Wonder

Author: R.J. Palacio
Pages: 313
Rating: G

Summary:
August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

My Thoughts: I feel like this was a really good book for elementary and middle school students to read to help them be more accepting and kind to others who are different from them. I read it quickly, it's not hard to read, and I love that the chapters are all only about 3 pages long so it's easy to take breaks or read just a little at a time. I'm not sure I really liked how it changed perspectives several times, and there were a few storylines that didn't relate directly to Auggie but that I was still curious about that never really got resolved.

Reading this book reminded me of an experience I had when I was about 5 or 6. There was a little boy in my class at church who was severely deformed. I'm not sure if he had been in a fire or what, I don't remember, but he was blind, was missing a foot and a lower arm, didn't have much in the way of ears, and his skin was really scarred all over like he'd had a lot of severe burns. I was TERRIFIED of this kid. My dad had to come to class with me whenever that kid came to church because he scared me so badly. No matter what my dad did, he couldn't convince me that this was just a normal kid and I had nothing to be afraid of. I'm not sure if I would have been too young, but I think something like this book could have helped. I couldn't see past this kid's face to who he was inside, which is something that Wonder addresses quite a bit. Anyway, definitely worth the read, especially if you know someone who has a situation similar to Auggie's.

Hidden Talents

Author: David Lubar
Pages:  213
Rating:  PG
Summary:
Martin Anderson and his friends don't like being called losers. But they've been called that for so long even they start to believe it. Until Martin makes an incredible discovery: each of his friends has a special hidden talent.

Edgeview Alternative School was supposed to be end of the road. But for Martin and his friends, it just might be a new beginning.

My Thoughts: I really enjoy this little book. It would be good for late elementary or early middle schoolers. Martin doesn't know why teachers always seem to intensely dislike him. He has been expelled from nearly ever school he's ever been to, and is eventually sent to Edgeview. Which is no picnic. There are bullies, the kids there are all sorts of weird, and there's no way out. It's the end of the road. Until Martin discovers that his friends each have a special power. One is psychic, another is telekinetic. With these special talents, they set to work changing the way their school works, and how everyone thinks of them as well. It's a very interesting read, and Martin, as the narrator, is very entertaining and funny.

Son

Author: Lois Lowry
Pages: 393
Rating: G

Summary:
They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been carved from her body. Stolen. Claire had had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive?　 She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. when he was taken from their community, she knew she had to follow. And so her journey began.

But here in this wind-battered village Claire is welcomed as one of their own. In the security of her new home, she is free and loved. She grows stronger. As tempted as she is by the warmth of more human kindness than she has ever known, she cannot stay. her son is our there; a young boy now. Claire will stop at nothing to find her child....even if it means trading her own life.

Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver,　as well as Gathering Blue　and　Messenger　where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil.

My Thoughts: I have to say that The Giver  is still my favorite of the four books, but this one definitely tied up some loose ends. In the end of The Giver Jonas runs away with Gabe, but the book leaves you with a bit of a cliffhanger. You never find out if Jonas and Gabe actually make it anywhere safe or what exactly happens to them. There are hints at their whereabouts in Gathering Blue and Messenger but Son makes it all clear. Jonas and Gabe eventually came to a village full of other cast-offs and runaways, a sanctuary of sorts. They remain there, but Gabe is very curious about his past, where he came from, and especially who he came from. He has it in his head that he is going to go back and find his mother, even though Jonas told him that he was a manufactured product and his mother probably doesn't care about him. (In the community where they come from, people took pills to keep them from feeling any emotions, such as love, compassion, etc).

Little does Gabe know that his mother, Claire, is out there desperately searching for him as well. She never took the pills, and so was not like the other Birthmothers. As soon as she had Gabe, she felt an intense longing to be with him. She even visits him several times in the nursery without anyone knowing her true identity. As soon as she hears that Jonas has left the community with her son, Claire leaves too, in search of him.

I do have to say that some of the ideas of this book were a little far-fetched and also....very fairy-tale-ish. Also, I wish there had been some kind of explanation about the general government of the land they live in. There's a lot of communities, all with different lifestyles and technologies and systems of control, but they don't seem to be connected in any way, and there's no explanation as to how life got that way. For example, the community Claire comes from has figured out how to control the weather so that it is always perfect, and they have advanced medical procedures, electricity, and medications. The society Jonas brings Gabe to is somewhat early 1800's. People don't ever really visit other communities, and the only movement seems to be people escaping from their communities into the sanctuary Jonas found. I just feel like Lowry could have gone a lot further with that.

