Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

 

“That’s when I saw it. A tiny sliver of gold appeared between shades of grey on the horizon.” The excerpt is from the last chapter of the novel, Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys. The book is set in the year 1941. It is about a young girl named Lina Vilkas. Lina, along with her mother and brother, is abducted by the Soviet Union. Through out the story the reader gets a taste of how it was for those taken by the Soviets. It shows the hardships those people went through. It shows how badly the soldiers treated the people. It wasn’t fair for them. Lina’s father was separated from her and the rest of his family. He was taken to a prison because he was thought to be a criminal. In fact, Lina’s father was an upstanding citizen and a very good man. He was taken because the soldiers found out that he helped his brother and family escape to Germany. When Lina heard all of this, she was confused by why her dad would risk his own family’s life to help his brother’s. Since Lina’s father was taken before the rest of her family, she tries to communicate with him through drawings. Every time a person would leave the camp, she would give them a handkerchief or a piece of wood on which she had drawn a picture of the place that they were at the time and she would tell them to pass it along. Her hope was that the drawings would eventually reach her father. Later in the story a soldier informs Lina that her father has been shot by a guard in the prison. 

       Death wasn’t a surprise in this book. Life and death in this time were not easy on Lina and her brother, Jonas. Jonas is only ten and doesn’t understand everything yet. At the end of the story, Lina is told that the person who reported her that her father had been killed may have been lying. The book ends with the excerpt at the beginning of this summary. It ends with a feeling of hope, with a glimmer of light. Although it might not inform the reader with all the outcomes of the tragic events, it hints that there may be some good.

            I loved this book! This book is definitely one of the best books I have ever read. The book was very hard to put down. The main character, Lina, is very bold and courageous which makes the book even more interesting, and the story is not only entertaining but also informative--showing how the people were treated during the war. This book has some mature themes in it so I would recommend it to 13-15 year old girls. I say girls because the main character is a girl and it may be easier for girls to relate to some of the events that happen to the protagonist.  This book was a joy to read and I strongly recommend it!  

Reviewed by Corinne              

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Imagine walking through the hallways all alone on the first day of high school. No one is friendly anymore. Old friends reject. People look and whisper. They say “Remember that girl who ruined the party? There she is.” 

But they don’t understand. That is the everyday life of one unfortunate teenage girl. Speak is a realistic fictional novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson. This story takes place in Syracuse, New York during a school year. It is about a thirteen year old girl named Melinda Sordino. She and her friends were invited to a high school end of summer party. The bash was filled with senior boys, inappropriate dancing, and tons of beer kegs. As a naive incoming ninth grader, Melinda drank one cup of beer from the keg. Later on, she wanted more and then she felt nauseous. As she went away from the hectic scene to calm herself down, a popular incoming twelfth grade boy named Andy Evans gave Melinda a gentle kiss. What was meant to be an innocent gesture turned out to be an attack that left Melinda helplessly under Andy’s heavy body. Once he left she called the police. People thought she called to report the underage drinking. Once the officers came, they broke up the party, arrested people, and disappointed party going teenagers. With the students knowing that Melinda caused the end of the party, she was shunned by everyone. She was abandoned by her “best friends.” They didn’t want anything to do with the girl the ruined the best party of the summer. The problem was that Melinda wasn’t brave enough to speak up about what Andy did to her.   So much fear was bottled up inside that she barely talked and always got in trouble. During the school year, she figured that if she couldn’t tell anyone about her problem, she could easily forget about the incident. She met a new girl named Heather who later rejected her because she felt that Melinda was too much of a bummer to be around. She had no friends once again. Although she didn’t have friends, she still managed to hear her fair share of gossip. Her old middle school best friend, Rachel, started dating the boy Melinda feared the most, Andy Evans.  Melinda saw that she wasn’t close to Rachel anymore but still felt like it was her duty to watch out for her. Melinda told Rachel about the calamity between her and Andy. Rachel refused to believe her. Rachel was positive that Andy was too perfect to do such a thing. Andy later invited Rachel to the prom and he tried to force her to do things she didn't want. After his ruthless actions, Rachel finally believed Melinda. Then, Andy came to Melinda and told her she had a big mouth and that she was ruining everything. He again tried to attack her but this time, she screamed NO and caught the lacrosse team’s attention. She finally spoke up. 

