Watching the swans has always been a father/daughter thing, something wondrous and beautiful just for 13-year-old Isla to share with her dad. They're both obsessed with the magnificent creatures, who flock to their English town to winter on its lakes. It's during one of the pair's early morning bird watching expeditions that Isla's father collapses. He's rushed to the hospital with a terrified Isla in tow. Although the doctors manage to stabilize him, her father's too sick to leave, his heart too weak to function as it should. When - and if - the physicians can fix him remains to be seen.

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. Travis Roberts may not be able to read a Dr. Seuss story, but he knows what a blue fish is. It's someone like him, a dummy who can't make any sense of words, an idiot who can't even sound his way through a picture book. It wouldn't be so bad if he was in kindergarten, but Travis isn't 5, he's 13, and if the other junior high kids learn his dirty little secret, he'll never hear the end of it. At least his recent move to tiny Russett, Wisconsin, means no one at his new school knows about his illiteracy. All Travis has to do is keep it that way.

Travis is faking his way through classes and homework assignments well enough to satisfy his grandpa (who only cares enough to make sure Travis isn't skipping) when he meets the flamboyant Vida Wojciehowski, a.k.a Velveeta. The chatty 13-year-old doesn't do subtle - she knows Travis is hiding something and she's determined to find out what. Not that she's going to be giving up any of her own secrets in the process. Still, as nervous as Velveeta makes him, Travis likes her, almost enough to trust her with his problem. Almost.

When an English teacher discovers Travis' difficulty, he offers Travis something he hasn't felt in a long time: hope. But trusting Mr. McQueen means offering up his most vulnerable self. It means caring. It means trying. It means maybe, just maybe, climbing out of the hole he's made for himself out of misery and grief. The only question left is: How long will it take Velveeta to find out Mr. McQueen's teaching Travis to read? And what will happen when her big mouth broadcasts his secret to the whole school?

Bluefish by Pat Schmatz may be the first YA "issue" book I've read about illiteracy and I'm starting to wonder why. The issue's certainly pertinent. Still, it's not one I see addressed much. Schmatz, thankfully, covers the topic in a way that's honest, sensitive and hopeful. Her characters come alive on the page, inspiring an empathy that makes their plights even more heartbreaking. I appreciated the importance and originality of this book (Velveeta's character, especially, spoke to me) while at the same time feeling a little bit of disconnect with the story. I'm not sure why except that maybe the story got a wee bit too predictable for me. Still, it definitely made an impression. Just not a huge, shout-it-from-the-rooftops one.

(Readalikes: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is mentioned several times in Bluefish and I do see a few similarities there.)

Grade: B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), sexual innuendo and some mature subject matter

To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Bluefish from the generous folks at Candlewick Press. Thank you!

(Note: While this review will not contain spoilers for Good Graces, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from its predecessor, Whistling in the Dark. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

Seeing as they're all about bad things happening to innocent children, it seems wrong to use words like "love" and "adore" when talking about Lesley Kagen's books. But there you have it. I love them. And I adore the author more and more with each novel she writes. Her stories have dark edges, that's for sure; at the same time, though, they're populated with warmth, humor and a charming nostalgia that keeps me coming back for more. Her newest is no exception.

Good Graces takes place in the summer of 1960, a year after the traumatic events that unfold in Whistling in the Dark. It's scorching hot in Milwaukie and 11-year-old Sally O'Malley wants nothing more than to spend her school-free days sitting at the soda counter in Fitzpatrick's Drugstore. And not just because of the ice cream cones. She's taken a shine to the owner's delicate son, Henry. But as much as Sally longs to flirt away her summer, with a little sister like Troo, she knows it ain't gonna happen. Especially considering the death-bed promise she made to her beloved stepfather in which she vowed to watch Troo like a hawk. Two hawks. As many hawks as it takes to be sure the 10-year-old firecracker behaves herself. Sally's already exhausted from the responsibility and the summer's barely even started.

It doesn't help at all when Troo's nemesis escapes from reform school. Since Troo's the reason he was sent there in the first place, Sally knows "Greasy" Al Molinari will be stomping back to the West Side at any moment, just waiting for an opportunity to pound her little sister. Sally promised her Daddy she'd protect Troo and she will. No matter what it takes. And it's taking a lot. A whole, whole lot. Especially when a string of robberies unsettles the O'Malley's close-knit neighborhood. Everyone knows about Troo's fast fingers and no matter how many times Troo denies stealing from her neighbors, Sally's not sure she can believe her own sister. The cockamamie story Troo constructs to explain the burglaries makes it even more clear - it may be too late for anyone to save Troo O'Malley.

As if worrying about her wayward sister isn't enough to keep Sally up at night, she's still struggling with paralyzing flashbacks from last summer, grief over her stepfather's death, her mother's eternal disappointment, and, of course, finding time to romance a certain young soda jerk. Once again, the carefree days of summer are turning out to be anything but for a determined little girl named Sally O'Malley.

The thing I loved most about Whistling in the Dark is the same thing that endeared me to Good Graces: the entirely authentic, completely engaging voice of Sally O'Malley. Troo, too, of course - her irascible charm makes me laugh every time. The sisters prove what you already know if you've read Kagen's other books: the author's got a gift for bringing the voices of young girls to vivid life. Through their naivete, their unblemished take on life, Kagen looks back at the innocent days of yore, days that maybe weren't so innocent after all. This M.O. has the curious effect of making her stories both chilling and charming, a dichotomy I find difficult to resist. That's why I guarantee that as long as Kagen continues to write, I'll continue to read her. Especially if she keeps going back to those irresistible O'Malley sisters.

(Readalikes: Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for language, depictions of underrage smoking, violence, intense situations and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Good Graces from the very generous Lesley Kagen. Thank you!

Grade: C-