Redwall The Graphic Novel

Jacques, Brian. Redwall: The Graphic Novel. New York, Penguin, 2007.

Genre: Animal Fantasy, Adventure, Graphic Novel

Audience: Ages 8 and older

Personal Reaction: Reading Redwall as a graphic novel was a perfect way to introduce the story.  It is one I had considered reading for several years and still had not committed to doing so.  This is the story of a mouse named Matthias and his journey to retrieve a famous sword to help defeat Cluney and his rats.  Matthias shows no fear as he befriends shrews, an owl, a cat and other birds.  

This was a book of adventure, as it moved quickly and the characters were easy to follow. Being able to visibly see the clawed tail of Cluney helped one to understand the fear the mice of Redwall would have against his army.  This was a hopeful tale, one where the smallest and big dreamer becomes the hero.  Matthias is able to save the day and protect his people from the rats and makes friends with other animals in the area.  

Author Facts: Brian Jacques is from Liverpool, England in 1939.  When he was ten he realized he had a skill for writing when a teacher refused to believe a story he had written was indeed, written by a ten year old.  He began his writing career as a playwright even though he has written poetry and novels.  

Author Website: http://www.redwallabbey.com/

If the Witness Lied

Cooney, Caroline B. If the Witness Lied? New York: Delacorte, 2009.

Genre: Mystery

Audience: Ages 12 and older

Personal Reaction: I have always loved Caroline B. Cooney's novels, from the first Janie book and still now with If the Witness Lied.  She has a way of making characters come to live and enticing readers to continue the novel.  In this story we meet Jack and Tris, brothers whose parents have died.  In the first half of the book their sisters, Madison and Smithy come home to celebrate their late father's birthday and realize their youngest brother was unlikely their father's murderer.  As the novel progresses they realize their Aunt Cheryl murdered their father and blamed it on Tris, since he was too young to be penalized for any wrongdoing.  

The story (unfortunately) ends abruptly and Cheryl is taken into custody for killing the children's father and stealing from them, losing her television deal in the meantime.  The children move to live with their grandparents, realizing it does not matter where they live, only that they are together.  

Author Facts: Caroline B. Cooney has lived in many places but has settled in South Carolina because she loves being warm.  She has three children and five grandchildren.  Even though she is educated and has attended many colleges, Cooney has not graduated from any.  

Author Website: http://www.carolinebcooneybooks.com/index.html

Boy 21

Quick, Matthew. Boy 21. New York: Little, Brown, 2012.

Audience: Ages 12 and older

Genre: Sports fiction

Personal Reaction: Boy 21 is the story of Finley, Boy 21 (also known as Russ), Erin, and basketball.  At the beginning of the story we know Finley is pretending some part of his life never happened.  His basketball coach asks him to befriend Russ, a new kid in town, who thinks he is an alien and will only go by the name Boy 21.  The three become friends and the basketball season begins. 

This novel flew by.  I read it in one sitting and found it hard to believe how much I truly enjoyed it. In this story Finley helps Russ play basketball again and Erin gets hit by a car, breaking her leg.  When Finley has to choose between Erin and basketball he realizes how much more important the people in his life are in comparison to the sport he once lived for.  This was a book I will recommend to many readers, not only those who love sports.  

Author Facts: Matthew quick was born in PA but later moved to Oaklyn, NJ.  He taught for many years, retiring in 2004 to become a full time writer.  He now lives with his wife Alicia Bessette who is a novelist and pianist in North Carolina.  

Author Website: http://matthewquickwriter.com/

Tiger Lily

Anderson, J. (2012). Tiger Lily. New York, NY: HarperTeen.

Intended Audience: Ages 10 and older

Genre: Fantasy

Personal Reaction: Tiger Lily is the story of Neverland as told by Tinker Bell, Tink for short.  Tink is a faerie and finds herself attached to Tiger Lily, following her wherever she goes, attempting to communicate with and helping her.  Tiger Lily meets Peter Pan and falls for him, but loses track of time when her father becomes sick and loses Peter forever when he moves to London to grow old.

For those who have a love of the Disney version of Peter Pan this is what takes place before Disney's story.  In this we understand how Tiger Lily fits into the storyline.  The greatest moment of the book was when Peter stopped fearing adulthood and Tiger Lily became comfortable with who she was and a member of her tribe.  This was a wonderful story, one I will recommend to others.

Author Facts: Jodi Lynn Anderson loves Russian books (the longer the better).  She plays the banjo and enjoys knitting and riding her bike. 

