The Thing About Jellyfish

There is no way Franny could have just drowned.  She was a really good swimmer.  When Suzy's mother tells her, "Sometimes these things just happen," Suzy can't believe it's true.  Her best friend (former best friend?) couldn't just die like that especially not with so much anger left between them.

Maybe that's why she's so quick to jump on the idea of the jellyfish.  It's rare but possible it could have been in the water with Franny.  It's venom is so powerful, Franny would have drowned before anyone could save her.  This makes more sense than the idea that Franny's death is just a random event.

It's just not right that Franny's death could be random, that the last words she and Suzy exchange were in anger.  Suzy thought there would be more time.  But there wasn't.  Now there doesn't seem to be anything at all worth talking about, so Suzy remains silent.

No one else knows what she's thinking as she dives into research to try to prove a rare jellyfish killed her former best friend.

This was a good read about grief and emotion.  My only complaint would be in the growing tension between Suzy and Franny.  The final event that forces the two apart is pretty extreme, and it's difficult as a reader to understand Suzy's behavior and to really imagine a situation where anyone would think what she did was ok.  Yes, the book was good, but I'm a little conflicted.

We Are All Made of Molecules

It's just been Stewart and his dad since his mom died almost two years ago.  Stewart is small for his age and super smart, but he's been going to Little Geniuses where he fits right in.  He has his cat Schrodinger, and life is getting back to OK.  But his dad has been dating someone at work, and now they've decided to move in together, so Stewart is leaving his home, his school, nearly everything to move across town. He's decided to make the most of it.

Ashley is at the top of the social ladder.  She got there by being pretty and mean.  She's puts all her effort into looking good and belittling her friends, and almost none into her grades.  She is mortified when her mother's boyfriend and his geeky son move in.  To make matters worse, she hasn't told anyone why her parents got divorced.  What would having a gay father do to her social standing?

Things start out OK for Stewart until gym class.  That's where he meets Jared who is big, mean, popular, and athletic.  Jared seems to have made it his mission in life to squash Stewart like a bug.  Ashley also happens to have a crush on the totally handsome Jared and willing to forgive just about any personality flaw to make a relationship work.

Susin Nielsen's book is by turns funny and heartbreaking.  It's definitely a compelling read, and Stewart's unusual take on the world is endearing and entertaining.  My struggle is with Ashley.  She is not really likable at all.  She's mean to everyone, and it's challenging to feel sympathy for her.

Additionally, Stewart is very innocent for his age, but the book also contains profanity and attempted sexual assault.  It makes it difficult to place.  Grades 8 and up.

Lost in the Sun

Lisa Graff's new book is a companion story to the ever popular Umbrella Summer.  Last February Trent killed someone.  It wasn't on purpose, just a freak accident, but it has changed his whole life and the way he sees himself.  He's just so angry all the time now, and he can't really explain why.  The elementary school counselor gave him a notebook for his thoughts, but he doesn't write.  He draws--pictures of what life would be like if the accident hadn't happened or horrible ways he could die.

To make matters worse, Trent doesn't get along with his father at all.  They only seem to fight when they are together, and his new stepmother doesn't help.  They both act like Trent is a bomb ready to explode.

When school starts, he doesn't feel like he belongs anywhere, and every little injustice sets off his rage.  Trent used to love playing baseball, but now he panics every time he tries to play.

The only person who seems to see beyond the anger if Fallon Little.  Fallon is...different.  Her clothes are weird, she gets super excited about the strangest things, and she has a long scar the divides her face.  But this strange girl might be just what Trent needs.

This book is so good and an important read for anyone who struggles with anger issues and for the people in their lives.  My only criticism is that no one seems to think Trent might need professional help.  This is a kid dealing with a major trauma whose behavior changed drastically.  Anyone who is even paying a little attention should see that he needs help.  I know not everyone in Trent's situation would get the help he needs, but most people wouldn't get better without help either.  I just feel like this is a missed opportunity.

With that said, you should all go out and read this book today!

Circus Mirandus

Micah believes everything his grandfather ever told him about Circus Mirandus:  the beautiful flying bird woman, the world's smartest elephant, The Man Who Bends Light.  It's always been Micah and his grandfather since Micah was little, but now Grandpa is dying.

When Ephraim was a boy, he visited the magical circus, and the Lighbender promised him a miracle.  He's been saving it all these years, but now it's time to call it in.  He's too sick to visit the circus himself, so Micah must go in his place.  Along with his practical friend, Jenny, Micah must find the circus to save his grandfather.

