Amelia Rules!

Amelia Rules;  The Tweenage Guide to Not Being Unpopular
By Jimmy Gownley

Amelia, a 5th grader, relates the ups and downs of tweenage life at school and at home in this funny graphic novel.  On her search to be more popular, she has some crazy adventures with friends and enemies, and gets support from her recently divorced mom and former rock star aunt.  Amelia is spunky and out-spoken, and this book is sure to make you laugh--or at least smile.
(ISBN: 978-1-4169-8610-2)

Pendragon

Pendragon; The Merchant of Death
By D.J. MacHale
Adapted and illustrated by Carla Speed McNeil

 This graphic novel is adapted by McNeil from the series of novels with the same title.  Bobby Pendragon is 14 years old, a pretty normal teenager.  But he soon learns from his uncle that he has special powers, namely he's a "Traveler", and he must save the world by moving around through time and other "territories" to stop an evil, powerful enemy.  Great graphics, lots of action, a little romance, fun!
By the way, my nephew Miles, an 8th grader in Colorado, told me the original Pendragon novels are some of the best he's read...and he reads a ton of books.
(ISBN: 978-0-329-65884-7)

Coraline

Coraline
By Neil Gaiman

This is definitely a book about facing your fears, and real bravery.  "When you're scared but you still do it anyway," says Coraline, "that's brave."  In this wild, creepy fantasy, a little girl discovers a parallel world behind a door in her house.  On the other side, Coraline's "other parents" are scheming to keep her and destroy her real parents.  They have already stolen the souls of some other children, who appear as ghosts and explain some of this to Coraline.  The adventure Coraline embarks upon requires her to outsmart the other mother, which she does, along with the help of a friendly and coy black cat.  Along the way she encounters rats, monsters, cobwebs, magical toys, and bizarre neighbors.  But by far the spookiest thing about the story, for me, was that Coraline's other parents have giant black buttons instead of eyes--and they want to sew buttons onto Coraline, too.
I love Coraline's even-keel, go-getter attitude.  She doesn't skip a beat when she has to report her parents missing to an unconvinced police officer.  And though she is scared, she doesn't hesitate to walk right into danger in order to do what needs to be done.  She is really smart and brave, but also has her moments of breaking down and needing friends and advice from others.  Which she finds, luckily.
Perhaps it's a story of appreciating what you have, even when it's not perfect.  Coraline wishes her real parents would understand her better and have more time for her, but when she temporarily loses them, she realizes how much she loves them--and how much they love her.
(ISBN: 978-0-06-1139-37-6)

The Dreamer

The Dreamer
By Pam Muñoz Ryan, illustrated by Peter Sis

This is a beautifully told story about the childhood of Pablo Neruda, the Nobel-prize-winning Chilean poet.  Neftalí Reyes--Pablo Neruda's original name--grew up in the rainy south of Chile.  His father worked in the woods cutting trees, and treated young Neftalí harshly because he was so quiet, and different.  Surviving a rough childhood, Neftalí goes on to become one of the world's greatest poets.  The story is similar to Billy Elliot in many ways (see previous blog entry);  these two boys both know they have something inside of them they must not only respect, but share with the world.  Anyone who loves poetry or feels poetry inside of them should read Muñoz Ryan's lovely book.  And the illustrations are wonderful, too.
(ISBN: 978-0-439-26970-4)

Somewhere in the Darkness

Somewhere in the Darkness
By Walter Dean Myers

Fifteen-year-old Jimmy is struggling with his life in tenth grade.  He's a smart kid but he misses a lot of school.  His elderly guardian, Mama Jean, is loving but unable to keep tabs on Jimmy because she's working hard to make ends meet.  So things are hard enough when Jimmy's estranged father appears out of the blue on their New York City doorstep.
Jimmy's father, Crab, has been in prison for 9 years.  He wants to reconnect with his son, but doesn't really know how to begin.  He convinces Jimmy to leave New York and drive to Chicago with him, where he says he has a job waiting for him.  On the road Jimmy starts to feel more and more uncomfortable, but also develops some empathy for his father.  Things get more complicated when they get to the city; it turns out Crab doesn't actually have a job, he's walked out of prison, and he has a serious illness.
The two of them leave for Arkansas, eventually, in a stolen rental car, and make it to Crab's hometown.  There they meet a cast of characters from Crab's past and Jimmy learns about some of the struggles in his father's life--and realizes he cares about him.  In the end, Jimmy and Crab discover some truths about each other and themselves that will bring both joy and sadness. 
This book is an incredibly poignant story of a tough relationship, and the need people have to understand their past and their family ties.  It is a story of redemption and perseverance, as well as strength and bravery.  Walter Dean Myers writes exquisitely of a complex and haunted relationship between father and son.

