The Crazy Man

Pamela Porter (author of The Crazy Man) wrote a very sweet story. It's about a girl who hurts her leg, making her permanently crippled then on top of that her father shoots her best friend (a dog name Prince) and leaves. Emaline, the main character, is trying to heal both mind and body.

As I said earlier, it was very sweet. I think it was worth my time, but I would not read it again. Pamela Porter wrote The Crazy Man in a poem-like way and maybe I just don't appreciate poetry the way others would, but sometimes I would have to put it down just because I was sick of reading in verse. I rated The Crazy Man a 6 and I think it's readable starting in 6th grade.

-Jojo

If The Witness Lied

If you like a good clean (or not so clean) mystery read If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney. In this book she tells the story from three different points of view each with their own unique voice and style of working things out. I couldn't put it down! It starts with the children in a broken family all in different places deciding they need to come home. They arrive just in time because their "Aunt" has decided to place the youngest, Tristan, (age 3) and supposed killer of both their parents on a TV show. The siblings come together to try and stop Tristan from yet again becoming the big news. And then it gets weird. Did Tristan really kill his father? If he didn't who did and why? Read If the Witness Lied to find out.

I say any middle schooler could read this as along as you can handle a little intensity and twisted story lines. I rated it an 8.

-Jojo

On The Bookshelf

Hello!

This is not a book review, but it's the books I am planning on reading. This way you can read them then read my review and see if you agree or disagree.

Honestly I have to read murderously dull books for English (no offense to those books) so I have been reading non-complex books for teen girls. I know appreciate at a whole new level my middle school for letting me read whatever I wanted. (With reasonable limits of course)

My bookshelf:

1. Princess Forever by Meg Cabot (currently reading. 13th and last of the Princess Diaries series)

2. Antigone (Already read -- for school)

3. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (perhaps a school book I will enjoy... we shall see)

4. Dear John (after the Princess Diaries I figure I'll go for good old Sparks)

5. The Last Song

sorry for the lack of updating. Oddly you get a lot of homework in high school ;)

Grace Happens

I hate to start reviews on a negative note, but on this one I'm going too, because it gets better rather than worse. As I was reading I assumed from the author's (Jan Czech's) voice that the main character, Grace, was about 11 or 12. It turns out she was actually 15 which changed the book a lot. It was odd for me to "watch" or read a 15 year old have a temper tantrum. Aside from the slight voice issues Grace Happens was a nice quick read. The story wasn't too complicated, but definitely had me wondering how it was going to pan out. I rated it a six and for anyone 5th grade and up.

The premise of Grace Happens is about a girl (Grace) who has been raised by her movie star mother, never knowing her father, never having real friends, and never living in a real home. Finally when her mom decides to go to her old home town, the secrets of both her mother and Grace's own past start coming to the surface.

-Jojo

Scrambled Eggs At Midnight

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley and Heather Helper was a basic Sarah Dessen type of book. Boy and girl meet, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl live happily ever-after. Not to say that I didn't enjoy it because the voice of the characters rang true in every sentence. I don't know for sure, but I think Brad wrote the boy's view while Heather wrote the girl's, if so I think it worked out very well.

The basic story line was Cal (the girl) lives with her mom in a car and they are constantly traveling to match her mom's job. Cal wants to find a home. On the opposite side there's Eliot, the boy. He lives with his mom and dad at a "Fat Camp" his dad started. His family isn't the happiest either. As soon as Cal and Eliot meet they both want to get to know each other more. I rated it a 7 and for anyone 6th grade and up. If you want a sweet teenage love story Scrambled Eggs at Midnight is perfect.

-Jo

Readers Guide

This post is not a review, just, as it says: a guide. Sometimes I'll refer to something from my english class and sometimes it's a name I've made up for a more detailed thing:

Voice- The way the author speaks through the character. If you think the author's "voice" was great, you could almost hear the character speaking to you.

On the back of the book- The summary of the book.

A Sarah Dessen book- Teenaged girl/boy romances with complicated family lives.

3D- not just words on a paper, but layered and real. Generally referring to characters. It means that they have secrets, and a life beyond the story in the book.

(I'll add more)

-Jojo

Sold

Sold by Patricia McCormick was one of the best books I've read all year. The general idea is the a 13-year-old girl from the mountains in Nepal gets sold into prostitution. Saying that: it's so much more. Her voice is so different, I could honestly believe that this was a Auto-biography. It is actually fiction, but inspired by all the girls who really do get sold into prostitution. I hope this book inspires people to help stop the sex trade.

Written almost in a poem, the unique style made Sold easier to read and specially true to the book and characters. I applaud  Patricia McCormick for doing all her research, making a point and all without forcing it on you or making the book too boring.

I thought it was so cool that I person from America could write with such a realistic voice. I wanted the book to keep going and going. I wanted to know what would happen to Lakshmi (the main character) and all the other ones. It really puts our troubles into perspective. 

There are definitely some heavy parts in Sold and I recommend it to mature readers. The youngest I would suggest would be for end-of-year seventh graders. Once you do reach, or if you've already reached, the maturity level of Sold it's a must read.

-Jojo