The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies is about Evan and Jessie, siblings who are just a year apart in age and who used to be one grade apart in school... until this coming school year when Jessie will be skipping 3rd grade and joining Evan's class!  These two typically get along really well, but Evan is struggling with how this fall will turn out, knowing Jessie is so smart and believing himself to be just average.  As a result, he starts pulling away from Jessie and even picking fights with her!  Jessie is worried about this fall, too, but until Evan started acting strangely, thought he would be there to help her make friends and work her way through some of her social issues.  Now, it is the last few days of summer and the two are in an all out war - a lemonade war!  Usually, Evan and Jessie hold lemonade stands together, Evan being the charismatic salesman and Jessie taking care of the planning and money.  Now, however, they've made a deal - whoever can make $100 (or, whoever makes the most money) before the end of summer gets ALL the money from both stands!  To find out how everything turns out for Evan and Jessie, read The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies.

This was a great book!  I found myself wishing I could host my own lemonade stand!  I really liked the way the author let the reader in on each character's insecurities, but hid their feelings from one another.  I could relate to both characters, which made it hard for me to "root" for either side to win... but in a good way.  This is the first book in a series, and I will definitely be reading the rest.  I recommend this book to anyone who has siblings and has ever felt nervous or insecure about school and/or friends.

True Blue by Deborah Ellis

True Blue by Deborah Ellis is about best friends Casey and Jess and their truly horrific ordeal that resulted after one of the campers they were responsible for goes missing and is found dead.  Casey is arrested and accused of murder.  Jess doesn't know how to react nor what to do.  She knows more than she's sharing but for some reason can't bring herself to talk.  In the mean time, her emotionally unstable mother is spiraling into another one of her collapses which typically end in hospitalization and electroshock therapy.  The rest of the people in town have already decided Casey is guilty and are terrorizing her family.  And, the very group of popular kids at their school who used to shun them is inviting Jess to spend more and more time with them.  As the days lead up to the trial, only a few people (Jess's mother, Casey's parents, and a sympathetic teacher) are still convinced of Casey's innocence.  Even Jess begins to waver in her thoughts about what her best friend might be capable of.

This was a thrilling mystery!  I couldn't put it down!  It is told through Jess's perspective, in both narration and through her camp journal, chronicling the events leading up to the little girl's ultimate disappearance and murder.  Parts of this book reminded me of Mary Downing Hahn's Wait Till Helen Comes, because the character of the little girl (Stephanie) who was killed is so obnoxious and annoying! As a reader, you feel terrible that you don't like her simply because you know she's going to die eventually!  I also really liked the way the author showed the changing relationship/friendship between the girls.  The ending is unexpected and the character who changes most as a result of this terrible experience isn't who you would think.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery or suspense story.

The Bully Book: A Novel by Eric Kahn Gale

The Bully Book: A Novel by Eric Kahn Gale is about what happens when someone writes a guide for how to "rule the school" and passes it down from one year to the next.  One day, Eric Hastings is a completely normal 6th grader with friends and hopes for his final year in elementary school, and the next he's the "Grunt".  Suddenly, everyone in his class begins taunting him, calling him terrible names, abusing his character... bullying him.  Eventually, things seem a little too formulaic to Eric and he begins to uncover where this mistreatment is stemming.  A Bully Book.  As he begins to learn more and more about his three tormentors and those who came before him, Eric meets others who were 6th grade "Grunts".  Things really begin coming together when Eric puts clues together and figures out who the author of the Bully Book was (years ago) and the original grunt.  All he really wants to do is find out why he was the one who was targeted, and he knows that answer lies within the book.  Once he finds it, what will happen to Eric?

This was an interesting story.  It is told alternately between Eric's journal and the Bully Book itself.  The author's not indicates that the story is loosely based on the author's own experiences as a child - being tormented by what seemed like the entire class.  Bullying is such a touchy subject, and I think this author did a fantastic job of showing exactly what it can be like for those on the receiving end.  He accurately portrayed the embarrassment, self-blame and doubt in the main character.  I would recommend this book to anyone in middle school, particularly boys.

