(Image from Barnes & Noble)

When 12-year-old Dawnie Rae Johnson dreams, she dreams big. That's about all she can do when it comes to her two biggest goals in life - meeting baseball great Jackie Robinson and becoming a doctor when she grows up. Neither's likely to happen for a poor colored girl living in small, segregated Hadley, Virginia. Little girls with no money can't travel to Brooklyn to meet baseball stars and students at dingy Mary Mcleod Bethune School don't grow up to be anything special. Everybody knows that. Even Dawnie, with her keen intellect and bold fantasies, realizes the futility of wishing too hard for something that will never come to pass. Still, a girl can dream, can't she?

In With the Might of Angels, a new addition to Scholastic's excellent Dear America series, Andrea Davis Pinkney uses the made-up diary of a fictional girl to tell an honest, compelling story about one of the most important events of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of us are familiar with the story of Ruby Bridges, but Pinkney's quick to point out that hundreds of other African-American children took equally courageous steps, some singlehandedly integrating schools in their areas. Dawnie represents all of them. She's an engaging narrator - smart, spunky, and completely sympathetic. Intertwined with the book's main conflict are several subplots that lift the tension, offering lighthearted moments which allow the story to feel both realistic and hopeful. Fans of historical fiction, especially those with an interest in the Civil Rights Movement, won't want to miss this one.

(Image from Indiebound)

(Note: While this review will not contain spoilers for Plague, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier books in the Gone series. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

"Kick 'em while they're down" must be the motto of Michael Grant, author of the YA dystopian Gone series. I mean, I get that you have to have conflict to keep a story gallopping along, but seriously? Haven't the kids of Perdido Beach, California, suffered enough? First, everyone aged 15 and over disappeared in a mysterious poof. Then, the young survivors noticed a strange dome enclosing their town, barricading them off from the rest of the world. As the weeks wore on, with no help in sight, the streets of the sleepy beach town turned into a war zone, with armed children battling it out for food, water, shelter and control of the weird new world they nicknamed the FAYZ (Fall-Out Alley Youth Zone). As if all of that wasn't bad enough, things in the FAYZ - animals, even people - started evolving in terrifying ways. Oh, and then they discovered the Gaiaphage, a being constructed of pure evil, who's hell-bent on destroying the children's every last hope ...

And that's only in the first three books.

Plague, the recently-released fourth installment in the series, introduces a new threat: a violent, mutated flu virus is sweeping through town, leaving a trail of corpses in its wake. Dahra's meager medical knowledge can't explain the disease and Lana, the Healer, can't cure it. Which is bad, but not the worst thing happening in town. The water supply's running out, Drake's trying to break out of prison, Orc's slurping booze like it's lemonade, Sam's off on some half-baked exploration adventure, Little Pete's burning up with fever, and Astrid's contemplating murder. Still - not the worst things going on in the FAYZ. What is the worst thing? Well, that would be the bloodthirsty monster devouring the Hunter from the inside out. And its friends. The most powerful kids in town can't stop the destruction, can't stop the creatures from eating everything - everyone - in their paths. After everything the kids have endured, will this finally be the end of the FAYZ? Or worse, will the nightmares just keep on coming?

Knowing Michael Grant (and the fact that there are two remaining books in the series), you should probably go with the latter.

Four books into a series, I'm usually starting to get bored. Not so in this case. Grant keeps things so lively, I don't dare look away. I'm not saying this is great literature - really, the writing's just so-so - but it's a fun, exciting story that keeps jutting off in surprising new directions. As much as I don't want the books to end, I'm anxious to see how the story plays out. The possibilities truly are endless. And you know how much I love that.

(Readalikes: Similar to the other books in the series - Gone, Hunger, and Lies; also reminds me a little of The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials by James Dashner; and a bit of the Chaos Walking series [The Knife of Never Letting Go; The Ask and the Answer; and Monsters of Men] by Patrick Ness)

Grade: B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for violence, mild language, some sexual content, and slurs related to race and homosexuality

To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find

(Image from Indiebound)

On a peaceful summer night in Indiana, an Amish father falls asleep while driving his family home in their buggy, causing a freak accident that kills his two young daughters and sends his pregnant wife into premature labor. Nineteen years later, the tragedy still looms over the Sommers family, casting a dark shadow of grief over them all. No one feels the weight of the long-ago accident more than Marianna, who has spent her life trying - and failing - to be exceptional enough to replace her two dead sisters.

Just as Marianna's beginning to find her own way, her father announces his intention to move the family from the close-knit Indiana community they've always known to the wilds of Montana. Being the perfect daughter means never arguing, never questioning, but Marianna's horrified at the thought of leaving. What will happen to her out in the Englisch world? Can she hold onto her faith or will she be lured away from God, just like her older brother? Everything she wants, including a future with handsome Aaron Zook, is in Indiana. Torn between obeying her father and following her heart, Marianna must make one of the most important decisions of her life.

Her choice will change everything.

Beside Still Waters, the first book in an inspirational new series by Tricia Goyer, is a contemporary novel with a soft, old-fashioned feel to it. Which doesn't mean it dodges "real" issues or darts away from truth. In fact, I think it portrays the Amish in an honest way, showing that however homogenous they may seem, each is an individual with his/her own thoughts, emotions and struggles. Because of this, Marianna becomes a character who's easy to identify and empathize with, even though she comes from a world vastly different from most of our own. The story does become predictable and the poor editing gets annoying, but all in all, I enjoyed this one. Seriously, reading Beside Still Waters felt like sticking my feet into an ice cold stream on a scorching summer day - clean, cool, and refreshing. Not the most exciting thing, maybe, but a pleasurable diversion nonetheless.

(Readalikes: Reminds me of other Amish novels, particularly those by Beverly Lewis)

Grade: C

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for mild sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Beside Still Waters from the generous folks at MotherTalk Book Reviews, for whom this review was written. The official Mother Talk disclosure statement is as follows: "I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of the Beside Still Waters campaign and received a copy of the book and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate."