North Chicago Public Library's Book Review Blog

Whip It by Shauna Cross

northchicagopubliclibrary — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:15:22 +0000

Bliss is sixteen and stuck in a little hick town in Texas, an hour away from Austin. She’s a tragically hip girl with a tragically un-hip pagent mom. Bliss’s mother and grandmother were both crowned Miss Bluebonnet, and naturally Bliss’s mom wants her to continue the tradition. But Bliss hates pagents. She’d much rather listen to indie music and sarcastically insult her peers at school. But one day, Bliss and her BFF Pash stumble onto a Roller Derby match, and Bliss decides to try out. She’s Babe Ruthless of the Hurl Scouts. Can anything stop her from skating her way to freedom?

Heck: Where The Bad Kids Go by Dale E. Basye

northchicagopubliclibrary — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:41:46 +0000

Milton and Marlo Fauster are about as un-alike as it’s possible to be and still be siblings. Marlo is a classic trouble-maker. She causes havoc and shoplifts. Milton is the kind of kid who’s read the dictionary, always brushes his teeth a hundred times after everything he eats, and who always has his homework done and ready early. But at the Mall of Generica, Marlo asks Milton to hold a bag for her while she’s at the cosmetics counter, and for the first time in his short life, Milton inadvertently steals something. While most people would be able to make amends for that mistake, Milton can’t. You see, while Milton and Marlo are running from the security guards, Damian, whose favorite past-time is making Milton’s life a living heck, has stuck a firecracker into the rear end of a giant grizzly bear shaped statue made entirely out of marshmallows, and when the bear explodes, it sends flaming hot marshmallowy goo everywhere, killing Milton and Marlo. The kids end up in Heck, tormented for all eternity, or until they turn eighteen, whichever comes first. There has to be a way out. Right?

Chanda’s Wars by Allan Stratton

northchicagopubliclibrary — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:07:35 +0000

Chanda has a recurring nightmare about her mother. Everyone she talks to tells her the dream is telling her to go to Tiro, the town where she found her mother dying, abandonded by her family. She makes her way to Tiro with her brother and sister, and for the first few days, things are nice with her grandmother and aunts and other relatives. But there are rumors that a rebel leader is leading soldiers through the mountains and the animal park and are headed her way. And one night, her brother and sister are taken. The village has been sacked. It’s up to Chanda and her friend Nelson to track the kids down and rescue them from becoming child soldiers.

Groosham Grange by Anthony Horowitz

northchicagopubliclibrary — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:10:45 +0000

David Elliot is twelve years old when he find himself expelled from a fancy private boarding school. The morning after his expulsion, his parents recieve a package from Groosham Grange, a brochure detailing the school and a letter of introduction. The letter, it says, requests Mr. Elliot’s response within the half-hour. Something seems a little strange about the school, and when David gets there, it’s even weirder. The assistant headmaster doesn’t have a reflection. Another teacher is always gone during the full moon. And the school has two heads. That’s only the begining. So why does David have to sign his name in blood, and why is he there because he’s the seventh son of a seventh son? The only thing David knows for sure is that there’s no getting off of this island.

Ranger’s Apprentice: Book One: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

northchicagopubliclibrary — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:25:40 +0000

Will never knew his parents. His dad died in a great battle before he was born, and his mom died in childbirth. He’s been raised as a ward of the Baron, and, as all wards do, must, goes through a “choosing” when he is fifteen. He’s small for his age, so he doesn’t get accepted into Battleschool, which is where knights are trained. He begins to think that he’ll have to go be a farm hand, and then a Ranger named Halt agrees to take Will on as his apprentice. Will’s good at climbing up the side of the tower to filch cookies from the kitchens unseen, and he starts doing well as a Ranger’s apprentice. But there are rumors going around that an old enemy wants to restart an old war.

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck

northchicagopubliclibrary — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:15:35 +0000

Bob is twelve, and in the middle between high school freshman Phyllis and first grader Ruth Ann, when his Methodist preacher father moves the family to a small town in Piatt County, Illinois in 1958. The move in next door to Grandma Dowdel who “doesn’t neighbor.” It’s tough for anybody to move into a small town, but it’s especially tough for Bob, a PK (Preacher’s Kid). For one thing, his welcome to the town comes when a group of boys take him swimming in the creek, clothes on the shore, and then they hog tie him with fishing line, leave him only his shoes, and hang him from the roof of Mrs. Dowdel’s outdoor privy.

This is a companion to Richard Peck’s Newberry Award winning book A Year Down Yonder, and his Newberry Honor Award book A Long Way From Chicago.

The Sisters Club by Megan McDonald

northchicagopubliclibrary — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:14:38 +0000

Stevie is the middle sister in an acting family. Her older sister Alex loves being in the spotlight and is trying to get the part of Beauty in the drama club production of Beauty and the Beasty. Her younger sister Joey wants to be older, so she gives herself homework because her older sisters have homework. For Stevie, though, it’s hard work being a middle sister, even if you’re in the Sisters Club.

The Clique by Lisi Harrison

northchicagopubliclibrary — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:14:27 +0000

When Claire Lyons moves from Orlando, FL to Westchester, NY with her family, she has no idea what she’s getting in to. Suddenly she’s living in the guest house of one of the most popular girls at the private school. Massie is rich, a fashionista, and totally into her three best friends. What Massie doesn’t want is a tagalong like Claire. How can Claire and Massie survive such close proximity to each other on a daily basis?

The Clique was made into a major motion picture.

Ms. Hannah is Bananas by Dan Gutman

northchicagopubliclibrary — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:35:49 +0000

A.J. is in second grade at one very weird school. His teacher, Miss Daisy, is crazy. His princpal, Mr. Klutz, is nuts. And the librarian, Mrs. Roopy, is loopy. But now the second graders are starting art class, and there’s something weird about the art teacher. She wears a dress made out of pot holders, and she never throws anything away. Ms. Hannah, A.J. decides, is bananas, especially for making him work together with Andrea, who thinks she knows everything.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

northchicagopubliclibrary — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:19:23 +0000

Frankie Landau-Banks is fifteen and a sophomore at a prestigious boarding school. Her parents still call her Bunny Rabbit. No one takes her seriously. She isn’t content with just being considered pretty, even by the senior boys, even after one of the senior boys, Matthew, starts pursuing her romantically. Eventually, Matthew starts ditching Frankie, claiming prior commitments, but always staying vague about what they are. One night, Frankie follows Matthew, and she stumbles across a meeting of the Secret Order of the Basset Hounds, a secret society her father was in years earlier. The Bassets plan elaborate pranks, but mostly the club exists for bonding and networking once the boys are out of school. Frankie has no chance to join. So, after giving Matthew many chances to tell her what’s going on, Frankie creates an email address based on one of the Basset’s leader’s nicknames, and she starts crafting better, more elaborate pranks for the Bassets to pull.