Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Pena
Danny doesn’t know where he fits in. He relates most to his Mexican heritage, feeling more comfortable with his extended Mexican family than with his white mother. When his mom moves to San Francisco with her new boyfriend, Danny decides to stay the summer with dad’s side of the family in San Diego County, hoping to connect with his Spanish culture and to find his dad. Things don’t go as planned and the only thing Danny finds that he can truly connect is a baseball with a catcher’s mitt. With the added perspective of Uno’s voice, a black kid born and raised on the streets of San Diego, Danny ultimately finds a way to feel at home . . . and accept himself for who he is.
The dialogue of this novel is a bit tricky to grasp, but doesn’t distract from the story in the end. The addition of text in the Spanish language adds an element of authenticity to the novel and meanings can be supposed through context, but no glossary is included in the text. Recommended to older teens, due largely to a particularly graphic scene of violence.
Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson
This story is historical, fantastical fiction that feels like a classic children’s story. Tally’s father is a beloved doctor in London at the start of the London blitzes, and when she is offered a scholarship to a boarding school in a fictional English town, she is sent as much for the benefit of her safety as for the educational opportunity. At first she is desperate not to leave her home, but she soon settles at Delderton School nicely. A series of events lands her in the land of Bergania, known for a king who has been the only leader to deny Hitler access through his land. After the king is murdered and his son put in great danger, Tally and her classmates commit to ensuring Prince Karil’s safety. The adventure that ensues is filled with twists, turns, and trickery, but it is the events that follow the return to England that are the best parts of the story. Dragonfly Pool illustrates the wonders of family and friendship, and this story is sure to appeal to a variety of readers who enjoy not knowing what’s going to happen next and wondering just how everything can come out right in the end.
Recommended to middle grade readers, who are typically fans of history, fantasy, OR realism.
Too Cool to Be Forgotten byAlex Robinson
The title and dedication “For the loners, losers and outcasts. May you show them all someday” of this graphic novel imply a light, fun read without too much sustenance or depth. This expectation would be met certainly with an overwhelming storyline. We meet Andy Wicks as a grown man – a husband and a father – who has finally agreed to hypnotism in another attempt to quit smoking for good. We follow him into his therapy session and then end up back in his high school, where he is a geeky teenager. Andy is forced to face a variety of social and family moments, including his father’s impending death (of Lou Gehrig’s Disease). He is allowed the ability to be angry with his father for dying, as well as to recognize what is important in his own life.
Recommended to all readers, not just those reminiscing as adults. The emotion in this graphic novel is raw and authentic and the shift from adult to teenage perspective adds an extraordinary layer of depth to the story.
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Katherine Vasilik, Teen Librarian
Franklin Lakes (NJ) Public Library
tel: 201-891-2224 x105
fax: 201-891-5102
email: vasilik@bccls.org or kate_thelibrarian@yahoo.com
blog: http://katethelibrarian.blogspot.com