ALAN Online

TIME—or the lack of—plagues us all, even me in “retirement.” Since summer provides more opportunities to discover surefire reads to recommend to our students when school reopens in the fall, you might want to investigate this month’s selections.
–Bill Mollineaux, ALAN Past-President

July ENTRÉES

Anderson, M. T. THE GAME OF SUNKEN PLACES. Scholastic Press, 2004. When 13-year-old Brian and Gregory visit Gregory’s strange uncle Max in his isolated, gas-lit mansion in Vermont, they…

discover a board game called The Game of Sunken Places, in which they become participants, facing all sorts of sinister creatures and suspenseful twits. Scary, humorous, and fun! (M)

Avi, and Rachel Vail. NEVER MIND!: A TWIN NOVEL. HarperCollins Publishers, 2004. Humorous, fun-filled, poignant story told in alternating chapters by very different seventh-grade twins; when gifted Meg attempts to get into the High Achiever’s Club, she claims her loser brother, Edward, who attends an alternative school, has a rock band, kicking off a series of unforgettable slapstick, screwball events. (M) (RR)

Brown, Jackie. LITTLE CRICKET. Hyperion Books for Children, 2004. After the Vietnam War causes the Vangs, a Hmong family, to flee from the mountains of Laos to a refugee camp in Thailand, 12-year-old Kia, her grandfather, and brother emigrate to Minnesota, where they have a difficult time adjusting to American life and anxiously await the delayed arrival of Kia’s mother and grandmother. (M)

Goodman, Alison. SINGING THE DOGSTAR BLUES. Viking, 2003. When Mavkel, an alien from the planet Choria, is accepted into an exclusive time-travel program and chooses rebellious, brash, opinionated 18-year old Joss as his partner, they not only discover the identity of Joss’s gene-donor father and uncover the intended victim of an assassination plot, but save Mav’s life by enabling him to mind-link with her. (H)

Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas. *THE DEMON IN THE TEAHOUSE. Philomel Books, 2001. After being adopted by the famous samurai Judge Ooka, 14-year-old Seikei, whose biological father is a merchant, helps the judge discover who’s setting a series of fires in Edo (Tokyo) and murdering geishas in the city’s pleasure quarter. Not only is this a superb mystery, but it is a “sneaky” and fun-filled way to learn about Japanese culture. (M)

Horowitz, Anthony. EAGLE STRIKE. Book Four in the Alex Rider Adventure Series. Philomel Books, 2004. While Alex Rider, 14-year-old teenage spy, is vacationing in southern France with his girlfriend, Sabina, and her family, the home in which they’re staying is blown up; since Alex spotted his archenemy, a Russian killer, he assumes he was the target, but he soon discovers it’s Sabina’s father, who has unearthed a devious plan by a philanthropist-pop star to annihilate part of the world. (M/H) (RR) Also see: *STORMBREAKER, *POINT BLANK, and *SKELETON KEY.

Jennings, Richard W. MYSTERY IN MT. MOLE. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. When nobody in the small town of Mt. Mole—not even the pastor—cares about the school’s missing assistant principal, 12-year-old Andy Forrest decides to take on the investigation himself and in the process discovers the identity of his biological father as well as the cause of mysterious rumblings emanating from the mountain. (M)

Paolini, Christopher. ERAGON. Book One, The Inheritance Trilogy. Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. After discovering a gem-like stone out of which hatches a blue dragon, which 15-year-old Eragon names Saphira, Eragon’s life changes . . . completely; when his uncle is murdered by the minions of King Galbatorix while searching for Eragon, who turns out to be the first in a new generation of Dragon Riders standing for good and justice, Eragon is thrust into an epic tale of revenge, which expands to his attempt to free the Empire from oppression. (M/H)

Sones, Sonya. ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES. Simon & Schuster, 2004. Humorous, moving free-verse novel in which 15-year-old Ruby Milliken, after her mother dies from cancer, moves from Boston to Beverly Hills to live with her father, a famous movie star whom she has never met and disdains because he divorced her mother before Ruby was born. (M/H) (RR)

Strasser, Todd. YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE. Simon & Schuster, 2004. As 15-year-old Maybe and her surrogate family of homeless and throwaway teens try to survive and care for one another on the streets of New York City, their numbers gradually diminish due to sickness, violence, suicide, and brutally cold weather; however, Maybe uncovers hope when she helps a 12-year-old and learns some adults can be trusted. (M/H) (RR)

M indicates appropriateness for middle school
H indicates appropriateness for high school
RR indicates appeal to a reluctant reader
* indicates available in paperback