chrisholliman

Children's Librarian

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  • “Harriet The Spy” by Louise Fitzhugh

    Harriet the Spy

    The Plot In Five Sentences Or Less: Harriet is an 11 year old who spends her days eavesdropping on others and filling her notebook up with honest observations. When her notebook falls into the wrong hands, Harriet finds her life thrown into turmoil as her schoolmates digest all that she has written about them.

    My Take: This book clearly earns its place as an enduring classic in juvenile literature. Having never read it before, I thought from its title that it would be about a girl solving small mysteries in her neighborhood and saving the day. What I discovered instead was a more complicated book about a girl with a compulsive writing habit, grieving over the absence of a caregiver, and learning to navigate the power struggles of 6th grade. I loved the characters in the book because, like real people, they are frequently less than pleasant. I laughed, for example, when Harriet was eating dinner with her parents and, stewing over their recent idea to give her dance lessons, she screams, “I’ll be damned if I’ll go to dancing school!” At another point, her former nurse writes to her and includes the line “If you’re missing me, I want you to know that I’m not missing you.” Such hard bitten interactions between the characters really kept my attention and made Harriet’s world come to life.

    I also appreciate how Fitzhugh made the stakes very high for Harriet. Losing her notebook and becoming an outcast at school are frontal assaults on Harriet’s life and mind. And she does not go down easily in this fight. Apologies are long in coming from her and for a few days she is physically abusive to her peers. This struggle really pulled me along through the story.

    I look forward to reading more about the history of this beloved book and recommending it to many readers.

    One Interesting Note About The Author: According this article, while Fitzhugh was working on Harriet the Spy, she was also working on a novel about a teenage girl who fall in love with another girl. It never saw publication, but if it had, it would have been one of the earliest gay novel for teens.

  • “Front Desk” by Kelly Yang

    See the source image

    The Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less: Mia and her parents have recently immigrated to the United States from China and are having difficulty finding work. They procure jobs to run a motel and feel grateful that they are also able to live there and thereby save on rent. They soon discover that the work is grueling, the hours long, and the owner of the motel is a martinet who docks their paychecks for small infractions. Mia pitches in to help her parents by working the front desk. As she befriends the residents of the motel, she slowly works out a plan to spring her family out of poverty and into a better life.

    My Take: This is an excellent book in its portrayal of working conditions of Chinese immigrants to the United States in the 1980’s and 90’s. Yang should be commended for introducing her characters to the wrenching irony that the quality of life in China was improving. It is possible that their lives may have been better had they stayed in China. To counter such heartaches and to endure the many humiliations of their poverty, the characters develop strong bonds among each other. These relationships, along with the portrayal of immigrants’ difficult lives, are certainly the greatest strength of this book. I did find the ending too pat, as a last minute plot device saves the day. Still, I recommend this book to anyone middle grade reader.

    One Interesting Note About the Author: The character of Mia was based on Kelly Yang’s life growing up, who immigrated to the United States and worked in motels with her family.

  • “The Truth As Told By Mason Buttle” by Leslie Connor

    The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle - Leslie Connor - Hardcover

    The Plot: Mason Buttle is a large, sweaty 7th grader with a cognitive disability. His best friend died a year and a half ago under suspicious circumstances and Mason was the last person to see him. Since the incident, the police have been questioning Mason trying to piece together clues to understand how it occurred. Unfortunately Mason does not understand that they suspect that he murdered his friend.

    My Take: I really enjoyed this book from the beginning because I found Mason’s voice to be authentic. The murder case propels the story forward, but the reader will also appreciate the warmth of Mason’s character and his decency in the face of his challenges. He endures social ostracism and rejection but still finds constructive activities and works on the few relationships that give back to him. A highly recommended book to middle grade readers.

    One Interesting Note About the Author: According to her website, Leslie Connor was born on the floor of her family’s home — no time to get to a hospital!

  • “All The Greys On Greene Street” by Laura Tucker

    All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker, Paperback | Barnes ...

