One for Sorrow

By Mary Downing Hahn

     This is a very thought provoking story.  I picked it up by happenstance one day subbing in a classroom.  I had just finished a book and this happened to be laying around, once I started reading I was hooked.  The new girl in town inadvertently becomes friends with a very unlikable person. Annie quickly regrets becoming acquainted with Elsie and wants to extract herself from the relationship, but Elsie will not let her go.  Annie gets her chance to remove herself from Elsie's grasp, when Elsie is absent for a week, and quickly shifts her friendship to Rosie's group.  Unfortunately, Rosie and her gang are "Mean Girls"  and belittle and bully Elsie. 

    It seems like overnight that Annie has a new friend group and begins to bully Elsie, and Elsie is left once again friendless.  Things quickly change, however, when a deadly Spanish Influenza hits Mount Pleasant and people begin to die at an alarming rate.  As schools are cancelled and the kids are left to their own devices, Rosie comes up with a plan to get free sweets, why not visit some of the wakes, and pretend to know the individual in the coffin?  They even learn to peruse the obituaries the night before and garner information about the deceased.  On one of these ventures, they happen to run upon Elsie alone in the park.  Elsie is wearing a flue mask, in an attempt to protect her from contracting the flue bug.  Rosie decides it would be fun to harass Elsie and chase her down.  After surrounding her and singing about her getting influenza, stealing her mask, Elsie is left crying in the park;  Annie and the rest of her friends feel bad,yet vow to never speak of this again.  The secret is kept until, they visit one wake with out forewarning and it happens to be Elsie...       Annie believes she is truly done with the worries of Elsie, but is she?  

     An accident that results in a concussion while sledding in the cemetery, another secret and somehow Elsie returns to haunt Annie from the grave.  Elsie is out for revenge!  She wants Annie back as her one true friend and she wants Rosie and the gang to pay for her death.  suffice it to say Elsie is a very angry ghost.  She coerces Annie to do her evil work, and puts words in her mouth that Annie would never say.  Annie's behavior and outbursts reach such a point that she is sent to a convalescent care home, so she can get the rest that she needs to recuperate.  Elsie follows her and continues to make her mind miserable.  Fortunately, there is help in the guise of another patient.  One who claims to be able to see and communicate with ghosts, one who says she can help Elsie transition to her afterlife.  Step one is to get Elsie's friendship, Elsie must believe that her and Annie are best friends.  Will Annie be able to help Elsie move on and reconnect with her mother?  Will Annie be able to return home and be able to get her friends back.  

     This book is very entertaining to read, a fairly quick read.  I think that it would be appropriate for fifth grade and up and even though the main character is female, the content is available to both genders.  I am giving this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars and think that if you like books about the supernatural you would love this book.  

Links 

Author - Mary Downing Hahn

Spanish Influenza 1918 

Dangers of school bullying

Crow nursery rhyme from title

     

Stepsister

By Jennifer Donnelly 

     It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a book this much.  What a great story!  This is my first time reading a fractured fairy tale and I loved it!  The greatness of literature is the ability to pull the reader into the great lie, the what if?  This book grabbed me and kept me drawn into its pages, it is well crafted, intentional and superb.  A lot of people know the beloved story of Cinderella, but what about her mean spirited step sisters?  What becomes of them after Cinderella is spirited away by the Prince?  How do they live?  Do they ever find happiness? 

     This fractured tale meets up with the step sisters, Isabelle and Octavia just as they have both maimed themselves in an effort to fit into Cinderella's shoes.  Octavia, has sliced up her heal, and Isabella has cut off her toes at her Maman's request.  Of course they are discovered and Cinderella is freed and finds her true love.  After Cinderella (Ella) is whisked off by the Prince, their small town hears of their cruelty and they are ridiculed and bullied. 

   There are multiple forces that may change their lives.  Unknown to Isabella, Chance and Fate have taken an interest in her actions.  They have placed a wager on whether or not she lives through the upcoming battle.  France is at war, the country is divided, especially when the king dies and the young prince must rule.  The encroaching rebels led by Volkmar will stop at nothing, they are killing whole villages for sport.  Finally, the fairy queen Tanaquill has a role to play, she has answered the call of Isabella's heart.  

     Will Isabella's warrior heart answer the call, can she find the pieces of herself that has been lost along the way?  This book works on the question what wins and directs us, can we decide our own fate through our actions?  Can Isabella break free of the chains of what she is expected to do can she embrace who she is meant to be and love who she wants?  

     This is a great empowering book!  I am giving it a 5 out of 5 stars and believe it is appropriate for readers from 6th grade and up.  It does skew a bit towards a feminine audience, but I do think that most readers would enjoy it immensely!  This is a great example of a fractured fairy tale and breaking the mold forever!  Pick up your copy today.  

Links

Author - Jennifer Donnelly

Other fractured Cinderella stories   

St. Michel, France

Almost Autumn

By Marianne Kaurin 

     To be honest, this is not my favorite book.  It is fairly difficult to read, it totally left me underwhelmed.  The book is supposed to be about a love story in Norway leading up to the German occupation.  This book is difficult to follow simply because each chapter is from a new perspective.  I am not new to this idea and generally enjoy the creativity of this technique, but this did not add to the character or give anybody a depth of understanding, it seemed very one dimensional.  What could have been an incredibly interesting story ended up flat.  

