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The Seventh Wish. Kate Messner. 2016. Bloomsbury. 228 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: I've only seen the ice flowers once.

Premise/plot: Some books are near-impossible to summarize concisely...and do the book justice. This is such a book. I want to just say READ IT. But I won't. That really won't help you make up your mind now, or refresh my memory later. Charlie, the heroine, learns a little about wishes and a lot about life in this middle grade fantasy. Why is it fantasy and not realistic fiction? A talking fish that grants Charlie wishes.

My thoughts: I LOVED this one so much. Why? Perhaps in large part because of the narrator, Charlie. I truly connected with her--despite our differences--and wanted to spend time with her. I just adored her as a character. And because I adored her, I didn't mind a bit reading about Irish dancing (she made it sound super fun!) and ice-fishing (not convinced this is super fun but still not enough of a deterrent to keep me from loving it). I really felt this one was well-layered and peopled with flesh-and-blood characters.

This one was wonderfully balanced between light and dark. On the one hand, we've got Charlie and her friends and their "problems." (A friend whose father is pressuring him to play sports when that is the absolute last thing he wants to do, for example. Charlie's own "troubles" about wanting to earn money so she can buy a dancing dress for competitions.) On the other hand, we've got grown-up problems as well. Charlie's sister experiments with drugs--with heroin--at college and life becomes MESSY very quickly.

The Seventh Wish doesn't read like your typical PROBLEM NOVEL. It doesn't feel weighed down with manipulative messages, themes, and morals. Part of me wishes that this one didn't have the fantasy elements--the fish that grants wishes. The other part realizes that maybe the fantasy elements give this one a just right balance so that it isn't heavy and serious and dramatic and IMPORTANT.

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Best (Worst) School Year Ever. Barbara Robinson. 1994. 117 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: Unless you're somebody like Huckleberry Finn, the first day of school isn't too bad.

Premise/plot: This book is a sequel to the Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Both books are narrated by a girl named Beth who bear witness to the awfulness of the Herdman family. The book loosely takes place between the first and last days of school. The chapters are more episodic than linked to one another. All focus in on the Herdman family. Some chapters are better than others. I wouldn't say that any were wonderful.

My thoughts: I really LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The Best Christmas Pageant ever. And I think the reason why was that it had a point--a redemptive point. The Herdmans surprised everyone with their humanness, and, they weren't just the town joke when all was said and done. That isn't the case with The Worst Best School Year Ever. While there was one touching moment when Beth, the narrator, noticed Imogene at her best, that alone wasn't enough to make up for all the "let's laugh at the Herdmans." The scene I did like was when Beth noticed the initials on the blanket "returned" to baby Howard. I.H. When Howard lost his blanket--he was the bald baby whose head the Herdmans tattooed with waterproof markers--Imogene gave him her old blanket and pretended it was his that she had found. Only Beth suspected the truth. The first book seemed to end with a fuzzy removal of the "us" and "them" distinction. Not so with this one. And that is disappointing.

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Emily's Runaway Imagination. Beverly Cleary. 1961. 288 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: The things that happened to Emily Bartlett that year!

Premise/plot: Emily Bartlett is the heroine of Beverly Cleary's Emily's Runaway Imagination. Emily has many adventures or misadventures, many of which center around the formation of the first public library in her town. I would categorize the book as historical fiction. Reference is made to a world war, and, I think it may even be the first world war. One of the adventures involves Emily's grandpa getting a car. And having a car is a novelty in their town. Most people either walk, ride horses, drive a horse and wagon.

My thoughts: I really LOVE this one. If I read this one growing up, I only read it once. It's even possible this is one we didn't own. It took me so long to get to it as an adult because the local library doesn't have a copy of it. I bought this battered copy of it at my local charity shop for a quarter.

Favorite quotes:

"There are still books left to choose from," answered Mama.
And there were! Just think of it, real library books right here in Pitchfork, Oregon. The Dutch Twins, the Tale of Jemima Puddleduck--what a tiny book that was! Emily had not known they made such little books. The Curly-Haired Hen, English Fairy Tales. But no Black Beauty. Oh, well, perhaps another time. Emily chose English Fairy Tales because it was the thickest, and Mama wrote her name on a little card that she removed from a pocket in the book. Emily now had a library book to read. (117)

"Ma'am, is it all right if I get some books for my family?" he asked.
Mama smiled at the boy. "I don't believe I have seen you in Pitchfork before. Do you live in the country?"
"No, ma'am. I live in Greenvale," he answered. "We read about the library in the Pitchfork Report and I walked down the railroad track to see if we could get some books too."
"Why, that's at least four miles," said Mama, "and four miles back again."
The boy looked at the floor. "Yes ma'am."
"Of course you may take books for your family," said Mama. This boy wanted to read. That was enough for her. It made no difference where he lived. (118)

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Applesauce Weather. Helen Frost. Illustrated by Amy June Bates. 2016. 112 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Today is the day I've been waiting for: the first apple fell from the tree.

