After All, You’re Callie Boone, by Winnie Mack; Feiwel and Friends: New York, 2010; $16.99 “Oh fish sticks, tartar, and a side of fries!” Being called a loser by your former best friend, having to live together with stinking ferrets, and doing one extremely public belly flop is definitely not Callie Boone’s idea of a fun summer. Then enters Hoot, the new kid from next door, who turns Callie’s world upside down and right side up and teaches her the true meaning of friendship. Callie loves the water. It’s the only place where she feels like she can get away from everything and everyone at once. But that all changes when Callie gets banned permanently from the pool for doing a dive from the high diving board (which is strictly forbidden to children). Actually… it wasn’t a dive—it was a belly flop. But it wasn’t her fault… or at least that’s what Callie thinks. The other girls she was swimming with made her do it! But deep down, Callie knows that she did the dive because she wanted to wow the older girls. She wanted to come out of th water to the sound of thundering applause. Instead, she came up to hear the sound of roaring laughter. In addition to being humiliated in front of a gigantic crowd of people, Callie is friendless. Ever since first grade, Callie Boone and Amy Higgins were the best of friends, but just before the end of the school year, Amy started acting weird. It began when Amy no longer wanted to trade stickers with the other kids. Next, Callie couldn’t find Amy to sit with her in the cafeteria. She realized that Amy had gone home with Samantha McAllister to work on an assignment. Although Callie had the same assignment, she hadn’t been invited along. Why? Then on the last day of school, Callie overheard Amy and Samantha talking… about her! Callie feels upset and doesn’t understand why Amy traded her in for snotty old Samantha McAllister. Is it because Callie likes riding her bike better than painting her fingernails? During this whole scenario of events, a new family moves into the house next door. Callie has been crossing her fingers hoping a girl her age will move in who, for some unknown reason, will want to be best friends with her. But Callie’s hopes are dashed when a boy with a large amount of freckles turns up on the other side of the hedge. When Hoot asks her to show him around the neighborhood, Callie is flabbergasted. She can’t be seen showing a boy around town. People might talk and then no one would want to be her friend. Still, Callie and Hoot end up becoming good buddies. In this sense I’m a little like Callie. I also have a good friend who is a boy. We’ve known each other since we were born and are still close. When I was in third grade, my mom decided to pull me out of school and home-school me. When I first started, I didn’t know anyone else and—like Callie—was sometimes very lonely. But all the kids were friendly and nice to me and integrated me into their group. Now I know them well and we have lots of fun together. Through home-schooling I have met many different kinds of people and I’m happy about that. I think friendship is special and it’s important to have friends of different ages, races, genders, and personalities. When things have finally started to look up for Callie, real disaster strikes and she feels like she’s on a high diving board with no way down. But with lots of effort and teamwork, she might pull through. After all, she’s Callie Boone! Jamila Kern, 10Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Book-Reviews
Forge
Forge, by Laurie Halse Anderson; Atheneum: New York, 2010; $16.99 Picture this: you are ordered to build a shelter in the icy, cold snow wearing an old, worn shirt and torn pants. You haven’t eaten since yesterday, and even that was just flour and water. Occasionally, you have water flavored with your friend’s old shoe, which you call soup. You’re lucky enough to have shoes, but some of your friends’ shoeless feet are turning purple in the crunchy, numbing snow. You must do everything just right if you don’t want to get into trouble with the commanders. This is what it was like for soldiers at Valley Forge in 1778. Forge is the sequel to the novel Chains. The two books tell the story of two slaves, Isabel and Curzon. Each has their own goal: Curzon wants freedom, while Isabel searches for her sister, who was sold to another family as a child. Curzon is promised his freedom if he signs up for the American army. As a soldier, he is captured by the British army, but he escapes with Isabel’s help. At the beginning of Forge, the two have separated. Curzon suddenly finds himself in the middle of the battle of Saratoga. He soon discovers a young private who is having a face-off with a British soldier. Quickly, Curzon saves the boy’s life and in the process rejoins the army. The boy’s name is Ebenezer, and the two become fast friends. Curzon suffers a lot of prejudice in camp. One of the privates teases him, ignores him, is rude to him, blames