I read quite a lot of YA realistic fiction, and almost none of the books that I read actually make me wish I could be a teen again. Most of the time, I’m glad to be a grown up. While I wasn’t a miserable teenager, looking back, I wasn’t ever content, and that was mostly because I wasn’t cool. I didn’t belong, and as much as I acted like my academic success was all that mattered to me, I always wanted to have more friends than I did and I always wondered what it would be like to live life in the cool crowd.

Was I a nerd? I never thought so. I guess I always thought that nerds were smart and really weird. Oddball genius types. Some probably gave me the “nerd” label because of the grades I got all the time. Bottom line was I didn’t really belong in the nerd category or in any other category. If I’d read Julie Halpern’s novel, Into the Wild Nerd Yonder, when I was in high school, I might have felt less nerdy, or at least, I might not have felt offended if others thought of me that way. This book is all about nerd-power, and it is fantastic.

Jessie is a sophomore in high school. She actually likes school, but she doesn’t want to crow about it, because then she might look like a nerd. She loves math most of all. In her spare time, she’s started sewing funky skirts with weird and hilarious theme fabric from the fabric store: jelly bean fabric, prairie dog fabric, dalmations & hearts fabric… She also likes playing the drums. Jessie has had the same two close friends for years, and she’s also had the same crush for ages, her brother Barrett’s band-mate, Van. Even though her social life and school life have always seemed more or less sorted out, Jessie can’t decide where she really fits. This feeling gets stronger when her best friends decide at the start of the school year that they are going to become punks and groupies for her brother’s band. Then one starts chasing Jessie’s crush and Barrett sheds his punk-status when he starts dating the homecoming queen. Nothing makes sense anymore. This turmoil launches Jessie into friendship territory she never considered exploring before: the Dungeons and Dragons crowd. Before she knows it, she’s deep in nerd land, and unbelievably, she kind of likes it there. This leads her to question all she thought she had decided about what’s cool, what’s geeky, and where she belongs.

Confession: the more I learned about Dungeons and Dragons in this book, the more I realized that I might have actually wanted to play it when I was a teen, if I had known about it and if I had been able to tear myself away from studying for exams for a millisecond. This scared me a little. But honestly, Halpern really makes the game sound like a lot fun and she really shows how it’s mostly about hanging out with friends and joking around and connecting with people, with elves and trolls and gnomes thrown into the mix.

Halpern’s book has so many strengths. Jessie’s voice is hugely appealing. She’s wry and she’s so relatable in the way that she wants to discover her tribe. She wants to discover “her thing”:

“I look at Dottie and think about how everyone’s got their “thing.” Van and Barrett have the band, Bizza’s got her amazing confidence and pseudo-punk thing going on, Char’s got her beauty (that’s a thing, right?), and even Dottie Bell has a thing — albeit her own language and leading around gnomes. Then there’s me. I guess sewing could be my thing, but one thinks it’s very cool. I wish I didn’t care.”

The “I wish I didn’t care” aspect of Jessie is where so much of the tension in the novel comes from. She is almost ready to just be whoever she wants to be, but she still cares what others think, and she feels like their judgment will be too much to take if she heads over to the “dork side.” How can she like a guy with pants that are too short and who wears crazy white sneakers? How can she care what others think if she really does like said nerdy guy? This is her struggle, and it’s one that many readers will recognize.

There are many strong secondary characters, which in my mind, separates ordinary books from extraordinary ones. The whole book is funny, funny, funny. It would be hard to choose just one part that stood out the most in terms of humour, but if I had to, I would have to say it was “the donut sequence.” (You must read to experience it for yourself. I’m still smiling when I think about it).

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder is one of those rare funny books with substance. It makes you laugh and it makes you think. Here’s a story that captures how life can crack you up, drive you crazy, and transform your way of seeing the world all at the same time. Jessie learns that she didn’t really know the people she thought she knew best, and that the ones she’s always judged have substance she never saw. Now there’s a lesson I wish I’d learned in high school.

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern is published by Feiwel and Friends.

The Heart is Not a Size is a book that will make you want to go out in the world and do something that matters. It will take you into a community that you likely will never visit, and it will make you think about how much you have and what you really need. No surprise that the writer behind this inspiring and thought-provoking novel is Beth Kephart. It’s not released until March 2010, but you should put it on your TBR list right now. Books like this don’t come along every day.

The Heart is Not a Size was inspired by a trip Beth took a few years ago to a squatter’s village called Anapra, near Juarez, in Mexico. Like the characters in her novel, she went there with a church group of teens and adults, to build a community washroom. Her experiences led to this story. First, take a look at some photos Beth took in this short video, where she reads from the novel:

It’s a testament to the strength of Beth’s writing that her words brought to mind so much of what you see in those images – the openness of the children and their smiling faces, the dust everywhere, the shacks made of cast off materials. I’ve never been anywhere like Anapra, but I could imagine it through Beth’s words. The Heart is Not a Size is about a teen named Georgia, who convinces her best friend Riley to go on a trip to Anapra with an organization called Good Works to do community service. Georgia wants to go to Anapra to get perspective and to start believing in herself. Everyone thinks she’s a grounded, reliable sort of girl, and Georgia isn’t sure. She’s ready for something, but she isn’t even sure what that something is. So when she finds a flyer about Anapra she makes a choice and she wants Riley to come too. Riley is vulnerable in her own way, and the girls’ friendship is deep and complicated. When they get to Anapra, things that they used to be certain about start to change.

