Audiobook review: "Etiquette & Espionage" by Gail Carriger

Title: Etiquette & Espionage
Author: Gail Carriger
Publisher:   Hachette Audio, 2013 (print available from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Narrator: Moira Quirk

When Sophronia is told she will be sent off to finishing school, she is not pleased. Not at all. However, after a decidedly odd interview with "Mlle Geraldine," it quickly becomes clear that Madame Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality is not exactly what it appears to be on the surface. As it turns out, the school is not only a place young girls are trained to become ladies, they are also trained to become intelligencers. Classes include etiquette and how to execute a proper curtsy, as well as the use of seduction, stealth, and proper fighting techniques. In addition to all this knew knowledge, Sophronia and her friends do some intelligencing of their own regarding a missing prototype, an older schoolmate who failed to Finish and has been sent to study with the debuts, and other mysterious activity.

This first book in Gail Carriger's new series for teens is just delightful. Fans of her adult series, Soulless, would be well advised to pick this one up as well. Who can resist a fine comedy of manners mixed together with steam technology, the art of espionage, how to manipulate and obtain information, all while still being presentable for afternoon tea or ready to dance a quadrille at a ball? Oh yes, mustn't forget the werewolves and vampires. This book has action and humor in spades.

Sophronia herself is an excellent heroine, and a character I look forward to watching develop over the course of the next books in the series. She's resourceful, intelligent, has a good heart, and does not shy away from getting her hands dirty if necessary. I loved a lot of the secondary characters too, namely the sootie Soap, the young French engineer Vieve (age 9), and the loyal and easily scandalized Dimity (who also, I might add, is the daughter of evil geniuses and describes herself as "a good girl," to their chagrin).

Honestly, I think I like this one more than Soulless, though that might be because I listened to the excellent narration by Moira Quirk. Her accents and inflections completely made this for me, and I would highly recommend that anyone who had trouble getting into this series try the audio. This is one of the 2014 Top Ten Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults for a reason.

Disclosure: I downloaded this audiobook through my local library and OverDrive.

Book review: "If I Ever Get Out of Here" by Eric Gansworth

Title:  If I Ever Get Out of Here
Author: Eric Gansworth
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2013

If I Ever Get Out of Here opens right before Lewis Blake begins seventh grade. He is used to being one of the only Indian kids in his class at school, but he is tired of the loneliness; despite his attempts to fit in, he still struggles to be noticed and accepted. Then he meets a new kid from the air force base, George, and things start to change a bit.

George is Lewis's new connection to the white world, though he knows he can't invite his new friend to his home (his mother forbids it, as they live in poverty), and that he still has to deal with all kinds of prejudices at school and in town. Set in the late 1970s in upstate New York, Lewis tells his story about life growing up on the Tuscarora Reservation, going to a mostly white school, and trying to balance out two worlds in a place where loyalties are expected on one side or another. This is a book about friendship and acceptance of self and culture, especially when faced with extremely difficult and unfair situations.

I'm guessing that because this is a book about a boy on an Indian reservation who is one of the few non-white people in his class, it's inevitable that it will get comparisons to Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. But that, I think, is selling both works short. Gansworth's novel focuses on racism, injustice, and a semi-forbidden friendship, all wrapped up together with music (mostly Wings, The Beatles, and Queen). Alexie's is not presented as historical fiction and has more humor and tragedy than Gansworth's work. If I Ever Get Out of Here is more middle-school-friendly in terms of language and content, though it is still a bit hard to read emotionally speaking.

As I was reading this, I kept thinking how important it is to see how others are treated because of heritage or class. It might not be as blatant in our country as it was 30 or 40 years ago, but it still exists and it's important to see it through the target's eyes. It's also important if the reader has been a target him- or herself to see someone else in their same situation and how they handle it.

Lewis also has to deal with a pretty brutal bully, and coupled with the way the adults treat him because he is from the reservation, the situation turns from one of physical assault to that of abject hostility from every corner, especially school teachers and administration. The amount of strength and gumption Lewis has just astounds me, to be so brave and demand justice even when it seems so utterly hopeless.

