Module 10

August 8-12, 2011

Book 1:  The Good Neighbors, Book 1 by Holly Black

 

Bibliography:

Black, H. (2008). The Good Neighbors. New York: Graphix

Summary:

Rue lives with her parents - her mother disappeared and her father has given up. Rue is trying not to worry. Then a college student is found dead and her father is arrested for her murder. Amanda steps in to stay with Rue and help her father, she is his old friend. Rue starts seeing things that she shouldn't  and starts remembering things about her mother from the past. Rue meets her grandfather, the one she didn't know existed, who informs her that she is a faerie like her mother and it is time for her to choose her life. She runs away from him and goes home to find her mother who is dying. Her mom confirms the faerie story and her father is release from jail. Her mother dies as Rue finds out that her father made a pledge to her grandfather that he would love her forever and never hurt her when they first made a commitment to each other years ago. As time passed, her mother never changed whole her father grew older. He turned to Amanda who had loved him since grad school/ Rue needs to find out if her mother is really dead, so she and her friends dig up her grave.

My Impression:

I enjoyed this story. I have not been a great fan of graphic novels, but this one had great detailed pictures and the writing flowed smoothly with substance in the content and not just "Bam", "Boom", and "Bang" that are in many graphic novels. This book elevated graphic novels in my opinion and I actually followed up and read the other two books in the trilogy. The characters were developed well and I liked the whole story line. I would recommend it for older readers since it does contain some romantic details.

Reviews:

1.  Booklist

Rue Silver’s everyday life with her professor father and ethereal mother comes crashing to a surreal end when her mother one day simply disappears. As Rue starts noticing oddities in her little town—people with wings or animal faces, or vines that seem to sprout up over everything at night—she tries to tell herself that such things would be crazy. When her extended family appear and claim that she is part of a hidden faerie world, Rue finds herself embroiled in a magical fight for power. The first volume in a series, this book goes a long way in setting up a foreboding, darkly mysterious atmosphere while giving the reader quick details for characterization. Black, one of the authors of the Spiderwick Chronicles, does a wonderful job of weaving an alien faerie world through Rue’s urban landscape, and Naifeh’s art, rich with shadows, is expressive and angular and pulls the reader into the story with a solid sense of place. Urban-fantasy readers of Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lindt, and Terri Windling will be immediate fans of this title. - Tina Coleman (Sept 15, 2008)

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2.  Library Media Connection

Spiderwick Chronicles (Simon & Schuster) author Holly Black and accomplished comic book artist Ted Naifeh have teamed up to create this first volume of an engaging graphic novel series for teen readers. Rue's life has been turned completely upside-down. Not only has her mother disappeared and her father been accused of murdering one of his students, but Rue has begun seeing strange and frighteningly beautiful creatures that no else can see. They are faeries, also known as the good neighbors, and Rue can see them because she is half-faerie. Rue's discovery of this new realm makes everything fall into place, and she learns not only the whereabouts of her mother, but proof of her father's innocence. But all is not well as Rue's faerie grandfather poses a threat to all humankind. The author has created an engaging story that unfolds as slowly to the reader as the faerie world does to Rue. The illustrator's dark, angular, gothic illustrations set the mood of the book, and he is adept at providing the reader with the glimpses of the faerie world as Rue sees it. Teens will definitely look forward to the next installment. Recommended. Michelle Glatt, Librarian, Chiddix Junior High School, Normal, Illinois March/April 2009

Suggestion for Use:

This would be a great look at the difference in graphic novels for older readers. The pictures were great and a comparison could be made with these pictures and those from other graphic novels.

Citations:

Coleman, T. (2008). [Review of the book The Good Neighbors by H. Black]. Booklist, 105(2), 47. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?vid=47&hid=11&sid=80f2790c-e6bb-4870-a789-bc8f9dc7f3c0%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpd

GU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN=34476797

Glatt, M. (2009). [Review of the book The Good Neighbors by H. Black]. Library Media Connection, 27(5), 80. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?sid=80f2790c-e6bb-4870-a789-bc8f9dc7f3c0%40sessionmgr110&vid=21&bk=1&hid=105&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN

=37588734

 

 

Book 2:  The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

 

Bibliography:

Stroud, J. (2003).  The Amulet of Samarkand. New York: Hyperion Books.

