Silent to the Bone by E.L. Konigsburg

Konigsburg, E.L. Silent to the Bone.

Simon Pulse; 2004,

ISBN: 0689867158.

Reader’s Annotation

Conner can’t believe that his best friend Branwell dropped his baby half-sister like they say he did, but Branwell isn’t saying much to defend himself—in fact he can’t speak at all.

Plot Summary

Something terrible has happened to Conner’s best friend Branwell Zamborska.  Branwell has been accused of dropping his baby sister Natalie (also known as Nikki).  The story opens with the 911 call on Wednesday, November 25, 2:43 P.M., Eastern Standard Time.  You hear the dispatcher, then silence.  Suddenly, a Vivian, the English au pair, grabs the phone and tells the operator that the baby is unconscious—“He dropped her!”  From that time on, Branwell is struck mute.  He is taken into custody, and placed in a juvenile detention facility while the prosecutors figure out how to charge him.  Conner visits Branwell, but Branwell still doesn’t speak.  Told through the eyes of Conner, the story goes on to describe how Conner starts investigating the incident on his own.  He even devises a way to “communicate” with Branwell—or actually, Branwell gives Conner some strange, cryptic clues.  With the help of his 20-year-old half sister Margaret, Conner diligently follows the leads to find the truth behind what really happened.

Critical Evaluation

In Silent to the Bone, Konigsburg brilliantly weaves a suspenseful, intriguing story.  The plight of Branwell, who is so traumatized that he cannot even defend himself, along with the tragedy of a comatose six-month-old baby, combine to become a gripping novel that will keep readers riveted to the very last page.  Conner and Branwell share another connection—they are both part of tense, step-family situations.  Konigsburg has a knack for strategically placing critical details in the narrative that provide the reader with enough information that they are right with Conner in his investigation.  This is the kind of novel that will make you want to go back and read it again to pick up the clues you missed the first time around.

Information about the Author

E.L. Konigsburg earned her degree at Carnegie-Mellon University, and did graduate work in organic chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.  She taught science for several years at a private girls’ school. Konigsburg started writing when her youngest child went to kindergarten.  Konigsburg is the only author ever to have won the Newbery Medal and be a runner-up in the same year.  That year, 1968, she earned the medal for From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and her novel, Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, was named an honor book.

Genre

Mystery

Suspense

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk Ideas

1. Why do you think that someone who goes through something tragic can sometimes not be able to speak?
2. Discuss the friendship between Conner and Branwell.

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (ages 13 +)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Sexuality

• Present the library’s selection policy
• Be familiar with similar works in the collection
• Refer to ALA Intellectual Freedom resources

Why I included this work

This was one of the most surprisingly suspenseful books I have read.

Awards and Honors include:

• Edgar Award Nominee (Young Adult, 2001)
• Booklist Editors’ Choice
• ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2001)
• School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
• A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (2001)
• Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Book
• ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

Great Quote from the Book:

"'It's obvious that there was someone else in the room than Branwell and Vivian,' said Margaret."

The London Eye Mystery by Siobahn Dowd

Dowd, Siobahn.  The London Eye Mystery.

Random House; 2008,

ISBN: 0375949763.

Reader’s Annotation

When Ted and his sister get a visit from their Aunt Gloria and cousin Salim, they take Salim to ride the famous eye.  They watch as Salim gets on the sealed capsule, but when it comes back down, Salim has disappeared.

Plot Summary

Ted, who as Asperger’s syndrome, loves weather, and lives in London.  When his Aunt Gloria (aka “Hurricane Gloria”), comes to stay, she bring his cousin Salim.  Salim loves tall structures, and has never been to London, so of course he wants to ride the famous London Eye—a gigantic, ferris wheel-style ride.  Ted, his older sister Kat, and Salim head to the London Eye.  The last thing Ted and Kat want to do is wait in the hour-long line for tickets, so when a strangers approaches them, offering a ticket that he will not be using, they decide to let Salim go up right away.  Ted and Kat hold Salim’s camera, then watch he as boards the sealed capsule with a group of other people, and then they wait the half hour for the capsule to make the circuit.  When Salim’s capsule doors open, everyone gets off, but Salim has disappeared.  They check other capsules, but he is gone.  As police launch an investigation, Ted and Kat do investigating of their own.  They get his film developed in the hope that they might find clues.  They do find one—in one picture, the stranger is standing in the background.  On the stranger’s shirt is the name of a security company.  When Ted and Kat track down the stranger, they don’t find out much.  They eventually do find out what happened to Salim, but were they in time to save him?