As if finding a magical hidden circus weren't hard enough, he also has to sneak around Aunt Gertrudis who does not believe in magic.  She won't even let Micah in to see Grandpa

Micah sets off on a grand adventure to save his grandfather, but he also learns some truths about himself and his family.  Can the Lightbender provide a miracle after all these years?  Read Cassie Beasley's book to find out!

Nightmares!

Every time Charlie Laird goes to sleep, he has nightmares, but that's not even the worst of his problems.  Even though he is still struggling with his mother's death, his father has remarried Charlotte, and Charlie is sure she's a witch.  He's seen things he can't explain any other way.  Plus, she made the family move from the house they shared with Charlie's mother to the creepy old purple mansion her family has owned for generations.

Things get even worse when the witch who torments Charlie in his dreams comes into the waking world.  That's when he knows he has to do something.  Charlie goes into the nightmare world awake to face his worst nightmares and save all the children of his town.

Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller have created a nightmare world this both frightening and funny layered on to the real world where Charlie is still struggling with grief over his mother's death.

Nest

Chip's life on Cape Cod is full of ocean waves, bird watching, and her mother's beautiful dancing.  Everything falls apart one day when Chip's mother starts developing strange symptoms.  One of her legs drags behind her and she begins falling down stairs.  The doctors aren't sure what's wrong yet, but even the symptoms are devastating for a dancer.

As the disease progresses and her mother falls further into her depression, Chirp finds solace in bird watching, and she finds an unlikely companion.  She has always avoided the family of rough boys next door.  They are often cruel and sometimes violent, so it is with reluctance that she begins to trust Joey, the youngest boy.  He is in her class at school and seems to be gentler than the older boys.  The more time she spends with Joey the more she realizes how terrible his home life is, and the two form a mutual understanding.

When Chirp's life takes a terrible turn, Joey is the only person she can turn to for comfort.

Esther Ehrlich's book is a gentle story of surviving the pain of childhood, especially when that pain is caused by adults and is out of your control.  It is also a beautiful story about friendship and trust.

Buzz Kill

When the universally disliked football coach of the Honeywell Stingers is murdered, there is no shortage of suspects.  It seems like everyone had a reason to kill Hollerin' Hank Killdare.  From the much abused members of the team to the long time assistant coach who's now been promoted to the cheerleader he humiliated in an infamous You Tube clip, everyone had a reason to hate him.  But who killed him?

Millie Ostermeyer is not usually a "joiner." She is content to read her books and skate by on the edge in her classes.  The one thing she does take seriously is writing for the school paper even if the student editor is her arch nemesis, Vivienne.  When Millie discovers Coach Killdare's body while writing what should have been a boring story about the new stadium, she thinks she should have first dibs on reporting.  Vivienne, of course, disagrees.  Things heat up when the local police seem to be focusing their investigation on the assistant coach/local mayor who just happens to be Millie's father.

Now, with so much at stake, Millie is determined to find the real killer and rescue her father from the evil editorial clutches of Vivienne and the all but useless local police.  Her investigation leads her to Chase, gorgeous, new in town and a complete mystery.  The more time she spends with Chase investigating the murder, the more she sees that there was another side to Hollerin' Hank.  She also realizes Chase is more than just a pretty face.

Will Millie discover the truth in time to save her father's career and catch the killer before he/she strikes again?  Read Beth Fantaskey's new book to find out!  This was a fun mystery with a dose of romance thrown in.

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

Ophelia, her sister Alice, and their father are still grieving from her mother's death when her father gets a special commission to prepare the world's greatest exhibit of swords.  As an expert in swords, Mr. Whittard takes the job hoping to distract himself and his daughters from their grief.

But this is no ordinary museum.  The displays are strange and shifting, and the museum curator, Miss Kaminski, is strange and beautiful.  Mr. Whittard is too distracted by the swords to pay much attention, and Alice is enamored by Miss Kaminski who gives her clothes and makeup.  This leaves Ophelia to explore alone.

Soon she finds a door hidden in a mosaic image of the sea.  The door is locked, and inside is a boy.  He does not know his name, and he has been the Snow Queen's prisoner for many many years.  Slowly, he tells Ophelia his story, the story of how he was trained to fight the Snow Queen, but he is now her prisoner.

