Harry, feeling isolated at the Dursley's over the summer vacation, yearns for news from the wizarding world, but none is forthcoming until an attack by dementors in Little Whinging catapults Harry smack-dab in the middle of another adventure. The fifth book in the Harry Potter series proves to be as spellbinding as its predecessors.
Harry's inevitable confrontation with the evil Lord Voldemort is compounded by teen angst as the fifteen-year-old Harry prepares to enter his fifth year at Hogwarts. Not only is Harry facing his most difficult year in school with the upcoming O.W.L. (Ordinary Wizarding Level) exams, but he is also overcome with adolescent moodiness, feelings of isolation, and unprepared for the erratic behavior of adolescent girls. Compound these problems with ostracism from some of his classmates who believe the lies printed in the Daily Prophet, at the urging of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, labeling him as an attention-seeking liar, and Harry is in for a tumultuous year.
The sorting hat warns the students and staff in her opening song, "Oh, know the perils, read the signs,/The warning history shows,/For our Hogwarts is in danger/From external deadly foes/And we must unite inside her/Or we'll crumble from within." The new professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Dolores Umbridge ("hem, hem"), does nothing to unite the Houses or to make life easier for Harry, usurping liberties from the students and staff with her continual series of "Educational Decrees" that she issues from her newly assigned post as "The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts."
Rowling again mesmerizes young and old alike with this "high fantasy," seamlessly weaving true-to-life characters within the world of magic at Hogwarts,making the 870 pages fly by, as Harry and the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society formed to battle the dark forces, take on the evil Lord Voldemort and his Death-Eaters. A new ally for Harry emerges as Neville Longbottom gains inner strength and proves himself in the final showdown with Lord Voldemort. Adult readers will see parallels between the maneuverings of the corrupt, insecure politicians within the Ministry of Magic and their counterparts of today. Fans are already asking when the next Harry Potter book will be released!
Rowling, J.K. 2003. Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix. Illus. by Mary Grandpre. U.S.A.: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 043935806X.
Opium, a country located between the United States and Aztlan, formerly Mexico, formed to provide the world with drugs, is the setting for Nancy Farmer's suspenseful science fiction novel, The House of the Scorpion. The young protagonist, Matt Alacran, is the clone of the 142 year-old kingpin drug-lord of Opium, Matteo Alacran, or El Patron as he is known. Clones, created for the rich and famous to use for "spare parts," usually have their intelligence blunted at birth, but Matteo Alacran keeps his clones intact so that he can vainly watch "himself" again as they grow and mature.
Raised in seclusion by Celia, a cook for the Alacrans, until the age of six, Matt is thrust into life in the "big house" when he accidentally cuts his foot trying to attract the attention of Maria Mendoza, daughter of a powerful U.S. senator. Matt is treated like an animal, kept in a pen filled with sawdust, having only roaches for friends, until El Patron intervenes on his behalf, providing a place for Celia and Matt to live in the Alacran estate, supplying Matt with a bodyguard, the likeable and trustworthy Tam Lin, and arranging for Matt to have the best education that his drug money can buy. Despite the loving attention of Celia and Tam Lin and his budding friendship with Maria, Matt discovers that evil exists in Opium; the fields of poppies are worked by "eejits," people caught by the Farm Patrol who have been rendered docile and obedient by means of a surgical implant in their brains and his patron, El Patron, is as Tam Lin described, "very dark indeed is his majesty when he wants to be. He grew large and green until he shadowed over the whole forest, but most of his branches are twisted."
Matt's struggle to survive includes a flight to Aztlan when he discovers that he, too, exists only to donate organs to the ailing El Patron. In Aztlan, Matt finds that "lost boys", imprisoned in orphanages, are not included in those who benefit from the people's government whose slogan is, "It is hard, but it is fair." Possessing the determination inherited from El Patron, tempered by the values of Celia and Tam Lin and aided by Esperanza Mendoza, the estranged wife of Senator Mendoza, Matt eventually overcomes all of the obstacles and returns to claim his rightful position as the owner of Opium.
In this science fiction novel that is frighteningly close to the reality of today, Farmer examines the ethical and philosophical questions of cloning without drawing conclusions for readers. In addition to the look at the social implications of technological advances, The House of the Scorpion is full of suspense, intrigue, murder, and a bit of romance. This 2003 Newbery Honor Book, full of twists and turns, is hard to put down.
Farmer, Nancy. 2002. The house of the scorpion. New York. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0689852223.
Lois Lowry has created a world that is perfect, a world where there is no pain, no conflict, poverty, unemployment, divorce, injustice or inequality. It is a world filled with "Sameness", a world where everything, even the weather is controlled by the Committee of Elders. As the protagonist of the book, Jonas, approaches his twelfth birthday, he begins to feel apprehensive about what his "Life Assignment" will be. When he is chosen to be the "Receiver of Memory", his whole life changes as his perceptions about his utopian community begin to unravel. In the list of rules that he is given at the Ceremony of Twelve, he is troubled by Rule #8, "You may lie." He wonders if other members of the community also received this rule when they turned twelve. Is his whole community and sense of well-being based on lies?
Jonas' job is to receive all of the memories of the world from a man he calls "The Giver." Through this process, he discovers that his world in which there are no colors, no choices, no true families, no love and no memories is much less than perfect. Jonas and The Giver devise a plan to restore these things to the community. If Jonas were to escape to Elsewhere, the memories that were meant for him alone would be transferred to all of the people in the community as they had before when the previous receiver asked for "release", government sanctioned murder. But, when Jonas learns that Gabriel, the infant that he has grown to love, will be "released" the next day, all of their plans fall apart. With his newly found awareness, Jonas escapes with Gabriel, hoping for anything better.
