Author: Jennifer Weiner
Title: Best Friends Forever
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Rating: 4
Summary: Addie Downs lost her best friend in high school over a serious disagreement, and they have not spoken since. So it’s quite a surprise when she finds Valerie on her doorstep saying she thinks she’s murdered someone. Soon Valerie and Addie are on the lam. A local policeman who has fallen for Addie goes after them. Meanwhile the “murder” victim is having some pretty heartwrenching revelations himself. This is somewhat of a “Thelma and Louise”–like plot, funny and tragic at the same time.
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Title: Twenties Girl
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Rating: 4
Summary: Although most of this novel is about death, it is a surprisingly fun read. The novel opens with Lara attending the funeral of her great–aunt. Only a few family members are there, and as the casket begins to roll away, a young girl starts screaming for everything to stop. As everyone else seems to be ignoring her, Lara screams for her. Suddenly Lara sis the center of attention and an embarrassment to the family and when asked why the funeral should stop she says what the girl tells her to say, that her great–aunt has been murdered.
This is Lara’s introduction to the ghost of Aunt Sophie, whom no one else can see or hear but who is perfectly plain to Lara. Soon Aunt Sophie, who turns out to have been quite a vivacious girl in the 1920s, is demanding to go on dates vicariously through Lara, reporting back on private conversations, and insisting that Lara find her necklace so she can go in peace. Although this is a “ghost” story, it is not at all “ghostly” – more like the obnoxious but endearing aunt who takes over your life. Eventually Lara develops a close relationship with Sophie and is torn between wanting to be rid of her and wanting Sophie to be her close friend.
Odd book, but it seems to work.
Author: Mary Ann Schaeffer and Annie Barrow
Title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
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Rating: 4
Summary: It’s interesting that Hilda and I were reading this book at the same time! She gave a good summary in her review, so I’ll just add that I enjoyed learning more about How WWII impacted the Channel Islands and about how people survived occupation. The author does a very good job of presenting the characters as complex people with many different types of motivations. It took a while for me to get into the book; I wasn’t too sure about the format at first. The book is entirely in the form of letters between the characters and I had to stick with it for a while before I was persuaded that this actually worked. Overall I enjoyed it.
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Title: Blue Shoes and Happiness
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Rating: 4
Summary: This is the first book I have read from the Ladies #1 Detective Agency series. I have heard so many raves about this series that I finally broke down and read one. I definitely enjoyed this book, particularly in its depiction of lives in Botswana. The characters were memorable and likable, and the mysteries were novel. I wouldn’t put it into my list of all–time favorites, but it was entertaining.
Author: Wendy Mass
Title: Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall
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Rating: 3
Summary: When Tessa is badly injured she finds herself floating away from the bloody body of a girl whose neck is bent at a strange angle. She watches as people rush in to try to help the girl. The next minute she finds herself standing in ... the mall? Is she dead? Hallucinating? Having a near–death experience? With the help of a fellow traveler (a boy with a drill bit in his head), she reviews forgotten moments of her life through items she has purchased at the mall.
It’s a weird premise, definitely interesting but not as satisfying as Wendy Mass’ last book, a Mango–Shaped Space. That book was one of my favorites. This one is entertaining but falls short of the previous book.
Author: Sherman Alexie
Title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part–Time Indian
LSU
Rating: 5
Summary: Arnold (Junior) Spirit is growing up on a reservation (rez) surrounded by a close community plagued by poverty and alcoholism. This is a semi–autographical novel that explores themes of individual and collective/ethnic identity, living with a disability (hydrocephalus), and being poor in a relatively wealthy community. Junior is suspended for punching a teacher and is surprised when the teacher comes to his house and makes him promise that he will make something of his life by getting off the rez. Junior’s decision to attend a relatively affluent, all–white (until now) high school 22 miles away provokes controversy in his community and puts him in a very difficult position when he is put into situations that test his loyalty to his community.
