Fiction Books - Page 12

The Outsiders 40th Anniversary edition

SE Hinton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Give me more Soda Pop 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Soda is different, different from anybody; he understands everything, almost... He's always happy-go-lucky and grinning..." said Ponyboy as he walked from the movie theater.
When ever anybody asks me who my favorite character is I always say without thinking Soda Pop Curtis from The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton. Soda Pop is a very sensitive sixteen year old boy. Soda's sensitive side shows when he gets a letter in the mail from his girlfriend saying that her parents wouldn't allow her to marry a gang member, Soda Pop. Another time when Soda is sensitive is when Ponyboy, his brother, runs away. Soda Pop cried for 2 nights straight.
I think Soda Pop has the right to be emotional because his parents died in a car accident, the Socs never leave him and his gang alone and when his brothers, Ponyboy and Darry fight he is always the middle man, like a tug-a-war match. Soda Pop's sensitivity is what makes him my favorite character.

Editorial Review:

First published by Viking in 1967, The Outsiders immediately resonated with young adults. This groundbreaking novel was like nothing else out there—it was honest and gritty, and was a deeply sympathetic portrayal of Ponyboy, a young man who finds himself on the outside of regular society. Forty years later, with over thirteen million copies sold, the story is as fresh and powerful to teenagers today as it ever was.

Celebrate the fortieth anniversary of a classic with this stunning edition, featuring the original cover.

Centerburg Tales

Robert McCloskey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Centerburg Rocks 4 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I loved the silly stories of Centerburg as a kid and hoped that my nine-year-old nephew would not find the material too dated to understand. No worries! He laughs out loud at the complicated adventures that ensnare Homer Price and his friends. I'm pleased that he's enjoying a book that enlarges his vocabulary and his ideas about life way back in the mid-twentieth century.

Homer Price redux 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This is a great sequel to the original "Homer Price". Homer and his friends are off on more wacky adventures, each one funnier than the last. The final story, in which Homer and his fellow citizens are literally dancing all over town, is one of the most hilarious children's tales ever written. McCloskey had magic in his writing pen and his drawing pencil; it's hard to say which are better, the stories or the illustrations. Suffice to say that they all add up to a wonderful book for young folks. Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

Further adventures of Homer Price, including those in which a juke box sets the whole town singing against its will and in which a mad scientist develops weeds that overrun the town.

The House on the Cliff (Hardy Boys, Book 2)

Franklin W. Dixon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 45 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Case of the Hardy Boys: An Adult Reader's Thoughts On The House On The Cliff 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Written by Leslie McFarlane from an outline by publisher Edward Stratemeyer, THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFF--the second book in the Hardy Boys series--was first published in 1927. In the late 1950s the earliest novels in the series were re-written to make the characters more consistent and keep the books contemporary; even so, this is 1950s contemporary, and readers will not find computers, cell phones, and the like in the original series. The characters are also very distinctly of their era, with Frank and Joe Hardy, their friends, and their parents reflecting then-popular ideas about good and bad, family relationships, and the like.

In this particular story, detective father Fenton Hardy has asked sons Frank and Joe to visit the "Old Pollit place," an empty house on a cliff that commands a view of the bay, to look for possible smugglers. The Hardy Boys books are written to a specific formula, so certain elements repeat from book to book--but even so, THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFF is one of the more unexpected books in the series. The boys encounter possible smugglers, experience a theft, run afoul of a landslide, and rescue a drowning man--and that's just the first four chapters! The entire book is written at a very fast pace, so it is an enjoyable quick read.

No one would accuse the Hardy Boys books of being great literature. They are distinctly formula in both plot and style. Even so, the books are brightly written and never talk down to their target audience--and older readers who enjoyed them in their childhood will find it a pleasing bit of nostalgia. THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFF is among the best in the series, entertaining, mindless fun.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Editorial Review:

When Mr. Hardy disappears while investigating a mystery surrounding a vacant house rumored to be either haunted or an abode for criminals, the Hardy Boys search for the truth.

Football Double Threat (Matt Christopher Sports Fiction)

Matt Christopher, Stephanie Peters

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Editorial Review:

Rocky Fletcher is being stretched to his limit. Until recently, he'd only played wide receiver for the Pythons. Now his coaches want him to learn the safety position, too - a position that opened up when Bobby, Rocky's best friend, broke his leg. Even though he believes he is to blame for Bobby's injury, Rocky eagerly takes on the challenge of becoming a two-way player. After all, the only other player available is Jared, a sullen boy who switched from soccer to football this season. Yet as time goes on, it's Jared who excels at the position because, thanks to Bobby, Rocky keeps missing practices! What's going on between Rocky and Bobby-and why is Jared on the team when he clearly dislikes football so much?

