Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers

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

The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen RiversThe Girl in the Well is Me
Karen Rivers
Algonquin Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When tough circumstances force Kammie’s family to relocate, she’s determined to make the most of the change. She approaches the prettiest, most popular girls and attempts to join their group. Only what results is Kammie standing on a board that splits and sends her tumbling into a well. Trapped and slowly sinking further, Kammie begs her new “friends” to help her get out. As she waits for them to bring help (and wonders if they’ve simply abandoned her) she begins to think about the good times lost and the struggles her family currently faces. Then she begins to run out of air. Joined by hallucinations, some less than friendly, Kammie wonders if she’ll be rescued, or if her last view of the world will be the dark interior of the well and the small circle of sky above her.

At first I worried that a story about a girl trapped in a well would be sort of boring. I imagine it’s kind of the way people felt before seeing Rear Window when they learned that the whole movie was filmed on a tiny set about a man in a wheelchair. (Other than the scene in which he breaks his leg, we see the whole movie from his apartment. Crazy.) Anyway – this book was not as suspenseful as the classic Hitchcock film, but it never tried to be. Still, it was far from boring.

I liked Kammie pretty immediately. She’s a spunky narrator. You can feel how hard she’s trying to fit in and have a posse around her and how lonely and isolated she is since all the drama with her family has happened. You know she’s worth ten of each of the silly girls she wanted to be friends with, and she’s smart enough to realize it, too.

I thought her relationship with her brother was especially moving. I can’t think of a lot of stories with good examples of brother/sister relationships during that time of life when sibs sometimes grow apart, each seeking their own identity. I liked that this story captured that process so well, even if it was bittersweet.

Kammie’s memories of her life before falling in the well are definitely what keeps the story moving between rescue-related events. Rivers unwinds bits and pieces of this nameless tragedy that shattered Kammie’s life, and it was easy to chase those hints and flashes down looking for what really happened to this remarkable girl.

I thought the tone and the brief use of profanity made it a heavier read than most other middle grade books. Don’t get me wrong – I thought the story was great. See below for more specifics on content.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One swear word is repeated several times in a sentence as Kammie realizes the dire situation she’s in. There are a few crude references to bodily functions.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Kammie thinks about her grandma, who has died, and wonders briefly if she’s in Heaven.

Violence
Girls play a prank on Kammie which leads to her falling into a well. Kammie sustains serious injuries due to her fall.

Drug Content
Her father drinks alcohol.

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

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Review: Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire by Sundee T Frazier

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

Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire
Sundee T. Frazier
Scholastic, Inc.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Cleo Edison Oliver, Playground Millionaire

Cleo wants to be just like her role model, Miss Fortune A. Davies, a famous businesswoman with a nightly TV show motivating young entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams. Cleo has lots of ideas to make money, from selling avocados off the tree in the back yard to her latest and greatest idea ever: a nearly painless tooth-pulling service. As Cleo’s business succeeds, she gets even more excited. Unfortunately, not everyone in her life is as thrilled as she is. Her best friend begins to withdraw, and Cleo has some owning up to do with members of her family after a few poor choices catch up with her. Cleo struggles to find the balance that even many adults find elusive: to balance passions with sensitivity to the important people in our lives. And her struggle happens in a lovable, believable way.

My Review

Though this is a pretty lighthearted story, it does deal with some heart issues. Cleo wrestles with some deep rejection stemming from her mother’s choice to place her for adoption as a baby. Cleo’s best friend struggles to accept her father’s new life with a new girlfriend, though her parents are only recently divorced. Cleo herself is an upbeat, passionate girl whose whole heart is in everything she does. It’s true that sometimes her passions carry her away, and her parents have to reel her in a bit. They do so with admirable wisdom, love and firmness. This is a great book for anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit or who wrestles with issues surrounding adoption and foster family membership.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Cleo is Black and adopted.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Brief mention of church.

Violent Content
Cleo punches a girl after she says some really hurtful things. She’s disciplined for her behavior and has to apologize. She uses a nerf gun as part of a solution to remove loose teeth from consenting kids.

Drug Content
None.

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

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Review: Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Belzhar
Meg Wolitzer
Dutton Books for Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When Jam can’t recover from her boyfriend’s death, her desperate family sends her to The Wooden Barn, a boarding school for distraught teens. There Jam finds herself enrolled in Special Topics in English, an elite, invitation-only course. This year, Jam and her classmates will study the works of Sylvia Plath, and will write about their own experiences in special journals given to them by their fascinating instructor, Mrs. Quenell.

As Jam begins to write in her journal, she’s transported to a place where Reeve still lives, and they can be together. A place she calls Belzhar. As the semester winds down, and the pages of Jam’s journal fill, she knows her visits with Reeve can’t last forever, and the end of them will be like losing him all over again. But she can’t run from the truth forever. And this time, as she faces her beloved Reeve, she has to face truths about him and about herself before she can find healing.

