Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Review copy provided by Netgalley

The story of Bridge and her friends is one that is sure to resonate with readers long after they finish. The primary theme is peer pressure and the evolution of friendships, and boy, does it hit that topic hard. Told from multiple points of view in a non-linear style, the story can be a little hard to follow at first, much like Rebecca Stead's other writing, but in much the same way as other work, if you persevere through your initial confusion, you are richly rewarded for your efforts. This is a book about the experience that all children go through as they enter junior high or middle school. Friendships are tested as children evolve and drawn in different directions. In some cases, friendships can't withstand that change. In others, they can and do.

Also up for discussion in this book is the effect of social media on the young. This book deals with a middle school student sharing inappropriate pictures with one another and the fallout that that sharing creates. It is a very uncomfortable topic, and I believe it is presented in a way to allow for that discomfort while also dealing with what a child might go through as a result. Really, it's powerfully presented and will make readers reflective. Even reading this as an adult, I was forced to reflect on how I might handle the situation myself. If I was a teacher and I had to deal with a student in this situation, how would I react? Would I contribute to the problem by reacting poorly, as much of the staff in the school does, or would I be more understanding? I hope for the latter.

Lastly, there is the other story being shared throughout the book. It is the story of a mystery character, one that you slowly come to realize is somehow connected to the central plot of the story, though you have to put it together piece by piece. It's another of story of friendships evolving and changing as a girl finds that her old friends are less and less relatable and maybe aren't the friends that they once were.

Ultimately, this is a story about the pressures of growing up. It's a story about the inevitable loss of innocence that teens undergo and how the relationships that they maintain help and hinder them in that process. Each character has their own life and questions that they must face, but their bonds, both good and bad, with other characters impact how they go about their individual lives.

Readers will be in for quite a journey when they read this. It's exhausting at times, but well worth the effort as all readers are sure to see themselves and others in the lives of the characters. This is not a story with good and bad guys, but people that making choices and dealing with the consequences of their actions. Beautifully presented, and memorably resolved. Great book.



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Night on Fire by Ronald Kidd

Night on Fire by Ronald Kidd

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Review copy provided by Netgalley

I was amazed by this book's unflinching presentation of racism in the time of the Civil Rights Movement. Told from the point of view of a bystander who looked on as the Freedom Riders bus and its riders were brutalized from attempting to break down the bus segregation laws that existed in Alabama and other southern states, this book brings both the historical events and the perspectives of people from both sides of what transpired in sharp focus.

What I found most impressive was how the author presented race relations. Kidd did a superb job showing the mistrust that existed between black and white community members through the eyes of a child. This book is deeply moving and memorable. While it presents racially charged hatred, it does it in a way that is sensitive to its readers. There are no examples of foul language or racial slurs with the exception of the use of the word 'crackers' in reference to white people in two places in the book. This is an honest, plainly outstanding piece of historical fiction that belongs in the libraries of elementary schools and middle schools everywhere.

I am adding a copy to my library as soon as I can. I encourage all librarians who read this to do the same. It should be in consideration for use in school curriculum as we attempt to teach this vital piece of American history. I don't know of a more compelling piece about the Freedom Riders. It's relatable and thought-provoking. Excellent book. A true pleasure to read. Given the chance, it could create engaging conversation in the classroom.



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It Ain't So Awful Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas

It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review copy provided by Netgalley

If this isn't in contention for something from the ALA this winter, I will be seriously disappointed. It has Newbery or Printz written all over it. I've never read any of this author's other work, and this is probably the first children's book I've ever read about an Iranian American character. If there was ever a book that deserved promotion from We Need Diverse Books, this is it. I loved this.

I'd call this book historical fiction, though it's not exactly ancient history. Still, the Iranian Hostage Crisis is something from before most of this book's readers' lifetimes. This book deals with a topic that most readers will know nothing about fairly and honestly. More than simply learning about the historical period, readers will find that they can empathize with the characters. The mistreatment of this family is hard to take. I found myself questioning the motives of every friend and acquaintance she had, and every character gave me a momentary reason to wonder about their allegiances and intent. Still, all in all, it was the kindness of her neighbors and friends that I found most endearing in this book. I really loved this book and I hope that many other readers will feel the same. Given the chance, this could be a book that people will still be reading and talking about years from now. Well worth the time it would take to read. Amazing.

