Language:  0

Violence:  0

Sexual Content:  0

Adult Themes:  1

Title:  A.P.  Giannini: The Man With the Midas Touch

Authors:  Dana Haight Cattani and Angela B. Haight

Ratings Explanation

Adult Themes: References to corrupt mob bosses influencing votes during an election.  References to unequal treatment of minorities

Synopsis

This biographical account of Amadeo Peter (A.P.) Giannini traces the life of one of the most powerful, yet unassuming, men in the financial business world during the first half of the 20^th century.  As founder of the Bank of Italy (forerunner to the Bank of America), A.P.’s influence in the financial industry is felt, even today.  A.P., a native of the San Francisco Bay area, started his bank in 1904 so that the needs of minorities, blue-collar workers and even women could be met.   His formula for success was simple–hard work, individual customer service, and respect for the common man.  He taught the bank’s customers the concept of interest and how it could work in their favor.  Small, local loans were approved instead of the prevailing philosophy of only loaning to established large businesses.  Long-term, loyal customers were the goal, not short-term profits.  Mr. Giannini saw opportunities when others saw chaos and disaster.  The Bank of Italy not only survived, but thrived during an earthquake, a national financial crisis, and two world wars.  One bank grew into a network of banks that crossed California, the United States and eventually the world.

I wish I could have met Mr. Giannini—and I wish he were around to help America through its current economic recession.  I’m sure we’d be better off!  This man had great character and an untarnished value system.  Traits we’d all do well to develop.  I was reminded of the great poem, “If” by Rudyard Kipling as I read this book.  Such lines as:

“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs”…

“Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch”…

Language: 0

Violence: 1

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 1

Title:  Princess for Hire

Author:  Lindsey Leavitt

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  In the Amazon rainforest, subbing for an Amazon tribal princess, natives shoot poison darts in Desi’s direction and at the “bubble” she travels in. The bubble then malfunctions, sending her crashing to the rainforest floor and breaking her rib.

Sexual Content:  Desi kisses Prince Karl. She also receives mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from a dreamy boy when she falls into a dunk tank and almost drowns.

Adult Themes:  Desi’s attorney father prosecutes the father of her former best friend (Celeste), landing him in jail. Celeste’s mother then divorces her father. Celeste blames Desi for ruining her life.

Synopsis

Desi Bascomb is a 15-year-old girl who dreams of making an impact in the world. The problem is, how do you do that when you’re stuck in Sproutville, Idaho, your ex-best friend torments you and is dating the boy you’re secretly crushing on, and your boring job requires you to dress as a groundhog for the local pet store? Ahh, with a little magic potential (“MP”), of course, which Desi just happens to be unwittingly in possession of.  She spots an ad in the paper looking for a “substitute Princess” and eagerly signs up when Meredith, a fairy godmother of a very different sort, appears in a magical bubble in her bathroom. Now all Desi has to do is rub some magical Egyptian rouge on her cheeks and, presto! she morphs into whatever princess is in need of a breather from the tedium of royal life. What she learns, however, is that not all princesses live glamorous, charmed lives. They have problems, too, like manipulative older sisters and unrequited love. Navigating these trials on-spot proves more difficult than Desi expects, and even though she lands herself in hot water a few times, she uncovers her true self-worth along the way.

Girls who enjoy princess-themed stories (a la “The Princess Diaries” or “Ella Enchanted”)–and even girls who don’t–will devour this book. The story is light-hearted and upbeat, but I was glad to see the main character learn that a princess’s life is not always enchanted. An entertaining read that leaves you with that happy, bubbly feeling afterwards. This book, released in spring 2010, is the first in a series (book 2 is in the works). I’m sure the sequel will have an eager following.

Language: 0

Violence: 2.5

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title: Three Quarters Dead

Author: Richard Peck

*This review refers to an Advanced Reader’s Copy. Three Quarters Dead will be available for purchase October 28, 2010.

Ratings Explanation

Violence: Kerry’s friends persuade her to enter someone else’s house with a stolen key.  She leaves a baby doll with its throat slit and fake blood on a bedroom pillow.  There is a car accident and 3 girls die.  It is later described in detail from the dead girl’s point of view.  Tanya calls the dead girls back to life.  Kerry sees Natalie’s hand.  “It wasn’t even hers.  It was withered and worse.  It was shrunken, spotted, and greenish…oozing something that wasn’t blood.”  Makenzie “had no face.  She had been dead for weeks”. Tanya comes after Kerry and Spence with a knife.  Kerry and Tanya fight for the knife.

Sexual Content: “It was like an orgy of grief.”  The girls put on bra’s that give “bosoms that could take us anywhere.”  Several references are made to a “peekaboo” bra.

Adult Themes: Some girls think another girl has had an abortion and are cruel to her.  Kerry thinks doing bad things is like an initiation to the group.  Peer pressure is huge. The kids go to parties and after are “zonked”.  Kerry sees a grief counselor.  Kerry repeatedly lies to her parents and others.

Synopsis

Kerry believes her life has value now that the three coolest girls at school have noticed her.  She is willing to do anything to be a part of their group.  Then, unexpectedly, those girls are killed in a car accident and Kerry finds herself adrift and alone, full of grief and feeling “three quarters dead” herself.  One day Kerry receives a text from Tanya, one of the dead girls, telling her to meet them in New York.  Kerry goes and what she finds will send shivers down your spine!

I am quite guilty of judging this book by its cover.  I have actually never read a book quite like this before because I usually steer clear of anything that claims to be even remotely scary.  I do not like to be scared.  I didn’t realize that this book was a “ghost story” when I started it.  Was I scared reading this book?  Nope.  And I even read it late at night!  I was oddly interested in it though and I have to admit, I did continue to think about it after I was done reading it.  My favorite line from this book?  “People are always gone before you expect it.”  I would recommend 9^th-12^th grade for this book.

Language: 0

Violence: 0

Sexual Content: 3

Adult Themes: 2

Title: Comeback

Author: Vicki Grant

Ratings Explanation

Sexual Content:  Ria’s boyfriend Colin pressures her to consummate their relationship.  She puts him off for another week.  Ria is anxious to move in with her father, since he has more liberal attitudes towards young lovers.  A week later, Ria, stretches out on the front seat of car and says, “Come here,” to Colin.  Ria then returns to her mother’s home at 3 a.m. and frantically checks her buttons to make sure they are done up correctly.

Adult Themes:  Ria’s mother divorces Ria’s father.   Ria’s father, Steve Patterson, is a wealthy stockbroker, who fakes his own death.  He then becomes suspect in stealing his investor’s money.

Synopsis

Ria is devastated by her parent’s divorce.  She resents her mother.  Ria’s mother divorced her father, Steve Patterson, a charismatic, wealthy, stockbroker.  Now, that Ria’s life is crumbling, she realizes how great her life was.  Ria lives in a tiny condo with her mother and younger brother in an older part of town.  Everyone loves Ria’s father and no one can comprehend why her mother left him.  Ria’s solution is to move in with her father, where she will enjoy a  nicer lifestyle and her father’s more liberal attitudes towards young lovers.  Ria’s father then disappears in a plane crash and is presumed dead.  Colin, Ria’s boyfriend, comforts her until rumors begin to surface that Steve Patterson defrauded his clients of $100 million dollars.  Colin avoids Ria, and she is completely devastated.  She hastily grabs her younger brother, Elliott, to escape the media blitz at her home and they run away.  Ria sells her get-away car for twenty dollars and purchases bus fare to a town called Cypress.  Ria and Elliott hole up in an abandoned cabin at a summer camp, a desolate, quiet place during autumn.  One night Elliott’s breathing becomes labored and Ria realizes that in her haste, she neglected to bring his asthma inhaler.  Ria turns on her phone to find a message from her “presumed dead” father.  She contacts him, and the police and Steve Patterson, in handcuffs, rescue Elliott.

This book was written at a 4th grade level with mature content.   Comeback is part of the Orca Soundings series – a line of high-interest/low reading level books geared at reluctant teen readers.  If you have difficulty convincing your middle school reader to pick up a book, then this book may pique their interest, and help build confidence.

©2010The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Which Way To The Wild West?  Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn’t Tell You About America’s Westward Expansion

Author: Steve Sheinkin

Illustrator: Tim Robinson

Ratings Explanation

Violence: The Alamo, a massacre of many various Indian tribes and buffalo.  Many Chinese immigrant deaths accompanied the railroad expansion through the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.

Adult Themes:  The advent of the Indian Reservation.

Synopsis

An entertaining, captivating and completely digestible book on America’s Westward Expansion.  The search for gold and land led to a hard scrabble rush for wealth.  There were many casualties that accompanied the American Westward Expansion.

Sheinkin, formerly a textbook writer, collected stories: good, funny, amazing, inspiring, surprising, and disgustingly true stories. He has succeeded in writing an entertaining, captivating and completely digestible story of America’s Westward Expansion.  I loved this book!  I really enjoyed the last chapter, “What Ever Happened to….?”

©2010The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 2

Title: King George – What Was His Problem?: The Whole Hilarious Story of the American Revolution

Author: Steve Sheinkin

Illustrator: Tim Robinson

Ratings Explanation

Violence: The Revolutionary War.

Adult Themes: War.

Synopsis

An entertaining, captivating and completely digestible revolutionary war history book.

Sheinkin, formerly a textbook writer, collected stories: good, funny, amazing, inspiring, surprising, and disgustingly true stories. He has succeeded in writing an entertaining, captivating and completely digestible revolutionary war history book.   I laughed aloud when reading, ” Dawes and Revere (Paul) had a quick snack (you have to eat, even in the middle of famous historical events), Captain John Parker got the Lexington minutemen together on the town common.”  A snack amidst the start of The American Revolution?  I just don’t think of historical figures being concerned with eating.   I highly recommend this book.

©2010The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 2

Title:  Two Miserable Presidents

Author: Steve Sheinkin

Illustrator: Tim Robinson

Ratings Explanation

Violence:   The Civil War.

Adult Themes:  War, death, and deplorable conditions for soldiers and P.O.W.’s.  Jefferson Davis’ five year old son slipped off a balcony to his death.

Synopsis

An entertaining, captivating and completely digestible civil war history book.

“War is cruelty.  There is no use trying to reform it.  The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.” – William T. Sherman

Sheinkin, formerly a textbook writer, collected stories: good, funny, amazing, inspiring, surprising, and disgustingly true stories.  He has succeeded in writing an entertaining, captivating and completely digestible civil war history book.  I highly recommend “Two Miserable Presidents – The Amazing, Terrible, and Totally True Story of the Civil War”!  My sixth grader is currently held hostage by this fabulous book!

©2010The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 1

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title: My Double Life

Author:  Janette Rallison

Ratings Explanation

Language: Reference is made to a “stream of swear words”.

Violence: There is yelling and face slapping.

Sexual Content: Discussion on making out and kissing. There is some kissing.

Adult Themes: Alexia is raised by a single mom and doesn’t know anything about her dad. Kari has gambling debts and is a shop-a-holic. She enters a rehab program.

Synopsis

Alexia lives with her mother and grandmother with no knowledge of her father. People are always telling her that she looks just like the pop star Kari Kingsley. Then when a random picture of Alexia finds its way to the internet, she is offered a job as a double for the famous singer. Alexia’s mother has always warned her away from celebrities and this is no exception. Going against her mother’s warnings, Alexia travels to California to work for Kari Kingsley. Alexia realizes that Kari is actually her half-sister and that they share the same father, a singing legend. Alexia’s biggest wish is to meet her father, but pretending to be something or someone you are not isn’t easy and can lead to problems.

This was a fun book to read. It was light, easy reading with some humor and wit that made me smile. I appreciated the way Alexia deals in kindness to people with her words and her actions, especially when put in positions where she could become greedy, demanding and rude. I would say this book is appropriate for ages 12 and up.

Language: 3

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 2

Title: A Conspiracy of Kings ( The Queen’s Thief, Book 4)

Author: Megan Whalen Turner

Ratings Explanation

Language: Hell and damn are the most common words used in various phrases.  Exclamations of deity are also frequent.  Bastard is used a handful of times.  Ass and SOB are used once.  Several references to swearing are made like, “I screamed every curse I’d ever practiced” and “swearing a blue streak.”

Violence:  Sophos says, “The sword slid through him and I found for the first time how easy it is to kill a man.”  Sophos pulls the sword out after hitting the bone.  Someone tries to strangle someone else.  Sophos is beaten and left hurt and swollen.  There is fighting with knives and punching in the face.  Someone stabs a horse in the belly.  There is sword training.  Men are shot and die.

Adult Themes: There is drinking of wine several times.  Sophos is sold into slavery and works with other slaves for quite some time.  Political unrest and internal wars are the basis for this book.

Synopsis

Sophos is the young heir to the throne of Sounis.  His lack of desire for political and defensive learning embarrasses his father who sends him to a remote villa to live with his mother and sisters.  He continues his tutoring there until one day the villa is attacked and Sophos is taken prisoner and forced into slavery.  During the time Sophos spends working as a slave, he matures both physically and mentally.  He determines to take control and fight for his country.  Sophos seeks the help and advice of his friends, the King and Queen of Attolia.  And from the book jacket, ”Across the small peninsula battles are fought, bribes are offered and conspiracies are set in motion.  Darkening the horizon, the Mede Empire threatens, always, from across the sea.  And Sophos, anonymous and alone, bides his time.  Sophos, drawing on his memories of Gen, Pol, the magus-and Eddis-sets out on an adventure that will change all of their lives forever.”

This is easily one of the best series of books I’ve read.  I love the characters and I love how Turner weaves a story.  I missed Eugenides in this book as the story mostly focuses on Sophos, but it was still a great adventure with an ending that I didn’t expect.  The storyline is easy to follow, yet complex.  I was engrossed from beginning to end.   At one point the word Contrariwise is used.  I love this word!  I’ve never actually seen it in a book before.  I think I remember it being in a Winnie the Pooh movie though.

My problem with these books is the language.  7^th grade and up seems to be the generally recommended reading level.  I would disagree based solely on the language content.  I would recommend an upper high school level for this book.

No sexual content or foul language

*Guest Post*

Christie H. is a high school English teacher currently pursuing her Master’s degree. She is the mother of 5, grandmother of 1 and a very dear friend. As part of her studies, she is enrolled in a course exploring Young Adult literature. Thanks Christi, for contributing to The Literate Mother.

Title: The Trumpeter of Krakow

Author: Eric P. Kelly

1929 Newbery Medal Winner

The Trumpeter of Krakow, set in medieval Poland, is the story of Joseph Charnetski, a 15 year old Ukarinan boy traveling to Krakow after his family’s home and lands in the Ukranie are destroyed. Joseph’s father Pan Andrew Charnetski is a nobleman-farmer and is related to the nobleman Pan Tenczynski of Krakow. Pan Andrew hopes to find and settle with his relative but learns that he has been killed by bandits within the city. Pan Andrew is carrying with him a great treasure that he has given an oath to return to the King of Poland. Pan Andrew, his wife and son Joseph find themselves homeless and friendless in a town filled with bandits, intrigue, and history. Through a variety of unusual events, the Charnetski’s find lodging and employment as the Trumpeter of Krakow, with particular help from the scholar-priest Jan Kanty and the Alchemist Pan Kreutz and his 15-year-old niece Elzbietka .

The treasure they are carrying is known to the Bandit Button-Face Peter. Through their cunning and loyalty to each other and their beloved Poland, Pan Andrew and Joseph endeavor to protect the King’s treasure and the city of Krakow.

The Trumpeter of Krakow is filled with adventure, and a deep nationalist loyalty that motivates all of the heroic characters. It is written in a rather formal style compared to recently published Young Adult Literature but the formality only adds to the nobility of the characters. The characters are inviting and provoke compassion and empathy. One particular element in the book is the alchemy discussed throughout and character discussions about the sorcerer’s stone and the Great Tarnov Crystal that allows whoever is holding it to see what they want most. Harry Potter buffs will recognize these story elements.

Language: 1

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 2

Title: Plain Kate

Autor:  Erin Bow

*This review refers to an Advanced Reading Copy. Plain Kate will be available September 2010.

Ratings Explanation

Language: One reference to Diety.

Violence: The book’s premise demonstrates a town’s cruelty to witches—burning at the stake, cutting off ears and hair, and drowning. The Roamers believe Kate is a witch and has brought evil with her. They imprison and try to burn her. Kate’s friend, Drina, is treated cruelly, as well as Drina’s mother, Lenore, due to their witchcraft abilities. Many people die from the sleeping death caused from the ghost’s touch.

Adult Themes: There are references to menstruation. There are descriptions of blood-letting by wrist slashing. Linay has evil desires to mass-kill a town to avenge the death of his sister Lenore, a witch.

Synopsis

Plain Kate, a young orphaned wood carver, lives in a land where superstitions run rampant. The people believe charms bring good luck and witches are to be feared and destroyed. Now there is a mysterious, evil curse that is bringing famine, fear and a sleeping death through a heavy, moving fog over the land. Cast out of her town on rumors of witchcraft, lonely Kate trades her shadow for the wish of her heart—the companionship of a talking cat. Little does she suspect that the albino stranger, Linay, who bargains for her shadow, wants it for an evil purpose. For Kate’s shadow can bring life back to the dead. And Linay plans to avenge the death of his sister—a witch who has been burned and drowned by the townfolk. Lonely Kate travels with a band of Roamers as she gains and loses friends, and experiences the anxiety of slowly losing her shadow. Linay rescues her from near tragedy amongst the Roamers, only to use her again to keep the ghost alive and moving toward the town. Plain Kate knows that since it is her shadow and blood that has kept the fog-driven curse alive, it is only she who can bring a stop to the evil before the whole town is destroyed.

While books about witchcraft, curses and rampant superstitions are not my favorite genre of literature, Plain Kate has a compelling storyline that keeps the readers interest piqued.

Language: 3

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title: School’s Out Forever (Maximum Ride, Book 2)

Author: James Patterson

Ratings Explanation

Language: Frequent profanity, occasional swearing and some crude words like “piss” and “crap”.

Violence: As in the first book,  Erasers and the Flock battle repeatedly with kicking, hitting, slashing with claws, etc. Fang and Ari are both brutally beaten. During training, Ari hits his opponents over the head and back with a long, thick stick. As both species can fly they fight in the air using round house kicks and flying side kicks. Hand-to-hand combat. Ari bits his own arm in anguish and rips a bite out of Angel’s arm. Max strangles her opponent but stops before killing her. Gazzy and Iggy blow things up but no one is hurt.

Sexual Content: Fang and a girl kiss and he slides his hands up her back. Max and Sam kiss. He puts his arms around her waist.

Adult Themes: Ari is jealous of his father’s affection for the Flock. Ari steals a Game Boy. More than anything, the Flock wants to find their real parents and live normal lives. They are able to locate Iggy’s  real parents and he goes to live with them, but they eventually want to exploit him for money. The Flock is betrayed by Anne.

Synopsis

This second installment in the Maximum Ride series finds the Flock still on the run and fighting the Erasers, but their lives change dramatically when Anne, an FBI agent, takes them into her home.  Although, they are not completely certain they can trust her, life sure is easier knowing they have somewhere to sleep and three meals a day.

Having a home doesn’t cure Max’s headaches though, and she still hears The Voice in her head telling her she has to save the world. That’s kind of a lot of pressure since The Voice doesn’t tell her how or from what. And finding their real parents is still a priority for all six of the kids, so things get complicated when they actually find Iggy’s parents and they want him to live with them. It’s another great Maximum Ride so hang on!

James Patterson can write a page turner, but, like Angel Experiment,  I think the violence and language are a little heavy for the younger end of the 6-10 grade spectrum suggested by Library Journal and Booklist. My favorite part of book 2, as with book 1, is Max’s character. She is one tough chick, but so tender with her little flock. I really like her.

Language: 2

Violence: 0

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 3

Title: Walk Two Moons

Author: Sharon Creech

1995 Newbery Medal Winner

Ratings Explanation

Language: “Lordy”, OMG, helluva, and several swear words.

Sexual Content: Ben and Sal kiss, Phoebe’s mom kisses The Lunatic. The word “sex” is used twice.

Adult Themes: Sal’s mother looses a baby and Sal feels responsible. Following the still birth, her mother has two operations and says, “They took out all my equipment.” After losing the baby, her mother goes to Idaho and doesn’t come back. Sal feels abandoned. Phoebe’s mother disappears for a couple of weeks. Phoebe is upset and worried since they don’t know where she has gone and when, or if, she is coming back. Death of a loved one.

Synopsis

One Spring morning 13-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle’s mother boarded a bus headed for Idaho, promising to return before the tulips bloomed. Now the tulips have long since withered and her mother has not yet returned. Determined to bring her mother home where she belongs, Sal embarks on a cross country journey with her endearingly eccentric grandparents.

To pass the time (and listen to Gram and Gramps less), Sal “spins the yarn” of her friend Phoebe Winterbottom’s missing mother, the lunatic, and the cryptic notes left on the Winterbottom’s doorstep. Sal’s journey of discovery, loss and love intertwine with Phoebe’s story, producing a moving story within a story.

This is our latest read-aloud success story. When the kids are begging for one more chapter over and over each night, it is obviously a winner.

One of my favorite things about Sharon Creech is that she can really turn a phrase. One of my personal favorites said by Gram, “Being a mother is like trying to hold a wolf by the ears. If you have three or four – or more- chickabiddies, you’re dancing on a hot griddle all the time. You don’t have time to think about anything else. And if you’ve only got one or two, it’s almost harder. You have room left over – empty spaces that you think you’ve got to fill up.” Gram also says, “Huzza, huzza” when she likes something. I just might adopt that one into my own vocabulary.

Our family laughed, cried and worried through this story, and loved every minute of it.

Language: 1

Violence: 0

Sexual Content: 2.5

Adult Themes: 0

Title: Heist Society
Author: Ally Carter

Ratings Explanation

Language: The term “sucks” is used.

Sexual Content: Kat walks into a room where Hale is in bed.   He says, “I could be naked in here.”  Several references are made to skirts being too short and lots of leg showing.  There is a section where the kids talk about Kat’s boobs.  “When did you get boobs?”  “Those boobs are new.”  A boy tries to touch her boobs and Kat hits his hand away.  Nick kisses Kat.  “Neither Bugshaw even tried to look down her shirt.”

Synopsis

Kat’s world is a world of thievery and lies.  It’s a family thing.  In an attempt to escape and lead a more normal life, she enrolls in a private school.  The world she tried to leave pulls her back as she tries to save her dad who has been wrongly accused of stealing valuable and rare artwork.   Kat’s only option is to track down the artwork and steal it back.  An impossible task is put in front of her, one only a masterful thief can accomplish.  In two weeks, with the help of her friends, she must pull off the biggest heist ever.

I enjoyed reading this book.  It was fluffy fun, nothing too deep.  It didn’t cause me to sit back and think and it didn’t evoke much emotion.  But, it was light, easy reading and that is nice to have every now and then.  This book had a sort of Robin Hood feel to it as Kat steals from the thief to give back to those who lost it.  (A couple thefts ago…)  I’m not sure this is 6th grade reading material.  I would keep this book in the high school range.

Language- 0

Violence-1.5

Sexual Content-1

Adult Themes-0

Title: Princess of Glass
Author: Jessica Day George

Violence: One boy punches another boy in the jaw.  Poppy pulls out a pistol and points it.  Hot glass is poured over feet and it really hurts.

Sexual Content: “And Dickson Thwaite kissed me…”  He lowered his eyelids in a flirtatious manner.  Poppy has a very nice figure.  There is a kiss on the lips.  She “kissed him soundly.”

Synopsis

In this sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball, Princess Poppy sets off to the kingdom of Breton as part of an exchange program.  After being cursed to dance every night with her sisters, Poppy swears never to dance again.  Instead she entertains herself with playing cards at every ball.  Then Poppy meets a handsome prince and a friendship begins.  But,  a servant girl shows up at the balls dressed in elaborate and beautiful gowns and seems to enchant everyone, including Poppy’s handsome prince.  Because of Poppy’s history with curses and magical enchantments, she can see through what is happening to everyone when the servant girl is around.  Poppy is determined to find out who and what is behind the curious happenings and hopefully save the heart of the prince for herself.

I always enjoy a new retelling of an old story.  This was a very interesting take on the Cinderella story.  I loved that this book was clean and appropriate for the target reading level.  My 12-year-old daughter loved this book.  Poppy has a no nonsense sort of attitude that I found amusing.   I enjoyed her personal journey back to something that she realized she loved but had lost while going through a difficult time in her life.

Language: 0

Violence:2

Sexual Content: 2

Adult Themes: 2

Title:  Matched

Author:  Ally Condie

*This review refers to an advanced copy.  Matched will be available for purchase November 30, 2010.

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  The townspeople themselves experience no violence in their society.  They do watch a film which shows a person being shot. Blood stains his shirt and he falls to the ground.  This is so surreal to the audience that they laugh.  Cassia hears stories of poisoned rain and rivers which kill people.  She also learns of Ky’s past from pictures he has drawn showing him holding the words “mother” and “father” in his arms shaped like drooping dead bodies.  Pictures of the officials in these drawings show red hands representing their responsibility in what has happened.

