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/

Steampunk!

Link, Kelly and Gavin L. Grant.  Steampunk!  An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories.  2011.  Candlewick Press, Somerville, Mass. 

Hardcover, $22.99
ISBN:  978-0-7636-4843-5.

Annotation:
A collection of short stories that are all written in the STEAMPUNK literary style.

Book Talk:
Steampunk literature is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction.  Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used.  Steampunk literature is usually set in Victorian England or the Wild West United States. 

The book STEAMPUNK is a collection of short stories, all written in the Steampunk style, by some of the best known authors of today:  M.T. Anderson, Holly Black, Libba Bray, Shawn Cheng, Cassandra Clare, Cory Doctorow, Dylan Harrucks, Kathlees Jennings, Elizabeth Knox, Kelly Link, Garth Nix, Christopher Rowe, Delia Sherman, and Ysabeau S. Wilce have each contributed a new story to this collection.

Come along and rob trains with the time stopping Glory Girls.  Check out the Clockwork Fagin who runs a London orphanage.  Find out more about the Colonial Era Finishing School.

Each story is a unique contribution by each author.  This fascinating mix of Graphic Novels and traditional written stories will appeal to anyone who enjoys Steampunk Literature, or is looking for something new and different to read!

Book Web Site:   http://strangeandfascinating.com/

The Throne of Fire

Book Talk:
Sadie and Carter Kane are your average, ordinary modern day teenagers who just happen to be from an ancient bloodline that dates back to the Egyptian Pharaohs.  A year ago, they discovered that they were members of the House of Life, and are powerful magicians who have a direct line to the gods of ancient Egypt. 

Sadie and Carter have discovered that they have four days.  Just four days before the Spring Equinox.  Four days in which they must defeat the most powerful enemy they have ever faced - Apophsis - the chaos snake.  If they don't defeat Apophsis before the Spring Equinox, he will break free, destroy the earth, and devour the sun. 

But first, they must have an ally.  Only one god is strong enough to defeat Apophsis and banish him back to the underworld.  The sun god Ra.  The problem is, Ra stepped down amidst an ancient battle with Isis, and no one has seen Ra since.  Somewhere, there are three scrolls that give the ancient clues to find Ra. 

Join Carter and Sadie as they search for the ancient scrolls in a desperate race against time in The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan.

Reviewer's Note:
I tried to find one passage that stuck with me.  I love to read a little bit of the book out loud to give the listeners a chance to hear the book and decide whether or not it's worth the read to them.  The problem is, the book is so full of excellent passages, it's hard to choose just one.  Here are three of my favorites:

The brilliant Sadie, running through London with two of her school mates in tow, destroying Waterloo Station.
 
Bes, giving people his ugly and screaming "BOO".  I love the scene of him, scaring demons away with his ugliness while wearing his Speedo.

Carter, desperately working to save Zia and fending off evil mages in the Egyptian desert by the Nile River

I could go on and on, but I'd give away the entire story if I kept going.  Trust me, it's a good book.  If you liked the first book in the series, you'll love this.  If you enjoyed the Lightning Thief series, you'll enjoy this series, too.

Author's Web Site:
http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx

The Kane Chronicles:
http://disney.go.com/official-sites/kane-chronicles/index

*Teachers and Parents, take note.  Mr. Riordan has put up an activity kit on the Kane Chronicles website that ties in with The Throne of Fire.

Disclosure Notice: This post contains links to my Amazon Affiliates account.  By purchasing through this link, you support this blog.  Thank You!

Eona

Annotation:
For years, Lady Eona has been living as a man.  Unmasked at the Dragon Eye Ceremony as a woman and as the dragon eye warrior of the Mirror Dragon.  Eona is caught up in war when the Emperor's brother slays the Emperor, the wife of the emporer, and the emporer's infant son, as well as 10 of the 12 Dragon Eye Warriors.  Eona escapes the madness of the palace, as does the first born son of the emperor.  As Eona attempts to find the true heir to the throne, she realizes that she has no control over her dragon powers and must learn to control them before she destroys the entire country.

Book Talk:
Lady Eona was raised as a boy.  Living with a Dragon Eye Warrior, Eona learned to fight, to read, and to act as a man.  All these attributes are forbidden to women in the cloud kingdom.

When a new Dragon Eye Warrior is chosen, Eona is present at the ceremony.  The shock is palpable when Eona (Eon) is chosen to be a Dragon Eye Warrior for the Mirror Dragon.... a dragon that has not been seen in the cloud kingdom, or had a warrior in the cloud kingdom, for over 500 years.

After Lord Sethon murders his brother, the Emperor, chaos erupts around the palace.  Eona escapes from the palace with a handful of people.  Word is out that the Emperor's oldest son Kygo also escaped, and is at large in the countryside, making ready to challenge Lord Sethon for the throne of the kingdom.

Imagine the shock when Eona discovers that there are only two remaining Dragon Eye Warriors- herself, an untrained warrior, and Lord Ido- whose treachery enabled Lord Sethon to take over the kingdom and kill the other Dragon Eye Warriors.

