AUGUST 24, 2008
The House of Djinn by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Mumtaz was orphaned at a young age and is raised by her father’s family in Pakistan, only she really wasn’t orphaned as her mother staged her own death to protect both herself and her young daughter unbeknownst to Mumtaz. Mumtaz learns her mother is alive and is afraid to get close in case she is abandoned again. Mumtaz is treated as a servant by many in the household but is loved by the family patriarch, Baba, who is a tribal leader. When Baba takes ill and dies, Jameel, her 15 year old American cousin, is appointed as the new tribal leader and a marriage is arranged between him and Mumtaz. Both teens struggle with these new changes but ultimately keep to tradition.
This novel, The House of Djinn, is the sequel to the novels Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind and Haveli. I did not read either of these novels and was still engaged in the plot without feeling as if pieces were missing. The author develops the characters and plot well. The novel provides a look at and understanding of arranged marriage and other family traditions of Pakistani and American-Pakistani families.
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AUGUST 22, 2008
Bon Voyage, Connie Pickles by Sabine Durrant
Connie Pickles goes on a short exchange to Pairs and ends up with a host family like no other! The Goth girl she must share a room with is unfriendly and has a problem with stealing. The mom feels unappreciated and runs off with the driving school instructor. Her exchange family is falling apart while Connie is trying to bring her mother and her estranged grandparents (who live in Paris) back together rather unsuccessfully. The novel is written in diary format and is pretty humorous. Adult language and teen partying are fairly frequent in the novel.
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AUGUST 15, 2008
Bang! by Sharon G. Flake
This is a story of a black inner-city youth and his family struggling to cope with the senseless shooting of his younger brother. Although two years have passed, the family is still not functioning well. Mann’s father worries that he is not tough enough to survive in the city and devises a disastrous plan to turn him into a man. His father abandons Mann and his friend Kee-lee hundreds of miles from home with only some old camping gear, a run down cell phone, and a loaded pistol. When the boys call home they are told to find their own way. Once they arrive home they are put out on the streets to “toughen” them up. Kee-lee uses the gun to kill a man and is killed in the process leaving Mann alone in the world. He turns to begging and theft to survive before realizing he can make money using his artistic talent of painting. Mann’s father finds him on the streets and tries to reconcile with him but Mann is very angry and doesn’t want to see his father. Read the novel to find out how it ends between Mann and his father.
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AUGUST 10, 2008
Memories of Babi by Aranka Siegal
Inspired by experiences as a child with her own grandmother in Ukraine, the author shares a collection of stories about a young Jewish girl from the city who comes to visit her grandmother in a small country village. Piri, that young girl, learns lessons about the importance of hard work, faith, caring for others, and standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves during her stays with her grandmother. The plot is engaging and the characters are well developed.
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AUGUST 1, 2008
Dead in the Water by Robin Stevenson
A very engaging suspense filled fast read. An unlikely team of teens uncovers a high stakes illegal poaching operation and must work together to escape the men who are trying to kill them. They are out of radio range and their small sailboat is badly damaged. Can they make it back to civilization and get help before their pursuers catch them?
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AUGUST 1, 2008
An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub
Originally published in German in 2002, this book was the winner of the Batchelder Award in 2006 as the most outstanding childrens' book published in a foreign language and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States. I was on the committee that chose this book as the most distinguished. It tells the story of a young farmhand's experience as a soldier in Napoleon's invasion of Russia beginning in the winter of 1811. Betrayed by his farmer, he is conscripted into the Grande Armee and joins an ill-fated march to conquer Moscow. He becomes the personal servant of a young aristocrat, a life-transforming experience for both of them. Adam's naive narration allows readers to understand the horrors of war even as he begins to grapple with its futility and evolves from a passive reporter to a fully engaged survivor. Don't let the serious tone scare you, because this book is full of humor. You will find yourself laughing even as you cringe from the war's brutality. I highly recommend this book for teens in grades 7 and up.
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