Jepp, who defied the stars

Jepp, Who Defied the Stars
By Katherine Marsh

What a fascinating story! I had never thought about what life would be like for someone with dwarfism at the turn of the 15th century, and now I can't stop thinking about it!

The author, Katherine Marsh, in part was inspired to write this novel after seeing old European paintings depicting "court dwarfs"; basically jesters, or clowns, forced to work for the amusement of royalty. Another inspiration was the history of eccentric astronomer and inventor Tycho Brahe. He lived in a castle off the coast of Denmark, and is famous for many things including wearing a brass nose (he lost his nose in a duel)!

In this remarkable story, a teenage boy--a dwarf--learns to trust himself more than the astrology chart that spells out his uncertain fate. With incredible determination, especially after enduring countless humiliations as a court dwarf, he finds love, community, education, and ultimately happiness on Tycho's island.

Bluefish

Bluefish
By Pat Schmatz

Travis is in middle school and can't read.
He's just moved to a new town with his alcoholic grandpa, and is missing like crazy his beloved old dog, Rosco, who disappeared just before the move. School and life feel unbearable a lot of the time--until he meets Velveeta.

Full of spirit and life, Velveeta basically forces Travis into a friendship that they both need. Velveeta, with sad secrets of her own, helps Travis find the strength he needs to learn to read.

With the support of a really great teacher, Mr. McQueen, and a geeky misfit named Bradley, both Velveeta and Travis find ways to stand up to the difficulties in their lives.

This book is a nominee for the 2014-2015 California Young Reader Medal (CYRM)...I hope it wins!

The Search for WondLa

The Search for WondLa
By Tony DiTerlizzi

This sci fi novel is the beginning of a wonderful trilogy by the author of The Spiderwick Chronicles. The illustrations are fabulous, and you can "interact" with them via webcam on the author's website: wondla.com/home/wondla-vision/).

Eva Nine is a human girl, raised for 12 years by a robot named Muthr (short for Multi-Utility Task Helper Robot). They have only ever lived underground, and Eva Nine has never even seen the sun...

Until the day a dangerous beast attacks her cozy home and forces Eva to flee into the unknown and strange above-ground.

Thus ensues a wild adventure with roaming trees, crazy giant creatures, and a hope that Eva Nine will find the human companions she longs to meet.

Eighth Grade is Making me Sick

Eighth Grade is Making Me Sick:
 Ginny Davis's Year in Stuff

By Jennifer L. Holm
Illustrated by Elicia Castaldi

This book is super cool; it's not exactly a standard graphic novel, but it is a story told through pictures of stuff (IMs, emails, doctor's reports, lists, notes, drawings, poems, invitations, report cards)...sort of a collage-diary-doodle-scrapbook--hard to explain, but come check it out!
Ginny Davis, entering 8th grade, has some major ups and downs as she tries out for cheerleading, dissects a worm and fetal pig, falls in love and joins a social network site. She also deals with some serious family drama like her mom having a new baby, stepdad losing his job, annoying little brother and always-in-trouble older brother, and a couple of moves.
Funny and clever!

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
By Benjamin Alire Sáenz
 

This is the story of two teenage Mexican-American boys growing up in El Paso, Texas.
One of the boys, Ari, is angry at his parents for never talking about his older brother who is in prison. He has few friends until the summer day he meets Dante at the swimming pool, and everything changes.
Dante--full of life and happiness--gives Ari the opportunity to experience real friendship for the first time.
Over the course of the novel, there are some misunderstandings, dangerous accidents, and ultimately the discovery that it is OK to fall in love, even if it's with another boy.

Charlie Bone

Midnight for Charlie Bone
By Jenny Nimmo

I have heard for a while about how the Charlie Bone series is great for people who loved Harry Potter (like me)...but I haven't seen these books checked out much in the library for some reason...

So I thought I'd read the first one to see what it was all about.

And it was great! And I do think Harry Potter fans would enjoy the magic and mystery Charlie encounters in his bizarre boarding school for kids with "special (magical) abilities".

The series, called Children of the Red King, includes 8 books, beginning with this one. Give it a try! And let me know what you think of it!

Uglies

Uglies
By Scott Westerfield

Loved the premise of this dystopian series! Uglies is the first of four books.

As Tally is about to turn 16, she anticipates the operation every person in her city gets to turn them "pretty"; after that, teenagers lead a carefree and beautiful life full of parties in New Pretty Town, as Tally has observed  from across the river.

However, one evening Tally meets Shay, who is also about to turn 16 and has a different--and rebelious--personality, and a dark outlook on what it means to be turned "pretty".

When Shay runs away from the city in search of a mythical community of outlaws in a place called the Smoke, Tally must decide how important it is to be "pretty", and what kind of friend she will be to Shay.

