Teen Book Reviews by Katherine Vasilik, Young Adult Librarian for The Franklin Lakes Public Library.
Tracking Trash : Flotsam, jetsam, and the science of ocean motion
Loree Griffin Burns
Where does garbage go? One Nike sneaker washed up on the coast of Washington state caught the attention of one man. The discovery of hundreds more Nike sneakers (and rubber duckies, and plastic toys, etc.) over time encouraged scientists to track such trash, which is referred to as flotsam and jetsam. By studying ocean currents, scientists are able to determine how debris is carried through the ocean, where it might wash ashore, and what can be done to protect the living things suffering as a result of careless or accidental dumping. The statistics presented in this book are staggering, especially with regard to the destruction of marine life. What began as an oceanographic experiment has turned into a serious endeavor to make people around the world aware of their role in the health and survival of our whole planet. This book forces readers to look at their own actions and to take responsibility for the part they play in keeping the oceans – and land – clean and safe. This is a very readable book, filled with photographs and maps, offering an interesting scientific foundation to lead into a lesson in social and environmental consciousness.
Great for all readers, especially middle school students who are researching for a report, are interested in learning more about the ocean and marine life, or are particularly intrigued by trash!
Audrey, Wait!
Robin Benway
As if high school couldn’t be bad enough on a normal day, imagine your ex-boyfriend writes a song about your breakup and sings it in front of everyone you know. And then that song makes him (and you) famous. We’re talking MTV, paparazzi, fangirl famous. Audrey was bored with her boyfriend Evan who seemed to have a one-track mind anything Evan-related, especially his music and his band, the Do-Gooders, so she broke up with him. Between the time of the breakup and the time the band was to perform at a club in front of someone from a record label, Evan wrote the song-of-all-songs entitled “Audrey, Wait!” Who knew that just months later, “Audrey, Wait!” would be heard across the airwaves, from California to New Jersey ? Now everyone either knows who Audrey is, or wants to know. And Audrey just wants to get back to a normal life, where her best friend Victoria isn’t obsessed with marketing Audrey’s image or keeping up-to-date with the latest Do-Gooders news from around the world; where her new boyfriend James doesn’t have to worry about being stalked, photographed, or generally harassed; and where her parents aren’t overwhelmingly protective (even more so than usual) or constantly upset by interviews taken out-of-context. This book is laugh-out-loud with random antics and sarcastic humor. Each chapter is headlined with lyrics from bands that could inspire the most unique playlists. And just when you start to think that this story couldn’t get any more fun, it totally does. Surrounded by a well-developed, well-rounded cast, Audrey’s might be the truest voice you can find in current teen fiction.
Someone Named Eva
Joan M. Wolf
There are many, many novels written for children and teens about World War II and the Holocaust, and recently there have been a number of successful fiction and nonfiction writings of the Hitler Youth movement of young boys; however, very little is known about young girls living in the Nazi Régime in the 1940’s. Based on true facts and ideals, Joan Wolf guides readers along on a young girl’s journey through a time in history that very few Americans can comprehend. History tells us that Hitler believed in a supreme Aryan race – beauty and strength in the form of blonde hair, blue eyes, and proportioned facial features. Milada has just celebrated her eleventh birthday when she is separated from her family and taken from her home in Lidice, a town just outside Prague , Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic , divided from Slovakia ). She is brought to Poland to a center designed to instruct the chosen young girls on how to be perfect Aryan children for the future of Germany . After almost two years in the training center, where Milada – now called “Eva” – has learned the Nazi German history, culture, and language, she is sent off to Germany to be adopted by her new Aryan family, headed by a high-ranking Nazi officer. While she is well cared for, well fed, and treated with respect and even love, she yearns for the family, the language, and the home that she is afraid she will forget forever.
Milada’s journey is powerful largely because there is little known about Hitler’s League of German Girls or about the role of the Czech people during the Nazi Régime. The author’s note at the conclusion of the novel sheds significant light on this period of Czech history. This book is recommended to middle school readers who are interested in stories of the Holocaust, Hitler, and the Nazis. While not overly graphic in nature, the story naturally covers topics that are mature in nature.
Katherine Vasilik, Young Adult Librarian
Franklin Lakes (NJ) Public Library
tel: 201-891-2224 x105
fax: 201-891-5102
vasilik@bccls.org
kate_thelibrarian@yahoo.com