I hope If I Ever Get Out of Here is widely read, though I'm not sure younger readers will stick with it long enough to finish. I hope I'm wrong about that, because there's a lot in here, and it might just have been me having trouble getting through it because of how sad it made me. Still, I'm really glad I read it and bought it for my library. We'll see if I can get a few kids to pick it up!

Disclosure: I received an e-galley from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

 

Audiobook review: "See You At Harry's" by Jo Knowles

Title: See You At Harry's
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick on Brilliance Audio, 2012 (print available from Candlewick)
Narrator: Kate Rudd

Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible most of the time. Her parents run a restaurant, her older sister Sarah is taking a gap year before going to college, and her older brother Holden is absorbed in his own problems as a freshman who is figuring out his own life. Three-year-old Charlie, the baby of the family, is the only one who seems to notice Fern, though it's not always a welcome attention. In fact, Fern is usually the one who ends up watching Charlie when her parents and siblings are too busy to take notice, to her great annoyance.

But soon a terrible tragedy turns everything upside down, and Fern has no idea what to do or how to deal with it all. Guilt, mixed in with denial and intense grief, invade her life and her family's. Together, they must find a way to heal in a world that will never be the same for them.

This is an excellent audiobook, and an excellent story. Jo Knowles based a lot of it on her personal experience of growing up in a family-run restaurant, and also having an older brother who is gay. It all feels very genuine, especially when tragedy strikes and the family is thrown into the depths of grief and sorrow. It feels very personal and intimate, and tells the heart-wrenching and ultimately hopeful journey through all that, plus all the other crap that can happen in middle and high school. Fern and Holden have to deal with some incredibly nasty bullies, both peers and adults.

I listened to the audio, and Kate Rudd does an excellent job in her narration. She IS Fern. Her acting skills are never too much, yet we hear all of the emotions, the tiny catches of breath and yells, everything. I didn't want to shut my car off after reaching each destination because I wanted to hear what happened next. Another cool thing the producers did was layer Rudd's voice on words and phrases that people speak together, which is something I've never heard before.

There are so many pieces to this story, and I'm amazed at how well Knowles is able to give us all the information we need, show the subtleties in each character, craft the developing relationships, show us how Fern is growing up, illustrate how not one of these people is anywhere near perfect yet leading us to care for them, and to do it all with such beauty. I'm hoping this will win at least a Newbury honor. This is my first book I've read by Knowles, but it won't be my last.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher. This in no way influenced my reaction to the book or my review.

Book Review: "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman

Title: Ungifted
Author: Gordon Korman
Publisher: Balzer + Bray, 2012

Donovan Curtis has always been one to act before thinking. He'll just get this urge and act on it, and then he'll have to deal with the consequences afterward. But when his impulses lead to the accidental destruction of the middle school gym, he knows he's made a huge mistake this time. Luckily for him, an error works out in his favor and sends him to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction and away from the wrath of Superintendent Schultz, who has conveniently forgotten the name of the student he caught red-handed. Unfortunately Donovan is decidedly not gifted in the same ways his new classmates, all with extremely high IQs, are. Yet despite how clear it is he doesn't belong, he manages to figure out just what the self-described nerds need. He just needs to be able to fake his way through the Academy in order to stay there and out from under the watchful eye of the man looking for him.

This was a really fun look at what might happen if an average kid was thrown in a group of supersmart ones, though it was not without its flaws. Donovan really throws a wrench into the relatively normal proceedings of the Academy, which is admittedly far beyond what you would see in a regular middle school. I really liked how Donovan highlights this; the smart kids get all sorts of advantages and a very nurturing environment in which to work and learn, as opposed to the dismal surroundings and equipment found at his old school, Hardcastle Middle, where each grade has about 300 students. Korman shows how the way students are treated and the tools they have can really make a huge difference.

