If you enjoyed The Red Necklace you will enjoy its sequel: The Silver Blade. The year is 1794; Gardner takes the characters Yan and Sido through a tale of magic, adventure, betrayal and romance during the French Revolution. This one will keep you on your toes until the end. (Teen readers, ages 12 and up)

Catherine Gillbert Murdock’s first novel: Dairy Queen is a delightful story about a fifteen-year-old girl (D. J.), who is a great athlete with a wonderful sense of humor; however, she has difficulty expressing herself. Murdock has followed this novel with two others–Off Season and Front and Center. By the time you read Front and Center, you will realize that D.J. has faced many challenges in her life and has what it takes to be a good leader on and off the court or field. I think you will find these to be an enjoyable read. (Teen readers, ages 12 and up)

On Tuesday, I flew through the ending of probably one of the most down to earth and relevant books out for young adults. No vampires, no fairies, no incredibly moving teen romance, just family and the inner struggle all of us face between how family acts and what that same family has taught you to value. Eli the Good by Silas House is set in the bicentennial summer in Kentucky, where heat and freedom reign in Eli Book’s 10-year-old world. All he wants to do that summer is ride his bike in the early morning shade and play with his best friend and neighbor Edie in the local watering hole. However, life never listens to what we want, does it?

Eli’s father, Stanton Book, is a Vietnam veteran and that summer something happens inside of him and the war becomes real for him again. He has nightmares, becomes skiddish at noise, and at times he cannot distinguish reality from the war. Add on top of that Stanton’s sister Nell, a famous war protester, comes to stay with them that summer. And you can’t forget about Eli’s sister Josie, 16 and angry at the world, stirring up every situation possible. Silas House perfectly crafts each character; this is no one person’s story even though a naive Eli is our eyes in this brewing storm. Eli struggles to justify his father’s actions in the same way his mother does, by blaming the war, but at the same time, his father is the one physically acting out, hurting his family, not the war. Where do you put your allegiance when you know the man you admire is doing wrong?

Eli’s story may be set over thirty years ago, but the themes and family dynamics are just a relevant today as ever. The language is simple without being childish, and yet, I wish I could be as eloquent as Eli. Every family has their own battles, but how you deal with them defines who you are. This book has claimed a special place in my heart and lets me know that I’m not alone in my own family struggles. If you are in a family, you should read this book, kids from one to ninety-two.

This is a story about Zeeta, a 15-year-old girl who has been traveling around the world with her mother all of her life–rarely do they live in one country for more than a year. Zeeta keeps a journal of all her travels, each country has its own color. Indigo is the color for Ecuador. Zeeta thinks she wants to live in a home, have a father and a normal life. When this opportunity begins to present itself, she soon has second thoughts—well maybe not. In the meantime, Zeeta meets a young man, Wendell, who asks Zeeta to help him find his birth parents–this pursuit brings adventure and danger to Zeeta’s life.  Enjoy!! (Teen readers, ages 12 and up)

This book came in the other day, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it! I was getting more information on it, and came across this trailer for the book, a growing trend in young adult and teen books. See what you think. I think it looks pretty fantastic.
Beautiful Creatures Trailer

When I think back on my childhood, often it is books that anchor events in my mind. “Oh, my dad read that to me when I was three,” or “In kindergarten, that was my favorite book all year.” Books have always been there for me. And while everyone was read Goodnight Moon, Mother Goose, and Where the Wild Things Are as a child, I haven’t heard many say they were read Tacky the Penguin.

Yes, such a book does exist and to tell you the truth, I consider it a lost classic. This book about a penguin that doesn’t quite fit in struck a chord with my brothers and me. Tacky is a bother to all the straight laced penguins, but when hunters come to capture the penguins, it is Tacky and his unpenguin-like ways that save the day. My dad would sing the song that Tacky sings in a cool, unrhymic way:

How many toes does a fish have?
And how many wings on a cow?
I wonder, yup, I wonder.

and he would sing the hunters’ song in a gruff voice, almost scary voice:

We’re gonna catch some pretty penguins,
And we’ll march ’em with a switch,
And we’ll sell ’em for a dollar,
And get rich, rich, RICH!

I still love this book, and if you come in, I might even show it to you!

Come catch up on your childhood at Lemuria.