Review: Booked

Booked by Kwame Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I totally loved The Crossover, and this book comes in a close second to The Crossover. Booked, though, is about soccer. Nick Hall is a star soccer player, as is his best friend, Coby. They play and kid around all the time, and everything seems cool, until Nick is hit with some really bad news.

Not as much sports action in this book as there was in The Crossover, but it is a quick read and both middle school boys and girls should enjoy this.

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Review: Wintergirls

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is probably one of the most depressing books I have ever read. Lia and Cassie were friends, but had grown apart. Both girls had eating disorders, and as you can tell from Lia's observations, they were both bad influences on each other. But Cassie turns up dead in a motel room, and the night she died, she left 33 messages on Lia's phone. Lia is haunted by Cassie's death, and is on a death spiral herself, as she sets lower and lower weight goals that will kill her sooner than later.

I have loved and recommended many of Laurie Halse Anderson's books, but I simply can not recommend this one. The family is clueless, and that was very frustrating for me. I do not want to believe that parents can be so self-absorbed that they would not recognize that their daughter is starving to death. 8th grade and up.

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Review: All Shook Up

All Shook Up by Shelley Pearsall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here's a disclaimer: I am a die-hard Elvis Presley fan. So, when this book showed up at my book fair, I purchased it for the library, and knew I had to read it. It is a funny, very down-to-earth look at the relationship between 13 year-old Josh, (who lives with his mom in Boston) and his father, who lives in Chicago. Poor Josh has to go live with his dad for a few months, which means starting a new middle school, and being away from his friends. Traumatic, right? Well, when Josh finds out that his dad lost his job, and is now trying to make a living as an Elvis impersonator, things get crazy.
Very realistic dialogue, the author never writes down to her audience, and the story moves along very quickly. Very real family problems, and they are not sugar-coated.
I even made my husband read the book, and he enjoyed it, too!

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