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."

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

Horowitz, Anthony. Stormbreaker. 

Philomel Books; 2006,

ISBN: 0142406112.

Reader’s Annotation

Alex knows that his Ian was a spy killed in the middle of a dangerous mission to stop a terror attack against Britain’s school children—now he finds out that he must take over where his uncle left off.

Plot Summary

When Alex rider gets word that his Uncle Ian had been killed in a car accident, and that he hadn’t been wearing his seatbelt, Alex is immediately suspicious.  His uncle/adopted parent always wore his seat belt.  After a little investigating, Alex discovers that Ian Rider was murdered.  Alex gets a visit from Alan Blunt and Mrs. Jones form Mi6, who proceeds to explain that not only was Ian Rider a spy, but he was killed in the middle of an assignment.  They want Alex to pick up where his uncle left off.  Alex’ uncle has trained him for years in skills that would serve a spy—Alex can speak five languages and is a black belt in karate.  Alex agrees, and finds himself investigating Herod Sayle, an Egyptian billionaire who is donating, supposedly out of the goodness of his heart, Stormbreaker Computers to school children all over England.  Sayle is set to give the computers in a ceremony with the Prime Minister, who will then activate the computers.  Mi6 creates a ruse to get Alex into Sayle’s home in Cornwall.  There, using clues left by his uncle, Alex finds a secreat computer manufacturing facility where computers are being tainted with the small pox virus, which will be spread when the PM presses the button to activate the computers.  When Alex is discovered, Sayle leaves him in a giant tank with his deadly, pet Portuguese man-o-war.  Alex manages to escape, and makes his way (via a stolen airplane) to the ceremony.  But will Alex be in time to stop the virus from being released?

Critical Evaluation

A little bit like James Bond meets Harry Potter, Alex Rider makes for a fun, adventurous character.  Definitely larger than life, the story is really character driven and fortified with cool escape maneuvers and high-tech gadgetry.  Still, the use of a network of donated computers as a means of terrorist attack is cleverly done, and brings the action to a personal level for teen readers.  Stormbreaker is book 1 in the Alex Rider series.

Information about the Author

From the time he was eight, Anthony Horowitz knew that he wanted to be a writer.  Born in England in 1956, Horowitz was part of a wealthy family.  When Anthony’s father faced bankruptcy, however, he put the family wealth in an account under a pseudonym.  He died before he told anyone, and the family was never able to find the money.  Horowitz, overweight and lonely as a child, loved to read.  When he was sent to boarding school, he would entertain he schoolmates by telling them his favorite stories, especially Frankenstein and Dracula.  He graduated from the Univeristy of York with a B.A. in literature in 1977, and he now lives in London with his wife Jill, and two sons.  For more information go to: Anthony Horowitz.  

Action/Adventure

Curriculum Tie-ins

Booktalk Ideas

1. Discuss the significance of Yassin’s appearance at the end.  What do you think will happen next?
2. Do you think an agency such as the CIA or Mi6 would ever really employ teens?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (ages 12+)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Some violence

• Present the library’s selection policy
• Refer to ALA Intellectual Freedom resources

Why I included this work

• New York Times #1 Children's Bestseller
• School Library Journal Best Books
• YALSA Best Book
• ALA Notable Book

Great Quote from the Book:

The assassin Yassin: "Believe me, It would be better if we didn't meet again. Go back to school. Go back to your life. And next time they ask you, say no. Killing is for grown-ups and your still a child."

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.”

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Doctorow, Cory. Little Brother.

Tor Teen; 2008,

ISBN: 0765323117.

Reader’s Annotation

Because the day the bridge blew up was the day Marcus and his friends skipped school, they are under suspicion and continually tracked by the DHS, which isn’t really prepared for computer geek Marcus to counter with a resistance movement of his own.

Plot Summary

The afternoon that Marcus and his friends Darryl, Vanessa (Van), and Jolu decide to skip school, is the day that terrorists blow up the San Francisco Bay Bridge.  In the mad scramble with crowds trying to get to shelter, Darryl gets stabbed.  As the four frantically try to help Darryl, they instead get arrested for suspicious behavior by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  Taken to a secret prison as “enemy combatants”  they are subjected to psychological torture and humiliation at the direction of “Severe Haircut Woman”.  When finally Marcus, Van and Jolu are released and threatened if they tell anyone what happeded, they discover that San Francisco has become a police state.  They respond to their ordeal in different ways.  Marcus, upon learning that Darryl has been taken to a secret prison on Treasure Island, gets mad.  Under his code name, W1n5t0n (Winston), Marcus develops and organizes a resistance movement.  During this time he develops a relationship with Ange, who supports him in his efforts.  As the story progresses, the danger and stress level grows.  Marcus finally confesses to Darryl’s  father, and to his own parents, who in turn take him to a reporter.  Marcus again get arrested by the DHS, and this time is tortured, (recorded on video) by waterboarding.  Thanks to the reporter, and consequently the governor, Marcus is rescued, and Darryl is found and saved.  Happy ending except, nothing happens to the DHS.

