Jane by Design

Jane by Design – Season One

Network:  ABC Family

Format: Television Show

Genre: Fiction

This show is for Ages: 12 up

Subjects/Themes: Growing Up, Fashion

Plot Summary:   Jane Quimby is a teenager in high school.  Jane applies for an internship at a local design house and through a clerical error is interviewed and hired as an executive assistant.  Jane keeps the two worlds separate and tells no one of her new job.  Jane enlists the help of her best friend and manages to travel to Paris, and Beverly Hills, launch a dress design at a fashion show, and design a wedding gown for a high profile client.  

Review:   If you like fashion then you will love Jane by Design.  The show is fun and flirty with lots of great fashion.  The characters are typical but engaging.  There are lots of cameos by fashion industry celebrities.  Jane by Design is in no way realistic and that makes it fun.  It is pure fantasy wrapped in pink tulle with a funky little black boot to make it edgy.

Mates, Dates & Inflatable Bras by Cathy Hopkins

Mates,  Dates & Inflatable Bras

Author:  Cathy Hopkins

Publisher:  Bolinda Audio     Year:  2002

ISBN:  1740931351 - Audiobook

Genre: Fiction/ Realistic

This book is for Ages: 12 up

AR Points: 4.0

Subjects/Themes: Friends; Growing Up

Plot Summary: Lucy is lost.  She really looks more like a child than a 14-year-old.  When beautiful Nesta comes to her school, Lucy must share her best friend Izzy.  All while looking for a handsome mysterious boy and trying to decide what she wants to do with her life. 

Review:   This is a fun story about growing up and making friends.   Lucy has a lot to learn about herself.  She like most teens underestimates her talents and potential.  She has a bit to learn about and what it means to be a good friend.  This story is stylish witty and funny.  Amanda Hulme does a great job of bringing Lucy’s voice to life.

If you like this book you may also like other books by Cathy Hopkins in the Mates Dates series.

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

Title:   Freak the Mighty

Author:  Rodman Philbrick

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.       

Year:  ©1993

ISBN:  978-0-439-28606-0

Genre: Fiction/Realistic

This book is for Ages: 10 up

Awards:  Judy Lopez Memorial Award Honor Book

AR Points:      5.5

Subjects/Themes: Friendship, School, Family, Identity, Death

Plot Summary:  Max always thought he was a stupid, unlovable giant.  Everyone is afraid of him, even his Gram and Grim (Grandpa) who he lives with since his mother died and his father went away.  One day Max meets Freak, a very small and extremely smart boy.  Together they become Freak the Mighty, avoiding bullies, and performing quests.  Freak shares everything with Max, like the secrets of how to read and what words mean.  Freak is going to get bionic body from the research lab at the hospital.  

Review:    Despite his small size, Freak is a superhero.  He saves Max in this compelling and powerful story by Rodman Philbrick.  This book is full of adventure and on its face is a great story.  For older readers Freak the mighty challenges us to examine the way we look at children of all ages to see beyond the physical into the heart and spirit of the young people we encounter.

Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher

Title:   Th1rteen R3asons Why

Author:  Jay Asher

Publisher:  Razor Bill            Year:  2007

ISBN:  978-1-59514-171-2

Genre: Fiction

This book is for Ages: 13 up

Awards: YALSA Best Books for Yong Adults; Kirkus Editor’s Choice;

AR Points:      9.0

Subjects/Themes: Friendship/High School/Suicide

Plot Summary:  Clay Jensen receives a box with seven audio tapes in it.  When he listens to the first tape he hears the voice of his most recent crush, Hannah Baker.    Hannah killed herself only two weeks ago.  The tapes list the 13 reasons why she chose to take her life and are being sent to the 13 people who were part of the reason why.  If Clay or any of the others don’t listen to all of the tapes and pass them on to the next person, then someone else will release the tapes for everyone to hear.  Clay visits all the places in his town as he listens to Hannah tell her story.

Review:   I sat down and read this book straight through.  It is a thought provoking novel simultaneously told from two points of view, an interesting concept.  The story is compelling.  Of course you want to know why a young high school girl would take her life.  As an adult, I can look back and see many things that I went through in Hannah’s life.  Bad things happen and sometimes people welcome those bad things into their lives.   They purposely place themselves in situations that they know are dangerous and wrong.   No one knows why.  Asher creates good, bad and human characters.  He captures them where teens live in between adolescence and adulthood.  Teens and young adults have the ability to know right from wrong and sometimes lack the courage to stand up and do what is right or see dreadful consequences looming ahead.   Fortunately being a teenager is not terminal and high school does not last forever.   If you or someone you know is depressed or contemplating suicide please tell someone.  If that person doesn’t listen, tell someone else.  Keep telling people until someone listens and helps. You can find help from www.hopeline.com and 1-800 –SUICIDE.  These were some resources listed in the back of the book.  

