The Transatlantic Conspiracy

Falksen, G.D. The Transatlantic Conspiracy.  Soho Teen, New York: 2016.   240 pages Tr. $18.99 ISBN 9781616954178
Reviewed from galley obtained via School Library Journal

Plot Summary
Rebellious American, Rosalind or Rose as she is known by her friends, has been enjoying the London season only to be called home early to assist with the family's latest business venture, the first train to cross under the Atlantic Ocean, traveling from Germany to New York. Rose is to be a passenger on the inaugural voyage representing the family's interests. Rose's friend Cecily and her brother Charles, insist on accompanying Rose upon learning that she will be traveling alone. Everything seems to be going according to plan until Charles disappears at the train station in Germany.  Cecily is less than concerned that her brother has gone missing, until Rose discovers Cecily dead in her stateroom.  Now as the prime suspect, Rose must work to uncover the true murderer and clear her name.

Critical Review
The Transatlantic Conspiracy is a swiftly paced mystery. While the settings and characters could use more development, the story was very enjoyable. The plot is swiftly paced, keeping the reader engaged in the mystery.  A great book for reluctant readers or those who have difficulty becoming engaged in a story.

Genre 
Science Fiction
Historical Fiction
Steampunk
Mystery

Reading/Interest Level
Grades 7 and up

Similar Books:
The Finishing School Series by Gail Carriger

Author's Website
http://www.gdfalksen.com/

A Corner of White and The Cracks in the Kingdom

Moriarty, Jaclyn. A Corner of White.  Arthur A. Levine Books, New York: 2013.  373 pages Tr. $17.99 ISBN 9780545397360

Plot Summary
Madeline Tully used to be a rich girl, living all over the world, but now she and her mother, Holly, live in a little flat in Cambridge where Madeline is homeschooled with her friends Jack and Belle.  Madeline misses her old life and she is concerned that her mother might be seriously ill.  One day Madeline finds a note sticking out of a broken parking meter and decides to respond by writing a letter about her troubles.  In the Kingdom of Cello Elliot Baranski finds Madeline's note in broken T.V. set.  Right away Elliot realizes that Madeline is writing from the World and that he has found a crack between Cello and the World.  Curious Elliot responds to Madeline, telling her about Cello, beginning a strange and wonderful friendship between two teen from different worlds.

Critical Review
A Corner of White is a lovely tale of a friendship between two teens.  Both Elliot and Madeline face enormous challenges and tragedies in the story and in part persevere because of their shared correspondence.  Moriarty's novel is both funny and sad, at once entirely real and completely magical.  A charming a fantastical novel, I loved every page!

WARNING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
Moriarty, Jaclyn. The Cracks in the Kingdom.  Arthur A. Levine Books, New York: 2014.  480 pages Tr. $18.99 ISBN 9780545397384 
Reviewed from electronic galley obtained via Netgalley.com

Plot 
The Cracks in the Kingdom is the second in The Colors of Madeline series by Jaclyn Moriarty.  The book opens with Elliot having just been made a member of the Royal Youth Alliance, which is actual a front for a group led by the Princess Ko to find the missing members of the Cello royal family.  A year earlier all the members of the royal family were kidnapped and taken to the World except for Princess Ko, who has been running the country and simultaneously hiding the disappearance of her family from the country.  Elliot's assignment is to convince his friend in the World, Madeline, to help locate the missing monarchs and to find a way to cross over to the world.  While he and Madeline work on breaching the crack they continue to growing closer, confiding in and relying on each other's presence.

Critical Review
A fabulous follow-up to A Corner of White!  Moriarty has upped the suspend with the kidnapping of the royal family and provided Elliot and Madeline a reason to continue their correspondence, which they were on the brink of ceasing.  Moriarty character development is masterful; giving her characters very realistic obstacles and human flaws.  Cellos is a remarkable place, full of Colors, magic, and ever changing seasons; if only I could find my own crack!  The Cracks in the Kingdom is a charming fantasy and just as touching and beautiful as A Corner of White.

