The Swallow: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter

Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery

Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I love ghost stories.  They can be humorous, scary, sad, it doesn’t matter.  This is a sad ghost story.

Rose is a girl who has always been able to see ghosts.  She hates it.  She and her family move into her grandmother’s house after her grandmother passes away.  Unfortunately for her the house sits in front of a grave yard. Polly lives in the house next to Rose’s house.  Her mom and dad have taken in many other children, so she feels she is always ignored and has no privacy.  She loves ghost stories and all things ghosts.  Her desire is to meet an actual ghost.  Imagine her surprise when she escapes all the chaos to the attic and hears a voice singing.  She feels a draft yet can see nothing.  Imagine her surprise when the voice answers her back.  She is sure that she is speaking to a ghost.  She learns she is actually speaking to Rose who is in her attic on the other side of the wall.  They agree to meet in the cemetery behind their house to prove that Rose is not a ghost.

These girls become good friends.  They have completely different lifestyles.  Rose is often left home along with a housekeeper, whom she rarely sees.  Her parents are always working.  Polly father is a minister.  However, he seems to be angry all the time.  This story is told in alternating first person point of view.  I happen to be a person that likes this if it is done well.  I believe the author did a great job.  You think you’ve got the mystery of whether Rose is actually a ghost or not when several twists and turns are thrown in.  I loved the way the story ended.  This is one I can’t wait to share with those students who have read all of the ghost stories on my shelves.  They are going to love this one.

Student Saturday: Hunger by Michael Grant

Student Reviewer: Elizabeth B.

Genre:  Young Adult, Science Fiction

I liked the second book in the Gone series quite a lot. I thought it was pretty cool that there was a person with powers to heal. That always helps. Also, it was awesome when Caine and Sam, two brothers, FINALLY got along. I don’t know about you, but I always think that it is cool to get along, especially brothers that were REAL enemies. I am practically itching to read the whole series – and I am also so glad that they are no longer hungry. They have managed to find a way that the flesh-eating bugs will no longer be there. All is well in the FAZ…… for now!

The Miting by Dee Yoder

Genre:  Young Adult, Adult Amish Fiction

Source:  I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I am familiar with a lot of Amish fiction.  You know the kind, all romance and sometimes mystery. There is almost always a happy ending.  I am also familiar with books that talk about people leaving the Amish lifestyle for various reasons.  My former daughter-in-laws grandmother was Amish until she was shunned.  Living in Sarasota, Florida I see everything from Mennonite to all levels of Amish.  Knowing all of this made this novel seem so dark.  Unfortunately from people I know, I understand that there are Old Order Amish that go through situations like this all the time.

A lot of young Amish kids go through a Rumspringa, where they try out the Englisher world. This is done before they decide whether they want to join the church or not.  Leah wasn’t that type of kid.  At age 17 she loved God so much she wanted to know more about him.  In her order she was only allowed to read the German Bible, which she had difficulty understanding.  She also didn’t understand why her order had certain rules that were extremely strict compared to other orders.  She learned very quickly that you didn’t voice those questions aloud.  She also learned that you didn’t read an English Bible and you didn’t question what more God had for you.  To do so in her order was considered being disobedient to her family and her bishop.  The consequence of this was to be counseled. Unfortunately this wasn’t the type of counseling we might go through. The counselor could put her in a hospital and treat her with drugs and other things against her wishes.  It didn’t matter if she was 18 or older.  They would take it so far as to keep her prisoner until the counselor would arrive.  Anyone trying to rescue her would be kept away.  In Leah’s case her boyfriend Jacob stood by her side.  Other members of the order stood guard in the barn and around the property to make sure there was no rescue attempt.

I could identify with Leah.  Their belief system reminded me of a time in Catholic history when Bibles were chained to the pulpit and people were kept illiterate so they couldn’t read the Bible for themselves. They could only believe what they were told.  When my mom became a Christian I was five years old.  She had no one to guide her in her walk so she decided to err on the side of right.  She got rid of all board games because they contained dice and since people used to shoot craps with dice then games with dice might be a sin.  Dancing became a sin.  The worst spanking I ever received was because my cousin and I were pretending to be ballerinas. Most TV shows were a sin.  I had to wear dresses most of the time because to wear pants to church was a sin.  You see where I am going with this.  Sometimes rules and regulations can become more important than God’s word. I applauded Leah for wanting to have a personal relationship with God.  This is a book I would recommend to everyone whether they like Amish fiction or not.