     This book is told from several different view points.  The main character, Ilse,  is a vapid, self involved young women who defies her parents in order to further her relationship with Hermann Rod.  She does not like the restrictions that have been placed on her for her own safety and is constantly thwarting her parents good intentions.  Hermann Rod, Ilse's love interest, is not Jewish, but is harboring secrets, he claims to want to be an artist, but Ilse has never heard of this desire.  We discover that he is helping a resistance to the German occupation.  His connections give him some trouble and saves many lives, possibly Ilse's.  Isaak is Ilse's father, he knows that he has lost business and they are quickly running out of money.  He wants things to be different and has the foresight to remove all of the money from the bank for safe keeping.  Isaak is taken away one night with no warning, this leaves his dependents at a loss.  The shop has been closed, and they do not know where he has been taken.  Ilse's sister Sonja, is very beautiful, a wonderful seamstress and a pleasure to have around the house, meaning she helps out with cooking a cleaning.  She is very frustrated with Ilse who does nothing to help out.  Of course, after Isaak has been taken, things fall apart, they are living in tenuous times, the Germans come and take the entire family with the help of Ole, their neighbor.  Ole drives a taxi and is sickened by the duty of taking many Jew's, some of them his friends, to the wharf for deportation.  Ole feels that he has no choice but to follow his directions, he fears for his life and his family.  What happens to everyone in this one town in Norway, only finishing the book will tell you.  Does everyone survive the holocaust?  Do they survive incarceration?  Will Ilse be reunited with her family? Hermann?  

     I do appreciate the content of this story, I just wish it would have dealt with more realistic content and focused on fewer viewpoints.  I am giving this book a 2.5 out of 5 and feel that it is appropriate for anybody in fifth thru eighth grade.  It was interesting but  I just wish it hadn't glossed over so many details, it left too much up to interpretation.  

Links

Author Marianne Kaurin

Holocaust Resistance

Non Jewish Resistance

The River Between Us

By Richard Peck 

     This is an interesting story, in that it gives the reader a glimpse into two different time periods.  The most prevalent time is America before and during the Civil War.  Secondly, the reader gets a peak into the beginning of the 1900's.  I loved reading about the road trip, where they had to patch all four tires on the car and it only overheated once.  The real eye opening information is the stories surrounding a small Illinois town near the Mississippi River.  The author masterfully crafts the tenuous path that many American's had to follow in the war between the states.  It also illustrates the depths of racism in this country.

     When a young Leleand Hutchings travels to Grand Tower, Illinois to meet the Pruitts, his father's family. Leland and his younger brother meet their relatives, and as their father spends time with his ailing Aunt Delphine, Leland learns the family history from his Aunt Tilly.  A history that they all lived through as she explains of the time leading up to and through the Civil War.  The Pruitts are a  small family that lived along the Mississippi River in a small town called Grand Tower.  Their father had been missing for years and they aremade ends meet any way they ccould.  Tilly and her twin brother were coming of age, Noah was a very young "Man of the House", and wanted to join the North as tensions escalated.  Tilly had to do a lot of the household chores and mind her sister, Cassie who is very insightful (meaning she sees tragedies of the past and possibly the future).  As war between the states seemed eminent, a river boat stopped off and two mysterious passengers disembarked.
      Delphine and Calinda were unique to say the least, Delphine was beutiful and young and Calinda was a young negro woman.  Their relationship wass what separates them however, they were definitely not master and slave, but how were they connected.  Delphine refused to go any further north and asked for directions to the nearest inn, Ma Pruitt heard them and invited the two to state at the home, they might not have much, but what they had was clean and respectful.  Of course, Noah becomes enamored of the mysterious and beautiful Delphine.  The plot thickens when Noah decided to join the Northern forces and marched off for training, one night Ma Pruitt wakens Tilly with the demand to go save Noah.  Tilly and Delphine prepare to enter Cairo Illinois, where the North has set up camp for their forces.  They discover that Noah is very ill and nurse him back to health.  During their time in Cairo, Tilly finds out the truth about Delphine and Calinda, a truth that I am not going to tell you! 
     The surprises do not stop there.  After Noah is nursed back to health he marches to his first battle, Tilly and Delphine sense that something is not right.  They discover that Noah was shot during the battle  and has lost his arm, they nurse him yet again, until he is strong enough to make the trip to Grand Tower.  When they arrive home, there is yet more tragedy, as they discover Cassie has dwindled down to nothing, Mama Pruitt is gone, having thrown herself into the Mississippi, when she saw a casket being unloaded off of a river boat.  Leland thinks he has a good understanding of his family history until, his father unloads one last secret on their trip home. 
     This is book is very interesting and appropriate for students grade 6 and up.  I would rate this book at a 4 out of 5 stars, just because it may be hard to grasp two very different periods in time, especially ones that are so disparate from the current era.  With that being said if you want to find out the two big secrets, you are going to have to read the book! 

