The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie
art by Ellen Forney
CMSW, hard cover, 230 pages

I understand now what all the buzz is about! This book landed on the NYT best sellers list. It's the story of Junior, a cartoonist and odd kid, growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation. When a teacher tells him to get off "the rez" and make something of himself, Junior goes to a white school 22 miles away.

This story, though a work of fiction, really rings true. It was painful and beautiful. Junior is a typical teenager in so many ways! In other ways, this was a look into a lifestyle that is foreign to most Americans. . .

The Quilter's Apprentice

by Jennifer Chiaverini
Dakota County, paperback, 271 pages

Quilting story - Sarah McClure is job-hunting and stumbles into quilting. Sylvia Compson is a bitter old woman who just wants her house fixed up so she can sell it.

Liked - the description of the house, the fact that I've met this author, the relationships among the women, the historical storytelling, the draw to quilting. I loved it when Chiaverini (in person, at a Minnesota Quilt meeting) told us about people who have asked her about going to workshops at (fictional) Elm Creek Quilts. :-)

Didn't like - how mousy Sarah was, especially in her job-hunting and in how she communicated with her husband. What a wimp.

The Will of Wisteria

by Denise Hildreth
Dakota County Library, paperback, 337 pages

The four adult children of Clayton Wilcott are selfish people. When he finds faith in his old age but fails to reconcile with his children, he changes his substantial will so that each one must work for free for a year to earn their share of the inheritance.

At the start of the book, I didn't enjoy it much because all four "kids" were so reprehensible. As the story moved along, though, it was interesting to see what opened their eyes (except Will). I especially liked how the siblings got to know one another as adults. Jeffery's transformation as a father (mostly because of 8 y.o. Matthew) was the most amazing. Mary Catherine's teaching stint didn't seem quite as realistic . . . she went from not having a clue to being a master teacher in the course of one school year. I just don't see that.

Jeanne

A.L.I.E.E.E.N.

by Lewis Trondheim
paperback, Carver County Library
Wordless graphic novel

First off, I'll admit that I don't "get it." I probably should have tried harder to understand this, but it just turned me off. Weird little alien creatures getting stabbed in the eyes by pointy branches and bleeding to death. Strange inter- and intra- species relationships. A creature that poops a continuous stream of feces more than 100 times its apparent body weight. Weird stuff. I didn't understand most of it, and I didn't like it.

Soldier Boys

by Dean Hughes
paperback, CMSW, 230 pages
Maud Hart Lovelace nominee

Alternating between the stories of Dieter's rise in the Hitler Youth and Spence's choice to join the American army, this WWII tale definitely tells a tale of war. I found it interesting to see how the author showed Dieter's perspective and the events happening around him.

The ending caught me by surprise - I really didn't see it coming. This is a powerful war story, coming-of-age story, and great historical fiction. I'm not big on war fiction (too painful & too real!), but this book definitely kept my attention and interest.

The Named

by Marianne Curley
paperback, CMSW, 333 pages

Ethan is a Guardian of Time. He becomes Isabel's Trainer because events are moving forward to the point where a conflict between the Order of Chaos and the Guardians is imminent. They must train in secret and never reveal the secrets of the Guardians, but they are humans as well as teenagers and make mistakes.

Still can't decide if I love it or hate it . . . time travel is always problematic, but this is presented in kind of an intriguing way. Interesting characters, especially Arkarian and Marduke. Liked the history angle. Have my suspicions about Rochelle (and Matt). Not sure if I want to read the rest of the series. Can see the appeal for some kids. I had to hurry and finish it because I had it at home and two different students requested it!

New Moon

by Stephenie Meyer
CMSW, hard cover, 563 pages

Book two in the vampire romance series opens with Bella's birthday which she does not want to celebrate (since it obviously means she's "older" than her sweetie Edward). For most of the story, we are treated to Bella's agony, indifference, and growing friendship with Jacob.

Not quite as compelling as the first book, but I stayed up much later than I ought to have so I could finish it! The main dilemma for Bella is that she wants to become a vampire so that she can stay with Edward forever. Time for me to read book three?

Heat

by Mike Lupica
CMSW, paperback, 220 pages
MHL nominee

I loved this! What a wonderful story. Michael (Miguel to his family) Arroyo is an amazing 12-year old pitcher on a baseball team that hopes to make the Little League playoffs. When an opposing team's coach challenges Michael's true age, the baptism certificate from Cuba won't be enough. But Michael and his 17 year old brother have been hiding their father's death from everyone except Mrs. Cora for three months.

