Hawksmaid
Kathryn Lasky
Matty is the daughter of Nottingham’s most famous falconer. After her mother is brutally murdered by Prince John’s men, her father teaches her many things to help her not only survive, but thrive as well. It turns out that Matty is exceptional at falconry in her own right, at times it seems as though she is almost part bird, and she certainly is able to communicate with them through sound and feeling. As Matty grows up, Prince John becomes more powerful and when the good King Richard is captured and held for ransom, she and her friends decide that they must do something to help their country. So Matty becomes Maid Marion to secure a place working in the castle, and her friends form into a band of Merry Men: Robin Hood, Little John, Rich, and Will Scarlet. Together they must find their own power, strength, and ability to ensure that good wins over evil.
This retelling of the legendary Robin Hood is in the capable hands of Kathryn Lasky, and middle grade and middle school readers who like adventure stories, historical fiction, and action will enjoy this read. Though it’s a relatively quick read, it’s packed with death, destruction, and a little bit of a love story.
Chanda’s Secrets
Allan Stratton
Chanda is a sixteen-year-old girl living in southern Africa, firmly caught in an AIDS pandemic. Millions of individuals living in this part of the world are infected with HIV/AIDS; this is not a work of historical fiction. In a life where money is scarce, good doctors even more so, and where ignorance and fear are roadblocks in the path to sexual safety, illness and disease are rampant. Chanda is living with her mother and her younger brother and sister, and her story begins immediately following the death of her youngest sister, baby Sara. Marking Chanda’s mother as cursed and the reason for the death, Sara’s father walks out on the family. Without money or work, life is difficult, especially for Chanda who is trying to make her way through school to get a scholarship. When her mother leaves to visit her family in her hometown, Chanda expects that she will return, and after a few weeks Chanda goes out to find her, determined to bring her home — even if she is only bringing her back home to die.
Chanda’s Secrets is a powerful story of poverty, and of the ignorance and fear about HIV/AIDS and the treatment of AIDS sufferers. It is about a young woman strong enough to stand up for the people she loves, whether it’s her best friend who has to whore for money to bring her family back together, or a stepfather who she doesn’t like but respects as a human being. It’s about a difficult life and individuals fighting for survival every day. It’s also about hope — that through acknowledgement of the disease and education about safety, maybe one day AIDS will cease to exist.
The Space Between
Brenna Yovanoff
Daphne is the daughter of Lucifer. Yup, that Lucifer.
Life in Hell isn’t truly as bad as it might seem, but Daphne’s brother Obie has fallen in love with a human girl on earth and decides that he cannot stay in Hell, even if living on earth full-time is absolutely forbidden. When he leaves Hell – for good – Daphne knows that his life is in danger and vows to go to (and stay in) earth until she can make sure he’s safe. But she doesn’t know exactly where he is, and her only clue is a young man named Truman Flynn.
Since his mother’s death, Truman has been desolate, depressed, and self-destructive. It was Daphne’s brother who saved his life, despite his own efforts to end it. But it is for Daphne, not her brother, that Truman ultimately agrees to help find Obie. Perhaps because of, rather than in spite of, the twists and turns of the demon world, both Daphne and Truman begin to wonder if love can overpower cruelty, and if hope can exist in a world full of pain and sadness.
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Katherine Vasilik
Librarian, Head of User Services
J. F. Kennedy Library
Piscataway, NJ
telephone: 732-463-1633 x18
email: kvasilik@piscatawaylibrary.org or kate_thelibrarian@yahoo.com
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