The Heart is Not a Size would stand up to rereading, so that you could feel you were getting everything out of it. It’s a quiet book that sneaks up on you. You’ll meet so many characters that are complex and present enough to make you imagine their whole life stories – even secondary characters who appear only briefly stand out more than many central characters in other novels, like Socorro, the little girl who hovers outside the compound where the visiting group is living. The novel is divided into two parts, which I think reflects the way Georgia’s experiences in Anapra have really changed her. There was her life before Anapra, and then after. This is a novel about the potential in people, and not just in the people who go to Anapra to do what they can to contribute to that community, but the potential and worth of the residents of Anapra as well. Almost at the end of her time in Anapra, Georgia thinks, “there was no measure for the people we were becoming, no limit to what we might become.” She sees the possibility of her own life and the lives of the people of Anapra too. The Heart is Not a Size is a novel worth thinking about. There is nothing moralizing about it. Rather, the characters experience first hand how life is messy and brutal and beautiful and the opposite of simple. Georgia doesn’t find easy answers in Anapra and we don’t get the sense that she finds just what she expected, but her experience gave her what she needed nonetheless. Give this book to a teen as a graduation gift. I wish I’d been able to read it when I was 18.

The Heart is Not a Size will be published by Harper Teen in March 2010.

There’s been so much talk over the past few months about Rebecca Stead’s second novel for Middle Grade readers, When You Reach Me. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Awards whispering. I’ve read it and I loved it, just like everyone else. Certainly, When You Reach Me makes book people look at Stead as a writer with many, many books in her future, and it’s the sort of book that should make readers wonder what she’ll write next. I decided to read First Light because I was so impressed by When You Reach Me. As it turns out, Stead’s first book has tremendous merit as well, and is in many ways, as creative and finely wrought as her latest novel.

First Light may be science fiction, but it is a story that is incredibly timely, as the “real world” thread of the narrative focuses on a boy whose scientist father is studying global warming. Peter is thrilled at the chance to travel with his parents to Greenland, where his father will be conducting field work. His mother is also a scientist, who studies mitochondrial DNA. For as long as Peter can remember, she has suffered from terrible, debilitating headaches that seem to shift her whole mood towards a sadness no one can penetrate. As the family is caught up in preparations for their journey, Peter begins to experience more frequent headaches himself, sometimes accompanied by strange visions. He wonders if he has inherited some secret illness from his mother, but neither of his parents ever speak to him about his mother’s headaches, and Peter wonders if there is a something serious that they are keeping from him. He doesn’t realize it, but this trip to Greenland will take him to the heart of the mystery he is only beginning to sense. The second thread of the narrative belongs to Thea, a girl who lives underneath the arctic ice in a community forged by a hunted people, generations before her. Her ancestors came to live in Gracehope, a secret world that they build under the ice, and ever since then, they have feared the outside world. Thea is not afraid, however. Rather she dreams of seeing the sky and the horizon and the constellations she has only read about. She wants to travel to the surface, but to do so, she must act in secret, turning against the wishes of many elders in Gracehope. Peter and Thea are destined to meet, and when they do both find answers to questions they didn’t even know they had.

What’s remarkable about First Light is its potential to appeal to all sorts of different children. Do you like science? Read this. How about arctic adventures or survival fiction? Read this. Realistic family stories? Yep. Unsolved mysteries? OK. Secret worlds? Here you go. With all this going on, you might wonder if Stead has taken on too much. Is she trying to bring together way too many genres and topics? No way. Somehow, everything feels balanced and connected. In creating and describing Gracehope, her world-building is outstanding. Stead pays attention to details and makes sure we can imagine them, from the berry pancakes that Thea eats for breakfast and her fur outerwrap and the seven bracelets on her arm, to the decriptions of the skaters streaming down the Mainway and the vast icy council chamber where the elders meet. All of it is there for us to picture. This makes for a more powerful reading experience, and of course, any science fiction or fantasy fan looks for convincing world building.

There must have been a great deal of research involved to get the science of this novel right, as well as the facts around working in the arctic and even the details about the habits and skills of the Gracehope sled dogs. I felt like this book taught me stuff, but not in a “let’s just take a little break now for some science” sort of way. It’s integrated into the flow of the story. Here’s a bit that was especially interesting, when Peter is working with Jonas, his father’s assistant, who has just dug a snow pit to study the ice pattern:

“Jonas began to sketch the wall in his notebook. “I’m also looking at the size of the snow grains, and I’m noting how densely the snow is packed. See, this snow up top is pretty loosely packed — we call that ‘fist’ because I can shove my fist right into it. Then there’s ‘four fingers, ‘two fingers,’ ‘one finger,’ ‘pencil,’ and ‘knife.’ Not so technical, right? But it works. Jump down here and I’ll show you.” ”

After this, Jonas goes on to explain how scientists use the data to determine patterns in weather over time, and this helps them to see how fast the ice cap is moving and melting. I was impressed by the detail in the science, and that it was communicated in a way that kids will understand and not only that, they will find it compelling.

Beyond the science and the world-building, First Light is thematically rich as well. It’s a story about human potential and risk-taking and possibility. It’s about having vision and being open to change and trying to make change when it’s needed. I liked that Stead found a way to use science fiction to drive home the world-changing impact of global warming, but leaving a place for hope. First Light would make an outstanding read aloud for grade 4 and up. Rebecca has a beautiful website devoted to the book with lots of information about the science that should further inspire readers. What will she do next? I couldn’t even begin to guess, but you can bet I’ll be watching. This kind of creative vision doesn’t come around everyday.