Premise/plot: Faith and Peter love, love, LOVE applesauce weather. When the apples are ready to pick from the family's apple tree. Uncle Arthur comes and tells stories--thousands of stories--and it's the best time ever. This year, there's some question though if he will come at all. Though Faith--aptly named Faith--never wavers in her belief that he will come. This year will be the first time for making applesauce WITHOUT Aunt Lucy. Uncle Arthur is still deeply mourning the love of his life. Lucy was someone he knew since he was a child, his best friend and soul mate. Will he come? Will he still tell stories? Or will he be too sad?

My thoughts: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one. Dare I say it's more than practically perfect in every way, that, it is in fact actually perfect in every way?! I love Faith and Peter. I do. I love Uncle Arthur. I love seeing Arthur interact with his great-niece and great-nephew. I love how Arthur tells true stories--of him and Lucy--and more fanciful tales as well. (For example, how he lost his finger.) I love seeing authentic family moments.

It is a verse novel. But Helen Frost excels in this genre. Her verses resonate. One never feels that her verses are chopped up prose. At least I never feel that way. I suppose I should be careful generalizing!

Here's a verse from Uncle Arthur's perspective:

Here comes an old memory
walking down the road,
like a peddler
pushing a heavy load.
I'll walk out to meet him,
see what he has to sell--
a hammer, and a pound
of two-inch nails,
a cooking pot, and
a new tin pail.
Somewhere in the mix,
I might have found
the beginning of a strange
new tale to tell. (48)

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Weekends with Max and His Dad. Linda Urban. 2016. HMH. 160 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: When Max's dad came to pick him up on Friday night he said, "Tomorrow, I will show you my new neighborhood."

Premise/plot: Max's parents are divorced and he spends the weekends with his Dad. This book chronicles three of those weekends with his Dad. We're not explicitly told if the three weekends are back to back. (I'd like to think they're not.)

The book is divided into three weekends. Each weekend reads like a little chapter book. (I believe each weekend is told in five chapters.) Weekend One is entitled "Spies." In this section, Max goes to his father's apartment for the very first time and sees his new room. Max's new craze is SPIES so when the two go out to explore the neighborhood the next day, they go as secret agent spies. Weekend Two is entitled "The Blues." In this section a couple of things happen: the two go furniture shopping because there's only one chair in the apartment...and Max empathizes with his Dad about missing open mike night. Max thinks his Dad is sad/disappointed/frustrated that he can't go to open mike night because he can't take Max with him. Max is super-sweet in this one and he invites the neighbors to their house for an open-mike night of their own. Weekend Three is entitled "Habitat." It may just be my favorite of the three. I really haven't decided yet. In this section, Max forgets part of what he needs to finish his homework project, invites his friend to sleepover at his dad's place, and generally comes to accept that "Yes, this is home, and this is where I belong too."

My thoughts: I really really liked this one. I'm not sure I LOVED it. But it was so good, so sweet. I loved meeting Max. He seems like such a great kid. I also enjoyed meeting the Dad. I liked that there wasn't really a focus on why the parents were newly divorced. No blame seemed to be passing back and forth. (But the Mom wasn't in this one at all, if I recollect.) The characterization felt authentic. Like these two were real and living in a real neighborhood. It was refreshing to have a middle grade book focusing on the the father-son relationship. I think many, many books are so focused on children that adults seem completely irrelevant to the plot.

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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White Fur Flying. Patricia MacLachlan. 2013. 116 pages. [Source: Library]

I really enjoyed Patricia MacLachlan's White Fur Flying. I loved Zoe and her family. Her mom rescues dogs--Great Pyrenees--fostering them until they can find forever homes. Her dad is a veterinarian, I believe. He brings home a parrot one day that is in need of a home. The parrot was--and this is very surprising to me--one of the highlights of the book. In fact, without the parrot, I don't think this novel would work as well, be as emotionally moving. She has a sister, Alice, who is always talking, telling stories, writing poems and stories, etc. Zoe's own character is revealed slowly throughout the book. Kodi, the other "family member" is a dog--Great Pyrenees, of course. He likes having other dogs around, and doesn't mind them coming and going.

So. The novel opens with the family watching the new neighbors move in. They haven't officially--or even unofficially--met the new family yet. And so some are quite busy making up stories about who they are, and why they're moving. Phillip is a boy around 9 or 10 that is moving in next door. He's the quiet type. The really-super-quiet and choosing-not-to-talk-at-all type. But that doesn't keep Kody and Alice and the other dogs from wanting to make friends with him....

