Category Archives: Middle Grade 8-12

Review: Irena’s Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Memoir, Middle Grade 8-12, Nonfiction, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Irena's Children by Tilar J. MazzeoIrena’s Children: Young Readers Edition
Tilar J Mazzeo
Translated by Mary Cronk Farrell
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available September 27, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

During World War II, Irena Sendler worked with an underground network to rescue 2,500 Jewish children from Nazi occupied Poland. Her unwavering commitment to human rights began long before the war, and endured through her own incarceration and torture. She worked tirelessly to save as many as she could, and through it all insisted that she was not a hero. She’d only done what any ordinary human would do.

Though it’s nonfiction, I could not put this book down. I was so captured by the life of this incredible woman and the way her life affected so many people. I love that there’s a young reader’s edition of this story, especially because it was a group of students whose research drew community interest in Irena’s largely untold story.

This may be one of the most inspiring stories I’ve ever read. I think what touched me most was the fact that throughout her life she insisted she wasn’t a hero. That anyone could do what she’d done. And I believe that is true. That we can each make an incredible difference in the world if it’s what we pursue.

I read her story and think about some of the things happening in our own country now. While I don’t want to draw a comparison between our nation and Nazi occupied Warsaw, there are injustices happening around us. I think about the courage with which Irena Sendler faced each day, and the resolve she must have felt as she set out to rescue each child. It didn’t begin with the Nazi occupation. She stood up against prejudice during her time in college, and it nearly cost her education. It would have been easy to sit down quietly and ignore what was happening around her. To just worry about herself and her own life. Instead she protested along with her Jewish peers.

It’s easy to look back at history and say we would have been among those who fiercely opposed Nazi ideas. How many of us really would have done it, though, at risk to our own lives and the lives of our families? This is the kind of story that really challenges you to think about those things. And they’re worthy things to think about. In the end, I want Irena to be right that she’s not a hero, that her faith in us, in humanity to stand up for one another, is well-placed. That truly, ordinary people reach out to help and protect others, no matter how different from us they may be.

Recommended Reading Age: 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Follows the story of Jewish and Polish historical figures.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Irena and her network save some children by having them baptized into the Christian faith. Some families and members of the Jewish community object to this practice and some refused to let their children participate

Violent Content
Disease and starvation plague the Jewish ghetto. The story talks briefly about the terrible cruelty of the Nazi soldiers toward the Jews, even toward babies. Few details are given, but it’s tragic and awful to think about it.

Drug Content
Irena visits a club in the wealthier side of the ghetto to hear a famous singer. Doctors perform operations with limited medical means. Irena smuggles vaccines into the ghetto.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Doorway and the Deep by K E Ormsbee

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,

The Doorway and the Deep
K. E. Ormsbee
Chronicle Books
Available October 4, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Lottie struggles to learn how to use her gift of healing so she can save her best friend Eliot. She must hurry, because the longer Eliot stays in the land of Limn, the sicker he’ll become. When her hosts in the South make a bargain with the elusive Rebel Gem of the Northerly Kingdom, Lottie and her friends must travel north instead of returning Eliot home. A treacherous king’s servant, a powerful shape-shifter named Iolanthe pursues them, sending assassins after Lottie. To protect her, Lottie’s companions must make a dangerous journey to find the one weapon that will stop the evil king.

My favorite thing about The Doorway and the Deep was the fun cast of characters. Each one is very different, and each enjoyable. I loved Oliver’s poetry and Fife’s mischievous antics and the brief unexpected romance that blossomed between a couple characters. Lottie is clever and complex, definitely the kind of heroine I enjoy reading about.

I had a little trouble following some of the elements of the tale more deeply embedded in the storyworld—probably because I haven’t read the first book, in which all that setup was explained. It didn’t prevent me from enjoying the story, but I think I’d have gotten more out of it had I read the first book before this one.

The Doorway and the Deep ends with a pretty powerful hook. I definitely didn’t see that coming. I feel like that can be a big risk because it can feel a little gimmicky sometimes. This was okay. I liked the characters enough that I’d be interested in continuing the series.

Cultural Elements
Most of the characters are wisps or fairies. I don’t think there were racial descriptions. Most of the characters feel a little bit British to me, but I’m not 100% sure why.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Characters say things like, “Sweet Titania” or “For Oberon’s sake.”

