Lizzy Bright and Buckminster Boy

By: Gary D. Schmidt
Laurel Leaf

Turner Buckminster just moved and he is not pleased. Being the ministers son does have its disadvantages, like when you throw rocks, not acceptable for a ministers son. Or when you get into a fight the news get to his father's ears before he does. No, things in Maine are not turning out well for Turner. Then when he meets an unusual girl named Lizzy Bright things change. Gary Schmidt creates a vivid and intriguing novel with Lizzy Bright. He shows how thing used to be and how during those time people didn't see room to change. With Turner Buckminster, Schmidt proves that with or without change, there is a sense of right and wrong that is innately given to each of us, if we let our surrounding convince us otherwise is where people loose sight of what is important in life.
Personal Review
Lizzy Bright is an amazing character. While reading this book I continually found myself wishing she were real. There is so much that is discussed and faced during the novel, using Turner to show the problems of the day Schmidt accurately describes a world that we can never experience.

Wintergirls

by:Laurie Halse Anderson
Penguin Group

Lia's ex-best friend Cassie is dead. This is something of a shock for Lia, they were the same, wintergirls. Lia has to face the haunting of Cassie's last calls and the strange guilt that she doesn't know what to do with. Having rolls and rolls of fat that want to glue themselves to Lia's body doesn't help either,so she doesn't eat. Not eating isn't new to Lia though, if she can fight through the hunger pains then she can fight through the pain of loss. Anderson gives the world a glimpse into the terrifying and degrading world of eating disorders with Wintergirls . There are things that most people who are not involved directly with an eating disorder will never understand about the disease. Reading this book everyone can see the effects that this crippling illness can have on all the people surrounding it.
Personal Review
Wintergirls really opens your eyes, if you have never dealt with anything like this. I haven't even really know anyone with an eating disorder so this was very disturbing to read and learn about. I never realized how those effected really feel. I always thought it was a vain notion, but while reading i realized that this is so much more than just wanting to be the prettiest. Many times this can be a call for attention. I think that all young readers should be aware that this is a real problem and can affect your entire life.

The Cheat

By: Amy Goldman Koss
Penguin Group

Facing mid-terms with no studying done for the geography test, cheating seems like the best options for some middle schoolers. While things go wrong on all counts when the test answers end up being wrong and all culprits seem to be punished there are many underlying problems that have been festering in these young peoples lives. Cheating brings all the problems to the surface and not there is not hiding all the things that have been avoided far too long.
Personal Review
The Cheat proved an interesting read. From a young adult prospective there are many appealing facets that this book confronts. As far a depth goes this one all sits right there on the surface bringing to light many underlying problems that many teen have to face regularly.

Blood Secret

By: Kathryn Lasky
Harper Collins Publishing
Jerry has been passed from Catholic school to Catholic orphanage and back again. Finally a relative is located in New Mexico, an ancient, interesting relative named Constanza de Luna. Apart from the old family traditions that seem bizarre and totally mundane Jerry sees nothing wrong with her great great aunt Costanza, the thing that Jerry has a problem with is the dark cellar; for some reason Jerry feels there are dark family secrets being ignored in that trunk in the cellar. Finally when Jerry is beckoned down the cellar steps by some unknown power to explore the foreboding trunk she finds the key to the past in a powerful way.
Personal Review
I was a little skeptical of this novel when I started but thank goodness I did. I found that I wanted to go straight home and find out my own families path from the past. We never think about how we got where we are. I know many stories from my family's past but I don't know why we migrated where we did or if there was more to the story than what great great great grandma wrote in her journal. I loved this story and how is literally sucked you, making it impossible to escape.

La Linea

By: Ann Jaramillo
Roaring Book Press

Miguel is finally 15 and its his turn to join his mother and father in the United States. With the help of a shady Don, Miguel is on his way. Leaving his elderly abelita and younger, strong headed sister Elena behind in a desolate Mexican town Miguel learns that crossing the border to the states tests his ability to be a man as well as his physical strength. When his younger sister Elena manipulates her way into Miguel's plans he has no choice but to bring her along. Facing the mata gente and train gangs, this brother and sister team learn to work together and with others. Many diverse and dimensional characters are thrown into the mix along the way but Ann Jamamillo describes an exciting and dangerous world that no one cares to acknowledge.
Personal Review
This is one of those books that hits you like a bag of bricks. Who knew that real people actually do this, this is how they have created the life that they live now. there are so many things that happen everyday that we as a culture try to downplay and even look down upon that are terribly brave. How can any of us throw out an opinion on this real life issue when very few people alive have actually lived through such an incredible journey.

Out of the Dust

By: Karen Hess
Scholastic Press

Billy Jo was born with a talent to play the piano. She is good at it and not just by dusty Oklahoma standard. Karen Hess designs a vivid and pathetic picture of the desert and destitute that Billy Jo and her family are living. the love and care that each family member give to each other breaths. The imagery in the novel is so eloquently described by Hess' poetry. There is so much feeling this the story, the tragic events that follow Billy Jo and her father are something that average people will not be able to understand without someone to tell us how it feels.
Personal Review
I haven't ever read a poetry novel. After reading this one I realized how much I have been missing out on. I loved the short to the point things that are expressed along with the deeper meanings that have to peeled away to find the true meaning. I loved the story and the genre.

The Graduation of Jake Moon

Audio
read by Fred Savage
By:Barbra Park
Aladdin Books

Jake Moon was a regular kid. He loved his mom and was making some friends in middle school. Things were looking up, right up until his beloved Grandfather Skelly was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease. This is a real life issue that not many people deal with on average. Jake tries to be the perfect grandson and help around the house and with the Skelly, the thing that Jake is having a hard time understanding is that sometimes the person inside Skelly's body isn't Skelly. Jake learns to pull together with a violent cousin and find that maybe he has more in common with his family than just a last name.
Personal review
This is an issue that I personally haven't ever had to deal with. I still can't comprehend the kind of loss that this family had to face everyday. Its like loosing a loved one that is still haunting your house. Barbra Park did an amazing job at pulling you into the story and putting your self in Jake's shoes.