Posts Tagged 'family'

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Little Face by Sophie Hannah

Published May 6, 2008 Mystery , RAC , Realistic Fiction , Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Genre: Suspense, Realistic Fiction

Age Level: 14 and up

# of pages: 310 p.

RAC Book: Yes

The story begins when Alice who has just left her two week old baby for the first time ventures out for two hours and comes home to find she does not know the baby in the crib. She believes that someone has come into her mother-in-law’s house, where her and her husband live, and snatched her baby only to replace it with another newborn. Her husband becomes angry with her as she refuses to accept that this is her baby and insists on calling the police. The police have a difficult time deciding how to proceed since no babies have been reported missing and there is a baby present at the house.

The story alternates between Alice and one of the police detectives. He is generally accepted to be a really good detective and feels that this case is not as innocent as it first appears. He does not know if he believes Alice about someone switching the babies, but believes something is amiss. His colleagues all believe Alice is crazy and suffering from depression and psychosis from her difficult delivery.

The mystery was intriguing all the way up until everything is explained.  The resolution is not as good as one would hope after such an intriguing mystery has been set up.  There are moments where Alice’s husband shows tortuous feelings toward her for casting doubt on their family. It is never fully explained why she allows him to do this to her. The ending is satisfying, but unbelievable. The details provided weave together to form a good pace and some surprises as details are revealed, but again the motivations of the characters in their actions is not always fully explained. Readers who enjoy mystery and suspense will enjoy this, but anyone who has difficulty with people undergoing very degrading and difficult situations will find it troubling.

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy

Published March 25, 2008 Historical Fiction , RAC 23 Comments
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Genre:  Historical fiction

Age Level:  12 and up

# of Pages:  227

RAC Book:  yes

This story, told in poetry form, follows one of the twelve children rescued from the Lodz Jewish ghetto during WWII.  The author is related to this woman who became one of the few children who managed to survive during a time when children were considered a nuisance and expendable.  It is important for students to hear these true stories of life in the ghetto and how she managed to survive such brutal attacks on her family and neighbors. 

One main reason why she survived the war was her father.  Her father was very astute, observant, and not afraid to try risky tactics.  His bravery saved his family and many others from a certain death and once the war was over he never spoke of it again.  Instead, he went on to live a normal life as if he had never done these heroic things to save his family. 

This story tells not only of what the ghettos were like during this time, but also of family, friendship, and being willing to stick up for yourself and what’s right even if it is difficult.  Any student who reads this will be able to get something out of it sheerly because they will respond to the fact that it is a true story.  Recommended.

Marley and Me by John Grogan

Published March 13, 2008 RAC , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  303

RAC Book:  Yes

This story follows a man’s journey with his dog, Marley.  It begins with him and his wife picking Marley up at a kennel as a puppy and follows them through puppy training, their journey to start a family, and life with three kids and a big dog.  This story comes straight from the heart and does not only focus on the good parts of having a dog.  There are many issues with Marley since he is a chewer, afraid of thunderstorms, and a bit needy.  Through it all, the family continues to get attached to Marley and cannot bear to think about life without him.

This story was written after a column written by the author about the passing of his beloved dog brought such a strong response from other dog owners who have experienced similar relationships with their dogs.  For anyone who has close family pets this will be an emotional book full of funny, sad, and memorable moments that only a family pet can provide. 

Heat by Mike Lupica

Published January 31, 2008 RAC , Sports 2 Comments
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Genre:  Sports

Age Level:  12 and up

# of pages:  220 p.

RAC Book:  Yes

Michael Arroyo was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States with his father and brother when he was younger.  His entire family is obsessed with baseball and they love living in the Bronx, which is so close to Yankee Stadium.  Michael also plays on a Little League All Stars team and they hope to go to the World Series.  Michael is a strong pitcher and a little big for his age, so as his team starts to do well other coaches feel the need to question his date of birth.  Unfortunately, Michael is not able to locate his birth certificate, which causes some problems for him and his team.

Meanwhile, Michael and his brother, Carlos, are hiding a terrible secret that they are afraid will break their family up.  Despite the fact that Michael doesn’t seem to have anything going right in his life, he always has his friends and baseball to get him through.  He wonders whether he will get to continue to play baseball or if his dream will end forever over a dispute about his age.  This was a good sports story, but it also shed some light on difficult issues like immigration and poverty.  Boys will be a fan of this book.

Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Published November 5, 2007 RAC , Realistic Fiction 3 Comments
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Genre:  Realistic fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  312 p.

RAC Book:  Yes

This story follows three teenage girls as they work in a peach orchard for the spring break and summer before their senior year of high school.  Birdie is the daughter of the orchard owner and the only thing she feels confident in is working the fields.  She feels lonely and abandoned since her mom left and her father’s deepening depression over the divorce and the financial troubles of the orchard do not help.  Leeda is Birdie’s cousin, but comes from a wealthy family in which everything revolves around her older sister.  The more Leeda tries to fit into her own family, the more obvious it is that she was the unwanted second child.  Finally, Murphy was sentenced to work at the orchard for various pranks she has pulled.  Her mother dates a lot of men, which people judge her for and it makes Murphy uncomfortable.

The orchard itself is the center of this story as they try to work and save the peaches from frost, insects, and foreclosure.  Murphy and Leeda are both there against their will, however, and do not become helpful for a long time in the story.  The girls do eventually come together and become good friends, but they are also quick to turn on each other when the opportunity arises.  The end seemed rushed as all the loose ends were tied up neatly, but it would have dragged if it had gone on too much longer.  Fans of the Traveling Pants series will enjoy this book, but it doesn’t have the plot or character development of those books.  Mild recommendation.

The Noah Confessions by Barbara Hall

Published October 29, 2007 Mystery , RAC Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Mystery

Age Level:  14 and up

# of pages:  215

RAC Book:  Yes

Lynnie Russo is disappointed when her father fails to give her a car for her 16th birthday like everyone else at her California private school gets.  She rebels by skipping school to go surfing and in response her father gives her a letter written by her mother when she was Lynnie’s age.  Her mother died when Lynnie was in elementary school in a car accident.  As Lynnie starts reading her mother’s story, she starts to realize why she has never met any of her parents’ family and why they ran away to California.  As Lynnie begins to piece together the terrible events from her mother’s childhood she begins to wonder how she can go on without changing her entire outlook on life.  Lynnie also begins dating a young man she meets at her mother’s cemetary.  He is not like the boys at her private school, but as time goes on she begins to think that maybe that is a good thing.

Lynnie’s story is a little slow at times, but many readers will want to know what big secret her mother is hiding.  Although parts of the story seem unclear or impossible, the author does a fair job of explaining it in the end.  This is not the most compelling mystery out there, but readers who like quick picks will enjoy it.

 

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