Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai

Title:  Inside Out and Back Again

Author:  Thanhha Lai
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Year:  2011
Pages:  272
Genre:  Poetry
Themes:  War, Family, Immigration
Age Range:  3rd-6th Grade

Summary:  from Goodreads

For all the ten years of her life, Hà has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.
But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.

Review:
The story of Ha and her family is told through a series of free verse poems.  The story moves from Saigon at the end of the Vietnam war, to Guam, to Alabama, where Ha and her family are sponsored by an American man and his reluctant, cold wife.  Lai does a beautiful job evoking what life in Saigon was like right after the Americans left, creating a sense of foreboding an uncertainty that is unsettling.  Things don't really improve when Ha and her family finally board the ship for Guam...it is overcrowded, with no privacy and very little food.  When they finally reach the safety of the American naval base, their relief is quickly replaced by more uncertainty about their future.  Only families that are sponsored by an American are allowed to relocate in the US, and Ha's family has to wait until someone comes forward.

Ha's family reacts in different ways to their leaving Vietnam.  One brother is angry and hostile towards the move, one is looking forward to going to living in Bruce Lee's homeland.  One takes a very Zen approach, not really appearing to care.  Ha's biggest worry, one shared with her mother, is that their father, who has been missing in action for three years, will never be able to find them if he tries to come home.  But Lai makes it pretty obvious that the family really had no choice-if they wanted to survive, and not just survive but have a chance to thrive, they had to leave Vietnam.

Lai also does not shy away from showing us just how ugly the American attitude was towards Vietnamese refugees was in the weeks and months following America's exit from Southeast Asia.  People in the small town where Ha and her family land were indifferent and best, and downright mean at worst.  Ha's frustration over feeling dumb in American schools is palpable, and for good reason.  Her inability to speak English gets in the way of even the most basic human transactions, and as a result people can take advantage of her and her family.  Luckily one of her brother's speaks English, and the family is able to communicate their basic needs to their sponsor, but that doesn't help Ha make friends, or her mother find work.  Even when people think they are being kind, Ha and her family have such a different perspective on life that they don't always take the gestures in the way people intend.  Fortunately for Ha, their sponsor introduces them to a former teacher who tutors Ha in English, despite the fact that her son was killed in Vietnam.  This book provides a great opportunity to teach poetry as a narrative form, and there are lots of chances for cross-curricular connections in social studies.

Firegirl, by Tony Abbott

Title: Firegirl

Author: Tony Abbott
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Year: 2006
Pages:  147
Genre:  Realistic Fiction
Themes:  Disability, Acceptance, Friendship
Age Range:  3rd-5th Grade

Summary:  from Goodreads

"...there is..." Mrs. Tracy was saying quietly, "there is something we need to know about Jessica..."
From this moment on, life is never quite the same for Tom and his seventh-grade classmates. They learn that Jessica has been in a fire and was badly burned, and will be attending St. Catherine's while getting medical treatments. Despite her horrifying appearance and the fear she evokes in him and most of the class, Tom slowly develops a tentative friendship with Jessica that changes his life. 

Review:
I loved this book!  Recently there has been a spate of novels about kids with disabilities finding varying levels of acceptance-both from themselves and from others.  Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, Mockingbird by Katherine Erskine, The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Drunen...all of these books do an excellent job of bringing attention to the issues that children and youth with disabilities deal with on a daily basis.  Most of those books are for intermediate or middle school readers, and schools in my district have used them as part of a unit on dealing with disabilities and acceptance.  Well, Firegirl can definitely be added to the list of books perfect for teaching these important social justice concepts.  The reading level is lower than any of those other books, making it perfect for use during guided reading or literature circles for your lower readers. The readability may be easier, but the content is just an challenging, and the opportunities for discussion are just as numerous, as any of the other books I mentioned.