    The Plot: Olympia is a twelve year old growing up in early 1980’s in SoHo. Her father, an art restorer, has run off to France with another woman. In response, Olympia’s mother, a sculptor, has not been out of bed in days. Olympia fills up her summer days hanging out with friends and her dad’s friendly art assistant Apollo. Over time she finds the courage to reach out for help and to begin to piece her family back together.

    My Take: This book lacked enough narrative momentum for my taste. I thought that a good deal of it could be trimmed to focus on the disappearance of her father and Olympia’s efforts to help her mother. Her relationships with her friends, their parents, and Apollo takes up most of the book and was a bit of a slog for me. A side trip to an island near the culmination of the story seemed exceptionally unnecessary.

    One Interesting Note About The Author: “All the Greys On Greene Street” is Laura Tucker’s first novel.

  • “The Lost Girl” by Anne Ursu

    The Lost Girl

    The Plot: Iris and Lark are 11 year old twin sisters who have been close all of their lives. As they enter 6th grade, they discover that, for the first time, they will have different teachers. Both girls struggle in the new school year to fit in and find their identity. Iris takes solace in an after school camp, the local library, and visiting the gentleman that runs the local antiques shop. As the sisters’ relationship comes under strain, Iris looks for ways, some of them fantastical, to heal the division between them.

    My Take: This book was an enjoyable read with a few minor problems. I appreciated Ursu’s development of the closeness of the bond between the sisters, but I found that there was a little too much exposition. Some of the first third of the book could be removed and the storyline would not suffer. I also found that the fantastical elements seemed like an awkward fit with the realistic tone in the rest of the book. Still, I would recommend this to readers looking for a book on the bonds between sisters along with a hint of magic.

    One Interesting Note About The Author: Anne Ursu’s profile handle on twitter describes her as an “obscure children’s book author with three cats and a murderous rage.”

  • “White Bird” by R. J. Palacio

    Image result for white bird palacioThe Plot In Five Sentences Or Less: Sara’s life as a Jewish girl in a small French town is upended in 1940 when Germany invades her country.  As the precariousness of her new life under Nazi rule becomes undeniable, she is separated from her parents and hidden in a barn by a school acquaintance named Julian.  The war draws on and Sara realizes that she may have to endure life in the barn for quite some time. With this understanding comes the grief that she may never see her parents again but also gratitude for the enormous risk that Julian and his family are taking to keep her hidden.

    My Take:  I was enormously impressed by this graphic novel.  Palacio has certainly proven that she has more in her artistic well than just the popular book Wonder.  I was gripped by the intensity of the story and the growing bonds between the characters as they suffer under Nazi cruelty.  Due to some violent content, librarians and teachers may consider treating this a Teen rather than a Juvenile read.  Highly recommended.

    One Interesting Thing About The Author:  In addition to writing, Palacio also illustrated the graphic novel.

     

  • “My Jasper June” by Laurel Snyder

    Image result for my jasper june"The Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less: The past year has been rough for Leah as her family deals with tragedy and her friendships are changing at school.  As the summer begins, she finds that she and her best friend Tess have drifted apart, leaving a hole in her life.  Luckily Leah soon meets a curly redhead girl her age named Jasper who is new in town.  The girls become instant best friends, but Leah discovers that Jasper’s life is full of  hurtful secrets. As each girl grapples with the broken parts of their lives, they realize that being a true friend is neither simple nor easy.

    My Take:  This book convincingly portrays a friendship between two girls who are each grappling with pain.  The story is less of a thrill ride and more of an unfolding of the characters as the reader gets to know each of them.  I was most interested in the sense of co-dependency that forms within moments of the girls’ meeting.  Each senses in the other something that they are missing and that they desperately need and want. This urge is so powerful that at times they end up hurting the other person.  I knew from the start that the friendship between Leah and Jasper would not be smooth, but I definitely enjoyed the bumpy relationship between them.  Highly recommended to girls around the age of 11 – 13.

    One Interesting Note About The Author: Ms. Snyder lives in Ormewood Park in Atlanta which is the setting for “My Jasper June.”

