Format: Chapter Book Fiction

Unclaimed Baggage

Unclaimed BaggageUnclaimed Baggage by Jen Doll
on September 18th 2018
ISBN: 0374306060
Pages: 384
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Three teens are thrown together and find support as a group when they work at a store in their small Alabama town that sells lost airline luggage in this poignant realistic fiction novel that explores a host of difficult issues.
Doris, who is a manager at Unclaimed Baggage and a lifelong resident and misfit in her conservative town instantly recognizes a kindred spirit in Nell, who is newly arrived from Chicago and missing her boyfriend terribly. She hires her and the two quickly become friends, expanding their circle to include Grant, whose anxiety and alcohol use disorders have recently resulted in a car accident that caused his suspension from the school football team, where he had been a star. In alternating narration, the three teens tell both their own backstories and the tale of their burgeoning friendship, including an attraction between Doris and Grant, who have a complicated history with one another. Each of these nuanced characters’ stories are told with compassion and include experiences of mental health concerns, sexual assault and an attack motivated by racism. Things wobble a bit as the novel moves from what seems to be a quirky comedy to something more serious, but not enough to derail this likable, moving story of coming to grips with self and with life’s losses.
High school readers who are fans of authors like John Green, Rainbow Rowell and Maureen Johnson will be a natural audience for this.
Reviewed by Brooke Faulkner, McArthur Public Library, Biddeford

four-stars

Johnny Tremain: A Story of Boston in Revolt

Johnny Tremain: A Story of Boston in RevoltJohnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, Lynd Ward
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on September 11th 2018
ISBN: 1328489167
Pages: 300
Genres: Historical Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

This 75th anniversary edition of Esther Forbes’ Newbery-award book is a must have. Nathan Hale (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales) has added a superb graphic novel introduction to this edition which also includes the original artwork by Lynd Ward. Set in Boston during the revolution, silversmith apprentice Johnny Tremain falls on hard times but ends up helping Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere as they spy on the British and plan what would come to be known as the Boston Tea Party. Seventy-five years later, this book still holds up as a must-read historical novel for middle grade students.

Recommended for Cream of the Crop

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

 

 

five-stars

The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden

The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden GardenThe Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on September 25th 2018
ISBN: 1328770028
Pages: 336
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

The follow-up to The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (soon to be a motion picture!), the continuing adventures of twins Isa and Jessie, their brother Oliver, and their sisters Hyacinth and Laney. When their beloved neighbor Mr. Jeet has another stroke, they decide they will reclaim the abandoned lot next to Triple J’s church (Triple J, also known as the Pastor James Joseph Jackson) and turn it into a beautiful garden. Unfortunately, Mr. Huxley has plans to sell the lot to balance the church budget. Will the Vanderbeeker children be able to create a beautiful garden before Mr. Jeet comes home from the hospital? Will they find a way to save the lot from development? It will take a neighborhood to solve all the problems. Includes beautiful pen-and-ink drawings by the author that grow more elaborate and detailed as the garden grows and a map of their neighborhood on the end papers.

Recommended for Cream of the Crop

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

 

five-stars

The Shadow Hand

The Shadow HandBabysitting Nightmares: The Shadow Hand by Kat Shepherd
Published by Imprint on June 5th 2018
ISBN: 1250156963
Pages: 208
Genres: Horror
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
three-stars

First in a new series about a group of friends navigating the usual school and friendship issues who also happen to find themselves with an unusual supernatural situation. Rebecca is babysitting baby Kyle one night when a freak storm occurs. It’s a freak storm mainly because it seemed to only affect Kyle’s house. Rebecca and her friends with the help of Clio’s Aunt Kawanna become convinced that Kyle has been replaced by a changling and that they have until the next full moon to rescue Kyle. This is a light horror/fantasy book that should serve as a not-too-scary way for young readers to test out the genre.

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

 

 

three-stars

The cheerleaders

The cheerleadersThe Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas
Published by Delacorte Press on July 31st 2018
ISBN: 1524718327
Pages: 384
Goodreads
four-stars
This is an engrossing, slightly complicated, mystery for high school readers that brings each party involved into question and leaves room for a neatly engineered and satisfying ending.

Five years ago, five members of the high school cheerleading squad died within weeks of each other leaving the town reeling. The last death was sixteen-year-old Monica’s sister Jen who allegedly committed suicide. Monica calls out sick from school after having a secret abortion and fills her time snooping in her stepdad’s desk, the town police officer responsible for shooting the accused murderer. Monica is spurred on to re-open the various events that led up to the cheerleading deaths, when she finds her sister’s cell phone and anonymous threatening letters in his desk drawer. With a new friend from school, Monica begins connecting the dots and placing herself in situations of escalating danger. This is a solid mystery with the right amount of reveals and high school situations.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Springvale Public Library, Springvale

four-stars

Sam and Isla’s Last Hurrah

Sam and Isla’s Last HurrahSam & Ilsa's Last Hurrah by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on April 10th 2018
ISBN: 0399553843
Pages: 211
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Goodreads
two-stars

Another story set in NYC written in alternating chapters by the duo of Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Sam and Isla have hosted dinner parties in their grandmother’s fabulous Upper West Side rent-controlled apartment throughout high school, but now they are seniors this is their “last hurrah.” The twins’ grandmother is selling her apartment and moving to Paris; Sam and Isla will presumably be leaving home as well, but their plans are a little less sure. The traditional dinner party rules established allow each twin to invite three people without telling their sibling who they invited. The night that ensues entails sock puppets, cat dresses, burned lasagna, and realities being confronted. Cohn and Levithan establish the twins are privileged and quirky, but not too privileged and quirky, but the story feels very indulgent when compared to many of the new books being published that provide unique voices to help readers understand the complex relationships in our society. Readers of Cohn and Levithan will find the story predictable, but consider purchasing if this duo’s work is still popular in your library.

