Secrets of the Cicada Summer

Secrets of the Cicada Summer (also just called Cicada Summer) by Andrea Beaty is another of the 2010-2011 Sunshine State books. It is a fast read with a lot of mystery to keep the reader involved.


Summary: Lily is eleven years old. She loves Nancy Drew. She also has a secret that she has been keeping from everyone. Tinny Bridges arrives and breaks the quiet routine that Lily has created for herself. Tinny lies, steals, and finds out more about Lily than she is willing to share. She also deflects all the blame for her crimes on Lily. But Tinny has secrets of her own.

When Tinny disappears, both girls must confront their own secrets. Can Lily face her past and find Tinny?

Themes:
Family
Guilt
Secrets

Age Appropriateness:
Grades 3 and up


Areas of concern (content):
Foul Language: none
Nudity/Adult Content: none
Violence: none

Lawn Boy

Each year I anxiously await the new list of Sunshine State books. This year’s lists feature many well-known authors who have had previous picks, including Gary Paulsen. Paulsen is a great author for young readers who love the outdoors, adventure, and strong young heroes. Lawn Boy is a bit of a departure from his usual style, though. It is short, light, and a bit silly. It also teaches a lot about finances and capitalism through the experiences of the main character.


Summary: When a twelve year old boy gets an old riding lawn mower for his birthday, it sets off a chain of events that makes this broke kid into a business owner, stock investor, and sponsor of a prize fighter. All without his parents even realizing just how far out of control everything has grown.

The chapter titles show the evolution of the protagonist’s business, from chapter 1: The Principals of Economic Expansion to chapter 14: Resource Utilization: Its Causes and Effects. The titles contain vocabulary that will make many young readers blink, but the content within each chapter explains its title well.

Themes:
Responsibility

Age Appropriateness:
Grades 4 and up

Areas of concern (content):
Foul Language: none
Nudity/Adult Content: none
Violence: mild

Something Upstairs

I have read many of Avi’s books, and they are pretty hit or miss for me. Some I loved, some I couldn’t even force myself to finish. I picked up Something Upstairs because it looked like a quick read, and I tend to enjoy historical fiction. Something Upstairs was a fun mystery with some unusual twists which kept it from becoming “just another ghost story.”


Summary: When Kenny moves from sunny California to Providence, Rhode Island, he makes a discovery that he can’t share with his parents – his attic bedroom is haunted by the ghost of a murdered slave named Caleb. Caleb wants Kenny to go back in time and find out who murdered him.

As he tries to solve the mystery of Caleb’s death, Kenny finds himself caught up in the fight between abolitionists and slavers. If he makes the wrong choice, he may end up trapped in the past forever. Can Kenny solve the mystery and make it home to his own time?

In keeping with the historical context and language of the time, some of the characters do use a racial slur – but it is not used just for fun, it actually is something the characters would have said without a second thought. Just be aware so that you can address this with your young readers.

Themes:
Freedom
Justice

Age Appropriateness:
Grades 4 and up

Areas of concern (content):
Foul Language: Use of racial slurs (in historical context)
Nudity/Adult Content: none
Violence: mild

Shiver

Looking for a new series to hook your Twilight obsessed teens on? Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater may be what you’re looking for. It’s full of romance, angst, and the problems attached to loving someone from a different world than your own. The story puts some new twists on the legend of the werewolf, including the idea that the change in physical forms is brought on by temperature, and they can only take on their human form during the warm months.


Summary: Shiver is told from two perspectives. Grace is a teen girl who has grown up watching the wolves that live in the woods behind her house, especially the one with yellow eyes who saved her from being killed by the pack when she was younger. Sam is the young yellow-eyed werewolf who loves Grace from afar, even during the short time each year that he is human.

When Sam and Grace are finally brought together, nothing can separate them – except the possibility that Sam will become a wolf permanently. Can both of them deal with the pain of the past and find a way to protect their future together?

The book ends with a great twist that makes me look forward to reading the next book, Linger.


Themes:
Love
What makes someone human

Age Appropriateness:
Grades 8 and up
Areas of concern (content):
Foul Language: none
Nudity/Adult Content: Yes.
Violence: mild

The Hunger Games

I put off reading The Hunger Games because I wanted the whole trilogy to be out before I dove in. But since the last one comes out in a matter of weeks, I gave in and read the first book….and WOW! Intense! I can’t wait to read the rest of this series! As with Witch & Wizard in my previous post, this novel shows a possible future world that is frightening but also seems entirely possible. A great addition to dystopian YA lit!