However, the book still holds a lot of value to me since it wraps up everything you ever wondered about when you finished reading The Giver and Gathering Blue. 

By the way....if you haven't read the other books in this series, don't worry, this one can stand on its own pretty well, but I would still recommend reading The Giver. It won awards for a good reason. 

Messenger

Author: Lois Lowry
Pages: 169
Rating: PG

Summary:
For the past six years, Matty has lived in Village and flourished under the guidance of Seer, a blind man, known for his special sight. Village was a place that welcomed newcomers, but something sinister has seeped into Village and the people have voted to close it to outsiders. Matty has been invaluable as a messenger. Now he must make one last journey through the treacherous forest with his only weapon, a power he unexpectedly discovers within himself.

My Thoughts: This book is third in a larger series by Lois Lowry. The Giver is the first book, and then Gathering Blue is second. The final book, which I haven't read yet, is Son. While The Giver and Gathering Blue are both books that can stand completely on their own and almost don't seem connected at all, Messenger seems to be the book that is starting to bring it all together, so I think it will probably make the most sense and work the best if you read the other two first. It's more of a transitional story, and I don't think it has too much merit just on its own.

You get the idea that Village was founded by Jonas (from The Giver) and he is now the leader of the village. I'm almost positive this is true, because randomly mentioned in the book is "a mischievous eight-year-old named Gabe" who I took to be the same Gabe that Jonas saved back in The Giver. I got the feeling that Village was the Elsewhere that Jonas found.

Also in the book is the girl from Gathering Blue. She is brought to Village at the very end of the book. I thought the ending was actually very sad and a little bit vague in how it all came together, but as a whole, I did enjoy the book. It's a quick read, and now I can't wait to read Son to see how everything finally comes together.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author: Brian Selznick
Pages: 525 (However, over half of the pages are pictures. It only took me 2 hours to read the entire book)
Rating: G

Summary: Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

My Thoughts: This is definitely a different kind of a novel. Like I said, over half of the pages in this book are pictures, which is why you shouldn't let how thick it is change your mind about reading it. It's almost like a mixture between a book and a movie, because often there will be several pictures in sequence and those pictures will tell a section of the story. Then the words pick up where the pictures left off. It's an unusual experience. Because of the amount of pictures, I think this would be a good book for all ages. I enjoyed it thoroughly, especially since it was such a quick and fun read. Here are a few of the illustrations that appear in the novel.

I decided to read this book because the movie "Hugo" is based off of it. Now I want to see the movie. If you've seen the movie, you know the basic plot. But you should still check out this book just because of the new experience it provides you to interact with the book almost as if it is a movie in and of itself. I think this is one worthy of joining my personal bookshelf at home.

The Bean Trees

Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Rating: PG-13 - there's a few sexual references/sex related humor, but I would consider it extremely mild, and definitely not memorable.
Pages: 261

Summary:Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity for putting down roots. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places.

My Thoughts: I absolutely love this book. I read it for the first time in middle school, again in high school, and again now. One of the big perks to this book is that it's not centered on love, heartbreak, or random teenage drama. It's a real story of a person trying to get by in life. Taylor has a personality that is rather unforgettable, and all the people she meets in the story are pretty similar.

Basically, Taylor (who changed her name to Taylor from Marietta) is tired of Kentucky and decides to get out. She opts to drive her car as far as it will take her, but gives up that idea when her car breaks down in boring, flat Oklahoma. While in Oklahoma getting her car fixed, Taylor aquires a child. An Indian woman simply leaves the girl on Taylor's passenger seat. With nowhere to go really, Taylor takes the kid with her. She names her Turtle because she has a vice-like grip that reminds Taylor of mud-turtles. Eventually, Taylor ends up in Tucson, Arizona, where she finds housing with a woman named Lou-Ann, who recently had a baby, and whose husband just left her.

There are two directions the story goes from here. First, Taylor decides she wants Turtle to belong to her legally, but with no documentation, this proves rather difficult. Most of the second half of the story encompasses Taylor's struggle to adopt Turtle. Underneath all that is a story about illegal immigration. Taylor has a friend in Tucson who is in the business of helping illegal immigrants get into the country and find places where they will be safe. Mostly, these people fled their country in the south because they would have been killed otherwise. It's kind of the second story line going on. Now that I've read a few of Kingsolver's books, I'm beginning to think that the theme of her books always has something to do with a controversial issue involving the United States and our involvement with foreigners. But regardless of the commentary on immigration, I LOVE the book, and I think it's a fantastic story.