The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle

by Jeannette Walls

Scribner, NY 2005 

I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster. (p. 3)

In this memoir, Walls tells of her turbulent childhood (which included sustaining 3^rd degree burns as she prepared a dinner of hot dogs for herself at the age of 3) with a matter-of-fact style that carries the reader safely through her dangerous childhood. Scenes from this book replay in my mind, like Walls' ejection from the family car, and her haunting description of the family home on Battle Mountain. Though there was no question of who was to blame for her crazy upbringing, I enjoyed the author's ability to share her family's troubled past without pointing fingers. Walls' simply tells it like it was, allowing readers to absorb the craziness that was her childhood.

Bottom Line:

An inspiring story of willpower.  If Jeannette Walls can achieve success and leave a past this troubled behind, I can surely get through my daily to do list without complaining.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Scholastic Press, NY 2008

The seas have risen and North America is divided into 12 Districts ruled by the all-powerful Capitol. The poor Districts provide goods to the wealthy Capitol and once a year, as a reminder of the failed uprising of now-extinct District 13, the Capitol holds the Hunger Games. Two teens, a boy and a girl, from each district are chosen for the nationally televised reality show in which the contestants, or Tributes, fight to the death. The last Tribute left standing receives a lifetime supply of food and shelter for themselves and their families. District 12's Tribute, Katniss Everdeen is a born survivor. The sole provider for her family, she cannot lose the Games. Peeta Mellark, her fellow Tribute from District 13, throws a kink into her plans. 

The first in a trilogy, this book is simply fantastic. Suzanne Collins' imagined future is, in a word, bleak. I was rooting for Katniss from the start, but the real question is: Team Peeta or Team Gale? (Team Peeta!!)

Bottom Line:

Read it - not because the movie is coming out in March 2012- but because the story is a truly exciting, nerve-racking, inspiring, sad, imaginative ride.

Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan

by Scott Westerfeld

Simon Pulse, NY 2009

This Steampunk tale opens at the start of World War II. With the help of only a few trusted advisers and a Cyclop Stormwalker, Alek attempts to evade his parent's assassins.  Meanwhile, Deryn, a young lady disguised as a young man, determined to view the world harnessed to a Huxley (a sort of floating jellyfish) enrolls in the British Air Service. A spectacular accident brings these two opposites together (Alek's a Clanker who believes in the old fashioned competency of steam powered war machines. While Deryn sides with the Darwinists, those quirky scientists who've managed to create fabricated beasts like huge hydrogen breathing air beasts) and thus we have the start of the Leviathan series.

I am a crazed Scott Westerfeld fan. Uglies, Pretties, and Specials? Brilliant, fantastic, and bizarre. So Yesterday? So perfect. And don't even get me started on Peeps. Leviathan did not disappoint, and the illustrations are fantastic.

Bottom Line:

We cannot keep this book (or its sequel, Behemoth) on the FHS Library shelves. The second a student returns it, it is checked back out by another student. And that, my fellow bookworms, is every library book's dream.

Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers

Zeitoun

by Dave Eggers

Vintage Books, NY 2009

Zeitoun sent his family out of New Orleans in preparation for the hurricane named Katrina. All he really expected were some downed trees and a bit of aggravation, so he stayed behind to watch after the house and check on his family's rental properties.  In the days following the infamous storm, he ends up paddling through the city in a canoe helping his neighbors and feeding the neighborhood dogs. Then things take a turn for the worse that you both do and don’t expect and we’re given a first hand account of the madness and chaos that followed hurricane Katrina.

At the end of Zeitoun's stranger than fiction account, I was left with one question: How could this happen here?

Bottom Line:
The author weaves Zeitoun's family history into the tale, personalizing the Katrina tragedy and making it more than the hard to fathom images on the television screen.

The Body of Christopher Creed, by Carol Plum Ucci

The Body of Christopher Creed
by Carol Plum-Ucci

Harcourt, NY 2000

… a town has to feel genuinely sorry for how they mistreated the weird guy who’s gone. To feel genuinely sorry, you have to be honest. And Steepleton needs its lies like a toad needs bugs. (p.10)

No one knows what happened to Christopher Creed, the bullied boy known as the class freak. He simply vanished, leaving only a cryptic farewell note to the school principal. Torey Adams, one of Creed’s tormentors is determined to discover the truth, but in doing so, he implicates himself in the the boy's disappearance. I dug the mystery's supernatural elements and the author's realistic portrayal of both the bully and the bullied, and the ending left me relieved, sad, and satisfied.

