Quotable, inspiring

I almost gave up on Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan.  It starts with a jolt, then backtracks, and I almost couldn't continue.  I was prepared for depressing, quirky, schlock.  I am so glad I hung in just a little longer.  It was moving, quirky, and engaging.  At the same time, it really made me think.  

In it, Willow Chance begins a new Junior High School.  Willow is not a traditional teenager.  Obsessed with plants, reading, and calmed by counting by 7's, she is a genius who has not learned to connect with people her age.  She is accused of cheating on her first standardized test because she finishes in record time and gets the only recorded 100%.  This sends her to Dell, a counselor for students he has labeled the FOUR GROUPS OF THE STRANGE: Misfits, Oddballs, Lone Wolves and Weirdos.  He is an adult who barely copes with the world himself.  Willow defies his system.  Leading him to this moment: "Dell found himself wondering if all kinds of assumptions were questionable."  Willow makes her first age-appropriate connection while waiting to see Dell, a Vietnamese girl waiting for her brother's session to finish.  Willow even learns to speak Vietnamese to further connect with her new friend, Mai.

A terrible tragedy strikes Willow, and sends her whole life into chaos.  She must overcome her own despair and just survive, making connections that not only change her life, but also the lives of those who come to her rescue: Dell, Mai's family, a Hispanic cab driver, and a cat named Cheddar.  During the worst of her days, she comes to realize that, "All reality.....is a blender where hopes an dreams are mixed with fear and despair.  Only in cartoons and fairy tails and greeting cards do endings have glitter."

The sadness is balenced with the right amount of hope to raise this to a level of inspiring.

Hints of fairy tales

Jinx by Sage Blackwood is a sort of fractured fairy tale. Kinda.  There are hints of many:  Hansel and  Gretel (only no Gretel), Little Red Riding Hood (no wolf, but she is on her way to Grandma's), and a dashing prince (or at least he has good manners).  Nothing quite turns out as I expected, however.   

Young Jinx has had a hard life, as our story starts.  He lives in squalor in a clearing of the huge forst called The Urwald.  He knows never to leave The Path, as the forst is full of all manner of monsters:  trolls, werewolves, trees that hold grudges, and evil wizards.  Then his step-father drags him off the path, intending to abandon him.  Jinx is rescued by Simon, a wizard, who turns out to be more cranky than evil.  Jinx's life is changed forever as he helps Simon and learns about his own gifts.  A terrible betrayal  rips them from him, and goes off in search of an answer.  But, danger is lurking in the forest...

I liked that this book was full of adventure and surprises.  Having said that, oddly, there were sections that dragged.  

 

Zombie games

I almost gave up on The End Games by T. Michael Martin.  I believe this is because it is more than just a zombie book.  It is a zombie tale told by a lover of first-person shooter video games, of which I am not.  This is one of the first books that made me realize my age.  Teens, especially teen boys, will love it.

It begins with seventeen-year-old Michael and his five-year-old brother making their way through post-zombie-apocalyptic West Virginia.  Michael uses reflexes honed in the gaming world to navigate the dangers posed by the "Bellows" and by some of the uninflected survivors.  They are trying to make their way to the safe zone, without being totally sure of where they are.  Michael has regular communications with the "Game Master" who gives them clues on how to earn points and "win."  This is where the book nearly lost me.  While I can accept zombies, not so much the whole video game thing.  The purpose of the "game" is soon revealed, making the story much richer.  Michael must protect his little brother from all sorts of evil, as he realizes there may not be a safe zone.

His struggle to overcome both the real dangers of the world, and the imagined pitfalls of the game, as well as the insanity left in the world make this a worthwhile read.  The author is a film school graduate and it shows; the fight scenes reminded me of a great action flick.

Overcoming that inner voice

Skinny by Donna Cooner illustrates a voice that all women, young and old, have heard, and, unfortunately, fed.  We have all fallen prey to that inner voice that tells us we can't, can't lose weight, can't fit in, can't compete...the focus may be different, but the voice is there, whispering our worst inner fears.  This odd twist on Cinderella, has the main character, Ever, imagining her voice, which she calls "Skinny" as a "goth Tinkerbell" fairy godmother.

