Zero Tolerance

by Claudia Mills

Genre: Realistic fiction
Age: 11+

Sierra Shepherd is in 7th grade, and is probably the best model student ever. She's in Leadership Club, helped to sew the banner displaying Longwood Middle School's four values (Rules, Respect, Responsibility and Reliability), always gets straight A's and always - ALWAYS! - follows the rules. So when she opens her lunchbox at school one day and finds she accidentally brought her mother's identical one rather than her own and finds that it contains a paring knife, she - naturally - turns it in to the lunch lady, expecting to hear a "Thank you for being responsible. We'll contact your mother immediately." But Sierra's school has a Zero Tolerance policy - absolutely NO drugs and NO weapons, with NO exceptions and NO excuses. Even if it was just an accident and Sierra just wanted to hand it in. Now she's facing an expulsion, and is spending her days in in-school suspension... with the "bad" kids. But soon she starts to realize that they aren't juvenile delinquents... nor is she the most perfect student in the school.

The author of this book brought up an issue that actually happens today and crafted a totally real story about it. My dad actually read an article in The Economist about the same thing Zero Tolerance talks about - zero tolerance policies in schools. There were some pretty strange things in the article that qualified for expulsion or suspension. For example, according to the article, The Perils of Peanut-Tossing, a school with a dress code of black shoes decided the situation was major enough to bring in the police when a five-year-old boy who didn't have black shoes wore red shoes colored in with black Sharpie, and red splotches were still visible. And talking about firing a Hello Kitty soap bubble gun earned a suspension. Is it really OK to suspend young children for such minor reasons as this? Is it worth it? Besides all that, Zero Tolerance is written is a really engaging way, and I also enjoyed seeing how Sierra and her view of herself and others changed throughout the course of the book. This is a novel where that is very, very true.

Saints

by Gene Luen Yang

Genre: Historical fiction graphic novel
Age: 12+
This book is actually part of a long novel, Boxers & Saints, in two parts, Boxers and Saints. They are from different sides of the story in the Boxer Rebellion. This one is supposed to come second, but if you read it first it also makes sense.

Four-girl was born in China as the fourth daughter to her mother on the fourth day of the fourth month. In Chinese, "four" is a homonym of "death," so her family treats her not-so-nicely. They didn't even bother to give her a name! Her grandfather especially. He thinks she's a devil. So she tries to become a devil. She "freezes" her face in a "devil face" and is taken to a doctor who helps her stop. But then she causes a tragedy. One day she finds a person in the woods - a person who is a girl but looks like a boy and is wearing armor. She tells the doctor about it, and he takes her to the priest. Four-girl becomes a Christian, and finally she gets a proper name... Vibiana.
But China during the Boxer Rebellion is not a safe place for Christians like Vibiana. Will she stay true to her new faith, or will she abandon it to be safe?

This book had a really unusual ending to me. It was definitely out of the ordinary. But it fit the story very well, so I'm not complaining or anything. I think my favorite part of Saints was the epilogue. It felt so strong and... it was a great epilogue for this book. I think the theme of religion was also really strong, and I liked how Vibiana traveled through her faith... I thought it was very true-to-life. Overall this book stayed with me for a long time after I read it. It gave me a lot to think about.

Peanut

by Ayun Halliday and Paul Hoppe

Genre: Graphic novel/Realistic fiction
Age group: 10-11+

Sadie Wildhack is moving to Plainfield. She's going to be starting at Plainfield Community High School as a sophomore. Nobody in Plainfield knows her yet, though. And Sadie thinks this is the perfect opportunity to start over.
She decides to rework herself and invents a severe peanut allergy - she tells everyone that if she ate just a little bit of peanut, or breathed it in, she would die. And the thing is - everyone believes her! Then the nurse finds out, and Sadie is overloaded with an all-new complication - an Epipen.
Soon what started out as a ploy to attract attention becomes a full-scale fabrication. Sadie is living a lie, and it's no small task. Just one little slip-up could destroy her carefully constructed new life... and such a slip-up is dangerously easy to happen.