Bottom Line:

Thought-provoking in a, Would I have befriended Chris Creed? and Do I gossip too much? way; a keeps-you-guessing mystery.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

The Maze Runner

by James Dashner

Delacorte Books for Young Readers, NY 2009

This is the story of a group of amnesiac teenage boys living in a self-sustaining compound surrounded by very high walls with gates that close every night to protect them from the surrounding monster-filled maze. Basically, the boys have no memory of their lives prior to their arrival in the compound, and they can't figure out how to get themselves out of this pickle even though every day several of the detainees attempt to solve the maze. Enter Thomas. This Glader suspects he holds the key to everyone's escape, but is he just leading them from bad to worse? That's what Gally thinks, and he isn't shy about expressing his feelings.

This is the first book in The Maze Runner Trilogy, and I was all "Wait, what? Oh, now I get it!" throughout the story until I got to the end and realized I actually had no idea what was going on - so I went out and got book 2, The Scorch Trials, immediately and I still don't quite know how the story will end. Now I am impatiently waiting for the third and final book to come out.

Bottom Line:

I loves me a good dystopian novel and this one has all the right stuff.

The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCoughren

The White Darkness

by Geraldine McCaughren

Have you heard of the Hollow Earth Theory? Though contradicted by pesky evidence, some conspiracy theorists today believe that, not only is the earth hollow, but a race of subterranean people populate this underworld. Unfortunately for Sym, her Uncle Victor is an enthusiastic believer of this rather terrifying concept. He is certain there is an entrance to this underground world in Antarctica, so guess where they’re going on vacation? Catastrophic events leave Sym fighting for survival, but luckily she has her friend and first love, Titus Oates, to boost her morale. Who's Titus, you ask? He's an explorer who's been dead for about 90 years. 

I can't stop telling people that they have to read this book. So now I am telling you. Read this book - it is so bizarre and fantastic and bleak - you'll love it!

Bottom Line:

Sym's tale proves that denial is quite a convincing frenemy; I now have NO desire to visit Antarctica.

Early Autumn, by Robert B. Parker

Early Autumn

by Robert Parker

Random House, NY 1981

Classic. Detective. Novel.
No one is a cool as Boston Private Investigator Spencer. He runs at least 5 miles a day, quotes Shakespeare and Frost, boxes, has a whit sharp as an heiress's stiletto, and he could charm a raccoon out of the garbage. When a pretty blond asks Spenser to help her get her son back from her ex-husband, Spenser collects the 15-year-old kid with no problem. But when he realizes that Paul's parents are only using him as a pawn, Spenser does his own kidnapping.

I admit that I am totally biased - I LOVE detective stories. Reading a good mystery feels like sipping hot coffee on the back porch under chilly gray autumn skies. So, needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Spenser's so clever that I actually stopped to reread a few sentences just so I could take a moment to enjoy his crackerjack whit.

Bottom Line:

Love detective stories? Don't miss this one. Never tried the genre? This is an excellent start.

What I Saw and How I Lied, by Judy Blundell

What I Saw and How I Lied
by Judy Blundell
Scholastic Press, New York 2008

It’s just a matter of what you're willing to do. (p. 252)

World War II is over, Evie’s stepfather is back home, and her mother is still the prettiest woman in the room. Everything is back to normal. But a family vacation to Palm Beach unearths secrets that force Evie to question the people she’s trusted the most.

War, money, lies, love, hate, heat, growing up, losing faith - Reading this book felt like riding a roller coaster. Tick… tick… tick… to the tippity-top, the anticipation was killing me, and I knew that everything had to come crashing down sometime... and it certainly did.

Botton Line:
First love, first betrayal, set some time aside b/c you won't be able to put this one down.

Bronx Masquerade, by Nikki Grimes

Bronx Masquerade

by Nikki Grimes

Penguin Group, NY 2002

When Mr. Ward asks Wesley “Bad Boy” Boone to share his poem about Langston Hughes with his class he finds that other students are interested in sharing poetry too. What starts out as a few minutes one Friday a month becomes a weekly poetry reading that other students sneak in to hear. Each chapter provides a different student’s point of view, followed by one of their poems. The poems, rather than demonstrating the classmates differences, highlight their similarities, dreams for the future, and desire to fit in with one another. 

The brief one- to three-page chapters followed by each character's poems move the reader quickly through the story while Tyrone’s commentary ties the differing viewpoints together. Each student has their own set of issues and the open mike poetry reading experience gives them the confidence to work through the problems with the help of their classmates.  I was impressed with the way the author was able to craft poetry that reflected each of the teen’s unique situations and personalities while demonstrating their similarities.

Bottom Line:
Fast read, Great poetry; Anyone interested in an open mike in the library?