      When I was initially reading this book, I felt that it was random and all over the place. Then as I got closer to the end, everything started to make sense. Everything tied together.  I liked this novel because it was realistic. It was something people my age could understand. I think this book is suitable for readers ages thirteen and up. Overall, the book was fantastically written with specific details that made the visual picture of this piece of writing extremely vivid.  For this reason, it is not suitable for younger readers.    

Reviewed by Adaora

This Youtube video is for a trailer for a movie based on the novel.  It stars Kristen Stewart before her Twilight days.

Speak is often a controversial book because of the subject  matter that it covers.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Roy Eberheart’s family had been moving around the country for as long as he could remember. When he finally found home in Montana, the Eberhearts had to move away again. This time they traveled to a small, uneventful town called Coconut Cove, Florida. At first, Roy did not enjoy his new surroundings, and he missed the rugged mountains of Montana. At his new school, another reason for disliking the new town existed. He got bullied on the bus, and almost everybody was reluctant to befriend him because of his unfamiliar demeanor. One day, while riding the bus to school, he spied a barefoot boy sprinting and leaping his way on the sidewalk and into people’s backyards. Roy became interested in the running boy. He wondered why he didn’t go to school and where he was running to. So, Roy kept an eye out for him, looking out the window each bus ride to see if he could spot him.     

On the bus one day Roy got into a fight. The infamous bully almost choked Roy to death, but Roy punched him in the nose in self-defense. During the fight, Roy spotted the running boy out of the corner of his eye. To spare never seeing the boy again, Roy hopped off of the bus and chased down the boy in hope of asking him some questions. The boy’s stamina was incredible and Roy never caught him.

Back at school the next day, a girl named Beatrice confronted Roy and told him to forget about the boy. Roy wanted to know what tough Beatrice’s relationship was with the running boy. While Roy was mulling this over in his head, another situation was occurring in a different part of town. A pancake company named Mother Paula’s was introducing a new restaurant to the Coconut Cove community. The construction foreman struggled to get the operation started because of the acts of vandalism that were committed in the construction zone. These acts included pulling out all of the survey sticks, putting alligators in the portable toilets, putting poisonous snakes on the property, and taking out the seats of the bulldozers. A policeman named Officer Delinko tried to target the vandal. They bumbled around and tried to solve the case while they were the ones being duped and tricked by the criminal.

Back at Roy’s school, Beatrice revealed that the boy was her stepbrother who ran away from home. His wicked mother sent him off to military camp, but he was unable to be tamed by civilization. Roy finally got hold of Beatrice’s stepbrother, and Roy learned that he was fearless and had a real connection with nature. The unruly boy would stop at almost nothing to keep wildlife safe from humans. He was particularly concerned about a certain group of owls. They were burrowing owls that lived underground in holes made by other animals. The owls were endangered by bulldozers at a construction site for a future Mother Paula’s. Once Roy learned of this, he wanted to help in every way he could, and so Beatrice, her stepbrother, and Roy teamed up to help save the owls. Beatrice’s stepbrother vandalized the construction site which slowed down the building process, but the pancake people were determined to continue the operation. So, at the official announcement that there was to be a new Mother Paula’s in the area, Roy and his friends protested and spoke about how it wasn’t right to destroy these poor defenseless birds. Roy had also learned that it was illegal to carry out the construction of the building unless there was a paper that said that it was environmentally okay to build there. They, in fact, did not have this permit. The project was shut down and the owls were safe all because three people agreed that sometimes humans have to consider animals before themselves.

            Hoot is an excellent tale of how people should care for the environment and the living things in it. This story is suitable for students for grade six to grade eight. Its easy-to-follow plot is well-done and magnificently written. Hoot is funny but substantial, and many people will enjoy it. The characters in the book are amusing to imagine. The story also involves how one adjusts to his/her surroundings through faith, family, and friends.

Reviewed by Fernando

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

            

