When Esther diappears in her small Hungarian village, the Jewish community is accuse of “blood libel.” Her best friend Julie, suspects that Esther, greatly abused and unhappy in her domestic situation, has taken her own life. But the horror takes on a life of its own, and the authorities are determined to find a scapegoat. To that end, they force a young Jewish boy, Morris, to confess to having seen the Jews perform this ritualistic murder in the synagogue. The trial begins, and at first it appears that the authorities may hold sway, but the enterprising lawyer for the defense begins to pick out inconsistencies in the testimony, and indeed, outright impossibilities.

This is a heart-rending story; one that will have you grappling with a world that could, and still does, allow such atrocities. When will we ever learn?

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.

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 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

Yes!! A new, excellent Canadian fantasy series. This first novel in the series, The Prince of Neither Here Nor There will take its place with the best of fantasy anywhere. Brendan is the typical high school misfit, with all the awkwardness and pimples of many adolescents. He is fortunate to have a few good friends, including Kim who seems to hang out with them even though she’s one of the cool ones. When some unusual episodes convince him he is not just geeky, but is also losing his mind, Brenden knows he needs to find out more about himself. Kim, and an odd substitute teacher, seem to be keeping an eye on him, which makes no sense. Eventually, he finds out that he is actually a faerie, who has been left in the human world for reasons he doesn’t understand. So the adventure begins! As per usual, there are those Faeries who want to turn him to their own vile purpose and those who want him to realize his full potential. Lots of action, chases, escapes, and original characters have you cheering for Bendan as he has to find for himself where he truly belongs. This will be great for your Grade 7 readers right through high school

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!!

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.

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.

In your search for excellent science fiction, look no further than Mac’s The Gryphon Project. With the underlying”what if” question possibly looming just around the corner, this is the story of a society who are able to assign groups of people a set number of lives. The top group gets 3 recons, or chances at life. The middle group receives 2, while the lowly group only get 1 extra chance. Gryphon and his sister Phoenix, belong to the elite group, but Phoenix has already been “reconned” twice which only leaves her with one more death. This, plus Gryphon’s fame as an athete and popularity, drives a wedge between the siblings. There is lots of action in this story and some romance as well. In fact, Phee’s best friend, Nadia, is very much in love with Saul, one of Gryphon’s best friends and part of his group of followers. The action really heats up when Gryphon accidentally falls in front of a train and loses one of his lives. Or is it an accident? The governing body which oversees the recon system, deems the accident to have been a suicide, and that there will be no recon, meaning Gryphon is truly dead. In spite of their recent estrangement, Phee determines to find the answers for herself. But Gryphon’s buddies seem to have taken a vow of silence and Phee takes on more and more dangerous activities as she pursues the mystery behind her brother’s death.

This was one of the most compelling novels I have read in a long time, but I must add some reservations. There is a certain amount of language in this novel, which may make it unsuitable for your Young Adult collection in elementary school. But even if that would pass, there is ONE, and one only, strong sexual connotation that makes it inappropriate. Oh, Carrie Mac, so little to change and we could offer this to so many more readers! As it is, I would recommend this for high school only.

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.