November YA Wrap-Ups

The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

What if? Why not? Could it be?

When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true.

I really enjoy reading this story. It may be too heavy for some readers with its themes of loneliness, loss, forgiveness and may best be read aloud to younger readers.

T4 by Ann Clare LeZotte

It is 1939 and in a little house in Germany, on a street lined with popular trees, Paula Becker and her family have come to accept that she is deaf. Paula communicate through her own creative hand signs. She helps her mother cook and watches over her younger sister. At church, the organ’s hum shakes her whole body and soul. At home, she awaits, the tapping paw of her dog’s touch.

But it is the onset of World War II, and Adolf Hitler’s Tiergartenstrasse 4, or T4 is the headquarters where the Nazi regime maintains strick orders to kill any mentally ill or disabled people. At 13, in fear for her life, Paula must leave home and go into hiding.

This little, but powerful book, is told in free verse. It is easy to read and would be a great tool to use in talking with and teaching kids about this horrible aspect of the war.

Wings by Aprilynn Pike

Fifteen-year-old Laurel has led a sheltered, homeschooled life in a very small town, so when her parents decide to move and enroll her in high school, she has trouble getting used to her new life. A life, as it turns out, that’s not at all like those of other kids. One clear sign is a winglike blossom that blooms on her back. Oh, and her new best friend, the scientifically minded David, reveals under a microscope that her cells are more plant than animal. But it takes an encounter at her old home with the handsome but decidedly different Tamani to convince her that she is a faerie. She also learns it’s up to her to save her land from the evil influences that are trying to take it away from her and her family.

It took me a few chapters to get into the book but once I did it was enchanting. I liked David much better than Tamani, but that could be because I am an “older” reader. ;o).
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Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott

Everyone thinks their parents are embarrassing, but Hannah knows she's got them all beat. Her dad made a fortune showing pretty girls--and his "party" lifestyle--all over the Internet, and her mom, who was once one of her dad's girlfriends, is now the star of her own website. After getting the wrong kind of attention for far too long, Hannah has learned how to stay out of sight...and that's how she likes it.

Of course, being unknown isn't helping her get noticed by gorgeous, confident Josh, who Hannah knows is her soul mate. Between trying to figure out a way to get him to notice her, dealing with her parents, and wondering why she can't stop thinking about another guy, Finn, Hannah feels like she's going crazy. She's determined to make things work out the way she wants....only what she wants may not be what she needs.

I have been a fan of Elizabeth Scott’s since reading Stealing Heaven. Great coming of age story that has it all: dysfunctional parents, a spunky heroine, the hot guy and the understanding “just friends” other guy.