School Library Journal : Gr 4–7—Thirteen-year-old Jonas, a slave on a Missouri farm, is sent to accompany Percy, his master's son, on an expedition to look for gold. When he returns after a year, Jonas will be trained by Ebenezer to become the manservant to Master William. Jonas is at once excited about his future and apprehensive about going with arrogant Master Percy. Dahlberg has written an unusual tale about slavery and the desire for freedom. The characters are interesting, although some have predictable traits. Percy, for example, is mean to Jonas and seems tough, but he actually lacks courage. As the group journeys west through the Kansas Territory, the teen discovers his own worth. Jeremiah Quincy, the leader, and Dr. Henry Yoder oppose slavery, but Dr. Yoder believes that helping slaves run away would be stealing. Mr. Quincy has no such reservations. Dr. Yoder's 11-year-old daughter teaches Jonas to read. When Jonas learns that Ebenezer was responsible for a friend's terrible fate after he tried to escape, he decides to run for his own freedom. This gripping tale, with its exciting twists and turns, is easily accessible and a fine companion to Shelley Pearsall's Trouble Don't Last (Knopf, 2002).—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ

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School Library Journal : Gr 4–6—Samantha, 12, is unhappy about spending her summer with her grandparents rather than at home. Grandma is nice but works part-time, which means that Samantha will be stuck with her crabby grandfather, a retired military pilot. She quickly figures out that the Colonel is acting weirder and more antisocial than usual. They have an awkward relationship as he is obsessed with planes and aeronautical facts while she is more of a Guinness Book of World Records kind of a gal. Eventually, with the help of local cutie Billy, Sam discovers her grandfather's amazing secret. The aviation history and trivia facts are fun, but the story moves somewhat slowly until the end, and there is a detached quality to the narration. However, the excitement of the denouement compensates a bit. This is a supplemental choice that might be appealing to reluctant readers interested in the science and craft of airplanes.—B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY

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Publishers Weekly : Feeling bereft 10 months after her mother's death, 11-year-old Evie Adler is even sadder when her father uproots the two of them from Michigan and buys a dead apple orchard in Beaumont, N.Y. The town is colorless and cold and there didn't seem to be any life at all. Even the crows had stopped flying overhead. Evie's only playmate is Alex, the ghost of a 10-year-old boy whose death the town still mourns and who frequents the cemetery next door to the orchard. Her dad, meanwhile, has no luck in the orchard, which people claim is cursed. The former owner, a stranger, has bequeathed Evie a small seed, which his sister says might have been from the Garden of Eden, and might have played a part in the disappearance of another sibling. Evie plants the seed and hopes it will transport her to a magical garden where her mother will be waiting. What works best in Going's (Fat Kid Rules the World) novel is the skillful depiction of Evie's grief for her mother and the wonderful life they shared. What complicates the story and makes it confusing is the odd combination of magic and religious symbols (for example, the ghost Alex turns out to be a twin brother named Adam; the seed instantaneously sprouts into a fruit-bearing tree). The emotional ending, with a surprising twist, ties the story together, but seems contrived. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)

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School Library Journal: Gr 4–7—After losing her mother to cancer, Evie Adler, nearly 11, moves with her father from Michigan to a seemingly "cursed" apple orchard in bleak Beaumont, NY. Evie's belief in magic, the imaginative streak she once shared with her mom, has waned. Practical and rational Father throws himself into his work to bring the orchard back to life. Evie makes friends with ghostly pale "Alex," who loiters in the cemetery near her home and bears a strong resemblance to a recently deceased local boy. Elderly Maggie inserts herself into the Adlers' lives, offering warmth and a strange birthday present from her brother, the orchard's deceased former owner. It's a single seed with magic that only the children can sense. Planting the seed, Evie and Alex enter a lush, flip-side version of Beaumont where they can control life—but at what cost? This is a poignant tale with endearing characters (especially the resilient, likable Evie and stubborn but charming Alex), well-drawn settings, and surprising plot twists. While allusions to the Garden of Eden are present, the story is not overtly religious, presenting the powers of love and belief—whether in oneself, other people, or something that can't be rationalized. The theme of death is inescapable but the ending offers readers a sense of healing. In her fantastical setting, Going realistically portrays the different ways that people grieve and the emotions accompanying loss.—Danielle Serra, Cliffside Park Public Library, NJ