Critical Evaluation

Told from the perspective of Ted, a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome, The London Eye Mystery presents a powerful impression of how someone with Asperger’s thinks.  Ted is very likeable, and has a solid relationship with his older sister Kat.  When Salim comes to visit them with Aunt Gloria (Hurricane Gloria), he seems to be happy and well adjusted, despite the fact that his parents are getting a divorce.  After Salim disappears, though, many details emerge that indicate more trouble than he revealed.  What makes The London Eye Mystery unique, is that the police have no luck in finding Salim.  Aunt Gloria and Ted’s and Kat’s parents are furious that they took the ticket from a stranger.  Aunt Gloria’s desperation and fear for Salim are palpable, and Ted decides that it is up to Kat and him to find Salim.  They don’t even know for sure that Salim is in danger, but Ted does have the feeling that time is running out.

Information about the Author

Born in London in 1960 to Irish parents, Siobahn Dowd earned her BA Hons degree in Classics from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University and an MA with distinction from Greenwich University in Gender and Ethnic Studies.  Throughout her career, Dowd worked tirelessly for various human-rights causes, and global anti-censorship.  Dowd died of breast cancer in 2007 at the age of 47.  All the proceeds from her literary work will be used to assist disadvantaged children with their reading skills through the Siobahn Dowd Trust.

Genre

Mystery, Suspense

Curriculum Tie-ins

Perhaps Geography (London)

Booktalk  Ideas

How do you think that Ted’s obsession with weather ties into the themes of the book?

Discuss Salim’s actions, especially in relation to Ted and Kat.

Reading level/Interest age

Ages 10+

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

None

Why I included this work

The London Eye Mystery won several awards, including:

•  YALSA’s 2009 Best Books for Young Adults
•  Book Sense Children's Pick List Award 2008
•  School Library Journal Best Books of the Year Award 2008
•  Booklist Children's Editors' Choice Award 2008
•  Horn Book Fanfare Award 2008
•  Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books Award
•  Links Lasting Connection Award 2008

Great Quote from the Book

“Then the capsule landed. The doors opened and the passengers came out in twos and threes. They walked off in different directions. Their faces were smiling. Their paths probably never crossed again.

But Salim wasn’t among them.”

Ingo by Helen Dunmore

Dunmore, Helen. Ingo.

HarperCollins; 2006,

ISBN: 031609899X.

Reader’s Annotation

It is said that their father was lost at sea, but Sapphy and Conor don’t buy that, and when they spend by the sea and meet mysterious strangers there, they are more convinced than ever that their dad is still alive.

Plot Summary

In the church where they lived by the sea in Cornwall, was a carved figure of a mermaid.  The legend went that the vicar of that church long ago met and fell in love with a mermaid.  Their dad was a fisherman who “just happened” to have the same name as the vicar.  Their father used to talk dreamily of the sea, and the underwater world, so when he mysteriously disappears, Sapphire and Conor refuse to believe it.  As much as their mother tries to get them to move on with their lives, Sapphy and Conor spend more and more time in their cove by the sea.  Their mom seems very upset and warns them to stay away from the shoreline, but to no avail.  Then the two encounter Faro and Elvira, a mermaid and merman who introduce Conor and Sapphy to Ingo—the beautiful, dangerous world beneath the waves.  As Sapphy is draw repeatedly and irresistibly back to the sea, she realizes the truth—she has Mer blood running through her veins, and now she must choose to what world she belongs.

