Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper

Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper is about Melody, an 11 year old girl with cerebral palsy. She is brilliantly smart, but has almost no way to communicate all she knows. Melody is confined to a wheelchair, unable to walk, talk, or feed herself (among other things). In this story, she leaves the special ed. classroom she's always known and enters the world of "inclusion" where she, and her special classmates, are included in the "regular" classrooms with the other students at school. Melody makes a friend in her new music class, but is also subject to snide remarks and ridicule by some really mean "mean girls". Eventually, Melody is given an assistant who helps her get to classes and works with her on her assignments. Melody and Catherine find information about a new system for communication - a computer that sits on Melody's wheelchair that is programmable with words, phrases, sentences - literally 1000s of words and combinations! Melody is finally able to get her thoughts out into the open. She even earns a spot on the prestigious Quiz Whiz team, astounding most of her classmates and teachers! Things aren't as great as they seem as Melody continues to be subjected to the quiet nastiness of the mean girls, but she plows through, seemingly overcoming all obstacles thrown her way. However, with everything going smoothly, there's bound to be some unexpected turns of events...

This is literally my favorite book of the school year. I experienced every single emotion imaginable as I experienced Melody's world - I laughed right out loud, I cried, I got angry, I was sad, I felt excited and triumphant, on and on. This book is told in 1st person through Melody's voice - the one she has never been able to accurately express. It goes through all of her personal thoughts, emotions, struggles, you name it. I wish I knew Melody. Wow, what a powerful story.

The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson

Disney After Dark (The Kingdom Keepers Series #1) by Ridley Pearson is about Finn, a teen with a special job - he is a DHI, or Disney Host Interactive. Basically, a holographic image of Finn leads guests on tours of Disney World! Things are going well for Finn until one night he had a strange dream and "woke up" in the Magic Kingdom. Wayne, the old guy who was in Finn's "dream" explained that the characters from the theme park were trying to take over. Each night characters that were supposed to be simple costumes and even automated creatures were "coming to life" and working for the Overtakers to break out of Disney and gain power over the world! Finn and the other four DHIs were the only people who could solve Walt Disney's original riddle and stop the Overtakers' evil plot. The only catch is, the DHIs don't know each other and convincing them that their strange dreams were actually reality was harder than it seemed. Helped by Finn's friend Amanda, the five DHIs entered the dream world every night, stalked by one of the most evil of Disney's witch queens, chased by the Pirates of the Caribbean, and even attacked by the dolls of It's a Small World, the teens battled the forces of evil to solve the riddle and save the park.

What a great adventure! I've wondered what it might be like in the Disney parks after dark, but I would never have imagined it would be like this! I liked all of the elements Ridley Pearson added - the riddle, riding the rides to find clues, the Disney characters, and then the actual characters of the DHI kids themselves. It was fun mix!

Morning in a Different Place by Mary Ann McGuigan

Morning in a Different Place by Mary Ann McGuigan is about the friendship between 8th graders Fiona, the daughter of Irish Immigrants, and an African American girl named Yolanda. The story takes place during the early 1960s, during John F. Kennedy's presidency, when African Americans were still struggling for civil rights. Fiona has moved all over New York because of her alcoholic and abusive father. Each time their large family tries to move back in with him, his drinking cycle starts up again, and Fiona's mom ends up getting hurt. As a result, they've had to stay with their cousins in a tiny apartment. Yolanda's mother has moved out of state to start her life over with a new family. Yolanda doesn't want to go with her mother, so she stays with her aunt. Fiona and Yolanda rely on each other during the tough times. That begins to change, however, when some of the popular girls at their school begin "recruiting" Fiona. Fiona wants to be friends with this new group, but still wants to maintain her friendship with Yolanda. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's possible. With things going downhill fast with her father, and downhill even faster with Yolanda and the popular girls, suddenly an event happens that shakes the entire country - JFK is assassinated. In the midst of it all, Fiona finds a way to make everything up to Yolanda AND save her broken family.

Click here to listen to author Mary Ann McGuigan reading from Morning in a Different Place

This was a really interesting book! I really liked the way the author told the story of the girls with the historical events as a backdrop. At times, it was easy to forget that the story takes place in the 1960s because the struggles these girls are forced to live through are similar to the struggles people face now - poverty, abuse, alcoholism, racism, bullies, drugs, crime, etc. Below is an excerpt of JFK's speech on civil rights given in 1963. It gives the reader an idea of the tension in the country around race relations during the time in which this book was set.

T4: A Novel in Verse by Ann Clare LeZotte

T4: A Novel in Verse by Ann Clare LeZotte is the story of Paula Becker, a young German girl who became deaf as a baby after an illness. Paula and her family struggle to learn different ways to communicate, but eventually fall into a routine - even her beloved dof figures out ways to communicate with her! Paula has to go into hiding, however, when Hitler began his campaign for creating the "master race". During the Holocaust, Hitler and the Nazis not only gathered and killed many Jewish people and Gypsies, he also signed a secret order to have doctors kill people living with disabilities. This program was known as T4. Paula had help from Father Josef and escaped the city for various safer places, always moving when the SS came too close to discovering her. At a homeless shelter, Paula meets Poor Kurt, an old man who slept and ate there every night. They decide to go out on their own to help other people who were suffering at the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. All does not go as planned, however, and they end up back at the homeless shelter. When the war ends, Paula returns home to her family and brings Poor Kurt with her. After he cleans up and shaves, Paula sees for the first time that Kurt, who is actually Walther, part Romani or Gypsy, is only 3 years older than she!

