VVMBookBlog

Stargirl is back, but now she’s living in Pennsylvania and trying to get over being “dumped” by Leo back in Arizona. The book is actually a long letter Stargirl is writing to Leo but never sends. The diary-like entries describe Stargirl’s new life and the new interesting people now in her life:  out-spoken little Dootsie, tough-girl Alvina, and supposedly bad-boy Perry. She is home-schooled now since her previous try at public school didn’t work out so well!

Stargirl is still very much a free spirit and luckily finds people who are willing to tune into her spirit and her interests. Yes, it probably would help to read Stargirl first, although there are enough “catch-up” hints at what happened in her previous life in Arizona. It should be an enjoyable book, especially for girls, and it made daily journal-writing seem like a great idea!

While researching his report on India and India’s political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi, Dave is inspired to do like Gandhi by not talking for a whole day. This personal challenge turns into a bet with his project partner, Lynsey, about which gender–boys or girls–in their grade could come out ahead in a 2-day no-talking contest. They developed some ground rules about how to answer teachers’ questions and then, as of the end of lunch time, the contest was on!

Teachers at their school weren’t sure how to deal with this contest, especially since this grade was know as the “Unshushables.” But, as in other Andrew Clements books such as Frindle, this turns into some interesting interactions between the “silent” students and their teachers and principal. Unfortunately the story is told about a group of 5th graders, but hopefully 6th grade readers can overlook that and see the fun and humor in No Talking.

Time Bomb by Nigel Hinton

This book takes place in post WWII London. Andy and his friends have found a hang out. The hang out is an old bomb factory. All four boys have difficulties at home and use this as a place to get away. They also have had a horrible experience with their teacher and principal which continues to haunt them. Escaping to the bomb factory gives them the sense that they can fight against those who wrong them. Time Bomb is really a coming of age book that discusses the difficulties adolescents face in day to day life. Andy’s dad is cheating on his mom. Manny, a Jew, still deals with prejudice even though the war is over. Bob stutters and his small for his age. Eddie has a horrible step-father and the ability to get into trouble easily.

Although the war is over, the aftermath still affects their everyday lives to some extent. When the boys discover a bomb, they decide not to tell anyone. It is their secret. Many secrets are kept in this book, but this may be the most dangerous.

Most readers will be able to find a little bit of themselves in these four boys. This book doesn’t have a lot of action and adventure, but it is a good read. The characters truly make the book interesting.