Why is Phillip so silent? Will befriending dogs "save" him and help him reconnect with the world again?

This one is predictable enough--if you're an adult reader especially. I can't say honestly whether or not I would have found it predictable enough as a child. For one thing, if a book had a dog on the cover, I wouldn't read it because I was afraid the dog might die. Even though it might be on the slightly-predictable side. I found it very high on the feel-good side. I liked the way the book made me feel, especially at the end when Alice shares her poem. I think that is worth noting. Predictable does not always equal "bad."

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Truth of Me. Patricia MacLachlan. 2013. 128 pages. [Source: Library]

The Truth of Me almost has a melancholy feel to it. Robbie, our narrator, and his dog, Ellie, will be spending summer at his grandmother's house. These two have a special bond. Robbie feels safely and securely loved by his admittedly eccentric grandma, Maddy. He is staying with Grandma Maddy while his parents go on a music tour in Europe.

Robbie doesn't always feel so loved when he lives with his parents. The good news? This isn't one of those melancholy books about parents separating or divorcing. The bad news? His parents don't make time for him--their careers come first, always. And even when they're at home, they're not in the moment WITH Robbie. Sometimes Robbie learns more about his parents by reading newspaper clippings of music reviews and listening to music programs on the radio than by actually observing them and talking with them. This young boy points out to his grandmother that his mother loves her violin more than she loves him. And the grandmother admits that is probably true--for better or worse.

Robbie loves being with Maddy. And Maddy has a way with stories, and, a way with animals. Some people think she's spinning stories, making up all the animal stories she tells. But Robbie believes her. He may just become part of one of her stories when they start to camp together....

It isn't that The Truth of Me lacks a plot; it has one, it's just a melancholy one where even when fun stuff is happening, one never really loses a sense of loss or sadness. It brings to mind when Sadness says, "Remember the funny movie where the dog dies." Now, that was NOT a hint that Ellie dies. The dog's life is never in danger.


© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Education of Ivy Blake. Ellen Airgood. 2015. 240 pages. [Source: Library]

The Education of Ivy Blake is a companion novel to Prairie Evers. Both books are middle grade realistic fiction. Both are slightly bittersweet, think Because of Winn Dixie. I enjoyed the Education of Ivy Blake very much.

Since Ivy's mother killed her husband--Ivy's father--she hasn't been the same...at least not in her daughter's eyes. Even her "good days" are strains and stretches. It seems her mother is incapable of being happy, of being content, of being consistent, of being stable. Ivy could cope with her distant, weird mother for the most part since they were living with an aunt. But now that the aunt has died, and it's just the two of them, living with her mom has been impossible. For a while, Ivy found relief and protection by living with the Evers. Her mom wanted to leave her behind, being so newly in love and eager for a new beginning. But now that her mom's love life has soured, she wants Ivy back so she can start a new new life in yet another new town. Ivy doesn't trust her mom, but, her mom is her mom is her mom is her mom. Ivy's loyal. Ivy's brave. Somehow Ivy will make her life beautiful and purposeful.

Ivy is a great character. This book is emotional, but not overly DRAMATIC.

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Prairie Evers. Ellen Airgood. 2012. 224 pages. [Source: Library]

Prairie Evers is one of those books that had me at hello. I really felt an almost instant connection with Prairie, the main character. I not only enjoyed spending time with her, I genuinely enjoyed spending time with her family: her parents, her great-grandmother, her best friend whom she considers A SISTER.

The book is definitely a coming-of-age story set in New York. (Though not in an urban setting. This is very small town, a bit rural. Her parents are giving farming a try. And Prairie is super-excited to have her own flock of chickens.) The book opens with some shocking news: Grammy, who has always, always, always lived with them, is moving, returning home to North Carolina. She'll be moving in with her brother. A few chapters later, Prairie is in for another shock: she'll be attending school for the first time. She's been home schooled for all of her life by Grammy and by her parents. She's loved it--absolutely loved it. And her own curiosity has made her a strong and willing student. But she's intimidated by the idea of attending a traditional school. She's never been around that many kids of her own age. And she's worried that she won't fit in, that she'll be laughed at or bullied, that she won't make friends, that no one will like her.

The focus of this one is on friendship and family. Prairie's first best friend is a girl named Ivy. And Ivy is a gem of a character. Ivy's story is compelling. I look forward to reading the companion novel soon. I would definitely recommend this one.

Prairie Evers is one reminder why I tend to love and adore middle grade fiction the most.

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Skinnybones. Barbara Park. 1982/2016. 111 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Did I enjoy reading Barbara Park's Skinnybones, a middle grade novel originally published in 1982? Yes and no. First, as is obvious, I am not the target audience for this one. I am not in elementary school. I am not a boy. My sense of humor isn't that of a sixth grade boy. Also, I have absolutely no interest in baseball, or, in reading books about baseball. I didn't exactly want to like Alex Frankovitch, the hero nicknamed Skinnybones. But. At times I found myself liking him despite his obnoxious, attention-seeking ways.

