Calvin Coconut: Rocket Ride, by Graham Salisbury; Wendy Lamb Books: New York, 2012; $12.99 This book is about a kid named Calvin who is getting bullied to give the bully a ticket to his dad’s concert. Calvin lives in Hawaii. His dad is coming there for his band performance. His dad is a famous rock star. Calvin hasn’t seen him for four years, so he is very nervous to meet him. His dad will give him five tickets for his concert. He plans to give the extra tickets to his best friends. After that, he still has one ticket left. Who will he give it to? Tito, a big and strong kid in his school, likes to bully others. Now he is demanding Calvin give him the ticket. Calvin doesn’t want to. Instead, he has Shayla, his classmate, in his mind. He knows she really enjoys his dad’s music. She is wearing a T-shirt at school that has a picture of his dad’s band on it. She is very excited when Calvin tells her about the offer. Calvin feels like he has done the right thing. But Tito keeps on threatening Calvin. Calvin feels very scared and is forced to change his mind. He tells Shayla that she can’t go. She is sad and heartbroken. I can relate to this story. I feared a bully in school, too. The bully was actually once my friend in kindergarten. In grade one, I had many new friends. He wanted me to play with him more than I would like to. In order to get my attention, he started to play rough with me. When I started to avoid him, he was upset and bullied me. He started with throwing rocks and woodchips at me. Then he became bolder and bolder. He progressed into kicking me. Eventually, he bluntly punched me in the neck. I felt scared and miserable. Every time I saw him, I quickly ran away. I was even reluctant to go to school to avoid him. Will Calvin give in or face the bully? Calvin feels bad for Shayla and regrets what he did, so he calls his dad for help. His dad tells him that he can have two backstage passes for him and Shayla. Shayla is so happy to receive the pass that she jumps up and hugs him. Now Calvin still has one ticket left. However, Calvin doesn’t want to give it to Tito, because he doesn’t want to encourage Tito’s bullying behavior. Instead, he gives it to Lovey, Tito’s girlfriend, and asks her to help him tame Tito. She tells Tito to stop bullying Calvin because Tito listens to her. At the end, everything turns out the way Calvin likes it to be. His dad becomes his best friend. He and Shayla have a good time at the concert. Tito does not bother him anymore. So Calvin solves his problem by telling his dad and Lovey. They helped. For me, what did I do? I informed the teacher first. But he still looked for chances to annoy me even under the teacher’s eyes. Then I told my parents, who talked to the principal. Now it got serious. The bully got punished. His punishment was that he couldn’t come near me. The principal watched him all the time at school. It finally stopped the nasty behavior. I heard that bullying is very common at school. It is bad behavior. Both from the book and my own experience, I know that bullying can make you feel scared, powerless, and sad. The best way to defeat a bully is to ask for help from lots of people. If I was Calvin, I would tell his teacher and parents early on, so that he didn’t have to be worrying about Tito for such a long time. Calvin is in fourth grade. Although he is a small kid, he finds courage and wisdom to face the bully. I would recommend this book to students around his age. Young readers will learn how to take care of themselves when they are bullied. Eric Yang, 9 Wellesley, Massachusetts
Book Reviews
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua; Penguin Books: New York, 2011; $16 Sophia and Louisa Chua are perfect kids. They get straight A’s and are the best at everything. Sophia played piano at Carnegie Hall when she was fourteen; Louisa was accepted as a student of the world-famous violinist Naoko Tanaka. This sounds incredible, right? Meet Amy Chua: Yale Law professor and “Tiger Mother.” She forces her daughters to practice their instruments for hours a day and doesn’t let them be anything except top students. They can’t have play dates or sleepovers, play computer games or watch TV, or choose their own activities. The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is the story of how Chua raised her daughters. She is Chinese and says that Asians stereotypically have very strict parenting habits that result in high-achieving children. They force their kids to be perfect or suffer the consequences. “Western” parents care about their children’s self-esteem and worry about their child psychologically. Asian parents assume their child can handle it and dish out the criticism. I’m not trying to be racist; this is shown in various studies and in this book. I know kids whose parents