Instructions

Neil Gaiman has created a picture book that will appeal to all ages in Instructions. On the surface the book has instructions on how to enter a magical land through the garden gate. For instance you will come to a house. "Walk through the house. Take nothing. Eat nothing. However, if any creature tells you that it hungers, feed it. If it tells you that it is dirty, clean it. If it cries to you that it hurts, if you can, ease its pain." As in the above passage, all the instructions work well, not only for traveling in this magical land, but also are good instructions to live your life by. This book, with wonderful illustrations by Charles Vess, is one to read over and over again as you travel through magical kingdoms and reality.

Everest--Book One: The Contest

My second book by Gordon Korman I've read this summer. He continues to impress me. This book, the first of three, tells the tale of an expedition to Mt. Everest with 4 teenagers as part of a promotion. 20 teens make it to training camp, 4 through a winning a contest and 16 based on merit. The author describes in detail the training the young climbers endure to make the cut and develops their character while the action keeps you on the edge of your seat. For example, this section describes two of the candidates racing to the top of a boulder during their lunch break.

"Dominic scrambled up a twenty-foot rock, scanning for handholds the way a chess master seeks out weaknesses in an opponent's defenses. On the other side of the craggy diorite outcropping, Tilt raced against him with strong, steady moves. Dominic couldn't see his adversary, but he had a good idea of his progress because Tilt climbed with his mouth as much as he did with his hands and feet.
'Getting tired, shrimp? You can't beat me. If you're looking for the top, just follow the soles of my boots...'
In a mammoth burst of energy, tilt scrambled to the crown of the boulder and stood there, beating his chest and howling like Tarzan.
From below, Dominic snaked out a hand and began to feel for a handhold on the top. Tilt stuck out his boot and applied gentle pressure to the searching fingers. 'No way, shrimp. This is my rock.' Dominic gave no answer, but it was not in his nature to retreat."

As the story unfolds, the candidates become entrenched in life and death situations that are only survivable through team work, skill, and a fair amount of luck. A quick read that will keep you enthralled until the end of the series.

as if being 12 3/4 isn't bad enough, my mother is running for president!

Donna Gephart has written an engaging quick read about the life of a 7th grade girl whose mother is running for president. Vanessa is clumsy, self conscious, and a great speller. However, having a mother who is running for president has some major drawbacks. She never can attend your spelling bee. She's not home to talk to about your latest boyfriend problems. You have to schedule an appointment to talk to her. All of those are minor inconveniences compared to the fact people may try to kill you or your mother if they disagree with her politics. So Vanessa, besides trying to figure out if Reginald, the hottest boy in seventh grade likes her, has to figure out how to get her mother to drop out of the presidential race before she is killed.

George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt

George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt is the second in a series of books co-written by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. The books tell the story of George, whose parents are technophobic conservationists, and Lucy, whose father is a scientist. Together with the help of Cosmos the super intelligent computer Lucy and George explore the universe. Intertwined with the story of Reeper, and evil scientist intent on blowing up the worlds or killing Lucy's father, is a lot of scientific information. This information is extremely accurate and written in easy to understand English. Although the story may be a little contrived at times so that the many different scientific facts can be explained the amazing pictures of space and the fascinating explanation of complicated topics make it a wonderful read.  Any student who is a space buff and wants to really understand what the Drake Equation is or how something could escape from a black hole will love these books. Be sure to check out George's website for even more adventure and scientific discoveries.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Do you need advice on a subject such as if a girl likes you? "Does not says who like you she does." Need to know how to get rid of your nick-name? "Cheetos for everyone you must buy." Need to know how to hit your first homerun? "Let go of your feelings. Hate and revenge to the dark side only lead." This and other useful advice is given out by Dwight's Origami Yoda in the book The Strange Case of  Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger. Dwight is a little strange, (as in he likes to sit in holes he digs and lays in front of the encyclopedia's in the library) but the advice given by the origami Yoda that lives on his finger seems to work almost every time. Is it real? Is it Dwight? Is it the force? That is what Tommy must figure out before he makes a mistake that could ruin his 6th grade year.

Chaos Walking Book 1

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness is the first book in his new Chaos Walking series. Set on a planet far far away, Todd Hewitt lives in Prentisstown with the two men who raised him after his ma died of the virus that killed all women. In less than a month Todd, the last boy in Prentisstown, will become a man. For now he has only his dog to keep him company. Until...he meets a girl. Until...his caretakers send him away. Until...he finds out there are other towns on this world. Until....he realizes all of Prentisstown is chasing him....is trying to kill him. And on this world being chased is almost as good as being caught because everyone can hear every other creatures thoughts. As Todd and the girl try to survive Todd finds out that stories he has been told all his life may not be true. From beginning to end this is a dark, fast paced, chaotic novel with a new twist every time you start to take a breath and think Todd may have a moment of safety.

Warning: this book does have some graphic violence and a few cuss words scattered in it.

Rules

Rules by Cynthia Lord tells the story of a middle school girl Catherine and her hope that the girl who moves in next store at the beginning of the summer will be a friend she can spend the summer swimming in the pond and hanging out with. However Catherine has something really big standing in her way. She loves her younger brother David but he has autism and can be really embarrassing. On top of that she meets a nice boy, Jacob, but he is in a wheelchair and can only communicate using his communication board. How can Catherine stay cool so that the new neighbor will want to be her friend while still remaining loyal to her brother and continuing her friendship with Jacob. Hard choices and a summer of self discovery face Catherine as she grows up and tries to be true to herself.

I think that Anything But Typical, Rules, The Reinvention of Edison Thomas, and Out of My Mind are a nice set of books to read around the same time. While they all deal with students with disabilities and trying to figure out how they fit in during the middle school years, each author has taken a slightly different perspective that sets their book apart from the other and keeps the books from feeling redundant.

Next I'm on to some science fiction and fantasy.