Sexual Content:  Cassia remembers  playing kissing games as a young child.  She is relieved to know her match so that she can finally think of him with more romantic thoughts.  Xander and Cassia kiss after a recreational activity.  Cassia describes the feeling as “sweet”.  She and Xander hold hands and hug.  Cassia begins to have feelings for Ky after she has been matched to Xander.  She and Ky find opportunities to hold hands.  Cassia has a strong desire to kiss Ky but knows what it will do to Xander and her family.  Cassia finally gives in and kisses Ky.  It is all that she had hoped.  As part of Society rules, the optimal age for citizens to conceive, resulting in healthy offspring, is discussed.

Adult themes:  Cassia lives in a society where the government makes all of the hard decisions and leaves their citizens with few opportunities to make choices of their own.  This appears safe at first, but through major life changing experiences, Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s rules. One of these was the mandatory death of her grandfather, at which she was present.  Cassia is provided with many opportunities to succeed in her society but chooses to go against them.

Synopsis

Cassia has always trusted the Society.  They are never wrong.  They choose what you eat, what you wear, who you marry and when you die.  Life has been better for everyone since the Society has been in control.  Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she will attend her Match Banquet to find out who she will marry.  When her best friend Xander’s picture shows up on the screen she is surprised and relieved.  It is uncommon for a person to know who their match is, but she has known Xander her whole life and loves him dearly.  When Cassia gets home and puts in the computer chip to view background information on her match, a strange thing happens.  Xander’s picture comes up and then the screen goes black.  For a split second another face shows up on the screen.  Even stranger, is that it is a picture of another person she knows, Ky.  Cassia is puzzled.  How could this happen?  Was she really supposed to be matched with Xander? Throughout the summer Cassia finds opportunities to be with Ky and learns that he has come from the outer province areas where he lost his parents.  He also knows how to write something that has not been taught for generations.  Cassia asks him to teach her.  This is stepping on shaky ground and could get them both into serious trouble.  As Cassia spends more time with Ky she wonders why there is so little creating and ability to make choices in their world.  She begins to question all that the Society does to ensure happy productive lives for it’s citizens.  Cassia must now decide between the safety of being with Xander, whom she has always loved, or Ky who helps her to feel alive, real and free.  It is a decision that will change their world.

This is a must read.  Not only is Matched a touching love story, but it examines the very basis of what makes us happy and gives us purpose.  It will leave you thinking and grateful for all you have and all that you can be.

Language: 0

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Canticle Kingdom

Author:  Michael Young

Ratings Explanation

Violence: Girl in Nazi concentration camp is hit and taken in for beatings. Johann is attacked by a werewolf. Brigitta and Johann are attacked by snakes and creatures. “Creatures claws tore at her flesh, ripping large gashes…and sending lances of pain throughout her body.” Monster raises knife over Gwen. The floorboards and walls are streaked with blood. There are a LOT of sword fights, battles, and creature attacks; more than can be listed here. Guards beat prisoners. Rufus stabs a creature in the heart with a jagged shard of poison-stained glass. Karsten is run through with a sword and then extracts the sword from his chest, “crimson blood dripping.” “With a mighty heave and a keen eye, he launched the sword at his brother, impacting him directly in the center of his chest.”

Adult Themes: Nazi concentration camps are mentioned. There is magic, black magic and sorcery. Death and a sort of afterlife are referred to.

Summary

Two German brothers create a music box that holds a magical kingdom inside. Through time the music box somehow gets passed through many different people and places. People mysteriously disappear when listening to this music box. Inside the box, the Canticle Kingdom resides. The Kingdom is being attacked by an evil, dark power. The Queen falls ill and it is up to a few loyal subjects inside and outside the music box to help to save the kingdom.

I had a really hard time getting through this book. It was confusing and disjointed. Many things made no sense to me at all. It wasn’t until chapter 9 that I started getting a few explanations. Now, I understand ” keep the reader guessing”, and mystery and all of that, but this was really just confusing. I found many of the characters and their actions unbelievable. So many times there would be fighting and someone would be injured terribly, like a sword stuck in their chest. The character is near death, bleeding and almost ready to pass out and then they would proceed to pull out the sword and continue fighting. For a long time. In my notes I wrote, “How many times can one dude fall on his back, have bruised ribs and feel like he was dying and then get up and do it all again?” In the end, I didn’t have any real feelings for any of the characters. I’m not sure if it was the style of writing that made it so hard for me, or if the writing just lacked development. I think the story idea is good. On the up side, there was no foul language or sexual content. There was a fair bit of violence though. I laughed at the end when I read this next part because it summed up almost exactly how I felt about this whole book. “Capt. Edison tried to explain what was going on to his wife the best he could but found that he scarcely understood it himself.”

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language-0

Violence-1

Sexual Content-1

Adult Themes-0

Title:  A Posse of Princesses

Author: Sherwood Smith

Ratings Explanation

Violence: There is sword training. Many kids carry around swords and knives. Princess Rhis is held as a hostage in a tower with guards watching her. People are ready to fight, but peace agreements are made.

Sexual Content: The girls talk about flirting and kissing several different times. Rhis remembers kissing the cooks nephew. There is a kiss at the end of the book.

Summary

Rhis is the youngest princess of a small but wealthy kingdom called Nym. She loves writing ballads and dreaming away in her tower room. She is invited along with many other princes and princesses to a coming of age party for Lios, the Crown Prince of Vesarja. Princess Rhis has never been to such an event and is excited and wary. She meets new people and makes new friends. In the process she learns much about herself and the lessons of life. Rhis and her new group of friends band together for an adventure to rescue a princess who has been abducted.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I am happy to say that as soon as I finished it, I handed it to my 12 year old and said, “you can read this book!” Princess Rhis displays many typical 16 year old traits, but her heart and actions are kind and good. I loved her story. It is sweet and innocent. Rhis learns about friendship, politics, magic and love. Here are a couple of my favorite parts of the book. “People are surprising, she thought, even the ones you think you know.” “Why is it that the prettiest flowers don’t have the prettiest scents? The nicest scents seem to belong to the smallest blossoms. Or the plainest. And that wonderful one over there, with the blue and lavender petals, which I think the prettiest plant in the garden, smells like moldering grass. Phah!” “I don’t know, but I suspect it’s because the big, bright ones don’t have to compete so hard for the attention of the bees and butterflies. The little ones put out the powerful aromas to get their share of attention. A lot like people.”

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language: 2

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 2

Adult Themes: 1

Title:  Specials

(Book Number Three)

Author: Scott Westerfield

Ratings Explanation

Language:  ”The plan is we kick their asses.”   “What the hell for?”  ”Bad-ass friends.”  ”You don’t give a damn about Fausto?”  ”The New Smoke wasn’t some hidden encampment in the wild, where people crapped into holes…”  ”the New System sucks”  ”Crap”.

Violence:  Tally does not want to kill David.  She wants to see him tamed and turned into a bubblehead, pretty and clueless and out of her life once and for all.   There are references to the self-mutilation found in book two.  ”Breaking out of bubble-headedness with nothing but a sharp knife against her own skin”.   Shay is given a jolt from a shock-stick by David.  Tally saves Shay from drowning in the river.  Shay suggests to Tally that she might just need a cut to help her think clearly.  Shay uses her knife to cut the palm of Tally’s hand.  Shay and Tally break into the armory, and let loose “Hunger in nano form”, which eats and destroys everything in its path. Hovercrafts follow Shay and Tally to the city limits, bombarding them with grenades.  Tally and Fausto engage in hand to hand combat as he tries to inject her with a needle.  The “New Smoke”/ City of Diego and The Armada go to war.  Zane dies.  Tally reflects on the deaths she has witnessed.  Tally kicks Dr. Cable in the stomach, and does a roundhouse kick into the jaw of her closest pursuer.

Sexual Content:  ”Shay brushes against the random boy, a flex of muscles gliding down her body like a flick through a rope.  His body starting to follow her movements.”  Tally is jealous as she sees David brush fingers with a Smokey girl.  ”That was his thing: going around recruiting uglies to run away, seducing the best and the smartest city kids with the promise of rebellion.”   Tally climbs the island’s slopes through a pleasure garden.  Tally and Zane kiss.  She is repulsed by his weakness as an unspecial and barely average.  Tally’s clothes are stripped off of her, as she is lifted into an operating tank.

Adult Themes:  Revolution.  Beer consumption.  Shay and Tally are still pitted against one another.  Shay’s anger and jealousy have not disappeared.

Summary

Tally was not positive that “Specials” actually existed.  Now, transformed into a special Special, she is one of them –a Cutter.  Dr. Cable engineers Tally to be a weapon, to root out rebellion.  Her body has been reconstructed around a reinforced ceramic skeleton.  Her fingernails and teeth have been weaponized, and her muscles and reflex centers significantly augmented.  She is a member of “The Cutters”.  Shay, the leader of The Cutters, is given orders to find the “New Smoke”, the rebel’s hideout.  Tally and Shay  break into the armory and let loose an ancient weapon, “Hunger in nano form”.  Dr. Cable leads the city to believe that they are under attack from the rebels.  She is then given control of the military.  Shay and Tally find the “New Smoke” and choose to defend the “New Smoke” against Dr. Cable’s diabolical plan to rule the world.

I really enjoyed the FIRST book in this series.  However, the strong moral values you receive in the first book are completely obliterated in the subsequent installments. This story just fizzled out.  I am very concerned with the “cutting/self-mutilation”.  I do not recommend this book for the age group it is marketed to (Grades 6-10).  However, should you choose to read this book, proceed with caution.

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language:  0

Violence:  2.5

Sexual Content:  0

Adult Themes:  2

Title:  Peter and the Shadow Thieves (Starcatchers Series, book 2)

Author:  Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  The pirates on Mollusk Island kidnap the island chief’s daughter.  It is briefly mentioned that Slank (one of the “Others”) killed and ate Little Richard while lost at sea.  In London, Peter runs into a man who beats runaway children; Peter is attacked by a street vendor who sells birds and has captured Tinkerbell, then arrested by a policeman for hitting the bird seller.  The Others kidnap Molly’s mother.  A servant girl working with the Others tries to stab Molly with a kitchen knife.  At the Tower of London, Molly tells Peter the story of two princes who were locked up, beaten, and murdered in the Tower by their cruel uncle.  Mr. McGuinn, a fellow Starcatcher, is killed when he falls from a stone stairwell.  In the final battle for the starstuff, both Peter and Molly’s father are shot by the Others (both recover.)

Adult Themes:  Peter is arrested and sent to jail, where he encounters several other boys (street urchins) who have been sent there “to rot.”  Boys who have been arrested are seldom set free again, but generally face a lifetime of imprisonment or hardship (very Dickensian).  When Molly’s mother is kidnapped by the Others and held for ransom, Molly’s father must choose between surrendering the starstuff to the evil powers or saving her life.

Synopsis

In this sequel to Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and his gang of Lost Boys now live on Mollusk Island and gamefully spar with Black Stache (now nicknamed “Hook” by Peter & co.) and his fellow pirates.   But the day a different ship arrives on the island bringing Slank, the noseless man Nerezza, and a dark, creepy figure called Lord Ombra in search of the magical starstuff, Peter smells trouble.  When Ombra and his men learn the starstuff is in London, they sail off, and Peter decides he must head to England to warn Molly and her family before the evil men get there first.  He stows away on Ombra’s ship unseen, then flies off in London with Tinkerbell to find the Aster family.  London does not receive Peter kindly, and he is cast into jail and Tinkerbell kidnapped by a bird seller before they can even blink.  They escape, of course (the ability to fly can come in handy) and eventually reach Molly, but not before the eerie, inhuman Lord Ombra kidnaps her mother for a starstuff ransom.  Ombra steals people’s shadows (and their souls), reads their thoughts, and turns them into emotionless robots.  But Peter, Molly, Tink, and even a young George Darling team up to combat the nefarious shadow-thieving Others and ensure that the starstuff does not fall into their filthy hands.

This sequel-to-the-prequel proves just as satisfying as the first, but has a different tone.  There is less swashbuckling and pirate jargon, as Hook and his crew on Mollusk Island take a back seat to the main storyline set in the streets of Dickens-era London with the spooky Lord Ombra, whose shapeless figure can creep under doorways and suck up people’s shadows without warning.  Famous London landmarks (the River Thames, the Tower of London, Kensington Gardens) make brief but shining appearances in the story, with the final showdown between good and evil being set in farm country at a very familiar, “stony” location.  The authors even have James Barrie (Peter Pan’s creator) make a clever cameo in one scene.  Another entertaining and adventurous read.

Language: 1

Violence: 3

Sexual Content:0

Adult Themes: 2

Title: Surviving Antarctica Reality TV 2083

Author: Andrea White

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Four common swear words and four uses of the name of deity.

Violence:  The government uses Court TV as the judicial system.  Criminals are considered terrorists and have no human rights.  Near drownings, beating and sometimes crucifixion is used as punishment.  A young woman was beaten because she tried to help a dying contestant on a Reality TV show.  Many contestants are allowed to be maimed, injured, suffer disease and are even killed as part of the entertainment.  A horse is eaten by a killer whale.  It’s blood and guts float in the water.  A seal is shot for food.  The pony is killed by the hungry dogs.  A survivor’s toes are frostbitten, amputation is considered.

Adult Themes:  Children being used on a survival show for the entertainment of the masses.  TV has become the crime deterrent and educator.  A contestant has lost both parents.  A young man must decide whether or not to intervene with the government to save the contestants and stand up for their rights.

Synopsis

In the year 2083,  our nation’s government has turned to television to fight crime and educate the masses.  All programming is meant to be so captivating that citizens will be glued to their screens instead of looking for trouble.  To boost ratings, the Secretary of Entertainment has decided to use children as contestants in her next installment of the TV hit, Survival. This series has contestants literally fighting for their lives while reliving history through episodes such as The Alamo, World War II and The Plague. This time, five 14-year-olds have been chosen to relive Robert F. Scott’s 1912 expedition to the South Pole  (this was a real expedition and selected entries of Scott’s journal are used throughout the story).  What they don’t know is that they will be all alone without a camera crew.  To save the lives of her crew, the Secretary has had cameras implanted into one of the eyes of each contestant, unbeknownst to them.  She has also scripted several catastrophes to mimic the original expedition as well as help boost ratings.  As the children embark on their journey, they encounter all of Antarctica’s beauty and danger.  They quickly learn to depend on each others’ skills for survival.  True to her nature,  the Secretary delivers catastrophes and hardships for the contestants. Back home the public becomes enraged as they watch children facing certain death.  An editor named Steve is faced with the opportunity of secretly intervening and must decide whether or not to follow his conscience even if it means being beaten and being sent to prison.  Through the heroic actions of many, the children are rescued and the public is forced to take a good look at their values and government.

I am not a big futuristic fiction fan so this book took me off guard when I found myself still engrossed in it two hours later.  I appreciated how the contestants learned important life lessons and self-reliance as they had to completely depend on each other to survive.  I also liked that Steve had the courage to stand up against terrifying odds to do what he felt was right.  A great book to help young readers examine their values and priorities.

Language:0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title:  Angel on the Square

Author: Gloria Whelan,  National Book Award Winner

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  Mentions of assassinations, beatings of peasants and animals, wounded soldiers, amputations, suicide,  and murder.

Sexual Content:  Rasputin tries to take advantage of a palace maid but is caught by the princess and her friend.

Adult Themes:  The setting of the story takes place during the revolution of Russia.  This brings with it many difficult issues such as war, death of loved ones, suffering of the poor, and murder and suicide because of the stress.

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Katya Ivanova lives in St. Petersburg, Russia shortly before the country’s revolution.  She is the daughter of the Empress’s lady-in-waiting and a special friend to the royal family’s youngest daughter, Anastasia.   Katya’s father and uncle were both killed in the last Russian war.  Her uncle’s son Misha is now under her mother’s care.  He is a young teenager, lured by local college students’ opinions of how poorly the government is being run.  Misha occasionally sneaks Katya out with him to see what life is really like outside of the royal palace.  He shows Katya a sweat shop employing children and women being beaten trying to get food for their families.  Katya returns horrified and determined tell the Tsar.  The royal family has become her family and she knows the Tsar would never allow such awful things to happen to his beloved people.  Before her confession, war breaks out with Germany.  Katya tells her mother instead, hoping she will have some influence with the Empress.  Her mother panics, knowing that Misha’s political opinions will not be popular and quickly enlists him in the army.  The war is long and takes a heavy toll on the Russian people.  Revolutionists begin to rise up and take control. Bitter peasants want to overthrow the Tsar.  The royal family is exiled to Siberia, and Katya and her mother go with them.  They are imprisoned in a home there where they have no contact with the outside world.  As the revolution progresses, funds are cut off from the Tsar and the royal family is taken back to St. Petersburg to face their new leaders.  Katya and her mother return to their estate only to find it burned to the ground.  They decide to stay, and with the help of some old servants, fix up a small hut to live in.  Misha returns from the war and finds them there.  He asks Katya to join him  and return to the city to help their country find peace and democracy.

I was touched by Katya’s story.  It was interesting to see the Revolution from an aristocratic point of view.  How true to life the story was I don’t know, but it was disheartening to see the royal family who loved and cared for each other and did want their country to be great, destroy their country because they were so far removed from their people and their day to day struggles.

Language: 3

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 2

Adult Themes:  3

Title: The Princess Bride

Author: S. Morgenstern, William Goldman

Ratings Explanation

Language: There is one reference to deity in the Princess Bride itself, but several during Goldman’s storyline interjected throughout the novel or during his editing comments.  Also, two other “major” swear words are used.   There are a couple of derogatory comments referring to the Spanish race.

Violence: With sword fighting between Inigo and the “man in black”, a fight between the giant and the “man in black”, and the revenge sword/knife scene between Inigo and Count Rugen, there is plenty of action.  There is also a kidnapping, a planned murder of the bride, and the use of clubs.

Sexual Content: This mainly occurs in the sequel, “Buttercup’s Baby”.  Buttercup reminds Westley that even though they have “true love”, they have only kissed.  They engage in dialogue discussing the answer to the question, “What else is there?”  Also, Goldman becomes infatuated with Morgenstern’s daughter who is using her feminine charm to entice Goldman to sign legal papers regarding manuscripts.

There is one scene where Count Rugen’s wife lustily looks at Westley in the Princess Bride.

Adult Themes: There are descriptions of Westley’s torture in the Zoo of Death by the prince and Count Rugen. Brandy is drunk excessively by Inigo.  Wine and poison by iocane powder are used during the “battle of wits” between “the man in black” and Vizzini.

Synopsis

The Princess Bride is S. Morgenstern’s classic tale of true love, high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and even some wild beasts.  That’s something for everyone to love!   The original 1000 page story was edited down to 300 by Hollywood screen writer, William Goldman.  The 30th anniversary edition begins with lengthy introductions of how Goldman’s father read the book to young William and why he felt the need to abridge the novel. This edition also includes an abridged version of a Princess Bride sequel, “Buttercup’s Baby”.  Goldman wrote the screenplay for the 1987 movie.  That is why the movie and the book are nearly one and the same (dialogue and all).

The beautiful peasant, Buttercup, loses her true love–Farm-Boy, Westley.  Devastated, she reluctantly agrees to marry Florin’s Prince Humperdinck.  Hoping to start a war with the neighboring country of Guilder, the Prince arranges for Buttercup to be kidnapped by mercenaries.  His plan is foiled when Buttercup is rescued by a mysterious pirate, “the man in black”.  She is returned to the palace, unwillingly marries the Prince and then is saved by the same group who captured her in the first place.  During her adventure she meets Vizzini, a criminal philosopher, Fezzik, a gentle giant, and Inigo, the revengeful Spaniard who seeks to kill the six-fingered Count Rugen, second in command to Prince Humperdinck.

Who doesn’t love a fairytale full of sword fighting, villains, implausible rescues and, most importantly, the greatest motive for heroism—true love?  Girls are magnetized by the power of “true love”.  Boys feed off of the action, the torture in the Zoo of Death, and the feats of revenge.  Or, that’s how it worked out for my kids. Additionally, we all loved the quirky characters.  Of course, when I finished the book, I had to re-watch the movie. But remember, even if Goldman tries to convince us otherwise, “The Princess Bride” is fictitious, as are the “European” countries of Florin and Gilder.

Language: 1

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 1

Title: The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5)

Author: Rick Riordan

Ratings Explanation

Language: “gods” used as an exclamation, e.g., “Thank the gods!”

Violence: A large ship explodes, killing many, including a friend of Percy. Percy takes on an entire army in Hades and single-handedly destroys them all. A full-scale battle in Manhattan with Percy and the other half-bloods battling Kronos and his army. In the battle, Percy tries to wound, not kill, the half-bloods who are on Kronos’s side. Destruction of many monsters. Annabeth is stabbed and another beloved half-blood is killed in battle.

Sexual Content: Percy and Annabeth kiss.

Adult Themes: Strained relationships between the gods and their half-blood children. Some are willing to give their lives in order to advance their cause.

Synopsis

In this last installment of the Percy Jackson series, Percy and his friends from Camp Half-Blood prepare for the final battle against Kronos and  his ever-growing army. While the gods are busy fighting the monster Typhon, who is advancing across the U.S., Percy and his army must defend Manhattan and Mount Olympus. Percy finally learns the entire prophecy surrounding his 16th birthday and realizes the gravity of it. It is very possible that he will not survive the fight against Kronos, the Lord of Time. Surrounded by those still loyal to the gods, Percy leads the army in this final conflict.

This was definitely my favorite book of the Percy Jackson series. Percy has always been the kind of hero I like to read about, but his loyalty, strength and bravery were extra-apparent in this book. I especially enjoyed the setting of Manhattan as, coincidentally,  my first visit to The Big Apple coincided with finishing this book. Being there made the descriptions of the city so alive I half expected to see monsters and Greek demi-gods rounding every corner.

My three readers ages 13, 10 and 8 all love this series. The level of content (in all 4 areas that we rate) remains constant throughout the series. I find that an advantage since in some series the content escalates with each book, making it inappropriate for younger readers to complete a series. Overall, I honestly enjoyed Percy and his adventures.

Language: 3

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 3

Title: Swear to Howdy

Author:  Wendelin Van Draanen

Ratings Explanation

Language: “Hurts like hell” is used three times.  “Don’t make me open a can of whup-ass on you, boy.”  Wuss is used a handful of times.  Godforsaken is used once.  “Felt hot as the hinges of hell”.  Phrases that elude to strong language are used like, “mighty hot language”.  There is a lot of talk about farts and “gassers”.  “He let out the biggest, nastiest gasser you can imagine.”  “Teach me….?  To fart?”

Violence: Joey’s dad beats him.  Rusty and Joey shoot guns, first at cans, then at squirrels.  They kill the squirrels.  Joey shoots and accidentally kills the family cat. The boys do a prank that causes a car accident and Joey’s sister dies.  Rusty finds Joey with a gun stuck in his mouth ready to shoot himself.  Joey’s dad is aggressive and mean.  He yells and beats his kids.  Joey and Rusty cut their knuckles and hand to share blood when they promise to keep secrets.

Sexual Content: Joey takes off his pants and underwear to fart in the lake.  A fish bites his “privates”.  He is sore and bruised.

Adult Themes: Child abuse is referred to throughout this book.  Two girls in the book cheat on a final exam.  Because of a car accident, the family members deal with the death of a family member.  The secrets and lies involving the accident lead to a 13-year-old boy getting drunk and “puking his guts out”.  Later, the same boy puts a gun in his mouth and attempts suicide.  The mother and children leave the abusive father.

Synopsis

Rusty Cooper moves into a new town and makes friends with the boy next door, Joey Banks.  Joey’s adventurous nature gets the boys into all sorts of mischief.  Usually the pranks are harmless, like putting bugs in drinks, hiding frogs in drawers or replacing the goldfish that keep dying.  Joey lives in constant fear of his father’s beatings and always makes Rusty “swear to howdy” that he will not tell anyone what they do and then seal it with their blood.  When one prank goes horribly wrong and ends in tragedy, Rusty struggles with keeping the secrets that are darkening his life.

My first impression as I started reading this book was that it was a boy’s dream book full of potty humor and pranks on sisters.  Which personally I don’t find amusing at all, but a whole chapter on farting would probably be very funny to most adolescent boys.   I’m sure my younger brothers would find very amusing the many pranks played on the older sisters in this book.  As the book continues though, the pranks and adventures become more serious and troubling.  The boys are doing bad things, lying and keeping secrets to hide what they do.  Child abuse, guns, death, under-age drinking and suicide are very serious topics that, I think, require parental guidance and discussion.  This book is not a pleasure reading type of book for kids. I found it quite disturbing.  I would recommend keeping this book to high school level readers.

Language: 1

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 2

Adult Themes: 1

Title:  Once Upon a Marigold

Author: Jean Ferris

Ratings Explanation

Language: The name of deity used. Name calling.

