PDF - Christian Library Journal

MIDDLE SCHOOL
FICTION
F. Stepfamilies--Fiction; Anorexia nervosa--Fiction;
Friendship--Fiction; Christian life--Fiction; Kwajalein
Island (Marshall Islands)--Fiction. 254 p.
Middle school (High school).
When sixteen-year-old Cass has to make the
move from Tennessee to the small tropical
island of Kwajelein, she does not embrace her
new life very well. For one thing she has
difficulty going from a family of two to a family
of four practically overnight. Although she likes
her new stepfather for the most part, Cass has a
tough time with her new stepsister Tabitha, who
is as opposite as can be of Cass, except in age.
As the year progresses Cass and Tabitha realize
they have more in common than they originally
thought—great parents being the prime shared
factor. Together the girls grow closer as they
share the joys and frustrations of friendships,
dating, and realizing God is greater than the
situations they find themselves up against
throughout all the joys and adjustments of a
blended family.
The Aloha Cove series by Theresa Kelly will
appeal to readers who are drawn into
relationships, especially those concerning
blended marriages. The setting is paradise, quite
literally. Yet paradise is far from perfect.
Struggling with who a person is, what his or her
beliefs are, and feelings surrounding family and
friends are key plot motivators. The books
cover quite a variety of subjects including
interracial dating, alcoholic parents, the
pressures of dating, and sibling relationships.
These are all dealt with appropriately, and with
sensitivity. One of the main appeals of the book
is how the principal characters, Cass and
Tabitha, are able to realize through the guidance
of their wise, yet pretty cool parents that God
has it under control. The author effectively
handles some very sensitive issues, particularly
premarital sex and abortion from a boy’s
perspective.
There is plenty of dialogue in the books—
perhaps too much, in fact, which stifles the
potential for character development through
narrative passages. There is also a concern
regarding the other characters’ parents. It seems
surprising that parents wouldn’t be more
involved if their child was thought to be
anorexic, or in an abusive dating relationship.
As it is, the only parents who are developed
beyond simple background characters are Cass’
and Tabitha’s. Nevertheless, this series offers
some solid Christian advice for adolescent girls
who are seeking advice and answers for tough
situations they are facing.
Pam Webb, Library Technician, Sandpoint, Idaho
Mandie and the buried stranger, by Lois
Gladys Leppard. (A Mandie book; 31.)
LCCN 99006446. Minneapolis: Bethany
House, 1999. ISBN 1556613849, PAP,
$4.99.
F. Mystery and detective stories; North Carolina--
Fiction. 173 p. Middle school.
Mandie and the seaside rendezvous, by
Lois Gladys Leppard. (A Mandie book;
32.) LCCN 99050798. Minneapolis:
Bethany House, 2000. ISBN 1556616732,
PAP, $4.99.
F. Mystery and detective stories. 170 p. Middle
school.
Mandie and the dark alley, by Lois Gladys
Leppard. (A Mandie book; 33.)
Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2000. ISBN
1556616740, PAP, $4.99.
F. Mystery and detective stories. 159 p. Middle
school.
Amanda Shaw, Mandie, and her friend, Celia,
always immerse themselves in a mystery no
matter where they go. Snowball, Mandie’s cat,
goes with them, and sometimes he helps solve
the mystery. Books 31 and 32 take place while
the girls, young teens, have time away from
classes at the Misses Heathwood’s School for
Girls, a proper place whose administrator does
not appreciate wayward behavior. Adventures
in Book 33 happen during school term.
In these books, Mandie has an insatiable desire
to find out about a huge pile of mica, why three
wagons disappeared, and where Mr. Jacob
Smith has gone. Then, when she and Celia go
with Mandie’s grandmother to visit Senator
Morton at his Florida home, they encounter
more puzzles. Who is continually rearranging
their clothes in the closet, and why does Juan act
as though he can’t hear or speak; do ghosts
really come out in the park? Back at school
again, Mandie can’t resist returning to the dark
alley, though she’s warned not to go there. From
a whining puppy, to a lost locket, to a stolen
silver tea set, she and Celia find plenty of
activity in the fearsome alley.