  • “The Book Of Boy” by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

    Image result for the book of boyThe Plot In Five Sentences Or Less: Boy lives a simple existence on a manor estate in 14th century France: he tends the goats, sleeps in his hut, and tries to hide his hunchback from those who tease and call him names.  His life is upended when a lone pilgrim named Secundus appropriates him for a trip to a local town to offer prayers to a holy relic.  Along the way, Boy learns that Secundus has a longer journey in mind and divulges that he is on a quest to collect seven relics and take them to Rome.  Boy finds himself swept up in an adventure that will open him up to the world beyond his manor home and learn extraordinary lesson about his true self.

    My Take:  Murdock has written an excellent novel here and definitely deserves its place as a Newberry Honor. I found myself caught up in the rough characters of Secundus and Boy.  I marveled at Boy’s ability to rationalize his miserable existence at the manor and wondered how much grief was stored inside of him and how was he going to process it.  Secundus is a more mysterious character who leaves the reader guessing at his motivations until deep into the book.  I was touched by the convincing changes that both of these characters undergo and by the end was left feeling very close indeed to both of them. Mudrock deserves credit for weaving in supernatural elements in a seamless manner that almost makes them feel realistic.  I often found myself wondering if something was real, the perspective of an unreliable narrator, or perhaps just the general beliefs of a more superstitious time in history.  By keeping much back, Murdock kept me guessing, something that children’s literature rarely does. A highly recommended read for ages 12 +!

    One Interesting Note About The Author: According to an interview with her, Catherine Gilbert Murdock prefers reading children’s literature to grown up books because she finds them “long-winded, depressing and lacking in resolution.”

  • “Beyond The Bright Sea” by Lauren Wolk

    Image result for beyond the bright seaThe Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less:  When Crow was an infant, she washed ashore onto a tiny island located off of the coast of New England and a man named Osh found her and raised her as his own daughter.  Local rumor held that Crow had come from the leper colony on Penikese Island, but there was never any proof of this.  Now older, Crow has begun to question her origins and wants to know who her biological parents are.  She and Osh visit Penikese and there find the beginnings of a mystery that will bring great wealth but also great danger to their small island.

    My Take: I greatly enjoyed Wolk’s novel Wolf Hollow and was excited about Beyond the Bright Sea.  I was impressed by Wolk’s description of  the Elizabeth Islands and I thought that she did an excellent job of situating the reader into the rhythms of Crow and Osh’s life on the ocean.  Wolk makes a good choice of framing the narrative around 3 characters, each with their own rough charm and simple decency.  Some of the mystery turns on events that are a little too neat and coincidental, and I believe that book would have been stronger with a twist along the way.  However, this remains a solid choice for young readers looking for a mystery or a historical fiction.

    One Interesting Note About The Author: Lauren Wolk lives on Cape Cod and has visited many of the Elizabeth Islands.

     

  • “Eventown” by Corey Ann Haydu

    Image result for eventown by corey ann hayduThe Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less:  Twin sisters Elodee and Naomi are moving with their mom and dad to a new place called Eventown. While the girls are ambivalent about leaving their old house and changing schools, they soon find that Eventown is an amazing place.  The weather is always perfect, the residents are inevitably cheerful, and school has never been more enjoyable.  Eldoee, however, soon begins to sense that something is off, that no risks are ever taken, and nothing much seems to change.  As she becomes more acquainted with Eventown, she decides that the price people pay to live there is too high for her family.

    My Take:  I felt that this book worked well on a metaphoric level, so long as the reader does not think too much into it.  Haydu introduces some elements of magical realism into the narrative at certain points and the reader will need to accept these to enjoy the book.  The author asks that we not examine too critically such plot devices as the the cause of the collective psychological fog which embraces Eventown.  When I accept that this is not a book based strictly in realism, I can appreciate that the story does a pretty decent job of exploring the themes of how families deal with change and grief, of how the drive for safety forces people to sublimate other emotional needs, and how deeper meaning derives from the messiness of life.  Astute readers will notice clear parallels to Lois Lowry’s The Giver.  While I’m not crazy about the plot mechanics behind the book, I would recommend Eventown to young people looking for a more serious read.

    One Interesting Note About The Author: According to the bio on her website, Corey lives in Brooklyn with her family and “a wide variety of cheese.”