The War that Saved My Life

Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

AR Level: 4.1 (worth 9 pts.)
Lexile Level: 500
Interest Level: Grades 6-8


Book Summary: Ada has never left the London flat where she lives with her mother and brother, Jamie. Ada is not allowed to leave; her abusive mother doesn't want anyone to see her "crippled" daughter. In the summer of 1939, when World War II could begin at any second, parents are sending their kids to the English countryside to escape the impending bombing of city. Jamie is going, but Ada's mother, Mam, refuses to let Ada go. "They're sending kids to live with nice people. Who'd want you? Nobody, that's who. Nice people don't want to look at that foot," says her mother. Ada's will is stronger than her disability and on the morning her brother is to leave, she sneaks out early with him, boards the train and rides off into a new life. Things are better with Susan, their reluctant guardian, but even though Ada has escaped her mother, she can't escape the trauma of her past.

Book Review: Bradley weaves fascinating historical facts into an already engaging story of an abused girl who shows herself and the world that she is as valuable as any "normal person." Readers will find Ada relatable and inspiring. Though some of the details of Ada's life with her "mam" are disturbing, the author moves passed the rough subjects quickly and appropriately.

Awards and Recognitions:
Newberry Honor Book
Sunshine State Young Readers Award 2017-2018

Profanity:
Slut
Hell (written in dialect as "'ell")

Potentially Inappropriate References:
None

Potentially Inappropriate Behaviors:
Mam slaps Ada
Mam locks Ada in a cupboard
Ada ties up Jamie briefly, but immediately feels sorry.
Mam is emotionally, verbally, and physically abusive.
A teacher ties Jamie's left hand to his chair (he's left handed and the teacher insists he write with his right hand).

Parental Concern: 2 out of 5

The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days

Author: Michele Weber Hurwitz 

AR Level: 3.5
Lexile Level: 530L
Interest Level: 6th to 8th grade

Awards and Recognition: Sunshine State Young Readers Award nominee 2016-2017

Book Summary: Thirteen year old, Nina, still mourning her beloved grandmother's death, is inspired by her grandmother's "Simple Truths" theory that good things happen when they are supposed to. This, combined with her 8th grade teacher's last words before summer, "It's the ordinary things that go unnoticed that end up making a difference," convinces Nina the time for good things to happen is now. Her goal is to perform 65 good deeds before summer's end without anyone knowing. While Nina is busy fixing everyone else's problems, her problems seem to be piling up. Her parents are never available, her brother is always M.I.A., the neighbors are getting suspicious, and her best friend Jorie only has time for her when the more popular kids aren't around. But worst of all, Jorie has a mission of her own: Score a date with Nina's secret crush, Eli, for homecoming.

Book Review: The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days has little to object to. It's a story of a good kid doing good things, while managing her own teen relatable problems. The language is clean, the actions of most the kids are reasonable, and the only things parents might be uncomfortable with are two kisses between 13 year olds.

Profanity: None

Potentially Inappropriate Behaviors:
Kissing in the park
Kissing in the street
Teens break into a vacant house to hang out.
Nina lies to her parents.

Potentially Inappropriate References: None

Parental Concern:
1 out of 5

A Big Guy Took My Ball!

Author: Mo Willems

AR Level: 0.5
Lexile Level: AD270L
Interest Level: Pre-K - 2

Book Summary: In A Big Guy Took My Ball!, Gerald is outraged when Piggie tells him some big guy took the ball Piggie just found. "What makes those big guys think they are so big?! Well, I am big too! I will get your big ball from that big guy," exclaims Gerald the elephant. Things are not what they seem, though, and Gerald and Piggie both learn a lesson about what it's like to be the "big guy."

Book Review: In his usual style of simple pictures, minimal words and lovable characters, Mo Willems delivers another entertaining edition to the Elephant and Piggie Book series. Readers will laugh while learning that sometimes first impressions are all wrong. 

Profanity: NONE

Potentially Inappropriate Behaviors: NONE

Potentially Inappropriate References: NONE

Parental Concern Rating: 0 out of 5 (0 = no concern, 5 = major concern)

Nerd Girls - The Rise of the Dorkasaurus

Author: Alan Lawrence Sitomer

AR Level: 4.7 (worth 7pts)

Lexile Level: 660

Interest Level: Grades 6-8

Book Summary: Standing up to the ThreePees (a group of popular girls) is never a good idea. But Maureen is fed up with their cruelty and decides to do something about it. Unfortunately, her attempt to stop a prank ends up on YouTube where she comes off as a total loser, definitely not heroic. One good thing does come out of Maureen's selfless act. She gains two new friends. 

Maureen (AKA: Mo), Alice (AKA Allergy Alice, Q), and Barbara (AKA: Beanpole), are three self-described middle school nerds. Maureen is the fat one. Alice is the quiet one. Barbara is the clumsy one. The ThreePees taunt and harass the "Nerd Girls" on a daily basis. Tired of the tormenting and sick of seeing the ThreePees win the annual talent show year after year, the three girls band together to win the talent show and knock the ThreePees down to size. However, there are several problems with their plan, the biggest being that they don't have a talent. The "Nerd Girls" begin a mission to find a talent, overcome their fears, and win!

