THE TOTAL TRADGEDY OF A GIRL NAMED HAMLET

Author (last name first):
Dionne, Erin
Publisher, Date of Publication: 
The Penguin Group/2010

Grade Level/ or Age Level: 

8th and

Classification:  Fiction 

Hamlet's dream to remain under the radar in her eighth grade class is dashed when her genius seven year-old sister Desdemona enrolls in her school. Her Shakespearean scholar parents who show up like a walking, talking renaissance fair doesn't make it easier for her. Hamlet teeters between protecting her little sister from two snobby girls who want to use her and keeping her distance from her. To make things worse Hamlet's English and History class teams up to do one of Shakespeare's plays e.g. A Midsummer's Night Dream in class she is asked to read a part and realizes that she's good at it but given her history with her family she doesn't want to tell them making a big deal out of it. She learns that being herself isn't such a bad thing and that it's ok to stick out sometimes. The author keeps your attention with the crazy things Hamlet and her family go through throughout the story. The colorful cover of the book attracts attention. This book has an AR test available. 

Reviewed By: Lila Davis (Night Circulation Manager at Midwestern State University) 

THE MERMAID'S MIRROR

Author (last name first): 
 Madigan, L.K.
Publisher, Date of Publication: 
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company/2010

Grade Level/ or Age Level: 

9th and Up

Classification:  Fiction 

Lena has lived all her life in a northern California surfing community watching her friend's surf. On her sixteenth birthday she decides to defy her father and learn to surf. Then she sees what appears to be a woman's head above the water's surface and doubts her sanity. What forced her father to stop surfing and never again set foot in the ocean? Braving the deadly breakers at Magic Crescent Cove, she is drawn to see the mysterious figure again. Lena wipes out and nearly drowns, but a mermaid saves her and slips a small gold key in her hand. Now Lena must find out what secretes it unlocks and try to solve the mystery of her past. The author does a wonderful job of keeping the reader in suspense and the cover draws in your attention. This book also has an AR test available. 

Reviewed By: Lila Davis (Night Circulation Manager at Midwestern State University)

THE LAST FULL MEASURE

Author (last name first):
Rinaldi, Ann
Publisher, Date of Publication: 
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/2010

Grade Level/ or Age Level: 

7th and Up

Classification:  Fiction 

In the summer of 1863, fourteen year-old Tacy Stryker is not ready for the changes that are in store for her family and friends. The Confederate army has taken over her town. The battle is not only on the fields of Gettysburg, but in the towns surrounding it. Tacy's father is a doctor and her brothers Brandon and Joel are officers serving under General Grant with the Second Pennsylvania Calvary. Tacy's brother David is unable to fight because of an old injury to his leg and is left to take care of the household and the women of the family. He is so unhappy that he takes out his anger on Tacy. She adores her big brother and cringes every time he raises his voice at her. She is a willful young lady and the only daughter of the doctor and his wife. Tacy struggles with telling who is a friend and who is an enemy during the war and hates herself for blaming her best friend, the daughter of free Negroes, whose family is one of at least 400"darkies" living there, comes to stay with the Strykers. her brother David shows valiant effort in helping after the war, which in turn makes Tacy do so as well. The Stryker family is put in danger many times and most live to tell about it. 
This is a wonderful story that tells about the Stryker's struggles during the war. It would be a good book to read to students who are studying about Gettysburg and the family's involvement. In the back of the book it has a bibliography and an AR test available for students. 

Reviewed By: Lila Davis (Night Circulation Manager at Midwestern State University)

INVISIBLEGIRL

Author (last name first):
Stone, Mary Halon
Publisher, Date of Publication: 

Pholomel Books/2010

Grade Level/ or Age Level: 

8th - 12th

Classification:  Fiction 


Fourteen-year-old Stephanie is deserted by her abusive mother in Boston.  When her mother leaves them she is sent away by her father to live with wealthy friends,the Sullivan's, while he gets things straightened out. Stephanie arrives in California hoping to start a new life. She tries to fit in with her "cousins" popular group of friends. She sees how much easier it would be to be invisible and feels that she finally has gotten away from her alcoholic mother's stigma and often fantasizes that the Sullivan family is her own. Suddenly her dreams are crushed when Michael Sullivan(her father's childhood friend) tells the family why she is really living with them. She is treated no better than she was when she was living with her parents. Yet, Stephanie grows into a confident young lady and learns that not every one is like her mother and the Sullivan's. 
This book has strong material that deals with abuse and is very graphic. The author does a great job drawing you into Stephanie's life and keeps you wondering if she ever gets past her mother's abuse. The story is a good book for older children. It also can be used to teach awareness about child abuse.


