I've always wanted to keep better track of what I read, so I started this page for just that purpose. I've also set up a reading BLOG, so you can add your own comments about any of the books. Just remember the #1 rule: don't give away the ending!

NOTE: Some of these books are not suitable for young readers and will come with a warning.

• Genre: YA Fiction
• Summary: Mitty Blake is a slacker who would rather do anything than research smallpox for his science report. When he accidentally discovers smallpox scabs in an old medical book and subjects himself to one of the deadliest viruses in human history, Mitty suddenly has a lot more to worry about than getting a decent grade on his science report. As if smallpox infection isn't bad enough, terrorists would also love to get their hands on the virus - or the host that the virus has infected.
• Opinion: Mitty is a very likeable character, I think because there's a little slacker in all of us. Teachers like myself will love the way Mitty researches medical information and writes his science report using his own informal language - a great lesson in how not to plagiarize! Unfortunately, it takes a while for the action to get going in this book, and Mitty is the only character who seems real to me. His friends fit neatly into stereotypical roles and never really do anything, while his enemies are barely described and unrealistically bumbling.
• Grade: B
• Finished: January 2008

• Genre: Fiction (NOT FOR KIDS!)
• Summary: At 3:03 P.M. on October 1st, a mysterious pulse is broadcast over every cell phone in the world, and anyone hearing it immediately becomes violently insane. Those witnessing the ensuing chaos reach for their cell phones, of course, and also become insane. Luckily, Clay Riddell doesn't own a cell phone. He and a small band of sane survivors must now struggle to stay alive and make sense of the strange behaviors of the "phone crazies" in a post-apocalyptic world.
• Opinion: Though I wouldn't classify this book as horror, which Stephen King is so well-known for, there are some pretty grisly descriptions of what happens to the human body when subjected to "phone crazies" or violent explosions. King is still a master storyteller, so you know you're going to be along for a fun ride, though sometimes he gets a little too cute with his jokes, obviously butting in his own opinions on things like music. The grisly descriptions often seem gratuitous, and I was a little disappointed that one of the central mysteries of the book is never revealed. All the same, I couldn't put it down.
• Grade: B+
• Finished: December 2007

• Genre: Science Fiction
• Summary: The last man on earth is not alone; he's surrounded by vampires. This 1954 novel is the basis of the new movie starring Will Smith.
• Opinion: I love apocalyptic fiction, so end-of-the-world stories always get my attention. Though this isn't a YA novel, it's probably appropriate for most young readers. I'd say it's a PG-13 book, just like the movie. I read this in one weekend, partly because I wanted to finish before the movie comes out next weekend but mostly because I was really into it. The premise is awesome, and Matheson delivers. There are some really spooky scenes and plenty of good action. He lost me a bit with some of the scientific explanations for the vampires, and the ending was a little frustrating - I can almost guarantee that the Hollywood ending will be different.
• Grade: A-
• Finished: December 2007

• Genre: YA Fiction
• Summary: He goes by Junior on the Spokane Indian Reservation where he lives but Arthur at the all-white high school that he attends. He walks in two different worlds, one of tragedy and one of opportunity. Now he must find balance in his life while staying true to both himself and those who care about him.
• Opinion: I'm a big fan of Sherman Alexie, and it's great to see him venturing into the young adult field. Be warned that this book is intended for mature readers; it contains adult language and sexual references. Junior's story is both hilarious and heartbreaking, and because Alexie is pretty much telling his own story, Junior's voice is highly authentic, original, and insightful. Another nice feature of the book is Junior's cartoons, drawn by Ellen Fortney. The most important thing about Alexie's book is the attention it will bring to the sad and desperate conditions that exist today on too many of our nation's Indian Reservations.
• Grade: A
• Finished: November 2007

