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.

Lunch with Lenin- Deborah Ellis

I have never personally been a fan of short stories, but Lunch with Lenin kept me fascinated. With her usual profound insight and amazing depth of understanding of many cultures, Deborah Ellis has created little vignettes which portray lives affected by the drug trade. In a totally non-judgmental way, she provides glimpses of how drugs are used and abused, and yet how in many countries, they are also the only way to provide a livelihood. Taking her ideas from many different settings and parts of the world results in an overview that is at once informative and humbling. Too often we here in our western society make assumptions without really understanding the reasons behind a way of life. Ellis has provided that, and I believe this is an important read for our students and for ourselves. I highly recommend this.

Numbers- David A. Poulsen

My first experience with this author was Last Sam’s Cage which I found to be excellent. In Numbers, he has tackled a whole new theme, and one that needed to be addressed. Fifteen year-old Andy tends to be a fairly typical high school student. Although he doesn’t fit well in any of the popular groups, and feels that he doesn’t measure up at home, he does hang out with a small group of other misfits. But things improve when he find out that Mr. Retzlaff, the coolest teacher in school, will be his Social teacher. Not only does he make the class fun, but he takes a special interest in the students, which builds Andy’s self-esteem. Gradually, rumours start to surface about Mr. Retzlaff’s teachings on the holocaust. At first Andy thinks he is just teaching them to think for themselves and to question what they see and hear. This is all very admirable, but when it escalates into something more, Andy has some hard decisions to make.

I would be like to be able to house this in the YA section of the library but due to some language and some sexual overtones, I will recommend it for high school only. Please read it for yourselves. It is a powerful and well-written novel.

It seems to be generally recommended for grades 10-12.

Return to Bone Tree Hill- Kristin Butcher

Return To Bone Tree Hill is an excellent example of a fine author’s ability to create suspense. Jessica has lived in Australia for six years, but recurring dreams are haunting enough to draw her back to Victoria, where she used to live. Her dreams are terrifying to the extreme as she kills a boy in her dream. It is so vivid that she decides she has to find out the truth, even if it means she’s a murderer. So back to the scene of the crime, as it were. When she arrives, she indeed finds that Charlie, the boy in her dreams, has disappeared. She finally confides in her good friend Jilly, and together they attempt to unravel the maze of memory and fact. This novel has lots of suspense and although the character is 18, it would be most suitable for grade 7 and up.

Check out this great book trailer on You Tube.

http://www.goodreads.com/videos/show/3575-return-to-bone-tree-hill

Word Nerd- Susin Nielsen

A bullying book with a difference, Word Nerd was a fun and fascinating read. Before I continue my review, though, I have to let you know that although the character in the story is only 12, there is language in this book that, in my opinion, renders it unsuitable for an elementary school. This is a huge disappointment to me, as the story itself and the characters have much to commend them. I feel that although there are many positive reviews of this novel, not one mentions any issue with language, and I see part of my mandate is to inform librarians and other readers of potential problems.

Ambrose is one of those nerdy kids we have all met, or perhaps have been ourselves. He and his mom have moved frequently after his father’s death, so making friends has been very difficult. His mother is quite over-protective, so he invents a world for her where everything is fine. But when some so-called friends slip a peanut in his sandwich, knowing full well he has a life-threatening allergy, the truth comes out and his mother decides he will stay home and take classes by correspondence. Bored to tears, he strikes up an unlikely alliance with Cosmo, an ex-con and the son of the kind couple who rent to Ambrose and his mother. They only have one thing in common; Ambrose has learned to play Scrabble with his mom and Cosmo learned in jail. When they join a Scrabble club, it is only the gorgeous gal who leads it that keeps Cosmo coming back. All of this, however, is kept a secret from his mom for obvious reasons. But no secret can be kept forever, and Ambrose has to face the proverbial music and learn to stand up to his mom in the process. I loved Ambrose’s attitude, his unique relationship with Cosmo, and his ability to find a world where he can be accepted for who he is.

Who do I recommend this to? Well, I’m not sure. I would prefer not to put it in my YA collection for the afore-mentioned reason, but the character is a little young for high school, so you readers will have to use your discretion.

