Muller In the Middle

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life as we knew it

2009-06-07T15:20:00.001-04:00

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life as we knew it. Harcourt, 2006 [0-15-205826-5 // 978-0-15-205826-5]
WOW! This is by far the most powerful book I have read in a LONG time. I got so wrapped up in the story, I went into a kind of depression. Miranda and her family live in western Pennsylvania on May 19th when the asteroid hit the moon. It moved the moon on a closer orbit to the Earth causing tsunamis around the world, earthquakes and floods. Most coastal cities in the world are destroyed. Miranda's mother had the foresight to hit the food stores and other stores the next morning to purchase non-perishable food, clothing, batteries and other supplies. What happens next is that all of society starts to quickly collapse. Electricity stops, there is very little oil or gas because all the tanker ships and refineries on the coast were destroyed. Eventually the stronger pull of the Moon's gravity causes old extinct volcanoes to start erupting. Grey clouds cover the skies as the summer ends and it starts to get cold..colder...and colder. This this 337 page book tells the story of survival when there is no hope for rescue. It is the tale of death, cold, starvation, friendship, and love. I will not say how the book ends.. but it is appropriate. All I can say.. for upper middle school to through High School.... don't miss this one!

Rowling, J.K. The tales of Beedlethe Bard

2009-06-03T19:49:00.000-04:00

Rowling, J.K. The tales of Beedle the Bard. Scholastic, 2007 [978-0-545-12828-5 // 0-545-12828-5]
This is a collection of short stories billed as Wizard/Muggle folklore with "extensive commentary" by Albus Dumbledore. The "net proceeds" from the sale of this book goes directly to a charity which helps children. I would have rather had Ms. Rowling ask for direct contributions to the charity. Out the the several short stories, I found only one half-way enjoyable (The Wizard the and hopping pot.) To connect these stories to Harry Potter, after each short story is a long explanation of the significance and importance of each tale by Albus Dumbledore. There are even footnotes in Dumbledore's commentary as further explanation. I held off purchasing this 110 page book and I sincerely hope Ms. Rowling does not try to write more such books which try to thrive on the coattails of the Harry Potter saga. If she wants to write.. use another set of characters. I have only convinced one student to check this out and she was not pleased with it at all.

Yep, Laurence. Dragon Road

2009-06-02T18:44:00.002-04:00

Yep, Laurence. Dragon Road. HarperCollins, 2008 [978-0-06-027521-1]
This is part of the Golden Mountain series which follows the Young family from 1849 through 1995. It is now 1939 and Cal and Barney are basketball "sharks." To make money to survive in the Depression, they pretend they can't play basketball and then scam a bet and always win the game. This keeps them alive but is not a life until they meet a guy who is setting up a traveling exhibition Asian basketball team. They travel around the country, making a name for themselves and even a little money for themselves. Will Cal ever get back to Chinatown and say what he really feels for his girl friend who has been left caring for his alcoholic father. This 290 page book is a good sports story, historical story, and a story of prejudice in 1939. I like Mr. Yep's books. NOTE: This book is loosely based on an actual Asian traveling team of the time. There is a short bibliography at the end of the book for students with further interest in the team.

Woodson, Jacqueline. After Tupac & D Foster.

2009-06-02T18:34:00.001-04:00

Woodson, Jacqueline. After Tupac & D Foster. Putnam, 2008 [978-0-399-24654-8]
This is the story of three teenage girls in the inner city. Two girls are the best of friends and D Foster shows up (about a month before Tupac got shot the first time.) All three of them become inseparable even though the first two girls are not sure about much of the background of D Foster. The three of them grow up in the three years that D Foster was with them. This 151 page book deals with three girls, inner city life and growing up. Note that Tupac is not in the book but rather they just remember time periods around the events in Tupac's life.

Fitzgerald, Dawn. Soccer chick rules

2009-06-02T18:26:00.001-04:00

Fitzgerald, Dawn. Soccer chick rules. Roaring Brook Press, 2006 [1-59643-137-7]
Soccer is everything for 13 year-old Tess and she spends her life focused on that until she finds out that the School Board has threatened to cut sports programs on school unless the school budget or levy is passed. Along with trying to do her best in the soccer season, getting involved with boys and challenging friends, Tess now gets involved in local politics. This 150 page book deals with sports, friendship, and fighting for a cause.

