Fish in a Tree

I ,and my students, have loved this book " Fish in a Tree" about "that kid" who is covering up her weakness by acting out and being distracting so her teachers don't actually realize that Ally can't read. She is afraid to ask for help. She thinks there is something wrong with her but she is smart enough to fool everyone. Almost everyone. Her new teacher sees the bright young girl she is and is her equal in finding ways to make her see herself in a whole new light.

Echo

Imaginative and touching this book "Echo" by Pam Munoz Ryan relates the heart rendering stories of 3 children; the first, a young boy who tries to save his father during the Second World War in Germany, the second, an older boy who must look after his younger brother at any cost and the third, a young girl who faces the task of helping her family while overcoming challenges as a Latino migrant worker in California.

What connects these 3 is their intense love of music and the appearance in their lives of a special and almost magical harmonica that gives each strength and courage to tackle their trials.  Each story steals your heart and you ache for the characters not knowing what their ending might be.

Friends for Life

A very long time in writing but many, many books read.

I have just finished this one "Friends for Life" by Andrew Norriss, who has been one of my favourite go-to authors for light and humourous reads. Loved "Control-Z", loved "The Unluckiest Boy in the World". Sarah, at Vancouver Kidsbooks, put this one in my hands and said it was not like his others and a warning that it had mature content. I was intrigued and read it right away.
To say it is mature is right. It deals with students who do not fit in, who feel different and who sometimes feel like there is no future for them.
This journey begins with Francis who is such a student. With a passion for sewing doll's clothes and fashion he is indeed marginalized. As he sits on a bench outside of his school, alone and isolated, a girl wanders right up to sit beside him. This is the beginning of a very different friendship, for you see this girl is a ghost. Jessica has been wandering for a year and is amazed that Frances can actually see her. Frances is taken with her gentleness and support. The two form a very special bond. To this mix add 2 other characters who also do not fit in the standard mold, who are also outsiders but who also can see Jessica; Andi who has violent tendencies and who has been expelled from her previous school and Roland who uses food as his crutch and is overweight. Their connection is strong and gives them a new found confidence in themselves and their dark thoughts and fears slowly evaporate. Until it is discovered that Jessica has killed herself. Why is she still here wandering? Why is it she is drawn back to the hospital? Is it because there is someone else who needs her?
I love this book for the way it deals with the intense feelings of being alone and left out. Everyone needs to feel accepted. People say and do things with little understanding of the impact they are having. People need to have more empathy and to think before they speak.

I think that this book could initiate limitless conversations about all of these topics for older readers. 

Cinder

Cinder.... does this sound at all familiar? Yes.. Cinderella. This is a Cinderella story......but hold onto your hats. This story by Marissa Meyer is the most imaginative Cinderella story I have read!

This is a futuristic Cinderella where Cinder is a cyborg, part human, part machine. Of course there is a wonderful, handsome and kind prince who needs Cinder's expertise in fixing things like his robot,  and an evil stepmother and stepsisters....but there is also Queen Levana who lives on the moon colony of Luna  and who is determined to marry the Prince so she can become the next Empress. She will stop at nothing in order to achieve this, even to the point where she has orchestrated a plague that is killing millions of people and only she has the cure.


The first sequel of many is Scarlett, another very wonderfully creative retelling, followed by Cress next spring and then Winter, but not till 2015.

Read these!

The Royal Ranger

I know I am a fantasy fan. And I know I am a huge fan of "The Ranger's Apprentice" series by John Flanagan. But I did wonder if perhaps the series had run its course with the newest and 12th book
 "The Royal Ranger".

Well....not.

These books have just gotten better over time. They still have the ability to keep you riveted and anxiously turning its pages deep into the night to see what would happen to our illustrious main characters. It is going to be so hard to say goodbye to Will and Halt as this is their final book.

 However, this book has set up a whole new series and a new main character. Her, yes her,
 name is Maddie. Princess Maddie to be exact, the daughter of Cassandra and Horace. When we first meet her, Maddie is spoiled and selfish and very headstrong, thinking only of herself as many young teens do. The answer is to send her to Will to be trained as a Ranger's Apprentice, the first female apprentice, where she will learn discipline and skills befitting a Crown Princess and a Ranger.

Will, however, is needing Maddie as much as she is needing him. He is lost after the devastating death of his wife Alyss. He refuses assignments and plots revenge on the man who was responsible.

The majority of this book shows the growth of Maddie as she learns from Will just like he learned from Halt. They have a special bond and their love and respect for each other grows over the next few months.

When an assignment comes Will accepts as he knows this is an important step in Maddie's training. However the assignment turns out to be much more than Will expects and puts Maddie in danger.

After Ever After

I finished "After Ever After" by Jordan Sonnenblick late this morning with tears rolling down my face. Such an emotional ride..... for a book that made me laugh throughout!

It was not the subject that was funny....after all there is nothing funny about a young Eighth grade boy who is a cancer survivor. But it was the way Jeffrey thinks and talks and tries to deal with his feelings about his family, especially his adored older brother who has abandoned him for the wilds of Africa, his best friend Tad, another "cancer kid", and this new girl Lyndsay, who unbelievably seems to like him handicaps, both physical (a limp) and mental (thinking and memory deficits) and all!

It seems like Jeffrey's school district has decided to fail any student who does not pass State wide exams. This is a huge problem for Jeff who has serious attention and memory problems because of the chemo he has taken. Tad has decided it is up to him to tutor Jeffrey so he will pass, a seemingly impossible feat, but in return Jeff is going to help Tad gain the strength to walk again at their graduation after being in a wheel chair for years. Whew .... Are we having fun yet?

Through this all are two kids trying to have a normal life but always with the threat of "what if".

I think this is a new favourite of mine

The Runaway King

"I had arrived early for my own assassination" begins the sequel to one of my favourite books "The False Prince" by Jennifer A. Nielsen. What a wonderful first sentence!

  "The Runaway King" begins with the above quote that demonstrates the daily challenges for Jaron  now that he is king; assassination attempts, bickering advisors, threats of war......This might be overwhelming for any other 14 year old king but Jaron  has already had to deal with the death of his family and outsmarting an evil courtier so he does what he has to do - he runs.

Only when Jaron runs he is not running away but running to....more danger. He tracks down the very threat to his kingdom and his life. Once again Jaron is playing a part that is half lie and half truth and the two are always intermingled.

"Above all else I think you are a compulsive liar.
My laughter was tense, but sincere. Hardly. In fact, I consider myself to be a compulsive truth teller. It's only that everyone else seems compelled to misunderstand me."

An exciting, wonderfully written story and an entertaining yet caring character of the highest moral integrity combine to make this a new favourite. Like The False Prince I will read this again and again.