So good. I loved this story about Castle 'Ghost' Crenshaw, who has a lot of inner anger. He lives in, well, not the nicest part of town with his mother, who does her best by him but works a lot of hours at the local hospital. His father is in jail. He happens upon a track practice for an elite team called "The Defenders" and decides to run a race with the team. He does well and gets to join the team on one condition: that he behave while on the team: homework done, no altercations at school. Can Ghost live by these rules even when others make fun of him?

Reynolds creates a wonderful character that will tug at your heart. I'm hoping that the rest of the series will focus on the other new runners and their stories.

I quite liked this one, although I think the flap is misleading. I expected the search for a tusker to happen much earlier in the story than it did. What this is instead, to me, is a beautiful coming-of-age story about a young boy on the Borderlands of Nepal, who learns the value of education both in school and nature.

Creative pranking over a small incident quickly gets out of hand. It feels very middle school to me, which I liked.

This is one of two books about September 11 I have read this year. This one takes place in present day (I would say), with the story of Deja, a girl who lives in a homeless shelter with her parents and two younger siblings. Her father has some sort of unnamed illness, which causes him to spend most of his time in bed. This leaves Deja to go to school and take care of her younger siblings while her mother works long hours. This shelter means she gets to go to a better school, where they start to learn about September 11 (which she has never heard of.) With the help of two friends, Deja starts to learn more about the world and her father.

Overall, I liked this book. There were a few parts where I felt confused, like the narrative jumped or put pieces together in a way I didn't entirely get. One thing I did like about this book is how it presents history as alive, and makes it real to kids today.

This is the other book about September 11 I have read this year. This one is also enjoyable. It tells the story of September 11, 2011, from four different kids that lived through it. At first, I thought all their stories would tie together because they would all be in the same place. The narrative doesn't weave like that. Instead, the four stories give you four different looks at the days leading up to and on September 11. I thought each of the four kids' stories were well thought out and realistic. I especially enjoyed Naheed's chapters, which illustrate her love of her faith and her acknowledgement of how uncomfortable it is to be labeled different.

This book is quite sad. There is death, abuse, loss, immigration as a refugee, and the horrors of war in the Congo. It is about love, and music, and what makes you feel alive. It's about making your own family. It's a little about Moebius Syndrome, where your facial muscles are paralyzed. I loved how we read the story from two different perspectives. I don't know if I really felt a strong connection with any of the characters in particular, but I enjoyed my stay in their world.

So good. It's a clear overview of the internment camp experience of Japanese-Americans, as well as giving historic background of Japan and its relationship to other countries (which I found very helpful) and tying in other American movements. So well done.

I enjoyed this story. I thought both Ravi and Joe acted like real kids. I could totally see Ravi thinking that he was going to conquer this school just like he had conquered his. And although my heart broke to see him treating Joe the way he did, I appreciated seeing Ravi change and recognize his mistakes. I hope that Dillon gets the comeuppance he deserves.

I liked this one. Genie is an excellent narrator, one who asks a lot of questions and tries to figure out the answers. He and his brother are spending a month with their grandparents in the country, rather than the Brooklyn they know, so their parents can work on their problems. In Virginia, they will both learn lessons about themselves and their family. Reynolds weaves a tale about love, loss and what makes you a man.

Beautiful.