Here are a few things you should know about Alex:

1) He has played little league for a good many years, but, he is horrible, absolutely horrible at baseball. I'm not sure *why* he keeps playing baseball when he's so bad at it. Perhaps he *likes* playing baseball, or, maybe he likes being part of a team. Perhaps his parents make him stay in baseball. Maybe he's afraid that by not playing baseball the other boys will think him strange, different, etc.

2) He loves, loves, loves attention. If he can focus the attention in on himself and make others laugh, then, he'll do it--no matter the situation. He can be very inappropriate, very loud, very annoying. The kids sometime laugh, usually laugh, his teachers and parents--hardly ever.

3) He hates one of his classmates and is in fierce competition with him. This is the focus of 90% of this book. The other kid, of course, is BRILLIANT at baseball.

I am glad there are books like Skinnybones being published--or republished. I am happy to recommend books like this to their target audience!
© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Flying Feet. Patricia Reilly Giff. 2011. 80 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Flying Feet is the third book in Patricia Reilly Giff's Zigzag Kids series. The books are loosely connected, I believe, by the fact that all the main characters attend the same school, Zelda A. Zigzag elementary school. But the books do not share main characters. The third book is narrated by Charlie, and, I think by far Charlie is my favorite narrator--at least so far.

Charlie HATES, HATES, HATES to be compared to his big brother, Larry, who also attended Zelda Z. Zigzag school. But no matter how much he hates it, it seems to be something that is unavoidable. His teachers seem clueless as to how annoying and frustrating this is!!!

The after school program is planning 'Come as A Character Day' and Charlie seems to be picked on by the teachers to help out with this project. He is so not excited by the idea of dressing up as a character...in fact, he wouldn't mind if the project was a total flop....or would he?!

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Big Whopper. Patricia Reilly Giff. 2010. 80 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Big Whopper is the second book in Patricia Reilly Giff's Zigzag Kids series. The books are loosely connected, I believe, by the fact that all the main characters attend the same school, Zelda A. Zigzag elementary school. But the books do not share main characters. The book is narrated by Destiny Washington.

The theme this week for the after-school program at the school is discovery. Students are being encouraged to share what they've discovered with others on an art-project in the hall. Destiny Washington, the heroine, is discouraged and frustrated. She doesn't think she'll have even one discovery to share with others. In general, she's having a hard time of it. A few poor choices have her really down. Can she find a way to turn things around? A secondary story focuses on a cat...

While I enjoyed this one slightly more than the first book in the series, I still can't say that I am enjoying the series overall.


© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Clementine for Christmas. Daphne-Benedis-Grab. 2015. Scholastic. 256 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Did I enjoy reading Daphne Benedis-Grab's Clementine for Christmas? Yes, very much! Was I a tiny bit worried about the contents since there was a dog on the cover? Yes, I admit to being a tiny bit worried. Can the book be trusted? Will it break my heart and make me cry?!

There are three narrators in the book: Josie, Oscar, and Gabby. The three are unlikely friends, in many, many ways. Josie is at best invisible, and, at worst, unpopular. Gabby seems to have it all, and to have it easy. She may be the new kid, but, she has more friends, more popular friends, than Josie who's lived there forever. And Oscar's story? Well, he can be trouble. In fact, it is because he is IN trouble that he comes to meet Josie and get to know her.

What brings these three together? Besides the fact that they all attend the same school, I mean. A hospital. Josie volunteers at the hospital. She dresses up. She sings. She dances. She listens. She talks. She comforts. Oscar? Well, he's "volunteering." He's doing community service for a month. He's the opposite of Josie. He's like Oscar the Grouch. He doesn't want to sing. He doesn't want to dance. He doesn't want to do ANYTHING at all that other people think it's fun to do. (Can you tell I listened to this record growing up.) Josie gets VERY tired of him refusing to sing, dance, and dress up. He's her volunteer partner, so she's stuck with him. Some of the patients are cheerier than he is! Of course, readers know why Oscar is a bit out of sorts. And it has to do with his home life....

Gabby, the third narrator, is a patient at the hospital. She's super-shocked to see Josie and Oscar show up in her room one day. Her illness is supposed to be a major secret. NO ONE at school is supposed to find out about her health. Will Josie and Oscar prove trustworthy?

Will these three unlikely friends become close friends, hang-out-in-public friends?

Several things connect the three. More than just the hospital. The fact that it's CHRISTMAS and there is a show to produce, for one. And also Clementine, the dog. Josie and Clementine are the true partners who brighten everyone's day....

