Reading Abounds

Title:  Liesl & Po Author:  Lauren Oliver Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 71661 Description:    A mix-up involving the greatest magic in the world has tremendous consequences for Liesl, an orphan who has been locked in an attic, Will, an alchemist's runaway apprentice, and Po, a ghost, as they are pursued by friend and foe while making an important journey. Rubric Rating:  Level 3 - Laud It Why I Read It:   Read the Delirium Series by this author and thought I would try this stand alone title. Notes:   An intricately connected novel, with a wide cast of interesting characters.  Liesl, after the death of her father, has been relegated by her horrible step-mother to a room in the attic (very reminiscent of many fairytales).  There she meets the ghosts of Po and Bundle. They are drawn to Liesl literally by her drawings. Po becomes the go between for Liesl and the otherside.  Meanwhile, Will, the magicians apprentice ...

Title:  Beholding Bee Author:  Kimberly Newton Fusco Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 107760 Description:    In 1942, when life turns sour at the carnival that has always been her home, eleven-year-old Bee takes her dog, Peabody, and piglet, Cordelia, and sets out to find a real home, aided by two women only Bee and her pets can see. Rubric Rating:  Level 3 - Laud It Why I Read It:   Interesting title and write up Notes:   This book was a very slow start for me.  Bee, short for Beatrice, has been an orphan since the age of four.  Since the death of her parents in a car accident she has been living and working with Pauline in Ellis’ traveling circus.  Bee is now eleven years old and while she only works in the hotdog stand Ellis wants to put her in the show because of her “diamond”.  The port wine stain birthmark that is on her face. Her diamond draws the attention of everyone who see her so Bee uses her hair as a sh...

Title:  Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Author:  Matt Phelan Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 138305 Description:    Henry bonds with a young Buster Keaton over games of baseball while the latter summers locally with a troupe of vaudeville performers. Rubric Rating:   Level 3 - Laud It Why I Read It:  A growing interest in Graphic novels and a fascination with silent films. Notes:   I really liked this graphic novel.  The images are soft – softly coloured and softly focused.  This is the story of Henry Harrison and the summers that Buster Keaton and the Vaudeville troop come and stay at Bluffton.  While Henry is a fictional character Buster Keaton is not and the novel is based on his autobiography. The arrival of Buster brings excitement to Henry’s life.  They fill their summer days with baseball, pratfalls, and pranks. When Buster leaves for the show, Henry’s life returns to normal, helping his father at the har...

Title:  Ripper Author:   Stephan Petrucha Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 69858 Description:   Adopted by Pinkerton Agency Detective Hawking in 1895 New York, fourteen-year-old Carver hopes to find his birth father, but he becomes involved in the pursuit of Jack the ripper, and discovers finding the truth may be worse than ignorance. Rubric Rating:   Level 2 - Like It.  Why I Read It:   A morbid fascination with Jack the Ripper and related crime writing.  Notes:    I wanted to give this book a better rating.  I really liked the writing and found that the plot moved very quickly, probably because of the short chapters.  But there were aspects of the characters that I found too unbelievable or convenient. The main character Carver Young, is an orphan in New York’s Ellis orphanage.  Desperate to discover who he is, he breaks into the file room and steals a letter apparently written by his father. His counte...

Title:  Salt to the Sea Author:   Ruta Supetys Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 143529 Description:    In this novel based on real-life events, Prussian World War II refugees find their hopeful exodus turning into a desperate fight for survival when the ship on which they are escaping sinks in the Atlantic. Rubric Rating:   Level 4 - Love It Why I Read It:    I have read all of Ruta Sepetys’ other books and knew I wanted to read this one as well. Notes:    This novel had a bit of a slow start for me but I loved the opening lines of each characters’ chapters – For Joana guilt is a hunter, for Florian, Fate is a hunter, and for Emilia, shame is a hunter, and for Alfred fear is a hunter.  The book alternates perspectives between these four characters and I either loved or hated them all. Joana is a Lithuanian fleeing from the invading Russian forces. She is trained nurse traveling with a group of fellow refugees. Flor...

Guest Post: ANGELA THOMPSON - East Northumberland SS Title: Walk on Earth a Stranger Series: Gold Seer Trilogy (Book #1) Author: Rae Carson Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 108610 Description: Lee Westfall, a young woman with the magical ability to sense the presence of gold, must flee her home to avoid people who would abuse her powers.  When her best friend heads out across Gold Rush-era America to stake his claim, she disguises herself as a boy and set out on her own dangerous journey. Angela's Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It! Why Angela Read It:  Truth be told…the cover got me this time.   The title is also poetic and I needed to see if Rae Carson was as skilled a writer as her title lead me to expect.   I have yet to read any of her previous work (Girl of Fire and Thorns series). Angela's Notes:  Walk on Earth a Stranger is the first novel in Rae Carson’s trilogy that centres on the California Gold Rush of 1849. This story begins in Da...

