Bomb

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Perfect non-fiction book for YA.  Sheinkin managed to make it read like a good spy novel.  It was easy to get engaged in reading about the Manhattan Project and Oppenheimer's (and others)development of the atomic bomb.  Although there were far too many people involved to keep them all straight, it still was easy to read and very engaging.  This will make a perfect non-fiction pairing with WWII novels in the Common Core. 



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Liar and Spy

Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Although a different story than her Newbery winner,When You Reach Me, Stead's book also has believable characters and delightful twists and turns that keep you reading.  The story's main character, Georges, a seventh grader, has just moved into an apartment with his out of work architect father.  His mother works as a nurse, and is now working double shifts at the hospital to make up for the loss.  School is not much better.  His best friend has ditched him to sit at the cool table, and others delight in bullying him.  When a kid at the new apartment puts up a sign for "spy club," Georges responds.  He makes a new friend, Safer, who has all sorts of ideas about spying and who in the building needs to be spied on.  Safer tests the limits of Georges friendship as Georges makes realizations of his own about friendship.  Perfect for the new middle school 6-8 next year.



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