Tru & Nelle

Title: Tru & Nelle

 

Author: G. Neri

 

Summary: 6-year-old Nelle and 7-year-old Truman are living next to each other in Monroeville, Alabama. Nelle lives with her 2 older sisters, her father, and she also has a mother, who has some mental problems and is away getting treatment. Truman is living with his aunts and uncle, along with occasional, infrequent visits from his real, unreliable parents.

The two enjoy playing together, along with Big Boy (Jennings Carter, I think), and the two, who enjoy writing and telling stories and solving mysteries, create their own detective agency, with Truman acting as Sherlock Holmes, Nelle as Dr. Watson, and Big Boy as the Inspector.

With the case of a drugstore break-in, the three get on the case and go out on an adventure they will never forget.

 

Comments: I really, really enjoyed this book! Nelle Harper Lee is my favorite author (I have read both of her books) and it was interesting to learn about Truman Capote, though I have not read any of his literature works yet. Now I want to, though! :)

The story felt very real, and I really did feel as though I was taken into their lives, even if some of the scenarios in the book and some of the storylines were fictional. It was very similar to Scout, Jem, and Dill, when the three main characters (Big Boy, Nelle, and Truman) got together in the book, which is what I really hoped for.

I think that the book could probably be suitable for all readers, and even for younger children who have not yet read the writings of these two authors, the book would be interesting and a clean, fun, small-town mystery. There are a few scenes with the KKK, which could be scary or inappropriate for very young readers, so maybe 8+ could be suitable too. In the scenes with the Klan, no one gets physically hurt, and nothing really happens, and it should not change anyone's opinion on the book either.

It was a wonderful story and I enjoyed reading it very, very much. 

 

Rating: 5 stars!!!!

The Children of the King

Title: The Children of the King

 

Author: Sonya Hartnett

 

Summary: Cecily and Jeremy are two young siblings growing up during WWII. As the war breaks out and becomes harsher, Cecily, Jeremy, and their mother are sent off to Uncle Peregrine's house in the English countryside. Along with an English refugee girl they adopt, May, the family travels there and begins to live in the mansion. Cecily and May do not get along well, but both girls make a haunting discovery in the woods behind the castle, and the story that Uncle Peregrine is telling them each night, may just be a clue as to what the discovery really is.

Comments: This was book was so beautiful. When I heard that it had won the Astrid Lindgren award, I could not pass up the chance to read it, because Pippi Longstocking is one of my favorite stories. The cover really drew me in as well. Covers have the ability to do that, don't they?
The book itself was nicely written, but I found it a bit hard to finish at the end, because I had guessed the little mystery of the discovered castle about halfway through the story, so there wasn't really anything left to spark my interest, except for the characters sorting out the mystery themselves.
It would be suitable for any readers really, I think. In fact, my sisters enjoyed it as a bedtime story. It is a great read-aloud, in my opinion.
Honestly, none of the characters are very likeable. Cecily is whiny and annoying and quite harsh with May and others around her. Jeremy tries to act older than he is, and instead of coming off as mature, he comes off as even more immature than at the beginning of the book. May does have an excuse to be upset, but I found her to be a little harsh and too quiet. However, May is hands-down the most likeable of the children, if you ask me.
The book is definitely worth a read, and there are even some interesting tales and history woven through the pages, which is always a bonus.

Rating: 4 stars

Pictures of Hollis Woods

Title: Pictures of Hollis Woods

 

Author: Patricia Reilly Giff

 

Summary: 12-year-old Hollis Woods is a troubled orphan who is staying with Josie, a nice woman, after Hollis ran away from a foster family that loved her so much that they planned to adopt her. Hollis is tough and she finds a good home with Josie, who is an artist. But as Josie's memory fails, Hollis is expected to be sent away to another foster family, because Josie is deemed unfit to care for Hollis anymore. So Hollis and Josie run off. But at their destination, they run into the people that Hollis may just need the most.

 

Comments: Ms. Giff is one of my favorite historical fiction authors, and this book, though more on the modern side, gave off such a classic air. It was short, as most of her books tend to be, yet it was just enough to get to know Hollis and travel alongside her on her unique journey. One for the Murphys remains my favorite "foster care" book, but this book comes in as a pretty close second.

It wrapped up a bit too nicely in the end, which I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed that it ended so perfectly. However, Hollis had a hard life, so I have no doubt that she really needed this happy ending and I am glad that she received it in the end.

I would recommend it for 8/10+ because nothing inappropriate really happens and there are some good role models in this book.

