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Student Reviews:

Black & White by Paul Volponi

This book is about two high school seniors who played basketball together.  They pretty much did everything together.  One of the boys was black and the other was white.  That's how they got the nick-names Black and White.  They black boy, Marcus, lived in the projects and the white boy, Eddie, lived outside the projects.  Neither of the boys was very wealthy, so they needed a way to earn some money for their senior dues.  They decided to earn money by robbing people at gun point.  See what happens when one of the boys shoots a local bus driver.

Brittany K.    Class of 2009

Shooter by Walter Dean Myers

There is a book called Shooter by Walter Dean Myers that every teenager should read.  Some of the reasons why we as teens liked this book are because it was about a young boy who goes through high school trying to find where he fits in.  Also, it relates to us in a way because in times of trouble friends will always be there even if it's the wrong thing to do.  We hope that you pick up the book Shooter at your nearest library and read this great book.

Ariel A. and Sarah L.    Class of 2010

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

This book is about Assef who lives in Afghanistan with his father and what struggles they go through. The two of them move to America and Assef’s father dies and he is left behind on his own and has to go through alone. Assef moves back to Afghanistan and his friend Hassan goes through so much because he is married and his wife is pregnant. Before then the two of them where friends and they both went through struggles from older kids and had to stand up for themselves. Even though they where friends the two really didn’t stand up for each other but when Assef came back they both stayed with each other and helped each other out again.

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Mrs. Schwander's Book Reviews

26a.  Evans, Diana. 

Sisterhood, Pop-Mythology

26a is the location of the cozy loft shared by twins, Bessie and Georgia, in a middle-class neighborhood in England.  Evans tells a magical, mystical story of their very special bond that begins even before they are born as “two furry creatures” whose “paws pressed sweet berries in the long grass and” and “sniffed each other’s scent to stay together.”  Daughters of an interracial couple, the girls’ bond is so tight that they often seem as one.  But after a long visit to their mother’s homeland in Nigeria, Georgia has a life-changing experience which she hides from her sister and their relationship forever changes as Georgia slowly slips into a state of insanity.  This is a first novel for Evans and her writing is so beautiful and lyrical that it has earned her the Orange Award for New Writers.   26a is also chosen by Booklist’s Books for Youth’s editors as one the best teenager reads of 2005.   

 

The Bob Dylan Scrapbook : 1956-1966.  Santelli, Robert. 

Rock and Roll, Biography.   

Bob Dylan fans will love this book!  It contains reproduced hand-written notes of Dylan’s lyrics, programs from his shows, photographs and inside information about his early career.  The scrapbook, a companion piece to Martin Scorsese's PBS documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, also includes a CD consisting of clips from that documentary as well as from Dylan’s first radio interview. 

 

The Girls.  Lansens, Lori. 

Fiction, Conjoined twins        

This is truly a fascinating novel about twin girls who are conjoined at the head and live well into adulthood.  We mostly hear about their life story from Rose, the twin who loves to read and write.  But as the story continues and Rose becomes ill, Ruby speaks to us more frequently and we learn about their experiences and relationships from a whole different perspective.  The author does such a brilliant job of detailing the girls’ daily lives and delving into their relationships that it is hard to believe that this is a novel rather than a memoir. A beautiful story, beautifully written!

 

John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth: A Photographic Biography.  Partridge, Elizabeth.

Biography, Rock and Roll.   

“All I am saying is peace…give it a chance.”  So begins Partridge’s recount of Lennon’s utterance to reporters before that phrase was turned into one of the best-known songs today.  Well-chosen photographs and various primary sources help to make this biography an intriguing account of the legend musician, John Lennon.

 

The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring.  Croke, Vicki Constantine. 

Animal Science, China.                                                                                                       

This is the remarkable story of the first giant panda to be brought to the United States from the Tibet wilderness in the 1930’s. What makes this story so extraordinary is the fact that the panda hunter was none other than a young woman who was a dress designer and New York socialite.  When her newlywed husband died during an excursion in China, Ruth Harkness was determined to pick up where her husband left off and trekked off to the China wilderness in search of a baby panda.  This thoroughly researched story is complimented with photographs of Harkness and her travels. 

 

Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog. Grogan, John. 

Memoir, Dogs, Humor.                                                                                                                     

 If you’re not a dog-lover you’ll like this book: if you are a dog lover, you’ll love this book!  Grogan describes in hilarious, clever and touching words the life of Marley and his meaningful influence on his master and master’s family.  There are laugh-out-loud moments, such as Marley dragging away the wrought-iron table which he’s tied to as his family tries to enjoy dinner at that same table at a café restaurant.  And there are tender moments as Marley stoically protects and stands by his family through miscarriages, crimes, and lightening strikes.  Very endearing and very touching.

 

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter.  Edwards, Kim.

Fiction, Family Relationships

Right from the start readers are faced with quite a controversial scenario:  During the 60’s, Dr. David Henry makes a startling decision to secretly give his newborn daughter away because she is afflicted with Down Syndrome.  He deceives his wife, Nora (who has also given birth to a healthy, twin boy) by telling her that their baby daughter did not survive the birth.  Through a 25-year period, we learn of the drastic affect this decision has on David as he deals with his deceitful secret.   Nora and her son, Paul, also struggle with the loss and absence of their daughter/sister.  In addition to the Henry family, we alternately hear from Caroline – the nurse who decides to keep their daughter, Phoebe, and raise her as her own. 

With well-developed characters and intense scenes, this is a good book selection for some meaningful discussion.

