The Boy on the Wooden Box

by Leon Leyson

Wow. It's hard to find words to describe this book. Mr. Leyson's memoir chronicles his experiences in the Holocaust as a Polish Jew. His survival is nothing short of a miracle, and is due in large part to Oskar Schindler, Leyson's amazingly close family, some luck, and his incredible bravery and will to live. There were a few times while reading this book that I actually felt physically ill. We all know what happened in the Holocaust. We know what the Nazis did, and that it was horrible. But reading a first-hand account like this made it feel more real to me than it ever has. It's beyond horrible. We need to read books like this, so nothing like the Holocaust ever happens again. One part particularly stood out to me. At one point in his ordeal, Leyson asked the cooks to save the water they used to clean out the soup pots. (Soup consisted of water, salt, pepper, and a few slivers of potato skin.) He would take that water, and set it on the steam pipe in the factory. When the water evaporated, sometimes there would be tiny bits of dehydrated food left in the bottom. This, to him, was a treat, and this occurred during one of the brighter spots of his ordeal. Simply an amazing story.

17 & Gone

by Nova Ren Suma

Lauren is seeing things. Girls who have disappeared, all 17 years old. They are in her car, at her school, in her room. She feels like they're trying to tell her something. Like maybe how she can save them. The girls consume her. They ruin her relationship with her boyfriend, and paying attention at school is a joke. As she delves deeper into the mystery, you'll have to keep turning pages to find out what happens to the girls, and to Lauren.

I absolutely loved Suma's Imaginary Girls. This one kept me interested until the end, but I don't think it was even close to the same level as her first.

My Milk Toof

by Inhae Lee

This book is not normally something I would pick up, but the cover was so cute I just couldn't resist. Ickle and Lardee are milk teeth (or teef, as they are called in the book.) Milk teeth are the same thing as baby teeth. The author says these are two of her little milk teef, come back to live with her. The book is basically a series of photos with a simple story, that revolves around these two little guys completing household tasks, like taking a phone message, and caring for houseplants. A fast little read, that's just pure fun!

SLAB Ideas!

Okay, SLAB members! Let's test this out and see if it works. If you have ideas for things we should do in SLAB the rest of this year, please post them here! If you aren't able to comment, let me know when we get back from Thanksgiving, and I'll get it fixed. Have a wonderful holiday!

Shadow and Bone

by Leigh Bardugo

Alina and Mal grow up together as orphans, thinking they are just average kids. Alina soon discovers, though, that she is a member of the Grisha, an elite group with magical powers. She's a "sun summoner," and the Darkling, leader of the Grisha, needs her power, so takes her under his wing.

Of course, there is a love triangle. And Alina is insecure, goes back and forth on who she wants to be with, and claims to despise the attention she gets from men.

I was so disappointed in this book, especially since it was on this year's Lone Star list, but I truly found little here to recommend. A worn out plot, a whiny, wishy-washy female protagonist that we are supposed to think is "strong," and two guys, neither of whom would make a good boyfriend in any world. There is action, and the plot moves along at a decent clip, which makes for an easy read, but I just did not find this one to live up to the hype.

Flipped

by Wendelin Van Draanen

When Bryce moves into Juli's neighborhood in elementary school, she immediately falls head over heels in love with him. She comes on a little too strong, though. Bryce can't stand her perky personality, and that fact that she practically drools over him every time he walks by. Juli doesn't realize how she's coming across. She just wants Bryce to like her. One day, though, she realizes that Bryce isn't who she thinks he is. He's just a pretty face. He hasn't been kind to her. And she's done, just like that. Unfortunately for Bryce, this is right about the time he realizes that he's been wrong about Juli, and can't stop thinking about her.

What a sweet, fun, romance! In the beginning you ache for Juli, and at the end you want to cry for Bryce. You'll have to read it to find out if they are able to work it out!

Paper Covers Rock

by Jenny Hubbard

It's 1982. Alex goes to a preppy boarding school, where he has always been a good student. He's not the kind of guy who causes problems. One day, he and his friends decide to have a little fun, and something horrible happens. To save themselves, and their reputations, Alex and his friends lie to administration. One lie turns into another lie, and soon, Alex and his friends find themselves in an impossible situation. This novels makes us think about just how far we would go to save ourselves.

