Lucky: Maris, Mantle, and My Best Summer Ever by Wes Tooke

This is a historical fiction novel, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. Louis is a miserable stick-ball player with a mean stepbrother, but he has an awesome baseball card collection. His summer fate changes when he becomes a bat boy for the 1961 New York Yankees, the year Roger Maris breaks Babe Ruth's home run record. Louis is befriended by Maris and Micky Mantle, and he becomes Maris' gook luck charm. In addition to Louis' problems with his step-family and off-beat, seldom-seen mother, he feels responsible for Maris losing his lucky baseball mitt. He teams up with his stepbrother to get the mitt back and help Maris break the home run record.

Although I gave this book a rating of four, I know it will probably appeal to a select audience. I enjoyed it because I enjoy baseball, I know the players mentioned throughout the book, and I once collected baseball cards. People with step-families can probably identify with some of the issues too. The main plot conflicts deal with Louis and his family and the problems encountered by the pro athletes. I liked the locker room stories with the baseball players. Despite chasing the home run record with Mantle, Maris was hated by the New York fans. This book deals with that issue and describes how the players handled reporters and the media. It's a fun, easy-to-read book for baseball fans.

Lexile level from lexile.com 860

The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson

I gave this book a rating of three out of five. Meli Lleshi and her Muslim family are caught in the middle of the conflict in Kosovo during the Clinton administration. Meli's brother is captured and tortured by the Serbian oppressors. The family is forced from their home and barely ends up surviving as refugees. The family tries stay together and maintain its pride while avoiding the fighting and killing. The family finally is hosted by a church group in the United States, and they are able to move out of Kosovo. However, the move to the U.S. creates cultural conflicts, especially when the World Trade Center is attacked by terrorists.

This novel is historical fiction. I enjoyed the plot, but I think most adolescent readers might want a little more conflict. It seemed like the author was directly trying to make an editorial comment about the Kosovo conflict, and that distracted from the other story elements. I liked the book, but I'm not sure it would grab the interest of middle school kids without teacher assistance.

Lexile level from lexile.com 770

Taking Sides by Gary Soto

I gave this book a rating of three out of five. The plot revolves around a Mexican-American boy named Lincoln Mendoza who has moved from the poor part of town to attend a mostly-white school. He has trouble adapting to the new school and doesn't want to lose his friendships from the old neighborhood. The problem is magnified. Lincoln is a star basketball player, and his new school is scheduled to play his old team next week. The white coach is riding Lincoln and questioning his commitment to the team, and Lincoln finds out something about the coach's past. Lincoln and his mother discover that they can't escape all of the negative things about society from which they've been running.

This book reminds me of the Matt Christopher series of sports books with a little more plot development. It's still a very easy book to read, and doesn't complicate the plot. It deals with social issues from the Mexican-American's point of view. It was a good story, but I prefer something a little meatier.

Lexile level from lexile.com 750

The Hunted by Skurzynski and Ferguson

I gave this book a rating of four out of five. It's a National Geographic Society book, which made me first think that it would have a bunch of information and a dull story. However, the plot actually was quite interesting and developed several conflicts. The story revolves around a family camping in Montana in a national park. The mother is an expert on grizzly bears and is trying to help the rangers figure out why young cubs are missing from the park. Dad is a photographer, so he's off taking pictures of nature. Meanwhile, the kids discover a young Mexican boy has hidden in their camper and is trying to get to Seattle to live with a woman he knows. The boy was on the national news, and he's been caught twice before. The kids must figure out what to do with this young boy, they then discover what's happening to the bear cubs, and then they finally must try to survive the attack of an angry mother bear. The caption under a picture in the book reads, "No animal on Earth is more dangerous than a mother bear protecting her cubs."

I felt the beginning of the book was a little slow, and there was quite a bit of the brother/sister arguing that goes on during long family vacations. You find out later why the sister is so testy and why she becomes so secretive. The story got more interesting when the kids discovered the Mexican boy, and it became more suspenseful when they found out what was happening to the bear cubs. The climax even had a little surprise that I wasn't expecting. The story was interesting, and I wanted more once I got to the end of the book.

Lexile level from lexile.com 760

Slam Dunk by Robert Hirschfeld (Matt Christopher)

I gave this book a rating of 3 out of 5. It was very easy to read, and I finished it in one sitting. The main character is concerned that his new basketball team will not be as good as his state championship team from the year before. Because of this, he comes to the first few practices with a bad attitude. He doesn't hustle and doesn't try to make friends with his new teammates. This is the main conflict of the story. An injured teammate from the year before ends up giving him the inspriation to change his attitude and make this year's team better.

This is a nice book for people who enjoy basketball. The plot is not hard to follow, so it's easy to read. The author explains some basketball terms (pick and roll, zone defense, etc.) during the practices that readers may, or may not, appreciate. The lesson taught in this book is a valuable one that all readers can appreciate. We need to accept change and give people a chance.

The Fighting Ground by Avi

I gave this book a rating of 3 out of 5. It's a nice historical fiction about the revolutionary war. A thirteen-year-old boy wants to join the army to fight the British and Hessians, but his parents don't want him to. The boy sneaks away and joins a group of people who are going to intercept some enemy soldiers. The group meets the enemy, and the boy learns what it's really like to be in a war. He ends up getting captured and questioning who's really the enemy in this conflict.

The book was fairly short and easy to follow. The plot and characterization weren't very developed which made it easier to understand, but not as entertaining. The book deals with a realistic aspect of war rather than the glorification of killing.

Lexile level from lexile.com 580

Hit the Road by Caroline Cooney

I gave this book a rating of four out of five. Brit's parents are going on a trip to Alaska, so they plan for her to stay with Grandma while they're gone. The plot evolves as Brit's 86-year old grandmother already had plans to run away to a reunion with her friends. Brit ends up driving the car, even though she only has two weeks of practice driving experience with her parents. This lends itself to many humorous moments as Brit tries to control the car, her cell phone, her grandmother and friends, and still follow directions to their destinations. The actual conflict surrounds one of Grandma's friends, whose son is trying to steal all of her money. The police and lawyers get involved, and it appears to them as though Brit may be a kidnapper and a thief. The author manages to keep the reader hanging for the climax to the plot until the last few pages of the book.

I enjoyed the unusual plot to this book, and Brit has problems just any teenager. She's torn about her decision to help her grandmother, and this problem remains an internal conflict throughout most of the book. The major concern some readers may have is that much of the setting is in a rental car. This limits the "action" of the plot, but the story's conflict isn't about action. The plot involves a greedy son's plan to manipulate doctors and lawyers to get his mother committed to a hospital, so he can steal her freedom and the millions of dollars she's saved over her lifetime.

Lexile level from lexile.com 790