Fiction Books

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Little, Brown Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 272 new & used starting at $9.64

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 87 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not Child Friendly!!!! 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I am very upset this book is being recommended for children-I bought it for my son because of the "glowing reviews". I read it after he did and was appalled to find the "f"word in the book and lots of talk of masturbating!!! I will throw it in the trash just to be sure no other child gets his hands on it!

Editorial Review:

In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

The Arrival

Shaun Tan

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Arthur A. Levine Books Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $9.50

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 36 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"A shockingly imaginative graphic novel that captures the sense of adventure and wonder that surrounds a new arrival on the shores of a shining new city. Wordless, but with perfect narrative flow, Tan gives us a story filled with cityscapes worthy of Winsor McCay." -- Jeff Smith, author of Bone

"A magical river of strangers and their stories!" -- Craig Thompson, author of Blankets

"Magnificent." -- David Small, Caldecott Medalist

In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life - he's leaving home to build a better future for his family. Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Because the main character can't communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. But while the reader experiences the main character's isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy.

The Bronze Bow

Elizabeth George Speare

Amazon Price: $6.95 List Price: $6.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Amazon Marketplace: 166 new & used starting at $0.82

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 93 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Fantastic!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I am an [...] girl and this is the absolute best ever book I've ever read in my whole entire life. It is spectacular!! A story about a boy named Daniel, a sister that will not leave the house, a bunch of outlaws, and Roman soldiers. The book also includes Jesus. Elizibeth Speare carefully weaved the truth of Christ in this book. It is very emotional at the end. I cried while telling my mother what happened at the end. It truly impacted me. It makes me want to follow Jesus and please him.

You must understand when I say "the best book I've ever read", what it beat. Here are some books I've read that this book outshined.

The Hobbit
Harry Potter
Shannara
Les Miserables
Narnia
Hittite Warrior
Cat of Bubastes
The Golden Goblet

...and lots more. Notice the last three book titles. Those are also fabulous books. Bronze Bow, however, is wonderful. I can't decide which words to use. You would have to read the book yourself to know what I mean. You will like it, trust me.

Editorial Review:

In this Newbery Medal-winning novel, Daniel bar Jamin is fired by only one passion: to avenge his father's death by crucifixion by driving the Roman legions from his land of Israel. He joins an outlaw band and leads a dangerous life of spying, plotting, and impatiently waiting to seek revenge. Headstrong Daniel is devoid of tenderness and forgiveness, heading down a destructive path toward disaster until he hears the lessons taught by Jesus of Nazareth. With a brand new cover, young readers won't be able to pass up this timeless tale.

Sold

Patricia McCormick

Amazon Price: $8.99 List Price: $8.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hyperion Book CH Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $4.25

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 53 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

finished in one night 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sold is written like a mental journal. i read in the back that the author interviewed girls that had actually been sex slaves. she seemed to have taken everything they told her and put it in the book. the pages are not always full of words. some pages will have only a few paragraphs making it short. thats why i finished so fast, there wasn't a lot to read.
i finished in a few hours. i would say its good. it wasn't perfect, but it was truthful. id rather get the truth about being a sex slave than sacrifice logic for drama. you know what i mean?

Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club.com 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Sold is the story about a Nepalese girl--13-year-old Lakshmi-- who leaves home thinking she will be working to support her desperately poor family. In reality she has been sold into the sexual slave trade and is taken far away from anything that is relevant to her. A fictional tale of a very real event, Sold is an important book that sheds light on how easily girls can be lured away from their families and into situations from which it is difficult for them to escape.

To research her story, McCormick traveled to the countries of India and Nepal, and she interviewed the women living in Calcutta's red-light district, as well as girls who had been rescued from sexual slavery. As the mother of two daughters, I think it's important for them to know that cases like these are not isolated, and sexual slavery occurs all over the world, even in the U.S.

I believe Sold would make for a very interesting discussion with a mother-daughter book club. The scenes of Lakshmi's life before she leaves home are bittersweet as well as enlightening about what life is like for the people who live in the villages of Nepal. And Lakshmi is as innocent as you might expect any girl her age to be. Her voice rings true throughout the book; she's a very real character.

