Peeled

Hilly Biddle wants to be a journalist, a real one that tells the truth, sorting fact from fiction. As one of the best writers for her high school newspaper, The Core, Hilly wants to do the best job she can. Hilly lives in a small, apple-picking town in upstate NY. When murders begin piling up near an old--and allegedly haunted—abandoned house, and signs that warn people to stay away mysteriously appear on the lawn, it’s up to Hilly and the school newspaper to figure out the truth. However, the panic from the locals, and the sensationalized writings from the town’s newspaper that is creating even more fear in the community, has Hilly’s truth angle in the minority. Are things really as they appear to be? When Hilly and her friends get too close to the truth, their school newspaper is suspiciously shut down after the lead reporter from the town’s newspaper tries sues the school on the grounds of slander. What connection does this reporter have the mysterious occurrences surrounding the haunted house? Why does Hilly’s secret newspaper, The Peel, which features anonymous articles that threaten to expose the truth, cause so much controversy among the townspeople?

Peeled by Joan Bauer is a cute, well-written mystery, with a plot reminiscent of what you might see in an episode of Scooby Doo.

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

Throughout his entire life, 17-year-old Alton has heard stories about his rich great-uncle. Though he’s only met him once, said uncle must continually be told he is Alton’s “favorite uncle” whenever they talk on the phone, as per his parents’ request. Alton’s parents have made it very clear that they want to be listed in the uncle’s will and must continually try and get in his good graces. This is pretty hard to do, considering his uncle’s heart is “cold as stone” and he’s really not interested in accepting dinner invitations from Alton’s mother nor spending time with Alton and his sister. One day, Alton’s uncle calls, asking Alton if he would like to be his card tuner. Alton’s uncle is a high-ranking bridge player, and after going blind, he requires someone to play the cards he picks. While being a card turner starts out as a chore for Alton—and a way to get the family on his good side—, Alton soon finds himself immersed in the game of bridge and begins to really connect with his uncle. Alton learns there is more to his uncle than meets the eye in this fascinating novel of bridge, family, friendship, love and loss.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot

Bea is the new girl in a town, a feeling that is not unknown to her. Her current location is Baltimore, Maryland, where she is to start senior year in a fancy private school where everyone has known each other since they were 3 years old. Bea is looking for something, but she’s not sure what; she often imagines herself living in Iceland, working as a hairdresser—it’s been said that Icelandic hairdressers are the happiest people on Earth. Then she meets Jonah, nicknamed Ghost Boy by the rest of the school, who introduces her to the midnight talk radio show the Night Lighters. Listening every night, she becomes immersed in the world of quirky characters, people who are all searching for something in life. There’s Larry who only calls in to play songs, Kreplach, who believes he is from the year 2110, and Don who calls in specifically to piss the other regulars off. Ghost Boy and Robot Girl (aka Bea) form an intense relationship, one that cannot be constrained to the terms of ‘friend’ or ‘boyfriend/girlfriend.’

Yet, Ghost Boy is more lost than the rest. When he finds out that his mentally retarded brother, who he buried, along with his mother, after they died in a car crash 10 years ago, is actually alive, it pushes him farther away from the human world. Can Bea tie him down or will he disappear forever?

How to say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford is filled with quirky, yet likeable and relatable characters. Bea’s first person narrative is sharp and realistic. The Night Lighters are all wonderfully strange and weird, and seeing the actual dialog between them and the radio shows host throughout the book provides a fun break from Bea’s narrative. Everyone is searching for something in their life and can easily relate to the characters of this book. If you’re looking for a fun, quick read, with characters you will think about long after you’ve finished reading, then do not pass this up!

What Would You Do If Your Friend Asked You to Help Him Die? God is in the Pancakes Review

“Here’s what I’ve come to realize about perfect happiness: It’s as fragile as the bubbles that form on the top of a pancake.”

This line of prophetic (and delicious!) wisdom comes from 15-year-old Grace Manning who uniquely compares her life to the making of pancakes throughout the novel. Grace is an average teenage girl: her father ran off, she lives with her mother and slightly older twin sister, she has a volunteer job at the local nursing home, she has a crush on her best friend, and she’s not sure what she believes in. What Grace is sure of is her love of volunteering at the nursing home, especially because of Mr. Sands, a sarcastic, intelligent, smart-mouth old man who has become a close friend. What Grace originally doesn’t know about Mr. Sands is that he has Lou Gehrig’s disease and his condition is worsening every day. To Mr. Sands, dignity is everything, and ending up like a potato with no ability to move or act on his thoughts certainly does not fall into that category.

Enter Grace. Mr. Sands asks Grace the one question she was never prepared for: “Grace, I need you to help me die.” No one would suspect young, innocent Grace of playing a part in old, sickly Mr. Sands’ death. The secret question, of which no one knows, stays in the back of Grace’s mind as she goes on her with her life until she finally makes her decision.

God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein is a tender and gripping novel about how we come to terms with the decisions we make in life. The pancake motif is creatively and effectively used throughout the novel, adding an extra layer to it. While there is a clear moralistic undertone to the book, Epstein does an unexpectedly great job of objectively addressing these important issues without being preachy.

What would you do?

It's All About Perspective--Jumped Book Review

Three girls, three voices, three perspectives.

Dominique is an all-ball girl who's been benched because her grades are too low; she doesn't like anyone getting in her space and everyone knows not to mess with her. Trina is a peppy artist who loves to flaunt her stuff. All it takes is one word, "hey," to send Dominique over the edge. Leticia is stuck attending zero-hour classes to make up for the subjects she failed last term. She overhears Dominuqe's plan to jump Trina at the end of the day--only she questions whether she really understood what she overheard.

Sometimes, what you don't do has more of an impact than what you do. With very little interaction among them at first, Dominique, Leticia, and Trina's lives will change forever as their paths intersect. For these girls, intent is not everything.

Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia is a fast-paced, gripping novel told from the perspective of three distinct and realistic voices. Your eyes will be glued to the page as you read about how decisions, actions, and words can change a person's life.

Girl in Translation Book Review

The Statue of Liberty, bright lights, and skyscrapers--these are quintessential landmarks of New York City. This is what 11-year-old ah-Kim (aka Kimberly) Chang is looking forward to when she and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to the U.S. Instead, she finds herself living in a broken down area of Brooklyn in a small apartment with no heat in the freezing winters and no air to cool them from the sweltering heat. The apartment also has many nightly visitors, such as giant roaches and rats. Despite her harsh living conditions, Kimberly has to balance school, which luckily, she has a great talent for, and helping her mother at the sweatshop in Chinatown. Faced with endless struggles, Kimberly continues to shape her own destiny and fights to create a better life for her and her mother.

Kwok’s debut coming-of-age novel about the life of a Chinese-American immigrant girl from adolescence to adulthood is engaging, thought-provoking, and heartwarming; it provides a glimpse into the lives and repressed hardships many immigrants faced, while expressing the universal struggle of holding onto your own identity while striving to fit in.