« August 2008 | Main | October 2008 »
September 18, 2008
HURRICANE SONG by Paul Volponi
August, 2005, darkness, hunger, and heat spread through the Superdome in New Orleans. It is the horror of Hurricane Katrina, and Miles Shaw with his musician father and uncle are forced to take refuge in the Dome, the safest place in town. This is the setting for HURRICANE SONG by Paul Volponi.
Miles, a high school sophomore, moved in with Dad after his Mom remarried. Dad is a trumpet player and music is the man’s life, while Miles’ passion is football, not exactly common ground for a relationship for two people who have not spent much time together. When the evacuation plans for leaving town are changed, the opportunity to see the Superdome, where the city football championship is played, does not look so bad.
Entering the Superdome is the beginning of a nightmare which lasts for two days. Football in hand Miles tries to make the best of the situation only to have his football stolen, and this is the good news. Lack of food, too few bathrooms, story-hungry television reporters, by-the-book military police, death by suicide, marauding bands of young men, raping, stealing, and extorting the homeless and an unforgiving storm are reported in this hour-by-hour account. How do father and son connect after so much time apart? For Paul Volponi it is the music of New Orleans and he punctuates his message with verses from the song, "When the Saints go Marching In", as his chapter headings. .
HURRICANE SONG may turn out to be the most powerful fictional account of the tragedy known as Katrina, and it is written for teens. This is a story sure to win awards, a must read and it is only 136 pages long.
I RECOMMEND THIS TITLES FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GRADES 10-12, ESPECIALLY THE GUYS.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
East Meadow Public Library
Posted by fjacksonem at 2:07 PM | Comments (2)
September 8, 2008
EXODUS by Julie Bertagna
With all the talk about global warming one wonders what the future would be like and Julie Bertgna's EXODUS may hold one of the answers.
Mara Bell lives on island in the Atlantic; at one time there were several inhabited islands like a string of stepping stones, but the harsh weather and raging seas has threatened and destoryed these tiny refuges. Now the isle of Wing stands alone against the elements. When the ocean wipes out Wing's low lying homes, Mara manages to convince the people to get on boats and search for a city in the sky. A city she learned about on the WEAVE(we call it the world wide web).
Facing rough seas and rainy weather some of the inhabitants of Wing manage to reach the large tower in the sky. However, they face a fleet of other refugees in small boats, lack of food and drinking water, a well-equiped police force with their boats and missiles and the large city gates that shut tight when the supply ships and the police boats retreat to the safety of the technologically advanced city. Things look bleak.
To survive Mara must find a way past all of this. She spies small children using the strangest of transports. One maybe two of these sea urchins get past the the city gates when police retreat. Is this Mara's only chance? And if it is, what lies behind the massive gates?
For a compelling story about our future read EXODUS by Julie Bertagna. I RECOMMEND THIS TITLE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, IF A 7TH OR 8TH GRADE STUDENT IS ECOLOGICALLY AWARE YOU MAY WANT TO READ THIS BOOK.
Mrs, Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
East Meadow Public Library
Posted by fjacksonem at 6:41 PM | Comments (0)
September 2, 2008
THE SUMMONING by Kelley Armstrong
Chloe Saunders sees dead people.
It all started when she was just a little girl and would hear voices coming from the basement of her house. Most of the ghosts were friendly but some were truly terrifying and seemed to want something from Chloe. Eventually her parents decided to move and the visions and voices stopped as soon as she was in a different house.
Now, Chloe is a 15-year-old art student and has almost no memory of her first home or the strange abilities she once had. This all changes during a regular day of school when first, she sees a boy appear out of nowhere, and then the ghost of a deformed janitor chases her through the halls of her school. Because no one else can see these ghosts, they think Chloe has mental problems and she is sent to Lyle House, an institution for troubled teens. None of the doctors there believe her claims that she can see ghosts and she is incorrectly diagnosed as having schizophrenia. As she gets to know the other kids in the house she realizes she is not the only one with unusual abilities and that it may not be a coincidence that they are all gathered in the same institution. Chloe and her friends work to unlock the secrets of their abilities as well as the secrets of the house, such as why certain doors remain locked and why she can hear voices coming from behind them.
The Summoning is the first book in a suspenseful and scary new series. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and you will not be able to wait for the next installment.
I highly recommend this book to teens in grades 8 and up.
Paula Cea
Young Adult Librarian
Posted by fjacksonem at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)