Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul Wimpy Kid #9 by Jeff Kinney Funny Illustrated Fiction Realistic Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) Greg Heffley’s mom has the brilliant idea of taking an educational family road trip after she reads about it in a glossy issue of “Family Frolic” – her favorite magazine. It’s pretty much a disaster from start to finish. The Heffleys have crammed everyone and everything into their van and … Read more
Nest by Esther Ehrlich Historical Fiction Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Tween (Grades 5-8) * * * SPOILER ALERT! * * * Eleven year old Naomi “Chirp” Orenstein is an avid birdwatcher growing up with her older sister in the early 1970s on Cape Cod. The Orensteins’ lives are forever changed when Chirp’s mother is diagnosed with MS (multiple-sclerosis). Mom – a dancer – sinks into a deep depression when her … Read more
The Language Inside by Holly Thompson Novel in verse Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Emma Karas’ family moves back to Massachusetts from Japan, where she has lived her whole life, when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. It is right after the Tsunami disaster strikes and Emma feels terrible that she can’t be with her friends and their loved ones, helping them in the aftermath. Although she’s fluent in English, Emma … Read more
I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Lucy, Elena, and Michael are best friends who will be starting high school in the fall. They lost their 8th grade English teacher, Fat Bob, to a sudden heart attack earlier in the school year and to commemorate his memory and celebrate Lucy’s favorite book (which is also on their summer reading list) the three become literary terrorists and begin … Read more
Pen Pal by Francesca Forrest Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Emlee (Em) lives in a tiny community known as “Mermaid’s Hands” in a sort of houseboat in the mudflats just outside of Sandy Neck. One day she decides to write a letter – a message in a bottle – which she gives over to the Seafather (the ocean) and which eventually finds its way into the hands of one Kayamanira Matarayi who … Read more
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) The Storyteller gives us a look at WWII and how it affects us today. Sage, the main character, meets an elderly man while in her “grief group,” named Josef Weber. The two become friends, but it doesn’t last. Josef asks her to kill him. This book is suspenseful and I couldn’t put it down. Review #2 * * … Read more
Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Jason Blake is twelve years old and autistic. He is smart and perceptive and has a very rich inner life, but it’s hard for him to verbally express himself and his feelings. He communicates best through his writing and has been sharing it on a website/online community called Storyboard for the past 3 years. Recently, he’s been exchanging emails with … Read more
If I Stay by Gayle Forman Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) An aspiring violin player, Mia, dreams of one day playing at top locations around the world. Her family is as supportive as they can be, teaching her valuable lessons every day. Then, suddenly, a terrible incident occurs, and leaves Mia struggling to find answers which even she doesn’t know. Review #2 * * * Stars (Pretty good) A … Read more
Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord Realistic Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) Lucy’s family moves to New Hampshire and she becomes friends with some of the summer resident kids who also live around the lake. They spend their days together on “Loon patrol,” reporting on the activities of the loons nesting around the lake, kayaking, and hiking. When Lucy’s father – a famous photographer – tells her he’ll be judging a photography contest … Read more
Ask the Passengers by A.S. King LGBT Realistic Fiction * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) Astrid is struggling to figure out who she is in a small town that’s full of small-minded people and she’s keeping her innermost thoughts a secret from everyone she knows except the passengers in the airplanes that pass over her. She spends hours lying on her back on the picnic table she and her father built, watching the planes … Read more