Second Impact by David Klass and Perri Klass

Pages: 304

Genre:  Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Source: Received a copy for review

From Amazon:

Kendall is football town, and Jerry Downing is the high school's star quarterback, working to redeem himself after he nearly killed a girl in a drunk driving accident last year. Carla Jenson, lead reporter for the school newspaper's sports section, has recruited Jerry to co-author a blog chronicling the season from each of their perspectives. When Jerry's best friend on the team takes a hit too hard and gets hurt, Carla wonders publicly if injury in the game comes at too high a cost in a player's life—but not everyone in Kendall wants to hear it...

David Klass and Perri Klass's  Second Impact is an action-packed story will resonate with readers who have been following recent news stories are football injuries.

My Thoughts:

This is a unique book.  It is told through blog posts.  I kind of reminded me of Patrick Carmen’s Skeleton Creek series where you have one point of view told through video and one point of view told through emails.  In this book we meet Jerry who was the captain and quarterback of his high school football team.  A year before we are introduced to him we are told about a drunk driving accident he was involved in that cost him dearly.  Not only did he lose his captain position and get suspended, but he almost killed his car’s occupants.  The judge gave his a second chance.  That is a theme within this book.

The other point of view is from Carla, a former soccer player and now a journalist on her schools blog. She had been injured while playing soccer.  This made her realize that sometimes injuries are more serious than a coach wants to believe.  Jerry’s best friend sustains a concussion during a game.  This is enough to send Carla off looking for answers.  She is looked down on and listed a trouble maker because her thoughts are uncomfortable and something coaches and principals of winning teams don’t want to look at.

This book came at a very appropriate time, as one of my sixth grade students sustained a severe concussion while playing football, and it affected him in multiple ways.  At the same time we have two other students who had sustained concussions playing sports.  It has affected their ability to learn.  This book is a wake-up call to parents and coaches everywhere.  When given a second chance in life take it.  Don’t look at life and decide, oh well that’s just a part of the risk.  You have to ask yourself if the risk is too high. In Jerry’s case he is forced to look at a situation and make a decision.  Did he make the right one?  Read the book.  This is one of the best books I’ve read this year and it was snatched up before it ever hit my school shelves.

The Concealers by James Kauffman

Pages: 404

Genre:  Adult, Inspirational

Source:  Received a copy from the Author

From Goodreads:

Her mentor says she has the makings of a good reporter, but to be great, Katherine Kelly must learn to find the emotional core of a story and not hold back in its telling. Then he suggests one last grad school assignment find someone who has influenced her family and tell that story. Katherine pursues the only family story that has ever eluded her: the identity of the father she never knew. Her mother, knowing her daughter will not stop until she gets the truth, breaks her years of silence and makes the call she always swore she would never make.

The reality of her father stands in stark contrast to the one in her dreams, and Katherine must decide who her father truly is the guardian of a group of wounded souls called The Collectibles, the attentive father of a newly discovered daughter, the person of interest in a bank fraud investigation or a little of all three. Blood is deeper than principle, or so she is told. And a great journalist follows a story wherever it leads. It is her call, and only Katherine can make it.

My Thoughts:

It had been a while since I’d read the Collectibles, so I went back and reread it before I read The Concealers.  I was not disappointed in this second book. The author has done a great job in creating characters we can all relate to in one form or another. The characters and situations Kauffman creates cause the reader to pause and look inward at our own situations, choices and values.

For me as a reader, I look for books that not only entertain me, but helps me make connections. Without those connections a book seems flat.  This book is not flat. The suspense keeps you going all the way through. I highly recommend this book. If you’ve not read the first book then please, stop and read it first.  This is a series you will enjoy.  I am looking forward to reading the third book.

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz

Pages: 272

Genre:  MG, YA, Historical Fiction

Source: Purchased

From Goodreads:

Survive. At any cost.

10 concentration camps.

10 different places where you are starved, tortured, and worked mercilessly.

It's something no one could imagine surviving.

But it is what Yanek Gruener has to face.

As a Jewish boy in 1930s Poland, Yanek is at the mercy of the Nazis who have taken over. Everything he has, and everyone he loves, have been snatched brutally from him. And then Yanek himself is taken prisoner -- his arm tattooed with the words PRISONER B-3087.

He is forced from one nightmarish concentration camp to another, as World War II rages all around him. He encounters evil he could have never imagined, but also sees surprising glimpses of hope amid the horror. He just barely escapes death, only to confront it again seconds later.

