Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Once more we get a graphic novel. Probably not one I would have picked up, but quite good all the same. When was the last time you read a book about roller derby? I would venture sometime between never and never ever for most of you - yet this book provides an introduction to that tough sport. More than that it is an interesting look at what happens as we grow older and perhaps move apart from the people who had been our best friends. It also explores the phenomenon that hits in the early teens where you feel so many things that you end up not knowing what they mean. It explores our relationships with family, the importance of trust (and second chances), the need for acceptance, the power of hard work, and the joys of friendships. The ending is satisfying in not catering to a need for the perfect solution but rather mirroring life and that it can be confusing and difficult, but ultimately worth living.
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
I adored Echo I read it several months ago and was very excited that it received an Honor. This book looks very intimidating but it is tempered by the fact that there are really four stories in here - three of which take up the bulk of the book. The story revolves around a harmonica with extraordinary tone and the various people that own it. In the first story, sometime centuries ago, we meet a young German boy lost in the forest, he discovers three sisters who have been trapped by a curse but by saving three lives they will be freed, they imbue a harmonica with their breath and the boy goes on his way.
The next story is about another young German boy - this time just before WWII - who has a large and very noticeable birthmark. His father and uncle work in a harmonica factory where he becomes the youngest apprentice they've ever had. As the government enacts more and harsher laws it becomes evident that they will need to flee...
We next find the harmonica in America. Where a young orphan and his brother are desperate to find a home where they can stay together. They find temporary asylum with a stern woman forced to take in children to keep her inheritance. But her lawyers are constantly looking for a loophole that will allow her to take the boys back to the orphanage where they will certainly be split up. When they find out that the paperwork has gone through they make the daring decision to strike out on their own...
The next section focuses on a young Latina girl in California near the end of WWII. When her family moves to a new home she is shocked to discover that she must attend a different school because of her race. She also discovers that her father moved here to continue his relative's job of caring for the house of a Japanese-American businessman who has been moved into an interment camp. She struggles with concerns about the fact that she is forced to attend a substandard school and whether or not there are dangerous items hidden in the house her father is caring for...
In the end the stories weave together in a beautiful fashion. This book is a love story to the power of music and the inherent goodness people possess and must call upon in times of struggle.
The next story is about another young German boy - this time just before WWII - who has a large and very noticeable birthmark. His father and uncle work in a harmonica factory where he becomes the youngest apprentice they've ever had. As the government enacts more and harsher laws it becomes evident that they will need to flee...
We next find the harmonica in America. Where a young orphan and his brother are desperate to find a home where they can stay together. They find temporary asylum with a stern woman forced to take in children to keep her inheritance. But her lawyers are constantly looking for a loophole that will allow her to take the boys back to the orphanage where they will certainly be split up. When they find out that the paperwork has gone through they make the daring decision to strike out on their own...
The next section focuses on a young Latina girl in California near the end of WWII. When her family moves to a new home she is shocked to discover that she must attend a different school because of her race. She also discovers that her father moved here to continue his relative's job of caring for the house of a Japanese-American businessman who has been moved into an interment camp. She struggles with concerns about the fact that she is forced to attend a substandard school and whether or not there are dangerous items hidden in the house her father is caring for...
In the end the stories weave together in a beautiful fashion. This book is a love story to the power of music and the inherent goodness people possess and must call upon in times of struggle.
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
I very much expected this book to win. It is wonderfully written and shows deep, deep emotions, on top of that it is historical fiction and seemed very much the write dose of that elusive Literature with a capital L.
It begins in London where Ada and her younger brother live with an emotionally abusive mother. Ada gets the worst of it because a club foot makes it painful for her to walk and her mother refuses to let her leave the house. When German planes threaten to bomb England, Ada's brother is scheduled to be sent to the countryside. Desperate to stay with him Ada escapes the house and gets on the train. They are taken in by Susan Smith a stern but kind woman. She is the first to show Ada what love can truly be and Ada comes to love Susan in return. This is not to say that it is an easy journey. The author heartbreakingly captures the struggles Ada has with trust and the difficulties in accepting that she has worth and intelligence.
Overall a solidly historical novel set in WWII England. This book hits emotions perfectly and the character development was spot-on. Even the a-little-to-perfect ending sat okay with me. BECAUSE I NEEDED THAT HAPPY ENDING!!!
Which brings us to.....
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
If you're thinking, "That looks like a picture book," you'd be correct. This charming book chronicles a boys journey with his grandmother from church to a soup kitchen as they ride the bus. The grandmother points out the every day beauty around them as they go. I love this book - I really do. That being said, I disagree with the decision to crown it the winner. The Newbery is for writing and this book relies too much on the pictures to carry the story. (As opposed to Good Masters... or William Blake's Inn which are both heavily illustrated but most definitely intrenched in written language.) I have a hard time accepting this book as the winner in a year where books like Echo and The War That Saved My Life were on the table. For my money either of those two was a solid choice - TWTSML I may have ranked a little higher based on the fact that it's writing was a tad bit tighter when it came to character development.
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