I did enjoy this one. And Clementine is still alive and well at the end of the book. 

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer. Kelly Jones. 2015. Random House. 224 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Did I enjoy Kelly Jones' Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer? Yes! Definitely. I think it is definitely gush-worthy! It is an epistolary novel that would be appropriate for elementary and middle schools.

Sophie Brown, the heroine, has just moved with her family (her mom and Dad) to Gravenstein, CA. She's moved from a big, big city (L.A) to a very rural one. Her dad inherited a very run-down, almost junky farm. But this farm, to Sophie's concern and eventual delight is the home to some mighty UNUSUAL chickens. And Sophie, with a little help from a correspondence course and friendly mailman, is determined to do her absolute best with them. She might have arrived at the farm clueless about chickens, but, she won't stay clueless. And these aren't ordinary, easy-to-manage chickens. These chickens are extraordinary and fantastical...and if one person in the community has her way, they won't stay under Sophie's care for long...

The novel is epistolary. She writes her grandma (who's dead), and her great-uncle-Jim (who's dead as well). She also writes the catalog people of Redwood Farm Supply. These letters are almost diary-like, and, she's well aware of the fact that the dead don't write back. Still the letters are just a delight to read...

I only wish I'd read this earlier in the year so I could have been among the first to gush about it.

I thought I had a favorite book about chickens, but now I'm not so sure. The other title I'd recommend is Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Dory and the Real True Friend. Abby Hanlon. 2015. Penguin. 160 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: My name is Dory, but everyone calls me Rascal.

Did I enjoy Dory and the Real True Friend by Abby Hanlon? Yes, definitely. Did I enjoy it more than the first book in the series? I'm not sure. Not that a second book has to be more enjoyable than the first book. Not so long as it is at least as enjoyable as the first book.

So essentially, the premise of this one is: CAN DORY MAKE A REAL BEST FRIEND? That is the challenge given to her by her older siblings. They are confident the answer is no. That their sister is just WEIRD and DIFFERENT. Who would WANT to spend time with her...as she is?! Can she do it?! Read and see for yourself!

First, I do love Dory. I still love Dory. She's pretty much the same Dory we got to know oh-so-well in the first book. That being said, if readers haven't read the first book, I don't think they'd have any problem at all just picking up the second book. It won't take long for Dory to make an impression on readers.

Second, I do love her family for the most part. Do they always "get" Dory? No, not really. Dory surprises them in this one, I must say! They "thought" they knew her so well, that they could tell the difference between reality and Dory's fantastic imagination.

Third, I really appreciate that so much of this one was set at school. Part of me wishes it had been clear what grade--if any--Dory was in. We do know that this is her second year. That could mean two years of preschool, or, one year of preschool and kindergarten, or even kindergarten and first grade. (Though Dory doesn't seem like a first grader to me.) It doesn't really matter. Dory is DORY even at school. Whether Dory is purposely bringing her imaginary best friends with her to school or not. She can't turn her imagination off. Everyone KNOWS that Dory will never make a "true" "real" friend if she keeps hanging out with her imaginary ones, right?!

Fourth, I do love the illustrations. They really add to the overall Dory experience. And these two books are to be experienced make no mistake.


© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Best Friend Battle. Lindsay Eyre. Illustrated by Charles Santoso. 2015. Scholastic. 160 pages. [Source: Review copy]

It was a quick read. Was it a good quick read? For the most part, yes. Though I admit I'm not the target audience for this one. Sylvie, the heroine, is having a hard time sharing her best friend, Miranda, with others. With a few boys, to be exact. And one of the boys she just can't stand. His name is Georgie. And she thinks he's awful. But her friend, Miranda, well, she's friendly with him. She even cheers him on at baseball when he's on the opposing team to Sylvie. How could she, thinks Sylvie!!! Or, perhaps, how DARE she?!?!

When the novel opens, Miranda's birthday is fast approaching, and Sylvie is quite DESPERATE. How can she prove that she is all the best friend Miranda needs, and, that there is no room for Georgie too?! Well, Sylvie's methods are a bit extreme. And the book does get a bit dramatic, more over-the-top comedy than serious drama. And some of this drama is due to Sylvie's twin brothers getting involved in the friendship war...

This one is enjoyable. I liked it.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Orbiting Jupiter. Gary D. Schmidt. 2015. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 160 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Orbiting Jupiter is a great book: an emotional, compelling, coming-of-age story with an incredible focus on friendship and family and what it means to love someone.