At the beginning of the story, 16-year-old Ever has become morbidly obese in the wake of her mother's death from cancer.  She now weighs 302 pounds and has the evil voice of Sknny telling her terrible things: how everyone laughs at her, no one could possibly love her, that she's ugly.  It doesn't help that her step-sisters are perfect and beautiful.  Ever makes the difficult decision to have gastric bypass surgery after breaking a chair in front of the entire school.  What follows is her battle to adjust to her new life and changing body.  More important, however, is overcoming Skinny, and being able to accept love and success in her life.

This book has the potential to change lives.  Truly.  When Ever hits rock-bottom, at the moment that was supposed to be her happily ever after, her realization about Skinny can change how we all respond to that inner voice of defeat.

Peculiar.....but in a good way

I had seen this book around, but had no idea what to expect of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs.  My first impression....very creepy.  This creepiness is partially a result of the old-fashioned, eerie, pictures peppered throughout: the floating girl on the cover, a baby in a bottle, and glowing tunnels to name a few.  But, most importantly, the story is written almost like a movie, from the beginning.  The author writes very visually, I could truly picture each scene.

Jacob has grown up with stories that his grandfather would tell him of the "peculiar" children with which he took refuge during World War II on an island in Wales.  All had amazing abilities like levitation, invisibility, strength and even bees that lived inside them.  He even had pictures to "prove" it.  As Jacob grew older, he realized the photos were obviously faked, and grew disillusioned.  

Then, Jacob sees a terrible monster murder his grandfather, and Jacob begins to thinks he's joining his grandfather's delusions.  A trip to the island in Wales to find the orphanage leads to his discovery of the truth behind the peculiar children, and the evil that stalks the world.  He must join the battle, or remain in the "real," non-peculiar, world.

I had to take a second look at all the pictures when I found they weren't staged, but, real photos found at flea markets.  Maybe the peculiar children do exist......

If Harry Potter were a girl, and an elf, and magic was really just science....

The Keeper of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messenger, is a great fantasy, that kept reminding me of the Harry Potter stories.  Not that it's a bad thing, or that the Harry Potter series invented some new formula....it just IS.

The story begins with Sophie suffering through another day as a 12-year-old that happens to be a senior in school.  Not only is is she super-smart, but she also has a secret she hasn't even told her parents; she can read minds.  Imagine being bullied in a traditional way, and having the pleasure of knowing exactly what everyone thinks!  She sees a strange boy following her, who tells her why she doesn't fit in....she's not human at all, but an elf!  

She is brought to the elf world and enrolled in a school where she is no longer a genius, in fact, just the opposite.  She is woefully behind, and much of the science she learned in the human world is found to be wrong.  Her only gift is her Telepathy, which is surprisingly strong.  She must abandon her human family, and learn all she can about her new world.  Of course there is the mystery of her origin, a mysterious group of rebels calling themselves The Black Swan, and a headmaster that has it in for her.  Sophie, with the help of her friends, begins to find some answers, which lead her into terrible danger.

My daughter, who is a freshman in high school, picked up this book on a whim, and finished all 500 pages in one day!  She then wrote a book report, and I loved what she took from this book:  we all fit in somewhere, we just have to find our place in this world.

One of THOSE BOOKS......

Because of Mr Terupt by Rob Buyea is one of THOSE BOOKS.  I have yet to meet a reader that didn't like it, both young and old.  I often find myself waiting for the let down, as books people rave about often don't "do it" for me.  I'm relieved to say, for once, I am in agreement.  I not only enjoyed the story, but also found it inspirational.

It is a story told in seven voices at the start of fifth grade.  Each voice is a student with very different reasons to hate school.  There is the class bully, the prankster, the shy one, a new kid, the brain, the follower, and the sullen kid.  They all are in the class of Mr Terupt, who manages to inspire them and keep them in check.  As the school year progresses we learn the root of these students problems.  It takes a terrible accident to truly inspire these students to change their paths.  

As a teacher, I can only hope to connect with my students as well as Mr Terupt does.  And, I believe students can identify with one, or more of the characters in the story, as well as see the "other side" of those that they don't.  Our state has a Minnesota Youth Book Award And the students of my school voted for  this book to win.   Jury's still out on state results....