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melwilBook 51: Almost Ten and a Half by Candice Ransom
Mrs Blevins had the sweetest face I'd ever seen, with soft pink skin and dimples. Her snowy hair was piled on top of her head like whipped cream. She had glasses made of thin silvery wires. Over her dumpling shape, she wore a white apron and a dress printed with blue flowers.
This is another book in the series about Kobie Roberts (other books include Thirteen and Fifteen at Last. I loved these books as a child/teenager, and I still think Thirteen is one of the better children/young adults books around. Unfortunately, this book made Kobie look like a bit of a brat.
Kobie's almost happy with things at the beginning of the book. She's working on a 'roller coaster' with her friend Gretchen, and she has an excellent teacher at school. Her mother's still driving her crazy - but with all the other exciting things going on, she hasn't time to worry about that. Then things change - her mother goes into hospital, leaving Kobie with an excellent housekeeper, and her Principal has a heart attack - causing her teacher to become acting principal, and Kobie to get a new, much stricter teacher.
As Kobie realises her teacher won't be returning to the class, she begins to worry that her mother won't return either - the housekeeper is doing too good a job. So she sets out to be a 'holy terror'.
This would probably be quite amusing to someone who hasn't read the later books, or to a younger reader - but for me Kobie looked petty and nasty.
A 3 out of 5.
Book 52: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
There is no doubt that Artemis is a child prodigy. But why does someone of such brilliance dedicate himself to criminal activities? This is a question that can be answered by only one person. And he delights in not talking.
This is a popular book amongst some of the school children I've taught, and it's not hard to see why. It's a fantastical, humourous adventure - full of fairy folk, bulky bodyguards, a troll and a rather interesting main character.
Artemis Fowl is the youngest member of a family of master criminals. He's hungry for gold, and believes that the fairy folk are the best way to get it. So he kidnaps the LEPrecon Captain, Holly Short in order to get a ransom. The fairy folk will do anything to get her back . . .
There's some really funny bits in the book - some for children (bum flaps come to mind), and some more sophisticated. Artemis would be tiresome if he was the only main character, but Holly Short makes for an excellent co-main. Fantasy still isn't my favourite genre - and it took me a little while to get into it - but towards the end I couldn't put it down.
A 3.5 out of 5
Book Review
Amazon page
Book 53: A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin
Last summer, the summer I turned twelve, was the summer Adam came. And forever after I will think of events as Before Adam or After Adam. Tonight, which is several months After Adam, I finally have an evening alone.
Anyone who's known me for some time will know I am a massive Baby-Sitter's Club fan, and have been since they first came out. I've also read most of Martin's pre Baby-Sitters books. But I've been circling this book for a while - only grabbing it at the library, rather than buying it.
I'm not sure what I expected. Better quality than some of the Baby-sitters, especially the later ones written by the ghost writers. But Martin has never been particularly subtle - especially when dealing with 'issues', which this book does.
But the issues are not the main point of this book, although they are the catalyst. Hattie, the main character, is entering another summer which she hopes will be like all others. Then she finds out she has an uncle Adam she's never heard of; that he's coming to stay with her grandparents near by - and that he's different.
Adam's condition is never articulated, though it has similarities with autism. But Hattie forms a close attachment with him - identifying his 'otherness' with her own shyness, and lack of friends. As the summer progresses, they become firm friends until Hattie invites him to sneak out to the local carnival with her one night. Then something happens which scares her and changes everything.
There are so many layers in this book - including the characters at the boarding house which Hattie's parents run, the relationships between Hattie, her parents and her grandparents, and the friendship Hattie makes with a carnival girl. The main theme is probably otherness - although family, friendships, and confidence are all discussed. It's suprisingly mature - sex is alluded to, and the ending is a little disturbing. And the late fifties/ early sixties feel alive in the writing.
My real quibbles are with a bit of author laziness. Martin recycles character and place names from the Baby-Sitter's club series - which annoys me. Some events also remind me of Kristy and the Mystery of Susan which deals with similar themes.
All in all though - an excellent children's book which I'd love to discuss in a grade 6/7 class.