Pinkwater, Daniel. The Neddiad.

2009-06-02T17:10:00.000-04:00

Pinkwater, Daniel. The Neddiad. Houghton Mifflin, 2007 [978-0-618-59444-3 // 0-618-59444-2]
WOW.. I have met several authors at conferences, dinners, etc. and would LOVE to meet Mr. Pinkwater. His middle school books are an absolute riot (although strange,) It is the 1940's and Ned's father made a fortune selling shoe laces to the army. They decide to move to LA, taking the train across the country. Ned misses getting back on the train at one stop and ends up on a wild adventure getting to meet his parents. There are many plays on words throughout the book that I am sure most kids will not catch. For example, Ned meets a famous movie star, Aaron Finn. On the trip Ned is given an ancient carved turtle by a shaman and ends up having to save the world from disaster. I LOVE his books but it is always a sell, to get a kid to read them. I have turned on a couple kids to his wacky sense of humor.. maybe because I have one also. This 307 page book is not a totally crazy as the Snarkout Boys books or Lizard music... and I think I love it the best. You go, Daniel!

Citra. Becky. Never to be told.

2009-06-02T16:59:00.000-04:00

Citra, Becky. Never to be told. Orca, 2006 [1-55143-567-5 // 978-1-55143-567-1]
Asia has lived on the farm at Cold River with elderly Ira and Maddy for a long time. She has started seeing a ghost. When Ira has a heart attack everything changes.. she suddenly has to go live with her birth mother's family. A ghost appears there also. Only Asia can see and hear these ghosts. This is a ghost story but also a warm story about a girl trying to figure out where she belongs and to figure out why ghosts are appearing to only here. This 217 page book is a touching ghost story.. not a scary one.

Hoffman, Alice. Incantation.

2009-06-02T16:49:00.000-04:00

Hoffman, Alice. Incantation. Little, Brown, 2006 [0-316-01019-7 // 978-0-316-01019-1]
Estrella is 16 and lives with a close-knit family during the Spanish Inquisition. She does everything with her best friend until by chance she falls in love with the guy who is promised to her best friend. This is the Inquisition where one must be careful about what one does and says. One day Estrella discovers that her family is really Jewish and when her friend suspects, she turns Estrella's family into the Inquisition. This is a very powerful story. While the 166 page book is short, it is very heavy reading. People are living in a society where they must be very careful about what they say, or or even appear to be doing. There are descriptions of burnings and torture. It shows an aspect of the Inquisition that one does not often hear about. It is a good book to balance with some of the Holocaust things.

Riordan, Rick. The last Olympian [Percy Jackson #5]

2009-05-16T16:25:00.000-04:00

Riordan, Rick. The last Olympian [Percy Jackson #5]. Hyperion, 2009 [978-1423101475]
Percy the other characters from Camp Half-Blood and the other Olympians, prepare to do battle against Kronos/Luke, the Titans and his forces. Much of the book deals with minor skirmishes and the lead-up to the final battle. Not until the final battle do things get serious and the reader begins to feel that the Olympians may actually loose. Will Mount Olympus (on the 600th floor of the Empire State building) fall? Will the prophecy some true about Percy? If the previous books didn't this one will make the reader look up more about Greek Mythology. All the characters are involved in this war! This 381 page book is a fitting end to this series. But.....as the author states at the end.. it is the end of the first Half-Blood series. So get ready for more. This is an exciting and well-written series.

Whelan, Gloria. After the train

2009-05-12T18:08:00.000-04:00

Whelan, Gloria. After the train. HarpeCollins, 2009 [978-0-06-029596-7]
It is 1955 and Peter is happy with his family and looking forward to a summer in after-war Germany. The country is rebuilding but there are still some hard feelings towards the Jews. One day while going through some papers, he finds a letter... from his birth mother and it appears that he was passed to his parents family as a baby as his mother was put on a train to a concentration camp. Peter doesn't know how to approach his "parents", questioning them if they are his parents. He starts meeting with a Jewish man who works for his father, to find out about the Jewish religion. This 152 page book is short, but deals with a heavy topic. Should Peter tell people he is Jewish when there is still much prejudice in the country? How should he confront his parents? I am not aware of any other book written in this time period. I good addition to your collection.