Genre
Fantasy

Reading/Interest Level
Grades 7 and up

Author's Website
http://www.jaclynmoriarty.com/

These Broken Stars

WARNING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
Kaufman, Amie and Spooner, Meagan.  These Broken Stars.  Hyperion Press: 2013. Tr. $17.99 ISBN 9781423171027 ebook ISBN 9781423187783 Reviewed from electronic galley obtained via Netgalley.com

Plot Summary
These Broken Stars  is a science fiction romance tale of star crossed lovers, rich girl Lilac LaRoux and war hero Tarver Merendsen.  Tarver first meets the beautiful socialite Lilac aboard the luxury space liner the Icarus, owned by Lilac's father, not knowing Lilac's identity her approaches her only to later be haughtily dismissed by the spoiled rich girl.  Lilac knows exactly who Tarver is, a poor boy grown into a war hero famous throughout the universe, a boy her father, the richest and most powerful man in the universe, would never approve of.  When tragedy strikes and the Icarus crashes on an unknown planet, Tarver and Lilac find themselves the only survivors and must overcome their differences if they are to escape from this strange planet without going mad.

Critical Review 
These Broken Stars is a survival tale as much as it is a romance and science fiction novel.  Tarver and Lilac traverse the planet in hopes of finding people or a sign of civilization and a way to signal for help.  After a few days being stranded the couple begins to realize that there is something strange about the planet the have landed on; not only does it seem to have been terraformed for colonies, yet there are no people, Lilac is haunted by strange whispering voices and visions.  Readers are constantly kept in suspense about the truth of the planet and whether the mysterious voices mean the couple harm or have intentions to help.  The romance between Tarver and Lilac unfolds gradually, as they go from finding each other obnoxious to not being able to imagine life without one another.   A highly readable novel that teens will love.  My only qualm was at the end when Lilac blackmails her father to protect Tarver and her father responds by destroying the planet, thus erasing all evidence and negating Lilac's threat.  This new challenge is not addressed as the book ends just after the planet is destroyed.

Genre
Science Fiction
Romance

Reading/Interest Level
Grades 8 and up

Similar Books
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Marr

Author's Website
http://amiekaufman.com/
http://www.meaganspooner.com/

Idenpendent Study

Charbonneau, Joelle. Independent Study. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston: 2014. 310 pages. Tr. $17.99 ISBN: 9780547959207 *

Plot Summary:
Independent Study is Charbonneau's follow up to The Testing.  Independent Study begins with Cia receiving her placement in the University.  Cia is particularly talented in mechanical engineering and hopes to be placed in that school and is disappointed to learn she has been placed in the government school, while her boyfriend Tomas has been placed in the bioengineering school.  Cia does not have her memories of the testing, but she does has the recordings she made before the testing officials wiped her memories, but she is afraid to believe that these recordings could be true.  Could the university really be responsible for the deaths of so many students?  Would they really send students into unrevitalized area with the intention to kill one another?  As she tried to excel in her new area of study, Cia can no longer ignore the things she sees and the terrifying recordings she made.  Determined to uncover the truth of the University and Dr. Barnes program, Cia puts herself in more danger than she realizes trying to gather information for the rebels.

Critical Review:
While The Testing was a bit derivative of  other dystopian novels, such as The Giver and Divergent, Independent Study is wholly original.  Charbonneau has created a future that  seems peaceful and prosperous, but underneath is terrifying.  Charbonneau not only explores the idea of government control, but also the value of education to society as a whole.  Dr. Barnes believes only the best and most determined students should receive an education at the university and go onto be the future leaders of the country creating a group of followers to take over the government.  Cia sees the value of education to everyone and how it can be used to improve the lives of those in the colonies.  The last book in the trilogy promises action and rebellion on behalf of the students that is hinted at in Independent Study.

Genre:
Science Fiction
Dystopian

Reading/Interest Level:
Grades 6 and up

Similar Books:
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

Author's Website:
http://joellecharbonneau.com/

Book Website:
http://www.hmhbooks.com/thetestingtrilogy/

*Book to be published January 2014, review of advance copy.

Curtsies and Conspiracies

Carriger, Gail. Curtsies and Conspiracies. Little Brown and Company, New York: 2013. 310 pages. Tr. $18.00 ISBN 9780316190114 

Plot Summary
Sophronia has been attending Miss Geraldine's Finishing School for six months now and is doing splendidly, in fact she is at the top of her class!  During her six month review Sophronia discovers a device that looks very much like the communication device she retrieved for the school months earlier, only this version is much smaller.  Ever aware of what might turn out to be valuable information, Sophronia pockets it and takes it to her friend Vieve, a precocious ten year old inventor and niece of Professor Lefoux.  School is further complicated by the arrival of several guest students from Bunson's Academy for Boys and several attempted kidnappings of Sophronia's friend Dimity and her brother Pillover..  Once again Sophronia much use all her skills as an intelligencer to save  her friends, her professors, and her school from a malicious vampire hive and the ever villainous Picklemen.