A non-fiction book I recently read on this topic called Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade and How We Can Fight It by David Batstone makes a great companion to Sold. Batstone tells of organizations in many different countries that are fighting this horrific practice, and gives ideas for what each of us can do to help support them.

The Cay

Theodore Taylor

Amazon Price: $6.50 List Price: $6.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Laurel Leaf Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $1.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 595 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

PCE Student Review 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I like the book The Cay because it is adventure. The book is about a boy named Phillip that goes on a ship with his family and then the ship gets sunk. The next thing he knows is that he is on a rubber raft with a African American man named Timothy. He goes on an island and Timothy dies by a hurricane. But Phillip survives because Timothy risked his life to save Phillips life. Phillip survived on the cay by fishing with the poles that Timothy made for him before he died. Later on he heard a airplane and then set a fire to get the planes attention. Then he put sea grapes in the fire that started smoke and later he was rescued by a ship. I recommend this book for children that are 9 or older. And that is why I like this book because it is a adventure.

Editorial Review:

This award-winning novel remains a powerful classic of prejudice, love, and survival. In 1942, 11-year-old Phillip Enright lives with his parents on the Dutch island of Curaçao, but when the war moves too close for comfort, his mother decides to travel with him back to the safety of Virginia. When their boat is torpedoed, however, Phillip is blinded and finds himself adrift on a life raft with an old black man and a cat. They eventually land on a deserted island. Phillip is suspicious of "the large Negro," but soon grows to trust--and ultimately love--the patient and generous Timothy. Dedicated to "Dr. King's Dream," The Cay has a clear message that friendship is colorblind; it is also a terrific adventure story of a young, newly blinded man learning to survive on an uninhabited island. (Ages 12 and older) --Richard Farr

Elijah Of Buxton (Newbery Honor Book) (Newbery Honor Book)

Christopher Paul Curtis

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Scholastic Press Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $5.05

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Elijah of Buxton 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

*Elijah of Buxton* is an exciting historical fiction book about a boy named
Elijah who is the first child born free in Buxton. It is about the Preacher
who doesn't care for anyone in Buxton and who lies about everything. He
tells Elijah that one type of snake is outrageously dangerous and when his
mom plays a trick on him he finds that they are harmless. He still trusts
the Preacher so he goes to a carnival in a neighboring white town. The
preacher takes a boy in slavery from the white town and brings him to
Buxton. Then a single wife in Buxton finds out that her husband has died so
she gives her wood cutter Mr Leroy the money she was saving to buy her
husband out of slavery so he can buy his family out of slavery. Mr Leroy
gives the preacher his money because everybody still trusts him and because
he has contacts to buy people out of slavery. Elijah goes away from Buxton
and comes back with a slaves baby he found. The book ends with many
questions and is open to lots of predictions and questions.

Elijah of Buxton captured my interest on the first page. It is emotional,
dramatic and leaves you wondering at the end of each chapter. If you are
going to read a historical fiction book start with this one. I would
definitely recommend this book to 4th grade and up.

Editorial Review:

Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He’s best known in his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass. But things change when a former slave steals money from Elijah’s friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled—a life from which he’ll always be free, if he can find the courage to get back home.

All the Places to Love

Patricia Maclachlan

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Joanna Cotler Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $9.58

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A heart warming masterpiece 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Patricia MacLachlan creates a heart warming masterpiece through a simple country family's connection with each other and their land. All the Places to Love begins with Eli's birth and his first view of the countryside his family calls home. Eli would soon grow to love this countryside through his experiences with his mother, father, and grandparents. They each have a place on the farm, which holds a special place in their heart. Mama loves the hill where she can see the sun rise on one side and set on the other. Papa love the fields and working in them. Grandma shares her love for the river with Eli as they sail notes down stream to one another. The barn grows special to Eli's heart after sharing experiences with Grandpa working in a place that brings joy to his life. Eli creates his personal getaway where the spring rains come and turn the meadows into marsh. The paintings by Mike Wimmer combined with the words by MacLachlan capture the passion filled anticipation of Eli as he awaits the birth of his baby sister. Eli is eager to show Sylvie "all the places to love."

