May 30th 2009
Who would like this book? Anyone aged 9 and up who has an interest in a community in Canada for former slaves during the mid 1800s. It’s also a perfect book for anyone who has read and liked other books by Christopher Paul Curtis or if you like books that will make you laugh and cry.
Why? Elijah is known in Buxton as the first baby born in this Canadian settlement founded in 1849 for former slaves. (He is also locally famous for an incident involving Frederick Douglas.) Elijah narates the story with humor, honesty, and empathy. Christopher Paul Curtis uses Elijah’s dialect, making this book a great choice for a read aloud. In the first chapters, Elijah tells funny, meaningful stories about his family and the Buxton community, including their tradition of welcoming new runaway slaves to their settlement. Elijah also shares about a raucous adventure to a traveling circus with the preacher, a man of questionable character. When this preacher is too eager to help one of the Buxton neighbors to buy his family out of slavery, we have been amply forewarned to brace for the worse. Through the series of subsequent events, the horrors of slavery are made clear. Elijah’s discovery of what his parents had experienced as runaway slaves is powerful and moving. This book deserves its many awards: Newberry Honor 2008, Coretta Scott King Award 2008, and a Young Reader’s Choice Nominee for 2010 in the Junior Division.
The details: 352 p. 2007 Review by Samrarian
May 30th 2009
Who would like this book? Readers (6th graders and younger) who want a fun fantasy with magic, bad guys, and a good ending.
Why? Being a magician runs in Igraine’s family, but she want nothing more than to be a knight and do brave deeds. Her parents honor her ambition and give her a magical suit of armor for her 12th birthday. It turns out to be a timely present because her parents mistakenly turn themselves into pigs just as their neighbor’s evil nephew Osmond lays siege to their castle and demands their priceless singing spell books. It’s all adventure as Igraine sets off to free her parents from the spell and save their castle from Osmond. On the way, she befriends the Sorrowful Knight of the Mount of Tears who helps and is helped by her. Though this tale is on the simple side, Igraine is fun and engaging as she grows into her life as a knight. It’s a Young Reader’s Choice Nominee for 2010 in the Junior Division.
The details: 212 p. 2007 Review by Samrarian
May 30th 2009
Who would like this book? Mystery fans and fans of Margaret Peterson Haddix. This book was her first one to be published (1995).
Why? If you start reading this book without reading a review, you will think that Haddix started out writing historical fiction. It seems to be set in 1840 in Clifton, a small village in Indiana. Stop reading here if you want to grab the book and let it unfold without a heads-up.
Okay, here’s a bit more of the setting and plot without giving too much away: The narrator, Jessie Keyser, is 13 and as far as she knows has always lived in Clifton. She begins by describing her life in Clifton but arouses the reader’s suspicions by emphasizing lots of unexplained secrecy and concern among the adults. When her friends begin to get desperately ill, her mother gives her some unsettling news: the year is not 1840; it is 1996, Clifton is a tourist site, and her friends have diptheria. The men who run Clifton have withdrawn modern medical care, so Jessies’s mother must get help. Because the jeans and t-shirt she had kept when she moved to Clifton fit Jessie, she sends Jessie on a secret mission to get medicine. Jessie must break out of the well-fortified Clifton and find her way through the mysterious world of 1996.The suspence is gripping as Jessie faces one obstacle after another, and her descriptions of the modern world are entertaining and enlightening. It made me look at my modern environment with fresh eyes. This book shows that Haddix “had it” as an engaging mystery writer right from the start.
The details: 184 p. 1995 Review by Samrarian
May 26th 2009
Review by Margo
Schuyler Van Alen (Sky) never could seem to fit in the High Fashion and dirty rich world at her prestigious New York City private school, Duchesne. While her classmates wear designer clothes and drive sleek black town cars, Schuyler wears baggy vintage clothes. But after her fifteenth birthday, things start to change. Jack Force, the richest and most popular guy in school, starts to show an interest in her and Mimi Force hates her more than ever.
With the arival of a invitation to join the committee, Schuyler discovers who she realy is — a Blue Bood, an ancient group of vampires who play an important part of American history. But with the death of a popular student, (who is a blue blood) Jack and Schuyler discover that something is now preying on them.
The details: 302 p. 2006 Submitted by Margo
May 26th 2009
Review by Peter
Who would like this book? People who like lots of action and Greek mythology.
Why? This book has lots of action and there was not a dull moment. Percy now finds himself on a quest to get the Golden Fleece so he can save Camp Half Blood from being overrun by monsters and save his friend from being killed by a monster.
The details: 279 p. 2006 Submitted by Peter
May 26th 2009
Review by Peter
Who would like this book? Boys and Girls who like stories about Greek gods and lots of action.
Why? The Greek gods are real. Percy is half mortal and half immortal. He is the son of Poseidon, the Greek god of water. Percy must get Zeus’s lightning bolt to stop the gods from fighting So he goes across the U.S. and into the Underworld to find the lightning bolt and stop the gods from fighting.
The details: 375 p. 2005 Submitted by Peter
May 25th 2009
Review by Monica
Who would like this book? Someone who likes science fiction, video games, and stories with very action oriented plots.
Why? Aliens invaded Russia. No one knew, and everyone figured it was political problems. That is, until aliens attacked England and conquered Europe. Now the aliens are in the United States. The aliens are called Chimera, and with them they’ve brought a virus, turning humans into Chimera. Nathan Hale, who is immune to the virus, is a veteran of the war and fought in England. He has an important mission, and he has to retrieve Chimera technology from a wrecked Chimera ship to make better weapons. Along with him is a scientist, which he must make sure lives.
Along with the war, a conspiracy rages with the politicians, and that’s the choice whether or not to give the rest of the world up to the aliens, and let the United States be untouched.
Will this bad idea come into plan? Will the Chimera take over earth? And will Hale and the scientist survive their mission? Read “Resistance” to find out.
The details: 352 p. 2009 Submitted by Monica
Not yet available in the CY Library
May 20th 2009
Review by Kenzie
Who would like this book?
Anybody who likes the other two books in the series– Peaches and The Secrets of Peaches.
Why? In the 243-page novel Love and Peaches, Murphy, Leeda and Birdie feel all grown up. They’ve started on their separate ways. Murphy and Leeda have both attended colleges in New York for a year now, while Birdie has attended a college in Mexico with her boyfriend for a year as well. But it’s time to leave their new lives and meet once again at the orchard. All three of the girls thought they had let go of that last summer where they got to spend at the orchard together. But it looks like they haven’t learned everything they need to about life from it yet. In the final book of the Peaches series, Birdie, Leeda and Murphy all learn who they really are, and how to move along from their past while discovering that they can hold onto it in their futures.
The details: 243 p. 2008 Submitted by Kenzie
May 20th 2009
Review by Natalie
Who would like this book? I like this book because it is very suspenseful!
Why? Lina and Doon are the main characters of this book. The have very adventuresome personalities. When they get into trouble with the mayor of Ember, they find a way out!
The details: 270 p. 2003 Review by Natalie
May 20th 2009
Review by Kerri
Who would like this book? Students who would like this book and series are people who have a good imagination and creativity
Why? This book has many villains and fairy creatures with imagination. This book is about the Grace kids. Their mother lost her job and they move in their aunt’s house which has many creatures in it that are invisible. They never knew until Jarod, one of the Grace children, found a book in a secret room that was upstairs, and the book had WARNING on the cover ” DO NOT OPEN OR YOU WILL BE IN DEEP TROUBLE,” and he opened it! …………………
The details: 107 p. 2003 Submitted by Kerri