• Genre: YA Historical Fiction
• Summary: Tomi is a Japanese-American eighth grader growing up on Hawaii in 1941, when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. As America enters World War II, Tomi's life changes dramatically.
• Opinion: Don't let the cover fool you: this is not an action-packed war novel about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The actual incident is buried somewhere in the middle of the book. Salisbury's focus is more on Tomi's coming of age and his struggle to embrace his Japanese ancestry while proving his American loyalty. Unfortunately, I don't think Salisbury accomplishes this in dramatic fashion. While the setting is well-captured and the characters come to life through good use of island dialect, the story moved slowly for me, and I did not feel particularly satisfied upon finishing it.
• Grade: B-
• Finished: November 2007

• Genre: YA Historical Fiction
• Summary: Sixteen-year-old Ned Begay leaves his home on the Navajo Indian Reservation to join the Marines during World War Two. Though the Navajo language was literally beaten out of him and his fellow Navajos at government boarding schools before the war, the government now plans to use it to help win the war. Ned and his fellow Navajo Marines must use their sacred language to develop a secret code that they will carry into some of the heaviest fighting in the Pacific.
• Opinion: This novel feels so real and true that it seems more like an autobiography. Bruchac does a great job capturing Ned's voice, and I love how the story is set up with Ned talking to his grandchildren. You feel like you're sitting around a fire as you're reading it. Ned's story is filled with heartbreak and heroism, and it follows the classic "hero's journey" of leaving home on a dangerous quest and returning home a changed person. My only criticism would be that Bruchac might have focused more specifically on one or two battles rather giving such a broad overview of the war in the Pacific.
• Grade: A
• Finished: October 2007

• Genre: YA Historical Fiction
• Summary: This is the first book in a series, Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, set six thousand years ago in a hunter and gatherer society. After Torak's father is killed by a demon bear, Torak must go on a quest to the Mountain of the Spirit World to defeat the new evil stalking the land. Along the way he gets help from a wolf cub that he can communicate with and a young female hunter from another clan.
• Opinion: Michelle Paver did some excellent research in the writing of this book, and the parts I really enjoyed were those in which she portrayed in detail the ways that early humans survived by living off the land. It was fascinating to read how Torak uses every part of a buck that he successfully hunts to make food, clothing, and supplies. I also enjoyed reading how Torak communicates with Wolf. Unfortunately, the plot is fairly predictable, following the standard quest structure of retrieving three magical items and taking them to a mystical place for a final showdown. I thought the final showdown was a bit of a let-down.
• Grade: B+
• Finished: September 2007

• Genre: YA Fiction
• Summary: Published in 1977, this is a classic work of young adult fiction. It's the suspenseful story of one boy's search for his own mysterious identity, told from three different points of view.
• Opinion: This is one of those books where you get frustrated as you're reading because of the many layers of mystery and suspense, and you just hope the ending is worth it. I think it is. While much is wrapped up when you finally close the book, there is plenty to keep you thinking. (If this review seems vague, it's because I don't even want to come close to giving anything away!) Because of the challenging nature of the narrative structure, as well as some fairly heavy themes, I think eighth graders would get more out of this book than sixth graders.
• Grade: A-
• Finished: August 2007

• Genre: YA Fiction/Fantasy
• Summary: A scarecrow comes to life in a lightning storm, and with the help of an orphaned boy named Jack, he embarks on a series of adventures which include battles, brigands, broken hearts, and even a shipwreck at sea.
• Opinion: Philip Pullman is probably one of the best authors alive today. He is a natural storyteller, and this book had me hooked from the first page. Jack and the Scarecrow are two of the most lovable characters I've come across in some time. Their comradarie is hilarious and touching, and each helps the other do quite a bit of growing up. On the one hand, this is a simple, humorous story for young readers, but Pullman also offers commentary on the absurdity of war and the dangers of corporate greed. My only problem with the book is how the adventures of the Scarecrow and his servant sometimes seem rather random and disconnected.
• Grade: A-
• Finished: August 2007

