Resistance

Chaya Lindler is a Jew in Poland during the Nazi occupation.  Her younger brother and sister have been taken from the ghetto on the transports, and her parents have lost the will to keep going.  Chaya, however, can't give up.

Her blonde hair puts her in a position to travel among the regular Poles and the Nazis as a courier delivering food, medical supplies, and forged documents.  But soon, that isn't enough.  She and her friends begin actively fighting back against the Nazi's.

When a raid goes wrong, and her resistance cell is destroyed, Chaya is left alone and unsure.  She begins a journey out of Krakow unsure of who she should trust.  The first person she meets is Esther, a meek and fearful girl from their former cell.

They make their way across Poland to the Warsaw ghetto.  The people have already fought back against the Nazis, and now they are preparing for retaliation.  They have limited supplies, and the people are weak from a near starvation diet.  There is little hope of winning, but there is hope and a kind of peace in fighting back.

Jennifer A. Nielsen's new book is one of my favorites of the year so far.  It is engaging, suspenseful, and a powerful story of endurance and friendship.  Chaya's journey through the ghettos of Poland reveals the depth of Nielsen's research and the horrors of the Nazi occupation.  Throughout the book, characters despair at the ineffectiveness of the Polish people and other nations who stand by arguing about politics while the Jewish people are on the verge of annihilation.  This is an excellent work of historical fiction with parallels to the modern world.  Make sure you read the author's note at the end.  Highly recommended for middle and high school libraries.

An Enchantment of Raven

Isobel is a gifted portrait artist whose work is highly sought by the fair folk.  One day the autumn prince, Rook, arrives for a sitting.  He is different from any of the other fair folk.  There is something about him, a kind of empathy that none of the ancient people can fathom.

When she delivers the finished portrait, she inadvertently reveals a part of his soul to the other Faeries putting his position in jeopardy.  Rook arrives to drag her to his court to face judgment.  Isobel is furious, but she has no hope of escaping the magical being with inhuman reflexes.

As they journey through the realms, they are beset by unnatural creatures and pursued by a deadly hunter.  Rook puts himself in harms way over and over again to protect Isobel and she grows to trust him in return.

They eventually realize more is going on behind the scenes at the Faerie Court than they could have imagined.  They also begin to realize they are perilously close to breaking the most dangerous rule of all, the punishment for which could be death.  But how can you control your own heart?

Margaret Rogerson's fantasy romance will appeal to a certain population who craves this kind of supernatural love story.  For me, it was disappointing.  I don't enjoy the falling in love with your kidnapper stories in general, and the plot never developed as much as I wanted.  Had there been something more complex going on in the background, I would have liked it more.  Recommended for grades 8 and up for mild profanity, especially in the first few pages. 

The Button War

Patryk and his friends spend their days talking, laughing, and daring each other to do stupid things.  Jurek is the unofficial leader of the group mostly because everyone is afraid of him.  Their small village in Poland is occupied by Russian troops, and he invents a game.  The person who can get the best button becomes the button king.  The others will have to bow down to him.

Patryk doesn't want Jurek to win.  It would rankle his pride, but he's also nervous about how the boy would wield his power.  They steal buttons from Russian uniforms, and Patryk thinks that will be the end, but Jurek isn't satisfied.

When a German plane drops bombs on the village, everything changes.  Soon the Russians are marching out, and the Germans are marching in.  Patryk thinks the game should be over, but Jurek sees fresh targets.

As the war in their tiny village escalates, Patrick becomes increasingly anxious, and Jurek grows even hungrier for buttons and power.  Jurek wants to be the king, but what power do you really have when you are surrounded by death and destruction?

Avi's new book is a disturbing tale of power and corruption set against the backdrop of WWI in a small Polish village.  It is a painful study in the ability of a charismatic leader to assign value to mundane objects and pursue power at any cost.  This book reads like a fable, and is a powerful if uncomfortable read.  Proceed with caution; there are several disturbing events in this book.

Pretty

Everyone thinks Sophie's life is a little bit easier because she's pretty.  She always has the perfect outfit and the perfect fashion writer mother. 

But she has a secret no one knows, not even her best friends.  Her mother is an alcoholic.  She spends her days drinking, and Sophie is never who she'll find when she gets home from school.  It could be the happy easy going drunk or the raging woman who hates everything about her daughter and her life.  She drinks until she passes out every night, and Sophies lies awake in bed waiting for the sound of her mother collapsing in bed if it's a good night. 

After a particularly bad night, Aunt Amara shows up at the house saying her mom is going away for a while.  Life with Aunt Amara is different.  There are homecooked meals and homework at the dining room table.  Sophie both enjoys the attention and resents the loss of her freedom. 

While Sophie struggles to assimilate the changes at home, she also struggles to make peace with her friends at school.  She is navigating insecurities and the attention of a boy she may or may not like. 

Living with Aunt Amara is making her see her relationships in a new light, and she starts to have the courage to admit the truth and to see herself as more than just pretty. 

This novel by Justin Sayre is a must read, but it will have special appeal to African-American and biracial students.  Highly recommended.