And slowly, our scientific Ophelia begins to believe.  And she knows she must help him no matter how terrible the danger because if she doesn't, the Snow Queen will bring about the end of the world.

I love Karen Foxlee's new book about magic and friendship!  It is a sweet and delicate tale.

Sure Signs of Crazy

Sarah's life is ruled by one event in her past.  When she was little, her mother tried to drown her and her twin brother.  Simon died, Sarah survived, and following trials for both of her parents became media sensations.

It would be nearly impossible to put something like that behind you anyway, but the media dredges the story up every few years, and Sarah's father uproots their lives to move to a new city.  This means they always live in a rent house, Sarah's always the new girl, and she's always ready to pack up and go at the first sign that her mother's story is coming back.

To make things worse, Sarah is worried that her mother's crazy is hereditary, so she's always examining herself for signs of it.  Her father is an alcoholic who drinks until he passes out pretty much every night and on the weekends.

Sarah has always tried to hide her true feelings until her language arts teacher gives her an assignment to write over the summer, suggesting the students start by writing to their favorite characters.  Sarah writes a series of letters to Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, and this is when she starts to be honest with herself, and she even writes all the things she wishes she could say to her father.

Sarah thought Garland was the armpit of Texas, but as the summer progresses, she will find new friends and start to make her peace with herself and her mother.

I loved Karen Harrington's new book!  It is heartbreaking but funny, and, of course, I appreciate Sarah's fascination with words.  This is a must read!

Counting By 7s

Willow Chance is a twelve year old genius who doesn't fit in anywhere but home.  She was adopted as a baby, and she and parents seem to have the perfect family.  Despite her eager anticipation for her new school, things don't go well.  The kids don't like her, and even her teachers are put off by her intense intelligence and inability to understand social situations.

But things are about to get a lot harder for Willow when she returns from school one day to find police officers waiting to tell her that her parents died in a car accident.  Willow has never been more alone in her life.

She will have to create a new life for herself with the help of people she barely knows.  Her ineffectual school counselor, her new friend Mai, and Mai's Vietnamese family, even a cab driver.

Willow is numb from her tragedy, but this odd and broken little girl will inspire and connect everyone around her and maybe even create a new family for herself along the way.

I loved Holly Goldberg Sloan's book and its wonderful message of finding hope in the face of tragedy!

The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield

Alexander Baddenfield is the last in a long line of Baddenfields, each one worse than the one before.  This means Alexander is pretty terrible.  The Baddenfields always die young but appropriately.  For example, the Baddenfield trying to hunt wild and endangered animals was trampled to death by them.

The only reason the Baddenfields live as long as they do is the Winterbottoms.  Winterbottoms have be taking care of Baddenfields for as long as anyone can remember, and Alexander and his Winterbottom are no exception.

But Alexander has come up with a new plan to do all the terrible and dangerous things he's ever wanted to do with no consequences.  He just needs to find a mad scientist doctor to take his cat's extra eight lives and transfer them to him!  It's a brilliant plan really.  Shaddenfrood just lays around sleeping and purring all day.  Alexander could be those lives to much better use.

This book is the story of how Alexander stole and used those lives, but beware, this is not some touchy-feely-becoming-a-better-person book.  Alexander is definitely bad to the bitter end.  Make sure you keep reading past "The End" for a glimpse of what will happen in his tenth and final existence!

John Bemelmans Marciano's story is funny, sinister, and disgusting, and Sophie Blackall's illustrations really take this story from bad to worse!

The Graveyard Book

When Nobody Owens was a baby, a man came into his home and murdered his family.  It was only because of Nobody's tendency to wander that he survived.  Nobody wandered to the graveyard nearby and was adopted by its ghostly inhabitants and the mysterious Silas who volunteers to become his guardian.

The murderer still hunts Nobody, and it is only within the walls of the graveyard that he is hidden and protected.  Nobody is happy with his spirit companions and their knowledge spanning the centuries back to the time of the Romans.  He will encounter things that are even more ancient and find a ghoul gate.  He learns the tricks of the dead:  fading, haunting, and imperviousness to dark and cold.  But even with all he can learn from his friends and playmates, he eventually becomes curious about the world of the living, and an anger for the man who murdered his family grows in his heart.

The more Bod ventures out of the Graveyard, the more dangerous his life becomes.  Can a boy named Nobody raised by those who are long dead survive in the land of the living and overcome the evil that stalks him?

