A thoughtful book...good for the soul

If you've had enough of crazy action-packed stories and would like something a bit more thoughtful, a bit more lyrical, try Sparrow Road by Sheila O'Connor. Raine is 12, and she can't figure out why her mom decided to move the two of them to an artists' colony for a summer job, leaving her Grampa Mac back in Milwaukee.  And there are more mysteries and secrets to figure out: what happened to the orphans who lived in the main house of the colony, years ago?  Why is Viktor, the owner, so cold, and why does Raine's mom seem to know him?  What is the connection between Viktor and Lillian, the sweet, frail, elderly artist who keeps calling Raine an orphan?  And will Raine finally found out who her father is?  The importance of art, dreaming, and forgiveness all play a role in this quiet, contemplative story.

"They'd never suspect the secret I was hiding"

If you're looking for a good book for the beach, try Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker. After her mom leaves her (again), Stella is sent to live with her Great Aunt Louise, who tends to a cottage colony on a beach in Cape Cod.  Foster child Angela is living there, too, and even though she and Stella are about the same age, they do NOT get along.  When Louise suddenly dies, the girls are afraid they'll be thrown back into the foster care world; they secretly bury Louise and decide to team up and manage the cottages, surviving on the vacationers' left-over food and tips.  The story is told in Stella's voice, and her descriptions - from families tumbling out of their cars to begin vacation to her on-again, off-again friendship with Angela  - are spot on.  But how long can the girls keep their secret?

Secret upon secret in this page-turner

I could NOT put down my copy of Four Secrets by Margaret Willey!  Katie, Nate, and Renata are all in the juvenile detention center - they're in a ton of trouble for kidnapping Chase, the star athlete at their school and a major bully.  The story is told both through the journal entries they're required to make (three very different styles) and through a narrator who describes social worker Greta and her attempts to put together the pieces of a very confusing puzzle. It's obvious that the three have made a pact to not give away something huge; it's also evident that each has a serious secret.  And so does Chase.  And you'll go nuts trying to figure them out, and you won't know everything until the end of the book.  (Don't peek!) The ending is a bit rushed and not 100% satisfying, but still...I dare you to read this slowly.

Can he keep his illiteracy a secret?

If you're looking for a thought-provoking title for a middle or high school book club, this it is: Bluefish by Pat Schmatz.  Travis's parents are dead, and he's being raised by his grandfather, a recovering alcoholic. When they move to a tiny house in a small town, Travis not only has the typical new-student issues to deal with, but he has an additional problem - he can't read, and he doesn't want anyone to know.  He's quickly noticed by Velveeta, a funky, outgoing student who's hiding secrets of her own, and Mr. McQueen, a very cool teacher who's figured out Travis's reading difficulty and wants to help. The story alternates between chapters told by a narrator and short blurbs that Velveeta is writing to Calvin, someone (a friend? relative? you'll figure it out) who has recently passed away.  The feelings of the characters are impressively real and poignant and raw...and sometimes funny.  Although the ending is satisfying, by no means does it tie up all the loose ends, so the reader is empowered to imagine what happens next.

2011 Newbery winner

And the winner is...Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. It's 1936, and Abilene is twelve years old.  For reasons she doesn't understand, her father has sent her to Manifest, Kansas, to live with his friend Shady - once a bootlegger and now a pastor. Through stories told by Miss Sadie (a diviner) and old newspaper clippings, Abilene starts to put together the pieces of Manifest's past, but she can't figure out why it's so hard to learn about her father's life there.  The imagery, characters, and dialogue seem very authentic for the time period, and they pull the reader along while Abilene uncovers many of the community's secrets.  I was a bit disappointed, though. I figured a Newbery winner would really impress me, and I was just left with an "okay" impression.  But if you like historical fiction and/or strong female characters, give the book a try!

No lie...this was mesmerizing

I absolutely couldn't put down this his sophisticated story, best for readers in 8th grade and up. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell takes place at the end of World War II. Fifteen-year-old Evie, her stepdad Joe, and her movie-star-beautiful mother Beverly go to Palm Beach, Florida, supposedly on a vacation. It's the off-season - an unusual time to visit. While there, Evie meets charming and handsome Peter, an army buddy of Joe's, and falls in love with him. But all is not as it seems, and (spoiler alert!) after Joe, Beverly, and Peter go on a boating trip, Peter ends up dead, while Joe and Beverly become murder suspects. Blundell's writing was incredibly evocative of the post-war 1940s, from the slang and clothing to racism and the relations between different socioeconomic groups. Winner of the 2008 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.