|
|
Modern Novels
New Reviews
Backwater, by Joan Bauer
Hostage, by Willo Davis Roberts
Taking Terri Mueller, by Norma Fox Mazer
Wound Too Tight, by T.J. Perkins
Backwater, by Joan Bauer
Ivy Breelove's family is full of lawyers. She wants to be a historian. The problem is that they are determined to argue her into being a lawyer too. Even her (many times) great-grandfather's tombstone admonishes her to become a lawyer.
Ivy's love for history leads her to her own family's history, and to the realization that she is not the black sheep in the family. Her aunt Jo long ago left her family. What caused her aunt to leave? Ivy searches to find her, for she hopes that her aunt can help her find courage and the ability to break free from the chains her family has her tied in. But will she be able to get through to the reclusive woman?
This is a unique book with a powerful message about family and finding yourself.[Return to top]
Burning Up, by Caroline B. Cooney
Macey lives a sheltered life in Conneticut, living part time with her culinary adept grandparents, part time with her working parents. She is a good student, with two best friends and a crush on her new next door neighboor, perfect Austin Fent.
Volunteering to help paint in a nearby church for school credit changes everything in a matter of minutes, though. An arsonist drops a match that burns both Macey's hair and her beliefs about her idealic community. She begins asking questions: why would someone do this? Who burned down the barn near hear home?
This book is very powerful. You will not be able to stop reading as Macey uncovers the mystery of her town's past.[Return to top]
Dicey's Song, by Cynthia Voigt
I recently had a class in young adult literature, and of all the books we read in the class this one is my favorite. If you've read anything by Cynthia Voigt, you know she has a wonderful way with description; her stories seem to flow with it. This book is about Dicey Tillerman and her family: about her new life with the grandmother she's never known, and about the tricky balance we all have in our own families. Most of all, it's about Dicey's individual challenges and changes as a young adult.[Return to top]
Don't Hurt Laurie!, by Willo Davis Roberts
This is one of my all-time favorites. It is about a queer, shy girl named Laurie who has been moving from place to place with her mother ever since she can remember. When her mother remarries, the secret of Laurie's abuse is revealed. Will her new family be able help her stop the abuse, or will the cycle of abuse continue?
I have had this book since childhood and have always loved it for it's gripping, truthful approach to the terrible reality of child abuse.[Return to top]
Hostage, by Willo Davis Roberts
Kaci is looking for adventure. In a large, talented family she is the only boring one. She reads mystery stories and wishes that she could be the one with the interesting life. Or at least, she wishes, she could be liked for being herself.
Adventure hits big time when she goes home during school one day. Looking for nasal spray for her allergies, she finds a house full of robbers. And that's just the beginning of her adventures.
Willo Davis Roberts is a great author and this is a page turner of a book. My only complaint is that it's too short. I demand more story! [Return to top]
In the Stone Circle, by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
When Cristyn Stone's professor father announces that they will be spending the summer in Wales, Cristyn is not pleased. True, Ohio is not the most adventurous place, but at least she has friends and places to see there.
When she arrives in Wales, though, she becomes wrapped up in the mystery of the cottage she and her father share with another family--and with the tensions between that family. Could it be that this distant place holds the answers to a mystery that Cristyn desperately wants to solve?
I discovered this book at a local bookstore just recently and was delighted to find such a gem of the book. The threads of the story are all woven together with ingenuity and realism. Especially great are the relationship problems that Cristyn deals with.[Return to top]
The Other Side of Dark, by Joan Lowery Nixon
Stacy is the only eyewitness to her mother's murder, but she has been in a coma for four years. Upon waking up, she is faced with the changes in herself and the knowledge that the murderer is close by, waiting for her to take a misstep.
Joan Lowery Nixon always writes griping stories and this is no exception. You'll be holding your breath as piece by piece, the murderer is revealed.[Return to top]
River Boy, by Tim Bowler
Jess's grandfather has just had another heart attack, but he insists he go along on the family vacation so he can finish his painting: River Boy. Jess feels oddly drawn to the painting, but she doesn't understand its significance.
