Coming of age on an Oregon ranch

Two seemingly unrelated settings - the Iraq War and a sheep ranch in Oregon - come together in Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry. Sixth-grader Ignatius (nicknamed "Brother") is the youngest of five boys. His dad gets deployed to Iraq, and since his mom lives in Europe and all of the other boys are either away at school or in the service, it's up to Brother to run the ranch with his elderly grandparents. The story is told in Brother's voice, and it chronicles a year of his hard work and struggles as he tries to keep everything in good shape for his father's return. It was interesting to see how thoughts of war came into his life, from the play conversation his chess pieces have to the boys vs. girls action at recess, and description of events on the ranch (birthing a calf, fighting a wildfire) kept my attention, too. My favorite part was when Brother decided want he wants to be when he grows up - not what I expected, but totally fitting.

Airlifted. Guilty?

For a different point of view of the aftermath of war, I highly recommend All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg. Seventh grader Matt Pin is the son of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier. Two years ago Matt was airlifted out of Vietnam and adopted by a loving family in the U.S. Told in first person free verse, the reader learns that Matt is still haunted by his memories of the war, and he believes he's responsible for the horrific injuries suffered by his little brother. His new parents, Vietnam vet piano teacher, and baseball coaches all provide the unconditional support and love he needs to heal, to cope with the prejudice against him at school, and to understand that his birth mother had him airlifted because she loved him. A quick read that's powerful and moving.

Fun for your inner geek

Okay, this was just plain fun! The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis is what good graphic novels are all about - illustrations that depict ideas way better than words could. Julian Calendar is "outwardly: a nerd. But inwardly...an ultra nerd." He doesn't think he'll ever fit in at his new school, until he learns that bad girl Greta Hughes and sports jock Ben Garza are secret scientists, too. (I keep going back and looking at the drawing of their hideout - amazing, amazing details.) They form the Secret Science Alliance, but then Evil Dr. Stringer rips off their invention notebook. He plans to use some of the kids' ideas to steal something valuable from the local museum....can they stop him in time? With crazy inventions from the Kablovsky copter to the Stinkometer and lots of action, I bet you'll enjoy this one (and even get a painless dose of science on the side).

An unlikely (but pretty cool) friendship

If you've enjoyed books like Chasing Vermeer (by Blue Balliett), you're also going to like Masterpiece by Elise Broach. James lives in a New York apartment, which is also inhabited by Marvin - a beetle - and his family. James is pretty much ignored by his parents, but Marvin takes a liking to him. When James gets a pen-and-ink set for his 11th birthday, Marvin decides to use it to create a teeny drawing as a birthday present. James loves it, and of course, all the humans think he did it. After a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the little drawing is compared to those of Albrecht Durer, and soon James and Marvin are involved in solving an art heist of some of Durer's works. The mystery's a good one, the life of the beetle family is fun to read, and the way the friendship and communication between the two develop is well written. The pen-and-ink illustrations add a great touch - can you find Marvin?

Gaining trust, bit by bit

It's hard to describe Wild Things by Clay Carmichael, but it's definitely worth reading. After the sudden death of her mother, Zoe goes to live with her uncle, Henry Royster. He was a surgeon and is now a metal sculptor - a crusty, rough around the edges, but heart of gold kind of guy, living in the backwoods of North Carolina. Zoe has had a difficult upbringing, basically raising herself, and she doesn't expect to like Henry or have him care for her. The story alternates between Zoe's narrative and that of a feral cat, which provides some interesting background that Zoe's not aware of. So what are the "wild things" referred to in the title? Depending on your point of view, the author could mean Zoe, the cat, a mysterious boy living in the nearby woods, or even Henry's sculptures. What do you think?

Have you ever had a pen pal?

Pen pals are kids (usually) who live far apart and write to each other. Sounds old-fashioned, but you'll see some of the advantages of written letters over email in Extra Credit by Andrew Clements. Abby's not doing well in 6th grade, but she'll get some extra credit by writing to Sadeed Bayat in Afghanistan. However, his village doesn't think it's appropriate for boys and girls to write to each other, so his younger sister dictates the letters while Sadeed makes sure the English is correct. But he can't resist writing to Abby in secret, too. What happens if he gets caught? Both characters are described very realistically, and reading about all the differences in the cultures was pretty cool. (For example, Abby thinks the flat cornfields of Illinois are really boring; Sadeed views them as food for an entire village.) Think about this book next time you hear about Afghanistan in the news.

An enchanting quest

I was fascinated by the Chinese folk tales interwoven throughout Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin! Minli lives a poor, hard life in the shadow of Fruitless Mountain. She feels bad for her parents and hopes to change her family's fortune by getting advice from the Old Man of the Moon, who lives on Never-Ending Mountain. She gets help from a goldfish, who sets her off in the right direction, and Dragon, who desparately wants to know why he can't fly. The plot and the folk tales go together seamlessly, and occasional full-page illustrations, influenced by the rich blues, greens, and reds of traditional Chinese art, are stunning. And when Minli learns the importance of family, friends, and what's truly needed for happiness, the reader will breathe a sigh of content. Beautiful.

Chilling and mesmerizing

Wow. Once I started reading Unwind by Neal Shusterman, I could hardly put it down. The main idea is creepy, the pace is almost non-stop, and the way some of the characters changed (some for the better, some for the worse) was both believable and fascinating. The time is in the future; parents can choose to have their children ages 13 to 18 unwound - although "technically" they're alive, all of their body parts are harvested and given to others. This story follows Connor and Risa, as they desparately try to avoid the harvest camp, and Lev, the 10th child born to a family whose religion considers him to be a tithe - being unwound is his sacred duty. The action starts immediately, and the twists and turns made me feel like I was on a roller coaster. Some of the ideas might be a little too intense for younger readers, but this would be amazing for older students to read and discuss - so many questions come up! When does life begin? When does it end? I was thinking of this book long after I finished it.

Surviving Katrina - bittersweet and beautiful

I can guarantee you'll be touched by the characters in Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Lanesha is a spunky, resourceful 12-year-old who lives in the poor Ninth Ward of New Orleans with Mama Ya-Ya, an elderly midwife who has raised her since Lanesha's mother died in childbirth. Hurricane Katrina is on its way, and Mama Ya-Ya can sense that there's something even worse to survive than the hurricane itself. They make it through the storm - they have no money or transportation to evacuate - but then the flooding comes, and that's when things get really bad. The relationship between Lanesha and Mama Ya-Ya is absolutely warm and pure, and the book's touch of magical realism (Lanesha has the "sight" and can see ghosts, including that of her mother) adds a beautiful angle. Even though I already knew about Katrina and its aftermath, the suspenseful writing totally drew me in. An awesome survival story.

One of the strangest I've ever read...

Yes, I had read the plot line of The Neddiad by Daniel Pinkwater, but I still wasn't quite prepared for the sheer goofiness of it! As Neddie Wentworthstein and his family go from Chicago to Los Angeles by train, he meets Melvin the shaman, who gives him a small stone turtle and tells him to keep it safe (we don't yet know why); gets separated from his family in Flagstaff, Arizona; and meets Seamus Finn, his dad (a famous movie star), and Billy the ghost. Confused yet? Well, they all end up in L.A., and soon Neddie is dealing with bad guy Sandor Eucalyptus, who wants to steal the turtle. You don't discover the importance of the turtle until very late in the book, and by then you're reading about policemen from outer space, prehistoric creatures, and a huge circus. And the ending is totally unexpected. If you want a straight-forward plot, don't read this one, but if you can just go with the flow and accept all the strangeness, it's a pretty funny (but highly weird) story.