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The Secrets to Ruling School by Neil Swaab

The Secrets to Ruling School by Neil Swaab

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Review copy provided by Netgalley

While this book is not the only one to come out in past few years looking like a rulebook written in a school notebook, this book is singular in its overall format. This book seems to dance back and forth between instructional guide and second-person narrative. I liked that. It was a very funny book too, though I wasn't particularly keen on a couple choices of verbiage such as referring to kids being 'screwed' when things go wrong, or to 'taking a dump' in the bathroom that were sprinkled throughout. That's the kind of stuff that makes a school librarian choose not to put a book on their shelves. Also, there was a reliance on the cliched school social structure that I find tiresome and completely unrealistic in most cases. Essentially, that kind of storytelling perpetuates archaic social settings that don't reflect the reality of today, making teenagers seem one-dimensional and agonizingly predictable.

However, I don't mean to come down on this decision too hard, because I really was very impressed with the book. Within the setting he created, Swaab did an impressive job of creating a gradually escalating plan to affect change throughout the school. The cliques that he used were essential to the overall plot. Each clique needed something from the other one that made for a ever-evolving set of obstacles that the main character, me, had to overcome in order to find his comfortable place in the school.

This book is full of advice, most of it the kind that would most teachers and parents openly weep, but all of it done in a tongue-in-cheek, humorous style. The astute reader will realize that the plans, though amazing elaborate and seemingly well thought out, all have glitches that tend to make them backfire for one reason or another and generally complicate the characters' lives further. It's not until the end is in sight that you start to realize that the characters are growing from experience together and that real friendships are forming. One character I felt continually bad for was Eugene Leach, whose unpopularity made him the butt of many of jokes about lonely he was. I don't feel like that was done in good taste. Still, there is something enjoyable about this story.

I'm sure it would appeal to readers of anything from I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President or Vordak the Incomprehensible: Rule the School to fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Big Nate: In a Class by Himself or Dear Dumb Diary Box Set #1-4 or Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life. It was right on par with those books for crass, occasionally crude humor.

Were I a middle school librarian, I would undoubtedly add this book to my library, but as I am dealing with an elementary crowd, I would probably pass this by in my next order. Still, as a reader, I was very impressed. I liked the book. I laughed throughout, and I would happily add this book to my personal collection. Good book if the audience is ready for it.




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Saving Crazy by Karen Hood-Caddy

This book is set to be released by June 16, 2015 from Dundurn Publishing. It is a young adult environmental fiction story with themes including animal rehabilitation, global warming, whale conservation, and environmental advocacy. In the interests of full disclosure, it is important for me to note that despite this being the third book in a series about The Wild Place, I have not read books 1 and 2 in the series, titled Howl and The Truth About Brave. While I might do that in the future, this is the first book I have read in the series. Below is a product description provided on Netgalley. Below that is my review of the book, also available on Goodreads.

Can a high-seas, whale-saving adventure repair the hurt between two friends? How do you decide where your heart lies when it’s being tugged at from so many sides? When Robin and Zo-Zo discover that their beloved lake has become a toxic sludge — the result of an algae bloom — they know they have to do something to fix it. But trouble begins when the two friends develop a crush on the same boy during a community meeting to save the lake. To help repair things between the girls, Robin’s grandmother, Griff, suggests a high-seas adventure with a whale-saving old friend of hers. Out on the open water Robin must decide what’s more important: a relationship with a boy or saving the animals she loves.

Saving Crazy by Karen Hood-Caddy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I read this book as an advance copy provided by Netgalley. While I wouldn't say it's the kind of book I normally read, I read this all the way through and enjoyed it overall. The story is profoundly environmental in nature, but also a story of a teenage girl dealing with all the insecurity of her first real infatuation. A couple elements of the story came off a little bit heavy handed, one in particular being the constant harping upon global warming being to blame every time there was any environmental situation in the book. I'm no doubter of the science of global warming, but even I reached a point where I was saying, "Okay, I get it! Let's get on with the story now!"