Critical Evaluation

Dunmore’s poetic tone, especially in her descriptions of Ingo, seems almost mystical.  The novel portrays not just the legends and folklore about mermaids, but a poignant story of a girl whose world is changing and who is trying to figure out where she belongs.  Sapphire’s relationship with her mother, and the conflicted feelings they have for one another is a theme teens in particular can relate to.  The mother begins to date, much to Sapphy and Conor’s dismay.  But when that man’s life is in danger of the people of Ingo, Sapphire’s true test is at hand.  The book is the first in a trilogy, but it works well as a stand-alone novel.

Information about the Author

Helen Dunmore was born in 1952, and is best known for her award winning adult novels, short stories, and her works of poetry.  The Tide Knot, the sequel to Ingo, earn Dunmore the UK NestlÉ Children’s Book Prize Silver Medal.  She lives in Bristol, England, with her husband and children.  For more information, go to: http://www.helendunmore.com/index.asp

Genre

Fantasy

Mystery

Adventure

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk Ideas

1. What do you think was the dad’s real story?
2. What is it about the idea of Mer people that fascinate us so much?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

None likely

Why I included this work

The prospect of reading about mermaids was too hard to resist!  Also, Ingo is rated 4½ stars on Amazon.com!

Great Quote from the Book:

"I wish I was away in Ingo
far across the briny sea
sailing over deepest waters
where neither care nor worry trouble me"

I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

Duncan, Lois. I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 2010 (originally published in 1973),

ISBN: 031609899X.

Reader’s Annotation

After a hit-and-run accident kills a boy, Julie and three friends agree to never to tell anyone about it.  But a year later, Julie gets a note that simply reads, “I know what you did last summer.”

Plot Summary

Julie, a high school senior, has so much going for her.  And then one day she receives a note, hand written in block letters, that simply read, “I know what you did last summer.”  In an instant, Julie’s safe little world crumbles, and memories of the previous summer come flooding back to her.  She and three friends, Barry, Helen, and Ray, were driving home after a night of partying.  It’s a rainy night, and suddenly Barry’s car struck a boy on a bicycle.  Scared of the police, Barry convinces the others not to stop, and instead get to a phone at a gas station and call the police to report the accident.  The four make a pact to never tell anyone about what happened.  So how could anyone know now?  Then more frightening things happen as each one is contacted, and they still don’t know who is stalking them.  What can they do—what will this threatening avenger do?

Critical Evaluation

If you’ve seen the movie, don’t expect a slasher story to match.  Duncan’s book is much more about character, and relationships, and especially about consequences.  The story is told mostly from Julie’s point of view.  Barry, who could be described as the hottest guy in school, drives the car on that rainy night a year ago when he, Helen, Ray and Julie were come home after partying.  When the car strikes a boy on his bicycle, there’s an argument about stopping to help the boy, but Barry convinces the others that it would be better to call it in anonymously, and avoid dealing with the police.  They make the call, and then make a pact to never discuss what happened with anyone.  That was the end of it—or so they thought.  Duncan’s careful crafting of her story, builds the suspense steadily as the story progresses, until you’re holding your breath near the end. 

Information about the Author

Lois Duncan is an award-winning author of more than 45 books—from children’s picture books, to adult novels, but she is best known for her mystery and suspense novels for young adults.  Duncan taught in the journalism department at the University of New Mexico, and also wrote more than 300 articles for magazines such as Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Reader’s Digest, and Seventeen. For more information, go to: http://loisduncan.arquettes.com/index.htm

Genre

Horror

Mystery

Suspense

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk Ideas

1.  What would you have done if you had been in the car with Barry?

2.  Were you surprised to find out who the killer was?  Why or why not?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Violence

• Present the library’s selection policy
• Be familiar with similar works in the collection
• Refer to an interview Duncan about censorship and her work: http://www.absolutewrite.com/specialty_writing/lois_duncan.htm

Why I included this work

I read a review that said it was great suspense novel—not like the movie.

Duncan received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for a Distinguished Body of Work for Young Adults, from the Young Adult Services Committee of the American Library Association and the School Library Journal-- l992.

Great Quote from the Book:

"Aloud she said, ‘Why not you, Ray?  You were involved in this as much as the rest of us.  Why is it that Bud never tried to do anything to you?”  His armed tightened around her.  ‘He knew the worst thing for me was a world without you.'"

Holes by Louis Sachar

Sachar, Louis. Holes.