This is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors!  I just reread it in preparation for tomorrow's book club meeting, and it's just as good the second time around.

I met Neil Gaiman this summer and got my book signed in Dallas.  It was worth the drive and the hours of waiting!  If you haven't read this one yet, settle in for a wonderful and surprising experience!

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea

Are you a Lemony Snicket fan?  Do you like funny stories with lots of action?  If so, you will love this book!

When the Templeton Twins and their inventor father move to a new town and university for a new teaching position, they have no idea how crazy their lives are about to become.

As the professor's first speech, Dean D. Dean shows up protesting that Professor Templeton stole one of his ideas.  Professor Templeton tries to calm the man down, but Dean is insistent, and things are soon out of control!  With a strict nanny, a ridiculous dog, and nefarious identical twins bent on kidnapping and extortion, this is one adventure you won't be able to put down!

You'll love this first book in the serious by Ellis Weiner, illustrated by Jeremy Holmes. and narrated by a snarky and mysterious narrator!

Serendipity and Me

Sara loves cats.  She has cat posters, cat slippers, stuffed animal cats, everything  but an actual cat.  Her dad's answer is always no.

They are both struggling with grief over her mother's death when Sara gets the flu.  She is home feeling sick and alone when a kitten appears at their front door.  Sara just knows she can convince her dad to fall in love with this sweet little kitten named Serendipity, but her dad doesn't want to budge.

Sara and her dad feel separated from the world and each other by their grief, and Serendipity is warm and soft.  The kitten comforts Sara in a ways she hasn't felt for a long time.  It will rip her heart out all over again if she has to give Serendipity up.

In her quest to find a way to keep Serendipity, Sara discovers some truths about her parents' past and the reason her dad refuses to get a cat.  Maybe Serendipity can help both of them to begin to heal after all these years.

Judith L. Roth's new book is a bittersweet little verse novel about the debilitating and isolating power of grief and the love and companionship we can find with our pets.

Laugh with the Moon

Clare is still struggling with her mother's recent death when her father decides to take her to Malawi, Africa, where he will work as a doctor for nine weeks.  She can't believe he would do this to her!  The pain of her mother's death is bad enough, but now she will be separated from everyone and everything she knows.

It doesn't take long, however, for Clare to befriend a Malawi girl named Memory and her little brother Innocent.  Soon she starts to look beyond herself to see what like is like for her new friends.  In Malawi many people are too poor to send their children to school, buy clothes, or even enough food.  Even clear water and mosquito nets are beyond some people, and textbooks are precious!

Despite all of this, Clare's new friends are happy and loving, and Clare's heart begins to open again.  But when tragedy strikes once more, Clare and her friends will struggle to find meaning and happiness.

Read Shana Burg's new novel about friendship, loss, and strength.

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece

When Jamie was five, his sister died in a terrorist bombing in London.  His family was destroyed by this event, and even five years later Rose's death haunts them.  Now Jamie's parents are separated, and he has moved to the country with his sister, Jas, and their father.

Jas is Rose's twin, and their parents tried to keep Rose alive by dressing Jas the Rose always did.  One day Jas came home in black clothes and pink hair.  It didn't go over well.  Jas struggles to honor her sister while finding a way to live her own life.

Jamie's mother left the family for a man from her support group, and she hasn't even come to visit her children in their new home in the country.  Jamie hasn't given up hope that they can be a family again, but every day of his mother's absence makes Jamie feel less important.

Jamie's father blames all Muslims for what happened to his daughter and keeps Rose's ashes on the mantel where he can look at the urn and sometimes pretend Rose is still alive and sometimes be shattered by grief all over again.  While he didn't physically abandon his children, he has deserted them through his depression and alcoholism.

Everyone has always defined Jamie by his sister's death, but he sees this opportunity in a new town at a new school to redefine himself.  No one has to know about the sister he barely remembers.  But it's not that simple.  The school bully seems to single Jamie out immediately, and the only person who wants to be his friend is Sunya, a Muslim.

Annabel Pitcher's first novel deals with the aftermath of mass violence and terrorism in a tender and heartbreaking way.  Jamie's story is about the death of a family and the painful but hopeful idea that life can begin again.

After Eli

When Daniel's older brother Eli dies in the Iraq war, his family seems to go into a holding pattern.  Even though it's been three years, his mother is still so grieved that she is barely alive, and his father is just angry.  Neither of them pays much attention to Daniel.  His dad only notices him to yell about his grades and to disapprove of Daniel's summer job on a local farm. 

