Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I re-read this book as part of the 2014 Hub Challenge. The awards this book has won and continues to win speak to its popularity as a book all teens and adults should read! Fifteen year old Lina’s life in Lithuania changes drastically when the Stalin regime brands her family, “thieves and prostitutes.” They are rounded up and forced from their homes and their land to the deprivation of Russian Siberia. Separated from her imprisoned father; Lina, her mother, and little brother, each try in their own way to survive the brutality of the Russian soldiers and the harshness of their environment. In the twelve years that they are brutalized, fall ill, and starve; thousands die, but it is through a determination to live to see their homeland, that drives these deportees to triumph through the hell of their imprisonment. If you loved The Book Thief, this book will speak to how the world must never let this kind of genocide ever occur again.

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Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowsi

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Don’t Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this advance e-book, I loved it! The title fits this book perfectly; a group of students from Room 10B get their flu shots (with lots of hemming and hawing) at lunch. Imagine their shock when they begin to hear what their friends are thinking, yes, thinking!!! Mlynowski’s book is funny (imagine hearing one of the thoughts, “will anyone see me picking my nose?”) full of teen angst, relationship highs and lows, and the beginnings of friendship and love. The cast of characters is pretty large and that is a good thing because the teens are all so different; lots of great plot lines. As the teens learn to deal with their ESP (they refer to themselves as Espies) they decide to keep it a secret within their group; they have daily meetings with Pi (Miss Control Freak) taking the role of leader. Mackenzie and Cooper are dating and everyone (but Cooper) finds through her thoughts that Mackenzie cheated on Cooper with Bennett. Cooper’s telepathy kicks in later than the groups and he is especially chagrined with the lies and secrets of his family and friends. Tess loves her best friend Teddy; when they go the movies, she hears he is very interested in someone else, Sadie. Tess also hears her friends and family think she needs to lose weight. Olivia is a quiet, shy girl who really enjoys the telepathy because she has so many friends now and lands her first boyfriend, who knew? But things heat up as their eyes begin to turn purple and the school nurse has been replaced with a red-headed nurse (Pi hears her thoughts and she is looking for all the Espies, uhoh).Mackenzie’s Sweet 16 Party holds lots of surprises. What will happen next? This book will appeal to all teens, reluctant readers and voracious readers. I couldn’t put it down, Mlynowski’s collective use of the Espies talking to the reader (they know everything!!!) really keeps the pace of the book moving, surprising, and fun. Realistic fiction with a touch of the supernatural, just perfect for teens!


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The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies an Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb

The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The pursuit and capture of Adolf Eichmann after 15 years as part of the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jews was a profound and thrilling read. The secret plan was thoroughly planned by Jews who personally survived the Holocaust and lost loved ones in the concentration camps and the government officials of Israel. A highly recommended read for young adults and adults as a reminder of the atrocities by Hitler and the Germans against the Jews. Six million were exterminated and many were shot, beaten, starved and worked to death in addition to the furnaces of the concentration camps.

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Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this stunner of a book for the 2014 Hub Challenge and I wanted to know more about this Island of Blessed as Eric Seven visits to write a story about the island's secrets and beauty and seeming simplicity. As Eric meets the friendly island people, he falls in love with Merle who has always lived on Blessed. As days pass, Eric sleeps deeply, rides a bike, drinks tea, swims and tries to remember what he is supposed to be doing. Sedgwick uses short stories to flash back and forward as the story of Blessed is revealed. I especially enjoyed the storytelling that weaves Eric and Merle's love through the ages as they search for each other. Their names change during the time of the Vikings; and other characters after they die become wolves and vampires and always there is a dragon flower on the island with properties that can heal or hurt. The mystery and beauty of Sedgwick's writing kept me turning the pages.

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Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak

Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In re-reading this book for the 2014 Hub Challenge, I wanted Cameron to succeed, I wanted him to get the girl, and Zusak does a great job of showing Cameron's insecurities, his depth of character, and how getting the girl changes his relationship with Ruben. Even though he doesn't have her for long, and Ruben beats him up, it is his sister who helps Cameron find himself through poems and observations. Cameron is a strong protagonist who finds his place in his family and in the world with his questions and pining about relationships with girls. Cameron gets my vote any day as the Wolfe brother who matters.

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Fighting Ruben Wolf by Markus Zusak

Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a new high school librarian in 2003, this was one of my favorite and first books to read. This book started me as a Markus Zusak fan. In re-reading it again for the 2014 Hub Challenge, this book of two Australian brothers who fight to make money to help out their father with his finances is still a winner of family dysfunction, sibling rivalry, and the tough life of the Wolfe brothers. Ruben is a natural at fighting, wins all the girls, and has no fear. Cameron, the younger brother, is sensitive, not really great at fighting and has many fears. My students loved this book; the readers, the reluctant readers, and the urban fiction readers (and reading teachers) all liked this book.

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I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusack

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I re-read this book as part of the 2014 Hub Challenge and it is still one of my favorite books. Ed thinks of himself as a loser; he drives a cab and loves his best friend, Audrey (who doesn't love him back), and I will never forget his coffee drinking dog, The Doorman. When Ed foils a bank robbery, he begins to receive playing cards in the mail, directing him to different situations and we see how well (or not) he handles the different missions. It is the slow, sure way that Ed becomes a different person by helping others that impacted me the most. I loved reading hangdog Ed and seeing him become a better person with each person he helped. A very satisfying read:)

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