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School Library Journal : Gr 4-7–Thirteen-year-old Ali is excited to be spending the summer with her Aunt Dulcie, an artist, and her four-year-old cousin, Emma, in the Maine lakeside cottage where her aunt and mother spent their childhood summers. But why is Ali's mother so terrified to let her go? Why did the sisters' annual sojourns there stop so abruptly 30 years earlier? And what is the meaning of Ali's recurring dream in which, while walking along the shore of Sycamore Lake, she meets a young girl who points to three girls in a canoe and admonishes, you must do something about this? Ali soon discovers that Teresa, her mother's and aunt's playmate, had disappeared and was presumed drowned when their grandfather's empty canoe washed up on shore. When a strange girl calling herself Sissy shows up at the cottage and lures Emma into defiant and dangerous behavior, Ali finally realizes who she is. Hahn weaves into the story some classic mystery elements such as a torn photograph, a waterlogged doll, dense fog, and an empty grave, all of which add to the suspense and keep the well-plotted story moving along to a satisfying conclusion.–Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

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School Library Journal : Gr 5–7—It will require a patient reader to get to the action in this story set around the 1935 hurricane that devastated Islamorado and Matecumbe Key in Florida. Harlow spends more than half of the book introducing the characters and setting. Jake, 13, becomes friends with Mara, a new girl in town. His mom hires her as a babysitter for her daughter, Star, leaving him more time to work for Sharkey, a gruff old fishing guide. Life proceeds at a sleepy pace until word comes of a hurricane headed for the Keys. At the same time, Star comes down with encephalitis and the family is frantic. Without sophisticated weather tracking, residents don't know the size of the storm or its exact location. Many choose to leave their homes only when storm surge starts pouring in their doors, and by then it is too late. The characters are well drawn. The palpable sense of unease about the approaching storm, the terror of its strength, and the sense of loss and disorientation are described in detail, and are reminiscent of stories from the recent Gulf hurricanes. However, neither the action nor the foreboding happens quickly enough for readers who are looking for an exciting story.—Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC

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School Library Journal : Gr 5–8—A story set in Kentucky horse country during the Civil War. Gabriel, 12, is a slave but dreams of becoming a famous jockey. His father, a free man married to a slave, is a trainer for Master Giles's stable of Thoroughbreds. When the man enlists in the Union Army to earn the money to buy his wife's freedom, Gabriel must adjust to a cruel new trainer. Although the war's impact in Kentucky is less dire than in other Southern states, marauding bands of Confederate raiders terrorize residents, seeking horses, food, and anything else they can steal. One Arm Dan's bunch raids Master Giles's farm, not for food, but for the horses that Gabriel is determined to protect. Outnumbered, his only choice is to take eight of the animals and run. Master Giles, a kind man, rewards the boy's cunning and bravery by granting him his freedom and a paid job as his top jockey. Characters talk about the many faces of freedom, from actual emancipation, to being allowed to learn reading and writing, to realizing the dream of working at what you love. More subtle signs of liberation are seen in the black freemen who call Giles "Mister" and the slaves who address him as "Master." The author grounds this fast-paced tale in historical fact by providing a nonfiction epilogue. Readers will find this wonderful blend of history and horses appealing.—Ann Robinson, Moultonborough Academy Library.

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Publishers Weekly: Starred Review. McKissack (Porch Lies) reaches into her own childhood to shape this immediate and affecting novel narrated by strong and smart Rosemary. She enters sixth grade in 1954, just after her Missouri town acts upon the Supreme Court school desegregation decision and closes the "colored school" the girl has attended. Since her best friend, J.J., contracts polio just before school starts, Rosemary is the only black child in her class at her new school. Her first day, she wears a pink dress with lace, while the other kids have on pants and tennis shoes ("She looks like one of those dressed-up monkeys they have at the zoo," a classmate says). And her assigned seat is right next to Grace, her neighborhood nemesis, who comes from a racist family ("They hate colored people and don't mind telling us"). The graceful narrative splices together several survival stories, as Rosemary copes with her peers' prejudice and her parents' disintegrating marriage, and J.J. endures grueling polio treatments. One of the tale's most poignant threads is the evolving friendship between Rosemary and Grace; in an especially incisive passage, after Grace confides that her abusive father believes white people are superior, Rosemary asks, "You know better, don't you?" to which Grace answers "Now I do." Rosemary replies, "That's what counts with me." A real, at times raw tale about a winning and insightful young heroine during a bittersweet era. Ages 9-12. (Jan.)