• Genre: YA Fiction
• Summary: Joanie hates being limited by female stereotypes, so when she moves to a new school that mistakenly enters her name as John instead of Joan, she goes along with it and pretends to be a boy.
• Opinion: Joanie is in 5th grade, so the intended reader for this book is probably in elementary school rather than middle school. For all of her efforts to address male and female stereotypes, Lantz has created an antagonist - your classic aggressive male bully - who couldn't be more stereotypical. The concept for the book is good, and I enjoyed Joanie's imaginative writings which serve as a story within the story, but the arc of the plot was a little too obvious and predictable for me, even forced a bit regarding the side-plot with Joanie's dog and her mother.
• Grade: B-
• Finished: August 2007

• Genre: YA Fantasy
• Summary: Young Percy Jackson discovers that his father is one of the Greek gods, who are still very much alive and active in the modern world (Mount Olympus has relocated to New York City). Percy must embark on a quest to the Underworld (in Los Angeles) accompanied by another half-blood and a satyr. Along the way, they face off with a host of mytholigical monsters and the Greek gods themselves.
• Opinion: Like the only other book on this page that I've rated an A+, this is a book I wish I had written. Riordan came up with a brilliant idea and executed it very well. He mixes humor with educational info and all the while maintains a good action/adventure story. He also manages to comment on the troubled state of the modern world - war, pollution, etc. - without being preachy or obvious. There are shades of "Harry Potter" here - a supernatural world hidden in the real one, a training school for youth with special powers, two males and a female doing battle with evil forces - but you can hardly blame Riordan for tapping into that, and I enjoyed his story much more than J.K. Rowling's. Like Rowling, Riordan will bring Percy and his mates back for further adventures, and I look forward to reading them.
• Grade: A+
• Finished: August 2007

• Genre: YA Fiction
• Summary: Married according to tradition in India, thirteen-year-old Koly finds herself trapped in a terrible new household where things go from bad to worse. As Koly tries to establish a better life for herself, she finds herself trapped by the traditions of her culture. Ironically, it is one of those traditions which offers her the most hope for a brighter future.
• Opinion: This is a well-told story with a lot of heart. Koly is both likeable and believeable. Young American readers, particularly girls, will cringe at the traditional restrictions placed on girls in Indian society. Though no year is given, the story seems to take place in the1990s, judging by some of the new technologies coming to India. It was interesting to read about a society that has both so much poverty and opportunity. The only flaw in the story is that the ending gets a little predictable the closer you get to it, but I still closed the book feeling satisfied.
• Grade: A-
• Finished: July 2007

• Genre: YA Memoir (Autobiography)
• Summary: The author Walter Dean Myers tells his own history of growing up in Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s and discovering his interest in reading and writing. Though raised in a loving family, Walter had no literary role models at home. In fact, he later discovered that his father could not read or write. A streetwise kid who often got into trouble, Myers had to keep his literary interests a secret because reading and writing were not considered acceptable pursuits among his Harlem peers.
• Opinion: Being an author, I always enjoy reading about how other authors develop, what their influences were and how they came to be writers. Myers has an interesting story to tell because his development as a writer was so unlikely. He does a good job of capturing the time and place he grew up in. Unfortunately, many parts of the book seem a little long-winded while the ending feels rushed. Though the book contains the occasional funny line, I thought it was a little dry and bland overall, and I'm not sure young readers will be as interested as I was.
• Grade: B
• Finished: July 2007

• Genre: YA Fiction
• Summary: This is the book that inspired the movie. Kahu is the great-granddaughter of a Maori chief in New Zealand. The chief, Koro, refuses to even consider Kahu as a future leader because she is a girl.
• Opinion: This book wasn't quite what I expected. It doesn't fit the mold of a standard young adult novel. The narrator is Kahu's uncle, a man in his twenties or thirties, and Kahu is only eight years old. Parts of the book may be hard for younger readers to grasp; there is an aspect of magical realism to it. Some readers may also struggle with all the Maori vocabulary and easily confused names. I'm considering teaching this book to my classes next year and throughout most of the book I was hesitant. The ending is very satisfying, however, so I haven't quite decided yet...
• Grade: B+
• Finished: July 2007