(ISBN: 0-545-05577-6)

Icarus at the Edge of Time

Icarus at the Edge of Time
By Brian Greene

My husband is an astronomer, and he introduced me to this very cool story written by popular physicist Brian Greene.  It's a futuristic retelling of the Greek myth of Icarus, who defied his father's advice and flew off on wax wings toward the sun--too close to the sun, ultimately.  In this tale a boy sets off to examine a black hole in a small spaceship, leaving behind the giant mothership he calls home.  The ending is a surprising and thought-provoking one.  This short book was very popular with eighth grade students at my school this past fall.  The photos in Icarus are real images from NASA and the Hubble Space Telescope.
(ISBN: 978-0-307-26888-4)

Biker Girl

Biker Girl
By Misako Rocks

 I was intrigued by this manga-style graphic novel, and enjoyed reading it.  It's about Aki, a regular high school girl who discovers a magic bicycle while cleaning out her garage one day.  Aki's grandfather helps her understand that it's her destiny to become "Biker Girl", a superhero who must avenge her cousin's death.  Aki is hesitant to take on the role but learns to trust herself, and her bike (complete with a giant snake that comes alive in difficult situations).  Her friend-turning-boyfriend supports her, and the surprise twist at the end revealing the identity of the villain is great.  If you want a fast-paced, fun alternative superhero story, try this one out.
(ISBN: 078683676-8)

Faithful Elephants

Faithful Elephants;  A True Story of Animals, People and War
By Yukio Tsuchiya

Get out a box of Kleenex before you read this one.  I'm serious.  I found it on our library shelf and thought I'd just skim it; I ended up sobbing, right there at school (no one was around, thankfully).
This true story was published not long after the end of World War II (1951), and I can't think of many other books about war that have so moved me.  Zookeepers in a Tokyo zoo are forced to starve their elephants to death because of the war...it's as awful as it sounds.  But the illustrations are beautiful, the anti-war message is resounding, and it's so worth reading--if you can bear it.
(ISBN: 0-395-46555-9)

The Giver

The Giver
By Lois Lowry

Let the Jonas avatar tell you about this book (see Voki, below)!

Wow.  I LOVED this book.  I've heard about it for years, and am so happy to have finally read it!
Although there is a gentler dystopian premise than in The Hunger Games, this novel is just as powerful.  I love how the author gradually reveals the very disturbing aspects of the "perfect" society where the story takes place...and 12-year-old Jonas, the main character, is slowly awakened to what he has never been aware of before (colors, hills, joy, pain...).
On a separate note, I still remember when Lois Lowry visited my elementary school!  I think I was in 4th grade, and I know I bought one of her Anastasia Krupnik books.  Ms. Lowry signed it for me, of course, and I was hooked--I read them all.  She is still one of my favorite children's authors.
 (ISBN: 978-0-395-64566-6)

The Composition

The Composition
By Antonio Skarmeta and Alfonso Ruano

The Composition is an example of one of those excellent picture books that's not really for little kids.  This is the story of dictatorship, specifically in 1970's and 1980's Chile, and how it feels from the perspective of a young boy who just wants to play soccer.  The beautiful illustrations are a major part of the powerful story, which is what I love about picture books in general.  This book is particularly creepy as it relates dark-sunglassed military officials manipulating children in school to write about what their parents do at nighttime...
(ISBN: 0-88899-550-4)

Sardine

Sardine in Outer Space
By Emmanuel Guibert and Joann Sfar

This fun graphic novel is about a girl space pirate named Sardine, who is helping to save the universe along with her cousin and uncle from evil Supermuscleman.  Sardine is smart and bold and outwits many a crazy character in her space journey.  The author and illustrator are French, and this is the first of a series of adventures about Sardine.
(ISBN:  978-1-415-66953-2)

The Defense of Thaddeus A. Ledbetter

The Defense of Thaddeus A. Ledbetter
By John Gosselink

Poor Thaddeus.  Annoying and smartalecky as he is, you can't help but feel kind of sorry for this 7th grader trapped in In School Suspension (ISS) for the rest of the school year.  He pulled off one too many stunts in school, church, and a nursing home, and the book is his defense to his principal, written in diary format.  It's pretty funny, and the little drawings and charts included in his defense to help "explain" things definitely made me laugh.
(ISBN: 978-0-8109-8977-1)