A Small White Scar - K.A. Nuzum

Genre: Historical Fiction
Grades 5 & up

As I have mentioned before I am the oldest of five kids. I feel like my siblings and I get along pretty well right now, but it wasn't always that way. Growing up I often resented the fact that I was left to take care of my little brothers and sister. We fought a lot. It wasn't until the past few years that I realized what an influence I had on my siblings - unfortunately I think that too often I was a bad influence but they learned a few good things from me as well. It is tough to be a role model when you are just a kid - this is what A Small White Scar is about.

Will and Denny Bennon are fifteen year old twin brothers living on a cattle ranch in Colorado during the 1940s. Denny has Down's Syndrome, and since the death of their mother much of the responsibility of taking care of Denny has fallen to Will. Will is tired of taking care of Denny - he wants to be able to live his own life. The only way Will can make this happen is to leave his dad's ranch and find work elsewhere. Will is determined to head to the La Junta rodeo, win the prize for best overall cowboy, get a job with another ranch and leave Denny and his dad behind. Unfortunately for Will his plan doesn't go as smoothly as he would have hoped - when he leaves his dad's ranch Will is followed by Denny. Will tries to send Denny home, but poisonous snakes, flash floods and a variety of desert calamities keep the two together.

This book was slow moving at first, but once the main characters are introduced the pace quickens. I think this book would be enjoyed by middle school kids, particularly boys, that enjoy westerns and adventure stories or those that have siblings with special needs.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing - M.T. Anderson

Genre: Historical Fiction
Grades 9 & up

Before I get into talking about this book I'm going to give myself a little pat on the back - this week is the one-year anniversary of this blog. In the past year I have read and reviewed 37 young adult books - not a ton but a pretty good start. My goal for 2007 is to read 40 books - 6 weeks in I have read 6 books, so I am ahead of schedule.

One of my favorite books is Feed by M.T. Anderson, so it was with pleasure that I began reading The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Anderson's latest novel. Octavian is a black teen growing up in Boston on the eve of the American Revolution. Octavian lives at the Novanglian College of Lucidity. He receives the finest education and is treated like a prince - in fact he is a prince, his mother being African royalty. Octavian lives a very privileged life, but all of this begins to change when he comes to the realization that he is in fact a slave and is the subject of a science experiment to measure the learning capacity of Homo afris. Things get worse when, due to the blockade of Boston imposed by the British, the school runs out of money and comes under new leadership. It is under this new leadership that Octavian begins to really understand what freedom means.

About a third into this book I thought there would be no way that I could finish it - I thought it was terrible, mainly due to the overly wordy and extremely difficult to understand language the characters use. This language is supposed to be representative of how an educated person would speak during the 1770s. All I know is that I needed to keep a dictionary next to me just to get through each page. I really felt that the language used got in the way of the story. Fortunately I was able to overcome this (I think it was a combination of me starting to get the writing style along with the language becoming a little easier), the story came to the forefront and I was able to begin to enjoy the story.

Apparently this is the first book in a two-part story. The book has an ending that definitely leaves you waiting for a resolution. I would recommend this to high school-aged kids that are strong readers, particularly those that enjoy historical fiction and war stories.

Code Talker - Joseph Bruchac

Genres: Historical Fiction, War
Recommended Grades: 5 Up

As a minor history buff I have always enjoyed reading stories that gave me a picture of the past, particularly stories that dealt with events I did not know much about. Because of this I found Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac a really interesting read. Until reading this book I knew very little about the Navajo Indians that served as code talkers during World War II.

The story centers around Ned Begay, a young Navajo boy living on the reservation in Arizona. The early part of the story gives the reader some insight into life on the reservation - the traditions and ceremonies, the culture and also the Navajo's interaction with White America. Ned's family sends him to an American run boarding school for Navajos. One of the goals at the boarding school is to take the Navajo culture out of the kids and turn them into Americans - the children are not even allowed to speak in their native language. This is ironic because a few years later, at the onset of World War II, the US military comes to the Navajo people for help. They need men that can speak both Navajo and English fluently. The military needs to develop a code that the Japanese can not break and the Navajo language will be the key. Ned joins the Marines and becomes a code talker. During the second part of the story the reader gets a great look at some of the key battles of the war in the Pacific; namely Bougainville, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Through this book we see the vital role the Navajo played in the US victory in World War II.

