Book review: "The Magic Thief" by Sarah Prineas

Title: The Magic Thief
Author: Sarah Prineas
Publisher: HarperTrophy (an imprint of HarperCollins), 2008

This is a fun fantasy for younger readers, around middle grade and possibly a bit younger, as well as of course anyone else who likes MG fantasy. It's the story of Connwaer, a gutter thief who lives in the Twilight (a rough part of the city of Wellmet). He tries to steal a wizard's locus magicalicus, which is basically like a wand but in the form of a stone, and that's where the adventure starts. He ends up the wizard's apprentice, sort of by accident, and ends up trying to save the city from losing all of its magic, as well as its lifeblood.

I really enjoyed this first book in the series. Conn is a great character, tricky and thieving when he needs to be, but loyal and truthful down to his core. Nevery, the wizard, is a grump, but a grump with a heart of gold. And the secondary characters are just as enjoyable.

The story is fun, too, though this first adventure is really just a gateway into the rest of Conn's apprenticeship in my opinion. Here, characters are established, Conn's ability is revealed, and an open ending leaves the return of villains an almost certainty.

I look forward to the next books in the series. I'd recommend this to fans of the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud and Megan Whelan Turner's books.

Review: "Princess Academy" by Shannon Hale

Title: Princess Academy
Author: Shannon Hale
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2007

Miri and her family lives near the quarry on Mount Eskel, and have lived there for generations. She desperately wants to prove she is useful and work in the quarry alongside her sister and father, but he won't allow her to set foot inside it. Things in their day-to-day village life change, however, when it is announced that Mount Eskel is where the next queen will come from. All of the girls between the ages of 12 and 18 must attend the Princess Academy, a time-honored tradition in the kingdom, where they will get a basic education and learn how to be proper ladies. One of these girls will be chosen by the crown prince as his bride. Though the girls and their families resist at first, eventually all those of age head to the academy, a 3-hour journey in a building that had been abandoned years ago. Tutor Olana, their appointed teacher, is overly strict and quick to punish, quickly making the rest of the girls resent Miri when she causes them to miss an anticipated visit home. But despite all this, the girls begin to get excited about the possibility of becoming a princess, and though Miri tells herself she just wants to prove that mountain girls can be intelligent when she throws herself into her studies, a part of her wonders too.

When I heard the title Princess Academy, I kind of rolled my eyes a little. It sounded like something fluffy that I wouldn't be interested in, but it was chosen for the library's middle school book club. I'm so glad it was, or it never would have been on my radar despite its Newbery Honor. What a fantastic story! The world Hale creates is enchanting, though for a fantasy there is not a whole lot of magic or fantastic incidents (with the exception of the mountain people's ability to communicate via a sort of mental telepathy), so it's more like a fairy tale than a fantasy in that respect.

One of the biggest themes in this novel is the value of a good education. The girls have no idea how to read or write, or even what the value of the linder (a type of stone, the descriptions of which brought to my mind a type of marble) they mine from the quarry is. Miri is fascinated by all this, and begins to try to figure out a way to use it to the village's advantage. I love that this was pretty much the main theme; it doesn't matter where you were born or how you were raised, the potential for intelligence just needs to be nurtured and it will begin to make a difference in the lives of the learners and their loved ones.

Miri was an incredibly strong character, too. She has a strong sense of what's fair, and she knows she and the other girls are bright. She wants the very best for her family and her village, and though she feels like she is too small and therefore useless in the quarry where everyone she knows makes their living, she still grasps for ways she can be useful to her community.

One other thing I really liked was how the girls weren't sure if they were interested in actually marrying the prince. It's nice how the prince isn't this mythical Prince Charming figure for them; he is just a guy, albeit one with enormous power. For them, it was more the idea of a different sort of life than the one they know they will be leading if they don't get chosen.

