Monthly Archives: August 2015

Sunny Side Up

Author: Jennifer Holm & Matthew Holm

AR Level: 2.4

Miss Library Lady Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

 

This book is amazing!  My words cannot even do it justice.  There is a note in the back of the book from Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm that I believe sums it up perfectly.

 

“Sometimes is’t hard to be a kid.  It can be even harder when someone you love has a drug or alcohol problem.

Like Sunny, we had a close relative who had serious issues with substance abuse.  As children, we were bystanders to this behavior and yet it affected our whole world.  It made us feel ashamed and embarrassed and scared and sad.  Most of all, it was something that we felt we had to keep secret.

We wrote this book so that young readers who are facing these same problems today don’t feel ashamed like we did.  When someone in a family struggles with substance abuse, the whole family struggles.  It’s okay to feel sad and confused and to need some help.  And it’s definitely okay to talk about it.

If you find yourself in a situation like Sunny, don’t be scared.  Reach out to family members and teachers and school counselors.  They’ll be able to help you find the right resources so that you can keep your sunny side up.”

-Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm, authors

 

A Night Divided

Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen

AR Level: Not Currently AR

Miss Library Lady Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

 

Germany, after World War II, was divided into 4 zones, each controlled by 1 of the 4 Allied powers (US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union).  Berlin, the capital of Germany, was split into 4 sectors as well even though it was located fully in the Soviet zone.  The Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 to separate East Germany from West Germany; the wall ran right through the middle of Berlin.  People were not allowed to cross from East to West or West to East.  There were watchtowers along the wall as soldiers who patrolled the wall to ensure no one tried to defect to West Germany.  Not only was there a concrete wall, but chain fences, minefields, a large sandy area known as the “death strip” to make any attempt to escape impossible.  The Berlin wall opened in 1989 and demolition was completed in 1992.  During the 28 years the Berlin Wall stood roughly 200 people died in or near Berlin attempting to escape.

 

“A Night Divided” is a work of historical fiction.  It tells the story of Gerta and her family when the Berlin Wall was constructed.  The night the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta’s father and younger brother were in West Berlin while she, her mother and other brother were in East Berlin.  They find themselves separated with no way of contacting one another or being with one another again.  One day Gerta spies her younger brother on a platform on the West Berlin side, then a few days later, she sees her father on the same platform.  He acts out someone digging, could he be sending a message to Gerta to dig her way to West Berlin?  Would he ask that of his daughter, put her in that kind of danger (she could be killed if caught)?

Will Gerta be reunited with her father and younger brother?

The Revelation of Louisa May

Author: Michaela MacColl

AR Level: 4.9

Miss Library Lady rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

15 years old

In charge of taking care of her father and sister

Harboring a fugitive slave

Solving a murder

This is the fictional tale of Luisa May Alcott’s life.  Louisa’s father is an intelligent and handy man; the problem, though, is he no longer provides financially for his family.  This financial burden has left Louisa’s mother no choice but to take a job herself, but in the 1840s, jobs for women were hard to come by.  Louisa’s mom takes a 3 month position, but 150 miles away (that was far back then).  It is up to Louisa to take care of her sister Beth (1 of 3 sisters), who is recovering from fever and her father, who she doesn’t get along.  How can she possibly take care of her family while her mom is away?

Just before Louisa’s mom is to leave, George and fugitive slave shows up to the Alcott house, which is a refuge for slaves until they have a home further North to move along to.  Louisa hope this will change her mom’s mind and stay home, but unfortunately their financial need is much greater.  Can Louisa keep George hidden?  Will the slave catcher, Mr. Finch, find George and take him back to his owner?

On her way to visit her father at a friend’s home, Louisa finds a man dead and her father on the ground disoriented.  Did her father really kill a man?  If he didn’t do it, who did?  Finding clues and figuring out who wanted this man dead, Louisa must now try to prove her father didn’t do it.  Will she be able to clear her father’s name?

Will Louisa survive the next 3 months with her mother gone?

All Fall Down

Series: Embassy Row (book 1)

Author: Ally Carter

AR Level: 4.3

Miss Library Lady Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

How would you feel if you think you saw something happen or someone do something but no one believed you?  What would you do if everyone made you feel like you were crazy but you just knew what you remembered actually happened?

Grace is NOT crazy!  Three years ago she witnessed her mom’s death, actually murder.  Grace saw the man with a scar on his cheek, even talked to him, while her mom’s body burned in the fire.  What did Grace see on her mom’s chest?  Was that blood?  A bullet wound?  How could that be though when EVERYONE is telling her, no, it was just an accident?

Now, three years after ‘the accidental’ death of her mother, Grace is living with her grandfather at the US Embassy in Adria.  She used to visit every summer until her mom’s death, but that changed everything!  Through a series of unfortunate events, Grace can not seem to stay out of trouble.  During one of Grace’s misadventures she see’s the man with the scar! Or is it just a man with a scar?  Grace is positive this man is who killed her mom!  So, Grace and her friends set off on a spy adventure to bring justice to her mom’s killer, or so they think.

So many thoughts, memories, and emotions cause Grace to question everything and everyone.  Did she find her mom’s killer?  Was her mom murdered, or was it truly just an accident?