ronnie’s mind. The only thing she knows is that she cannot admit to having been there. When she is subsequently arrested and charged for the murder of Louis, it becomes apparent that she has been interrogated without parental consent and the evidence itself is flimsy at best. I actually found this rather fascinating but it remains to be seen if our readers will feel the same. I would suggest this for at least grade 6 and up. It would be an incredible fit for teachers of social studies in regards to Canadian law.

Wolf Pack of the Winisk River- Paul Brown

Wolf Pack of the Winisk River is a most unusual book on several counts. It is written in free verse style and it is written from the viewpoint of a wolf pack. It moves along at a nice pace and integrates many facts about wolf behaviour into the narrative. Wolf is alone after the death of his mate and pups and he himself becomes the enemy of other packs. When he is able to defeat two males from such a pack, he is able to unite with the female and her two pups. We follow their journey as they follow their prey; in particular, the caribou herds. We become aware of their limited interaction with humans and all the animals that cross their paths. We become very much aware of the daily struggle they face just for survival and that it is never ending. We come to admire their courage, tenacity and patience as they eke out an existence. For those young people that enjoy animal stories, this will have some appeal. I hope they don’t set it aside after noting the free verse format, as for many that will be somewhat unfamiliar. This would be a fabulous read-aloud and might welll be integrated into an animal or environment study. I would recommend this for middle years and up.

CM Magazine has written a fine review on this. Check it our here.

In Spite of Killer Bees and A Very Fine Line- Julie Johnston

I read two books by this fine author recently and both of them are worthy of a spot on your shelf. A Very Fine Line is the story of Rosalind who lives with her mother and sisters in Ontario in the 1940’s. Through her old-maid great aunts, she discovers that she is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter and therefore endowed with the gift of second sight. She is torn between abhorrence and curiosity as to how she might use this for her benefit. Her mother wants her to have nothing to do with this superstition and Rosalind has to come to terms with how this strange revelation might fit into her life. Johnston’s writing is described as polished and this makes her novels fascinating and would be of great interest to our female readers.

In Spite of Killer Bees is an amazing story of three sisters whose father has died in prison and whose mother has deserted them. To their amazement, they find that they have inherited their estranged grandfather’s large mansion-like home and they think there will be a pot of money to go with it. To their consternation, they find that they can only keep the home if they convince their great-aunt to come and live with them there. Three very unique sisters, Johnston has developed these characters masterfully with an unusual enough plot line to make one want to keep turning the pages.

Adventure, Anyone?

Two novels I’ve read recently fall under the adventure umbrella and so I’ll briefly review them together.

Leepike Ridge by N.D.Wilson is the story of Thomas who lives with his mom on the edge of a cliff next to Leepike Ridge. When his mom has a new refrigerator delivered, he uses the packing foam as a raft and is sucked underground. There his discoveries are many- corpses, a tomb, a treasure and an old man living on crawdads whom he finds is a long-lost friend of his dad. There they together face the possibility of no return and together determine to find a way out. In the meantime, his mom is dealing with the criminals who want the treasure for themselves. Fast-paced, this will meet the need for adventure for many of our boys in particular from age 10 and up.

Although Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury starts off more slowly, it too turns into a battle for survival. Dylan’s Scout group camps on an ancient lava flow beneath a volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. At first, the focus is more on the interaction among the boys, in particular, Dylan and Louie, who appears to be out to get him. But then the unthinkable happens as they are faced with first a small tremor and then a huge earthquake. The description of how this might have felt is riveting as you begin to feel the heaving earth and the fear associated with it. Now it is up to Dylan and Louie to hike out to find help for the other wounded. Author of Under the Blood-Red Sun, this novel might take a little more perseverance for readers at the beginning but they will soon be caught up in the intense drama.

Here is a more in-depth review.

The Broken Thread- Linda Smith

Being a great fan of the Tales of Three Lands trilogy, I looked forward to reading this novel but was saddened to find that the author passed away in 2007. The Broken Thread encompasses all that good fantasy should embrace. It has excellent character development, an amazing and believable world, and a great problem to solve which demands much of the protagonist. When Alina finally is called to be a weaver on the Isle of Weaving, she knows she is fulfilling her destiny. Allowed for the first time in the weaving room, she sees a broken thread and uses a strand of her own hair to effect a repair, without any idea of the disastrous set of events it would set in motion. That simple change meant that the past would be changed and it was vital for Alina to go back to that time and set things right. When she actually came to understand what was needed in order to do that, she had to make some painful decisions. I wish so much there was a sequel to this book as Alina’s life would be so interesting to follow. The small body of work by this author deserves a place on shelves and hearts everywhere.

This has been nominated for the 2009 Snow Willow awards.

Klutzhood- Chris McMahen

Arlos is making a move and he doesn’t like it! A small town doesn’t hold a candle to Victoria, and even more horrible, all the kids can talk about is hockey. He makes excuse after excuse as to why he can’t play, but the truth is, he doesn’t even know how to skate. So desperate is he to escape his fate, he allows himself to be initiated into a gang called The Dumpster Dudes, and is commanded by their leader, X, to perform several outlandish escapades. When these are not successful, he is eventually shamed into playing a game of hockey, and lo and behold, he loves the game and isn’t even all that bad at it! Klutzhood is an apt title for an entertaining read.

There are lots of surprises in this story and lots of humour including the kind some of our boys will eat up. It was also refreshing in that the students at the new school were generally welcoming and inclusive. I know many of our authors are currently focussing on the bullying aspect of new situations so it is nice to see a book that highlights some of the good kids.

This is nominated for the Diamond Category (grades 4-6) for the Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Award.

Dear Jo- Christina Kilbourne

Although I reviewed this briefly in another post, Dear Jo has now been nominated for this year’s Snow Willow awards and I wanted to give it a little further attention. This was indeed, a powerful read, and one that will have you on the edge of your seats many times. Although abductions by unknown internet predators is not a common occurrence, it is something our children need to be much more aware of.  Too often, they think they are immune to this possibility and continue to chat on-line with unknowns, and  expect that they can maintain their safety and privacy. Maxine and her best friend, Leah, hide their own identity but are very gullible in their belief that the person they are chatting with is up-front about who he really is. Only when Leah disappears, does Maxine start to feel the impact of their actions, and in a series of heart-rending journal entries, pours out her fears, her guilt and her despair over what might have happened. If you have not yet read it, I won’t spoil it for you by giving away the ending. This is a novel that I expect will be flying off the shelf. I believe this would also be important for parents to read.