really pressure them and sometimes the results aren’t pretty. This book really struck a chord with me because, well, I’m a kid. I’m the same age as Chua’s daughters were for most of the book. I think I offer a different perspective than most people who read this book because I can read about this type of parenting and wonder how I would respond to it. In my opinion, Chua had the basics right, but went too far. I think it’s important for parents to have high expectations for their kids; it shows that they’re confident enough in their child to think they can achieve it. At least for me, I get self-esteem by seeing that I am competent and good at things, not because people tell me that I am. But Chua screams at her daughters and threatens them if they don’t keep practicing their instruments. I play piano and clarinet, and I know practicing is really important. But I wouldn’t want to practice for four or five or six hours a day like Chua makes her daughters. I don’t think threatening kids is the right way to get them to do things. Her daughter Louisa feels a growing resentment towards Chua after years of forced practices and arguments. It ends with an awful public shouting match when Louisa is thirteen. She screams “I HATE YOU” at her mother and smashes glasses in the restaurant. Of course, teenagers are dramatic and whatever, but that was serious. Sophia and Louisa’s talent and success are incredible, but is it worth the high price? This was a really thought-provoking book for me. It’s been a controversial subject all over the media, but I think kids should get an opinion, too. The book is written incredibly. It opened a whole new world for me—the parent’s world. For once, I experienced the frustration that comes when your kid doesn’t cooperate; I felt the chills parents get when they are unbearably proud of their child. The story is very suspenseful and draws you right in. It was like a soap opera—I had to find out what happened. I even told my mom I was cleaning my room just so I could finish it. Sorry, Mom. In raising her daughters, Amy Chua learns that sometimes you just have to let go and that parents don’t always know best. I highly recommend this book to anyone who just wants a great read. Ana Sofia Uzsoy, 13 Cary, North Carolina
The Mighty Miss Malone
The Mighty Miss Malone, by Christopher Paul Curtis; Wendy Lamb Books: New York, 2012; $15.99 Usually I can tell whether I like a book or not within the first chapter. With this book, I could tell in the first sentence. When I read, “‘Once upon a time…’ If I could get away with it, that’s how I’d begin every essay I write,” I knew I would love it. As I kept reading, I proved myself right. Deza Malone is a twelve-year-old girl who has “the heart of a champion… [and is] steady as a rock.” Her story brought the Great Depression and the particular hardships for African-Americans more to life than any American Girl doll book I’ve ever read. Though it reminded me in subject of the American Girl series, I thought it was much better. I think I might have a new favorite book, and a new friend: Deza. She was so real, I looked carefully to see if it was based on a true story. Sadly, I found it wasn’t. Then again, considering what Deza goes through, I was happy to find the story did not actually happen. The one thing I want in all my books is that sense of reality, and this book brought it. Deza Malone starts out as a smart schoolgirl and goes from that to being practically homeless. Her father is injured, her brother runs away, and she has nowhere to live but a hobo camp. There, even the hobo people are prejudiced against her because of her race. At the end of the book, Deza’s torn family is scraped back together again, but nothing is the same. Although she doesn’t get her old life back, her story still feels complete. It doesn’t have a fairy-tale ending, nor is it a Shakespearean tragedy. It suggests both a sequel and a continued life for Deza. It says that her story doesn’t stop there. I sat there for several minutes after I finished, thinking about what might be in store for Deza. One part of the book I really liked was when Deza was talking about her family. They sounded like people I would love to hang out with. They all have these quirks and special qualities, just like real people. For example, Deza’s dad loves to speak using alliteration. Though it can be annoying for Deza it is also a very endearing characteristic. Another part of the book I can’t stop replaying in my head is when Deza first sees her father again. He is stitched up, bloody, and bruised. I expected Deza to play the typical good heroine and immediately welcome him. I thought Deza would open her arms for her daddy, not caring about his appearance. Deza didn’t do that. In fact, she didn’t even recognize him at first. When