Bone: Out from Boneville

Bone Volume One: Out from Boneville (Smith, Jeff; 2003) ISBN 0963660942

Bone is the first edition in a series of stories about three cousins who are on the run: Phoncible B. Bone (aka Phoney), Smiley Bone, and Fone Bone.  The reasons for their plight help to explain some important character traits.  Phoney Bone has been run out of town—Boneville—after Phoney shows disrespect for the town’s founder.  Phoncible is highly motivated, but not entirely honest and upright.  Protagonist Fone Bone is equipped with both courage and the ability to problem solve.  Smiley Bone is more likeable than Phoncible, but far less intelligent than Fone.

Phoney and Smiley are separated from Fone, and the story splits into two different paths.  While on his own, Fone meets up with Thorn, a young, courageous and talented girl with a secret past.  Thorn lives with her hard scrabble grandmother, perhaps the toughest character in the story despite her age.  Thorn helps Fone reunite with his cousins, though they encounter great danger and excitement in the form of rat creatures along the way.

Meanwhile, Phoney tries to run another scam with Smiley that may get him into hot water once again.  Their storyline is lighter in tone that Fone’s is, and it provides many funny moments.

The Bone cousins’ story is told in black and white line illustrations.  As with most graphic novels, it is accessible for a wide range of readers.  Author Jeff Smith conveys a slew of emotions and moods among his characters, creating a lively pace for the story.

Interview with the author here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXwFRZ4nFXA

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games (Collins, Suzanne; 2008; New York: Scholastic Press; ISBN 0439023483)

If you took the Olympics, reality television, and Roman gladiator fights and mixed them all up, the results might look something like The Hunger Games.  This is the story of Panem, which used to be the United States but now is 12 districts surrounding one powerful capitol.  Years ago, the hungry, oppressed people of the districts attempted to overthrow the capitol but were unsuccessful.  As a yearly reminder of their failed revolution, each district must now send two of its young people to the capitol to participate in the Hunger Games; all residents of Panem are required to view round the clock coverage of the games, and only one of the 24 competitors may live.

Collins tells the story primarily through the experience of Katniss Everdeen, at 16, a contender in the Games.  Katniss has one advantage in the games because her deceased father taught her years earlier how to use a bow and arrow, but those in charge of the games are able to play on each competitor’s weaknesses and darkest fears so Katniss’s strengths may not be enough to help her survive.  Her life at home is a difficult one; since her father’s death in a coal mine accident, Katniss’s mother has suffered debilitating depression and can barely provide for Katniss and her charming younger sister, Prim.  Life in the districts is not easy for anyone, but Katniss soon learns that even that existence is much easier than participating in the cruel games. 

Though the story is wrapped up, the ending of The Hunger Games also leaves readers wanting more.  Fortunately, Collins rounds out the story with two additional tomes, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Readers of the first title will not be satisfied until they have devoured the whole trilogy.

 

Touching Spirit Bear

Touching Spirit Bear (Mikaelsen, Ben; 2001; New York: Harper Collins; 241 pages; ISBN 9780380977444)

This story begins with a description of a very angry 15-year-old Cole Matthews arriving by boat at the remote corner of Alaska that will be his home for the next year.  Guilty of brutally beating a classmate, Cole thinks he is pulling one over on the system by agreeing to a year of banishment and intense survival training instead of being locked up.  The arrangement is part of “circle justice,” a system that focuses on healing after a violent crime rather than punishment, but Cole’s commitment to healing is fraudulent.  He does not feel remorse for his crime any more than he feels affection toward his distant, abusive parents.  The only emotion he truly feels is anger.

Cole overestimates his ability to skip out on his consequences, and his disrespectful, hostile attitude leads to a vicious attack by a large “spirit bear” that leaves him close to death.  Only when he reaches this desperately low point does Cole begin to think about what has brought him here, and how he will get past it if that is still possible.

Many people are ready to give up on Cole—and he makes it easy for them to do so with his lack of contrition or civility—but his parole officer and a Tlingit Indian elder have enough faith in Cole to try to help him learn other ways of dealing with the path he has chosen up to this point.  This novel addresses themes of survival, forgiveness, trust and respect for nature through a captivating story line and clear, concise, compelling writing.  It is a story that can penetrate the hardest of hearts and will appeal to a wide variety of readers.

 

Mockingbird

  Mockingbird (Erskine, Kathryn; Philomel/Penguin, 2010 235 p. 978039925268 $16.99)


Young Caitlin navigates her way through life with much assistance from her older brother, Devon.  But when Devon is suddenly gone and Caitlin’s father is desperate with grief, Caitlin does not understand the situation nor how to cope with it.  This novel deals with two important issues—Asperger’s syndrome and random acts of violence—in a way that is accessible for young readers.