Romance/Sexual Content
A couple of brief m/f kisses.

Spiritual Content
Lottie and her friends train to better use their magical abilities. Each has one specific ability, for instance, Lottie’s ability to heal. Fife can float. Adelaide can hear over long distances.

Violent Content
Oliver’s gift causes physical harm. A powerful shape-shifter sends assassins after Lottie. Brief battles injure more than one character.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Save

Review: Pax by Sarah Pennypacker

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

Pax
Sara Pennypacker
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
Balzer + Bray

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

From Goodreads

Pax was only a kit when his family was killed, and “his boy” Peter rescued him from abandonment and certain death. Now the war front approaches, and when Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa. Far worse than being forced to leave home is the fact that Pax can’t go. Peter listens to his stern father—as he usually does—and throws Pax’s favorite toy soldier into the woods. When the fox runs to retrieve it, Peter and his dad get back in the car and leave him there—alone. But before Peter makes it through even one night under his grandfather’s roof, regret and duty spur him to action; he packs for a trek to get his best friend back and sneaks into the night. This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their independent struggles to return to one another against all odds. Told from the alternating viewpoints of Peter and Pax.

My Review

This book, to me, was like Disney’s The Fox and the Hound meets John Boyne’s Stay Where You Are and Then Leave. Well, it was all the things I loved about those stories. Pax was the cutest thing ever, and my heart totally broke for him as he got left behind. I loved Peter, too, for his devotion and loyalty to his fox. I wasn’t totally sure about Vola at first. I sort of expected her to be a brief presence in the story, but she stayed around, and actually, I came to love her, too. There’s one moment where she places her hands on Peter’s head, and it’s this really tender gesture, especially since Peter has been so starved for affection since his mom’s death. I totally bawled. It’s so sweet.

The illustrations also added a lot to the story. I loved the style of the drawings. It made me really want to give the book as a gift for Christmas. And I just might do that!

Some of the descriptions of war are a bit harsh, so this story definitely has some grit to it. In some ways, that only strengthened the power of the other themes about love and the value of a life, any life. If you liked Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schröder, you will want to check this one out.

Cultural Elements
Vola describes herself as part Creole, part Italian among other things. Peter describes her as someone who used to speak another language that sounded like a song.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Vola swears, saying “dyeableman.” At one we’re told Peter swears. (What he actually says doesn’t appear.)

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Peter describes his connection with Pax as feeling a mental or spiritual connection. Vola tells him about the Buddhist concept of oneness—“two but not two.”

Violent Content
Land mines explode, killing and injuring animals. Vola lost her leg in a similar explosion. Pax learns to hunt and kill prey. He and the other foxes eat mice, etc.

Drug Content
None.

Save

Review: Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schröder

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,

Be Light Like a Bird
Monika Schröder
Capstone Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

After Wren’s father unexpectedly dies, her mother rips her away from her only home. Move after move takes Wren further and further across the country, and Wren can’t help but wonder what her mom is running from. Then Wren finds a beautiful pond to secret herself away to watch birds the way she and her father used to do. When Wren discovers the local landfill owner plans to demolish her sacred place, Wren vows to stop him.

The birdwatching elements felt very natural to me. I’m not an experienced birdwatcher by any means, but my daughter and I kept a journal for about a year of birds we saw behind our house in a canal (a surprising number and variety, actually.) So I enjoyed that part of the story, and it definitely resonated with me.

Wren and her mom deal with the grief over losing her dad in very different ways. For a time it becomes a wedge between them. Wren meets a boy in school who also lost a parent, and they bond over those losses and how they’ve changed their surviving parents. It’s a really healing experience for Wren. So is her campaign to save the pond. I think the emotional journey of grief and the outward journey to save the pond balanced the story in a great way.

There is one part where Wren’s mom reveals a secret about her father that’s very hurtful. I really struggled with that decision. It didn’t feel like the right call to me, so that kind of took me out of the story a bit as I wrestled with why it bothered me so much. More details in the spoiler section.

Other than that, though, I enjoyed the story a lot. Both grief and love for our environment are really worthy topics for a novel, and Be Light Like a Bird handles both very well.