The book is told from the point of view of Tom, a seventh grade student at a prestigious private school in New Haven, Connecticut.  When Jessica joins their class, the other students are not sure what to make of her.  If you've ever seen a burn victim, then you have some idea of what Jessica's appearance was.  Abbott describes it in pretty vivid detail, but not gratuitously.  Tom, an inherently kind boy, feel very uncomfortable with his classmates reactions to her, and to their speculation about how she got the burns that scarred her so horribly.  He finds himself torn between doing the right thing and preserving his friendship with his best friend, who takes what seemed to me to be an irrational dislike to Jessica.   Abbott does an excellent job of showing Tom's inner turmoil, and even when he chooses compassion over peer acceptance, the book never falls into the trite, Hallmark moment sentimentality that mars so many TV movie attempts at showing these same kinds of stories.  Jessica is also a pretty realistic, complicated character.  She is not always likeable, she does not always make good choices, she is obviously scarred emotionally and not just physically by what happened to her.  The temptation with these kinds of characters is to make them saccharine, to reduce their very real struggles with tropes about inner strength and heroism, when in reality the road to recovery is long, painful, and full of dark moments.  Abbott avoids that-you feel compassion and sympathy for characters, but never pity or sappiness.

Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliet

Title:  Chasing Vermeer
Author:  Blue Balliet
Publisher:  Scholastic
Year: 2004
Pages:  254
Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Magical Realism
Themes:  Fitting In, Coincidences, Art, Friendship
Age Range:  3rd-6th Grade

Summary:  from Goodreads

Balliett's book follows young Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay as they piece together separate, seemingly disconnected events to locate The Lady Writing, a Vermeer painting that gets stolen en route to Chicago's Art Institute. Going on the theory that there are no coincidences, the two wonder about the link between their teacher's statements, Petra's dreams, a book Petra finds in the library, and other clues that set the reader guessing as to their significance as well. But after they learn of the culprit's aim to correct untruths about Vermeer's life and art -- which spurs them into full-throttle detective work -- the pieces all come together in a brilliant ending sure to make readers cheer, "Ah ha!"

Review:
If you are a fan of The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler, but are looking to use more recent books in your classroom, then Chasing Vermeer should be right up your alley.  This mystery for the elementary school set is full of intriguing coincidences, art history, and enough clues to make teaching inferring a pleasure rather than a chore.

The main characters, Petra and Calder, are both oddballs in their 6th grade class.  They go to the University of Chicago Lab School, a place where teachers are encouraged to "teach outside the box", and their teacher, Mrs. Hussey, certainly takes that philosophy to heart.  Rather than use a prescribed curriculum, Mrs. Hussey allows the interests of the children and the questions they have about the world to drive her instruction.  As a teacher, tht sounds like heaven, especially in these days of test, assess, and test again!  This type of learning really appeals to Petra and Calder, and definitely prepares them for the mysterious circumstances in which they find themselves.

One of the delights of this book for me, other than really smart characters and an emphasis on art, which I love, is the setting.  The book takes place in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, an area of the city I know really well.  It is where the University of Chicago is, and as such is an interesting blend of diverse people from all over the world-students, professors, and local Chicagoans alike.  One of the most important places in the story is Powell's Books, which is one of my very faorite bookstores in the world!  There are many references made to locales around 57th Street, including parks and restaurants that I could instantly picture when they were mentioned in the story.  Of course, if you aren't a Chicago native, you can still appreciate the way Balliet describes the beautiful buildings on the U of C campus, and can probably feel the raw cold of late fall/early winter in Chicago. 

Aside from the mystery of the missing painting, which ends up having a fairly mundane explanation, there is an element of magical realism in the story.  There are just too many coincidences for them to actually be coincidences, but what (supernatural?) power may be at work behind the scenes is a mystery.   In addition, both Petra and Calder have what can only be described as visions-Petra in dreams (both waking and sleeping), and Calder in the random (or is it?) appearance of certain number patterns and shapes.  There's lots of fodder for discussion here, and the opportunity to make a curricular connection with art by studying the paintings of Johannes Vermeer, a real Dutch artist from the 17th century.

The Wishing Spell, by Chris Colfer

Title:  The Wishing Spell
Author:  Chris Colfer
Publisher:  Little, Brown Young Readers
Year:  2012
Pages:  438
Genre:  Fantasy
Themes:  Sibling Rivalry, Family, Dealing with Loss, Fairy Tales, Adventure
Age Range:  3rd through 6th Grade

Summary:  
Alex and Connor are twins.  They live with their mother in a small house in a small town.  Their father died the year before, and they and their mother are trying to figure out how to move on with their lives.  Their grandmother comes to visit, and among the gifts she brings them is a beloved book of stories.  But this book is no ordinary book-it is a portal to the fairy tale world, where their favorite story characters are real, and where beanstalks really grow and wolves really gobble up little girls.  Alex and Connor get trapped in this world, and in order to get home they must collect the items needed to do the Wishing Spell.  But this task is not an easy one-some of the items include Cinderella's glass slipper and Little Red Riding Hood's basket.  And they are not the only ones looking-Snow White's stepmother, the Evil Queen, needs to spell to take revenge on her stepdaughter and regain her throne.  Alex and Connor go on the adventure of a lifetime, and learn about the power of love an perseverance in the process.