Bloomsbury; 1998,

ISBN: 0439253225.

Reader’s Annotation

When Stanley goes to a “camp” for troubled boys after being falsely accused of a theft, he stumbles into a story that began 100 years before, and includes murder, a curse, revenge and buried treasure.

Plot Summary

When the judge gives Stanley the choice of going to jail or to going to Camp Green Lake after being falsely accused of stealing a valuable pair of celebrity tennis shoes, Stanley’s chooses Camp Green Lake since he’s “never been to camp”.  He quickly discovers the bitter truth:  Camp Green Lake is neither green, nor a lake!  Poisonous lizards are plentiful, and water is non-existent (they say it hasn’t rained there in a hundred years).  Stanley believes that his bad luck is caused by his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather”, and he’s right, he just doesn’t yet know how right he is.  The warden is a venomous woman who is looking for something.  So, there in the desert-like, dry lake bed, each boy is forced to dig a hole every day—five feet deep and five feet wide. They are under strict instructions that anything interesting that they find belongs to the warden.  As time goes on, Stanley start doing a little “digging” of his own, and he starts to uncover the truth behind the warden’s treasure hunt, his own family curse, and the legend of the Kissing Kate Barlow, an outlaw from the old west.

 

Critical Evaluation

The story lines in Holes are so cleverly written that you hardly realize they are interwoven until well into the story.  Stanley is the likeable, teenage “everyman”, and you feel sorry for him and his bad luck.  Through the book, Sachar tells two stories simultaneously—the present day Camp Green Lake, and the lake and town from a century before.  The past story tells how Stanley’s ancestor came to be cursed in the first place.  In fact, the historic storyline describes the background of many of the present-day characters.  Holes was made into a movie, but in the book, the reader can get a much better understanding for how the characters and the characters’ ancestors are all interrelated.  When Stanley teams up with small loner of a boy, named Zero, they find that they have much more in common than they can imagine!

Information about the Author

Louis Sachar is a prolific author mainly of children’s books including There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom and the Marvin Repost series.  Sachar was born in 1954 in New York, then grew up mostly in California.  He attended Antioch College in Ohio, but returned to California after the death of his father, and he continued his education at U.C. Berkeley.  Sachar worked briefly as an aide in an elementary school during his Berkeley years, and that is what wooed him into writing for children.

Genre

Realistic Fiction

Mystery

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk  Ideas

1. How does what you do now affect what will happen 100 years from now?
2. Do you believe in curses?

Reading level/Interest age

Grade 6-Adult

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

None

Why I included this work

I had heard about Holes from my children, and loved it.  Sachar has won countless honors and awards for Holes.  Among the most notable are:

WINNER 1999 - Newbery Medal Winner

WINNER 1999 - ALA Notable Children's Book
WINNER 1999 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
WINNER 1999 - ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

Great Quote from the Book:

“A lot of people don't believe in curses. A lot of people don't believe in yellow-spotted lizards either, but if one bites you, it doesn't make a difference whether you believe in it or not.”

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Carter, Ally. Heist Society.

Disney Hyperion Books; 2010,

ISBN: 0439785960.

Reader’s Annotation

Kat has two weeks to find the five paintings that her father is accused of having stolen, so with the help of her friends, Kat has arranged a heist of her own.

Plot Summary

You can take girl out of the family, but you can’t take the family out of the girl—at least that’s what Katarina Bishop finds out after she gets fed up with years of her family’s illicit activities and forges her way into a prestigious New England boarding school.  So she is seriously irritated when her 16-year-old millionaire friend Hale arranges for her to be kicked out.  Five priceless paintings have been stolen from the frightening Arturo Taccone, and Kat’s father is his prime suspect.  To prove her dad’s innocence, Kat decides to find the paintings and arrange her biggest heist ever with the help of her teenage friends.  Taccone gives Kat a two-week deadline.  Her plans become complicated though, when Kat finds out that the paintings are not really Taccone’s, but were Nazi plunder.  Kat comes to understand and appreciate her family and her place in it, as well as bounding with her friends (Hale in particular).