The book did a good job of exploring the many different ways that an obsession with a boy could affect a girl's life, from her friendships, to her interests, to her goals all being compromised. Readers are sure to become attached to Griff as she helps Robin to see just what her feelings for McCoy are doing to her, and what she stands to loose from the experience.

The whale watching trip served as a nice opportunity to bring in another environmental cause, and it was a great climatic location. All in all, this would appeal to the same readers that enjoy Carl Hiassen or Jean Craighead George books, but it is also a good read for the fan of stories about teenage angst because there's plenty of that in there too. Certainly not a book for my elementary school library, but right at home in the YA crowd.

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"I Funny" by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein

Before I even started to read this book, I wanted to hate it. I really, really did. I don't care if that seems unfair. I take issue with James Patterson's rapid descent on the world of children's books, his use of ghostwriters to write all the stories that he merely outlines and rigorously edits, and the fact that his name is usually the most prominent feature on his books' covers. I miss the days when the children's department didn't have an entire shelf dedicated to the recent offerings of a single person. On average, there are new installments from at least two of his series and a entire section of the shelving dedicated to James Patterson every time I visit a bookstore. I wish that he would give his ghostwriters top billing and change his role to editor. It seems like it would be a better fit. He could get his own imprint with a publisher. Then he could stop plastering his name across book covers in astronomical font sizes, that egomaniacal habit so pervasive among writers that come from the adult market. I don't have a problem with James Patterson personally. From what I've read about him, he seems to have his heart in the right place. He's trying to save the publishing industry from the seemingly inevitable Amazon monopoly. His writing methods are what irk me. They're what make me reticent to sing his praises. There, rant over. I'm glad to have gotten that off of my chest.

And now, I have a confession. I loved I Funny. For all my misgivings, this book was one of the most pleasant reading surprises I have had this year. I fell for Jamie's charm right away. I immediately disliked Stevie Cosgrove. In fact, I was hoping that Stevie would end up in jail before the story was over, the little monster. That might have been the one thing I thought was a little played out about this story. I'm kind of over the maniac bully character that too many authors plant in their stories about adolescents and preteens. These bully characters parade about in a reign of unchecked terror, and there is never any adult intervention. Stevie fit that stereotype to the letter. Jamie, though, was refreshing and unusual. 

The descriptions of his character might have been a little too reliant on phrases that children simply don't use, but I loved his depth. There were moments when I was thinking, "No kid would ever describe something that way!" but it was rare enough that I was able to let it slide, and I'd usually be rewarded for my tolerance with some glimpse into his inner psyche that would pull me into his character just a little bit more. Jamie had a reluctant underdog spirit that made him impossible not to root for. He sat on his backstory long enough that despite the main plot being reasonably compelling, I was dying to know his unspoken past before it was all over.

My other favorite characters were his Uncle Frankie and Cool Girl. Each of them played Jamie's go-to bastions of wisdom at different points in the story. It puzzled me that Jamie was adopted by the Cosgroves when he had such a close relationship with his biological Uncle Frankie. It's nice that Jamie had family like Uncle Frankie, but it was a relationship that tugged at the back of my mind as I read. Why didn't Uncle Frankie adopt Jamie? They had such a loving relationship, yet Uncle Frankie let Jamie be set up with a random foster family whose violent son torments Jamie endlessly.

Cool Girl, on the other hand, was the kid that was wise beyond her years. She seemed to come out of nowhere and just turn Jamie inside out. Everything she does changes Jamie's outlook on his life in Long Island. She kind of reminded me of Stargirl Carraway in that regard, so of course she was an instant success in my eyes.