First Light is published by Yearling.

Part of the great fun and excitement in reading debut authors is that if you find a really good one, you feel filled up with happiness in thinking of all of the great reading that is in store for you down the road, as this writer keeps on writing. This is exactly my feeling about Lauren Bjorkman. Her first novel, My Invented Life, is a fantastic look at sisterhood, drama geeks, and the far-from-simple subject of sexual identity. Funny with depth = my idea of pure reading delight.

Roz and Eva have always been as close as sisters can be. They share interests and friends and secrets. Sometimes, they’ve shared boyfriends (though not at the same time). In fact, currently, Roz would be more than happy if Eva would hand over her guy, sexy skate god Bryan. Roz hasn’t ever minded much that Eva is the prettier sister, the more talented sister, the more popular sister. She loves Eva like crazy, and that’s why it’s driving her nuts that Eva seems to be shutting her out. When Roz gets the idea that Eva has fallen hard for her friend and cheerleading partner, Carmen, she tries to get Eva to come out, but it isn’t so simple. So Roz comes up with a crazy scheme hoping to inspire her sister to open up. She decides to pretend she’s lesbian, to try coming out just to see what happens and gauge the response of their group of friends. Needless to say, her plan gets a lot of attention, and far from making things easier, just ends up turning everything upside down. Toss into the mix all of the gender-bending action in their school production of As You Like It, and Roz can barely keep up with the general insanity. It turns out that her invented life is no easier to manage than her real life, but it sure makes her think about labels and trust and the course of true love.

There is a wild and crazy energy to this book, and Roz is at the heart of it all. Whether she’s skidding into dangerous territory with the sleazy-but-hot Bryan, or designing a new “femme lesbian” style for her starring role in “The Lesbian of Yolo Bluffs High”, or reading sentimental coming out stories online, she’s always going about 100 miles an hour. She springs off the page. She’s one of the most “alive” characters I’ve come across lately, like a gust of fresh air. You won’t always agree with her choices, but you can’t stop yourself from wishing she was your best friend in high school. Think of all the fun/trouble you’d have had.

Another great pleasure in My Invented Life is the cast of quirky secondary characters. Just when you think you’ve got each one figured out (“Oh yeah, there’s the nice guy love interest…” “OK, here’s the damaged but cool girlfriend…”) Bjorkman twists things around to show you a side of a character that you hadn’t predicted. Nobody is one dimensional (except maybe Bryan, “the sleazeball”). You know you’ve arrived at a whole different level of YA fiction when you find yourself imagining novels following the lives of several secondary characters.

If you’re feeling a little bit uncertain about the playful way in which Roz responds to her sister’s sexuality, I hear ya. At the beginning I was uneasy about Roz “pretending” to be a lesbian, just for the fun of it, treating coming out as a game, or as acting practice. But fear not! Bjorkman takes Roz from her prankish and somewhat disrespectful starting place towards real insights about the complexity of sexual identity. I was happy with the “all’s well that ends well” spirit of the ending, but perhaps there might be readers out there who feel it romanticizes the reality of teens who question their sexual identity. I’m curious to see what others say.

My Invented Life is a romp, but the issues it plays with are certainly worthy of discussion. I’ll be reading whatever Lauren Bjorkman writes next. (I’ll also be playing with the Elizabethan Curse Generator I found linked at her blog. Thanks Lauren!)

My Invented Life is published by Henry Holt tomorrow (September 29/2009).

This was a random library find for me the other day. I haven’t read any of Coleen Murtagh Paratore’s other titles, but I know of her Wedding Planner’s Daughter series. It was the cover that grabbed me, and it’s no wonder! My well-honed Julia Denos radar is clearly at work. I love her art (she’s got oodles and oodles of talent, that one). The brightness of the colours, the fab pink shoes and the quirkily-named title character all said “sweetness” to me. I was right. There is some serious sweetness going on in this slim novel for younger readers, with enough struggle to be thought-provoking and to inspire conversation.

Sunny is as bright and positive as her name. Her mother likes to remind her that “the sun shined so bright and long the day (Sunny) was born, the stars got jealous and complained to God.” She tries to see the good in the world, in the people around her and in herself. It might not always come easily, but Sunny is willing to work at it. She loves holidays more than anything and she’s troubled by the fact that January and August are lacking in the holiday department, so she starts planning holidays with particular kid appeal to fill in the gaps. Sunny’s life isn’t perfect in every way. Riverview towers, her apartment building, might be full of many interesting and warm-spirited people, but the neighbourhood leaves a lot to be desired, what with the litter, the straggly trees, the chain-link fences and the polluted river. Sunny’s dad is in jail and she only gets to visit him the first Sunday of every month. Her mom works long hours as a hotel maid and then fills up her nights taking care of Sunny and taking college courses. Still, Sunny’s home is full of love and creativity and wisdom. The novel is a gentle portrait of a little girl who faces some hard situations with natural grace, humour and hope.

I read Sunny Holiday in one sitting. It was Sunny’s voice that drew me in, her poetic way of seeing the world. I loved the first chapter called “Dandelions.” Here’s one of the nicest bits:

“We don’t have a park or a yard, either, just one long, dirty-gray cement sidewalk. But that doesn’t stop a dandelion. A dandelion seed is smarty-pants-smart. That seed sails off on a wispy balloon, riding free on a summer breeze, search-search-searching for a home. It knows for sure it will find one. All it sees is sidewalk, sidewalk, sidewalk. Does it give up? No, it does not. That little seed keeps searching until it spots a crack. “Whoopee! Whoopee! Whoopee!” it shouts, and dives in for a happy landing. But then that seed realizes it’s all alone and sits there shaking, not sure just what to do next. Does it give up? No it does not. It sends down a skin-skinny raggedy root, far below, where no one can see, look-look-looking for dirt it can trust. that may take a very long time.”