Overall a touching and thoughtful exploration of ethnic identity, family and tribal ties, and the effects of poverty. Alexie’s insights are revealing. For example, Junior notes that the difference between an Indian teenager and his affluent white peers is how many funerals they have attended. Junior–s classmates have attended at most 4 funerals in their lifetimes. Junior has attended 52.
Author: Jane Green
Title: The Beach House
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Rating: 4
Summary: As the title implies (or perhaps not) this is a “beach read.” This novel features Nan, an elderly woman who has recently discovered that she is at risk of losing her family home. She decides to attempt to salvage the situation by turning the house into a bed and breakfast. The house attracts a collection of individuals and families in distress, and Nan’s affection for them and attempts to help them with their problems breathes new life into the old house. In the meantime Nan is shocked to discover that one of her houseguests is related to a significant person from her past. This opens a host of family secrets and challenges many characters’ ideas about family.
Author: Helen Cresswell
Title: The Bagthorpe Triangle
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Rating: 3
Summary: In this episode of the Bagthorpe saga Mr Bagthorpe finally succeeds (not for lack of trying) in getting himself arrested. Meanwhile Mrs. Bagthorpe disappears and Aunt Celia believes herself to be pregnant with twins. Add in a bomb scare and the Bagthorpe children become increasingly convinced that family members are disappearing into some type of Bermuda triangle situation.
This was probably the weakest book in the Bagthorpe series. I enjoyed it primarily because I’ve become engaged in the series, but at times it became annoying, like a sitcom. The book lacks the freshness of some of the earlier stories.
Author: James Howe
Title: Invasion of the Mind Swappers from Asteroid 6
LSU
Rating: 3
Summary: I’m clearly getting desperate here to find something my son will read and enjoy. I read this one to him, and he seemed to like it but missed a lot of the bits that I thought were the most funny. Guess there was something for everything.
A rather inane plot (perhaps with appeal to seven year-olds) is lightened up a great deal by the editorial “writing journal” notes from the “author,” a very non–literary dachshund trying to figure out how to write a novel.
Author: Helen Cresswell
Title: Bagthorpes Liberated
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Rating: 4
Author: Susan Patron
Title: Lucky Breaks
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Rating: 4
Summary: This is the sequel to Susan Patron’s Newbery Award Winner, The Higher Power of Lucky. Lucky is a kid living in Hard Pan, CA (population: 43) with her guardian Gabrielle. In this novel she makes a new friend, stretches the limits of some of her old friendships, and finds new definitions of family in the quirky characters of her desert home.
I really enjoyed this book for its characterizations. The people Lucky encounters are all unique but believable and memorable. A Newbery must be a hard act to follow, and the decision to brave a sequel is tough, but Patron’'s work doesn’t disappoint, and the reader is left with a sense of nostalgia and affection for the characters after the story ends.
Author: Lenore Look
Title: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things
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Rating: 4
Summary: I picked this book up because it’s pretty uncommon to find a “chapter book” (i.e. written for early readers who are just getting to the point of reading books that have whole chapters in them) that features a boy, and it’s even more uncommon to find one that features an Asian boy as the protagonist. Alvin Ho did not disappoint. Despite including some difficult themes (Alvin’s refusal to speak in school, his fears, and his loneliness), this is still a lighthearted read about a boy who imagines himself as the superhero “firecracker man.“ Look does a nice job of presenting an Asian protagonist in a way that seamlessly blends broader cultural elements with the particular quirks of one particular family. In other words, this isn't a “niche” book for those looking for “the Asian–American Experience,” but one that will appeal to all kids and may be particularly pleasing to kids who never find protagonists who look like them in the books they can read to themselves.
Author: Helen Cresswell
Title: Bagthorpes Haunted
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Rating: 5
Summary: This sixth installment in the Bagthorpe saga follows directly from the fifth book, with little introduction. This is a highly entertaining installment, but readers are recommended to read Bagthorpes Abroad first.
