Catching Fire

Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. 2009. 391 pages. Scholastic Press, $17.99 ISBN: 9780439023498

Plot Summary:

Life for Katniss has become more comfortable since winning the Hunger Games. She and her family have plenty of food and a house in the winner's village. Peeta and Katniss won the previous Hunger Games by pretending to fall in love, but for Peeta is was more than just an act. Katniss fears she may have lost Peeta for good as he is still stung from her rejection months earlier. As the 75th anniversary of teh Hunger Games approaches the Capital decides to make the occasion by demanding tributes from the pool of past winners. Only three people have won the Hunger Games in District 12, that is only three people to choose 2 tributes from. Katniss's wold is shattered as she realizes she will be returning to the arena with Peeta and this time there is no chance that they can both make it out alive.

Critical Review:

I had my doubts about Catching Fire, at first it seemed like the storyline might be too similar to The Hunger Games,but Collins come through with a sequel that is equally as stunning and thrilling as the first book. Katniss grows as a character, as do her relationships with other characters. Catching Fire is more politicized than Collins' previous novel and reader will easily see similarities with 1984 and other dystopia novels. Parents should be aware that like The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, has its share of violence.

Genre:

Science Fiction

Adventure

Reading Level:

Grade 7 and Up

Similar Books:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Legend by Marie Lu

Awards:

YALSA Teen’s Top Ten 2010

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2010

Booklist Top Ten Science Fiction/Fantasy for Youth 2010

Children’s Choice Book Awards 2010 Teen Book of the Year

Indies Choice Book Awards 2010 Winner

Author’s Website:

http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

Book Website:

http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/about-the-book.htm

Wild Magic

Pierce, Tamora. Wild Magic. 1992. Random House, 362 pages. $16.25 ISBN: 9780756955083

Plot Summary:

After her family is murdered and Daine is banished from her village because the villagers fear her, Daine is left with no one except for her loyal horse Cloud. Daine has always had a unique ability with animals so she applies for a job helping herd and group of ponies from the horse fair in Galla to neighboring Tortall. Onua is impressed with Daine’s ability with the animals and agrees to hire her even though Daine is younger than she claimed. Not far into their journey they encounter an unusual site: a hawk being chased by two foul smelling bird-like creatures with steel feathers and the heads of humans. The women chase off the creatures, Stormwings, Onua calls them, and retrieve the hawk that has taken cover in the grass.

The bird’s wing is broken and Onua seems unusually concerned and sends for the help of a friend. Before Daine knows it, she and Onua are joined by a contingent of the royal army and Alanna the Lioness, the sole female knight of the realm. With Alanna’s assistance not only is the hawk healed, but his true form is revealed. It turns out the hawk is not a hawk at all, but actually the powerful mage Numair Salmalin, who had been poisoned and trapped in hawk form. Numair recognizes that Daine’s ability with animals is something more; it is a type of wild magic. Numair offers to teach Daine how to harness and control her powers as they continue to travel back to the capital, Corus. When they reach Corus, Onua agrees to keep Daine on as her assistant and Daine will travel with Onua and the Queen’s Riders to their summer training camp. Daine is thrilled as the trained camp is located at the Lady Alanna’s home at Pirate’s Swoop and Numair lives nearby so Daine will be able to continue her studies.  At first training camp goes as planned, but with no warning the untrained Riders find themselves under attack from magic, Stormwings and other immortal creatures. Everyone’s survival may depend on Daine’s ability to harness her magic.

Critical Review:

Wild Magic is one of my favorite fantasy novels; I cannot remember how many times I have read it and every time I have enjoyed it. Daine is very introverted and lives in a state of fear; she knows she is unusual and is afraid someone might notice how unusual she really is and she is terrorized by the memories of her family’s murder. It is amazing how Daine changes and develops as a character as she finds a community that accepts and supports her. Pierce has an ability to create characters that readers bond with and remember long after the last page is read and readers of Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series will rejoice at seeing familiar characters in Wild Magic. But these characters do not over shadow Daine’s story, which if filled with as much adventure and excitement as Alanna’s story was.

