Bride's Farewell

Rosoff, M.  (2009). The Bride’s Farewell.  New York: Viking Books.

Pell was just a young girl of seventeen when she decided that being married to Birdie was not for her.  She didn’t want to end up like her mother, bearing children year after year, and looking worn out at a young age.  She wanted to run away by herself but her brother Bean decided he wanted to go to.  Along the way to Salisbury and after reaching their destination, Pell lost Bean, her horse, Jack and 5 pounds.   She helped a horse trader named Harris buy some horses and he promised her 5 pounds.  He left without giving it to her.  Bean jumped on Jack and followed him getting lost in the process.  The plot was kind of choppy, seesawing back and forth between the past and present, but I could follow fairly well.  It might be a little harder for teens to follow the story.  The point of view was told in third person that followed the voyage of Pell most of the time and only once in a while when it left her thoughts to follow Dogman while he taught his son how to hunt or Bean in the workhouses.  This would be a good book for teens.  They could learn about the different levels of poverty that faced the characters in the story.  I liked the way the book made me feel: sometimes sad, sometimes angry, sometimes happy but always relieved when things worked out for Pell and her family.

Goddess of the Night

Ewing, L. (2000).  Daughters of the Moon: Goddess of the Night. New York:  Hyperion Books, an imprint of Disney Book Group.

Wow, I really loved the plot line of this series and the characters are very believable.  Daughters of the Moon is set in Los Angeles in present time.  The point of view is third person omniscient.  The story is really unique in that each of the four daughters has a special power to contribute to the group.  Jimena can see what is happening in the present, Serena can see into the future and read minds, Catty can go back into the past or forward into the future and Vanessa can become invisible. They all take comfort in the presence of Maggie a sort of mother figure for the four girls.  I think the appeal to teens would be that they can pick up the story, and it’s a fascinating one, by reading another volume.  My favorite part of the book was the way Vanessa described her body molecules floating and enjoying it once she could control herself and that she found a way to control her body when she kissed Michael.    I’m a sucker for a good love story.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Rowling, J.K. (2007).  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  New York: Arthur A. Levine.

This book is a challenged book and spent many weeks on the N.Y. Times Bestseller list.

Harry Potter, "The Boy who lived", was a 7th year wizard by the writing of this book.  He had been through many things that a 18 year old should never have to deal with.  He had been through all of it because of a prophecy that linked his name to a bad wizard named Voldemort.  Instead of returning to school he decided to go out and find the horcruxes (items that held part of Voldemort's soul).  There had been seven of them, Harry had destroyed the diary in the Chamber of Secrets with a basilisk tooth and Dumbledore had found the ring of Slytherin before he died.  Another one was a locket that Harry discovered was found by Sirius' brother and until recently had been in the Black's home.  They also discovered that Mundungus had lost it to Dolores Umbridge.  They had to get it back and find the others.  There were only so many ways to destroy the horcruxes.  Dumbledore had destroyed the ring with the sword of Gryffindor.  Many things happen to the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione during their adventures looking for the horcruxes and trying to stay one step ahead of Voldemort and the Death Eaters.  Harry has destroyed the locket and found the cup and needs something to destroy the cup with and remembers the basilisk in Hogwarts.  They need a way into the castle.  They aspirate into Hogsmead where Death Eaters are waiting for anything coming in or going out.  Dumbledore's brother shows them a way into Hogwarts and they meet up with the rest of the students there. They also need to find the diadem of Ravenclaw and destroy it.  Voldemort comes and the fight is on.  The only way to stop the fighting was for Harry to go to Voldemort in the woods.  Voldemort zaps Harry with his wand and believes he is dead.  The only thing that was dead was the Horcrux that was left in Harry the night his mother died.  Now the only part of his soul that is left is in the snake, Nagini.  Harry is still alive to fight.  Neville kills Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor.  Harry kills Voldemort and the fight is over.  Nineteen years later Harry and Ginny are taking their children to meet the train to Hogwarts.  Ron and Hermione are there also.  All is well in the Wizarding World since the demise of Voldemort.

If you are going to read Harry Potter, start with the young boy of eleven and read your way through the series.  I realize it is a lot of reading but starting here is just the tip of the iceberg.  Watch Harry, Ron, and Hermione grow up under the influence of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.



I felt so happy when things went well and sad or afraid when they didn't.  I love this series (all seven of them) and especially this book.  It is always refreshing to get a series where almost all of the good guys survive to live another day.  What a good example of happy fantasy.

After Tupac and D Foster

 

Woodson, J.  (2009). After Tupac and D Foster. Grand Haven, Mi: Brilliance Audio.

This was the audio book that I chose to listen to during our YA literature class.

Tupac was a gansta'.  D Foster was a girl who lived near us for a summer.  There were three of us then.  We did everything together. Me and Neeka and D.  Tupac Shakur sang songs that D could understand.  She was more in tune with him.  Then Neeka's brother gets sent to jail on a trumped up charge. 
During that summer we all turned thirteen, and things started to change for us.  Crazy things.  D wanted us to have some of the same experiences that she did and she wanted to feel like part of a family like we did.  We were bonding and then Tupac was shot.  We were surprised when he came back stronger that before.  Then he was shot again; this time he couldn't come back.  The world was all wrong.  We were still there for each other.  Then D's momma came and took her away from us.