Summary:

Nathaniel is pulled away from his family to be placed with a magicians family when he is five years old. His mentor was Arthur Underwood who would have Nathaniel as his apprentice, his wife was Martha whom Nathaniel grew to love. Simon Lovelace humiliated Nathaniel and he wanted to get back at him. He knew that Lovelace had the Amulet of Samarkand so he summoned a demon named Bartimaeus to retrieve the amulet. Nathaniel hid the amulet in his masters workshop since it was already protected by spells, until he could figure out what to do with it. Before he could make a plan, Lovelace came to the house and accused his master of stealing it. He denied the accusation and then Nathaniel confesses, but Lovelace believes the master helped him since it would take great magic to steal the amulet. Lovelace kills Nathaniel's master and his wife and then burns down the house. Bartimaeus saves Nathaniel and they go into hiding.Nathaniel discovers that Lovelace is having a conference for all the most powerful magicians and Nathaniel knows that he is up to no good. Nathaniel and Bartimaeus  get into the building and discovers his plan to summon a very old and powerful demon to kill all of the magicians. With the amulet, Lovelace would be spared and then would become the most powerful magician in the world. Bartimaeus and Nathaniel work together to defeat the demon and Lovelace and Nathaniel keeps his promise and sets Bartimaeus free from his bond.

My Impression:

I really liked this book. It was fast paced, action and adventure along with all kinds of magical events. The characters are well developed and likable and the bad characters are really unlikeable. The story is filled with magic and demons which are an integral part of the story. It was fun to read and I rooted for the characters as they went through breath catching moments. The plot was complex and there were humorous footnotes throughout the book. When I completed the book, I was immediately ready to continue the story of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus.

Reviews:

1. Booklist

Picture an alternative London where the Parliament, composed of powerful magicians, rules the British empire. When five-year-old Nathaniel's parents sell him to the government to become a magician's apprentice, the boy is stripped of his past and is given over for training to a grim, mid-level magician from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Over the next seven years, Nathaniel studies the lessons given by his cold master, but in secret he delves into advanced magic books, gaining skill beyond his years: he summons a djinn to steal the powerful amulet of Samarkand. Inspired by a desire for revenge, this bold act leads to danger and death. Nathaniel's third-person narrative alternates with the first-person telling of Bartimaeus the djinn, a memorable and highly entertaining character. Rude, flippant, and cocky, his voice reflects the injustice of his millennia of service to powerful magicians who have summoned him to do their capricious bidding. His informative and sometimes humorous asides appear in footnotes, an unusual device in fiction, but one that serves a useful purpose here. Stroud creates a convincingly detailed secondary world with echoes of actual history and folklore. The strong narrative thrust of the adventure will keep readers involved, but the trouble that is afoot in London extends beyond the exploits here. The unresolved mysteries will be more fully explored in the next two volumes of the trilogy. One of the liveliest and most inventive fantasies of recent years. Category: Books for Middle Readers--Fiction. 2003, Hyperion/Miramax, $17.95. Gr. 6-12. Starred Review - Carolyn Phelan (Sep. 1, 2003 (Vol. 100, No. 1))

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2.  VOYA

When Nathaniel, an underestimated almost twelve-year-old boy magician, summons a centuries-old djinni named Bartimaeus, readers are off on a wild adventure with more narrow escapes than even Houdini could muster. Nathaniel is an apprentice to a master who bothers little with his training, so Mr. Underwood has no idea what Nathaniel's self-taught magical capabilities really are. Nathaniel's first task for the djinni startles even Bartimaeus, who has seen a lot in his day, as he wryly reminds readers throughout the novel. He charges Bartimaeus to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace as a matter of revenge for humiliating him while his master did nothing. The escalating chain of events resulting from this theft is told in alternating viewpoints from Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, who uses sardonic footnotes to enhance his storytelling. The narrative also successfully uses both first and third person, a rich vocabulary, sophisticated wit, and a hierarchy of magical creatures woven into a fascinating plot that will be appreciated by fans of Diana Wynne Jones and other complex fantasy writers. Teens will race to the end to see if Nathaniel and Bartimaeus can work together to save London's magical community from Simon's evil plans. They will eagerly await the second book in this planned trilogy with a Miramax movie in the making. Fortunately, the quality is as high as the hype, but as Bartimaeus says in one of his footnotes, "Well, what are you hanging around reading this for? Read on quickly and see for yourself." VOYA CODES: 5Q 5P M J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Hyperion, 544p., $17.95. Ages 11 to 18. - Cindy Dobrez, Marie Schutt 12/06