Critical Evaluation

A little like The Italian Job meets a Nancy Drew, The Heist Society brings the fun elements of a great action/adventure with light-heartedness of teen romance.  Kat’s character develops throughout the story as she progresses from being a rebellious girl, determined to distance herself from her family, to a smart, resolute, and brave young woman coming to the rescue of her father.  Kat’s capacity for planning and coordinating the heist makes for an entertaining read, and the romantic tension between her and Hale adds the excitement.  The gritty strength and determination of Kat’s character was a refreshing antidote to some teenage girl heroines who wait around to be rescued.

Information about the Author

Ally Carter doesn’t like to release too much information about herself because as she admits, “Well, I’m paranoid that way!”  However, she was born and raised in Oklahoma, graduated from both Oklahoma State University and Cornell University.  Her first book, Cheating at Solataire was published in 2005, and was then closely followed by her first book for young adults in 2006, I’d Tell You But I’d Have to Kill You. For more information, go to http://www.allycarter.com/

Genre

Action, Mystery, Adventure

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk Ideas

1. How do our families influence who we become?
2. What should museums or private owners do if they discover that their pieces were stolen from their rightful owners?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (ages 12+)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

No significant challenge issues likely.

Refer to the following awards:

2011 Texas Lone Star Reasing List (Heist Society)

2010 YALSA Teens Top Ten Book (Heist Society)

North Carolina Book Award Booklist, 2010-2011 (Heist Society)

Teens Top 10 Finalist, 2010 (Heist Society)

Why I included this work

I was ready for something fun!

YALSA’s Teens' Top Ten 2010

Great Quote from the Book:

“He seemed impossibly close as he whispered, ‘And I didn't choose it, Kat. I chose you.’”

The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers

Rivers, Francine. The Last Sin Eater.

Tyndale House; 1998,

ISBN: 0842335706.

Reader’s Annotation

Because Cady did something horrible, the guilt is eating her alive, so she desperately looks for the one person she thinks can take burden away from her—the evil, mysterious, sin eater.

Plot Summary

Ten-year-old Cady Forbes has a terrible secret, and she desperately wants to be free from the guilt that haunts her.  When Cady’s grandmother dies, Cady and the other mourners stand with baited breath and their backs to the grave, waiting for the sin eater—the one person who would willingly take on the sins of the deceased, in order for them to rest in peace.  Despite being forbidden not to, Cady sneaks a peek at the Sin Eater, and from that moment on decides that he and only he can take her secret guilt away.  Along with 14-year-old Fagan, who has secrets of his own, Cady hunts for the Sin Eater.  But even when they close in on the sin eater,a mysterious outsider comes into their midst, a preaching strange things that bewilder and captivate Cady and Fagan.  They end up sharing what they learn with the sin eater himself  With the help of Fagan and the sin eater, Cady uncovers a secret in the community that far surpasses her own personal guilt.  But it’s the words of the stranger free Cady and the others in a way they never anticipated.

Critical Evaluation

The roots of this story come from a tradition that was common in the early nineteenth century in England, the lowlands of Scotland, and the Welsh border district.  The tradition came to America with some immigrants, and was practiced in remote areas of the Appalachian Mountains.  Rivers weaves an intriguing tale that has many dark twists and turns.  Cady's role as the catalyst for change in her small community as each person she talks to confesses worries, guilt and doubt of their own.

 

About the Author

Long before her success as a writer of Christian fiction, Francine Rivers enjoyed great success as an established romance novelist.  She started out her career at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she received a B.A. in English and journalism. Francine grew up in a Christian home, but did not truly establish a relationship with Christ until much later in life.  At that point she turned her efforts to writing Christian fiction, and has enjoyed a highly successful career in that genre.  A mother of three grown children, Francine and her husband Rick live in Northern California.  For more information go to: http://francinerivers.com/

Genre

Historical Fiction

Curriculum Tie-ins

History

Booktalk  Ideas

1. Why do you think Fagan befriends Cady?
2. Do you think that Bledsoe should have “gotten on with her life”?
3. How do you feel about Cady’s mother and how she acts around Cady?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

• Religion/Christianity
• Be ready with a copy of the library’s selection policy
• Be familiar with similar works in the collection
• Refer to site: http://www.christianbook.com/the-last-sin-eater/francine-rivers/9780842335713/pd/35714?item_code=WW&netp_id=106878&event=ESRCN&view=details

Why I included this work

This story felt almost gothic to me, and yet anyone can identify with Cady’s struggle guilt.

