Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez

"Return to Sender" may focus on the plight of migrant workers, but it is also more than that. Tyler Paquette is grieving the loss of his beloved grandfather, and to top it off, his father is recovering from a horrific accident, one which has left him incapable of running the family farm on his own. Tyler fears losing his family farm and the way of life that is so important to him. Then he discovers that his parents have hired new migrant workers from Mexico (by way of North Carolina), and he wonders why his parents are being so secretive, telling him not to tell his friends and classmates about the new workers. Later, Tyler finds out that these workers are undocumented, and feels conflicted - why would his parents risk so much to hire these people? What if they get into trouble for harboring illegal immigrants? Yet Tyler realizes this may be the only option available to his parents in order to keep the farm going, and the migrant workers appear to be decent, hardworking folk.

Tyler also finds that the eldest daughter of the migrant family, i.e. Mari, is about his age and shares a common interest in astronomy. Over time, Tyler comes to care about Mari, her two younger sisters and the others, and does not wish to see them deported. However, others in the community are not so benevolent and are bent on seeing these migrants sent back to Mexico. Mari, meanwhile, struggles with her own conflicts - her mother has been missing for a while, and as the days pass by, the family's hopes of seeing Mama grow dim.

There is no real happy ending in this story, so it does credibly address some of the real issues having to do with the uncertain life of migrant workers, who literally live from day to day in the hopes that la migra will not arrest them and send them back to a life of poverty, with no means of supporting their families. There is an obvious political message here, but I felt it was well-integrated into the story without a happily ever after ending that would have diluted the story's message. The reality in today's United States is that there are many immigrant students in school without legal status, and it is time that other students, both citizens and legal aliens learn to understand how their peers might feel, living in constant fear. It is not a pleasant subject, but I felt the author did a credible job in weaving a compelling human interest story of friendship, immigrants, and life.

The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn

I have been reading many of Mary Downing Hahn's books for children and YA and love her supernatural-themed stories, especially her ghost stories. The Old Willis Place is an atmospheric ghost story which centers around a pair of siblings named Diana and Georgie. They have been living on the Willis farm for many years, and yet have no parents or family taking care of them. The siblings fend for themselves and are used to being on their own. Things change when a twelve-year-old girl named Lissa moves with her dad to the farm. Lissa's dad is the new caretaker who is tasked with overseeing the maintenance of the Old Willis Place, and when he's not working, he's writing.

Diana and Georgie begin to 'borrow' Lissa's things and Lissa gets upset when her new bicycle, a favorite book, and her beloved teddy bear get taken. She writes about her angry feelings in her diary, wishing her dad would send her to school like other children instead of homeschooling her and keeping her isolated from everyone else. Diana is curious about Lissa and wishes to make friends with her, but her brother keeps reminding her of the 'rules' which can't be broken - rules such as not being seen by Lissa and her dad, not talking to anyone else, etc.

When Diana eventually breaks the rules and becomes Lissa's friend, terrible consequences follow. Something old and malignant is unleashed when Lissa breaks into the Old Willis Place, and secrets long buried come to light. The story moves quite slowly in the beginning, and only takes off after Lissa enters the Old Willis Place. Children ages 9-12 will enjoy this suspenseful ghost story.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

I adore Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (Mass Market Paperback) and have read it multiple times over the years. Anne's diary has come to mean different things to me as I've grown older - when I first read it as a ten-year-old girl, I was fascinated by the hidden life she led with her family and there was a sense of dread and excitement about her precarious circumstances, the danger of being discovered. When I read Anne's diary again as a teenager, I came to empathize with Anne's frustrations with her mother and the other adults around her whom Anne felt did not understand her and treated her as a child. I felt Anne's desire to be 'heard' and not just treated as an inconvenience or child was so much aligned with what I was going through during adolescence.

When I re-read the diary as an adult, I came to appreciate all the other things - the tragedy of having lost such an amazing and talented young voice in the most horrible of circumstances; the beauty of Anne's writing which is all the more amazing given how young she was when she wrote this diary; and the themes of alienation, fear, and hope. Now, as the mother of a young daughter, I read this diary again and gain another fresh perspective - of the complex relationship between daughter and mother. Anne had a strained relationship with her mother Edith, and clearly gravitated toward her beloved Pim (father). This was obvious even before Anne and her family were compelled to move into hiding in the Annex. As a mother, reading Anne's thoughts about her mother (often unflattering) was a disconcerting experience, though things do improve somewhat later on.

Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl is a classic not only of Holocaust literature, but also a classic Young Adult read with its myriad themes that will appeal to both adolescents and adult readers.

All The Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn

I have read and loved many of Mary Downing Hahn's ghost stories for children (yes, even an adult can appreciate them), and though many of her stories can be quite formulaic, I have enjoyed reading them and recommending them to my students, especially those who love ghost stories. The stories are generally well-plotted and are high on atmosphere, without any offensive language or gore.

