The Forest in the Hallway by Gordon Smith; Clarion Books: New York, zoo6; $16 You can’t judge a book by its cover. How many times have you heard that phrase? Still, when I picked up The Forest in the Hallway, I took a good look at the cover and thought, Looks OK. I was incredibly, absolutely wrong. I was expecting an average fantasy book. This one is extraordinary. The wonder begins in the first eight pages, where Gordon Smith introduces Beatriz. She seems like a nice, normal girl in a bad situation. Her parents have recently disappeared. Not a lot of details about her are given, but, in that first chapter, I get the feeling that she’s a sweet, smart, obedient girl. Beatriz reacts to her problems the same way I would. She deals with her loneliness and fear by thinking and watching the city outside her window, as well as thinking sarcastic things about her Uncle M, who’s taking care of her. When a strange face tells her to go to the nineteenth floor, she does, seeking adventure. Here, in a forest-like hallway, she meets the great character of Death, who needs some help collecting a witch. Death is a perfect mix of creepiness and humor. He’s funny, and almost kind, but continually reminds Beatriz that he is Death with small, unsettling habits and comments (for example, he wears a black, hooded robe). Other fabulous characters are Rose, a winged woman, and her two children, Pyramus and Thisby. Rose is sarcastic and tough, and her wings at first unsettle Beatriz. However, it’s clear she loves her children and wants to help. Pyramus and Thisby are silly, kind children. They remind me of Sarah and Claire, two little girls in my neighborhood who treat me like I’m their best friend and are always eager to share things with me. I think it’s very realistic that these two enthusiastic kids are even bored by their adventure. I am especially fond of Pyramus and Thisby because I’m in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where two characters are named Pyramus and Thisby. This book touches on some big issues. For example, Beatriz is at first afraid of Rose, Pyramus, and Thisby, because they have wings. I think this is how the author mentions the issue of racism. By allowing Beatriz to gradually become good friends with Rose and her children, he also shows that it’s silly to fear people who look different. However, it’s the little touches that really bring this book to life, for example, “Beatriz loved animals. She wouldn’t even kill insects, but she made an exception for mosquitoes.” I have said the exact same thing to some of my friends. I’m a vegetarian, but I loathe mosquitoes. This book is hilarious. I laughed out loud at least five times while reading it. Angela, the villain, is a great character. She’s distinctly evil, but funny, with traits such as wearing really ugly clothes (think miniskirt, pink fuzzy sweater and white tights). She’s much more realistic than a villain who’s just cruel. I heartily recommend this book to everyone. The journey of one normal girl through a host of hilariously harrowing adventures will fascinate you through its humor, imagery, character, and details. Anya losephs,12Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Book-Reviews
Hurt Go Happy
Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby; Starscape: New York, 2007; $5.99 I can’t imagine what life would be like if everyday sounds, such as the voices of my friends and family, weren’t included. I’d need to read their lips or communicate in sign language with them, which would have to be tough. Joanne “Joey” Willis, the main character of Hurt Go Happy, faces this situation. She is almost completely deaf, but can speak. Making it even harder, her mother, who is ashamed of her deafness, does not let Joey use any sign language. The young teenager feels painfully lonesome, what with the constant teasing from peers and the fact that many individuals’ lips are impossible to read. One of these individuals is her own stepfather, whose facial hair covers his mouth. If Joey wishes to speak with him, her mother (or someone else whose lips are easy to read) needs to interpret. I have felt a bit left out before because I practice the Jewish religion, which is fairly uncommon in my area. Many of my good friends follow the Christian religion, and they sometimes talk about Christmas, Easter, and other Christian holidays. I don’t know much about these special days, so I can’t exactly contribute to their conversations. Most of us have had our share of these feelings, which is why we can relate to Joey. She feels isolated and as if no one wants to be her friend. She feels as if a gigantic chunk of her life is missing. That is, until she meets an elderly man named Charlie. He lives near Joey’s California home, and she comes across him accidentally. But their meeting is the beginning of something wonderful, something remarkable… Charlie introduces Joey to an interesting pet of his: a chimpanzee named Sukari! The most exotic pet that anyone I know has