Nothing by Janne Teller

[Printz pick]


Nothing truly disturbed me; a group of seventh graders in Denmark decide to create their own “heap of meaning” after one of their classmates, Pierre Anthon, climbs up into a plum tree and refuses to come down. His refrain to anyone who comes near him is that life has no meaning, and his classmates are determined to prove him wrong.

What is disturbing is how they go about proving that life has meaning; each classmate has to give up something of great personal meaning to him or her, and it comes to pass that the previous classmate who gave up something determines what the next classmate gives up. Wickedness and revenge begin to surface, resulting in some utterly appalling behaviors from the classmates—but the strangest part is that no one, until the very end, sees anything wrong enough with the “plan” to stop it. And even then, these children are so enmeshed in their “meaning” that they begin to believe it does have meaning, even if they cannot truly understand it.

The book jacket states that Nothing is a twenty-first century Lord of the Flies experience, and that is exactly what I envisioned as I turned to the last page. The novel left me deeply unsettled, and while it may not be the best or most uplifting novel I’ve read, any novel that affects me emotionally is definitely worth the time it took to read.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

[Printz pick]



Stolen is a disturbing and enthralling novel that follows the abduction of Gemma, a British girl traveling with her parents, by an older man named Ty, an Australian stranger. While at the airport, Gemma and Ty supposedly meet for the first time over coffee; he slips a drug into her coffee and then abducts her to Australia, feeding her drugs the entire time so she would not struggle.

When Gemma awakes in Australia, her first thought, naturally, is of escape. But she is greeted with a barren landscape of vast horizon and rusty sand—there is nobody around for hundreds of miles, and she has no way to escape. Through a strange series of events that show the humanity in even the most inhumane, Gemma alternatively comes to hate and love her abductor, a situation known as Stockholm syndrome.

Christopher writes with such passion and poetry; the descriptions of the landscape heighten the mysteriousness of Ty and the desolateness of Gemma’s emotional mindset. Certain episodes, like Ty’s capture of the camel and Gemma and Ty sleeping underneath the stars, are so well-written I felt as if the scenes were playing on a screen in front of me.

The ending is both exhausting, heartbreaking, and heartwarming—quite a feat for a young adult novel, especially a seminal effort by Christopher.

Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool

[Newbery pick]

Abilene’s father, Gideon, sends her away to a small town of Manifest, Kansas, while he works a railroad job. Abilene knows something else is going on, but she dutifully heads off to Manifest, “a town with a rich past and a bright future.” What she finds is a town with many secrets.

Abilene stays with Shady, a man who is a mix of a pastor and a bartender, and slowly begins to unravel the secrets of Manifest in an effort to learn more about her father, who lived there as a young boy and man. When Abilene finds an old cigar box filled with curious mementoes (“a cork, a fishhook, a silver dollar, a fancy key, and a tiny wooden baby doll” [35]) and letters, her curiosity is thoroughly piqued. After having to work for the town’s diviner, Miss Sadie, Abilene slowly hears the story behind each memento and letter, and thus the story of the history of Manifest, a town that reached its darkest hour and pulled together.

In a heartfelt ending, Abilene comes to an understanding of her father, and her father comes to an understanding of her. Moon Over Manifest is well-written and the interplay between the book’s present (set in the Great Depression) and past (during World War I) is excellently done.

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes

[Coretta Scott King pick]

Lanesha lives with her “caretaker,” Mama Ya-Ya, after her mother died in childbirth and her other family ignores her. They enjoy their simple life of tradition steeped in mysticism, thanks to Mama Ya-Ya, who is somewhat of a soothsayer. The novel follows Lanesha as Hurricane Katrina bears down on her hometown; Mama Ya-Ya knows the storm is going to be hard, but she cannot quite pinpoint what else is going to be wrong: “’In my dream, Lanesha, storm clouds come; wind comes; rain smacks down; the water clears. Sun comes out. Folks go about their business. Everyone is happy. But then, everything goes black. Like someone pulling a curtain. Or a shroud being pulled over the dead. Or God turning out the lights’” (51). When Katrina does hit, Lanesha must rely on the full force of what she has learned from Mama Ya-Ya to survive during and after the storm.