• Genre: YA Historical Fiction
• Summary: Set in Ancient Persia, this story is based on the legend of Shahrazad, who had to tell a story to her husband, the sultan, every night to avoid being killed. When she runs out of stories, Shahrazad turns to Marjan, a simple city girl who must leave the safety of her home for the mysterious and dangerous world of the sultan's harem.
• Opinion: As a writer, this story had special appeal to me. Storytelling is the central theme, and I enjoyed the "Lessons for Life and Storytelling" segments that begin each chapter. I also had some extra interest because I've met Susan Fletcher and think she's a very nice and talented writer! I had a few issues with the ending - the climax doesn't seem quite dramatic enough and the loose ends seem a little too neatly tied up - but Fletcher is a smooth writer who does a great job of establishing an exotic setting and bringing us into that world. I look forward to reading her newest release, Alphabet of Dreams, which is unrelated but also set in Ancient Persia.
• Grade: A-
• Finished: June 2007

• Genre: YA Fantasy
• Summary: Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the airship Aurora who dreams of becoming a pilot some day. His world is very much like ours, but it also includes mysterious flying creatures that Matt calls cloud cats. There's plenty of adventure (sky pirates!) and even a little love as Matt falls for a beautiful and wealthy young passenger with an agenda of her own.
• Opinion: Very cool book! I've never given much thought to the big airships, or zeppelins, from the old days - I believe blimps are their modern counterpart - but this book totally puts you up there among the clouds. Oppel does a nice job of placing believable and likeable characters in a well-described exotic setting, with plenty of action throughout. Some of Matt's daring exploits are a little over the top, and the pirate stuff is a little predictable, but the book is good fun all the same.
• Grade: A-
• Finished: April 2007

• Genre: YA Nonfiction
• Summary: The firsthand account of a twelve year old girl growing up in China during the Communist Cultural Revolution in the 1960's, a frightening time when freedoms were eroded and families were at the mercy of the government and mobs of brain-washed citizens intent on punishing anyone who didn't fit in.
• Opinion: This is a heavy book. Not heavy like it has a lot of pages, but heavy like it's depressing. The protagonist, Ji-li, is a smart, hard-working girl who has everything going for her, but everything is taken away from her because members of her family were once wealthy. In the school where I teach, we work very hard to prevent prejudice and discrimination toward students who have less money. For Ji-li, it was just the opposite. In a Communist society, personal wealth is evil, and it's distressing to see how Ji-li and those she loves are scorned and publicly humiliated because her family was once part of the upper class. Ji-li is ultimately confronted with an incredibly difficult choice, and that tension is what holds the book together. It's very realistic. Younger readers might struggle with the heavy themes and have a hard time keeping track of the characters' Chinese names.
• Grade: B+
• Finished: March 2007

• Genre: YA Historical Fiction
• Summary: Billie Joe is a fourteen year old girl growing up in the Oklahoma "dust bowl" during the Great Depression. As if that isn't bad enough, a tragic accident takes the life of one of her parents, and Billie Joe blames herself.
• Opinion: Kids needing to get through a book quickly will love this one, as the story is told entirely through Billie Joe's poetry. Since I'm not a particularly huge fan of poetry, the book didn't really appeal to me. I didn't connect with Billie Joe emotionally, and the ending was fairly predictable. Hesse does a good job of describing the bleak conditions and relentless dust storms of Oklahoma during the Great Depression, but I guess I wasn't in the mood for such a downer setting. I appreciate the concept and the execution of the free verse, but this Newberry Medal winner wasn't for me.
• Grade: B
• Finished: February 2007

• Genre: YA Science Fiction
• Summary: The third book of the trilogy beginning with Uglies and Pretties (see below).
• Opinion: Though there are plenty of new futuristic twists and turns, I was a little disappointed in the finale. Westerfeld takes a bit of a risk in turning his protagonist Tally into what has essentially been portrayed as the villain of the series. It isn't until the last quarter of the book that I found myself sympathizing with her again. Maybe I was reading too fast, but I was even lost in a couple of parts. This one read more like a superhero comic than the thoughtful science fiction of the first book. All the same, the message is good and the setting is cool. I'd recommend the trilogy.
• Grade: B+
• Finished: February 2007