Violence: Some fighting with arrows and swords. Queen is forced off balcony and falls to the river far below. Queen threatens to kill her daughter and the king to gain power. The queen poisons the king to gain control over him.

Sexual Content: A scullery maid forces a kiss upon Christian. Babies born out of wedlock.

Adult Themes: Desire to rule a kingdom no matter the cost to family and others.  Dysfunctional family relationships.

Synopsis

Christian is adopted by a troll, Edric, who lives in a crystal lined cave in a forest. The young boy grows up learning the ways of troll life and inventing contraptions from things left behind on the forest road. One of these contraptions is a telescope with which Christian enjoys watching the inhabitants of the castle across the river. As he grows older, Christian becomes more unsettled and wants to see and be a part of the outside world. With Edric’s permission, he leaves the cave hoping to find a job at the castle.  Christian finds a job helping the castle housekeeper. This presents him with the opportunity of getting to know the young princess he has seen for years only through a lens.  He finds Princess Marigold quite enchanting. She loves the simple things in life like reading, telling awful jokes, and playing with her dogs. She is very lonely however, because of a curse put upon her at birth. Marigold can read the thoughts of anyone that touches her. No one dares to touch her and rarely even talks to her. Christian is not afraid of this and finds Marigold fascinating,  simple and charming. Unfortunately, the queen wants Marigold married so that she can take over the kingdom. Christian struggles with his emotions as he watches his new love being courted by neighboring royalty. Things get exciting when Marigold’s forthcoming marriage is announced. Christian finds himself in jail, Marigold’s sisters are locked up and the king is being poisoned. Christian must prove he is not a traitor, rid the kingdom of their evil queen, find a way to save his true love and live happily ever after.

This was your predictable fairy tale with many quirky twists and turns to keep you guessing how the heroes would ever manage to live happily ever after. Christian even manages to re-invent royal life by introducing p-mail, vegetarianism, and one ear piercing.

Language: 1

Violence: 1

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

Author: Robin McKinley, Newbery Honor Author

Ratings Explanation

Language: This may not even rate for some but, the word “damning” used as a verb in the following sentence:”To a certain extent this was damning me with faint praise…”

Violence: Talk of desire to kill the magician that cast the spell.

Sexual Content: Beauty’s sister is advised to get married and start a baby. Beauty is kissed by a boy at a dance.

Adult Content: Beauty’s sister loses her fiance in a shipwreck. Beauty is offered ale by the villagers that she has helped. Parents threaten their children with stories of monsters taking them away if they are not obedient.

Synopsis

Beauty’s wealthy family has come to financial ruin after her father’s ships are destroyed by disease and storm.  A shipyard worker offers the family a home with him back in his native village.  The desperate yet grateful family accepts the offer despite rumors of magic being practiced in the area.  The family adjusts to their new country life and do quite well for themselves until their father’s fateful journey.  After being lost in a snow storm, Beauty’s father stumbles across an enchanted castle in the nearby woods.  The invisible servants care for his every need.  After resting, he prepares to finish his journey home.  On his way out of the gates he notices a most beautiful rose garden and decides to pick one for Beauty.  This enrages the castle’s owner, a beast who up until now has remained unseen.  He accuses the father of being ungrateful and demands that either he or one of his daughters returns within the month to stay with him forever as payment.  Upon returning home, Beauty’s father tells his story to his daughters.  Beauty insists that she will be the one to return.  After an emotional debate upon the matter, Beauty gets her way.  The rest of the story is fairy tale history as Beauty and the Beast discover real love in each other and live happily ever after.

One of my all time favorite books!  I read it as a young girl and twice as an adult.  McKinley’s words are beautifully enchanting and  quickly bring you into this fairy tale world.  I only wish that the ending wasn’t so quick. McKinley has written a sequel to this book called Rose Daughter which I haven’t read yet.

Language: 1
Violence: 3
Sexual Content: 0
Adult Content: 1

Title: The Messenger
Author:  Lois Lowry

Ratings Explanation

Language: Matty quotes Lady Macbeth, “Out damn’d spot!  Out, I say!”  He also quotes Macduff, “O hell…”

Violence: References are made to Matty’s childhood of being abused and beaten bloody by his mother.  A man from Village is found dead.  He has been mutilated by the forest and it is described. Seer’s story is told of being found in the forest with his eyes gouged out and left for dead.   Matty cuts his leg and heals it himself.  The forest is evil and attacks Matty and Kira.  Branches and vines cut them like knives,   dripping sap burns their skin, leaving sores that weep and swell.  Vines try to strangle them, insects attack them and rocks fling through the air.

Adult Content- There are references to child abuse and government oppression.

Synopsis

In this final book, following The Giver and Gathering Blue, Matty lives in Village with Seer, a blind man who took him in after escaping an abusive home.  People in Village eventually receive a true name, and Matty hopes that his will be Messenger.  Things are changing though, in Village, in Matty, and in the dark forest.  Matty discovers he has a special power to heal others but isn’t quite sure how to use it.  People in Village are changing and not for the better.  Where they were once kind and welcoming, they are becoming selfish and mean.  They want to build a wall to keep new people out.  The dark forest is becoming increasingly sinister and foreboding, killing people.  Matty must make a final trip through the forest as a messenger to others.

This book has so many layers and levels, I think.  I often found myself drawing parallels between the world we live in and the world in this book.  The forest is evil and scary!  The book  builds in suspense because you just know something really bad is going to happen.  I’m a girl who loves a happily ever after ending.  I want to feel good and content at the end of a book.  That didn’t happen for me with this book, but I will say that the story was well written and evoked emotion in me.  This book would be best when read and discussed with your child, or as a book club read.  A quote from this book, “there were communities everywhere, sprinkled across the vast landscape of the unknown world, in which people suffered.  Not always because of beatings and hunger, the way he had.  But from ignorance.  From not knowing.  From being kept from knowledge.”

Language: 1

Violence: 1

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title: Gathering Blue

Author: Lois Lowry

Ratings Explanation

Language: Woman dyes threads in a “pot of piss”

Violence: Kira’s father recounts the story of when he was attacked by a man, beaten up and left for dead. His attacker slashed his face, blinding him.

Sexual Content: “Others would be coupling tonight, creating new people.” p.18

Adult Themes:  Kira was born crippled. When she was a baby the leaders of the village wanted to take her away to “give her back to the earth,” but her mother fought to keep her. Kira’s mother dies, leaving her alone in the world. People are generally unkind to each other in the village. No one helps each other, even Kira’s uncle doesn’t offer any assistance when her mother dies. Parents treat their own children poorly, slapping them, penning them up and yelling at them.

Synopsis

In this companion novel to The Giver, Kira, a young, crippled girl, is left to fend for herself after her mother’s death. In a society where the weak are cast aside, or worse, Kira makes a plan to rebuild the hut she and her mother  lived in and make her own way in their unforgiving village. After a confrontation with the fiercest woman in the village, who wants Kira’s land for her own, Kira is assigned a defender from the Council of Guardians. Having discovered her exceptional talent for embroidery, The Council brings her to  live in the Council Edifice where she has plenty of food, running water and a bed. These are luxurious accommodations compared to the living conditions of the village. There she meets a new friend, Thomas, who is a young, gifted carver of wood. Kira learns that her responsibility, in exchange for food and shelter, is to restore the elaborate robe worn by the Singer who, once a year, sings the village’s ancient history. The story is told on the robe through intricate designs and Kira is to tell the future of the village through her art.

While Kira enjoys the advantages of living in the Edifice, she begins to realize that she, Thomas, and Jo, the tiny girl who will be Singer one day, have been “collected” for their artistic abilities, making the Edifice start to resemble more of a prison than a haven.

I enjoyed this book far more than The Giver. While not the focus of the story, Kira’s disability is handled beautifully. She is never embarrassed or bitter about her lot in life. “Mother said pain made me strong,” states Kira. She is determined to be an influence for good and to change the future of her village. Although The Giver and Gathering Blue are companion novels, there isn’t any connection between the stories until the end when a boy is mentioned who might, or might not, be Jonas. I will be interested to see if they fit together in The Messenger.

Language-0
Violence- 2
Sexual Content- 1
Adult Themes- 1

Title: Crown Duel
Author: Sherwood Smith

Rating Explanation

Violence: Meliara and her brother lead an uprising against the King of the land. There is training for war using weapons like swords and arrows. The king’s men are victims of taunting and exploits. Meliara is caught in a trap and hurt. She is captured and put in prison. There is war and fighting. Flauvic is turned into a tree by magic.

Sexual Content: There are a few kisses between Meliara and Shevraeth.

Adult Themes: Magic and sorcery are a part of this book as well as war. Meliara is given a drink that unknowingly makes her drunk.

Synopsis

Meliara and her brother promise their father on his deathbed that they will defend their people against a greedy and evil King. Although her intentions are good, Meliara’s plans don’t always go according to her desires. Her people are ill-prepared for the battle which they undertake. Meliara finds herself caught, hurt and a prisoner to the King. Unexpected allies emerge and a battle is fought. In the fragile peace that comes next, Meliara finds herself in the royal palace where a very different sort of battle is taking place. She must learn a new way of fighting that involves more wit, words and secrets than she has ever known. Meliara decides she cannot trust anyone because friends and enemies look alike.

Meliara is the best sort of heroine. She is brave and strong, yet sometimes she bumbles things up, leading to some grand messes. Her character is believable, and I found myself really enjoying the tale that emerged in this book. I love the fierce loyalty that Meliara has for her people, her family and her land. She desires to honor the “covenant” made with the tree people. It took me a few chapters to really get into this book, but by chapter 8 I was hooked. I loved this book. I even forgot that I was supposed to be reviewing it and taking notes! I guess one of the best parts of this book for me was that I didn’t have to take many notes. It was a good, clean read. This book will make it on my favorites list, for sure. I would recommend 12 and up as a reading level for this book.

Language: 0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Tombs of Terror

Author: T. Lynn Adams

Ratings Explanation

Violence: A drunk man is murdered. 3 murders reported in the newspaper. All 3 had their throats slit. Severino points a gun at Jonathon. Terrorists kidnap Jonathon; they tie a bag over his head, hit him in the head and drag him away. Previous actions of the terrorists are related. They killed a man, a woman and her baby. They plan to torture and kill Jonathon. They shoot at Jonathon and Carlos as they make their escape. Jonathon is attacked in the hospital; he is poisoned and choked.

Although I wouldn’t call this violence, the creepy factor is high in Tombs of Terror. Jonathon falls into an ancient set of tunnels where hundreds of dead spiders fall on him. He also encounters mummies, skeletons, all kinds of icky bugs and booby traps meant to kill trespassers.

Adult Themes: Jonathon and his father have a rocky relationship. Peruvian terrorists kidnap Jonathon.

Synopsis

While accompanying his father on a research trip to Peru, Jonathon Bradford hears the fascinating story of the ancient Incas whose entire civilization vanished in one night to escape the invading Spaniards. Local legends abound concerning the accomplishment of their escape through a set of subterranean tunnels connecting many cities throughout modern-day Peru. But if these tunnels truly exist, wouldn’t someone have discovered them by now?

While descending a jungle trail from Machu Pichu, Jonathon discovers that the tunnels are all too real. In order to survive, he must learn to avoid the perils concealed in them, face the truth about himself and his father, and push his strength and determination to their limits.

I found the story of the Incas disappearance intriguing and enjoyed Jonathon’s transformation from boy to man. It made me want to do a little more research to find out what is really known about the tunnel system in Peru. I thought Adams did an excellent job of illustrating the differences between the predominantly privileged American way of life and the poor, difficult, yet proud life of many Peruvians. Tombs of Terror is creepy, but my 13-year old is lined up to read it next.

Language:  1

Violence:  2.5

Sexual Content:  1

Adult Themes:  2

 Title:  Peter and the Starcatchers

Author:  Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Ratings Explanation

Language:  A few instances of the word “damn”; typical derogatory pirate talk.

Violence:  A lot of talk of walking the planks, men being thrown overboard, and threats of slicing them up and feeding them to the sharks; the pirates smack each other around a lot.  Typical descriptions of pirate attacks on the open seas.  The natives on the Mollusk Island throw Peter and his friends into a pit to be eaten by a crocodile.  Mermaids viciously attack two seamen who, in turn, attempt to stab and kill the mermaids.  The boys beat up one of the seamen with coconuts.  Molly is held at knifepoint by a pirate.  Black Stache stabs a native in the chest and leaves him to die.  And quite a few other instances of pirates attempting to kill Peter, Molly, and other pirates.

Sexual Content:  Allusions to Mrs. Bumbrake, Molly’s governess, spending evenings in Slank’s cabin on board the ship.  Peter dreams he is kissing a mermaid and wakes to find it is true (she is actually breathing life into him); Peter sweetly thinks about kissing Molly and how “it doesn’t seem so bad”.  The pirates wantonly gaze at the sunbathing mermaids (who, being mermaids, are naturally topless but with very long hair discreetly covering certain areas.)

Adult Themes:  Mrs. Bumbrake (is she married?) getting cozy with Slank; an allusion to Peter being maltreated at a home for boys; common pirate behavior such as drinking rum into oblivion, ogling mermaids, stealing, plundering, pillaging, etc.  The sails on Black Stache’s pirate ship resemble an enormous brassiere.

Synopsis

In this clever ”prequel” to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, we learn all about what happened to Peter before we meet him on Wendy Darling’s bedroom windowsill.  The book begins with Peter, a 13 or 14-yr-old (even he’s not sure) and his fellow orphan mates being taken from St. Norbert’s Home for Wayward Boys in London and being placed aboard a ship, the Never Land, which unbeknownst to them will deliver them into servitude on a faraway island.  There he meets Molly Aster, an astute, pretty 14-yr-old girl who speaks with porpoises and confides in him about the contents of a mysterious trunk aboard the ship.  According to Molly, the trunk contains mystical, glowing ”starstuff”, star matter which falls from the sky and is quickly retrieved by a secret society called the Starcatchers whose job it is to keep the powerful stuff from falling into the wrong hands.  Starstuff gives anyone who touches it immediate joy, warmth, increased intelligence, and the ability to fly.  It can also transform fish into mermaids, but in the hands of the Others, its power can be used for evil.  Peter is instantly intrigued (and a little dazed by the lovely Molly) and vows to help her protect the starstuff from Black Stache, a notorious and greedy pirate whose ship is now in hot pursuit of the Never Land.  Inevitably, a storm shipwrecks everyone on a tropical island inhabited by savage natives and a monstrous crocodile.  Swashbuckling adventures ensue as Peter and Molly rush to find the trunk before the pirates do. 

As with all great children’s fantasy tales, this one indulges the adults, as well.  Its classic pirate dialogue (not too randy for the kids), clever storyline, and high-seas adventure will keep the pages of this novel turning.  The authors fill in many of the blanks from the original story (and the Disney cartoon) with delightful satisfaction.

Language: 1

Violence:3

Sexual Content: 2

Adult Themes: 2

Title:  Heir Apparent

Author: Vivian Vande Velde

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Three common swear words used.  Belittling of others because of their rank in society.  Sarcastic humor used for good and bad throughout the book.

Violence:  A group of activists, supposedly protecting children and families, storms an arcade gaming center, damaging equipment and placeing some of the gamers lives in danger.  In the game, the participant can virtually kill other characters as well as be killed which starts the game over.  There are many battles using weaponry from the middle ages (bow and arrows, daggers, swords, catapults, poisoning etc.) .  Many heads are cut off, throats are slit, and bodies stabbed.  A young boy is killed for poaching, a man’s head is crushed by a wagon wheel.

Sexual Content:  Mentions that sexual harassment is not allowed in the games.  A man sits so that he has a good view down the front of a woman’s dress.  One of the wizards, a female, uses her good looks and feminine charms to influence men around her.

Adult Themes:  Main character does not have a good relationship with her dad.  She is uncertain that dads in general are any good.  The story is based on total immersion gaming which requires the gamer to link their senses and memories to the gaming system.  A group of activists protest the gaming center saying its product is ruining children and families.  In the game, minors are allowed to ‘consume’ alcoholic beverages.

Synopsis

Giannine receives a gift certificate for her 14th birthday from her dad.  It is for a gaming center which offers Total Immersion Gaming, the latest fad in the gaming industry.  When she arrives at the arcade, she  encounters a group of protesting activists claiming to protect families and children from this new evil.   She decides to go in, despite the protests, and signs up to play Heir Apparent.  This game offers a medieval adventure where the gamer is chosen to be the late king’s heir and must gain the confidence of the characters in the kingdom in order to be to be crowned and win the game.  Shortly after Giannine is in immersion, the activist group breaks into the building and begins to destroy some of the equipment.  Because she has already been immersed, technicians cannot safely disconnect  Giannine out without risking damage to her brain.   In order to be released from the total immersion status, Giannine must win the game.   On her adventure, she meets a spiteful step family, odd wizards, a few untrustworthy advisers, rebelling barbarians and a giant dragon.  Giannine must learn how to win their favor and be crowned before time is up.  She is killed virtually in several attempts and must start the game over until she finally learns from her mistakes.  This is coupled with the pressure of getting through the game in a timely manner so that she can escape her total immersion before her real brain is destroyed.

This book is a unique mix of fantasy and future with a creative story line and characters.  I thought it was interesting to see the influence that each of Giannine’s  choices had as she returned to the beginning after being ‘killed’. Sarcastic humor was abundant throughout the book and was a little much for me personally.  Because of the violence, (even though it wasn’t ‘real’, ) I would recommend it for the older end of the grade 6-9 spectrum depending upon the sensitivity of your reader.

Language: 1

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 3

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Uglies

Author: Scott Westerfield

ALA Best Book for Young Adults, SLJ Best Book; Golden Duck Award, NY Public Library Best Books for the Teen Age

Ratings Explanation

Language:  The term, “suck” is used several times.  Shay and Tally refer to one another as “Fattie” and “Pignose”.

Violence:  The plastic surgery used to turn “Uglies” into “Pretties”, is described.  The people of  ”The Smoke” fight while they are taken hostage.  Tally finds Boss dead in the forest undergrowth.  ”David’s power jack thudded against the side of Dr. Cable’s head, and she slumped to the floor.”

Sexual Content:   Tally “startled a couple hidden among the trees (it was a pleasure garden, after all).”  They were a “tangle of perfect legs and arms”.  ”Uglies did kiss each other and a lot more.”  ”The big eyes and lips said: I’m young and vulnerable.  I can’t hurt you, and you want to protect me.  And the rest said: I’m healthy, I won’t make you sick.  And no matter how you felt about a pretty, there was a part of you that thought: If we had kids, they’d be healthy too.  I want this pretty person…”  Tally bathes in the wild.  She realizes that she has never been naked outside before.  Tally replies, ” Yeah, I know about the birds and the bees.”  Tally and David share a kiss.  Sexual innuendo as Tally and David ride a hover board together.  ”Riding double was something Tally had never done before, and she found herself glad she was with David and not just anyone.  She stood in front of him, bodies touching, her arms out, his hands around her waist.  They negotiated the turns without words, Tally shifting her weight gradually, waiting for David to follow her lead.  As they slowly got the hang of it, their bodies began to move together, threading the board down the familiar path as one.”

 Adult Themes:  Shay and Tally use morpho software to make their faces symmetrical and fit the “standard of beauty”.  Shay proclaims, “That’s not me.  It’s some committee’s idea of me.”   Tally and Shay peruse ancient magazines full of women “wearing formfitting underwear, like a lacy swimsuit…the woman looked like she was starving, her ribs thrusting out from her sides, her legs so thin that Tally wondered how they didn’t snap under her weight.  Her elbows and pelvic bones looked sharp as needles.  But there she was smiling and proudly baring her body, as if she’d just had the operation and didn’t realize they’d sucked out way too much fat.”  (Description of a model.)  Tally and Shay discover that a lot of people, “especially young girls, became so ashamed at being fat that they stopped eating….some even died.”  The girls fight over “David” in the “The Smoke”.  Pretties were “drinking and throwing their empty bottles to shatter.”  Tally pushes her way through drunken dancers.  Shay is drunk.

Summary

Tally is on the verge of reaching 16, the age at which an operation will turn her from an Ugly to a Pretty.  Tally ’s friend, Shay, runs away to the wilderness, “The Smoke”, to find others who want to stay their uniquely beautiful “ugly” selves.  When Shay runs away, Tally is threatened with a life of ugliness if she does not track Shay down and betray the “People of The Smoke”.   Tally is initially horrified by the primitive lifestyle in the wilderness; however, she enjoys the freedoms of the wild and her new found friend, David. Tally decides to remain an Ugly and attempts to destroy the tracker, which accidentally sets it off.  The Smoke is invaded and Tally barely escapes.  David’s father, Az, is killed. Tally and David release hostages and Tally confesses her part in the destruction of “The Smoke” to David and his mother.  David’s mother, Maddie, has created a cure for the Pretties, but she needs a willing participant to take the cure.  Tally realizes the only way to redeem herself is to surrender to the city and become a pretty.  She will then take the newly discovered antidote to see if it will work.

This book is emotionally charged.   “The Uglies” plays on the emotions surrounding adolescent development.  I do love the underlying messages regarding body image, self-worth, peer pressure, individuality and conformity.  Beauty should be found within and radiate throughout.  I think this is a great book for a junior high/high school reader.  I am disappointed by the unnecessary sexual references.   

©2010 The Literate Mother

 Language: 2

 Violence: 2

Sexual content: 1

 Adult Themes: 1

Title: The Thief (The Queen’s Thief, Book 1)

Author: Megan Whalen Turner

1997 Newbery Honor

Ratings Explanation

Language: “Damn” and “God’s Damn” are used many times throughout the book.

Violence: Gen is frequently mistreated and abused because he is a prisoner and beneath those he is traveling with.  He is slapped, kicked, hit, tied up and beaten with a riding crop.  The traveling group is attacked, there is fighting with swords and all attackers are killed.  Gen is injured when he tries to slow a group of soldiers by fighting them with a sword. Many people die in the attack.  Gen finds the bones of many dead people in the temple of the Gods.

Sexual Content: Gen is stripped down naked and washed.

Adult Themes: Gen is a thief and steals things.  The book is based on stories of Gods and Goddesses like the God of the Sky, Goddess of the Earth, the God of Thieves and so forth.

Synopsis The story of Gen begins in a prison where Gen is being held for stealing.  He is not just a thief, but a bragging thief.  Self proclaimed as the best thief, able to steal anything.  The king’s scholar, the magus, needs Gens help to steal a rumored and hidden treasure of the God’s from another land.  We follow their journey to the hidden temple of the Gods where Gens abilities are put to the test.  The magus has plans, but Gen is a trickster and has a plan of his own.

I did not really get into this book until Gen reaches the temple of the Gods and begins his adventure there.  I did love the ending of this book because it went someplace I wasn’t expecting.  It unfolded into another story.  Honestly, the repeated usage of “God’s damn” in the beginning of the book really distracted me from the story and the mean treatment of Gen was not my favorite.  The moment I really bonded with Gen was when he said this in response to Sophos’s question, “If you could be anywhere you wanted right now, where would it be?”  “In bed.  In a big bed, with a carved footboard, in a warm room with a lot of windows.  And sheets.  And a fireplace, and books.  Lots of books.”  That was the moment that I knew I could love Gen. 

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language: 3

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 2

Title: The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1)

Author: James Patterson

Ratings Explanation

 Language: Frequent and casual use of “God” as an exclamation. “Freaking” and common swearwords used a handful of times.

Violence: Erasers are part-human part-wolf and their purpose is to kill Max and her flock. The Erasers attack the flock several times in the book. In these fight scenes there is kicking, hitting, scratching, some shooting and a grenade or two.

Angel is kidnapped,  stuffed in a sack and zapped with an electric rod. Max takes on several teenage boys who are hassling a younger girl. She breaks noses, cracks ribs, and hits one in the head with a shotgun. They give chase, shooting at her, and one of the bullets finds its mark. Gazzy and Iggy drop a homemade bomb on a cabin. It blows up and two Erasers are killed. The scientists who are holding Angel hostage, torture, study and test her like an animal. Nudge and Fang fight Erasers and Fang is beaten up badly. Ari, an Eraser who is only 7-years old, shoots at Max and the others. Max bites Ari’s finger so hard it bleeds and she won’t let go. They fight the scientists who are holding them prisoner. Hawks tear into the flesh of the scientists. Max is caught by an Eraser, but he suddenly dies. Ari smashes Fang’s head into a rock, Fang kicks him in the chest and Ari elbows Fang in the mouth. Ari and Max fight. He hits her and she kicks him in the throat and chest. She has a hold of his head and when they fall down, his neck snaps and he dies. An Eraser explodes when he steps on the electric rail of a train track.

Sexual Content: Max kisses Fang

Adult Themes:  Gazzy, who is only 8, feels guilty for killing the two Erasers. The kids steal a car and money from an ATM.  There are many strange mutant experiments. Iggy gets his ear pierced. Max feels guilty and sad for killing Ari. All of the flock are searching for their birth parents. They all want to belong to a real family. They discover that Gazzy and Angel’s parents sold them to the scientists for experiments.