Genre:

Fantasy

Adventure

Reading Level:

6^th to 10^th Grades

Similar Books:

Alanna: the First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

Author’s Website:

http://www.tamora-pierce.com/

Totally Joe

Howe, James. Totally Joe. Antheneum, New York, 2005. 189 pages.  Tr. $17.99 ISBN 9780689839573

Plot Description:

Totally Joe is a companion to James Howe’s The Misfits and centers on the character of Joe Bunch.  The story begins with the student council election from The Misfits.  Even though Joe and his friends lose the election, Joe is thrilled because his long time crush, Colin, likes him too!  Joe has always known he was gay and experiences intense bullying at school because of his sexual orientation.  Totally Joe follows Joe throughout the school year as he experiences his first love and his first heartbreak and coming out to his family.  Joe’s family is very supportive of him, especially his aunt Pam, who helps Joe find the strength to stand up to his bullies and truly be happy with who he is. 

Review:

Joe was my favorite character in The Misfits, so I was delighted to find a companion novel devoted solely to Joe.  Totally Joe is a very uplifting and self-affirming novel which accurately describes the day to day experiences of many LGBTQ tweens.  Joe experiences bullying at school, but he stands up to his bully in part because of the support of his friends and family who consistently stand behind him.  Joe and his friends fight for and organize No Name Calling Day at their school in an effort to end bullying and Addie petitions to start a Gay Straight Alliance.  Addie is initially denied permission to start a GSA, but the school board eventually changes their minds when Joe’s parents, Addie’s parents and others voice the need for a GSA.  But what really convinces the school for the need to have a GSA is Joe, when he comes forward and confesses to being a victim of harassment at the hands of his peers.  This is a great novel that all children and adults who work with children should read.

Genre:

Realistic Fiction

Humorous Fiction

GLBTQ

Reading Level/Interest Level:

Grades 4-6

Similar Books:

The Misfits by James Howe

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Awards/Honors:

ALA Notable Children’s Book 2006

Lambda Literary Award Finalist 2005

The Mostly True Story of Jack

Barnhill, Kelly. The Mostly True Story of Jack. Little Brown and Company, New York, 2011. 323 pages.  Tr. $16.99 ISBN 9780316056700

Plot Description:

Jack is not excited about the prospects of his summer vacation; because of his parent’s divorce he is being shipped off to spend the summer in Hazelwood, Iowa with the aunt and uncle he has never met.  Hazelwood is a strange place, for starters people in Hazelwood seem to notice Jack; in the past Jack has always faded into the background and was easily overlooked by those around him.  Not only is the whole town aware of Jack’s arrival, for the first time in his life he has friends.  The longer Jack stays in Hazelwood the more strange things begin to happen and Jack begins to realize this may not be his first time in Hazelwood after all and the everything he thought he knew is wrong.

Review:

The Mostly True Story of Jack is a complexly woven story of false identities and magical bargains.  Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider will relate to Jack and will rejoice in his discovery of finding a place where he feels like he belongs.  Barnhill’s debut children’s novel is a bit slow to start, but readers are quickly caught up in uncovering Jack’s mysterious connection to Hazelwood.  The Mostly True Story of Jack is a welcome and wondrous stand alone fantasy novel. 

   

Genre:

Fantasy

Reading Level/Interest Level:

Grades 5-7

Similar Books:

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Scumble by Ingrid Law

Author’s Website:

http://kellybarnhill.wordpress.com/

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black ParatroopersCourage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers

Stone, Tanya Lee. Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles America’s First Black Paratroopers. Candlewick Press, Somerville, 2013. 160 pages.  Tr. $24.99 ISBN 9780763664053

Plot Description:

Tanya Lee Stone’s latest work of narrative nonfiction is the unheard story of the Triple Nickles, America’s first black paratroopers.  The Triple Nickles were formed in 1944 response to complaints of inequality in the armed services during World War II.  African Americans have a long history of serving in the military in America, going back to the Revolutionary War, but just because they were allowed to serve does not mean they were treated fairly.  African American servicemen were often relegated to menial positions and kept out of combat.  Formation of the Triple Nickles was a step toward racial equality in the armed forces.  The men chosen for the assignment underwent the same rigorous training as white paratroopers.  After finishing their training the men hoped to receive an assignment helping fight the war in the Pacific since the war in Europe was winding down at this point.  However, the Triple Nickles were not given a combat assignment, instead their assignment, Operation Firefly, took them to Oregon to help fight forest fires.  The men adapted their paratrooper skills to become smoke jumpers, jumping into remote locations to contain wildfires until regular firefighters could reach the blaze.  The men were also trained to defuse Japanese balloon bombs, which were silently landing all along the West coast.  The Triple Nickles may not have served in combat, but they served their country valiantly on home soil.  The Triple Nickles went on to become the first unit to be racially integrated, joining the 82^nd Airborne.

