Matched by Allie Condie

Ok, I confess. I don’t like romance novels. I don’t like girlie books where the girls worry about silly choices between boys or clothes or whatever. Vapid, empty and promoting the ignorance and/or sexuality of girls is not my genre and I was afraid this book was going to be that. It has some romance and mooning over boys and ooey gooey love but there is an underlying theme of the importance of strength, curiosity and choices. 

Matched is set in the future in a society that has removed all major choices from the people so they can live happy, uncomplicated lives. A girl, Cassia, comes of age in this society and we meet her on the eve of the ceremony of her match. Surprise ripples through the crowd at the announcement of her match, as it is abnormal because her match is someone she knows and usually it is someone from another area all together. However, when she gets home and looks on her computer to see what information the Officials give her about her good friend and match, Xander, a different face pops up on the screen, Ky. She questioned, was Ky meant to be her match? Mistakes don’t happen and Cassia’s brain and heart are thrown into confusion. In addition, her grandfather reaches the end of his life and subtly encourages her “do not go gentle into that good night” and eventually she ends up realizing the importance of choice and the highs and lows you can’t experience if your choices are removed. It reminded me a lot of The Giver, as it is a person who is successful in this artificial society, but as they learn more, they both struggled with the constraints the society has placed on people for their own good. It’s an interesting idea and, despite my apprehension about romance, I did enjoy the book for the most part. Ages 11-14 

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Ivan is a silverback gorilla. He is trapped in a...domain is the word he chooses as it’s more dignified than cage. He is in a run-down mall in California and accompanied by an elderly elephant, Stella, and a stray dog, Bob. The mall is run by Mack, who loves Ivan and Stella but loves money more. George is the night maintenance man and his daughter, Julia, comes with him at night and sits by Ivan and Stella while her father cleans. Ivan is also an artist-loves to paint and draw and Julia shares his love of art. Over the years, the attendance is down and Mack, in an attempt to increase attendance, buys a baby elephant. This crushes Stella because it reminds her of her life and the pains she has suffered as a captured animal, especially since the baby elephant, Ruby, is so very sad about her loneliness and misses her family. On Stella’s deathbed, she makes Ivan promise to free Ruby. After Stella’s death, Ivan feels the weight of his promise. Will Ivan keep his promise?

The story is told by Ivan and his voice is simple and powerful is compelling. I enjoyed this tale. Definitely deserved the Newberry. Ages 9-12

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

The main character’s name is Jack Gantos who lives in Norvelt, PA, same as the author who really did grow up in a town called Norvelt. How much of this is autobiographical and how much is exaggerated, I'm not sure. Regardless, in this story, Jack is a teenager who lives in the a progressive town of Norvelt, which has fallen into disrepair. This novel takes place in a time period that is fuzzy-I’d guess somewhere in the late1950’s/early 1960’s as that coordinates with his age and some of the events in the story but I’m not sure. 

Jack’s summer begins full of promise until a gun of his father’s went off in his hands, wreaking havoc. After that, he was “grounded for life” and had to find creative outlets to entertain himself. He loves to read and dives into history books. His mother did let him visit his elderly neighbor Miss. Volker, whose hands were so arthritic she needed Jack to help her write her parts of the newspaper--the obituaries and the history on this day. As he spent more time with Miss Volker, he genuinely enjoyed the activities and looked forward to the calls, allowing him to escape the prison he called home. The accounts of the adventures of Jack and Miss Volker are entertaining but at times the story is distracted and a bit too hard to believe or seems disjointed in a novel that is supposed to be realistic fiction. I do like the character of Jack as well as the personality of Miss Volker, as they both are quirky and interesting but found parts of it a bit unrealistic. 

Ages 9-14

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

This novel begins with Carley Connors in a car on her way from the hospital to a foster home. Carley’s past and present are exposed by the narration of the strong, fiercely independent voice of Carley. The horrors of Carley’s past are nothing compared with the ideal life the Murphy’s, her foster family, share with her. As this turns her world upside down, she eventually learns to love and trust. This is a beautiful, heart-wrenching coming of age tale. I think I cried throughout almost the entire book. Some of the tears were for the pain.  Some were simply sharing the deep confusion and conflicting stories unfold. Either way, it’s an emotionally charged book that I loved, but shredded my emotions, all at the same time. 

