The main character Liz goes with her grandmother to the family lake house for the last time. Liz's grandmother is getting older and says it is too far to travel to the cabin. The cabin was build by Liz's great great great grandfather and her family was born and raised there.
One night Liz sees a mysterious blue woman in her room going through the wall to the original part of the house. Liz then begins to hear voices through the walls. At one point she closes her eyes and walks through the wall and back into time. Liz's great great grandmother (the original Elizabeth - all the women in her family share the name and have variations of their own) believes Liz is her guardian angel.
Liz doesn't say anything to her grandmother about the voices or the blue woman. Her grandmother is sad about selling the family home and losing the connection between the home and her relatives.
One night Liz sees the blue woman again and follows her through the wall. She finds Elizabeth holding her sick brother Matthew. He is suffering from the croup and can barely breathe. Elizabeth is afraid he will die if Liz (her guardian angel) does not help save him. Liz is not sure what to do and the blue woman (who turns out to be Elizabeth's mother) leads her to a trunk in the room. After opening it, Liz finds a book of remedies written by Elizabeth's deceased mother. Elizabeth cannot read and relies on Liz to tell her how to save Matthew. The book says to boil water and build a tent around it to help the sick person breathe. While in the tent Liz assures Elizabeth she can learn to read. Together they save Matthew.
Liz wakes up in her own bed the next morning. She begins asking her grandmother about what happened to Elizabeth and finds out not only did she learn to read but she also became a doctor. Liz shows her grandmother where the key to the trunk is and her grandmother wants to know how she knows. She tells Liz that she used hear voices in the cabin. The book ends with Liz telling her grandmother the story of the blue woman.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Closed for the Season by: Mary Downing Hahn 2009 Youthful Sleuths
Logan is forced to leave Richmond when his dad gets a job as an art teacher in Bealesville, Virginia. Logan meets his talkative and often annoying neighbor Arthur. Arthur reveals the murderous past of the house Logan and his family moved into. The previous owner was found dead at the bottom of the stairs. Myrtle Donaldson had been falsely accused of embezzling from the Magic Forest. The authorities believed the murderer broke into the home looking for the money.
The boys begin to search for clues about the death of Mrs. Donaldson and end up putting themselves in danger. Logan is annoyed by Arthur at first, but later realizes their friendship is special. The boys find a note written to Mrs. Donaldson's daughter containing a clue was to the location of the money and the identity of her killer. The boys take the letter to Violet (the daughter) but she doesn't remember the location of the game she and her mother used to play. Violet is dealing with a violent ex-husband who takes the letter from her and threatens to take her children.
A detective posing as a reporter comes to town to investigate the embezzlement and murder in this small town. Nina realizes the boys are interfering with her investigation and tries unsuccessfully to keep the boys apart. The boys are determined to find the killer and to clear Mrs. Donaldson's name of any wrongdoing.
Aside from the murder mystery the book deals with an issue most teens could relate to. Logan is trying to find his way in the new town. Everyone considers Arthur weird and they encourage Logan to stay away. At one point Logan's mother forbids him to see Arthur and tries to force him to make friends with the popular boys in town. Logan realizes quickly that these boys are not his friends and that they hate "kids like him." He struggles to accept that he may not be an athlete or be the most popular but at least he does have one friend.
The night before Magic Forest is to be destroyed the boys make a plan to meet Violet after work and go to the amusement park to find the briefcase believed to contain the embezzled money that was hidden by Mrs. Donaldson. When the boys get to Violet's work all they find is her battered son. He tells the boys his father has Violet. The boys rush to the park and follow the clues to find the briefcase. The twist in the plot is that the embezzler is Mr. Disilvio (an upstanding citizen who donates money to the library and sponsors a soccer team). He was using Violet and her abusive ex-husband to find his money. As he is about to make a run with the money Nina shows up and reveals her true identity. The police swarm the park and capture Mr. Disilvio and the abusive Silas.
In the end Logan and Arthur are allowed to continue their friendship and even form a sort of truce with Violet's son, Danny (who used to beat up Arthur frequently). The boys are heroes in the town!
The boys begin to search for clues about the death of Mrs. Donaldson and end up putting themselves in danger. Logan is annoyed by Arthur at first, but later realizes their friendship is special. The boys find a note written to Mrs. Donaldson's daughter containing a clue was to the location of the money and the identity of her killer. The boys take the letter to Violet (the daughter) but she doesn't remember the location of the game she and her mother used to play. Violet is dealing with a violent ex-husband who takes the letter from her and threatens to take her children.
A detective posing as a reporter comes to town to investigate the embezzlement and murder in this small town. Nina realizes the boys are interfering with her investigation and tries unsuccessfully to keep the boys apart. The boys are determined to find the killer and to clear Mrs. Donaldson's name of any wrongdoing.