I think this book as a graphic novel is especially appealing. The pictures are really great. The whole thing is done in gray-and-white, but Sadie is always wearing a bright red shirt so she stands out.
Why did I like this book? Well, I thought the story idea was really... fresh and new. There are plenty of reworking-yourself books out there, but the idea of creating a fake allergy was so different. The way the plot works in this book is also really good - it's sort of like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Not that the book is bad! I don't mean it that way! But you sort of know in the back of your mind that something is going to go wrong, somewhere, and you can't do anything to stop it from happening. I just really liked this book because it builds up so well and the suspense going up to the climax is really good. Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

by Mark Haddon

Genre: Realistic fiction/Mystery
Age group: 11-12+

Christopher John Francis Boone has autism. His mother died a short while ago, and now it's just his father and himself. He is incredibly smart and knows every prime number up to 7,057. He observes things other people don't. He understands animals. But he isn't always the best at understanding people.
One night, Christopher notices that his neighbor's poodle, Wellington, has been stabbed with a garden fork. When the police accuse him of murdering the dog, he decides to be like Sherlock Holmes and find the real killer. 
But his dad disapproves. He thinks it's dangerous for Christopher to be walking around and questioning people about the crime. He wants Christopher to leave the matter alone. Christopher doesn't want to, and when his dad eventually takes his notebook with his account of the mystery away, he goes looking for it. And when he finally finds it, he also discovers some things about his parents' marriage that open up a whole new mystery. 

This book was very realistic. Christopher narrates the story, and Mark Haddon captures his voice perfectly. At times the book was actually a little bit sad.
This book is also very thoughtful. Christopher thinks about things other than the mystery at times, like math or the way humans evolved. Also, the plot is just thoughtful in general. It is an interesting situation with great characters, and it's a really well-told story. The inside flap of the book says "And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon's choice of narrator: The most wrenching of the emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion." I agree with the inside flap. Having the narrator as an autistic child has so much more depth than if it were someone without autism. That's probably why I liked the book so much - it was poignant and real.

Shiver

by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Fantasy
Age group: 12+

Grace has been captivated by wolves for years. In the forest behind her house, there's a pack of them. She watches them. Especially the one with the yellow eyes - that one is her wolf.
As a child, Sam was bitten by a wolf. Now his life is drastically different. In heat, he's a boy. But in the cold, he's a wolf. He lives behind Grace's house, and he watches her. He is the one with the yellow eyes.
One day, a kid in Grace's town was killed by the wolves. His name was Jack. Jack's parents and a few others hate them. So one day, they take a hunting party out into the forest, and start shooting at the wolves. The yellow-eyed wolf - Sam - was shot in the neck. He shows up on Grace's porch, and Grace helps him. They begin a relationship together. But Sam knows the day is coming when he's going to become a wolf and stay a wolf. And Jack wasn't really killed by the wolves... he's now a werewolf too, and an unstable one. He has discovered a mystery in Grace's past... one that could keep him permanently human. And he's determined to get it.

This book was very well-written. It is another story of the difficulties of love, but it isn't written like a sappy poem. It has plenty of action and excitement as well, plus a little bit of mystery at the end. I have heard that this is like Twilight, only better (I haven't actually read Twilight myself). The viewpoint switches between Sam and Grace, and both characters have lots of depth. I especially like the author's take on werewolves - the ways I've seen them interpreted are usually as horrible beasts. But here, they have a lot of emotion and are conscious of themselves as both humans and wolves. The descriptions in this book are lovely. Very good read overall.

