Little Brother

Little Brother

By Cory Doctorow

Selected for San Francisco's One City One Book project this fall, I found many copies of Little Brother at my neighborhood SFPL and decided to check it out.
Glad I did!

I love that the setting is San Francisco; I love that Marcus, the 17-year-old genius hacker protagonist, lives in Portrero Hill and goes to high school in the Mission. Even eats pizza from Goat Hill pizzeria!

But mostly I love that in this dystopian story, a bunch of smart kids are able to go up against a Department-of-Homeland-Security-gone-bad and stand up for their constitutional rights to privacy and free speech.

If you love real-life stories of hacking security systems and exposing hard-to-hear truths, you will appreciate the techno-battle Marcus fights against his own government, which claims to be protecting the citizens of San Francisco from terrorism.

Recommended for ages 13 and up.

Trapped

Trapped: 
How the World 
Rescued 
33 Miners 
from 
2,000 Feet 
Below the 
Chilean Desert
by Marc Aronson

Here is a true story of the survival and incredible rescue of all 33 miners trapped underground for more than 60 days in a mine in northern Chile.
In 2010, the San José copper mine entrance was shut off when 700,000 tons of rock came crashing down, and the miners 2,000 feet below had no way to escape. Using teamwork, limited emergency supplies and huge amounts of hope, they waited and waited for the difficult rescue that finally came weeks later.
Many different people from all over the world contributed to the nearly-impossible rescue, using drills and technology from NASA to naval submarines. A thrilling read and powerful story of survival!

Freak the Mighty

Freak the Mighty
by Rodman Philbrick

I was sick in bed for three days this week and happy to have this great book to read (thanks for the recommendation, Ms. Levine!).

Maxwell, an extra-large 12 year old, meets Kevin, A.K.A. Freak--a tiny, extra-smart kid who moves in down the street.
The two of them together become Freak the Mighty; Max carries Freak around on his shoulders because the smaller boy wears leg braces and needs crutches to walk. Best friends, the two boys have many adventures and help each other out in school and in the small town where they are frequently bullied.

When Max is kidnapped by his parole-breaking father, the adventure turns dark. Max needs to use the new-found confidence Freak has helped him discover in order to survive, and to move forward when tragedy strikes.

One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia

This novel is one of the Middle School book nominees for the 2014 California Young Reader Medal (along with Faith, Hope, and Ivy June by Phyllis Naylor Reynolds and Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick).
Three sisters travel across the country to Oakland, CA to meet their estranged mother who abandoned them as babies. While there, the girls learn about the Black Panthers, other aspects of the Civil Rights Movement, and their mother's mysterious past.
A beautifully told, powerful story of that very important year, 1968...I especially enjoyed reading about Oakland, with a side visit to San Francisco!

Out of my Mind

Out of My Mind

By Sharon M. Draper

This is a stunning book.
Like R.J. Palacio's novel Wonder, this story is told from a perspective most of us will never experience or fully understand.
Melody Brooks is 11 years old, smart as anything (with a photographic memory to boot), and she has cerebral palsy. She is unable to walk, control her body, eat by herself, or talk.
And she really has things to say.
A special computer she names Elvira finally enables Melody to communicate with the people around her--her loving family, her teachers, and the kids at school. She becomes a member of the school's Whiz Kids quiz team, but never feels exactly like one of the team...
READ THIS BOOK. Seriously.

I forgot to add: Out of My Mind won the 2013 California Young Reader Medal for the Middle School category last May!

The Giver Quartet

The Giver
Gathering Blue
Messenger
Son
By Lois Lowry

This summer I decided to check out the whole Quartet from the library--well, actually just the three books following The Giver, because I had already read that one and written about it here.
What a treat! I enjoyed so much how characters appear and reappear throughout the different stories, and how themes weave together and overlap.
In Gathering Blue, we learn about the difficult life of young Kira, and also of her special gift--which the leaders in her community are trying to manipulate in order to control the future.
Messenger is the story of Matty, who was just a rascal of a boy in Gathering Blue. He too has a special gift he is learning to understand and use for good. The depictions of the Forest are creepy and unnerving in this one!
And finally, in Lois Lowry's latest wonderful book Son, Jonas and Kira from previous stories are again important characters...but this is the story of Claire, a "Birthmother" from the same community in The Giver, searching for her stolen son, Gabe.