Each little chapter is so short and yet there is a lot of emotion packed into every tiny package. I was reminded of Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street (gosh I love that book!) There’s the same true kid’s perspective in this book and in places, the same heart-squeezing effect as Sunny struggles against the circumstances of her life. My only complaint is that in places, Sunny came off a little Pollyanna-ish. You almost couldn’t believe that she would be so persistently positive. This is a small thing however. Mostly, you’ll just wish you could manage to see the world the way she does, always looking for good things and working to make changes to improve the rest. This would be an excellent title for use in the classroom, to initiate conversations around inclusion, compassion and creativity. It handles the more challenging background issues carefully, with just the right amount of information for a younger reader. Perfect for Grade 4, I should think.

Sunny Holiday is published by Scholastic Press.

Phew! Prepare yourself for one juicy, packed-full-of-treats post! Today I am happy to review two lovely non-fiction picture books from Tilbury House about the elephants at Tennessee’s amazing Elephant Sanctuary. These books are authored by Carol Buckley, one of the founders of the Sanctuary. As well, Carol has stopped by for an interview. Finally, Tilbury has kindly arranged for a few prizes in celebration of this blog tour: one is a copy of Just for Elephants signed by author and Sanctuary co-founder Carol Buckley, and the grand prize is a copy of Travels With Tarra, signed by Carol and featuring a scanned image of Tarra’s signature symbol – her footprint! Also, a package of Tilbury House Animal Books— The Goat Lady, Thanks to the Animals, and an advance copy of Bear-ly There will go to one lucky winner who leaves a comment on one or more of the respective tour posts (September 1-8, 2009). For all of these prizes, you just need to leave a comment on one of the posts in Carol’s blog tour. If you are on twitter, you can also win a copy of each of Carol’s books by tweeting before September 9th about the tour using the hashtag #trunktour. Winners will be contacted at the end of the blog tour after September 10th. (Note: open only to residents of Canada and the U.S.)

Let’s get on with the celebration!

Just for Elephants introduces readers to the Sanctuary and its philosophy by focusing on the story of how one of the resident elephants, Shirley, came to live there. Readers will steal a glimpse into everyday life for the elephants at the Sanctuary and through Shirley’s connection to the other elephants, begin to appreciate the complex and deep social relationships that elephants form. Travels with Tarra is the story of Carol Buckley’s amazing relationship with Tarra, the Asian elephant she has had for more than 25 years. It traces their early years performing together at circuses, theme parks and zoos, moving on to the years when Carol was establishing the Elephant Sanctuary. Both books are written in a simple and direct narrative style that will be accessible to younger readers, but with detail enough to engage older readers too, for both those who enjoy non-fiction and fictional texts. Some of the photography is fantastic, with pictures of the elephants hanging out, roaming and enjoying life and freedom on the land at the Sanctuary. A few of the photos in Just for Elephants were quite out-of-focus, which while this lent a certain “behind-the-scenes realism” to the text, I thought was a little distracting and surprising, given that I’m sure there were thousands of possible pictures to use. Travels with Tarra has some great shots of Tarra as a wee little elephant, sure to inspire more than a few “Aawww!”s.

As usual with Tilbury, teachers will find many good ideas for using these books in the classroom at Tilbury’s site. Also, while the Sanctuary is not open for visitors, they have established opportunities for teachers to schedule virtual tours via teleconference and there are excellent units for K-8 available for free downloading at the website.

Tilbury has come up with a lovely way to support the Elephant Sanctuary by planning a “Trunk Sale” running now through December 31st. For every 100 copies of the elephant books (Travels With Tarra and Just for Elephants) that are sold, Tilbury will sponsor a much-needed item from the Sanctuary’s wish list. These include 100lbs of peanut butter (a favorite treat), elephant-sized meals, and land to roam (to support the Sanctuary’s recent expansion). The books are available from indie stores across the country, online retailers, and direct from The Elephant Sanctuary, www.elephants.com.

Now for the interview. Welcome Carol!

I’m sure that in all of your years caring for and working with elephants, you’ve seem some pretty remarkable social interactions between elephants. Could you share the most memorable moment you’ve witnessed related to elephant interaction?

One of the most remarkable scenes I have witnessed occurred was shortly after Bunny arrived. Bunny had live 44 years alone in a small zoo. Her keepers were highly protective of her to the point of sheltering her from experiences that might have helped her to become a more confident individual, but they cared deeply for Bunny and felt they were doing the right thing by being over protective. When Bunny arrived at the Sanctuary she was insecure about the very ground she walked on. The surface was not level as she was used to and she had no experience with negotiating trails, climbing a gentle sloop or crossing a rocky creek. This evening Bunny was making her way back to the barn with a caregiver at her side gently coaxing her over this new and scary terrain. Bunny failed to recognize the land dropping slightly and tripped. She fell to her knees. She was visually shaken although she had not fallen down or injured herself, she was afraid. The caregiver tried to comfort Bunny and encourage her but she would not move. She was frozen in fear. At that point Barbara, another elephant, appeared in the distance, she was looking in Bunny’s direction. Bunny was not uttering an audible sound at least not audible to the human ear. But Barbara appeared to be responding to something as she came directly over to Bunny, gently laid her trunk on Bunny face and then just as silently as she arrived, Barbara turned to leave. Bunny rose from her knees and immediately followed Barbara without hesitation.