A Wreath for Emmett Till

Marilyn Nelson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

From Sisters Nineties Literary Group Book Review Editor 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

A Wreath for Emmett Till is my first encounter with Marilyn Nelson; a bittersweet introduction. As a member of the Sisters~Nineties Literary Group, this book fascinates me as it is a beautiful example of poetic mastery. When our editor gives us a writing assignment for our publication, I grumble and protest, then I revel in the experience; delighting in the success of learning about the world of poetry and all its various forms. The "sankofet," created by Debra Morrowloving Sisters~Nineties founder, comes to mind as I read this book.*

Ms. Nelson's rhyme scheme is a fourteen-line sonnet on each page linking the previous poem with the next as the last line of the previous poem is the first line of the next poem on the following page. In the world of poetry, this is known as a "crown of sonnets."

Although written for children, I had to read the book twice to "feel" the horrible images that this book so beautifully captures. References to flower, plants, and trees are symbolic and make up the "wreath" for Emmett.
Please read this book and share the experience with your children. The incident is described as the motivating force of the Civil Rights Movement. It is also a wake-up call to all those who continue to live a life of apathy and denial when it comes to standing up for the legacy of the African American struggle.

*Sankofet is a poetic form of three stanzas, each with seven lines. The fourth line of each stanza is the same. The last word of each stanza is the first word of the subsequent verse, and the last line of a Sankofet is the first line in the poem. The format of the Sankofet emulates the call-and-response motif of Afrikan musical tradition with the repetition of the fourth lines. The connecting words at the beginning and end of the stanzas represent the Afrikan cycle of life concept.

Editorial Review:

A Coretta Scott King and Printz honor book now in paperback. A Wreath for Emmett Till is "A moving elegy," says The Bulletin.

In 1955 people all over the United States knew that Emmett Louis Till was a fourteen-year-old African American boy lynched for supposedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. The brutality of his murder, the open-casket funeral held by his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, and the acquittal of the men tried for the crime drew wide media attention. In a profound and chilling poem, award-winning poet Marilyn Nelson reminds us of the boy whose fate helped spark the civil rights movement.

Footprints Under the Window (Hardy Boys, Book 12)

Franklin W. Dixon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Spies! 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Hardy Boys become involved in a series of mysteries that involve a foreign dictator, missing people, stolen luggage, and secret work at Micro-Eye, a plant doing some kind of top secret work for the government. Mixed into all this action are mysterious people who run from the Hardys, but also run from those the Hardys believe to be criminals. Furthermore, what does Orrin North, the shipping magnate, have to do with all these mysteries?

As the mysteries unfold, the Hardys learn that people who have been smuggled from a Caribbean dictatorship have been disappearing. An investigator sent to learn more has disappeared. It also appears that someone is after the top secret project at Micro-Eye. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that Orrin North's ships are no longer accepting passengers.

While this book contains some interesting mysteries, I was less impressed with the action and the story than some of the previous stories. The story is interesting, and you want to get to the end, but the mystery is less well developed than in other books up to this point. While giving four stars is probably being generous, the story seemed worth more than just three stars. However, this book is not the one which I would use as a starting point for the series.

Though the Hardy Boys series is written in a relatively archaic fashion, as reading material for an increasingly younger audience they are excellent. The stories were once recommended for children ages 10 to 14. As children are exposed to more violence and seem to require greater levels of stimulation, the recommended age range has move to 9 to 12. I think any child capable of reading some of the challenging words in these books will enjoy them, regardless of how tame most of the action may be. Once a child has reached age 12 or so the stories may be of less interest, but given the combination of mystery and action, these books remain good safe choices for parents who want to know what their children are reading.

Editorial Review:

Footprints lead to the breakup of a ring smuggling Chinese aliens. Published originally in 1933.

The Dead Man in Indian Creek

Mary Downing Hahn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Dead Man in Indian Creek 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

The book Dead Man in Indian Creek by Mary Downing Hawn talks a lot about trust and believing in someone. Two boys in the book go on a camping trip at Indian Creek. Their names are Matt and Parker. Parker's mom is divorced and he hates it! He wishes his mom could still be with his dad but he knows it's never going to happen know matter how much he wants them too. Later in the book Parker's mom is going to have to find a way to believe in her son and figure out who's the liar.
Right now Parkers mom is dating a guy named Evan. He is mean, always has a creepy grin on his face, and he buys his mom things at weird times, mostly after a fight they would have the day before. Parker does not like this guy and knows he is bad for his mom.
When the boys get back from their trip they tell parker's mom they saw a dead body in the creek. They said Otis was barking at the water when they ran to see what is was they saw Evan run away into the woods. When they looked in the water there was a dead body just lying their.
Parker's mom has to figure out whom to believe, parker with his story about the dead man in the creek, or Evan saying her son is crazy and needs to go see a doctor.

Editorial Review:

When Parker Pettengill and Matt Armentrout find a dead man at the edge of Indian Creek, their camping trip comes to a close -- and a detective hunt begins. Evans, the creepy new boyfriend of Parker's mom, Pam, was seen at -- the place of the crime -- but there's no solid evidence that he committed the murder. Parker is convinced that Pam's boyfriend is to blame, and he will not rest until he has proof. And when Parker and Armentrout hide out in Pam's antique store and spy on Pam and Evans, they find out more than they bargained for....

