school

Vernon Culligan had been dead to the town of Draydon, Virginia, so long that when the crusty Vietnam vet finally died, only one person noticed. Twelve-year-old Gabe grew up in the foster care system until a social worker located his Uncle Vernon two years before. When he comes home to discover that his uncle has died of a heart attack, he's terrified of going back into the system--so he tells no one. The next day, he discovers a strange note in his mailbox: I HAVE A SECRET. DO NOT BE AFRAID. And his uncle's body is gone. At first I thought this book was going to be preternatural, but it's not. It's pretty amazing though. It's not really long, it's mysterious, sometimes sad, but you can always tell that this boy really loved his uncle. I give this book 5/5 stars because overall it's such a nice story.

Fallen is about a girl named Luce, a guy named Daniel that she’s inexplicably drawn to, and another guy named Cam who wants Luce, thus forming the formulaic love triangle. Luce is new to a reform school for, allegedly, setting her previous boyfriend on fire. She also sees shadows and hears voices. Sword & Cross, the school, is pretty drab really. There are androgynous teachers, boring classes, and rowdy students. Readers will figure out that Daniel is an angel long before Luce does, even though she provides the reader with all the clues. I was a bit disappointed with the climax of the story. Luce runs off while Daniel and his good fallen angels fight Cam and his bad fallen angel army. She’s stuck in a basement while explosions happen elsewhere. I think staying with Daniel and Cam would have been much more interesting. I thought this book was good, not great. It is appropriate for young adults and up.

Sara Goldman is a 12-year-old, seventh grade student, whose artistic talent has earned her the opportunity to study art in New York. Her father is an architect that has always encouraged her imagination and he shares with her and her neighborhood friends and schoolmate stories about his past and the war. Many of her drawings come from the characters her father describes in the stories and she wants to listen to them even though there is a black side to his memories. Her father becomes more and more sad and withdrawn as he shares them with her. Her mother forbids her to listen to his tales, as she is afraid that he will withdraw from reality forever. Sara begins to sort through his childhood and discover the truth of his past. I really liked this book because it shows how much Sara loves her family, some of her struggles at school, how much she loves to express herself in her art and how they encourage her in her choice to be an artist.

Matt Donaghy has always had a big mouth but it never got him into trouble until the day he is accused of threatening to blow up Rocky River High.  Ursula Riggs has always been Ugly Girl and a loner.  Ursula is the only person who knows what Matt really said that day, and she is the only one that can help him.  This book deals with things that we hear of in the news.  The trouble Matt gets himself into because of something he said is really kind of scary.  Do you know someone like Matt or Ursula at your school? Have you ever said something that you didn’t mean-just as a joke?  This book really kept my interest!