Adrianne Finlay comes up with creative sci-fi twists in Cut Off, where teenagers have signed up to be on a virtual reality show, stranded on an island in a survival-of-the-fittest game. Skym cameras hover over to stream their every move 24/7. Of course, they have the ability to tap out, much like Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid series. Four finalists become the story’s focus, each with different inner reasons (or demons) for why they signed up for this game. But when Brandon is injured during an earthquake and taps, nothing happens. Is it not working because of the earthquake? After finding other contestants equally as shaken up by the earthquake, they quickly learn something is very, very wrong. This story begins with fantastic pace, adventure, and character-building. But about 2/3 of the way through, the sci-fi gets complicated. Readers will probably keep going just to see if the characters they’ve been rooting for survive. Thus this will be hit or miss with some readers. A good sales pitch will definitely get them reading, but they may. not finish, much like a contestant or two.

https://watch.screencastify.com/v/gJNdPZvcsXvsFcNjto1y

Fitz is a senior in high school and a wickly smart logophile who believes he needs to stay close to home for college because his mother is developing dementia. He embarks on a tour of colleges around the east coast with his older brother to appease his mother. Juniper is a senior in high school who can’t wait to get away from her family. They are is overly loving, expecting her to stay close and support elders and siblings. She embarks on a tour of colleges with her long-time boyfriend, trying to find a future where they will both be away and happy. Juniper notices Fitz paying absolutely no attention during a college tour she his excited about. Why is this kid even here? Fate brings them together along the road to their futures. There will be sparks. But reality sets in for each. Does reality include each other? Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka teamed in Time of Our Lives to give us two authentic teens with internal dilemmas representative of many college seniors. No cheese here, just clever timings of events and quirkiness of characters to leave readers feeling relatively happy with how life can turn out.

https://watch.screencastify.com/v/gJNdPZvcsXvsFcNjto1y

A lovingly handmade rocking chair is passed down through generations with each carving the word WELCOME, in a different language, into the headrest of the chair. The book was inspired by the Statue of Liberty’s :”Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” and some of Rosemary Wells’ own family history.

The story travels from Germany in the 1800s, to Brooklyn, NY, to Wisconsin, back to New York, and to New Jersey for a final stop in 2016. WELCOME is first carved in German, then Hebrew, English, Irish, Spanish, Haitian, and finally in Syrian. The families’ histories, who sat in this chair, is shared along the way.

The story of being a friend of a young middle school boy bullied by a class peer told in classic Patricia Polacco style.

“Thom. Not Tommy, not plain old Tom–Thom spelled with an H. Thom ignores the mean boy who was glowering at us.” Thom ( AKA — Sissy Boy) does not seem to suffer from self-esteem issues throughout this story from Polacco’s youth. Thom finally takes action when the bully breaks his glasses, which he so dearly needs, and his mother can not afford to replace. Thom finally shows the entire school his hidden wonderful talent as he preforms the Prince Siegfried selection from SWAN LAKE in classic white costume for the school talent show. Thom did not let the ‘catcalls and the laughter and jeering” stop him. Thom was in his zone. The audience soon became enthralled. “No one ever laughed again, and only name they knew him by was Thom. Not Tommy or Tom. T-h-o-m Thom.”

Years later, Thom was accepted to a New York ballet school. If you go on to read the Author’s Note, Thom “is now retired as the artistic director of the American School of Ballet.”

I am bad put not to shed a tear for this wonderful retelling of the victory over a bully.

Just as a penny drive can produce vast monetary rewards, young people are asked to help save the world’s oceans and in turn the human population on Earth. All of Earth’s water flows in the water cycle. “The water cycle is the constant movement of water between the ocean, the land and Earth’s atmosphere…”(6) All of Earth’s oceans are connected. The oceans are in danger from carbon dioxide, warming waters, acidification, pollution, plastic, and overfishing. No matter where you live on earth you can help the ocean (and the earth in doing so) by doing something to help alleviate one or more of these problems.

In addition to HELP SAVE THE GLOBAL OCEANS propaganda (of the positive kind), there are eight insets entitled “Ripples of Change” telling of actions that are already taking place. There are six pages of “Waves of Change” to help the reader choose a starting point for them to beginning helping our planet.

Points of view and vantage points make this book unique. The opening page consists of the poem – Days Like This. When you the turn of the page, the first line of the poem is printed on the bottom of the left hand page in black ink and again on the right hand page in brown ink. The first illustration (left side) is from inside a house looking outside, the opposite page’s illustration (right side) is from outside the same window looking in the same direction.

