Fascinating - and unsettling - piece of history

Even if you're not usually a fan of historical fiction, there's a good chance you'll be captivated by Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.  The book tells about Beverly, Harriet, Maddy, and Eston, the children of Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings.  In some ways, the children got special treatment, but - and this is huge - they were still slaves, and even though everyone at their home at Monticello knew who their father was, they were never supposed to mention it.  Told through the eyes of some of the sons, the story includes the determination of Sally to see her children set free when they turn 21, the horrors of slavery, and the contradictions of Jefferson - how could he have written the Constitution - "all men are created equal" - and still own slaves?  Powerful, spellbinding, and heart-breaking.

The Most Powerful Magic in the World...got lost

Story elements frequently (and cleverly) overlap in Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver.  Liesl, locked in the attic by her rotten stepmother, is surprised to be visited by Po, a ghost, and Bundle, Po's ghost-pet.  Po and Bundle are from the Other Side, where ghosts hang out until they go Beyond.  Po has a message from Liesl's recently deceased father - he wants Liesl to bury his ashes under a particular willow tree.  Liesl escapes from the attic and is trying to grant her father's wish, but...there's a bit of a mix-up involving two similar boxes, one containing the ashes and the other containing the Most Powerful Magic in the World, recently prepared for the evil Lady Premier.  A lot will seem familiar in a fairy-tale kind of way - an evil stepmother; an orphan; a big, likable, bumbling servant -  but there's a lot of creativity, too, and a gentleness in the way the story deals with Liesl loss and healing.  Soft, black and white illustrations add a nice touch.

"Words have always swirled around me like snowflakes"

I have to admit I was a little nervous to read Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, because I knew it was about a girl with cerebral palsy and I was afraid the book would be too sad.  Yes, it has some sad parts, but what an incredible book!  Melody is in fifth grade and tells the story of what it's like to have a body that is severely limited and a mind that is brilliant.  For most of her life, she's had no way to communicate; nobody knows how smart she is, and she's had to spend the school day in a special ed classroom, watching mind-numbing cartoons and listening to nursery rhymes.  She eventually gets a computer-based communication board that she can operate with her thumbs.  Her world opens up - to an extent - and she makes her school's Quiz Bowl team, only to be ostracized and bullied by some of the other team members.  Despite the tension, can the team make it to the national competition in Washington, D.C.?  This would be great for a book club discussion or for anyone affected by or interested in kids with disabilities.

Absolutely original fantasy

I was blown away by the creativity of Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor.  Sunny lives in Nigeria; although she has West African features, she's an albino - her pale skin and hair get her teased and bullied a lot.  She eventually makes friends with Orlu, Chichi, and Sasha and learns that all of them are Leopard People, witches with magical abilities.  Soon she learns how to become invisible, call forth her spirit face, and even work beginner's juju spells.  The four friends are surprised (and afraid) to learn that the elders have selected them to destroy Black Hat Otokoto, a menacing serial killer who's going after the local children.  Each of the foursome has a distinct personality (Chichi is sassy, Sasha's got an attitude), and it's cool to watch them discover and master their powers - they actually earn money "by gaining knowledge and wisdom."  But above all, the imagery in this book is amazing, from the funky train and magic of juju knives to ghosthoppers and the terrifying, evil spirit of Ekwensu.  Come visit the world of Leopard Knocks!

Teeny tiny adventure

I'm ready to go back to the Art Institute of Chicago before after reading The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone.  Ruthie and Jack are on a field trip to the Art Institute when they see the exhibit called the Thorne Rooms - 68 miniature rooms that show different times in U.S. and European history.  They discover a magical key that can shrink them down to a height of five inches, just the right size for exploring the rooms.  They're surprised to find out that they aren't the first people to do this, and they're even more shocked to discover that they can actually enter the periods of time that the rooms represent.  Details of the rooms are fascinating, and it's fun to read how Ruthie and Jack solve problems that come up when they're so small.  Fans of Chasing Vermeer or From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler will appreciate this teeny tiny adventure.

Grounded for the summer!

