The Year of the Book

 

Author: Andrea Cheng

Age Range: 7-10 (Kirkus Reviews)

Interest Range: 7-10

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Plot: Anna is having a rough time in 4th grade. Laura used to be her best friend, but is now hanging out with Allison- even though Allison is not the nicest of girls. Plus, Anna now has to attend Chinese school on Saturdays. Her mother, who is from China, feels it is important that she learn more about her heritage. On top of that, what would the other girls say if they knew that her mother cleans other people’s houses for a living? Or is currently going to school, and doesn’t even know how to drive? Being Chinese in Ohio is strange, so Anna finds comfort in her books. An avid reader, Anna almost doesn’t even notice the year going by around her as she makes friends with another girl from Chinese school, helps Laura through her parents’ separation, and manages to begin to learn Chinese and embrace what makes her so different and so special.

Review: Anna is struggling with being a minority in a not-very-diverse place. She is different from everyone not just because of her looks, but her mother is actually from another country. Chinese school, along with many other pressures and expectations from her parents that are not necessarily the same as her classmates’ experiences make her feel especially excluded. Also, her closest friend is searching to find meaning and support in a structure that is falling down around her- trying to become friends with girls that she perceives as important while her parents are experiencing a very messy split. Even though Laura’s actions hurt her feelings, Anna eventually comes around to appreciate the painful place her friend is living in and the two are able to somewhat repair their relationship. Even more inspiring, throughout her year Anna learns to embrace what it is that makes her different. She makes new friends and ends her school year really looking forward to the 5th grade.

Themes: Coming of Age, Building New Relationships, Trying to Fit In, Divorce, Race

Additional Info:

Main Characters:

Anna: A 4th grader who loves to read. Anna always has her nose in a book, even though the teacher told her that read-walking can be quite dangerous. Anna is struggling to figure out friendships and how to feel about what makes her different, her heritage.

Laura: Another 4th grader who used to be close friends with Anna, Laura is also trying to figure out what it means to be friends with someone. In her struggle to fit in with the more popular girl in their grade, Laura begins to shun Anna- often leaving her alone at school and calling her as a last resort when the other girls decide they don’t want her around. Laura’s parents are going through a very rough time and eventually end up separating. Anna’s family ends up being a refuge for Laura when things get too rough at home.

Allison: The popular girl in the 4th grade, who is not very nice. She often completely shuns Anna, shoots her down in front of others at school, and steals her ideas.

Bibliographic Info:

Cheng, A. (2012). The Year of the Book. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Tagline:

Being different can be hard, especially in the 4th grade. But lots of other hard things can happen in the 4th grade too, like making friends.

Homesick

 

Author: Kate Klise

Age Range: 9-12 (Kirkus Reviews)

Interest Range: 9-12

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Plot: The year is 1983. Dennis Acres is a  tiny town in Missouri, and Benny Summer is a 12-year-old boy who spends most of his evenings listening to his parents fight. That is, until his mom walks out and moves back to New Orleans. Benny just can’t shake the deep, sad feeling that he can only name as “homesickness” as his father starts to make their home disappear. Benny’s dad owned an antique shop, until he started refusing to sell his antiques to anyone, claiming they were all “too valuable”. And now, all of the antiques reside in their house, with them, and with any junk that his father can find. A tower of pizza boxes continues to grow in the kitchen and when Benny tries to throw them away, his father freaks out and claims that they will someday be valuable too. Will Benny ever be able to get his dad to clean up? And will his mother ever come back so that Benny can find his home again?

Review: This book has a lot going on. In addition to being  a hoarder, Benny’s father also continually talks about how one day the entire world will be connected by a huge computer network. His predictions of what we know today as the Internet do sound strange in the mouth of someone from the early 1980s, and some of the things he believes will be possible really are quite crazy, but the reader gets to see how sometimes people with truly amazing ideas can be viewed as “crazy” by their closest friends and family. The reader also is seeing how mental illness was viewed in a time when many people still feared it and did not acknowledge it. In the end, Calvin is admitted to a hospital for other reasons and they determine what is really wrong with him. He is helped to realize his problem, given medication, and is put on track to live a normal life. While all of this is happening, Benny is also involved in the starting of the town radio station and experiences lots of regular 12-year-old boy feelings about school, and the girl who sits behind him in class, and the fact that his parents don’t get along.

Themes: Changes at Home, Economic Hardship, Mental Illness, Divorce

Additional Info:

Main Characters:

Benny Summer: 12-year-old Benny is left alone to take care of his father for months while trying to navigate the sixth grade. He has a job at the local radio station, run by his father’s best friend, Myron, and avoids going to all of his piano lessons. He also has a crush on Stormy Walker.

Calvin Summer: Benny’s father, who suffers from a serotonin deficiency and hoards just about anything he can get his hands on. His “collecting” turns their home into an unlivable wreck, full of rats and mold, and his illness keeps him from seeing the danger and embarrassment that he is putting his son through.

Nola Rene Summer: Benny’s mother, who leaves when she becomes so frustrated at her husband’s inability to throw anything away that she just cannot take it anymore. She calls home infrequently to check on Benny and promises to come back for him at the end of the school year and bring him back to New Orleans with her. She either does not realize that her husband is sick, or does not care to.

Myron Kazie: Calvin’s best friend from when they were in high school and the owner of the local radio station. Myron acts as a kind of stand-in father for Benny, offering him a paying job at the radio station and constantly checking on him to make sure he’s ok. At a few points, Myron does attempt to intervene with Calvin, but Calvin’s intense level of self-defense keeps him at bay.

Mrs. Rosso: Benny’s sixth-grade teacher, who becomes another caretaker for Benny. She realizes what is going on at home and attempts to encourage Benny’s desire to clean up the house by allowing it to be his service project for school. When Calvin calls her at home in a fit of rage, she takes a more serious, yet hidden, role in helping Benny out- secretly teaching him to do laundry, and bringing him new clothes and personal items when he needs them.

Stormy Walker: The pretty girl who sits behind Benny in Mrs. Rosso’s class. Benny and Stormy eventually become friends when disaster strikes the entire town.

Bibliographic Info:

Klise, K. (2012). Homesick. New York: Macmillan.

Tagline:

His parents are splitting up, and even though he hasn’t left home Benny still can’t shake a feeling of homesickness when his mother leaves for good.