is an iguana! But still, there’s more. Sukari is unlike most of the chimpanzees often found in zoos. She can communicate with humans through American Sign Language! Charlie converses with her in the unique way of talking, and Joey is enchanted. Charlie and Sukari become Joey’s true friends, but her mother disapproves of her seeing them. She doesn’t want them to influence Joey to study the unusual language. If she used it in front of others, her deafness would be apparent to them. Has anyone ever tried to stop you from following your own path? I began dancing at the age of five, and it is now a very significant part of my life. If my parents had discouraged me from pursuing ballet, I would have felt quite troubled and confused, trying to decide whether to fight my way down my own path, or give in and change direction. Joey is stuck between these two options. As she begins to pick up several of the signs, she secretly selects her own path. Charlie plays a crucial role in Joey’s life. He gives her the inspiration and spirit to continue down her road, not her mother’s road. Finally, after much convincing, her mother surrenders. The girl is overjoyed and incredibly grateful. She has won this war at last! But soon, when tragedy strikes, there is another war to win. In the midst of mourning the loss of one dear friend, Joey is fretting about the life of the other. Based on a true story, Hurt Go Happy is a brilliant novel with an intriguing plot and excellent character development. I would recommend it for both boys and girls ages nine and up. Leah Wolfe, 10Florham Park, New Jersey
Home, and Other Big Fat Lies
Home, and Other Big Fat Lies by Jill Wolfson; Henry Holt and Company: New York, 2006; $16.95 This story begins when the great and mighty “Termite” gets sent to her twelfth foster home. People call Whitney Termite because she is hyper and small for her age. Whitney has always lived in the city, but this time she is off to go live in the woods. Whitney can tell you a lot about foster parents, but not much about trees. She thinks she will never find a place where she belongs, or a family who loves her. As a reader, at this point I was trying to imagine what it would be like, as an eleven-year-old, to have no mom, dad or even a home. When I read this section of the book, it made me feel bad for Whitney, because she always had to move from foster home to foster home. She was constantly experiencing different things and a lot of changes. This would be very hard for any eleven-year- old, especially for someone who doesn’t have a family to love her. When Whitney gets to her destination, a place in the middle of nowhere called Forest Glen, she soon discovers all the wonderful animals and trees. When she arrives at her new house there is a boy a little older than she is. Whitney wants to talk to the boy, but when she tries to get to know him he seems very shy. He won’t talk to her very much. Soon, Whitney finds out that the boy goes to her school and that his name is Striker. Reading this part of the book, I thought that something special was going to happen between Striker and Whitney. When Whitney goes to her new school for the first time, she meets her science teacher, Mr. Cantor. Mr. Cantor is really nice to Whitney Whitney realizes she doesn’t know much about the woods. She asks Mr. Cantor about them. Mr. Cantor thinks it would be fun and educational to have a club about nature for kids like Whitney When the club meets, all the kids decide that they want to do a year-round project. Mr. Cantor thinks it would be a great idea to adopt a highway When Whitney and all her friends picked up the highway it inspired me and made me feel happy to know other kids feel the way I feel about pollution and littering. My sister and I always pick up the side of our road when people litter too much. We come back with wagons full to the brim with litter. It makes me feel bad to think about littering because the people who are littering are risking the lives of all different kinds of plants and animals. My favorite part of the book is the part where Whitney goes into the woods for the first time one day after school. She is amazed at what she sees. She is especially surprised by a really big tree that has all sorts of voodooist things around it, like candles and wind chimes. Whitney wonders who could have done this. She ends up finding out this is Striker’s favorite tree, which he climbs often and spends lots of time in. I can relate to a person who would put voodoo things around a tree and love being in a tree. I live on a farm in the woods, and when I’m in the woods I feel relaxed. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who knows someone who is a foster child, someone who loves nature like me or anyone who likes a story about love (in this case love for family and nature). This book taught me that foster kids aren’t different from other kids and that nature is really important to everyone. Taylor Megan Potasky,11Holyoke, Massachusetts
