Dear Hank Williams

Title: Dear Hank Williams

 

Author: Kimberly Willis Holt

 

Summary: Tate P. Ellerby is a girl growing up in post-WW2 Rippling Creek, Louisiana. For her assignment for school, she has to pick a pen pal. The teacher suggests a pen pal from a Japanese school, but Tate knows she just has to write to the up and coming star, Hank Williams. She becomes his pen pal, even though it is completely one-sided (besides 3 autographed pictures).

The story (told only through Tate's letters to Hank) starts out with Tate posing herself as a girl living with her cosmetic selling Aunt Patty Cake and broken hearted Uncle Jolly (who is trying to find himself a girl XD) and little brother/bother, Frog (nickname), while her mother is off filming movies in Hollywood as a famous singer and her father is off taking photographs all over the world for magazines.

However, the truth soon comes out about where her parents really are and what is really happening in Tate's tragic life. Tate is an energetic girl, who despite being through so much, is just such a shining light and someone I could imagine being friends with.

 

Comments: I loved this book! Tate originally tried to make Hank Williams think she was something she wasn't, but throughout the story, more and more of the truth about her life was told and by the end, the story had turned pretty tragic, yet it was exciting too.

Some children may not want to read this book just because of all the tragedies, so I'd suggest that a parent read it first, because there is an unexpected death in the book that some young children might not like.

I personally really enjoyed and I want to see more books like this! I loved it!

 

Complaints: I think the unexpected death was unnecessary and didn't really fit into the story - it felt like it was just thrown in. 

 

Rating: 5 stars!!!!!!!!!

Chasing the Milky Way

Title: Chasing the Milky Way

 

Author: Erin E. Moulton

 

Summary: 12 year old Lucy Peevey lives in a trailer park with her mother (who suffers from a mental illness similar to Tess's mother's mental illness in the book Rocky Road). Lucy spends her days programming her robot for the robot contest she and her best friend Cam, and younger sister, Izzy dream of going to. They almost have all of the money saved up, and they think that Lucy's mother will be well enough to take them. However, after a serious run-in with the school bully, Lucy and Cam get in trouble and her mother shows up at the school furious. The police are called, but Lucy, Izzy, Cam, and Ms. Peevey escape. They go on a huge adventure, stealing an RV, and outsmarting the authorities many times.

However, Lucy's mother crashes one day and Lucy has to manage the RV by herself and get them to their robot competition where they know that their dreams and their ticket out of the trailer park, await them. Things don't go as planned though, when they wind up getting caught by authorities. Will they try to escape again or will Lucy's mother get the help she needs?

 

Comments: This book was very interesting, and an exciting read. Lucy has a lot of responsibility and is nearly like a mother to her young sister, Izzy. Lucy  knows how to drive despite her young age, because her grandmother (who recently passed) taught her. I found the book unrealistic, but I liked the update they gave at the end of the book; describing how they were doing after they got help.

 

There is some profanities in this book and God's name is said at inappropriate times quite frequently, so this book may not be suitable for those who do not want that language in their books (my family doesn't approve, but I did not know before I read the book). While I was disappointed to see the language in this book, I wouldn't let that stop an older reader from enjoying this book!

 

Complaints: I didn't like the use of profanity in the book.

 

Rating: 4 stars (because of profanity)

The Other Half of My Heart

Title: The Other Half of My Heart

 

Author: Sundee T. Frazier

 

Summary: Keira and Minni are a pair of African American/biracial twins. But by looking at them, one wouldn't know it. Minni is pink skinned and red haired, while Keira is dark brown skinned and kinky curly haired. They consider themselves best friends and they consider themselves both African American/black, because that really is what they are, despite the color of Minni's skin. However, both girls; especially Minni, are becoming increasingly aware that they are treated differently by people who do not know they are twins; all because of the color of their skin.

 Their friendship is put to the test when their Grandmother Johnson enters them into the Miss Black Pearl Preteen of America beauty program/pageant.

The girls do not know Grandmother Johnson very well, but they are both suddenly whisked away on a plane to her home alone, where they prepare for the program. Grandmother Johnson seems to have a bias against Keira, who, like her, is dark skinned. At the beauty pageant, Minni feels out of place because of her light skin in a sea of dark skinned girls. She manages to make a friend, but Keira is having a great time, finally being at a program where she is not the minority. Minni gets a feel of how Keira feels everyday when she is a minority at places like school and around town. Both girls get into a small argument as Keria begins to question whether Minni thinks she is better because of her skin color and why Grandmother Johnson seems to like Minni more.

The girls go to the pageant and repair things in the end, realizing that they are really the other half of each others' hearts.