Your website has wonderfully detailed information about all of the resident elephants at the Sanctuary, with amazing pictures documenting their day-to-day life. I’m sure readers would love to know even more about them. What are some of the funniest / sweetest / strangest quirks of several of your elephants?

With so much happening each day and the uniqueness of each elephant I think the reader would benefit most by visiting our elephant diaries. These entries give intimate accounts of the elephants, a window into their world, into their hearts. (You might wish to check out these links in particular: 1, 2, 3.

Much has been made in literature and in the media of elephants’ seemingly complex and rich social/emotional lives. We seem to be fascinated by all of the ways elephants are like us, in their memories, abilities and relationships. What is your perspective? Do you feel elephants have been overly anthropomorphized, or do you think the elephant/human comparisons are useful and valid?

The truth is that elephants walked the planet long before us and the idea that we humans claim all emotion as human is rather ignorant and arrogant. Elephants embody emotion, they don’t own emotion nor do they strive to emulate humans but humans could definitely benefit and our societies prosper on so many levels if we emulate elephants. I accepted that emotions are experienced by all species, not exclusively possessed by any one species.

Thank you so much Carol for taking the time to answer my questions. I wish you the best with the Sanctuary and the books.

Be sure to visit the other stops on the “Elephants on Tour” blog party for even more elephant-y goodness:

Tuesday, Sept. 1: Reading Rumpus
Wednesday, Sept. 2: Sacred Elephants
Thursday, Sept. 3: Read These Books and Use Them!
Friday, Sept. 4: Maw Books
Saturday, Sept. 5: right here, right now!
Sunday, Sept. 6: Bees Knees
Monday, Sept. 7: Through The Looking Glass
Tuesday, Sept. 8: Bri Meets Books

In addition to Tilbury House’s titles, Just for Elephants and Travels with Tarra, Carol has a book that has just been released with Putnam called Terra and Bella. You’ve probably seen the videos about these two pals, but here’s one from the Sanctuary that showcases this amazing inter-species friendship:

How could you resist? Don’t forget to drop off a comment to enter to win one of the copies of the books Tilbury House has donated for this tour.

** NEWS! Tilbury is so happy to see the many comments left on Carol’s blog stops, so they’ve decided to add a sort of bonus prize, an extra donation to the Sanctuary on behalf of everyone who participated in the tour. For the 100 or so people who posted comments, tweeted, or hosted a stop, we will be sponsoring 100 lbs of peanut butter, a favorite snack of “the girls” at the Sanctuary. Isn’t this publisher awesome?**

I was so impressed by Mitali Perkins’ Rickshaw Girl when I read it two years ago for the Cybils awards that I had a humming excited feeling as I prepared to read her latest, titled Secret Keeper. Today I turned the last page one very happy reader. This is a beautiful book that you won’t soon forget, a story about true sisterhood that is full of heart and heartbreak and characters you’ll care about.

Set during the political turmoil in India in the mid-1970s, Secret Keeper focuses on a family facing a major transition. Asha’s father loses his job and makes the difficult decision to leave his family behind to travel to America to look for work. He plans to secure a job and then send for them to join him. This means that in the meantime, Asha, her older sister Reet, and their mother must move from their home in Dehli to Calcutta to stay with Baba’s brother and his family. This is not something that anyone really wants. Even though Uncle is welcoming and quite kind to his relatives, since he is the man of the house, the three women are entirely at the mercy of his decisions. They wait for word from Baba, hoping that it won’t be long before they leave to start their new life in America. Things don’t progress quickly, however, and money starts to run low. Reet’s beauty attracts a lot of attention in the neighborhood, and soon there are marriage proposals. Asha doesn’t want to lose her sister, and she has never felt more confined by the traditions and expectations of her Uncle’s household and the community beyond. She dreams of continuing her education and having the freedom to do the things she loves, to play sports and enjoy herself like her cousin Raj. She escapes to the rooftop where she writes in her diary and steals some time for herself. In these stolen moments, she meets the boy next door, Jay Sen, and over time, the two begin to care for one another. Then news arrives from America that changes everything and sets Asha and her family on a course none of them ever imagined.

Secret Keeper is incredibly moving. It kind of sneaks up on you, because at first it’s just the story of a family, going through a lot of changes, but then it slowly becomes a lot more than a simple family story. Mitali creates the relationship between Asha and Reet so convincingly. I can’t think of a YA novel in which I’ve appreciated a depiction of sisterhood more than here. Their bond comes through on these pages with real intensity, which makes what happens in the later part of the novel heartwrenching, and really quite unforgettable. You will be inspired to imagine these characters ten, twenty, fifty years down the road in their lives. You will wonder what happened after. I love books like that. I think Mitali also has a talent for writing about the culture of distant places in a way that is fully integrated with the rest of the story. You will never feel like she’s just taking a moment to fill you in on Indian society before getting back to the narrative, and yet you finish her book feeling as if you have gained substantial insight into a different place and the people who lived there. Another thing I admire in this story is the ending. It’s hard, but it’s perfect. Mitali didn’t choose the easy way out. I kept waiting for something to happen to take the story towards a more conventional “happily ever after,” but it is just right.

I’d seen the book trailer for Secret Keeper when it came out earlier this year, and for some reason it left me with the impression that the story was middle grade, so it came as something of a surprise as I was reading along that this is definitely a book for teens that deals with intense emotions and issues.