This story was told with lots of humor, too. This is my first book I've read by Korman, but I hear this is pretty typical of his work. The situations that Donovan gets himself into, and that the Academy students end up in, are pretty funny to read about. Plus the characters themselves are funny, both in manner and in the things they say.

One of the things I most appreciated about this book was how Korman wrote about a realistically pregnant woman in Katie, Donovan's very pregnant sister who ends up being a huge part of the plot. He does not shy away from the physical discomforts about being pregnant, such as the constant need to go to the bathroom, swollen ankles, the difficulty of moving around, etc. She is grumpy about her situation, and the fact that she misses her husband who is serving in Afghanistan only adds to her character and fueled my sympathy. It's rare that I read about a pregnant character who is engaging in the way Katie is, and who kids might be able to relate to. No, they might not be able to relate to the baby stuff, but her relationship with her brother is something any kid with a sibling can get. Plus, now readers will know a bit more about Human Growth and Development.

Yet this novel had its flaws too. I had trouble with the incredible stereotypical image given to the kids at the Academy. All are smaller and shrimpy, physically weak, and pasty from lack of sunlight. I understand that Donovan and his "normalcy" are at the heart of the book, but it kind of gives the message that supersmart people are all supposed to look and act a certain way. I'm also unsure as to the amount of diversity in the book, though there was little to no physical description of the characters so that could be left up to the reader to decide the ethnicities of the students—mostly all I had to go on was "pasty," which doesn't really lend me to think there are many (if any) students of color. I wish there had been more description, and character development actually. Only a handful of people had more to their character than how smart they were and their special talents. We occasionally got a first-person perspective from secondary characters, but many are left completely undeveloped.

Despite the issues I had with the characters, Korman manages to tell a fresh, fun story about how a person's ungiftedness might actually be his gift. It's a story of teamwork, friendship, and robots, which are always fun to have around.

Disclosure: I got this book from my local library.

Audiobook Review: "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper

Title: Out of My Mind
Author: Sharon M. Draper
Publisher: Recorded Books, 2010 (print available from Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010)
Narrator: Sisi Aisha Johnson

Melody knows thousands of words. She is pretty sure she has a photographic memory, and she has synthesthesia—to her, music has color and taste. But even though she's 10 years old, no one in her life knows any of this. She has never spoken a single word in her life and has no way of communicating to her teachers, parents or anyone else. Melody has cerebral palsy, making it impossible for her to move or speak.

Sharon Draper brings us inside Melody's mind in this novel, told from Melody's own perspective. Her struggles, frustrations, and pain grabbed hold of my heart while I listened to Sisi Aisha Johnson's lovely narration. I became really invested in Melody and her family. I got angry when people treated her poorly, I got frustrated when people couldn't figure out what she wanted, I got sad when she knew she'd never be able to tell her parents with her own voice that she loves them. When bad things happen to anyone she loves, I got sad and sick with her. Often after I shut off the car to go to work, Melody's story stayed with me and I wondered what would happen to her when I finally returned to the story.

But ultimately, this is a story of survival and of hope. There is help for Melody, and she and her family do their best to get it. Melody begins to integrate into the regular schoolrooms, not just in the special education classroom, and begins to be challenged in her schoolwork for the first time. And finally, she finds a way to communicate better than she ever has in her life, leading to a whole new set of challenges for her.

Johnson does a wonderful job narrating. She sounded like a young girl, giving distinct voices to the different characters in Melody's life. She gives Melody a voice full of yearning and anger and sorrow and hope.

Out of My Mind not only is a great book to read if you're looking for the perspective of someone physically disabled, whether you use it in a classroom or suggest it to a library patron, it also is just a great book to read, period.

Disclosure: I checked this audiobook out from the library.

