Not that good. Plot twists didn't work and some of her characters were downright mean spirited. Best story was the last story for which the book was named. This is a collection of short stories, supposedly in the horror vein. They fall flat--need some help from the master: Stephen King. Plots are relatively unsophisticated.
a Alcock, Vivien. A Kind of Thief.
Family's life is turned upside down when the father is accused of embezzeling money from company. Weak ending; we can only assume that the father was guilty because of the money in the suitcase. It's not clear whether Elinor Forest did the right thing by not telling anyone about the locked suitcase.
a Austen, Jane. Pride & Prejudice.
My favorit book by Austen. I love Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy's romance. Can I create characters as likeable and dislikeable as Austen's? Can I capture everyday life like she did? Romance without sex--is it possible to write that today?
a Avi. Blue Heron. Bradbury Press, 1992.
Well-written book. Dealt with a divorced family, job loss, stepchildren, and the changing of a character. Must read more of this prize-winning author's work. Story is about teen staying the summer with father and stepmom. She develops relationship with a blue heron and tries to protect it from a young boy intent on killing it with a bow and arrow. Her father's crisis (job loss and health problems) are developed skillfully.
a Avi. The Book Without Words: A Fable of Medieval Magic. Hyperion Books for Children, 2005.
Interesting little book based on a proverb. A green-eyed person is needed to read the "book without words." Thorston uses the "Book Without Words" to extend his life. Brother Wilfred seeks to return the book to where it properly belongs. Sybil and Alfric (green-eyed child) and Odo (raven) are the other primary actors. Sybil will die if Thorston swallows all of the stones which will make him younger. Set in medieval times. Sometimes I felt that the plot could have moved along faster. Also, the extraneous characters (the town barrister and the shop owner) seem to get in the way of the story line, though they did provide some tension to the plot. Introduces alchemy.
a Avi. Nothing but the Truth: A Documentary Novel. Orchard Books, 1991.
Ninth grader causes a major crisis for school district when he hums the Star Spangled Banner during homeroom. Great study in how the media works, how a story can get twisted, interpreted, and expanded upon from its actuality. Interesting format; no prose, just dialogue, documents, and transcripts to tell the story. Great teaching tool; excellent discussion piece. Also shows how communication works and doesn't work.
a Avi. Silent Movie. Athenium Books, 2003.
All black-and-white presentation that tells the story of a Swedish family who immigrates to America. They are separated. Mother and son are helped by old friends. Son Gustav is hired to star in silent movies. Father sees son in movie and family is reunited. Strong illustrations carry the story. An interesting picture book idea. Illustrations by C.S. Mordan.
a Bauer, Marion Dane. Land of the Buffalo Bones: The Diary of Mary Elizabeth Rodgers, an English Girl in Minnesota. Scholastica Books.
A special edition of the "Dear America" series, a set of books about historical events written in the form of diary entries by a young person living through the event. Started out a bit slow, but an interesting way to present historical information to a young audience. I can also see how this book series would promote journal writing among young people. Main character, Mary Elizabeth Rodgers, who was nicknamed Polly. The story of an English family's move to Minnesota in 1873 by railroad.
a Brown, Rita Mae. Full Cry. Random House, 2003.
Interesting storyline where animals communicate with each other. Story revolves around a group of fox hunters and involves a series of murders. Plot line could have been stronger and mystery could have been introduced earlier. Also--many characters so it was hard to keep track of who was who. I liked learning about the fox hunt, though.
a Chiaverini, Jennifer. The Quilter's Apprentice. Plume, 2000.
Interesting little book that incorporates quilting into the storyline. Sarah and Matt McClure help senior Syliva Compson begin renovating the family estate in exchange for quilting lessons and stories about the Compson family. In order to save the estate, they decide to turn it into a quilter's retreat center. Takes place in central Pennsylvania with many references to familiar names of towns and cities. Part of an on-going series that includes instruction books for making the quilts described in the fiction.
a Denenberg, Barry. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Breman-Perkins School for the Blind. Scholastica.
Part of "Dear America" series that presents historic events through the voice and eyes of a child writing in a diary. This book showcases the Perkins School for the Blind in 1932 and details the experience of Bess Brennan. With the help of her twin sister and a teacher, she continues to record diary entries. Based on actual people and an actual school.
a Deneberg, Barry. Early Sunday Morning: The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Bellows. Scholastica.