Secret Keeper is rich and powerful and crafted by a writer of true talent. I’m not waiting two more years to read all the rest of Mitali’s books. I’m off to the library right now.

Secret Keeper is published by Delacorte.

I received my copy of When it’s Six O’clock in San Francisco a while back, but I put it away and hadn’t looked at it until today, because I didn’t want to think about anything even remotely related to school so early in my summer holiday. Now that we’re into August, and my mind is starting to turn back to teaching, I thought I could safely pick it up. As it turns out, my feeling that it would be a great teaching book was exactly right. This lovely picture book is the perfect way to help students understand the tricky concept of time zones.

Cynthia Jaynes Omololu has created a text that is accessible and lyrical, and Randy DuBurke’s evocative and warm illustrations bring the multicultural aspect of the work vividly to life. The book begins with a boy waking up one February morning in San Francisco. From there, as the pages turn, the reader moves around the world, from Montréal to Santiago to London and Cape Town and beyond. At each new place, the text starts off, “When it’s six o’clock in San Francisco…” and goes on to give the time in that part of the world and to describe what a child who lives there is doing at that time of day. Omololu describes ordinary things – going to school, playing in a soccer game, running errands, having dinner and cycling home. There is something comforting and beautiful in the way she describes the ordinary events of daily life, and I think kids will appreciate this and make connections to the text easily.

I remember being fascinated as a child by the idea that somewhere on the other side of the world a kid was going to bed when I was just getting up, or heading home from school as I was climbing onto the bus. There was some magic in that, even when I understood the real explanation for it. It made me feel oddly connected to people I knew I would never meet. Omololu’s book captures that spirit, and I imagine it will get kids wondering what other children are doing, at all different times of the day, on the other side of the planet.

When it’s Six O’clock in San Francisco is published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Harper Lee Morgan wants to be a poet. Actually, she’s already a poet. She just wants to have a chance to share her poems onstage, at her school’s poetry contest. She writes about her experiences, and she has had a lot of pretty difficult ones in her young life. Her Daddy walked out on her family soon after her little baby sister died. Now her Mama has to work even harder to provide for Harper and her brother Hemingway. It seems like things couldn’t be much worse, but then the family gets evicted from their house. Harper ends up having to stay home from school to care for Hemingway, right at the time when she wants to be there most, to get her poems all perfect for the poetry contest. Feeling stuck and forced into circumstances no one would choose, Harper discovers a lot about responsibility, creativity and the secret places beauty can live.

I loved this book, from start to finish. Debut author, Ann Haywood Leal, is a writer worth watching. Her novel addresses challenging real world issues (homelessness and poverty) in a way that is entirely understandable for children, without shying away too much from how scary the situation is for this family. Kids will grasp the desperate circumstances of Harper’s family, and no doubt be interested in seeing how this girl copes in such an unimaginable situation for most children. You’ll fall for this character, for the way she is an ordinary child and yet sometimes sees the world with a kind of wisdom and forbearance beyond her years. I enjoyed the way that Harper’s poems were scattered throughout the narrative. I’ve read numerous children’s books with main characters who are aspiring poets, and I think that Leal did a fantastic job creating poetry that could indeed have been written by a child. The poems read very believably – never overly refined and seemingly too adult in tone and style. There are several memorable secondary characters as well, particularly Dorothy, an older woman Harper meets early in the story and who has secrets that Harper does not discover until much later. Leal has a way with words that seems graceful and natural, never forced. She tells the story simply but with real care.

Also Known as Harper has much to offer readers in its themes and would make an outstanding choice for literature circles in the classroom or book club discussions. I’m imagining conversations about hope and the way people judge each other. This narrative has a lot to say about compassion, feeling compassion for others even while you’re in a situation that deserves compassion as well. I was reminded of Waiting for Normal, although I thought Harper was a more believable character than Addie in Waiting for Normal, because while Harper was optimistic and hopeful, her strength was tempered by frustration and sadness too. I plan to recommend Also Known as Harper to many, and I will be looking out for Ann Haywood Leal’s next books. Ann will be here soon for an interview, and I’ll hopefully be giving away a few copies of her book when she visits.

Also Known as Harper is published by Henry Holt.

Other reviews:

A Patchwork of Books
Mrs. Magoo Reads

S. Terrell French’s debut Middle Grade novel, Operation Redwood, is an eco-adventure story that delighted me from start to finish. French combines spunky characters, authentic kid friendships and environmental activism to create a story that is exciting, heart-warming and inspiring.

Julian Carter-Li is living with his high-powered uncle while his photographer mom travels the globe. He doesn’t like this arrangement much, because his aunt and uncle are pretty unpleasant and make it obvious that they don’t really want Julian around. When Julian happens to read a very angry email sent to his Uncle Sibley from a girl who accuses Sibley of planning to destroy a stand of redwoods, he ends up getting pulled into a fight to save the forest. Along the way, Julian learns a lot about the magic of the redwoods, life in the country, friendship and family ties.

I always admire a writer who can create an MG novel that will surely appeal to both boys and girls. S. Terrell French has achieved this in Operation Redwood, as the novel offers well-drawn male and female characters and the adventure element whips along with plenty of risk and duplicity and kid-ingenuity, sure to attract all readers. MG novels with convincing characters and a non-stop story don’t happen everyday. More often it seems that you end up with more of one than the other. Not so here. I guess that’s what produces the feeling you’ve got by the end of Operation Redwood that you’ve read something substantial and lasting, and certainly a book you want to pass on to every kid you know.