Jack is the narrator of the book, and I absolutely loved, loved, loved him. I loved him from the start. Here's how the book opens: with Jack and his parents getting ready to welcome a very troubled boy into their home. Joseph, Jack's new foster brother, isn't like other eighth graders. He has a daughter he's never been allowed to see. He has a history of violence. And because of the institutions he's been in, he can freak out and overreact a bit. But Jack's family, well, they are good, solid, dependable, patient, heart-wide-open people ready to love and accept. From the day he walks into their home, they see him as family. And there's nothing Jack won't do to help his brother--sometimes that means giving him plenty of space, and not pushing him to talk, sometimes that means reassuring him that he's there for him, that he has his back, that he is not alone anymore.

But not everyone in the community is ready to welcome Joseph. In particular, some of the people at schools--some who should know better, others who probably don't--are not ready for Joseph. Some are openly hostile and just MEAN. Others treat him not as another human being, but, as a spectacle, a freak. But several teachers see through Joseph's past and come to really LOVE him and see that he's more than the choices he's made, that, he is in fact, really smart and capable of good. I both loved and hated the school scenes. There were a few times I was just so angry--like Jack--in Joseph's defense. And there were a few scenes I just found sweet.

Joseph's story slowly but surely unfolds, and, it is intense. I couldn't help liking Joseph and just caring for him and wanting the best for him.

Orbiting Jupiter is a bittersweet coming-of-age story that worked for me for the most part. But oh how I wish I could rewrite the ending! Not because this one doesn't feel good-enough or that it feels completely out-of-place, but, because it's just so achingly bittersweet.


© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Two for Joy. Gigi Amateau. Illustrated by Abigail Marble. 2015. Candlewick. 96 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Two for Joy by Gigi Amateau was a heart-felt read with memorable characters. Jenna, the heroine, loves, loves, loves her mom and her great-aunt. The book opens with unsettling news: Tannie (the great-aunt) has fallen again. The two decide that perhaps Tannie shouldn't live by herself anymore. Maybe it is time for her to come and live with them instead. That will mean big, big, big changes for everyone. And the first step will be to convince Tannie--who is gloriously stubborn and independent--that this would be for the best, that they genuinely love her and want her. The first step may be the hardest, in some ways, but the next steps aren't exactly easy either...the family has a lot of learning and growing to do as they go through this transition.

Two for Joy is an interesting coming-of-age novel. I enjoyed it very much. I love to see books highlighting the special bond between generations. There is something precious about it. The book is quite honest and heartfelt. I definitely liked it.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Arthur, For The Very First Time. Patricia MacLachlan. Illustrated by Lloyd Bloom. 1980/2002. HarperCollins. 128 pages. [Source: Library]

I enjoyed reading Patricia MacLachlan's Arthur, For the Very First Time. Readers meet a young ten-year old boy, Arthur, and journey with him to his aunt-and-uncle's farm for an eventful summer. Arthur is a somewhat troubled young boy. Troubled being VERY relative of course. He's having trouble communicating with his parents. They still haven't told him that he's to have a little brother or little sister. Though he has figured it out himself. He hasn't exactly told them he knows or how he feels about this "happy" event. Arthur definitely spends time wishing things were different but believing that they can't be different. So how does Arthur spend his time? Well, before visiting Aunt Elda and Uncle Wrisby, he spent most of his time writing in his matter-of-fact journal. He spent a lot of time OBSERVING the world around him, but, not necessarily taking part of it. During his summer vacation, however, things will change for the better. Arthur will start living a little bit more--in some cases, a LOT more.

The book is definitely character-driven. I loved that. I loved meeting Arthur, his aunt and uncle, his new friend Moira. I loved meeting some of the animals as well. Like the chicken, Pauline, whom everyone speaks to in French! It was just a very satisfying read.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Thing about Jellyfish. Ali Benjamin. 2015. Little, Brown. 352 pages. [Source: Review copy]

The Thing About Jellyfish is a middle grade novel showing one girl's reaction to a former friend's unexpected death. To say she STRUGGLES would be an understatement. She breaks down, or shuts down even. Suzy (Zu) turns to science for the answers. But her obsession with finding THE answer leads to more trouble. Though she herself doesn't see it. To Suzy there has to be one definitive answer to WHY her friend drowned. And until she proves her theory, she is going to stay obsessed with jellyfish.

I have very mixed feelings about The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. At times I loved it. At times I hated it. I didn't consistently feel any one way about it. Perhaps this is directly connected with how I felt about the characters.

Zu (Suzy) is at times likable and infuriating. On the one hand, her account very much focuses in on her as a victim. Poor Suzy, doesn't fit in, she doesn't belong. Suzy grew up having one really good, solid friendship. But as the two girls grew--Franny is her name--they grew apart. That is Suzy stayed exactly the same as she always was. And Franny started growing up, becoming older, more in touch socially. Zu becomes increasingly ANGRY with Franny. She takes this venomous anger to EXTREMES. If she'd merely felt all angsty and angry and hurt and confused and whatnot, I'd have sympathized more. I really would have. But because she chose to act out, well, I have a really hard time relating to Zu. Socially awkward misfit, yes, I can relate to that. Not having anyone to sit with at lunch time, yes, I can do that too. Not really wanting to talk unless you have something important to say, unless you feel really heard, I can get that to in a way. But it's the extremities that Zu goes to that keeps me from identifying with her in the end. For example, Zu is out of touch with right and wrong in big ways, extreme ways. The end of school incident between Zu and Franny is a great example of how out-of-touch she is. Not to mention the whole, it would be a great idea for me to steal money from my parents and travel to Australia to meet a perfect stranger.