she did, Deza was upset, unforgiving, and—real. It was so sad and pathetic and it made me ache to see her act the way she did. But I also found it really authentic and touching. It was unexpected but made sense. The main thing that I think matters in a good book is whether or not it keeps you wanting more. If it is all action scenes, it gets overwhelming. If the whole book is meaningless description, it is not engaging at all. But this book was right in the middle. The descriptions gave you needed information, and the action was suspenseful and varied. And it all had a little pinch of humor. This book is pretty close to perfect. After reading it, I realized I still was thinking and talking like Deza! Southern twang, hobo slang, and all. I will be telling all my friends about this book, and I am sure they will love it too. Emma Maze, 13 Hanahan, South Carolina
Summer of the Wolves
Summer of the Wolves, by Polly Carlson-Voiles; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers: New York, 2012; $15.99 Polly Carlson-Voiles’s Summer of the Wolves is a wonderful book about a twelve-year-old girl named Nika and her younger brother who were recently orphaned and are being sent to their long-lost uncle’s house in Minnesota for the summer. Nika’s uncle studies wolf migration patterns, and one day, when Nika joins her uncle to go observe a wolf in the wild, they find her dead, but they also find the dead wolf ’s pup. Nika and her Uncle Ian must bring the wolf pup back to their cabin and take care of it, so it won’t die, since it is now motherless. In the story, I felt that I could connect a lot with Nika, especially when Nika becomes close with Kahn, the motherless wolf pup. It reminds me of when my family got my German shepherd puppy named Bella. When Nika’s uncle says they must give Kahn to the conservation center where he works, Nika is very upset; I could never imagine having to get rid of Bella. One part of the story I found particularly good was when Nika and her friend Thomas plan to let loose skunks, coyotes, and wolves that a man named Bristo was illegally keeping. When Nika and Thomas go over to Bristo’s house to let all the animals loose, they also stumble upon a mountain lion. When they try to release it, it snaps at Nika, so Thomas and Nika decide to let her be. Hearing Bristo start to open the back door, Nika and Thomas run away but drop the pair of wire cutters they brought to open the cages. Eventually, Nika and Thomas confess to the police that they were the ones who let Bristo’s animals loose. In the end, they have to do community service for a couple of weeks to make up for it. While doing community service, they talk about the crime and the punishment but still agree that it was well worth it. Throughout the book, I agreed with Nika a lot, especially when she decides she wants to release Kahn back into the wild with Luna, another wolf that Nika and Thomas discovered, instead of bringing Kahn to the conservation center. That would be such a hard decision, but in the end it would probably be the best thing. I think that animals, especially wolves, should not be kept in captivity but in the wild. As the saying goes, “If you love something, set it free.” Nika decided that if she really did love Kahn, she should let him be where he is happiest, the wild. When Nika tells her Uncle Ian about her plan, he disagrees. I always felt bad for Nika when her Uncle Ian treated her like a little kid. Uncle Ian would never trust Nika to take Kahn outside of a fenced area. When her uncle had to go to work or to conferences, he always had vet assistants and people who worked with him stay over at the cabin to take care of Kahn, even if it was only for a couple of hours. She was always trying to prove to him that she was mature enough to handle Kahn. I feel that by the end of the book, Uncle Ian finally sees that she can handle Kahn herself and is becoming a young adult. Summer of the Wolves is one of my favorite books of all time! After the first chapter of Summer of the Wolves, I simply could not put this book down! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves animals, nature, and stories of hardship. Sarah Haynes, 12 Weare, New Hampshire
The Blackhope Enigma