I loved this story’s freshness, it felt especially “now” with its environmental emphasis, and I think there is something in the confident, savvy nature of the kids that young readers will recognize. Naturally, the story is packed with potential links for educators, and I imagine that it would make a smashing read aloud in the classroom. Kids need more books that demonstrate how they have the power to change the natural world for the better. For wannabe activists, tree-huggers, and all middle grade readers, Operation Redwood comes very highly recommended.

Operation Redwood is published by Amulet, an imprint of Harry N. Abrams.

I’ve been on quite the amazing book streak recently, and one of the highlights of the past weeks has certainly been Laura Resau’s magnificently nuanced and poetic novel, Red Glass. If you have not yet had the pleasure of reading this book, I’m very envious, because it swept me up completely and immediately turned me into a serious Laura Resau fan.

Sophie’s life changes forever after one phone call from a hospital. The call concerns a six-year-old Mexican boy who was found in the desert, dehydrated and alone, the only survivor of a group of people who were following a guide across the border to Arizona. Her family gets this phone call because the boy, Pablo, was carrying Sophie’s stepfather’s business card. Pablo comes to live with the family and it isn’t long before they cannot imagine their lives without him. Sophie calls him her Principito, or Little Prince, and she loves him with her whole heart. A year later, Sophie’s parents get in touch with Pablo’s relatives in Mexico and Sophie journeys to Pablo’s hometown, along with her Aunt Dika, Dika’s new boyfriend Mr. Lorenzo and his son Ángel, so that Pablo can decide where he wants to live permanently. This journey is difficult for Sophie for many reasons. Of course, she can’t stand the thought of losing Pablo. Beyond this, she has always been afraid of just about everything, from food poisoning to germs to cancer. She has no idea how this trip will test her strength and change her life.

I am a big fan of foreign films. My family teases me because for every good one I manage to rent / drag them to see, I end up picking about 5 sketchy and/or completely weirdo ones (they’ll never let me forget the “Monks playing soccer movie”). Still, I’ll take a great foreign film over Hollywood schlocky drama any day of the week. The reason? With a great foreign film, I almost always feel like I’ve witnessed another way of being in the world, vastly different from my life, that I might not ever have the chance to experience. I felt this way the whole time I was reading Red Glass. It made me think a lot about what people need to be happy, what makes communities work, and how shared experiences can reach across time and culture.

Red Glass offers Sophie’s inner journey and physical journey to readers in lyrical prose that you’ll find yourself rereading and remembering long after you’re finished reading. This is a story about how memory shapes identity, and how harshness and beauty are found so often side-by-side. Sophie learns how to trust, to take risks and how to let go. I read a review that compared Resau’s writing to Barbara Kingsolver’s books, and I thought that this comparison was right on. With both of these writers, readers experience a strong sense of place, attention to setting and the natural world, rich characters and a definite soulfulness in the story and quality of the writing. I am sure Red Glass would only keep revealing more of its richness upon rereading. I plan to do just that before next month, when it is a featured title all of May at readergirlz.

Red Glass is published by Delacorte.

Confession. I’ve never been especially drawn to children’s books that are heavy issue books. You know, a book about a young person struggling against all odds to face a life-threatening illness or some kind of trauma. Those books are important for kids and teens, certainly, but sometimes I get the impression that authors look around for some sort of crisis situation for their character, thinking it will immediately make their book more powerful and affecting. Sort of the way some actors seem to choose particular types of dramatic roles with an eye to getting an Oscar. I’ve read my fair share of stories featuring suffering young people and sometimes I have difficulty distinguishing among them. Such stories need to offer me something new, something different in the approach, in order for me to take notice. Like Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls, for instance. Now that sounds like a book that’s offering something new. I’d never dismiss an issue book without giving it a fair shot, of course. I’m just a wee bit skeptical from the get go, that’s all.

So it was with a little hesitation that I started reading Deborah Lytton’s debut Middle Grade novel, Jane in Bloom, because it centres around a family that is experiencing the devastating effects of anorexia as one of the daughters fights the disease. I’ve read many books about eating disorders, so I wondered what I’d find here that I hadn’t seen before. Lizzie is Jane’s older sister. She is the beautiful sister, the talented sister, the one with a golden future. Jane is a good kid, no trouble at all, and has always been comfortable in her sister’s shadow. But behind Lizzie’s perfect exterior is a secret that her family has been trying to keep for some time. Soon after Jane’s twelfth birthday, Lizzie’s eating disorder takes her life. This loss forces Jane to focus on herself and to think about who she wants to become. She discovers talents she never knew she possessed. As it turns out, Jane in Bloom is not really just another story of a girl battling an eating disorder. It’s actually Jane’s story. It’s about a girl experiencing complicated emotions after a great loss, discovering her gifts and looking at herself and her family in a different way.

I really enjoyed how Jane is a completely ordinary kid. At the beginning, she hasn’t really spent much time at all thinking about who she is, or what she likes, or what she’s good at. With a sister as dazzling as Lizzie, Jane is invisible to others and she’s not really visible to herself either. I think a lot of girls will connect to this experience. Lytton captures Jane’s transformation into a more self-assured, interesting and expressive individual in a way that doesn’t seem forced in the least. In these pages, Jane looks at herself for the first time and finds there’s a lot more there than she ever realized. Lytton draws Jane and Lizzie’s relationship carefully in just a few scenes at the beginning of the novel. As the story progresses we appreciate the layers of that sisterly bond – jealousy, anger, profound love and understanding. This is novel all about relationships, between Jane and Lizzie, Jane and her parents, and Jane and Ethel (the woman who comes to care for her when her parents are away). All of the relationships are drawn with care and an honesty that should really appeal to readers.

