Bareknuckle Series

Title: Bareknuckle Series
Author: various
Publisher: Darby Creek, 2014
Pages: varies
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

Bareknuckle is an exciting new hi/lo series perfect for reluctant reader boys. Each book tells a different story set at an underground boxing club in the 1870s. Although boys will be most interested in the very violent fighting, each book also throws in some history and moral lessons. Descriptions of the fights are very visual and auditory and suck in readers who love picturing loud cracks as bare knuckles hit broken noses. Squeamish readers might not be as thrilled, but most boys will be drawn to the fighting sections. Although the series is aimed at reluctant readers, it is exciting enough to interest voracious readers as well. In Nathan Sack’s The Big Fix readers are introduced to underground boxing when young journalist George Choogart travels to New York to uncover corruption in a post-Tammany city. The Woodrat is established as a popular fighting club. Fighter’s Alley by Heather Duffy Stone tells the story of a young boy determined to enter a high-stakes boxing tournament and try to keep it a secret from his father who is running for mayor. Slavery and immigration are backstories in Gabriel Goodman’s Lightning’s Run. Jewish immigrant Hiram and former slave Lightning join forces at the Woodrat to fight against bullies, both big and small. The Bareknuckle series would be a worthy addition to middle school libraries and libraries serving the tween (4^th-6^th grades) population.

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The Children of the King--Sonya Hartnett

Title: The Children of the King
Author: Sonya Hartnett
Publisher: Candlewick, 2014.
Pages: 272 p
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

When an attack on London during World War II seems imminent, 14 year old Jeremy and 12 year old Cecily are forced to evacuate with their cold mother and leave their playful but important father behind. The children travel to an uncle's house in the country but not before picking up an "evacuee" who has also been sent to safety but without her parents. The self absorbed Cecily sees May as someone she can protect by bossing her around and begs her mother to take May to Uncle Peregrine's house as well. Once there the girls find themselves wrapped up in a peculiar mystery when they discover two odd boys hiding in a nearby castle.

The Children of the King is a satisfying deeply layered historical fiction novel. On the surface the novel is about World War II and the bombings on London. Within the novel, Uncle Peregrine tells the children a story about two young princes and the horrible things that happen to them because of their uncle, the Duke. The princes (not named in the novel) are Edward and Richard, sons of King Edward IV, locked in the Tower of London and assumed murdered, and their uncle is Duke of Gloucester who becomes King Richard III. Peregrine's story is closely related to the girls' adventure and adds a thrilling element to the novel. Students can successfully fulfill historical fiction requirements based on the WWII backdrop. Historical fiction fans' curiousity about the two princes may prompt further research. 

Stay Where You Are & Then Leave--John Boyle

Title: Stay Where You Are & Then Leave
Author: John Boyle
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, 2014
Pages: 256
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

Alfie Summerfield wishes more than anything else that he could go back to his life before the First World War. Back then the British boy was five years old and his biggest problem was that his dad would not let him ride the milk float with him when he made his milk deliveries. When England entered the War Alfie’s dad volunteered to join the army thinking that it would be easier for him than waiting to get drafted. Four years later Alfie is still hoping for his dad to come home from the “secret mission” his mother claims he is on even if he fears his dad is really dead. The War has changed everything for Alfie—his dad is gone, his mom is constantly working, his friends are held captive by the English government because they are from Prague. Alfie stops going to school every day so he can shine shoes and help his mother pay bills. It is while he is shining shoes one day that he accidentally discovers that his father is neither dead nor on a secret mission, but really in a local mental hospital for soldiers with shell shock. Alfie does not truly understand what shell shock is but he is sure that his father would be much happier at home and Alfie embarks on his own secret mission to make that happen.

John Boyle has written a solid middle school novel about the effects of the First World War on a young boy and his family. Middle school boys will like Alfie’s independence and historical fiction readers will like the political backdrop of the story. The novel is a very quick read and will satisfy those historical fiction requirements. 

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Benedict Hall--Cate Campbell

Title: Benedict Hall
Author: Cate Campbell
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp, 2013
Pages: 378 p
Source: VOYA
Compensation: none

Frank Parrish is back in the States after voluntarily serving overseas for the King’s Army in the First World War. He is looking for work when he runs into a fellow soldier, Preston Benedict, who promises to help him. Parrish winds up getting entrenched in Benedict’s family life, especially with his sister Margot, a doctor at a time when women were encouraged to be nurses but not doctors. Benedict Hall alternates the viewpoints of the story between Parrish, Preston Benedict, Margot Benedict and the Benedict’s African American butler Blake.

The novel starts out slowly, taking time to introduce each of the characters and establish the background of the story. It feels very much like a show setting the stage and the back cover claims that fans of TV’s Downton Abbey will enjoy it. Once the introductions are done and Campbell focuses on the heart of the tale—Preston’s odd sadistic nature and its effects on those around him—it truly does become a page-turner. Campbell has a flair for historical fiction, which is not surprising since Campbell is author Louise Marley’s new pseudonym for stories that are pure historical fiction. Benedict Hall will not disappoint fans of the genre. Campbell handles issues of gender and race, as well as family conflict quite well against the larger backdrop of a country coming of age. 

