City of Orphans

City of Orphans by Avi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another good story from Avi, with a tale of turn-of-the-century New York, very poor immigrant families, tough gangs and cruel gang bosses. This book is a detective story wrapped around a family story. The story moves along quickly, and young people today can see how life was quite difficult for the immigrants back in the old days. Children are working for very low wages in unsafe conditions, and there is no one to protect them. Maks, the main character, is a thirteen year-old newsboy, who is not in school, but works selling newspapers on the streets, to help out his family. His older sister, who works in the new, Waldorf Astoria hotel, gets arrested for stealing an expensive watch. It's up to Maks to try to get his sister out of jail. With the help of a new friend, a homeless orphan named Willa, the friends do their best to save Maks' sister.


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Things Not Seen

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A very different premise for a serious story--fifteen year-old Bobby wakes up one morning, and when he looks in the mirror, he can't see himself. He knows that he's there, he can feel himself, and he can wear clothing, but, he's invisible. His parents, who he didn't seem to get along with even before this happened, are not taking this well. They want him to hide, to tell no one, and Bobby feels that they are not getting what he is going through, they are only thinking about themselves. He meets a blind girl, Alicia, when he sneaks out to the library, and weirdly enough, they form a quick friendship.  Together they try to find a solution to Bobby's problem. Thought-provoking.


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I Know What You Did Last Summer

I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan


I read Lois Duncan's book, Killing Mr. Griffin many years ago, and enjoyed it. I thought it was a good story that 8th graders could really get in to, as Mr. Griffin is a hated high school English teacher. I know that this book, I Know What You Did Last Summer was made into a movie a few years back, so I was looking forward to the story. Unfortunately, it's almost the exact story as Mr. Griffin, the same premise. A group of young people, while out for a fun summer night, mistakenly hit a young boy riding his bike, and leave him for dead. They try to cover this up, instead of "doing the right  thing". A year later, they all start receiving ominous notes, making them believe that someone else knows their terrible secret. The story moves quickly, and does hold some suspense. Again, I think eighth graders will enjoy this..


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