Friday Society

The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In Friday Society we see a new side to the steampunk novel with three feisty heroines, whose lives become intertwined as they end up working together on what begins as a murder mystery. but becomes something much larger.  The girls, Cora, Michiko, and Nellie are all apprenticed to different men: Cora, as an intelligent lab assistant to Lord White, an inventor, Michiko a would-be Samurai to the swindler Sir Callum Fielding-Shaw, and Nellie to the magician, the Great Raheem.  All are talented in their own way, which comes in handy as they try to solve the terrible crimes that are happening in London beginning with their mutual discovery of the murder of a scientist.  The story provides plenty of fun, intrigue, and romance as the girls learn to use their talents working together.   There are a lot of anachronistic elements in dialogue and mannerisms for the Edwardian setting, but I doubt the audience of middle school girls and higher will notice them.  In fact, middle school girls should really enjoy this fun adventure.


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One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate is briefly about a silverback gorilla who is stuck in a cage in the Big Top Mall and Video arcade.  He has been there so long he has forgotten about his life in the wild and is somewhat content to watch television and talk with his friends in the Big Top Mall, Stella the elephant, and Bob, the stray dog.  When a new baby elephant, Ruby, joins the group, Ivan discovers his natural role as a protective silverback as he tries to keep his promise to the dying Stella, to save Ruby from being doomed to the fate he and Stella have endured.   He launches a plan using his skills as a gorilla artist to save Ruby.  Although this book was on display for several months last year, it didn’t receive many checkouts.  But, it is an excellent story.  Like many Newberry winners, it is not one that students clamor to checkout, but they usually are pleasantly surprised when they do.  They will enjoy it is a compelling story that is easy to read. Teachers should consider using it for a read aloud in the classroom because chapters are short, and there are many discussion points along the way.



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The Boundless

The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Will Everett is the son of a Canadian Pacific Railway executive, who made his way to the top by saving the life of Cornelius Van Horne, the railway’s president, from an avalanche.  The story takes place with Will and his father on the maiden voyage of the Boundless, a 1,000 car railroad train, as it travels across the continent.  When the train makes a 4 hour stop, Will gets off the train and gets caught in the middle of a fight between evil men who are trying to get the key to the funeral car inhabited by the now deceased Cornelius Van Horne, and the many treasures Van Horne wanted to be buried with, including the golden spike. Will ends up with the key, and barely makes it back onto the caboose of the train before it leaves, separated by about 7 miles from his father’s quarters.  Because he now has the key, he is the target of evil men determined to steal the contents of the funeral car.  Also, aboard the train is the famous Zircus Dante, a traveling circus with the star Marvelous Maren.  Will had met Maren, a girl his age, 3 years earlier, and had been looking for her ever since that time.  Mr. Dorian, Maren, and others in the circus become involved in protecting Will from the brakemen determined to get the key from him at any cost.  Action and adventure abound as the story moves forward, with just that hint of romance between Will and Maren.  Opel has created another magical plot that middle schoolers will love.

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My Family for the War

My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Originally published in German, My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve will be a wonderful addition to the holocaust curriculum for our 7th graders.  Franziska Mangold lives in wealthy Berlin prior to the war with her family.  She has been raised Protestant, although she has Jewish ancestry.  She and her friend, Becca, have to run from the bullies who chase them for being Jewish, although she knows nothing of the Jewish religion. After her father is arrested on Kristallnacht, she is able to land a coveted place on the kindertransport.  Her mother doesn’t want to leave her father in prison, so off Ziska goes to England and is eventually place with an Orthodox Jewish family, where she learns about her Jewish heritage.  Ziska is now called Frances by her Jewish family, and eventually creates strong bonds with this new family.  This makes her feel torn about her allegiance to her real parents as she seems to grow fonder each day of her new family.  Many things happen to Ziska as the war progresses and she struggles to find her place in this new world.  This book will definitely be part of the book talk for holocaust books for the 7th graders next year. 



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Dangerous

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Dangerous, by Shannon Hale is certainly a change of pace from Hale’s usual fairy tale.  In this story, the heroine, Maizie Danger Brown, is a science nerd born with only one hand.  She dreams of becoming an astronaut and is surprised when one day she wins 3 weeks at a space camp operated by Bonnie Howell, the woman who built the only space elevator.  She finds she absolutely loves the camp and is even more elated when she is selected with four others as the team Howell will take for a short trip into space.  While in space, the team is exposed to alien “tokens” which enter their bodies and give them super powers.  Of course, one of the team members is the extremely “hot” Wilder that Maizie cannot help but be attracted to.    Each of the super powers the teens are given work uniquely together under the power of Wilder, who is given the power of the “Thinker” in the group.  The super team seems destined for amazing things until one of the members dies.  The group unravels as fellow humans decide they can exploit the powers of the individual remaining members.  The book is action packed, and the touch of romance definitely adds to the story.  But, as a reader, it seemed there were too many things happening making the book seem choppy in places.  However, middle school readers and above should enjoy this new genre by Shannon Hale. 



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Far Far Away

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Since I listened to the audio version of this book, I'm not sure if the excellent narration by Morgan W. Sheppard made me bump this to 5 stars or just the unique story.  The story is of young Jeremy Johnson Johnson, who hears voices.  And, not just any voice.  He hears the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one of the Brothers Grimm of fairy tale fame.  The ghost, as narrator, tells the tale of Jeremy and his friend Ginger Boultinghouse, who absolutely charms not only Jeremy but many other boys in town.  Jeremy is taunted by his peers for being so “other worldish,” but Ginger is intrigued by him, especially after she eats the magical “prince cakes,” and they become good friends.  After playing a trick on the jolly baker, Sten Blix, Jeremy is shunned even more by the people in the town of Never Better.  But, he and Ginger become even better friends.  I think this was the appeal of the story for me.  It combined the unique ghost as narrator, with some believable small town characters, and the shadow of Grimm fairy tales together in a haunting story with all the twists and turns of the Grimm tales.  Grade six to adult will love this book. 



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The Caged Graves

The Caged Graves by Dianne K. Salerni

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Verity Boone returns to Catawissa, Pennsylvania, her birthplace, to marry Nathan McClure.  Although she knew him as a child, which she doesn’t remember, this will be the first time she has seen him face-to- face since that time.  She will also be reunited with her father, who sent her away after her mother died.  Things are awkward at first with Nate and her father.  Her father seems distant and things don’t go as well with Nate as she would like.  She wonders if Nathan just wanted to marry her because of his interest in her father’s farm.   Things are further complicated by the fact that the young doctor in town is openly attracted to her.  Her discovery that her mother and her aunt’s grave are inside cages and located in unhallowed ground outside the cemetery leads her on a quest to understand just why that would be so.  She makes some dangerous discoveries that put her life in peril, but help her to understand her heart.  The book is great middle school and high school reading, but probably more for girls.  The story is placed in 1867, so teachers could use the book as a free reading book in connection with Civil War study. 



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