KU 2014 Addenda

Tiles I ForgotBooks I read:Battling Boy by Paul Pope. First Second, (9781596431454), 2013. Monsters attack Acropolis, swallowing children and only Haggard West can stop them. But Haggard West is dead. A demigod sent out to prove his worth - in the form of a teenager - is startled to find himself the new savior of Acropolis. Grades 7 and up, Graphic novel.

Boxers by Gene Luen Yang, (9781596433595); Saints by Gene Luen Yang; (9781596436893), both 2013. Yang uses the graphic novel to examine both sides of the struggle between Christian missionaries and colonialists and Chinese revolutionaries. Bao witnesses his fatherʼs beating and joins a violent revolutionary gang. Four-Girl is mistreated by her family and finds acceptance in the Christian mission. Lots of action, mysticism on both sides, and violence make this a riveting read. Grades 8 and up, Graphic novel, Historical fiction. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. St. Martinʼs Griffin, (9781250012579), 2013. Park reluctantly lets the odd looking new girl sit with him on the bus. And within a few weeks he and Eleanor are sharing comic books and music and then much, much more. This is a delightful description of what it felt like to fall in love. Grades 7 and up, Romance fiction.

Serafinaʼs Promise by Ann E. Burg. Scholastic, (9780545535649), 2013. Serafina wants to go to school so badly but her father makes barely enough to feed the family. She finally gets her wish when an earthquake hits and she is separated from her family. Written in verse and patois, this a touching and suspenseful novel. Grades 5 and up, Realistic fiction.

We Were Liars by e. lockhart. Delacorte, (978-0385741262), May, 2013. Cady has spent every summer on the island with her cousins and her auntʼs “step-nephew” until the accident. AShe canʼt remember what happened that night. And she doesnʼt understand why her cousins arenʼt speaking to her. The sparkly description of the idyllic time before “the accident” make the resolution of this book all the more powerful. Grades 8 and up, Suspense fiction.

Books I Hope to Read:The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, (9781442497818), 2013. Leon Leyson recounts his childhood hiding from the Germans and his time spent in the factory of Oskar Schindler. I only read the foreword and was already moved to tears. Grades 5 through adult, Memoir.

Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, (9780316213103), 2013. Tana must find a way to get the only survivors of a bloody attack to a Coldtown - a quarantined area for the vampire-bitten. Sound like horror to me but some people think it reads like black humor. Grades 7 and up, Paranormal fiction

Call of the Klondike by David Meissner and Kim Richardson. Calkins Creek, (9781590788233), 2013. Two young men plan to make their fortunes in the Gold Rush to the Klondike. I promised huskies but I think there may not be any. This is non-fiction based on letters written to and from these young adventurers. Grades 8 and up, Historical non-fiction, Victorian language.

The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason. Chronicle Books, (9781452110707), 2013. The sister of Bram Stoker and the niece of Sherlock Holmes start a paranormal detective agency - I think. Grade 8 and up, Paranormal fiction.

Fighting Fires : Ten of the Deadliest Fires in American History and How We Fought Them by Michael L. Cooper. Henry Holt, (9780805097146), 2014. The title says it all. Non-fiction.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laura Halse Anderson. Viking Juvenile, (9780670012091), 2014. I know I didnʼt mention this but it is getting a lot of attention. A teen girl and her PTSD afflicted father are always on the road as he runs from his demons and the memories of his time in Iraq. Grades 7 and up, Realistic fiction.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. Hyperion, (9781423183099), 2013. An American ATA pilot is shot down and sent to a concentration camp (Ravensbruck) during WWII. Grades 9 and up; Historical fiction.

Teslaʼ s Attic : The Accelerati Trilogy by Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman. Hyperion, (9781423148036), 2014. I have no idea what this book is about except it is getting thumbs up from reviewers. MIDDLE GRADES, Science fiction.

What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World by Henry Clark. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, (9780316206662), 2013. Can a zucchini colored crayon, a domino and an odd coin save the world? In this book, they can. MIDDLE GRADES, Science fiction with an environmental tinge.

Winger by Andrew Smith. Simon & Schuster, (9781442444928), 2013. Booklist called this “a hornball boarding-school romantic romp” and then added ʻsort ofʼ. The hero is two years younger than his classmates at a prestigious boarding school, yet he is a rugby star. He is in love with his life-long best friend, Annie, who thinks heʼs “adorable”. He obsesses over the hotness of girls. And yet, reviewers call this book “heart-breaking”. I must read this. Grade level undetermined - I guess 8 and up, Realistic fiction.

Books Suggested by KU Attendees:Belle Epogue by Elizabeth Ross. Delacorte, (9780385741460), 2013. Maude runs away to Paris where she gets hired to act as a young heiressʼ repoussoir, a plain girl who acts as a foil for her patronʼs beauty. Isabel, her new ʻfriendʼ, has no idea that Maude is a servant. Should Maude be loyal to Isabel or to her employer, Isabelʼs mother? Sounds good! Grades 6 to 9, Historical fiction. Based on a short story by Emile Zola.

Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson. HMH Books for Young Readers, (9780547899268), 2014. A 14-year-old dogsled racer must save herself and a city boy when they are caught in a blizzard. Huskies!!! Suspense!! Adventure! And itʼs written by a professional musher. Grades 5 and up, Realistic fiction, Adventure fiction.The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher. Chicken House, (9780545461009), 2014 (reprint). Emilyʼs Dad, a PTSD afflicted vet, carries a dead teenʼs body out of the woods and is blamed for her murder. His daughter and the victimʼs boyfriend search for answers. Grades 9 and up, Suspense fiction, Mystery.

The School for Good and Evil : A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani. HarperCollins, (9780062104922), April, 2014. I checked Amazon and Goodreads and there were no reviews of any note. If you read the first book, it appears that Sophie and Agatha end up back at the School of Good and Evil and things are not good. Check this out for fairy-tale retelling fans. Grades 5 and up, Fantasy fiction. A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd. Scholastic, (9780545552707), 2014. Felicityʼs mother likes to keep moving but when they end up in Midnight Gulch, Felicity hopes to stay. Felicity is a “word collector” she sees words everywhere, around peopleʼs heads and above places. Midnight Gulch has a history of magic. Maybe there is just enough to keep the Pickle family in one place. Grades 5 and up. Fantasy fiction.

The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson. Delacorte, (9780385376150), 2014. Pipe finds a girl with no memory and a dragonfly tattoo in the wreckage of a caravan. If Piper returns the girl to the King, she will earn a reward. But there is no easy way to the King and a ticket on the only train there is more than Piper can afford. Time for subterfuge - and danger. This book got two starred reviews. Grades 6 and up. Fantasy fiction, steam punk.