Synopsis

The Maximum Ride series is James Patterson’s first entry into Young Adult fiction.

Maximum Ride and her five friends have 98% human DNA and 2% bird DNA. They are engineered to fly. Having lived most of their lives in a science lab called The School, where they were constantly tested and studied, a scientist named Jeb finally rescues them from The School and takes them to live in a cabin in the wilderness. Jeb acts as the father figure for this makeshift family, but after he disappears, Max and the flock are completely on their own.  Erasers, who are half-human and half-wolf, kidnap 6-year old Angel. This spurs Max, Fang and Iggy all 14, along with Nudge 11 and Gazzy 8, to embark on a rescue mission to save their little sister.

While searching for Angel they attempt to learn more about their history. Why were they created? Where are their parents? Why do they continue to discover powers they never knew they possessed? Why is Max hearing a voice in her head? And is the voice for them or against them?

The story of The Angel Experiment is compelling and I finished in only a couple of days. But although it kept me turning the pages, I was uncomfortable with all of the violence the children participated in. Should a 7-year old know what it feels like to be responsible for killing someone? This is not the focus of the book, and the kids are in “kill or be killed” situations, but still it might be disturbing for more sensitive readers.

I do like the character Max . She is strong and smart and tough, but she is also the mother figure to all of the kids in the flock. She is genuinely concerned for their safety and happiness. Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal both recommend this book for ages 12 and up. I think that’s a bit young for the content.

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 2

Adult Themes: 2

Title: The Giver

Author: Lois Lowry

1994 Newbery Medal Winner

Ratings Explanation

Violence: A “discipline wand” is used to reprimand the young and the old. The Giver transfers painful memories to Jonas including killing an elephant, breaking a leg, hunger and warfare. Jonas’s father “releases” a newborn by administering a lethal injection into it’s forehead.

Sexual Content: Jonas and Fiona go to the House of the Old to bathe them. That night Jonas dreams he wants his friend Fiona to take off her clothes and get in a tub so he can bathe her.  The strongest emotion of the dream is the wanting that he feels all through his body. Once these “stirrings” begin in an adolescent, they must take a pill every day to stop the stirrings. Jonas describes the stirrings as pleasurable and he wants to feel them again. Later he stops taking the pills and has “pleasurable dreams.”

Adult Themes: Each person is assigned a job in the community. Lilly expresses a desire to be a birth mother and her mother responds sharply, “There is little honor in that Assignment.” Birth mothers enjoy three years of pampering while they bear three children, but then spend the rest of their adult lives as laborers. When Jonas learns what “release” in the community actually means, he is angry at his father for “releasing” newborns. When Rosemary applies for release she asks to give herself the injection. Gabriel, a baby who comes to live with Jonas’s family for a time, is scheduled for release. Jonas must run away with him in order to save Gabriel’s life. They are completely alone and suffer hunger and fatigue.

Synopsis

Jonas is an Eleven in his community and is anxiously awaiting the ceremony where he will become a Twelve and receive his Assignment. Some Twelves will become caregivers for the old, some will become doctors and others will be laborers, but when Jonas is given the Assignment of Receiver of Memories, he is filled with both pride and fear.

As Jonas begins his training as Receiver, he learns that the world has not always been as it is now. Jonas has never experienced real pain, sadness or hunger, nor has he experienced snow, a rainbow, or love. As he begins to understand what a tremendous responsibility it is to carry the memories for the Community, he begins to see the hypocrisy of his society and bravely refuses to contribute to it.

The Giver is a compelling story told with eerie undertones. Their world, which is devoid of real feelings and sensations, is completely orderly and controlled. Definitely a worthwhile read and ripe with discussion topics. Read this one along with your child and have a book club discussion over ice cream.

While this book is recommended for anywhere between 4th and 8th grade, I would stick with the upper end of that spectrum.

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 2

Adult Themes: 2

Title:  The Book of the Maidservant

Author:  Rebecca Barnhouse

Ratings Explanation:

Language: One mild swear word.  The use of ‘damn’ and ‘hell’ in a religious sense.  Talking down to servants.  Belittling language used towards servants.

 Violence:  Johanna and company are threatened by mercenaries until they give them money.  Johanna’s mistress has a knife held to her throat.  Johanna is repeatedly hit by a large man for not doing her work to his expectations.  Johanna is attacked with a knife and forced upstairs by the man.  Another friend comes to defend her and is also threatened with a knife.  Johanna uses her dagger in self defense on a mercenary who is chasing her.  A young student slips on a rock while crossing a river and is seriously wounded.

 Sexual Content:  Mention of out-of -wedlock intimacy.  Allusions to sexual harassment towards servants.  Johanna’s mistress has a reputation of having several children by different fathers.  Johanna is forced upstairs by a pilgrim.  She is saved by a friend. A young married pilgrim traveling with her old husband flirts with a young student accompanying them. 

 Adult Themes:  Johanna’s mother dies in childbirth along with the baby.  Her older sister marries and Johanna is forced to become a maidservant  to a ‘holy woman’.  The servants are treated as less than people. 

 Synopsis

 Johanna is a maidservant of the well known holy woman Dame Margery Kempe.  Dame Margery hears the Lord speak to her daily and feels the pain and suffering of the Virgin Mary for her son.   Her gift, however, does not help her notice the pain and suffering of those around her.   When Dame Margery decides to go on a religious pilgrimage, she brings young Johanna with her to cook, wash, mend and care for the group of pilgrims she will travel with.  The journey brings many hardships, most of which arise from  the arguments between Madame Margery and her fellow travelers concerning her incessant preaching.  Relationships become so embittered that Dame Margery turns her back on the group and abandons them all, including Johanna.  The young maidservant is left on her own to find her way through foreign countries without any money, food or protection.  Johanna learns much from her adventures and in the end finds strength in herself and from the love of others.

  This book was inspired by the 15th century auto-biography of the real Margery Kempe.  These were hard times for women, especially the young and the poor.  An eye opening look for young readers at life in early England.

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language:  2

Violence:  1

Sexual Content:  1

Adult Themes:  1

Title:  The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Author:  Jacqueline Kelly

2010 Newbery Honor Award

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Profanity in many of Grandfather’s exuberant exclamations; Viola, the cook, tends to use “Jesus” and “Lord a’mighty” as exclamations.  A handful of “damns” and “hells” sprinkled here and there.

Violence:  Grandfather tells Callie about the horrors he witnessed during the Civil War:  amputations, mutilations, death, disease, burning bodies.

Sexual Content:  Calpurnia tells her best friend Lula what is expected of wives when they marry (“lots of kissing”); Callie learns how plants reproduce; some light discussion on the mating rituals of farm animals and other species in the wild.

Adult Themes:  Callie’s mother drinks Lydia Pinkham’s “tonic water” (which isn’t water) when stressed.  Grandfather smokes cigars and imbibes on occasion.  He makes several attempts to produce liquor from pecans in his laboratory and gives Callie a taste, which results in her fitful coughing and belching.

Synopsis 

It is 1899 in Fentress, Texas, and young Calpurnia Virginia Tate (known as “Callie Vee”), the only daughter of seven children in an uppercrust family, is soon to turn twelve.  There are certain expectations of a girl in this era, none of which Callie is living up to.  She is less than praiseworthy at knitting, sewing, cooking, or “deportment” (i.e.: posture and propriety).  What she cherishes is spending time with her Grandfather, inaugural member of the National Geographic Society, out in his shed or in his library studying and classifying plants and insects and learning about evolution (gasp!).  She is fascinated by science but realizes that because of societal constraints, she will probably never be able to realize her dream of becoming a scientist.  Callie’s mother is overly concerned with her only daughter’s preoccupation with Darwin and Dickens, but when she attempts to steer her toward more ladylike pursuits by giving her the book The Science of Housewifery for a Christmas present (a humorous and poignant moment in the story), Callie feels her ”life sentence [has] been delivered.”  Despite these impediments, Callie is a determined and charming heroine who knows her heart and ambitions.  The conversations she has and discovery she makes with her grandfather (a new plant species) are the highlights of the book.  When a new invention, the telephone, comes to tiny Fentress and the entire town turns up to watch its installation, Grandfather says to her, “Do you realize what this means, Calpurnia?  The old century is dying, even as we watch.  Remember this day.”  The book ends with the new century dawning, and the reader is left to wonder if Grandfather’s words will ring true not just for the passage of time, but for the future of our young lady scientist and her traditional expectations, as well.

A wonderful novel.  I relished watching the relationship between inquisitive little Callie and her grandfather blossom as she learned by his side about the world around her.  Lines like “I’d never fainted in my life, but I thought it sounded like an interesting experience,” and “It was too bad, but sometimes a little knowledge could ruin your whole day, or at least take off some of the shine” (upon seeing through a microscope all the miniscule creatures that inhabit her favorite swimming hole) made this book truly enjoyable and real.  Details that make the turn-of-the-century come alive are Callie’s first taste of Coca-Cola at the county fair and Grandfather’s infatuation with a new-fangled invention, the automobile.  A book you will recommend to your friends. 

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 1

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Remembering Isaac – The Joyful Potter of Neiderbipp

Author: Ben Behunin

Ratings Explanation

 Violence:  Mary, Emily, and Marge witness the near killing of a chicken in what Farmer Hill called ‘the pecking order’, saying there was little he could do to save the poor bird. “He told us that if he stepped in now, it would only be a matter of time before another bird began to get picked on and that it would be better just to let nature take its course.”  The chicken’s pecking order is no different than the girl’s social circle.

Sexual Content: Jake and Amy share a kiss.

Adult Themes: Pregnancy Loss.

Summary

Jake purchases a post-college graduation airline ticket to Greece and eagerly awaits his upcoming adventure.  A ceramics professor suggests he apply for an unusual position,  a town potter.  Neiderbipp’s town potter, Isaac, has died.  Jake takes the bus to rural Pennsylvania to weigh his options before his departure for Greece.  He arrives in Neiderbipp and finds a somewhat quirky, yet charming town settled by German immigrants in the early 1700’s.  A town that looks as if it has been transplanted from Germany to Pennsylvania.  Jake is intrigued and accepts a trial position as the town potter for the summer, delaying his trip to Greece for a few months.

Jake cleans out the potter’s studio/shop and discovers an array of mugs hanging from the rafters with varying levels of dust.  As the summer passes, Isaac’s friends stop by to clean their mug, make a pot of peppermint tea, and share their “Isaac Experiences” with Jake.   Jake realizes that Isaac was much more than the town potter as he pieces together Isaac’s life story.  Jake also discovers the “wisdom of a humble craftsman”.

This book simply makes me want to be a better person.  I loved it!  I look forward to reading the sequel.

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title: The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #4)

Author: Rick Riordan

Ratings Explanation

Language: “Thanks the gods” used as an exclamation.

Violence: Empousi, monsters that are half vampire, exist to feed on the blood of young men. Percy slashes through one with his sword and she explodes. Another weird, disturbing monster, who is half woman and half dragon, attacks Tyson with poison swords. Percy battles a monster with 3 chests. He shoots an arrow through all three hearts, killing him. Monsters throw hot lava on Percy and his skin starts to burn. King Minos is completely bound with string and dies. A centaur is stabbed in the chest with a javelin. Percy is put in an arena to fight for the entertainment of monsters. He kills one monster and then fights another half-blood boy. He has the boy at sword point, but lets him go. He then fights another monster, killing him. Kronos’s army launches a full scale attack on Camp Half-Blood; there is a lot of fighting and many monsters die. A few campers are also killed in the battle.

Sexual Content: Annabeth is the the daughter of Athena and a mortal man. Athena was born out of Zeus’s head; born literally from thoughts. As Annabeth explains to Percy, “I was a brain child. Literally. Children of Athena are sprung from the divine thoughts of our mother and the mortal ingenuity of our father.” That’s as far as the explanation goes. Annabeth kisses Percy.

Adult Themes: Nico, son of Hades, summons the dead. His dead sister appears to him.  He also summons an army from the underworld to combat the monsters attacking Camp Half-Blood.

 Synopsis

This 4th book in the series starts with Percy scoping out another new school at orientation. He is attacked immediately by two monsters masquerading as cheerleaders, but with the help of his new mortal friend, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who can see through the Mist, Percy escapes unscathed to Camp Half-Blood.

When the camp discovers that Luke is leading Kronos’s army there by way of Daedalus’s legendary labyrinth, Annabeth is called on a quest. She is to find Daedalus’s workshop, enlist his help and stop the progress of the advancing army. The quest team, consisting of Annabeth, Percy, Grover and Tyson, must first learn how to navigate the constantly changing labyrinth. Enlisting help in some unusual places, they find Daedalus, but it is too late; Luke’s army beat them to the workshop by an hour. Now the race is on to see who will reach camp first. Will Annabeth and Percy arrive in time to sound the alarm and help defend Camp Half-Blood? Or will Luke and his army destroy the camp as they have promised?

This has been my favorite book yet in the series. Percy is a flawed hero, bumbling things up regularly, but he is always loyal; he never wavers in his allegiance to what he sees as the right cause. He is unfailingly true to his friends, and never blood thirsty or vengeful. 

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language:  1

Violence:  2

Sexual Content:  0

Adults Themes:  1

Title:  The Graveyard Book

Author:  Neil Gaiman 

2009 Newbery Medal Winner

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Use of the word “hell” to describe the underworld.

Violence:  The family of the main character (Bod) is murdered in their sleep at home.  Bod is hunted throughout the book by the evil character Jack.  Bod is kidnapped by ghouls and taken to their underworld.  Descriptions of their ghoulish activites and appetites (eating creatures and crunching bones).  Some of the ghouls are killed.  Bod meets a witch girl living in the graveyard who was drowned and burned.  Bod is locked in a storage closet by a pawn shop owner.  Bod forces himself into the dreams of the school bully to scare him.  The police pick him up and hit his guardian Silas with their car.  Jack returns and tries to kill Bod with a knife; he holds Bod’s friend Scarlett at knifepoint; Jack is killed by the Sleer, a creepy, snake-like creature.

Adult Themes:  Bod’s family is murdered when he is just a baby.  He must deal with growing up in the surreal world of the graveyard.  He is persistently hunted throughout the book by either the man Jack, the ghouls, or bullies at the neighborhood school.  The deaths of some of the graveyard ghosts are described (again, not in vivid detail).  Jack suffers a violent death in the end which Bod orchestrates.

Synopsis

Nobody Owens (“Bod” for short) is just a toddler when he is adopted by the ghost couple Mr. and Mrs. Owens, graveyard residents, after his family has just been murdered.  The entire graveyard of spirits help raise the boy, many of whom are reluctant to allow a living boy in their realm until they realize they may be his only hope for survival.  Bod is given the “Freedom of the Graveyard”, which enables him to see all the ghosts and to replicate some of their talents, such as “fading”(disappearing).  He is not allowed to leave the graveyard.  Another resident, Silas, a man who is neither dead nor alive, agrees to be his guardian and teach him skills he will need to survive one day in the real world.  As Bod grows, he becomes curious about why his family was killed.  He knows that one day the man Jack will come back after him.  Bod meets interesting characters who live in the graveyard, such as Liza Hempstock, a witch girl who was drowned and burned at the stake, and Caius Pompeius, the oldest resident who was buried in Roman times.  Bod’s only contacts are with the dead; he has no living children as friends until he meets Scarlett, a little girl who sometimes plays in the graveyard.  When she moves away, he is left with only his ghost friends again.

One day three ghouls arrive and promise Bod a better life, and he unwittingly travels with them to their underworld.  He then realizes he’s been kidnapped.  Miss Lupescu, a friend of Silas’s, enters the underworld as a werewolf and rescues Bod.  As Bod grows, so does his restlessness, and when Scarlett returns he agrees to leave the graveyard with her to solve his family’s murder mystery.  Unknowingly, the two of them are being helped by the kindly ”Jay” Frost, who is really the man Jack in disguise.  Mr. Frost tells Bod he can help him and they return to the home where Bod’s family was killed, now being rented by Mr. Frost.  He takes Bod upstairs and pulls out a knife.  Bod escapes and he and Scarlett go back to the graveyard to an underground crypt where the “Sleer” lives, a hideous snake-like creature with three heads that guards a treasure.  Jack follows them, is tempted by the treasure and is killed by the Sleer.  Silas erases Scarlett’s memory, she leaves, and Bod is left alone again.  As he grows older, he finds his ability to fade and see the ghosts weakening.  Silas tells him it is finally time for him to leave the graveyard and join the living, and Bod leaves, determined to see the world.

The murder of Bod’s family in the beginning of the book, though not explicit in detail, sets the overall tone for the book.  It is a somber yet fascinating story of a boy being raised by ghosts; there are no overtly disturbing images of death or violence.  But some children may be too sensitive for this book–I could see my youngest having nightmares of being kidnapped by ghouls–while others may enjoy the ghosts and other-worldly characters.  The graveyard characters are loving and gentle, not creepy.  You find yourself growing very fond of the mysterious Silas and rooting for Bod to survive and thrive. 

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 0

 Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title: The Thief Lord 

Author: Cornelia Funke

Ratings Explanation

Sexual Content:  Hornet falsely claims she is being molested/kidnapped by Detective Victor Getz, as he is following the orphans through the city.

Adult Themes:  Prosper and Bo are orphaned.  Their cruel Aunt Esther does not want Prosper at all.  She only wishes to adopt Bo, since he is a darling little boy.  The orphans would rather live in an abandoned movie theater than live at The Sister’s of Mercy Orphanage.

Synopsis

The Thief Lord is a story of two brothers, Prosper and Bo.  Prosper is twelve and Bo is five years old.  After the death of their mother, they run away from their cruel Aunt Esther.  Esther wants to adopt a perfect little boy, she wants Bo, and only Bo.  She wants to send Prosper to boarding school.  The boys flee to Venice, the magical city their mother told them about.  While orphans in Venice, they are befriended by a pack of orphans and their leader, Scipio a.k.a. “The Thief Lord”.  The Thief Lord provides them with shelter in an abandoned movie theater, The Stella.  They survive by selling possessions Scipio steals from the wealthy to a quirky and greedy shopkeeper, Ernesto Barbarossa.   The boy’s happiness is fleeting.  Aunt Esther hires a detective, Victor Getz to bring Bo back to her. Victor Getz finds Bo and Bo tells him where he lives.  Victor meets the owner of The Stella, Dottorre Massimo, and finds The Thief Lord is Scipio Massimo, Dottorre’s son.  Victor raids The Stella and is held hostage by the orphans.  They ultimately befriend Victor and he realizes that his heart has softened towards the orphans and he dupes Aunt Esther.

The Thief Lord’s services are in demand.  He accepts the job and enlists the orphans to help him steal a wooden wing from Ida Spavento, a famous photographer.  The orphans are caught by Ida Spavento as they try to steal the wooden wing.  Ida reveals the story of the wooden wing. The wing belongs on a magical merry-go-round that can make a child an adult and an adult a child.  They follow the buyer of the wooden wing, the Conte, to the island, where the merry-go-round is kept.  The Conte and Countessa ride and become younger versions of themselves. Scipio rides and becomes and adult.  Barbarossa crashes the party and rides, turning into a child, and breaks the merry-go-round.  Scipio cannot go home to his father as a grown man so he becomes Victor’s apprentice detective.  The orphans grapple with a horrid child Barbarossa. They don’t know how to rid themselves of him.  They help Barbarossa trick Aunt Esther into adopting him.  Barbarossa begins to steal from Aunt Esther and she sends him away to boarding school where he successfully bullies all the other children and forces them to call him, “The Thief Lord”.

We read this book aloud.  I really enjoyed reading this tale set in Venice.  Funke is a fabulous writer!  I could smell the sea air coming off the lagoon as we traveled through the canals of Venice with Scipio and Prosper. 

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language:2

Violence:3

Sexual Content:1

Adult Themes:3

Title: Red Scarf Girl

Author: Ji-Li Jiang

Ratings Explanation

Language: A few common swear words.  Taunting and degrading talk towards those who were accused of being non-revolutionists (teachers, parents, wealthy, elderly etc).  Signs were hung around the city claiming unlawful actions and wrong doing on the part of many innocent people.

Violence:  The Revolution caused many to look down on the wealthy regardless of age or health.  Many teachers, parents and elderly were pushed around and beaten to get a confession of wrong doings.  Those who were suspected of having different political views and opinions were tortured and beaten until they confessed, whether they were guilty or not. Some committed suicide rather than face a life of disgrace.

Sexual Content:  Teacher accused of having relations with a student.  Mention of a women who had several sexual relations outside of marriage.  Ji-Li has an admirer but wants nothing to do with him.  When Ji-Li’s home is searched they find her sanitary belt.  She is humiliated that nothing is kept private.

Adult Themes:  The Revolutionaries taught that political status comes before family.  Many young people were caught up in the allure of their Revolutionary leaders and disowned their families.  The Revolution was meant to bring new ideas and change to improve China.  All old traditions and anything alluding to them were to be destroyed.  The homes of many families were searched for photos, books, clothing, antiques etc. that reflected old China.  These things were confiscated and destroyed leaving many families in poverty.  Teachers were looked down on as corrupting the minds of the youth with old ways.  They were publicly disgraced and replaced with new Revolutionary-minded teachers.  Reverse discrimination from the poor to the wealthy was common.  The wealthy were publicly humiliated and made to work regardless of age or health to help them repent of their years of wrong doing.  Those who were suspected of different political views were subjected to verbal torture from family members and physical punishment from captors.

Synopsis:  When Mao Zedong launches China’s  Cultural Revolution, young Ji-Li’s world turns upside down.  She was top of her school class and highly recognized for her hard scholastic work.  Ji-Li comes from a well-to-do Chinese family with a history of wealthy landlord ancestors. The Revolution taught that all old culture must be abandoned and the wealthy blamed for China’s suffering.  Ji-Li’s father, the son of a wealthy landlord, is detained leaving the rest of her family living in constant fear.  Over the next few years, Ji-Li must decide whether to disown her ‘black’ family and join the Revolution or give up all she has worked so hard for to help her family.

I was deeply touched by Ji-Li’s story.  I have a better understanding of how an entire nation can be swallowed up in an idea that leads to their destruction.  The Revolution through a child’s viewpoint was powerful and eye opening.  I closed the book with an appreciation for our incredible freedom and an admiration for all of the heroes around the world that choose to follow their heart.  The author, Ji-Li, currently oversees projects that promote eastern and western relations.  She also shares her story in person with many students around the nation.  

©2010 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 0

 Adult Themes: 2

Title: Invasion: The Story of D-Day

Author: Bruce Bliven

Ratings Explanation

Violence: Stories where soldiers are wounded and killed are mentioned often as factual consequence to war, not in gory detail.  Instances of field mines, sniper fire, drownings and other related causes  of death are mentioned.  Among the stronger stories are when a leader is shot through the cheek while giving his troops a motivational speech.  He continues his speech spraying blood as he speaks.  Many soldiers are overcome with fear and drown in the ocean or lay out in the open where sniper fire seriously wounds or kills them.  One leader is shot in the stomach while attempting to direct a tank into  position.

Adult Themes:   Many instances are related where fear overtakes young soldiers leaving them mentally and emotionally paralyzed and vulnerable to enemy fire.   These weak moments allowed opportunities for heroes to rise and take the spotlight as they lead their comrades on to battle.  Several instances where leaders had to make difficult decisions that could put several soldiers lives at risk.

 Synopsis

This book takes a look at one of the greatest invasions in our country’s history, D-day. The author includes insight into the risky plans of the allied forces and takes a look at some of the different missions carried out by thousands of courageous soldiers. The author also discusses some of the successes and setbacks the troops experienced along with stories of individual heroes that helped to turn the war around.

 Author Bruce Bliven did a fantastic job in describing one of our country’s important, historical moments.  His writing was very reader friendly even for the ‘non-war buff’ like myself.  I enjoyed his simple style.  It helped me to understand the bigger picture behind the D-day Invasion.  Also included are pictures of soldiers in action, as well as a translated letter from a German soldier describing his point of view of one of the paratrooper invasions.  There are other books in this Sterling Point Book series that take a look at other historical events in our nation’s history.

Language: 2

Violence: 1

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes:0

Title: When You Reach Me

Author: Rebecca Stead

2010 Newbery Medal Winner

Ratings Explanation

Language: Around 10 instances of profanity. “Hell” used a hand full of times.

Violence: Sal is punched in the stomach and nose. A man is hit and killed by a truck.

Sexual Content: An innocent kiss.

Synopsis

Sal and Miranda, Miranda and Sal. That’s how it always was, until one day it wasn’t anymore. Best friends since early childhood, Sal and Miranda are inseparable, but one day Sal gets punched by another boy on the way home from school and walks out of Miranda’s life with no explanation. Then she starts receiving mysterious notes that seem to predict the future. The first note tells her that someone is coming to save her friend’s life,  but which one of her friends is in danger? How do all of the dots connect? Filled with emotion, this realistic representation of a 6th grader’s life in 1979 New York City will touch the heart of all kinds of readers.