 

Comments: I enjoyed this book. Minni and Keira obviously had a special connection, and it was unfortunate that Grandmother Johnson had to cause Keira to question whether they were really as close as she thought. However, the racial questions both girls had probably would've come up later anyway. I felt bad when the two girls were doubting each other, and it was surprising and sad to see Keira treated differently than Minni by some people, even though the book was set in modern times. The girls both had a loyalty to each other though, and they did both succeed in surviving Grandmother Johnson, who actually had a lot more to her personality and reasons for bias than one might guess.

I would recommend this book for kids ages 10+ just because very young children could be confused by the fact that there are still racial biases today, and they may be confused at the different race questions the girls have. For a child of 10+ though, this book would be very educational and interesting to read.

 

Complaints: None!

 

Rating: 5 stars!   

 

 

Rocky Road

Title: Rocky Road

 

Author: Rose Kent

 

Summary: Fashionable, 12 year old Tess and her deaf brother Jordan move to Schenectady, New York with their mother, a woman suffering from "Shooting Stars" or bipolar disorder (not diagnosed until later in the book). She has a dream of investing in an ice cream shop and naming it, "A Cherry on Top." However, she has a lot of days when she crashes due to her illness and Tess must be there to take care of her little brother, Jordan, who is deaf and still learning sign language. A lot falls on Tess's shoulders, but as they make real progress towards opening A Cherry on Top, Tess meets a lot of supportive people along the way, that may just help the business succeed, and get her mother the help she needs.

 

Comments: I loved this book! It looks a bit long, but once I got into the story, it felt like only a few pages turned before I was finished! Tess is such a nice, caring girl who comes up with a lot of great ideas. She obviously has too much responsibility on her shoulders in the book at first, and while she sometimes puts on a good face and acts like nothing is wrong, how she really feels does occasionally come out. She seemed a little older than she actually was said to be (age 12), but I suppose it is because so much is expected of her, between caring for her brother and her mother, she has more responsibility than I could even imagine. Tess is fashionable and has a good sense of style, but she isn't mean or anything like the "fashion" stereotypes that often appear in books. She cares deeply for her little brother, Jordan, who is not stereotyped either; he has an interesting and complex personality, just like anyone else, once readers get to meet him. I liked the idea about opening up the ice cream shop, and I understand Tess's hesitation to open it. The book wrapped up nicely, but not overly nice and perfect; each problem was just solved by the end. I loved this book!

 

There is a bit of mild language in this book, so I'd assess the situation before giving this book to just any child. I'd definitely say at a minimum that 10+ would be ideal. Plus, younger readers who do not have experience with things like bipolar disorder may not understand the mother's problems and they may be a bit confused. Young readers could also be confused as to why Tess's dad walked out (alcohol addiction/gambling). SO, I'd definitely say 10+ (at least) for this one!

 

Complaints: None!

 

Rating: 5 stars!!!

Winter Sky

Title: Winter Sky

 

Author: Patricia Reilly Giff

 

Summary: 11 year old, Siria, named after a star, lives in an apartment with her father, who is a firefighter. In the night, she secretly sneaks out of her apartment, along with her friend, Douglas, to the fires to make sure that her father is okay. However, she soon finds evidence of fires in different places and suspects that an arsonist is lurking around the city. Then, she finds evidence that it may be her best friend setting the fires. She confronts him and they get into an argument, just as Siria's father is injured. Siria uses her courage and strength to find the person behind the fires, help her injured father, care for an animal, and repair her broken friendship.

 

Comments: I really like Patricia Reilly Giff as an author in general, so I was expecting to like this book. However, it missed the mark a bit. I found it a little unrealistic that Siria could know where all the fires were and that she could really sneak out of her apartment building so flawlessly, without whoever was watching over her (such as Mimi) finding out. The book was very short, like some of her other books, but this one lacked in the usual amount of detail and character development that I had come to find from her writing. 

Siria was very likeable though, and I liked the extra information the book had; describing constellations and stars.

This book is a quick read, and while reading about fires could be scary for some young children, I think this book would be suitable for children ages 8+.

 

Complaints: I feel like the book lacked detail and character development. It was also rather short and it had a slow, yet fast-paced feel to it.

 

Rating: 3 stars    

 

 

Violet Raines Almost Got Struck By Lightning

Title: Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning

 

Author: Danette Haworth

 

Summary: Violet Raines, during the summer before the start of middle school/jr. high, feels threatened by a new girl, Melissa, who comes into her life and seems to be set in trying to change everyone and make everyone follow what she says. She even "takes" Violet's forever friend, Lottie and gets her into wearing makeup and growing up. Melissa is mean towards Violet, and even threatens her relationship with her other friends, like a boy in the neighborhood. But when something happens to Lottie's home and family, Violet learns that she needs to accept Lottie and Melissa for who they are.