The Blackhope Enigma, by Teresa Flavin; Templar Publishing: United Kingdom, 2011; $12.70 What? When? Why? These were the thoughts running through my head as I flipped through The Blackhope Enigma. Written by Teresa Flavin, this novel is a perfect example of when reality and fantasy clash and the result is beautiful. What is an enigma? An enigma is something that is puzzling or mystifying that just cannot be explained in any logical way. The title was perfect since enigmas play such a pivotal role in the book. How did Sunni’s brother disappear into the painting? Why have skeletons appeared throughout the centuries only in the Mariner’s chamber of Blackhope Tower, the same room that her brother vanished in? And who is the suspicious stranger who claims that he wants to help her? My favorite part of this book is the fact that the characters are relatable. Sunni Forest is no child of a prophecy or royal princess. Instead, she is simply a regular thirteen-year-old girl who likes to draw. When she and Blaise see her pesky little brother disappear into a painting, she reacts the way any regular thirteen-year-old would react: with fear and wonder. I have found that having a relatable character is what drives a story forward and makes the reader want more, and Teresa Flavin is a master of this. I have never had much of an interest in painting, partly because I am horrible at it, but this book revealed a different side of art that interested me: the centuries of slightly insane artists and their eccentric life stories. It has made me think further than a painting when I see one and more towards who painted it. The story is set in Blackhope Tower, a centuries-old manor in Scotland. Unlike some readers, I’ve been to Scotland before, and after visiting Holyrood Palace I could vividly imagine the mist and mystery surrounding Blackhope Tower. I think the setting enhanced the story because castles are often associated with inexplicable mysteries and strange events. Certainly, Blackhope Tower is no stranger to odd events. From the underground labyrinth to the ancient skeletons that appeared every few centuries, this castle might even be the strangest of all castles. Be warned, just because I enjoyed this book doesn’t mean that I am without complaints. The antagonist, Angus Bellini, felt rather cliched and underdeveloped, as if the author hadn’t taken the time to plot him out fully. I personally prefer stories in which the villains have motives other than being bent on one certain thing. Angus has only one goal: finding Corvio’s lost paintings and selling them for money. Overall though, I truly love this book. It has many of the key elements that I want in a book: mystery, intriguing and realistic characters, an interesting plot, as well as the thread of fantasy running through it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys creative characters and unexpected plot twists in fantasy books. I certainly do. That’s why I am going to pick up the second book in the series right away. Jessica Bernt, 12 Brampton, Ontario, Canada
The Lucy Variations
The Lucy Variations, by Sara Zarr; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: New York, 2013; $18 An inspiring tale of a young musician finding her place in this crazy world, The Lucy Variations is a journey about finding yourself and accomplishing your dreams no matter what giant obstacles are blocking your way. Lucy’s little brother’s new music teacher, Will, plays a big part. He helps Lucy find a side of herself she has long forgotten, the musical side, a side that used to bring her happiness. He helps resurrect Lucy in a sense. A major question asked time and time again in the book is, “What do you love?” For Lucy, the answer is music. The Lucy Variations got me thinking—what do I love? Well, I love reading. I tried to narrow down what I loved about reading, like Will had Lucy do. Although narrowing down the reasons proved easy for Lucy, it was a lot harder for me. I just love everything about reading. I love how when I’m reading, I’m no longer myself. I can be anyone, do anything, go anywhere; and that is just one of the best feelings in the world. I love how within one page, a strong author can make you go from laughing to crying. In fact, I don’t think there’s anything I love more than the first pages of a good book. I love endings too though, because there’s always more to the tale, and I’m the one who gets to write it within the pages of my imagination. The reason I love The Lucy Variations so much is the novel allowed me to experience everything I adored in a good book in just 304 pages. As I kept thinking about the question—what do I love?— more things came to mind than just reading. I thought about playing my guitar and singing, spending time with my friends and family, taking pictures on my iPod Touch, stupid funny movies, traveling to new places, and creating lasting memories. Like Lucy, realizing what I truly love opened my eyes to a whole new perspective. So often, people walk around without ever truly knowing what they love. They go through the motions as if each day is a death sentence, like they have no choice about how their day will go. The Lucy Variations is such a good reminder to us that there is so much to love about life. If we just choose to stop cowering away from our fears, and eliminate them like Lucy did, we can finally focus on the