Title: Titanic Sinks! Author: Barry Denenberg Perma-Bound Canada Catalogue#: 56340 Description:   Uses fictional framework to present the true story of the building and launching of the Titanic, to give a "you are there" feeling as the ship goes down. Rubric Rating: Level 2 - Like It. Why I Read it: I read this book around the 100th anniversary of the Titanic Disaster.  I thought the format was an interesting concept. Lori's Notes: This book is set up as a series of newspaper articles and interviews from the "Modern Times: Your World Illustrated."  The book is done in sepia tones to look like old newsprint.  (I think this makes the book stinky - I found the pages really smell.  Be wary if you have a child with any scent sensitivities).  It announces the construction of the ship, the death of one of the 15-year-old boys working on this ship, and a journal account of a fictional reporter on the ship.  Along with interviews of the captain...

Title: Stones in Water Author: Donna Jo Napoli Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 284760 Description: After being taken by German soldiers from a local movie theatre along with boys including his Jewish friend, Roberto is forced to work in Germany, escapes into the Ukrainian winter, before desperately trying to make his way back home. Rubric Rating: Level 3 - Laud It Why I Read It: I'm a fan of WWII fiction and stories from around the world. Lori's Notes: Roberto, along with several friends including his Jewish friend Samuele, is kidnapped from a movie theatre in Venice to work in hard labour camps in Germany.  Subjected to the horror of war, Roberto wants desperately to return home but knows he must also help protect Samuele (now called Enzo) who will be killed if discovered.  The first half of the story is really a story about friendship and keeping each other alive.  The second half of the story is Roberto's long trek to find his way home and his coming-of-age in t...

Title:  All the Light We Cannot See Author: Anthony Doerr Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 98669 Description:  A blind French girl on the run from the German occupation and a German orphan-turned-Resistance tracker struggle with their respective beliefs after a fortuitous meeting on the Brittany coast. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It! Why I Read it: This book has been on my reading list for awhile and it was recommended to me by several people. Lori's Notes: This was a fantastic novel.  It may seem overwhelming in terms of size but the individual chapters are very short and read almost like mini short stories within the book.  The characters alternate between Marie-Laure a blind Parisian girl, and Werner an orphan German boy. Marie-Laure's father, Daniel LeBlanc, works in a Paris Museum as a key master and designs intricate puzzle boxes for his daughter.  Werner lives in a children's home with his sister Jutta and because of his interest in radios is qui...

Title: Mister Death's Blue-Eyed Girls Author: Mary Downing Hahn Perma-Bound Catalogue #; 69563 Description: Narrated from several different perspectives, tells the story of the 1956 murder of two teenaged girls in suburban Baltimore, Maryland. Rubric Rating: Level 2 - Like It Why I Read It: Interesting title and I like a good murder mystery. Lori's Notes: This book was not what I was expecting.  Set in June 1956, the plot describes the murder of two girls - Cheryl and Bobbi Jo - and the toll their death takes on the community who are left to deal with the aftermath.  While the book's write up sounded like it would be a crime and detection story it really follows the people associated with this horrible event.  The perspective changes but mainly focuses on Nora and Ellie - the best friends of the murdered girls, Buddy - the ex-boyfriend of Cheryl and the major suspect of the crimes - and Mr. Death, the actual killer.  We also glean information from Chery...

Title: Out of the Easy Author: Ruta Sepetys Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 79289 Description: Josie, the seventeen-year-old daughter of a French Quarter prostitute, is striving to escape 1950 New Orleans and enrol at prestigious Smith College when she becomes entangled in a murder investigation. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It! Why I Read It: I read Ruta Sepetys other novel, Between Shades of Gray , and I really liked her style of writing.  I also really liked the cover.  (This cover is not the same as the book I read, the cover I have has a girl looking through an ornate bird cage.  I prefer the other cover as I felt it portrayed more about the story than the one pictured above.  It drew to mind Maya Angelou's poem "Caged Bird"). Lori's Notes: Josie "Jo" Moraine, is 17 and lives in New Orleans but wants nothing more than to escape the city and her life.  Jo's mother is a prostitute in the Quarter and she has no idea who her father is.  At 7-yea...