There is a lot of tension throughout the novel, too. Miri is ostracized for a good portion of the book by the other girls because of her misstep at the beginning of their academy education, causing her to become friends with the "outsider" of the group, a lowlander (someone not from the mountain) named Britta, who has her own problems, namely being an outcast even before the academy. The competition is high for the title of Academy Princess, awarded to the girl who gets the highest marks right before the ball where the prince is supposed to choose his bride. And there is the matter of the high suspense that happens toward the end of the book, which I will refrain from going into detail here because of spoilers.

All in all, I highly recommend this book to fans of Hale's other work, strong female characters, and fairy tale stories. It certainly deserved its Newbery Honor. AND I just found out a sequel is due out next month! I can't wait to see where Miri's story goes next.

Top Eleven (sort of) Readalikes for "A Wrinkle in Time"

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week we take a look at Top Ten Readalikes for whatever book you choose. My very favorite book is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, so I figured I'd give that a shot.

1. Below the Root by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. This series is out of print, but it is probably available from your local library. A fabulous fantasy series set in a different world, with sinister secrets just, well, below the root.

2, 3, and 4. The rest of the Time Quartet. Cheating a bit here, but they are three separate books, after all. I promise not to pick any more L'Engle books though. :) They are A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters. Each of these books deals with the Murray family, continuing their story and adventures in time and space.

5. The Giver by Lois Lowry. I don't know if I associate these books because they were my favorites growing up or what, but for some reason I feel like if you liked A Wrinkle in Time you'll like this one. And its sequels, Gathering Blue and Messenger, of course. I hear there is also a fourth one coming out, which I'm very excited about.

6. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Of course I have to have this one on the list. Stead uses A Wrinkle in Time as something of a muse, having her main character Miranda read the book over and over and borrowing the time travel theme.

7. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. Not exactly the same idea and the writing style is a bit different, more quirky and whimsical, but it has great charm and a fascinating world. Of course, if you've read any Discworld novels, you know what I'm talking about.

8, 9, 10 (and 11). The Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper. Yes, a bit more cheating, but again, four separate books! Another fantasy series with plenty of old charm akin to the L'Engle books, staring with Over Sea, Under Stone and continuing with the book the series is named after. There are four books in all, and the borrow heavily from Welsh mythology. Very fun, with a rich setting and great world building.

There you are! If you have any more to add to this list, please feel free to mention them in the comments. If I haven't read them, I'll be sure to seek them out!

Also, if you're interested, I made this short video celebrating the 50th anniversary of A Wrinkle in Time. 

Review: "The Name of This Book Is Secret" by Pseudonymous Bosch

Title: The Name of This Book Is Secret
Author: Pseudonymous Bosch
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company, 2007

Technically I guess I'm not supposed to tell you what this book is about. The narrator makes that very clear in the first chapter; this is a SECRET and s/he shouldn't even be TELLING us the story. But said narrator can't keep a secret, so there you go. Basically this is the story of how survivalist Cassandra (she is always prepared for a disaster, though to date she hasn't had to deal with a real one), along with unlikely collaborator Max-Ernest (classmate and aspiring comedian), wind up trying to crack they mystery of an Italian magician's suspicious death. Along the way they find out what synesthesia and alchemy are, and why they are connected. (Yeah, I don't know either.)

This is the kind of book that you have the be a specific kind of person to enjoy. I was not one of them. I didn't like how the narrator kept interrupting the story to talk about how s/he shouldn't be telling us this, s/he was stopping, whatever. I found it irritating. I also wasn't too thrilled about the plot itself. The mystery didn't really draw me in, and I found myself skimming the last 50 pages just so I could finish it. I don't think I'd have liked this when I was a kid, either, so it's not just me being a grown-up and not appreciating it because it was written for children.

I didn't particularly like the characters, either. Everyone seemed pretty flat to me, with personality traits thrown in here and there in an attempt to round them out. It just wasn't for me.

That said, readers who enjoyed The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart might enjoy this. There's a lot about codes and logic and puzzles, which can be really fun. I know that people must buy and read this series, since there are five of them now and the keep being published, so maybe I'm missing what makes this series special. *shrugs*

Disclosure: I bought this ebook from B&N.

