Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Fairest takes place in the world of Ella Enchanted (also by Levine and another fantastic book.). It is about a girl named Aza, a girl who was brought up by a family of innkeepers. She is a self-described oaf. And others, unfortunately, think of her the same way. After years of hearing others make fun of her looks she thinks herself ugly, too. She would like nothing more than to be beautiful. She does have a unique gift, however. She has a tremendously beautiful voice and in her kingdom this is very important because singing is a vital part of the culture. She also can "Illuse". That is, she can throw her voice and make it “come out of” different objects, and even make it sound like other people. This little gift gets her an invitation to the Royal Wedding, where she meets the Queen and becomes her lady-in-waiting. As the Lady-in-waiting Aza discovers the Queen’s magic mirror that can make her look beautiful. She then discovers the Queen’s secret beauty potion and drinks some, making her“fairest in the land.” This leads to disastrous results.

While she is living in the castle the young prince falls in love with her. But he falls in love with the “ugly” Aza. Not the beautiful Aza. This helps Aza realize that she is beautiful without a potion, and she begins to accept who she is.

This is one of my favorite reads. It was funny, romantic, and has a great message: love who you are. If you would like to read this book you can check it out at SPL by clicking here.

Holes by Louis Sachar

I finished reading Holes by Sachar (Newberry Award winner of 1999) last week. I absolutely loved it. I think it's my favorite Newberry winner so far.

If you haven't read it, it's about a boy, Stanley, who is sent away to a correctional camp in Texas called Camp Green Lake. Only there is no lake, and it's certainly not green. It's in the middle of the desert and the boys who are sent there are forced to dig one hole each day. In between Stanley's story are the stories of Stanley's great grandfather, which takes place in Latvia, and the story of Kate Barlow, which takes place a hundred years ago in the city of Green Lake (when there really was a lake).

I loved how Sachar connected the past and the present, and how the things that Kate Barlow did helped Stanley get out of his predicament. And the reason why the boys are digging holes. Great book. I highly recommend it if you've never read it.

If you would like to check it out at SPL click here.

The Higher Power of Lucky

I just finished reading the newly awarded Newberry Award winner for 2007, The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. I was kind of surprised that this book won because I hadn't really noticed any buzz about it.

It's about a girl whose mother has died. Electrocuted after a storm in the desert. Brigitte, Lucky's father's first wife, comes all the way to to California from France to take care of Lucky until she is assigned to foster care. All goes well until one day Lucky notices that Brigitte's suitcase is packed. Lucky is afraid Brigitte is going to move back to France and leave her at an orphanage in L.A. So Lucky decides to run away. She decides that the best, most perfect day to run away is the day there is a terrible windstorm in Hard Pan, California.

I'm not sure what to think of this book. I did enjoy it. It was beautifully written. The illustrations were wonderful. But was it Newberry Medal good? I don't know. What did you think?

If you would like to check it out at the SPL library click here.

American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang weaves three stories together to explore the issue of staying true to who you are when the popular culture seems to suggest there is a better way to be. The book is quite thought-provoking -- Yang's use of the three stories gives us a broad perspective of the situations faced by his characters and makes for a full and complex tale.

I usually struggle with graphic novels because I tend to be more focused on words rather than images, but I'm sure that this was probably the best way for the story to be told and I enjoyed every single page of it. In fact, I'm now more likely to pick up a graphic novel to read than I was before discovering this book.

American Born Chinese just won the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature and it's easy to see why. I certainly recommend it and you can find it in the SPL catalog by clicking here.

The Looking Glass Wars

Alyss Heart is the heiress to the Wonderland throne and is celebrating her seventh birthday when her evil Aunt Redd crashes the party with a big chip on her shoulder about the throne that she believes should be hers. Redd brings with her a bloodbath that forces Alyss to flee for her life and in doing so she finds herself in our world, trying to make sense of what has happened to her. The story follows Alyss's life in our world as well as what happens in Wonderland during her absence, culminating in a terrific battle between the forces of Black and White Imagination.

