But with The Walls of Cartagena I get to recommend a good book that is also not overly long.  (I can’t say “short” – swearing, you know.)  This narrative is a particularly valuable addition to the historical fiction collection since it focuses on slavery in the Americas outside of the United States.  Slavery is a much bigger story than just the US experience and Julia Durango provides a great introduction to the topic.

I must confess, my only prior knowledge of Cartagena comes from the 1984 movie Romancing The Stone!

The setting is Cartagena in 1639.  The narrator is a young slave named Calepino who is more fortunate than most in his position.  He has been educated and treated well by the Doña Isabel, but is exposed to the horrid conditions of the incoming slave ships as he begins working for the tireless Father Pedro who seeks to bring comfort to the bodies and souls of the Africans as they arrive.  Calepino ends up working at a lepers colony for Dr. Mendo López de Campo, and readers are introduced not only to leprosy, but to the Spanish Inquisition and the persecution of the Jews as well. 

A well told, thought provoking story The Walls of Cartagena seems well researched.  Most of the characters in the story actually existed as explained in the author’s note at the end of the book.  Another impressive first novel – and this one from an almost local author – Durango lives in Ottowa, IL.  Although full of history, Durango keeps the plot interesting, moving, and heartfelt throughout… all contained in only 145 small format pages (7.6 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches)  – 152 if you also read the author’s note!

Further distinguishing this book from most middle/YA novels, these girls are NICE, NORMAL kids with normal problems.  Emma-Jean is an extremely level headed and intelligent girl who contentedly keeps to herself since she has very little in common with her peers.  Colleen Pomerantz is a truly kind and good hearted girl.  When Emma-Jean finds herself unusually conflicted by a sobbing Colleen, she proceeds, in typical deliberate Emma-Jean fashion, to provide assistance.  Despite pure intentions and a well-thought-out plan, complications ensue.

Other than the death of Emma-Jean’s father two years prior to the narrative’s setting, this book doesn’t deal with extreme circumstances and evil or absent or ineffective adults.  As a matter of fact, it has fully-functioning, extremely realistic adults doing their best for their offspring and/or students.  The adults are not perfect, just realistically flawed.  Colleen’s mother struggles to show affection, but she does show affection in her own way.  Mr. Petrowski, the most flawed adult, unfairly harasses his student Will Keeler.  Unfortunately I’ve known teachers like him; thank goodness not very many!  And he is balanced (and chastised) by a wonderful young teacher, Ms Wright.  (Hmmm… Ms Wright.  I didn’t notice the name before.  Perhaps it is a coincidence and perhaps it is purposeful?)  And like Schmidt’s The Wednesday Wars, this novel realistically includes faith in the life of a character.

Part of growing up is realizing that everyone views the same circumstances differently.  Wendelin Van Draanen’s novel Flipped remains my favorite for illustrating this reality, but Lauren Tarshis has credibly provided similar insights.  Because Emma-Jean does not pick up on “normal” social cues due to her mathematically analytical (and abnormally mature) perspectives, the reader can examine the middle school world objectively.  Because Colleen views the world completely through emotion the reader is provided important contrast.

But nothing in this novel is didactic.  It is funny and sweet.  Among my favorite moments is when Emma-Jean shows up at Colleen’s home to offer advice.  Colleen is obviously not answering the doorbell deliberately, but Emma-Jean does not view it that way:

(p137) “Emma-Jean backed away from the door and looked up at the curtained window through which Colleen had been peering.  There was no sign of Colleen.  In fact, to the casual observer, the house would appear completely empty.  However, Emma-Jean was not a casual observer.  Colleeen Pomerantz was in this house.  And there was only one explanation for her failure to respond to the doorbell:  She was too weak, perhaps in a state of collapse.  Very likely, her mother had gone to the market or the drugstore, believing that Colleen’s condition was stable.  Perhaps she was unaware of the capricious nature of viruses, how symptoms can subside only to flare suddenly and violently just hours later.”

You can see from the passage above that Emma-Jean’s sections of this novel require readers with good vocabularies… or a good dictionary and the will to use it!  Those readers without good vocabularies will understand the narrative, too, and may benefit from learning a new word or two!