This was the first audio book I listened to start to finish.  I decided that I am not an aural learner.  I kept falling asleep and couldn't decide where it happened.  I had to buy the book and read along with the voice.  I loved the genuine African-American lingo that emanates from the CD's.  During this class we had to listen to at least one audio book.  I had been meaning to read this book before but never found the time.  A must read for anyone who found a friend then lost them sooner than they wanted to.  It brought back times in my life when my best friends left to live somewhere else.

Holes

 

Sachar, L. (1998). Holes. New York: Dell Yearling. 

 Newbery Award Winner.

Stanley Yelnats (that's Stanley spelled backward) is framed for a crime he didn't commit.  He is sent to a juvenile camp where he has to dig a hole five feet around and five feet deep everyday.  At the camp, Camp Green Lake, he meets a young boy named Zero.  Zero offers to help Stanley dig his holes if he teaches him to read.  A very mean warden, Ms. Walker, didn't like any of the campers.  She was constantly badgering them to report to her anything that they found while digging.  She was assisted at the camp by Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski. 

The story keeps reverting back to the past and events that may have had something to do with what was happening in the present, but you really don't know until the end of the book what it all had to do with things.  In the past, there was a teacher, Katherine Barlow, who was accused of having an affair with a black man, Sam.  The local bad boy had a crush on the teacher and was shocked that she preferred Sam to him.  After Sam was killed, Katherine turned outlaw, Kissing Kate Barlow.  

This story is a good book for young readers.  The plot is easy to follow and the wording is not confusing.  I liked the humor of the author when he named the boy, Stanley Yelnats, the last name is the first name spelled backwards.  The knowledge that we gain is that Stanley and Zero had ancestors in common and were destined to meet.

April and Emse: Tooth Fairies

Graham, Bob. (2010).  April and Esme: Tooth Fairies. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

April and Esme are  young fairies.  Their parents have been tooth fairies since they were just a little older than the two young girls.  They live in a very small house in a very large field next to a very congested highway.  The house has teeth hanging from the ceiling, all those collected by April and Esme's parents.  The action begins the day that they get their first assignment to rescue a tooth.  Their parents are worried that they have not had enough training and will be seen or caught.  They also have to cross that very busy highway to get there, but fairies fly so that shouldn't be a problem.  They also have to carry a large coin to put in place of the tooth.  They set out on their mission.
When they get there, they come across their most dangerous problem.  The tooth has been placed in a glass of water beside the boy's bed.  It is a good thing that one of the little fairies can swim.  They almost get caught in their actions by the boy, but get away unnoticed.  They make it safely back home to the joy of their parents and they lived happily ever after.

Stories like this are delightful to read to young children.  The pictures are beautiful and the tale is just right for Pre-K thru 1st grade.  After reading to the first grade students, I allowed the teacher to take it to the classroom for the students to enjoy.

Bridge to Terabithia

Paterson, K.  (1987).  Bridge to Terabithia.  New York: Harper Trophy by Harper & Row Publishers, Inc.

I have listed this book with my Challenged Book List.  (Death)

Exposition:  Jesse Aarons lives with his family of 4 sisters and his parents on a small farm outside of town with no neighbors nearby until the Burke family moves in the house down the road.  Leslie Burke is a girl and at their first meeting Jesse doesn’t seem to like her.

Conflict:  Leslie wins the race that Jesse was determined to win.  He tries to hate her but she wins him over by sheer determination. The pair is picked on by the older, bigger kids and try to stick together. After school one day, they cross a dry creek bed on a rope to investigate what was on the other side.  It becomes their new kingdom, “Terabithia” where Jesse and Leslie become the rulers.  Almost everything in the kingdom is formed in Leslie’s mind.  Every day after school they swing into their own little world where they are in charge and they can leave the outside world and all their troubles behind.

Rising Action: The story begins to build when many days of rain fills the creek to overflowing.  Leslie is not afraid to go across on the rope but Jesse is terrified.  He decides not to go one Saturday morning and when his teacher, Miss Edmonds, calls to ask if he can go to the Smithsonian Museum.  He asks his sleeping mother if he can go and she agrees.  He has a wonderful time seeing the exhibits and returns home to find that his family has been frantically searching for him all day. 

Falling Action:  Leslie went to “Terabithia” without him and fell into the creek and drowned.  He can’t comprehend that she is gone and doesn’t believe it either.  His parents go to visit the Burke family with all of their relatives there and he crumbles, yelling and screaming at them that she isn’t dead.  He feels so bad that he left her behind when he could have asked her to go along. 

Resolution: Leslie’s family decides to move away because of her death.  They do not blame Jesse for anything that happened to Leslie but Jesse feels he must apologize to them for not being there for her. They are grateful for his friendship to her because she didn’t make friends easily.  He then allows his sister, May Belle, to go to “Terabithia” with him.

Bridge to Terabithia is a John Newbery Medal winner and has also been on the most challenged book list.