The Jigsaw Jungle

Claudia Dalton's father is gone.  He sent a message saying he had to stay late at work, but then he never comes home.  Claudia and her mother are frantic worrying what could have happened when they finally get a message saying he needs time to think and he's spending time with a friend.

Claudia feels a confusing mix of fear, anger, and confusion.  She always thought her family was perfect.  How could he do this?  She starts digging through emails and receipts looking for clues.  She decides staying with her recently widowed grandfather while her mother goes to a conference will be a great way to investigate her father's past. 

Then she finally gets a message from him--a puzzle piece with a word on the back.  This is it.  Maybe her father isn't really gone.  Maybe it's all just an elaborate puzzle he's set up for her, and when she solves all the clues, she'll find her father. 

With the reluctant help of her grandfather and the enthusiastic help of Luis, an aspiring documentary filmmaker who lives next door, Claudia sets out to solve the puzzle. 

Kristin Levine's new contemporary novel is told through emails, texts, receipts, phone calls, and any other scraps Claudia deems appropriate as she documents her journey.  The novel is inspired by Levine's own experiences when her husband came out as gay.  Savvy readers will figure this out early on, but younger readers may be just as shocked as Claudia is when she discovers the truth.  I'm of two minds about this one.  The mystery is great, but I was just so angry at her father for running away and leaving her a game to figure out the truth that it was difficult to have sympathy for him.  His family does express their anger and frustration, but everyone gets over it really quickly.  There are also parts of the book that feel more like an adult story, not in content but in tone.  Other readers could enjoy this book, but it seems more targeted at those in Claudia's (and her mother and grandfather's) specific situation. 

Winterhouse

Elizabeth's aunt and uncle don't like her.  If they aren't yelling at her, they are ignoring her, so she is suspicious when the people barely have enough money to make it from day to day decide to go on vacation during Christmas break and send her to some hotel.

It must be terrible if they are sending her there.  She begged to stay home alone where she could spend her days reading without their judgment.  But she comes home from school to find a locked door and a plastic bag with a few of her clothes, a bus ticket, and three dollars.

But Winterhouse is like nothing she could have imagined.  It's beautiful and filled with interesting people.  It has a library and a friendly librarian, and the proprietor, Norbert may be the most interesting of all.  Plus, for the first time, she has a real friend.

But all is not well at Winterhouse.  A mysterious and menacing couple seem to want something from her, and Elizabeth is beginning to believe it has something to do with an ancient puzzle that could affect the fate Winterhouse forever.

This novel by Ben Guterson is a fun mix of fantasy and puzzle mystery, but it got a bit tedious in the middle.  Plus, I'm not really sure her new friend is worth the effort if he gets so angry every time they disagree.  It could have benefitted from some editing, but I think it will appeal to the puzzle mystery crowd.

Speak: The Graphic Novel

Melinda is social outcast her freshman year after calling the cops on a party over the summer.  She dialed 911, but then she couldn't speak.  She couldn't say the words about what happened out loud, so the police showed up to break up the
She can't tell her parents what happened or why she's suddenly failing everything except art.  She can't tell her former best friend who didn't even ask what was wrong, who didn't even try to stand up for Melinda. 

It doesn't help that she has to see him at school.  He gets to go on with life like nothing happened, but every time Melinda sees him, she just wants to run. 

For a long time, her world closes in.  She doesn't really speak to anyone about anything.  But eventually, art becomes a way to heal, a source of strength, and a way to speak the truth about what really happened last summer. 

This new graphic novelization of Laurie Halse Anderson's modern classic novel is still powerful in a different form.  Emily Carroll's artwork conveys Melinda's fear and anxiety perfectly.  My general recommendation is for 8th grade and up, but this book deals with the sensitive topic of rape.  Give it to the people who need it.  Just like the original, this book can be a source of hope and strength to victims, but it's the kind of story everyone should read at some point. 

You Go First

Charlotte Lockard is pretty secure in her life in the Philadelphia suburbs until her dad has a massive heart attack.  As she struggles to deal with her anxiety about her father's health, things at school are changing in ways she can't control.  Her best friend is not really acting like a friend at all.  She's not too concerned about Charlotte's dad, and she's more interested in hanging out a new group of girls than her GT supposed best friend. 

Now that her dad is in the hospital, she wishes she had spent more time playing Scrabble with him than hanging out with her "friends."  She still has one Scrabble opponent, though.  She's been playing online with Ben for a couple of years, and the two of them vie for the top spot on the leaderboard.

Ben Boxer lives in Lanester, Louisiana.  It's his first year in middle school, and he's a little small and socially awkward.  He's obsessed with Harry Potter and presidential trivia, and he's determined to make his mark on middle school.  When he decides to run for student council, he becomes a target for bullies.

Charlotte and Ben have similar struggles to overcome, and they will both see their worlds realigned, but maybe change is not so bad in the end.

This new book by Erin Entrada Kelly was a bit of a disappoint for me.  Separately, both of the stories are great.  I was totally involved with both Charlotte and Ben, but the two stories never successfully intertwined for me.  I think this would have been a more successful book had it just focused on one character or worked harder to connect the two protagonists.  This is especially frustrating since a large focus of the book is on social connections.  That said, there are a lot of kids who will relate to these characters, and I will definitely recommend it to kids.