Nicholle G's review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Liesel Meminger is sent to live with foster parents Rosa and Hans Hubermann in Molching, Germany during the Nazi reign of World War II. When she first arrives, she is leery to trust her new parents or anyone else in the neighborhood and has frequent nightmares that only Hans can soothe. After each nightmare, Hans stays up to teach Liesel how to read and they soon form a strong bond, both to each other and to the words they read.

In addition to their typical childhood activities of playing street soccer, being part of Hitler’s Youth, and getting in scuffles, she and friend Rudy also steal from the wealthier inhabitants of their poor town. They plunder food, trinkets, and, most important to Liesel, books. The books become Liesel’s salvation and connection to both her past and future throughout the difficult times of war.

Uniquely, the narrator of the book is Death. He foreshadows repeatedly, never hiding from the readers the horrors of war or the fact that several of the main characters do not live to see its end. Death describes the colors of the sky whenever he takes a soul, and unfortunately, there is not a scarcity of either Jewish or German souls throughout the telling of the story.

This touching book not only leaves the reader with an understanding for the power of words, but also of love, respect, and courage, most notably in times of war and destruction.

P.S. Don’t be fooled by its length – many of the pages have drawings and inserts that make the book seem much shorter than its heft may make it appear to be.

Mary's Review: Hana-Kimi: for you in full bloom by Hisaya Nakajo [manga]

Sometimes, when one has found something that works, it's just a good idea to stick to it. Hiding one's gender to get hold of something is certainly no exception; all the way back from the Twelfth Night to present. Ladies and gentleman, Hana-Kimi. Mizuki is just your average Japanese-heritage American school girl...except for passing herself off as a boy at an all-boy Japanese high school so that she can meet her idol--high jumper Izumi Sano. Of course it isn't long before someone discovers her secret. Luckily for Mizuki, one Dr. Umeda is lax enough in morals (and rather amusingly unsympathetic for a school doctor) to keep his mouth shut and act as a sort of sarcastic sage for the poor girl. Of course this is a romantic comic, and that means everything that goes with the territory; jealousy, awkward situations (Sano as a roommate-yikes), and that agonizing feeling of "Dear-God-when-are-they-going-to-get-together". For it's own sake Hana Kimi has a cast of likeable supporting characters to keep the reader interested when romantic tension seems rather ho-hum, and that's the genius of it, though one always ends up wistfully imagining a little more screen time for the worthy secondaries.

A worthwhile read for the romantic at heart, the fan of the amusing, and the manga reader, and most certainly worth the numerous volumes it spans.

Final Verdict: 4Q, 4P

Princess on the Brink by Meg Cabot

It’s the start of junior year and Mia is back from Genovia and busy preparing for the PSAT (why does it include math. Doesn’t Genovia have accountants for that??), trying to avoid Lilly’s attempts to make her run for student council president, and princess lessons (of course). She’s looking forward to finally seeing her boyfriend Michael (dinner at Number One Noodle Son!), but his plans for the year throw her for a loop. During the summer Michael created a prototype of a robotic arm that can be used to perform open heart surgery. His professor was so impressed that now a company in Japan wants Michael to come and assist them with building the actual thing. And it could take at least a year or more. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!! Mia is torn between the good (saving people’s lives) that could come from Michael’s invention and being without him for a year. She’s desperate to find a way to make him stay in New York. In typical Mia fashion, things don’t go according to plan and now everything has changed.

Mr. Rogers' Review: Incantation by Alice Hoffman

Set in Inquisition Spain (1500 AD) a tale of budding love, hidden lives and secrets, and betrayal. Estrella is best friends with Catalina; falls in love with Andres (Catalina's cousin), an event that sets off an avalanche of disaster, and suffers great losses because of blind hate and prejudice. An excellent fast read that's quite historically accurate.

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

Burned

By circumstances
Out of her control.
Betrayed by a God, a life
she is taught not to question.

Born the first of seven
girls, to a man who wants
boys. A man in love with Johnnie
Walker Black and the power
wielded by a drunken hand.

Pattyn can’t accept
the role she is destined
for: as a wife, homemaker
and baby making machine.

One misstep and unforeseen
stroke of luck
show Pattyn real love and
a world of acceptance and freedom.

But can it be
too good to be true.
In rhyme can she find
her happy ending.

Written in poetic verse, Burned is the tale of a young woman trapped in a life, family, and religion she didn’t choose, doesn’t want to accept, can’t get away from, and is inevitably tied to.

