Personal Effects (341 Pages)

E.M. Kokie has written his first novel that covers the relationships in a very complicated family. Matt Foster had always looked up to his older brother, T. J who was killed in the Iran war. There are many flashbacks Matt experiences as he tries to maintain memories of his brother. However, Matt's father never allowed the kids to mourn (or see him mourn) their mother's death, and within days of the father and son hearing of T.J's death, his father has removed every picture of T.J. from the walls and shelves of their house, including a bag of his personal items and the American flag from his coffin. Matt searches and searches for all of this, but Matt's dad threatens him to leave everything alone. In the meantime, Matt is involved in a very violent fight at school when one of his classmates comes to school with a Tee shirt stating to bring the soldiers home...but not in boxes, and then the listing of all local soldiers' names, including T.J. Matt gets suspended from school for a week.  Then one day, the army comes once again to the house with three foot lockers of T.J's personal effects. His father instructs them to put the boxes in T.J's old bedroom. Matt is determined to look through them before they too disappear. While his father is at work, Matt opens the 3 foot lockers and discovers a bag of letters. He closes everything up, makes sure the room appears totally undisturbed, and goes downstairs to his bedroom where he reads and rereads the letters. Then he makes a decision to secretly take a trip to see the woman that wrote so many letters to T.J. And that trip and what Matt discovers turns the entire book around. This is a very special read.

If We Survive (339 Pages + 1 1/2 paged readers' guide)

Andrew Klavan has written one of the most exciting reads I've encountered in a VERY long time.  This is a book that boys will inhale, but girls will enjoy as well. (You know the silliness fact that boys will only pick "boy" books, but girls will read anything!) The main character of the book is Will Peterson, a 16 year old who is sick and tired of his parents arguing, and he doesn't want to guess anymore about whether or not they're going to divorce. He is the narrator of the story. So Will joins up with a small group from his church, Pastor Ron, and a college girl, Meredith, who sometimes attends the church's services (and on whom Will has an incredible crush). Also in his group is another boy, Jim, who is pretty much a pompous ass, until the end of the book. The other high school member is a girl, Nicki, who is so into herself and all of the trappings of the American easy way of life, that she drives the reader crazy- in a funny kind of way. Finally there is the ex-Marine, Palmer Dunn. He flies the group into the area, and returns to pick them up and fly them home. So the five members of the church group head down to Central America with the intention of building a wall at a school that is in terrible shape. This they accomplish and are sitting in a cantina, drinking cokes, and waiting for Palmer to arrive and pick them up. And then all hell breaks loose. A very mean man named Mendoza, slams open the door, steps inside the cantina, and uses his machine gun to kill one of the waiters. He is followed by 4 rebels, dressed in jungle-green fatigues, with red bandannas around their necks, and all carrying AK 47s strapped across their chests. And all of this happens in the first 32 pages of the book. AND it doesn't slow down after that!

Aristotle and Dante (359 Pages)

Benjamin Alire Saenz has written a truly wonderful book for boys, about boys, that boys will enjoy reading- and should read. Girls will enjoy it, and they should read it too. Here are two high school guys who are so different in so many ways and so alike at the same time. Aristotle is a Latino loner. Dante is the Caucasian son of an English professor, but also of Mexican heritage. Ari is the youngest child in his family which consists of twin sisters that are much older and a brother in prison who is a little younger than his sisters. He considers himself an only child. Dante has a wonderful sense of humor. One day while "force cleaning" his room, he gives Ari a book of poems by William Carlos Williams and insists that Ari read it. Against his better judgement, Ari does read it, and he then makes a mental comment to the reader, comparing people and poems. "Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just didn't get- and never would get."(page 29) Two boys, both learning about themselves and each other. Both boys on the journey to becoming men.This is a story about young guys discovering their sexual identities. Although they come to realize that they are gay, there is no sex in the book. It is incredibly well written!

Endangered (250 Pages + 11 Pages of interest)

Eliot Schrefer's writing about the endangered Bonobos of the Congo is written with passion, caring, and fascinating facts! He has weaved a story embracing facts with fiction. The facts about the bonobos are absolutely true. He has admitted to fictionalizing the descriptions of the war in Congo, although much of this is true as well. The title is interesting because not only does the reader realize that the bonobo is endangered, but also feels that the main character, Sophie, is also endangered! It would be an understatement for me to say anything positive about her mother, although in spite of everything, Sophie loves her. I will go no farther on that! You must decide for yourself. I must say that in the denouement of the book, I cried. And although it seemed ridiculous to me, and I kept saying, "It's an ape, Lynn!" I still found it INCREDIBLY touching! This book will be enjoyed by both boys and girls, I believe.

Out of Nowhere (337 Pages)

I just finished reading Maria Padian's wonderful new book. WOW! It's a great read, and I learned so much that I didn't know. I learned right along with Tom Bouchard, the main character. Tom is a terrific high school senior. He's third in his class, academically, he's captain of the soccer team, and he's dating a good looking but stupid girl who is as dumb as a doorknob, and totally self centered. So, two out of three aren't so bad. The story centers around the soccer team and and a small group of Somali refugees who are suddenly students at Tom's school. The school is located in a small town in Maine, and there is some tension in town about the onslaught of Somali families who have suddenly arrived in town.  One of these is a young man named Saeed, the most remarkable soccer player the school has ever had. His joining the soccer team gives the team its first winning season. But in the midst of all of this, Tom's best friend, Donny, convinces Tom to do a prank on the rival school. Tom knows better, but goes along with Donny. He gets in real trouble and with the help of his coach and his principal, is saved except for needing to repaint the rock that was the center of the prank. He also needs to serve 100 hours of community service. This is a story with SO many "lessons" that it makes every middle and high school kid want to read it and talk about it.