Lois Gladys Leppard draws upon her mother’s
childhood in North Carolina for many Mandie
incidents. The stories, which at times move
slowly, usually make up for the lack of literary
writing and sound editing. With regard to the
title references, the Dark Alley plays an
important part in Book 33, but the significance
of the Buried Stranger and the Seaside
Rendezvous do not become evident until close
to the ends of Books 31 and 32.
Leppard fills these stories with dialogue—
sometimes stilted and more advanced than
would be common to most young teens. She has
created likeable characters with Mandie, Celia,
and their friends, as well as Snowball.
Betty M. Hockett, Freelance Writer, Teacher, Speaker, Newberg,
Oregon
My heart is on the ground : the diary of
Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux girl, by Ann
Rinaldi. (Dear America.) LCCN
98026767. New York: Scholastic, 1999.
ISBN 0590149226, HBB, $10.95.
F. Dakota Indians--Fiction; Indians of North America;
Boarding schools--Fiction; Schools--Fiction; Diaries--
Fiction. 205 p. Middle school (Elementary).
It was hard enough for Little Rose to leave
behind her family, pony, beautifully decorated
deerskin dress and moccasins, and her best
friend Pretty Eagle, but to board an iron horse
and travel across country from the Rosebud
Indian Reservation to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,
was truly terrifying. Her terror only increased
when she arrived at Carlisle Indian School, was
lined up against the wall with the other girls,
unceremoniously stripped of her clothing,
bathed, dressed in white girls’ dress and underclothing,
and worst of all, shorn of her long
black braids. For a Sioux, that last act was an
act of mourning, perhaps a more significant
ordeal than the white man realized, for truly
Little Rose entered not only a white man’s
world, but a time of mourning the loss of her
Indian culture. Her heart was truly on the
ground. The final stripping was that of her
Indian name. From this time forward she would
be known as Nannie..a simple white girl’s name.
It was 1879, and Nannie Little Rose was in the
first class of Sioux Indian children to be forcibly
sent to the Carlisle Indian School. Within a few
weeks of her arrival her English teacher, Miss
Camp Bell, would give her a di-a-ree and
encourage her to tell her story. Author Ann
Rinaldi has masterfully woven her research of
the people, practices, and conditions of the
Carlisle Indian School into a moving and
exciting tale which also paints a thoughtprovoking
portrait of the tension a young Indian
student had to face in trying to live in the white
man’s world without losing her identity as a
Sioux. As with other books in this series, My
Heart Is on the Ground ends with a section
presenting the historical setting of the story,
accompanied by photographs taken from the
archives of the Carlisle Indian School.
Judy Driscoll, Retired Teacher, Poulsbo, Washington
My secret war : the World War II diary of
Madeline Beck, by Mary Pope Osborne.
(Dear America.) LCCN 00021918. New
York: Scholastic, 2000. ISBN 0590687158,
HBB, $10.95.
F. World War, 1939-1945--United States--Fiction;
New York (State)--Fiction; Diaries--Fiction. 186 p.
Middle school.
Sabotage, secrets, and surprises await Madeline
Beck on Long Island, New York as World War II
begins to unfold around the globe. This young
girl is pulled into the American war effort
following the announcement that Japan has
bombed Pearl Harbor. After learning that her
own father was one of the American soldiers
injured in the attack, Madeline sneaks to the
beach after curfew each night to be alone. One
night she comes face-to-face with an unknown
enemy, a frightening encounter that puts her
family in danger. Sworn to secrecy, Madeline
greets each new day in fear that someone will
come to take her away. Now Madeline must
find a way to face and conquer her fears.
My Secret War, The World War II Diary of
Madeline Beck, by Mary Pope Osborne,
captures some of the significant incidents that
happened on American soil during WWII. The
story begins slowly, then builds and
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