The Last Thing I Remember

Title: The Last Thing I Remember

Author: Andrew Klavan

Year: 2010

Genre: Action/adventure

Age: 7th grade up

Summary: Charlie West wakes in pain, tied to a chair, and surrounded by torture equipment. The last thing he remembers is going to bed after a normal day at school. Luckily, Charlie studied martial arts and has a chance to escape.

Review: AMAZING BOOK! The action was fantastic, all swift kicks and terrified escapes. The mystery of how apple-pie Charlie got into this situation really moves the plot and kept me reading. Only a few things rang false, mostly the gung-ho, America-is-great arguments Charlie has with multiple people, but they’re necessary for the plot so I can excuse them. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the sequels (there’s two! hooray!) and find out what happened during Charlie’s lost year between going to bed and waking up tortured.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be taken on an unstoppable adventure.

The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda

Title: The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda

Author: Tom Angleberger

Year: 2010

Genre: fiction

Age: 4th grade - 8th grade

Summary: Sixth-grader Tommy and his friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their weird classmate Dwight, as they try to figure out whether or not the puppet can really predict the future. Includes instructions for making Origami Yoda. (summary from Follett Titlewave)Review: Tommy has a big dilemma, and only Origami Yoda can solve it.... Or can he? This book has some great humor and wit to it. I especially loved the drawings that illustrate it because they look so very middle school. The characters are true to life middle schoolers as well. And as a bonus, you can make your own Origami Yoda with the directions in the back.

I recommend this book to middle school boys.

The Poison Diaries

Title: The Poison Diaries

Author: Maryrose Wood

Year: 2010

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Age: 7th grade up

Summary: In late eighteenth-century Northumberland, England, sixteen-year-old Jessamine Luxton and the mysterious Weed uncover the horrible secrets of poisons growing in Thomas Luxton's apothecary garden. (summary from Follett Titlewave)

Review: This book struck me with its cover. I don’t know why, but I picked it up and read the entire thing within a day. I’m not sure if I liked it, though. Jessamine is an interesting character, both sheltered by her father and exposed by him to terrible danger when she tends seeds for the poison garden he uses to treat illnesses. When Weed is deposited on her doorstep, Jessamine sees him as a chance for a friend, someone other than her father to talk to. Then, it gets weird. I don’t want to give away the twist, but there is a fantasy element that skates in on Weed’s heels. I don’t think this portion of the book was handled terribly well, but the concept was interesting. I felt as though the historical and fantasy parts were askew and belonged in two different books.

I recommend this book to those who like to garden and those who like their historical fiction with a touch of the fantastic.

I am Number Four

Title: I am Number Four

Author: Pittacus Lore

Year: 2011

Genre: Science Fiction

Age: 7th grade up

Summary: In rural Ohio, friendships and a beautiful girl prove distracting to a fifteen-year-old who has hidden on Earth for ten years waiting to develop the Legacies, or powers, he will need to rejoin the other six surviving Garde members and fight the Mogadorians who destroyed their planet, Lorien. (Summary from Follett Titlewave)

Review: This book is a fantastic, quick read. I loved how fast-paced the action is, and boy is there action! This book takes the metaphor of feeling like an alien in high school literally, making our hero, Number Four, into an out-of-this-world adolescent. I particularly enjoyed the time spent on Four’s memories of his home planet and his friendship with his fellow (human) student. Four is everything you want in a hero: a brave, loyal, bully-fighting superman. This book leaves you hanging, desperately waiting for the sequel “The Power of Six” which isn’t due until August of 2011.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves action adventure with a side of science fiction. And a bit of romance, too!

Three Black Swans

Title: Three Black Swans

Author: Caroline B. Cooney

Year: 2010

Genre: Suspense, realistic fiction

Age: 6th grade up

Summary: When sixteen-year-old Missy Vianello decides to try to convince her classmates that her cousin Claire is really her long-lost identical twin, she has no idea that the results of her prank will be so life-changing. (Summary from Follett Titlewave)

Review: Ever have a friend who felt like a sister? Cooney expertly plays on this feeling in Three Black Swans. The cousin/sister/twins each have a distinct personality and background, making it easy to relate to one or all of them, but the real star here is the story. It's tightly woven and in the end offers up a great twist. The only part of this book that really grated on me was the quote the title comes from. It's from the Wallstreet Journal and each set of parents reads it out loud to their daughter and have an awkward discussion about it. I'm sure Cooney meant it to tie the novel together, but instead it took me out of my reading experience. Each time it came up I rolled my eyes, but kept going for the plot.

I recommend this book to those who liked The Face on the Milk Carton and anyone girl who has a friend that feels like a sister.

Sold by Patrica McCormick

Title: Sold
Author: Patricia McCormick
Year: 2006
Genre: Realistic fiction
Age: 8th grade up

Summary: Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut in the mountains of Nepal. Her family is desperately poor, but her life is full of simple pleasures like raising her pet goat and doing her schoolwork by lamplight. But when the harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family's crops, Lakshmi's stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family.

He introduces her to a glamorous stranger who tells her she will find her a job as a maid working for a wealthy family in the city. Glad to be able to help, Lakshmi undertakes the long journey to India and arrives at "Happiness House" full of hope. But she soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution. (From Patricia McCormick's Official Website)

Review: This is another 'I didn't mean to read it all in one day' book. McCormick's use first person narration really connected me to Lakshmi, who tells her story in beautiful little snippets, none more than three pages. She's poor and hungry in body but happy in soul Nepal and poor and destroyed in body and soul in India. I cried for Lakshmi because she didn't know what was happening to her and was so hopeful about her future. McCormick doesn't fall into sensationalism here, only alluding to the horrors visited upon Lakshmi, never describing them in detail.

A beautifully told story about the horribly true practice of human trafficking, I would recommend this book to almost all of my 8th graders (who are the same age as Lakshmi) and all of my fellow teachers.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Year: 2007
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age: 8th grade up

Summary: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers. (From official website)

Review: I didn't mean to read this book in one night; I sat down to read for a bit before bed. Well past my bed time I was still reading and stayed up to finish the last page. Asher presents a very difficult subject in a way that is deeply moving. He doesn't shy away from suicide and how it makes those left behind feel. They're angry, confused, lost. They just want to know why. Hannah Baker explains it to them. This book is fantastic if you want to shed some tears. I would recommend this book to almost all of my 8th grade girls and anyone who wants to read about real life drama.