Bat 6

Bat 6
by Virginia Euwer Wolff

"Bat 6" is a book about a softball game that is played between two schools that was started a long time ago to bring together two towns. The people who play in this softball game are sixth grade girls only. This year is the 50th anniversary of the game, and it is expected to be the biggest so far. However, both teams receive a new girl. The two girls are very different. Something has happened to one of the girls' father, and this event causes hatred toward the other new girl. This causes a big crisis that happens at the softball game.

This story takes place a few years after World War II. This is a major factor to the event that happens at the softball game. In addition, many other little events hint at clues as to what is going to happen on the field at the big game.

I recommend this book because in a way it's a mystery about what is going to happen at the softball game. There are hints, but nothing give away the whole thing, and when it happens, it only takes a second.

-L. Conyers

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell

My 5th grade teacher read this book to us, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. It is about a native girl who lives on an island with her tribe. One day, soldiers came to claim the island, not knowing the Indians lived there. When they found them, they traded. Many months passed in peace. However, things started to change.

What will happen? How will the girl survive if she is left alone on the island? You'll have to read this book to find out!

-R. Gorrin

Song of the Sparrow

Song of the Sparrow
by Lisa Ann Sandell

This wonderful book, written in free-verse, tells of the legendary King Arthur through the eyes of Elaine, a young girl growing up in Arthur's war camp. All the familiar elements of the story are present: Arthur, Lancelot, Gawain, and Merlin, not to mention the tensions created when Gwynivere arrives at the camp. The story is unique, despite the similarity it has to the traditional versions of the legend: Elaine is a spirited character who offers not only an intimate portrait of life in a medieval war camp, but also of the legendary figures she knows as older brothers.

Blending myth with historical detail, this book is a delightful read for anyone with interest in the Arthurian legends, or for anyone looking for a strong female protagonist.

-Ms. McConnel

Hattie Big Sky

Hattie Big Sky
by Kirby Larson

Hattie is sixteen, and not quite the girl next door. I guess you could say she's out of the box. Or maybe eccentric is a better word for her. Hattie is not always the best friend to the people who love her and has gone through many hardships. Her parents died when she was very young, and ever since she has been shipped from place to place to be with a new family member. Hattie is practically immune to it now...being the new kid, that is. However, Hattie receives a letter from an uncle she has never met offering her a place to stay. It sounds crazy, but all Hattie really wants is a home. So she jumps at the chance and off to Montana she goes.

This is a great book for the avid reader. It takes you through a whirlwind of love, sorrow, and adventure. It is interesting to see how Hattie handles the tragedies that come, but even greater to see her realize that all she really needs are her friends.

-J. McVerry

Beyond the Burning Time

Beyond the Burning Time
by Kathryn Lasky

Mary Chase lives a quiet life with her mother on a farm outside of Salem Village. The quiet is shattered in the fear and blood lust generated as the girls in Salem Village begin to accuse their neighbors of witchcraft. Mary is mesmerized by the evil powers at work, but her mother is skeptical of the proceedings. When her mother is accused of being a witch, Mary and her brother must decide if the charge is true or false, and how to stand against the town and save their mother.

Filled with colorful characters and intense descriptions of the events of the Salem witch trials, this is a gripping historical novel.

-Ms. McConnel

Day of Tears

Day of Tears
by Julius Lester

Told through monologues, dialogues, and theatrical scenes, this novel tells the story of the largest slave auction in America and the way the lives of the slaves sold at that auction changed forever. It follows Emma, a young girl born into slavery and sold from Georgia to Kentucky, her parents, and the people she encountered after being sold.

Although this is a work of fiction, it is based in historical fact: in 1859 Pierce Butler sold off over 400 of his slaves (the largest slave auction in American history) to pay his gambling debts. This novel is a unique, powerful, and emotional look at a tragic slice of American history.

-Ms. McConnel

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn
by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

Seikei believes he has the heart of a Samurai warrior, but he will never be able to fight as one. In ancient Japan, you knew that the only job you would be able to do is that of your parents, and Seikei is the son of a merchant. But then, one night changes Seikei's destiny forever.

After witnessing a ghostly crime, Seikei is employed by a retired Samurai to hunt down the thief and solve the case. Drawn into a world where nothing is as it seems, Seikei solves the crime but loses a valuable friend and mentor. Seikei also realizes that good and evil are not always clearly defined, and that sometimes a criminal can be more noble than a Samurai.

This is a wonderful mystery story with a very surprising ending.

Fever 1793

Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson

Matilda is an adventuresome young girl. Her mom owns a busy coffee shop in Philadelphia in the 1790's. Philadelphia is suddenly hit with a plague of illness. What's even worse, Matilda's mom catches it. The she send Matilda and her grandfather to a farm, but her grandfather gets a summer sickness on the way. They are forced to stop till his illness blows over. Matilda catches the fever while looking for food away from her grandfather. Does he find her in time to get help? This is a thrilling story and it even has a little romance in it!

-L. Hall

Tamar

Tamar
by Mal Peet


Tamar is the spy name of a man who parachuted into occupied Holland during World War II with another man code-named Dart to help the Dutch resistance against the Nazis. There is also a third person in the story, Marijke, who is loved by both men. Years later one of the two, asks his son to name his daughter Tamar, but doesn't tell him why. Tamar, when she is fifteen finds a box full of information and clues left behind by her grandfather before he died. As she pieces together his mysterious past, she is schocked to find out the truth about his actions during the war.

The story goes back and forth between time periods from the action in Holland to Tamar's search for the truth in the present day.