 Critical Review
It is rare for a sequel to be as entertaining and as engaging as the original, but Carriger has a knack for keeping the interest of her readers throughout a series.  Curtsies and Conspiracies is a clever and intriguing, steampunk spy story.  Sophronia is a wonderful heroine, at once intelligent and loyal to her friends, however, in Curtsies and Conspriacies, Sophronia will be tested in new ways while keeping of a promise to a friend. While it is the second in the Finishing School Series, it could easily be read as a stand alone.  Old fans of Carriger will be delighted with continued appearances from character from Carriger's previous series The Parasol Protectorate, including a cameo from everyone's favorite dandy vampire, Lord Akeldama.

Genre
Science Fiction
Historical Fiction
Steampunk

Reading/Interest Level
Grades 7 and up

Similar Books:
The Gallagher Girls Series by Ally Carter
The Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel

Author's Website
http://gailcarriger.com/

Champion

Lu, Marie. Champion. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York: 2013. 369 pages. Tr. $18.99 ISBN 9780399256776

Plot Summary:
Champion is the long awaited conclusion to Marie Lu's Legend Trilogy.  It has been six months since reader left June and Day in Prodigy with the knowledge that Day is slowly dying and June embarking on a political career.  The two are reunited when the Colonies threaten to break the cease fire unless the Republic can provide a cure to the latest plague outbreak in the colonies.  In order to develop a cure the Republic needs to run tests on Day's brother Eden, the one thing Day will not allow is for his brother to fall into the hands of the Republic again.  Eden is no longer a child and has his own ideas about the situation, especially after Day's dear friend Tess falls ill.  While June deals with the political end of the war, Day goes back to the streets to rouse the people and lead a guerrilla front against the Colonies, all the while battling his own illness and increasing weakness. 

Critical Review:
Like Legend and Prodigy, Lu has again written a fast-paced, page turner full of action, adventure, and a little bit of romance.  June and Day battle with their feelings for one another, while being thrown into the turmoil of their country, they must push aside their own desires for the good of family and country.  Champion keeps readers guessing and challenges them to ponder the destructive forces of war.  Champion is indeed a stunning conclusion to an excellent series.  I can't wait to see what Marie Lu comes up with next!

Genre:
Science Fiction
Dystopian

Reading/Interest Level:
Grades 8 and up

Similar Books:
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

Author's Website:
http://marielu.org/

The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba

Engle, Margarita. (2010). The Firefly Letters: a Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 151 pages. $16.99 ISBN: 9780805090826

Plot Summary:

Cecilia is a young slave girl who is owned by Elena’s family.  When Fredrika comes to stay with Elena’s family Cecilia is sent to serve as Fredrika’s translator for the duration of her stay since Cecilia’s English is better than Elena’s.  Elena is twelve and very sheltered, her days are spent inside embroidering linens for her future marriage.  Meanwhile Cecilia and Fredrika become fast friends, sketching and releasing captive fireflies together about town.  Soon Fredrika asks Elena’s father to find her and Cecilia a place to stay in the country because she is concerned for Cecilia’s health.  Cecilia is pregnant and the city air has given her a severe cough.  Elena misses the friendship of the older girls while they are away, finding Fredrika’s influence has caused her to rethink her future and immediate goals.  When Fredrika and Cecilia return to the city Elena shares with Fredrika a plan she has been developing; a plan she believe Fredrika will not only approve of, but willingly assist in. 

