VVMBookBlog

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.

Rat Life by Tedd Arnold

Intense! Intense is the one word I would use to describe this book. Todd is a fourteen year old boy who becomes involved in the mystery of a dead body found floating in the river. He is also a typical fourteen year old boy who likes to write but has difficulties when it is for a school assignment. From the very beginning of the novel, parts of the story are difficult (VERY difficult) to read. In one particularly difficult passage, Todd meets Rat. Rat is a Vietnam vet who offers Todd his first paying job. Many people (novel takes place in the 70s) find Vietnam vets psycho. Is Rat a person Todd should befriend? .

This post doesn’t do justice to the book. It’s difficult to give a description of the story without giving too much of the story away. Most people will read Rat Life from cover to cover without taking much of a break. At points the story is uncomfortable and bizzare. It is a book for mature readers.

My Dad’s a Punk edited by Tony Bradman

This is a book of short stories about fathers and sons. My Dad’s a Punk includes different types of fathers and their relationships with their sons. Some dads are embarrassing while others are infuriating. Some dads are always around while others are disengaged. The stories in this book are serious, funny, and imaginative. No two stories in this book are the same as no two dads are the same. All sorts of different families (fathers and sons) are depicted in this book which shows sometimes the father son relationship is difficult. Again short stories are great for reluctant readers because they can pick and choose without reading the entire book.

Summer Ball by Mike Lupica

This is the second book I’ve read by sports columnist, Mike Lupica. As I mentioned after reading Heat, it is refreshing to have someone who knows sports write books for young adults. Summer Ball is a sequel to Travel Team, which I have not read. Although it was a sequel, it was easy to follow the story. Now I will need to read Travel Team.

Even though Danny Walker is short, he plays basketball. His dad was a player in college and in the lottery for the pros. Danny’s dad practices with him and sends him to a summer camp. When Danny gets to summer camp, he gets put with a coach who does not like his dad and seems to have it against Danny. Lucky for Danny his friends help him get through summer camp. One of these friends is his girlfriend who happens to be across the river from the camp. Camp is not easy on Danny in fact the coach suggests he play soccer instead of basketball. Since the coach is such a jerk, as are other players at camp, one can’t help want the best for Danny. At one point he thinks about leaving camp and going home.

This is definately a book about basketball and boys who participate in sports will like it. It is also a book about friendship and being part of a team. In Summer Ball there are definately characters you like and characters you dislike because of their actions.