Can Yanek make it through the terror without losing his hope, his will -- and, most of all, his sense of who he really is inside?

My Thoughts:

I have read a lot of Holocaust books.  I enjoy learning the history.  It makes me grateful each day for what I have and the great country I live in. I am not sure I would have the courage and hope to survive the atrocities that Yanek had to survive.  When all he saw around him was death, he chose to survive.

This book was recommended to me by a student. I am so glad I listened to  him.  Our eighth grade team does a Holocaust unit each year.  I am recommending this to them as a book to add to their unit.  This is a definite must read for young and old alike. 

Ryan and the Dark Sword by R.K. Wayne

Pages: 375

Genre:  YA, Fantasy

Source: Review copy from author

From Goodreads:

Ryan Thayer is your typical high school outcast: mocked, bullied, and constantly in trouble. But when he sees a girl in a house that has been abandoned for years and follows her through a mysterious gateway, he finds himself in a strange world. It is a world fighting an age-old war which has powerful implications, not only for this new land, but for Ryan’s home as well.

Forced to choose between returning home and joining the battle, Ryan decides to fight, knowing that his world’s fate hangs in the balance. He is whisked off to join the Cadyii in their mountain stronghold of Avengarde. There, along with a few new friends, Ryan is taught to use a magical power known as spectra, trained in the art of battle, and even given a magical weapon. But all is not as it seems at Avengarde. The keep has the constant buzz of secrecy around it. And then there is the matter of Ryan’s sword, whose tainted, black blade may be hiding a dark past.

As Ryan struggles through grueling lessons and a teacher who wants to kill him, Ryan has to figure out just what sort of secrets this new world – and his sword – really hold.

My Thoughts:

When I found out that Ryan, a fifteen year old got picked on because of a white streak he has in his hair I felt an immediate connection.  From the time I was sixteen I had a “skunk stripe” in my hair. Back then I had my hair frosted in order to help it blend in.  It was a hereditary thing.  I had kids tease me about it, but not to the extreme that Ryan was picked on. Because of all of the picking and bullying he decides to get back at them.  Just like usually happens, the ones picking on him didn’t get caught, but he did.

His parents ground him.  He is not allowed to do anything.  You know how hard that is for a kid.  He ends up sneaking into an old abandoned house and enters another world.

In the new world Ryan joins forces with his new friends to save the world. He starts training with them and we see him grow into a young man who is more mature. He is a great role model for the way we want our children to grow up. I look forward to reading the next book in this series. I think a lot of my students, especially those who love fantasy will grab this book right up.

Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child by Maria T. Lennon

Pages: 288

Genre:  Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

Source: I purchased

From Goodreads:

It's Mean Girls for tweens in the tradition of Paula Danziger's Cat That Ate My Gymsuit and Judy Blume! Watch out, world: here comes Charlie C. Cooper-computer whiz, reformed bully, and so-called middle child-in this seriously funny debut tween novel from screenwriter Maria T. Lennon.

Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child stars the hilariously cheeky reformed bully and tween hacker Charlie Cooper as she tries to ditch her middle-child reputation and make cool friends at her new school in Los Angeles. But being cool isn't as easy as it looks. Charlie has to face down the mean girls and decide between right and wrong once and for all when she learns the terrible truth behind Marta the Farta's bad attitude and loner status. And Charlie has to do it all in outfits meant for the runways!

Maria T. Lennon has created a fresh and fun story that brings Mean Girls to the tween level, peppered with snarky asides, major attitude, and advice to spare from Charlie-whether you asked for it or not.

My Thoughts:

Charlie comes from a family where money is no problem.  That is the problem.  She often thinks she is above getting in trouble. That is until she pulls a prank and she gets kicked out of school.  The prank was so bad her parents send her to counseling.  She hates going to the psychiatrist.  He gives her an out.  Since she has to go to a new school, she needs to find the girl who is most bullied and become her friend. 

Charlie wants to hang out with the type of kids she hung out with at her old school.  To ditch her psychiatrist she has to be come with Marta the Farta.  She will do it because she wants out of counseling.  What she learns is that Marta is not that bad.  She sees Trixie, who was just like her old friends for who she truly is. Trixie has it in for Marta and she wants Charlie to help her, even if it means she will blackmail Charlie because of her past.

This type of thing truly does go on in middle schools.  Just turn on the news and you will hear new extreme cases of teens bullying each other.  This is definitely one I will recommend to my fellow teachers and one I will recommend to my students.

Student Saturday: Dork Diaries - Rachel Renee Russell

Student Reviewer: Angela S.