New Moon.  Meyer, Stephenie

Fantasy, Suspense, Romance   

Readers who enjoyed Meyer’s last novel, Twilight, will be very anxious to get their hands on this sequel of a vampire-love story. Realizing that Bella’s blood is a bit too tempting to him after she get accidentally cuts herself, Edward and his family decide to leave town soon after the novel begins. Some readers may miss the charisma of Edward’s character almost as much as Bella does; he is absent for a good part of the story.  But the action and adventure are still present as Bella becomes involved with Jacob, a young man who is involved with a pack of werewolves.   This novel will be much more appealing to readers who have first read Twilight.

 

Night Fisher.  Johnson, R. Kikuo. 

Graphic Novel.          

This first graphic novel for Johnson is dynamic and compelling.  Teenager Loren Foster has lived in Maui for five years, but never has quite adjusted from his family’s move from Boston.  The author’s honest writing and bold drawings result in a forceful depiction of the tension Loren feels as he becomes involved in drugs and robbery alongside his one good friend. 

 

Singer of Souls.  Stemple, Adam. 

Fantasy.         

Doug has been nicknamed “Doc” by his fellow junkies in Minneapolis because of his uncanny knack of speaking in rhyme much like Dr. Seuss.  He escapes the world of junkies and comes clean by moving to Edinburgh, Scotland to live with his grandmother. After meeting an alluring and mystical young woman, he learns that his skill at rhyme along with his beautiful guitar playing can prove to be life-saving in the world of powerful and menacing fairies.  This is a first novel for Stemple, the son of Jane Yolen. 

 

A Spot of Bother.  Haddon, Mark.

Family Relationships. 

The planning of a wedding sets the stage for this wonderfully funny and touching story of a quirky English family.  George and Jean are less than thrilled that their daughter, Katie, is engaged to Ray, whom they deem “inappropriate” as a mate for Katie.  Katie can’t decide whether she truly loves Ray or whether she is simply using him as a provider and good father for her son.  George is slowly going mad because he is certain that his eczema is misdiagnosed and that it is actually cancer spreading throughout his body.  Jean is dismayed that George, now retired, remains at home thus making it quite a challenge for Jean to continue her affair with David.  And finally we have their son, Jamie, who is having relationship problems with his lover, Tony.  This comical farce will have most readers laughing out loud throughout. 

 

The Summer We Got Saved.  Devoto, Pat Cunningham.

Civil Rights Movement, Racism

It is through various characters’ experiences, each connected in their own way, that the author allows us to relive the turmoil of the civil rights movement in Alabama and Tennessee during the 1960’s.  We witness how one summer can change the lives of many effected by racism and the civil rights movement, from young to old and from black to white.  Readers who persevere during the somewhat slow beginning will be wonderfully rewarded by the poignant, meaningful ending.  Civil Rights Movement, Racism.      

                   

Things Left Unsaid: A Novel in Poems.  Hemphill, Stephanie. 

 Friendship, High-school, Noel-in-Verse.                                                               

In poignant verse, Hemphill takes us on a journey through Sarah Lewis’ turbulent junior year of high school which starts with her feeling tired of being who she is: “I’m tired of contorting myself to fit the pattern of straight and narrow, perfect little Sarah.”  And so slowly Sarah finds herself being drawn in by a new friend, Robin, who’s black, gothic clothes are a perfect fit to her dark and depressed personality.  Sarah’s friends and parents start to worry about her as her grades fall, her behavior worsens and her attitude is despondent and negative.  Many high school girls will respond to Sarah’s struggle to find herself and her need to find her own voice, much like the ventriloquist’s doll she refers herself to.  “ …I often choose to be the plastic doll on bended knee, throwing other people’s words out of my mouth.  Why do I surrender my voice like that?”      

    

Twilight.  Meyer, Stephenie. 

Fantasy, Suspense, Romance.

High school girls, especially, will respond to this intensely seductive love story between a seventeen-year-old girl and a mysterious, disarmingly handsome classmate.  Bella Swan is instantly intrigued by Edward Cullen when she moves from her mother’s home in Phoenix to her father’s home in Forks, Washington.   Edward initially appears to detest Bella as he spears her with his scornful eyes and cowers away from her in disgust when she is near him.  But slowly Bella comes to realize that his reaction is a meager attempt to suppress his lustful, earthly desires for her. Edward, we learn, is a vampire who falls deeply in love with Bella, as Bella does for him.  Their secret relationship becomes complicated and dangerous as Edward is determined to protect Bella from the perilous life of vampires. 

 

Twins.  Dermansky, Marcy. 

Family Relationships, Twins

In this author’s quirky, fable-like first-novel, twin teenagers speak in alternating chapters of their survival among a dysfunctional, distant family. As one twin worships her sister and obsesses in their life-long bond, the other yearns for independency and individuality.  This coming-of age novel contains some sensitive adolescent issues including lesbianism and bulimia.         

 

Water for Elephants. Gruen, Sara. 

Great Depression. Circus.

At the start of the Great Depression, Jacob Jankowski’s dreams of becoming a veterinarian are shattered when his parents are suddenly killed in an automobile accident.  With no money to his name, Jacob is forced to drop-out of Cornell and soon after finds himself aboard the Benzini Brothers Circus train.  And there begins his relationship with the intriguing people and endearing animals which frame the enchanted world of the circus.   Readers will be touched by the innocence and intelligence of the circus animals and by the strength and veracity of Jacob.  While mostly told in the voice of young Jacob, we intermittingly hear from ninety-one-year-old Jacob as he attempts to remember and relive his fascinating days of the circus.

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