Reviewed By: Lila Davis (Night Circulation Manager at Moffett Library)

THE GHOST OF ASHBURY HIGH

 Author (last name first):
Moriarty, Jaclyn  
Publisher, Date of Publication: 

Artur A. Levine Books/2010

Grade Level/ or Age Level: 

8th - 12th

Classification:  Fiction 


Most of the story take place in essay forms as if the HSC(Higher School Certificate) English exam was on the topic of gothic fiction. The HSC is a series of exams taken by students in New South Wales at the end of their final year of school. Amelia and Riley are the subject of most of the students' essays because of their mysterious appearances during their senior year at Ashbury.
The Book is a bit confusing because it not only has several students' essays but it has letters that the board members of the school write back and forth  and their feelings about allowing Amelia and Riley into their school. Amelia and Riley are ghosts. The cover was beautifully done and helped with the appeal of the book. 
There is an AR Test for this book as well. 


Reviewed By: Lila Davis (Night Circulation Manager in Moffett Library)

BORROWED NAMES

Author (last name first):
Atkins, Jeannine
Publisher, Date of Publication: 

Henry Holt and Company/2010

Grade Level/ or Age Level: 

8th - 12th

Classification:   Non-Fiction 


BORROWED NAMES is a book of poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, Marie Curie and their daughters. Just when you think you know every thing there is to know about these wonderful women Borrowed Names comes out and enlightens you some more. Laura Ingalls Wilder was known for the series that came out on television about her life on the prairie called Little House on the Prairie. The series shows a lot about her life up until she is married to her husband Almonzo Wilder. The poems about her and her daughter describe what they went through when her daughter Rose was young and into adult hood. 
Madam C. J. Walker is also a fascinating person. She basically invented hair creams for African American women and created jobs for lower class women; she was an inspiration to many women. As a child her daughter A'Lelia watches her mother struggle washing cloths for the rich and tells of her life with a lazy husband. She didn't want to have any responsibility as she was growing up in her mom's businesses. As she grew into an adult she finally relented and helped her mother with her stores, but was trying to find out who she really was. Madam C. J. Walker married and used her husband's name when her hair cream became popular and began to sell. She had a big heart and was known for helping many women find their way in life. 
Marie Curie's eldest daughter, Irene, knows early on that her mother's focus is her work with radium. As an adult, Irene continues that work, earning her own Nobel Prize.
Atkins writes with a unique ability to draw you in with her poems and keeps you intersted throughout the book.  An AR Test is available for this book.

GIRL, STOLEN

Author (last name first):
Henry, April  
Publisher, Date of Publication: 

Henry Holt and Company/2010

Grade Level/ or Age Level: 

8th - 12th

Classification:  Fiction 


While sitting in the parking lot at the pharmacy waiting for her stepmother to pick up her antibiotics, sixteen year old Cheyenne wilder gets kidnapped.... Griffin finds a nice Escalade, and is sure that his father would approve of his skill in stealing the expensive vehicle, but is unaware that Cheyenne is in the back seat as he turns the key hanging in the ignition. Suddenly he realizes that he has gotten more then he's bargained for when she screams. When he is finally able to stop the car he considers letting her go but is afraid she is able to tell what he looks like. She begins to fight him when he starts to tie her up and realizes it is no use as he holds what she thinks is a gun to her head. Cheyenne tells him she is blind and hopes that he will release her but Griffin decides to take her to his father and then let her go after every one is asleep. When his father finds out that Cheyenne's dad is very rich he plans to ransom her to her father. When Griffin realizes that his father never intended to let Cheyenne go and planed to kill her as well as keep the ransom money, he tries to help her escape. 
April Henry, the author, weaves a brilliant suspense story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. She also leaves the story open for the reader to make their own conclusion to how the story may continue. It is also a good reference for how a blind person lives. I truly enjoyed reading this book and feel that it would be a good suspense book to have teens write a report on. This book also has a AR Test available to take after reading it. 

Reviewed By: Lila Davis (Night Circulation Manager at Midwestern State University's Moffett Library)

ALL JUST GLASS

Author (last name first):
Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia  
Publisher, Date of Publication: 

Delacorte Press/2011

Grade Level/ or Age Level: 

9th - 12th

Classification:  Fiction  

This is a story about supernaturals and is centered around the Vida family who are vampire hunting witches. The youngest of the Vida girls, Sarah, was recently turned into a vampire. Her sister Adianna aware of the forbidden change assumed Sarah would do what any Vida would do and kill herself. However, Sarah is in love with a vampire and chooses to live this new existence. Adianna is pressured to fallow the rules of her people but she can not kill her sister. She finds a way to compromise, upholding the Vida family values while allowing her sister to live. 
There is a AR Test available for this book.

Reviewed By: Nicola Clement (Midwestern State University Student) 

THE FALSE PRINCESS

 Author (last name first):
O'Neal, Eilis
Publisher, Date of Publication: Egmont/2011

Grade Level/ or Age Level: 

6th- 12th

Classification:  Fiction 

The story is about a young girl who was used to replace a real princess through magic because of a prophesy that said the real princess would die at 16. Once the time has passed, the girl, Sinda, Knew who she really was and released her from the spell, sending her to live with her aunt. There she discovers she has magical powers and is forced to move back to the city. With the help of a childhood friend and love, she uncovers a plot to over throw the current rulers of the kingdom. In the end she reveals the truth to everyone, saving the kingdom and also also finally admits her love for her best friend. 
This book as a AR Test available.

Reviewed By: Nicola Clement (Midwestern State University Student)