Deborah Lytton has written a book that offers younger readers a way into two very difficult subjects: eating disorders, and the loss of a sibling. Her novel is not intimidating. It is an honest and gentle look at one girl’s efforts to reconcile her mixed-up feelings after her sister’s death. But that’s not all that this book is about. It’s about self-discovery and change. There’s also a lot of hope here. Sadness for sure, but hope too. I think it would make a great choice for a girls’ book club, because it’s not just an issue book, it’s a story with a completely realistic, relatable girl at its centre. It’s as much about Jane’s growth and change as it is a story of loss. Jane in Bloom should inspire discussion, and with any luck, readers will be inspired to do a little self-exploration too.

Deborah Lytton’s Jane in Bloom is published by Dutton, March 2009.

With the recent intensification of conflict in the Middle East, I hope many teen readers find their way to A Bottle in the Gaza Sea, because it is a powerful, thought-provoking glimpse of life in that region. The novel begins when Tal, an Israeli girl, decides to throw a bottle with a letter she has written about herself into the Gaza Sea, hoping to make contact with someone who lives on the other side. She chooses to send the message after a bomb rips through a local cafe killing a young woman who was to be married the very next day. Tal cannot contain the emotions she feels when she hears about the tragedy, and so she writes about what’s inside her head as a way of coping. Naim, a 20 year-old Palestinian who first identifies himself to Tal as “Gazaman,” finds the bottle and contacts Tal. From there, the two young people begin corresponding through email, sharing their experiences and opposing perspectives. As time passes they become friends, and through this unusual relationship they understand the issues behind the conflict in even more personal and complex ways.

One of the reasons I love to read as much as I do is that sometimes I find stories that offer insight into a culture or a moment in time or an experience that I could never know first hand. A Bottle in the Gaza Sea does this brilliantly. It grabs onto you, and forces you to imagine what it would be like to live in a place where violence was a part of day-to-day life, where fear would be so close to the surface all the time. Tal and Naim grapple with this throughout the novel, feeling rage and desperation and profound sadness at the loss they feel around them, in the streets, on the news. I thought that Zenatti conveyed Naim’s intense anger so well at the outset of the story. His voice is sarcastic and bitter and mad, and as you begin to understand what he has seen and what he lives with, you can understand where his feelings come from. Tal wants so badly to believe that there is good in the world and that it is possible to find a way towards a future where everyone can live in safety and peace.

This book has a lot of say about the power of language. Writing offers both of these characters freedom. Their letters become a place to express what they would otherwise be forced to keep inside. Their stories and their opinions bridge the distance that war and death has opened between their communities and cultures. Late in the novel, Tal and Naim write about how their countries cannot seem to agree on a common language. They have different words for things: terrorists / freedom fighters, Israel / Palestine, security / peace. Tal says, “I think if we could agree on words we could agree on everything.” I love that line. It makes you think about the deep roots of conflict and the steps that could be taken to start something new.

Sure to spark discussion, A Bottle in the Gaza Sea has won the 2009 Sydney Taylor Book Award for its authentic portrayal of the Jewish experience.

More reviews:

Miss Erin
Teen Book Review
Abby the Librarian

Sherri L. Smith’s Flygirl has been getting great buzz through the kidlitosphere, and with good reason. Smith offers readers a story rooted in a fascinating and little known aspect of war history, a heroine with heart (and guts), plenty of high-flying adventure and rich themes to keep you thinking long after the book ends.

In 1940s Louisiana, Ida Mae Jones works hard cleaning people’s houses, earning money to help support her family after her father’s death. Aside from her devotion to her brothers, her Mama and her Grandy, she has one great love: flying. Taught by her father, Ida Mae can really fly, and she’d do just about anything to follow her dream to become a pilot. When she learns of the WASP program (Women Airforce Service Pilots), Ida Mae’s resolve is put to the test. She forges her father’s pilot license and heads to the training center, where she has to pass as a white woman in order to even be considered for the program. Ida Mae must keep her identity secret, a choice that disappoints her family and forces her to pretend to be someone she isn’t as she forges new friendships at the base. What follows is an account of her training, the challenges and risks of being a WASP, and the story of one young woman reaching for her greatest goal.

I loved Flygirl because it’s impossible not to get caught up in the excitement of Ida Mae’s journey, and in the gamble she takes in order to fly. Sherri L. Smith proves her writing skill by creating a convincing, fully-developed character and crafting a plot that is full of action. Isn’t that what the best writing delivers? Great character + plot that never stops.

This book is sure to get readers talking too, and will offer plenty for teens to relate to because it’s about making choices, deciding what you want and going after it, and staying true to yourself at the hardest moments. Flygirl explores many themes, among them: how the past and your own desires shape your identity, different kinds of sacrifice, and the courage it takes to dive into life. Truly a story of girl power, inspired by the women pilots who broke down many barriers at a time when the skies belonged to men.

I am so excited to be involved in Sherri’s upcoming blog tour. She will stop here at Shelf Elf on February 13th, and I’ll keep you posted when her tour starts with Little Willow at Bildungsroman on January 29th.

Flygirl is published by Putnam.

An interview with Sherri at 7-Imp

Other reviews:

Pulp Fiction Reviews
Book Loons
Armchair Reviews
Kidliterate