As Eona attempts to heal Ryko, she discovers a horrifying truth: she has no control over her powers.  The only person who can teach her to handle her powers is the traitor, Lord Ido.

As Eona and Kygo work together to retake the kingdom from Lord Sethon, Eona frantically searches for a way to control her powers and unlock the mystery of the mysterious red folio that came from the last Mirror Dragon Warrior - her kinswoman, Kinra, who was put to death for her treachery to the Emperor.

Can Eona learn to control her powers without the help of Lord Ido?
What secrets are held within the red folio?
Why was Kinra killed by her husband, the emperor, 500 years ago?
Will Kygo succeed in his bid to retake the throne from his Uncle, Lord Sethon?
What exactly is the secret of the black folio?
And why does Eona feel the compulsion to rip the sacred pearl from the throat of Lord Kygo whenever they are together?

Find out the answers to these questions and more in Eona...

Reviewer's Note:
I read and reviewed Eon, the prequel to this book over a year ago. I didn't re-read Eon before I picked up Eona.  Within the first 100 pages, I was reminded of all of the major plot twists from the first book.  This book is a stand alone book- you don't have to read Eon to understand Eona, but if you haven't read Eon, you will want to go back and find out the back story of the Dragon Eye Warriors and how Eona came to be known as Eon.

Author's Website:
http://www.alisongoodman.com.au/

Disclosure Notice: This post contains links to my Amazon Affiliates account.  By purchasing through this link, you support this blog.  Thank You!

The Hobbit

Book Talk:
Bilbo is an ordinary and most respectable Hobbit.  He never does anything extraordinary or unexpected like having adventures. 

And then, one gorgeous fall day, Bilbo is visited by the strangest person he has ever met: Gandalf the Wizard.  Bilbo remembers Gandalf from when he was a much younger hobbit and Gandalf would come and visit the old Took.  But Bilbo is a respectable Hobbit who doesn't go about having adventures and associate with wizards.

After Bilbo sends Gandalf on his way, he is shocked to find 13 dwarves standing on his doorstep the next afternoon, just in time for tea.  Gandalf shows up, and the party begins.  Somehow, Bilbo finds that he has been hired to be the burglar for the group who will be departing the very next day for the Lonely Mountain.  They hope to challenge the dragon Smaug and regain their treasure that Smaug stole when he overtook the mountain many long years ago. 

The party makes a long and dangerous trek through the Misty Mountains where they are separated by the Goblins. 

It is here that a crucial turn of events takes place.  For deep down in the mountain, far out of knowledge of man, dwarf, or goblin Bilbo stumbles across a ring in the dark.  This ring, is a magic ring which makes the wearer invisible.

But what next?  Can Bilbo use this ring to find his way out of the mountain?  Will he ever find the dwarves?  What will become of the treasure guarded by the dragon?  Will the dwarves ever regain their mountain home?

Reviewer's Note:
I first read this book almost 30 years ago.  It remains one of my top 10 all time favorite books. 
With Peter Jackson working on the film version of The Hobbit well -  reading this book for the first time, or re-reading it again - it's worth your time!

Disclosure Notice: This post contains links to my Amazon Affiliates account.  By purchasing through this link, you support this blog.  Thank You!

A Wind in the Door

A Wind in the Door.  1973.  Farrar, Straus and Giroux.  Square Fish, An Imprint of Holzbrinkck Publishers, New York, NY.

Book Talk:
Charles Wallace is a little odd, and very different from other children his age.  He began first grade this year, and his problems became overwhelming when he mentioned his mother's research into Mitochondria and Farandolae.  Marked as different by the other students in his school, Charles Wallace finds himself to be the subject of every bully with a point to prove.

Meg Murray is very worried about her brother and his inability to adapt to school.

She becomes terrified when Charles Wallace mentions that his mitochondria are sick, and that he might die from this disease that he has.

Her horror grows as she realizes that the battle that Charles Wallace has raging inside of him is the same battle that is raging across the solar system and has entire galaxies disappearing as if they had never existed.

Meg and her friend Calvin meet up with a giant Cherubim named Proginoskes (who looks like a giant, many winged dragon) at the star gazing rock.  They have been called by a cosmic teacher to fight the battle against the things that are destroying the galaxies- and also Charles Wallace.

Can they find the key to defeating these horrors that are raging around them before Charles Wallace himself is destroyed?

Find out in: A Wind in the Door.

Author's Web Site: http://www.madeleinelengle.com/
Note: This Web Site is currently under construction and only contains the front page for the 50th anniversary of "A Wrinkle in Time". 

Reviewer's Note:
I first read this book in 1975, when I was 10, and fell in love with the Murray family.  I always wished that I could be as smart as Meg, but alas... that was not meant to be.   This book cemented my love of the Fantasy genre.  I still go back and read the books in the series when I'm feeling in need of comfort books.  (Like comfort food, only not as fattening.)   The other books in this series include A Swiftly Tilting Planet, A Wrinkle in Time, Many Waters.

"There are dragons in the twin's vegetable garden"
 Charles Wallace to Meg... Page 1 of A Wind in the door.

Disclosure Notice: This post contains links to my Amazon Affiliates account.  By purchasing through this link, you support this blog.  Thank You!