Review:

One again author Tanya Lee Stone has succeeded in brilliantly telling a previously unheard story.  Like she did with Almost Astronauts, Stone uncovers a part of history known to few in her latest book Courage Has No Color.  The men of the Triple Nickles demonstrated inspiring courage in the face of extreme racism and danger faced in the course of fulfilling their duty.  Siebert Award winning Stone’s research is meticulous as she tells the complete story of the Triple Nickles for the first time.  Courage Has No Color is an astounding example of original nonfiction written for children and teens. 

Genre:

Nonfiction
Multicultural

Reading Level/Interest Level:

Grades 6-10

Similar Books:

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone

Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Phillip M. Hoose

Author’s Website:

http://www.tanyastone.com/

Happy Families

Davis, Tanita S. Happy Families. Alfred A Knopf, New York, 2012. 234 pages.  Tr. $16.99 ISBN 9780375869662

Plot Description:

Teenage twins Ysabel and Justin think they are from a happy, normal family, until they discover that their father is transgender and has been living a secret life as a woman named Christine.  After being discovered, Ysabel and Justin’s father moves out of the house for a time, leaving the twins to deal with the knowledge of Christine on their own.  The twins haven’t seen much of their father in the past few months, but thanks to their mother’s decree they are about to spend their entire spring break with the father they thought they knew.  If spending their spring break with their dad in a town where they have no friends wasn’t bad enough, their father is making them go to family therapy every day and socialize with other transgender families.  Will Ysabel and Justin learn to accept their father and his new identity?  Will they ever be a happy family again?

Review:

Author Tanita Davis does a marvelous job telling the story of a family coming to terms with the knowledge that their father is transgender.  Ysabel and Justin and understandably upset at finding out about Christine, especially since their father was not the one to tell them and after being discovered he immediately left town.  During the time the twins spend with their father on spring break Davis explains to readers through the course of the narrative what it means to be transgender and demonstrates that transgender people are the same as everyone else.  Davis’s Happy Families is a realistic and poignant story of one family’s challenge to trust each other again.  In the end the twins realize that Christine is still their father and whether he wears male or female cloths doesn’t affect how much he cares for them and their mom. 

Genre:

Realistic Fiction

GLBTQ

Reading Level/Interest Level:

Grades 7-12

Similar Books:

Rage by Julie Ann Peters

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Author’s Website:

http://tanitasdavis.com/

Alanna: The First Adventure

Pierce, Tamora. Alanna: the First Adventure. 1983. Random House, 216 pages. $8.99 ISBN: 0679801146

Plot Summary:

Alanna and Thom are twins and both are about to be sent away from their home in Trebond. Alanna is destined to go to the convent and be taught how to be a lady and Thom is to be sent to the palace to train to be a knight. Alanna would give anything to take Thom’s place and train as a knight and Thom has no interest in knighthood, he would rather become a great sorcerer. So the twins switch places with the help of their guardians Maude and Corum no one is the wiser to the switch. Alanna disguises herself as a boy calling herself “Alan” and travels to the palace to become a page and knight in training. Though she is smaller than all the other boys and she must work twice as hard, she soon proves she is every bit the warrior the boys are when she bests the bully Ralon of Malvern and forces the older boy to leave the palace in disgrace.

Alanna quickly gains the friendship of the older Prince Jonathon and his friends, Raoul, Gary, and Alex.  Alanna also finds herself friends with an unlikelier companion, George the King of Thieves. Despite his profession George proves to be a trustworthy and loyal friend to Alanna as she is to all her friends, most especially Prince Jonathon for whom she risks her life a number of times.

Critical Review:

Pierce’s Alanna is a classic coming of age, fantasy novel for tweens and teens. Alanna is a strong heroine whose fierce determination is inspiring. Alanna’s story is one that has entertained generations of teens and will continue to do so. As Alanna grows and turns into a woman her disguise becomes harder to maintain. Alanna is forced to accept herself as she is and find other ways to be successful and compete with the boys in her classes. Alanna cannot find her real power until she learns to accept herself and let others accept her as she is.

Genre:

Fantasy

Adventure

Interest Level:

Grade 8 and up

Similar Books:

Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Author’s Website:

http://www.tamora-pierce.com/