I heard Nancy Pearl review this book on NPR one morning, voicing her opinion that it should win the Newbery Medal. With such an enthusiastic endorsement, I checked it out from the library and my 12-year-old promptly commandeered it, reading it in a few hours. It took me longer, of course, as I have much less discretionary reading time than she, but it was worth every minute. I thoroughly enjoyed this exceptional book.

Language: 1

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Cryptid Hunters

Author: Roland Smith

Ratings Explanation

Language: A handful of profanities

Violence: Grace is kidnapped, tied up and help prisoner. Marty hits Butch in the head with a stick. Bertha ties up Butch. A dinosaur kills a person. Characters in peril.

Adult Themes: Grace and Marty’s parents are missing after their helicopter crashes in the Amazon. They go to live with their uncle.

Synopsis

The O’Hara twins, Grace and Marty, are attending boarding school in Switzerland when they learn that their parents have disappeared in the Amazon jungle. Whisked away to live with a mysterious uncle they never knew they had, they arrive on Uncle Travis’s private island in Washington state. Travis Wolfe is a cryptozoologist. He studies cryptids, mythical creatures, like the Sasquatch and the Lock Ness Monster, whose existence has not yet been scientifically proven. Uncle Travis has an excursion to the Congo planned, which does not include the twins, but the twins have plans of their own.

Literally falling into the Congolese jungle, Grace and Marty learn to navigate the dangers of the jungle while trying to find a dinosaur that may not be extinct. If that isn’t enough for the 13-year-olds to worry about, they also have to outsmart Travis’s enemy and cryptid hunter, Noah Blackwood and his henchmen, who are also looking for the dinosaur. Grace and Marty find out what they are truly made of in the jungle, they also find out who they truly are.

This was a fun read-aloud for our family. It is exciting and kept everyone engaged, and it has some interesting relationships as well. 

Language: 1

 Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title: Half Broke Horses – A True Life Novel

Author: Jeannette Walls

Ratings Explanation

Language: A smattering of damn and hell throughout.

Violence:  Lily is thrown many times while breaking horses.  She is also hit by a car while crossing the street in Chicago.  Minnie, a roommate, is killed while on the job at the bottling plant when her long tresses are caught in the massive grinding gears.  Her body is severely mangled.  Lily pistol whips Ted Conover and breaks a glass door upon exiting his office.  Sexual Content:  There is an allusion to Lily’s wedding night with Ted Conover.  Rosemary swims in her underwear with Fidel Hana and a group of Indian boys at Havasupai Falls.  Rex pats Rosemary on the rump, like he owns her.

Adult Themes:  Helena commits suicide by hanging herself from the rafters in the one room school house. Lily sells bootleg booze to make ends meet. 

Summary

This is the story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeanette Wall’s grandmother.  Jeanette’s mother, Rosemary, often told Jeanette she was just like her grandmother.  Lily’s story is written in an authentic first-person voice.

Lily Casey Smith is a strong, resourceful, and bright young woman who grew up breaking horses in New Mexico.  Lily has the opportunity to attend boarding school.  She finds attaining an education is much easier and more rewarding than life on the ranch.  Unfortunately, Lily’s father gambles her tuition money away, and she is forced to return home to help run the ranch.  Lily ascertains that she has few career choices as a female in the 1940’s.  She chooses to be a teacher, and must earn her education.  Lily has the opportunity to substitute teach, without a teaching certificate.  She is thrilled; at age fifteen years old, she rides her horse five hundred miles, alone, to Northern Arizona to teach in a one room school house.  She is ultimately fired at the end of World War II, because she lacks her teaching certificate and qualified teachers are returning home from the war seeking positions.  Lily then seeks adventure in the big city of Chicago.  Her dear friend and roommate is killed.  Lily marries a smooth talking, traveling salesman, only to find that he already has a wife and family.  She is hit by a car.  Lily heads back to Arizona to teach and races horses on the weekends to earn extra money. Lily learns to drive a car and fly a plane.  Her younger sister, Helen, finds herself in a precarious position as a pregnant young woman in Hollywood.  She travels to Lily’s one room school house to avoid the shame of traveling home to her parents in New Mexico.  Overwhelmed with her predicament, she commits suicide.  Lily grapples with her sister’s death.  She marries Jim Smith, a descendant of Mormon Polygamists.  Lily and Jim raise two children and Lily earns her degree.  Lily and Jim run a vast ranch in Arizona.  Lily survives many challenges throughout her life and masters the art of grace.  She witnesses her daughter’s poor decision to marry a volatile man.  She inevitably experiences the pain and consequences associated with parenting.

 I loved this book!  I adore strong heroines who confront challenges.  Lily doesn’t make any excuses, she continues to progress in spite of serious set backs.  This book is a must read!

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

 Violence: 3

 Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 3

Title:  Bud, Not Buddy

Author:  Christopher Paul Curtis

2000 Newbery Medal Winner

Ratings Explanation

Violence: Bud is beaten by his foster brother, Todd Amos.  He is threatened with a beating by razor strap from his foster mother, Mrs. Amos.  He is forced to apologize for antagonizing Todd Amos.  He is emotionally abused with threats of beatings.  Mr. Amos locks Bud in a shed for the night where there is a stain on the ground from the last foster child.  Bud alludes to previous beatings from his foster families.  He fantasizes about retaliation towards the Amos family with a shotgun he saw near the stove on his way outside.  

Sexual Content: Deza Malone holds Bud’s hand and kisses him. 

Adult Content:  Bud is subjected to physical and emotional abuse while spending time in foster homes and the orphanage.  Bud is picked up at 2:30 a.m.  by a stranger, Lefty Lewis.  Lefty gives Bud a ride to Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Lefty lets Bud know that he ought not be a young brown-skinned boy in Owosso.  A sign outside Owosso reads, “To Our Negro Friends Who are Passing Through, Kindly Don’t Let the Sun Set on Your Rear End in Owosso!”

Summary

Bud Caldwell is ten years old.  His mother dies when he is six years old and his life is forever changed.  Bud misses his mother and he has never met his father.  He leads the life of an orphaned boy in the 1930’s in Flint, Michigan. He encounters cruel foster families and has an extremely cruel foster brother, Todd Amos.  He beats Bud.  Todd blames the encounter on Bud, and claims self- defense.  Bud, while still bloody, is then forced to apologize to the Amos Family.  Mr. Amos locks Bud in the shed for the night.  Bud escapes after he is stung repeatedly by wasps.  Bud imagines taking a double barreled shotgun to the Amos Family.  He retrieves his suitcase and begins his journey to find his father.  He has a few “Herman Calloway” band flyers and a few rocks his mother gave him.  He carries these prized possessions everywhere.  He believes Herman Calloway to be his father.

Bud and his friend, Bugs, spend the night in a “Hooverville” near the railroad tracks and try to ride the rails out of Flint.  Bugs successfully leaps on the train, leaving Bud behind.  Bud decides to walk to Grand Rapids, Michigan to find his father.  A man, Lefty Lewis offers him a ride.  Bud takes the ride and is delivered to the front door of Herman Calloway’s pub.  Bud announces that he is Herman’s son.  Bud’s announcement is met with laughter.  Herman is an old man.  The band takes a liking to Bud and they allow him to stay and work for them.

Bud is actually Herman’s grandson.  Bud’s mother ran away from home as a teenager.  Bud is reunited with his grandfather and family.  Bud finds his way out of a dismal existence into a warm, loving environment.

 I enjoyed reading Bud’s story.  The passages detailing the abuse Bud endured were jarring.  Ultimately, this is a beautiful story of courage and redemption from a ten year old protagonist.  I highly recommend this book.

 ©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 2

Title: Someone Named Eva

Author: Joan M. Wolf

Ratings Explanation

Violence: A Nazi teacher slaps a student, pulls down another student’s underwear and skirt and slaps her bear skin with a ruler.  The same teacher beats an old woman repeatedly with a billy club. A girl is beaten with a belt. Two young girls hit, kick and scratch each other.

Adult Themes: Boys and girls in the same room must completely undress for an exam. Children are torn from their mothers and taken away. Nazi propaganda and brainwashing. War.

Synopsis

In the Spring of 1942, Milada and her family lead a happy life in Lidice, a small town in Czechoslovakia. Because of food rations during the war, getting enough sugar for a birthday cake takes a little cooperation between neighbors, but other than that, life is good. One terrible night Nazi soldiers come and take her father and older brother away, then Milada, her mother, grandmother and younger sister are taken to a school with all of the other women and children of Lidice. Milada undergoes an exam in which her captors measure her nose, match her hair color to blonde hair samples and examine her blue eyes.  When the Nazis tear her from her family, Milada holds onto her grandmother’s parting words, “Remember who you are, Milada. Remember where you are from. Always.”

This is a truly moving story based on actual facts about the town of Lidice and its inhabitants. It is terrible to read about what we humans are capable of doing to each other, but I hope that as children read books like this that they will become more grateful and compassionate people. 

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title: Climbing the Stairs

Author: Padma Venkatraman

 Ratings Explanation

Language: “Son of a prostitute” used as a curse. Vidya’s father is referred to as an “idiot” once he is injured. The story takes place during WWII and the Japanese are referred to as “Japs.” India and her resources “raped” by British. “Slut” used in reference to Vidya.

Violence: British policemen attack Indian protesters. A woman is hit repeatedly with a stick and her sari is torn off, exposing her breasts. Vidya’s father picks up the injured woman to protect her and he is then beaten. His injuries result in severe brain damage. Vidya’s teacher canes her hand for lying. 

Sexual Content: Women are banished to an outhouse during their period. The extended family lives together with the women sleeping on the bottom floor and the men sleeping upstairs. The married couples take turns spending nights in the “couples room.” A “sweaty night meeting” referred to in the couples room. When Vidya’s cousin gets married, “consumating the marriage” is mentioned.

Adult Themes: The caste system in WWII India. Servants of lower castes are not allowed in the kitchen or dining room or to drink from the same cups as their social superiors.  British Imperialism. The British generally treat the Indians poorly, call them derogatory names. Gender issues. Arranged marriages. Women serve men.

Synopsis

At a time when the world is at war, 15-year-old Vidya lives a happy life with her family. She loves school and wants very much to attend college, but that is almost unheard of in 1941 India, where girls are expected to marry and have children, not get an education. Her father, however, promises that Vidya will get her wish.

When Vidya and her father are caught in an Indian protest against the British occupation, he is beaten by British police while trying to help an injured woman. His injuries are so severe that he can no longer provide for his family and they are forced to move in with Vidya’s grandfather and their extended family. In this traditional household, Vidya is terrified that she will be married off and never realize her dream of getting an education, but when she meets a young man living in the same house, her feelings about marriage begin to change.

This book takes an interesting look at WWII British-occupied India. My knowledge of India is lacking and I enjoyed learning a little more about their culture and the non-violent resistance movement aimed at gaining their independence from England.

I am always drawn to books with strong female characters and I admired Vidya’s persistence and determination. This is a good book to spark a discussion on women’s rights and roles in society and history. 

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 2

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 1

Title: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Author: Alan Bradley

Winner of The Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award

Ratings Explanation

Language: Several (about 15) swear words.

Violence: Flavia discovers a dead body in her cucumber patch. A man grabs a girl from behind and puts his hand over her mouth. A character is kidnapped, bound hand and foot, and gagged. As the mystery is solved there is a short description of how it occurred. Another murder long ago is discovered and it is also briefly described.

Adult Themes: Flavia lies frequently. There is family strife between her and her sisters. Flavia’s mother died when she was an infant. She has no memories of her mother and sometimes suffers because she feels little love in her family.

Synopsis

Upon finding a murdered stranger in her cucumber patch, Flavia de Luce commets, “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This  was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”

So begins the mystery that 11-year old Flavia is determined to solve. A budding scientist and an expert on poisons, Flavia is unafraid and adept at ferreting out clues and suspects in this murder mystery full of twists and turns. Young and old alike will adore and respect spunky Flavia who is clever beyond her years.

I do love a good mystery and I thoroughly enjoyed The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Although not classified as “youth” literature, 11-year-old Flavia will appeal to young readers. This is the first in new series and I am already looking forward to the next book.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 3

Sexuality: 3

Adult Themes: 3

Title:  Shabanu – Daughter of the Winds

Author:  Suzanne Fisher Staples

1990 Newberry Honor Book/Readers Circle

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  Rape is common place.  Nazir, the greedy landowner rapes and then sends the young girls home with money for their family.  The vultures circle and rip an ailing camel apart, feasting on the live camel.  Shabanu aids the camel’s fetus and saves it’s life.  Kalu and Tipu fight to be the stud camel of the herd.  Shabanu’s father beats her for trying to escape her impending marriage to an older man.  Hamir’s father is found dead in a well.  Hamir is shot by Nazir.

 Sexuality: There are descriptions of Phulan and Shabanu experiencing puberty, periods, emerging chests etc.  Shabanu wonders what sex will be like for her.  The stud camel impregnates the herd.  There are descriptions of the camels mating.

Adult Themes:  Shabanu is promised in marriage as a child, betrothed at eleven years of age, and then married at twelve years of age.  Daughters belong to their future mother in-laws.  Dowries and, in some instances, a bride price is paid.  Shabanu is the solution for a settlement between two families and is not given a choice.  Grandfather dies and is buried.  While traveling, the family comes across a deceased traveler who could not find water.  

Summary

Shabanu is an eleven year old girl living in Cholistan, the windswept desert border region of Pakistan and India.  Shabanu’s family lives in a mud hut in the desert and owns a herd of camels.  They live a free existence in the desert, as long as there is water in the pond (“toba” ).  When the toba dries, they move to a village with a deep well, awaiting the monsoon season.  Each year they travel across the desert to Sibi, where they sell their camels and buy the goods they need.

Phulan is Shabanu’s older sister.  Phulan is graceful, beautiful and betrothed to Hamir, a young man in a village nearby.  Shabanu is promised to Murad, Hamir’s younger brother.  The girls are excited to have such good fortune, to marry into the same family, and be near one another throughout their lives.

Shabanu is annoyed with her sister’s ego-centric behavior, “All about the Bride.”  Shabanu seeks solace in the desert from Phulan’s demands.  Shabanu cares for the camels, and her parents allow her much freedom.  She is not confined to housework and has a camel, Guluband, that she teaches to dance.

Shabanu accompanies her father to Sibi to sell the camels.  Her father receives an offer he can’t refuse for Guluband.  He sells Shabanu’s beloved camel and her is heart broken.  However, her father now has enough money for both of his daughters’ dowries.  They return home to prepare for the upcoming wedding by buying and sewing beautiful clothes and making a pilgrimage to Channan Pir.  Shabanu meets her mother’s cousin, Sharma, and her daughter, Fatima. Sharma left her abusive husband for an independent existence in the desert, raising goats and sheep. Shabanu wishes she could steal away to live a wild and free life in the desert with Sharma and Fatima.  Shabanu’s grandfather wanders off in a dust storm and dies two days later.  Shabanu’s family buries grandfather and travels toward the wedding in Mehrabpur, where Hamir’s family lives.

Hamir’s family purchased their land from Nazir Mohammad. Hamir’s family labored many years to make the land fertile. Nazir Mohammad is trying to force Hamir’s family to give him back the now fertile land.  Shabanu and Phulan come across Nazir Mohammad and his friends while returning from bathing.  The men see the girls and desire to take Phulan and rape her. Shabanu rescues Phulan and they ride to their campsite on a camel.  Everyone is fearful of Nazir Mohammad.  Nazir killed Hamir’s father.  Hamir attempts to shoot him Nazir and is killed.

The “Police”, the Desert Rangers,  gather the families to settle the dispute. Nazir Mohammad’s brother, Rahim- sahib, is a politician and wants to settle the dispute quickly.  The dispute is settled: Phulan will marry Murad (Shabanu’s promised) immediately and Nazir Mohammad will leave the family alone.  Rahim-sahib, will then take Shabanu as his fourth wife in a year.

Shabanu is devastated. She endures Phulan’s wedding. Sharma counsels Shabanu to learn to manipulate and control her future husband, but remain true to herself.  She will need to keep her heart hidden from him.  Shabanu has a short time before her betrothal and she is tempted to escape into the desert with Sharma and Fatima.  When Shabanu’s period begins, she hides it from her parents.  She must marry soon after it arrives.  Shabanu decides to escape.  The camel breaks a leg during the escape and Shabanu waits for her father’s arrival.  He violently beats her.  Shabanu is silent during the beating.  She resigns herself to her fate, but she carefully guards her inner happiness in her heart.  She marries.

This book is written at a 5th Grade level.  However, I would not recommend reading it until at least junior high, due to the more mature content.  Humera Diwan, my friend from Karachi, Pakistan, and my Boulder Book Group friend, chose this book a few years ago for discussion.  We had a fascinating discussion as we learned more about the culture of the people who live in the Cholistan Region of Pakistan.  I do love this eye opening book.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

Author: Scott O’Dell

1961 Newbery Medal Winner

Ratings Explanation

Violence: Islanders hunt and skin sea otter. Many men are killed in a battle between Aleuts and the islanders. Wild dogs kill a young boy. Karana shoots dogs with arrows and kills several. She also kills an octopus.

Adult Themes: Karana, a young woman, looses her entire family and must survive alone.

Synopsis

The Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on the true story of a young girl who lives on a remote island. After Aleuts visit the island and kill most of the men, including her father, a ship comes to take the survivors away. Shortly after boarding the ship, she realizes that her younger brother has been left behind on the island. She cannot bear to leave him, although the chief promises that they will return to rescue him later, and jumps off the ship. The rest of the book is the story of her lonely survival on the Island of the Blue Dolphins.

I read this book as a child and, if memory serves, I liked it. Unfortunately, this reading did not live up to the memory. I had completely forgotten how sad the story is. We read it aloud as a family and it was a little upsetting for our 7-year old and the 10-year old thought it was boring. (He’ll be reading it next year in school, so he’ll get another chance to enjoy it.) Her determination to survive is admirable, but her struggles and the harsh environment wore on us. Maybe it is more upsetting now because I’m reading it from the perspective of  a mother.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 0

Title: The Sinking of the Bismarck

Author: William L. Shirer

Ratings Explanation

Violence: Naval battles, shooting guns, dropping torpedoes, explosions. Injuries and death resulting from battles, but no gore.

Synopsis

William L. Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, recounts Britain’s quest to find and destroy the Bismarck, Germany’s greatest battleship in WWII. Full of stratagem and battles, this historical account is sure to hold the interest of youth interested in WWII.

My husband found this 1962 copy on my parents’ bookshelf last time we visited them and we started reading it aloud to the kids on the drive back to our house. Our sleepy 7-year old dozed off and missed the first several chapters and never really got interested in it, but our 12 and 10-year olds were hooked. There are many ships and captains to keep track of, but it is quite exciting, and we all enjoyed learning this part of WWII history. This book could definitely be used as a source for a research paper.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 1

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash

Author: Wendelin Van Draanen

Ratings Explanation

Language: 3 uses of the names of Deity

Violence: A man dies of a heart attack. 2 older men attack Sammy. She rips off a prosthetic leg and pops out a glass eyeball.

Sexual Content: A boy and girl go into the girl’s bedroom and kiss. When her mother comes home he dives out the window.

Adult Themes: Sammy comes across a large amount of money. If she spends it, is that stealing? Marissa’s parents have marital and money problems. They fight and the father leaves for Las Vegas. He has a gambling problem. Sammy’s mother is not really a part of her life and only shows up occasionally. She is dating Casey’s father, which is uncomfortable for Sammy and Casey (Sammy’s love interest). A description of a large woman’s bare backside.

Synopsis

Sneaking into her grandmother’s seniors-only apartment building via the fire escape has never seemed dangerous, until one night when Sammy Keyes scares a man to death, literally. With his dying breath, he directs her to throw 3 bundles of cold hard cash into the bushes below. Later that night, Sammy sneaks back to the bushes to retrieve the money. Why would he want her to toss the cash? And why shouldn’t she spend it? She didn’t steal it, after all. But Sammy is not one to let a mysterious occurance go uninvestigated. What follows is a mystery full of intrigue and disguise.

This is the first Sammy Keyes book I have read and I seemed to be missing a little information regarding some of the characters and their relationship to Sammy. This isn’t a big deal though and did not interrupt the flow of the story. A fun and quick read with a good mystery and a little romance thrown in for good measure. Sammy is a likable character with plenty of spunk. Although a fairly light book, there are actually some good points to be discussed with young readers. 

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 2

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 3

Adult Themes: 3

Title:  The Ever-After Bird

 Author:  Ann Rinaldi

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Common swear words.  Several uses of the name of deity. The word ‘nigger’ used to describe African-Americans.  Degrades  the capability of women.

Violence:  Cece is punished physically and emotionally by father. Cece’s father is shot and killed in a slave dispute.  Slaves are whipped and beaten.  Cece is whipped like a slave while trying to protect Earline.  Earline’s husband is killed for marrying a black woman.

Sexual Content: Cece is injured and concerned the doctor will have to go fishing under her skirts to remove her hose.  A slave owner makes advances towards a young slave which results in her becoming pregnant.  After a couple is married, the woman says that “he bedded me last night.”  Cece discusses menstruation with another woman and the doctor.

Adult Themes:  Both of Cece’s parents die.  Her father was verbally and physically abusive towards her.  Her mother died after giving birth to Cece while her father was out with another woman.  The story is about an abolitionist who is trying to guide slaves in the south to freedom.  There are descriptions of the poor living conditions of the slaves they meet.  There are also descriptions (blunt but not graphic) of slave beatings.  A young black boy is experimented on by a doctor trying to learn how to  control fevers.  The boy is forced into a heated pit wrapped in a blanket and brought out as he becomes unconscious. One slave’s head is encased in an iron type cage with antlers and bells to prevent him from running away.  There is controversy over a white man marrying a black woman. 

 Synopsis:

After Cecilia’s father is shot in a slave dispute, her uncle Alex, a doctor and ornithologist, comes to take her to live with him and his wife.  Alex is an abolitionist like his brother.  He decides to take Cece on a trip down south to visit plantations in search of the rare scarlet ibis.  The slaves call it the Ever-After Bird because they believe when they see it they will be set free.   Alex brings with him his assistant Earline who is a college student.  Because she is black, she poses as their slave on the trip.  Uncle Alex explains to Cece that this trip has another purpose and that is to care for the sick slaves and direct them to the Underground Railroad.  As their trip progresses, the stark contrast between the wealthy homes of the plantation owners and the deprived and dirty shacks of the slaves helps Cece to understand her father and uncle’s passion for helping the African-American people.

 This story was a powerful illustration of the suffering and injustice that many African-Americans experienced living as slaves in the south.  The author covered some painful topics and although they were not overly graphic, they were blunt.  I would caution parents to read this book with their child and discuss with them some of the issues that are addressed.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title:  Water Song:  A Retelling of “The Frog Prince”

 Author: Suzanne Weyn

Ratings Explanation

Language: A couple of common swear words and two uses of the name of deity.

Violence: War violence, gun fire, bombing, poisonous gas.  Describes some suffering of the soldiers that were gassed while in the trenches.  Jack is seriously injured from the gas.  His skin is peeling and eyes are swollen shut.  One soldier’s pockets are stuffed with rocks and then he is shot and thrown into a pond.  Emma and Jack’s lives are both threatened if they do not cooperate with the enemy.  During their escape, both Jack and Emma are shot at.  Emma is wounded.

Sexual Content:  Jack asks for a kiss several times throughout the story.

Adult Themes:  The setting of the story is during WWI.  Bombing and gun shots are a common background to everything.  Emma’s mother is killed during a bombing.  Back home no one has heard from Emma or her dead mother and some assume the mother has run off with someone.  Emma is asked to be a spy and betray her country by giving information to the enemy.  A younger Jack was accused of pick pocketing.  Jack’s mother was a type of witch doctor who used chants, dreams and herbs to help heal others.

Synopsis:

Thinking they are safe from the war, a beautiful, young Emma and her mother travel from their native England to visit the family estate in Belgium.  Unfortunately the war front is closer than expected and Emma’s mother is killed during a bombing attack.  Emma is unable to get home to her father and must remain at the estate with an elderly couple who are the caretakers and her only companions.  One day a rare letter arrives.  It is from her boyfriend who writes to say he is breaking off their relationship because of rumors that her mother has run away with another man.  Infuriated, Emma tosses his picture, contained in an heirloom locket, down a nearby well.   After cooling off, she remembers that the locket also contained the only pictures she has of her parents.  Desperate, she climbs down the well to retrieve her necklace.  Before coming to the bottom, Emma is surprised to find that someone else is already there.  His eyes are large and swollen, his skin is peeling and he cannot talk without having a severe coughing fit.  She decides to help him out of the well and ask the caretakers to nurse him back to health.  Upon coming out of the well, Emma and her new patient are greeted by armed German soldiers then ordered to return to the estate.  The estate has been taken over by the German army who is using its impressive views to monitor the battle fields below.  Emma and the injured man, Jack, are locked in the master bedroom.  Only a caretaker is allowed in and out to bring in food and care for Jack.  As Jack recovers, he begs Emma to give him a kiss.  She is repulsed by his looks and forwardness and refuses him.  This odd ritual continues on a daily basis. Emma finally promises to be his true friend and Jack is satisfied.  Eventually, Emma is allowed to visit the local market accompanied by guards to get supplies and pick up any useful information for the German soldiers.  She is tempted to escape but remembers her promise to be Jack’s true friend.  As tensions build at the estate, Emma and Jack learn to get along and enjoy each others company.  The soldiers soon tire of their prisoners and plan to kill them.  Jack and Emma have gained useful information about the Germans and know they must escape as soon as possible.  They also have gained more than a friendship and discover that they truly love each other.  After many close calls they reach the safety of a neighboring town and continue to help the allied forces win the war and give peace to the war-torn land.