Belly Up

by Stuart Gibbs
Genre: realistic fiction
Age group: 10+

It started as a normal day for Teddy Fitzroy. He was at FunJungle, America's hottest amusement park-zoo, sneaking the monkeys water balloons to throw back at visitors. But when the news came, the day was anything but normal. Henry Hippo, FunJungle's official mascot, was dead.
And it was worse than that: After the autopsy, it was uncovered as murder!! Teddy needs to get to the bottom of this. But the police don't take him seriously. So, with his new-found friend, Summer McCracken, daughter of the park's owner, he sets out to uncover the culprit.
But it's not going to be easy. Not only are there too many suspects to count, dangerous wild animals keep getting released whenever Teddy's around. Somebody knows Teddy is hunting for the killer - and they want him dead.

This book has the perfect mix between funny and suspenseful. The characters are interesting, the plot is interesting... The author keeps you guessing at who the real murderer is. Stuart Gibbs is, based on his writing in this book, good at mystery. He deftly weaves in clues that lead to one thing... but no, that person couldn't possibly be the killer. The final answer is not especially unexpected, but it isn't predictable either. Overall, Gibbs has created a thoroughly enjoyable novel that definitely keeps you on your toes.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

by Mary E. Pearson
Genre: Science fiction - futuristic but not totally dystopian
Age group: 11+

Jenna Fox is 17 years old, and she has just woken up from a year-long coma caused by a terrible accident. She has also lost her memory, and at the moment she is trying to relearn everything she used to know. The funny thing is, she can recite history facts galore, but she can't even remember if she had a friend.
Her family has just moved to her grandmother's house. But Jenna's parents are acting strange. They're being overprotective and secretive. What really happens during her mother's trips to see her dad? Plus, all her neighbors think she's only been at the house for two and a half weeks - not even close to a year.
Then Jenna discovers a deep, dark secret, and she needs to find out what really happened in her past.

I especially liked this book because it wasn't like a normal science fiction book. Most of the science fiction books I've read are about cloning, or aliens, or something else. But instead of going along predictably like an average book, The Adoration of Jenna Fox has a very unique plot twist that was never expected. It also raises interesting questions. It asks you, "What does it mean to be human?" This book is great for many types of people: If you like science fiction, here is a book that has a new twist on the genre. If you don't like to read, it's organized in shorter 1-3 page sections rather than 20-page chapters. If you like to think, this book makes you think. If you just like to read, period, this book offers a thoughtful and well-written story.

The Gospel According to Larry

by Janet Tashjian
Genre: Nonfiction...
Age group: 12+
Rating: *****(5 stars)

There's this website. It's called The Gospel According to Larry. It's run by a person, Larry, who is, at least for the moment, hiding his identity. He writes "sermons" about anti-consumerism, and the site is growing more and more popular by the day.
Josh Swenson is 17 years old. His mom is dead, and the girl he's in love with is dating a jerk. And, he just so happens to be Larry.
He is the one behind the "sermons." He's the person who's been writing the blog. But nobody knows except for him. People have tried and are trying to figure out Larry's identity, but none of them have succeeded yet.
Until one day, someone starts posting comments on The Gospel According to Larry. This person is determined to weasel out the true identity of Larry, and expose him for all the world to see. And the problem is, whoever it is is coming pretty close.
Josh still has to protect Larry's identity, and in the end he has to make a choice. But it isn't easy.

Based on what I read, this book is a true story. That is probably one of the main reasons I love it so much. It's mind-blowing to see how the story unfolds, and even more mind-blowing to know that it really happened. Suddenly, all of these crazy things are happening, just because of one website.
Larry's philosophies are also very interesting. They are very thoughtful and really give you a lot to think about. It's also interesting the way he writes them--rather than super-formal and stuffy, he puts real voice into them.
Overall, this story was very real and honest, and that is the other main reason why it was really great. Even though the content is amazing and sometimes sounds crazy, the way it is told makes it sound very real, like it could happen to you. Of course, it did actually happen, so maybe that has something to do with it. But overall, this was a great read. I recommend it to everybody.