Author Website: Anderson doesn't seem to have a website she does have a Twitter account, a page at Harper Collins, and a facebook (click on the links to go to these pages)!

Under the Mesquite

McCall, G. (2011). Under the mesquite. New York: Lee & Low Books.

Intended Audience: 12+

Genre: Poetry: Realistic Fiction

Personal Reaction:  Under the Mesquite was a beautifully written story of a young girl named Lupita.  She was the oldest of many children and her mother was diagnosed with cancer.  Throughout the story we learn how she copes with the news and helps her parents care for her siblings.  Lupita uses drama to help express her emotions and finds she has a gift for poetry and writing in addition to acting.

This was a touching novel that was so easy to read.  I could feel the ache of Lupita and annoyance as her mother grew sicker and her siblings lacked maturity.  When her mother died we could feel the brokenness she felt.  Mccall wrote this novel in verse, allowing her to focus on the emotions and plot much more than dialogue and irrelevant setting. 

Author Facts: Guadalupe Garcia Mccall is known as Loop by her friends.  She loves the outdoors, which one may guess after reading her books which beautifully paint pictures of what happens outside.  She loves to think about life and growing up when she writes, trying to give meaning to these experiences.  

Author Website: http://www.guadalupegarciamccall.com/

To Be Perfectly Honest

Sones, Sonya. To Be Perfectly Honest. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013.

Genre: Poetry; Realistic Fiction

Intended Audience: 14 and older

Personal Reaction: Colette is a liar.  She is also the narrator of this story, telling of her summer in a fancy hotel in small town.  Her mother is a movie star and they go to the town for a photo shoot all summer.  Colette falls in love with Connor that summer.  She and her brother, Will, hang out with Conner all summer as Conner lies to her so he can sleep with the daughter of a movie star.

The story feels like it has many plot lines, as do many teen fiction novels, but the fact it is written in verse helps it flow quickly and tie in all plots.  I really enjoyed this book, much more than I thought I would.  I think the fact it moved quickly despite being almost 500 pages helped.  Not once was I stuck in the book waiting to see what happened next, instead I was reading to find what happened.

Author Facts: Sonya Sones has a background in animation and taught film at Harvard for a time.  She worked and lived in Hollywood after her time at Harvard. When she got married and pregnant she was able to quit her day job and stay at home with their daughter Ava instead.

Author Website: http://www.sonyasones.com/

Feed

Anderson, M. (2002). Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Intended Audience: Ages 14 and older

Genre: Cyberpunk/Science Fiction

Personal Reaction: Many times the language chosen and style of writing can save or destroy a novel for me.  Unfortunately, the constant use of "like", "meg" and "null" made it difficult to take the text too seriously.  While I understand what Anderson was attempting to do in Feed by creating his own slang, I found it forced and difficult to appreciate.

In the story Titus and Violet become boyfriend and girlfriend and Violet's "feed" becomes damaged.  In this time period one's feed is like their smart phone attached to their brain, it keeps track of all information and helps control body functions and systems.  Eventually Violet dies and Titus is left alone, attempting to detach from the feed.  In time I found myself appreciating the plot, though if I had not been required to read this for class it is unlikely I would have continued to do so.

Author Facts: MT Anderson has written books for all ages, though is most known for the required reading, Feed.  He is a terrible swimmer, despite having spent a better portion of his childhood swimming with his sister.  When he is not writing, Anderson loves to hike and travel exotic places. 

Author Website:  http://www.mt-anderson.com/

The Maze Runner

Dashner, J. (2009). The Maze Runner. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia

Intended Audience:  Ages 13+

Personal Reaction: When I saw The Maze Runner was on the list of required reading for my class I was quite excited.  I found myself drawn into the characters and setting, unsure, as Thomas what exactly was happening.  This was a fast-paced novel with likable characters.

As a general rule I aim to not watch the movie before the book, however, I failed to do so with The Maze Runner.  Therefore, many of my reactions are in relation to how it compared to the film adaptation.  I was annoyed at how the adaptation changed the maze to not having an exit, to having one and Alby not wanting to give the Gladers hope.  In addition to changing the maze, they lacked the telepathic communication between Teresa and Thomas, taking away from the depth of their relationship. As usual, I found the book to be better than the film version, and was quite impressed with the storyline Dashner gave.

Author Facts: James Dashner began his career in accounting and later decided to become an author, he does not miss the numbers game and now writes full-time. He lives with his wife and four children and watches movies when he doesn't know what to write about. He now believes he has the best job in the world and is the luckiest guy on the planet. 

Author Website: http://jamesdashner.com/