During the summer before Cullen Witter's senior year, everything changes in his little town of Lily, Arkansas. Birdwatcher John Barling comes to town claiming there were sightings of an extinct woodpecker creating quite a stir in town. Then the unthinkable happens: his brother Gabriel disappears. Meanwhile Benton Sage leaves Atlanta on a mission trip to Ethiopia which changes his life as well as his college roommate, Cabot Searcy. This was an amazing read. The stories of Cullen and Benton/Cabot seem so far off but eventually, they do come together in an unexpected twist. I think more young adults will relate to Cullen and how he perceives the woodpecker craze in his little town. I strongly recommend this award winning novel.
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Last summer, Ginny spent the summer traveling around Europe following directions left by her Aunt Peg in thirteen little blue envelopes. However, in Greece, her backpack is stolen along with the envelopes including the last one. Almost six months later, she is contacted by Oliver who informs her that he has her backpack and all of the letters. She returns to London where she, Oliver, Keith, and Ellis travel once again following the directions to collect parts of Aunt Peg's work of art. While traveling, Ginny must deal with her love for Keith even though he is dating Ellis.
I thought this was a good sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Once again, Ginny learns more about herself during this adventure. I strongly recommend reading the first book before reading this one. Even though he is starting high school, Wilbur can never live down the humiliation from the first day of middle school when a student found a private letter and read it to the school. His only friends are Alex and his elderly neighbor, Sal. Wilbur plays triangle in the school band. When the band participates in an exchange program with a school in France, Wilbur is paired up with Charlie. Wilbur really likes her, but she sees him only as a friend. This is a wonderful coming-of-age story. Alex and Sal help build Wilbur's confidence and going to Paris also gives Wilbur the opportunity to find himself and grow. Leo Caraway has his post-high school plan all figured out. The president of the Young Republicans will be going to Harvard in the fall. That is until a simple misunderstanding leads to his ousting from the Young Republicans and his scholarship revoked. Then he learns that his father isn't his biological father and that his real father is the lead singer of heavy metal band Purge, King Maggot. Hoping to get his tuition from the rock star, he meets King Maggot, who invites him to join the band on tour over the summer so he can get to know his son. Will these to polar opposites find common ground? This was a book I have had on my "to read" list for some time, and I am glad that I finally read it. This was a funny adventure where both Leo and King Maggot learn more about themselves. Leo discovers his "wild" side. There are a variety of characters among them that really help the story move along and add to the humor. This novel in verse is a beautiful coming-of-age story. Xiomara Batista lives in Harlem where she feels nobody pays attention to her. She secretly writes her frustrations in a notebook in the form of poetry. When she is invited to attend her school's poetry club, she is hesitant at first, but she once she does, her life is changed. This is a great novel in verse. It is about how X finds out who she is. I strongly recommend this novel to students who enjoy poetry and those who enjoy realistic fiction. Oscar Olsson enters his senior year of high school with hesitations. Instead of going to school, he'd rather work on his grandfather's food truck making rulleknebab, donuts and other Swedish delicacies. His saving grace is his independent study cooking class until Lou presents a project involving recycling discarded apples from the cafeteria into muffins, cider, and other goodies. Through this project Lou gets to know not only Oscar but also his grandfather, Farfar. This is a fantastic coming-of-age story. These characters are so likeable and well developed. I loved the setting of a food truck and the difficulty in maintaining a food truck business. Oscar grows in so many ways as well as Lou. This was the type of novel where you feel like you'll miss the characters after you read the last page. Run is the first book in the second autobiographical trilogy about John Lewis' life during the civil rights movement. In this book, he finds himself at odds with the direction the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee is heading. He finds himself moving away from the SNCC and looking toward politics. This graphic novel covers an area of American history that is often skipped in history class. Even with the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the fight for civil rights continued. Those who enjoyed his other graphic novels, will love this one as well. As Clark Kent is discovering who he is and his powers, he and Lana Lane are investigating strange things that have been happening in Smallville. A helicopter crashed on the Kent farm near an old barn that Jonathan had padlocked, farms are being bought up, and undocumented workers are disappearing. All of these are somehow connected and it is up to Clark and Lana to find out.
I enjoyed this book. It wasn't as action-packed as Catwoman: Soulstealer but it kept my interest. Fans of the television show Smallville and DC comics will enjoy this novel. |
AuthorMr. Andrusyk is a school librarian at IC Catholic Prep in Elmhurst, Illinois. Past Book RecommendationsClick here to view a listing of Mr. Andrusyk's list of favorite authors, series, fiction, and nonfiction. Archives
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