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Saving Zasha--Randi Barrow

Title: Saving Zasha
Author: Randi Barrow
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2011.
Pages: 229 p
Source: VOYA courtesy of the publisher
Compensation: None

Mikhail is a young Russian boy living in the aftermath of World War II. His soldier father has been missing since the end of the war, food and resources are limited, and there is still a large amount of fear and distrust. The Russians are so angry at Germany that they have outlawed owning a German-breed dog and have executed any they find. When Mikhail discovers a dying man in the woods with a German shepherd he understands the dangerous risk of adopting the dog, but decides to do it anyway. He and his family must keep Zasha a secret from the government, dog thieves, and even their own neighbors but that proves hard to do with a young nosy girl asking too many questions.

There are many books about kids dealing with war and its ramifications, but this book is unique in its focus on dogs. An afterward describes the real development of the Black Russian Terrier dog as a response to the decimated dog population in Russia after the War. Unlike most dog books, Saving Zasha has a happy ending with all loose ends tied up nicely. There is nothing particularly groundbreaking or remarkable about the writing, but it will be popular with dog lovers as well as students who need to satisfy historical fiction requirements but do not like to read traditional historical fiction.

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Deadly--Julie Chibbaro

Title: Deadly
Author: Julie Chibbaro
Publisher: Atheneum, 2011
Pages: 293 p
Source: Publisher
Compensation: None

When I was first contacted to review this book I was a little hesitant. I'm not a big fan of historical fiction. There are exceptions, but for the most part I'm a fantasy/science fiction gal. But the author is coming to a local book festival so I thought I'd give it a chance.

I'm so glad I did.

Prudence is a young Jewish girl living in New York City in the early 1900s. She attends a part time finishing school so that she can aspire to be a secretary or a book keeper, more "proper" careers for women than her mother's job as a midwife. She assists her mother with births and longs to do something more with her mind than take dictation and type notes. Her school allows students to take jobs in the afternoons and urges them to seek secretarial positions. Prudence applies for one at the Department of Health and Sanitation and her keen mind and interest in science and medicine make her an attractive addition to their team. She's hired not as a secretary, but as an assistant to a Sanitation Engineer investigating the causes of diseases and why they spread. Prudence winds up leaving her school and working full time for the office hunting the source of recent typhoid outbreaks--Typhoid Mary.

The novel is written in diary format and told from Prudence's point of view. Chibbaro lets the historical setting come through in Prudence's speech and actions without being preachy. While Prudence is aware of the women's lib movement, she has no idea that women can go to medical school and be doctors. She dreams of contributing to society in a big meaningful way--fighting death on the scientific level--and is amazed that her dream can be reality and not just fantasy.

The investigation of Typhoid Mary and how they connect the dots between her and various typhoid outbreaks is fascinating. The story reads like a suspenseful scientific mystery. Prudence plays a large role in discovering the connection between the healthy Irish cook Mary and the typhoid afflicted communities.

There are side plots as well--Prudence's missing father, forbidden office romance, changing friendships, and growing up--but the main story of the investigation is the most engrossing. There's nothing in here not appropriate for middle school students. This is a good choice for those historical fiction reports. An author's note explains which characters were based on real people and which were invented and how the author changed the timeframe to suit the fictional story (what took place over the course of years is condensed to just months). Fans of historical fiction will not be disappointed.

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The Haunting of Charles Dickens--Lewis Buzbee

Title: The Haunting of Charles Dickens
Author: Lewis Buzbee
Publisher: Fiewel & Friends, 2010
Pages: 309
Source: ARC through VOYA

This review was written in November 2010 and published to coincide with the February edition of VOYA. 

Yet another reason why I love reviewing for VOYA and am so glad I am doing it again. I would never have picked this book up. I'm more of a fantasy girl (as you can see from the blog) and not so interested in mysteries or period pieces or books like this. I would have missed out on a seriously good book had VOYA not sent this to me to review.

The story opens with a young girl, Meg, lamenting the absence of her older brother. For 6 months she wondered what had happened to him, until finally she can't take it anymore and she decides to go find him. She climbs to the roof and jumps to other roofs and notices an eerie light coming from an abandoned building. While peering in a skylight she can see a séance taking place, but she's not the only one out walking the roofs and spying on the building. The famous author Charles Dickens, who happens to be a family friend, crouches next to Meg and witnesses the séance as well. She tells him of her brother's disappearance and is certain that he is participating in the séance below. Dickens and Meg decide to investigate as a team and search for both brother Orion and inspiration for Dickens' next novel.