This re-picturing of the same scene from different vantage points continues throughout the book. Can the reader find the various objects from the left hand picture in the right hand picture? How have they changed? Are there some things missing from the first picture to the second picture? What is in the second picture that is not in the first picture?

On the very last page spread the reader discovers the left side of the book is from the point of view/vantage point of a little boy and the right side of the book is from the point of view/ vantage point of a squirrel.

I would have liked more information about this complexed man – William Morris and his works to truly find this book worthwhile. The text barely scratches the surface of who this man was and his life’s works. The illustrations by Melodie Stacey meticulously engage the eye, going from reality to past historical times to fantasy.

“The older William grew, and the more he saw, the more he wanted to honor beauty by making beautiful things.”

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful…”

William Morris was a very artistic man of means, living during a time when factories were beginning to churn out mass produced household items. Morris wanted handmade one-of-a-kind items, not mass produced items.

William Morris was an idealist which most people cannot afford to be.

Not since Harry Potter have I enjoyed a magical book this much! The protagonist is 12 year old Vicky or Victoria once her emotions have been removed to ease the pain over her family’s murders. Victoria is bound and determined to find who murdered her family and why.

Vicky’s mother, Kat, had once been the chief guard of the Glass Queen, but the loving queen changed years ago. Kat’s friends from her younger days, will help Vicky achieve her goal.

Oh, did I mention, there are gargoyles and kelpies in this story to help Vicky, along with the use of protection spells.

Victoria is one formidable young lady. She does not mince words in dealing with those who try to keep her from her goal. Victoria does acquire some help from a few students who have been instructed to watch out for her, but she does not make working with her enjoyable, at first.

Enjoy the murder mystery, the friendships, the personal strengths, and the magical animals from the Netherwhere – “Small acts of love, of loyalty, of justice were adding up…like ripples. A small act flowed into a towering wave–and that was true in any world.” (256)

Dog scientist, Alexandra Horowitz, provides background on the relationship between dogs and humans. Basically A. Horowitz tells us people like to have dogs around them and people often thrust their own feelings and wants into thinking that is what their dog is feeling/ thinking. “As a scientist, I don’t yet have a way to test what a dog is feeling. Instead, I can observe what a dog does.” (138) Scientific method is outlined with an example from one of her studies. No amazing results revealed. I understand that science is slow, too slow though for what I would have liked to have learned from spending my time reading this book. There are a few themes repeated several times through the course of this book: breeding pure bred dogs more often than not is harmful to the dogs’ health and well-being. A second one, being as much as we like to think of our dog as a member of our family, under the law, a dog is a piece of property having no rights. The first time through these themes are thought provoking, but then become redundant.

I can only hope the adult version of this book has more weight to it.

“We must figure out if some of our ideas about dogs are out-of-date or simply wrong.” (165) I felt the time I spent on this book was simply wrong for the amount of wishful thinking for new information I hoped would be revealed.

This is the super deluxe version of the plot- tween girl gets placed with unknown relative because her own mother is currently not capable of caring for her.

Super deluxe because there are two similar parallel plots lines taking place simultaneously and intertwined between the two main characters, Reenie and Rufus. This is a gourmet read.

The first plot line begins in the Prologue with a hatchling Great Horned Owl. The second plot line deals with Reenie who is being placed with her father’s aunt (there is no other mention of a father in the entire book). The chapters go back and forth between Reenie and Rufus (a Great Horned Owl hatchling) who have both temporarily lost their mothers.

Rufus’s chapters are written from his point-of-view using such words as: wing-toes for fingers, human nest for house, monster for motor vehicle, furless creatures for humans, and Brown Frizz for Reenie.

Along the way, Reenie must move to a new school where she very cautiously makes two friends, something she has not had, due to trust issues, in quite some time. The new friends are grouped together on a research project. Here the two plots intertwine in a new way when Reenie’s Great Aunt Bea, a falconer who works as a vet tech, rescues a young injured great horned owl, and Reenie’s portion of the project will involve falconry, and Rufus.

“I’m smiling and crying, happy and sad, so many feelings, all real, all at once.” (272)

Middle school is a tough time for many students, but especially if they have problems with social anxiety. Mix that in with having a father who just began running from the police for dealing marijuana (this story is set in Halifax, Nova Scotia) and a mentally unstable mother who entered the hospital, both on your thirteenth birthday. Oh, so sorry Brian. Now Brian and his younger brother are being put into foster care, at least for the time being.