Shug

by Jenny Han

Genre: Realistic fiction
Age group: 11+
Rating: ****(4 stars)

Annemarie Wilcox, nicknamed Shug, is now 12 and things are changing for her... And not necessarily in a good way. Her mother is an alcoholic (a fact Annemarie is very sensitive about), her father is barely at home, and when he is both her parents are constantly fighting. Plus, her close friends are growing not-so-close, now they're all in middle school. Especially Mark, who Annemarie is starting to think of as more than a friend...
Jenny Han does a really great job of capturing the difficulties of middle school without going totally overboard. Annemarie's voice is very real, and the story is realistic and interesting. The plot is relatable, and Han does an excellent job taking all the emotions middle school can bring and mixing them up into a wonderfully real novel.

Red Thread Sisters

by Carol Antoinette Peacock

Age group: 10+
Genre: Realistic fiction
Rating: **** (4 stars)

Wen lives in an orphanage in China with her best friend, Shu Ling. Shu Ling and Wen do everything together. Ever since Wen joined the orphanage when she was five, Shu Ling looked after her. But one day everything changes and Wen is adopted by an American family. She's happy about being adopted, but very sad about having to leave Shu Ling behind. Director Feng says she probably isn't going to get adopted, because of her clubfoot. She promises Shu Ling to help her get a home and then leaves for America. Life is hard in America. She knows English but somehow can't let it out. She misses Shu Ling a lot. And most of all, she's finding it really hard to tell her new mom she loves her. But she stays true to her word, and keeps trying to find a family for Shu Ling. It isn't easy--can she do it before Shu Ling turns 14 and can't be adopted any more? She has to--after all, they're red thread sisters.
This book was really great. It had many emotions in it, and the author does a really good job conveying those emotions through the characters. For example, during the one really suspenseful moment in the book, she shows the suspense by describing all the characters rather than just saying it straightforwardly. The characters also have a lot of depth. They are all pretty fully developed and so they're easier to relate to and to feel for. I thought Red Thread Sisters seemed very real and full and warm. I liked it a lot.

Small as an Elephant

by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Age group: 10+
Genre: Realistic fiction
Rating: ****` (4.5 stars)

Jack Martel is going camping with his mother in Maine when one day he wakes up and she isn't there. This isn't exactly unusual - his mom has an illness, and back in Boston she did this sometimes. But there's a big difference from being safe in your own house and being in a small campground with only $14.63 and no food. School is starting in Boston, and Jack knows people are going to notice he's not there. He sets off on a journey to find his mother, but it's going to be hard - sure enough, his friends and family notice he's not in Boston and soon everyone's looking for him. But if they find him, they will have to take him away from his mom because of her illness. He has to lay low while trying to get back to Boston and find his mom - and it's not easy.
I thought this was a really interesting book because it takes place in cities and towns. Usually survival stories are in woods or some other rural, mostly uninhabited area, but Small as an Elephant isn't. The problems for this type of survival story are VERY different. For example, Jack has to deal with the problems of having no money, and whether or not he can trust certain people, which don't really need to be worried about in the woods. Because of that, this book stands out from the other survival novels out there. I also thought this book had an interesting plot, where the mother isn't as straightforward. I liked how the story was more weaving instead of going in a straight line. There are also many elephant references throughout, which sort of adds a solid standing point for Jack as he searches for his mother. Excellent book.

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

by David Lubar

Age group: 12+
Rating: ****` (4.5 stars)
Genre: Realistic fiction

Scott Hudson is just starting high school--and it's not easy. His friend group is slowly breaking apart, the bullies pick on HIM, for some reason, and his mother has just announced she's pregnant. Oh, and that girl, Julia, he used to be friends with in kindergarten? She's suddenly gone from the blending-in type to highly attractive and highly unattainable. Now he has to deal with hard-to-understand Spanish teachers, mean gym teachers, LOTS of homework, and... well... life itself. Since he's finding high school so hard, he decides to write a guidebook for his soon-to-be sibling, hopefully a boy. And during his journey through his freshmen year, Scott learns a lot of important things--about friends, books, life and girls. 
This book is really great. Mostly, it's just plain HILARIOUS. Scott has a very funny, real voice. David Lubar did an excellent job writing from his perspective. Because of this, it's easy to relate to Scott and his problems (most of the time) and the book is more down-to-earth and interesting. This book is a light read, and it deals with a few more serious problems in a not-too-serious way. Scott breaks up the chunks of text with lists for his soon-to-be sibling that are usually hilarious. It's a good summer read because of the lightness, but it's also good for school because of the shorter chapters and because it's about school. 