I thought this was a good book. While this is fiction the book seems to be historically accurate. I learned a lot about a part of US history I was not aware of. I think this book could be read by a wide age range - the writing is simple enough for a middle school kid yet the story is interesting and informative enough to keep a high school kid engaged. I would particularly recommend this book to kids that are into history and war.

The Case of the Missing Marquess: an Enola Holmes Mystery - Nancy Springer

Genres: Mystery, Adventure, Historical Fiction
Recommended Grades: 4-8

I'm sad to say that I don't have any anecdotes that will lead into this book, so rather than force it I am just going to get right to the review.

Enola Holmes wakes up on the morning of her fourteenth birthday with a little problem - her mother has disappeared. Fortunately for Enola her older brother is the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is on the case but Enola's problems are not solved. Her other older brother, Mycroft, also shows up - Mycroft decides that is time to make a lady out of Enola and arranges for Enola to be sent to a boarding school. Enola decides she would rather be searching for her mother, who has left behind a number of cryptic clues, so she runs away. Thus begins her adventure. As if the search for her mother is not enough, Enola inadvertently gets involved in another mystery - The Case of the Missing Marquess - one that puts her and the young marquess in several dangerous situations.

While Sherlock may be the most famous of the Holmes siblings, Enola is the star of this book, and rightfully so because she is a great character. Enola is a girl ahead of her times - she is more comfortable riding her bike and exploring riverbanks than she is playing with dolls and sipping tea - she would be more at home in the 21st century than in the 18th century. Enola is a great role model for young girls - she is smart, outspoken and not afraid of a little danger.

All-in-all this book was good. I would recommend it to preteens, particularly girls, that like adventure and mystery. This book appears to be the first in a series, so kids that like this story will have more books to look forward to soon.

One last thing - there appears to be some sort of encoded, cryptic message on the cover of this book. I have not been able to figure it out. If any of you out there can decipher this message please post your findings here for the whole world to see.

An Innocent Soldier - Josef Holub

Genres: Historical Fiction, Adventure, War
Recommended Grades: 8 Up

A good friend is priceless. Many of us would find it nearly impossible to make it through the trying times of our lives without the support of our friends. In fact, some would say that someone is not a true friend until they have been there with you through the tough times.

An Innocent Soldier is the story of an unlikely friendship between two young soldiers in Napoleon's Grand Armee. Adam is a simple-minded, sixteen-year-old farmhand unwittingly forced into the army by his farmer. Konrad is a sixteen-year-old lieutenant of aristocratic blood. Though the lines between officer and enlistmen and aristocrat and commoner are clear, the harrowing experiences these two boys face together forge a friendship that goes beyond social and economic boundaries.

While this is ultimately the story of two friends, the book does a great job of taking us into Napoleon's ill-fated invasion of Russian in 1812. The conditions these soldiers faced, the lack of supplies and ultimately the futility of Napoleon's plan are made crystal clear in this book.

This book would be a great read for anybody interested in wars. Also, this is a good "buddy book" for boys. Lastly, I think portions, if not all of this book could be a useful tool for teaching the Napoleonic Wars.

Here Lies the Librarian - Richard Peck

Genres: Historical Fiction, Sports
Recommended Grades: 5-9

Prior to moving to Vermont I lived in Durham, NC for two years. Durham is a city. It has lots of traffic. There are lots of people and lots of cars. I can't recall seeing a farm or a cow during my time there. Now I am in northern Vermont. I live in a small town. There can be traffic, mostly because of all of the tourists, but you can't compare it to what we had in Durham. There aren't a lot of people or cars and you can't drive more that 10 minutes in any direction without seeing a farm or cow. Sometimes while I am driving to work I wonder what life was like here before there were cars and paved roads.

