Milkweed

Milkweed
Jerry Spinelli
KNOPF, BORZOI BOOKS

Misha is a runaway Gypsy/Jew in Warsaw, Poland, who finds himself right in the middle of WWII and the extermination of the Jews. Misha gets taken in by a Jew, who has uncharacteristically red hair, named Uri. Uri protects Misha as best he can, until Misha gets taken to the Warsaw ghetto where the Jews in the city were forced to live until their deportation to internment camps. The innocence and curiosity of the little boy become more defined as he strives to keep himself, and his new found friends, alive.

WARNING: As any book about the Holocaust, it is not for the faint of heart.

Personal opinion:

Despite the sadness and desperation of this story in the history of the extermination of the Jews, I really liked this book. I thought Spinelli did an amazing job of portraying what would really be going through a young person's mind during all the chaos at the time. He also throws in main characters that are hard to like, but so realistic that you understand and like them anyway. The story was told from a perspective that I have never read before and showed me that people who weren't necessarily tortured or forced to live in internment camps still came out of the experience changed and broken.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Gary D. Schimdt

Clarion Books

In the early 1900s on Malaga Island, off the coast of a small town in Maine, Lizzie Bright Griffin and her community of unwanted Negroes have built a life for themselves. Turner Buckminster, recently moved to Phippsburg and being the new Reverand's son, finds himself to be watched and judged like a hawk by the locals. He soon finds a friend in Lizzie but much to the dismay of the townspeople. It is high on their political agenda to drive the people from Malaga Island to allow for tourism to become the next business venture. Turner suddenly finds himself thrown in the midst of a political battle where he is forced to choose what he believes to be right and must stand for it; however, the cost may be higher then he is willing to pay.

WARNING: Not applicable for this book.

Personal Opinion:

I think this is a great book for telling it how it really is. The story of Malaga Island and the people of Phippsburg driving the inhabitants away is true. However, like most stories involving personal gain at the cost of others, the book is sad. But it says it how it is. I have mixed feelings about it. I liked that it wasn't fluff, but I just can't say that I absolutely loved it because I just don't absolutely love books that are pretty sad. It was written well and if you aren't bothered by unfortunate and unfair circumstances, I would recommend this book.

Uglies

Uglies

Scott Westerfeld

SIMON PULSE

In Tally's world, turning sixteen means turning pretty and Tally can't wait. All of her friends have already turned pretty and she is left in Uglyville all by herself for a few more months. Then she meets Shay and her world begins to change. Shay makes Tally question rather or not she really wants to become a pretty, or if maybe it's better to stay ugly your whole life. After some manipulation and a few too many promises, Tally is forced to go on an adventure that will totally change her outlook on being ugly.

WARNING: Not applicable for this book.

Personal opinion:

I really liked this book. There were some spots were the story was a little slow, but for the most part, I couldn't put it down. It's captivating and really makes you think about your own life and self-image. The only thing wrong with this book is that it leaves you hanging at the end. It's the kind of book where you have to read the whole series to be completely satisfied. But it would be worth your time.

After The First Death

After The First Death

Robert Cormier
Dell Laurel-Leaf, a branch of Random House

In an attempt to end a war in their homeland, four terrorists devise a plot to expose a secret US agency. Stuck in the midst of this plan is a school bus full of young children on their way to summer camp, a fill-in teenage bus driver, and the son of a general who gets more then he bargained for. Most of the story takes place on the hijacked school bus on an old railroad bridge with little snippets into the life of the general's son after his experience on the bridge. Compelling up until the last pages, it's hard to put the book down.

WARNING: There is a lot of killing that, to me, seemed really harsh. A few swear words were also thrown in.

Personal opinion:

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was absolutely superbly written, and a further study brought a lot of enlightenment, but there was so much killing that really seemed pointless to me. I had a hard time justifying how many people died. I suppose I can say that I loved the writing style, but I didn't like the story line.

The First Part Last

The First Part Last
Angela Johnson
SIMON PULSE

Bobby is a typical sixteen year old, minus the fact that he's a father. He still wants to do all the things a sixteen year old does. But just because he is a father, doesn't mean he knows how to be one. The First Part Last goes through Bobby's struggles with his newborn daughter, Feather, and with everything that comes with being a new teenage father. Written beautifully and realistically, this book gives amazing insight into what it must be like to struggle through teen parenthood.

WARNING: There are a few swear words, the f-word once, but it wasn't mindless swearing. It served a purpose in a way. There is also a scene with a girl's shirt off but it isn't very detailed and is very brief.

Personal opinion:

I loved this book. It was so beautifully written and not sugar-coated at all. The struggles Bobby had were so realistic I could see anyone having them. I'm obviously not a parent, but I could feel that strong, indescribable love for a child that all parents profess to have. Absolutely amazing book.

Split Image

Split Image

Mel Glenn

HarperCollins

Laura Li is a new student, recently moved from China. Her mother is controlling, her father is always traveling, and her older brother depends on her to take care of him. At school she is popular, beautiful, and envied. But she lives two different lives. Told completely in poems, this book tells the story of a girl struggling to find a place for herself to be an individual in a very crowded world.

WARNING: There are a few swear words and inuendos.