The Wish List by Eoin Colfer

The Wish List by Eoin Colfer is about Meg, Belch and an old man named Lowrie.  Meg, desperately trying to make her way in the world without her good-for-nothing stepfather unwillingly teams up with Belch (another good-for-nothing) to rob a stranger's house.  Unfortunately, things go terrible wrong - Belch's pit bull bites Lowrie causing traumatic injury, Meg backs out of the plan, and Belch tries to stop her with a gun, unwittingly shooting a propane tank and causing the explosion that kills himself, Meg and the dog.  On their way to the "beyond," Belch and the dog merge into one grotesque being while Meg ends up stuck in the tunnel, having equal "good" and "bad" in her soul.  She can't go to Heaven and Hell desperately wants her.  Meg has to go back to Earth to try to turn her color aura more blue than red so she can get into Heaven.  She's sent to Lowrie to help him fulfill his four dying wishes.  The Belch creature is sent back to Earth to stop her, thus causing her to end up in Hell.

This was a great book!  It was a quick read with funny parts, adventure and excitement around every corner.  I really liked the way St. Peter and Beelzebub were brought into the story and the creative ways the author described what happens when a soul arrives in the after-life.  I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a funny, yet adventurous story with twists and turns throughout.

After by Amy Efaw

After by Amy Efaw is about Devon, a straight-A, varsity soccer playing student with her whole future ahead of her. Devon has developed into a very respected, efficient, considerate, trustworthy young adult, despite her single mother's self-centered ways. In fact, Devon has become who she is as a result of the ways her mother behaves - Devon has made a deal with herself that she will NEVER be like her mother. So... why did Devon conceal a pregnancy, deliver the baby in the bathroom of her apartment and then dispose of it in a trash bag in the complex's dumpster? This story seeks to answer just how someone like Devon could do something so monstrous. It follows Devon from just after the birth of the baby to her arrest, detainment in a juvenile facility, and ultimately to her trial. The terrible story of exactly what happened and how comes out through Devon's memories, her visits with doctors and psychiatrists, and the interrogation by her lawyer in preparation for the trial. 

 This was a very interesting book. I found that I was really pulling for Devon throughout the story - when you read it, you'll see why. I liked the way the author presented the facts and details exactly, giving the reader the opportunity to make his/her own judgements about Devon, her mother and the story. Nothing is as black and white as it seems. 

Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl

Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl is about Elizabeth Hastings, a young lady in England whose parents died just two weeks ago in a carriage accident.  Left with no money and little help, Elizabeth takes a position at Kensington Palace as a lady's maid to none other than the future queen - 16 year old Victoria.  Unaccustomed to the life of a maid, Liza gets herself into trouble immediately with others on staff and with the rest of Victoria's family.  Troubled by something she discovers about Victoria's mother and Sir John Conroy, a family "friend", Liza begins spying on Victoria's behalf.  Victoria and Liza take unprecedented measures to ensure that their plan is thwarted so that Victoria takes her eventual place on the throne.  Things aren't quite as easy as they expect and the girls end up getting themselves and their friends in quite a bit of trouble in the process.  Will Sir John and Victoria's mother end up ruling England?  Will Liza ever get out of servitude and back to her life as a lady?  Read Prisoners in the Palace to find out!

This was a great book!  It was full of mystery, adventure, action, history and a little bit of romance!  I had a hard time putting it down, and finished it in just two days.  I especially enjoyed the author's note at the end, explaining which of the events were actual history and which were fictional.  The letters and journal entries added interest and a different perspective to the story.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, but especially intermediate and YA girls with an interest in Victoria before she became so "famous".

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale is the sequel to Princess Academy.  In this book, Miri Peder, and the girls who attended the Princess Academy have the opportunity to travel to Asland (the capital city of Danland).  While the girls are officially there to help Britta prepare for her wedding to Prince Steffan, they are taking advantage of the many learning opportunities available.  For instance, Gerti is work in a forge, Peder is learning about carving, Liana is taking full advantage of her noble title, and Miri is attending school at the Queen's Castle.  As a result of her studies and the people she meets, Miri is thrown into the middle of what looks like a revolution!  Due to the demands of the king, the "shoeless" are nearly starving and working to death just to stay alive while the royalty and nobles have everything they want and more.  Miri is torn between helping a cause she knows is right and remaining faithful to herself, Mount Eskel, her family and friends.  Does she really have to choose?

I LOVED this book.  Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors.  She gave me a signed ARC of Palace of Stone at the IRA Convention last May.  When I finally got the chance to read it, I finished in a day!!  I really liked the way Miri grew through her experience with the scholars, the "rebels" and her wish to understand ethics.  I also liked the message that everything is not always black and white.  If one is clever and persistent a new, and sometimes better, answer is just around the corner.  Look for Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale on August 21, 2012.