To help him deal with his brother's death, Daniel starts a Book of the Dead.  It's a collection of dead people and how they died.  Daniel is just as stuck as his parents are going through the motions of life without ever sharing or feeling anything real except for the ache his feels at missing his older brother. 

All that changes the summer Daniel is fifteen.  That's the summer Isabel moves into the neighborhood.  Even though Isabel will only be there for the summer, there is something about her that seems to wake Daniel up. 

Suddenly he sees the town geek as a real person and a maybe a real friend.  This unlikely trio along with the twins, Isabel's half-wild brother and sister spend the summer talking and thinking in ways that Daniel has never experienced before.  Maybe this summer Daniel will find a way to live after Eli. 

I really enjoyed Rebecca Rupp's newest book, but the characters a little more mature than I thought they would be when I picked it up.  Don't be fooled by the little kid on the cover.  There are flashbacks to Daniel's childhood throughout the book, but this is definitely a book about a fifteen year old!

Summer of the Gypsy Moths

Stella is only staying with her great-aunt Louise in Cape Cod until her mother gets things back together.  As soon as she gets a job and finishes those parenting classes, Stella won't have to live with her grumpy aunt anymore.

Aunt Louise takes Stella in, like she did Stella's mother, because the girl has nowhere else to go, but she decides Stella shouldn't be alone, so she also takes Angel as a foster child.

Angel is just biding her time in one foster home after the next until her aunt can get a job, her green card, and a home.  Now that Angel's father is dead, her aunt is the only one left to take care of her.

Soon after Angel arrives, Aunt Louise dies unexpectedly  and the girls have a decision to make.  They know they should call the police, but Angel doesn't want to go to another foster home, and Stella doesn't have any more relatives.  The girls decide to take over Aunt Louise's job of managing the vacation properties next door and hide her death, just for the summer.  By the end of the summer, Angel will have enough money to meet her aunt in New York, and Stella hopes that will be enough time for her mother to get her life together.

This is one summer when two girls will learn to accept one another and the truth about their own lives.  If you like realistic fiction, you will enjoy Sara Pennypacker's new book.

Silhouetted by the Blue

Serena Shaw has never been so stressed, and life seems to be getting more complicated every day.  Her family is still struggling to move on with life since her mother's death over a year ago, but her father is getting worse instead of better.  He has always gone through "blue" times, but he hasn't showered in weeks, and he barely seems awake even when he's out of bed.

She wanted more than anything to get the lead in the school musical, but now her involvement in the play is creating more problems.  Not only does she have to add play practice to already towering stack of responsibilities, but the play has to be perfect in order to win a grant for the school or the drama program will be cut.

It doesn't seem possible to take care of her little brother, do the shopping, clean the house, do the laundry, pass her classes, and keep up with the play.  Add her increasing worry about her father, and you can forget about being a normal girl like figuring out her friends and the little flutter she gets in her stomach when Elijah talks to her.

Serena desperately wants her father to step up, but things are just getting desperate with no one to be the adult.

Visit author, Traci L. Jones's website to find out more about her and her inspiration for writing.

Eight Keys

Elise is about to start middle school.  She's excited...and nervous.  Her worst fears seem confirmed on the first day when she's assigned to share a locker with Amanda, a girl who seems determined to make Elise's life miserable.  She still has her best friend, Franklin, but even before the problems with Amanda start, Elise is starting to feel a little embarrassed by the way Franklin wants to "play."  Kids in middle school don't play, right?  This is confirmed when her friendship with Franklin makes Amanda's taunting even worse.

When she tries to tell her teacher about Amanda, the teacher doesn't want to listen, and Elise doesn't want to bring thoughts of all her school problems home, so she doesn't tell Aunt Bessie and Uncle Hugh either.    Elise's mother died when she was born, and her father died of cancer three years ago.  All the changes in her life are making Elise feel like she doesn't belong anywhere, and she can't even bring herself to get on the bus some days.  To make matters worse, she's so behind on her homework, that it seems pointless to even try.

That's when she finds the first key, a key left by her father that unlocks one of eight rooms in the barn that she's never really thought about.  As she discovers each key and room, she finds messages, images, and ideas left by her father that slowly help her to see her life and herself in a different way.

Suzanne LaFleur's new book will make you think about the relationships in your life, too.