Audiobook Review: "The True Meaning of Smekday" by Adam Rex

Title: The True Meaning of Smekday
Author: Adam Rex
Publisher: Listening Library, 2011 (print available from Hyperion, 2007)
Narrator: Bahni Turpin

Starting off with a short essay on what she thinks is the "true meaning of Smekday," 12-year-old Gratuity Tucci tells a short story of how she knows the reasoning behind the new holiday—only to be told by her teacher that she needs to elaborate. So she tells a more full version of her story, basically how her mother starts talking about aliens who talk to her through a mole on her neck, how she ends up with a Boov (the aliens previously mentioned) named J. Lo, and their trip in a floating car named Slushious to Florida, the land allotted to humans by the Boov. After that abridged essay is written, she continues a secret, full-length version of how she and J. Lo cross the country to Arizona in Slushious, meet a number of colorful (and often eccentric, to put it mildly) characters, learn about a bigger threat to Earth than the Boov, and attempt to save the world.

This book is so incredibly rich in symbolism it's fantastic. I could not listen to Rex's words without thinking of Native Americans and relocation; it's pretty much impossible to not think of it if you know the history. It's an incredibly smart and often hilarious post-colonial piece of literature, disguised as a science-fiction story about alien invaders. Oh, did I mention all the satire Rex slips in about American culture? It's great.

Don't be scared away by that description though. This is also a fast-paced road trip story, complete with alien weaponry and battles, and lots of humor. Rex is truly a genius when it comes to poking fun at fantasy cliches, my favorite involving a blob of taco sauce. He also incorporates themes of family and friendship incredibly well, without making it hokey or sappy.

As for the audio version, Bahni Turpin is a master. She gives the Boov great voices, to the point where I believed it was J. Lo talking each time she read his dialogue. Everyone had a distinct voice, and her sound effects added so much to it all. This was one of the best performances I've listened to in a while, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good way to pass the time on their commute.

If you're looking for a smart and incredibly entertaining sci-fi novel, look no further. I've become a huge fan of Rex after this beauty of a book.

Disclosure: I got this audiobook from my local library.

Review: "Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

Title: Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie
Author: Jordan Sonnenblick
Publisher: Scholastic, 2004

Steven Alper's life is fairly typical of your average 8th-grader. He plays drums (and he's really great, not to mention dedicated), he gets decent grades, and he's annoyed by his (totally adorable) 5-year-old brother Jeffrey. But Steven's life, and those of his family, are thrown into a whirlwind of hospitals, medications and constant anxiety when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia. Not only does Steven have to process the fact that his younger brother may not live to see middle school, he has to deal with a father who can no longer communicate, a mother who must quit her job to care for her younger son, and Jeffrey's own fears and uncertainty of what will happen to him. And he still has to worry about grades and stuff. That's a lot for a 13-year-old to deal with.

It's not easy to write a funny book about cancer, but Sonnenblick did. Let me just clarify: the cancer is not funny, but humor is still a part of the writing and is present in the characters' lives, despite the grim issues Steven has to deal with. Steven has a keen sense of humor, and I often found myself smiling while reading certain passages. His voice is also perfect, and I love that he's so intense about his drumming, and so fiercely protective of Jeffrey (even if he doesn't realize it).

The way Steven's parents deal with the news and Jeffrey's treatment are wildly different. While his mother drops everything, including her job as an English teacher, to take care of Jeffrey and learn everything she can about his disease and the treatment, his father shuts down emotionally and immerses himself in his accounting work. The Alper's financial situation is dire because of Jeffrey's leukemia, and Steven becomes very aware of this.

Sonnenblick never forgets his main character is in middle school and is just trying to get by without looking like an idiot (he's not always successful). His grades start to slip, and his image is still super important to him (keep an eye out for the school dance scene). 

And the "girls" part in the title? Those girls are Renee, gorgeous neighbor and girl of his dreams; and Annette, friend and fellow musician (basically she's a piano genius). I loved watching Steven's relationship with both girls grow and change over the course of the year—not only do we learn a lot about each girl and their little complexities, we learn a lot about Steven by how he reacts to each one. Also, he can be super clueless when it comes to girls, but hey, I guess that's understandable. He's only 13, after all.