I loved the characters, the plot development, and the happy ending. The baseball stuff was good - I actually like baseball - but not overkill (IMHO). This is probably my favorite Lupica book so far! I definitely enjoyed the subplot with El Grande and Ellie!

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World

subtitled: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance
by Jennifer Armstrong
CMSE, paperback, 126 pages

After reading Shackleton's Stowaway, I wanted to read a non-fiction account of this expedition. Kelly Johnson recommended it highly. My favorite thing about reading this book was looking at the pictures Frank Hurley took. How amazing that these men all survived such a treacherous ordeal. I confess, though, that I found the fictionalized story much more gripping. The men and the drama of their situation was so much more detailed and fascinating - the benefits of writing fiction, I suppose.

Still, this is a great story. The harshness of Antarctica and the unbelievable outcome of events make it a very worthwhile read.

Monsoon Summer

by Mitali Perkins
CMSW, paperback, 257 pages

Jazz (Jasmine) is falling in love with her friend and business partner, Steve. Her mom wants the family to spend the summer in India, working at an orphanage.

I enjoyed this book more than I expected. Jasmine was an interesting character (though I wish she would have worked up the courage to tell Steve about her feelings for him a little earlier) and it was nice to see how she changed her stance on helping others.

A little bit of romance and a lot of soul-searching, Perkins shows the remarkable differences between America and India without it seeming forced.

The Dead Don't Dance

by Charles Martin
Dakota County, paperback, 315 pages

Martin is quickly becoming my favorite author. This book, his first, isn't quite as striking as the other two of his that I've read, but it's quite good.

Dylan Styles seems to have it all - a home, good friends, a lovely wife, and a first child on the way. But his son's birth tears his world apart as the baby dies and his wife bleeds so heavily that she almost dies. With her in a vegetative state, his life goes into a tailspin. His friend Amos tries to help him get back on track, but it's one of his students, Amanda, who really impacts him and motivates his turnaround.

At first, this novel reminded me of Johnny Gospel. It has the corn fields, pickup trucks, and aimless wandering by a man in grief. But ultimately, this story and its characters shine through in their transition from brokenness to newness. Good stuff!

The title comes from a line on page 102: "You can't go where the river goes. Rivers do life, and the dead don't dance." It's further elaborated upon at the end of the book where the line "I now lived in a world where the dead danced" comes after a major turning point in the narrator's life.

Charm Club: Special Edition books 1-3

by Belinda Ray
hardcover, 400 pages

In story one, an angel charm helps Anna to make friends and stand up for herself in a new school. In story two, a unicorn charm helps Carrie to gain confidence and perform in the school musical. In story three, a fairy charm helps Theresa to get organized and plan the fifth grade portion of the school carnival.

Cute, but definitely written for younger readers. I'll be donating this to one of my elementary school colleagues.

Skin: and other stories

by Roald Dahl
CMSW, hard cover, 212 pages

I only finished the first five stories in this collection. They just weren't my cup of tea . . . Roald Dahl has a somewhat warped style. It's interesting to me that I loved his stuff as a child, but not so much as an adult.

In the Time of the Butterflies

by Julia Alvarez
CMSW, hardcover, 325 pages

The four Mirabel sisters are realistically portrayed in this story about growing up under dictator Jose Trujillo in Dominican Republic. Many of the characters and events in this story are true, but this is a fictionalized story.

I started out listening to this as a Playaway (mp3), but it was hard for me to understand some of the names - though it was beautiful to listen to the reader's accent.

The story was told from each of the sisters' perspectives (Patria, Minerva, Dede, and Maria Teresa) and from 1943-1994 (but jumping around chronocologically). This was an intense and fascinating read, but much more complex than I had expected. I had initially hoped to use this with students as a lit circle title, but they would have to be mature readers.

The Mirror's Tale

by P.W. Catanese
CMSW, paperback, 274 pages
Maud Hart Lovelace nominee

Bert and Will are the twin sons of Baron Charmaigne. They get in to too much trouble and the baron decides to separate them. He decides to send Will, who is more timid, to his brother in The Crags. He will keep Bert at home where he can keep a closer eye on him. But the two trade places, and Bert finds a powerful (and evil) mirror, while Will trains with the knight Andreas.

The first few pages of the story kind of turned me off. It seemed too predictable and dopey. I quickly started to care about the characters and what happened, though. I like how different elements were drawn into the story, and Parley and Elaine were wonderful characters. It will be easy to recommend this to fantasy readers.