The Apothecary

by Maile Meloy

Age group: 10+
Rating: ****` (4.5 stars)
Type: Fantasy/historical fiction

It's 1952. Janie Scott used to live in Los Angeles, but when the government started following her home from school because her parents were communists, her family moved to London. Her school is strange, and she doesn't really like it in England until she meets Benjamin Burrows, an interesting boy who dreams of being a spy and whose father is the apothecary down the street. Under the cover of playing chess, they spy on a Russian, Mr. Shiskin, the father of Sergei, a boy at Janie's school. And one day, he leaves a message in a newspaper, which is then picked up by... Benjamin's father! The message reads:

Jin Lo has been taken. You'll be next. 

Janie and Benjamin discover a mysterious book called the Pharmacopoeia, filled with recipes for magical potions written in Greek and Latin. The elixirs are more incredible than ever--invisibility potions, transformation potions, potions to make you temporarily mute and potions to turn you into salt. But bad people, evil people who want the book for the wrong reasons are coming. Janie and Benjamin must protect the book, keep it away from Russian spies (who could be anyone) and stop a nuclear bomb from exploding. But they can't do it alone--enlisting the help of a snobby girl, a scruffy street boy, and many magic elixirs, Janie and Benjamin embark on an incredible adventure.

I remember a really long time ago my mom got this book out for me and I was not interested in it at all. Now, I have absolutely no idea why. What really makes this book interesting is the potions. They turn it from a regular historical fiction into a fantasy historical fiction, which really can make all the difference. It's a really great story as well. The Apothecary had a fast buildup. It got exciting quickly and stayed that way. Maile Meloy is a very talented writer. I recommend this book highly.

Beauty Queens

by Libba Bray
Age group: 13+
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Type: realistic fiction, mystery

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream Pageant are on their way to the competition, when their plane unexpectedly crash-lands on an uninhabited island covered in tropical plants and animals.
What a way to start the day! Most of the girls die in the crash, and others are wounded. Miss New Mexico even got an airplane tray stuck in her forehead! Finally, Miss Texas, a girl named Taylor Rene Crystal Hawkins takes charge. She idolizes Ladybird Hope, former Miss Teen Dream, and supposedly knows exactly how to run a group of beauty queens abandoned on an island. But even with a leader, the girls don't have much experience in survival skills. Should they be practicing their dance routine or hunting for food? Sunbathing in bikinis or building a shelter? Each girl has their own specific problems, from dealing with transgender-ness to having an obsessive mother to actually hating pageants and just joining so they can ruin it. Not all of them agree and get along, but somehow they have to manage... or else they die!
But not everything is what it seems... MoMo B. ChaCha, president of the Republic of ChaCha, is developing some sort of weapon to destroy The Corporation and... the Miss Teen Dream Contestants! And he may be having an affair with Ladybird Hope! Can the girls manage to get off this island and save themselves and save their world?
This book is really, really funny. For your entertainment, The Corporation provides many ads for their products throughout the book--Lady 'Stache Off, Git R Done, the TV show Patriot Daughters, and the movie Wedding Day 3: Third Time's the Charm--which are exceedingly funny and lighten the mood of the book, even with sinister things happening in the book. Even if this book does have some swear words in it, I definitely recommend it. It shows the bad side of things like beauty pageants. I have heard that the audiobook version of this is very good as well.