Grades 6-8 for some of the emotional depth and some violence

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa lives in a kingdom that is medieval in nature, but, of course, there are special people called Gracelings. They can be identified because they have eyes of different colors and each Graceling can have a different grace. A grace is the amplification of any skill; swimming, dancing, fishing, fighting, reading, or the playing of music. Katsa is “graced” with the skill of a tremendous fighter-sword, bow and arrow or dagger all are lethal weapons in her hands, as are her own hands and feet. Katsa lives in a castle with her uncle, the king. People fear her and she has but one friend, the son of the king. Despite Katsa’s own desires, she has to be the henchman for her uncle, hurting people to send his messages. To combat this, she has created the Council, which does good deeds throughout hers and the surrounding kingdoms. It is during one of these rescue missions where she rescues an old man, that she encounters a Leinid, someone that is from a kingdom that is farther away. He is also graced with fighting, but not as talented as she is. Slowly they become friends and then must go on a journey together to investigate the source of the kidnapping of his grandfather, the old man Katsa rescued. 

This is a well written, complicated and fast paced novel with some raw violence. What I liked about it is that the main character is a fiery woman who is talented at fighting. We get to know her thoughts and her struggles with her violence, as well as her struggles with her role as a female in a male dominated world. At one point a man asks her to marry him and she can’t do it because it’s not within her character to submit to a man, and that’s what marriage means in the middle ages. As the story unfolds, watching her mature is a wonderful experience. The only thing I would change about this book is that there is sex. I can’t get around that and I can’t recommend this book to anyone younger than 14 because of it. It’s a shame because I really enjoyed the rest of the book. 

Mara Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

I have a weakness for historical fiction. This historical fiction novel is by the same author as The Golden Goblet, which is one of my favorites to use with my students and takes place at about the same time. It features a 17 year old girl Mara, a slave who strains against the reins of her masters during the end of Queen Hatshepsut's reign about 1457 b.c.e..  Mara is an interesting, clever, and devious girl whose wits are the means of her survival. Mara becomes mixed up in two plots-one to overthrow the pharaoh and one to prevent the overthrow.  Each campaign is lead by men, one stone-faced and cold and the other charming and fierce. Both men offer her the chance to escape slavery by being involved in a dangerous, life-threatening plot. In an interesting mixture of characters and action, Mara tries to please both masters and stay alive, while watching them create/prevent the revolution of Thutmose III. 

It’s an engrossing tale but isn’t historically correct (which bothers me). For example, in my cursory attempt at research, there is no evidence that Hatshepsut was overthrown and she was, in fact, still alive for a year after Thutmose III took over and there is no evidence that he took over violently or even that there was animosity. He just maneuvered politically, as far as I can tell. 

Anyway, forgiving the historical inaccuracies, this book is mostly a page turner although, at times, too descriptive and so a bit of a yawn. There are also times there is too much going on, too much drama, too many strings of plot to hold on to as it weaves this intricate tale, but overall it was fun to read and a great glimpse into daily life in ancient Egypt for girls.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

You are right. This is a modern, sci-fi twist on Cinderella. This one takes place in the future of Bejing, after WW IV, where computers are utilized to the max. In this story, she’s a cyborg, which means she’s human but with lots of robot parts, like her foot and her hand, for example. It also means she loses certain human rights and is owned by her stepmother. She was, at age 11, turned into a cyborg because of some kind of hover accident where she was burned and so her hand and foot were replaced with synthetic parts. Cinder is also a mechanic, a very good mechanic and not at all interested in girlie things. She has 2 stepsisters and lives with them and her stepmother.  Obviously the stepmother is mean to her and just uses her to work and make money and do things for her but doesn’t love her or care of her really at all. This is a story about Cinder’s need for her own identity and independence, much like the fairytale. There is, of course, a prince and  he falls for Cinder but she knows she’s inappropriate and there’s tension there. There is also a ball, but again, was different in a good way and there is an evil queen, which is a nice addition to the tale. This is a clever twist on an ancient tale and the ending...well I liked it. It was interesting and not predictable. Definitely made me want to read the sequel. I also thought, from the cover, that it was going to have inappropriate content, but it didn’t. I guess I shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover!

Ages 10-14