If you like this book you may also like:  Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Worth by A. LaFaye

Title:   Worth

Author:  A. La Faye

Publisher: Scholastic             Year:  2006 c2004

ISBN:  978-0439-91342-3

Genre: Historical Fiction

This book is for Ages: 9-12

Awards: Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction

 AR Points:     4.0

 Subjects/Themes: Family Life/Orphans/Frontier Life

Plot Summary:  11-year-old Nate is hurrying to help his father bring in the hay as a violent storm hits their farm.  A flash of lightning as bright as the sun changes Nate’s life forever.  Unable to help on the family farm Nate feels bad.  His Pa won’t even look at him.  When Pa adopts an orphan boy named John Worth, Nate feels unloved and useless.  What role can Nate have on the farm?  Worth is a city boy with no experience working a farm.  He is treated like a servant, and can’t seem to do anything right.  When the ranchers and farmers start feuding, tensions are high as sabotage damages the family farm.  Can the boys work together to save their farm and create a family where they both belong? 

Review:  Nate and his family have trouble accepting his replacement and new brother.  Worth is an interesting and exciting story about life on the frontier in the late 1800’s including: immigrants, and range feuds.  The book has an exciting climax.  That will leave you wanting more. 

If you like this book you may also like:  The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan.

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Title:   The Whipping Boy

Author:  Sid Fleischman

Illustrator: Peter Sis

Publisher: Greenwillow Books          Year:  1986

ISBN:  0-688-06216-4

Genre: Fiction/Adventure

This book is for Ages: 8-12

Awards:  Newbery Medal; SLJ Best Book; ALA Notable Book

AR Points:     2.0

Subjects/Themes: Adventure/Robbers and Outlaws/Family Life/Orphans

Plot Summary:  A young orphan boy named Jemmy used to live in the sewers catching rats until he became the Whipping Boy.  Whenever Prince Brat, I mean, Prince Horace is bad Jemmy is whipped.  Jemmy can’t understand why Prince Brat is such a rotten kid.  Prince Brat forces Jemmy to run away with him.  The boys are captured by cutthroat bandits, encounter gigantic roaring bears and seek shelter in the sewer filled with rats. 

Review:   This book is fun and full of adventure.  Prince Brat is a horrible child.   Jemmy doesn’t realize how lucky he is.  They both learn about who they are in this wonderful and wild story.  Sid Fleishman melds humor, adventure and understanding into his story.  The black and white illustrations created by Peter Sis are captivating.

If you like this book you may also like:  Shield of Stars by Hilari Bell, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by W.R. Philbrick, or   The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Sleznick,

The Schwa was Here by Neal Shusterman

Title:   The Schwa was Here

Author:  Neal Shusterman

Publisher: Puffin Books        Year:  2004

ISBN:  0-525-47182-0

Genre: Realistic Fiction

This book is for Ages: 12-adult

Awards: Horn Book Award; ALA Best Book for Young Adults; ALA Notable Book

 AR Points:     9.0

 Subjects/Themes: Family Life/Friendships/Blindness/Identity

Plot Summary:  Brooklyn Eight-grader Antsy (Anthony Bonano) meets the Schwa, the invisible boy that sits next to him in science class.  The Schwa is real but nobody seems to notice him.   Antsy decides to help the Schwa use his invisibility to their financial benefit.  They charge a fee for feats of invisibility like sneaking papers into the teacher’s correction pile and stealing a dog bowl from the town’s most powerful recluse.  But both boys are looking for something more neither wants to be invisible anymore.

Review:  Do you ever feel invisible?  Shusterman provides insight into the mischievous and sometimes heartbreaking invisible lives of young people.  This book is a quick read that my son and I really enjoyed.  It is a great story with insights about the young person’s search for recognition.

If you like this book you may also like:  Antsy Does Time by Neal Schusterman

Bud, Not Buddy by Christoper Paul Curtis

Title:   Bud, Not Buddy

Author:  Christopher Paul Curtis

Publisher: Scholastic Year:  2002 c

ISBN:  0-439-22188-9

Genre: Fiction/Adventure/Historical

This book is for Ages: 8-12

Awards: Newbery Medal; Coretta Scott King Award

AR Points:  8.0 

Subjects/Themes: Family, Finding Your Place in the World,

Plot Summary:  After his mother’s death, Bud Caldwell is shuffled from the orphanage to foster home after foster home.  He finally has his fill of the cruel treatment and abuse.  Bud decides to go “on the lam.”  First he decides to “ride the rails.”   When Bud decides to go to Grand Rapids to find his father he meets a strange man who might be a vampire.  Bud also gets to hear Jazz music when he gets to the club of Herman E. Calloway.  Calloway says he is not Bud’s father and wants to send him away.  Will Bud ever find his family?

Review:  This is a great story.  Bud’s rules and things to remember help him to get through the rough spots in his world.  Bud is ingenious.  His character has all the fears of a 10-year-old on the run.  Bud is courageous.  He takes his control over his life.  While Bud cannot drive a car, he finds a way to steer himself on the right path.   Christopher Paul Curtis’ detailed descriptions are as delicious as sweet potato pie with whipped cream.

If you like this book you may also like:  Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis and Esperanza Rising