Flying the Dragon

Title: Flying the Dragon

 

Author: Natalie Dias Lorenzi

 

Summary: Sorano "Skye" is a Japanese-American girl growing up in Virginia who is focused on one thing; to make the All Star Soccer Team for the summer.

Hiroshi is a Japanese boy living in Japan with his parents and grandfather; a skilled kite maker.

However, Hiroshi's grandfather is not well; he has cancer. Hiroshi's family must come to the US if grandfather wants any chances of treatment to get well again.

In US, Hiroshi and his family move nearby his cousin; Skye. Soon, Hiroshi has to share Grandfather with Skye since he is also her grandfather as well. Hiroshi knows no English and Skye is enlisted to help him in English if he can help her learn Japanese. The two do not get along well at all at first. However, after a family tragedy, the two come together for a kite contest to honor their grandfather.

 

Comments: I enjoyed this book. Every other chapter was Skye's POV and every other was Hiroshi's view. It was an interesting story; but just because it was a bit sad (the grandfather does die), I would recommend a 10+ age rating for this book. As well as the tragedy in the book, there are also some minor inapropriate words as well, such as "sucks". However, not all families consider that a bad word (mine does). I wouldn't let that stop anyone from reading the book though.

 

Complaints: None.

 

Rating: 4 stars

 

 

Selling Hope

Title: Selling Hope

 

Author: Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

 

Summary: 13 year old Hope is traveling with her vaudeville troop along with her father in 1910 - right around the time when Halley's Comet was going to pass through. Hope is tired of traveling with her vaudeville troop and she dreams of settling down in a small town with her father. While passing through the town she used to live in before her mother died and she joined vaudeville 5 years prior, Hope sees her chance to finally get the "normal" life she wants.

To get money for rent and other expenses they will come across while settling down, Hope invents "anti-comet" pills to sell to people who fear the comet. The pills sell quickly and many take to the idea. But then, Hope begins to think about where home really is and where she would really be happy.

 

Comments: I thought this story was very interesting, and I enjoyed it (I am partial to historic fiction though). Hope was likeable and I was fascinated with the descriptions of vaudeville and how Hope was so young yet she was a performer. I also found the fear behind Halley's Comet interesting too. I don't think that anyone under the age of 10 would get everything out of this book though, so I recommend this for 10+.

 

Complaints: None

 

Rating: 5 stars

The 2nd Life of Abigail Walker

Title: The Second Life of Abigail Walker

 

Author: Frances O'Roark Dowell

 

Summary: Abby Walker is a nice girl and a great friend, though not many notice this because of the two girls she has grouped up with; two mean girls who pretend to be her friend but tease her about her weight when adults aren't around. Abby really isn't overweight, she just is a bit chubbier than the others. Everyone acts meanly towards her because of this; even her own parents.

Abby feels alone, until one day when she meets a boy in the woods who takes her to his home where his grandmother and recovering father who just returned from the service. Abby then sets into helping the boy's father finish his research on Lewis and Clark. Soon she is spending more time with them and trying to ignore her life of parents pushing her to diet and mean "friends" teasing her. This second life just might be the thing for Abby to gain confidence and be happy.

 

Comments: I liked this book. It was kind of sad; the way her mother just wanted everyone to be happy; yet she couldn't see that Abby's "friends" were just out to be mean to her. I felt bad for Abby, and I was so glad when she found Anders and his family. It was nice to see how meeting them helped her throughout the book.

I recommend this book for 10+ just because of the age of the characters and the teasing about Abby's weight.

 

Complaints: The book was nice; but I felt like there wasn't much closure at the end; because her parents still weren't exactly nice to her.

 

Rating: 4 stars   

The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet

Title: The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet 

Author: Erin Dionne 

Summary: 8th grader Hamlet longs to be a normal middle school student with a normal life, but that proves to be hard, with a genius 7-year-old sister (who is in her same grade!) and Shakespearian scholars for parents. Hamlet's social life gets even harder as she must help her young, somewhat clueless sister navigate middle school.

Comments: I enjoyed reading this book. Hamlet is a likable character, and her cute yet somewhat naive sister is likable too. I found it a bit unrealistic; with her sister being a genius and her parents being so devoted to Shakespeare to the point of hardly keeping up with the modern world, but it made for a fun story anyway. It was still an enjoyable read though; and while it would probably be suitable for most reading ages, I would recommend this book to those who are 10+ just because of the age of the majority of the characters. There is also a bit of an underlying romantic theme, which also contributes to my decision of readers being 10+. 

Overall, the book was pretty good, though probably not my favorite. 

Complaints: None! 

Rating: 5 stars