This book is part of a series called Once Upon a Time. Each book is a retelling of a different fairy tale.   I enjoyed this retelling of the not so common Frog Prince.  The WWI European setting was a unique time period for this story.  I thought that the  author’s develpment of Jack as the  Frog Prince was very clever and realistic.  I also appreciated that the author included the underlying moral of the classic tale.  You really can’t judge a book (or frog) by its cover.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 4

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 4

Title:  David Kherdian

Author: The Road From Home – A True Story of Courage, Survival, and Hope

Newberry Honor Book

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  September 16, 1916 – To the Government of Aleppo.  “It was first communicated to you that the government, by order of the Jemiet, had decided to destroy completely all the Armenians living in Turkey…An end must be put to their existence, however criminal the measures taken may be, and no regard must be paid to either age or sex nor to conscientious scruples.”  An extermination order against the Christian minority, the Armenians, was put into force by the Turks.  The Armenians were deported from their homes. ” The youngest Armenian boys were circumcised and converted to Islam, while the older boys were sold into slavery.  The women who converted to Islam were attached to harems; those who did not were raped and then either murdered or sold to the Arabs.  On the death march, the older people began to fall down, but no one was allowed to stop and help them.  The Turkish gendarmes then rode back and shot the elderly who had collapsed.  When they march through Kurd territory, the gendarmes stood aside while the Kurds robbed the caravans and defiled the women.  The gendarmes also traveled from tent to tent through the camps taking the most attractive women into town.  None who were taken, returned.  Veron’s mother says, ” Our executioner is everchanging, but always death awaits its task.”  The Armenians are infested with lice and then cholera decimates their camp.  Veron is injured in a bombing and loses part of her calf.  The archbishop is brutally murdered.  The Turks burn the city to the ground.  They burn people alive in their homes, and the smell of burning flesh hovers in the air.  Dead bodies are removed from the road to drive the auto.  The Turkish soldiers throw kerosene on a raft in the harbor and burn the people alive.  “The Armenian people, nearly half a million human beings, were herded into an area a mile and one half long and not more than a hundred feet wide.  The Armenians jumped in the harbor, hoping to swim to the ships.”  The Italians took people aboard, but the English poured boiling water down the sides of the ship on the people (apparently, a sign of neutrality?).  The Americans lined up with their movie cameras filming.  The Turkish soldiers came through the Armenians huddled on the wharf, carrying off the young women and girls.

Sexual Content:  (Rape is included under violence.)  Veron becomes engaged and then has a bad feeling about the impending marriage.  She breaks the engagement and saves her family name from disrespect. 

Adult Themes:  Veron’s father’s business was harvesting and selling the gum that was used in making opium.  The girls were second class citizens, “When a girl dies, the ground must approve; while she lives, the public must approve.”After Varon is orphaned, her extended family treats her horrribly.  She chooses to go to an orphanage where she will receive an education.  The cousins never visited her, not once!  Many of the young girls who arrive at the orphanage were rescued from Arab harems by the British.  They arrived in the orphanage with little blue tattoos on their cheek or forehead.  When Veron is injured and needs help getting out of the wagon, she asks her aunt for help.  Her aunt “turned and looked at me without speaking and I saw a look of hatred come into her face.  You should have died instead of my children, they are dead, and now you have become my burden – thanks to your grandmother.”  A kind Greek general tries to adopt Veron.  She runs away to the Armenian Archbishop, where she receives help.

Synopsis

Veron Demhjian Kherdian was born into a prosperous Christian Armenian Family.  In 1915, the Turkish Government began to systematically exterminate the Armenian population.  The author, David Kherdian shares the story of his mother’s childhood interrupted by a devastating holocaust.  Veron and her family are forced on a death march by the Turkish gendarmes.  Veron is orphaned, as she witnesses the deaths of her family and friends.  Veron realizes that she will need to take risks to ensure a future for herself.  Veron’s courage ultimately results in her survival.

I love stories with a strong heroine!  Veron witnessed many atrocities, yet she remained resilient and courageous.  Veron took her future into her own hands as she ultimately chose to come to the U.S. as a mail-order bride.  Veron wanted to belong to the U.S. “because at that moment, the darkest of my life, foreign dignitaries had been searching for their citizens and offering them safety.  I wanted to belong to a country that cared for its people in that way, and had the power to ensure their safety, even in time of war.”  

I could not put this book down.  I recommend this book for adults as well as junior high level readers.  I love this quote, “What you learn in childhood is carved on stone; what you learn in old age is carved on ice.”

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 1

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices From a Medieval Village

Author: Laura Amy Schlitz

2008 Newbery Medal Winner

Violence: A boy and his uncle kill a boar with spears. The knight’s son wants to go on the crusade to “sharpen my sword on the Saracen’s throat – crush the bones of the heathen horde – all for the glory of Our Lord!” 

Adult Themes: Class distinctions. Children were sometimes beaten by parents. The miller is dishonest and fills the flour bags with chalk, the baker steals the bread and the peasant steals from the lord. Dislike between Jews and Christians. The beggar boy fakes a crushed foot and he and his father stage a miracle healing with holy water in order to make  money. Note: these are not major themes, but will provide opportunities for discussion with your children.

Synopsis

This collection of 22 individual but related poems and essays gives the reader an exceptional overview of a typical English Medieval village. Each selection is from the perspective of a child or youth in the village and through their narration we learn how children were treated, their social standing, how the village functioned and even what they ate. There are also six one to two page explanations on topics pertinent to the narratives such as the crusades, medieval pilgrimages, and Jews in medieval society. Beautiful artwork adds to the charm of this book.

I found this a fascinating read.  My favorite character is Barbary, the young girl who takes her toddler twin brothers to the market to buy fish because her step mother is at home pregnant with another baby. One of the twins grabs the fish out of her basket and throws it on the ground. Barbary has to wade through the mud to pick it up, then the other twin has a messy diaper all over her. Just then she sees the Lord’s daughter in a beautiful blue dress with her hair combed “sleek as an otter.” Barbary feels the injustice of life and throws mud at her, but she only enjoys her vengeance for a moment before she feels guilty. She stops by the church on her way home to pray for forgiveness and realizes, “all women are the same – silk or sackcloth, all the same.”

Children 4th grade and up will enjoy this book. It would be fun to get a group of friends together and memorize some of the selections.

©2009 The Literate Mother

 Language: 2

Violence: 1

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

Author: David Lubar

Ratings Explanation

Language: Instances of swearing and profanity, also “screw you.”

Violence: Upper classmen pick on Freshmen, dump their backpacks out, smack them in the head and take their lunch money. Fights at school with punching and kicking.

Sexual Content: There is a cute girl at school who always wears tight tops and is “hot.” Scott would do anything for her because she looks so great in her shirts.

Adult Themes: A student attempts suicide and the school kids make jokes about it.

Synopsis

Scott Hudson’s freshman year in high school is off to quite a start. There is homework on the first day of school, the girl he has known since kindergarten is suddenly gorgeous, and keeping his own lunch money is a challenge. To top it all off, his mother announces that she is pregnant! Scott decides to share his hard fought wisdom about surviving high school with his future sibling via a diary that’s not really a diary, because guys don’t keep diaries. As Scott learns to navigate the mine field that is high school, he runs for student government, befriends the school thug and the “weird” girl, joins the newspaper staff and tries out for the school play. By the end of the year he has a wealth of knowledge to share with the new baby.

Sometimes sad, sometimes poignant, but mostly funny, I laughed through Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie. My favorite part is the steady parade of Spanish teachers who either don’t speak Spanish (the gym teacher who can only count in Spanish so they spend the period doing push-ups), speak Spanish with a French or Australian accent, or don’t speak any English at all and communicate with hand gestures. Although funny, Scott learns several life lessons that are applicable to everyone. Even annoying people have feelings so be nice to them; you might not know what is going on in their lives. Be careful how you label others, sometimes the most surprising people end up being your best friends. You might not know your family as well as you think you do, so pay attention.

 ©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 0

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

Title: A Mango-Shaped Space

Author: Wendy Mass

Winner of the ALA Schneider Family Book Award,  honoring artistic expression of the disability experience

Ratings Explanation

Language: 2 instances of profanity

Sexual Content: Molly grows breasts over the summer and she is not going to hide it. Boys look at her. Mia’s doctor asks her if she has begun menstruating yet. Mia communicates with a boy in a chat room and when they meet in person he almost immediately asks to kiss her. Mia lets him.

Adult Themes: Jenna is coping with her mother’s death and her father dating. Mia lies occasionally then tries to make up for it by doing good deeds. Adam, age 14, discloses in an email that he got drunk on egg nog and threw up a lot. Coping with losing a pet.

Synopsis

Mia has always seen colors associated with numbers, letters and sounds, but in third grade she discovers that not everyone sees what she does. Afraid of being different, Mia keeps her gift a secret until 8th grade when it interferes with her school work and she goes to her parents for help. She discovers that she has a condition called synesthesia, and that other people have it too. Encouraged that she isn’t a freak, Mia dives into the world of synesthesia by attending research weekends, chatting with other synesthetes online and trying new experiments that heighten the effects of “her colors.” As she enters this new world she leaves her family and friends behind, but when her cat Mango becomes ill she is abruptly reminded of what is truly important.

A very interesting read! I had never heard of this condition and was fascinated by what synesthetes see in their everyday lives.  A different twist on the coming-of-age story.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 3

 Sexual Content: 1

 Adult Themes: 2

Title: Elephant Run

Author: Roland Smith

Ratings Explanation

Language: 2 common swear words and one instance of profanity

Violence: A description of the many ways an elephant can kill a human. A rogue elephant knocks Nick down and almost tramples him. A Japanese soldier hits Indaw with a rifle and kicks Mya. There are two dead bodies lying in front of a  home, one has been decapitated and the other, Mya’s father, has been beaten to death. A Japanese soldier is executed (beheaded) for killing Mya’s father. Indaw and other Burmese are taken behind the house and beaten. Bukong uses  his cane to maintain order and control. He hits anyone who opposes him or makes him mad. The Japanese colonel hits Bukong with his own cane. An elephant attacks a man and then other men attack the elephant. Some animal kingdom violence. A Japanese captain orders a Burmese house burned for no reason and he hits an old man with a stick. POWs threatened with execution if they try to escape. Captain Moto hits Nick, Mya and Hilltop with his baton and threatens them with his sword. An elephant flips a jeep over and it kills Captain Moto, then the elephant gores Bukong with his tusk, killing Bukong. The elephant is shot at and two Burmese are shot and killed.

Sexual Content: Bukong, who is at least 40, plans to marry Mya, who is 12. He touches her face and favors her. She is repulsed.

Adult Content: Before WWII breaks out, Burma is governed by the English, but many Burmese resent the English and want to govern themselves. This leads to many of the Burmese welcoming the Japanese invasion. The Japanese are generally portrayed as brutal and violent, with one exception being Captain Sonji. Nick’s father is sent on a long march to a POW camp. The POWs are treated very poorly with barely enough food to keep them alive and basically no medical attention.

Synopsis

When Germany bombs London, Nick Freestone’s mother sends him to Burma to be with his father and ride out the storm of the war in Europe. But almost as soon as Nick arrives in Burma, so do the Japanese. The teak plantation his Father’s family has owned for generations is turned into a base for a Japanese air field, Nick’s father is sent to a POW camp and Nick becomes a prisoner in his father’s house. A daring escape liberates Nick and his friend Mya from their captors, but then they must brave the Burmese jungle on elephant back and dodge Japanese soldiers in order to rescue Nick’s father and Mya’s brother.

We read this book aloud as a family and everyone liked it. My husband and I did find ourselves doing a lot of explaining about the Burmese/Enlgish relations before the war and then the Burmese/Japanese relations after the invasion. There are nuances to that subject that children will not understand because of their limited life experience. We also spent time discussing the current positive relationship the US has with Japan.

Language: 0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 1

Title: Fablehaven

Author: Brandon Mull

Rating Explanation

Violence: Seth is attacked by fairies after he captures one and they turn him into a misshapen walrus. Dark creatures try to harm Seth and Kendra, but they are protected by magical charms. Dale is turned into a statue by something evil. The house is ransacked and nearly destroyed by unknown dark creatures. Grandpa and Lena are kidnapped and held against their will. Grandma shoots Muriel with a small crossbow and she is wounded, but lives. An army of fairies fight dark creatures and a demon. Many fairies are wounded or killed, but most of them are healed. Some dark creatures are also killed. 

Adult Themes: Seth and Kendra’s other grandparents die of asphyxiation. There is a brief discussion of the wake, funeral and coffins.

 Synopsis

Kendra and Seth don’t really know their Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson, so when they go to stay with them for two and a half weeks, they are prepared for boredom. To their amazement, they discover that Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson are the caretakers of Fablehaven, a preserve for magical creatures where both friendly and dark creatures exist. Once they discover the secret, they learn that fairies, imps, witches, satrys and many other creatures are alive and well at Fablehaven. But when Seth breaks his Grandpa’s strict orders regarding interaction with some of the more unsavory creatures at the preserve, an evil is unleashed that could claim all of their lives.

Both my 6th grader and my 4th grader have read all of the Fablehaven books so far and have loved them. They have been begging me to read them since last summer, but it took me awhile to get around to starting the series. Overall I liked the book. I thought that the demon and evil witch were taken care of a little too easily, but was also glad to skip the violence that could have been created to get rid of them. I loved the army of oversized fairies, very cool!

 ©2009 The Literate Mother

Language:1

Violence:2

Sexual Content:0

Adult Themes:3

Title:  The Wednesday Wars

Author: Gary D. Schmidt 

2008 Newbery Honor Book

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Some name calling from fellow students. ”Death threats” from fellow students if Holling doesn’t bring them cream puffs. Unkind comments like “Go back where you came from!”, toward a Vietnamese refugee student . The coach uses phrases such as “dang, wimpy, slugs” when referring to his slow track team.  Holling uses curses he has learned from Shakespeare.  His favorites are pied ninies and toads, beetles, bats.  Holling and his classmates refer to their principal as one who is aspiring to be a dictator of a small country.

Violence:  Holling intentionally trips a school bully giving him a concussion.  The eighth graders bully the seventh graders around to show their rank in the school.  Scenes of stabbings, poisonings and other forms of murder from Shakespeare’s writings are referred to as Holling tries to connect experiences in his world to those in Shakespeare’s.

Adult Themes:  One of the students has been to jail and has several run-ins with the law for his pranks on teachers and students.  The evening news reports the poor conditions of soldiers fighting in Vietnam.  Some  marines are trapped in barracks while under heavy artillery fire.  Mention of some soldiers that are missing and killed in action.  Racial prejudice is shown by students and some adults towards a student who is a Vietnamese refugee.  Holling’s father questions the importance of religion, especially the customs of his son’s Jewish friend.  Holling’s mother is always trying to hide her smoking habit.  The eighth grade boys spend their break time smoking in the boys’ bathroom.  Holling’s father considers his appearance in the community far more important than the happiness of his family.  Holling’s sister runs away with her boyfriend to “find herself.”  When she decides it wasn’t a good idea to run away, her parents refuse to pick her up or give her help of any kind.  Holling assumes that responsibility himself. 

Synopsis

Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grade student living in the ‘perfect house’ on Long Island with his parents and older sister in the late sixties.  Because his father expects him to one day take over the family business Holling must be on his best behavior to keep up appearances.  The community they live in is made up primarily of Catholics and Jews.   On Wednesday, each week, the students are allowed to leave school early in the afternoon to attend activities at their local church or temple.  Holling is neither a Catholic nor a Jew.  He is a Presbyterian.  On Wednesdays he is the only student left in his class.  When his teacher, Mrs. Baker, learns of this, she tries desperately to find somewhere else for Holling to be.  Holling is convinced that Mrs. Baker truly hates him and has cleverly plotted to take him out one way or another.   When Mrs. Baker resigns to the fact that Holling has nowhere else to go but her classroom on Wednesday afternoons, she starts assigning him small chores like cleaning the erasers and rat cages.  After these chores end up with unpleasant results, Mrs. Baker resigns to the fact that Holling is there to stay and decides to teach him the plays of Shakespeare.  At first Holling is pleasantly shocked that his teacher would let him read something with so much exciting adventure and bloodshed.  But as the school year progresses, Mrs. Baker helps Holling see the lessons that this great writer was trying to teach the human race. These teaching moments become a great strength to Holling as he deals with difficult family issues, ethical decisions and the challenges of life’s ups and downs.  Mrs. Baker and Holling develop a unique and touching relationship as she helps him embrace his destiny.

I thoroughly loved this book.  The main characters were so well developed, that I feel like I would know Holling and Mrs. Baker if I saw them walking down the street.  I also appreciated the humor that Schmidt incorporated.  I found myself laughing out loud more than once.  The various situations Holling found himself in brought back memories of my teenage years and reminded me of how hard it is to grow up.  Schmidt’s story also reaffirms my appreciation for and belief in great teachers.  Everyone needs a Mrs. Baker in their life.  She is someone who sees  potential and encourages others to achieve all that they can be. 

 ©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

 Violence: 0

 Sexual Content: 0

 Adult Themes:1

Title: Criss Cross

Author: Lynne Rae Perkins

2006 Newbery Medal Winner

Rating Explanation

Language: Four swear words, 2 instances of profanity

Adult Themes: After leaving home to go to school, Debbie and Patty meet in the rhododendron bushes to change clothes. “Both of them had mothers who were stranded in the backwaters of a bygone era, and who were unable to grasp many current trends and ideas. You could argue and argue, but they weren’t going to get it. At some point you just had to go change your clothes in a bush.” (This is an amusing chapter)

Lenny experiments with chewing tobacco.

Synopsis

14-year old Debbie wished something would happen to her, soon. Criss Cross follows Debbie and some of her friends and neighbors through a period of everyday days. Sometimes something interesting happens, but quite often not much of anything happens. A coming-of-age story.

You know how Seinfeld was a show about nothing? Well, Criss Cross is a book about nothing. I was excited to read this Newbery winner, but my enthusiasm waned early on. There isn’t a plot or much of anything actually happening in the story, just random experiences. With that said, some of the experiences are pretty funny and her writing is quite witty, but I am surprised that Criss Cross won the Newbery Medal. Overall I found it a little better than mediocre.

An interesting note, the number of Amazon reviews rating Criss Cross as a 5 and as a 1  are almost equal. Maybe it’s one of those books you either love or hate.

 ©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 3

Adult Themes:2

Title: Just Ella

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  A maid servant is beaten within an inch of her life for oversleeping.  The prince kills a sentenced man in front of Ella, in an attempt to show his power and win her affections.  As Ella approaches the refugee camp, “screams of anguish and terror” come from the battle grounds.

Sexual Content:  Ella describes the power of persuasion through pillow talk “when coupled with a kiss and a breathing whisper and the rest of what men and women do in bed.” Ella says her father was blinded to her step-mother’s faults because of his “desire to touch her skin, caress her body, join his to hers.”  There is mention of different privileges for married women than for virgins.  Ella is threatened to comply to marry the prince or be “taken care of” by a sentenced rapist.

Adult Themes:  Ella’s religious teacher suffers a stroke or heart attack during a lesson and nearly dies.  He “fouls himself”  after passing out.  Religion is talked of as a formality. Brief comments on the sufferings of war.  Citizens living on the country’s borders loose their homes and farms to the destruction of war.   Ella is imprisoned to weaken her will  and force her compliance in marrying Prince Charming.  She is fed occasionally, only a bowl of thin gruel with weevils.

Synopsis

A twist on a popular fairy tale whisks Ella off her feet to live in the Charming castle after winning the prince’s affections (without magic) at a ball.  As she prepares for her upcoming wedding, Princess Cynthiana Eleanora, as she is now called,  is surrounded by tutors and advisers that teach her the proper way to think and behave.  Ella quickly becomes uncomfortable with this restrictive, royal life and longs to have some freedom.   After suffering ill health, Ella’s religious teacher is replaced by his son Jed.  Ella finds Jed refreshingly honest and real and decides to confide some of her feelings to him.  He in return tells Ella that his greatest desire is to create refugee camps for those left homeless from their country’s war.  As her wedding day quickly approaches, Ella realizes that she does not love the prince and decides to break off their engagement.  The prince doesn’t take this well and Ella is thrown into prison until she agrees to the marriage.  Meanwhile, Jed is finally given permission to start his refugee camp when palace advisers suspect a relationship forming between him and the princess.  After days of torment and starvation, Ella escapes the dungeon by digging her way out.  She discovers that Jed is at the battle front and decides her best bet at living a free life is to study up on her agricultural and medical skills,  making herself a valuable asset that the refugee camp cannot refuse.  Days of travel bring her to the country’s border where she finds Jed.  He immediately professes his love to Ella, but she is unsure that this is really what she wants.  After agreeing to work at the camp for a while, Ella eventually discovers that Jed is her one and only true love.

What girl doesn’t dream about living happily ever after.  The author gave this fairy tale a creative spin by using self initiative instead of magic to decide the heroine’s fate.  I did find Ella hard to connect with.  I never felt really drawn into her plight.  I think the author focused too much on the power of feminism rather than developing believable characters.  I also thought that some of the sexual content was too mature for some young readers that might be attracted to a fairy tale story.

2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 1

Sexual Content:1

Adult Themes: 1

Title:  Stargirl

 Author:  Jerry Spinelli

Ratings Explanation

Language: One use of the name of deity. Some name calling and belittling. One girl, Hillary, says that Stargirl’s parents are witches or brain-dead vegetables in a hospital. She also belittles Stargirl in front of a group of other students, calling her goofy, crazy and tells her to go back where she came from.

Violence: Hillary holds Stargirls rat from a high balcony and threatens to drop it. She also slaps Star Girls face in an attempt provoke her to fight back. A tomato is thrown at Star Girl from fans at a basketball game when she continues to cheer for the opposing team.

Sexual Content: Leo describes the miracle of summer when someone “leaves in June looking like a little girl and returns in September as a full-bodied woman”. Leo and Stargirl’s first kiss is described as follows: “the last remaining space between our lips was gone… that was no saint kissing me.”

Adult Themes: The whole story revolves around social ethics dealing with individuality versus conformity. The characters must decide which is most important and to what extent they are willing to defend their position.

Synopsis

When a mysterious young girl moves to Mica, Arizona, she turns the local high school upside down. Stargirl, as she calls herself, “laughed when there was no joke. She danced when there was no music. She had no friends, yet she was the friendliest person in school”. Leo, a fellow student, is fascinated with Stargirl but never expects to actually like her. This relationship forces Leo to take a good look at himself and his relationship to others. Stargirl teaches him about true humanity and the importance of the individual, while bringing unity to their small community.

Spinelli did a great job in helping the reader rethink the importance of the individual. While reading, I experienced many of the same soul-searching questions that Leo had. In the end, I was left feeling a greater desire to look out for my neighbors and not be so quick to judge others. A great book to read and discuss with pre-teens and older.

  ©2009 The Literate Mother

 Language: 0

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2

 Title:  The Star of Kazan

Author: Eva Ibbotson

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  Hermann attaches fireworks to the dog’s tail.  The dog loses a leg and partial eyesight.  Stefan pushes a harp down the stairs at Grossenfluss, a boarding school, and critically injures the cruel headmistress.  A young boy is saved from near trampling by a horse. 

Sexual Content:  Frau von Tannenberg falsely claims to have rapidly met and married Annika’s father, who deserts his young pregnant wife only weeks after their marriage.  Frau von Tannenberg often travels with her brother-in-law, Oswald, much to her sister’s disdain.

Adult Themes:  The Eggharts, a wealthy Vienna family, resist caring for their elderly aunt.  The aunt, a former Parisian Chorus Girl was nicknamed “La Rondine”.  The Eggharts begrudgingly comply and the great-aunt is given an ascetic space in which to live her last months.  Frau von Tannenberg deceives Annika, an orphan, as she claims to be her long-lost mother.  Unbeknownst to Annika, Frau von Tannenberg is a con artist who uses unscrupulous methods to steal Annika’s inheritance.  Annika is completely unaware of her inheritance from “La Rondine”.   Frau von Tannenberg sells a few jewels, rapidly spends the money, and hides the remaining jewels in a vault in Zurich.  Frau von Tannenberg then sends Annika to Grossenfluss, an inhumane boarding school for unwanted girls of the aristocracy.   Girl #126 commits suicide at Grossenfluss, and the police are not allowed to investigate the girl’s death properly.