This book reminded me of the movie Dead Poets Society, maybe just because of the boarding school setting, but also because of the heart-wrenching, senseless tragedy at the story's center. Great writing, and a plot that makes your stomach turn. This one is only at the high schools.

Where She Went

by Gayle Forman

This is the follow up to Forman's If I Stay. I can't say much about the plot, for fear of spoilers, but I will say I loved this one almost as much. It beautifully answers the issues left unresolved in the first book. Told from Adam's viewpoint, it allows us to explore him as a character, and sort of see If I Stay through his eyes, without repeating the story.

This one, and If I Stay, are both found only in our high schools, but should be available at the public library.

Doll Bones

by Holly Black

At 12 years old, lifelong friends Zach, Poppy, and Alice are ferociously clinging to their childhoods. Using old Barbies, pirate action figures, dolls from Good Will, and their imaginations, they have created an exciting world of characters in an elaborate game. Figuring heavily in their plotline is the Queen, an antique doll of bone china that belongs to Poppy's mother and is strictly off-limits to the kids. She's also incredibly creepy. When Zach's dad throws away his action figures, the boy is so devastated that he ends the game abruptly, leaving the girls hurt and confused. Shortly thereafter, Poppy reveals that the Queen is made of the bones of a dead girl named Eleanor who has been communicating with her at night. The doll appears to be filled with Eleanor's ashes, and she has promised Poppy that she will make their lives miserable if they don't journey to Ohio, find her grave, and bury her properly. After much persuading, Zach and Alice agree to the journey. The Queen gets scarier and scarier as unexplained events begin to occur along the way. Black has created protagonists who readers will care about, and amusing secondary characters, like a pink-haired librarian and a crazy bus passenger who seems to be able to see Eleanor. This novel is a chilling ghost story, a gripping adventure, and a heartwarming look at the often-painful pull of adulthood. Black-and-white illustrations actually tone down the scare factor a little, making this a perfect starter story for budding horror fans.

The Lost Heir

by Tui T. Sutherland

The dragonets are back in this exciting sequel to The Dragonet Prophecy. The young dragons set out to find the hidden underwater SeaWing kingdom and Queen Coral, Tsunami’s mother. When they arrive, Coral is thrilled to see the daughter who was stolen from her as an egg, but things don’t go exactly as Tsunami had planned. She always assumed she was the heir to the SeaWing throne, but a surprise little sister leaves her confused about her future role, and Queen Coral’s distrust of the other dragonets causes them to be imprisoned yet again. Having read the first in the series will help readers understand the motivations behind the characters’ choices, but isn’t necessary to enjoy the non-stop action. Tensions mount as someone continues to kill Coral’s unhatched female dragonets in their eggs, and Tsunami herself is attacked. The dragonets become more and more endearing as the series progresses, and the adults more sinister. Moments of danger and brutality are tempered with comic relief, making this perfect for young adventure and fantasy fans to sink their teeth into.

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

by Claire Legrand

Victoria is perfect. The town she lives in is perfect. Nothing bad really ever happens there. Except that sometimes children disappear. But no one seems to notice, or care. It just doesn't matter. Until it does, to Victoria. She doesn't have many friends, but she has chosen Lawrence, for some strange reason. He's not near as perfect as her. Loves the piano, has a stripe in his hair like a skunk. Then one day, he's gone. Just like that. His parents aren't telling her the truth about where he is, and there's something about the too-big smiles on their faces these days that chills Victoria to the bone. She begins to investigate the town's history. Could Lawrence's disappearance have something to do with the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls?

EWWWW...this book is CREEPY! It reminds me a lot of Neil Gaiman's Coraline, where the grown-ups are completely and totally evil in unimaginable ways. It drew me in from the beginning. It even got a little TOO weird and gross at the end! Awesome!