Cultural Elements
Wren speaks with a man who purchased her dad’s old car. He has some Native American ancestry. The story briefly talks about the importance of respecting Native American burial grounds and what items might be found there.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
See spoiler section. There’s nothing sexually graphic, but Wren does learn something traumatic about her parents’ relationship.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

SPOILER
Wren’s mom tells her that her father was having an affair. She mentions having found romantic letters and states that he planned to leave Wren and her mom. Wren is, of course, devastated. It does explain her mom’s anger and impulsive behaviors, but I couldn’t help wishing that Wren hadn’t had to deal with that information, especially so close to losing her dad.

Save

Save

Save

Review: The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , ,

The Year of the Book
Andrea Cheng
HMH Books for Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When a social shift at school leaves Anna without her best friend, she turns to books for companionship. When she feels pressure in Chinese class because she doesn’t know as much as the other kids, books are her refuge. But as the people in Anna’s life begin to experience troubles of their own, she learns that sometimes, just like the heroes in her stories, she must step out into the unknown and offer help. Sometimes, Anna learns, this is precisely what makes for the best friendships.

Anna charmed me from the first page. I loved the descriptions of the stories she read, and though I hadn’t read all of them myself, it was easy to understand why the stories mattered to her. I liked that she found herself faced with other people’s needs. Reading is awesome, but sometimes it isolates us from others. And when people in Anna’s life needed things, it drew her out of her books and allowed opportunities for her to have relationships with them. I loved the sweet, subtle way the author explores learning how to be a good friend.

I also liked the sense of community in the story. Anna’s class experience felt very real, and her relationship with the elderly man her mother cares for also felt authentic and added a lot to the story.

Cultural Elements
Anna and her family are Chinese American. She takes Chinese classes with other kids her age, but finds it frustrating not to know as much as they do because her mother insists on speaking English to her at home.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Brief references to Chinese traditions.

Violent Content
At one point a man bangs on the door of Anna’s family’s apartment looking for his daughter, Anna’s friend. The girls are scared, but Anna’s parents send the man away.

Drug Content
None.

Save

Save

Review: That’s Not Hay in My Hair by Juliette Turner

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

That’s Not Hay in My Hair
Juliette Turner
Zonderkidz

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Jules finishes fifth grade just in time to move from her tiny New York apartment to a 300 acre ranch in Texas. While her mom overflows with confidence that she and Jules can care for the longhorn cattle, horses, dogs and cats on their own, Jules carries some doubts. Sure enough, zany adventures abound as she and her mom struggle to find their inner cowgirls. Through it all, Jules determines to remain positive. When tragedy strikes, though, she’ll have to reevaluate her feelings for her new Texas life.

Turner really hits her stride in the scenes in which one wacky event follows another. In one, Jules struggles to get ready for school in the morning amid animals running amok. Another shows her frantically helping her party diva grandmother prepare for a Fourth of July barbecue. Lots of good-humored, clean fun.

The writing feels young, which mostly works for a story in the middle grade genre. At times the story loses focus, and lingers in scenes and dialogue that don’t really move the plot forward. Overall, it’s a sweet story with a lot of humor and heart. Jules’ struggles over changing schools definitely seem believable. I wished her peer community had been better developed. I expected there to be a little more connection with friends in the story, as those relationships become more and more important in the middle grade years. The story primarily focused on Jules’ relationships with her family members, and those feel genuine and fun.

Something about the story reminded me a little bit of the stories by Bill Wallace called Beauty (one of my favorites!) and Buffalo Gal. That’s Not Hay in My Hair is a lighter story about a modern city-girl-gone-cowgirl. But readers who’ve enjoyed one should consider trying the others.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Several mentions of animal poop. At one point Jules slips on a cow patty.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Jules mentions the church she and her mother attended weekly while they lived in New York. She also attends a Christian school, and at one point her teacher asks her to share a favorite Bible verse. Jules doesn’t know one off the top of her head, so she names a reference she sees on a classmate’s notebook. She or her mom pray at different points in the story. After the death of one of the animals, Jules wonders if the animal is in heaven. She sees an image of the animal that makes her believe so.

The vet briefly references a Native American burial tradition.

Violent Content
Jules and her mom live on and work a 300 acre ranch with cattle, horses, dogs and cats. At one point, an animal has to be put down. A vet handles everything.

Drug Content
None.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

Save

Save