VVMBookBlog

Logan is angry–angry at his control-freak step-father Robert, angry at his mother for not defending him against Robert’s sometimes strange actions, and angry at how all the forces in his life seem to be working against him.  And his anger causes him to do some dumb things.  Then, in order to teach Logan some “discipline and responsibility,” Robert decides that Logan needs a dog, which ends up being a mutt–a female named Jack–from the animal shelter.

This all happens against the backdrop of a strange disease that seems to be killing off all of the dogs in the area, but not before the dogs become sick enough to viciously attack anyone or anything around them.  This part of the book made it feel a little like a eerie, Stephen King-type book where forces beyond anyone’s control are building up for a bad ending!

Can’t say this was the best book ever.  Maybe there were a few too many coincidences. However it did keep me reading to see what happened with Logan, his family and Jack.

[This is one of those "don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover" books!]

What would cause you to run away from home? For 12-year-old Dani (real name: Katahdin) it was the death of her brother (name: Springer) from muscular dystrophy, the divorce of her parents, and the way her life looked after those two tragedies.

And if you were running away from home, where would you go? Dani decided she wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail, one long continuous 2170-MILE trail running from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. (See map) If those mountain names are familiar, you should know that Dani’s parents met, and were married, while they were hiking the trail.

Now if you’re running away from home, and soon after the start of your escape your mom comes to find you to take you back home, what would you do? Well, I guess you can read Halfway to the Sky to find out what happens from here. Does she achieve her goal of becoming a “thru-hiker” on the Appalachian Trail?

Knowing people who have hiked parts of the Trail “section-hikers”, I liked reading more about what it’s like to hike the trail. Readers who like “problem” books about how people react to challenges in their life will enjoy seeing how Dani hikes her way through her challenges.

[Map image from http://www.appalachiantrail.com/]

(This has been posted before by Ms. Moeller, but that’s because she’s faster at getting these Maud Hart Lovelace books read than I am! Two more weeks until school starts. I’d better hurry!)

I’ve heard good things about this story, and I agree that it is a good mystery with lots of suspense. Stevie and Susan Carol are 8th graders who won a writing contest to go to the USBWA (like NCAA) Final Four and be members of the press, including filing feature stories for some newspapers.

Stevie and Susan Carol, accompanied on this trip to New Orleans by their fathers, didn’t hit it off right away; Susan Carol’s favorite team ever was Duke and Stevie’s most UN-favorite team was Duke and anything connected to Duke. But eventually they go on to try to solve the mystery of a conversation they hear in the back hallway of the arena: Why is Chip Graber, star player of the Minnesota team, being blackmailed into throwing the final game of the tournament? (Note: Their success is made possible by the apparent lack of attention by their fathers of what they are doing when and where, but that’s another story.~~MC)

In real life the author, John Feinstein, is a sportswriter for the Washington Post and a sports commentator for National Public Radio, so sports is his world. Readers of this book really get a feel of things that go on at a Final Four weekend, including the personalities of the famous sportscasters and lots of behind-the-scenes activities. And, of course, there are the exciting moments in the basketball games. Check this interview of John Feinstein by the Time for Kids website.

And now we need to read the next one called Vanishing Act where Stevie and Susan Carol are together again and involved in a kidnapping incident.

Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee (Ani) is the Crown Princess of Kildenree. This basically means she is the next in line to the thrown. Her mother has taken great care to train her for this position, but Ani may not be quite up for the task. Although Ani does do as she’s asked, she’s more comfortable spending time with birds and other animals. Things go terribly wrong, and Ani’s brother is set to take over the thrown while Ani is sent to another kingdom. Once again things go terribly wrong, and Ani becomes a peasant and needs to beg people in order to get a job and food. She becomes the “goose girl” in charge of the king’s geese. In an extraordinary series of events Ani has the chance to stop a war and meet some wonderful (and not so wonderful) people. This book as a fighting, survival, romance, and adventure. Goose Girl is for those who love books about princes and princesses with a lots of action. Although I thought it was a bit difficult to get started with the story, I really liked the book in the end.

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

Ned Begay is a Navajo Indian who leaves his home to go to school because his family thinks he should learn English. At school he and the other boys are not allowed to speak in their native tounge (Navajo). This is only interesting since the United States Marine Corps is looking for people who speak Navajo to help in WWII. Ned is only sixteen, but he really wants to join. Although his parents probably don’t think it’s the best idea, they let him sign up.

Ned joins the Marines and WWII. He is a “code talker.” The Japanese are not able to break the code (basically Navajo language), so the Navajo soldiers are important to the US. His story is told as he goes to different locations in the war such as Hawaii, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. This story gives a brief history of the war from the voice of a soldier experiencing the different conflicts. More importantly, it tells of the Navajo Code Breakers a part of history that isn’t necessarily always taught.