Brand new book! Don't miss the Story Web!

I've been home sick this week. It feels like forever, but it turns out, it's been a week.  The good news is, I have had some excellent books to keep me company.  This new one, The Story Web, is my new favorite book.  It is a completely amazing combination of realistic and fantasy fiction.  It's by Megan Frazer Blakemore.  I thought I recognized her name when I requested her brand new book, but as I read over the list of titles, I realized I'd never read one of her works before.  I'm so happy I fixed that today (yeah, I read the whole book TODAY because I totally couldn't put it down) and now I have an opportunity to read the rest of them. (Except it turns out, I have read one of her books before.  Not only read it, but blogged about it here.  I blame the cold I've been working on for a WEEK now).   But wait till you hear about this one.  "The Story Web" is set in a small town in Maine.  Alice and Lewis have been friends since they were small but have since grown apart because of something that happened some time ago.  Melanie is a strange girl who came to live with her aunt, who people in the community believe is a witch.  Her aunt is actually a scientist who rescues animals and is a bit of a recluse.  Alice's dad is away but he's planning to come back, she's just not sure when.  He sends her letters pretty often and they are full of adventurous stories.  Her dad is quite a storyteller as well as an excellent athlete (a star hockey player and coach) as well as a war hero.  However, things haven't been going so well in the small town.  Businesses are struggling and people are looking for a change and not everyone agrees on what that change might look like.  At the same time, the animals in the forest are sensing a change and they believe a girl might hold the answer to the problem, so they agree to try to reach out to her.  See what I mean about an amazing combination of realistic and fantasy?  Mind blowingly awesome!  I can't even really tell you any more about the plot because the way this story unfolds just feels like magic.

I CAN tell you some of the other things that make the book terrific-a million different social issues to grab on to, including friendship, PTSD, bullying, racial profiling, poverty, gun rights, and urban development.  There are a TON of text references that might send you haring off to the library to look for titles you haven't thought of in quite some time.  There are excellent, well developed characters who sound like people you know, you might not agree with all of them, but you've definitely met them.  Here's what I really think.  If you work in an elementary school teaching reading of any kind to middle grade kids, you NEED this book.  This is going to be a terrific read aloud to start the year with, not only for reading stories but for telling and writing stories as well as considering your community and your family.  Don't miss it!