It is worth noting that Lauren Tarshis is writing an Emma-Jean sequel coming out in May 2009.

The overall message of this book is valuable!  When we seek to interact and truly understand others… we often end up understanding more about ourselves.  Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree was an Oprah’s Kid Book Club Selection, but don’t let that stop you!  This novel is worth reading and worth recommending!

Yet ANOTHER first novel!  (I’m going to have to create a category!)  A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban is straight up good writing.  An excellent realistic fiction middler novel, at 211 small-sized pages it is not overwhelming.  Chapters are often only a page or two long, so the pace is fast.  Chapter titles such as “What’s Weird” followed by “What’s Really Weird” are kid-friendly.  The story is uncomplicated and humorous and POSITIVE! 

Urban is gifted at creating flawed characters for which the reader cannot help but be sympathetic.  The mathematical work-a-holic mother is often absent, but shows up when it counts.  The father is in charge of “domestic affairs”, has overwhelming apprehension when leaving the house, and seems to have “sucker” written in invisible ink on his forehead.  (The invisible ink is clearly seen by zealous salespeople!)  And Wheeler Diggs keeps following her home.

The narrator, eleven-year-old Zoe Ellis, has a dream to be a concert pianist (like Horowitz) and someday play Carnegie Hall.  But when her dad is suckered into buying an organ instead of a piano, her la-dee-da dreams instead go boompa-chucka, boompa-chucka on the Perfectone D-60.  But Zoe continually makes the best of things and ends up entered in the Perform-O-Rama.  But even this opportunity is complicated by her parents and their quirks…and Wheeler Diggs.

I think President Barack Obama would like Zoe.  She exemplifies the challenge he issued in his Jan. 20, 2009 Inaugural address. 

“What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.” 

Indeed it is Zoe’s optimistic, can-do attitude – her “all to a difficult task” - coupled with her quirky and humorous outlook that made the book enjoyable for this reader.  Zoe is a character with character – I shall happily recommend this to my students.  No book is perfect, but this is A Crooked Kind of Perfect!

First Light will satisfy readers of science fiction, fantasy, OR adventure.  It also has pure science incorporated – Peter’s parents are scientists studying global warming.  At 328 pages of fairly large font, it is an accessible science fiction offering for older challenged readers.  I will be recommending this one to many, many of my students!

Rosa, Sola

Not a great story, but a good sweet one…  I liked it because it made me think of my sister-in-law Diane’s family.  Her mother, Rosemary Piacenza, was the only child of Italian immigrants in Highland Park, Illinois.  Martino does not mention a specific town, but Rosa, Sola is also set somewhere on the north side of Chicago.  (The Cubs get random token mentions.)  My brother’s wedding was an adventure in Italian-American-Chicago style culture for our family of downstate farm folk.  I have a particularly fond memory of a wedding shower in Mrs. Fiorini’s basement; Rosemary’s generation all speaking Italian and my sister-in-law and her friends answering in English as does the fictional Rosa.  And the food….!!!! 

Martino sprinkles Italian throughout the book, providing a glossary at the end in case context isn’t enough (and it often was not).  Why do publishers put glossaries at the end where young readers won’t discover them until too late?  If I was an editor we would put all glossaries at the beginning of the novel!  I only found it because I have the bad habit of reading the end of the book early.

A poignant coming of age story and an intimate look at family relationships and grief, read this simple story with several Kleenex.  Or, better yet, find yourself an antique - a 1960s style Kleenex called a “handkerchief”!

Putting the name Elvis in the title I consider a cheap hook, so if you are expecting this book to have anything to do with “the king”, Elvis Presley, be aware it does not.  But it does have to do with  summer fun and games, first crushes, and learning about friendship.  A great book for fourth and fifth grade readers!  Stephanie Watson has written a promising first novel.

This book made me remember a Boxcar Kids club we formed one summer.  My friends actually had an old boxcar as a playhouse in their yard.  More than a little influenced by “The Boxcar Children” books, we made membership cards and created imaginary adventures.  (Packrat that I am, I still have my membership card in the attic.)  I wonder where fellow members Theresa and Sharon are now?