 

Rating: 5 stars

Belle Teal

Title: Belle Teal

 

Author: Ann M. Martin

 

Summary: Belle Teal, who lives with her grandmother and mother, is very excited to start 5th grade with her best friend, Clarice, and her sort-of friend, Little Boss. But the first day of school brings a lot of controversy with the recent integration of the schools. One of the black boys who comes to Belle Teal's school, Darryl, strikes up a friendship with Bell Teal, which gains her and Darryl a lot of bullying and attention. As Bell Teal gets through the first semester of the school year, she deals with her grandmother's fading memory, the new class bully, and all of the strange ideas that some of the children have about her being friends with Darryl.

 

Comments: I enjoyed this book. It was well written, as nearly ever Ann M. Martin book is (Any author whose name is behind the Babysitters Club, goodness, how could she ever write something I didn't enjoy? :P)

I would recommend it for 10+. It is great as introduction to the integration and civil rights era, and is suitable for younger children because while there are threats of things happening to Darryl and everyone, it is not like in other books of this era where people actually do get seriously hurt or killed.

All of the characters were likeable, even the bully, in the end, was somewhat okay, because of the tough time she had just recently been through.

 

Rating: 5 stars

Listening for Lions

Title: Listening for Lions

 

Author: Gloria Whelan

 

Summary: Young teen, Rachel Sheridan lives in Africa with her missionary parents, both doctors, who operate a hospital set up for the people in a poor area. When influenza breaks out, Rachel's parents die and she is put into the care of a scheming, evil couple. Forced to use a fake identity and be the subject of their biggest scheme, Rachel must go to England.

But Rachel is strong, and has a mind of her own, and with a lot of luck, she finds a new place that she can comfortably call home. 

 

Comments: I liked this book a lot. Rachel is likeable, and all of the antagonists are perfectly unlikeable. I feel like Rachel's parents died too suddenly, and that the book moved along a bit quick for my taste (I prefer long, drawn-out stories), but overall it was a good story and all of the information that was necessary was contained between the covers.

It was interesting to see Rachel go from this young 14 year old to this young lady really coming into her own and making Africa and the world a better place. I thought it was special to watch her grow up, even if not an excess amount of information was provided. 

I would say that the book is probably best for 12+, just because of the scheming, the death, etc. Also, Rachel really grows up in the book and is already a teen when the book starts, so it is most relatable for the 12+ age range, I think.

 

Rating: 4 stars 

Kepler's Dream

Title: Kepler's Dream

 

Author: Juliet Bell

 

Summary: 11-year-old Ella is spending the summer with her eccentric grandmother, whom she does not remember ever meeting, while Ella's mother undergoes serious treatment for her cancer. Ella is not looking forward to the summer; her grandmother is very strict, and the one person there Ella's age, does not even seem to be nice.

But her grandmother's favorite, most special book, goes missing, Kepler's Dream of the Moon, and Ella is determined to find it. Ella and the farmhand's daughter, Rosie, try to uncover just where the precious book is.

 

Comments: I enjoyed this book. The cover really drew me into the pages and the interesting, picturesque setting. I love the setting - it created the book and made it that much better for me. Ella is likeable, I suppose. I found her to be a little bratty about not having "wifi" and not being able to play on her phone or watch television. I could not relate, as I would love to spend just a day in a spot as interesting as where Ella spent her summer. However, her mother was undergoing a serious treatment and Ella's bratty behavior most likely came about from all the stress and worry she had built up inside of her.

The mystery was a good mystery, and well developed. I sort of guessed the result in the end, but that didn't really make a difference - the book was still good.

There wasn't really so much "iffy" content here, so I would probably rate this about a 10+.

 

Rating: 5 stars

Almost Home

Title: Almost Home

 

Author: Nora Raleigh Baskin

 

Summary: Leah Baer is a troubled young middle schooler. She has been moved around from household to household and parent to parent after her parents' divorce. At school, she meets a nice boy, and the two become friends. He encourages her to get involved with theater. Slowly, Leah makes her way through her problems.

Comments: I liked this book. Ruby on the Outside, one of Nora Raleigh Baskin's more recent works cannot be topped by any of her other books in my opinion, but her other available titles are still worth reading. (Though I suggest saving the best, Ruby on the Outside, for last :P)
This book is quick and short and there is one inappropriate word/scene in the book, so I would recommend the book for 10-12+.
There is not much for me to say about this book. It did not spark my interest or excitement as much as I had hoped that it would, and it did not leave me speechless and spellbound afterwards as some of my favorite books do. However, I do recommend it, because the book is by no means "bad" or "uninteresting", it just didn't spark my interest.

Rating 3 stars