good things that bring us joy and peace. One thing I particularly didn’t like about the book is how things ended with Will and Lucy. In the end, we find out Will has been using Lucy to gain fame through her talent. I was a little crushed, well more than a little, because throughout the whole book Will was one of the only people Lucy truly trusted, and then he turned on her too. Although that wasn’t how I anticipated things ending between them, I still think the author did the right thing. The conclusion demonstrated to Lucy that, even though people might hurt her, the good memories stored in her heart would fuel her to keep persevering. The incident made Lucy stronger and gave her the will to excel at her goals. Overall, The Lucy Variations was an amazing book, one that I will read over and over again for years to come. I recommend this book to readers ages twelve and up who enjoy contemporary coming-of-age fiction. Kaylee Ayres, 12 Cape Coral, Florida
Below
Below, by Meg McKinlay, Candlewick Press: Massachusetts, 2013; $15.99 Anyone would think that if you drowned a town with five thousand swimming pools of water, it would be done and gone, forgotten forever! But twelve-year old Cassie knows that everything has a way of revealing itself, sooner or later. Since she was a little girl, Cassie was always interested in the town that the mayor, Mr. Finkle, had drowned by flipping a lever. Cassie would draw pictures and look for newspaper articles about the drowned town because that was the day she was born. She was born early, so she had to swim laps every day to keep her lungs healthy. One day, curiosity gets the better of her and she decides to swim in the lake with the drowned town instead of the usual swimming pool. I can relate to Cassie well because I have always been a curious person and have wanted to know more about things. I also am a swimmer and love the water. Cassie has always wanted to know more, and when she finds out her classmate Liam has the same interest as her, everything starts piecing together. Liam’s dad was in an accident the day Liam and his twin brother were born. His brother died at a very young age. Cassie and Liam start exploring the lake, going underwater and catching glimpses of the old town. Their search doesn’t give them any results for a while. One day, however, they see something sticking out of the water. It is the fire tree, what they used back in the old town for spotting fires. Little by little, more of the water is gone, and the first platform on the tree is above the water. There is one problem, though! The mayor, Mr. Finkle, doesn’t want any memories from the old town, and seeing the fire tree would just remind everyone about their old lives. He plans to fill the lake with water again. Mr. Finkle seems like a person who would always want things to go his way. He always seems kind of suspicious and careful around everyone when Cassie and Liam find the fire tree. A few days later, they find a shed under the water while exploring the town. They break into the shed and see a brand new red car. Cassie and Liam find that very peculiar because no one would want to trash a car on purpose, especially a new one. When they solve the mystery of the red car, it is destined to change everyone’s life forever. My favorite part of the book is when Cassie makes it to the fire tree the very first time. She has never swum such a long distance before, and when she finally makes it, Cassie has accomplished something special. I think the author, Meg McKinlay, makes everything so realistic you feel like you are part of the story. I found myself hoping, aspiring, anticipating, and envisaging that Cassie would figure out the mystery. It is also sad and melancholic to think that a whole town has been drowned and no one will ever see it again. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a mystery full of surprises to keep you on the edge of your seat. Sundari Arunarasu, 11 Portland, Oregon
Kizzy Ann Stamps
Kizzy Ann Stamps, by Jeri Watts; Candlewick Press: New York, 2012; $15.99 Kizzy Ann Stamps is a normal girl. She has a dog named Shag. She lives on a farm with her mother, father, and brother. But there’s one catch to this whole “normal girl” business: Kizzy Ann is black. Today, that wouldn’t be a problem. However, in Kizzy’s time of 1963, being black would have been a huge deal. Discrimination was everywhere back then. If you were a black kid, you wouldn’t be allowed to use public restrooms. Trying on clothes at a store? The owners would’ve required you to put on gloves and cover up any body part that might be exposed to the fabric. Nowadays, we don’t have those types of problems. Black kids have the same rights as any other kids. But discrimination hasn’t left. Some types of discrimination people don’t really realize. For