Having the novel told from the perspective of someone so young does, of course, leave out details, probably gory ones, that occurred during Katrina--but for the audience level, I think that is appropriate. The interweaving of the mystical elements hearkens to the Cajun culture.

Reading excerpt: http://amcabu.podbean.com/2011/01/29/ninth-ward/

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

[Coretta Scott King pick]

Three sisters are sent to visit their mother on the other side of the country; they are apprehensive, and as well they should be, since they barely know their mother. When they arrive, they are greeted by a stranger, it seems, an admittedly sophisticated woman who seems to evince little emotion towards her own children. What they do notice about her is her passion about her writing and towards her work with the Black Panthers. The girls attend a Black Panthers day camp, which is interesting to read about, and fend for themselves in California. Many events have to ensue before the oldest, Delphine, comes to an understanding about their mother, causing her to have to grow up way before her time.

It is always difficult for me to fully enmesh myself in a novel with a thoroughly unlikeable character or characters -- such is the case with One Crazy Summer. The premise of the book is interesting and Williams-Garcia writers with an easy flair; however, the character of the mother is so obnoxious that it made it quite impossible for me to fully embrace the novel. The dynamic between the sisters is adorable and spot-on; it was interesting to read about the Black Panther "day care" camp, if you will, especially from a child's viewpoint. Definitely an interesting and quick read, just be prepared to have the character of the mother raise your blood pressure a few points.

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan; illustrated by Brian Floca

[Sibert pick]

Ballet for Martha details the inception and implementation of Martha Graham’s ballet, Appalachian Spring. The book begins with a brief overview of how Graham’s ballets are different; she uses more stark and aggressive movements, using the body more as a canvas than as a metaphor. Then, the story of how the ballet begins to come together, with Graham collaborating with composer Aaron Copland and set designer Isamu Noguchi to create her story of a young pioneer couple striking out on their own in America. The ballet portrays their bravery and uncertainty in those brave and uncertain times.

Floca’s illustrations are well-matched to Greenberg’s and Jordan’s narrative, fully demonstrating Graham’s ballet techniques, frustrations, and triumphs. The back of the book contains a “Curtain Call” sections that offers more information about Martha Graham, Aaron Copland, and Isamu Noguchi; further, there is a Bibliography, a Notes and Sources, and a Photographs section that provides footnotes.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead; illustrated by Erin E. Stead

[Caldecott pick]

Amos McGee has a routine; he gets up early, puts on his uniform, eats his breakfast, and then takes the bus to his work, the City Zoo. There, he has various “jobs” with the animals, to include playing chess, running races, and reading books. One day, however, he becomes sick, and does not show up for work. The animals become restless and decide to come visit him at home.

Amos McGee was an immediate hit when I read it aloud to my first and second grade classes, not just for the adorable illustrations but for the funny and cute story. It’s a warm reminder that while we may count on people to be there every day, they are in fact counting on us just as much. Love this book!

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strange Parrot by Sy Montgomery; photographs by Nic Bishop

[Sibert pick]

A truly fascinating encounter with one of the rarest animals on Earth, Kakapo Rescue takes the younger and older reader along on a textually and photographically stunning journey to a remote island off the New Zealand coast. On Codfish Island, a kakapo sanctuary has been erected to save the extremely endangered animals, of which eighty-seven exist; they only breed at certain times, and even then, their eggs and offspring are incredibly fragile. Montgomery and Bishop capture the volunteers’ highs and lows as they monitor the eggs and hatched babies; one story in particular, about a young chick who suddenly and mysteriously dies, pulls on the heartstrings.

Bishop makes sure to include photographs that show New Zealand’s splendor aside from kakapo parrots and Codfish Island, and Montgomery does an excellent job of providing background information about the events that led to the kakapo decimation. This book is an extraordinarily fascinating look at a fascinating and rare animal that one cannot help but want to save.

