Drizzle

Van Cleve, Kathleen. Drizzle. New York: Penguin Group, 2010.

I tried. I really did. But a book about a girl whose best friend is a chocolate rhubarb plant is a bit much, even for me. It looks like a really fun story, if you can get past the hyperactive-seventh-grade-stream-of-consciousness style of telling the story, where things will likely make much more sense at the end. It even has a map in the front, and I like stories with maps, but this one, unfortunately, was too random, even for me.

Sylvie and the Songman

Binding, Tim. Sylvie and the Songman. New York: David Fickling Books, 2008.

Sylvie is trying to solve a series of mysteries. Her father has disappeared. A man dressed like a hummingbird has tried to break into her house. Her dog can no longer bark. All of these things are connected in her father's experiments with music and his search for "the Note." As Sylvie pieces together this puzzle, she discovers help in unexpected places.

This book, like the book about the swallows, is rather fun and harmless. It is definitely more intense than the swallow book, though. This is a good beginning of summer vacation read.

The Year the Swallows Came Early

Fitzmaurice, Kathryn. The Year the Swallows Came Early. New York: Harper Collins, 2009.

Groovy, the main character in this story, has great plans for her life, until her dad takes her college savings and spends it on lottery tickets. Now she is trying to deal with the loss of her dream and a few other big changes that occur in her life.

The best word to describe this story is cute. It's not super-sad, it's not intense, it's not puzzling or confusing. It's just cute. This is a good "I'm done with my exam, so may I please read a book" kind of book.

Because I Am Furniture

Chaltas, Thalia. Because I Am Furniture. New York: Penguin, 2009.

This book is written in free verse, and it is the story of a girl who grows up in an abusive home. She herself is not abused, but her brother and sister are. We follow the main character as she finds her voice and realizes that the things going on in her home need to stop.

I like this story because it is descriptive without being graphic and because the main character's family gets the help they need by the end of the story. This book will be on my classroom shelf.

Strong at the Heart

Lehman, Carolyn. Strong at the Heart: How it feels to heal from sexual abuse. New York: Melanie Kroupa Books, 2005.

This book chronicles nearly a dozen stories of men and women who have survived childhood sexual abuse. They tell the story of their abuse, of their silence, of their eventual speaking out and healing. It is not an easy book to read, but it was a good reminder to me that I am not alone and that healing is possible.

I do recommend this book to those who are abuse survivors. I don't necessarily recommend it to the general populace, except as a reminder that the nearest abuse survivor could be at the next desk at work, the next table at a restaurant, the next car on the road.