Review:
I wanted to love this book.  I really really did.  I am a big fan of fantasy stories in general and fairy tales specifically, and the author is the actor who plays Kurt Hummel on Glee, one of my favorite television shows. So I tried really hard to like it.  Sadly, I just couldn't.  I didn't hate it, but there are some major issues with it that I just couldn't get past.

The story itself is promising-two young people from the 21st century who fall into fairy tale land and have an adventure.  But Colfer tried too hard to fit in something from EVERY fairy tale ever...you couldn't turn the page without another random character from some story or other turning up.  Sometimes this moved the story along, sometimes it seemed gratuitous, and that was when I took issue.  The book is quite long for a story aimed at intermediate school-age kids, but at the same time some of the events happened in a flash, so fast that there was no time to really get emotionally engaged with whatever drama or danger was happening to the characters.

Colfer actually did a pretty good job with the main characters.  Alex was a lonely girl who loved to read and was very good in school.  I identifed with her the most, since I was a lot like her myself in elementary school. Connor was a good kid, but school was hard for him, and he preferred playing with his friends to reading.  Even though he wasn't a mean kid, he was often in trouble at school for falling asleep in class or not completing his work.  As a teacher, I know plenty of real-life kids who are just like them, and I honestly did care about what happened to them.  Unfortunately, I don't feel like the rushed pace of the story did much to develop them much beyond where they start.

Like many first authors, and especially young authors, Colfer's writing feels immature.  There were parts of the story that read awkwardly, and parts that felt incomplete.  This book is designed to be the first in a series, and I will probably give the second book a try, even though I was not too happy with this one.  I feel like I owe it to one of my favorite young actors to see if he can develop as grow as a writer.  Younger readers will not take issue with some of the things that bothered me, so I'd say this book is worth having in a classroom library.  And MAYBE for use as a read aloud if you are teaching a fairy tales unit.  But I don't see enough quality writing to make it worth using for guided reading or literature circles.

Nathanial Fludd, Beastologist: Flight of the Phoenix

Title:  The Flight of the Phoenix (Nathiel Fludd, Beastologist #1)
Author:  R.L. LeFever
Publisher:  HMH Books for Young Readers
Year:  2009
Pages:  138
Genre:  Fantasy
Themes:  Family Tradition, Adventure
Age Range:  3rd-5th Grade

Summary:  from Goodreads

Nathaniel Fludd’s life has taken a turn for the worst. With his parents lost at sea, he lands on the doorstep of a distant cousin—the world’s last remaining beastologist. Soon Nate is whisked off on his first expedition, to Arabia, where the world’s only phoenix prepares to lay its new egg. When disaster strikes, Nate quickly finds himself all alone.

       Will he be able to see the phoenix safely hatched, keep his accidental pet gremlin out of trouble, and rescue his guardian from the Bedouin? If he fails, nothing will stand between the world’s mythical creatures and extinction.

Review:
I have always been a fan of fantasy novels. Ever since my parents gave me the Narnia books for Christmas when I was 10, I have loved being swept away to imaginary lands full of rare and mysterious people and creatures.  As such, I had high hopes for this series.

Nathaniel is definitely a sad sort of boy.  Left behind while his parents went on an expedition in the arctic, stuck in the care of a woman who cares less for him than for the money she gets for taking care of him, Nathaniel longs to be old enough to accompany his parents on their journeys.  When news comes that they have been lost at sea, his caregiver wastes no time in dumping him on his only remaining relative-a cousin he has never met-in fact, never even knew existed.

But in cousin Phil (short for Philomena),  he discovers a rich source of family lore, and discovers that he is the last in a long line of Fludds who did the most dangerous and most important of jobs-caring for the mythological beasts that most of the world believes to be imaginary.  And it isn't long before he gets his first taste of adventure, as Aunt Phil whisks him off to Arabia to guard over the birth of a new phoenix.  Of course, flying there in her two seater plane, accidentally adopting a gremlin, and having to rescue his aunt from an angry Bedouin chieftain was more than he bargained for.  Even so, Nathaniel rises to the challenge in true Fludd style.

