Half Brother

Half Brother
by Kenneth Oppel

Ben Tomlin was an only child for thirteen years. Then his parents brought home a baby chimp.

It isn't long before Ben is Zan's favourite, and Ben starts to see Zan as more than just an experiment. His father disagrees. Soon Ben is forced to make a critical choice between what he is told to believe and what he knows to be true -- between obeying his father or protecting his brother from an unimaginable fate. (description from author's website)

I was really impressed with the majority of this book. I loved the relationship between Ben and Zan, Ben's friendship with the research assistant, Peter, and the troubled family dynamics that Oppel explored once Zan became part of Ben's family.

To truly appreciate some aspects of this book, you have to remember that it's set in the 1970's. Oppel drops a lot of great hints, but it's not until a small, but significant portion of the book has been read, that Ben confirms the year. It was nice to finally know for sure that this was the 70s.

Once you knew the setting, though, it makes the perfect backdrop for not only the familial issues that Ben was experiencing, but also for his troubled romantic life. The sweetness of his attempts to worship the pretty, popular girl and his complete and utter failure to finally win her. (Don't worry...not a true spoiler! There are other happenings in the cards for Ben!!)

The real star of this book, though, will always be Zan. Not only is he unique and interesting simply because he is a chimpanzee, but he is lovable and sweet because of who he was raised to be. Zan is his own, fantastic character that steals the show 100%.

City of Orphans

City of Orphans
by Avi

The streets of 1893 New York are full of life: crowded, filthy, dangerous.

If you are a newsboy like thirteen-year- old Maks Geless, you need to watch out for Bruno, leader of the Plug Ugly Gang whose shadowy, sinister boss is plotting to take control of all the newsies on the lower East Side.

With Bruno’s boys in fierce pursuit, Maks discovers Willa, a strange girl who lives alone in an alley. It is she, stick in hand, who fights off the Plug Uglies--but further dangers await. Maks must find a way to free his sister Emma from The Tombs, the city jail where she has been imprisoned for stealing a watch at the glamorous new Waldorf Hotel. Maks, believing her innocent, has only four days to prove it.

Fortunately, there is Bartleby Donck, the eccentric lawyer (among other employments) to guide Maks and Willa in the art of detection. Against a backdrop alive with the sights and sounds of tenement New York, Maks, as boy detective, must confront a teeming world of wealth and crime, while struggling against powerful forces threatening new immigrants and the fabric of family love. (description from Amazon.com)

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical adventure.

Maks and Willa were both strong, interesting characters. Their friends and family were also fascinating and well fleshed out. There were people representing all facets of live in New York City in the 1890s.

Avi did an amazing job creating a vibrant and living historical New York City. It felt as if you could walk right into the lobby of the Waldorf. You could smell the garbage on the streets. You could feel the cold, hard floor that Willa slept on...

Though I was able to connect all the mystery dots before the end of the book, it was so intriguing to see everything actually play out that I did not mind at all. I loved watching Maks and Willa actually put everything together as they figured out pieces of the puzzle.

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ

What’s the Buzz about 21st Century Libraries? A Virtual Panel Discussion - From Jonathan Maberry's Big, Scary Blog

Check it out! Jonathan Maberry, author of Rot and Ruin, and many other books, held a virtual panel discussion on his blog. He asked us Librarians what we thought was happening with Libraries in the 21st Century. Read it here!

For those of you in the CT area, not only was I interviewed, but two of my great friends in the YA community, Geri DiOrio from the Ridgefield Public Library, and Andrea Ingala from the Windsor Public Library, were also participants!!