Good Books For Kids

Showing posts with label Recommended book for YA. Show all posts

The Boneshaker
by Kate Milford, Andrea Offermann (Illustrator)

We've all heard about what can happen at the crossroads. It's where a person's path can change, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. And that's where the Devil stands, waiting to tempt. But it's not the devil that comes to the small turn-of-the-century town of Arcane (1913), but Doctor Jake Limberleg's "Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show".

After Limberleg's wagon looses a wheel at the crossroads, he decides to set up shop. He and his "4 Paragons of the Sciences" offer restorative cures via the sciences of phrenology, hydrotherapy, magnetism, and amber therapy. At first, the town is skeptical, but gradually they succumb to the group's soft sell, and it's then that it becomes apparent that there's a hidden cost for every asking.

Our witness to events is young 13 year-old Natalie; a girl who takes her own tom-boy path, showing more interest in machines than dresses. The 'smoke and mirrors' of Limberleg's Medicine Show offends her and she finds herself compelled to dig down and find out what's really going on.

In a way this is very much a coming-of-age story. Natalie finds that the reality of her childhood isn't the reality she is going to spend the rest of her life in. Her family isn't as strong as she thought, and her even her father isn't the invincible, all-knowing person she thought. A wonderful, layered Young Adult tale.

THE SKINNY:::

This is Kate Milford's first book and it's a doozy. Well written, it's beautifully paced. and has a nice dark edge to it. There's none of that mid-book sluggishness; and though there's a promise of further books to come, the ending is completely satisfying.

Other strengths include well drawn characters and a gentle unfolding of one mystery after another. And while the review copy I read doesn't have finalized art, it promises to be exactly right. (Yay! for the inclusion of art. I'm an adult and I love art.)

As far as age range, I'd say that this is a book for 13+. There's no bad language, sex, nor adult situations.

4 to 4.5 STARS. Younger readers will likely to find this to be entirely new and innovative. Old reading geezers like myself will find one or two familiar elements. I think of it as a homage. But all in all, very good writing, good characterization, lots that's original.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs

The Boneshaker

Accelerated Reading level : 6.0
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Clarion Books (May 24, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0547241879
Take-a-Peek
amazon

Technical Stuff
ATOS reading level 6.0
Word Count: 86,347
AR Quiz No. 137437

Praise:::
*starred review* Booklist

MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins

I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather. This is where the bed I shared with my sister, Prim, stood. Over there was the kitchen table. The bricks of the chimney, which collapsed in a charred heap, provide a point of reference for the rest of the house. How else could I orient myself in this sea of gray!

WooHoo, it's all back! The drama, the great characters, the relentless pacing and the delicious politics. It's all back with Suzanne Collin's Mockingjay -- the 3rd and finally installment in the "Hunger Games" trilogy.

And for those of you who didn't get a chance to re-read the series, don't worry, Collins does a great job in the beginning chapters of firing things up again. She ignited my own sense of loss for those who perished in the last book as well as brought up that old sense of dread -- the indecision of not knowing who to trust; who might be a traitor, or who just might collapse under the pressure.

And then there's the love interest, of course. Peeta or Gail. Gail or Peeta.

The book begins with Kat walking through the 12th, observing the damage and wondering what will happen in the future. The rebels still want her for their Mockingjay, but she's still resisting. We follow her back to the 13th where once more we are thrown into a world where we don't know where the next betrayal, the next surprise, will come from. Collin's does a great job of making all the characters human and full fleshed. It's never cut and dry. Those with weakness can still have positive merits, and the villains aren't cartoon characters you can dismiss with a wave of the hand.

At the crux of the book is Kat's dilemma with her power, and the aftermath of any action she takes. Not only are the ones she loves at risk, but mankind itself. So in this book she's perhaps more indecisive than before. Because more than any of them she understands what death means, and what war will mean. Those that like fairy-tale goody-goody endings where the heroine stands tall with a flag waving behind her at the end will probably like the book a little less than those who like more realism in their stories.

But I wasn't disappointed with "Mockingjay". If anything I thought Suzanne Collin's writing was even better. Kudo's to her. This is a well done ending to a well scripted trilogy. Prepare yourself for an emotional roller coaster. .

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs

ps-- if you care about the book, it's nicely done. The pages are off-white with smooth edges. (None of the ragged edge junk.) The cover we've all seen so I won't describe it. The book itself has a blue cloth cover with a silver bird image on it.

Mockingjay

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (August 24, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0439023513

Riding Invisible by Sandra Alonzo, Nathan Huang (illus)

Riding Invisible is one of those 'small' books that draws you in and keeps you reading until the back cover bumps your fingers.

It's told from the point of view of a 15-year old boy, Yancy Aparicio, who voices his thoughts and concerns in his journal. And he has a great deal to write about. Besides having the usual coming of age issues, he has a brother who's violent and conniving and who has basically become the focal point of the family. 'Control Will, try to train Will. And finally runaway from Will'.

Yancy's parents have tried hard to find a 'cure' for their eldest son. They've done medication and years of counseling and during all this their own happiness has faded and Yancy has basically vanished into the background. What's sad is that he finds this the only way to survive. Trying hard not to act so as to bring his brother's retribution. Matters come to a head though when his brother figures out that the best revenge can be dished out to little brother by hurting his horse.

This is the last straw, and Yancy rushes away with his horse, heading out through the suburbs and then into the desert. The two suffer some pretty scary experiences before they run across Tavo, a Mexican man with a job at a horse ranch. Between them they work out some of the mysteries of life.

THE SKINNY:::
The only thing that keeps this book from being appropriate for Middle Graders is the language. The story is solid and enjoyable, but the writing is YA from a cursing point of view. Plus, Yancy is a 15 year-old boy and his mind is frequently on girls and their anatomy.

There is some funny artwork by Nathan Huang, which exactly fits the story as Yancy is not only a writer, but also a budding artist.

The font makes the book look like a journal. At least a journal of someone with amazingly consistent handwriting.

I really enjoyed this book. It's just one of those that's well plotted and which brings contentment when you are done. Is everything okay at the end? No. But there's resolution and hope which is about all one can hope for.

If you liked "Last Summer of the Death Warriors" or "As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth", do pick up "Riding Invisible".