Critical Evaluation

Doctorow allowed the protagonist, Marcus show complexity.  In the beginning, Marcus seemed the classic hero—he was David, to the DHS’s Goliath.  I was kind of expecting Doctorow to make Marcus a one dimensional good guy.  As the plot progressed, however, the lines blurred.  One way that Doctorow highlighted this was to show how even some of Marcus’ closest friends would not stand with him completely.  On both sides of the security/privacy issue, there was represented a range of gray area.  Marcus’ own code of ethics throughout the book is summed up in the part of the Bill of Rights which he quotes.  When Marcus demonstrated how to reprogram the RFIDs, he dramatically made his point about privacy and surveillance.  The downside of that, was that innocent people were unavoidably hurt in the process.  Some might simply call that collateral damage, but Marcus did begin to squirm as he saw jammers going overboard with the procedure, and he did try to call them off.  When Marcus finally tells the truth to his parents, there was a feeling that he was giving up the fight.  But Marcus finds (especially with his dad), that there’s power in the truth, and he learns that there are appropriate and legal ways to fight back against injustice.  He finds that he has many more allies in the battle by speaking the truth—allies such as his parents, Barbara Stratford—the reporter, and Darryl’s father.  The truth becomes a much more effective weapon in the end. 

Information about the Author

Cory Doctorow considers himself to be much more than a science fiction writer.  Born in Toronto, Canada, he is an activist, journalist and blogger (He is co-editor of Boing Boing).  Doctorow lives in London, and is also the author of For the Win.  For more information, go to Craphound.com.

Genre

Science Fiction

Horror

Curriculum Tie-ins

Civics

Social Studies

Booktalk  Ideas

1. How should we balance our right to privacy with our need for safety?
2. Discuss Marcus’ father’s response throughout the book and contrast that with his response after Marcus confesses the truth.

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (ages 13+)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Political issues

Sexual content

Be ready with a copy of the library’s selection policy

Be familiar with similar works in the collection

Refer to site: YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults

Why I included this work

The political and moral themes help readers to consider their basic rights, and hopefully not take them for granted.

Other awards and honors:

•  2009 White Pine Award
•  2009 Prometheus Award. and the
•  2009 John W. Campbell Memorial Award
• Finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Great Quote from the Book:

"I can't go underground for a year, ten years, my whole life,

waiting for freedom to be handed to me.

Freedom is something you have to take for yourself."

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.'"

House of Stairs by William Sleator

Sleator, William. House of Stairs.

Puffin; 1991 (originally published in 1974),

ISBN: 0140345809.

Reader’s Annotation

Five teenagers find themselves in a strange place—a place seemingly with no walls, no floors, no ceilings—only flights of stairs, a basin of running water, and a strange machine that sometimes produces food.

Plot Summary

Five teenagers—Peter, Lola, Blossom, Abigail and Oliver—each an orphan, and none of them know the others until they find themselves in a strange, mysterious place.  No ceilings, floors or walls can be found—only stairs. There is also a strange red machine, a machine that they slowly learn love and trust, and to let virtually rule their lives as they figure out how to survive in that awful place. Peter is a nice, but kind of slow boy. Lola is the juvenile delinquent. Blossom’s a spoiled girl her grew up with wealth, but is recently orphaned. Abigail is a pleasant girl, but one who is easy swayed by others. And Oliver is an outgoing, generous, self-confident athlete.  As the machine’s manipulations of them take a sinister turn, they each have to decide just how far they will go.

Critical Evaluation

This book has been around a long time, and because of its suspenseful, chilling plot, it still captivates and horrifies readers.  The “house of stairs” isn’t a hospital, or another institution, or anything that Peter, Lola, Blossom, Abigail and Oliver can figure out.  The story is told mostly from Peter’s point of view.  Their lives soon revolve around the mysterious red machine.  At first the machine generously produces food, then it only produces food when the teens dance in a certain way, finally they learn that it will only produce food in response to their violence and aggression.  The focus of the story really isn’t on the enigmatic setting, or even the machine itself.  The focal point is the five characters themselves—their strengths, weaknesses and most importantly how they relate to each other, and to the machine.

Information about the Author

William Sleator has written more than 30 books for young adults including Interstellar Pig, The Green Futures of Tycho, Strange Attractors, The Spirit House.  He received a degree in English from Harvard in 1967, and published his first novel, Blackbriar, in 1974.  For more information go to: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/william-sleator/

Genre

Science Fiction

Suspense

Thriller

Curriculum Tie-ins

Psychology

Booktalk Ideas

Can you think of any other actions that the characters could have taken I response to the machine?

This book is set in the unspecified future—Do you think things like could happen today?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (grade 9+)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

• Intense psychological abuse
• Be ready with a copy of the library’s selection policy
• Be familiar with similar works in the collection
• Refer to awards and other information: Authors4teens
  

Why I included this work

I read this book back in middle school in the late 70s, and it has always kind of haunted me.  I was not surprised that it is still well read. Among the honors The House of Stairs are:

• A YALSA Best of the Best Books 1970-1983
• A YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, 1974
• A YALSA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults 1966-1986, American Library Association, 1988
• One of YALSA's 100 Best of the Best Books for Young Adults, 1967-1992, 1994
• One of the 100 Best of the Best Books for Young Adults Published During the Last Four Decades of the Twentieth Century, 2000

Great Quotes from the Book:

"The whirring around them had been going on for quite a long time."

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.”