Aside from the murder mystery the book deals with an issue most teens could relate to. Logan is trying to find his way in the new town. Everyone considers Arthur weird and they encourage Logan to stay away. At one point Logan's mother forbids him to see Arthur and tries to force him to make friends with the popular boys in town. Logan realizes quickly that these boys are not his friends and that they hate "kids like him." He struggles to accept that he may not be an athlete or be the most popular but at least he does have one friend.
The night before Magic Forest is to be destroyed the boys make a plan to meet Violet after work and go to the amusement park to find the briefcase believed to contain the embezzled money that was hidden by Mrs. Donaldson. When the boys get to Violet's work all they find is her battered son. He tells the boys his father has Violet. The boys rush to the park and follow the clues to find the briefcase. The twist in the plot is that the embezzler is Mr. Disilvio (an upstanding citizen who donates money to the library and sponsors a soccer team). He was using Violet and her abusive ex-husband to find his money. As he is about to make a run with the money Nina shows up and reveals her true identity. The police swarm the park and capture Mr. Disilvio and the abusive Silas.
In the end Logan and Arthur are allowed to continue their friendship and even form a sort of truce with Violet's son, Danny (who used to beat up Arthur frequently). The boys are heroes in the town!
The Lock Artist by: Steve Hamilton 2010 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winners and Nominees
I was hooked immediately by this book. I am a "character" person and I had to know what happened to Michael as a child and why he stopped talking. I found the transitions abrupt when I began reading the book, because you would get interested in one particular part of Michael's life and then the author would change to another time period.
You are taken on a journey to discover how young Michael becomes a boxman and ends up in prison. I thought his silence would bother me as a read the book but I feel like I actually got to know him better as a character due to his silence. We learned about Michael through his internal thoughts (not just the junk people say because they think it is what people want to hear). Having said that, there were moments in which I was yelling at him to just speak already! I felt sorry for him as a child because he was treated like a science experiments. Many of the doctors he encountered just wanted a quick fix or to just throw a diagnosis at him. Uncle Lito took Michael in after the incident with his parents. He tried the best he could with Michael, but the liquor store owner knew very little about how to deal with his nephew. I think he was a little frightened of Michael after the robbery of the store. Uncle Lito realizes that Michael's reaction to the robbery was anything but normal.
I found the process of Michael learning to crack locks interesting. As someone who loves puzzles, I can appreciate the thrill of the challenge. The author had done some research on the topic but did not include so much information that someone could read the book and learn how to crack safes.
When Amelia enters Michael's life I am truly happy for him. It seems that he has finally connected for the first time with another human being. The whole situation of him breaking into her house night after night was probably not the wisest, but he was an infatuated teenage boy. After finishing the book I wondered how his life would have been different if he had not met Amelia or if he thought it was all worth it in the end. Mr. Marsh uses Michael for child labor and threatens him repeatedly and in the end Michael was the one who saved him. Michael loved Amelia so much that he was willing to commit crimes to keep her safe. He almost is killed by an overzealous security guard and ultimately ends up in prison because of the path set by Amelia's father.
When we find out what happened to Michael as a child it is horrific. This may sound horrible, but the event had to be so traumatic or readers would have been critical. The fact that he did not drown in the safe was a little unbelievable and the symbolism of him later cracking safes was a bit of a stretch.
In the end Michael was unable to stay away from Amelia even after having somewhat of a "family" in California. The team was efficient and a little dysfunctional but they offered Michael companionship. The fact that Michael survived the mutiny in this group was a bit farfetched as well.
I was left wondering what would happen to Michael and Amelia after he gets out of jail and what his first words to Amelia will be...
You are taken on a journey to discover how young Michael becomes a boxman and ends up in prison. I thought his silence would bother me as a read the book but I feel like I actually got to know him better as a character due to his silence. We learned about Michael through his internal thoughts (not just the junk people say because they think it is what people want to hear). Having said that, there were moments in which I was yelling at him to just speak already! I felt sorry for him as a child because he was treated like a science experiments. Many of the doctors he encountered just wanted a quick fix or to just throw a diagnosis at him. Uncle Lito took Michael in after the incident with his parents. He tried the best he could with Michael, but the liquor store owner knew very little about how to deal with his nephew. I think he was a little frightened of Michael after the robbery of the store. Uncle Lito realizes that Michael's reaction to the robbery was anything but normal.
I found the process of Michael learning to crack locks interesting. As someone who loves puzzles, I can appreciate the thrill of the challenge. The author had done some research on the topic but did not include so much information that someone could read the book and learn how to crack safes.
When Amelia enters Michael's life I am truly happy for him. It seems that he has finally connected for the first time with another human being. The whole situation of him breaking into her house night after night was probably not the wisest, but he was an infatuated teenage boy. After finishing the book I wondered how his life would have been different if he had not met Amelia or if he thought it was all worth it in the end. Mr. Marsh uses Michael for child labor and threatens him repeatedly and in the end Michael was the one who saved him. Michael loved Amelia so much that he was willing to commit crimes to keep her safe. He almost is killed by an overzealous security guard and ultimately ends up in prison because of the path set by Amelia's father.
