When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

2010 Newbery Winner

Summary: Miranda is an only child growing up in New York City during the 1970s.  She starts receiving mysterious messages from an unsigned author.  The messages reveal the future and tell that he or she is coming to save her friend's life.  The messages also warn Miranda to keep the information to herself.  It's a lot for a young girl to handle by herself.  Will the mysterious person save her friend's life?  Miranda discovers this and other mysteries in this science fiction novel that explores time travel.

This is a good novel.  It makes you think and entertains at the same time.  It is confusing at times, and Stead expects her readers to be able to handle a certain level of confusion while they read it.  It is a mystery after all.  Answers will be revealed, but you'll have to wait until the last quarter of the book to get them.  It reminded me of a mix between A Wrinkle in Time and The Westing Game.

My only beef with the book is that the Lord's name is taken in vain a handful of times. I don't like that anytime, but I think it is unnecessary and easily replaceable in a book aimed at a young audience.

For those of you who've read it, Rebecca Stead grew up in NYC as an only child, had a laughing man near her home, and her own mother was a contestant on $10,000 Pyramid.  : ) 


Heather

Park's Quest by Katherine Paterson

Summary: Growing up in D.C. with his mother, all Park knows about his father is that he died in the Vietnam War.  His mother refuses to disclose any information on his father.  Finally, Park takes matters into his own hands: he visits the Vietnam Memorial and convinces his mother to let him visit his father's family in southern Virginia.  He spends the rest of the book learning about his father, uncle, and grandfather at the farm in VA.

The summary sounds kind of interesting, right?  Well, this is the worst book I've read in years.  The worst book I've read since high school or junior high--and I'm 31!  While the summary says he learns about his father, uncle, and grandfather, that means he learns about 2 things about each character.  Two.  Things.  Note to author: more details, please.

Reasons: confusing, boring, lack of character development, no theme

This book is aimed for middle schoolers!  I remember substitute teaching in middle school, and this book was required reading.  Aye, yigh yigh!  This book should NOT be required reading...for anyone.  I mean if you want middle schoolers to hate reading, then assign this book.  Otherwise, find a book that has action, developed characters, and a purpose/theme.

I know it's a harsh review.  If you enjoyed the book, feel free to comment and give a more well-rounded review of the book.

Heather

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy

This is the true story of a Holocaust survivor.

From the inside jacket:
In 1939, the Germans invaded the town of Lodz, Poland, and moved the Jewish population into a small part of the city called a ghetto.  As the war progressed, 270,000 people were forced to settle in the ghetto under impossible conditions.  At the end of the war, there were about 800 survivors.  Of those who survived, only twelve were children.  This is the story of one of the twelve.

This story was amazing.  I knew it was a true story, so I knew Syvia survived, but I was amazed again and again at how she survived.  Her father played a huge part in her survival.  He impressed me with his quick thinking, firm loyalty to his family, levelheadedness, and ability to outsmart the Nazis.  He is a beautiful (real!) character, and he is reason enough to read this book. 

I won't give away who lives and who dies...you'll have to read it to find out!  Jennifer Roy's Author's Note at the end of the novel gives a detailed account of what happened to the story's main characters.  The story is especially sweet because Jennifer Roy is the niece of Syvia, so she knows many of the people she wrote about.  Jennifer Roy also includes a helpful WWII timeline at the end of the novel.

Jennifer Roy did a great job on this novel.  I am very impressed, and I am glad that she captured so well the history of her aunt and the survivors of the Lodz ghetto.  You will be amazed.

Obvious but fair warning: you will also be sad.  Middle schoolers can handle it, but they should debrief with a loving caring adult after reading it.  The Holocaust is a dark, evil spot in history, and younger readers should have someone help them understand it.  I guess it comes down to when you think your child is ready for an introduction to the Holocaust. 

P.S. As for the religious aspect, the book is obviously about Jews, but for the most part, religion is not included in Syvia's story.  The Jews pray aloud when the Germans are bombing the ghetto, and the Author's Note says that every night Syvia prays the Jewish prayer for the dead.  There are no other references to religious Jewish practices.

Syvia asks questions from a child's perspective like, "Why do they hate us because we're Jews?" and "Is my doll a Jew too?"  Her older sister tells Syvia that the Germans hate them because "they think we killed their God."  Syvia gets concerned that God is dead, and her sister calms her down by saying, "not our God, their God.  God is still alive."  That is the extent of any kind of theology in the book. Sorry, those are not direct quotes; I can't find the page in the book!

Heather

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

This is based on the true story of Helmuth Hubener, a Morman youth who lived in Hitler's Germany.  Individual freedoms have been stripped away including the option of listening to or reading anything that is not approved by the Nazis. In this way, Hitler is able to feed Germany his propaganda and squash outside ideas that would betray him.  By illegally listening to a shortwave radio, Helmuth discovers there is more going on in Europe than Hitler wants Germans to know.  He can't stay silent and decides to share the truth with others.  But it may cost him his life. 