As narratives go this one moves pretty quickly.  There is very little in the way of character development or backstory when it comes to anyone other than Nathaniel.  That said, I enjoyed it almost as much as I'd hoped.  It reads a bit like the Series of Unfortunate Events books, though without the caustic narrator that made those books so unique.  While the book does deal with the loss of Nathaniel's parents and his general fears and anxiety, it doesn't really lend itself to serious discussion.  Mostly it is an enjoyable romp through an alternate past, and as the first of a series promises many more romps to come.  I think it would make a great addition to a classroom library, especially for those kids that are fascinated by mythical creatures.

UnSouled, Neal Shusterman

Title:  UnSouled
Author:  Neal Shusterman
Publisher:  Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Year:  2013
Pages:  403
Genre:  Dystopian, Science Fiction
Themes:  Society, Freedom, Social Justice
Age Range:  8th Grade and Up

Summary:  
The third installment in the Unwind dystology continues the story of Connor, Lev, Risa, and Cam, the rewound boy.  Connor and Lev are once again on the run from Proactive Citizenry, the organization that is protecting the process of unwinding through propaganda and manipulation of the government.  Cam, one of Proactive Citizenry's greatest achievements, is on the run too.  Tired of being used by the organization for their own purposes, Cam decides to bring down the organization that created him to show Risa how he really feels about her.  Connor and Lev know that in order to get the answers they are looking for, and to stop unwinding forever, they need to track down a woman that Proactive Citizenry has tried to erase from history.  But will she be able to help them save the hundreds of thousands of teens who are in danger of being unwound?

Review:
UnSouled reads like what it is-a middle novel in a longer arc, where lots of things happen but very few things are resolved.   There are some interesting new developments, including a further exploration of the "storkers" and their leader, as well as the backstory to the unwinding process itself.  Something else that is the same-the sense of horror that the reader feels when the cruelty and inhumanity towards those who are destined to be unwound rears its ugly head.  What makes this book series all the more terrifying is how realistic some of the policies and propaganda that Proactive Citizenry puts out feels, given that this is a work of dystopian science fiction.  We may not yet have the ability to take apart people and use all of their tissue for medical procedure, but anyone who follows the way that certain groups within our society dehumanize other groups (the poor, immigrants, prisoners) can't help but notice some parallels between their world and ours.  I can't really see a future where we allow minors to be given over for unwinding, but there are certainly groups of "disposable" people in our world, people that no one makes a fuss over when they are the victims of violence-state sanctioned or otherwise.

I know that UnDivided, the last book in the series, is being finished practically as we speak.  I am definitely ready to see how the disparate threads of the narrative are wound together (pun intended) to resolve the story of freedom, equality, and ultimate humanity that Shusterman has created.

The Running Dream, by Wendelin Van Draanen

Title:  The Running Dream
Author:  Wendelin Van Draanen
Publsiher:  Knopf Books for Young Readers
Year: 2011
Pages:  332
Genre:  Realistic Fiction
Themes:  Overcoming Obstacles, Disability, Loss, Friendship
Age Range:  6th Grade and Above

Summary:  from Goodreads

Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run? 

As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.

With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her

Review:
 I wasn't sure what to expect from Van Draanen's book, The Running Dream.  I knew her best as the author of the Sammy Keyes series and the Shredderman series for intermediate age readers, and to be honest while I find the characters in those books pretty endearing, I wasn't sure whether Van Draanen could pull off the level of depth that a story like this seems to require.  I shouldn't have been concerned-The Running Dream is a touching story about a girl who learns to deal with the devastating loss of her dream of running in the Olympics, while at the same time learning the importance of not stereotyping someone based on their disability.

Jessica goes through the well-known stages of grief over the loss of her leg, as well as the death of her teammate in the bus crash.  She alternates between depression, anger, denial, and hope during her time at the hospital, and throughout the process of transitioning back to home and school.  Luckily for her, she has a best friend that won't give up on her, and a team that comes together to get her back on the track.

Her support system is definitely a major factor in her recovery, but what really makes her come to terms with her new reality is her friendship with Rosa.  Like many people, Jessica always assumed that anyone with the type of physical disabilities that Rosa has must also be cognitively impaired, which is often far from true.  Rosa is smart and funny and warm, and she reminded me of the character from Sharon Draper's Out of My Mind, which also busted some stereotypes about the physically disabled.  Their friendship definitely ups the emotional impact of the book.