Book Review: Yaqui Delgado by Meg Medina

The actual, complete title for this great read is Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your A**, and since it's about bullying, the objectionable language is used for a reason.  The story shows, quite realistically to me, how a young woman, Piddy (Piedad) Sanchez--academically gifted, with great family and friend support--can get caught in a spiral of fear that almost destroys her life.    Transferring from her old high school to a new one in Queens without her best friend, she has trouble finding her place in this new, rougher neighborhood.  For reasons that are never really clear (and not the impetus for the bullying anyway), Yaqui spreads the word that Piddy better watch out.  As in most bullying situations, the imbalance of power causes the once-confident Piddy to doubt herself, to mistrust the adults around her, and to isolate herself from friends.  As she tries to deal with the looming threat of a beating, she begins a romantic relationship with a messed up childhood friend from her old neighborhood and starts to learn the truth about her long absent father.

Book Review: "Darius and Twig" by Walter Dean Myers

I'm always happy to read a new Walter Dean Myers book. The author has yet to disappoint me. His latest novel, "Darius and Twig" is stylistically familiar-- real, heartfelt and gritty, a bit less grit than usual. Also familiar is the thought I get when I read a Myers' story, the thought that reading this story could be so helpful and clarifying to some reader. I want to keep a spare copy in my purse or trunk so that I can whip it out when necessary and announce "Hello!! Please read this before you....

Book Review: The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos

Harbinger: somebody or something that announces something: somebody or something that foreshadows or anticipates a future event

Meet Harbinger Jones (aka Harry), a new hero of mine. Harry has a LOT to work out: bullies, lightening,
pain, a punk rock band, disfigurement, girls, the future. In Scar Boys, a story in the guise of a
college admission letter, we hear about his short but trauma-filled life and how he deals. Well, at
first he does not deal...

Even though he has a LOT of therapy, Harry can’t get past his appearance.
Even after he befriends Johnny and the pair successfully starts a punk rock band, he is still hung up on his
appearance and how it limits his life. Of course, Harry needs to discover that the real limiter is himself.
Another horrifying tragedy looms. Will Harry open his eyes?

The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos is a great story about friendship, the power of music, and finding your way.

Book Review: "Counting Backwards" by Laura Lascarson

Taylor lives a troubled life with her mother.  She runs away and steals a car.  Her father convinces authorities to put her in a "therapeutic boarding school", Sunny Meadows.

Already stressed Taylor sees the fence and guards as they arrive.  She suddenly realizes Sunny Meadows is a maximum-security facility.  Angry with her father for sending her to this place she immediately feels trapped.  His last words to her are"Your anger is bigger than you ".  He leaves and at once she can barely breathe.

Her only thought is to run, to escape Sunny Meadows.  Run is a common theme for this story.    Running is how Taylor deals with her feelings and problems.  She makes plans.  In the meantime, she deals with bullies and quirky friends.

Eventually, she realizes the only way out is to pretend and go along with the game.  Then she will run. 

"Counting Backwards" portrays one girl's journey through a psychiatric correctional facility revealing her emotions and reactions to her fellow inmates and those who are there to help her. 

Magic Cardboard!

In Doug NenNapel's newest graphic novel Cardboard, Cam's broke dad gives him a cardboad box for his birthday, which would be awful except it turns out to be, well, magic cardboard.  Now, everything they make out of cardboard comes to life!  And then the neighborhood bully steals the cardboard and makes monsters.  Lots and lots of monsters.  Which of course leads to an epic showdown between good and evil.  Or something like that. 

I've long been a fan of Doug TenNapel's wacky brand of comics, which feature an off-beat sense of humor, odd characters, hijinks, ethical quandaries, and the occasional "Ewww!" moment.  Cardboard did not disappoint.  Some of the creations in the book were pretty awesome, so the next time I get a cardboard box, I'm going to make a few mini-monsters of my own.  And then be very, very glad when they don't come to life. 

~Book Ninja

Three quarters dead, 100 percent CREEPY

It's almost Halloween so that means I get to talk about a pretty chilling ghost story I just read called Three Quarters Dead.  Although the author Richard Peck writes about all kinds of things, his other supernatural stories--Ghosts I Have Been, Are You in the House Alone? and The Ghost Belonged to Me--are also fast and frightening reads.  Despite having a Gossip Girl cover, it is so much more than a novel about popularity, peer pressure, and the desire to be part of a powerful clique, although these issues set up the supernatural part beautifully! 

Ender's Game: Earth is Losing...

After decades of battle against insect-like aliens, we still haven't found a general who can defeat them.We're running out of soldiers, we're running out of spaceships, and we're running out of hope. But maybe, with the right training, one special boy can be molded into a hero.

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, tells the story of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, who's only six when he's recruited to Battle School to learn strategies to defeat the aliens. I'm excited to see the movie adaptation next year, but you should definitely read it first, so why not now, before the hype starts and you hear spoilers?

Middle School Mayhem

I read so many books that sometimes it's really hard to think about what to write about for this blog; other times, the universe just seems to pull out a topic and advertise it in neon lights. With arrows. And a fog horn. I was talking with a middle school teacher the other day and she was saying how there are so few good books for middle school students. My library is also currently working on a program called Middle School Mayhem. So obviously my post needs to be some of my TOP middle school reads. Without further ado, my fave middle school reads:

The misery of bullies.

We've all known bullies and felt the pain of their attacks. But, have we ever considered the pain in their lives? Butterball is thirteen, overweight and feels so ostracized in school that he eats his lunch of vending machine cheese crackers in the bathroom stall. How did things get so bad? Why did he hit his former friend Maurice on the playground with a sock full of batteries? Playground: The Mostly True Story of a Former Bully by 50 Cent is inspired by the hip hop star's own adolescence. You'll find yourself groaning at Butterball's bad choices, laughing at his acerbic comments and cheering him on as he begins to believe in himself. Read this book to see the humanity behind a bully and feel hope for all kids in trouble.