example, how many times have you been told you’re too young to hang out with the big kids? Or that you can’t play in the football game the neighborhood boys are organizing because you’re a girl? Both of these situations are forms of discrimination. One time, I was backstage at my dance recital. I was in first grade, and one of my friends was in second grade. We were in different classes, and each class had a backstage craft/snack table. I walked over to her table to say hi and a girl at my friend’s table said, “You can’t come over here. You’re a first grader.” We have a choice: we can join discrimination or rebel against it. Several characters in this book rebel against it. After Kizzy Ann is integrated into a “white” school, her new teacher, Miss Anderson, chooses to ditch discrimination and teach Kizzy like she was teaching a white kid. However, some characters join forces with discrimination. Kizzy Ann’s older brother, James, also attends a white school. But his teachers don’t hand out books to the black kids so they can learn alongside the white kids. And sports? None of the black kids played varsity regardless of their ability because varsity was for white kids only. Kizzy Ann and her family yearned to be treated normally. No negative attention, no special attention—just normal. When Kizzy and Shag sign themselves up for some dog training, their instructor, Mr. McKenna, treats them just like that: normal. He’s there for them through thick and thin, not trying to force their relationship but not wanting to hurt it either, even if he has trouble expressing it. This trio, plus the addition of the white neighbor boy, Frank Charles, eventually makes it to a real dog show after a fair share of troubles. Then discrimination butts in again—the man at the sign-in desk tries to eliminate her from the competition because of the color of her skin. This book reveals exactly what it might have felt like to be a black child back in 1963. It’s a book filled with excitement, heartbreak, and truth. I would recommend it to anyone in a fraction of a heartbeat. Discrimination is everywhere. We can ignore it, or we can destroy it. Which will you do? Autumn Owens, 11 Bryan, Ohio
The Million Dollar Putt
The Million Dollar Putt, by Dan Gutman; Hyperion Press: New York, 2006; $15.99 If you happen to be walking along the shelves in the library and it’s a rainy afternoon and you’re looking for a short but enchanting story, then The Million Dollar Putt, by Dan Gutman, is for you. Dan Gutman has made the life of a blind kid realistic, not to the point that you’re bewildered but to the point where you’re fascinated and curious, not ever wanting to put the book down. The Million Dollar Putt pulls you into an adventure with your heart drumming with golf, a blind kid, a girl, and a million dollar tournament. Ed Bogard, known as Bogie, is just any other kid. From his perspective, he thinks he could do anything a sighted kid could—apart from driving. Being blind doesn’t bother him because he could bike, parasail, and play guitar. So when he discovers that he could play golf like a pro, he’s stunned and excited. However, he realizes that golf is a team sport, and being blind means that he couldn’t put the ball on the tee, or set himself up. So what does he do? He finds Birdie, a mysterious girl who has been watching him for over a year since she first moved in. Birdie doesn’t know anything about golf, doesn’t know how to ride a bike or play guitar. But with her charm and her childish yet stunning personality, she becomes Bogie’s coach. In a blink of an eye, someone signs Bogie up for a golf tournament. It could’ve been any tournament, but it’s not because the prize is a million dollars! Can a blind kid and a girl who can’t ride a bike win these million dollars? Not many people have I come across who know this book, but I think this is a book totally worth reading. Dan Gutman writes fabulous books, and I’ve read almost all of them. Despite the sad touch to this story, not once have I pitied Ed in this book. He is a unique and original boy with his own opinions on life, even though he can’t see and he constantly gets made fun of and pranked on. I’ve never played golf in my life, but Ed makes it sound so easy, it makes me wonder if I should try. This book really encourages you to try new things and think in a way you’ve never thought before. After I read this book, I turned out the lights and imagined being blind, and I realized how hard it must’ve been for Ed, and how much of a strong-willed boy he is. I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes a bittersweet novel with a touch of humor and sadness. It doesn’t matter how old you are, this novel will still bring out the best in you, and all your other emotions. Shenna He, 12 Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Sugar