"With a storyline that hints at Christian allegory and an eerie futuristic setting, this intriguing novel calls to mind John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Lowry is once again in top form--raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers." (Publishers)
"You need to read it. Then decide what kids you're going to share it with. It's very special. You can't put it down. You can't forget it." (Hurst 1)
"Lois has said that each reader reads his or her own book and that is certainly shown in the varied reactions to The Giver. It is one of the most frequently censored books in the United States today. Ironically, it is attacked for being too Christian, for not being Christian enough, for being 'new age' and for being too spiritual. It is criticized for being un-American and for stressing too many American middle-class values, too pessimistic and not pessimistic enough. Saner folks seem to recognize it as a skillful and fascinating work of fiction which challenges the reader to reexamine his or her own values and the directions current societies seem to be taking." (Hurst 2)
"But I've never been a writer of fairy tales. And if I've learned anything through that river of memories, it is that we can't live in a walled world, in an "only us, only now" world where we are all the same and feel safe. We would have to sacrifice too much. The richness of color and diversity would disappear, feelings for other humans would no longer be necessary. Choices would be obsolete." (Lowry)
Lois Lowry uses her remarkable talent to create believable characters living in a world devoid of feeling in The Giver . It is an unforgettable fantasy, possessing elements that make it appealing to both adults and older children, and guaranteed to provoke much thought, introspection, and discussion.
Works cited:
Hurst, Carol. Review of The Giver. Available from http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/giver.htm. Accessed 14 July 2003.
Hurst, Carol. Lois Lowry. Available from http://www.carolhurst.com/authors/llowry.html. Accessed 25 June 2003.
Lowry, Lois. 1994. "Newbery Acceptance Speech." Available at http://www.loislowry.com. Accessed 25 June 2003.
Publishers Weekly. Review for amazon.com. Available from http://www.amazon.com. Accessed 10 July 2003.
Since the day in the fifth-grade that LaVaughn asked her mother if she could go to college, "the word COLLEGE is in my house,/ and you have to walk around it in the rooms/ like furniture." Seeing college as a means of escaping the projects where she lives and knowing that "College takes 2 things/ money and hard work," 14-year-old LaVaughn responds to an ad for a babysitter that is posted on her high school bulletin board. In so doing, she becomes enmeshed in the lives of Jolly, a 17-year-old unwed mother of Jeremy who is not quite 3, and Jilly, an infant.
Despite the appalling filthiness of Jolly's apartment and her satisfaction with work that is "just-okay," LaVaughn finds herself being drawn into their struggle for survival against almost insurmountable odds. When Jolly is fired from her minimum-wage job for spurning the sexual advances of "Mr. Fingers Boss," LaVaughn encourages her to complete her high-school education. First she takes Jolly to her "Steam Class" (self-esteem), and finally persuades her to join the "Moms Up" program at the local high school. Through ups and downs, readers follow Jolly's progress as told through the eyes of LaVaughn, cheering at her successes and crying at her set-backs.
Virginia Euwer Wolff's novel, written in lyrical free verse and told in the first-person by LaVaughn with dialogue typical of teenaged-girls living in the "projects", is an inspiration to all that anything is possible to those who are able to "make lemonade when life hands them lemons." The themes of friendship, unwed parenthood, and hope for a better life are related honestly without being preachy. This inspiring book should be read by teenagers and those who work with them for we all need to be reminded sometimes that as LaVaughn's "big Mama" said, "Bootstraps go in 2 directions/ either up or down/ You choose/ and remember you chose."
Wolf, Virginia Euwer. 1993. Make lemonade. New York: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN: 059048141-X.
Jess Aarons wants nothing more than to be the fastest boy in the 5th grade. In an effort to achieve his goal, he practices running every morning of the summer in the cow pasture while the rest of his family is still sleeping. One morning he notices someone, he can't decide if it is a girl or a boy, sitting on the fence watching him. That someone turns out to be Leslie Burke, a girl who has just moved into the neighboring "Perkins place." Although she dashes Jess' dream of being the fastest kid on the first day of school by outrunning him and all of the other boys, a deep friendship develops between the two who understand each other as no one else does.
Together, Jess, a poor boy from rural Virginia, and Leslie, who has had the benefit of many cultural experiences at the hands of her parents who are both writers, create a magical kingdom, Terabithia, which can only be reached by swinging across a dry creek bed on a rope suspended from a crab apple tree. Jess and Leslie spend many hours in Terabithia, pretending to be the king and queen of their fantasy kingdom. To Jess, "Leslie was more than his friend. She was his other, more exciting self - his way to Terabithia and all the worlds beyond.
Tragedy, however, strikes when Jess goes on an excursion with his music teacher, Miss Edmunds, to Washington,
D. C. When Leslie tries to cross the rain-swollen creek alone, the rope breaks, and she drowns.
Katherine Paterson, in her 1978 Newbery award winning novel, examines the bonds of friendship and the more serious topic of coping with an untimely death with sensitivity and compassion. Readers experience first-hand Jess's denial, anger, feelings of guilt, and finally, acceptance of Leslie's death. Illustrations by Donna Diamond complement without overpowering the impact of the text. The characters and the message of this book will make an indelible mark on the lives of those who read it.
Paterson, Katherine. 1977. Bridge to Terabithia. Illus. by Donna Diamond. New York:
Thomas Y. Crowell Company. ISBN: 0690013590.