Okay - after a week of insanely hot weather and power outages, I'm back in the swing of things with Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos.  Somewhat of an autobiography, the story tells about 12-year-old Jack, who's grounded for the summer of 1962 after goofing around with his dad's old Japanese rifle and shooting it off by mistake.  About the only way out of the house is to help Miss Volker, an elderly woman with arthritic hands, by writing down her eloquently spoken obituaries for the unusually high number of old woman in Norvelt who are passing away. Although a lot of the story is funny, be warned that there's some gore: Jack is prone to impressive and frequent nosebleeds, and one of his friends teaches him about some of the finer aspects of dealing with dead bodies at her father's funeral home.  Between Girl Scout cookies, Hell's Angels, a fake (or maybe not) bomb shelter, and the mystery of the dying residents, there's a lot going on in this book that won the 2012 Newbery.

Any misfits out there?

Misfit or not, you'll cheer for the title character in I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson. Emma lives with her free-spirited mom Donatella and her grandfather on the East Coast.  Although Emma is 12, she's almost six feet tall; her height, as well as her red hair and unusual name (sounds a lot like "am a freak"), make her quite an outcast, with only one true friend. Emma has never known her father, and when she gets invited to a Freke family reunion at a campground in Wisconsin, she's excited to have the chance to meet that unknown side of her family.  When she gets there, she's thrilled - not only do they pronounce their name "Frecky" (not "Freak"), but they accept her!  They like her! They look and act like her! Well...maybe not exactly.  With a lot of humor, eccentric personalities, and thoughtfulness, the author provides wonderful characters and a terrific read, especially for the summer.  

Not a camp you'd want to visit

Sometimes I have a hard time judging what middle school readers would think of a book, and that was the case with 90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis. Although the writing style won't be for everyone, the plot is pretty interesting.  Julian and his brothers are living a good life in Cuba in 1961.  But the country is in turmoil, and the boys are among 14,000 children evacuated to the U.S. as part of Operation Pedro Pan. The brothers live in a refugee camp in Miami, where surviving the actions of the camp bullies is a daily struggle.  The threat of being sent to an orphanage and never seeing their parents again is very real; when Julian's brothers are sent away, he's on his own.  Julian is a clever, resourceful kid - can he figure out how to reunite his family?  Based on the author's childhood experiences, this is a part of Cuban and U.S. history that isn't well known - but should be.

For aspiring chefs!

Close to Famous by Joan Bauer is one of those books that I didn't want to end.  When the Elvis-impersonating boyfriend of Foster McKee's mom becomes abusive, Foster and her mom make a quick exit from Memphis and end up in Culpepper, West Virginia.  Yes, it's one of those small towns with quirky characters, and they're great to read about: the kindly couple that lets the McKees stay in their trailer; Macon, the boy who wants to make documentary films (but doesn't even have a camera); and famous movie actress Charleena Hendley, who's just looking for a little privacy.  Foster's dream is to make cupcakes on her own cooking show; she's not able to read recipes, but she's awesome at remembering what she learns from the show of her chef idol, and soon her cupcakes are making their way into the hearts (and stomachs) of the Culpepper residents.  The stories and hopes of the characters are woven together so well, you'll wish you could visit Culpepper, meet everyone, and try one of Foster's specialities.

What if you could fly?

That would be pretty cool, right?  Maybe...or maybe not, according to The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester.  Piper McCloud lives on a farm in Lowland County.  Her parents have usually kept her apart from the other kids, because they worry what would happen if anyone else knew she could fly.  After Piper is allowed a rare appearance in a local baseball game and makes an amazing play, her secret is out.  But wait - in rushes a helicopter and black sedans (what the heck??), whisking her away to a special school where she'll be safe.  The school is an incredible underground facility where she meets other children who have unique talents, such as shrinking/growing, conjuring up weather systems, and phenomenal strength.  Then Piper and the others find out this is actually a very bad place for them to be, because - well, I won't give it away. The pace of the book is uneven (slow start, slow ending, ups and downs in the middle), and a lot of the characterization is pretty one-dimensional, but you still might enjoy reading about kids with super powers and wondering...which super power would you want to have?