I’m pretty sure I read about this book on a list of a blogger’s favorite books or something of that nature. I think at that point, I had recently read the Bell Jar, and I was even more curious about the story because it references Plath’s work. Since then, it’s been on my to-read list, and at last, I’ve finally read it.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed. There were definitely things I liked about the story – I loved the teacher and the other classmates in the Special Topics class, even if I felt like they deserved a little more airtime. Besides the span in which they told their own stories, I didn’t really feel like I got to know them very well. Which is okay – it really wasn’t the point of the story.

There’s a big twist that I won’t give away, but I had really mixed feelings about it. On the one hand I was really surprised when the truth was revealed. I didn’t suspect it, and yet when I evaluated earlier scenes in the story, it changed how I perceived them, which I think is a mark of a great plot twist. So that was impressive.

On the other hand, I felt like it kind of cheapened the story in a way. I’m not sure I really bought into the real story having the kind of weight I felt like it needed to have. I felt like it kind of took this big conflict and deflated it a little bit.

On the other-other hand, I think the way it played out also felt like a tribute to the way emotional trauma can be devastating and powerful. So I don’t want to downplay it too much.

There was also one moment in which a big thing happens, and Jam isn’t there. I really wanted her to be there for this one critical moment, and instead she hears about it third-hand. So that was a bit disappointing.

On the whole, I’m glad I read it, but it didn’t resonate with me the way some of my other recent reads have. If you’re looking for something that’s a much lighter version of Girl, Interrupted (I’m thinking the movie with Winona Ryder), then this is probably something you want to check out.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency. One character in particular has a bit of a foul mouth, but the language is kind of sprinkled throughout the story.

Romance/Sexual Content
There’s some kissing between Jam and a boyfriend. They reach under each other’s shirts and touch each other. At one point they remove shirts and lie next to each other.

Spiritual Content
Through writing in a journal, Jam is transported to a place she calls Belzhar. There, Reeve is alive, and they are together. The place has rules – she can only relive past moments, nothing new, and after a period of time, she’ll be booted back to reality.

Violent Content
Brief mentions of a drunk driving accident which leaves a girl paralyzed, a boy who has been kidnapped, and a devastating fire.

Drug Content
Jam recalls going to a party at which several teens drink alcohol. Several mentions of smoking pot.

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Review: You Were Here by Cori McCarthy

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

You Were Here
Cori McCarthy
Sourcebooks Fire

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Jaycee intends to spend the anniversary of her brother Jake’s death the same way she spent the last one: exploring an abandoned building with her brother’s best friend. Jake’s death fractured Jaycee’s entire community, and even though it’s been five years since his death, her relationships remain in the same ruined condition as the broken mental institution she visits.

Her friends are determined to reach her, though. Even Mik, with whom Jaycee feels a powerful if wordless connection. As grief pushes Jaycee closer and closer to the edge, her friends realize the only way to save her is to join her and look into the face of all they lost the night Jake died.

This might be my favorite book so far this year. (Yes… I know, I just reviewed Winter! And it was great! But…. This book is something special.) I loved each of the characters. They felt desperately real, hopelessly flawed, and I couldn’t help rooting for them to work through the angst and grief and all the things that have been holding them back.

I LOVED how McCarthy uses images to tell the story. One character’s experience is related entirely in pictures of graffiti he’s posted in places the characters travel. And Mik – the boy who rarely speaks – had his story told in graphic novel panels. I’ve never seen that done before, but it really captured that silent-but-present feeling that he brought to the story. He was my favorite, but he doesn’t have a huge lead over some of the other characters. They were all just great.

One of the things I thought was great about this story, too, is that even though it’s all about how Jaycee idolizes her brother and how tragic his death is, the tale also goes into some of the way that keeping that lost person on a pedestal can become unhealthy. Sometimes our memories get warped and we only want to remember the good parts, which can sometimes be damaging. I also liked how the story dealt with the loss of this one person, but showed how the accident had more of a global effect on the community.

Despite all the things I loved, there’s some mature content in this novel. Check the information below to see if it’s the right read for you or one you feel comfortable recommending.

Profanity/ Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Natalie and her boyfriend Zack have had sex. At one point, he wants to go to a party, and she uses the promise of sex to deter him from going. They disappear into the woods to have sex at one point, but the event isn’t described. One night she puts herself in a compromising position with a boy known for taking advantage of girls. She’s too drunk to know if anything happened between them, but it’s possible that she slept with him.

Jaycee wonders about Mik’s romantic history. He’s older than she is, and she worries that he has more experience than she does. He patiently answers her questions, but doesn’t offer details. At one point they reach under each other’s shirts and touch for a moment.

Spiritual Content
Jaycee dwells mostly on things from Jake’s life and very little on whether he’s in heaven or somewhere now that he’s gone.

Violence
There are a couple of skirmishes between the boys. Nothing grisly. One boy’s older brother picks on him relentlessly. One girl has issues with cutting. It’s only mentioned peripherally.

Drug Content
Zack really likes getting drunk. Natalie drinks too much at a party and pays some serious consequences. Jaycee and Zack drink together in an abandoned building. Jaycee gets buzzed pretty easily because she doesn’t usually drink.