Links 
Books by Richard Peck

History of Illinois during the Civil War

Grand Tower Illinois

The Mississippi River during the Civil War

Catacombs

By Madelene Roux 

     First off I have to apologize, I began reading this book before I realized it was the third book in a series.  I am in the process of rectifying the situation and will be posting on the previous two books as soon as possible.  Dan, Abby and Jordan are three friends that have a long and interesting history.  They have had experiences that are outside of the norm and have faced many dangers together.  As the trio prepare to enter life after high school and go their own way, they decide on a road trip to take Jordan to New Orleans.  Jordan will be living with his Uncle and attending college in the historic city.  Ellie plans on pursuing her art and Dan will be returning home to attend college.  

     Along their route, they get an inkling that something is not as it should be.  Strange things begin to happen and Dan reveals that he stole some folders from the "Warden".  People are following them and mysterious things begin to happen, like unexpected visitors outside of their tent in the middle of the night.  Do the trio know who they can trust? Where are they safe.  This harrowing tale and the nefarious people that they encounter help answer a lot of questions that Dan has about his past.  Dan who grew up with adoptive parents has always had questions about his family, who they were and why did they abandon him...  The paranormal is definitely involved in this interesting tale, in the guise of other worldly texts from a dead friend and ghostly visions of Dan's father.  Where else can this story take them but into the Catacombs under New Orleans.  

     I did find this book a very interesting read, unfortunately was a bit lost, because it was the third book in a series.  I am going to withhold my rating until I have read all three books.  Please look for updates in the near future.  I can say however, that this book is appropriate for middle school readers and older and that everyone should be able to enjoy the story.  

Links 

Author: Madelene Roux

Images of Catacombs

Cemeteries of New Orleans

History of New Orleans

The Fourteenth Goldfish

By Jennifer L. Holm 

     What a great read!  A pleasurable, multi-layered, multi-generational read that I really enjoyed!  This book is full of surprising twists and humor, most assuredly on every page.  Ellie is embroiled in aiding her teenage grandfather, yep you read that right her teenage grandfather.  Ellie is having a hard time with the fifth grade and the loss of her best friend and her goldfish, but things quickly change when her grandfather shows up on the doorstep.  Her grandfather, a scientist, has discovered a fountain of youth, per say, a jelly fish of youth, and has rejuvenated himself to his teenage years.  Unfortunately, for him, no one believes who he is and his discovery is going unnoticed!  

     Melvin is convinced that Ellie can help him break into his lab and retrieve the jellyfish so he can continue his experiments.  Ellie and some new friends try to help him attempt several break ins at the lab, meanwhile Melvin discovers getting his youth back is not all he remembered.  The obvious downfall is the return of acne, and the loss of his freedom of driving a car.  His daughter is now responsible for her father and makes him help with chores and return to school, under the guise of a nephew.  When Melvin discovers that he is not even mentioned in the science books, and many feel that he is a quack, things shift into high gear.  Melvin eventually, sets out on his own, to discover more of the world.  Ellie learns to appreciate science and discovery from her grandfather and truly misses him.  

     There are several lasting lessons in this book.  One that you don't know what you will really miss until it is gone, two that the lessons that we learn and the interactions that we have outside of our own generation are exceedingly worthwhile.  This is a fantastic book that I am giving a 4.5 stars out of 5, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was very sad when I finished it.  I feel that this book is appropriate for fourth grade and up and that everyone would enjoy the story.  

Links 

Author; Jennifer L. Holm

Fountain of Youth

The Hate You Give

By Angie Thomas 

     This is a beautifully crafted, hard hitting book.  I had heard about the book, seen the trailer and knew it was something that I had to read.  I also knew that I may not be comfortable with all of the content, but I am so glad that I finished this book.  It is a great book and an illuminating window into the life of an African American teenager.  It is very unapologetic and in your face about the racism and the inequality in our society as well as relevant to tensions among the police force and people of color.  

     Starr Carter is a young woman of color.  Her parents have worked hard to ensure that her and her siblings attend a private school, well away from the gang bangers and drugs in their neighborhood.  Living in the garden district, but going to school over a half hour away, has Starr straddling two different worlds.  At school she does not want to appear ghetto, while at home she doesn't want to be uppity.  When these two worlds collide and Starr is forced to merge her two selves is when she finds her voice and discovers who she really can be.  The tragic loss of her friend is the match that ignites a fire in the garden district and Starr's heart.  Will she find her voice in time to make a difference, will her and her friends make it through the tragedy unscathed?  

     Normally, I would do a much more involved summary of this book, but this book is so good that I hope you read it yourself.  I love this book and am giving it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.  The content is mature with some swearing, so I would encourage anybody younger than 8th grade to wait to read this book.  Although the heroine in "The Hate You Give" is feminine, this book would be enjoyed by all students.  I do feel that this is a great book and it is an important, relevant message to everyone.  

links 

Angie Thomas - Author

Books about "Black Lives Matter"