Unbroken by Jessie Haas; Greenwillow Books: New York, 1999; $15 In Unbroken, Harriet Gibson becomes an orphan in 1910 when her mother dies in a horse-and-buggy accident. Now thirteen-year-old Harriet must leave her old life in a small Vermont town to live in the country with her Aunt Sarah. Having recently moved, I can understand […]
Book Reviews
Leaving Emma
Leaving Emma by Nancy Steele Brokaw; Clarion Books: New York, 1999; $15 Having a best friend can make a kid feel like she’s on top of the world. I know, because I have had the same best friend since I was less than two years old. But if something should happen with that best friend, […]
Summer Hawk
Summer Hawk by Deborah Savage; Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 1999; $16 Have you ever been in a situation you hate? This is exactly what happens to the main character, Melissa. Melissa is unhappy, living in the small rural community of Hunter’s Gap, Pennsylvania. She dislikes the people of Hunter’s Gap because she considers them small-minded […]
Out of the Wilderness
Out of the Wilderness, by Deb Vanasse; Clarion Books: New York, 1999; $15 When I dimmed the lights and sat down, I expected a good book. That is not what I got. I got a great book. In Out of the Wilderness, Deb Vanasse’s extremely descriptive writing complements the vast complexities of the Alaskan wilderness. […]
Multiple Choice
Multiple Choice by Janet Tashjian; Henry Holt and Company: New York, 1999; $16.95 “I wish my brain were a toaster.” That’s how Monica Devon feels about the way she obsesses over everything— from the amount of beans in a beanbag to the word she spelled incorrectly in a spelling bee three years ago. Multiple Choice, […]
Einstein: Visionary Scientist
Einstein: Visionary Scientist by John B. Severance; Clarion Books: New York, 1999; $15 To most kids, Einstein: Visionary Scientist would seem like “a book about some dead guy whose ideas I don’t understand.” At first, I was too busy thinking about writing this review to have any opinion on this book. Once I was into […]
I, Too, Sing America
I, Too, Sing America by Catherine Clinton; Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 1998; $20 This is a collection of African-American poetry that is tragic and triumphant. You will learn a lot about history from these poems. I am an eighthgrader studying American history at Farb Middle School. This book helped me understand the issue of slavery […]
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt; Henry Holt and Company: New York, 1999; $16.95 Has a trailer from nowhere with a 300-pound boy inside ever pulled up in front of your local grocery store? That’s exactly what happened in When Zachary Beaver Came to Town. When I first picked up this […]
The Dancer Who Flew: A Memoir of Rudolf Nureyev
The Dancer Who Flew: A Memoir of Rudolf Nureyev by Linda Maybarduk; Tundra Books: Toronto, 1999; $18.95 When I was nine years old, I was in a musical at the local university in my town, the University of Michigan. My friends in the cast and I would stand in the wings and watch the dancers […]
Our Only May Amelia
Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer Holm; HarperCollins Books: New York, 1999; $15.95 Close your eyes and imagine that you’re the only girl on the Nasel River in the state of Washington, you have seven brothers to deal with, you have a very mean grandmother, and on top of everything, your birthday wish which seems […]
When Mack Came Back
When Mack Came Back by Brad Strickland; Dial Books for Young Readers: New York, 2000; $15.99 I’ve always loved dogs, but I can never have one, because of my allergies. The book When Mack Came Back was appealing to me because I could understand how much the boy wanted a dog and what he felt […]
Destiny
Destiny by Vicki Grove; G. P. Putnam’s Sons: New York, 2000; $16.99 D0 you believe in fate? Do you believe that our lives all have a certain destiny? Or do you believe in free will? These are the main questions that the book Destiny, by Vicki Grove, grapples with. The title, Destiny, doesn’t just refer […]