Ages 10-14

The City of Ember

The City of Ember

(DuPrau, Jeanne; 2003; New York: Random House; 270 pages; ISBN 9780375822735)

Ember is a domed (and doomed?), underground city built to help ensure the future of the human race.  Set in the year 241, the story follows 12-year-old Lina and Doon who are given new permanent jobs that lead them to investigate the peril that Ember and its inhabitants may be in.

Ages 8-12

Bakugan: Battle Brawlers

Bakugan Battle Brawlers (Hurchalla, Elizabeth; 2008; ISBN 9780345513687)

Adapted from a Japanese anime story, the Bakugan adventures feature six young friends who play Bakugan (a card game that allows them to teleport) while avoiding the evil plots of Michael, who first discovered the teleporting abilities that the characters enjoy.

Lord Brocktree: A Tale of Redwall

Lord Brocktree: A Tale of Redwall (Jacques, Brian; 2000; Philomel Books; 370 pages; ISBN 9780399235900)
 

The first chronologically (though not the first to be published) in the Redwall series by beloved fantasy author Brian Jacques, Lord Brocktree is the tale of Brocktree the badger lord and Dottie the hare who battle the evil critters who have taken over Brocktree’s father and his home.


(Ages 12 and up)

Homecoming

Homecoming (Voigt, Cynthia; 1981; New York: Simon Pulse; 402 pages; ISBN 9780689851322)
 
A 13-year-old girl, the eldest in a family of four children, assumes responsibility for her siblings when their mother apparently abandons them.  This novel sets the stage for the sequel, Dicey’s Song.

Maniac Magee

Maniac Magee (Spinelli, Jerry; 1990; 184 pages; ISBN 9780316807227)

Jeffrey Magee, an orphan, leaves the unhappy home of his aunt and uncle in search of a better life.  The ensuing adventures of “Maniac” Magee delve into stories of heroic athletic endeavors and racial issues. Spinelli was awarded the Newbery medal for this book.  

(Ages 9-12)

Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence

Fist stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence (Canada, Geoffrey; 1995; 179 p. ISBN 9780807004227)

Canada narrates his own stories, often gritty, of life on the streets of the Bronx in the 1950s. Today, Canada is a well known educator. In the 1950s, he was a boy being raised, along with his brothers, by his mother after his father left. He tells a series of stories in both personal narrative and graphic novel form.


(Ages 11+)

Fever 1793

Fever 1793 (Anderson, Laurie Halse; 2000, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; 251 p., ISBN 9780689838583)

If the cover art with the close up of a yellowed eye does not grab you, the plot of this gripping novel will.  The story opens with a description of protagonist Mathilda (Mattie) Cook waking up on a sweltering August day in Philadelphia, 1793.  A buzzing mosquito—an ominous sign of the tragedy to come—provides the background noise as Mattie begins her morning routine of dressing and helping her widowed mother with chores.  The Cooks run a coffee house, popular in Philadelphia during this period, as the author explains in the appendix.  Her mother is all work and efficiency with no joy since Mattie’s father died.  Her grandfather, a celebrated war hero, adds humor and the gift of storytelling to Mattie’s life while helping with the coffee house.  But when their assistant, a young, healthy girl, dies suddenly from a fever, things go downhill fast.

The story follows the true account of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia that killed 5,000 people in a matter of months.  Each chapter begins with the date (the story moves ver y quickly, in part because the timeline is so short) and a quote from a Philadelphan from that time which corresponds with the progress of the fever’s plague.  These details, along with mentions of actual politicians such as then President Washington, lend vivid color to this story that is already fascinating, thanks to Anderson’s concise, descriptive writing.  Philadelphia was the nation’s capital at this time, and the images of people boarding up and abandoning their homes and, in some cases, their ill relatives, is especially striking given this fact.

In addition to addressing the health epidemic, the story also includes themes of family, budding love, and the emerging role of free African Americans in the country at this time.  As with all of her books, this is a title to add to the bookshelf of any school library.

Hatchet

Hatchet (Paulsen, Gary; 1988; Puffin Books; 195 p.; ISBN 9780140327243)

This is a classic tale of survival as protagonist Brian has to endure the aftermath of a plane crash that leaves him stranded in the middle of nowhere.  The hatchet helps Brian to forge an existence, and it is symbolic of the fracturing of his family following his parents’ divorce.  This book is the first of five in Brian’s Saga.