Alternately funny and heartbreaking, this is a great read. There aren't many books that tell the story of the sibling of a cancer patient, and I'm very glad to know this one exists. Humor is so important to have in the face of tough times, and this book serves as a good reminder of that, especially for teens who don't know what to do when faced with such horrible, life-changing things.

Disclosure: I bought this book from my local bookstore.

Review: "The Time-Traveling Fashionista" by Bianca Turetsky

Title: The Time-Traveling Fashionista
Author: Bianca Turetsky
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 2011

Twelve-year-old Louise is ready for a change. She is bored of the way she looks, the food her mom cooks (doused in vinegar, always), and the plain old boring life she leads. It's a good thing the school dance is coming up to give her something to look forward to, and to shop for. You see, Louise loves vintage clothing—the feel of the fabric, the style, the stories each garment holds. So when she gets an invitation to the Traveling Fashionista Vintage Sale, she figures this is the perfect place to find The Dress of her dreams. And she's right. But she has no idea just how far she will "travel" once she puts it on.

Basically, this is a simply written but engaging story of a girl who is sent back in time to 1912 into the body of another woman, who just so happens to be on board a glamourous ship going from England to America. Guess which one. It's full of fashion and descriptions of high living, from the perspective of a 12-year-old girl from 2011.

The writing is, again, simple, especially for something labeled "teen." I would categorize this more as a middle-grade novel, though it masquerades as teen. This isn't necessarily a bad thing either. It actually worked pretty well for one of my Girl Scouts who is less confident as a reader, and whose teacher would only look at reading level when she judged its appropriateness.

By far my favorite aspect of this book was the artwork. Beautiful illustrations by Sandra Suy are scattered throughout the book, showcasing the fashion designs Turetsky describes. It really brings the story to life, and I relished each piece of art.

All in all, this was a fun historical fiction with a contemporary character thrown out of her world and into one she (mostly) wished she could live in. Real people are characters in the novel, so we even learn a bit about the people aboard the great ship. (By the way, I did find myself tearing up toward the end; I got attached to some of these characters, even if they were only minor.) If you are looking for a quick read and you love fashion and color, by all means go find copy of this book. If you're looking for something with a bit more depth, you might want to consider another historical fiction novel.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher.

Review: "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead

Title: When You Reach Me
Author: Rebecca Stead
Publisher: Yearling (Imprint of Random House), 2009

Miranda, sixth-grader and native New Yorker, knows how to live in the city, especially since her mom has been telling her how to be safe for pretty much her whole life. She deals with the older boys who hang out near her apartment building, the crazy man on the corner who kicks at the street and lies with his head under a mailbox, and she knows to keep her key out at least a block before she gets to her door. But her constant companion, her best friend Sal, starts acting really weird; after he gets punched by one of the kids on the street for no reason, he stops talking to her and walking home with her and basically just ignores her. She's not sure why or what she did, or how to get him back.

This is all made way more complicated and frightening when she starts getting the notes. The notes that tell her pieces of the future. And the notes that tell her she needs to help the note-writer before it's too late and a person close to her dies.

When You Reach Me has stayed with me long after I finished the last page. It's a fast read, but it's also one that I will probably revisit again soon. There is a gentleness to Stead's writing, a mystery just out of reach that only comes together when it should. I did guess at things, but I often found myself second-guessing and turning to pages to see if I was right or not.

And let me tell you, that ending is beautiful.

I also need to tell you all that, if you have read and liked (or loved—better if you love it, as I do) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, you need to read this book. Miranda loves it to the point where she's read it too many times to count and her copy is falling apart. She calls it her book, and I think any reader knows what she means. It's the book that means the most to her, the one she carries with her always (be it figuratively or literally).

Miranda isn't perfect.. She has a mean streak if the mood strikes, if she's jealous of someone. And she doesn't always make the best decisions. But she is all the more real for it, even if we don't want her to do what she chooses to do.