Part of the "Dear America" series. The Diary of a sixth grader who moves to Hawaii with her family just before the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Nice overlap of characters with events--especially since her father is a journalist. Excellent discussion points for classroom work. Amber Bellows is the diarist. Captures the fear of the country and provides some of the political atmosphere, too.
a Deneberg, Barry. So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl. Scholastica.
Diary of 14-year old Mary Driscoll, an Irish immigrant who fled famine-stricken Ireland for opportunity in America. Great for classroom discussion. Shows the conditions in the United States during the mid-1800s. A glimpse of how the Irish were treated as well as the working conditions that evolved as immigrant labor arrived, desperate for work and for money.
a Evanovich, Janet. Three Plums in One. Scribner, 1994.
Books includes the first three Plum novels written by Evanovich. One for the Money is a well-written crime thriller that verges on but doesn't become a romance. Plot moves along nicely, characters are well-defined, New Jersey humor is great. Main character is Stephanie Plum. Believable Stephanie Plum hooks up with policeman Joe Morelli to solve a murder and get Joe off the hook. Joe is being framed for the murder. Psychopathic boxer and his manager make Stephanie's life hell. Manager Jimmy Alpha is the actual killer, forced to kill because of his involvement with drug running using his boat.
In Two for the Dough (1996), Evanovich does a great job of keeping the reader entertained. She uses wit and action to move the plot along. Stephanie Plum hooks up with Detective Joe Morelli to solve the mystery of gun running, stolen caskets, and murder. Plot points include a funeral home, missing body parts, and a psychopathic killer.
Three to Get Deadly (1994) is particularly funny in spots, especially when Stephanie Plum's senior citizen neighbors all come out with guns. A likeable character and well-developed plot. We learn more about Ranger in this book, plus Stephanie realizes she misses Joe Morelli--and he likes her. Ice cream store, vigilante church minister, and dead drug dealers populate this novel.
a Fowler, Karen Joy. The Jane Austin Book Club. Marian Wood Books, 2004.
I need to read and re-read Jane Austen's work and then re-read this book. I liked the resources provided in the book. Can't say that I was quite as taken with this novel as the reviewers were. Story about a group of women and one man, and their lives as they revolve around the book club meetings and the books being read. I thought that there would be more parallels to Austin's plots.
a Goble, Paul. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses. Bradbury Press, 1978.
A Caldecott Medal book. A simple story probably based on a Native American legend. Based on today's standards, it's actually unsophisticated in plot. Its award was based on the artwork (colorful, but basic) and the fact that the story offers a layer of diversity to our world of Anglo-Saxon, white, homogenized literature. I'm not sure what the "lesson" was except that it shows the Native American connection to the "horse people."
a Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust: A Novel. Scholastica Press, 1997.
A Newberry Award book. A wonderful little book written in free verse that explores the experiences of a young girl growing up during the 1930s in the Okalahoma Dust Bowl. Great emotional depth, wonderful descriptions of life with the dust (a character in itself), and the magic of music permeate the book. Excellent depiction of family relationships--especially through hard times and through death and recovery. Definitely deserves the Newberry.
"Hard times are about losing spirit,
and hope,
and what happens when dreams dry up."
-- Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
a Kidd, Sue Monk. The Mermaid Chair. Penguin Audio, 2005.
Excellent, well-written. Plot includes Catholic rituals and descriptions. Story is set on a fictional barrier island off the coast of South Carolina and centers around a married woman falling in love with a monk. Subplots include why her mother chops off two fingers and her father's death. Kidd changes POV frequently throughout the book. Worth reading again and analyzing.
a Rhodes, Amelia Atwater. Hawksong. Delacorte Press, 2003.
Danica Shardae is an avian shapeshifter (Hawk) who agrees to marry the leader of a rival clan, Zane Cobriana, to stop the war. Good story with nice plot line. Romantic elements in a fantasy setting. Written by a young author.
"Meaningless hatred: the hatred of an enemy without a face. No one knows why we fight; they only know that we will continue until we win a war it is too late to win, until we have avenged too many dead to avenge, until no one can remember peace anymore, even in songs."
-- Hawksong by Amelia Atwater Rhodes
a Van Allsburg, Chris. The Polar Express. Houghton-Mifflin, 1985.
A book that stands the test of time. A simple story with a lesson--one must believe in order to hear the sleigh bell. Great illustrations. Definitely deserves the Caldecott Medal. I loved the image of the children on the train where the protagonist realizes he has lost the bell. An example of how a good picture book works; how a simple story line done well works. A book to read each Christmas for both young and old.
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