4 out of 5
Amazon's page
Teen Book Review
Barnes and Noble page
Mrs Blevins had the sweetest face I'd ever seen, with soft pink skin and dimples. Her snowy hair was piled on top of her head like whipped cream. She had glasses made of thin silvery wires. Over her dumpling shape, she wore a white apron and a dress printed with blue flowers.
This is another book in the series about Kobie Roberts (other books include Thirteen and Fifteen at Last. I loved these books as a child/teenager, and I still think Thirteen is one of the better children/young adults books around. Unfortunately, this book made Kobie look like a bit of a brat.
Kobie's almost happy with things at the beginning of the book. She's working on a 'roller coaster' with her friend Gretchen, and she has an excellent teacher at school. Her mother's still driving her crazy - but with all the other exciting things going on, she hasn't time to worry about that. Then things change - her mother goes into hospital, leaving Kobie with an excellent housekeeper, and her Principal has a heart attack - causing her teacher to become acting principal, and Kobie to get a new, much stricter teacher.
As Kobie realises her teacher won't be returning to the class, she begins to worry that her mother won't return either - the housekeeper is doing too good a job. So she sets out to be a 'holy terror'.
This would probably be quite amusing to someone who hasn't read the later books, or to a younger reader - but for me Kobie looked petty and nasty.
A 3 out of 5.
Book 52: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
There is no doubt that Artemis is a child prodigy. But why does someone of such brilliance dedicate himself to criminal activities? This is a question that can be answered by only one person. And he delights in not talking.
This is a popular book amongst some of the school children I've taught, and it's not hard to see why. It's a fantastical, humourous adventure - full of fairy folk, bulky bodyguards, a troll and a rather interesting main character.
Artemis Fowl is the youngest member of a family of master criminals. He's hungry for gold, and believes that the fairy folk are the best way to get it. So he kidnaps the LEPrecon Captain, Holly Short in order to get a ransom. The fairy folk will do anything to get her back . . .
There's some really funny bits in the book - some for children (bum flaps come to mind), and some more sophisticated. Artemis would be tiresome if he was the only main character, but Holly Short makes for an excellent co-main. Fantasy still isn't my favourite genre - and it took me a little while to get into it - but towards the end I couldn't put it down.
A 3.5 out of 5
Book Review
Amazon page
Book 53: A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin
Last summer, the summer I turned twelve, was the summer Adam came. And forever after I will think of events as Before Adam or After Adam. Tonight, which is several months After Adam, I finally have an evening alone.
Anyone who's known me for some time will know I am a massive Baby-Sitter's Club fan, and have been since they first came out. I've also read most of Martin's pre Baby-Sitters books. But I've been circling this book for a while - only grabbing it at the library, rather than buying it.
I'm not sure what I expected. Better quality than some of the Baby-sitters, especially the later ones written by the ghost writers. But Martin has never been particularly subtle - especially when dealing with 'issues', which this book does.
But the issues are not the main point of this book, although they are the catalyst. Hattie, the main character, is entering another summer which she hopes will be like all others. Then she finds out she has an uncle Adam she's never heard of; that he's coming to stay with her grandparents near by - and that he's different.
Adam's condition is never articulated, though it has similarities with autism. But Hattie forms a close attachment with him - identifying his 'otherness' with her own shyness, and lack of friends. As the summer progresses, they become firm friends until Hattie invites him to sneak out to the local carnival with her one night. Then something happens which scares her and changes everything.
There are so many layers in this book - including the characters at the boarding house which Hattie's parents run, the relationships between Hattie, her parents and her grandparents, and the friendship Hattie makes with a carnival girl. The main theme is probably otherness - although family, friendships, and confidence are all discussed. It's suprisingly mature - sex is alluded to, and the ending is a little disturbing. And the late fifties/ early sixties feel alive in the writing.
My real quibbles are with a bit of author laziness. Martin recycles character and place names from the Baby-Sitter's club series - which annoys me. Some events also remind me of Kristy and the Mystery of Susan which deals with similar themes.
All in all though - an excellent children's book which I'd love to discuss in a grade 6/7 class.
4 out of 5
Amazon's page
Teen Book Review
Barnes and Noble page