In this book, the Bagthorpes are still in Wales, living in a rented “haunted” house (actually more like a “hovel”) and Mr. Bagthorpe is still trying to hunt down the owner of the house and insisting the family must remain there until he sees a ghost (he sees this as imperative to his career, as it will provide more material for his writing of TV scripts). The family decides they must make the house more livable, so they go to an auction in which Mr. Bagthorpe unwittingly picks up more than he bargained for. On their arrival back at the house with mounted stags heads, formica tables, and various other horrible purchases, Uncle Parker shows up just in time to witness the unloading, which forces Mr. Bagthorpe to justify his unwitting purchases.
This book contains more than the usual number of frenzied hilarious episodes, including cousin Daisy’s attempt at sheep herding, a stand–off between the Welsh villagers and Daisy’s Billy goat (who is dressed in bells and ribbons and who the villagers believe is demonic), and the disappearance of Daisy herself with some assistance from Grandma.
Author: Helen Cresswell
Title: Bagthorpes Abroad
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Rating: 5
Summary: The book opens with the Bagthorpe children celebrating the end of term as they always do: with a cookout at which they steam open their report cards and Tess uses her large collection of pens and expertise in forgery to “correct” them. When they arrive home, though, Mr. Bagthorpe announces that the British family will be vacationing “abroad” (by which he means Wales) in a haunted house to give him more material for his TV scriptwriting. There follows such nonstop chaos that the report cards are forgotten and unopened until nearly the end of the book.
Mr. Bagthorpe, it turns out, has investigated none of the details of the “haunted house” other than its status as haunted. Cousin Daisy’s goat promptly eats the contact information for the owner of the house, leaving them without means to complain. Once the family arrives in Wales, though, they discover that the house would be better described as a “hovel” with almost no furniture and a non–functional kitchen. Mr. Bagthorpe can only remember that the owner’s last name is “Jones” (one of the most common surnames in Wales). To make matters worse, the family is surprised by the appearance of destructive five year–old cousin Daisy, her Billy goat dressed in ribbons and bells, and her parents Celia and Parker who have decided to rent a room in a posh hotel housed in a castle up the street. To avoid losing face with Parker, Mr. Bagthorpe insists that he has chosen the house to “toughen up” the family, and states that the family will not leave until he's seen a ghost.
The rest of the book is filled with the family's attempts to find a ghost for Mr. Bagthorpe, increasing clashes with the Welsh villagers (who become convinced that Daisy's goat out wandering the streets is a demon), and several entanglements with the Welsh police (exacerbated by Daisy's love of sirens and blue lights). Mr. Bagthorpe sees in these problems an excellent opportunity to rid himself of both Daisy and the goat in one fell swoop, and relentlessly tries to convince the Welsh police to take Daisy into custody.
This book is filled with the usual Bagthorpian mayhem and hilarity and is highly recommended for those who are looking for a laugh. Although this is the fifth book in the Bagthorpe saga, it is quite readable even without knowledge of the previous books. Note, however, that the book ends with the Bagthorpes still in Wales, and for the completion of this part of the Bagthorpe story readers will need to pick up the next book, Bagthorpes Haunted.
Author: Cresswell, Helen
Title: Bagthorpes Unlimited
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Rating: 4
Summary: The Bagthorpes are a hilarious British family who seem to get themselves into bizarre predicaments. This installment opens with Grandma’s announcement that the family has been robbed, and she has a list of what’s missing. It turns out that the list was made BEFORE the robbery, as Grandma felt it would be prudent to write a note to any potential burglers listing all the family’s most prized but worthless possessions, and kindly request that these things NOT be taken. It is understandably difficult, then, to find police officers who will take the burglery seriously.
The story continues in this vein, with the visit of the Bagthorpes’ pious but despised cousins. The Bagthorpe children set out to sabotage this visit by growing maggots in the airing closet, and Mr. Bagthorpe arms himself with scripture so as to better debate his sister–in–law. A hilarious disaster follows, with the interference of 5 year-old cousin Daisy, who has grown quite attached to the maggots, and sees them as her own prized pets.
This is definitely light but fun reading.
