Alison Reads

This book attempts to describe what goes on in the brain while music is being performed or listened to. Examples are given from classical and pop repertoire so that the reader will be familiar with at least some of the examples. Two memorable quotes from the book: “The research on the development of the first MRI scanners was performed by the British company EMI, financed in large part from their profits on Beatles records.” “Ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert — in anything.” Witty and understandable by a non-scientist. Recommended.

It’s time to vote for the 2007 Young Reader’s Choice Award. My picks are:

For grades 4-6, usually the slimmest book wins. If that holds true, then HEARTBEAT will win. My favorite is PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS, which is a rollicking good adventure tale with strong male and female characters.

For grades 7-9, the field is very strong and it’s hard to choose just one book. My favorites are THE TEACHER’S FUNERAL and KIRA-KIRA, two very different books.

For grades 10-12, I most enjoyed A HAT FULL OF SKY, a witty and funny Terry Pratchett fantasy, but MY SISTER’S KEEPER has more depth and will stay with me far longer.

Twelve-year-old Lily discovers that her dad’s boss, Larry, is a human-whale hybrid bent on taking over the world using robotic whales with laser eyes which walk on hydraulic stilts. It’s up to Lily and her friends Jasper and Katie to stop them. A spoof of books such as Goosebumps and turn-of-the-century boy wonder books, this one is too silly to be entirely successful. A 2008 YRCA nominee for grades 4-6.

The latest Richard Jury mystery. Jury and his friend Melrose Plant investigate the murder of a wealthy young man at a hotel. He had been living in Henry James’ house and there’s a lot about James in this book. The mystery was OK — not her best effort — but for maximum enjoyment it’s necessary to have read (and remembered) the previous books in the series. For adult readers.

Seventeen-year-old Zoe finally gives up caring for her alcoholic mother and moves into a rented room across town. She is constantly short of money and fighting with her controlling disfunctional family members. This book left a bad taste in my mouth. It’s full of four-letter words and sleazy sex. I found this book profoundly depressing, although I suspect it is meant to be uplifting. But then, I haven’t ever known anybody with a life like Zoe’s–thank goodness. For high school readers; not appropriate for middle school.

Wow! Action, adventure, shipwreck, exploration, extreme suffering and rescue–and it’s all true. In 1914, Perce Blackborow stowed away about the Endurance to be part of Ernest Shackleton’s polar expedition. As most of us know, the ship was caught in pack ice and crushed. The crew had to abandon ship and set out with sleds and lifeboats to find rescue. Amazingly, they were all rescued, but not until nearly two years later. This is a fictionalized account of how the crew managed to survive in the bitter cold and dark of the Antarctic. The book focuses primarily on the three youngest members of the expedition, Perce and his buddies Billy and Tim. There is a map and a timeline which I found useful. Inspiring and easy to read (the prevalence of short sentences bothered me a bit), it is sure to capture the reader’s interest. A YRCA 2008 nominee for grades 10-12, this would also be of interest to middle schoolers if they don’t mind reading about toes being amputated and dogs being shot.

New York high school student Mitty Blake has to write a paper about an infectious disease and he has to use four books as sources, so he opens an old medical book he finds at his house and discovers an envelope containing scabs from the Boston smallpox epidemic of 1902. He crumbles one and inhales it, and later as he does more research he discovers the danger he and everyone around him is in. He doesn’t know if he’s going to get smallpox or not, so he waits out the 14 day-incubation period with mounting terror. This is a thriller full of information about infectious diseases (and the importance of vaccination). The high school students are true-to-life and there’s a fair amount of humor to lighten the story. Of greatest interest to high school students, middle schoolers should like it too. A YRCA 2008 nominee for grades 7-9.

In 1917, 16-year-old Hattie inherits her uncle’s land claim in eastern Montana. She moves there and lives alone in a shack working to prove up her claim by planting 40 acres of flax and wheat and fencing in her 320 acres of land. She writes letters to a boy friend who is fighting in France, and get to know her neighbors. She encounters prejudice against anyone with German blood, as well as the flu epidemic of 1918. Based on the author’s great-grandmother’s experiences, this is a good book about self-reliance, friendship, and heartache. A 2007 Newbery honor book. For grades 6 and up.

This is the third book in a series about Alice, who lives in a small town in the interior of British Columbia. In this book, Alice is 16 and it is the summer before her senior year of high school. Her hippy mother has to spend the summer in jail because of an environmental protest, her boyfriend has just left to spend a year in Scotland, and now Alice and her father have to try to find jobs. Alice tries a series of part-time jobs but would rather be working on her screenplay. I found Alice annoying and totally self-absorbed, but the book did a good job of portraying a 16-year-old’s world. Includes talk of losing one’s virginity, condoms, drinking, and gay couples both male and female. A 2008 YRCA nominee for grades 7-9.

Somewhere in Italy, sometime in the past, a scarecrow is hit by a bolt of lightning and comes to life. A boy named Jack becomes his servant and together they go in search of fame and fortune and the scarecrow’s home, Spring Valley. They battle brigands, get shipwrecked on a desert island, and the scarecrow falls in love. A 2008 YRCA nominee for grades 4-6. Suitable for third graders also, this book would make a great class read-aloud.