Critical Review:

The Firefly Letters is beautifully written in verse.  The story is based on the letters of Swedish suffragette Fredrika Bremer, who visited Cuba in 1851.  Cecilia really existed and served as translator to Bremer during her stay in Cuba, but the author notes that Elena is fictional.  Engle’s verse and imagery make it easy to imagine the lush island’s warm evenings lit by the glow of fireflies above.   Engle also describes the practice of slavery as it existed on Cuba at the time.  This story is touching, written from three the viewpoints of three very different young women: independent Fredrika, sheltered Elena, and slave Cecilia.  All three lead very different lives and yet all become true friends.  Cecilia is the only one who is literally owned, but in a way all three are captives of their gender.  Because they are women they automatically have fewer rights and less say in their futures and the futures of their children.  Cecilia realizes this as she wonders about what kind of future her baby will have.  Elena wonder what kind of future she will have with the man her father chooses for her to marry when she turns fourteen in two short years.  Fredrika refused to be trapped by marriage in Sweden and leaves to travel the world.  Engle’s story was brief, under 150 pages, but it conveyed a world of feeling and emotion.  This is a true gem.

Genre:

Poetry

Historical Fiction

Interest Level:

Grades 7 and up

Similar Books:

The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle

Subjects/Themes:

Cuba

Slavery

Poetry

Women’s Suffrage

Awards/Honors:

Pura Belpré 2011 Honor Book

ALA Notable Book 2011

ALA Amelia Bloomer List 2011

Annotation:

The Firefly Letters tells the story in verse of three girls contemplating their futures in a world ruled by men.

Book Talking Ideas:

The Firefly Letters is an historical novel written in lyrical verse.  The story follows Swedish suffragist Fredrika Bremer as she visits Cuba in the 1850’s.  Fredrika is an independent, free thinker who refused to be tied down by marriage, deciding to travel the world instead.  In Cuba Fredrika meets Cecilia and Elena and changes their world and future by just being their friend. 

Why I chose to include this Book:

I included The Firefly Letters because I was blown away by the beautiful, lush verse and vivid descriptions in the novel.  

Charles and Emma: the Darwins' Leap of Faith

Heiligman, Deborah. Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith. Henry Holt and Company, 2009. 268 pages, $18.95 ISBN: 9780805087215 (trade)

Plot Summary:

Heiligman opens her biography of the influential British scientist, Charles Darwin, right after his return to England after his five year voyage on the HMS Beagle.  Upon returning home Darwin decides his life is missing the love of a wife and a family and at age 30 he married his cousin Emma Wedgewood.  Over the course of their marriage the couple had ten children, seven that lived to see adulthood.  Darwin respected Emma immensely and even though they never did agree on religious issues, Darwin being an atheist and Emma a devote Christian.  Both Emma and Darwin were extremely well read and intelligent.  Emma acted as Darwin’s editor, helping his to strengthen his arguments and refine his research.  With Emma’s help, Darwin spent 20 years perfecting his best known work On the Origin of Species. 

Critical Review:

I was touched by the relationship between Charles and Emma.  Theirs was truly a marriage based on love and respect.  While Emma feared for her husband’s soul, she was never anything but supportive of his career and his research.  They never lost the romance of their marriage continuing to write each other love letters long after they were married.  Heiligman’s biography is a winner for those who love science and for teens who are looking for a beautiful love story. 

Genre:

Nonfiction-biography

Interest Level:

Grades 7 and up

Subjects/Themes:

Evolution

Religion

Charles Darwin

Awards/Honors:

Michael L. Printz Honor 2010

National Book Award finalist 2009

YALSA Award for Excellence in Non-fiction 2010

Junior Library Guild Selection

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2010

Author’s Website:

http://www.deborahheiligman.com/index.html

Annotation:

Charles and Emma is the story about the marriage between pioneering scientist Charles Darwin and his devotedly Christian wife Emma. 

Anya's Ghost

Brosgol, Vera. Anya’s Ghost. First Second, 2011. 221 pages, $19.99 ISBN: 9780316056212 (trade) 

Plot Summary:

Walking to school one day Anya stumbles into an open pit, where she encounters the remains and the ghost of the last person to fall down the pit.  Lucky for Anya she is rescued, but the ghost hitches a ride when one of her bones ends up in Anya’s bag.  Initially Anya is annoyed by the ghosts hitchhiking, but when she helps Anya cheat on her test and impresses Anya’s crush, Anya changes her mind about having the ghost around.  That is until the ghost starts getting demanding and Anya discovers the true nature of her dead friend and how she really died.  