I'm a pretty big fan of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, so I was eager to check out Frank Beddor's take on the Wonderland story. I think my enthusiasm for the original text made it a little difficult for me to get into this retelling at first, but as I read the book I found myself becoming more and more interested in the plight of the Wonderlanders. I'm hooked enough that if Beddor ever writes a sequel, I'm sure I'll read it. If you want to get into the adventure of The Looking Glass Wars you can find it in the Spokane Public Library catalog by clicking here.

Hit The Road by Caroline B. Cooney

Hit the Road is a road trip story about a girl, her grandmother, and a kidnapping.

Brit is on Summer vacation. She is dropped off at her grandmother's house when her parents take a trip to Alaska. Much to the grandmother's (Nannie) dismay. You see, Nannie has other plans. She has never missed a school reunion with her 3 best friends from college and she doesn't plan to miss it this year. Nannie has stealthily rented a car and she talks Brit into driving her to pick up "the girls" and taking them to the reunion. There are a few minor problems with this plan, however. Brit doesn't have her driver's license. And Nannie plans to kidnap one of "the girls" out of a nursing home. This is just the beginning of the adventure. By the end Brit will have a few terrifying run-ins with a very evil son who is trying to steal the fortune of one of Nannie's friends. She will save her grandmother's life on a couple of occasions. And she will get the boy of her dreams.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a fun and fast read. If you would like to find it in the Spokane Public Library click here.

Here Lies the Librarian

"Twister in the Graveyard" is the intriguing title of the first chapter in this book by Richard Peck. In the midst of the mess made by the tornado, we are introduced to Peewee and big brother Jake, a couple of young auto mechanics hoping to cash in on the automobile boom that is sure to come their way once the road up to their shop is paved. Their lives (and the town) are then turned even more upside down when three modern young librarians arrive to rejuvenate the closed public library. This story is filled with wonderful, quirky characters and plenty of suprises that kept me gleefully turning the pages. I'm not going to say much more because I don't want to give away too much, but I will tell you that a rather exhilarating car race takes place. This is the first Richard Peck book I've read and I'm now quite eager to read more (even the ones that aren't about librarians :). I highly recommend this book, and if you'd like to find Here Lies the Librarian at SPL, click here.

Skate by Michael Harmon

Skate takes place in Spokane, WA and is about the troubles of a skater-punk kid name Ian. His mother is a drug addict and is never home, so Ian is left to take care of is little brother, Sammy. As you can imagine, this gets very difficult for Ian to deal with and he eventually gets into some trouble at school. He decides to run away to find his father who left them when they were young. He has an address in Walla Walla and that's all he knows about him, but it's his only chance at a normal life. So he and Sammy skate out of town to Walla Walla.

After a long, tiresome, and awful journey they finally make it to Walla Walla to find out that the address they have is from the State Penitentiary.

That's all I'm going to say about the story. You'll just have to read the book to find out what happens :) .

I loved this book. All through the book I was hoping and hoping that things would get better for Ian and as the book progressed things just kept getting worse. He kept making the wrong decisions and I wanted to shake him and say, "don't do that!" But as the book progressed he learned from his mistakes. Ian is basically a good kid who wound up in a bad situation that he had no control over. In the end he learns that he has to face his problems to make his life better. "Skating" away isn't going to work. He has to face his problems head-on.

I highly recommend this book! If you want to find it in the SPL catalog, click here.

What the Moon Saw

Clara Luna is a 14-year-old half Mexican girl living in the suburbs of Maryland. She doesn't know much about her father's side of the family until she receives an invitation from her grandparents to visit them in their village of Yucuyoo, Mexico. As a modern-day teenager she is shocked by the simple way her grandparents live, but she comes to understand the value of the way they do things. More importantly, she comes to understand her heritage and who she is. This is a great read for ages 10 and up. To join Clara on her adventures, find Laura Resau's What the Moon Saw at SPL by clicking here.

Toys Go Out: being the adventures of a knowledgeable Stingray, a toughy little Buffalo, and someone called Plastic

This was a very endearing story about the secret lives of toys and other everyday objects. They experience anxiety about the unknown and their futures. They worry about who (or what) they are and what place they occupy in the world. This humorous and sweet story is suggested for ages seven and up, but I'd recommend it to people of all ages, especially families who are looking for a story to share together. To find Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins in the SPL catalog, click here.