This book won the Carnegie Medal for best book last year in England. Not sure why. While it is an interesting read I found many of the characters unsympathetic. If you like to read stories about love, jealousy, and tragedy then this is one title you might like to try.

-Mr. Dale

Climbing the Stairs

Climbing the Stairs
by Padma Venkatraman

In British-occupied India in 1941, girls don't have many options. Fifteen year old Vidya is an exception. Her father supports her dream of going to college. When tragedy strikes her family, Vidya and her family move into the home of relatives who are members of the strict Brahman class. In this family women live on the first floor and men on the second only mixing at meals when the women serve the men their food. Vidya's only escape from this world is up the stairs to her Grandfather's forbidden library.

Climbing the Stairs, is a historical novel about finding oneself in time of political and social turmoil. It is an interesting look at a culture far different from out own.

-Mr. Dale

Elijah of Buxton

Elijah of Buxton
By Christopher Paul Curtis

Elijah is a particularly special boy in his town: he is the first person to be born free in the settlement of Buxton, Canada, where escaped slaves and free blacks from America make their home. Although Buxton is a safe-haven of education and equality, Elijah finds himself facing hatred and injustice each time he ventures into the larger world. Full of quaint stories about his childhood and passionate descriptions of the injustices of slavery, this is a wonderful historical novel with a character who is endearing, if a bit naïve about the world around him.

-Ms. McConnel

Something Upstairs

Something Upstairs
by Avi

As far as Kenny Huldorf was concerned, Los Angeles was a perfect place to live. All his life he had lived in perfect spring and summer-like weather. So moving to Providence, Rhode Island wasn't his idea of happiness. When Kenny got to the new house, he drifted from empty room to room. He remembers a feeling that the house somehow wasn't empty. He stepped into the attic and felt unease, then a faint rustling sound started. As Kenny was leaving, he saw a stain. As he looked at it, the thought came that it was blood, human blood.

Tap. Tap. Kenny looks at the time. 2:35 a.m. He went into the attic. A boy was rising out of the stain on the floor! His name was Caleb, and he was murdered in 1800! Caleb asks Kenny to help him find his murdered and stop him from killing Caleb. Kenny is faced with the decision that will affect his life because he will have to travel back in time, and if he gets hurt or loses something, Kenny will be trapped in the past forever. Will Kenny help Caleb? Will he become a prisoner of the past?

The only way to find out is by reading "Something Upstairs" by Avi.

This book was suspenseful and unpredictable. At first I thought this book would be boring and Kenny would simply do something to save Caleb, but it had lots of twists in the story. I would recommend this book to someone who likes a good ghost story.

-O. Casbarro

Incantation

Incantation
By Alice Hoffman

Imagine living all your life and never knowing your real name. Estrella deMadrigal grew up without knowing she had a different name, a dangerous name: a Jewish name. Estrella lives in Spain over 500 years ago, and at that time, people who were Jewish could be imprisoned, tortured, and even killed. Estrella lives her life blissfully unaware of the danger she and her entire family are in, until one day when everything changes. This is a powerful book about faith and intolerance, and Estrella is a brave and powerful character who confronts her changing world with heart.

-Ms. McConnel

Matilda Bone

Matilda Bone
By Karen Cushman

Matilda has been raised with all the education of a lady in the middle ages, but without love. An orphan in a large manor house, her only real companion has been the priest who has taught her about heaven and hell, saints and demons, and very little about the world around them. When the priest is called away, Matilda finds herself sent to Blood and Bone Alley, to live and work with a bonesetter named Red Peg. As Matilda tries to remain saintly and thoughtful, she is thrust into the world of medieval medicine, and is forced to rely on her own skills instead of her prayers. However, Matilda can’t quite reconcile her spiritual beliefs with the harsh world around her, and she continues to struggle with ideas of right and wrong. Matilda is a wonderful character, and she grows and evolves as the story progresses, becoming at last someone unique and original.

This book is a fun story, with lots of interesting details about medicine and doctors in the middle ages, including lots of ideas that seem pretty silly to modern readers.

-Ms. McConnel

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
By John Boyne

When Bruno comes home to find the maid packing his belongings, he isn’t really sure what is happening. His mother tells him they will be moving, leaving Berlin at the command of the “Fury” to move to a place which Bruno calls “Out-with”. Bruno does not really understand why they have moved, nor does he understand why there is a large fence outside his window which separates his family from people called “Jews”. This story takes place during World War Two, but Bruno doesn’t really know about the war. He just knows he’s lonely…until he meets a boy on the other side of the fence.

-Ms. McConnel

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
By Avi

Charlotte Doyle, a well-to-do teenager, finds her world torn apart when her family moves from England to America. Forced to sail after her family, she finds herself the only passenger on a sailing ship with secrets in every corner. There is a stowaway, a cruel captain, and a murder…which Charlotte faces trial for! Will she make it to America, or will she be lost at sea, killed by the crazed captain and the bloodthirsty crew?

-Ms. McConnel

Crispin: The Cross of Lead

Crispin: The Cross of Lead
By Avi

Crispin finds his life turned upside down following the sudden death of his mother. Before, he had been a lonely boy without a father or a friend. Now, he is an orphan, running through the night, pursued by people who are determined to kill him: and he doesn’t know why. As he flees, he meets Bear, a traveling minstrel and entertainer, who begins to care for Crispin as if her were his own son. But who is Crispin’s father, and will he save him if he can be found? Or will Crispin end up facing the same fate as his mother: death?

-Ms. McConnel