WOW! This was a great book! Because this book is written in verse, it is a quick read. I had never heard of the T4 program before and I am shocked and saddened by it. This book did an excellent job of describing Paula's experience and the facts behind Hitler's terrible plan, while keeping it all appropriate for a young audience. I was glad for the happy ending!

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo is a tale of love and magic. When ten year old orphan, Peter asks a fortune teller if his sister is still alive, he gets an unexpected answer - YES, and that an elephant will lead him to her. Peter doesn't know what to believe; the strange fortune teller with the even stranger fortune or his father's old army friend who has been raising him and training him to be a soldier ever since his father died in the war and his mother died during the birth of the very same sister. Just after Peter hears his fortune, a magician spices up his magic routine just a little and accidentally produces an elephant (instead of a bouquet of lilies), which promptly lands on one Madam LaVaughn, crippling her. Both the magician and the elephant are thrown in jail for this crime. The elephant becomes the talk of the town and ends up being purchased by a prominent woman in society, and put on display. Once Peter learns of the elephant's appearance, he is convinced that his sister really is alive. He enlists the help of a police officer who lives in his apartment building to see the elephant, and then the magician who summoned her. Meanwhile Adelle, Peter's sister who has lived in an orphanage her whole life, begins having dreams of a snowy night and an elephant coming to her rescue. Everything comes together in the end of this magical story!

This was a great book! I absolutely loved it. I love the way the author wove all of the different stories together - Adelle, the policeman Mr. Matienne, the homeless singer and his dog, the caretaker of the elephant, Madam LaVaughn, the elephant, the magician, and of course, Peter. A quick read that will make you feel good and believe in magic!

Beneath my Mother's Feet by Amjed Qamar

Beneath my Mother's Feet by Amjed Qamar is about Nazia, a 14 year old girl living with her family in Karachi, Pakistan. When her father is injured at the construction site where he works, Nazia and her mother must find work of their own to make ends meet. They become "masis" or maids, for rich women living in the most expensive homes in the nicest neighborhoods. Nazia thinks it will only be temporary and that she'll return to school soon, but eventually she realizes that her father has no plans to return to work and that her older brother stole everything of value in their apartment and disappeared. With her whole world turned upside down and the responsibilities of an adult on her shoulders, Nazia isn't sure anything will work out in the end. Things take a surprising turn in the end, and help comes from unexpected places. Through it all, Nazis grows up and learns a lot about herself, her family, her true friends, and the world around her.

I really liked this book. It was interesting to see how the relationship between Nazia, her mother, her father, and her siblings developed and changed over time. I also really liked the descriptions of daily life of the working class in Karachi. I found myself really identifying with Nazia as she turned from an innocent school girl to a working woman, all in the span of a few months.

Click here to read an interview with Amjed Qamar and Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading Blogspot.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Stardust by Neil Gaiman is about Tristran Thorn of the village of Wall. Wall is adjacent to the land of faerie, separated by a wall with only one opening. The opening is always guarded by villagers who prevent people from traveling through, except on Market Day every nine years when all of the magical vendors from the land of faerie set up their wares just outside the wall. One night, Tristran and the girl he loves, Victoria, see a falling star. Victoria makes a promise to Tristran that she will "give him what he desires" (marriage), if he finds the fallen star and brings it back to her. The very next day Tristran sets out on his journey. He has some help along the way and eventually stumbles upon the star - who turns out to be a young and beautiful woman! She doesn't want to travel with Tristran, but she broke her leg in the fall and needs help. Things take a turn for the worse as several other magical (and evil) beings are closing in on the star, wanting her for themselves. An evil witch wants the star's heart so she and her sisters can use it to regain their youth, a monsterous family of brothers wants her because she holds the key to their kingdom and each will do anything to anyone to claim it. Tristran's only goal is to make it back to Wall, to Victoria with his prize. Will he make it alive and with the Star?

This book was great! I have never been a fan of fairy tales, but this one was awesome. I absolutely loved the way everything came together at the end - all of my questions were answered... no loose ends! I read this book with my online book club of 8th grade girls. We plan to watch the movie version later this month.

Alabama Moon by Watt Key

Alabama Moon by Watt Key is about Moon Blake, a 10 year old boy who has lived alone with his father in the Alabama wilderness for has long as he can remember. They live basically off the land. Occasionally they'll walk to the nearest town to sell animal hides or vegetables from their garden to purchase things they need. That all changes the day Pap falls and breaks his leg. When Pap eventually dies, Moon is left alone to survive in a world he knows little about. Despite trying to continue his routines, Moon is caught and taken to the Pinson Boys' Home as a ward of the state of Alabama. This "cage" doesn't hold him for long, however. Moon escapes, taking all of the other boys with him, including his two new best friends, Hal and Kit. Immediately after arriving at Tuscaloosa National Park, the other boys decide they want to go back, so Moon, Hal, and Kit leave them with the bus they stole and venture off into the woods. They live together for several days, all the while being stalked by a mean-spirited constable who seems to want nothing more than to seek revenge upon Moon. Eventually, Hal leaves for his own home with his dad, taking the constable's two bloodhounds with him. Kit and Moon live for several weeks together in the national park before Kit becomes deathly ill. Moon begins to regret the decisions he's made that have put his friend in danger, and takes Kit to find medical help. After Kit is taken to a local hospital, Hal comes searching for Moon and takes him back to his own trailer to live with his dad. Eventually, Moon is found by the constable, after trying to visit Kit in the hospital. He is taken to jail to await his sentencing, but things take a surprising turn at the end of the story!

This is the second time I've read this book. I enjoyed it just as much this time as I did the first time! It is an amazing adventure story. My honors classes will be participating in a correspondence unit, reading this book along with a class of 7th graders from Huntsville, Alabama.