 Synopsis

Ellie and Sigrid, a housemaid and a cook, discover an abandoned baby girl in a village church while hiking in the Austrian Alps.  They raise Annika in the home of three eccentric professors in Vienna, where they are employed.  Annika is loved. However, she yearns for her mother.  Annika has an opportunity to make money reading to her wealthy neighbor’s great aunt.  She befriends “La Rondine” and soon it is not a job at all, but a pleasure to visit with the older woman.  When “La Rondine” dies, she bequeaths her possessions to Annika.  Annika is completely unaware of the inheritance.  Frau von Tannenberg arrives to claim Annika as her daughter.  Annika leaves Vienna and returns with her mother to Germany, to the ancestral home, which is a castle that has fallen into great disrepair.  Annika is not permitted to attend school or work due to her new aristocratic status.  She grows increasingly homesick.  Annika befriends Zed, the stable boy.  Hermann, her step-brother, is showered with attention and gifts.   Frau von Tannenberg steals her inheritance and lavishes the riches upon her son, Hermann.   Annika is then sent to Grossenfluss, a boarding school.  The Professors, Stefan, and Ellie rescue Annika and bring her back to Vienna.  Pauline and The Professors unravel the mystery surrounding Annika’s so-called “mother” and the stolen inheritance.

 At 403 pages, this is a very quick read.  Although, I am convinced the story could have been pared down.  I enjoyed the interesting character names and setting of the early 1900’s in Austria-Hungary and The German Empire.  Ibbotson’s descriptions of Viennese cuisine were divine.  Strudel anyone?  This book is extremely mild in all categories. I recommend this book to young readers Grades 4-8.

  ©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 3

Title:  Chasing Lincoln’s Killer

Author: James L. Swanson

Ratings Explanation

Language: Damn, damned

Violence:  Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.  Dr. Leale prolongs President Lincoln’s life with C.P.R.  “Dr. Leale pulled another blood clot from the hole in Lincoln’s head to relieve the pressure on the brain and tossed the gooey mass into the street.  Fresh blood and brain matter oozed through Leale’s fingers.”  The President’s  feet and legs were getting cold.  The eyelids were so filled with blood that they looked bruised, like someone had punched the president in the face.  All signs were consistent with a catastrophic injury to the brain.  They laid a clean white napkin over the bloodstains on the pillow.”  Dr. Leale used a Nelaton probe to work inside Lincoln’s brain.  An autopsy on President Lincoln’s brain and body served very little scientific purpose.  “One surgeon reached for his saws and knives while the others watched.”  The bullet was preserved for history and Lincoln’s blood was drained from his corpse, transferred to glass jars and preserved.  Powell viciously attacks Seward, his sons, his daughter and the nurse.   After Seward’s murder, his bed was saturated with blood.  Fanny Seward’s dress was dripping in blood.  “Augustus Seward had been stabbed and his brother, Frederick was unconscious from a crushed skull; brave Sergeant Robison had endured multiple stab wounds.”  J.W. Booth’s leg was broken.  Herold led the horses to a quicksand pit, shot them and sank their bodies.  The Garrett’s lock Booth and Herold in the tobacco barn.  The barn is lit on fire by the cavalry.  Booth contemplates suicide, but before he can act Boston Corbett shoots him.  Booth dies a slow death.  “Booth’s lips turned purple and his throat swelled.  He gasped.”  The four convicts were “bound and hooded.  Nooses were slipped over their necks and…, they dropped to their deaths.” 

Adult Themes:  Mary Todd Lincoln laments and sobs that her son will not see his father alive again.  General Stanton cruelly commands “Take that woman out and do not let her in again.”  Stanton was obeyed.  Slavery, anti-Union, anti-black themes, a reversal of The Underground Railroad for confederate spies and those seeking for the South to secede.   Reference to Lincoln’s son, Willie who died of typhoid.  Reference to Mary Jane Welles’ son who died of diphtheria.  J. W. Booth places Dr. Mudd and his entire family in great danger by taking advantage of Mudd’s hospitality.  Unbeknownst to Dr. Mudd, he became an accomplice to the murder of President Lincoln.  Betrayal and intrigue amongst all the conspirators.

Synopsis

This book is based on James L. Swanson’s bestselling adult book, “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer”.  This version was written especially for young people.  “The story is true.  All the characters are real and were alive during the great manhunt of April 1865.  Their words are authentic and come from original sources: letters, manuscripts, trial transcripts, newspapers, government reports, pamphlets, books, and other documents.  What happened in Washington, D.C. that spring, and in the swamps and rivers, forests and fields of Maryland and Virginia during the next twelve days, is far too incredible to have been made up.”  This is the story of Lincoln’s assassination and John Wilkes Booth’s attempted escape to a safe haven in the South.

Swanson’s book is intelligently written for youth.  The history surrounding Lincoln’s assassination captivated me.  I highly recommend this book and think it would be great for a leisure read as well as a research paper source – a rare combination for literature!

 ©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 3

Violence: 4

Sexual Content: 3

Adult Themes: 3

Title: The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

1996 Newberry Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Book, ALA Top Ten Best Book, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, ALA Notable Children’s Book, IRA Young Adult’s Choice, The Jane Addams Peace Award Honor Book, A Booklist 25 Top Black History Picks for Youth, An NCSS-CBC Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, Bank Street Child Study Association Children’s Book Award, A New York Times Book Review Best Book, A Publishers Weekly Best Book, A Horn Book Fanfare, A Bulletin Blue Ribbon, A Golden Kite Award for Fiction, Winner of the California Young Reader Medal

Ratings Explanation

Language: Hell, Damn, Ass, Diety, ”…we all heard him say, real clear, the ”S word”.  “Byron flips Kenny a dirty finger sign, Byron flips double middle fingers and a finger sign that Kenny has never seen before.”

Violence: Byron bullies Kenny at home.  Larry Dunn bullies Kenny at school, giving him “Maytag (face) Washes” in the snow.  Byron and Buphead bloody Larry Dunn’s nose as they repeatedly throw him into a chain link fence as a crowd of kids cheer them on.  Rufus, Kenny’s friend, and his younger brother, Cody, recount their squirrel hunting with a .22.  Byron kills a bird with a Swedish Creme cookie.  Momma burns Byron’s hand to punish him for lighting matches.  Kenny nearly drowns in a whirlpool at Colliers Landing, where six other children have drowned.  A church building in Birmingham, Alabama is bombed and 4 girls die.  Kenny witnesses the aftermath of the bombing, as the bloody young girls’ bodies are brought out of the church building.  Kenny suffers from shock and depression.

Sexual Content:   ” Dad reached over past Momma to start the car, but on the way his hand kind of accidentally on purpose brushed her chests. Boy, did they think we were blind?  Even though Dad thought he was being slick, everybody saw this.”  Mr. Robert studs his coon dog.

Adult Themes: Racial prejudice that led to the Civil Rights Movement (ie”Coloreds Only” Bathroom, Swimming Pool etc.).  The Watson’s stop at a rest stop in Tennessee at night on the drive to Alabama and they are all afraid, “Man, they got crackers and rednecks up here that ain’t never seen no Negroes before.  If they caught your ass out here like this they’d hang you now, then eat you later.”  Kenny is so scared that he feels a couple of warm drips of urine dribble down his leg.  The church in Birmingham is bombed because,  “Two grown men hate Negroes so much that they’d kill some kids just to stop them from going to school?”  Kenny faces ridicule because he has a lazy eye.  Rufus and Cody have raggedy clothes and no food for lunch each day. Dad Watson shaves Byron’s hair when he straightens it to have “Mexican Hair”.

Synopsis

Ten-year-old Kenny Watson and his family, “The Weird Watsons” live in Flint, Michigan.  Kenny has a younger sister, Joetta, and a thirteen-year-old brother, Byron, who is an “official juvenile delinquent”.  Kenny struggles to avoid being bullied by Byron at home and bullied by classmates at school.  Kenny is a brilliant young boy, who longingly desires a friend.  He is elated to have Rufus, the new guy, be his friend.  Byron is a magnet for trouble.  As a last resort, the Watson’s take a road trip to Birmingham, Alabama, the home of Grandma Sands.  Momma and Dad arrange to leave Byron with strict Grandma Sands for the summer, and possibly the next school year to encourage Byron to improve his decision making abilities. While in Birmingham, a church building is bombed and four little girls are killed, many are injured.  Kenny witnesses the aftermath of the bombing and struggles to comprehend racial prejudice and the violence surrounding the Civil Rights Movement.

I first read this book about ten years ago, as a new mother - and loved it!  Our family listened to “The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963″ on CD while on a road trip last year.  This book was an incredible way to introduce my children to the racial inequality that led to the Civil Rights Movement.  My children were stunned to learn this is part of our American History.  As I read this book again last week, I am impressed by the author’s ability to weave a humorous and captivating family story into the historical context of the Civil Rights Movement.  I highly recommend “The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963″.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 3

Title:  Hattie Big Sky

Author:  Kirby Larson

2007 Newbery Honor Book

Ratings Explanation

Language: As Hattie is milking, the cantankerous cow slaps Hattie’s face with her tail.  Hattie slaps the cow back and practices a curse word she heard on the train.  Hattie thinks, “There was no Aunt Ivy to recoil in horror at my language and, truth be told, there is nothing like the occasional outburst of profanity to calm jangled nerves.” 

Violence:  Violet the cow, is attacked by a wolf while grazing.  Hattie rescues the cow from certain death.  However, the wolf makes off with Violet’s tail.  An arsonist set the Mueller’s barn on fire because Karl was born in Germany.  A lawyer, Mr. Ebgard, is ruffed up by members of the Council of Defense because he wrote a letter defending a minister preaching to his German congregation in German.

Adult Themes:  Prejudice prevails against German Americans during World War I.  The Flu Epidemic of 1918 claims the life of Perilee and Karl’s young daughter, Mattie.  Hattie helps deliver Perilee’s baby.  Hattie ties off the cord, thumps the baby on the back and tries not to be too alarmed by the amount of blood as she cleans up the birthing room. 

Synopsis 

Hattie Here-and-There, a sixteen year old orphan has been shuttled from one relative to another throughout her life.  When given the opportunity to go west and prove up on her late Uncle Chester’s homestead claim in Montana, Hattie courageously begins her journey.  Hattie’s best friend, Charlie is ”Fighting the Kaiser” in Europe during World War I.  Hattie and Charlie correspond and detail their separate adventures.

When Hattie arrives in Montana, she learns to brave the elements, build fences, milk a cranky cow, cook edible food and nurture her neighbors.  Hattie is befriended by Perilee Mueller, her German born husband, Karl, and their children.  For the first time, Hattie feels at home.  She learns the real definition of home.  Hattie finds the strength to stand up to Taft Martin and his gang of  rowdies, the “Council of Defense”, who make life difficult for anyone of German descent during World War I.

I devoured this Willa Cather-esque book!  I was enthralled with Hattie’s determination as she assumed her late Uncle Chester’s homesteading claim and the many tasks required to “prove up” the claim.  I found the history of hardship for Americans of German descent during World War I fascinating.  Kudos to Kirby Larson for a well-written story based on her great-grandmother’s homesteading experience as a sixteen year old girl.  I look forward to reading more of Larson’s work.  A great read for 4th-8th grade readers. 

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 2

Violence: 4

Sexuality: 2

Adult Themes: 3

Title: Inkheart

Author: Cornelia Funke

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Aunt Elinor curses often.  “Elinor swore a lot, and the more upset she was the worse her language became.”  The only words mentioned specifically are “damn” and “bloody hell” and one instance of diety.  Elinor is also referred to as a “fat woman” (offensive language in my house).

Violence:  The villains are from the middle ages.  They use brute force first and may or may not ask questions later.  Dead roosters are their calling card.  They infest the hills surrounding their village base with venomous snakes.  People condemned to death are put in a crypt under the church to die.  Tires are slashed.  Capricorn’s henchmen shoot shotgun rounds at the escaping prisoners.  While Elinor is driving the escape car, she collides with a stone wall.  Farid is bitten by a marten (a furry creature) and his finger bleeds profusely.  Farid hits Flatnose in the forehead with a rock and knocks him unconscious.  Mo is bitten by a dog and his sleeve is covered in blood.  Eleanor holds a shotgun to Basta’s head and threatens to kill him.  Flatnose and Basta are gagged, tied up and the left in the hills.  Basta uses his knife to slit throats and gash faces.  Dustfinger’s face is scarred by Basta’s knife.  Basta cut a pattern into Dustfinger’s face when they both fancied the same girl.  Dustfinger pulls a knife on Mortimer.  Flatnose puts his hand over a woman’s mouth to keep her quiet and she dies.  Farid snares a rabbit and kills it. Farid recalls beatings by the thieves, “they beat me like a dog”.  Tresa and Dustfinger are held captive in dangling nets.  Meggie and Fenoglio are kidnapped by Basta and Flatnose.  Capricorn threatens to wrap “pretty little vipers” around loved one’s necks, he threatens, “You all love something…”.  Capricorn seeks the submission of all.  The Shadow submits to Capricorn.  The Shadow is immortal, invulnerable and as pitiless as Capricorn.   The Shadow kills many.  An execution is planned and they hope the executioner is good with the sword so it will be over quickly.  Meggie kicks Basta in the shins and he drags her back up the stairs by the hair.  Dustfinger has the opportunity to kill Basta and he nearly takes it as he runs the knife over Basta’s flesh.  Elinor punches Cockerell and bloodies his nose.  Mortimer a.k.a. Silvertongue hides in a shallow grave with skeletal remains.

Sexuality:  Capricorn refers to Meggie as a “pretty little thing” that will come in handy when she is a bit older.  Capricorn has women read out of books by Darius to take care of his  needs.  Basta likes to use snakes to scare women who reject his advances. 

Adult Themes:  Capricorn was subjected to abuse as a child.  “His father, a blacksmith, made him play with hot coals, and sometimes beat him as hard as he beat the iron he forged.  There were more blows if he said ‘I can’t’ or ‘I’ll never do it’.”  Arson.  A trusted authority figure, a policemen, brings escaped prisoners seeking help, back to their captor, Capricorn.  Inkheart is rife with betrayal.

Synopsis

The book’s title is Inkheart “because it’s about a man (Capricorn) whose wicked heart is as black as ink, filled with darkness and evil.”

Meggie is twelve years old.  She and her father, Mortimer, have been constantly on the move since she was three years old.  Mortimer is a book binder.  They are both avid book lovers and voracious readers.  Curiously, Mortimer has never read to Meggie aloud.  One night, an old acquaintance, Dustfinger loiters under the street light in front of their home.  He is invited inside and therein begins the adventure for Meggie.  The trio of Dustfinger, Mortimer and Meggie travel to great-aunt Elinor’s to hide.  Mortimer is found and taken captive by the villains.  Meggie, Elinor and Dustfinger then travel to Capricorn’s hide-out to convince him to free Mortimer.  Meggie’s eyes are opened to her father’s mysterious talent.  When Mortimer reads aloud, the story escapes from the pages of the book, and is transplanted into their world.  Meggie soon discovers that she also possesses the gift.  Meggie discovers how to use her imagination to save her family.

“Inkheart” the movie will be released Friday, January 23rd, 2009.  The movie will no doubt pale in comparison to the book.  They always do.  However, if  the movie is 2/3 what the book is, it will be a fantastic movie!  The bags under my eyes are ENORMOUS today, after reading this book into the wee hours of the morning.  The adventure was captivating!  I was disappointed by the survival of two of  the villians, Basta and Mortola.  However, their existence is a perfect segway into a sequel. 

FYI: Inkheart was first written in German and then translated into English.  The writing style is superb.  As a lover of the printed word, I found the inclusion of book binding history to be fascinating. 

1/27/09  We saw the movie last night and the plot drastically departs from the plot in the book.  My husband, children and I all enjoyed the movie, but it is very loosely based upon the book’s premise.  My children were surprised when I outlined the differences and now they would like the book read aloud to them.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 2

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 3

Title: Elijah of Buxton

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

2008 Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award Winner

Rating Explanation

Language: The word “blanged” is used as a cuss word in the book.

From the book, “And me and all’em other little nigg–”

“I didn’t even get the chance to get the whole word out. I never saw it coming”

Violence: After the above exchange, Mr. Leroy backhands Elijah across the mouth. He blacks out for a second. The preacher rescues a black boy at gun point who is basically a slave in a carnival. A woman learns through a letter that her husband, who was still a slave in the U.S., was accused of stealing and then beaten so badly that he died.  Elijah’s mother relates the story that when she was a girl, her mistress took her on a trip to Michigan. When she comes back and tells her own mother how close she was to Canada her mother hits her three times for not trying to escape. She tells her daughter, “If you gets another chance and don’t take it…or die trying…I swear, girl, I’ll kill you myself once you get back here.” The preacher shoots and beats up a fellow inhabitant of Buxton, then leaves him for dead.  Brief description, after the fact, of the preacher being beaten and tortured. He is left hanging by his arms in the barn after he is dead.

Adult Themes: Many issues involving slavery. Slaves in the U.S. trying to escape to Canada. Some are caught and taken back to their masters. While it is illegal to have slaves in Canada, slavery is still practiced in the United States. Several families in Buxton are separated because the father or mother has escaped and is trying to earn the money necessary to buy the rest of their family out of slavery in the U.S. Runaway slaves are chained up in a barn. They have shackles on their hands and feet and are naked. The preacher in the story asks Elijah to deceive his parents and sneak out with him late at night to go to a carnival. He is also dishonest with Elijah when dividing fish between them. He eventually steals a significant amount of money and nearly kills a friend.

Synopsis

Elijah is the first child born free in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of former slaves not far from the American border. He is a “fra-gile” boy who is gullible and given to crying, but he is also honest, kind and, although he doesn’t know it, brave.  Elijah’s friend is saving money to buy his family out of slavery in the south, but when someone steals that money Elijah must track down the thief. On his own, he discovers that he is “growned” and can handle the most difficult of situations.

This is an exceptional book. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing which brought Elijah and the other inhabitants of Buxton to life. His humor is priceless, “It sounded peculiar at first, but if you started thinking like you didn’t have no common sense at all it seemed like Cooter’s put it all together real good!” and there are many life lessons, “Let this here be a lesson to you. You caint let your wantings blind you to what’s the truth. You always got to look at things the way they is, not the way you wish ‘em to be.”

This book allows young readers to become more acquainted with the issues of slavery without being too intense. The focus of the story is Elijah, how he grows up, and the adventure he is drawn into. But at the same time we learn about others who have escaped a life of slavery and those who have tried to escape, but were unsuccessful. Some of the lessons in the book will be lost on younger readers and they will just enjoy the story, but for those a little more mature, they will learn that the price of freedom for some is great and for others it costs all.

Amazon lists the reading level as ages 9-12. I agree with the reading level, but I think that an older child would learn more from it. I wouldn’t recommend it for my 9 year-old, but I want my 12 year-old to read it.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0 

Violence: 3 

Sexual Content: 0

Adult Themes: 0 

Title: The Magician

Author: Michael Scott

Series: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

Rating Explanation

Violence: The characters are attacked by a creature made of wax. There is a fight between Scatty and 12 French police officers.  She uses swords and nunchaku but there are no deaths. A komodo dragon-like ancient monster is loosed on Paris. It attacks the house where the characters are staying. Scatty fights it, but is finally carried off unconscious. There is sword fighting and fire attacks. The komodo dragon monster is stabbed with a sword several times. The characters descend into the catacombs of Paris, which are creepy, and meet Ares, the God of War. The gargoyles on Notre Dame are brought to life with magic and fight the twins and their friends. The twins destroy the army of gargoyles using their magic.

Synopsis

After narrowly escaping Dr. John Dee in Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty leave California via a ley line and emerge in Paris, the city Nicholas calls home. Perenelle is still imprisoned at Alcatraz and she and Nicholas continue to age one year for every day they cannot brew their immortality potion. They must retreive the Book of Abraham the Mage, but now the powerful Niccolo Machiavelli is on Dee’s side. Defeating them both to get the book will be nearly impossible. Nicholas still believes that Sophie and Josh are the twins of the prophecy and that together they are capable of anything, but first Sophie must learn the Magic of Fire and Josh’s powers must be awakened. There is only one in Paris who can awaken Josh, and there will be a price to be paid.

I really like this series. It is exciting and compelling with a great deal of action, yet it is not gory or inappropriate for younger readers. Both books have certainly held my interest and I am looking forward to the next book, The Sorceress, which will be released in May of 2009.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 5

Sexuality: 3 

Adult Themes: 4

Title:  House of the Scorpion

Author:  Nancy Farmer

National Honor Book/2003 Newbery Honor Book/Printz Honor Book

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Two of the words of profanity used throughout the book mean nothing to us, but are future words of profanity.  “Crotting” which means anything to do with “eejits”.  The other,”Eejits” are people, clones or animals who are injected with a drug that blunts their intelligence or have an implant in their brain.  They are not considered human.  They can do repetitive tasks, but cannot think for themselves.  ie.)If the eejits are not told to drink water, they will die of thirst.  There are minimal references to the Country of Opium as hell. 

Violence:  Matt as a six year old child breaks a glass window and climbs out.  Matt’s foot is sliced open.  He is taken to the Alacran Mansion, where he is gently cared for until they realize he is a clone.  Matt is then thrown out of the house onto the lawn and left for the day until he is discovered to be El Patron’s clone.  Matt is then locked up.  There is no bathroom.  He tries to urinate quietly and the bucket tips over.  Rosa threatens to kill Matt.  Rosa takes his clothes, the bathroom bucket and slowly starves Matt.  Rosa has sawdust thrown into the room – deep litter.  Matt throws an orange at Tom’s face.  Tom shoots Matt with a pea shooter.  Rosa is turned into an eejit when Matt is found malnourished with a skin condition.  Matt and the bodyguard, Tam Lin come upon a dead man lying in the field, a worker, who died of thirst.  The eejit is left in the field like a piece of trash.  Tom unsuccessfully tries to drown Maria’s dog, Furball.  Tom uses laudunum, which is opium dissolved in alcohol to kill Furball.  Furball’s death is blamed on Matt.  Tom takes Maria and Matt to the estate’s hospital where McGregor’s clone is strapped to a bed, writhing in pain.  His eyes and liver have been transplanted.  When the eejits die, they are turned into compost to fertilize the opium fields.  Felicia unleashes a venomous tirade to Tom how she wants to kill Matt.  Matt discovers the eejit pens, where they sleep in filth.  The eejits are exposed to carbon dioxide from the wastelands on still nights and are commanded to sleep in the fields, so they don’t die.  The army of bodyguards consists of wanted international criminals.  Tam Lin, El Patron’s personal bodyguard, was a Scottish Nationalist who accidentally blew up twenty kids on a school bus, instead of the Prime Minister and Prince Charlie in London.  Matt tries to escape when El Patron has a heart attack and needs a new heart.  Matt is tackled by a guard and strapped to a bed.  Matt is poisoned by Celia with foxglove and arsenic to make his heart too unstable to transplant – which saves his life.  Matt barely escapes the Farm Patrol into Aztlanos, formerly Mexico.  Fidelito recounts his parents being killed by the Farm Patrol’s stun guns.  The orphans are beaten for not producing enough each day.  They are fed plankton feed, which makes the boys sick and gives them skin conditions.  The Keepers are drug addicts and traffickers of laudunum.  Matt is beaten by a keeper and he and Chacho are thrown into the boneyard to die.  El Patron dies and determines that a toast to him be made at the wake with a special wine he has saved for the occasion.  The wine is poisoned and kills everyone but Tam Lin, Mr. Ortega, and Celia who decided not to toast the old man.  They are all buried with El Patron.  El Patron worshipped the Pharoahs of old, who were buried with their possessions. 

Sexuality:  Tom, a vicious boy, who torments Matt, is the son of a competing drug lord, MacGregor.  While Tom’s mother, Felicia, was married to El Patron’s great-grandson.  Felicia ran off with Macregor, only it didn’t work out because El Patron doesn’t like people taking his possessions.  El Patron had Felicia brought back to the Alacran Estate.  However, Felicia’s husband, Mr. Alacran, did not want Felicia back.  El Patron didn’t care.  Felicia was the Property of El Patron.  Rosa has a lover, Willum the Chief Doctor for the Alacran Household.  Maria, the young daughter of Senator Mendoza sneaks food to Matt and spends the night in the locked room. 

Adult Themes:  Human beings are cloned for transplants, or to be workers in the poppy fields. The minds of the clones are destroyed at birth.  The coyotes who smuggle Mexicans into the U.S. and vice versa lead the illegals straight to the Farm Patrol in the country of Opium, where they are injected and turned into eejits.  The eejits are essentially slaves to the Country of Opium.  The boys in Aztlanos are all orphans of parents who have been turned into eejits, while searching for a better life in the U.S. or Aztlanos.  The orphans are kept as slave workers by the Border Patrol in Aztlanos. 