Buzbee draws a realistic vivid picture of 19th century London and manages to capture the "feel" of a Dickens book. He has made the fictional Dickens into an interesting and likable character. The importance of the written word, the printed word, and the authors behind them shines through in this novel. In 19th century London the printed word has power and Dickens is treated like a celebrity and recognized as a Great Man. He uses that celebrity to help the plight of children (a trait based in fact as explained in an addendum to the novel called "Children and Charles Dickens"). Although the book starts with a séance, this is not a supernatural read. The haunting in the title refers to Dickens' writer's block and not being able to connect with the people of London to create a new novel. It also refers to Dickens' concern for the children of London and the harsh conditions they lived in.

I am not a big Dickens fan and have only read the novels of his I needed to read in high school. And I LOVED this book. It piqued my curiosity and I wound up researching Dickens (a little). I discovered that sure enough Buzbee had done HIS homework and events he created in his book as inspiration for Dickens appeared in Dickens' novel Our Mutual Friend. In another nod to Dickens, names of secondary characters in the book were taken from Our Mutual Friend as well.

The main story, the disappearance of Orion, is a good one, the writing is engaging and the characters are well-written. Although Dickens fans will get the most enjoyment from this book (recognizing names and places) I highly recommend The Haunting of Charles Dickens to all readers, young and old.

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Worlds Afire--Paul B. Janeczko

Collection of poems about a circus fire in 1944. The poems are all by eyewitnesses--some of them survivors, some of them not. Very quick read, only 92 pages of individual poems, but very disturbing. The writing is good, the voices are haunting. I would not give this to a young reader. Novels in verse are not for everyone--they have a limited audience--and with this subject matter I don't feel comfortable putting it on a list for all middle schoolers. It has limited readership.

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Reading: Snap--Alison McGhee
On My Nightstand: Loads more

Blue Fingers -- Cheryl Aylward Whitesel

I couldn't even finish it.
I didn't particularly like the main character. The story was a bit boring. After reading a much better book about a Japanese boy during the time of the samurai and ninja (In Darkness, Death), this book just didn't do it for me.

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Reading: Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Road Trip--Linda Oatman High
On My Nightstand: Juliet Dove, Queen of Love--Bruce Coville
Story Time--Edward Bloor
Summer Secrets --Patricia Hermes

In Darkness, Death--Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler

I started Behind You--Jacqueline Woodson yesterday, but didn't finish it. If I didn't have a million other books to read I would have finished it. It's definitely well-written and a good book, but I think it's better suited for high school than middle school and since this is crunch time for top shelf, I don't have time to read anything that's not a possibility (I also returned all those pregnancy books). Top Shelf is my only reading now.

Anyway, here's my notes for this book:

Fourteen-year-old samurai-in-training Seikei assists his foster father Judge Ooka investigate the murder of Lord Inaba in eighteenth century Japan and learns not only the way of the samurai, but also of the ninja in this exciting tale of murder and honor.

Well-written, descriptive and engaging. Will appeal to boys and girls. Mystery. Adventure. Multicultural. Judge Ooka was a real person, and although this story and Seikei are made, this would be a good useful curriculum tie. There are two previous books with these characters, but I hadn't read them and I didn't feel lost at all.

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Reading: Oh gosh, I don't know now.
On My Nightstand: More more more

Exiled: Memoirs of a Camel -- Kathleen Karr

The United States Camel Corp drafts young camel Ali, shipping him from Egypt to Texas in 1856 where he has many adventures until the Civil War forces the program to end.

I would never pick this book up on my own and once again I would have missed out! It's unique, told from the point of view of a camel. Well-written and interesting, it's good for independent reading as well as classroom use. An author's note at the end explains how it's based on a true story.
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Reading: um, I don't know yet. Besides snippets of the tons of I'm having a baby and it has to get out of me one way or the other books that I have.

On My Nightstand: Birth your way by Kitzinger, Sheila.
Blue Fingers : a ninja's tale by Whitesel, Cheryl Aylward.
Doing It by Burgess, Melvin.
Husband-coached childbirth by Bradley, Robert A.
Natural Childbirth the Bradley way by McCutcheon, Susan.
On becoming babywise. Book one by Ezzo, Gary.
On becoming birth wise by Ezzo, Anne Marie.
Pirates! by Rees, Celia.
Sister Slam and the poetic motormouth roadtrip by High, Linda Oatman.
Summer Secrets by Hermes, Patricia.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy--Gary D. Schmidt

Okay, keep in mind that I'm having a lot of problems making words into sentences lately...

Lizzie Bright is black and Turner Buckminster is white. Naturally they are not supposed to be friends and even though an entire town tries to keep them apart, they are drawn to one another. Turner is a minister's son and shouldn't be doing anything the minister doesn't want him to do. But he rebels and lies and eventually stands up for himself so he can stand up for his friend.

I liked this book. I didn't cry for days like Sandy did... but I liked it. It's based on true events in the early 1900s and is an important story of race relations and parent-child relations. If the kids respond to it, it could be top shelf.

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Reading: Going to start Exiled
On My Nightstand: Lots and lots