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

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Review: Across a Star-swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Across a Star-swept Sea (For Darkness Shows the Stars #2)
Diana Peterfreund
Balzer + Bray

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Persis Blake has two lives. In one, she’s the center of high society and the Albion queen’s best friend. In the other, she’s the Wild Poppy, rescuing prisoners of the neighboring kingdom’s revolution. When a refugee connected to the head of the Galatean revolution shows up seeking asylum, Persis can’t help but suspect his motives. Justen, a Galatean medic and scientist, carries a secret with him into exile. One that could provide the Galatean Revolutionaries with an even more powerful weapon. Persis and Justen begin to fall for one another, but there’s just one problem. Their love could jeopardize everything.

I bought this book years ago on pure name recognition. I’d been in an email loop for young adult writers with Diana Peterfreund (go TeenLitAuthors!) and her contributions to the group stood out to me as being really helpful. So when I saw this book on the shelf at Barnes & Noble, I was like, hey I like her! And I picked it up.

Once I realized it was a story inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, one of my favorite classic tales, I was nervous. I mean… I LOVE that story. And I love the movie with Jane Seymour. So I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the story for pointing out things that didn’t translate well into this sci-fi setting.

How wrong I was. It was obvious to me in reading this story that Peterfreund is a huge fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel. There were moments where I literally put the book down and turned to my husband exclaiming something along the lines of, “I can’t believe she put this in the story! It’s absolutely classic TSP!”

The biggest change of course is the addition of all the sci-fi elements. Instead of Madame Guillotine, we have a drug that causes brain damage. Revolutionaries force this on their imprisoned enemies and treat them as slaves. Within the context of the story, it really translated well. I liked that it raised some big moral questions and still maintained the urgency needed to fuel the Wild Poppy’s action. I loved that Across a Star-swept Sea reversed the gender roles of many of the characters.

The point-of-view of each character was really well-done, too. When I was in the POV of a soldier, it felt like being inside a military mind. When I was in Justen’s POV, I watched him break down situations the way a scientist would. When I was in Persis’s POV, I watched her struggle with all the competing parts of her identity.

If you liked These Broken Stars, I think you should definitely check out Across a Star-swept Sea. Though it’s the second in a series, I think it’s fine to read as a stand-alone. I do want to go back and read the first book, but I didn’t have any trouble following this book without having read the other one first. I hesitate to compare it to the Lunar Chronicles – both are great, and I highly recommend them. The writing felt different to me, but still really good. But yes. I think if you liked the fairytales-gone-sci-fi elements of Cinder, you’ll probably like Across the Star-swept Sea.

Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A couple of intense kisses.

Spiritual Content
A brief comment stating that some believe a global misfortune is due to the gods taking revenge on humanity for attempting to perfect themselves.

Violence
There are a couple of quick skirmishes between soldiers, but most of the violence deals more with the use of a weapon which reduces one’s mental capacity. It’s a punishment that revolutionaries use against imprisoned enemies. The story follows discussion about whether there are just instances to use such a weapon. I loved the exploration of this topic and felt like the moral consequences were clearly stated.

Drug Content
See violence. A pill contains the ability to reduce one’s mental capabilities. Also, this society has the ability to temporarily supplement or enhance genes to change the way one looks. It’s still fairly new, fairly controversial, but several characters use the technology to create disguises.

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Review: Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

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Tuesdays at the Castle
Jessica Day George
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Castle Glower isn’t like any other fairy tale castle. Every Tuesday, new room appear, existing rooms may find themselves located in entirely new parts of the castle. Guests may even discover their rooms becoming more or less luxurious depending on their behavior toward the king. The youngest in her family, Princess Celie catalogs the castle’s changes in an atlas. When her parents go missing, leaving Celie, her brother and sister behind, the three siblings must work together to thwart nefarious plans by the council and visiting princes, and with the Castle as their ally, they just might stand a chance.

I bought this book because I enjoyed Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George several years ago. My daughter enjoys books about strong princesses, and this looked like an interesting one. I liked that Celie is the one who maps out the castle. She’s smart and sweet, and everyone seems to like her. Her brother and sister each play a role in protecting the crown of their kingdom, but it’s Celie who has clearly won the Castle’s heart and trust. I loved that the castle has an awareness of its inhabitants and interacts with them through the additions and changes in the castle interior. The Castle Glower was possibly my favorite character in the book.

The story has the feel of a light, fun adventure for boys or girls, especially late elementary-aged readers.

Profanity and Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
One of the boys has a reputation as being quite charming. Nothing happens really beyond some girls being giggly and silly when he’s around.

Spiritual Content
One brief mention of maids hiding together praying.

Violence
It appears that something dreadful has happened to Celie’s family. There’s no description of violence or gore. A visiting prince has some murderous plans for Celie’s brother, heir to the kingdom.

Celie and her siblings play some tricks on some of the castle inhabitants who are working to harm the kingdom. They do things like hide chamber pots and snip the seams of clothes so they’ll split apart at inopportune moments. It’s their way of going to battle against powerful grown-ups who’ve taken control of the kingdom.

Drug Content
None.

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