Critical Review:

Brosgol’s first book is a stunning graphic novel.  Anya is a funny and clever narrator struggling with fitting in without betraying her Russian and Jewish heritage.  Like many teens Anya feels like an outsider and yearns to fit in and be accepted by her classmates.  Brosgol’s graphic style of drawing is similar to the style of artist and writer Marjane Satrapi. 

Genre:

Graphic Novel

Fantasy

Multicultural

Interest Level:

Grades 7 and up

Similar Books:

Persepolis Marjane Satrapi

Subjects/Themes:

Ghosts

Teenage girls

High School

Judaism

Awards/Honors:

ALA Notable Children’s Books 2012

Cybil Award 2011

School Library Journal Best Books 2011

YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2012

YALSA Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens 2012

Author’s Website:

http://verabee.com/

Annotation:

After falling down an old well Anya meets a ghost who returns home with her and becomes her new friend. 

Ghostopolis

TenNapel, Doug. Ghostopolis. Scholastic, 2010. 262 pages, $24.99 ISBN: 9780545210270 (trade)

Plot Summary:

TenNapel’s graphic novel revolves around Garth, a terminally ill teen who is accidentally sent to the afterlife by affable ghost hunter Frank Gallows.  Determined to rescue Garth, Frank enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend and ghost Claire Voyent to help him travel to the afterlife.  Meanwhile, Garth finds himself in a strange land with only a ghost horse named Skinny as a friend until he runs into someone who knows him, his grandfather.  With the help of Skinny and his grandfather Garth makes it to the capitol of Ghostopolis, where he meets up with Frank and Claire who have recently landed in the afterlife.  Unbeknownst to Garth, the ruler of Ghostopolis, Vaugner sees the living boy as a threat and enlists his minions to capture him and his accomplices.  In order to return home Garth must defeat the evil Vaugner and restore peace to the afterlife. 

Critical Review:

Doug TenNapel has created a classic hero tale in his boldly illustrated graphic novel Ghostopolis.  Garth’s sudden appearance in the afterlife and his mission to defeat the evil overlord and bring peace coincides with the classic hero archetype.  TenNapel’s characters are well developed and his illustrations are bright and beautifully colored.  Ghostopolis is an edgy, fast paced, tongue in cheek tale that will leave readers wanting more. 

Genre:

Graphic Novel

Fantasy

Adventure

Interest Level:

Grades 9 and up

Similar Books:

Anya’s Ghost Vera Brosgol

Subjects/Themes:

Death/dying

Tyranny

Author’s Website:

http://tennapel.com/

Annotation:

Ghostopolis is an edgy graphic novel in which teen Garth must defeat the evil overlord of the afterlife and bring peace to Ghostopolis. 

Getting Away With Murder: the True Story of the Emmett Till Case

Crowe, Chris. Getting Away With Murder: the True Story of the Emmett Till Case.  Phyllis Fogelman Books, New York: 2003. 128 pages. Tr. $18.99 ISBN 0803728042

Annotation

Getting Away with Murder is the story of murder of 14 year old Emmett Till and the subsequent acquittal of the murderers and how this trial helped launch the civil rights movement.

Review

Emmett Till was a 14 year old African American boy visiting Mississippi from Chicago in the summer of 1955.  It was while visiting family that this young boy was dragged from his bed in the middle of the night, tortured, and horrendously murdered by two white men for whistling at a white lady.  Till’s horrifying murder and the photograph of his bloated and beaten body in Jet magazine, outraged the African American community and sparked the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.  What is most unfortunate about Emmett’s murder is that it is often left out of American history texts.  Till’s story is important because it reminds us of injustice and racism that once existed in this country and why it is important to stand up to bullies and fight for what is honorable and right. 

Awards/Honors

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2004

Front and Back Matter

TOC, Acknowledgments, Time Line, Bibliography, Additional Resources

Author’s Website

http://www.chriscrowe.com/

Hole in My Life

 

Gantos, Jack. Hole in my Life.  Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York: 2002. 200 pages. Tr. $16.00 ISBN 9780374399883

Annotation

In Hole n My Life, Newberry Award winning author Jack Gantos recounts his youth when he was arrested for smuggling drugs from the Virgin Island into the United States and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Review

In his autobiographical book, Hole in My Life, author Jack Gantos bravely and honestly tells the story of his experience on the wrong side of the law, when he was arrested for conspiring to smuggle 2,000 pounds of hash from St. Croix to New York.  Gantos makes no excuses or apologies for his action, but fully owns up to his mistake.  Gantos sense of invincibility as a young man will resonate with many teens, but hopefully reading his story will cause other teens to think twice before making similar mistakes.  Despite being caught and being sentenced to six years in prison, Gantos was actually lucky.  He quickly earned a position working in the jail hospital, which came with his own cell, away from the dangers of the dorm with the other prisoners where he risked being beaten, stabbed, or raped.  Gantos also counts himself lucky because it was in prison that he finally realized his dream to become a writer and gained the motivation to make his dream a reality. 