      The Graveyard Book is a book about a young boy named Bod, short for Nobody Owens, and the adventures he has while living in a graveyard.  At the beginning of the book, when Bod is still just a toddler, his parents and sister are killed and he survives only because he had just learned to walk and literally walked straight out the door and into the graveyard that was nearby.  The Owens, a couple that had died many centuries before, adopts him—after much arguing—as their own, and Silas acts as a godparent to Bod. Silas teaches him about the graveyard, answers any questions he has, and is somebody Bod turns to frequently throughout the book.  Bod and a girl he meets, Scarlett, go on many adventures together including visiting the oldest grave in the graveyard.  They are met by the “Sleer” who guards the “master’s treasure” although the master hasn’t been there for a long time.  Scarlett soon has to leave, much to her displeasure.  Bod has many other adventures as he grows up: befriending a witch named Elizabeth Hempstock, getting kidnapped by a pawnshop owner in an attempt to get a graveyard for Elizabeth, celebrating a festival where they all dance the Macabre, attending school but having to leave because two bullies that he stood up against made it hard to keep a low profile, getting captured by Ghouls and finding out that his mentor Silas is part of a group called the Honor Guards and his sub Miss Lupescu is a werewolf, and learning how to do things like Fade, Haunt and Dream Walk. Towards the end of the book, Scarlett comes back and Bod is attacked by four people, including the man who killed his family, who are all part of an evil society called the Jacks of All Trades.  With Bod’s knowledge of the graveyard, he’s able to lure one of the Jacks into a deep grave, and two more into another realm where the Ghouls live.  The final Jack, the one who killed his family, Bod is able to convince to become the Sleer’s master, which entails being swallowed into the wall and never returning.  Scarlett is so scarred after seeing what Bod did that she goes back to Scotland.  Since nobody is coming after Nobody anymore, he is free to live his life and he plans on making it great.

           The Graveyard Book has been nominated for and won many awards, but I found it a little slow.  I do believe, however, that if I had read this book a few years ago I would have liked it.  This book is good for younger readers, with an age range of 7-12, especially those with a strong imagination and who love “scary” stuff.  I’m sure that many younger kids would find this book interesting, exciting, scary, adventurous, and inspiring.

Reviewed by Angie

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

 

        Elaine lives in a world of men. At a young age, she lost her mother, causing her father, two brothers, and her to move to an army camp. There, the men fight in King Arthur’s army against the barbarians. Elaine tends to the men’s ripped clothes and injuries, but mostly, she spends her time running around like a wild boy and wishing for the handsome Lancelot to see her as more than a little girl. Though she has many friends at the camp, she longs for the company of a girl, a new friend. Then, one day, Elaine believes that new friend has arrived, Gwyenivere. Gwyenivere is engaged to Arthur as a compromise and has absolutely no interest in being Elaine’s friend. In fact, she is cruel to Elaine, and Elaine begins to believe they will never be friends. That is, until they are both captured by barbarians. Together, they are able to escape and send word to King Arthur’s army about the barbarians’ plans. King Arthur and his army triumph. Elaine finds freedom, happiness, a man who sees her as more than a little girl, and a new friend.

          Song of the Sparrow is an amazing addition to the story of King Arthur. It was a beautiful story of true friendship and love. Personally, being always fascinated by the legend of King Arthur, I enjoyed the book very much. It was an exciting adventure as well as a moving love story. Even though I enjoyed the book, there were times when the medieval language made it slightly difficult to understand. I would recommend this book to everyone ten and up because of the complicated  language, but Song of the Sparrow is a truly fascinating and exciting story.

Reviewed by Ana

Edward's Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan

 

Edward is one of a kind.  He comes from a large, loving family.  His older brother Jake took him under his wing since the day he came home from the hospital when he was born.  Edward has the ability to make anyone smile, get along with everyone, and throw a perfect knuckle ball.  Everyone knows that Edward is special.  Jake is especially proud to call him his younger brother.  Their summers are filled with family, fun, and baseball.  Soon, another family member is added.  Edward already says it will be a girl before they even know.  Baby Sabine is born, and Edward is right, it’s a girl.  Edward takes Sabine under his wing similar to the way Jake raised Edward in his own care.  But, after a tragic accident, the family is left without Edward and they feel lost.  Jake is very angry when he finds out his parents have donated Edward’s corneas to someone they don’t even know.  Time passes, and they get a letter saying how thankful the recipient of the corneas is and how much he needed them.  They aren’t supposed to be in contact with the donor, but Jake and his family meet the man Edward’s corneas were donated to.  Jake soon realizes that Edward would be happy with the man and the way his eyes gave back a life, and he comes to accept Edward’s loss and the generous gift he has provided.

        I think that Edward’s Eyes was a very well written story.  The plot is realistic and most readers should be able to relate to the story.  It was an easy read, but it kept me locked in and wanting to know what happened next.  The author, Patricia MacLachlan, is known for writing children’s stories but I think this book is good for almost any person over the age of 10.  This book will spark many emotions for its readers.  It contains a tragedy; however, it shows the importance of family. 

 

Reviewed by Mary H