Author: Lucy and Stephen Hawking
Title: George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt
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Rating: 4
Summary: This second children’s novel by Stephen Hawking finds George traveling to America to visit his friend Annie. Annie’s father Eric has designed a robot that is malfunctioning on a Mars mission, and Annie has received a message that she believes is from aliens. It is up to Annie and George to save her father’s project and figure out what the aliens are trying to communicate.
One of the great features of this book is a series of short essays by some of the world’s renowned mathematicians and astronomers, written at about a 5th grade–level, addressing current issues in space travel and astronomy. The plot wasn't entirely believable but I still really enjoyed the book and was very impressed by the ability of the professionals to explain complicated concepts in a way that would capture the attention and interest of a fifth grader.
Author: Cresswell, Helen
Title: Bagthorpes v. the World
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Rating: 5
Summary: Mr. Bagthorpe, horrified by the overdraft on his bank statement, decides that the family must economize. From this point on, he declares, the Bagthorpes will eat only what they can grow or raise on their own, which means that at present the family is limited to lettuce, beetroot, spring onions, rhubarb, and whatever is left in the pantry. In short order a billy goat is delivered (Mr. Bagthorpe being somewhat unclear on where goat milk comes from), and the home descends into chaos. In the meantime, five year–old cousin Daisy has entered a phase of preoccupation with death and funerals, and begins to hold an endless string of funerals and burials in the family’s garden. When it is discovered that she has buried the family’s chicken dinner, the Bagthorpe children decide they must take her in hand.
This is another fun trip with the Bagthorpes getting themselves into one jam after another. One of my favorite portions features Daisy, still preoccupied with death, visiting a hospital ward, sizing up each patient in terms of the blueness of her hair, the wrinkliness of her face, and the length of her skirts, and pronouncing to each how long she thinks the patient has to live. The Bagthorpe visitors very quickly have rendered the entire ward hysterical, and are kicked out.
Summary: This anti–utopian novel is set in London in the near future. Global warming is wreaking havoc on the weather, and Britain is reduced to severe carbon rationing. The story features a teen-aged girl and her friends and family attempting to survive in a London subject to severe droughts and even more severe storms and flooding, all while navigating the normal tasks of adolescence. All around her the pressure is exposing fault lines in families and pushing people to do things they never thought they would do. For example, the protagonist’s sister gets pulled into selling black market carbon points, and finds it increasingly difficult to get out of the criminal network that closes around her.
I found the premise to be very interesting, and enjoyed reading one author’s take on climate change and what carbon rationing might look like. In places, though, the book was overdone, stretched the limits of my disbelief, and felt preachy, and this aspect annoyed me. Overall I enjoyed it, as many of the aspects of the book were more experience–near for me than some other books that deal with a more distant future, but the constant disaster scenarios grew a bit tiresome.
Author: Katherine Paterson
Title: The Same Stuff as Stars
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Rating: 4
Summary: After her mother runs off, 11 year–old Angel is left to take care of her little brother Bernie and her great–grandmother. She finds surprising allies in a stranger who teaches her to identify and appreciate the stars and an elderly librarian with whom her great–grandmother seems to have a longstanding grievance.
This novel explores the idea of family in its many forms and considers the ways in which we can make family when the one we are given is somehow disappointing.
Author: Lucy and Stephen Hawking
Title: George’s Secret Key to the Universe
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Rating: 4
Summary: Stephen Hawking branches out. This children’s sci fi novel, written in collaboration with his daughter Lucy, features a supercomputer, two kids, a pig, a bunch of physicists, and an evil teacher (who also happens to be an astrophysicist). George, the protagonist, is the child of eco-warriors who don’t believe in science or modern technology. Annie, his new-found friend, is the daughter of Eric, a physicist who is hiding the world’s greatest supercomputer. The kids end up having to save Eric when the evil physicist tricks him into exploring in the vicinity of a black hole. OK, so the plot is kind of cheesy, but the authors managed to create a captivating story that incorporates some of Hawking’s latest theories on black holes and a variety of information about astronomy, all written at a middle-school level. This is an accomplishment in itself.