I actually liked several of the "minor" characters in this one. I really liked the boy who befriends her and calls her "Belle." And I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the science teacher. So there were definitely things I enjoyed about this one. But there were also things that I didn't enjoy, things that troubled me.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The View From Saturday. E.L. Konigsburg. 1996. 176 pages. [Source: Bought]

I enjoyed rereading E.L. Konigsburg's The View From Saturday. Though I don't usually "enjoy" (seek out) stories with multiple narrators--alternating narrators--in this case it was just right or practically perfect. Readers meet a teacher, Mrs. Olinski, and the four students on the sixth grade competitive team for the Academic Bowl. (They are Noah, Nadia, Ethan, and Julian.) All five narrate The View From Saturday. Mrs. Olinki's chapters are of the BIG competition day, and each chapter generally ends with a question being asked of the competitors. Usually. The chapters narrated by the students cover much more time, generally are full of flashbacks. It is in these narratives that characters are developed and relationships explored. All four students in her class were connected BEFORE they were chosen.

View From Saturday is a great friendship-focused, school-focused coming of age novel. Each narrative is definitely unique. And I like how interconnected the stories really are.

When I think Newbery, this is the kind of book I think of most of the time.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Walk Two Moons. Sharon Creech. 1994. HarperCollins. 280 pages. [Source: Bought]

Gramps says that I am a country girl at heart, and that is true. I have lived most of my thirteen years in Bybanks, Kentucky, which is not much more than a caboodle of houses roosting in a green spot alongside the Ohio River. 

Did I love Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons? Yes and no. On the one hand, it's a book that I know I would have either--as a kid-- avoided at all costs (if anyone had dropped hints of how sad it was) OR found myself hating, bitterly regretting having picked it up in the first place. There was a time I thought all sad books should be labeled. So at least you were making an informed decision before you got swept up in the story and invested a part of yourself in it. On the other hand--as an adult--I couldn't help finding it a beautiful and compelling story.

Sal--the heroine--is on a road trip with her grandparents (Gram and Gramps). They are on their way to "see" Sal's mother. That's what readers are told, and, as an adult I connected the dots early on. (Sal's world is upset when her Dad moves them to a new town after learning that the mom wouldn't be coming back.) But much is left a mystery for the reader. I can't honestly say how I would have interpreted the text as a kid. It doesn't really matter. The trip is enlivened by Sal's storytelling. She is telling the story of her new friend, her classmate, her almost-neighbor: Phoebe. (Readers also hear of other friends--classmates--including a boy named Ben.) Phoebe's life is also becoming something of a mess. Though Sal is better at spotting the signs than Phoebe herself. The book alternates between focusing on the past--Sal's new life, her friendships, her memories, her emotions--and the present, the road trip. Both stories are compelling. Mainly through dialogue, the grandparents become fully fleshed characters that you can't help loving and admiring. The way they love Sal, and, cherish her. There is just something sweet about this family. And readers do get to know them better than any other adult in the novel. Unfortunately, I think that is why the book leads me angry. Part of me angry anyway. THE ENDING. I did not see it coming. And it was beyond cruel to this reader. Was it realistic? Yes. Looking back were their signs that it was coming? Probably. But though I guessed one reason why the novel was one of those dreaded SAD books. I didn't the second. And the second HURT so much.

Walk Two Moons is the 1995 Newbery winner.

Have you read Walk Two Moons? What did you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Do you like sad books? Or do you avoid them when you can?

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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On My Honor. Marion Dane Bauer. 1986. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 96 pages. [Source: Review copy]



The good news is that the jacket copy of this book is so straight forward I would have known to avoid this one as a kid. (Sad books and I did not get along.)

What is the book about? Joel and Tony are close friends, perhaps even best, best friends. But Joel isn't honest with Tony. And Tony isn't honest with Joel. If either boy had been honest, then the book wouldn't exist essentially. The truth is, Joel doesn't want to go with Tony to Starved Rock state park to climb the bluffs. And Tony doesn't want to go swimming at the city pool with Joel. Joel's last hope is that his Dad will say no to the boys biking over to the state park. Is Joel honest with his Dad? Of course not! Don't be silly. His Dad thinks his son wants to go biking with his friend. And though he knows it may be beyond his child's ability to bike eight or nine miles each way, he says yes. Perhaps he wants his son to like him and think he's cool? Joel tries to hide his disappointment that his Dad failed him by setting up good boundaries, and reluctantly Joel sets off on a very long journey. (In the Dad's defense, Joel and Tony are not honest about what they're going to do once they get to the state park.)