Editorial Review:

Within the sanctuary of a loving family, baby Eli is born and, as he grows, "learns to cherish the people and places around him, eventualy passing on what he has discovered to his new baby sister, Sylvie: 'All the places to love are here . . . no matter where you may live.' This loving book will be something to treasure."'BL."The quiet narrative is so intensely felt it commands attention. . . . a lyrical celebration."'K.

The Pet Dragon: A Story about Adventure, Friendship, and Chinese Characters

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Greenwillow

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Editorial Review:

Meet Lin and her pet dragon!

When the dragon mysteriously disappears, Lin sets off on a journey to find her best friend . . . and readers set off on a journey of learning and discovery.

By ingeniously integrating written Chinese characters into the illustrations as the story progresses, Christoph Niemann has created a book that is engrossing, unique, and memorable. The Pet Dragon is a playful introduction to the fascinating world of Chinese language and culture . . . and a terrific story to share with children everywhere.

You are invited to join Lin for an adventure you will not soon forget!

Breadwinner

Deborah Ellis

Amazon Price: $8.95 List Price: $8.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Groundwood Books Amazon Marketplace: 71 new & used starting at $1.63

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, 11-year-old Parvana has rarely been outdoors. Barred from attending school, shopping at the market, or even playing in the streets of Kabul, the heroine of Deborah Ellis's engrossing children's novel The Breadwinner is trapped inside her family's one-room home. That is, until the Taliban hauls away her father and Parvana realizes that it's up to her to become the "breadwinner" and disguise herself as a boy to support her mother, two sisters, and baby brother. Set in the early years of the Taliban regime, this topical novel for middle readers explores the harsh realities of life for girls and women in modern-day Afghanistan. A political activist whose first book for children, Looking for X, dealt with poverty in Toronto, Ellis based The Breadwinner on the true-life stories of women in Afghan refugee camps.

In the wily Parvana, Ellis creates a character to whom North American children will have no difficulty relating. The daughter of university-educated parents, Parvana is thoroughly westernized in her outlook and responses. A pint-sized version of Offred from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Parvana conceals her critique of the repressive Muslim state behind the veil of her chador. Although the dialogue is occasionally stilted and the ending disappointingly sketchy, The Breadwinner is essential reading for any child curious about ordinary Afghans. Like so many books and movies on the subject, it is also eerily prophetic. "Maybe someone should drop a big bomb on the country and start again," says a friend of Parvana's. "'They've tried that,' Parvana said, 'It only made things worse.'" (Ages 9 to 12) --Lisa Alward

The Scrambled States of America

Laurie Keller

Amazon Price: $7.95 List Price: $7.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $2.92

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 63 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

One day, Kansas wakes up grumpy. The other 49 states are stretching, yawning, and pouring maple syrup onto each other's pancakes, but irritable Kansas announces to his kindly neighbor Nebraska that life is dull and changes must be made: "All day long we just sit here in the middle of the country. We never GO anywhere. We never DO anything, and we NEVER meet any NEW states!" Nebraska, sick of hearing North Dakota and South Dakota bicker all the time, agrees to help organize a party for all the states. It's a hit! Late into the evening, Idaho and Virginia get up onto the stage and suggest that all the states change places. What a state of affairs. Minnesota, who switches places with Florida, gets a sunburn. Kansas, having traded places with Hawaii, gets lonely and sings some soggy blues so sad that a shark sheds a mournful tear offshore. Nevada and Mississippi fall in love. Despite the initial excitement, the new arrangement just doesn't feel right. The states manage to swim, fly, bike, and hitchhike their way home, and everyone goes to bed in the right place--even Kansas is happy to be home after such an adventure. This wacky, thoroughly engaging tale of mixed-up geography is a good bet for some awards. Perhaps best of all, the large format and riot of detail allow for plenty of amusing asides. Books that claim to "make geography fun" usually have to be taken with a dose of skepticism: so often, the teaching is there and the entertainment isn't. This delightfully quirky and original book shows how it should be done. (Ages 4 and older) --Richard Farr