The Apothecary

Meloy, Maile. The Apothecary. G.P. Putnam’s Sons New York, 12012. 353 pages.  Tr. $16.99 ISBN 9780399256271

Plot Description:

The Apothecary is a historical fantasy that takes place at the height of McCarthyism in America.  Janie and her parents, who are both screen writers, are forced to move from Hollywood to rainy London, in order to avoid being blacklisted.  Janie finds it difficult to adjust to life in England until she meets Benjamin, the local apothecary’s son and Janie’s schoolmate.  Benjamin teaches Janie the intricacies of chess and tells her about his aspirations to work for MI-5 as a spy.  Soon, Janie is drawn into Benjamin’s amateur spying, but things become serious when they spy Benjamin’s father with a suspected Russian spy.  Soon after Benjamin’s father disappears and the apothecary is ransacked by Communist soldiers.  Before he disappeared, Benjamin’s father entrusted him with a strange book full of recipes for spells and charms.  It does not take long for Janie and Benjamin to realize the Russians are after a lot more than government secrets and that Benjamin’s father is intimately involved. 

Review:

Meloy’s first children’s novel is a wonderfully imaginative adventure and take on history.  Meloy recreated the terror of the Cold War, but in Meloy’s world there is not only the threat of nuclear weapons to worry about, but magic as well.  Meloy develops her characters carefully and builds the tension of the Cold War gradually before picking up the pace of the adventure.  The Apothecary is a novel like no other and readers will be left in anticipation of a sequel. 

Genre:

Fantasy

Historical Fiction

Reading Level/Interest Level:

Grades 5-8

Similar Books:

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer

Awards/Honors:

YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2012

Author’s Website:

http://www.mailemeloy.com/mailemeloy/Home.html

Liesl and Po

Oliver, Lauren. Illustrator, Acedera, Kei Liesl and Po. 2011. Harper, 307 pages. TR. $16.99 ISBN: 9780062014511

Plot Summary:

Liesl wants nothing more than to put her father to rest and escape the house of her stepmother where she is locked in the attic day and night. Po and Bundle are ghosts who wander the other side, one night they are drawn to cross over and visit Liesl as she looks so sad and lonely. Will passes by Liesl’s window every night as he does his work for his master the alchemist. Little do the children know everything is about to change and it all starts when Will mixes up his package of magic he is suppose to deliver to the Lady Premiere with the package of Liesl’s father’s ashes waiting to be delivered.

Liesl with the help of Po and Bundle, escapes the attic and steals the package of what she believes to be her father’s ashes, but in reality is the great magic. At the same time Will is on the run from the Lady Premiere and the alchemist, who have discovered his mistake and are furious, convinced Will stole the magic for himself. Both on the run, the children join together and commence an incredible journey.

Review:

In Liesl and Po, Oliver creates a fairytale complete with magic, neglected orphans, and evil step-mothers. Oliver weaves a complex and exciting story that will keep readers engaged. Delightful illustrations by Kei Acedera are interspersed throughout the novel, bringing life to Oliver’s words. At times the plot and number of characters are hard to follow, but all loose ends are woven together brilliantly and all is revealed in the end of this charming novel.

Genre:

Fantasy

Reading Level:

4^th to 7^th grade

Similar Books:

Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas

Author’s Website:

http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com/

Bud, Not Buddy

Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. Delacorte Press, New York, 1999. 242 pages.  Tr. Pbk. $5.99 ISBN 0440413281

Plot Description:

Ten year old Bud has been living in foster homes and orphanages in Flint, Michigan since his mother passed away four years earlier.  After running away from his latest foster home, Bud decides to set out to find his father.  Bud’s mother never told him who his father is, but she left behind a number of flyers for the musician Herman E. Calloway of Grand Rapids, Michigan and Bud is sure this was his mother’s way of telling him who is father is.  But finding one’s way to Grand Rapids in 1936 is easier said than done, especially when you are an orphan on the run.  Bud must brave vampires and battle hunger to find his way to Grand Rapids and meet his father.

Review:

Christopher Paul Curtis’s Bud, Not Buddy is a touching and humorous novel about one young man’s quest to find his family.  Bud has know a lot of misfortune in his short life, having lost his mother at age six and enduring abusive foster homes, but Bud is a resilient young boy and never gives up on the idea of family.  Bud never feels sorry for himself in the novel and is quick to thank anyone who helps him, knowing that no one has much to give during the Depression.  Not only does Curtis create a lovable and memorable character in Bud, but he also gives readers a glimpse at the hopelessness of the Depression, describing the long food lines and the sad Hoovervilles bordering most cities at the time. 

Genre:

Historical Fiction

Multicultural Fiction

Reading Level/Interest Level:

Grades 4-6

Similar Books:

Al Capone Does My Shirts Gennifer Choldenko

The Mighty Miss Malone Christopher Paul Curtis

Awards/Honors:

ALA Notable Book 2000

Coretta Scott King Book Award 2000

Newbery Award Winner 2000

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2000

Author’s Website:

http://www.nobodybutcurtis.com/

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Little Brown, New York 2007. 230 pages, TR. $16.99 ISBN: 9780316013680 

Plot Description:

Arnold Spirit was born with water on the brain, making him somewhat more susceptible to head trauma than most kids.  He is a loser on the Spokane reservation where he lives and goes to school.  This is why Arnold decides to change school and go the white school the next town over, Reardan.  When Arnold tells his best friend Rowdy his plan to go to school in Reardan, Rowdy ends their friendship.  Rowdy is not the only one on the reservation mad at Arnold for leaving either, most of the reservation thinks he is turning his back on his people, that he wants to be white. 

At first Arnold is an outcast at his new school and sticks out as the only Indian, but soon he has made several friends.  This is the first time Arnold has friends and feels like he belongs somewhere.  Arnold does not believe it can get any better when he makes starter on the varsity basketball team.  However, while Arnold’s school life is wonderful, life on the reservation is not.  Arnold’s family is poor and sometimes that means he has to hitchhike or walk the 30 miles to school.  Arnold’s father has a drinking problem, like many of the Indians on the reservation.  Alcohol brings a lot of grief to Arnold’s life.  Arnold’s grief encourages him to strive for a future outside of the reservation. 

Review:

It may seem like Arnold is ashamed of being an Indian at times in this book, that is certainly what his tribe thought of him, but Arnold saw the reservation not as a way to hold onto his culture, but as what the reservation was originally intended to be, a prison.  As Arnold points out in his story the government originally moved Indians to the reservations as a punishment, a way to keep track of them and make sure they were not consorting with white citizens.  Arnold still sees the reservation this way, everyone who lived on the reservation was poor and the schools on the reservation were bad as well.  Arnold is not ashamed of being on Indian, but he refuses to be put at disadvantage because he is Indian.  Arnold has just as much of a right to a good education as any white kid and in recognizing that Arnold starts a journey of self discovery.  Alexie’s humorous story paired with Ellen Forney’s cartoons brings this book to life and reminds me of Diary of a Wimpy Kid for teens. 

Genre:

Multicultural Fiction

Realistic Fiction

Reading Level/Interest Level:

Grades 7 and up

Similar Books:

Looking for Alaska John Green

Awards/Honors:

American Indian Youth Literature Award, 2008

Cybil Award, 2007 Young Adult Finalist

National Book Award, 2007 Winner Young People’s Literature

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008

Author’s Website:

http://www.fallsapart.com/