Varjak Paw by SF Said
Varjak Paw is a house cat, a Mesopotamian Blue, descendants of the great Jalal who lead the Mesopotamian Blues to the new world. His family lives with the Contessa, in her mansion high up on a hill. This family of cats has never ventured outside and in many ways have forgotten what it means to be a cat.
Varjak is somewhat of an outsider within his family due to the colour of his eyes and his believeing his Grandfathers tales of the ancient way (a secret martial art for cats). When the Contessa mysteriously disappears and a dark stranger with his two ominous black cats arrive. In order to get rid of them someone is going to have to go to the outside world and find something called a "dog" that should scare the cats away. Varjak decides to take on the task.
We follow Varjak as he ventures into this new world, filled with noise, strange animals, street cats and encounters the big city. Varjak learns the way of Jalal and will have to use all his new skills in order to defeat gangs of street cats and dangerous man that now resides in the Contessa's home.
For fans of Erin Hunter's Warrior series here's another strong choice. Be sure to also look for The Outlaw Varjak Paw.
Alive: the story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read
Toucing the Void by Joe Simpson
Joe Simpson and his climbing partner Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death. The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men. Yates, certain Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall but, crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten, was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson hopped, hobbled and crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reaching the base hours before Yates had planned to break camp. How both men overcame the torments of those harrowing days is an epic tale of fear, suffering and survival; a piognant testament to the unshakeable courage and friendship.
Wrecked by E.R. Frank
Dear anyone who cared about Cameron, I was the driver of the "other" car. The police and my mother and my father and plenty of people are saying that I didn't kill her. But I know I did. That's what her parents must believe. And my brother Jack. He always sees what's true. I want to tell him how sorry I am about the accident. I want to say a lot of things to him and everybody - like how Cameron was smart and beautiful and kind in a way that isn't all that common in high school. Like how much Jack loved her and how sometimes I can hear him crying through the wall at night. I want to say how bad everything can get. In one split second. Upside down and shattered. Just like that. Wrecked. --- from the back cover.
The novel gives an honest portrayal of the ups and downs that plague the main character Anna, as she tries to cope with the aftermath of the accident. Guilt, fear, friendship and the pain of learning to move on are at the heart of this book. If anything, I would have liked a stronger finish.
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Maddie Cook feels like a slave in her mother's coffee house during the hot summer of 1793, she longs for excitement, change, anything really. So when rumors of a fever are heard amoung the crowd that frequent the coffee house Maddie isn't anticipating that this will be the most profound change of her life.
The "fever" turns out to be Yellow Fever, and it spreads slowly and steadily through the inhabitants of Philadelphia (most say that it's a death sentence). The rich flee to the countryside (assuming they'll be safer there), looters and thugs, sick people and corpses are those left in the city. This illness makes strangers and enemies out of family and friends. The danger is great for a independent minded girl like Maddie who will have some hard choices to make during the summer of 1793.
Read about the 1793 Yellow Fever epidemic, an event that killed 10% of Philadelphia population in 10 months, through the eyes of a girl at the centre of it all.
Toby Wheelr: Eighth-Grade Benchwarmer by Thatcher Heldring Toby Wheeler love basketball and playing pickup games at the local rec centre with his best friend, JJ, at his side. But lately JJ's been acting like he's too busy for Toby, and Toby knows it will only get worse once basketball season begins at their junior high. That's because JJ's the star of their school team, while Toby is just an ordinary gym rat.
When Coach Applewhite offers Toby a chance to join the team, Toby's eager to prove he can keep up with JJ. But practice doesn't go quite as Toby planned, and when the coach announces the lineup, Toby's hopes of playing ball with JJ are history: he's an eighth-grade benchwarmer! Befriending the coach's daughter only make matters worse. Now the only way Toby will get in the game is if he starts thinking like a team player, on and off the court. (From the back cover)
Well, as many of you know I'm kind of short and I never really cared for basketball, but I continue to try and understand what a pic-and-roll might be. I know Lakie has some fabulous B-Ball players so, if you love sports and need something for that next book report, this was an easy read with plenty of good basketball action. I liked the story of how Toby and JJ's friendship was put under pressure from basketball and how they kind of got over that hump. The side story of Toby's family was lacking and unnecessary.
The Smile by Donna Jo Napoli
Here, is the most famous portrait in the world. Here, in prose as rich as the Renaissance - is Mona Lisa's tale -- a story of passion, intrigue, loss and most of all love. Elisabetta longs for romance, though she thinks she's too plain. Then on a fateful visit to glittering Florence, she catches the eye of the great Leonardo da Vinci and falls for a boy named Giuliano de Medici. It is a dangerous time to be involved with a Medici. As tradegy and chaos threaten their happiness, Elisabetta faces the bittersweet truth of love.
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Bundell
Secrets this story has them. Evie our main character at fifteen she wants more than anything to be a grown-up, and not just any kind of boring grownup but the glamourous, sexy, Hollywood kind that her mother is. Evie's mother (who is a knockout) has her share of secrets too, and as a way of protecting Evie she likes to keep her looking and feeling like a helpless little girl.
Evie's stepfather Joe has just returned from the War in Europe and has many things he won't talk about, as well as a scheme that takes the family to Florida. Enter into the picture Peter, an ex-G.I. who served with Joe in the War. Evie has fallen completely for Peter. And Peter is the keeper of secrets and is threatening to expose them.
This tangled web of lies is bound to catch someone, and Evie find herself in the middle of them. She'll have to decide who to protect- her family or the one she loves.
Dark, smokey, 40's styling language, steamy Florida, and a miriade of unforgettable characters in this couldn't put it down book. Leaves you wanting to watch old black and white movies like Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock.
Winner of the 2008 National Book Award in the Young Peoples Literature category. An unforgettable and page-turner read. Readers will relate with Evie's struggle to find her own place in the world.