In "All the Lovely Bad Ones", a pair of siblings who love playing pranks find that the joke is on them when they visit their grandmother at her inn in Vermont during the summer. Both twelve-year-old Travis and his younger sister Corey love playing tricks on people, and when they hear that their grandmother's inn may harbor restless spirits, they playact as ghosts in a bid to get the inn some attention and hopefully more guests for their grandmother's business. Their tricks do attract attention - from both humans and supernatural entities!

To Travis and Corey's horror, they find that the inn was once a poorhouse which was run by a cruel and greedy man and his sister. Many poor people died horrible deaths at the farm, and were buried in nameless graves. Among the dead are young boys who are now restless spirits, having been awakened from their sleep by Travis and Corey's shenanigans. Both brother and sister now have to set things right and put the spirits to rest at last.

The story moves along, though at times it does appear to drag. The back story of how the poor farm was run and what happened to its hapless residents makes for interesting reading. Travis and Corey are typical fun-loving teens though they can be annoying at times. Overall, it is an atmospheric ghost story that might appeal to upper elementary readers.

Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff

The Great Hunger of 1845-1852 was a devastating time for the Irish. The devastation caused by the famine was terrible – families torn apart, untold suffering, and many making their way to America. It is this famine that forms the backdrop of Nory Ryan’s So...ng. Nory and her family have lived by Maidin Bay in Ireland for many generations. Their home is leased from the local English lord Cunningham, a cruel man with little regard for his tenants. His sole aim is to drive the tenants out so that he can have sheep grazing on the land. In this Cunningham is aided by his henchman Devlin who is merciless and ruthless in collecting rent owed on the homes. Nory’s father has gone off fishing to earn enough money to pay the rent, and leaves behind Nory, her older sisters Maggie and Celia, younger brother Patch, and Granda. Life is incredibly hard, but Nory’s gift of song and her family and friends keep her spirits high. Things take a turn for the worse when the potato crop goes bad. The disease causes all of the crops to fail, and leaves the people of Ireland wasting away from hunger. Nory’s sister Maggie leaves for America with her new husband, and Nory dreams of joining them someday, a dream shared by other members of the family.

The story focuses on Nory as the protagonist, of her feelings and struggles as she copes with the problem of surviving day-to-day and figuring out ways to find food or making whatever they find edible. Nory is a strong and selfless individual – she gives and gives, and gives some more. It is this great spark of humanity within Nory that attracts the attention of the village healer, Anna. At first Nory is troubled by this woman’s attentions, thinking her gift of healing possessed of some dark force, but as time goes by and times get more desperate, Nory realizes how much of a kindred spirit the older woman is, and comes to appreciate the old woman’s generosity, kindness, and gift for healing. This is a story that haunted me even after I finished it. The author writes with such heartfelt sincerity that I could picture the desperation within Nory and her family and friends as they struggled to contain their hunger and survive. The prose is descriptive and vivid, and the reader is able to visually picture the great suffering of the people of Ireland as portrayed by Nory and company. This is truly one of the best pieces of YA historical fiction I have read!

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

Well, having read and enjoyed Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events series of books, I had really not read much YA fantasy. Then I got offered The Emerald Atlas as a Vine review, and I snapped it up. To my delight, I found it fun and enjoyable. The three siblings, i.e. Kate, Michael, and Emma are likable in their roles as the orphan children who go on these adventures. Each child has his/her own distinct personality - Kate is the oldest sibling who bears the responsibility of looking out for her siblings; Michael is the smart one; and, Emma is the youngest sibling who is feisty and tough. The characterization of each sibling is credibly drawn and they appear real, not as mere cardboard characters.

The other strength of this novel is the language which is witty and funny. At times, the language does get overly descriptive which makes it tedious and lumbering, but on the whole, the story is engaging and fun and should appeal to young adults who love a good fantasy read.

Vesper: A Deviants Novel by Jeff Sampson

I have read many YA books in the paranormal/supernatural genre and after a while, the plots seem to mirror one another in some aspects. When I received Vesper as a Vine read, I was not sure what to expect - more of the same? To my pleasant surprise, it was actually quite a unique spin on some familiar story lines and I found myself engaged with the story.

The central character is Emily Webb, a geeky sort who doesn't quite fit in at school. A classmate's murder triggers some weird transformation in Emily (coincidentally, the classmate's name is also Emily, Emily Cooke). This transformation sees Emily having two distinct personalities, a day Emily who mirrors the original Emily Webb, and a night Emily who is very different, more independent, charismatic, and confident.

As the story unfolds (and it takes its time), the reader begins to piece together the puzzle that is Emily Webb, and the nature of her strange transformation. Intriguing and dark, this is an interesting read for fans of YA paranormal stories, and I look forward to reading the next installment in the series.