The Hallelujah Flight by Phil Bildner; illustrated by John Holyfield

[Bluebonnet pick]


The Hallelujah Flight is an illustrated journey of James Banning's and Thomas Allen's transcontinental flight in a plane they overhauled themselves in 1932. It took them 21 days and many "hallelujah" moments, such as coming face-to-face with prejudiced townspeople, ferocious storms, and lack of food. The two men were dubbed the "Flying Hoboes" because their mission was considered such a dangerous and foolhardy one, but Banning believed in it; he said anyone that helped them in this mission, from helping to build the engine to giving them a sandwich, would sign their names on the wings of the aircraft.

The illustrations are realistic, colorful, and well-done, a lovely supplement to the narrative.

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

[Caldecott Medal pick]

It's time for bed for Little Chicken, and Papa warns her not to interrupt the story this time. However, she just can't help herself, and ends up interrupting all of the stories in an amusing fashion! Papa reads her three classic fairy tales, and Chicken interrupts each one with a "common sense" ending that made me giggle out loud. At the end, Papa tells Chicken to read her own story out loud, and we see that Chicken is also a little artist.

Such a cute story! Stein's illustrations are also fun, done in warm colors and suggesting coziness. I did a little bit of research and found out that Stein used "watercolor, water-soluble crayon, china marker, pen, opaque white ink, and tea" to create these remarkable illustrations (Junior Library Guild, 2010).

The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle

[Pura Belpre pick]


The Firefly Letters is a collection of poems written by Engle that vacillate between Fredrika, Elena, and Cecilia; at first, I was apprehensive of the slim book, but quickly I was drawn into the simply written but very compelling poetry.

Fredrika sets off for Cuba in a fit of wanderlust, throwing off the chains of expectations placed on women during that time and spending her days writing and sketching. Her main concerns are women’s rights, and while she is amazed at the beauty of Cuba, she is appalled at the conditions of slavery and women’s rights in the supposed paradise. Even the daughter of her rich host, Elena, is subject to strict regulations, as Elena is set to marry a man chosen by her parents.

Cecilia is the house slave, valuable thanks to her translation skills; she is pregnant and married at the age of fifteen to a man she calls a stranger. The three women find ties that bind them together as they explore the island with Fredrika, and both Elena and Cecilia find inner strength they never knew they possessed. Fireflies become a metaphor for the plight of the women, as the lovely and delicate creatures are constantly captured and even de-winged by Cuban natives; the ladies take it upon themselves to go nightly to free the fireflies.

A lovely work, with many springboards for historical research into Cuban history, women’s suffrage, and language arts, The Firefly Letters is definitely worth reading, either in one sitting or in small bites.

Reading excerpt: http://amcabu.podbean.com/2011/01/22/the-firefly-letters/

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

[Lone Star pick]

Thanks to her slightly strange history teacher, Mr. Mauskopf, Elizabeth luckily snags a job at the mysterious New-York Circulating Material Repository, a library of curious objects. One of the more curious sets of objects lies in the basement—the Grimm Collection. Carefully collected by the Grimm brothers themselves, these are items purported to have inspired the stories that children still read today, but with the added excitement of magic instilled within them.

Elizabeth becomes drawn into an intriguing mystery when someone begins taking items from the repository and replacing them with fake magical items—items whose magic wears off after a short time. Is it her secret crush, Marc, who does act suspiciously from time to time? Or is it arrogant Aaron? Or one of the librarians, or someone else completely? Using magical items from the collection to help her along the way, Elizabeth embarks on an unbelievable journey that is fun to read.

Shulman’s strengths lie in her ability to create entire worlds within one novel; the idea of a repository that houses whimsical and magical items is unique in itself, and definitely fun to read about. Our protagonist, Elizabeth, is a strong female character who may occasionally fall prey to standard tropes in young adult literature—but her strengths certainly make this book one worth reading.

They Called Themselves the K.K.K.