Mourlevat, Jean-Claude. The pull of the ocean

2009-05-12T17:49:00.001-04:00

Mourlevat, Jean-Claude. The pull of the ocean. Delacorte, 2006 [0-385-73348-8]
Yann is a mute midget who has six brothers who are all twins. Yann is able to communicate with them although he can not speak. They live with a crude, poor family and one night Yann wakes them all up scared that their parents want to kill them all so he leads them out into the night, away from the house, to the ocean. A social worker who has been concerned about the family calls and reports the missing children. What follows is an unusual journey across the country, when the kids meet various people and run into different problems. This 190 page book is unusual so say the least. I am not sure what I think of it... I did get wrapped up in the story but am not sure everyone would. Maybe it lost something in the translation from French.

Scott, Kieran. Brunettes strike back

2009-05-12T17:29:00.001-04:00

Scott, Kieran. Brunettes strike back. Speak/Penguin, 2006 [978-0-14-240778-3]
Annisa has moved from New Jersey to Florida and her new HS is also blonde oriented. Now their cheerleading squad is heading to the nationals and are upset that Annisa is the only brunette on the team. Meanwhile Annisa has fallen for Daniel but is not sure how committed to her he is. Of course she maintains contact with her friends from Jersey. Will her relationship with Daniel pan out? Will they win the nationals? How committed is Annisa to her new school and squad. This 249 page follow-up to "I was a non-blonde cheerleader" has all the fun of the first. There appears to be another one coming in this "series."

DeFelice, Cynthia. Bringing Ezra back

2009-05-12T17:09:00.000-04:00

DeFelice, Cynthia. Bringing Ezra back. Farrar Straus Girioux, 2006 [0-374-366395-5]
In this sequel to "Weasel" (from 1990) Nathan sees that his friend from "Weasel", Ezra is now working a freak show, traveling around the countryside in the 1800s. Ezra decides to talk his father into letting he go and get Ezra. This is the 148 page adventure of Ezra traveling the area, meeting varied characters and going to bring Ezra back. Has Ezra been so mentally damaged at the freak show that he will never recover?

Reeve. Phillip. Larklight

2009-05-12T16:49:00.000-04:00

Reeve, Phillip. Larklight. Bloomsbury, 2006 [1-59990-020-3]
This is a great example of an alternate reality. In this reality, Isaac Newton was contacted by a alien and given the secret of space travel. It is now 1851 and the British Empire now not only includes Earth but many other planets. Our main characters, Art and his sister Myrtle get involved with space pirates, large menacing white spiders with an evil plot to take over the universe. This 399 page book is a great sci-fi adventure story with wonderfully intricate illustrations periodically. The book reminded me some of the "Edgeworld Chronicles" by Stewart. A great addition to a middle school library.

Korman, Gordon. Born to rock

2009-04-14T17:34:00.003-04:00

Korman, Gordon. Born to rock. Hyperion, 2006 [0-7868-0920-5]
Leo, a HS senior, found out several years ago by looking at his birth certificate, that his biological father was one of the founders of the punk rock movement. A bit of contrast here since Leo is a conservative guy, president of The Young Republicans at school. His best friend is Melinda, a girl he grew up with who is a punk rock fan. When Leo loses his scholarship to Harvard, he realizes the only way to get the needed money is to meet his biological father. That leads to him going on tour with his biological father. It is one crazy summer. Leo sees a lot, and learns who his real friends are. The punk rock star also learns some things too which is evident at the surprise ending to this fun multi-dimensional 261 page book. Gordon Korman is one of my favorite authors for the middle school. It is a shame he doesn't get the recognition he deserves. His Interflux books are great and my all time favorite is "A semester in the life of a garbage bag."