Suggestion for Use:

This would be a good book to demonstrate learning from your mistakes and growing from them to become a better person. With awful situations along with humor and sarcasm, Nathaniel gets through some awful situations but learns about himself and the world he lives in.

Citations:

Dobrez, C., & Schutt, M. (2003). [Review of the book The Amulet of Samarkind: Book I of the Bartimaeus Trilogy by J. Stroud].  Voice of Youth Advocates, 26(5), 419. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?vid=113&hid=10&sid=80f2790c-e6bb-4870-a789-bc8f9dc7f3c0%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1

zaXRl#db=lih&AN=11659573

Phelan, C. (2003). [Review of the book The Amulet of Samarkind: Book I of the Bartimaeus Trilogy by J. Stroud].  Booklist, 100(1), 123. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?vid=94&hid=105&sid=80f2790c-e6bb-4870-a789-bc8f9dc7f3c0%40sessionmgr

110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN=11151878

Module 9

August 1 - 7, 2011

Book 1:  A kick in the head: an everyday guide to poetic forms by Paul Janeczko

Bibliography: 

Janeczko, P. (2005). A Kick in the head: an everyday guide to poetic forms. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Summary:

This book has twenty-nine poetic forms demonstrated for the reader. Each type of poem has an explanatory note on the page to tell about that share the description of that particular poem type. There are excellent color pictures that coincide with the theme of the each poem.

My Impression:

I enjoyed this book so much, that I actually purchased a copy to have for the classroom. The short poems and the description of each poem type make for an excellent reference or beginner guide to poetry.  I would highly recommend this book for all classrooms. The pictures will pull in the readers and engross them in the poems on each page.

Reviews:

1. Publishers Weekly

(*) Janeczko and Raschka, on the heels of A Poke in the I, explain and sometimes bend the rules of 29 poetic forms, taking their title from a concrete poem of a stick figure punting a ball ("poetry jumpstarts my imagination.... poetry gives me a kick in the head"). By way of introduction, Janeczko asks, "Why 17 syllables in a haiku?," then points out the pleasurable rigors of poetic exercise: "Can you do a good job within these limits?" The pages demonstrate compact forms like the couplet, tercet and quatrain, and proceed to the more complex roundel, triolet, villanelle (basically "five tercets followed by a quatrain") and pantoum (a set of quatrains where, in the final stanza, "lines 2 and 4 repeat lines 3 and 1 of the opening stanza. Whew!"). Janeczko emphasizes play, and gives definitions in unintimidating, perhaps too tiny gray print; his approachable examples range from an Edward Lear limerick and Shakespeare's 12th sonnet to an "Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes" by Gary Soto and a comic epitaph by J. Patrick Lewis. Raschka marks each form with a witty icon: stacked rows of tulips (haiku, tanka), a bouncing ball (limerick), an urn (ode), a guitar (ballad). His multimedia collages feature fibrous, fuzzy-edged origami paper on a clean white ground; his sensuous brushwork alludes to Zen calligraphy, while his poppy reds, jade greens and brilliant yellows recall kimono designs or Matisse's tropical palette. Janeczko's disciplined but accessible examples, plus Raschka's spirited Asian-inspired images, add oomph to this joyful poetry lesson, sure to be welcomed by teachers and aspiring poets everywhere. Ages 8-11. (Apr.)