Summary: Panem, the nation in what was once called North America, is a beautiful capital city surrounded by twelve districts which it keeps in line by forcing each one to send representatives – one boy and one girl – to take part in the Hunger Games, an annual fight to the death that is televised on the national TV channel.

When Katniss’ sister, Prim, is chosen to participate, Katniss steps up to take her place, knowing that she will probably die. Her survival skills and attitude quickly make her a favorite to win this year’s games. But in order to win, she may have to sacrifice her morals.

This book is full of great characters, and you grow to care for some of them even though, due to the premise of the book, most of them are doomed. The death scenes are gripping and, sometimes, upsetting. As I read this I really felt Katniss’ struggle to stay true to herself without making herself into an easy target for the other competitors.
Themes:
Totalitarianism
Family
Justice
Age Appropriateness:
Grades 7 and up

Areas of concern (content):
Foul Language: none
Nudity/Adult Content: none
Violence: yes, yes, yes. (After all, it’s a fight to the death!)

Witch & Wizard

James Patterson has made his mark on YA lit with his Maximum Ride series, known for their action and suspense. In Witch & Wizard, Patterson, with co-author Gabrielle Charbonnet, keeps the action and suspense going with what appears to be the first book in a new series about two unlikely heroes.


Summary: Wisty & Whit Allgood had been living an average life with their parents until the night they were taken from their home by The New Order and accused of being a witch and wizard. They are taken from their parents and imprisoned. As they work together to survive, escape, and find their parents, they discover that they have much more power than they realized – and more than The New Order may be ready to deal with!

Along the way, Wisty & Whit meet a cast of characters including a ghost, a group of children on the run, and many sadistic New Order lackeys. The mix of adventure, suspense, and a touch of magic makes this a fun book – but it also serves as a warning. Think along the lines of 1984 or Fahrenheit 451.

The prologue of the book starts at the end of the story – to the moments before the public execution of the Allgood family – but does not end at that point. This, along with the teasing phrase “to be continued” on the last page has me searching for news of when the next book in this series will hit the shelves. (Which, according to Amazon, will be October 5, 2010!)


Themes:
Totalitarianism
Family
Justice
Age Appropriateness:
Grades 7 and up


Areas of concern (content):
Foul Language: none
Nudity/Adult Content: none
Violence: mild

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella

Tired of the Twilight hype? Not me! When I saw that the novella was out, I had to grab it & read it before seeing Eclipse. And it was absolutely worth the read! If you haven’t already seen Eclipse, I recommend reading this BEFORE you see the movie. This novella ties in beautifully and really does clarify a few things that would be vague otherwise.

Summary: Bree is a newborn vampire – part of a group under the guidance and protection of Riley. It is an existence punctuated by thirst – a burning thirst – and the struggle to stay unnoticed and, therefore, to continue existing.

Then she makes a friend – Diego is just as curious about the one who made them as Bree is. None of the newborns know who she is; only Riley has any contact with her. When the two discover the truth behind their creator and her plans, they must choose their path and figure out who they can trust.

Anyone who has read Eclipse knows how Bree’s story ends, but that isn’t the point. Finding out how Bree reached that ending is the focus of this novella, and Meyer weaves that tale in a way that makes you sympathize with Bree and, if possible, dislike Victoria even more.



Themes:
Trust
Choices
Friendship
Age Appropriateness:
Grades 7 and up


Areas of concern (content):
Foul Language: none
Nudity/Adult Content: very mild
Violence: some descriptive passages

The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid

Rick Riordan’s latest offering starts a new series somewhat akin to his Percy Jackson books. This series, however, focuses on another group of deities – the Egyptian pantheon! Will the Kane Chronicles be as good as the Percy Jackson series? After reading the first book, I have to say it will be at least as good if not better!
Summary: Carter and Sadie Kane, despite being siblings, have spent very little time together since the death of their mother six years ago. Carter has travelled with his Egyptologist father while Sadie has lived with her grandparents, only seeing her father and brother on occasion.

When their father brings them together on Christmas Eve, then disappears in a mysterious explosion, Carter and Sadie discover that the Egyptian gods are real, and that Set, the evil god who killed his own brother, Osiris, is planning to destroy the world as they know it. Can the two siblings defeat Set, avoid the magicians known as the “House of Life,” (who want to kill them) and begin to trust one another after years apart?

Like the Percy Jackson series, this series will get the reader interested in learning more about the culture and gods discussed. Get ready to start researching your Egyptology, parents and teachers! Your kids are going to be digging in!


Themes:
Courage
Family


Age Appropriateness:
Grades 4 and up

Areas of concern (content):
Foul Language: none
Nudity/Adult Content: none
Violence: mild