I liked this book.  Personally, I learned more about Nazi Germany by reading this book than though my textbook in high school.  One reason I liked this book is because it showed me average Germans.  The other books I've read about World War II Germany have been about the Nazi soldiers terrorizing other countries.  (Number the Stars, Stones in Water, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society) It's so easy to categorize Germans as evil.  However this book showed me that the Nazis were terrorizing their own countrymen, and that the average German cannot be grouped with the Nazi Regime.  The Germans lived under hard conditions, heard Hitler promise jobs for all and prosperity, and believed that he was going to help their country.  Hitler got the people on his side and fed them a heavy diet of propaganda.  The Germans did not know his true motives.  For example they understood that he hated Jews, but they didn't know that he planned to exterminate them.  Also, the book showed that even when Germans discovered truth, the Gestapo would arrest and torture them to shut them up.  I already knew that Jews rejoiced when Allied forces freed them from their concentration camps, but now I understand that when Hitler fell, Germany was released from it's own prison.

This book is a great starting place for a discussion on Nazi Germany and a good companion read for your student studying WWII.  It also goes well with Stones in Water by Donna Jo Napoli.  My review of it is here.  Both of these books have deepened my knowledge of World War II.


Heather

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang is another required reading book on the IWU Adolescent Literature syllabus.  For the full list click here.  I'm trying to read them all by the end of the summer.  Only 3 more to go!

American Born Chinese is the first graphic novel I have read.  I labeled it middle readers and YA.  I'm not familiar enough with graphic novels to know who reads them or which audience they are written for.  Please comment if you know.


From the front cover:

"...three apparently unrelated tales come together with an unexpected twist, in a modern fable that is hilarious, poignant, and action-packed.  American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax--and confirms what a growing number of readers already know: Gene Yang is a major talent."

One of the tales is an adaptation of the famous Chinese tale about the Monkey King.  Yang explains the history of the tale and his reasoning for making some changes to the classic here.
Here are the highlights: 

At its heart, The Journey to the West is a Buddhist morality tale. In the original, the Monkey King raises havoc among the gods of all other traditional Chinese religions, and it is only the Buddha that is finally able to put him in his place. In American Born Chinese, I've replaced the story's Buddhist underpinnings with Christian ones, drawing from my own faith.

Christianity, you see, lies at the very center of my identity as an Asian-American.

 Hooray!  Finding out this information straight from the horse's mouth made my day!  As I was reading the book I really struggled, wondering, "Is Yang making fun of the One True God?"  I was so glad to find out he is not using the character Tze-Yo-Tzuh as a mockery of God!

I mentioned in another post that I'm not fond of immigration literature.  However, this book breaks the mold of the traditional immigration story.  Boys and girls will enjoy it due to the comic book style, humor, and fast pace of the story.  I recommend it for those who "don't like to read."
Heather

Three Cups of Tea- Young Reader's Edition by Greg Mortenson

		This young readers’ edition of the worldwide bestseller Three Cups of Tea has been specially adapted and updated by Greg Mortenson to bring his remarkable story of humanitarianism up-to-date. It includes brand-new photos, maps, and illustrations, as well as a special afterword by Greg’s twelve-year-old daughter, Amira, who has traveled with her father as an advocate for the Pennies for Peace program for children. Taken from penguin.com

I have not read the adult version, so I don't have much to compare.  However, the map, photos, and interview with Greg's daughter are great additions to the book. These will make the story easier to read for younger readers.  I chose the young reader's edition because my friend, Heather, told me a couple years ago that the adult version told a good story but was very political with a lot of Bush-hating.  Like I said, I haven't read it, so I can't vouch for that review, but I can say that the young reader's edition did not fit that bill.

This book kept the focus on what Greg Mortenson is doing in Pakistan and Afghanistan. That being building schools in poor villages to promote learning for the impoverished children, specifically the girls.  It is an inspiring story about how much difference one man can make.  It is also a great story of adventure because it chronicles Greg's real experiences such as getting lost on a mountain and escaping fighting drug lords.

It's a great story for American middle schoolers.  I hope after reading it they gain an appreciation for their American school buildings, education, and opportunities for college.  I did!

Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan

Here it is: my first book review on my book blog! How exciting! I finished Listening for Lions in two days. That is one of the highest compliments I can pay a book because I have never read a book any faster than that! Not only did I read it in two days, I was actually re-reading it. The first time I read it was a few years ago.

The book follows the life of teenager Rachel from Africa to England and back again during the early 1900s. She and her parents are missionaries in Africa until influenza strikes. Events unfold, and Rachel ends up in England, a million miles from her beloved Africa.

Gloria Whelan deserves praise for a job well done. Her book is beautifully written with symbolism and imagery. I applaud the way she was true to Rachel's first-person narrative. I felt like Rachel was telling me the story and not an adult author telling a story through a teen character.

From a spiritual perspective, it is always nice to read a book about Christianity that presents the faith positively. The missionaries are shown as selfless, non-materialistic, faithful, and devoted people.

It is a novel aimed at middle school readers, but one that adults can enjoy as well.