The Secret Hum of a Daisy

Title: The Secret Hum of a Daisy

Author: Tracy Holczer

Summary: Grace, 12 years old, has been sent away from her best friend and her friend's mother to live with her grandmother after Grace's own mother dies. At first, Grace is resistant to her grandmother's strange behavior and her possible love for Grace. Grace refuses help from her grandmother and mostly sleeps out in the barn, hoping this will drive her grandmother to send her back to her friend, who has nearly become her sister. Then, Grace begins to find little paper cranes everywhere that seem to lead her on a hunt to something - maybe a clue about her mysterious mother's past. Grace's mother loved to make cranes or "junk art" out of all sorts of materials and Grace believes these paper cranes are a sign from her mother. Along the way of uncovering clues, Grace makes a unique ring of friends and begins to meet everyone in the town, and all the people seem to have some sort of tie or connection to Grace's dead mother and father.

Grace continues to find the clues, and in the end, she is in for a surprising surprise.

Comments: This book is LONG. I love it though, and it was a very nice read. It was interesting to see Grace's resistance to her own family and to watch her grow a bit apart from her old friend that she, in the beginning, wanted to stay with.

Complaints: Nothing - I really enjoyed this book and I think it would be great for anyone 10+ just because of the grief Grace deals with surrounding her mother and the details of her mother's scary, tragic death.

Rating: 5 stars!

The Lions of Little Rock

Title: The Lions of Little Rock

Author: Kristin Levine

Summary: Marlee, 12 years old, is just about to start middle school. Meanwhile, her sister's school isn't even open because of all the segregation things going on. She's painfully shy and then she meets Liz, a girl who is nearly the opposite of her in shyness. Liz helps her open up to the world and talk more. They become friends, but then, one day, Liz doesn't show up at school, and Marlee later finds out why. Liz is black, but she is trying to pass for white, and the school kicked her out. They continue to meet each other though; sometimes in the woods, sometimes by the lions at the Little Rock Zoo. One day, the parents find out and bad things start happening, putting Liz's family and Marlee's family in danger. Marlee goes on some daring adventures to help save them, and Liz and Marlee, even though they do not talk much anymore because it would put them in more danger, both hope that everything will turn out alright.

Comments: I loved, loved, loved this book! It was so sad and so eye-opening about what went on during that time. Marlee and Liz are both likeable characters and this book is great historic fiction. I would probably recommend it to 10+ though, just because younger children may not understand this part of history and it may be confusing for them or maybe even a bit hard to read.

Complaints: None. I think that this book is amazing and every girl should read it!

Rating: 5 stars!

 

Almost Home

Title: Almost Home

Author: Joan Bauer

Summary: Sugar Mae Cole is a 6th grader living a somewhat normal life at first, with her mother in their rented home. Her grandfather has died (before the book) and after a while of not being able to pay their rent (mainly because her "dad" who she calls Mr. Leeland, took some money - he is a drunk and is addicted to gambling). Soon they are found being evicted and wind up in a homeless shelter far from Sugar's school and favorite teacher. Then, they move to Chicago where they think that her mother, Reba, can land a job. However, she cannot, and Reba then has a nervous break down and is put in a mental facility for a while, forcing Sugar to go into foster care. Sugar doesn't mind foster care, and actually begins to enjoy having two "parents" and she makes friends with a nice girl, Joonie, and a boy, Dante and also becomes the official neighborhood dog walker. Things are going well into Mr. Leeland shows up, promising all sorts of different things to her mother and her. Sugar doesn't believe them for a second, but her mom seems to. Then, Mr. Leeland disappears again, and her mother lands a job at a bakery, just as Mr. Leeland is coming back. Sugar hopes her mother won't fall for all of his false promises.

Comments: I really enjoyed this book. It shows you what to be grateful for and also lets you know that one day you may be homeless, one of those "other people." Throughout the book are Sugar's poems and writings and thoughts, and the book is sad, happy, and exciting to read. I would recommend this to anyone. The scenes with Mr. Leeland aren't graphically violent and there isn't any scary parts to this book, really. It is just an interesting read for any great day!

Complaints: In the book, I never did find out whether Sugar was still in touch with Meesha and her other friends. We only found out that she still emailed her teacher. I would've liked to have known what had happened to them.

Rating: 5 stars!!!

Tell Me

Title: Tell Me

Author: Joan Bauer

Summary: 12 year old Anna is an actress. She hasn't gotten any huge parts yet, but she is still an actress and puts her heart fully into everything she does. In fact, the book documents her acting jobs as a cranberry first, and then later a petunia. After a few weeks of her cranberry job, her mom sends her away to live with her grandmother in a nice town in Virginia. The reason of this is that her parents are going through a hard time and need to be separated and without Anna for a small time, and the summer vacation is the perfect time to do that.

Anna meets new friends, rides a horse, and even, the biggest of all, sees a girl in a van in front of the library who appears to be a kidnapping victim. Anna, being the kind girl she is, takes it upon herself to figure out just what is going on with that girl. With the help from Mim, her grandmother, her new friend, and some others from the town, they go on a mission to save the kidnapped girl.

 

Comments: I can't begin to say how much I loved this book! In fact, I'm being to think that any book written by Joan Bauer has got to be a hit and best-seller. Anna is the perfect role model as she goes out on a search to find this girl who she doesn't even know, and she won't back down either. The acting is a nice subplot and there are probably a lot of relatable experiences in this book that actresses/actors can relate to! Anna also has received tips from her old drama/theater coach as well, so readers may be able to learn something from those tips! Anna is such a relatable character and I found myself wishing she could be real so that we could be friends!
Some of the "trafficking" themes in this could be a bit mature for younger readers who are looking for an extremely light book, so I'd say an 8+ for this one! (Assuming that the child learned to read at 5-6)

Complaints: It would take a million years to come up with something worth complaining about in this book. Well, actually, there was a typo on page 100 or something, but that doesn't matter, we still got the point.

Rating: 5 stars!!!!

Close to Famous

Title: Close to Famous

Author: Joan Bauer

Summary: Foster McFee and her mom start out on the run from her mom's ex-boyfriend who weirdly enough, believes he is Elvis. They come across a town in West Virginia and are taken in by a kind couple. Foster and her love for baking attract attention quickly and she soon sells her treats at a local restaurant. She meets a few friends, too, a boy who wants to be a documentary creator, and even a famous movie star who ends up helping her in a way Foster has never let anyone help her.
 

Comments: The book is great and rather than actually focusing on a huge problem and having the story revolve around it, you get to know Foster and her situation and at the end, all the problems that may have arose in the story are pretty much solved. This book is completely okay for everyone to read (unless you are scared by the mentioning of jails and bad guys). It's great and Foster is a really good and sometimes funny person.
Complaints: Couldn't it have been longer? Maybe there could be another book about her? I love Foster!!!!
Rating: 5 stars all the way!!!!