Awards/Honors

ALSC Notable Book 2003

Printz Honor Book 2003

Sibert Honor Book 2003

Front and Back Matter

None

Author’s Website

http://www.jackgantos.com/

Phineas Gage: a Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science

Fleischman, John. Phineas Gage: a Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science.  Houghton Mifflin Company, New York: 2002. 86 pages. Tr. $216.00 ISBN 0618052526

Annotation

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science is the incredibly story of Gage, a man who suffered a traumatic brain injury in 1848 and miraculously survived. 

Review

In 1848 Phineas Gage worked as a railroad foreman in Vermont and on September 13^th his life changed forever when a tamping iron shot through his head.  A tamping iron is a 3 foot 7 inch iron rod used for packing gunpowder.  In a horrifying accident the tamping iron shot through Gages cheek and out through his frontal lobe, literally leaving Gage with a hole in his head.  It is incredibly that he survives this injury, but that he is able to walk and talk directly after.  To all appearances Gage recovers from his trauma, but upon closer examination Gages personality is completely changed.  This is because every part of the brain controls a specific function in our body, but in 1848 doctors did not know this and even today scientists still do not know what every part of the brain does.  Gage is no longer the man he was before his accident, but he is still able to maintain a fairly normal life for the next 12 years until the brain damage he suffered early finally catches up with him and he passes away in 1860 in California.  However, Gage did not die in vain, his accident and case greatly helped doctors and scientists of the time to better understand the brain and it’s different functions.

Awards/Honors

ALSC Notable Book 2003

Orbis Pictus Honor Book 2003

Front and Back Matter

Acknowledgements, Glossary, Resources, Index

Author’s Website

No website

Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado

Aronson, Marc. Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado.  Clarion Books, New York: 2000. 222 pages. Tr. $20.00 ISBN 039584827x

Annotation

Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado is a well researched biography of a man few Americans know of beyond his failed attempt to colonize the island of Roanoke off the coast of Virginia.

Review

Most of us know Walter Ralegh simply as the explorer who set up the doomed Roanoke colony off the coast of Virginia.  But Roanoke was only a footnote in Ralegh’s life of adventure on the high seas.  Ralegh was born a commoner, but quickly made a name for himself as a fearless soldier and moved up in the court of Queen Elizabeth.  It was not long before Ralegh was considered one of the Queen’s favorites and she rewarded him with wealth and position.  Ralegh was an adventurer at heart and he longed to find fame and fortune in the new world, but his position at court allowed him few opportunities to explore himself, so he was forced to settle on backing enterprises to the new world.  Ralegh finally was given the opportunity to launch an exploration to the mythical El Dorado after falling out of favor with the queen.  Ralegh believed he would find the mythical city of gold and regain favor in Elizabeth’s eyes.  Instead of locating El Dorado, Ralegh witnessed a beautiful and untamed land and realized that this was a place that Europeans were doomed to destroy.  Unlike many explorers of his time, Ralegh did not see the rainforests of South America as a place to conquer and tame, but as a Garden of Eden, which should remain pure and untouched by humans.  This did not stop Ralegh from launching yet another adventure to find El Dorado after Elizabeth’s death.  This time Ralegh hoped to gain favor with the newly crowned King James, but instead Ralegh’s mission failed and led to his trial for treason against the king and eventual execution.    

Awards/Honors

ALSC Notable Book 2001

Sibert Medal Winner 2001

Front and Back Matter

TOC, Acknowledgments, Note to Readers, Map of Voyages to the New World, Cast of Characters, Endnotes and Bibliography, Time Line, Index

Author’s Website

http://www.marcaronson.com/

An Inconvenient Truth: the Crisis of Global Warming

Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth: the Crisis of Global Warming.  Viking, New York: 2007. 191 pages. Tr. $16.00 ISBN 9780670062720

Annotation

An Inconvenient Truth: the Crisis of Global Warming is an adaptation of Al Gore’s 2006 bestselling book for adults, which explains the crisis of climate change and what humans can do to help avert a global disaster.