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2. Booklist

The creators of A Poke in the I (2001) offer another winning, picture-book poetry collaboration. Here, each poem represents a different poetic form, from the familiar to the more obscure. The excellent selection easily mixes works by Shakespeare and William Blake with entries from contemporary poets for youth, including Janeczko. Once again, Raschka's high-spirited, spare torn-paper-and-paint collages ingeniously broaden the poem's wide range emotional tones. A playful, animal shaped quilt of patterned paper illustrates Ogden Nash's silly couplet "The Mule," while an elegant flurry of torn paper pieces makes a powerful accompaniment to Georgia Heard's heartbreaking poem, "The Paper Trail," about lives lost on 9/11. Clear, very brief explanations of poetic forms (in puzzling tiny print) accompany each entry; a fine introduction and appended notes offer further information, as do Raschka's whimsical visual clues, such as the rows of tulips representing the syllables in a haiku. Look elsewhere for lengthy explanations of meter and rhyme. This is the introduction that will ignite enthusiasm. The airy spaces between the words and images will invite readers to find their own responses to the poems and encourage their interest in the underlying rules, which, Janeczko says "makes poetry - like sports - more fun". - Gillian Engberg

Suggestion for Use:

This book would be an excellent discussion book on types of poetry and would also work great for demonstrating on a screen from a document camera so the students can see the illustrations along with the shapes of the words for each of the different poems. Since this book shows that poetry can be fun, it would be an excellent started for particular types of poems to show an example and then have students try to create their own.  

Citations:

A kick in the head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms. (2005). Publishers Weekly, 252(11), 67. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?sid=4bd0d626-d5bc-4e5e-821d-8aa96a0b2217%40sessionmgr110&vid=141&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN=16400513

Engberg, G. (2005). [Review of the book A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms by P. Janeczko]. Booklist, 101(14), 1291. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:

2104/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5839463e-1cfd-4182-b0e7-71404461a7bd%40

sessionmgr114&vid=355&hid=107

Book 2:  Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales by Deborah Noyles

Bibliography:

Rawlins, S. (2004). Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Summary:

This book has ten stories, each written by different authors who are very well known.  The stories are fun, chilling, unnerving, ghost stories and mystery tales.  Some of the stories take place in the past while some are from current times. This collection takes some of the old stereotypes from horror and provides some creative twists on the characters. Some will scare you enough to keep you awake for a few nights and others will have you laughing as you read.

My Impression:

I enjoyed this book. As a fan of horror and dark stories, I thought this book covered it all. The character takes were creative and different and I was surprised by several of the endings. Having one book with stories from each of these great authors is a collection that any horror fan should experience. I would highly recommend this book to any fan of this genre.

Reviews:

1. School Library Journal

The slightly generic cover design and forthrightly generic title of this collection may lead many readers to expect shrieking heroines, dreary castles, lurking vampires, and other tropes of the gothic tradition. They wouldn’t be wrong, but they wouldn’t be exactly right, either. Sure, many of these original tales, by the likes of Joan Aiken, Neil Gaiman, Gregory Maguire, and Vivian Vande Velde, ape the vocabulary of the genre (“necromancer,”“escritoire”) and play with its abundant clichés (a house has as many “curses as it has spiders and silverfish”). But the maidens in peril still have to do their homework; twisted events are as likely to transpire in American suburbs as in dreary castles (in M. T. Anderson’s exceptional “The Dead Watch,” shapeshifting witches eat Triscuits and use ATMs); vampires whine about the garlic in the spaghetti sauce and then attack their babysitters. Ideal for high-school literature classes studying Shelley or Stoker (Gaiman’s smirking contribution, which toys with genre definitions, would work particularly well in the classroom), this collection also

provides an excellent opportunity to introduce fans of Koontz, Rice, and King to some of the most imaginative exponents of YA dark fantasy. —Jennifer Mattson

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2. Booklist

This uniformly well-written collection features short stories by noted young adult authors such as M. T. Anderson, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Garth Nix, Celia Rees, Janni Lee Simner, and Barry Yourgrau. From Joan Aiken's more traditional tale about a ghost haunting a river in the gloomy countryside to Gregory Maguire's contemporary offering about a teenage delinquent forced to live with an elderly relative who has a secret locked in the attic, almost all of these stories evoke a shivery delight. Vivian Vande Velde's shocking and scary piece features the ghost of a psychopathic serial killer who looks like a teenager and kills an unsuspecting girl posing as a "dead body" at a haunted hayride. Neil Gaiman's selection lampoons the classic gothic scenario of a terrified, nightgown-clad heroine running away from a brooding manor house and will have readers laughing out loud in recognition. These varied tales take place in the distant past and in the high-tech present. Some are humorous while others have surprising twists or are reminiscent of classic fairy tales full of malevolent characters, but all share a love of the surreal or supernatural. Noyes's insightful introduction defines what a gothic tale is and includes information about the authors and the origins of their stories. A sophisticated, thought-provoking, and gripping read.- By Sharon Rawlins, Piscataway Public Library, NJ; Trevelyn E. Jones, Editor; Luann Toth, Managing Editor; Marlene Charnizon, Associate Editor; Daryl Grabarek, Contributing Editor and Dale Raben, Assistant Editor

