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While I tend to prefer my zombies on the big screen, I was pleasantly surprised by Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth.
In this post-apocalyptic YA novel, teenage Mary's world is defined by the fences around her village. The fences that keep out the Unconsecrated, the hordes of undead who roam the vast surrounding forest. It has been many generations since the Return and much of life before the Unconsecrated has been forgotten, except for a few old stories and faded photographs. Most villagers have accepted life inside the fences, content that the world is as the Sisterhood describes it. But Mary is convinced there is more: other villages, other remnants of life before the Return, an ocean. She is determined to find out what's outside the village and what the Sisterhood is hiding. When the fence is breached, Mary must decide whether to fight for the life she has always known or risk what might lie beyond the forest.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a suspenseful nail-biter that thankfully does not let its love triangle plot line engulf the heroine. Mary is complex, strong and able to take care of herself. She's filled with all the raw emotions of a teenager, and her motivations range from the noble to the petty, but she is willing to make tough choices and fight for what she believes in.
This is Carrie Ryan's first novel. It's companion work, The Dead-Tossed Waves, was released in March 2010.
Author: Ryan, Carrie
Publisher: Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 2009
Svetlana (aka Stephanie) Grimm is not your average 6th-grader, as she will be the first to tell you. And she is certainly not looking forward to life at Sunny Hill Middle School. Sunny Hill?? Not exactly the kind of place a young vampire feels comfortable. Yes, Svetlana is a vampire (or so she thinks) and "being a vampire is a solitary business". But despite her best efforts, she finds herself making friends at her new school, as well as getting to know her elderly neighbor, Lenora Bones. Unfortunately, her mysterious science teacher, Ms. Larch, throws a wrench into things, and when life at Sunny Hill suddenly takes a dark turn, Svetlana must face the reality of who she really is.
A reluctant heroine with a sarcastic sense of humor, Svetlana strikes a chord with the outsider in us all. A Taste for Red is a funny, fast-paced and suspenseful read which has series potential written all over it.
This is Lewis Harris' first book.
Author: Harris, Lewis
Publisher: Clarion Books
Publication Date: June 2009
Yes, I am a sucker for Victorian era heroines and Hetty Feather is a fun new addition to my list of favorites. The writing is for the 8 to 12 age group but its setting is fascinating for all ages: a London foundling hospital in the 1880's. Hetty is left at the hospital as a baby and the story follows her to a foster family in the countryside and, when she reaches school age, back to the hospital. There she is expected to learn the skills she will need to go into service when she turns thirteen. But Hetty is a girl of action, with "a nature as fiery as her hair". She has a wild imagination, a knack for storytelling and little desire to be a maid. Punishments are harsh and affection is hard to come by at the hospital, and Hetty is determined to someday find her real mother.
Although the storytelling is generally light, the realities of the time are not ignored. Children die from disease and hunger, and when Hetty ventures outside the hospital, there are real dangers around every turn. The first-person narration allows our perspective to grow with Hetty, as she learns that life at the hospital may be lonely, but at least it offers her care and safety.
Dame Jacqueline Wilson is one of England's most noted children's authors and this is her first historical novel. Her inspiration for Hetty Feather came from her visits to the Foundling Museum, whose website offers a number of resources for students and teachers interested in learning more about the history of the Foundling Hospital.
Author: Wilson, Jacqueline
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Publication Date: October 2009
The anthropologist in me can't help but be enthralled by a book whose first chapter involves an 11 year-old girl struggling to acquire a copy of Darwin's The Origin of Species. The year is 1899 and Mr. Darwin's book is not easy to come by in Fentress, Texas. But Calpurnia Virginia Tate is convinced it will help her sort out the mystery of the abundance of fat, yellow grasshoppers on her family's pecan farm. After being denied the book by the snooty town librarian, Callie Vee is forced to sort out the problem on her own and soon lands on a likely solution. She takes her discovery to her cantankerous Granddaddy who, impressed by her tenacity, offers her his prized copy of the book. And there begins a year of discovery that will change Callie Vee's relationship with nature, her grandfather and herself.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate explores themes of transition, choice and, well, evolution. A new century is approaching and science is challenging long-held perceptions of nature and religion. Technology is rapidly changing daily life, from the town's first telephone to the mouth-dropping miracle of the "auto-mobile". And Callie's life is changing as well. As the only girl among six brothers, she has had a wild and wandering childhood. She much prefers studying nature and making notes in her journal to needlework and piano lessons. But Callie is growing up and her mother is determined she remedy her woeful lack of common domestic skills. Callie dreads every moment spent practicing knitting and cooking and secretly entertains the idea of attending the university to study science. Will her dream be too far-fetched to realize?
The episodic nature of the storytelling paints a vivid picture of family life in 1899, albeit a very privileged family. Reminders of civil war and slavery linger just outside of storyline but give depth to what can be the myopic view of a young protagonist. Callie's struggle for identity is both poignant and thought-provoking, but the quirky characters in her family and Callie's boisterous knack for getting into trouble keep the story light-hearted and entertaining.
This is Jacqueline Kelly's first novel.
Author: Kelly, Jacqueline
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Publication Date: May 2009
