The Real Boy

From Publisher's Weekly...

Oscar is the magician’s hand, charged with collecting plants to concoct spells, and lives happily hidden away, with his cats, in the cellar of Master Caleb’s shop in the Barrow, outside the walled city of Asteri. (Ursu subtly delineates tics that suggest 11-year-old Oscar may be autistic.) Then Master Caleb disappears for mysterious obligations on the continent, and the bane of Oscar’s existence, the magician’s apprentice, is killed. Oscar’s world crumbles. Unprepared to deal with customers, he receives help from the Healer’s apprentice, Callie, but Oscar realizes his inability to make small talk is more than shyness: there is something off about him. It gets worse: his garden is ravaged, the city’s children fall ill, and a monster stalks the countryside. It’s left to Oscar and Callie to save Asteri. Adult readers will savor Ursu’s allusions to well-known fairy tales—most significantly, Pinocchio—and appreciate the many well-turned phrases. But the story has some gaps, and a message about the failings of magic may disappoint younger fantasy fans. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12

In general this was a good book, but there were too many holes in the explanations for why things happened or they weren't explained well enough (eg..what actually happened to Wolf?).  A little young for middle school, but would make a decent addition to our fantasy collection.

Counting by 7s

From Publisher's Weekly

Willow Chance is an extremely precocious and analytical 12-year-old “genius,” and she doesn’t fit in with other kids (though she’d doubtlessly find a kindred spirit in Lauren Tarshis’s Emma-Jean Lazarus). Despite Willow’s social difficulties, she makes an impression on everyone around her—whether it’s Dell Duke, a lonely and ineffectual school district counselor, or Jairo Hernandez, the taxi driver Willow hires to drive her to her meetings with Dell. After Willow’s parents die in a car crash, her new friend Mai Nguyen persuades her mother to take Willow in; despite the Nguyens’ poverty, their makeshift home and open arms help bring Willow back from the void. As in Sloan’s I’ll Be There, the narration shifts among multiple viewpoints, from Willow’s cerebral first-person perspective to third-person chapters that demonstrate how her presence is transformational to those around her, young and old. But while elements of Willow’s story are indeed extraordinary and even inspirational, Sloan’s somewhat portentous storytelling gets in the way of letting readers reach their own conclusions about the ways people save each other. Ages 10–up. 

Excellent...very touching.  

The House on Mango Street

From Barnes and Noble...

Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero. Told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous – it is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Few other books in our time have touched so many readers.

Good....although difficult for me to interpret the author's meaning...Needs to be read slow and intense.  

Scarlet

From Publisher's Weekly...

Returning fans of Meyer’s Cinder will gladly sink their teeth into this ambitious, wholly satisfying sequel. Linh Cinder has learned that she is Princess Selene, a Lunar who was supposedly murdered by her treacherous and powerful aunt, Queen Levana, but in fact survived. Meanwhile on Earth, Scarlet Benoit and her former military pilot grandmother, now smalltown farmers in France, have recently become the target of a ruthless pack of wolflike humans who, if they don’t get the information they want, will probably kill them. Meyer’s plot is intricate and elaborate as she leaps between Cinder’s and Scarlet’s narratives, leaving readers anticipating their eventual intersection. Scarlet is a headstrong and loyal heroine, determined to save her grandmother (who has gone missing) while reluctantly falling for the protective but bloodthirsty Wolf, who might have been hired to kill her—or might be in love with her. Meyer portrays each scene with precision and rising tension, leaving readers with another mesmerizing journey. The third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cress, is scheduled for 2014. Ages 12–up. 

Good sequel to Cinder!  Can't wait to read the next one.  Good for middle school.  

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

From Publisher's Weekly...
2010 Newbery Honor

Life at the turn of the century is not easy for a girl who loves books and science. Kelly's first novel presents spirited heroine Calpurnia (Callie) Virginia Tate, a middle child with six brothers, growing up in the isolation of Fentress, Tex., in 1899. To her family's dismay, Callie is stubborn, independent and not interested in darning socks or perfecting her baking skills like a lady. “I would live my life in a tower of books,” she thinks to herself. She spends most of her time with Harry, “the one brother who could deny me nothing,” slowly befriending her Granddaddy, a mysterious naturalist who studies everything from pecan distillation to microscopic river bugs. Together they dream up experiments and seek answers to backyard phenomena, discovering something new about the invisible world each day. Callie follows her passion for knowledge, coming to realize her family “had their own lives. And now I have mine .” Callie's transformation into an adult and her unexpected bravery make for an exciting and enjoyable read. Kelly's rich images and setting, believable relationships and a touch of magic take this story far. Ages 10–up. (May)

This is a wonderful book!  Good for middle school.