Suggestion for Use:

I would use this book as a short story read aloud with older students. It could be used as an introduction to writing short stories or how to when writing the stereotypical characters can be created uniquely to a story. This would also be great to introduce the horror genre without having to get into a lengthy chapter book for demonstration.

Citations:

Mattson, J. (2004). [Review of the book Gothic!: Ten Original Dark Tales by D. Noyles]. Booklist, 101(4), 404. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5839463e-1cfd-4182-b0e7-71404461a7bd%40sessionmgr114&vid=323&hid=10

Rawlins, S. (2005). [Review of the book Gothic!: Ten Original Dark Tales by D. Noyles]. School Library Journal, 51(1), 134. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?sid=

4bd0d626-d5bc-4e5e-821d-8aa96a0b2217%40sessionmgr110&vid=125&hid=8&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN=15630605

Module 8

July 25-31, 2011

Book 1: The dollhouse murders by Betty Ren Wright

Bibliography: 

Wright, B. R. (1983). The dollhouse murders. New York: Holiday House.

Summary:

Amy goes to stay with her aunt so she can have some time away from her sister, LouAnn who has brain damage. This time is suppose to be just for her and her aunt, but when a friend of her mother's needs help, her mother brings LouAnn to stay over until she can return. This just happens to be when Amy is having her birthday party. Amy's aunt is staying in the house that her grandparents lived in and where she and Amy's dad grew up. It is a big old house on the outskirts of town. Amy finds out that her grandparents were murdered in that house and she also discovers a dollhouse that is a replica of her great grandparent house. There are dolls in the house and they are designed to look like her the great grandparents, Aunt Clare and Amy's dad when he was a boy. Amy keeps finding the dollhouse open and the dolls placed in the areas of the house where they were the night of the murders. Aunt Clare finds the dollhouse open and the dolls in the place of the night of the murder and she is angry with Amy who she thinks is reenacting that night. Amy tries to tell her that it is not her moving the dolls, but her aunt turns a deaf ear. The night of Amy's party, LouAnn has to stay the night, since there mother had to leave town. Amy wakens to find LouAnn gone and she finds her in the attic with the dollhouse. LouAnn tells Amy that that the dolls are sad. Amy takes her out and the next night Amy and LouAnn return to the attic, determined that the dollhouse is trying to tell them something. The dollhouse light turns on and there is a recreation of the events of the night played out for them. The great grandmother puts her hand on a book  from the bookshelf in the parlor before she is knocked down. As this is happening, the girls are hearing noises that coincide with the events that are taking place. Frightened,  they bolt for Aunt Clare's room and they tell her what happened. Aunt Clare is angry that the girls won't leave the dolls alone, until Amy gets an idea to look for a book in the parlor. There they find a book that has a note inside. The letter was written the night of the murders and says that Rueben, the handyman, was the one who murdered them when he came looking for money. Aunt Clare gives LouAnn the dollhouse and finds that her life has changed now that she knows what happened and who was to blame for that night.

My Impression:

This was a fun book to read. The story evolved quickly, getting to know that characters and right into the events of the dollhouse. The characters were developed well for a short book and the story moved quickly.  I enjoyed witnessing the developing relationship between Aunt Clare and Amy and relished the change in the relationship between Amy and LouAnn.  The story was a little predictable but the writer provided a great angle with the dolls providing the answer to the mystery of the murder that was so long ago.  I would recommend this book not only to individuals but to use as a classroom bock with discussion along the way.