When all was said and done though, I loved this book for Jamie's sense of humor. Jamie's defense mechanism for any mistreatment or sympathy he received was to crack a joke, and he had an endless supply of one-liners memorized. He also created his own material, and despite what you might expect to come from a middle school student, a lot of his material was alright. Though the book never shied away from its narrative element, the comedy was what set it apart from so many other stories of its ilk.

And so, I have to give I Funny its due. It was a good book. Though I'm tempted to give Chris Grabenstein most of the credit, I begrudgingly credit Patterson with playing some role in the book's creation as well. I'll probably read the other books in the series. As little as I like to admit it, I've been sucked into the Patterson fold with this series, or at the very least the Patterson/Grabenstein fold. I suppose I was wrong to want to hate it before I'd even tried it. Though Patterson doesn't conduct his writing career in a traditional manner, he can still lay partial claim to some entertaining books.

Where have you been all this time? The joy of rereading favorite titles.

I recently picked up my copy of The House with the Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs. Please understand, the books of John Bellairs have a special place in my heart. Maybe it has something to do with the memory I have of my father reading Bellairs year after year, to class after class of students. Maybe it has something to do with how identifiable Lewis Barnevelt has always been to me. Maybe I just have a strange addiction to the thrill of stories about social outcasts that regularly find themselves mixed up with supernatural forces that are out to get them. I didn't say it made sense, only that I felt it.

Anyway, I've read The House with a Clock in Its Walls, the first book in the Lewis Barnevelt series, at least a half dozen times in my life, and yet I still found myself drawn back into its pages recently. What is it about books like that? They sit on my shelves for months or even years, completely untouched, and then BAM! It's 12:30 A.M. on a weeknight and I can't stop reading because I'm in the middle of a chapter and I know a good part is coming up. The joy of a book like that never dies.

As an educator, I have a habit of reliving similar reading experiences many times. Anyone who stays at a job for more than one year consecutively will experience at least some degree of redundancy at some point. For me, that means reteaching the same concept more than once, rereading the same books, answering the same questions innumerable times, but knowing all the while that I might be the only person in the room for whom the experience isn't entirely new. If I'm teaching place value to the twelfth or twentieth different group of students that I can remember teaching place value to, it doesn't mean that class hearing it or experiencing it for the twelfth or twentieth time too. It would be wrong of me to teach it the way I'm feeling it. Sadly, that might mean I'm masking boredom around my students some of the time. And part of the time that I'm hiding my boredom might be while I'm reading a book that I've read enough times to recite it from memory. I don't want to mention any of the titles that float through my head when I write that, but some books are better off read once, but not twice.

That said, some books stand the test of time, and others don't. I've read the poem, "Homework, Oh Homework" by Jack Prelutsky, to enough students that I don't even need to pull out The New Kid on The Block to refresh myself on the order of the lines anymore. That's despite that fact that I am about as talented at memorizing as I am at bull fighting on the Moon. You would think "Homework, Oh Homework" would have lost some of it's former appeal, but I still laugh at the line about wrestling a lion alone in the dark almost every time. I can't prove that's to you in this medium, but trust me. It happens.

Every time I read Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, I laugh when the monkeys get Jay Berry drunk, and I cry at the end. I'm referring to the book, not the horrific Disney movie adaptation. I'm sure the Disney movie would make Wilson Rawls cry, but not for the reasons that Disney might hope it would. I've reread that book enough times that I could probably write you a pretty good Cliff's Notes edition, but I don't regret it even once. I love the predictability of knowing just how a chapter is going to strike me. I love the relationship between Jay Berry and his Grandfather and it comforts me to read something so familiar, genuine, and goodhearted. It's truly one of the finest books I've ever read. I don't want to hit you with any spoilers, but if you don't tear up at least a little in the last scene of that book, I would recommend that you get some therapy because you're probably bottling up your emotions in a dangerous fashion.

