TWENTY-FOUR SECONDS FROM NOW by Jason Reynolds

 

I recently watched MSNBC's Ali Velshi's Banned Book Club. His guests were Judy Blume and Jason Reynolds. They discussed Blume's FOREVER and the attempts through the years to ban the book. Reynolds commented how the book influenced him as a young reader and now as a writer. He was inspired to write TWENTY-FOUR SECONDS FROM NOW, the story of a seventeen-year-old young man and his concerns about having sex for the first time.

Neon and Aria have been dating for two years. They have both decided they are ready to take their relationship to the next step - sex. They have made a plan for when and where, but both are nervous.

Neon is the perfect boyfriend (girls out there, you need one like him), so he wants to be prepared when he takes this big step with Aria. Readers will take the journey with Neon as he goes back in time that leads up to the big moment. He researches, has conversations with family and friends, and tries to mentally prepare so the moment will be perfect.

Filled with frank and often humorous details, Reynolds's TWENTY-FOUR SECONDS FROM NOW provides male readers with much the same advice that Blume provided for girls in her book FOREVER. This love LOVE story is definitely a must read for teens and anyone who knows how important care and kindness is in today's world.

DEER RUN HOME by Ann Clare LeZotte

 

Effie is deaf. She communicates with American Sign Language, but unfortunately no one in her family has ever bothered to learn ASL. She manages by writing notes and pointing. She and her sister Deja have recently moved in with their father. He doesn't bother keeping food in the house or cleaning or doing laundry. Effie's life is a struggle.

At school Effie has a translator, Miss Kathy. She is worried about Effie but has a difficult time getting Effie to open up about the conditions at home. She knows something happened at Effie's mother's house which is why Effie and Deja moved in with their father.

Miss Kathy makes a surprise visit to see Effie. She brings a wonderful carry-out dinner. During the visit, she sees the poor conditions of the home and immediately steps in to help Effie. She suggests Effie come live with her, and much to Effie's surprise, her father agrees. Now Miss Kathy can work to make this temporary plan something more permanent.

Ann Clare LeZotte is also the author of the SHOW ME A SIGN trilogy. She uses her own experiences as a deaf person to give readers a realistic picture Effie's situation. Written in verse, DEER RUN HOME, is a quick and inspiring read.

OUTSIDE NOWHERE by Adam Borba

 

I highly recommend OUTSIDE NOWHERE by Adam Borba to fans of the book HOLES. 

Parker is considered odd by most people. He dresses in suits and formal wear he finds in thrift stores. He spends most of his free time visiting with an elderly neighbor Ms. Birdseye. His father believes he needs to get a summer job, so Parker checks out the local swimming pool. He is fired before he even starts after he pours purple drink mix powder into the pool. No one seems to appreciate the beautiful purple color especially after they have to drain the pool and scrub it clean.

Parker's father doesn't agree with Parker's wish to spend the summer at the beach with his best friend. Instead, Parker is put on board a train that is taking him to some farm in the Midwest. When he finally arrives, he spends the days pulling weeds, spreading topsoil, and watering radishes. These radishes seem to be special for some reason. Parker wonders why the radishes are delivered all over the country to fill small orders of only 2 or 3 radishes each.

Author Adam Borba keeps readers in suspense as he weaves a curious tale about Parker's summer at the radish farm. There's plenty of hard work and lessons in friendship and what is really important in life.

STRANDED by Nikki Shannon Smith

 

Ava has always dreamed of leaving the city and experiencing nature. As summer approaches, she has the idea of asking her parents to let her visit her aunt who lives in a cabin in the Adirondack Mountains. She is amazed when they say yes!

She says goodbye to her parents and her three brothers and travels with Auntie Raven into Adirondack Park. When she arrives, she is a bit surprised at how rough the cabin is and how few modern conveniences there are. She immediately begins learning what it is like to live in and survive in nature.

Ava learns how to fish and hunt, although, she doesn't have much luck. She chops wood, does some rough camping, and learns to do her laundry by hand. Other than a few trips into town to the post office and the library, Ava is spending time in nature just as she hoped. 