Recommended for grades 10 and up

Elizabeth Andersen, Librarian, Westbrook High School

two-stars

The Serpent’s Secret

The Serpent’s SecretThe Serpent's Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond, #1) by Sayantani DasGupta
Published by Scholastic on February 27th 2018
ISBN: 1338185705
Pages: 351
Goodreads
five-stars
Kiranmala would be happy to be an ordinary middle school student in New Jersey. To her embarrassment and annoyance,  her parents have always insisted on telling her stories about her role as an Indian Princess of mythology and legend. Then on her twelfth birthday, the stories become reality as her parents disappear, a giant demon destroys her house, and she makes the acquaintance of two princely brothers who whisk her away to the world of underworld mythology where she learns that she is really the daughter of the Snake King and the Moon. Now she has only so much time to learn the history of her birth world, fight her jealous serpentine siblings, and save her beloved human parents. Lots of action, friendship and trust building, and a unwarranted amount of demon goo as Kiranmala accepts her place as a demonslayer. There is truly something for everyone. An author’s note further explains the folktale characters that appear in the story. Book Two is in production.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

five-stars

The Cure for Cold Feet

The Cure for Cold FeetThe Cure for Cold Feet: A Novel in Small Moments by Beth Ain
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on May 8th 2018
ISBN: 0399550844
Pages: 224
Goodreads
five-stars
Izzy is a new 6th grader in a much bigger middle school which she is NOT enjoying.  Many times she retreats to the bathroom stalls where she reads the comments on the walls and bemoans her situation.  In a novel-in-verse format Beth Ain continues the story begun in Izzy Kline has Butterflies with a book that stands on its own in a stream-of-consciousness style that is perfect for the way the middle school brain works.  Izzy has friend problems, an older brother who is too involved with tequila, parents that are divorced and involved with other people, a boy who is NOT A FRIEND, and a crush on a foreign exchange student.  Middle school is not easy, but Izzy perseveres and readers are left with the certainty that she will make it.

This book is perfect for 5th-7th graders who are struggling with the angst of moving to a larger school with many teachers, unfamiliar classmates, and of having the girls who had been friends now being too “shiny” as everyone strives to be popular.

I believe that this book should be on the Cream of the Crop list for its sympathetic depiction of growing up, for its verse format, and for its universal appeal.

 

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland

five-stars

The House (Mason Falls Mysteries)

The House (Mason Falls Mysteries)The House by Raelyn Drake
Published by Darby Creek Publishing on April 1st 2018
ISBN: 1541501179
Pages: 104
Goodreads
three-stars
Three teens accept a dare to spend an hour in their town’s haunted house hoping to demystify the decades long belief stating the ghost of Cordelia Rose lives there.  The investigative teens use logic, research, technology, and compassion to reach their unexpected conclusion.  Written at a fourth grade reading level, this is an excellent book for reluctant readers searching for a fast paced, suspenseful mystery involving a ghost and a haunted house.  Although predictable at the beginning of the book (in a haunted house with a storm moving in), the plot takes satisfying twists involving many positive aspects such as the teens striving to help others, positive/supportive parental involvement, and examining the evidence before jumping to conclusions. Teachers will find this story ideal for a fun, quick, clean, engaging Halloween read aloud.

Reviewed by Heather Hale, Easton School District, Easton

three-stars

Toaff’s Way

Toaff’s WayToaff's Way by Cynthia Voigt
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on August 7th 2018
ISBN: 1524765368
Pages: 272
Goodreads
four-stars
Toaff, a young gray squirrel, lives his life constantly asking questions.  His adventure begins during a ferocious winter storm when the tree in which he resides with his family is snapped in half.  Upon waking up alone, Toaff spends the next year trying to survive while searching for his place on the farm. He meets many other living creatures and tries out multiple living environments (alone in the ground, with The Lucky Ones in an exquisite drey, in a narrow tree with the Littles).  Nature lovers will enjoy reading about the world from a squirrel’s perspective although some of the descriptions may be hard to follow for those unfamiliar with a farm or who struggle with figurative language. Discovering the habits of squirrels including their many predators, the rhythms of a farm, and how the earth is impacted by the changing seasons may keep the reader engaged as they learn new terms (whuffling, nest-houses) and meet both common and unfamiliar creatures (fisher).  Readers in grades 4-8 may enjoy this coming of age story and relate to the impulsive, questioning Toaff who is not yet sure what he believes but feels as though he is the only one who thinks like he does. Voight’s creative chapter titles complement the text as do the simple, delightful pen and ink drawings. Parents using this book as a read aloud will find multiple issues to discuss including the value of listening to others, being discerning about what one hears, the purpose of rules, the value of all, loss (of home, of mother, of friend), and independence.

Reviewed by Heather Hale, Easton School District, Easton

four-stars