Sugar, by Jewell Parker Rhodes; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: New York, 2013; $16.99 Ten-year-old Sugar lives on the River Road Plantation in Mississippi in the early 1800s. Sugar is a young African-American girl whose father died during the Civil War and whose mother died of sickness shortly after. As Sugar spends her time cutting cane, Mister Wills, the plantation owner, hires more cane workers from China. These men befriend Sugar as she learns a new culture, but the workers in River Road do not like the Chinese men because they are worried that the Chinese men will take over the land. Sugar wants the Chinese men to have equality in River Road. She says, “I like the Chinese men. Reverend, don’t you preach, ‘Treat other folks like you want to be treated’?” Sugar cut cane until the sun turned red, orange, yellow, and pink, and faded into night. As Sugar says one night, “I stare at our shadows, lying, side by side, on the porch wood.” In the first few pages, I was shocked that Sugar hates her name! She throws up and gags if she eats sugar. As soon as the villagers finish cane working, they would eat the stalks. But because Sugar worked on the cane farm since she was two days old, she is tired of smelling the scent of sugar. It reminds her of the life she wants to leave behind. Though I am very different from Sugar, my family’s history is similar to Sugar’s amazing life story. My grandfather worked on a sugar cane farm for years. He grew up in a small Indian village called Panetha. He woke up at four a.m., took a shower, and prayed to God, and then at six a.m. set out for farming. He was about Sugar’s age then, and he either worked until noon or sometimes until six p.m. He worked with at least ten to fifteen people beside him. He told me that he cut sugar cane with a big knife. Inside the sugar cane is a solid fiber, making sugar cane juice. On the outside, the cane is not prickly, but be careful about the leaves! They are sharp and pointy. He sweated in the over 100-degree summers in India. He said he loved to farm. But like Sugar, he had a dream. His dream was to study and to come to America. In the late 1960s he came to America from India, just like the Chinese men came from their home country. And like my grandfather, Sugar achieved her dream to leave the sugar cane farm. I also relate to how Sugar bridged cultures. On holidays, Sugar encourages River Road to celebrate Chinese holidays. I encourage my school to celebrate Hindu festivities such as our Lower School Diwali Assembly. I hoped for grades pre-K to sixth to learn about our holiday, a day filled with joy and happiness. I think you should read Sugar, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, because I learned so much from the story of her struggle. I think that reading from authors of different backgrounds shows you new perspectives. I also recommend this story because it shows love of friends and warmth of adults. I hope my review will encourage you to read the book. Sonia Patel Banker, 9 San Francisco, California
The Lions of Little Rock
The Lions of Little Rock, by Kristin Levine; Penguin Young Readers Group: New York, 2013; $7.99 Have you ever read a book where you’re able to relate so much to the main character that it’s creepy? The Lions of Little Rock made me feel exactly that way. It’s 1958, and Marlee Nisbett is a twelve-year-old girl in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is extremely shy and won’t talk to anyone except her family. In this way, Marlee reminds me of myself. Like Marlee, I’m naturally shy, and for a long time I wouldn’t talk much except to my family and close friends, although I’ve never been afraid to speak up in class. One of my favorite passages in The Lions of Little Rock is when Marlee tells the reader about the lions she can hear roaring every night from the nearby zoo. Every night, as she hears the lions roaring, she thinks maybe, just maybe, the next day she’ll wake up and start talking. But by morning, the lions are silent again, and she loses her courage. One of Marlee’s most fascinating qualities is how she compares everyone to a drink. Being quiet allows her to observe anyone around her, so to keep track of people, everyone is a specific beverage. Whenever a character changes, their drink changes too. For example, when Marlee realizes that her maid, Betty Jean, isn’t as boring as she seems, Marlee remarks that Betty Jean wasn’t just plain water—“she had a twist of lime that was all her own.” On the first day of junior high, a day that Marlee is sure will be just as embarrassing as all other school days, Marlee meets Liz, a new girl who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. To Marlee’s amazement, Liz decides to sit next to her at lunch and