Synopsis

One hundred years from now, Matteo Alacran’ will be harvested.  Matteo is a clone of El Patron, a powerful drug lord.  El Patron is the undisputed ruler of a new country called Opium, which lies on a narrow strip of land between what was once Mexico and the United States.  Matt’s first cells grew and divided in a petri dish.  The cells were then placed into the womb of a cow, where Matt grew from a fetus into a baby.  Matt is now like any other boy, except those in Opium do not consider him human.  He is considered a monster, an “eejit”.  Celia, a cook for El Patron, cares for Matt.  El Patron loves Matt, because Matt is El Patron.  In fact, Matt is the eighth El Patron clone to be born.  The other seven have been sacrificed for El Patron.  Their youthful organs transplanted into El Patron to enable him to live for nearly a century and a half. 

Matt struggles to understand his existence.  El Patron lavishes a privately tutored education upon Matt.  Matt’s perspective of the world changes as he sees the cruel reality of Opium.  Matt is continually threatened by the evil, power-hungry family, friends and army of bodyguards who surround El Patron and his amassed property.  They are all El Patron’s property.  Matt’s only chance of survival is to escape from the Alacran Estate in Opium.  His escape from Alacran is no guarantee of freedom.  Matt discovers his intense desire to live as he confronts adversity.

Ironically, the day I began reading this book, I was stung by a scorpion hiding in the sheets of my bed as I drifted off to sleep – one of the perils of living in a desert.  Farmer’s plot was innovative and intense.  This is one of the most powerful and thought-provoking books I have read.  The story is a coming-of-age story that weaves today’s ethical, scientific, political and socioeconomic issues into an amazing tapestry that becomes a powerful story of survival. 

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0 

Violence: 3 

Sexuality: 1 

Adult Themes: 0

Title:  Princess Academy

Author:  Shannon Hale

2006 Newbery Honor Book

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  Miri’s mother is hurt in the quarry while she is pregnant with Miri.  Miri is born early and her mother dies a week later.  Marda’s leg is broken as a cart in the quarry rolls back down the mountain and crushes her leg.  The teenage girls in the village are forcibly taken to the Princess Academy.  The tutor, Olana is an extremely strict teacher.  She punishes them with palm lashings and deprives them of meals.  Olana also locks them in a cold, dark closet inhabited by a rat.  The rat tries to nest in Miri’s hair, as she lies on the cold stone floor for hours.   Miri tries to run away as the bandits take the academy hostage.  She is tackled by a bandit.  Knut, the school caretaker has his arm broken by the bandits.  A bandit catches Olana by the throat and shoves her against the wall.  Dan, a bandit, lifts Esa from the ground by her neck and threatens to make sure she never speaks again.  Dan tells Onor, both bandits there will be “plenty of time for killing later”.  A bandit stuffs his cap in one of a girl’s mouth.  Dan gags Miri and pulls her by the hair.  He then threatens to slit her throat.  As the girls try to escape, Dan grabs Miri and tells her, “I’ll see you broken and dead.”  Dan and Miri fall off a cliff onto a ledge together.  Dan clenches Miri’s leg until Miri’s father strikes him on the forehead with a mallet.  He then falls to his death.

Sexuality:  Miri and Peder dance, hold hands and kiss.  Miri has butterflies when she thinks of Peder and envisions marrying Prince Steffan, who looks just like Peder.  

Synopsis

Miri is named after a flower that grows on Mount Eskel.  Miri is a fourteen year old girl, that lives in a village near the top of Mount Eskel.  The village quarries linder, a unique, highly-prized, pale stone used to build palaces.  At age eight, the children in the village begin to work in the quarry.  Miri’s father, a widower, has forbidden her to work in the quarry.  However, Marda, her older sister gets to work in the quarry.  Miri longs to be a part of the unifying song and speech of the quarry workers.  Instead, Miri spends her days tending to the goats and caring for their home.

A delegate of the King of Danlander arrives in the village and declares the priests have read the omens and divined the home of the prince’s future bride as Mount Eskel.  All teenage girls younger than the prince are required to attend a makeshift Princess Academy for one year to prepare for royal life.  The young women begin their education and their perspective is forever changed. The girls become fierce competitors for ”Academy Princess”, the valedictorian of the class.  The entire academy is then held hostage by violent bandits, hoping to ransom the future princess.  Miri finds a way to outwit the bandits, using a unique gift.  A new princess is chosen and Miri learns that real love is based on friendship.  Miri is a strong and determined young woman.  Miri realizes that the application of her education, will ultimately increase the quality of life for her village.

This book is not the predictable fairy-tale you envision from the title, “Princess Academy”.  This book is a multi-layered story about a young girl’s education, relationships and the meaning of family.  Her perspective of the world completely changes through the course of the story.  I found myself cheering Miri on in her quest for knowledge.  “Princess Academy” is a breath of fresh air and an inspiring book for young females to read.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1 

Violence: 4 

Sexuality: 3 

Adult Themes: 3

Title:  Al Capone Does My Shirts

Author:  Gennifer Choldenko

2005 Newbery Honor Book

Ratings Explanation

Language:  One instance of deity taken in vain.  Vulgar phrases like “crapper”  and “take a leak”.

Violence:  The children on the island recount the deeds of criminals.  ie.)  Favorite Crime of Al Capone aka Scar Face:  Dinner party of death!  Invites lieutenants in his organization known to have double-crossed him to a party.  After dessert, Al’s men lock the doors and Capone beats the traitors to death with a baseball bat.  Favorite Weapon:  Thompson Machine Gun.  Piper says, “The cons use shivs to stab each other, or kill our dads.”  Piper explains, a shiv is a dagger made of old silverware, or carved out of a pot handle.  The men imprisoned on Alcatraz have been tried and convicted of the most heinous crimes imaginable.  They are murderers, rapists, hit men, con men, stickup men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars and kidnappers.  The only guns on the island are up high in the towers or the catwalks, because one flick of the wrist and a gun carried by a guard is a gun carried by a criminal. 

Sexuality:  Moose thinks, “Something about the way she does this makes me glance down to make sure my fly is buttoned.”  Moose spills ink uncomfortably close to his fly.  No underwear is allowed to be sent through the laundry, since the inmates do the laundry.  The warden warns Moose that many of the convicts have not seen a woman in ten or fifteen years.  While Moose is watching Natalie, he leaves her alone to search for a baseball.  Natalie spends time with convict #105.  Moose is extremely worried, because he has no idea if anything happened to Natalie.

Adult Themes:  Moose is asked if Natalie is retarded.  Moose is asked by the teacher if it is his second time in seventh grade.  The kids on the island try to sneak into the morgue to see the “bread boxes of dead bodies”.   The kids on the island are simultaneously frightened and intrigued by the criminals.  Moose’s mother cannot handle the stress of Natalie’s autism.  His mother insists that Natalie, who is sixteen years old, is ten years old as they re-celebrate her tenth birthday year after year. Moose reaches his breaking point and the entire family benefits when he confronts his mother about her corrosive behavior.

Synopsis

It is 1935 and 12 year old, Moose Flanagan and his family move to the Island of Alcatraz, where his father is an electrician and guard.  The guard’s families are housed on Alcatraz.  Alcatraz is home to the most dangerous criminals of that era.   Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, Roy Gardner and many other notorious criminals are prisoners on Alcatraz.  The Flanagan Family moves to Alcatraz to enable Natalie to attend a special school in San Francisco.  Natalie is autistic.

The warden’s daughter, Piper is trouble.  She connives and persuades the children on the island to participate in her countless schemes.  As the warden’s daughter, Piper usually avoids the consequences of these schemes.  Moose also has the added responsibility of caring for Natalie after school.  Moose struggles as he tries to fit in on the island and at school, live up to his parent’s expectations and avoid trouble.

The story was interesting and mature in content.  This book was sold at my children’s elementary school book fair.  This book is more appropriate for an 8th – 9th grade reader.   I enjoyed the historical elements of the story.  Interesting fact, “Al Capone Does My Shirts” was  a phrase GI’s used in WWII to indicate that they were stationed in San Francisco.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0 

Violence: 2 

Sexual Content: 2 

Adult Themes: 1 

Title:  Fairest

Author:  Gail Carson Levine

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  King Oscaro is accidentally hit in the head by a large metal ring while attending a sporting event.  The impact causes him to slip in and out of consciousness for weeks.  Uju hurls a dagger into an ogre’s throat.  Aza is given a poisonous apple, which nearly causes her death.  Aza fights the evil villain, Skulni in the mirror. 

Sexual Content: The newlywed, Queen Ivi flirtatiously touches Prince Ijori’s cheek.  While traveling back to the castle, Prince Ijori and Aza spend the night together clasping hands.  They also share a kiss.  Aza bathes with gnome ladies in the lake.  The gnome ladies skin is wrinkled and leathery, so they do not seem naked to Aza.

Adult Themes:  Queen Ivi is intensely jealous of anyone she sees as a potential threat.  Queen Ivi is also very concerned about Prince Ijori’s attentions being directed towards Aza.

Synopsis

Aza has the most amazing voice in the Kingdom of Ayortha.  Aza can “illuse”, which is throw her voice while singing.  Singing is one of the two prized qualities in Ayortha, a kingdom that communicates through song.  However, Aza does not possess the other prized quality, which is beauty.  In fact, she is deemed ugly.  Aza is hidden in the shadows at the Featherbed, an inn her family runs.  Through fortuitous circumstances, she becomes the lady-in-waiting to the new queen.  Aza has to step into the limelight as her new role requires.   The new,  jealous Queen Ivi threatens Aza and she performs a dangerous task for the queen.  Aza learns where her real value lies as she begins the journey to save herself, the queen and the Kingdom of Ayortha, as the pursuit for beauty results in disaster.

This book is a great way to introduce youth to the consequences of basing their self-worth on their appearance.  The consequences are amplified and therefore appear ridiculous.  This book would be a great way to open up a discussion which would help your child to decide what they will value?  (Be prepared to break into song.)    

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1 

Violence: 2 

Sexual Content: 0 

Adult Themes: 1 

Title: The Alchemyst

Author: Michael Scott

Series: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

Rating Explanation

Language: One instance of profanity

Violence: There is an explosion in which creatures are destroyed. Fighting between humans, both mortal and immortal, and magical creatures. Many creatures are killed as is one person, but she’s not human.  Many of the magical creatures are quite creepy, some half-human and half-animal, “men” made from mud (Golems), wereboars (like werewolves, but boars) and skeletons and mummies. In one scene, the evil magician raises all of the dead from a cemetery and controls their skeletons to fight for him. Most of these are destroyed in the ensuing battle. Nicholas’s wife is kidnapped and held prisoner.

Adult Themes: For the most part, magic is fun to read about. I would say that is true for this book as well, but the bad guy in this book is a necromancer. To me, this is a little more creepy than your regular magic.

Synopsis

Josh and Sophie Newman are 15-year old twins spending their summer in San Francisco. They are average teenagers who work summer jobs, text their friends and listen to their ipods. But one summer day they stumble into a centuries old feud between two competing magicians. They discover that Josh’s boss, Nick, is the famous alchemist Nicholas Flamel and that he and his wife, Perenelle, are over 600 years old. Nick’s nemesis, Dr. John Dee, kidnaps Perenelle and steals the ancient book of Abraham the Mage. Nick needs Abraham’s book to brew their immortality potion because without it, he and Perry will age one year for each day they live. Time is literally running out for them. Abraham’s book also contains a prophecy about two who can either save or destroy the world. Could this prophecy refer to Josh and Sophie? Now the twins, Nick, and an ancient warrior, who is a vegetarian vampire, are on the run to escape John Dee, reclaim and book and rescue Perry.

I had a hard time putting this book down! Well written and full of interesting mythology, Scott left me ready to read the second book, The Magician. The third book in the series, The Sorceress, will be available in May of 2009.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0 

Violence: 3 

Sexuality: 0 

Adult Themes: 2 

Title:  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry Potter Series – Book One

Author: J.K. Rowling

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  The story of Harry’s parents death is recounted.  Cousin Dudley is cursed with a pig’s tail.  A troll sneaks into Hogwarts and creates havoc.  Harry and Ron attempt to rescue Hermione and take on the troll.  Ron puts a spell on the troll’s club and it hits the troll on the head which knocks him out.  A baby dragon nips and bites fingers.  A three-headed monstrous dog scares Harry, Hermione and Ron and almost bites off Professor Snape’s leg.  Harry is nearly killed playing Quidditch, as he falls from the sky.  Hermione puts a “full body bind” spell on Neville and he falls to the floor.  A large plant, “Devil’s Snare” nearly suffocates Harry and Ron to death.  The Chess Queen knocks Ron unconscious with her stone arm.  The most chilling and violent scene is when Harry comes upon Voldemort, a “slithering shadow” as he has just killed the innocent, a unicorn.  Harry sees Voldemort lower his head over the wound in the animal’s side and drink its blood.  Harry encounters Voldemort again, who has taken over Quirrell’s body as they wrestle for the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Adult Themes:  Harry is grossly neglected by the Dursley’s.  Age old battle of good vs. evil.  The evil states there is no good vs. evil, only power and those too weak to see it.

Synopsis

Harry Potter is an orphan.  His parents were killed by the evil villian, Voldemort, while he was still a baby.  Harry is unaware of who he really is.  Professor Dumbledore leaves Harry, as a baby, on his relative’s doorstep, where he spends the first eleven years of his life living with his aunt, uncle and cousin.  The Dursley’s treat Harry horribly.  He is neglected.  He sleeps in a tiny closet at the bottom of the stairs.  On Harry’s eleventh birthday, he is hit with a barrage of letters informing him of his acceptance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  His life changes as he attends Hogwarts and discovers who he really is – a famous child whom Voldemort could not kill.  Harry makes friends and enemies as he learns about the world of wizardry.  Harry has a chilling encounter with Voldemort as they vie for the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Each year, an entirely new group of children are introduced to reading the Harry Potter Series.  Ansel, my fourth grader, and I read this together aloud in a week’s time, by alternating paragraphs.   (Grab that glass of water.)  I found myself tempted to open the book while he was still at school.  This first book whet the appetite of both my young readers.  Unbeknownst to me, my first grader, Helena was often listening while playing in the same room.  We are currently reading book two aloud and Helena persistently asks when we can read the next chapter.  I believe I am now locked into reading the entire series aloud.  This first book was action packed and I thoroughly enjoyed Rowling’s sense of humor.

{FYI:  I have an unofficial tally of “orphan” hero’s and heroine’s in literature…..add this book to your own personal list.}

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0 

Violence: 1 

Sexual Content: 0 

Adult Themes: 1 

Title: Found

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Series: The Missing: Book 1

Rating Explanation

Violence: Two fights involving men punching, kicking, etc. One fight in which teenagers are involved.

Adult Themes: In the story, two boys become friends. One is adopted and the other one, at age 13, finds out that he was also adopted. He is very upset when he discovers that his parents have lied to him about this fact for his whole life.

Synopsis

Chip and Jonah are normal 13-year old boys. They play basketball and do their homework together and they are both adopted. When they both receive mysterious letters about their past, they become involved in a cover-up so big that the FBI is involved. Chip and Jonah and Jonah’s sister Katherine are in a race to solve the mystery before they lose everything they have ever known.

This is the first book in a new series by Margaret Peterson Haddix, author of the Shadow Children series.

My 11-year old is a big fan of the Shadow Children series and so she was very excited about this new book coming out. We both enjoyed it and it is always fun to talk with your child about a book you have both read. It’s a page turner.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1 

Violence: 3 

Sexual Content: 1 

Adult Themes: 2 

 Title: Enna Burning

Author: Shannon Hale

Rating Explanation

Language: “bastard” and name calling

Violence: There are gory battle scenes in which many die. A one-on-one sword fight to the death. People are shot with arrows, beaten up, and burned. Enna and her brother have the ability to set things on fire at will. They both burn the opposing army during separate battles. 

Sexual Content: A couple of innocent kisses. Enna has bathed and is wrapped in a blanket while her clothes are drying, a leering soldier comes in and pulls her blanket off. Luckily someone else enters the tent before he can harm her.

Adult Themes: This ability Enna has is overpowering. She feels an incredibly strong desire to burn things, and is sometimes unable to control herself. She tries to set her best friend on fire, but her friend is able to stop her. I think it is disturbing that this young girl could have such a terrible and destructive power inside of her. She tries to use it for good, to aid her own army, but in the end it almost kills her.

Synopsis

Enna Burning is a companion novel to Goose Girl and focuses on the life of Enna, Princess Isi’s best friend. Although this book can stand alone, it is useful to have read Goose Girl for background information.

Following the death of her mother, Enna and her brother Liefer live alone in the forest. Liefer discovers an ancient vellum that contains the secret to a great power. With this instruction, Liefer learns to start fires without help from wood or flint. In a heroic effort he burns an invading army in battle, but the fire consumes him as well. After his death, Enna seeks out this same gift and develops it. She also uses it to save Bayern from an opposing army, but finds that it is harder to control than she could have ever imagined. In an effort to survive, she and Isi travel to a far away kingdom where fire-worshippers live. Together they learn to control their separate gifts and balance the elements.

I read Goose Girl about a year ago with my kids and absolutely loved it. This book I liked much less. It seems heavy and sad most of the time as Enna battles with herself. There is romance and betrayal and rich characters, but for me, not one of my favorites.

Language: 2

Violence: 3

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 1 

Title: Heroes Don’t Run: A Novel of the Pacific War

Author: Harry Mazer

Rating Explanation

Language: Several swear words and profanities. Name calling and derogatory speech in boot camp.

Violence: Drill Instructor yells at recruits and punches one in the stomach. Marine recruits are trained to kill. The main character goes to Okinawa to fight where there is shooting, exploding shells and grenades. Descriptions of war. Two characters are killed in the fighting.

Sexual Content: No “dirty pictures” or “pinups” allowed at boot camp.

Adult Themes:  When Adam returns home after being wounded in the war, he is different. He is anxious and  nervous around people and noises. Adam’s father was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Synopsis

Heroes Don’t Run is the third installment of the trilogy about Adam Pelko.  The first two novels, A Boy at War and A Boy No More follow Adam from right before the attack on Pearl Harbor until he is ready to enlist. In Heroes Don’t Run, Adam joins the Marines at age 17, lives through boot camp and is sent to the Pacific for battle. Adam experiences the horrors of war in Okinawa and sees friends die for their country. Wounded in battle, Adam returns home a hero.

This book stands alone and can be enjoyed with or without having read the first two books in the trilogy.

My husband is a World War II buff and we all enjoyed reading this book aloud as a family. I was relieved that the descriptions of war were not too graphic, but be aware, it is about war and there are deaths and killing. Our kids didn’t seem bothered by the violence, but that could have been because we read it aloud together. Things always seem scarier when you are reading alone.

This would be a good choice for kids who are interested in WWII because it isn’t too intense but still gives them an honest and realistic description of the war in the Pacific.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 2

Violence: 2 

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 2 

Title: Cruise Control

Author: Terry Trueman

Rating Explanation

Language: Over 50 common swear words and 6 uses of profanity. The main character, Paul, refers to his severely handicapped brother as a “veg” and “wacked out.” A driver flips off Paul.

Violence: Paul has a very violent temper. There is a fist fight in which he hits, kicks and nearly kills a man. Paul’s friend, Tim, has a stepfather who hits his mother. When Tim discovers this abuse he beats up his stepfather and is sent to jail.

Sexual Content: Some sexual language including “dickhead” and “screw yourself”. In a conversation Paul says someone wants to “get into my sister’s pants.”

Adult Themes: 17 year-old Paul gets drunk and drives. The book is about how Paul deals with the difficulties of having a severely handicapped brother. He is sometimes ashamed of his brother and at times wishes he would die. Paul’s father has left the family because he cannot deal with the day-to-day care of his handicapped son. Paul is often angry and feels trapped because, in the absence of his father, he feels responsible to take care of his family.

Synopsis

Cruise Control is a companion to Stuck in Neutral, the story of Shawn, a severely disabled teenager who cannot communicate or control his body, but who can understand and feel and dream. In this book, Shawn’s older brother, Paul, is the narrator. Paul is a talented young athlete looking forward to winning the state basketball tournament his senior year and continuing on to college. But because his father has abandoned the family, Paul feels obligated to take care of his mother, sister and disabled brother. Paul hates his father for putting him in this situation and struggles with feeling trapped and angry. Paul is eventually able to resolve his feelings and comes to a point where he feels in control of his own life.

This book is full of raw, teenage emotion. I enjoyed it, but it might be a little intense for sensitive souls. Paul can seem unkind when speaking about his brother. If you are going to read this book, you need to read Stuck in Neutral as well.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence: 1

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 1 

Title: Peak

Author: Roland Smith

Rating Explanation

Language: 3 swear words, in addition, the word “crevasse” used twice to mean “ass”

Violence: A boy dies while climbing a skyscraper. Climbers die while climbing Mount Everest. A porter slashes a yak’s throat and sleeps in its carcass so he won’t freeze to death.

Sexual Content: Peak, the boy telling the story, explains that he was conceived in a 2-man tent in Yosemite Park.

Adult Themes: Peak’s parents are divorced and he almost never sees or hears from his father. As they get to know each other, their relationship is often strained when Peak’s expectations of his father are not met.

Synopsis

14-year old Peak Marcello is in big trouble. When he is caught climbing the Woolworth Building in New York City, his mother makes a deal that will keep him out of jail. But the deal includes Peak leaving New York and his family to live in Thailand with his famous mountain climber father, Josh. What Peak and his mother do not know is that Josh is planning for Peak to become the youngest climber ever to summit Everest. As Peak becomes aware of his father’s plan, he wonders whether his father truly loves him or whether he is using him for more publicity and fame for himself.

Climbing Everest is TOUGH, but Peak is ready for the challenge and he learns many life lessons as he climbs the world’s highest mountain.

We read this book aloud as a family and both parents and children loved it.

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 0

Violence: 1

Sexual Content:1

Adult Themes: 1 

Title: Shadow Spinner

Author: Susan Fletcher

Rating Explanation

Violence: After being betrayed by his wife, the sultan has her and all of the women in his harem killed except his own mother. He then marries a new wife each night, only to kill her in the morning so that he can never be betrayed again. There are no gory details, but the killings are mentioned several times. The sultan’s mother kicks Marjan, the main character, repeatedly and imprisons her. A girl of the harem is found drowned in a fountain and it is assumed that she was murdered.

Sexual Content: A very little sexual language, such as “make love to.” Concubines are mentioned a couple of times but not explained. The sultan’s mother accuses Shahrazad of taking a lover.

Adult Themes: The idea of the sultan killing so many women could be disturbing for some readers. The theme of betrayal carries throughout the book, but forgiveness enters the story at the end. Marjan’s mother appears to have betrayed her as a child, but the resolution of this is a beautiful part of the story.

Synopsis

Marjan is a storyteller, so when Shahrazad begins to save all of the young girls in the city from certain death by telling the sultan stories, she becomes Marjan’s hero. But after almost 1000 nights, Shahrazad has run out of stories. A chance meeting between the two “shadow spinners” brings Marjan to live in the harem. Shahrazad then sends her on a dangerous errand to find an old story the sultan heard as a boy and now longs to hear again. This quest takes her out of the palace and into the city where she discovers many things, only one of which is the story she is searching for.

I read this book over a year ago and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to read it again so I could post it on our site. It is a rich and interesting story with intriguing characters. I really like how the author presents the theme of forgiveness in the storyline of Shahrazad and the sultan and also Marjan and her mother. We can all use a good lesson on forgiveness – youth included!

©2009 The Literate Mother

Language: 1

Violence:1

Sexual Content: 1

Adult Themes: 1 

Title: Book of a Thousand Days

Author: Shannon Hale

Rating Explanation

Language: 2 swear words

Violence: A man smashes a girl’s arm against the wall. A man changes into a wolf and kills men by ripping out their throats. The wolf is killed with arrows.

Sexual Content: A very brief account of a Lord getting a commoner with child and then abandoning them. Two girls are worried that a group of men will take advantage of them. A man takes his clothes off in front of a young girl – there is nothing sexual or explicit in this scene. He shows her that he can change into a wolf. A girl takes her clothes off in front of an army. Again, nothing sexual or explicit in this scene. It is an act of submission.

Adult Themes: A father locks his daughter and her maid in a tower for 7 years because the daughter refuses to marry the man he has chosen for her.

Synopsis

Lady Saren refuses to marry the man her father has chosen for her so he locks her and her maid, Dashti, in a tower for seven years. During their imprisonment they struggle against cold, stifling heat, rats and hunger, but when Saren’s favored suitor visits he brings them hope and laughter. Unfortunately, he does not come to rescue them as he promised. The arrival of Saren’s other, unwanted suitor brings fear and darkness to the two girls. Their struggle to escape and then to survive results in many changes in both young women.

This is an original retelling of the classic tale from the Brothers Grimm.

I know I’ve read a really good book when, a few days after finishing it, I am still thinking about it. This is the case with Book of a Thousand Days.

©2009 The Literate Mother