In Here Lies the Librarian, 14-year-old Eleanor McGrath, known as "Peewee" to those who know her, knows what life is like when there are few cars and no paved roads. Living in a small town in Indiana during the 1910s, very few of Peewee's neighbors have cars and the paved road hasn't yet made it down to Hendricks County. Not that Peewee wouldn't appreciate a car or paved road when they came her way. The paved road would be sure to bring more business to her and her older brother Jake's garage. Business is slow, so Peewee and Jake spend their time building a car that Jake will enter into the 1st Annual Hendricks County Fair 10 mile Stock Car Race. With no parents and few oppurtunities Peewee is content with a future of working at her garage with her brother. But change is in the air when four college students/librarians roll into town. Not only do they reopen the town's library, but they change Peewee and Jake's future, and even affect the results of the 1st Annual Hendricks County Fair 10 mile Stock Car Race.

I enjoyed Here Lies the Librarian. Richard Peck has recreated what small town life was like in rural Indiana during the 1910s. The characters are quirky and funny yet still realistic. This book is funny. It will appeal to boys from small towns, especially those interested in cars and auto racing. It will also appeal to any middle school-aged kid looking for a quick, funny book.

The Giant Rat of Sumatra: or Pirates Galore - Sid Fleischman

Genres: Historical Fiction, Adventure
Recommended Ages: 9-13

Summer is over, school is back in session, and that means this blog is back. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons I didn't do much reading this summer but I am commited to change that trend and I started to do so by reading The giant rat of Sumatra by Sid Fleischman this week.

The year is 1846, and the United States has just invaded Mexico. Twelve year old Edmund is a cabin boy on a pirate ship. You would think that that would be a rather crumby life, but it is actually not that bad - the boss of the ship, Captain Gallows, is actually a pretty nice guy, and even though they are pirates, they only rob and pilage from other pirate ships. Still, Edmund longs to return back to his home in Boston. They arrive in San Diego where the Captain decides he wants to become a rancher. While there, Edmund, Captain Gallows and the rest of the crew tangle with the mysterious Senorita Wildcat, the cruel Don Simpatico and eventually the US Navy. Along the way we learn that every person has a story and not all people we think are bad are really that way.

This was a good book. It has short chapters that keep the pace of the book moving fast. It is a funny story that I would recommend to older elementary school or younger middle school kids, particularly those that like adventure and pirate stories.

The Ruby in the Smoke - Phillip Pullman

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction
Grades 7 & up

I’m not sure how many mystery books I have read, but it is not many. That is why I was kind of excited when I began reading The Ruby in the Smoke by Phillip Pullman, the first book in the Sally Lockhart trilogy. This book was a great introduction to the mystery genre and definitely left me wanting to read the rest of the trilogy and other mystery books.

Sally Lockhart is a sixteen year old girl living in London during the 1870’s. Her father, Matthew Lockhart, was a successful shipping agent. I say was because Sally’s father died a couple of months before the start of the book when his ship sank while sailing the seas around south China. Because her mother died when Sally was just a baby, Sally must live with Mrs. Rees, her spiteful “aunt.”

Sally was still coming to grips with her father’s death but at least accepted that it was an accident until she received a cryptic note her father had penned before his death. The note mentions someone named “Marchbanks” and warns her of the “Seven Blessings.” Sally goes to her dad’s office to ask one of his co-workers about the message, and the man has a heart attack when he hears the words “Seven Blessings.” This is all Sally needs to know that something much more sinister led to her father’s death. With the help of some new found friends, Sally is able to piece together the puzzle, battle her new found enemies and figure out what really happened to her dad.

I thought this was a great book. The plot is exciting, not at all predictable and the story is well written. Phillip Pullman does a great job of helping you visualize what London was like during the 1870’s (it seems like a pretty dirty place!!). I would definitely recommend this book to older teens looking for a tension filled mystery.