Forge

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The book is really a sequel to Chains, although I didn't realize it until I was into the book. I found out later that it is to be a trilogy. The story shifts from Isabel's point of view in Chains to that of Curzon, the male slave that Isabel helps rescue from Bridewell Prison. Curzon, apparently has separated from Isabel and joins the Continental Army, befriending a white boy named Eben. After experiencing the deprivation of the troops, circumstances lead him back to his owner, who now also owns Isabel. The rest of the book is spent on the relationship between Isabel and Curzon and their struggle to be free. Anderson has done her homework on this book. Because of its accuracy. the book would make a nice addition to the American History Social Studies core. Great story, and an easy way to understand history.



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Girl Stolen

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book will really pull you in. It begins with sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder curled up in the back seat of her car while her step-mother goes in to get a prescription filled for Cheyenne's pneumonia. Her step mother has left the keys in the car so Cheyenne can turn the heat on if she gets cold. The keys in the Escalade are an open invitation to Griffin, who ends up stealing the car with Cheyenne in the back seat. The situation turns from bad to worse, however, because we soon learn that Cheyenne is blind. Griffin takes her home to his car-thief father, who is at first unhappy with his son for making the car theft so much more complicated. When the father finds out that Cheyenne is the daughter of the president of Nike though, he soon decides that it is an ideal opportunity for negotiating ransom. The details of the plot are a side story to the relationship that develops between Griffin and Cheyenne as Griffin tries to protect her from those who would do her harm. She feels his kindness and a strange kind of trust balances between the two of them. This engaging read is one that will appeal to girls or boys who love an exciting real life story.

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Ten Miles Past Normal

Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I listened to the audio of this book at the same time as I was reading My Life Undecided. I found that I often got the stories crossed because in some ways they are similar. Janie Gorman is a girl trying to fit into her high school. She, like the main character in My Life Undecided, Brooklyn Pierce, ends up hanging out in the library during lunch because things are so unbearable at school. Both girls pursue boys that are wrong for them. However, Ten Miles Past Normal, has a more serious side. Janie has to do a project for school that helps her to get to know an elderly man who worked with his wife for civil rights during the civil rights period. She deepens her understanding not only of the period, but of herself and her relationship to the world. This combined with her additional discovery of self as she learns that she really does want to play bass guitar for reasons other than hanging out with her secret crush Jeremy Fitch, makes her an interesting character to read about. The book should be a hit with middle school girls.

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