Life in rural Afghanistan is pretty tough for thirteen-year-old Zulaikha, the main character in Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy.  Born with a cleft lip and teeth that stick straight out, she is constantly teased by the boys in her neighborhood and endures stares every time she goes to the market place.  Her older sister, Zeynab, is beautiful, and her strongest supporter.  Her real mother is deceased and instead she now has to deal with a crabby, pregnant, stepmother who only cares about having a son.  Things start to look up for her when, by chance, she meets an American soldier who says that he has a way that she can get corrective facial surgery at the Army base-and for free!  Also, around the same time, she meets a kind literature professor who offers to teach her how to read and write, in hopes that she can maybe attend school one day.  However, Zulaikha must juggle all of that with her sister’s upcoming wedding to a not-so-nice older gentleman, as well as problems with the helicopter flight that is supposed to take her to meet the American doctor.  Will she have the facial surgery? Does she learn to read and write and eventually attend school?  You will have to read the book to find out!

Book reviewed by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

In Wonder by R. J. Palacio, August (Auggie) Pullman’s favorite things are anything Star Wars related and his Xbox.  As a result, he sounds like every other 10-year-old boy out there except for one major factor—he has some pretty jarring facial deformities. Auggie has been homeschooled all of his life, due to the numerous surgeries he has had to have over the years.  Now that he will be starting fifth grade, his parents think that it is time for him to start at a regular school.  He is both excited and worried at the prospect of this idea. While he longs to play sports and make friends like every kid, once he starts at Beecher Prep he quickly becomes an easy target for the class bully.  He also is very close with his older sister, Via, who has just started high school and is having her own issues with friendships and finding herself.  I think that the author was very smart to have the different chapters of the book told from various points of view—not just from Auggie’s and Via’s perspectives, but also from several of his classmates.  I also believe that this book teaches a lot of good lessons on how to be a good friend and a good sibling.

Book reviewed by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

In Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin, Jason Blake is just like any twelve-year-old that enjoys writing stories.  Expect for that fact that he is autistic, which he often describes in his stories as “differentness”.  He is smart and sensitive and often writes about what it is like to see the world through his eyes.  Jason particularly enjoys posting on a writing website.  He even makes a friend on this site, another young writer named Rebecca, who often posts positive comments about his stories.  However, when he might finally get a chance to meet Rebecca in person at an upcoming writing conference, Jason is terrified!  You will have to read the book to find out if he decides to go meet her or not. 

Book reviewed by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

One thing that I thought was really interesting about One-Handed Catch by M.J. Auch was that it is loosely based on the childhood experiences of the author’s husband.  The setting for this book is just after the end of World War II, and the main character is an 11-year-old boy named Norm, whose family owns a meat market.  On the fourth of July while helping his dad in the store, his hand got caught in the meat grinder and he lost it.  Shortly after he was released from the hospital, there were a few times when Norm felt sorry for himself, and he was tempted to use his new disability to try and get special treatment from people.  However, his mom quickly put a stop to that when she found out because she wanted him to learn to become independent.  His dad felt terribly guilty about the accident so he suddenly didn’t spend time or joke with Norm the way that he used to.  Luckily, his best friend Leon still stayed friends with him, and once he knew what it was like to be teased, Norm also ended up befriending Carl, the quiet, new kid in town. However, he still had to face several other challenges.  How would he ever fulfill his lifelong dream of being a professional baseball player?  What instrument would he be able to play in the school band?  How would he ever re-learn how to do a simple thing like tying his shoes? You will have to read this inspirational story (and 2012 Rebecca Caudill Award nominee) to find out!

Book reviewed by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

In Boys Without Names by Kashmira Sheth, eleven-year-old Gopal and his family have just had to flee their rural village in India and now must adjust to the mean streets of the city of Mumbai, where they have gone to live with his uncle.  The conditions they are living in are crowded and filthy. Gopal is determined to get a job and help contribute money to support his family. Unfortunately, he is tricked by a charming teenager into working as basically a slave in a sweatshop and not at a job in a factory as he was promised.  Now Gopal must get to know and win over the other boys held captive there as well if he ever wants even the slightest hope of escaping.

I thought that this book was really well written, but parts of it were hard to read about and imagine.  Even though this was a fictional story, there is a section at the end of the book that talks about the unfortunate fact that there really are children in situations like this in India every day.

Book reviewed by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

If you’ve ever gotten into trouble at school, then I’m sure you could really identify with the main character in Scarlett by Cathy Cassidy.  Scarlett, a twelve-year-old Londoner with hair dyed the color of ketchup and black fingernails,  is constantly getting into trouble at every school she attends.  Her mum finally gets so sick of her detentions and expulsions, that she decides to ship Scarlett off to her father’s cottage in Ireland.  Suddenly, she has to learn Gaelic in a one-room schoolhouse and she has also gained a new stepmum and stepsister.  Scarlett immediately begins thinking of ways to get out of Ireland as fast as possible until she meets Kian.  He is around her age, very cute, and suprisingly, very nice too.  He seems almost too good to be true!  Should she befriend him?  Will she ever learn to get along with her new family?  Read this book to find out!

Book review by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

  Run, Boy, Run by Uri Orlev.  Srulik is an orphan from pretty much the start of this book, which takes place during World War II.  The book basically shows how he learns to survive on his own.  First, he lives in the forest with a group of other orphaned boys where they are so hungry that they steal food and clothes from local farmers and have to sleep outside in the bitter cold.   Then he remembers that the last time he saw his dad, he told him to forget who he was and to use a different name to protect himself.   He ends up working for several farmers and then having to leave each after a few months after they discover he is Jewish.  He is a hard worker though, and even after a devastating accident, he is able to survive and still do odd jobs for people, in exchange for food and shelter.  Despite all of the anti-Semitism, he does encounter a lot of kind people who take him in along the way as well, until he eventually is taken to a Jewish Children’s Orphanage after the was is over.

Book reviewed by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison