Dragonwings Lawrence Yep

To get the summary of the book you can go to any book site, if you want to know the feeling of the book, keep reading.

I have had this Newberry Honor Book since 2007, pretty sure I bought it at a school book fair.   I finally decide to read it after moving classrooms twice and finally just bringing the books home.   Now I wonder why I took so long to begin.

Excellent, impressive book that will make you smile, make you think, and make you a bit sad.  It is a story of hope, struggle, family, and finding a place.  The struggles of Chinese in California in the early 1900's is something that I had never really thought about, I now want to know more.  The seperation of a family for many, many years I can not imagine but that is exactly what many families did then and still do today in the struggle for a better life.

This is a story written from the viewpoint of a boy who beccomes a man very quickly so even though it is written for children and the teen set it is a story for all ages, as all really good stories are.

The River by Gary Paulsen

A sequel to Hatchet which by the admission of the author was written to fulfill the wishes of fans of Brian Robeson who wanted to know what happened next in his exciting life.

Drama, adventure, danger, everything needed for a quick page turner.  A good book for the young male looking for adventure but beware, they may want to try some of it out themselves, which might do many of them a world of good.

Into the Darkness by Barbara Michaels

Meg comes home to the family estate for the funeral of her beloved grandfather.  She needs to just settle a couple of things and then will be back to her life in New York.

The reading of the will changes everything. In addition to the expected stocks, bonds and money she is also left a half partnership in the jewlery establishment that was her grandfather's pride and joy.  The larger issue is the partner is an unknown quantity that even after three years in a small town has managed to remain a mystery.

Potential stolen jewels. a lawyer overstepping his bounds, an uncle, grandmother, cousin and even the housekeeper in her business and Meg is about to go crazy before she even meets with her new partner.

A bit of romance, an infusion of mystery and just enough romantic comedy to keep things flowing.  A good read that does not require to much concentration.

Vanish With the Rose by Barbara Michaels

Diana arrives at the stately home in the middle of a rain storm after rescuing the owners son and his latest dog from an overturned car in a ditch.  The event was foreshadowned, forewarned, de javu ( or however you spell that) or maybe the friendly weird happening would be a better explination.  She is also not what she has presented herself to be so the mystery that begins on page one continues throughout the novel.

Filled with facts of roses and gardening history which makes you want to go out and plant flowers to glorify your own spot of land the story line moves at a quick pace which keeps the reader turning pages deep into the night.  The ending comes as a surprise with a bit of Agatha Christie type ending.

Well written mystery by a prolific author which is nice because there are others that you will also enjoy.

Troubletwisters by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

Jaide and Jack discover they are a bit unusual when they drop their father's travel bag and grab an iron rod.  The world starts to twist and spin and their house is destroyed in the end.  They do not really understand any of what is going on other than the fact that they are going to live with their grandmonther, which they have never met, in a town they have never heard of. 

A delightful tale of magic and forces beyond the "normal".  Follow the twins as they twist in and out of trouble and fight forces which should be far beyond their emerging abilities.

Book one in a series for the middle school crowd.

The Seer of Shadows by Avi

Horace is apprenticed to learn the new art of photography in 1872 New York City.  His master is not a very diligent worker but he does understand the new art of photos and how to sell to his customers.

When the photographer is asked to work with a wealthy lady Horace is forced into using a spy camera to take photos of the deceased daughter's portrait as part of a hoax to create more business.  Even though Horace feels trepidation at being part of a dishonest scam he goes through with his instructions.

He gets the photos that he was ordered to take along with a surprising addition. 

Follow Horace as he and Pegg, the young servant girl who was also a friend of the deceased, as they try to solve the mystery of the photo and how it appeared.

An excellent read, a bit of mystery, the birth of the art of photography and a good dose of paranormal activity to make a great page turner.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

A favorite story of survival and adventure of young adults Hatchet is the type of book that often gets the reluctant reader to become a voracious reader. 

Brian is flying out to see his father in the oil fields when the pilot in the small plane has a heart attack and dies. Brian is lucky enough to make a crash landing in a lake but has gone so far off course that searchers do not find him and the plane has sunk into the lake.

What follows is a summer of hardship, self-knowledge and survival. Brian comes to learn much about himself as he learns how to survive with only a hatchet.