Curveball

Sonnenblick, Jordan.  Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip.  2012.  Scholastic Press, New York, NY.

Hardcover: $17.99.
ISBN: 978-0545-32069-6

Annotation:
Peter Friedman begins his Freshman year in a kind of nightmare.  Having torn out his elbow in a baseball game, he has been told he will never pitch again.  On top of that, his grandfather has been acting more and more strange.  As Peter struggles to figure out what is going on with his Grandfather, and adjust to high school, he finds his own way into the world with photography.

Book Talk:
Peter Friedman is the star of the baseball team.  He lives, eats, and breathes baseball. His world unexpectedly falls apart when he tears up his elbow pitching during a game. 

When he is told that he will never be able to pitch again, Peter begins to despair.  How is he going to function in high school when he can no longer play baseball and will never be the star of the baseball team?

His OTHER lifelong hobby - photography - comes to save the day.  Peter and his Grandfather have been taking pictures together his entire life.  Where Peter loved baseball, his Grandfather loved photography.

When he enters his photography class on the first day of school, he finds that not only is he in class with possibly the cutest freshman in the world, he is thrown for a bit of a spin when they are assigned to work together.  And then, when he finds out that they are assigned to work together on assignments for the yearbook, Peter is... stunned.

There is one other fly in the ointment.  Peter's Grandfather has been acting different.  Forgetting things.  Losing himself in time and place.  When he mentions this to his mother, she refuses to believe him.  But, every time he sees his grandfather, Peter realizes that they've lost a little more of him.

WILL Peter's life ever come back together?  Will he get the girl?  (and keep her)  Will he ever tell his best friend that he can't ever play baseball again?  Is something seriously wrong with Peter's grandfather?

Find out in Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip.

Reviewers Note:
Jordan Sonnenblick is one of my favorite YA authors.  Once again, he hits a home run, tackling a difficult subject with love and compassion.  Watching someone you love, who is your hero, go through the beginning stages of Alzheimer's Disease is frightening.  When you read of Peter's struggles to figure out what is going on with his grandfather, and feel the underlying love of Peter and his Grandpa... he takes a subject that can be difficult to deal with and puts it into words and phrases that we can all understand and relate to.  I highly recommend this book to everyone.  Mr. Sonnenblick did an awesome job of capturing the uncertainty that accompanies the beginning stages of Alzheimer's Disease.

Author's Web Page:
 http://www.jordansonnenblick.com/

Trafficked

Purcell, Kim.  Trafficked, a novel.  2012, Viking Press, London, England.

Hardcover, $16.99.
ISBN: 978-0-670-01280-0.

Annotation: 
Hannah finds herself sold into domestic slavery on the black market.  Struggling to stay safe in a land where she doesn't speak the language, and has no rights, she searches for a way out.

Book Talk:
Hannah comes to the United States with the promise of becoming a nanny to two young children.  She is looking forward to learning English, studying to become a doctor, and earning enough money to send home to her grandmother so she can have eye surgery.  Little does she know that she has been sold on the black market and is about to find herself locked into a house, forced to work as a domestic slave, with the constant threat of being sold as a prostitute if she doesn't cooperate. 

Cut off from her family, in a land where she doesn't speak the language, and denied access to the outside world, will Hannah ever be able to escape?

Reviewer's Note:
This book is completely appropriate for teens in high school.  The girl in the story has been sold into domestic service.  While some of the scenes imply more that could have happened, the author is careful to keep the book out of territory that would make it questionable for teens.

Human Trafficking is rampant in the United States.  Illegal immigrants from countries around the globe are finding themselves sold into domestic service, the sex trade, farm labor, and so much more.  The author does an excellent job of raising awarness of Human Trafficking. 

Author's Web Site:
http://www.kimpurcell.com/