The Disappearance of Emily H. - Barrie Summy

Summy, Barrie. The Disappearance of Emily H. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2015.

Raine's story is sometimes difficult to read. Raised for most of her life by her grandmother who truly cares for her, she is now with her mom, the same mom who left her behind. She finds herself starting over again at yet another middle school as her mom runs from another failed relationship. She finds a follower in terms of previously home schooled Shirlee who is also a new kid.  She finds a team, her excellence at running making her a fit in cross country. She finds a crush who already has a boyfriend. Quickly, through no real fault of their own, Shirlee and Raine find themselves the victims of cruel middle school bullying. Jennifer and her friends are relentless. In an effort to relieve the stress Raine finds herself exploring the disappearance of Emily, who lived in her house before she and her mom moved in. At the same time, she finds herself using fake texts from a mysterious high schooler to try and trick Jennifer and find a way to shift the balance of power.  All of these activities turn into a very powerful adventure, that leads to intrigue and ultimately danger. Through it all she is aided by her mysterious ability to read the past through the “sparkles” that only she and her grandmother before her can see.

I am generally always stunned when I read accounts of bullying.  Certainly, to be reminded of the cruelty is a positive thing for both me and my students.  The hope is that, of course, through the reading of such books, we all become more accountable in demanding and creating a more positive love filled world.  I was glad that, in the end, while Raine and Shirlee resort to less than savory methods to defend themselves, they ultimately take the higher road when dealing with Jennifer. Raine makes some risky decisions, and I appreciate that she deals with the consequences and has a honest conversation with her mom about it.  I am glad that mom is solidly a part of the book. My students will be drawn to the well developed characters who struggle with the same sorts of problems that they do. They will appreciate the developing relationships and the honest look at the difficulties that can arise.  Students are always drawn to adventure and a little bit of magic.

The magic of the sparkles is the one thing that doesn’t quite ring true for me. I guess while I understand how Raine’s reading of them moved the plot forward, I just didn’t get a clear picture of why she could do such a thing.  The end seemed like maybe there might be another book about her and maybe we’ll learn some more. The good news is that my kids are certainly going to be more fascinated than bothered by them! I look forward to adding The Disappearance of Emily H. to my collection.


Zane and the Hurricane - Rodman Philbrick

Philbrick, Rodman. Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina. New York: The Blue Sky Press, 2014.

I will be book talking the adventures of Zane Dupree and his friend Malvina, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina tomorrow. Zane travels to New Orleans under protest.  His mom, ever interested in introducing him to his Dad’s family, insists he travel without her to New Orleans to meet the Grandmother, Beatrice, he didn’t even know he had. He finds much to his surprise that he is loving getting to know this part of his family when the storm hits.  The unthinkable happens; he is separated from his grandmother and must find his own way to survive in the aftermath.  He escapes to his grandmother’s attic where he is rescued by Malvina and Tru.  And really then the adventure is just beginning.  Something is going on with Malvina - Zane is not sure what, he illustrates, “This one time I was riding home on my bike and a doe stepped out of the woods and just stood there motionless.  The sun was setting and everything sort of blended together, the woods and the leaves and the little speckled deer and probably me on my bike, too.  Maybe that’s why the doe didn’t bolt back into the woods, because she thought standing completely still would make her invisible.  It’s like that with Malvina when the fear-some dude mentions her mom. She freezes. No expression on her face, like she’s hiding somewhere deep inside herself.” These mysteries surrounding Malvina are just a small part of what this young boy will face. He introduces the book this way, “I want to warn your right now, there’s some really gross stuff in this book, stuff so awful it made the dog hide his nose. And things so terrible I wanted to close my eyes.”

Zane is an honest, heartwarming, all around neat kid.  I will enjoy introducing him to my 8th grade students. These kids are not always as aware of events in the world and our own nation, so this book will also give them a bit of perspective on at least one historical event. I am always on the hunt for adventure stories and books with strong boys in them.  I am glad to have found this one.  I’m going to introduce them to Homer P. Figg too, just for fun! These fellows will be featured on a Philbrick slide, but are also kids that I love!


He Has a Story to Tell!

I loved being a librarian today.  I need to record these moments before they get lost in the hustle and bustle and business of the library and teaching.

Today was a book talk today - tenth grade.  Book talks alone are a great reason to love my job.  Tenth graders are especially excited to talk about books. I'm not sure why exactly, but some of the magic gets lost by junior year.  

One tenth grader in particular made my job really cool today.  After the book talk, he asked me to help him find Where the Red Fern Grows.  He had been in the woods with a friend this weekend and he was near a river bed surrounded by lovely trees. He described the setting in such a lovely and detailed way! The setting made him remember a coon dog he had when he was little.  He had seen the movie and was just eager to read this book because of the memory evoked by the setting.

As if that wasn't heartwarming enough, he confided in me that he thought he'd like to write his OWN book about a boy and his coon dog.  He never was really interested in writing before, but he was feeling inspired. He wasn't sure how'd he'd even start.  We talked a bit about some ideas, and I offered to help him edit it. ( The English teacher in me...) He walked away to check out the book. But he came to find me again..."Do you really think I should try to write the book?"  "Absolutely!" He had all of these great ideas about setting it in the 50s, even down to the truck he would use in the story.  He expressed concern that when I edited it, I might be upset about the difference in tobacco use in the 50s.  "Wouldn't it be cool," he asked, "if there were a copy of my book in this library?"

So cool.

He has a story to tell, and he shared his ideas with me. Just because I'm the librarian.  I LOVED being the librarian today!

Half a World Away - Cynthia Kadohata

Kadohata, Cynthia. Half a World Away. New York: Atheneum, 2014.

“Jaden sat on the floor, holding on to a half loaf of unsliced bread. He switched his lamp on and off, the bedroom lighting up and darkening over and over. Electricity had always relaxed him. For sure it was the most amazing thing about America.”

Jaden is fascinated by electricity - in part because he can remember not having in his native country as a young child.  He has also learned to harness his fascination electricity and use it as a focus to control other negative impulses that plague him. This twelve year old is struggling. Adopted by Penni and Steve as a four year old, Jaden struggles - struggles to believe that his adoptive parents love him, struggles to believe that he has a place in the world he is in.  Through the unconditional love of his adoptive parents and some consistent and effective counseling, he begins to make slow progress.  A trip to Kazakhstan to adopt a baby brother can either be his hope or his salvation.

Kadohata offers a powerfully moving story.  I loved watching Jaden find his way with the help of the tiny tot Dimash, whom he’d love to have his parents adopt, and with the help of Sam, their driver who takes him to see an eagle hunt.  Sam tells Jaden, who doesn’t necessarily want to see the eagle, “Why not? The eagle is a powerful bird. I can promise you, you will take some of its power home with you”
“What kind of power?” [Jaden] asked.”
“The power to become a man.”

Indeed, he discovers his power when he overcomes his fear and learns to love.  Dimash first, then Penni and Steve, finally Ramazan - his new baby brother.

I will be book talking this title next week with 8th graders. I have a series of titles that are simply entitled “Kids I Love.” Jaden will be one of those kids.  Kadohata offers us powerful insight into the mind of a child who be termed “difficult” by the folks around him.  I am pleased any time that I can encourage our kids to be more careful about judging a book by its cover. We battle bad behavior; we encourage empathy.  This book, Jaden, will allow me to talk about these things in a powerful way. The difficult ideas that this book introduces are plentiful, but Kadohata makes them accessible, opening the dialogue.