Oh, and the story takes place during 1978-9, giving it a slightly different feel. It's a New York of a different time, but not so different. There is just a dash of science fiction, but it's nothing that takes you out of the real setting or out of Miranda's day-to-day experiences.

I truly loved this book and wholeheartedly recommend it to those who enjoy books about time travel, friendship, A Wrinkle in Time, and possibly game shows.

Disclosure: I purchased a copy of this book from Barnes & Noble.

Audiobook Review: "I, Emma Freke" by Elizabeth Atkinson

Title: I, Emma Freke
Author: Elizabeth Atkinson
Publisher: Recorded Books, 2011 (print version available from Carolrhoda Books, 2010)
Narrator: Ali Ahn

Emma Freke considers herself to be, well, a freak. She is almost 6 feet tall, has bright red hair and has a name she can't believe her mother gave her. "Am A Freak"? What could be worse? She doesn't know who her father is and never gets a straight answer out of her mother or grandfather. Plus, her mother Donatella won't win any prizes for mother of the year. After a huge misunderstanding about Emma starting to homeschool, she feels worse than ever. At least she has her friend, 10-year-old Penelope, to cheer her up; she also is able to finish up the school year with a hip librarian tutor at the library.

When she gets an unexpected invitation to the annual Freke Family Reunion, however, things really start to look up for Emma. Will she finally feel like she's found where she belongs?

The audio version was good. Though I thought Ahn sounded a bit too mature to narrate for 12-year-old Emma at first, she grew on me. She did a great job at giving each character distinct voices, though at times I thought I would probably have read dialogue in a different way than she intoned it on the recording.

This was a short, sweet book about a girl who can't seem to find her place in the world. Very big in size and trying to be very small in all other ways, Emma feels like an outsider in her own family. She looks nothing like her 5-foot-tall mother, an aging yet lively and eccentric (albeit flakey) Italian with lots of boyfriends. Though she's very intelligent and kindhearted, Emma can only see her flaws and what makes her different. Though this sounds like a sad story, it's got a lot of heart and happiness with the message to be happy with who you are, minus the cheese.

The characters are certainly not stock. Differences abound, from a tattooed lost cousin to a spunky adopted girl from Liberia with lesbian parents (PS this is not made into a big deal, it just is, and I love that), to the loud-mouthed and irresponsible Donatella to the joke-cracking black sheep of the Freke family. It's a varied and entertaining cast that I enjoyed reading about.

And through it all, Emma finds her voice and, as the "gray moms" said, her "joyla."

Disclosure: I got this audiobook from the library.

"Down the Rabbit Hole" by Peter Abrahams

So I just realized I haven't posted a new review in more than a week—gross. Sorry about being MIA, everyone. In my defense, it was a busy week! I walked 3 days this past weekend for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer walk, AND I had a final project due for class/LOTS of books to read for it. Anyway, enough whining—I am about to remedy this disgusting lack of reviewing on a book review blog.

Title: Down the Rabbit Hole (An Echo Falls Mystery)

Author: Peter Abrahams

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2005

Where and why: I bought this at the B&N where I work to read for the mystery unit of my children's lit class.

Ingrid Levin-Hill is a pretty normal 8th grader, just trying to deal with braces, pass her classes, and get to soccer on time, plus getting through her community theater's production of Alice in Wonderland as the title character. Unfortunately, she has a tendency to dig herself deep in trouble.

When she realizes she leaves her favorite (red!) cleats at what later becomes a crime scene, she knows she has to get them out, fast, or else she'll be all mixed up in a case she wants nothing to do with. And immediately gets herself mixed up in a case she wants nothing to do with. The only option? Solve the case herself, or get arrested as the prime suspect. All while dealing with being in middle school.

