Shooting the moon

Shooting The Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell

This is one of the books I picked up from our book fair. I really enjoyed how the main character Jamie evolved from being an army brat to becoming a thoughtful, more realistic person ( I know that doesn't make a whole lot of sense but when you read the story you'll understand.)

Here's the summary:

When twelve-year-old Jamie Dexter's brother joins the Army and is sent to Vietnam, Jamie is trilled. She can't wait to get letters from the front lines describing the excitement of real-life combat: the sound of helicopters, the smell of gunpowder, the exhileration of being right in the thick of it all. After all, they've both dreamed of following in the footsteps of their father, the Colonel.

But T.J's fist letter isn't a letter at all. It's a roll of undeveloped film, the first of many. What Jamie sees when she develops T.J.'s photographs reveals a whole new side of the war. Slowly the shine begins to fade off a Army life- and the Colonel. How can someone she's worshipped her entire life be just as helpless to save her brother as she is?

As one reviewer writes " Shooting the Moon will draw you in with it's simplicity and astound you with its powerful story."

Kaleidocsope eyes

Kaleidoscope Eyes by Jen Bryant

I just read this book this morning and have to say I quite liked it. It's got buried treasure what's not to like?

It's a novel written in verse (these usually end up being speedy reads, but I enjoy the interesting choices of words, quirky spacing lets you imagine the timing of things), set in New Jersey during 1968, young men are being sent off to Vietnam and being sent back in flag draped boxes.

The story begins with this great line: "I wake up every morning to Janis Joplin." The main characters thirteen-year-olds, Lyza, Carolann and Malcolm are preparing for what might be their last summer of freedom - and hoping it won't be boring. When Lyza helps her dad clean out her late Grampa's house, a mysterious surprise brightens the sad task. In her gradfather's dusty attic, Lyza discovers three maps, carefully folded and stacked, bound by a single rubber band. On top, an envelope says, "For Lyza ONLY." What could this possibly be? With the help of Malcolm and Carolann and a cryptic letter from Gramps, Lyza uncovers an impossible mystery: a three hundred year old pirate treasure that might be buried in her own New Jersey town.

Recommend it!