Book Review: Reading Nerd Girls is like running track, it seems like you're going somewhere, but in the end, you are right back where you started. I love a good underdog story, but these underdogs don't make any progress! The characters are stereotypical of nerd girl teenage comedy movies. (Like Clueless and Mean Girls.) Allergy Alice is so awkward and weird that she often takes insults as jokes and her only response is a clueless, "You're funny." She says this a lot. And Barbara (Beanpole) is a klutz who, annoyingly, runs into and trips over everything, repeatedly. She always follows with, "I'm okay, I'm okay." Another character is portrayed as hopelessly stupid. Why would anyone write about girls this way? There is quite a bit of trashy talk in Nerd Girls, all of it sexual. The girls talk about "tongue kissing," several times. Sometimes, it borders on vulgar, if not completely stepping over the line. At least it's all talk, though, and no action.

Profanity:
None

Potentially Inappropriate Behaviors:
Bullying
Name calling
Intimidation
Lying
Destruction of another's property

Potentially Inappropriate References:
"Lick its crouch." This is in reference to the robot and what it can be programmed to do.
"Tongue Jason." This is in reference to kissing a boy, which never actually happens.
"They see those, both of them." This is in reference to large breasts and the reasons why boys like mean girls.
"Tongue kissing."

Parental Concern Rating:
3 out of 5 (0 = no concern, 5 = major concern)

Dying to Meet You

Author: Kate Klise

Illustrator: M. Sarah Klise

AR Level: 4.9 (worth 2 pts.)
Lexile Level: 730

Interest Level: Grades 3-5

Book Summary: A grumpy old writer moves into a dilapidated mansion for the summer so he can complete the last book in his series: Ghost Tamers. Ignatius B. Gurmply quickly realizes he is not living in the Old Cemetery Road mansion alone. Eleven year old Seymour occupies the entire third floor and Olive, a ghost, occupies pretty much any part of the house she wants. With creaky floors, slamming doors, and falling chandeliers, Ignatius finds it hard to focus on his writing. But, help arrives in the most unusual way.

Book Review: Dying to Meet You is quirky and imaginative, not at all the scary ghost story its title would have you believe. Readers will find its format a fun change of pace. Each page is a letter from one character to another. No one really talks to each other, not even the characters who live a floor apart. The characters are interesting and surprisingly real, even the dead one. Illustrations are abundant, appealing to all types of readers. 

Awards and Recognition:

Sunshine State Young Readers Award 2011-2012 (Florida)

Profanity:

None

Potentially Inappropriate References:

None

Potentially Inappropriate Behaviors:

Mild violence when Olive drops a chandelier on Ignatius

Parental Concern:

0 out of 5 

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life

Author: James Patterson

Book Summary: Rafe Khatchadorian sees middle school as prison. He figures there's only two things you can do to survive: Make people think you are crazy so they don't bother you or keep your head down and try not to get noticed. In the past, Rafe's way was to lay low, but this year he's mixing things up. Rafe is on a mission to break all the rules from his middle school's boring code of conduct book. The only rule he follows is the one he made for himself: Nobody gets hurt. His best friend, Leonardo the Silent (he rarely speaks), has assigned points for each rule Rafe breaks. Being late for class scores him 10,000 points, destruction of school property gets him 35,000 points, and so on. The game is going well until the school bully finds the Operation R.A.F.E. (Rules Aren't For Everyone) plans and holds them for ransom - giving each page a price.

Book Review: Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is definitely a must-read on the reluctant reader's list. It's told in first person, but talks directly to the reader at the same time. The main character, Rafe, does a lot of things parents would deem inappropriate (Hopefully our kids would, too!), but there is more going on than just a kid looking for attention. This story has depth. It addresses issues like bullying and abuse by adults, as well as by kids. It also covers death and the trauma it can cause to a child. For such deep subjects, Patterson keeps things light and doesn't dwell on anything too much for the reader to handle.

Interest Level: Grades 4 - 8
AR Level: 4.5 (worth 4 pts.)
Lexile Level: No listing

Profanity:
None

Potentially Inappropriate Behaviors:
Vandalism
Pulling the fire alarm
Chewing gum in class
Purposely breaking rules
Disrupts class
Fights

Potentially Inappropriate References:
None

Parental Concern Rating:
4 out of 5

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things

Author: Lenore Look
Illustrator: LeUyen Pham

Summary: Second grader, Alvin Ho is afraid of a lot of things: elevators, substitute teachers, wasabi, thunder, shots.... Sometimes Alvin is so afraid of things that he cannot speak. School is one of those things. "My voice works at home. It works in the car. It even works on the school bus. But as soon as I get to school...I'm as silent as a side of beef," says Alvin. Since Alvin is afraid of so many things, he considers himself allergic and carries his own PDK (Personal Disaster Kit.) The PDK includes things like a bandana to "prevent smoke inhalation" in case he starts a fire with the mirror and magnifying glass, also in his kit. It's hard to make friends when you don't speak at school, but Alvin is determined to find a way. Unfortunately, his bad decisions lead to disasters that not even the PDK can fix.

Review: Mishaps and misfortune fill the pages of Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things. It's just what reluctant readers crave. Kids will love the jams Alvin gets himself into. Alvin gets stuck upside down in a tree for hours, takes dad-mandated piano lessons from a scary old lady, gets in big trouble with his parents, insults his psychotherapist, and gets involved with a small time gang. Parents will like that the family is whole, with loving, supportive parents involved in their children's lives. Pictures are plentiful and so is the fun. (This is book 1 in a series of 3, so far.)

Interest Level: Grades 2-4
AR Level: 3.8 (worth 3 pts.)
Lexile Level: 600

Profanity:
None

Potentially Inappropriate References:
None

Potentially Inappropriate Behavior:
Alvin borrows things without asking
Alvin insults the psychotherapist with Shakespearean babble: "Get thee gone, thou beshibbering onion-eyed flap-dragon!"

Parental Concern Rating:
0 out of 5