I Heart You, You Haunt Me

                                                                                 By Lisa Schroeder 

     This is a heartbreaking and haunting book.  Some say that your first love will stay with one forever!  The story is told in a poetic fashion and tells the tale of love between two high school students.  Ava and Jackson are in love and do everything together, they are best friends! One of their ongoing games is "Dare", and one dare goes deadly awry, leaving Ava without her Jackson.  The dare that leads to Jackson's death brings a crushing guilt to Ava and she can not let go.  Jackson returns and helps her release her guilt and continue on with life.
     Everyone around Ava is concerned about her and try to get her to get back into her normal routine.  Nothing helps until a family trip to the beach, where Jackson can not follow and a chance meeting with a guy at the waterfront.  When Ava returns, she begins to research the paranormal, and question why Jackson is still haunting her.  She comes to the conclusion that this is not who and what she is, she wants a return to normalcy.  She gets the courage to tell Jackson that he needs to move on!
     This book resonated on a couple of levels.  First of all, there are people that I have lost that I've always wanted to see, or talk to one more time.  I do believe that hindsight is twenty-twenty.  I think when somebody dies unexpectedly, some may always question, if....  I know when my son passed in an automobile accident, I wondered if I had called Tim earlier to come get me from work if I had called off work that day... and the list goes on.  The possibility of having the guilt absolved, fascinating!
     I am giving this book a 3 out of 5.  I do feel that it is a very good book but mature.  This book is for high school students or a mature eighth grader.  This is a love story and skews towards the feminine gender.  Happy reading!

Links 

Author: Lisa Schroeder

Coping with the death of a teen friend

Other books about Teen Death

Signs from a deceased loved one....????

I so don't do mysteries

By Barrie Summy                                   

     This is a very entertaining, light and easy read.  What would you do if you dead mother contacted you and needed help solving a mystery?  Would you help her, even if it forced you to do things that are completely out of your comfort zone?  7th-grade student, Sherry, is confronted with the quest of solving the questions at the rhino exhibit in San Diego.  She has her best friend, Junie, and a cute boy as help, but can she save the rhinos in time to save her mother?
     The wacky caper and all of the crazy situations that happen make this a fun read.  A stealthy super sleuth Sherry is not, but her heart is in the right place and she wants to help her Mom and the rhinos.  Sherry bumbles her way through the mystery, making a couple of bad guesses along the way.  She does discover that the rhinos are in danger due to a heinous chef that would like to serve the animals up at his next exotic meat meal.  When it is important, Sherry is willing to do almost anything to help the rhinos and retain a contact with her mother.
     This is an easy read and would encourage 4th thru 7th graders to enjoy the story.  I would give this a 2.5 to a 3-star rating, for the fun of the piece.  This is definitely, comedic and full of situational comedy and slapstick humor.

Links

Author: Barrie Summy

Exotic meat planning

San Diego Wild Animal Park

Savvy

                                                              By Ingrid Law 

     Savvy is an entertaining fantasy tale by Ingrid Law.  She really hit a note, I know I wanted to be unique and believe that my family was special at one time in my youth.  This was followed by a strong desire to fit in and have friends.  Young Mibs is a very identifiable character and lovable character.  This is a great "What if" story and answers my own what if?
     Mibs is a young girl quickly approaching her 13th birthday.  For many this is a time of joy and excitement, but Mibs is worried.  She is worried about what form her Savvy will manifest and she is worried about her injured father.  She misreads her Savvy initially, which leads to an unexpected adventure and new friends.  Mibs concocts a plan to stow away on a pink bus to try to reach her father in Salina but the bus heads the wrong way.  Mibs and the rest of the stowaways are stuck and try to convince the bus driver, Lester, to help them reach Salina.  Mibs is joined by Will and Bobbie, the preachers children and her brothers Fish and Samson.  Mibs savvy reveals itself en route and her special skill that she thought would help her father, now she wonders if it will be beneficial at all, but she has no other choice since the children are now considered as missing.
     This bus trip is like no other, especially with two Beaumont's and their volatile savvy's!  Somehow they avoid detection until they reach Carlene's.  She recognizes the five kids from television bulletins and immediately calls the police.  When the cops arrive, mass confusion occurs especially since Samson is missing and Carlene has hidden him from the rest of the Beaumonts.  The police, of course, suspect, Lester and Lil of kidnapping and won't listen to the kids explanation until Big Bill shows up to unravel the mess.  He listens and finally gets everyone back on the road to Salina.  Does Mibs Savvy help her father?  What happens to the kids?  What exactly is Mibs savvy? You are going to have to read the book to find out
     I enjoyed this book immensely and would encourage this for fourth grade and up.   This story is appropriate and enjoyable for everyone.  I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Links 

Author: Ingrid Law

Lesson Plans

Literature Unit