Personal opinion:

I really liked the fact that the book was told in poems, it really added a lot I thought. The story was written brilliantly and really took into account the emotions of the main characters. It dealt really well with the issues of identity and acceptance. I loved the writing, but didn't love the story so much.

Bound

Bound

Donna Jo Napoli

Simon & Schuster Inc.

Set during Ming China, Bound is a sort of Cinderella story. Young Xing Xing is left to her unloving stepmother and half sister after her father dies. She is forced to be a servant girl in the house, but does all that she is told and more. She is an obedient girl for most of the book. Fillinf the story with many Chinese traditions makes this retelling of the Cinderelly story a whole new story in itself.

WARNING: Mostly there are just gruesome Chinese traditions and beliefs that aren't for the faint of heart.

Personal opinion:

I really enjoyed this different view of a classic story. There were are lot of Chinese traditions told that made it really interesting to me and introduced me alot into the older culture of the Chinese. Xing Xing is such an established character by the end of the book. It was so rewarding to watch her grow into the woman she deserved to be.

Defining Dulcie

Defining Dulcie

Paul Acampora

The Penguin Group

After Dulcie's dad dies in an unfortunate accident, her mother decides to whisk them away from Connecticut to California in a hope to start a new life. Before even settling in, Dulcie decides to steal her father's old Chevy pick-up truck and drive all the way back to her home town in Connecticut with her loving grandpa. Dulcie spends the summer in Connecticut filling out her punishment as a janitor at the high school. Memories from her road trip back home mingled with new found friendships and other's hardships, Dulcie begins redefining herself in a much-needed healing process.

WARNING: There are a few swear words and some scenes with domestic violence, but mostly it's pretty decent.

Personal opinion:

I really enjoyed Defining Dulcie. I thought this book was really well written and addressed the issue of death without all the common doom and gloom usually associated with such a topic. The book makes it alright to move on with your life when such an unfortunate occurrence happens and I really liked that. At the same time, I thought that Acampora did a good job of showing the grief that the family went through after losing a father and a husband, it was very realistic. You wouldn't expect it to be, but it was also humorous at times.

The Green Glass Sea

The Green Glass Sea

Ellen Klages

Scholastic Inc.

Set during World War II and "the Manhattan Project," The Green Glass Sea is about two young girls, very different in personality but very similar in circumstance. Dewey is a young girl with only a father as family who has been so busy with building the nuclear bomb that she hasn't lived with him for the past 3 or 4 years. They're finally able to live together on the military base in New Mexico when Dewey begins to get used to life there. Unfortunately, her father gets called to Washington and she is forced to live with another military family with a selfish, bossy daughter named Suze. The book tells the story of life on that military base, with all the secrets, as well as the life and relationship between different but smart Dewey and bossy, people-pleaser Suze.

WARNING: Contains 3 or 4 swear words. It was a little too sad for me; it didn't resolve itself enough in my opinion.

Personal opinion:

I really liked this book. It was super informative about family life during WWII. I didn't think there was enough emotion at the right parts, however. When I finished the book, I felt like I missed something. A big issue hadn't quite been resolved enough for my liking so I was a little depressed. Also, I thought it was unnecessarily sad, mostly because I felt like the saddest part didn't contribute much to the overall meaning of the story.

An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines

John Green

Penguin Group

Recently graduated smart kid Colin Singleton has a little bit of a problem. He was just dumped by his 19th Katherine in a row, leaving him completely heart broken. When Colin was a child, he had potential to be a child prodigy, and was excited to be such. However, as he grew older, the chances of him becoming this grew pretty slim. At the time of his graduation, he is depressed because Katherine XIX has just dumped him, and he has no major accomplishments to date. His good, and only, friend Hassan convinces Colin to take a road trip with him in order to forget his problems and get over Katherine XIX. Their planned road trip stops short in a little town in Tennessee where Colin begins his Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability in an attempt to make something big of himself. His experiences in Gutshot, Tennessee prove to be both new and life-changing.

WARNING: Swearing abounds in this book. There's also a little scene in a graveyard involving two unclothed members of the opposite sex.

Personal opinion:

Honestly, I didn't love this book. I liked it, but didn't love it. The swearing was pretty distracting. Also, the occurrences seemed too fantastic for a real life, recently graduated student to experience. Not everyone is a boy genius, so it's hard to relate that way as well. It was funny, however, and had good points about maturing and growing into your own person instead of what you're "supposed" to be.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Jeff Kinney

Amulet Books

This is a graphic (picture) book about a boy, Greg Heffley, facing the challenges of middle school. It hilariously goes through the challenges of a middle school boy: namely girls and social status. As his year goes on, Greg is faced with challenge after challenge that test his morals and show his faults, which he is usually unaware of or unable to admit. Kinney does a great job using middle school boy dialect and attitudes, making the reader feel like they are in the mind of Greg Heffley, a middle school boy.

WARNING: Not applicable for this book.

Personal opinion:

This was a really fun, easy read. I thought the dialogue was nailed precisely and sounded just like a middle school boy. I also really enjoyed the truthfulness of the challenges Greg had. He wasn't concerned about anyone but himself: classic middle school boy, at least in my experience. Great book for anyone, especially junior high students.