As Jess swims in the river pictured in the painting, she feels the presence of the river boy. She can't figure out why he is there, but she feels somehow that he is at the heart of the mystery of her grandfather's painting, and of her grandfather himself.
This is a very unusual book. Jess's emotions are so raw and real. It's a gripping, intriguing read.[Return to top]
A Solitary Blue, by Cynthia Voigt
When Jeff's mother leaves his father, Jeff's heart is broken: she was the parent who truly understood him. So when he is invited to spend a summer with her at her childhood home, Jeff jumps to the chance. But Jeff is about to learn that things are not always as they seem and that trust is something that must be earned...
What an emotional ride this book is. It takes you right into Jeff's skin as he learns the truth about his parents and about himself.[Return to top]
Star of Shadowbrook Farm, by Joanna Campbell
I must admit it. I love horse books. This book is by my favorite horse author, Joanna Campbell. It is about Susan, who has always lived and breathed horses. Susan takes a fall from a horse in front of her students, as well as her personal rival, Tara, and loses her nerve as a result. When she discovers her parents' new horse, Star, she finds herself struggling to learn to ride again.
This is a terrific book. Tara's emotional battle is so real and tangible. This is a must read for anyone who loves horse books.[Return to top]
Taking Terri Mueller, by Norma Fox Mazer
Terri loves her life with her father. For as long as she can remember, it has been just the two of them. Yet, she is troubled by knowing so little about her mother, who died in a car accident when she was a toddler.
Questioning the knowledge of her mother's death brings up painful questions. If her mother isn't dead, where is she? And if she isn't, how can she trust her father again?
This book is a longtime favorite of mine. Terri's story is so vivid and truthful as she finds the truth about her past. This is a must read![Return to top]
Tomorrow, When the War Began, by John Marsden
This book is by far the best I have ever read and if you haven't read it you really should. It combines every single theme in one. It is about a fifteen year old girl called Ellie who gets together seven friends to go camping in the nearby hills. They are gone for five days and when they come back, Australia has been invaded, and there is a full fledged war going on around them.
Ellie and her friends do as much as they can to help their country, family, and friends during the war. The book has six sequals and is plenty big so if you get hooked on the first one (and you will) there's plenty more where that came from. (Reviewed by Matt F.)[Return to top]
Wait Till Helen Comes, by Mary Downing Hahn
Wait Till Helen Comes is ghost story that'll send goosebumps climbing up your spine. It's about Molly's struggle to get along with her unloveable step-sister, Heather. When Molly's family moves into the country, her stepsister begins making friends with Helen, a girl who has been long dead.
The fact that Helen is a ghost is the least of Molly's problems, because being friends with Helen may just be a deadly proposition. This story will satisfy the mystery lover in anybody: it's a thrilling read from start to finish.[Return to top]
Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech
Sal Hiddle is on a road trip with her grandparents. During the trip, she relates the strange story of a girl named Phoebe. The unexpected result, though, is the telling of Sal's own story: the heartbreaking loss of her mother.
This book has won a Newbery Medal and it is definately deserving. I love how real and individual each of Sharon Creech's characters are.[Return to top]
What Every Girl (Except Me) Knows, by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Gabby Weiss loves the idea of having a stepmother. Her own mother died mysteriously during her childhood and she wants a womanly role model in her life. Life isn't intent on giving her the same lessons she wants, though. As she grows up, in body and mind, she must face the bitter truth about her mother's death and learn to rely on herself.
This is a poignant story with a real, vivid feeling to it.[Return to top]
Wound Too Tight, by T.J. Perkins
When Shawn and his friends discover a real pirate treasure, they are completely excited. Before turing the treasure over to a museum, each of them decides to keep one piece of the treasure as a souvenir. Shawn chooses a cool pirate's watch.
Shawn doesn't know it, but in winding the watch, he sets free the spirit of the evil pirate who owned it. And that's just the beginning of Shawn's problems. One by one, his friends disappear. Shawn must find out the watch's secret before they are all lost forever.
This book is an old-style mystery with a nail biting ending. It's a book you just can't put down![Return to top]
(C) 1999 - 2003. Copyright held by author.
Please email comments to heather_reader@hotmail.com.
Click here for site update information.
|