Reviews:

1. Building Rainbows

The book started with Louann making a big scene in the mall. Amy hates Louann because of the fact she's retarded. Louann is eleven but she acts like a little baby. In the story Amy gets to stay with aunt Clare because ant Clare thought that Amy and Louann apart from each other. Soon Amy finds a beautiful dollhouse that belonged to her aunt many years ago. Amy did not know that this peaceful looking doll will break her good relationship with aunt Clare! The dolls started moving and Amy became curious of her great-grandparents. She quickly went to the library for old newspaper articles about the year of their horrible deaths! Then after a few minutes when Amy came home the dolls started moving by themselves. Aunt Clare thought it was Amy who did it but it wasn't. The dolls were moving by themselves! Aunt Clare apologized to Amy saying it was okay because kids this days are different. They want to have fun! Once more after Amy's birthday party Amy, Ellen, and Louann went to Rainbow Mountains but when they came back Amy gets in to big trouble! Aunt Clare found the dollhouse in the front porch showing the death of great-grandma and grandpa Trealor! Now this time aunt Clare believes Amy's statement! Now aunt Clare shares her opinions about the murders. Aunt Clare says that she thinks her fiancé killed her grandparents because they didn't like him. And aunt Clare tells them that he also died that night in a freeway. Her friends said that he hit a tree! After drinking their cocoa, Amy and Louann led their aunt in the attic. They watched the grandma doll get books from the little bookshelf. They had a clue! They sort through all the bookcases when Louann falls and finds a letter that says that Reuben killed them not aunt Clare's fiancé. And that's it!

- Jewel Mische

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2. School Library Journal November 83

Amy arranges to spend a few days alone with her Aunt Clare in the home once owned by her great grandparents. She is particularly relieved to have some time to herself, free of having to care for her retarded sister, Louann. When she discovers an exquisite dollhouse in the attic, an exact replica of the family home, her aunt is unenthusiastic about her find and furious when she sees the placement of the dolls; years ago her grandparents had been murdered and the figures are now where the police found them the night of the crime. She assumes her niece of insensitivity in reproducing the scene, but the girl denies responsibility for moving the dolls. An emergency at home means Louann must also stay at Clare's and at first Amy is angry about having  her plans to be alone shattered, but then the two girls discover the solution to the terrible crime. The combination of a beautiful, fascinating dollhouse, dark family secrets,  ghostly events, danger and suspense are sufficient to make this a likely choice for escape reading. - Karen Harris, Department of Library Science, University of New Orleans

Suggestion for Use:

This book would provide discussion on several different areas. The relationship between Amy and her parents, Amy and LouAnn and the building relationship between Amy and Aunt Clare. Also , there are other aspects that could be touched on regarding guilt, like Aunt Clare carried with her all those years and changes in relationships like the one with Amy beginning to see LouAnn in a different light.

Citations:

Harris, K., & Gerhardt, L. N. (1983). [Review of the book The dollhouse murders by B. R. Wright].  School Library Journal, 30(3), 84. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?vid=184&hid=13&sid=7a87cd8b-4f2b-41fe-a3a0-0bc09d25192e%40sessionmgr

110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN=5715237

Mische, J. (2007). [Review of the book The dollhouse murders by B. R. Wright]. Building Rainbows. Retrieved from http://www.buildingrainbows.com/bookreview/reviewid/19020

Book 2:  The body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci

 

Bibliography: 

Plum-Ucci, C. (2008). The body of Christopher Creed. Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Summary:

After a letter is sent to the principal, student Chris Creed goes missing. Chris was a strange boy who was bullied because the kids thought he was weird. After he was gone, the town was full of strangeness which began to tear the town apart. Torey's life changed due to the disappearance. He questioned his friends, their gossiping and judgment of others. He saw other people in different ways from what he had one time believed and he was attracted to the realness of others. Torey becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Chris and finds that a lot of people have little bits of information here and there. He finds out that the adults around him have done things that have surprised him, like the police chief cheating on his wife, Chris's mom raising her kids like they are in a military camp, and Ali's mom has a different boyfriend every other week. Torey just wants everyone to be real, to be honest but discovers that will never happen. Following the clues that he has been putting together, Torey ends up in the forest clearing and finds a body in a tomb with a rock over it. He knows it's Chris's body and as he tries to reach it, he breaks his leg and gets stuck in the tomb. After being found and in the process of his leg healing, Torey must begin to process the information that he has learned over his journey to find out what happened to Chris Creed.

