So far I have read 4 books in the month of May and I am about halfway through number 5. As we are finishing up the school year this week, I think it is an appropriate time to write some brief reviews.
Counting by 7s, Holly Sloan
One-Sentence Review: Middle school girl with high IQ loses both of her adopted parents and ends up staying with her new Vietnamese friend while looking for a permanent home.
Swamplandia!, Karen Russell
Short Review: The Bigtree family alligator wrestling farm is left in chaos after the star of the show, Hilola Bigtree, dies of cancer. Chief Bigtree disappears, Kiwi the big brother escapes to the mainland, Osceola the big sister starts dating ghosts, and 13-year old Ava Bigtree is left to fend for herself - until she meets a mysterous stranger called the Bird Man.
Will Bird Man help Ava save her sister from the land of the dead? Will Kiwi and Chief Bigtree ever return? Is Osceola really dating a ghost?
Read this book if... you like adventure, alligators, Florida, and mysteries
Devil on My Heels, Joyce McDonald
- Who: Dove Alderman, teen
- What: Benevolence seems like an ordinary small town in Florida, until rumors of KKK meetings and orange grove pickers going on strike begin to surface. Dove learns there is more to people than meets the eye as she attempts to save her friends and restore the town to normal.
- When: 1959
- Where: Benevolence, Florida
- Why: Good book for upper elementary and middle grades to teach about migrant workers, the KKK, racism, and poverty in the South
Jellicoe Road, Melina Marchetta
Won the Printz Award in 2009
The territory wars over the Jellicoe Road are in full force, but Taylor Markham has other things on her mind. Why did her mother leave her at the 7/11 on Jellicoe Road? Why did the hermit whisper in her ear before committing suicide? Why did Jonah Griggs betray her on their escape from Jellicoe? Who are the five teenagers in Hannah's story - were they real or just a figment of her imagination?
It took me some time before I got into the story, but once I became involved I was deep into the mystery. Many, many questions are asked and all will be answered, the reader just needs patience for the full story to be revealed.
Currently reading...
Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire
(I didn't like Wicked, and I'm so-so on Egg & Spoon, but I'm waiting to give a final verdict until the end.)
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