When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

"I am coming to save your friends life, and my own. I ask two favors. First you must write me a letter..."

"Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. it's like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten."

This is a great coming of age book for young readers! Filled with life's lessons and a twist of intrigue. The author references "A Wrinkle in Time" as a clue for her readers. Perfect read for 5th grade and above.

From NPR Nancy Pearl:

"In 1979, 12-year-old Miranda and her best friend Sal are savvy New York kids. They know what's safe to do, what places to avoid, and how to deal with the strange and bothersome homeless man on the corner of their street. But when Sal gets attacked — for no discernible reason — by one of their classmates, it kicks off a series of disturbing events: Miranda's apartment key — carefully hidden — disappears, and she gets the first of a series of disturbing and mysterious notes, all of which have something to do with future events. Even as Miranda tries to figure out what's going on, she has to deal with the realities of life: her crush on her classmate, Colin; her new friendship with Annemarie; and her dislike of Annemarie's former best friend, Julie. And that's leaving out the plot line about helping her mother practice to be a contestant on the television show The $20,000 Pyramid. Still, all these diverse strands come together in a most satisfactory way. Best of all, in addition to its thought-provoking plot and its realistic depiction of preteen experiences, When You Reach Me is a wonderful homage to Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, Miranda's favorite book." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121243815

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . “

Extraordinary story set in Nazi Germany, narrated by Death, who is haunted by humans. “Death is always on hand to see all of the terrible things do to each other”.

Review from School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 9 Up–Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers. Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when shes roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayors reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents. Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesels story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative.

Review from Book Browse
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist – books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Listen to the author talk of how he wrote the story

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/mUOAETYM6B5OC

Picture Books -Bestsellers

Life as an girl in Pakistan

Shabanu, Haveli, and The House of Djinn by Suzanne Fisher Staples

Three books about life as a Pakistani woman

Suzanne Fisher Staples has written an excellent portrayal of life for women in Pakistan. The three novels cover the life of Shabanu, who at the start of Shabanu, is an 11 year old desert girl whose greatest joy is her life with the camels and freedom of the desert. Descriptions of Muslim tenants of behavior, arranged marriages and what they signify are carefully laid out throughout the three stories. Shabanu must rely on her inner strength to navigate the complex web of relationships and tribal traditions. A must read for 7^th grade and above for descriptions of Muslim life and a story of a girl/mother’s courage and determination.