Review

The young readers’ edition of Al Gore’s bestselling An Inconvenient Truth, explains the process of global warming in simple and understandable terms without talking down to readers.  In fact the book addresses teenagers as the answer, a new generation with new ideas to combat climate change.  Gore goes beyond just explaining what global warming is and what it will do, he explains how global warming is already affecting the planet and all of us: stronger storms, such as Hurricane Katrina, devastating heat waves in Europe, and destructive droughts in Asia are just a few ways global warming is changing the planet.  In addition to a strong narrative, An Inconvenient Truth, is richly illustrated with lots of photographs and persuasive graphics.  This is truly a wonderful and important book. 

Awards/Honors

ALSC Notable Book 2008

Front and Back Matter

TOC, Take Action, Acknowledgments, Credits, Index

Author’s Website

http://www.algore.com/

Sugar Changed the World: a Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science

Aronson, Marc and Marina Budhos. Sugar Changed the World: a Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science. Clarion Books, New York: 2010. 166 pages. Tr. $20.00 ISBN 9780618574926

Annotation:

Sugar Changed the World is a history of how sugar spread throughout the world, changing economies and lives of people from Asia, Africa, Europe, and all the way to the new world in America. 

Review:

Authors Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos were inspired to write Sugar Changed the World, after discovering that sugar played a prominent role in both of their family’s histories.  Today sugar is one of those items everyone has in their pantry.  Most of us in the Western world use and eat sugar everyday without thinking about where it comes from or the bitter history of this sweet and popular spice.  But there was a time when sugar was hard to come by, a time when even kings stooped to beg for allotments of sugar.  Why was sugar so hard to come by?  For starters, it only grows in tropical climates.  Also, to produce sugar in large quantities requires not only the right climate, but large swaths of land and huge amounts of human labor.  There was no way to make sugar profitable without a large, cheap work force.  The European’s discovery of the Americas was the first part of making sugar profitable.  In America there were large, uncultivated, tracts of land perfect for growing sugar cane.   The fact that there were already people inhabiting these lands did not stop the Europeans, they simply saw the Native peoples a possible work force for growing sugar.  When enslaving the natives did not work the Europeans began and active slave trade with Africa, shipping millions of African slaves to the Americas to work on the sugar plantations.  Growing and refining sugar was a dangerous business that required long hours of physically exhausting work and many slaves were killed in the process.  The mills used to crush the cane could easily kill a person caught in the machinery and the fires used to refine the cane mash were hot, dangerous, and kept burning at all times.  All it took was for a slave to nod off for a minute and slip into the boiling liquid.  The world continued to change and slaves revolted in some areas of the Caribbean and in other areas of the world slavery became taboo and in others people searched for other ways to produce sugar more safely.  One of these methods led to the discovery of beet sugar by one of Aronson’s ancestors, and other led to safer methods of refining cane.  Sugar truly did change the world in the exchange of money, ideas and people.   

Awards/Honors

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist

Front and Back Matter:

TOC, How we Researched and Wrote this Book, Acknowledgments, Timeline, Web Guide to Color Images, Notes and Sources, Abbreviations Used in these Notes, Bibliography, Websites, Index

Author’s Website:

 http://www.marcaronson.com/

 http://www.marinabudhos.com/

The Trouble Begins at 8: a Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West

Fleischman, Sid. The Trouble Begins at 8: a Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West. Greenwillow Books, New York. 2008. 224 pages. Tr. $18.99 ISBN 9780061344312

Annotation

Sid Fleischman’s biography of Mark Twain, The Trouble Begins at 8, focuses on the early life of the great American author, before he gained fame as a writer and was known as Sam Clemens, a young man ready for adventure. 