Dork Diaries was a book about a girl who moved schools and is having a really bad time. She then finds two friends and they are absolutely crazy. They want to get tattoos for the trip they want to win.  But, their parents won't let them. She then starts making fake tattoos on them and popular kids want some for an exchange of donated books for the library. It all gets out of hand when they start making more for other kids.  She works non-stop and their friendship ends. Then it was the day of the art competition and her art work gets ruined. She can't attend, but her crush brings her inside out of the rain. She goes to the office and gets changed. Secretly her crush and friends help her out by taking pictures of the tattoos she created and make it into an art piece for the art show. She won first place and her former friends are now best friends. I think that I couldn't have held it all and would have cried for days. I recommend reading Dork Diaries  to people that have moved to a different school and are having a hard time.

How to Catch a Bogle by Catherine Jinks

Pages:  320

Genre:  Middle Grade Fantasy

Source:  I received a copy to review. The opinions expressed here are my own. I was not compensated in anyway for my review.

From Goodreads:

If ever a chill entered her soul, or the hope suddenly drained from her heart, she knew a bogle was to blame. Birdie McAdam, a ten-year-old orphan, is tougher than she looks. She's proud of her job as apprentice to Alfred the Bogler, a man who catches monsters for a living. Birdie lures the bogles out of their lairs with her sweet songs, and Alfred kills them before they kill her. On the mean streets of Victorian England, hunting bogles is actually less dangerous work than mudlarking for scraps along the vile river Thames. (See glossary!) Or so it seems—until the orphans of London start to disappear .

My Thoughts:

This reminds me of Grimm's Fairytales because they are dark.  This is a dark story that takes place in Victorian London. During that time period you had the poor and the wealthy.  The wealthy did not associate with the poor unless they needed them to do work for them. The wealthy did not believe in Bogles, monsters who ate children.  These were tales the poor people told their children to keep them obedient.  If you were not lucky enough to have parents then you often found yourself working in a workhouse.  Lots of long hours, hard work and very little food.  A lot of kids starved to death.  Birdie McAdam is an orphan.  She is a lucky one though.  She is the apprentice to Alfred Bunce a Bogle killer.  Birdie’s job is simple she needs to sing.  Singing lures the Bogles out so that Bunce can kill them.  She considers the risk well worth it compared to working in a workhouse.  However, there seems to be more children disappearing.  After all, children are a Bogle’s favorite dish.  Tag along with Birdie and Bunce on this first adventure into the world of the Bogles.  The second book in the trilogy, A Plague of Bogles, will be out in the fall of 2014.  Afraid you might not understand the language from the Victorian era?  There is a handy glossary in the back.  This is a book you definitely need to check out.

Asleep Without Dreaming by Barbara Forte Abate

Pages: 319

Genre: Young Adult, Adult, Mystery

Source: Review copy from author

From Goodreads:

Fourteen year old Willa Burkett has been waiting her whole life to leave Hoosick Falls—a nowhere place that fails to hold even a single good memory.

But, when a series of vengeful incidents stir Willa’s mother Stella to impulsively pack-up and go, it is only to find themselves stranded in yet another ugly, near extinct town, only now, with a broken down car and no ready way out.

Unable to move on until an alternate plan shows itself, they accept a job working for Omega Pearl Bodie, proprietress of the Moonglow motel—a long forgotten, steadily decaying relic, where mostly nothing happens—except now, when everything does.

It is here in this place of desperate loneliness and restless boredom that Willa will have her world rocked to the core in ways she doesn't immediately comprehend. The craziness of the life she’s left behind all but eclipsed by the dark turn of the here and now, as Willa attempts to keep one step ahead of the ever-twisting whims of a mother prone to keeping secrets and telling lies, a murderous arsonist returned to the scene of his earlier crimes to dole out revenge one fiery victim at a time—and Jesse Truman. A boy with indigo eyes that Omega Pearl has hired as handyman at the Moonglow—who Willa longs to save—if only she understood what it is he needs saving from.

My Thoughts:

If you are looking for a feel good book to read then put this down and find something else.  This is one of the most depressing, dark books I have read in a long time.  I loved it.   I have never cared for the syrupy, sweet romances out in the world.  Give me a story full of emotion, no matter how dark and I love it.  I want to feel something when I read a story.  I want to be able to relate.  I want to think I know where the story is going and then have the author surprise me with the ending.  This book is all that and more.