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School Library Journal : Gr 5–8—McKissack dishes up a palatable blend of fact and fiction in her semiautobiographical story of Rosemary Patterson's pivotal sixth-grade year (1954–'55). The landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision closed the doors of Rosemary's colored school in Kirkland, MO, and dispersed students into two white elementary schools. Determined to prove she does not need remediation, Rosemary excels academically and refuses to be racially intimidated or stereotyped. An unlikely friendship with mean Grace Hamilton, labeled "white trash" by snobby classmates, opens Rosemary's eyes to shared experiences of prejudice, parental strife, peer pressure, and loneliness. Both girls develop a mutual respect for the hardships they face. Rosemary gets emotional support and comfort from storekeeper Mr. Bob, an ex-Tuskegee Airman; her independent, enterprising seamstress mother; her fair-minded and compassionate teacher; and Rags, a rescued, injured cat that finally emits a "meow." As her parents grapple with marital problems and her polio-stricken best friend, J.J., struggles to walk again, Rosemary learns the value of tolerance and perseverance. A wealth of historical references, from civil rights to polio vaccine to early TV, is embedded in the narrative. Readers will enjoy the protagonist's spunky, resilient response to adversity and her candid, often amusing observations of human nature.—Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC

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School Library Journal : Gr 3–7—Charley is a master cook, a comic-book maniac, and a basically friendless nine-year-old. When his father sends him an early birthday gift and inquires how he is going to celebrate his big day, Charley is inspired to throw a party. The ensuing story chronicles his attempt to determine a theme, bake a cake, and make enough friends to have a gathering worthy of turning 10. The fast-paced plot will keep readers involved to the end. The novel is peopled with a host of unique characters including a mysterious neighbor, Charley's mother's seedy boyfriend, and an older sister obsessed with working at a fried chicken fast-food restaurant. Readers will enjoy the gross-out details and embarrassing situations in which Charley finds himself during his quest for a successful celebration. The author does a wonderful job of crafting the boy's character within the strange and bizarre events leading up to the satisfying conclusion. It's often very funny, but it's also poignant as Charley's loneliness and cluelessness about how to make a friend are clearly evident. This novel would be especially effective for a class read-aloud or as a choice for reluctant readers.—Melissa Christy Buron, Epps Island Elementary, Houston, TX

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Publishers Weekly : An overprotected orphan, an imperious guardian who dies suddenly, a tender reunion with long-lost rustic relatives—Ryan (Esperanza Rising) opens her tween crowd-pleaser with tried-and-true material, and follows with even more of a sure thing, a horse story. The author gets the romance just right, from 11-year-old heroine Maya's aching desire to learn about her long-dead mother and fit into her mother's family, to Maya's instant connection with the horses raised and trained by her great-aunt Vi. Details surrounding the care and riding of horses are both authentic and copious. Accordingly, readers aren't likely to mind either the clichéd characters or gaps in plausibility. Nor will they blink as Ryan interweaves the narrative with segments told from the perspective of a wild mare named Artemisia (after, says Vi, the 17th-century painter Artemisia Gentileschi): She draped her neck over his withers, reassuring herself that [her colt] wasn't going anywhere with a band of bachelor stallions. When Maya learns that Artemisia was once her mother's horse, a pairing seems inevitable; Ryan exploits it for maximum effect as the centerpiece of an attenuated survival sequence that involves an earthquake, broken bones, near-starvation, bareback riding and, of course, a bond between wild horse and child. The overstuffed quality of the plot may seem like a good thing to the target audience—adventure plus horses trumps realism anytime. Ages 9-12. (Sept.)

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School Library Journal: Gr 4–8—Maya, an orphan, copes with her strict grandmother's harsh rules by lying and sabotaging a revolving stream of housekeepers. Upon her grandmother's sudden death, the 11-year-old is sent to Wyoming to live with her mother's family, strangers whom she has been told are wild and worthless. Maya soon discovers that she was badly misled and that her relatives are warm and loving, teaching her not only about their remuda horses but also about the wild mustangs of the surrounding hills and plains. One mare in particular attracts her attention, for it was the horse tamed and loved by her mother before it was returned to the wild. When disaster strikes, the bond between the girl and the horse is tested, and at this point the book morphs into a survival story. Against enormous odds, Maya makes it to safety with the help of Artemisia, and through these experiences her connection to her family and to the natural world are secured. Both the descriptions of the mustangs' life and of Maya's growth from an angry self-centered liar into a kind and honest girl capable of making difficult decisions are handled with skill and realism. Admirers of Ginger Kathrens's Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies (BowTie, 2001) and others of its ilk will love this exciting horse tale.—Ann Robinson, formerly at Moultonborough Academy Library, NH