Mister Death's Blue-Eyed Girls

by Mary Downing Hahn

Nora is just your typical girl, living in a small town in 1956. She hangs out with her good friend Ellie, and has recently become friends with Cheryl and Bobbi Jo, some other neighborhood girls.Cheryl and Bobbi Jo are pretty and popular, and Nora feels almost lucky to be counted among their friends, and be invited to their parties. One day, Nora and Ellie are supposed to meet the others to walk to school together, but they wake up too late, and Cheryl and Bobbi Jo go on without them. A while later, as Nora and Ellie walk through the woods, they run into Buddy, Cheryl's ex-boyfriend, standing on the bridge. And moments later, they hear screams, and see people running from the woods. Cheryl and Bobbi Jo are dead, shot with a rifle.The entire town turns against Buddy, but we know it's not him. The real killer is no one anyone would suspect.

This book is not quite what I thought it would be. I was looking for a murder mystery, but it's really not a mystery at all. We know who the killer is, and we know why he did it, right up front. It's more of an examination of what happens in the aftermath of a crime such as this, and how people tend to see what they want to see, rather than really digging for the truth.

Interestingly enough, this is actually based on a true event. This really happened to some girls the author knew when she was a teenager. You can feel her pain, and clearly see the impact that this event left on her as a young girl.

by Lisa Graff

Graff has created a world very much like our own, but just a little bit magical. In this version of Poughkeepsie, New York, many lucky people have Talent, one skill that makes them special. Eleven-year old Cady, an orphan who lives with the kindly Miss Mallory, can look at a person and immediately know and bake their ideal cake. Miss Mallory’s talent is finding just-right parents for orphans, but so far, she hasn’t felt that perfect-parent pull for Cady. While Cady is the star of this tale, the novel integrates an expertly developed cast of supporting characters who all have their own amazing stories. Not until the very end does the reader see how their paths intertwine. The plot twists deliciously around an irresistible peanut butter factory, an evil Talent thief, a very important hair pin, and a rare powder-blue suitcase that could hold the key to everything. Sprinkled throughout is a generous helping of cake recipes, perfectly suited for each of the characters, just begging to be tried.

I love books that take life as we know it, and present it in just a slightly different way. This story has a distinctly realistic feel, but there's that little magical aspect that turns your expectation on its head. An unpredictable and unusual story that entertains AND makes you think.

The Essence

by Kimberly Derting

In this second installment of Derting’s Pledge novels, Charlie is now the unlikely queen of Ludania, but the former, evil queen Sabara is not gone. Her spirit, or essence, resides within Charlie. The new queen, while inexperienced and uncomfortable in her role, has been able to make some sweeping changes across the country, including the banning of executions, and allowing freedom of speech. She still has much to learn, and sets off to a conference where she will meet the queens of the surrounding nations. At the conference, Sabara makes her sinister presence more and more clear. Her desires for the immortal Niko cloud Charlie’s own feelings for Max, creating a strange, and extraneous, kind of love triangle. Max, her love interest in the first novel, gets little page time, except as a foil for Charlie/Sabara’s feelings for Niko. While the majority of the story is told from Charlie’s perspective, intermittent point of view changes make the narrative choppy. Pair this with an undeterminable setting, along with too many supernatural/dystopian/fantasy elements mish-mashed together, and you’ve got a book with no real sense of direction.

The Spindlers

by Lauren Oliver

When Liza wakes up one morning and sees her brother Patrick picking the letters out of his Alpha Bits cereal, she knows he's not himself. When he spells out I-H-A-T-E-Y-O-U, she realizes that the Spindlers have his soul. Their babysitter told Liza about the Spindlers years ago, and since then, she has dutifully said the protective spell with him every night before going to sleep. But not last night...

Liza must go Below to try to save Patrick's soul from the spider-like creatures.Along the way she meets Mirabella, a human-sized, lipstick-wearing rat, and other creatures too numerous to name here. Can she save Patrick, or will the Spindlers eat Liza's soul, too?

Lauren Oliver does it again. Her writing is so convincing, so engaging, so FUN! This is just the type of book I would have loved when I was younger, and I hope that you like it, too!