When we find out what happened to Michael as a child it is horrific. This may sound horrible, but the event had to be so traumatic or readers would have been critical. The fact that he did not drown in the safe was a little unbelievable and the symbolism of him later cracking safes was a bit of a stretch.
In the end Michael was unable to stay away from Amelia even after having somewhat of a "family" in California. The team was efficient and a little dysfunctional but they offered Michael companionship. The fact that Michael survived the mutiny in this group was a bit farfetched as well.
I was left wondering what would happen to Michael and Amelia after he gets out of jail and what his first words to Amelia will be...
Saturday, September 24, 2011
The Interrogation of Gabriel James by: Charlie Price 2010 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winners and Nominees
This mystery opened in a traditional way...we are at a funeral left wondering how things had gotten to this point. A double murder! Normally I am not a fan of the flashback and yet the first two novels I read were both in this format.
The first thing I found interesting was how there was not an adult present while the police are questioning Gabriel (which I thought was a big NO-NO) but since CSI and all of these other cops shows I guess we all feel like we are experts on the criminal justice system. I liked being able to hear the internal dialog of Gabriel during the questioning. He thinks the detectives are trying to trap him or when he winces because he thinks he has said too much.
At times I felt like this book had a little too much going on. Gabriel gets caught in a lie about going away with his girlfriend and she breaks up with him, there are people selling drugs in the town, pets are going missing, a mysterious fire is set, Gabriel is stalking a girl from school, a Native American student joins Gabriel's school and faces discrimination. At times I felt my head was reeling trying to keep straight all of these connections. As Gabriel talks with the police we see some of these connections being made either through what he tells us or these weird conversations the police have in front of him in which they reveal way too much information.
As a character I was on the fence about Gabriel. He was noisy to a fault but then he would do something redeeming like help Durm (which gets him hurt). He was a typical teenager in the sense that he could not think through his actions and determine the consequences. He did want to help some of the other characters in the book but I think much of his actions were to just satisfy his own curiosity.
The whole Raelene situation was beyond creepy. He thinks she likes him but cannot deal with the rejection of her ignoring him. Gabriel watches she and her brother walk around naked in their house. And perhaps the most disturbing part was finding out that his Mom was a swinger who lived on a commune and isn't sure who Gabriel's father is. Gabriel may be the child of the town crazy who used to run the commune and he could have been stalking his half-sister. Then you were left wondering if there was something going on between Gabriel's mom and the detective. I can appreciate the element of surprise but I felt at the end the author was just trying to link things (whether it was believable or not). I had to reread the end to make sure I did not miss anything.
Overall the book kept me reading because I had to know how all this craziness was related (perhaps I am a little like Gabriel) but in the end I thought it was confusing and grasping at straws to make it all work. As we have been reading books and articles I feel that the author made things so far fetched that it made it difficult for the reader to buy into the story.
The first thing I found interesting was how there was not an adult present while the police are questioning Gabriel (which I thought was a big NO-NO) but since CSI and all of these other cops shows I guess we all feel like we are experts on the criminal justice system. I liked being able to hear the internal dialog of Gabriel during the questioning. He thinks the detectives are trying to trap him or when he winces because he thinks he has said too much.
At times I felt like this book had a little too much going on. Gabriel gets caught in a lie about going away with his girlfriend and she breaks up with him, there are people selling drugs in the town, pets are going missing, a mysterious fire is set, Gabriel is stalking a girl from school, a Native American student joins Gabriel's school and faces discrimination. At times I felt my head was reeling trying to keep straight all of these connections. As Gabriel talks with the police we see some of these connections being made either through what he tells us or these weird conversations the police have in front of him in which they reveal way too much information.
As a character I was on the fence about Gabriel. He was noisy to a fault but then he would do something redeeming like help Durm (which gets him hurt). He was a typical teenager in the sense that he could not think through his actions and determine the consequences. He did want to help some of the other characters in the book but I think much of his actions were to just satisfy his own curiosity.
The whole Raelene situation was beyond creepy. He thinks she likes him but cannot deal with the rejection of her ignoring him. Gabriel watches she and her brother walk around naked in their house. And perhaps the most disturbing part was finding out that his Mom was a swinger who lived on a commune and isn't sure who Gabriel's father is. Gabriel may be the child of the town crazy who used to run the commune and he could have been stalking his half-sister. Then you were left wondering if there was something going on between Gabriel's mom and the detective. I can appreciate the element of surprise but I felt at the end the author was just trying to link things (whether it was believable or not). I had to reread the end to make sure I did not miss anything.
Overall the book kept me reading because I had to know how all this craziness was related (perhaps I am a little like Gabriel) but in the end I thought it was confusing and grasping at straws to make it all work. As we have been reading books and articles I feel that the author made things so far fetched that it made it difficult for the reader to buy into the story.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)