Breaking Stalin's Nose

Breaking Stalin's Nose
By Eugene Yelchin

Maybe the Soviet Union sounds like ancient history to you...but I studied this country and the Russian language all through middle and high school--and college--and it wasn't all that long ago that the giant Soviet Union collapsed!

The brutal dictator Joseph Stalin was before my time--he ruled Russia from 1923 to 1953, but his iron fist and reign of terror had an enduring impact and instilled fear in the Soviet citizens for years and years.

Breaking Stalin's Nose is an illustrated novel and a fascinating account of 2 days in the life of 10-year-old Sasha, a passionate Communist excited to join the Young Pioneers and uphold the dreams of Communism.

Unfortunately his dreams are shattered when his father, who works in the State Security, is arrested and the awful truth of Stalin's power is revealed to poor Sasha.


Another book about Communism and the Soviet Union I read and wrote about in this blog is Laika, a graphic novel about the Soviet space program, a little dog, and the government's hiding of the truth.

Watsons go to Birmingham--1963

The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
By Christopher Paul Curtis

I had long heard about this book--how funny it is, how important, how well-written...I was not disappointed!

The Watson family is so lovable, especially 10-year-old Kenny, who is constantly trying to understand the crazy behavior of his teenage "juvenile delinquent" brother, Byron.

At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the Watson family takes a road trip to Birmingham, Alabama (from Flint, Michigan) to leave Byron with his strict grandma for the summer.

Their visit coincides with the horrific (and real) bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, where four African American girls are killed during Sunday school.

This unforgivable event alters the Watson family dynamic...and the course of American history.

Hold Fast

Hold Fast
By Blue Balliett

A great mystery to kick off the summer vacation! Set in wintery Chicago, this story poetically chronicles the search for a missing dad by a determined daughter, her 4-year-old brother, and her distressed mother.

While trying to prove her father's innocence, Early Pearl (11 years old) uncovers a bizarre book-and-library-related crime and experiences the hardship of life in a homeless shelter.

This book came in our school's Junior Library Guild subscription box, and was an intriguing read!

I've heard great things about Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer and look forward to reading that one soon... 

Locomotion

Locomotion
By Jacqueline Woodson

Lonnie, an eleven-year-old foster child, tells his story through a series of beautiful poems. We learn that he has lost his parents in a terrible fire, he is separated from his little sister who he adores, and that he is struggling everyday to recover and be the best person he can--under difficult circumstances.
This is a sweet and sad story of surviving, adapting, and growing up.

Bridge of Time

Bridge of Time
By Lewis Buzbee

This is a fun time travel story, mostly because it's set right here in San Francisco!
Middle schoolers Lee Jones and Joan Lee are best friends, and both have just heard that their parents are planning to divorce...the next morning, while on a boring school field trip to Fort Point, they are suddenly transported back in time to 1864. And who do they run into? Mark Twain (who introduces himself as Sam Clemens).
They have many crazy adventures while learning some unpleasant history lessons, especially with regard to how Chinese immigrants were first treated in San Francisco. And they travel to some other time periods in the City, too, including the future.

Wonder

Wonder
By R.J. Palacio

Now this is truly a fabulous book. An important book, too, about a 5th grade boy (just starting middle school) with a severe facial deformity who steps into a brand-new school...Auggie is a perfectly normal kid, except for his face, but most of his classmates--not to mention the rest of the world--treat him as if he's a freak.
Wonder is a story told by different people; Auggie himself, his older sister Olivia, her boyfriend Justin, and Auggie's two friends Summer and Jack. Each of them offers their own perspective of what it is like to live as or near someone who is often stared at, ignored, and bullied.
Luckily, Auggie has a loving and understanding family, and with their support he is brave enough to make it through his first year of middle school.
I laughed, I cried...I think this book is absolutely wonderful.