Tuck Everlasting

by Natalie Babbitt

Rating: *****
Age: 10+
Type: Fantasy

One day at the height of summer, ten-year-old Winnie Foster ran away. Her parents never let her go past the huge iron gate separating her yard from the main street without them, and she felt trapped and upset. So she ran away to the woods behind her house which she owned. There she met a boy, Jesse Tuck, drinking from a spring. Winnie wanted to drink too, but Jesse wouldn't let her, for some reason. But after a talk with the other Tucks (Jesse's brother, Miles, mother, Mae, and father, Angus Tuck), she finds out why. Apparently if you drink from the spring, you'll stay exactly as you are forever. That's what happened to Jesse, Miles, Mae, Tuck, and their horse. However, Winnie can't tell anyone, because if she does, everyone will want to live forever, and that would be bad. It's magical for Winnie, and even if the Tucks take her to their house for the night, they're going to bring her home the next day. But there's a man in a yellow suit who wants to use the spring for his own sinister purposes... Can Winnie and the Tucks save their secret? When Mae hits the man in the head--hard--with a shotgun, rendering him unconscious, and is caught by the sheriff, it doesn't help matters. The Tucks are accused of kidnapping, and if the man in the yellow suit dies, which he might, then Mae gets the gallows. But Mae can't die, and if she's hanged everyone will know! Winnie must help the Tucks, before it's too late.
This book is really great. It has a lot of deep thoughts in it. It makes you think. It's interesting to see how Winnie changes from the start of the book to the end. She gets more thoughtful and mature. You also get to see the Tucks' different views on life and everlasting life. This book is also really sad. Natalie Babbitt makes you really like the characters and then at the end you feel sorry that they have to leave. This book is very emotionally touching, at least for me. Even though this is a book I had to read for school, it would be something I'd read again on my own time. I recommend it to everybody.
There is a movie version of this book, also titled Tuck Everlasting. It is NOT as good as the book. They changed a lot of things, and it's not as emotionally touching. My advice would be to read the book instead of seeing the movie, or read the book before seeing the movie. They basically changed it into an action-adventure movie.

Scorpia Rising

by Anthony Horowitz
part of the Alex Rider series, book 9 (the last one)

Rating: ****` (4.5 stars)
Age group: 10+
Type: Fiction

Scorpia is a terrorist group with recruits from all over the world. They are notoriously hard to catch and powerful beyond belief. However, there is one spy who has bested them before--MI6 member Alex Rider. Even though he's only 15, he's very good at his job. Even if Alex,  is a great spy though, he just wants to be a normal boy. But Alan Blunt, head of the MI6 (a British spy organization), wants Alex to take a mission in Cairo, Egypt, where a child is needed. The job? Infiltrate the Cairo International College of Arts and Education, the CICAE, and keep an eye on the principal, Erik Gunter, who might be trying to kidnap the wealthiest kids in the school. But what MI6 doesn't know is that  whole thing is a trap set by Scorpia to get rid of Alex once and for all. So when Alex is captured by Scorpia, he's in deep trouble.
This a great book. Anthony Horowitz is really good at writing action scenes. He makes them intense and suspenseful. He's also good at describing things, and that plus the action make for a really good book. There are a lot of sinister characters who make great antagonists, and the protagonists are proportionally good. Anthony Horowitz puts his characters into many sticky situations and he doesn't always try to protect them. Most of the time, they're on their own, and he even lets some of the good guys die. Overall, really wonderful book.

Boy2Girl

by Terence Blacker

Rating:***` (3 1/2 stars)
Age group: 12+
Type: Realistic fiction

Matthew Burton's cousin is coming to do more than visit--he's living with Matthew's family for a while, because of his family. Sam Lopez is moving to England from America and it's a big change for him. He's kind of an outcast, and one day Matthew's group he hangs out with sets him a deal: if Sam pretends to be a girl for 5 days to infiltrate a girl group at school, he can be part of their gang. It works, and soon everyone's convinced Sam (Samantha) is a girl, but after 5 days, Sam doesn't want to stop. He just keeps going. Then his father comes to town, and he must hide from him. And on top of that, he still has to break the news that he's a boy!
This book is very interesting. Sam does a strangely good job of being a girl. However it's one of those stories where the narrative changes quite a lot. Other books like that change every chapter, but here the narrator changes every few paragraphs. It's kind of unnerving. And also the girl's group at school is called the B****es which is slightly strange, even though they have a good explanation for it. But other than that, this is a pretty good read.