Review: "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" by J.K. Rowling

Title: The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2008

This collection of fairy tales from the wizarding world of Harry Potter were written by J.K. Rowling, creator of one of the most popular, widely read and well-loved series to ever exist. Here she brings together a handful of "favorite tales" from the world she created, beloved by wizards and witches for centuries. From "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" to "The Tale of the Three Brothers" (the latter of which readers of the Harry Potter series will be very familiar), each story gives its own spark of magic, as fairy tales tend to do.

I can't believe I'm just getting around to reading this collection, but I'm honestly glad I waited until after my storytelling class to read this. It's clear to me that J.K. Rowling has studied folklore and fairy tales, both their history and their form. Notes from Dumbledore at the end of each story really show this, as he goes into theory and history of the tales, something which it would be impossible for Rowling to write about to such a degree without prior study.

The tales are delightful and clever, though one or two have a darkness that is more along the lines of the later Potter books—"The Warlock's Hairy Heart" being the first and foremost that springs to mind on that front. I loved how the heroines of the tales are rulers of their own fates, unlike the Grimm or Perrault tales we are so familiar with, as Rowling points out in her introduction.

These stories would be great to tell fans of the series, or even those who haven't read the Potter books yet, during a storytelling event or at bedtime (again, excluding the darker tales). The appeal is wide.

Review: "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Title: Elijah of Buxton
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Publisher: Listening Library, 2008 (print from Scholastic, 2007)
Narrator: Mirron Willis

Elijah was born free in Canada, in a settlement called Buxton. His parents escaped slavery in America, making it to the security and relatively happy life—and Elijah was the first baby to be born in this new country, away from the shackles America would have placed on him and his family. But life isn't perfect for the people of this community. Many still have family members who didn't make it to Canada, others have lost family to death, and most still bear the scars, both physical and psychological, of slavery.

Elijah lives in relative peace and security because of his ignorance of the way it is in America, but when one of his neighbors is robbed of the money he was going to use to free his family, Elijah makes a dangerous journey down south, past the Canadian border. He sees horrors he hopes to never see again, if only he can make it back home.

I first read Christopher Paul Curtis last summer for my children's literature class, and I've been meaning to read more of his work ever since. His books, though they have roots in racism and slavery in America, also tell incredibly engaging stories full of humor. In this Newbery Honor–winning book, also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King Book Award, Curtis does an incredible balancing act, pacing the drama and danger with the more lighthearted parts of the story, and does not shy away from the horror to which slaves were subjected. Elijah of Buxton is a funny and alternately searing account of life during the mid-1800s for black people in both America and Canada. Vile characters interact with good-hearted ones, and men with good intentions make bad decisions. I couldn't often couldn't stop listening, even after I had reached my destination in my car.

Curtis also includes an excellent author's note at the end, giving a brief history of Buxton and what in his novel was real and what he fictionalized (which should always be included in a work of historical fiction). As a bonus, Curtis reads this himself in the audio.

Mirron Willis's narration was perfect. He read the dialect with authenticity and just the right amount of emotion, portraying Elijah's confusion, naivete and conviction with all the charm Curtis gives Elijah. I fell in love with Elijah through Willis's voice and excellent portrayal.

If you're looking for a way to while away the hours of your morning and/or evening commute or on a long road trip (especially with kids who have the patience to listen to audiobooks), I highly recommend this one to keep you company.

Disclosure: I got this from my local library.

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.

Review: "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Title: One Crazy Summer
Author: Rita Williams-Garcia
Publisher: Amistad, 2010

Delphine and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, are off to Oakland, CA to spend the summer with their mother, Cecile. But this is no happy reunion, and Oakland is not all sunshine and Disneyland. Cecile wants next to nothing to do with her daughters, having walked out on them 7 years earlier. Plus, it's 1968, and the Black Panthers are working hard in this poor community to gain rights and spread the word.