him, and eventually even steals from him. Also, Curzon has a lot to think about. He is concerned about earning his freedom, maintaining good standing in the army, and then, where is Isabel? Is she alive? He is constantly thinking about her. Before reading this book, I had no idea that African- Americans were involved in the Revolutionary War. Slaves could work as spies because they could listen to their masters’ conversations, or they could fight in the army just like any other man. Slaves didn’t only help shape our nation, they helped make it. This story is very unpredictable, which I enjoyed. Sudden turns and twists made the story entertaining. I was surprised at nearly every chapter’s ending. It is a very descriptive book that gives you a great mental image of the life of a soldier. I was amazed that Curzon did so well through so much pressure and injustice. It’s amazing to think that there were really people who were treated so poorly and went through that much prejudice. I won’t spoil the end, but it is shocking and very intense. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book in the series! I highly recommend this book to anyone because it is so interactive. I found myself gritting my teeth at the enemies of Curzon, feeling hungry for food, and missing Isabel like he did. I also recommend the preceding book, Chains, which is from Isabel’s point of view. They are both remarkable stories of early America, slavery, and the Revolutionary War. Any girl or boy who enjoys fiction stories would love this book. Maya Martin, 13Battle Ground, Washington
Finding Danny
Finding Danny, by Linzi Glass; Walden Pond Press: New York, 2010; $16.99 Twelve-year-old Bree Davies didn’t know what to do in her lonely life before she got Danny, her beloved Border Collie. They were inseparable. She loved Danny more than life itself. Bree had long ago learned to deal with the fact that her mom and dad were lost to their new jobs, or, as Bree refers to it, “The News Monster.” It didn’t perturb her all that much at the time, since she was content with Danny. That is, until he ran away. Bree’s resentfulness to her parents increases when she finds out that her mom left open the side gate, by which means Danny got out. Although the sadness she endures is unbearable, in her struggle to find him, she makes a difference in the lives of countless dogs, and people. While chasing a dog she believes to be Danny (who is really a stray), she stumbles across the path of kindhearted Rayleen, who has a knack for rescuing strays and finding them homes. Before long, they develop a strong bond, full of love for dogs and the will to help them. Being a dog owner of a rambunctious Black Lab/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, I see lots of semblance between Bree and me. My dog, Ginger, has run away just shy of ten times. From those times, I remember my apprehension for her, thinking Where is she? Will she be all right? When we spot her, the look on her face—half-guilty and half excited—says it all. She trots up to us and licks me as I bury my face in her fur. I want to be mad, but I can’t. I am just relieved and overjoyed to have her back. We found her every time, but the hours spent looking for her—feeling bitter and disconsolate—were sheer torture. When Bree visits the pound with Rayleen and witnesses a dog owner abandoning his dog, her heart shatters. That doesn’t lessen her faith. Instead, Bree—being Bree—is inspired to get as many dogs adopted as she can. And just like that, the idea of Adoption Day blossoms. Along the way, she gets a lot of help from the most unlikely people. Like Ashton, who is Bree’s fellow lead in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They foster an unlikely friendship (and maybe something more) that starts with their passion for dogs. Bree also meets Martha, an old woman who needs something to care for. And you can’t forget Officer Reyes, who has no spark left in him and barely looks at the dogs that come in, until Bree shows him the joy of loving. “Save a shelter dog. Mutts are miracles.” This is what the big banner in front of Adoption Day says in big blue letters. Bree is ecstatic. And when Adoption Day is over, she has reason to be, too. Almost all the dogs get adopted. She even found a home for Neptune! The only thing that was missing was Danny. Over the course of events in the book, Bree learns a valuable lesson that opens her eyes: the only thing in life that’s constant is change. As ridiculous as it sounds, it is astoundingly true. Nothing stays the same. And that’s permanent. Right now you might be wondering, does Bree find Danny? I’m not saying anything, but I can guarantee that this book has a wonderful ending. I recommend this book to anyone who knows what it feels like to lose something, or someone. It is truly an inspirational story about overcoming the odds and having faith. Who knows, it might just make you want to adopt a shelter dog. Risa Askerooth, 12Mililani, Hawaii