I'm not alone in this rereading habit either. My entire family, with the exception of my wife and my mother, rereads favorite books. I don't try to figure out why two of the most important women in my life don't reread. I suspect it has something to do with their questionable taste in reading material. Rereading can be a powerful experience. It can give us a powerful jolt of nostalgia. It can change our perspective on something we thought we knew pretty well before. Certainly, rereading books that we remember from our childhood can provide us with a different outlook on the text or our younger selves. I recently reread a book by Bruce Coville that I was enamored with as an eight-year-old. I worked through the entire My Teacher is an Alien series in late elementary school. Upon rereading, I discovered that I still enjoyed the book, but a character that I remember liking when I was younger now seemed flawed and cowardly. I don't know how I didn't see that the first time I read, but time changes everything, I suppose, including perceptions.

I feel like rereading has a bad wrap among many readers though. I'm not saying rereading is always great. Rereading can be a strange and unproductive experience too. I know someone who rereads the entire Harry Potter series again and again without taking a break for other reading in between. Last I heard, she was on her fifteenth broomstick ride through Hogwarts. I don't know what can be gleaned from a record number of consecutive loops through the same books, regardless of how good the story was a first, second, or third time around, but I have to admit that as I went through the books and then the movies, more than once I returned to some moments in the books that I really enjoyed. Rereading is like a second look at something to enhance the first impression.

That said, I'm moving back through the three series by John Bellairs right now. If you haven't taken a look at John Bellairs' writing before, I highly recommend it. The three series that he created are that of Lewis Barnevelt (my personal favorite), Anthony Monday, and Johnny Dixon. Because Bellairs died with unfinished work, two of his series were continued by Brad Strickland. The Strickland books are equally entertaining in my opinion, though my father and I have discussed the matter extensively and have never come to a complete agreement. They are all realistic fantasy, as though that label isn't entirely befuddling. They contain elements of magic, macabre, horror, mystery, and adventure, all while being set ordinary, small towns in the mid-1900s. All three characters are likable to the reader, though they are generally unpopular with their own peers. They are the sort of protagonists that you root for despite remaining acutely aware of their outsider status at all times. If this is the sort of story that sounds like it could worm its way onto your reading list, then don't hesitate, but don't be surprised if you find it making its way back into your hands a few times after that first read. Rereading is probable. 

Deadline by Chris Crutcher

I don't read many books like this one. In fact, after reading the first few pages of this book I'm a bit surprised that I didn't put it down. And yet, it's not that difficult for me to see why I kept reading. This book was absolutely addictive, pure and simple. Most books with terminally ill lead characters get bogged down with seemingly endless descriptions of the characters thinking. It becomes an obsessive journey into the inner workings of every decision they make. This wasn't the case here.

While Ben certainly has to come to terms with his own imminent demise, he does it with a sense of urgency and intelligence that makes someone want to persist despite what they know is coming. This story doesn't pull any punches. It doesn't pander, give false hope, or pretend that things are going to work out because of some hokey moment of enlightenment when everyone comes to terms with their shortcomings and is better for it. It doesn't end clean for everyone, and there aren't a lot of alternatives to that end that would have come off so honest. The conversations with Hey-Soos that Ben has every so often are really about as deep as it gets here, and they are as laced with sarcasm and humor as they are with real insights.

This book is worth the read, whether or not it leaves you feeling down for a day or so afterwards. I won't deny that the issue of someone who only recently legally qualified as an adult deciding to keep his terminal illness to himself doesn't raise some objections in my mind, but I'm not sure if he didn't make the right decision under the circumstances. It certainly blew up in his face with Dallas Suzuki, as it did with his brother Cody in some regard. On the flip side, hiding his illness was what allowed him to play football, to not be treated with kid gloves by his teachers, and to not go down coddled and miserable.

While I came to this book with a pretty set notion of what's the right approach to an issue like this, I left with a lot more to think about. I think my ultimate conclusion is that this is an something I have no business pressing my judgements about unless it applies to me personally. This book will probably make you think about this too, though whether you come to the same conclusion as I do is on your head.

Throughout the book, Ben recommends reading Lies My Teacher Told Me, and yes, I took that recommendation and I'm glad I did. Now I'm going to recommend that you read Deadline. Crutcher knew what he was doing when he created Ben Wolf and he did it without apologizing for the rough parts. That makes it a worthwhile read.