Current & previous staff reviews (by year):
May 2004
The Report Card (Simon & Schuster, $15.95)
All D's except for one C in Spelling. Nora is disappointed about that C, she'd meant to get a D. Nora Rose Rowley is a genius but she has been hiding it from everybody since she was in kindergarten. Now she is working on a plan to prove to people, especially her best friend Stephen, that grades are not the most important thing in the world. The story is funny and gripping with a theme relevant to children, parents and educators alike: grades and testing. This novel gives us yet another clever and resourceful main character coping with the everyday issues of kids today and with the consequences of her choices. --Emma Casale
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (Simon & Schuster, $16.95)
In characteristic Konigsburg style, The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place confronts real issues head-on with characters you wish you knew. After outwitting some vicious camp mates, Margaret Rose is "rescued" from summer camp by her great uncle, who, along with his brother, are her very favorite people. For the last forty-five years, the uncles, whose old world eccentricities are artfully described by Konigsburg, have been constructing "art towers" in their yard. "Outsider" art is not considered a plus in this neighborhood, which having gone through urban blight is now "up and coming." Margaret Rose assigns herself the task of saving the towers. The characters and problems she encounters along the way are a microcosm of life in the early '80s. Although Konigsburg makes very clear when the story takes place, the issues continue to be relevant, and the central them of who decides what is art and what is not is certainly relevant today. With pathos, humor, and as always, her superb story-telling abilities, Konigsburg has once again written a charmer. --JoAnn Fruchtman
Bad Bears in the Big City (Houghton Mifflin, $16.00)
Another Irving and Muktuk story from the Pinkwaters, Bad Bears in the Big City brings us up to date on the lives of our favorite muffin-loving bad bears from the "far frozen North". Muktuk and Irving move from Yellowtooth to the Bayonne New Jersey Zoo. Roy, their co-worker at the zoo, gets to swipe his time card and go home to his apartment while Irving and Muktuk are expected to live at the zoo because they "are not to be trusted". Chaos ensues when the bears, feeling stir crazy and muffin hungry, slip out to get muffins and visit Roy. With delightful and endearing characters, fun illustrations, and a great sense of humor, you'll be eager to see what Irving and Muktuk get into next. --Sara Backstrom
Messenger (Houghton Mifflin, $16.00)
Lois Lowry's companion to The Giver and Gathering Blue brings characters from each together in another society that is open, accepting and welcoming. Lowry, yet again, masterfully creates another world which causes us to explore our own values and beliefs as Leader (Jonas), Kira, and Matty (Matt) use their gifts to try to keep Village from becoming selfish and closing its borders to newcomers. While each book stands on its own, I do recommend reading both The Giver and Gathering Blue before reading Messenger so as not to rob yourself of experiencing how artfully Lois Lowry has woven these tales together. --Sara Backstrom
Heartbeat (HarperCollins, $15.99 each)
Written in prose poetry, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech's new novel is beautiful. Heartbeat follows 12-year-old Annie as she tries to find her rhythm. A fervent runner, Annie uses her passion as a way to sort through the turmoil of her increasingly complicated friendship with Max, her grandfather's failing health, and a new sibling on the way. Once again, Creech weaves a wonderful and feeling tale. --Sara Backstrom
Last Chance Texaco (HarperCollins, $15.99)
This is one of the best contemporary fiction YA novels I have ever read (and those of you who know me, also know that I generally prefer fantasy fiction to realistic). It is a fascinating look at foster kids and group dynamics, full of hope and understanding. Last Chance Texaco is the story of Kindle Home, a group home for teens, the dedicated people who run it, and the teens who live there, especially Lucy. Kindle Home is the "last chance texaco" for the teens who live there. If they can't succeed in Kindle Home, they will be shipped off to Rabbit Island (known as "Eat-Their-Young Island" to the teens) a high-security facility for those who can't live in more normal settings.
Lucy is jaded by her previous group and foster home experiences but is surprised and inspired by the staff in Kindle Home, who seem to genuinely care and to even have faith that she can succeed. Lucy may have decided to succeed but there are forces working against her: her bullying housemate Joy and her cronie Melanie, the kids at the public school who don't like "groupies" (kids from group homes), and the psychiatrist for Kindle Home, who has already made up his mind about Lucy. After she decides she wants to stay at Kindle Home, she learns that the government wants to decrease funding and close Kindle Home and to top it all off, someone has been setting fires in the neighborhood around Kindle Home and the local residents blame the group home and want it closed down. Lucy decides she has to do something to save her new home. --Emma Casale