I would like to ask a favour of anyone who reads my blog. If you do read it regularly or from time to time, would you please make a brief comment? I am trying to get a feel for how many readers I have and there are some publishers who will send me books for review if I can give them some idea of my readership. So give me a moment of your time, if you will. Many thanks!!

Wanting Mor- Rukhsana Khan

Another excellent addition to our global awarenes books, Wanting Mor looks at the life of Jameela in post-Taliban Afghanistan. When her beloved mother dies, Jameela is left to the mercy of her alcoholic and drug-addicted father. He hurriedly moves them to Kabul where he fairly quickly marries. The new step-mother is reminiscent of the Cinderella story. Jameela is expected to work like a slave with no appreciation and the father conveniently stays out of the way. After Jameela seems to be establishing a friendship with the son of her new step-mother, the complaints are so vicious that Jameel’s father takes her to the market and abandons her. Befriended by a kind shop-owner, she is taken to the orpahanage where she gradually finds her place and wonder of wonders, is given the opportunity to learn to read. This had been a dream of her mother’s who couldn’t read herself as she had grown up under Taliban rule. This is a solid story of a young girl with great courage.

Pop-Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman has done it again. In an amazing career spanning decades, this well-known author of the Bruno and Boots series seems to be able to continually come up with a new, fresh and exciting ideas. Pop is ostensibly a football story, but that’s defintely not all it is. Marcus moves to a new town where he hopes to continue to pursue his dream of becoming a quarterback for the local football team. But he is met with a lot of resistance; their team had an excellent season the year before and Troy is already their football hero and they do not welome new-comers. Marcus is determined nonetheless, to try out, and when the coach sees his promise, he is allowed to join but not in the coveted quarterback position. In the meantime, he practices at the local park where he is unexpectedly joined by an older man who obviously knows his way around the game, and is a prankster to boot. Undependable and eccentric, it takes some time before Marcus acknowledges that there is something wrong and that the man’s family are hiding something. This turns into a story that is heart-wrenching to say the least, and provides an authentic look at the impact of Alzheimer’s on an individual and their family, as well as a reminder of the health risks take by our professional ball players. This is an outstanding read which I would recommend for grade 7 through high school. It will appeal to reluctant readers and both genders alike. I now begin to look forward to the next Korman book to cross my path, as all recent offerings have been very satisfying reads.

Racing for Diamonds- Anita Daher

Part of the Orca Young Readers series, Waiting for Diamonds is an excellent example of a fast-paced, adventure-filled novel for your middle years’ readers. A scant 113 pages makes this accessible to a wide variety of reading levels. Anita Daher has created a courageous and feisty heroine in the person of Jaz. Having moved recently to Destiny from Yellowknife, she quickly becomes involved with the Junior Canadian Rangers and is training for the big sled-dog meet. Unfortunately, she and Colly, her partner, are about as compatible as “potatoes with strawberry sauce.” In the middle of all this comes the news of a missing diamond polisher, who is soon accused of criminal activity. When Jaz finds out it’s her friend Gunther, she is in total denial as to the possibility of his guilt. But the race must go on, or so they hope. Partway through the race, they discover an injured Gunther, who immediately sees them as his way to escape, Jaz now has to admit that something funny is going on. In danger now from the weather and Gunther, she and Colly must cooperate if they are going to make it through at all. Nominated for this year’s Diamond Willow award, this is a thriller that is sure to please.

Wounded- Eric Walters

Wounded presents a present-day issue in a most readable format; that of the cost of war to those serving in the armed forces as well as that of their families. Marcus’s father is serving in Afghanistan and he, his sister and mother, cannot wait for him to return. The telephone ringing at an unexpected time causes trepidation; an unexpected visit to school by a superior officer causes fear. Will he be the one this time to be called out to face bad news. Emotions run high throughout this novel and when his dad finally does return, his increasingly erratic behaviour brings you to understand the almost impossibility of fitting back into “normal” life. Although there are times when the conversation between father/son seems a bit stilted, one has to admire the strength of the relationship between them. This is an important novel for our students to read as there are many days when the paper shows the latest casualty, but we have no grasp of the huge emotional impact on those most closely involved. This would pair well with Deborah Ellis’s Off to War:Voices of Soldier’s Children; true short stories on the same theme.