Alison Reads

Two stories bound together which were originally written in Britain several years apart and published separately. One story is about a girl who is very very strong and the other is about a boy who becomes invisible when he meets a young alien. The author is a Roald Dahl wannabe without any of his charm and magic. The bad guys are just bad, not deliciously bad. The good guys are ordinary good kids. Not recommended.

One day, a boy reluctantly working in his father’s bookstore sees a strange man pull out a straw and stick it between the pages of a book. He follows the man and ends up at a cemetery on the edge of town, where he talks to the man and discovers that he’s an ink-drinking vampire who became allergic to blood after 500 years. A brief little book (35 pages), this would be great fun for a Halloween read-aloud  for all ages. Translated from the French.

Thirteen-year-old Peter and his scientist parents go to Greenland to study glaciers. He stumbles upon a group of people who have lived secretly underneath the ice for 200 years. Told in alternating chapters between Peter’s life above ground and 14-year-old Thea’s life underground. Both children end up learning long-buried family secrets. Includes information about mitochondrial DNA, global warming, and dog breeding. Inventive and thought-provoking, and gives a vivid sense of what it’s like to live in such a cold environment. Highly recommended.

Those who have read Gabaldon’s Outlander series will remember Lord John Grey as a minor but important character. This is the first of a parallel series where he is the main character. It is London in 1757 and Major Grey must discreetly investigate the man who is enganged to marry his young cousin. He discovers political intrigue and secrets among the gay community. Suspenseful because Grey is gay himself, and he risks his job and his family’s honor as he proceeds with his investigations. The sounds and smells of 18th-century life are brought vividly to life. Not for the squeamish.

After 9th-grade classics prodigy Jack is struck by a car in New York, he realizes that he can see a dead girl named Euri. She leads him into the depths of Grand Central Station, where he discovers that the dead of New York reside while they still have unresolved issues. He searches for his mother, who died when he was four. Based on the Orpheus and Euridyce myth, but with a modern twist. For middle and high schoolers. (I read an advance reader copy.)

In the 1850s, two teenage sisters are separated when one stays behind on a small Scottish island with her grandmother and the rest of the family emigrates to Canada. Their alternating stories are told in narrative poems which are intricately woven together. A note at the end describes the construction of the poems; however, the construction can be ignored and the story enjoyed for its own sake. For middle and high schoolers.

Subtitled “the autobiography of a stray”, this book is told from a dog’s point of view. Squirrel describes her life, from her birth in a rotting shed to her old age. She experiences both hardships and love. The dog’s-eye perspective is interesting. It reminded me of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. A 2008 YRCA nominee for grades 4-6.

Two children are raised by their father in rural New Mexico. They never leave their yard, never see TV, and are completely isolated from the modern world. When they are in their early twenties, Jimmy rebels and leaves home. Dorothea goes in search of him a year or so later when their father falls ill, and together they try to find out the details of their mother’s death. Primarily told from Dorothea’s perspective, this book is a fascinating character study. I read it straight through in one day.

This is another book about a group of women who have nothing but knitting in common. They get together every Friday night and become close friends. Once of them gets a fatal illness and the others rally around. Competently written but nothing special.

Similar to The Omnivore’s Dilemma but predating it by 20 years, this book examines the ingredients of a simple dinner: corn, salt, butter, chicken, rice, lettuce, olive oil, lemon juice, and ice cream. The author explores the biology and social history of each food. I learned a lot about olive and lemon cultivation and harvest that I didn’t know. An interesting book.