Peas & Carrots--Tanita S. Davis

Title: Peas & Carrots
Author: Tanita S. Davis
Publisher: Knopf, 2016
Pages: 288 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None
Read: November 2015

Tanita S. Davis's Peas & Carrots

Dess has never had a normal family life. She’s moved from place to place with her drug addict mother, living in fear of her criminal drug dealing father. When her mother has a child with another man, Dess knows she needs to intervene or her dangerous father will hurt them all. Four years later, Dess has settled into a predictable life in a group home while she waits for her mother to get out of prison and testify against her father, but then the unpredictable happens and Dess is placed in a foster home—the same one her little brother has grown up in. Dess is completely out of her element and immediately clashes with her brother’s loving African American family, especially his fifteen year old foster sister, Hope. When Dess’s life is thrown another curve ball, she realizes what family really means.

Written in chapters alternating Dess’s and Hope’s views, Davis manages to address racial stereotypes without being heavy-handed. Although Dess and Hope are very different on the outside, they both face the same insecurities. Peas and Carrots is a quick interesting read. There are some unanswered questions about Dess’s parents--will her mother actually testify against her father and will Dess ever be safe from him again--but ultimately this story is about Dess’s new family and new beginnings.

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Wildefire--Karsten Knight

Title: Wildefire
Author: Karsten Knight
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2011.
Pages: 400 p.
Source: VOYA
Compensation: None

Ashline Wilde is a girl with a past. She’s just transferred to a private school on the other side of the country in an attempt to escape the horrific memory of her volatile sister’s deplorable actions against Ash’s classmate. She thinks her past ends there, but it’s only the beginning—Ash is actually the reincarnation of a Polynesian goddess and she discovers that several of her friends are gods and goddesses as well. She needs to help save the future of the gods, as well as win the crucial tennis match and find the perfect dress to the Big Dance.

         Karsten Knight has written a riveting original multicultural fantasy. Most readers are familiar with Greek gods and goddesses, but there’s only one Greek character in this story. The rest of the supernatural beings are Polynesian, Asian, Haitian, Norse, and Egyptian. The multicultural aspect is a unique fresh touch to the storyline. Knight mixes the fantasy elements with realistic fiction quite nicely. Ashline may be a goddess, but she’s still a teenage girl, struggling with hormones, boys and friends. Knight sets the stage with this first book and leaves his readers wanting more. Teens will quickly devour this story and will be relieved to know a sequel is on its way. 

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Hunter--Joy Cowley

Told in alternating voices, this is a great example of a good multicultural adventure story. Half the story is set in 1805--a teenaged Maori boy is kept as a slave by a rival tribe. Because he has the ability to see visions, he is kept alive. He can see prey in his visions and is known for his hunting ability, but because he is a slave he is treated like the dogs and not given a name. He names himself Hunter and yearns for escape but must wait until he feels it's the right time.

The other half of the story is set in 2005. Three young children crash in a small plane on a remote island near New Zealand. The pilot is killed, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Somehow Hunter from 1805 is able to communicate with the oldest girl and help her survive with her brothers.

The chapters are short enough to keep the reader riveted. The alternating voices help contribute to the thrilling tone. The desrciptions are good--just enough to be interesting without being overwhelming. The two stories are tied together nicely at the end.

I'd like to see how the kids respond to it, but I think it's Top Shelf.

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Reading: The Puppet Wrangler--Vicki Grant
On My Nightstand: Juliet Dove, Queen of Love and some baby name book but you don't care about that.

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