[TAYSHAS pick]

They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: the Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Bartoletti takes the reader on a well-researched, thorough journey from the K.K.K.’s inception to its ultimate legal demise. The power of this book lies in its authentic stories from firsthand accounts of those who had run-ins with the terrorist group. Also, Bartoletti includes an abundance of photographs, illustrations, and maps to provide us with genuineness and immediacy of the narrative.

A Civil Rights Time Line, Quote Attributions, Bibliography and Source Notes, and Index are included in the back of the book. They Called Themselves the K.K.K. is excellent, meticulous non-fiction that is appropriate for middle school readers and beyond.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

[TAYSHAS pick]

Firstly, let me say that I was a bit sad when this book ended—luckily, it was right around the time when Sapphique, the sequel, was released, so I ordered the sequel even though I was not entirely satisfied with some elements of Incarceron.

Incarceron involves two plots woven together—that of Finn, a prisoner of Incarceron, and Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron who lives outside the prison. Much of the novel vacillates between the two storylines. Incarceron is a prison created to entirely sustain itself; it seems to be endless and when people die in Incarceron, they are recycled. Factions, families, and entire cities are built in Incarceron; the “outside” placed the riffraff of society there generations ago and left them to rot, essentially.

Finn “wakes up” at a certain time and is suddenly in the prison. While he becomes assimilated in the prison, he does not remember a childhood in the prison; in fact, he gets flashes and episodes in which memories of an outside world come to him. Thusly, he believes there is an outside, and that is where he belongs. He and some of his friends find a crystal key that they believe will aid them in reaching the outside, and there begins their arduous journey.

The key, incidentally enough, is magical, and allows the prisoners to communicate with whomever holds the original copy on the Outside. The person holding that key is Claudia, the daughter of the Warden. She is contracted to marry a man she does not love, and she is desperate to find a way out of the marriage. Claudia becomes the target of many intrigues and plots, but once she finds out about Finn and his plight, she becomes anxious to help him escape the prison. But where is Incarceron? The location is and always has been a well-kept secret.

Incarceron is indeed a well-paced and engrossing novel; while I ignored the gaping holes in the logic of physics exercised towards the end (when we learn where Incarceron is located), I still enjoyed the novel. Finn is just heroic enough and just human enough; Claudia, a strong, maybe too strong, female character.

Brain Jack by Brian Falkner

[Lone Star Pick]

Brain Jack is a very specialized novel that involves technical language—luckily, I love that kind of stuff, so I found all the jargon very interesting. The novel is obviously extremely farfetched, but I suspended belief for the time I read it and enjoyed it for what it was—pure fiction.

Sam Wilson is a high school kid who also happens to be a genius computer hacker. When he pulls off a hack that leaves even the government scratching it heads, he is recruited by a top government agency to work for them. However, when this agency and other users begin to use a new technology, called a headset, that relies on brain power to activate computer commands, the technology goes awry and begins to control the humans. Sam, a purist who does not necessarily need or want to use a headset, is one of the few who realizes this, and it is up to him to save the world, essentially. Car chases, a nuclear bombed-out Las Vegas, and computer trickery abound.

I think the premise of the novel is a sound one—that technology can take over our lives if we are not careful to ensure we are using it to supplement our tasks, not take over them.

Reading excerpt: http://amcabu.podbean.com/2011/01/17/brain-jack-excerpt/

Welcome! Genesis: January 2011

Ahh, my last semester...what a whirlwind. Along with my last semester in this Masters program, I am also getting married (March), buying a house (April or May), and having my first child (June). Needless to say, there are quite a few things occupying my brain at the moment.

Currently, I am working as an elementary school librarian in a Title I, bilingual school. It is certainly with its challenges, especially as I come from a high school English background. My goal is to transfer to a middle or high school library at the end of the semester for next year; if I cannot accomplish that, as positions are scarce, I hope, then, to transition back into the high school English classroom. We shall see what happens.

In the meantime, I look forward to sharing my thoughts about YA and children's literature!