South By Southeast (Diamond Brothers, The)

Anthony Horowitz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Amazing 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 7 people found this review helpful.

South By Southeast

Tim Diamond is the worst detective ever. He is so bad he was kicked out of the police force. His younger bother Nick is the brains behind their business. A new case has opened the door right in front of them. A murder case, can they stop the killer before his next job is finished, the Russian President is killed. Will they find out who the killer is and save the president or will they killer complete the mission.

Editorial Review:

It looks like Tim, the world’s worst private detective, and Nick, his brainy kid brother, are in trouble again. They’re dead broke. But money is the least of their worries when a mysterious man bursts into their office and offers Tim a wad of cash for his coat. Minutes later, the stranger is dead and Nick and Tim are left to puzzle over his final words. What could he have meant by "suff bee suff-iss"? Or was it "south by southeast"? Neither one seems to make much sense, but the Diamond brothers will have to figure it out, and fast! Whoever killed the stranger is now after Nick and Tim!

Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way (America's Sherlock Holmes in Sneakers, No. 9)

Donald J. Sobol, Leonard W. Shortall

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

An enjoyable book 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book was nice to read and the mysteries were kind of "always happening" like not so big mysteries, but some were tough to solve and I enjoyed reading this book.

Editorial Review:

Leroy Brown is back in the next six books in the Encyclopedia Brown series. As Idaville’s ten-year-old star detective, Encyclopedia has an uncanny knack for trivia. With his unconventional knowledge, he solves mysteries for the neighborhood kids through his own detective agency. But his dad also happens to be the chief of the Idaville police department, and every night around the dinner table, Encyclopedia helps him solve some of the most baffling crimes. With ten confounding mysteries in each book, not only does Encyclopedia have a chance to solve them, but readers are given all the clues as well and can chime in with their own solutions. Interactive and fun—it’s classic Encyclopedia Brown!

The Light in the Forest

Conrad Richter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 176 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

No Heroes Here 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I just completed reading this to my pre-teen kids, who enjoyed the story and who became particularly engaged as the complexity of the moral drama intensified in the final two chapters. There are many reviews on this page that summarize the plot, and I won't repeat everything except as is needed to make a few points in review.
It's a good book, although I got a little whiff of "PC" early in the book that was an initial turn off. The plot is built around the story of a white teenager who is being returned to his "English" family 12 years after he was kidnapped from them by Indians (that's the book's term, by the way, for Native Americans). The boy, Johnny or True Son by name (the latter, a misnomer of the highest order), faces the unbearable dilemma of being taken from the Indian people who he knows as family and friends and being returned to a culture that is alien to him. In his head, we are treated to the evils of white culture (fences and rules and cold dark houses and strange restricting religions) and the virtues of the Indian life (the forest and brother wind and bravery and running around naked). True Son (or Johnny's) white family is not presented favorably, with a weak little father, a pathetically invalid mother, and a handful of jerks for extended family - in other words, pretty much like many white families I know today! In contrast, True Son yearns to be reunited with his brave brown Indian family, who he sees without fault or flaw.
It is in the mid-part of the book that the reader should see that everyone has screwed up here (and, with the expection of one solitary character, this is reinforced well by the end of the novel). The Indians have committed the dastardly act of kidnapping the child of another family (on the justification that True Son's Indian father is looking for a replacement for a son that died) and then releasing him as part of a treaty (knowing of course that this was entirely appropriate given the decade-old crime). Johnny's white family cannot be blamed for wanting him back or for taking the opportunity to get him back, despite his own resistance. Hey, this was before the golden age of counseling, and perhaps some talk therapy or even drugs would have helped the situation, but this is the frontier we're talking about.
Eventually, True Son gets a shot at returning home, and he takes it. In doing so, stupid and violent bloodshed is unleashed on both sides. And this is where it becomes crystal clear that there are no heroes in this book. Whites hate Indians, Indians hate whites (and have no qualms about scalping little girls, or almost anything else that moves), and everyone possesses weapons. One constant theme throughout the book is Love. True Son's Indian family loves him (as he loves them), and it is his Indian father who sacrificially saves his life in the end. Johnny's white family loves him too. Ultimately, the great climactic scene of the novel turns on Johnny/True Son's love of his little white brother, Gordie (the only character in this book who won't tick you off at some point).
Quite a book. Slight blip on the PC meter, but in balance, an objective portrait of a time and place that we may never fully understand. I'm sorry to see so many young people panning the book on this site, but what the heck can you expect from kids these days? Trying shutting your mouth and opening your mind.

Editorial Review:

When John Cameron Butler was a child, he was captured in a raid on the Pennsylvania frontier and adopted by the great warrrior Cuyloga. Renamed True Son, he came to think of himself as fully Indian. But eleven years later his tribe, the Lenni Lenape, has signed a treaty with the white men and agreed to return their captives, including fifteen-year-old True Son. Now he must go back to the family he has forgotten, whose language is no longer his, and whose ways of dress and behavior are as strange to him as the ways of the forest are to them. A beautifully written, sensitively told story of a white boy brought up by Indians, The Light in the Forest is a beloved American classic.