Bloor, Edward. London calling

2009-04-14T17:14:00.002-04:00

Bloor, Edward. London calling. Knopf, 2006 [0-375-93635-1]
Johnny is a 7th grader who goes to an exclusive private school only because his mom works there. He has some struggles with the rich kids who attend the school. Johnny inherits an old radio from his grandmother which takes him back to London of 1940 and a boy named Jimmy. At first Johnny thinks he is dreaming but he checks out the facts of his dream that he could have never known. He eventually finds out that the Jimmy of his dream is trying to tell him something... to solve a wrong done a long time ago. This 289 page book is a mixture of history and current story of a boy in an exclusive prep school. This mix makes a good story which leads to a great ending.

Hopkins, Ellen. Impulse

2009-04-14T16:34:00.003-04:00

Hopkins, Ellen. Impulse. Simon & Schuster, 2007 [1-4169-7487-3 // 978-1-4169-7487-1]
The is the story of three teenagers who meet at Aspen Springs mental hospital in Nevada. They have been involved in self-mutilation, sexual abuse, murder, and drug abuse. This 688 page book seals with some very harsh realities and is not meant for elementary or lower middle school students. There is frank talk about all the topics listed above as the teens go through treatment for their various problems. The book is written in a kind of free verse and is told by the three teenagers at various times. Periodically it took me a while to figure out who was speaking. Since the book deals with treatment in a mental hospital, it could be compared to "Cut" or even "I never promised you a rose garden." The reader gets totally wrapped up in the lives these three teenagers. It reads well up through the very dramatic ending. Once again, this is a very harsh book. I would read it before you put it in your library. There are several other books which follow it or are related to it which I understand are more harsh than this one. I will not be getting those. I can not keep this book on the shelf and I see many kids walking around with their own copies of this and the other related books.

Daly, Joseph M. The woods behind Trevor Malone's house

2009-04-07T18:38:00.003-04:00

Daly, Joseph M. The woods behind Trevor Malone's house [Strange town - Vol. 1]. Wolf's Corner, 2004 [978-0-9779921-0-2]
One day Trevor hears some strange noises behind his house. The next day he takes his friend Pete to investigate. What starts out seeming like a UFO sci-fi story quickly moves into a story about a secret military technology. Although it is unlikely that a bunch of kids could break into a top secret military installation with high security, this is a fun adventure book which builds and builds. Trevor has some interesting friends (and acquaintances.) I enjoyed this 273 page book which appears to be the first in a series. It is a complete story. You may not have heard of this book but I purchased it because it was written by a local author. I look forward to the next one.

Bowers, Laura. Beauty Shop for rent

2009-04-07T18:23:00.003-04:00

Bowers, Laura. Beauty shop for rent. Harcourt, 2007 [978-0-15--205764-0]
Years ago Abbie's mom left her on the steps of her grandmother who has run a limping beauty show. Abbie has been saving her cash.. she has a plan for her life. Grandma and her gray lady friends are a tough group. Grandma decides to sell the shop and retire and the person who buys it makes it more trendy but also learns to gain the acceptance of Grandma. Meanwhile Abbie's mom shows up with a play to turn her life around but she needs cash from Abbie. Will Abbie be able to forgive her mom for deserting her? Will she give her the needed cash? This humorous 328 page book is full of colorful characters and a twisting plot line. It is an adventure in love and loyalty.

Bateson, Catherine. The boyfried rules of good behavior

2009-04-07T17:51:00.002-04:00

Bateson, Catherine. The boyfriend rules of good behavior. Holiday House, 2006 [0-8234-2026-4]
Millie is a girl in a single parent family. She and her mom get along well. Suddenly (as will happen) Millie gets a big time crush on a boy at school. Meanwhile her mom has started dating. This 181 page book is not your usual silly book about a girl making lists about dealing with her boyfriend. In reality, it is more about observing and dealing with her mom's dating.. and new boyfriend. What is refreshing, Millie is not plotting against her mom's dating. It is a cute book with a little different twist.