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School Library Journal : Gr 5–9—While camping out on the south flank of Kilauea, Dylan endures taunts and threats from older, glowering Louie, newest member of his Boy Scout troop from Hilo and with whom he has had a previous encounter. A campfire ghost story sets a suspenseful mood, which is heightened by the suggestion of some paniolos—Hawaiian cowboys who have camped out nearby—that the Goddess Pele, in the form of a dog Dylan has repeatedly seen, foretells trouble to come. That night there's an earthquake, then a bigger one. As the boys struggle to regain their senses, they are struck by a tsunami. Louie and Dylan, relatively uninjured, work together to find and help the others. Dylan swims out to rescue their dazed and injured scoutmaster and Sam, who desperately clings to a small rubber air mattress. Louie and Dylan undertake an arduous hike along the shore to obtain help. Spotted by a Coast Guard helicopter, the troop is rescued. Dylan and Louie may not have become best friends, but they've reached an appreciation of each others' strengths. An author's note explains the details of the story that are based on true events. Like Ivy Ruckman's No Way Out (HarperCollins, 1989), Salisbury's tale of courage, strength, and survival is appealing, exciting, and insightful.—Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA

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Publishers Weekly: Starred Review. Here is a true masterpiece—an artful blending of narrative, illustration and cinematic technique, for a story as tantalizing as it is touching.Twelve-year-old orphan Hugo lives in the walls of a Paris train station at the turn of the 20th century, where he tends to the clocks and filches what he needs to survive. Hugo's recently deceased father, a clockmaker, worked in a museum where he discovered an automaton: a human-like figure seated at a desk, pen in hand, as if ready to deliver a message. After his father showed Hugo the robot, the boy became just as obsessed with getting the automaton to function as his father had been, and the man gave his son one of the notebooks he used to record the automaton's inner workings. The plot grows as intricate as the robot's gears and mechanisms: Hugo's father dies in a fire at the museum; Hugo winds up living in the train station, which brings him together with a mysterious toymaker who runs a booth there, and the boy reclaims the automaton, to which the toymaker also has a connection. To Selznick's credit, the coincidences all feel carefully orchestrated; epiphany after epiphany occurs before the book comes to its sumptuous, glorious end. Selznick hints at the toymaker's hidden identity (inspired by an actual historical figure in the film industry, Georges Méliès) through impressive use of meticulous charcoal drawings that grow or shrink against black backdrops, in pages-long sequences. They display the same item in increasingly tight focus or pan across scenes the way a camera might. The plot ultimately has much to do with the history of the movies, and Selznick's genius lies in his expert use of such a visual style to spotlight the role of this highly visual media. A standout achievement. Ages 9-12. (Mar.)

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School Library Journal : Starred Review. Gr 4–9—With characteristic intelligence, exquisite images, and a breathtaking design, Selznick shatters conventions related to the art of bookmaking in this magical mystery set in 1930s Paris. He employs wordless sequential pictures and distinct pages of text to let the cinematic story unfold, and the artwork, rendered in pencil and bordered in black, contains elements of a flip book, a graphic novel, and film. It opens with a small square depicting a full moon centered on a black spread. As readers flip the pages, the image grows and the moon recedes. A boy on the run slips through a grate to take refuge inside the walls of a train station—home for this orphaned, apprentice clock keeper. As Hugo seeks to accomplish his mission, his life intersects with a cantankerous toyshop owner and a feisty girl who won't be ignored. Each character possesses secrets and something of great value to the other. With deft foreshadowing, sensitively wrought characters, and heart-pounding suspense, the author engineers the elements of his complex plot: speeding trains, clocks, footsteps, dreams, and movies—especially those by Georges Méliès, the French pioneer of science-fiction cinema. Movie stills are cleverly interspersed. Selznick's art ranges from evocative, shadowy spreads of Parisian streets to penetrating character close-ups. Leaving much to ponder about loss, time, family, and the creative impulse, the book closes with a waning moon, a diminishing square, and informative credits. This is a masterful narrative that readers can literally manipulate.—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library

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