• Genre: YA Fiction
• Summary: A thirteen year-old girl named Sal embarks on a cross-country road trip with her grandparents, hoping to be reunited with her missing mother and telling "an extensively strange story" along the way about her friend Phoebe, whose family is dealing with a similar problem.
• Opinion: Wow. This book caught me by surprise. A quarter of the way into it I was wondering how it won the Newberry Medal, but by the end I was deeply moved. Sharon Creech just sucks you into loving the characters, especially the narrator Sal and her grandparents, pretty much the coolest grandparents any kid could have. The book has two intersecting stories in it, which can be tricky to pull off, but it works fairly well here. A coincidence for me is that I've been planning a summer road trip to see many of the same places Sal and her grandparents visit, and I have stood in the same spot that Sal finds herself in the climactic scene. The book has a fragile innocence about it that warms your heart without being cheesy, and it's one of those rare novels that I'll probably read again some day.
• Grade: A
• Finished: February, 2007

• Genre: YA Science Fiction
• Summary: The second book of the trilogy beginning with Uglies (see below) and ending with Specials.
• Opinion: The story moves ahead at a good pace, but I miss some of the surprises and plot twists of Uglies. I thought Pretties was a little predictable in places. Westerfeld continues to nail his futuristic setting, however, and he does some cool things with language and dialect. Tally is growing up in a believable way, meeting new people and facing new decisions, and the ending definitely left me excited to finish the trilogy.
• Grade: A-
• Finished: February, 2007

• Genre: YA Historical Fiction
• Summary: A riches to rags story set in Mexico and California at the start of the Great Depression. Esperanza is a wealthy Mexican girl who must give up everything and flee to California with her mother after two family tragedies forever change their lives.
• Opinion: This is a beautifully written book. Ryan definitely has the gift of language, and she weaves in many Spanish words and phrases nicely. The novel is based on her own family history, which gives the story a sense of authenticity. Each chapter title is the name of a fruit or vegetable that ties in with the plot, which ties the whole book into the land, and the land is basically a main character here. The coming of age theme was a little formulaic, and the ending left me wanting a little more, but the powerful imagery stays with me. It's also a great book for gaining historical perspective on the plight of immigrant farm workers.
• Grade: A-
• Finished: January, 2007

• Genre: Nonfiction/Autobiography
• Summary: The firsthand account of a woman who spent two years living in a California redwood tree (Luna) to protest the logging of old-growth timber.
• Opinion: Julia Butterfly Hill isn't really a writer, and if I were to rate this book merely on her writing ability, it would probably drop a notch. But the importance of the book elevates it, and living in a tree for two years gives her all the credibility she needs. It's interesting to watch how an ordinary young woman searching for her path in the world suddenly ends up in the middle of a movement, how a simple act of civil disobedience grows into a global news story. Julia speaks from the heart, and she speaks for love. From all that I can gather from reading her book and searching the web, her courageous and nonviolent creative protest and continuing efforts in defense of the earth easily rank her as one of the true heroes of my generation. I wish I could have spent a day or two up in that tree with her.
• Grade: B+
• Finished: January, 2007

• Genre: YA Fiction
• Summary: Paul Fisher moves to Florida at the start of 7th grade. A self-proclaimed geek with bottle-bottom glasses, Paul somehow ends up hanging with the rough kids while confronting fears of his older brother and a mystery from their past.
• Opinion: I thought this was a good book. For me, it was nice to learn about a part of Florida I wasn't familiar with - the citrus crops, and the whole "tangerine" theme works really well. Paul is a very likeable character. He's a good guy who's had to overcome a lot, and it's pretty sweet watching him become one of the "bad kids" without losing a bit of his niceness. There's a lot of good sports stuff in the book - Paul plays soccer and his brother plays football - so I appreciated that. I read it in only three days, which is way faster than I usually get through a book!
• Grade: B+
• Finished: January, 2007

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