Chew on This

by Eric Schlosser

Rating: ***** ( 5 stars)
Age group: 9+
Type: non-fiction

This book describes the disgusting reality behind fast food--from the customer service and the employee treatment to the slaughterhouses and preparation of the food. The author follows the food fresh from birth to dead, on your plate. There are many pictures throughout, which add to the paragraphs and stop it from being a massive wall of text. However this book isn't for the faint of stomach. Describing things such as gory employee injuries--one unfortunate worker was turned into lard when he fell in a vat--and what really goes into your hamburgers--hint: it has something to do with body waste--don't read this volume if you favor your chicken nuggets!
I especially liked this book because it was very informative and interesting. It was nice to finally know the truth about fast food. It was also interesting to find out how people create television ads, because they do that very strategically. My favorite part was probably the employee injuries because they really are gory. It shows how much these places cover up.

The Wednesday Wars

by Gary D. Schmidt

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Age group: 10+
Type: historical realistic fiction

Holling Hoodhood's teacher hates his guts. Why else would she possibly make him read Shakespeare outside of class?
It's 1967 and Holling has a lot to worry about. There's a war going on in Vietnam. He has to keep a good reputation since he's going to inherit Hoodhood and Associates, the architecture family business. Cream puffs. His crush, Meryl Lee, who doesn't always like him and whose father owns a rival architecture company. Mean kids at school. Oh, and there's a pair of giant rats lurking around too. So why does Mrs. Baker have to add reading Shakespeare to the stack?
Eventually, though, Holling learns to appreciate Shakespeare and the Bard starts to improve his life. But after an unfortunate newspaper article featuring him--him!--wearing only yellow tights and white feathers around his butt, it all comes back, with even more worries to haunt him.
This book is very realistic and doesn't seem like historical fiction when you read it, except for the mentions of war. For example, they practice going under their desks in case there is a bomb. Holling has a believable and slightly sarcastic voice that is fun to read. This book is also pretty good, because even if all Holling's worries seem unconnected, Shakespeare ties them all together so it's not a scattered plot. Mostly this book is told with Holling's sarcastic voice but some parts are more sentimental. Overall, this is a really great book.

Life As We Knew It

by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Rating: ****` (4.5 stars)
Age group: 10+
Type: dystopia

Miranda Evans is living a perfectly normal life with her two brothers and divorced mother. Recently, meteorologists have predicted that a meteorite will hit the moon and be visible from Earth. It's supposed to be beautiful and everybody in her neighborhood is looking forward to it. However, on the day of the collision, the meteorite actually pushes the moon closer to Earth. This causes havoc on Earth, raising the tides, blocking out the sun, and causing volcanoes to erupt and storms to happen often. Pretty much everyone thinks the world is going to end. Miranda's family must struggle to survive, stockpiling food and keeping warm, because the moon has changed weather too. People around them are dying, even close friends. The gas company can't supply them anymore, and stores are shut down. They're only surviving because of their woodstove that doesn't need gas.  But they still have many troubles... can they make it through everything?
This book is really gripping. It is told in a diary format and Miranda's voice is very believable and realistic.  The family troubles that don't have to do with the weather are also believable. Something else that is realistic is the portrayal of life after the moon moved, even though it hasn't happened. It's a dystopia but it's not a crazy and strange dystopia. It seems like it could actually happen. Life As We Knew It is a great survival story. It is very thought out. It ends at a sort of drop-off, but there are also some sequels which are called The Dead & The Gone and This World We Live In.