Cecile, or Sister Nzila, is involved, albeit grudgingly, in the cause. Throughout the four weeks they spend in Oakland, Delphine and her sisters get mixed up in one thing after another, attending the Black Panthers day camp and learning about the revolution and its people.

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and the recipient of a Newbery Honor, this middle grade novel certainly deserves them. Narrated by 11-year-old Delphine, the writing is sharp and to the point. Delphine doesn't dance around issues (unless it comes to her own feelings about certain things). The writing is excellent, with language perfect for older elementary students and middle schoolers. I was pulled right into the story, could feel the tension between Cecile and her daughters, the unspoken words that Delphine was just dying to say yet too afraid to let out.

I loved how all of the characters were so fully realized. Cecile in particular struck me as particularly complex and layered. It's clear she never really wanted to be a mother, at least not in the traditional sense. She doesn't take care of her children as a mother is expected to, and many would say she is a bad mother. But she knows what she's fighting for, and will not back down in the face of oppression. She's passionate about her poetry; Delphine calls it praying, as Cecile bends over her work. Cecile is an incredibly strong and independent woman, admirable at least for that, even though she proves herself to be very flawed in other regards.

And how many books for younger readers are there about the Black Panthers? I learned a lot from this book about that part of American history; not much of it was covered during my formal education besides a few mentions in AP U.S. Names are mentioned and a bit of their histories are thrown in, and interested readers are given just enough to find more information through their own research. (This would be a great companion to a school unit about the Civil Rights Movement.)

Williams-Garcia writes this in her acknowledgments: "I wanted to write this story for those children who witnessed and were part of necessary change. Yes. There were children" (p 217). I will not forget anytime soon that children were involved in this revolution, thanks to Delphine and One Crazy Summer.

Disclosure: I checked out this book from my library.

Review: "Saraswati's Way" by Monika Schroeder

Title: Saraswati's Way
Author: Monika Schroeder
Publisher: Frances Foster Books, 2010

Akash is 12 years old, living with his extended family in their Indian village, and dreams of learning more about math and numbers. He is excellent with figures and can mentally solve many math problems—bu he has learned all his teacher has to offer, and his family cannot afford to get him a tutor or send him on to a higher level of school. But then tragedy strikes, and he is forced to work off his family's debt in a quarry. He escapes, but only to become a street child in Delhi, where he starts to understand how hopeless his situation seems. Can he resist the temptations of making quick money through unseemly means, or will he be able to be patient and find the right way to knowledge?

This is a quick read, but full of descriptions of place, Indian culture, street life and Hinduism. I learned a bit about the Hindu religion and how its practitioners worship, at least in the part of India Akash is from, and I learned a lot about the Indian culture, namely life in a traditional household and life for children on the street. It can be gritty, and children have to resort to desperate measures to survive.

Yet Schroeder gives us this picture in a more kid-friendly way. Despite the horror of street life, the phrasing is simple and gentle enough for younger readers to understand it without having nightmares. Her writing is very to the point and frank.

I did have a few problems while I was reading. Some paragraphs are far too long; I think the text could use a bit more editing and breaks in the structure when it comes to that. I found an entire chapter that only had one paragraph. There were also parts of dialogue where there wasn't a new paragraph when a new character spoke, which confused me. And speaking of dialogue, some of it was very stilted and seemed unrealistic, especially a scene with a doctor toward the end of the book. I found the writing tended to be a bit choppy, but for some reason this worked for the most part.

One other thing that confused me was the unfamiliar religious practices described. At one point there is a festival going on and Akash's family is in mourning—certain things happen, and I couldn't tell if it was because of the festival or the mourning period. I could get what was happening most of the time, and eventually I figured out what was going on after I got confused, but I struggled a bit occasionally.

I was sucked into the story, especially once Akash started to be exposed to the darker side of street living. I got worked up at the injustices, worried about the young hero of the story, and was saddened at the circumstances. There are drugs and perverts in the world, and Akash is forced to find this out. Luckily he (somehow) manages to find friends pretty quickly and easily, so he's rarely ever truly alone.