Title: Death Cloud Series: Sherlock Holmes - The Legend Begins Volume 1 Author: Andrew Lane Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 49369 Description: In 1868, with his army officer father suddenly posted to India and his mother mysteriously "unwell," fourteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes stays with his eccentric relatives where he uncovers his first murder and a diabolical villain. Rubric Rating: Level 2 - Like It Why I Read it: I like Sherlock Holmes mysteries and this one sounded interesting. Lori's Notes: This is a story about a young Sherlock Holmes and how he gets his start in sleuthing. With his father off to war, his brother Mycroft living in London and his mother unwell, Sherlock is sent to live with his stodgy Aunt and Uncle during the school holidays.  While there, his brother acquires a tutor for Sherlock, Amyus Crowe.  Sherlock, along with Amyus' daughter Virginia and a homeless youth named Matty Arnatt become friends and with a fair amount of intrigue and a...

Title: Annexed Author: Sharon Dogar Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 45764 Description: The incredible story of Anne Frank told through the eyes of Peter, the teenage boy who was locked in the Annex with her. Rubric Rating:  Level 1 - Leave It Why I Read It: I like reading literature based around the WWII time period.  I've read Anne Frank's diary and I've visited the annex so this title really appealed to me. Lori's Notes:  I did not like this book.  I had such a hard time slogging through this novel.  I loved the concept - the story of being annexed with Anne Frank by Peter Van Pels but I hated that the author was attributing thoughts and feelings to a real person.  I felt that this denies who that person really was.  I would have liked the book a lot better if written by the table (many conversations and actions happen in the kitchen) or by the cat (it can follow characters room to room) and we can't ascribe any feelings/values to them. ...

Title: Between Shades of Gray Author: Ruta Sepetys Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 49070 Description: In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina and her family are sent to Siberia, where her father is sentenced to death in a prison camp, and she vows to honor her family and others by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil. Rubric Rating: Level 4 - Love It Why I Read It: A debut novel by this author. Lori's Notes: This is Ruta Sepetys' debut novel and it is amazing.  The story is based on the Russian occupation and Stalin's deportation of groups of Lithuanians, Estonians, and Latvians to Siberia during WWII.  Lina's life in Lithuania is suddenly thrown into chaos when the Russian NKVD (the precursor to the KGB) arrives at their home telling them they have 20 minutes to pack.  Lina's 10-year-old brother Jonas and their mother Elena hastily pack up some of their belongings and are immediately taken to the train station and loaded into cattle cars.  Their journey take...

Title: Tuck Everlasting Author: Natalie Babbit Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 307191 Description: The Tuck family is confronted with an agonizing situation when they discover that a ten-year-old girl and a malicious stranger now share their secret about a spring whose water prevents one from ever growing any older. Rubric Rating: Level 4: Love It!  This is one of my all-time favourite books. Why I Read It: I first read this book when I was about 10 or 11 years old and I loved it.  I re-read it every now and again. Lori's Notes: I really enjoy this book and it's one of those stories that I can read again and again.  I am fascinated by the Tuck family and the idea of immortality.  Who hasn't wanted to live forever?  Not only are the Tuck's immortal but they are also ever youthful, never growing older and never changing. Jesse Tuck is stuck at 17 wandering the world with his parents and brother.  That is until he meets lonely Winnie Foster.  An on...

Title: T4 Author: Ann Clare LeZotte Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 31755 Description: When the Nazi party takes control of Germany, thirteen-year-old Paula, who is deaf, finds her world-as-she-knows-it turned upside down, as she is taken into hiding to protect her from the new law nicknamed T4. Rubric Rating: Level 3: Laud It Why I Read It:  I'm interested in reading war stories and I'd not heard of the T4 laws.  I was also intrigued by the sign language on the cover. Lori's Notes:   A story written through poetry and a very fast read.  Anyone who is interested in WWII novels should take a look at this book.  13-year old Paula is deaf.  It is this fact, and this fact alone, that puts her in danger.  Once the Nazi party institutes the T4 laws, and rumours begin to circulate of people disappearing, Paula's family decides that she must go into hiding.   And many others must do the same.  I love that the title of the book is spelled i...

Title: The Book Thief Author: Markus Zusak Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 23256 Description:  Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel -- A young German girl who's book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbours. Rubric Rating: Level 4: Love It Why I Read It:  An interest in WWII fiction and a fellow reader's recommendation. Lori's Notes: Told from Death's perspective, he relates the tale of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl whose love of books and stories help her to survive during WWII.  Death first meets Liesel when her brother dies, and Liesel steals her first book - The Grave Digger's Handbook.  It is this small act of theft that draws Death's interest.  Liesel is fostered by Rosa and Hans Hubermann.  Liesel feels an immediate kinship with Hans and he supports her love of words by teaching her to read and write. ...