Gold Star Review: The (Almost) Perfect Guide to Imperfect Boys

The (Almost) Perfect Guide to 
Imperfect Boys 
by Barbara Dee

According to Finley and her BFF, Maya, middle school boys can be put into three separate categories: tadpoles, croakers, and frogs. Per their official Life Cycle of Amphibian Boys, while tadpoles are totally not developed yet (read: boys who still love fart jokes and can't have a normal conversation with girls without making fun of them), a frog is the top of the boy food chain--evolved and mature. Sadly, not many boys have reached that elusive frog status at Staunton Middle School.

Finley thought she had everyone pegged, until Zachary Mattison enters the picture. After suddenly leaving the year before, Zachary's surprise reappearance at SMS forces Finley to see him in a new light. And when the official life cycle list falls into the wrong hands, it causes a battle between the boys and girls that turns into an all-out war--one that Finley isn't sure anyone can really win... (Description from Goodreads.com) 

I love Barbara Dee's middle grade books.  I have fun reading them and as a Librarian I love to recommend them.  Let me tell you why: 

As a reader, I think that Barbara Dee has an uncanny knack for capturing middle school behavior in a fun and engaging way.  The characters are so relatable to both the middle schoolers that I meet now and to how I recall my middle school years.  The focus on friendship and smarts make me smile and there's the hint of romance but not in an overwhelming way.  Her books are all just FUN to read. And, in this one in particular, there's an awesome School Librarian - so, ummm...yeah. LOVE. 

As a Librarian, I find so many themes that I can use to help recommend her books to other readers. In this book, Finley and Maya are struggling to understand the way that the boys in their lives are maturing and how that affects their relationships with them.  They use science to help them explain the things they observe.  Though the main plot of the book revolves around their "Life Cycle," what I really loved was Finley's relationships with the other people in her life.  This is a book that I can confidently hand to readers looking for a friendship book, or a book with stellar parental examples. The way that her mother interacts with not only Finley, but also her friends... so great. 

Dee also builds up each of the girls into smart, talented characters who are NOT boy-crazy, just experiencing the normal blossoming interest in dating. These girls truly care about their academic success and their individual hobbies.  I loved the way Finley starts to really think about her photography as true art and not just snapping photos of friends.  The boys admire the girls in Dee's books for being who they are, not just because they're cute and I wish we had more and more books that we could hand to readers at this age that puts that point forward as the way things should be... 

To this fun and engaging middle grade read I grant a GOLD STAR. 

Don't forget to check back tomorrow when I have a fun interview with the author, Barbara Dee!

Full disclosure: Review copy received from Publisher

Never Say Die

Never Say Die 
by Will Hobbs

When the motto of your village is "never say die," you have a lot to live up to. . . .

At home in Canada's Arctic, Nick Thrasher is an accomplished Inuit hunter at fifteen. About to bring home a caribou for his ailing grandfather, Nick loses the meat to a fearsome creature never before seen in the wild. It's half grizzly, half polar bear. Experts will soon be calling it a "grolar bear."

Returning to his village, Nick receives a letter from the half brother he's never met. A former Grand Canyon river guide, Ryan Powers is now a famous wildlife photographer. He'll soon be coming to Nick's part of the world to raft the remote Firth River in search of huge herds of migrating caribou. Ryan also wants to learn what Inuit hunters are saying about climate change in the Arctic. He invites Nick to come along and help him find the caribou.

Barely down the river, disaster strikes. Nick and Ryan are both thrown into the freezing river and find themselves under a ceiling of solid ice. With nothing but the clothes on his back and the knife on his hip, Nick is up against it in a world of wolves, caribou, and grizzlies. All the while, the monstrous grolar bear stalks the land. (description from Amazon.com)

I actually enjoyed this book a lot. It was full of action and danger.  It was a book that made me look things up, but not like I was learning stuff in school, more like I was just so curious to see if the nature-related stuff was real or not.  This book made me think about how we're affecting the environment and how that will reflect back and affect us later on.  I liked how Nick stays true to his heritage, even as he thinks about the larger world.  This book was very different from what I normally read, but it was a good one! 

Full disclosure: Borrowed through interlibrary loan

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip
by Jordan Sonnenblick

Sometimes, the greatest comebacks take place far away from the ball field.

Meet Peter Friedman, high school freshman. Talented photographer. Former baseball star. When a freakish injury ends his pitching career, Peter has some major things to figure out. Is there life after sports? Why has his grandfather suddenly given him thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment? And is it his imagination, or is the super-hot star of the girls' swim team flirting with him, right in front of the amazing new girl in his photography class? (description from Amazon.com)

I loved this book. I love all of Jordan Sonnenblick's books!

This book had sports, it had photography, it had the ups and downs of a new relationship...it had family drama (and tons of family love)... it pretty much had it all!

I so thoroughly enjoyed this book that I am giving it a GOLD STAR review!!

I thought that Peter was a great character. I loved his relationship with his grandfather and the one that he develops with Angelika.  I also enjoyed his best friend and thought that it was interesting to see the dynamics of their relationship. 

This is one of those books that I believe has something for everyone to enjoy.  

Water Steps

Water Steps
by A. LaFaye

Kyna likes her friends, her purple hair, and taking photographs. But there's something she definitely doesn't like: the water. Every time she comes near it, she feels the sinister pull of the depths trying to draw her down to a watery grave. Even the calm water in the bathtub reminds her of the torrential storm that took the lives of her sailing family when she was just a baby. But Kyna's adopted parents love nothing more than to swim and splash about in lakes and streams, or even the local pool. When they decide to spend the summer at a beach house on Lake Champlain, Kyna is convinced that they're trying to teach her something about water that she's not ready to learn. Little does she know that the water will reveal far more than she ever could have imagined.
(description taken from Amazon.com)

Kyna's story has been likened to the movie,"The Secret of Roan Inish" and I do have to agree. It is a story with a supernatural secret and a wonderfully folk-taleish rhythm. Though this story does deal with *Spoiler Alert* selkies... it really focuses on Kyna overcoming her fear of water. Ever since her family drowned when she was but a toddler, Kyna cannot even sit in a bathtub without having a full fledged panic attack.

As her adoptive parents gently coerce her to take "water steps," Kyna learns to overcome her fear and eventually conquers it *Spoiler Alert* in her quest to save a friend's life. Though she uncovers a deep family secret, more importantly Kyna learns how to really live with her new family.

I listened to this book on CD narrated by the author. The Irish accents were charming. The pacing was reminiscent of being told a story in front of a warm, cozy fire. A beautiful tale told in a charming way!

Full disclosure: Audiobook sent to me for review for AudioFile magazine