At some point, perhaps halfway, perhaps not. The boys take a break on the bridge. Tony decides to change plans. Now Joel had promised his Dad that they wouldn't change plans, that they would go where they were supposed to go, and do what they were supposed to do, but, does Joel have the integrity, the "honor," to stand his ground? Of course not! Not in this book! Tony decides to go swimming in the river, the river that both boys had been warned was dangerous dozens and dozens of times. Tony talks his friend into going swimming in a dangerous river. Joel knew he was making a bad decision, a "wrong" decision, a breaking-all-rules, and going-against-my-parents-decision, but he goes along with Tony anyway. Into the water they go. But Tony has a big secret: he can't swim. And, as you can imagine, swimming in a dangerous river with strong currents and whirlpools is not the best idea if you can't swim. So Tony drowns.

What little regard I have for Joel is completely lost in the next half of this oh-so-short novel. (I was so thankful this one is short!!!) Is Joel honest with anyone after the accident? Does he tell the police? Does he tell Tony's mom? Does he tell his Dad? It's not that he doesn't tell anyone--he tells a stranger, someone near the scene that he gets to look for Tony in the river--but when this stranger wants to do the right thing, the only necessary thing, Joel makes promises he has no intention of keeping. The lying begins. He has no idea what happened to Tony. He left Tony on the road, on his way to the state park. Tony was alive and biking the last time he saw him. He has no idea why he isn't back home yet.

The truth does come out, of course, but not in a way that puts Joel in a good light, an honorable position. The book ends with Joel and his Dad having a heartfelt conversation. But that conversation didn't sit right with me. Joel wants assurance that there is a heaven and that his friend, Tony, is there. And his Dad tells him that no one can be sure that there even is a heaven. But if there is a heaven, then he's sure Tony is there. I'm not sure which annoys me more. The emphasis that "no one can be sure" there is a heaven, or, the assumption that anyone who dies automatically goes to heaven. I'm not suggesting that the book should end with a discussion that heaven is a real place and hell is a real place, and unless you're trusting in Christ as your Savior, you're destined for hell. That's an unlikely book ending for sure.

Who's responsible? Who's to be held accountable? Who's to blame? The book spends some time devoted to this, mostly through showing and not telling. (Though that last conversation with his Dad does bring this up.) The book certainly can bring a reaction out of the reader.

On My Honor was a Newbery Honor book in 1987.

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Hatchet. Gary Paulsen. 1986. Simon & Schuster. 208 pages. [Source: Library]

I still can't say that I love this cover of Hatchet, but, avoiding the book because of the cover was a bit silly of me. So did I enjoy reading Hatchet? Yes, for the most part. Hatchet is a survivor story starring Brian Robeson. (It is a Newbery Honor book). Brian is on the way to visit his Dad after the dramatic divorce. (Brian knows something his father doesn't. This SECRET haunts him throughout the book. He's definitely not over the divorce.) But the single engine plane taking him to visit his Dad never arrives. The pilot has a heart attack, and Brian must land/crash the plane himself. He survives the crash, but will he know how to survive in the wild until he is rescued? Fortunately, his mom gave him a hatchet before the trip. And it's a hatchet he wore on the plane, on his belt, I believe? So it's the one thing he has with him that may enable him to survive until help comes...

Brian has adventures and misadventures. He manages to survive, but, never to the point where it becomes fun and amazing. These aren't adventures he'd ever choose to have.

I definitely am glad I read this one. Have you read it? What did you think?

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Cinderella Smith. Stephanie Barden. Illustrated by Diane Goode. 2011. HarperCollins. 160 pages. [Source: Review copy]

There was a very crazy knocking noise going on at my front door that I was pretending not to hear.

I enjoyed reading Stephanie Barden's Cinderella Smith. The novel stars a lovely young heroine nicknamed Cinderella. She's so nicknamed because she's almost always losing one of her shoes. She now expects to lose shoes, so each shoe has her address written on it so it can be returned.

Does Cinderella lose a shoe in this one? Yes, of course. And it's not just any shoe, it's a tap shoe. She needs her BEAUTIFUL red tap shoe before the fall dance recital.

What I liked best about the book was the focus on friendship, school, and family. I loved meeting Cinderella. And I loved meeting her new friend, Erin. Cinderella and Erin work together to determine if Erin's new stepsisters are evil or not!

Cinderella Smith is a quick, easy read that I found delightful.  

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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