Let's start with the good. This mystery has all the classic mystery elements. It's a whodunnit, we get clues scattered throughout the book that help us solve the mystery, there's one perpetrator that we are familiar with, and all that jazz. Ingrid also channels Sherlock Holmes a lot, as he is her very favorite—lots of her inspirations and ideas come from his particular brand of mystery-solving. Abrahams really focuses on logic and reason in here, what with Ingrid's focus on Sherlock Holmes and Alice from Alice in Wonderland. (Bonus! Kids will likely want to pick these up after reading this one.)

The characters are also pretty relatable. Ingrid is going through what one might call her "awkward phase," and come on, we all know we had one too. This is especially, painfully obvious in her relationship with Joey, which at times is pretty perfect. There are a lot of things going on outside the mystery plot with Ingrid's family too, namely the behavior of her brother and father. It's hinted that there's more going on there, which (I've heard from a classmate) is revealed as the series progresses. I enjoyed this character development; I don't like one-dimensional characters, I don't know about you.

Despite all this, there was a lot I didn't like about this book. I found the mystery itself really predictable. I know it's written for a younger audience, but really. A lot of teens and young adults will figure out what's going on way before Ingrid does, who is maddeningly slow at figuring this stuff out. It takes her about 375 pages out of 400 to start piecing it all together.

I also found Ingrid irritating in her constant stunts to figure things out. Didn't she learn the first time that breaking into houses is bad and will implicate her? Hmm??? She doesn't have any forethought and just does whatever she feels is going to get her the answers. And some people might really like this about her, but I just found it annoying, even if we wouldn't have a book without this endearing quality of hers.

Another annoyance is the constant name-dropping and dated references. Puma, North Face, whatever; brand names are used to describe objects. The popularity of brands is not necessarily timeless; in 10 years, this book will probably have dated itself and kids reading it might not know what the name "North Face" implies like they do now. There is also a lot of IMing and Googling going on. Like I said, who knows what will be popular in 10 years' time?

Overall, this was a pretty good mystery with a clear solution, despite certain irritating aspects of the book as a whole. It will probably get kids to read some classics, and at the very least will allow them to solve a mystery, either partially or completely. If you're looking for a YA mystery this series will work. Personally, I like the Sammy Keyes mysteries better—the crime-solver is more likable, interesting, and funny.

"Freedom Walkers" by Russell Freedman

Title: Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Author: Russell Freedman

Publisher: Holiday House, 2006

Where and why: I got this book out of my local library. It was assigned reading for my children's literature class.

This is the story of the brave freedom fighters in Montgomery, Alabama that spearheaded the Civil Rights Movement in 1960s America. It starts even before Rosa Parks played her pivotal role by refusing to give up her seat to a white man. After a brief introduction giving readers context of what it meant to be black during the 1950s, Freedman then begins with a lesser-known figure in history, Jo Ann Robinson, a professor at the all-black university Alabama State who, after being kicked off a bus for sitting too far toward the front, dedicated much of her time and life to changing the bus laws in the South.

Throughout the book, Freedman continues to put the spotlight on forgotten and overlooked players that led to such a monumental shift in American history, along with well-recognized and essential names like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. Freedman leaves nothing out in this history--everything is detailed, and he does not shy away from including the horrific murders that occurred before and after the boycott.

Written for middle-grade students, Freedman writes in such a way that is understandable for younger readers, yet is not degrading. He never talks down to his audience and assumes they know enough to understand what he's writing about. Here's a sample:

Rosa Parks had not expected to resist on that December evening. And she did not want to put her family at risk. But she was no longer willing to accept the indignities of bus segregation, a system that dehumanized all black people. 'I decided that I would have to know once and for all what rights I had as a human being and a citizen, even in Montgomery, Alabama' [she said].

Short paragraphs, often broken up by black-and-white photographs that help tell the story, make it easier for younger readers to stay focused, yet it's not so simple that it would bore them. Quotes and the aforementioned photographs are woven into the text, both of which enhance the telling and give a sense of realness to it that would have been lost otherwise; as a result, the reader is transported back in time.

All in all, this is an inspiring chapter in American history that Freedman tells eloquently, simply, and brilliantly.