The True Adventures of Nicoló Zen

The True Adventures of Nicoló Zen
By Nicholas Christopher


"Magic, danger, and an unstoppable hero..."

Taking place in 18th-century Italy, and including the composer  Antonio Vivaldi as one of the characters, this fun novel is full of intrigue and romance.

I especially enjoyed the beginning, when 14-year-old Nicoló dresses up as a girl in order to get into a an all-girls orphanage, where he can play his enchanted clarinet in a prestigious orchestra.

With magicians, gangsters, lovers, fame and fortune--this story has a lot of twists and turns!

Caminar

Caminar
By Skila Brown

April is National Poetry Month, a perfect time to read a book written entirely in free-verse poetry!

Caminar is an intense, moving story of a Guatemalan boy, Carlos, who flees into the jungle when his remote village is attacked by the Guatemalan military. From his hiding place, Carlos hears his neighbors and family being massacred.

He survives alone until he meets a small band of guerrillas--a rebel group, striving to overcome the military soldiers--heading toward a mountain camp. Not understanding the reasons for the war happening in his country, Carlos grapples with who he should trust, and what responsibilities he must now have.

In beautiful language, the author focuses on the results of the violence on small, rural villages during the horrible Civil War in Guatemala in the 1980's. Although this story is fictionalized, it is in many ways an accurate account of what really happened during that time, and the recovery afterward--that continues in Guatemala to this day.

Downsiders

Downsiders

By Neal Shusterman

An intriguing tale of an alternate, secret world below New York City streets by the masterful Neal Shusterman--but unlike in Gregor the Overlander, this Downside world is inhabited by humans.

14-year-old Talon is a curious Downsider youth, drawn to the surface (the Topside) and interested in the snowy, sunny world above. Seeking out medicine for his ill little sister, Talon meets a Topsider girl named Lindsay. They strike up an important friendship/romance, but ultimately must make difficult decisions about which world they will choose.

Loved it!

Turtle in Paradise

Turtle in Paradise
by Jennifer L. Holm

This is a Newbery Honor Book by the creator of the very popular Babymouse series...I didn't realize she wrote historical fiction until I read this great book!

Set in the 1930's in hot and humid Key West, Florida, it's a tough time to be the kid of a single mom desperate for work--it's the middle of the Great Depression.

Eleven-year-old Turtle is sent off to live with her aunt, uncle and 3 wild boy cousins who are just scraping by themselves.

But Turtle is a strong and strong-willed girl, and she makes the best of the situation...not only surviving a hurricane on a tiny island with her cousins, but also navigating the ups and downs of family life--and an unexpected adventure involving pirate treasure!

I was interested to read that this novel is inspired by the author's own Conch great-grandmother, who emigrated to Key West from the Bahamas.

The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks
By Jeanne Birdsall

I enjoyed this summery novel about 4 sisters who live with their dad (their mom has died) and their loyal dog, Hound. They have many adventures while staying in a rented cottage on the grounds of a mansion.

New friends are discovered (the eldest sister develops a huge crush) and enemies are made while the girls find themselves frequently getting into trouble.

But they stick together and manage to get out of crazy predicaments, learning a few lessons along the way.

This story is kind of old-fashioned, but in a good way!

The Real Boy

The Real Boy 
By Anne Ursu

This novel just arrived in our library, and since I hadn't read any fantasy books in a while I checked it out.

It's an interesting story--sort of a fairy tale, a little dystopian, too--that asks the question: can you have magic without monsters?

The Magician's orphaned helper, Oscar, is struggling to figure out why the seemingly perfect magic-infused world he lives in is breaking down. And the people he knows are suddenly not who he thinks they are.

Oscar is an awkward, shy boy, and wonders if he himself was just magically fabricated from wood. Luckily he is befriended by Callie, a strong girl who is the Healer's apprentice...together the two of them unravel a dark mystery that is destroying their community, and they find great strength in friendship.

Peak

Peak

By Roland Smith

I was curious to read Peak partly because I remember when Roland Smith, the author, visited a school I taught at years ago in Oregon, and he was so interesting!

And I've always been fascinated by Mt. Everest (OK, maybe not always, but ever since I was hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail for 3 months and got obsessed with reading an Outside Magazine article about a climb-gone-wrong on the highest mountain on Earth. That was 1996, when 12 climbers died in one season, and Jon Krakauer wrote about it later in his book Into Thin Air).

Anyway, I'm glad I picked this one out. I really had a hard time putting it down, and felt like I was right there gasping for breath at 28,000 feet above sea level with the 14-year-old protagonist, Peak Marcello.

There's a lot about mountain climbing in this novel, obviously, but there are also other interesting story lines--about Peak and his self-absorbed, distant but famous father; the terrible treatment of Tibetans by the Chinese government; and what it's like to feel competitive with a close friend.

Highly recommended!