Review

In The Trouble Begins at 8, Sid Fleischman recounts the early life of one of America’s most beloved authors, Mark Twain.  Before he gained fame as a writer, Twain was Samuel Clemens, a boy who grew up in the South, spending his boyhood exploring the landscape along the Mississippi, much like his characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.  Also, like his characters, Twain’s life was full of adventure; from working a printing press, as a steamboat captain, to mining for gold, Twain’s life was never dull.  Fleischman does his subject justice, with a witty and humorous writing style that evokes Twains own sense of humor and would have been appreciated by the author know for his wit and sense of humor.  Fleischman does an excellent job describing Twain’s character and writing style; he even includes the celebrated piece that gained Twain fame as a writer, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” to give readers a true sense of Twain’s writing style.  This is the kind of biography that will spark reader’s interest in learning more about the great author and reading his celebrated novels. 

Awards/Honors

ALSC Notable Book

Orbis Pictus Award 2009

Front and Back Matter

A Mark Twain Sampler, Timeline, References, Illustration & Photograph Sources, Bibliography, Novels and Other Works, Index

Author’s Website

http://sidfleischman.com/

The Called Themselves the KKK: the Birth of an American Terrorist Group

 

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. They Called Themselves the KKK: the Birth of an American Terrorist Group. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, New York: 2010. 172 pages. Tr. $19.00 ISBN 9780618440337

Annotation

They Called Themselves the KKK is a history of the South after the Civil War.  Bartoletti describes the disparity between the whites and blacks in the South during Reconstruction and how the Ku Klux Klan was founded as a medium to continue racism and the white establishment. 

Review

In They Called Themselves the KKK Susan Campbell Bartoletti has written a comprehensive and unflinching history of one of America’s best known terrorist groups.  The Ku Kluxers, as they were referred to, was started in Tennessee by six former Confederate officers.  The men began the club by disguising themselves and harassing locals at night, but soon the group spread throughout the South and focused on the intimidation of African Americans who the Ku Kluxers deemed too successful, who dared to exercise their right to vote, or who thought themselves equal to whites.  The KKK also targeted whites who aided blacks by helping African Americans register to vote or educating them. Bartoletti appeals the readers emotions with the inclusion of firsthand accounts of the atrocities the KKK committed against freedman in era of Reconstruction.  She accurately describes the terror that must have reigned in the South for blacks who dared exercise their new rights and demand equal treatment. 

Awards/Honors

ALSC Notable Book

Front and Back Matter

TOC, Note to Reader, Civil Rights Timeline, Quote Attributions, Bibliography and Source Notes, Index

Author’s Website

http://www.scbartoletti.com/

With Courage and Cloth

 Bausum, Ann. With Courage and Cloth: Winning the fight for a Woman’s Right to Vote. National Geographic, Washington D.C.: 2004. 111 pages. Tr. $21.95 ISBN 0792276477

Annotation

With Courage and Cloth is a history of the women’s suffrage movement in America focusing on the time period between 1913 and the passage of the 19^th Amendment in 1919. 

Review

I first became fascinated with Alice Paul and the National Women’s Party (NWP) after seeing the HBO movie Iron Jawed Angels and reading Doris Steven’s, a fellow suffragist of Paul’s, book Jailed for Freedom.  I was extremely pleased to find such a comprehensive and interesting work on the women’s suffrage movement in America as Bausum’s With Courage and Cloth.  Bausum has presented an honest and well researched history of the movement.  Many history books do not describe what women went through to get the vote.  Paul and the NWP organized peaceful protests in which they picketed the White House, turning President Wilson’s own words against him with their banners demanding enfranchisement and liberty.  Despite the fact that their protests were peaceful and nonviolent, their words incited anger and violence in others.  The violence of others led to the unlawful arrest and incarceration of suffragists.  In jail the women were severely mistreated and those that participated in a nonviolent hunger strike, such as Paul were forcibly fed and underwent psychiatric review.  Despite the obstacles they encountered these brave women never stopped fighting, even after the passage of the 19^th Amendment, they continued to fight to equal rights for women.  Bausum’s With Courage and Cloth, is an inspiring book that truly makes me grateful to the women who worked so hard to ensure that women had a voice in the government.  With Courage and Cloth  is an excellent reminder of why everyone, but especially women, should exercise their right to vote. 

Awards/Honors

ALSC Notable Book 2005

Orbis Pictus Award 2005

Front and Back Matter

TOC, Afterword, Profiles, Chronology, Resource Guide, Sources, Acknowledgments, Bibliography, Illustrations Credits, Index

Author’s Website

http://www.annbausum.com/