When Auntie Raven gets news that she will have to travel to California, Ava must adjust to the fact that she will have to return to the city earlier than she had planned. There is a miscommunication between Ava's parents and her aunt which leaves Ava stranded in the mountain cabin. What follows is a hair-raising adventure that will test Ava's newly acquired survival skills.

Author Nikki Shannon Smith's novel STRANDED is perfect for adventure seekers and readers who have loved reading books like Gary Paulsen's HATCHET. 

ANSWERS TO DOG by Pete Hautman

 

AWSWERS TO DOG by Pete Hautman is a heartwarming story about a group of underdog characters and, of course, a dog. Perfect for middle grade readers for independent reading or a read-aloud everyone will love.

Evan doesn't really feel comfortable anywhere. At home his father is busy carving dragons in his workshop and his mother is either reading, cooking predictable dinners, or sleeping. Evan is pretty much on his own. Running helps him relax and feel free. At school Evan hangs out with a group who have been labeled the Nerd Posse. Their goal is to keep a low profile and stay away from the bullies.

Everything starts to change when Evan finds the white dog. The dog joins him on his run one afternoon. He knows his mother would never consider letting him have a dog, but maybe he can convince her with his dad's help. 

He discovers that the dog often escapes from a local business called Happy Dog. When he goes to visit the business, he finds out the owner is a mean old man who mistreats the dogs he breeds. The white dog has every reason to escape when he gets a chance. Evan is even more convinced that he needs to rescue the dog and give him a home.

Author Pete Hautman weaves an adventurous tale told in alternating voices of Evan and the dog. With the help of his friends and eventually some adults, Evan uses problem solving and creative thinking to reach a satisfactory end.

LIGHT ENOUGH TO FLOAT by Lauren Seal

 

Evie's parents decide that she is sick. She has been diagnosed as anorexic. It is time to seek help. Evie is taken to a treatment facility that specializes in eating disorders.

At only fourteen years old she is the youngest patient in the facility. She doesn't believe she belongs there. Why shouldn't she be able to determine what food and how much food she eats? Now she is talking to a therapist, having her calories controlled, and having her physical activities managed. Dr. Mantell tells her she will be staying for treatment for at least a month. It all depends on her.

As she begins gaining weight, the doctor increases her calories. While she feels bloated and totally out of control, she is being told that she is getting healthier and looking better. This is not what Evie wants to hear.

Making friends with several of the other patients, helps Evie deal with the frustration of having her body controlled by others. Besides learning how to change her feelings about food, she is exploring feelings about her family and what has led to her anorexia. 

Author Lauren Seal used her own experiences with anxiety, depression, and an eating disorder to create Evie's story. Readers with similar experiences should find hope and encouragement through Evie's journey.

WITCH HUNT by Andrea Balis & Elizabeth Levy

 

*Thank you to Media Masters Publicity for the opportunity to review this book.

WITCH HUNT by Andrea Balis & Elizabeth Levy & illustrated by Tim Foley chronicles the historical events surrounding the Cold War, Joe McCarthy, and the Red Scare. 

At the end of WW I, there was the Communist Revolution in Russia. In the years that followed, Communism grew and spilled over into countries like ours. Joining the Communist party or simply having it thought that someone might be connected to Communism meant being placed on a blacklist in the U.S. 

The most notorious hunter of Communists was Joseph McCarthy. He was determined to eliminate any Communists from the country. The HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) was formed in 1938 by Congress. People lived in fear that they would somehow be identified as communists or fascists. They could lose their jobs and be forced out of their communities. Famously, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were even executed as so-called communists.

WITCH HUNT covers the time period from the end of WW I until 1961. Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower presided over much of this era known as the Red Scare. Joe McCarthy, later elected Senator, joined with Roy Cohn and David Schine to search for and prosecute many innocent people over the years. 

Authors Balis and Levy have recorded the events in an easy-to-read format that includes verbatim interviews, original stories from those involved, transcripts, and sections titles "Fly on the Wall." Their account tells of scary times involving book bans, blacklists, and paranoia that interestingly resemble some things in politics today. I highly recommend WITCH HUNT for teen and even adult readers.