1999 Gold Medallion Award winner

http://www.christianbook.com/the-last-sin-eater/francine-rivers/9780842335713/pd/35714?item_code=WW&netp_id=106878&event=ESRCN&view=details

Dictionary of American Young Adult Fiction 1997-2001

Great Quotes from the Book:

Miz Elda: “Don’t matter though. No matter how deep the truth gets buried, it always comes to light.”

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

 Cooney, Caroline B. The Face on the Milk Carton.

Delacourt for Young Readers; 1994,

ISBN: 038532328X.

Reader’s Annotation

When 15-year-old Janie recognizes the picture of a young girl on her milk carton at school, it starts a chain of events that leaves her questioning her very identity, and the true character of her loving parents.

Plot Summary

“Have you seen this child?” was the question on the milk carton next to a picture of three-year-old Jennie Spring.  Then 15-year-old Janie sees the picture, recognizes the polka dot dress, and then the face as her own!  As the implications start to sink in, Janie must explore the unthinkable—that her own loving parents could, in fact, be kidnappers!  Sorting out the truth is not nearly as tricky as wrestling with the complex issues of identity, and what she owes her biological family—the family that lost her mysteriously twelve years before.  Her next-door neighbor Reeve helps Janie through the process, and as they unravel the mystery together, they find themselves drawn closer together.  With the support of her mother, Janie finally makes contact with her biological family, and neither she, nor the reader, is sure what to expect next.

Critical Evaluation

Cooney starts with a common teenaged fantasy: “What if I really came from another family and this isn’t my ‘real’ family?”  From there, she manages to take readers on a ride right from the start as Janie sees her own picture as a missing child on a milk carton.  Cooney beautifully conveys Janie’s agony of trying to reconcile newly resurfacing memories with the home and parents she’s grown up loving.  The budding romantic relationship between Janie and Reeve, her friend and neighbor, takes place after Janie confides in Reeve and he helps her to sort out the truth.  The pace of the novel is one of the best features, as the reader is immediately captivated by the mystery that faces Janies, and is just as eager to uncover the truth.

About the Author

Caroline Cooney was born in Geneva, NY in 1947, and was raised in Old Greenwich, CT.  She’s a mother and grandmother, and enjoys imparting her love of reading to her grandchildren fans alike.  Cooney has written more than 75 suspense, mystery, and romance novels for teenagers which have sold over 15,000,000 copies and are published in several languages. Writes Cooney, “I went to several colleges (I’m still going to college! I love taking classes; I still daydream more than I listen) but graduated from none.” For more information, go to: http://www.carolinebcooneybooks.com/

Genre

Realistic Fiction

Mystery

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk Ideas

1. What would you say is Janie’s responsibility to the Spring family?
2. If you were in Janie’s situation, would you confide in your parents?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (Grade 9-adult)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Discussions of underage sexuality

• Present the library’s selection policy
• Be familiar with similar works in the collection
• Refer to the Random House website for a list of awards: http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385323284

Why I included this work

The whole concept of this novel intrigued me—the idea that everything you thought you knew about your heritage is false would be shattering.  This book hooked me.

Awards:

Winner     1996 - Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
Winner     1993 - Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award
Winner     1994 - Tennessee Volunteer State Award
Winner     1993 - Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award
Winner     1992 - Iowa Teen Book Award
Nominee 1994 - Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
Nominee 1993 - Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award
Winner     1993 - Iowa Children's Choice Award

Great Quote from the Book:
"The girl on the carton was an ordinary little girl.  Hair in tight pigtails, one against each thin cheek.  A dress with a narrow white collar.  The dress was white with tiny polka dots.
something evil and thick settled on Janie, blocking her throat, dimming her eyes.  'Sarah-Charlotte,' she said.  She could hear herself shouting Sarah-Charlotte's name, yet her lips were not moving; she was making no sound at all."