After the novel ends, there is an author's note that explains about street children in India, Vedic math, and the Hindu gods mentioned in the text—I recommend reading this. There's also a glossary for the Indian terms used throughout the book.

Saraswati's Way tells the ultimately hopeful story of a boy who ends up on the street and tries to survive, while always pursuing his goal of getting a good education. Though there were some issues for me, I think this would be a good introduction to Indian custom and religion for a younger reader, plus it gives some nifty math tricks.

Disclosure: The author sent me a copy of this book for review.

Review: "The Liberation of Gabriel King" by K.L. Going

Title: The Liberation of Gabriel King
Author: K.L. Going
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2005
Where I got it: Saw it at the library and borrowed it.

Fear can encompass many different things. A person can be scared of spiders, swinging off the rope swing into the lake, or of bullies. They can even be afraid of the fifth grade. Gabriel King is afraid of all of these things, but if his best friend Frita makes it her mission to help "liberate" Gabe and beat his fears. The summer of 1976 will be the summer Gabe becomes brave, and he has Frita to help him—she's not afraid of much of anything. But as the two friends work through Gabe's list of fears, Gabe realizes she is afraid of some things and needs to work on her own list—but it will take an awful lot of courage to confront the things Frita fears the most.

It's good to read a story set after the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s that deals with racism in the South. There aren't a lot of stories that I've come across in my reading that deal with the post-Jim Crow South, but this late elementary/early middle grade book is one of them. Frita is a black girl living in Georgia, and she has been "integrated" into the white school in Hollowell, where she met Gabe. She is a firecracker, always willing to go on adventures and often having to drag Gabe with her. Despite their remarkable differences from each other, the two are incredibly loyal to each other and the best of friends.

Though most of the book focused on fear and overcoming it, there is a bit of history included within the scant 151 pages of the novel. Readers learn about Jimmy Carter before he became president; I had no idea he was a peanut farmer before he made it to the White House, and I certainly had no idea about his stand against white supremacy. We also take a look at the treatment of African Americans during and after the Civil Rights Movement, though not in great detail.

I also thought it was great that Going did not shy away from using the n-word. It was especially relevant for me to read this right after the whole Mark Twain "let's censor the language because it's offensive to modern readers" thing. The use of that word certainly made an impact on me, not to mention it made the narrative all the more believable. There are some very serious issues that Frita and Gabe have to grapple with, and it forces us as readers to think critically about the situations. And yet, Going still managed to include a good deal of humor and playfulness within the two friends' fear-busting exploits.

There were a few flaws I noticed that detracted from the book for me. Though I thought it was sweet how Gabe didn't really see why Frita's skin color mattered to so many people, I found it difficult to believe that he had never come across racism before, especially having a best friend who would most likely be often on the receiving end of it. He seemed genuinely confused about why white people would treat black people differently, and didn't seem to understand why Frita would be targeted in their community. And his frequent realizations vocalized as "Huh. I'd never thought of it like that" or something similar sounded forced and trite to me—it got irritating.

Though it had its drawbacks, I still liked this story of doing the right thing and gathering courage, even if it means facing your worst fears. The two friends might not have crossed every single thing off their lists, but they certainly learn what it means to be brave.

Review: "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine

Title: Mockingbird
Author: Kathryn Erskine
Publisher: Philomel Books, 2010
Where I got it: I requested it from the library.

*Starred Review*


As someone who has Asperger's, 10-year-old Caitlin has trouble understanding why people act a certain way and how to react to them in turn. She would always turn to her older brother Devon to explain things and situations for her, but Devon dies in a tragedy that rocks their entire community. So not only is Caitlin left without her most trusted friend and big brother, she must learn how to deal with the way her father is now acting, the way others treat her in school, learning empathy, and most important of all, getting to Closure.

