Growing UP

It is hard to face reality and come to understand consequesnces, especially when one is young. The books that my friends from Voorheesville Middle School have been writing reviews for all have difficult choices facing the protagonists. It has been eye-opening to read their reactions to these wonderful books.
Here are some more reviews:

Park, Barbara. The Graduation of Jake Moon. New York: Antheneum books, 2000.
Do you know someone with Alzheimer’s? If not, then you don’t know how hard it is for Jake Moon to deal with his grandfather’s Alzheimer’s. Read about it in The Graduation of Jake Moon by Barbara Park. Jake is a normal eighth grade boy, except he is the only one that deals with a grandfather with Alzheimer’s disease.
It isn’t that bad for Jake because the challenges he faces help him mature. Although his grandfather has embarrassed him time after time he continues to help him. This book could be enjoyed by anyone, especially people who are ready to laugh and cry at this humorous yet tear-jerking novel. ~Ryan

Woodson, Jacqueline. Locomotion. New York: Penguin, 2003. Print.
In Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson Lonnie finds himself alone when his parents die in a fire. He is split up from his sister, Lili, and both are put in foster homes. The story takes place by Lonnie’s house in his neighborhood.
Lonnie is the main character and his biggest obstacle to overcome is the fact his parents died and him splitting up with his sister. He finally comes of age when he starts to overcome that by writing all kinds of different poems. But I didn’t like how the book was a poem because it kind of took some information away because the author was trying to make it a poem. But this is a short and easy read recommended for ages 10-16. ~Willie

Weeks, Sarah. So B. It. New York: HarperTrophy, 2004. Print.
Imagine living in an apartment with your mentally ill mother and your neighbor, yet you and everybody else has no idea how you got there. This is true for Heidi in the exciting novel So B. It by Sarah Weeks. In this thriller you will travel with 12-year-old Heidi from Reno, Nevada to New York City to find out who she is, who her mom is, and what is “soof”.
You will meet all sorts of characters: Mama, Bernadette, and Heidi. Mama has a twenty-three word vocabulary and is mentally ill. Bernadette can’t take a step outside without the feeling that she is drowning. And Heidi is a curious girl, but will her curiosity overwhelm her? In this book, Heidi will learn to grow up when she travels independently for the first time and faces a terrible tragedy. This book is a good read for anyone ages 10-15. Pick up this thriller by Sarah Weeks. ~Mia

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York: Dell Publishing, 1995. Print.
In this area you never walk alone without a blade or a friend. Pony boy Curtis is 14 years old and he lives in this area. His parents died in a car crash, but he has two very hard working brothers that he lives with. They look out for him and love him. They are also in a gang, “The Greasers”, along with Dally, Steve, Jonny, and two bit. They are all very close friends. That’s what makes this book so good, I think, because they all have to look out for each other and help each other out of bad bad situations. Plenty of bad things happen in this gang. Most of it has to do with the social’s, also called the soc’s. They are the rich kids with mustangs and and all the girls. These two groups hate each other. And to make things worse, Jonny and Ponyboy started to hang out with one of the soc’s girlfriends at the drive-in. A few hours later, well, here comes the soc’s in their blue Mustang. After what happens in this event leads to a bad chain of events. Get the book to see what happens. ~Jack