agrees to work with her on a school project. Liz and Marlee practice at the zoo and Marlee starts to confide in Liz. But on the day of the big presentation, Liz is gone. When Marlee finds out that her friend was a black student posing for a white student, she decides she doesn’t care—she just wants her friend back. Unfortunately, no one else agrees with her. Her parents forbid Marlee to even call Liz. This book reminds me of Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. The girls come from two very different families—one black and one white. Romeo and Juliet also had two conflicting families who were in a feud. And just like Romeo and Juliet, Liz and Marlee sneak out without their parents’ permission because they need to be with each other. Betty Jean, Marlee’s maid, reminds me of Juliet’s nurse, because both are motherly figures. With Liz gone, Marlee starts to change. She sneaks out to see Liz and becomes more outgoing. However, she starts to become a little careless. Red Dalton, the dangerous older brother of one of Marlee’s classmates, notices how Marlee is friends with Liz. He comes up with a horrible plan to get Liz and her family out of town. And only Marlee can stop him. I love a good historical fiction novel, and this was definitely one of them. The only thing I would change about this book is that I think the plot would have been much more dramatic if Marlee discovered that Liz was black towards the end of the book. I’m sure anyone who reads this book will find it as fascinating and inspiring as I do. Pamela Picerno, 13 Metuchen, New Jersey
Al Capone Shines My Shoes
Al Capone Shines My Shoes, by Gennifer Choldenko; Penguin Young Readers Group: New York, 2011; $6.99 Though I am fascinated with American history, including Alcatraz, I was drawn to the book Al Capone Shines My Shoes, by Gennifer Choldenko, for different reasons. The main character’s name is Moose, a nickname that I have been called for years. He has an autistic sister. After reading a review in Stone Soup by Richard Ma [May/June 2013] about Temple Grandin, a world-famous animal rights advocate with autism, I became interested in the symptoms of autism and how autism affects people. Choldenko has written a wonderful novel full of action and solving crimes and the importance of communication. This is the second book in the trilogy. In Al Capone Shines My Shoes, Natalie, a sixteen-year-old girl faced with a severe case of autism, and her twelve-year-old brother, Moose, who is entrusted to take care of her, go on adventures with their friends. At first their life is more hectic than usual because they move to Alcatraz. Moose hates the move because he has to leave his old friends and make new ones, which he is not sure he can do. I know exactly how he feels because my parents are diplomats, so I have moved four times in eleven years. Moose makes a few friends on the island, such as Jimmy, a boy interested in science and flies; Annie, the best baseball player on the island; and Piper, the warden’s daughter and a giant troublemaker. Moose faces many difficulties throughout this book, because in the first book, Al Capone Does My Shirts, Moose asks Capone to help him get Natalie into a school for autistic children. In this book we learn that, as recompense, Capone asks Moose to get yellow roses for his wife. The first problem is that if Moose is found helping Capone, his family will be thrown off the island. The second challenge is Moose needs to keep Annie quiet after she finds out about his deal with Capone when she accidentally gets Moose’s laundry. Though I have never been in a situation where I have needed to repay a prisoner for something, I can imagine how nerve-racking it would be. Throughout the second book, Moose shows cunning and quick thinking. For instance, Jimmy’s younger sister gives their baby brother a penny. When Moose hears the baby stop crying, he discerns that something is wrong. He runs with the baby to the doctor’s office and saves the baby’s life. Moose also shows quick thinking when he and Piper spy on an event with Capone and other prisoners. When a guard spots them, Moose quickly comes up with an alibi. At the end of the book, a conflict arises between Jimmy and Moose, and they stop talking to each other. Later they work as a team to elude capture. Throughout the book, danger and action play vital roles. They help build the suspense but also assist in the telling of the story and create vivid images that the reader can picture from the wonderful descriptions. The book also talks about the importance of relationships and how friendships can be broken apart but also mended once again. I would like to read the third book in the series for it is bound to have wonderful descriptions and great plot lines. Jacob Zacks, 11 Herzyllia Pituach, Israel