If you haven't heard of this book yet, just to tell you, it won the National Book Award for young people's literature. And let me tell you, it certainly deserved it. Through Erskine's book we see the world through Caitlin's eyes and mind. She doesn't Get It (as she would say) most of the time, as she can't understand certain emotions or reactions. She has to work really hard to see how another person is feeling and how to make them feel better, instead of worse. It's very illuminating to see how a person with Asperger's might view the world, and gives us a tool to understand them better and the way they see things better.

Despite her lack of understanding others, Caitlin is remarkably intelligent and an incredible artist. Throughout the book, Erskine uses Caitlin's artistic talents as a device—her refusal to use color goes hand in hand with the way she likes to see the world. Black and white are much easier to deal with than colors that can run together and blur. But as she begins to learn empathy and friendship, as she begins to find the ever-illusive Closure, Caitlin begins to see that color might be useful.

What really struck me about this novel was the rawness and realness of everything. Erskine does not really censor much, but not in an inappropriate way. What I mean is, Caitlin just reports things as she sees them, bluntly and accurately—this is especially true when she describe her father's violent reaction when he hears the news of his son's death and his subsequent grieving (mostly detachment, refusal to speak of Devon, and lots of crying),  and how she herself is dealing with the loss of the only person who seemed to understand how to talk to her. We also see things that Caitlin misses. She has incredible skills of observation, and doesn't shy away from telling us everything—actions and gestures that she doesn't understand are not lost on us, and I felt it all the more.

We also see the way a tragedy can affect everyone involved, even those who are related to the ones who caused it. It's heartbreaking, but the quest for Closure is a bold and valiant one that Caitlin tries to share with the entire community.

The mockingbird title comes from Devon and Caitlin's shared love for the movie To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout, Caitlin keeps returning to this, to her nickname Scout that Devon gave her, and to all of their likeness to the three main characters in the film and book (Jem, Scout and Atticus). In the end, Devon is the symbolic mockingbird—dead despite his innocence, but living on in the memory of his family and of his community.

Incredibly moving and poignant (I use that word not as a cliche; I mean it with all my heart), Caitlin shows us a world that we mostly try to ignore. She shows us ways to deal with grief, both good and bad, but all real; after death and tragedy, we must find our way to Closure, and to living again.

Review: "Judy Moody" by Megan McDonald

Title: Judy Moody
Author: Megan McDonald
Illustrator: Peter Reynolds
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2000
Where I got it: The library.

Judy Moody is a fun series for young readers, with a spunky heroine who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Judy wants to be a doctor when she grows up, is constantly being annoyed by her younger brother Stink, has a bunch of collections of things, and has a Venus fly-trap as a pet. In this first book of the series, she has to figure out what things make her Judy Moody, since her third-grade teacher assigned them to make a ME collage—what will she put on her poster?

I've seen this series around a lot over the past few years, and finally decided to check it out (again, thanks to Anita Silvey's Children's Book-a-Day Almanac). I'm really glad I did. Judy is a great character—certainly not afraid to get her hands dirty, she digs right into any type of experiment or fun prospect despite it's possible yucky-factor. She picks up toads, collects scabs (btw, gross) and finds food for Jaws (the aforementioned Venus fly-trap). Plus, she's got a best friend who's a boy, Rocky, which I think is very cool.

The situations she gets into are incredibly realistic, as are the conversations she has with her family and friends. This is especially true when it comes to Stink—I feel like I had the SAME arguments and back-and-forths with my own younger brothers. Stink talks in an erratic way that sounded all too familiar—just random enough, though the thoughts were sort of connected.

And Peter Reynolds' illustrations are awesome. Sort of doodley and cartoony, they are still incredibly detailed. The first double-page illustration is of Judy's room, and his little touches everywhere (a discarded apple core and ice cream container, posters taped to Judy's wall, a jar labeled "Jelly Bean Collection") make it a lot of fun to explore and examine closely.

I will definitely pick up the next titles in this series—I'm loving Judy's different moods, and the way she gets through each and every conundrum and situation she finds herself in. In this first book, my favorite was her solution for her almost-ruined collage (read it and find out what happens and how she fixes it—so great!).