My Impression:

I thought the title to this book provided some potential and the author did not disappoint. This story was well written and the reader found varying levels of development in the characters, and there were a lot of them. The journey that Torey began and what he learned about himself makes this story power packed. The reader is taken on a journey of discovery - of one's self and of those around you. Torrey finds out many things that he didn't know about people in his town that he knows. Things that he doesn't like and he thinks are wrong. He finds out some history that involved his mother and many of the adults around him from his hometown that shaped who they became as adults. This is a great coming of age book that depicts Torey's journey in finding the truth around him - a truth that is not very pretty.

Reviews:

1. Publishers Weekly

First-novelist Plum-Ucci wraps a well-crafted mystery around a topical issue: the effect teenage intolerance can have on misfits. When class freak Chris Creed suddenly disappears, his fellow students are not so much worried but abuzz with speculation: Is he a runaway, a suicide, a crime victim? Through a complicated but believable turn of events, narrator Torey Adams, a popular 16-year-old, starts to feel some concern and resolves to find the truth. His unlikely allies are two kids of dubious social status: Ali, who is Chris's neighbor, and Ali's boyfriend, Bo, a "boon" (shorthand for boondocks) with a juvenile record. Convinced Chris's mother is to blame for Chris's disappearance, they plan to break into his house to steal his hidden diary in hopes of finding evidence. The plan backfires: Bo is caught, Torey is implicated and all three are the subject of malicious gossip that proves to have dangerous consequences. Told as a flashback, the novel drags slightly at the beginning. Plum-Ucci, however, picks up the pace and builds to a fever pitch near the conclusion, vividly describing Torey's late-night hunt for Chris's body in a nearby Indian burial ground. Readers will likely be enthralled by the mystery, and, even more, they will be moved by Torey's hard-won realization that everyone deserves compassion. Ages 12-up. (May 22, 2000)

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2. School Library Journal

Torey Adams, 16, is on the football team, is friends with all of the brightest and best in his class, and has a beautiful girlfriend. Suddenly, a class geek disappears, leaving a cryptic e-mail message for the principal that mentions Torey and some of his friends. As the novel progresses, the teen must face his fear that Chris is dead and is in the Indian burial ground behind his house. As he searches for his classmate, the town begins to suspect that he had something to do with Chris's possible murder. Although the boy is never found, dead or alive, Torey is changed forever. He begins to bond with some of the kids in town who have been labeled misfits and finds out that people are not always what they appear to be. A high school bully has a caring streak, the seemingly perfect Chief of Police has been cheating on his wife, and a childhood friend with a reputation for sleeping around turns out to be a trustworthy companion. Torey's narration takes place a year after Chris's disappearance, during which time he posted his version of the events on the Internet in hopes of finding the missing teen. The story offers mystery, a psychic, an Indian ghost, and an interesting perspective on how cruel people can be to one another. Plum-Ucci knows her audience and provides her readers with enough twists, turns, and suspense to keep them absorbed. - By Kim Harris, Newman Riga Library, Churchville, NY

Suggestion for Use:

This is a great book to use in a coming of ages theme as Torey discovers many things about himself and those around him. Many good things and many that upset him. This book would also be good to use as an example of how each of us touch the people around us and when all of those things are put together it can create a powerful affect to the one that is on the receiving end.  Using the example of do unto others would be easy to intertwine with this book.  

Citations:

Children's Books. (2000). [Review of the book The body of Christopher Creed by C. Plum-Ucci]. Publishers Weekly, 247(21), 94. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?vid=157&hid=107&sid=4bd0d626-d5bc-4e5e821d-8aa96a0b2217%40

sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN

=3151597

Harris, K. (2000). [Review of the book The body of Christopher Creed by C. Plum-Ucci]. School Library Journal, 46(7), 109. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/

detail?sid=4bd0d626-d5bc-4e5e-821d-8aa96a0b2217%40sessionmgr110&vid=184&hid=

14&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN=3297204