Brian and Ezra were on the same basketball team last winter. They think they can call each other a friend, but Brian is so quiet, shy even, that it is difficult to tell. Ezra does say, “Hi,” to Brian and Brian will try to give a response back.

Then, there is Ezra who is figuring out his sexual orientation is different from his other friends from grade school. How will Ezra’s friends react if-and-when Ezra tells them. One of these friends is all about having a girl friend and wants Ezra to notice a specific girl who is interested in him. Oh, Ezra.

Fate has put Brian and Ezra together just as author Chad Lucas has by assigning all odd numbered chapters to Brian and all even numbered chapters to Ezra. Fate has been kind to both Brian and Ezra in doing this.

When foster care is extremely difficult to handle, especially because of Brian’s past birthday and Brian stands up for himself to a school bully, Brian finally takes matters into his own hands. Brian and his younger brother run away. While Brian’s running away is on a ‘need-to-know’ basis at school, the police officer and his social worker, are involved. Brian’s mother, Brian’s father’s good friend, and eventually Ezra round out the team who convince Brian to return ‘home’.

“A little kindness goes a long way” (p. 124) and this story will definitely have readers wanting kindness to win!

Two little ants, Leaf and Lou, learn from their friend Gramma Tinker the second half of a Lappert Moth’s life cycle from caterpillar to adult moth. (So this is not your typical gorgeous butterfly getting all the ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaaahs’.) The WINGMAKER in the title refers to the metamorphosis, inventor and caterpillar, Gramma Tinker is about to undergo on her way to becoming an adult moth. Illustrator David Huyck helps fill us in on the information Gramma Tinker learns along the way from her guests a fly, a hummingbird, and a bat in the notes she is writing down in her notebook. The facial expressions are cute but I was not always quite up to speed on the silk weaving Gramma Tinker was doing do prepare herself for her two week sleep into mothhood.

People of color usually come to mind when I think of Diverse Books, but while this novel has some of that, it is mostly about a person with a disability – wheelchair bound from the age of two by way of a car accident.

Natalie Beacon, age 13 years, has just arrived in New Jersey with her parents from San Francisco, CA. This family move leaves the Beacons not knowing anyone in this new town. While Nat’s father is busy talking with the Redker’s College wheelchair racing team coach to get Nat signed up for the team and thus a new set of friends, Nat discovers a poster calling for open auditions to the summer production of WICKED. Nat loves musicals and wants to be in one in the worst way. Obstacle, Nat. You are in a wheelchair. Do not try something new that is going to let you down and get your feelings hurt. Stay with wheelchair racing. You are good at that.

The Chance to Fly is a coming of age story with the obstacles of over protective parents, making new friends in a new town, trying something new (live theater) you have wanted for a long time, and how to make people see Natalie the person and not just see a girl in a wheelchair. Obstacle after obstacle Nat takes them on, sometimes secretly, sometimes with her heart in her throat, and sometimes with a yell and a scream. Sounds like a thirteen year old right?

Co-written by Stacy Davidowitz, of the Camp Rolling Hills series, and Ali Stroker, a Tony Award winning actor bound to a wheelchair herself, this book is a shear delight for tweens, extra especially if they enjoy live theater.

First there was history, then there was ‘herstory’, and now Tom Adams presents “Kidstory” : 50 children and young people who shook up the world. As the INTRODUCTION states: “…these children are not the only amazing ones. This book could have included fifty more amazing children. And another fifty, And fifty more…contributing to making this world a better place.” (pg 5)

The contents list five chapters: Think & Invent, Crete & Dream, Hope & Believe, Lead & Triumph, and Change & Conquer. Each chapter contains ten young people (under the age of 20) who have made a wonderful contribution to their/our world. Some of these young people are well known from past history, examples – Louis Braille ( Create & Dream) , Pocahontas (Change & Conquer) , and Anne Frank (Hope & Believe), while others are known from more recent times: Greta Thunberg ( Think & Believe), Bethany Hamilton and Laura Dekker (Lead & Triumph), and Malala Yousafzai ( Hope & Believe). Seven of these young people were born before 1899, thirty-four between 1900 and 1999, and the last nine from between 2000-2005.They come from North and South America, Europe and Asia, Africa, and Australia.

My favorite young person, previously unknown to me, is Ann Makosinski ( Think & Invent) (pg. 14-15) who invented “The Hollow Flashlight [which] uses just the heat of your hand to power it.” Ann invented it to help her friend living in the Philippines be able to study after dark because their electricity supply was not very reliable.

Quite a few of these young people have been awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize.

This book is inspiring!