 

Comments: I was really excited for this book when I found it in the library. It lived up to my expectations in a few ways, yet I felt let down in other ways. I wanted to like Violet, but I felt like she hated Melissa from the start of meeting her just because of where she was from and what her money status and clothes were. Violet was a bit judgmental and I felt like she was mean to Melissa before Melissa even did anything to her. Honestly, none of the girls were nice. Melissa seemed like she was just trying to fit in at first, but then she turned into a real rat. Violet was whiny and seemed to judge everyone and decide whether she liked them from the start. Lottie claimed not to be swayed by Melissa, but it was very obvious that she was.

The book wrapped up a little too nicely for me. There was no real apology for what Melissa did to Violet, yet they were suddenly okay with each other. I don't know about all friendships, but I can't imagine a friendship just wrapping up like that so nicely after having been at each other's throats for all the time of knowing the other person.

The book was good though, and it really did get across a really good message that will hit home with many tween/early teen girls. Violet didn't stop being friends with Lottie, Lottie didn't stop being friends with Melissa, and Lottie still changed too, yet Violet came to accept the new "Lottie" or "Char" for who she was, without having to be the same. So, Violet still stayed herself, yet didn't cut off connection with Lottie when Lottie did change.

 

Complaints: All the girls seemed really mean and unfair at times, which really does happen in real life, but it just took me back that Violet hated Melissa before she even got to know her. It almost made her come across as a bully at first before you got to know her through the book.

 

Rating: 5 stars. (I loved the underlying themes and message!)

Dream of Night

Title: Dream of Night

 

Author: Heather Henson

 

Summary: Jessalyn DiLima lives on a horse farm and fosters abused horses and children in foster care situations. She takes in a horse, Dream of Night or Night for short, and an 11-year old girl, Shiloh. Both were abused and in horrible situations before coming to Jessalyn and neither is ready to open up. Shiloh and Night are both angry and want to run away and get out, but overtime, they find out that they may be able to help each other heal and in the process help Jessalyn get the family she wishes she had.

 

Comments: I liked this book a lot! Shiloh was just so angry and upset, yet she was pretty likeable too. Night was a former racehorse and it was so sad to listen to his flashbacks of being abused by multiple owners after an injury causing the loss of his racehorse status. Jess has a tragic past, and it was interesting watching all of them go through events and heal together. The book had each chapter with the 3 of them giving their perspective on a particular event going on in the book. The book is good, and just because of Shiloh's previous situation and the horse abuse, this book would probably be okay for a mature 8+ but I'd give it the conservative rating of 9/10+.

 

Complaints: None!

Rating: 5 stars

The Reinvention of Moxie Roosevelt

Title: The Reinvention of Moxie Roosevelt

 

Author: Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

 

Summary: 13 year old Moxie Roosevelt Kipper doesn't want to be ordinary and unnoticed anymore, and she finds that the perfect time to change herself is at the beginning of her new life at a boarding school. Things go okay at first, as Moxie tries out different personalities, with none of them truly being her. But things get complicated as she tries to act different towards different people and at different times. She even has to keep a notebook about what she says around different people because she is lying about herself so much. However, she soon learns she isn't the only pretending to be something she isn't.

 

Comments: I really liked this book. While it could give some kids "ideas" about how to balance different personalities, I think that it would be a good book that could even teach a lesson to girls who feel ordinary and want to be something they're not. Moxie learns a lesson about being herself that everyone who has ever pretended to be something she is not could benefit from. Moxie meets a lot of friends, and her roommate, Spinky seemed like a "tough bad girl" but she ended up being really nice and not into conflict at all. So, this book went against several stereotypes, which is always a plus!

 

Complaints: I found it surprising that her roommate, Spinky, had a tattoo. Some families may not find this appropriate and frankly, I was beyond surprised she had a tattoo, considering it is illegal and wrong to tattoo a 13 year old girl. Maybe they were temporary tattoos that Spinky just pretended were real? I have no idea. XD

 

Rating: 5 stars! Great book!   

The Red Pencil

Title: The Red Pencil

 

Author: Andrea Davis Pinkney

 

Summary: 12 year old Amira is living a peaceful life, with a wonderful father, mother, and adorable younger sister in Sudan. She enjoys drawing pictures in the sand and takes on new responsibilities around the farm as she grows up. However, her whole life changes when a terrorist group called the Janjaweed come and bring tragedy into her life. Family members and loved ones die, and Amira and her mother and sister are forced to flee with others nearby to a special camp for people who have been displaced from their homes. Amira doesn't like the camp and misses life how it was, but she then realizes that the camp and a person in it may be the key to her lifelong dream; to be educated. Things aren't easy, but the book ends hopeful for Amira and her family's future.

