Peeled by Joan Bauer

Bauer, Joan. Peeled. New York: Putnam, 2008. 247 pp.

Review by Lina Crowell

Do you like a mystery? Strange stories have been circulating about the old Ludlow house in the small farming community of Banesville, NY. People say the ghost of the last owner, mean-spirited in life and even more so in death, is haunting the place, causing harm and even death to people who dare to visit the house. It doesn’t help matters any that the local newspaper, The Bee, is helping to spread the rumors. Hildy Biddle, top reporter for the high school newspaper, The Core, and daughter of a journalist, is skeptical of the stories about the “haunted” house.

Together with the staff of The Core, Hildy determines to get to the bottom of the stories and find out what is really going on. When Hildy and her friends come a little too close to the truth, the owner of The Bee threatens to sue the school unless The Core is shut down. Undaunted, the staff of The Core goes underground, supported by several townspeople and meeting in the back room of a local café, to publish a new community newsletter, The Peel, distributing it at local businesses to get out the truth.

Peeled is the story of what can happen when people come together to stand up for what’s right. Teenage Hildy is a strong female protagonist supported by a cast of interesting, well-written characters. Recommended for age 12 and up.

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

Review by Emily Beeson

Be careful what you wish for. You might get it! My Fair Godmother, which just came out last week, is another fun romantic comedy by Janette Rallison.

When Savannah's boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, she idly wishes for a true prince. Chrissy, her fairy godmother, shows up. Only Chrissy is not a real fairy godmother. She's only a fair fairy student. In her attempts to grant three wishes for Savannah, Savannah is sent to the Middle Ages smack into the stories of Cinderella and Snow White.

When Savannah finally gets out of the Middle Age mess, she discovers that Tristan, a boy from school, has been sent back to prove himself a worthy prince for her. Together, Tristan and Savannah have to conquer mystical creatures and find a way back into the present day.

If you are a fan of fairy tales (which I definitely am), you'll enjoy My Fair Godmother. I recommend it for tweens and teens. It's a quick, unique read.

Enjoy!

Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers

Has it really been a whole month? Yikes.

Here's a looooong overdue review....

Life on the Refrigerator Door: Notes Between a Mother and Daughter by Alice Kuipers.

Review by Heather Walker of Life, Lessons, and Laughs

This is a delightful book. I was looking for an inspirational, thoughtful, and easy to read book, and I found it.

The book tells the story of the mother who is a single mom and an obstetrician, and the daughter, Claire, who is a young high school student. They rarely connect in person and instead heavily rely on notes on the refrigerator to communicate to each other. The notes unfold a journey that the mother and daughter go through. We see their struggles and their joys through the refrigerator.

While I didn't feel this book was incredibly original, the prose and notes are beautifully written and the characters come out through and shine. The book really is about the relationship, and this relationship is most poignant part of the story. I wanted Claire and her mother to get along, and when they had struggles, I felt for them. Whenever they fought, I felt for both sides of the argument.

While a bit sad, this book is definitely worthwhile. At the beginning, there is the poem "This Is Just to Say," by William Carlos Williams. That poem is a note on the refrigerator door that was found and determined to be poetry. This book has the same sort of quality to it--poetry is found in the notes on the refrigerator, and it is a beautiful story.

Recommended especially for girls in high school and mothers, though anyone can read it and be delighted.

Ages 10-12 and up.

It's a Mall World After All by Janette Rallison

IT'S A MALL WORLD AFTER ALL by Janette Rallison

Review by Emily, Head Mama of DCR

Emily's other blog: Whimsy Books

There's a good chance you read the title of this book and had similar thoughts to mine...sounds like cheesy chick lit. Well, maybe it kind of is, but it is written well, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, I read it in about a day.

I strongly recommend IT'S A MALL WORLD AFTER ALL if you like clean teen romances. Similar movie flicks would include A Cinderella Story, High School Musical...you know, the fun, innocent high-schoolish romances.

Charlotte, a tall-and-pretty klutz, works at the mall as a perfume spritzer for Bloomingdale's. From the entry of Bloomingdale's, she watches life at the mall, often spying on classmates. However, sometimes spying can get you into trouble. A funny series of events unfolds. I honestly laughed out loud, which I rarely do, while reading.

Besides being an active member of NHS (the National Honor Society), Charlotte loves to head up service projects, but being a klutz, something always goes wrong. During the course of the story, she finds a way to help disadvantaged kids for a Christmas project.

It is pretty obvious who Charlotte likes and how the story will end, but does that matter? Most chick flicks are predictable. That certainly doesn't stop me from loving them. If you don't like predictability, IT'S A MALL WORLD AFTER ALL may not be for you. However, if you love a quick-n-funny chick flick now and then, like I obviously do, read this one.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

I personally didn’t love Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, but I’m reviewing it anyway because I know a lot of people do love it. Stargirl is on virtually every list of clean teen books I have ever seen.

I think the problem was that I was confused about what I was getting myself into. The book cover (and many reviewers) call Stargirl “magical”, but she isn’t. Not in the traditional way. She’s a wonderful non-conformist character who changes the lives of those around her through her personality, not magic.

When Stargirl starts going to school at Mica Area High School, everyone notices her. She wears pioneer dresses, strums her ukulele, carries her pet rat, and serenades her classmates on their birthdays. Slowly, people start to wonder why they conform to be like the popular crowd and Stargirl becomes the most popular girl in school. Of course, Stargirl is genuine and couldn’t care less that she is popular.

But Stargirl turns out to be too weird to be popular. (Her classmates blame homeschool for her obliviousness about how to be normal.) The school shuns her when she cheers for both teams at the basketball games.

Stargirl’s story is told by Leo, who is fascinated by her. Even when she falls from popularity, Leo stands by her. But he has a lot to learn about himself before he can fully understand what an amazing person Stargirl is. Will he truly understand her before it is too late?

Stargirl reminds me of Jamie Sullivan in A Walk to Remember, only Stargirl is much quirkier.

Honestly, I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I hadn’t expected elements of fantasy. If I had gone in knowing it was realistic fiction, I probably wouldn’t have been looking for more. I may have felt satisfied with this well-written story about a girl who changes lives for the better by being completely selfless and genuine.

If you enjoy this book, look for the sequel, Love, Stargirl.

Review by me, Emily.

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