Levine, Gail Carson. Fairest

2009-04-07T16:51:00.002-04:00

Levine, Gail Carson. Fairest. HarperCollins, [978-0-06-076408-4 // 0-06-073408-6]
Once again we enter the fantasy world of Ella Enchanted. In the kingdom of Ayortha the things valued most are singing and beauty. Aza (far from beautiful) travels to the castle and by a twist of fate, becomes the favorite of the Queen and thus her lady in waiting. The King is injured and goes into a coma. Aza and a prince fall in love and she soon realized that the queen is evil. The characters get involved with a magical mirror and finally end up happily ever after. This is a great fantasy VERY loosely built around Snow While. It would be especially good for girls struggling with issue of beauty and body image. This 326 page book would be a strong addition to middle school collections.

Hobbs, Will. Go big or go home

2009-03-27T05:25:00.000-04:00

Hobbs, Will. Go big or go home. HarperCollins, 2008 [978-0-06-074141-6]
One night Brady, who lives in the Black Hills, is watching a meteor shower out his window when hears a crash. A meteorite the size of a potato crashed through the roof of his house and into his bedroom. He promptly names it "Fred." The meteorite has dormant bacteria which give Brady extra strength and agility. When the bacteria decide to go dormant again, so does Brady. What will happen when people think he is dead? Meanwhile in the 185 page book, Brady's cousin Quinn visits and they go on "extreme adventures." There is also the neighborhood bully family which hassle Brady. This is a fun science fiction story mixed into the outdoors adventure style of Hobbs. It is not his usual style

Paolini, Christopher. Brisingr [Interitance #3]

2009-03-25T05:26:00.000-04:00

Paolini, Christopher. Brisingr [Inheritance #3]. Knopf, 2008 [978-0375-82672-6]
This third book in the series gets back to the feel of the first one (I did not like #2.) The Varden now are at war with the Empire. Roran, Eragon's cousin, asks him to marry him and his love. Then Roran goes off to war where he has his ups and downs under various commanders. Eragon and Sophia must go on an adventure where must visit the elves and dwarfs to gather their support for the war. While there he finally gets his own sword made. This 763 page book is a lot of reading but holds the readers attention as the first book did. It is strange how I notice this in many series that book 2 is not as good as book 1 and 3. This series which was to be a trilogy, will have a fourth book to finish it (so says the author.)

Spinelli, Jerry. Love, Stargirl

2009-03-02T19:11:00.000-05:00

Spinelli, Jerry. Love, Stargirl. Knopf, 2007 [978-0-375-81375-7]
At the start of this book Stargirl and her family have moved from Arizona to Pennsylvania, leaving everything behind her, including Leo. This 274 page book is written in a form of a letter to Leo about her experiences in this new town. She does not attend HS because she is home schooled. In the course of this story (or letter) she gets to know a crazy little girl, a troubled girl who is struggling with growing up, an delightful agoraphobic lady who has not left her house in 6 year and a mysterious young man who doesn't attend school much. This boy has a lot of Maniac Magee in him. Throughout the year of this story, Stargirl is making a solar calendar which will finish on the winter solstice. Both Stargirl and the people in this small town will be forever changed by the presence of Stargirl. Will she fall in love with this mysterious young man... or will her feelings for Leo hold strong?

Hennesy, Carolyn. Pandora gets jealous

2009-03-01T16:01:00.000-05:00

Hennesy, Carolyn. Pandora gets jealous. Bloomsbury, 2008 [978-1-59990-196-1 // 1-59990-196-x]
Pandora (or Pandy to her friends) has a big school project due and can not think of a great idea. All except bringing in the special box of her father Prometheus. She knows it contains evil things and it should never be opened. Well she decides to bring it to school and under peer pressure, it gets opened and all the evils are let out. She is dragged before Zeus, Hera and the council of gods and is given a chance to gather all the evils up before they destroy the world. This starts her and her friends out of the adventure of this 264 page book. The story is told in a light fashion and although it takes place in ancient times, the school situation and peer pressure makes it feel like a current day situation, making it readable for many kids. Although this story does have an ending, there are at least two more books in the series. Although it is much lighter, it might be a good one to follow the Percy Jackson series especially for girls.