 

Comments: I liked this book. It was written in a poem format, which seems to be a trend these days, from what I've observed. It would've been a suitable book for introducing world problems to curious younger children, but I feel that it probably wouldn't be, because there is just too much graphic content in the scene where the Janjaweed come. That scene happened towards the beginning of the book and to be honest, it stuck with me in the back of my mind until the end of the book. I like how it shows that not all people over there who are of a different religion are "bad". It doesn't use stereotypes, which is such a relief. I really liked Amira and I felt that she was very, very brave. She had been through so much and while the book didn't really tell at the end, I hope she ended up with the education she wanted and deserved.

As a side note, I also loved the illustrations. They had a childlike playfulness to them and looked like they could've really been drawn by Amira, which is impressive.

 

Complaints: I wish the scene with the Janjaweed wouldn't have been so graphic. Maybe it wasn't graphic to some people, but I guess I'm a little sensitive when it comes to graphic books. I guess the author just wanted to really get across how terrible the attack was, which is definitely understandable.

 

Rating: 5 stars  

Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf

Title: Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf

 

Author: Jennifer L. Holm

 

Summary: Ginny Davis is starting 7th grade with her list of things to accomplish. This book takes us through her 7th grade year in the form of pictures. Her mother gets remarried, her brother gets in a lot of trouble and is punished, and she goes on a lot of adventures.

 

Comments: I loved this book! It was basically a picture book for older kids, which is so fun! I love picture books and it was nice to have one that my older self could relate to right at the moment (I am 7th grade, too, actually! :) ). Anyone could really read it, but late elementary school to 7th grade children would probably relate to it and get the most out of reading it. Ginny is funny and I liked how it was told through things like receipts from stores, notebook files, computer instant messages, and little forms, comics, lists, and tiny tidbits of writing!  

 

Complaints: I loved the book, but it took me about 15 minutes to look through/read and then, I felt like I didn't know Ginny personally. I had read about her and gotten a small glimpse into her life, but I didn't feel as though I knew her as well as a character from nearly any other book I had read. Her character and other characters were not quite developed enough, and while she made for a humorous story, I may have enjoyed it more if there had been just a little more details and if it had been a little longer.

 

Rating: 5 stars! (There is nothing wrong with the book, I just had a few nitpicks) XD

Remember As You Pass Me By

Title: Remember As You Pass Me By

 

Author: L. King Perez

 

Summary: Silvy and Mabelee have been friends since they were young. But, things are different now. Mabelee is black and Silvy is white and they are no longer allowed to play together. Besides, Mabelee is busy with other friends and Silvy is also busy meeting the new girl, Allie Rae. Allie Rae becomes Silvy's friend, but Silvy isn't sure she likes her because she talks bad about the people like Mabelee. Then, they decide to desegregate the schools and everyone around the town is upset. Silvy, in the end, helps Mabelee when she needs it most.

Comments: I liked this book. Silvy was likeable and so was Mabelee. There was some language in it and some more mature sequences, maybe. It was a good premise and a good story and I enjoyed it. I would probably recommend this for an older 10 year old+ who understands the history of that particular time.  

 

Complaints: None.

 

Rating: 5 stars.

Strawberry Hill

Title: Strawberry Hill

 

Author: Mary Ann Hoberman

 

Summary: 10 year old Allie isn't very excited about moving to a new place - until she learns that the place is named "Strawberry Hill." She immediately becomes excited as she imagines moving to a magical strawberry field. However, she is disappointed when it turns out to be a boring street with no strawberries (or so she thinks at first). She meets two girls, Martha and Mimi, who live very close by. She likes both girls, but is more drawn to Martha at the beginning because Martha is more "normal" and not as "weird." However, at the end, she finds out that maybe she doesn't want to be friends with Martha. This book takes the reader through a year in the life of Allie in her new home on Strawberry Hill.

Comments: I liked this book. It confused me a bit on what age group it was supposed to be for. It was long and talked about some older things at times (religious prejudices), yet it talked about girls in much younger grades, so the age range for this book was hard to figure out. Allie was nice, and likeable for the most part, though she was easily swayed by her friend Martha, and also constantly challenged her friend over who her "best friend" was. I found that Allie could be a bit mean at parts, and then at other times was just unbelievably nice - which is definitely realistic.

 

Complaints: None. But I don't know if the religious stuff had to be in there; that could be a turn off for some younger children.

 

Rating; 5 stars!