#43-45

#43 Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

2011 Newbery Award winner!

Abilene Tucker's father has sent her to live with the "preacher" in his hometown of Manifest, Kansas, while he finds work elsewhere. Abilene arrives in the town (after jumping from the train) to find...well, not a whole lot. The year is 1936 and Abilene is 12 years old. Most everyone in the town is suffering from the Depression and is doing their best to get by. Abilene discovers a cigar box of mementos in her new home and spends her summer trying to learn what each means. Along the way, she meets a fortune teller named Miss Sadie and the local newspaper columnist Hattie Mae Harper and discovers there is more to Manifest, and her father, then she could ever imagine.

I was initially drawn to the story because it is the latest Newbery winner but also because it's set in Kansas. Being from the sunflower state myself, I was curious about the story. It toggles back and forth from present day 1936 to 1917 with such ease, I enjoyed the change in setting quite a bit. I can see how this may be difficult for young readers to deal with and was a little surprised it was chosen for the prestigious award this year. I'm sure a lot has to do with the fact that this is such a clever story. All the little details that Abilene uncovers fit so nicely together. It is almost like a story you should read twice just to go back and really understand how the writer pieced it all together.

This would be a fun historical fiction novel to read with a class. Many of the important details from the story come through old newspaper columns. It may be fun to use with a class and then work to create some kind of newspaper or time capsule. And the story itself has great historical references including the Depression, KKK and Prohibition. And above all, it follows a young girl growing up and learning about who she is and how she fits into a new town. Highly recommended from this reader!

#44 The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

I'm on the lookout for new novels for my sixth graders next year. With the surge of dystopian tales, I wanted to find a couple to offer to my young students, hopefully through a literature circle format. I had high hopes for this novel...and was a bit disappointed. The premise of the story is incredible. I was very excited to read it. But I found myself feeling bored and bit underwhelmed with the random events. However, it may be just me. I like to read reviews others have written and on barnesandnoble.com, this book received high marks. This almost makes me feel like I need to give the book another chance, but no, I'm moving on. But don't take my word for it. 58 online reviewers would disagree with me.

In this story, Kayla is a high schooler living in a futuristic society where people are being barcoded. The barcode on their arm is to make life easier. Everything you need can be contained in your barcode. It is how you pay for things, it's how you are identified. Kayla is finally old enough to get her own tattoo, but decides she doesn't want one. She refuses to get the mark nearly everyone else in her community wears, and she suffers for it. Kayla begins to question her society when her best friend's family loses their home, certain people can't pay for necessities with their tattoo, and she discovers the real reason her father suddenly died. Much of the book was interesting, but I found the ending to be a bit of a letdown. Kayla suddenly discovers she has a sort of sixth sense and can communicate with others in a unique way.

See, sounds pretty cool right? I can see how young readers would enjoy this book and it does lend itself to some great discussion of government control and individual freedoms. I certainly encourage you to try it out, just didn't work for me.

#45 Truesight by David Stahler, Jr. (Book One Truesight Trilogy)

As I mentioned in the book review above, I'm trying to find quality dystopian books for my kiddos. This was another attempt and sadly, another fail. As in the last book, the premise is pretty cool, but the outcome isn't so great. What is wrong with me this week? I'm usually very happy with all the books I read. Maybe I'm getting pickier in my old age?

Jacob lives on a planet far from Earth in a community called Harmony. Due to genetic engineering, everyone in Harmony is blind. It is believed that "vision corrupts the mind with distractions." Jacob has spent his whole life in Harmony and believes all he's learned. Until, he begins experiencing headaches and begins to see. Jacob regains his sight and begins to see another side of Harmony he never expected. What he sees and learns about his community and the people who live in it causes him to question all he's ever known about his life.

Another very interesting storyline. I liked this story more than The Bar Code Tattoo, but I'm still not sure it's good enough to share with my students in an academic way. I will encourage them to read it on their own and many of them will love it, but I'm still on the lookout for better dystopian-style titles. If you have any suggestions, please leave me a post!

#42

#42 Empty by Suzanne Weyn

"'When are we going to get it through our heads that oil is a nonrenewable resource? ...we must throw ourselves wholeheartedly into developing every source of renewable energy - nothing less than our survival as a global community depends on it.'"

We all know it's true. One day the oil will run out. What will the world be like? That's Suzanne's Weyn's task in this YA novel. At the start of the book Empty, gas prices are so high, most people can't afford to fill up their car or heat their home. Whole town are losing power and the food is running out. And this is all before the hurricanes come. You can just imagine the craziness that ensues. Niki, Gwen and Tom are teens growing up in the middle of it all and trying to find a way to survive in a new world.

This book is an honest look at what could happen to our world if we don't make big changes in the near future. There is so much talk about global warming, environmental changes and recycling and this book would be wonderful to use with students. I think it would pair well with a book I read and reviewed just a couple weeks ago: Ship Breaker. If we can get our young readers involved in making positive changes to help our communities, amazing things can begin to happen.

Sidenote: I just have to share a story about some of my students who are truly making a difference. A few of my kiddos did a service learning project about the need to eliminate styrofoam. They researched and read and got fired up about their project. They decided to try and convince our school district to get rid of the styrofoam lunch trays used in the cafeterias. They found companies that sell biodegradable trays, researched the cost, found the best prices, everything. They presented their findings to the principal who agreed they did an amazing job. They kept on bugging her, finding her in the halls, talking to other students, until she had no choice but to bring in the head of food service for the district. The kids presented their project to these administrators, convincing them to look into biodegradable trays. Admin was so impressed that our campus will be piloting a program to rid our district of styrofoam trays all because a small group of students got excited, passionate and wouldn't back down from what they knew was right. Love it!