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.

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.

Tending to Grace

Tending to Grace is not about a girl named Grace. It is about a girl named Cornelia. Cornelia is living a difficult life. She has a severe stutter and has decided to just not talk. She would rather “burrow deep within” herself than deal with those she calls,
“look-aways” (people who feel uncomfortable with her stuttering). She has a mother who can’t seem to stay in one place and shuttles Cornelia around from city to city. And she can’t stand her mother’s boyfriend, who also feels uncomfortable with Cornelia’s stutter.

It is when Cornelia is dropped off at an aunt’s house (while her mother makes a new life in Las Vegas) that her life changes. Her Aunt Agatha is an earthy individual who coaxes Cornelia out of her shell by forcing her to speak up, even if it makes people feel uncomfortable. With this newfound courage she decides to enroll in the local High School and even stands her ground when she is placed in remedial courses. Cornelia is very well-read and should be in the Advanced Placement classes. In the end, she finds her courage, voices her opinion, and gets placed in the correct classes.

So why is this booked titled, "Tending to Grace?" You will have to read it to find out.

I enjoyed reading this wonderfully well-written story. If you would like to read Tending to Grace by Kimberly Newton Fusco it you can find it in the SPL catalog by clicking here.

Kira Kira

When I first started working as a Youth Services Librarian last year, I decided to try to read as many Newberry Award winners as I can as a way to become familiar with some Juvenile fiction authors. I started with the winner for 2005, Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata.

It’s the story about an Asian girl living in Georgia who experiences the death of her older sister, whom she is very close to. It’s a sad story, but it also is very hopeful. The family is struggling in so many ways. They are minorities, and they struggle with that reality. They struggle to get by financially. And, most importantly, they are dealing with the sickness and demise of the older sister. Yet the story is very hopeful and positive, in the end.

Click here to find Kira Kira in the SPL catalog.

Life As I Knew It by Randi Hacker

This was an incredibly powerful book for me. Angelina Rossini is 16, lives in a small town in Vermont, and has had a pretty normal life. Then her father, the center of her world, has a stroke, and everything changes. The story is at once funny, sad, and tender, as Angelina comes to terms with the changes in her life and her family. One particularly moving scene has Angelina, much to her embarrassment, helping her newly wheelchair-bound father use the restroom and beginning to come to terms with his disability. I loved this book, even though it was sad to see a character I liked hurting so much.

Click here to find Life As I Knew It at SPL.

Elsewhere

One of the best books I have read recently has been Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin. It is about a girl, Liz, who wakes up one morning and finds herself on a boat to “Elsewhere.” She finds out eventually that she has died in a car accident (days before her 16th birthday) and “Elsewhere” is where one goes after one has died. Elsewhere is very much like Earth, except that you begin to age backwards in time from the time you die. Because of this, Liz finds herself struggling with the fact that she never reached her 16th birthday (let alone adulthood) and will never experience some of the important milestones one reaches as they age.

Despite the seemingly dark subject matter, the book is very funny and fun to read. Actually it is really hard to put down. Liz falls in love, finds her calling, and meets her grandmother for the first time on Elsewhere. She is able to make contact with her family and realizes that revenge is not the answer. The best part about this book is that it is VERY well written. Which I like very much.

If you would like to read Elsewhere, you can find the book in the SPL catalog by clicking here.

The Pox Party.

I just finished reading the book The Pox Party. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, V. 1 by M.T. Anderson. It was a little bit difficult for me to get into the book but after awhile it began to get interesting.

I really don't want to spoil the book for you so I am not going to reveal too much about the plot here. But I will tell you that the story is about a boy and his mother, royalty from a distant land who find themselves in America around the time of the Revolutionary war. They are being cared for by a group of philosophers at The College of Lucidity who refer to themselves by numbers, not names. Octavian and his beautiful Mother, Cassiopeia are treated with the utmost respect and privilege. Octavian receives the best education while his mother spends her days charming the philosophers with her wit and beauty.

Then one day Octavian discovers that his life is not as wonderful as it seems. He learns a dark secret about he and his mother that changes his life forever.

As I mentioned above, I really enjoyed this book as I read more and more of it. I can't wait to read the next volume to find out what happens next to Octavian. This book is very dark and serious. So if you are in the mood for dark and serious, this is for you.

Click here to find this book in SPL's catalog.