Caryn

Kyra's father has three wives and countless children living in trailers on th eedge of a polygamist compound. Life is mostly good for Kyra until she is ordered by the prophet to marry her middle aged uncle, who already has several wives. The order threatens to uncover Kyra's forbidden visits to the county bookmobile and Joshua, a boy she loves. Dark and chilling, this novel is easily young adult despite Kyra's age because of the subject matter, which includes infant abuse and other violence. At the same time, Willams builds a touching and sweet portrayal of the love and relationships shared within the family.

The eccentricity of Ponyboy's name reflects the differences between him and the rest of the ‘Greasers' gang to which he belongs. Rather than becoming hardened or jaded about his poverty, parents' death, and the intense conflict between the Greasers and their uptown rivals, the ‘Socs,' Ponyboy remains sensitive and more-or-less non-delinquent. Everything changes when he and his best friend, Johnny, are jumped by a group of Socs and the Soc leader is killed by Johnny in self-defense. In the drama that ensues, Ponyboy's older brothers Sodapop and Darry can't continue to shield him from the vagaries of life, and he ultimately has to choose whether to retreat into an emotionless shell of self-defense (read: delinquency) or to be strong and ‘stay gold.'

Overall, I thought that this was an excellent book with a very relatable main character in Ponyboy. While at times he came across as a little too clearsighted and ‘wise' for his age, I think that had I read this book as a teen I would have seen much of myself in Ponyboy. The rivalry between the Greasers and the Socs is replicated to some degree among groups of teens everywhere, which also helps to explain this novel's continued relevance for teens throughout the years.

Boots and the Seven Leaguers is a good-fun middle grade novel about a teenaged troll named Gog whose only wish is to attend the concert of his favorite Rock-and-Troll band. Thanks to his younger brother, Magog (who is smarter than your average troll), Gog and his friend finagle jobs as roadies setting up the concert in order to earn comp tickets. Unfortunately, while they work, Magog is abducted by the mysterious Huntsman and taken to the heart of the forest, origin of nightmarish bedtime stories and home to the feared White Wyrm. As he rushes to rescue his little brother, Gog must face traps and dangers with his less-than-stellar troll intellect. Along the way, he even manages to uncover a large-scale conspiracy. I liked this book, but much of it fell flat for me because even as he claims stupidity, Gog actually does very smart, un-trollish things. Even his Pookah friend–who is supposed to be capricious and unreliable–is doggedly loyal and plays a total of 0 tricks on Gog in the story (supposedly his trademark). That said, Gog is your typical teen (does that make all teens trolls?), and I would absolutely recommend this book to the middle school set as an adventure that plays up the value of family, determination, and self-confidence. Yolen's twist on the world of Faerie and Gog's commentary on the way his society functions also make for an entertaining read.

POETRY

Joyful Noise is a quick, entertaining collection of poems written about various insects. The most interesting part is that they are meant to be recited by two people, sometimes in unison, alternating, or even in opposition. The poems themselves are clever but not necessarily profound; I thought that some were much better than others. I could see reading these poems aloud at school or with family members as entertaining, and the illustrations by Beddows are beautifully rendered.

When his mother dies, leaving him with nothing but a lead cross–not even a name–Asta's son must go on the run from the town's greedy steward, who has inexplicably labeled him a Wolf's Head and thus authorized to be killed on sight. After meeting the traveling jester Bear, however, the boy learns that the writing on his cross names him Crispin, the son of the area's Lord–which puts him in even more danger than before. Avi places us right in the thick of the Medieval action and sustains it throughout while also managing to fit in progressive ideas such as fair working conditions and personal liberty/property. I really enjoyed reading this novel, and thought that the story was believable and well written. This is a story that will appeal to the middle grade set, boys in particular.