The Book Search

 You know those books.  The ones that sit charmingly between genres.  Are they realistic because the characters SEEM like real people, if slightly (or extremely) exaggerated.  Are they speculative (or fantasy) because I really, really hope that things like this never really happen to kids or that there are people like this out in the world.  Here are two books that are just like that! The first one is called That Time I Got Kidnapped by Tom Mitchell.  It's about Jacob, who is 14 and a HUGE Marvel Comics fan, who has won a chance to be an extra in a new movie shooting in Hollywood, with all expenses paid.  So he's going from England to Hollywood, all by himself.  He has a list of things he should not do (like lose his passport or miss his connecting flight), so what could possibly go wrong?  For starters, there's a huge snowstorm in Chicago, which is his point of entry in the US.  And he misses the connecting flight.  So he decides t...

I'm plunging into the dark heart of fantasy or speculative fiction.  I haven't had a chance to go here for awhile, so I'm looking forward to it! The first one is called "Last Day on Mars" by Kevin Emerson.  I'm going to tell you straight up that science fiction is not my favorite, but this one was a breathtaking adventure.  It's about a boy named Liam who has grown up on Mars.  His parents are scientists and they moved to Mars before Liam was born because the Earth was failing.  They've been living on Mars for the past 15 years and now it's time to leave there too because the protections they've built to help them survive there are failing. Liam is sad to leave Mars (it IS the only home he's ever known) and although he's heard lots of stories about how amazing Earth was, the new place they are going is uncertain and a bit fraught with peril.  But it also seems that there is some sabotage going on and Liam and his best friend Phoebe se...

This week I've been trying to finish up reading the new Sunshine State Young reader books.  This first one I liked a lot. It's called "Freaky Fast Frankie Joe" by Lutricia Clifton.  Frankie Joe lives in a trailer park and has lots of friends, all of whom are retirees.  Frankie Joe's mom has made some questionable choices and suddenly, Frankie Joe's dad is there to pick him up and take him to his house.  As they are driving, Frankie Joe finds out that his dad has remarried (actually, he never married Frankie Joe's mom) and has four sons there.  Frankie Joe finds that some things are better at his dad's house (Lizzie, Frankie Joe's stepmom is a great cook), most of the people are very nice and are willing to pay for Frankie Joe's speedy bicycle skills.  But some are not so great, including his oldest half brother.  Frankie Joe makes an elaborate plan to run away to get back to his mom.  But things change and so does Frankie Joe.  It would be gr...

There were a lot of picture books I hadn't read at the book fair but there were even more chapter books that I hadn't read.  I read pretty fast, but I'm still having trouble finishing all the books I wanted to read before the end of the book fair.  I wonder if my principal would mind if I took the day off tomorrow so I could finish reading.... There were some completely stellar ones on the list.  Two by Lynda Mullaly Hunt... I hadn't read "One for the Murphys" which got a lot of buzz last year.  It's about a girl named Carley who is put in a foster home (with the Murphys) because of a terrible incident with her stepfather and mom.  Her mom was badly injured and couldn't take care of her so Carley is sent to foster care.  The Murphys are a solid family with three young boys and Carley finds it difficult that people can be so kind to each other.  She makes friends and learns to trust the Murphys.  I was a little surprised by the ending. This would...