Emily's Review: Flight, Volume One [Graphic Novel]

This is the first installment of the popular "Flight" series of comic collections, featuring work by young artists. The quality of work is dazzling -- digital and traditional pieces are displayed side-by-side and while they look different, they are just as beautiful as each other. The writing is admirable as well; my personal favorites are a "confessional" comic by Erika Moen (who illustrates her own diaries online), a delicate coming-of-age tale in watercolor by Jen Wang, and a wordless (!!!) comic written by Dylan Meconis and drawn by Bill Mudron.
Rating: 5Q, 4P

Dane's Review: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

A book that was so profound and interesting, well written and well defined was The Lovely Bones. The book is about a young girl named Susy Salmon, like the fish. She sadly dies in the beginning of the book and finds herself inside her Heaven, where she can do most anything she pleases; watching her family back on Earth being how she spends the majority of her time.

This book shows realistic family ties, bonds, and characters so interesting and astounding that you think you actually know them. And follow their stories of growing and coping with their problems and Susy which are so vivid that it literally pulls at your heart.

This is a wonderful book, albeit more mature than that of the normal teen scene. WARNING: Contains adult themes.

Rating: 5Q, 3P

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The author says it is a story to make you believe in God. It is the tale of a boy trapped on a lifeboat in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. The boy, sixteen-year-old Pi, is the son of a zookeeper, and a teen who practices the Hindu, Muslim, and Christian religions. His family is traveling from India to their new home in Canada when the cargo ship they are aboard sinks. Pi finds himself the sole human survivor in the company of a Bengal tiger, a hyena, an orangutan, and a wounded zebra. Soon it is only Pi and the tiger.

Would you be able to spend 227 days alone in the Pacific with a huge carnivorous tiger and live to tell the tale? This is a journey of survival and spiritual meaning. This is the Life of Pi.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Every generation has experienced at least one life changing event. One of those days or events that you think about for the rest of your life and say “I know exactly where I was the minute I heard or I saw (fill in the blank)…” For instance, for you it might be September 11th or Hurricane Katrina. For other generations it would be events like the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion, or President Kennedy’s assassination. The day John Lennon was shot or the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Maybe even the day the astronauts first walked on the moon.

The moon. That grayish sphere in the night sky that waxes and wanes: new, quarter, half, full, and back again. Peacefully orbiting the Earth. You might admire it or completely disregard it but Miranda and her family will never forget it or the day the moon changed their life, their world forever.

It was like a scene straight from the movies, one like Armageddon, Deep Impact, or The Day After Tomorrow. Scientists say an asteroid will hit the moon and it becomes one of those can’t miss, once in a lifetime events to see—like Halley’s Comet. Even the teachers are so captivated by the news that the homework in every subject is about the moon, even French! So on the night of May 18, Miranda, Mom, and her younger brother Jonny head out to the road, set up their lawn chairs and turn their eyes to the sky. But what they see is not a miracle or anything spectacular. It is quite possibly the most horrifying image they will ever see. Because just like in those movies, something goes horribly wrong. And when the asteroid hits the moon, it knocks the moon off its axis, out of its orbit, and pushes it closer to Earth. Its like when you play marbles and one marble hits another and pushes it diagonally.

The problem wasn’t just that the moon looks terrifying, too close and too bright. But it has caused horrendous chaos. Gas prices have soared to $12 a gallon (and rising), electricity blacked out for hours and then days at a time, and grocery store shelves quickly and completely emptied. Earthquakes and tsumanis devastate the coast, wiping out cities and millions of people. Volcanos begin erupting, even those that had been dormant for centuries. Winds blow smoke and ash thousands of miles away ultimately blocking out the sun’s light and heat. As summer quickly turns to winter, Miranda begins to wonder whether it will ever again be Life As We Knew It, where they have enough food in storage and whether they will ultimately survive. This is Miranda’s story.

Mary's Review: Wide Awake by David Levithan

One could never say that Daivd Levithan is not an idealist. He's created a world of peace and general prosperity, where people go to the mall not to buy things but to donate to charities (non-shopping malls) and gay Jewish men can be president. In fact, the novel is mostly focused on imparting this could be utopia and Levithan often digresses from the plot to do so. That's not to say there is no plot: hero Duncan and Co. are supporters of said Gay Jewish President and head off to a Kansas rally when the election win is contested. Romance, intrigue, characters and bigots all come, go, and weave a narrative. The read is certainly destined to feel some kind of bond with the narrator and his cause, though the reviewer does not question the likelihood of many a Wyoming reader being warded off by the sexual orientation of many of the cast members. For those still around once the dust settles--come. Sit, relax, and daydream about what the world could be.
Final Verdict- 4Q, 3P