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Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Biography, Adventure, Mystery, Animal Story, and a Combination?
Storyline - What is the book’s focus? Action-packed, Character-driven, Intricately Plotted, Issue-Oriented, Plot-driven or World building?
Setting: Contemporary, World building, Historic, Futuristic, Dystopian, Magical, Natural?
Pace - How does the story unfold? Fast Paced Leisurely Paced -
Tone - What feeling does the book evoke in the reader? What is the mood of the story?
Writing Style - How is the book written in terms of language, and level of detail?
Attention-grabbing: Conversational: Descriptive: Dialect-rich: Spare Stylistically complex – Thoughtful
When Friendship Followed Me Home by Paul Griffin
/* Starred Review */ A former foster child deals with love and loss and love again. The hints are abundant. Twelve-year-old Ben, who has taken most of his life lessons from reading Star Wars stories, is the adoptive son of a loving and understanding but elderly lesbian. The charming mite of a stray dog that adopts the boy is also old. Most worryingly, the endearingly depicted Halley, his fully rounded new best friend, the daughter of a so-perceptive librarian and a funny magician, is undergoing chemotherapy. What could go wrong here? What resilient, generous Ben, in a lifetime of foster care punctuated by loss, hasn't learned is how to believe in the lasting power of love. It's irrepressible Halley, her health faltering, and her gentle parents who teach him how to cope with loss without forgetting how to love, even when that love is perilous. Together he and Halley compose an otherworldly tale, The Magic Box, that's a parable of their lives. Those familiar with Griffin's books for teens know that Kleenex may be needed to successfully navigate this wrenching journey, which breathes fresh, warm life into what might have been an overworked cliché. Entrancing, magical, tragic, and uplifting. (Fiction. 10-14)(Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2016)
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
An unusual premise and a thoughtful treatment make Zevin's first effort at writing for young adults a success. Liz Hall is 15. She's looking forward to getting her license, enjoying helping her best friend plan for the prom and anticipating a long, full life. Her sudden death in a hit-and-run accident puts an end to her life on earth—and that's when the story begins. Zevin's creation of a believable, intriguing afterlife and her depiction of Liz's struggle to adjust to her new situation will captivate teens ready for a thought-provoking read. Love, jealousy, grief, commitment, frustration and friendship all exist "Elsewhere ," making death not that different from life after all. Personal choices still make a difference and characters continue to learn and grow, despite the fact that they age backwards from the moment of their deaths. Zevin's smooth, omniscient third-person narration and matter-of-fact presentation of her imagined world carries readers along, while her deft, understated character development allows them to get to know her characters slowly and naturally. Hopeful and engaging. (Fiction. 12+) (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2005)
Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
/*Starred Review*/ Gr. 5-8. Delaney grabs readers by the throat and gives them a good shake in a smartly crafted story in which the horror is set within the parameters of a boys new job. In an unspecified England some centuries ago, Thomas, the 12-year-old seventh son of a seventh son, is taken on as an apprentice by the local Spook. Its the Spooks job to keep the surrounding area free from witches, bogarts, and the creepy things that cause shivers in the night. Tom is not sure hes cut out for the solitary, scary life, and he soon finds himself in trouble, inadvertently freeing a terrifying witch, Mother Malkin, at the behest of a girl named Alice because hes desperate for a friend. Like Anthony Horowitzs Raven's Gate (2005), this is a gristly thriller; Delaney's descriptions of moldering bodies hoisting themselves from the earth and hairy pigs tearing into a witch's heart will have readers' eyes opening wide. Yet the twisted horror is amply buffered by an exquisitely normal young hero, matter-of-fact prose, and a workaday normalcy. Still, like Mother Malkin popping out of her earthy pit, bad things are always there to catch readers off guard. As the warning label on the cover notes, this is «Not to be read after dark.» -- Ilene Cooper (BookList, 08-01-2005, p2022)
Listen Slowly by Thannha Lai //* Starred Review */ Gr 5 – 8 — The summer before she turns 13, Mai is planning to spend her time going to the beach and finally talking to her secret crush. She's less than thrilled when her parents make her escort her grandmother to Vietnam instead. New information may have surfaced about her long lost grandfather, who disappeared over 40 years ago in "THE WAR." Mai doesn't know the culture or speak the language, and everything she knows about Vietnam is from a PBS documentary on the Fall of Saigon. While her parents are excited for her to learn more about her roots, the teen doesn't even know the details of her own parents' escape because "random roots are encouraged, but specific roots are off-limits." Stuck in a village with limited internet access, a sulky Mai slowly makes friends due to lack of better things to do and bonds with her grandmother, with whom she was very close as a small child. Mai's character growth is slow and believable, coming in small increments and occasionally backsliding. The sights, smells, and tastes of Vietnam's cities and villages come alive on the page, without overwhelming a story filled with a summers-worth of touching and hilarious moments, grand adventure, and lazy afternoons. With a contemporary time setting, this compelling novel shows the lingering effects of war through generations and how the secrets our parents keep can shape us.—Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington CountyPublic Libraries, VA --Jennifer Rothschild (Reviewed January 1, 2015) (School Library Journal, vol 61, issue 1, p96)
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