Willa has the most dysfunctional, selfish parents.  Her father won a lot of money and left Willa and her mother with only a thousand dollars.  Her mom Stella is so selfish and disgusting.  She is one of those parents you would like to see locked up.  She wakes Willa up in the middle of the night to leave.  Their car breaks down and they are taken in by the owner of the Moonglow Motel.  Stella is given a job cleaning cottages for a small salary and their room and board. Willa does the cleaning.  Add to this a escaped convict seeking revenge on the town.  Fires popping up everywhere and you have the most depressing town around.  Willa falls hard for the teenage handyman Jesse.  But even that doesn’t go the way the reader thinks it should.  I won’t give away any spoilers.  If you are like me and like those dark novels then this is a must read.  It will keep you turning pages.  This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I am so thrilled to do it.  I love her writing style.

With Unwashed Hands by Joanie Bolton

Pages:  202

Genre: Adult, Christian, Biography

Source:  I received a copy from the author. The opinions expressed in this review are my own

From Goodreads:

Darrell Bolton, a retired Air Force officer, never imagined that his military career could still cost him his life--even after he had retired. While on a missionary trip to the Far East, Darrell, overcome with severe pain, was rushed to the hospital. Suddenly, he found himself viewed as "the enemy"! This gripping, true story will captivate you as you live with the Boltons through the horrific stress of being stranded in a third-world hospital...with a doctor whose only plan for his critically ill patient involved a slab in the morgue! "As a medical professional, I am appalled that such reprehensible abuse and neglect should be inflicted upon any human being...especially in the name of medicine! As someone who actually knows this kind and gentle man, I felt physically sickened by the mere reading of these events. This was truly a hate crime against one of our very own American heroes."

My Thoughts:

Imagine your loved on in the hospital going through unspeakable trials. Now take that same situation and place it in another country and add to it that the suffering is actually added to by the doctor who is supposed to be helping your loved one.  That is exactly what happened to this author’s husband. The things they went through are things you would think would have happened years ago.  It has only been a few years since this happened.  This story is one to be enjoyed by Christian and non-Christian alike. This story shows how God holds us close to him, and how he comforts us when no one else can.

This is definitely a story of faith, miracles, and love. It proves the point that what man means for evil God can use for good.  Break out your box of tissues and prepare to have your heart wrenched out and your soul inspired.

The Magician’s Doll by M.L. Roble

Pages: 318

Source: Review copy from the author:  The opinions expressed here are my own.

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult Fantasy

Synopsis

How is twelve-year-old Natalie supposed to cope when her mother opens shop as a psychic?

Or when she herself starts to "see" things?

Burying her head in the sand is Natalie's preferred method for dealing, but no one else wants to leave it at that. Her friend Phillip wants her to stop being so stubborn and use her gift to help him find his missing father already! Natalie's mother wishes she would work on developing her gift instead of hoping it will wither up and die. Then there is the gift itself, which does not care one whit about what Natalie feels and takes control of her at inopportune moments to give her knowledge she does not seek.

Natalie's biggest obstacle to denial, however, is the big top circus that rolls into town, bringing with it Beausoleil the Magician, his daughter Louisa and his mysterious doll. Strange things are afoot with Beausoleil and his ilk, and in their wake, a storm is brewing: one that will threaten everything Natalie knows about her life and the people around her. Soon Natalie must decide whether to keep her head in the sand, or whether to embrace her gift and face the growing threat that will change her world forever.

My Thoughts:
When I first read the synopsis and then started reading the book I was reminded of the Ray Bradbury Book and Movie "Something Wicked This Way Comes".  It was always one of my favorites.  I wondered if maybe this would be too intense for my sixth graders.  Every year my students are different.  Some more mature than others.  I had no reason to worry. When the first student turned the book back in and declared it was "Just Right", I knew I had a winner for my shelves. He told me if you like to read mysteries and magic then this was the book to read.  The line to have their name put on the list to check out the book grew because of that student's remarks.
I loved the character Natalie from the very start.  She doesn't want to feel like an outsider, yet she does because her mom puts up her "psychic" sign.  The kids tease her.  However, Natalie can hold her own against them.  She hates that her mother is weird.  I think one of the reasons is because Natalie has a "gift" that she has kept hidden.  Unfortunately when a carnival comes to town she has to make some tough choices.  This is perfect for kids of the middle grade age.  It forces them to look at the way they treat each other and their differences.  It makes them look at what true friendship is and what they would do in certain circumstances.  I am sure this book was written to be a wonderful story, yet I find it is a great example of teaching kids something without them realizing they are learning  I will definitely continue to recommend this book to parents and students.