Strange School, Secret Wish

Strange School, Secret Wish
Author: Bernice Gold
Publisher: Dundurn
Total Pages: 111
Release: 2001-09-01
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 155488618X

The year is 1927, and the Merril children are once again in school – but one that's unlike any other. For 10 months out of the year their school, set up in a Northern Ontario railway care that also serves as their home, is on the move. Theirteen-year-old Jenny Merrill loves life on the tracks, but she has a secret wish. She's fallen in love with a violin on page 244 of the Eaton's catalogue. But how will she get the money to pay for it?

Book Review Index

Book Review Index
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Total Pages: 1080
Release: 2005
Genre: Books
ISBN:

Every 3rd issue is a quarterly cumulation.

A Strange Encounter

A Strange Encounter
Author: John Clegg
Publisher: Grosvenor House Publishing
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2024-04-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1803818301

A forsaken telephone is heard ringing in the woods and the fact our main character decides to answer it, leads to the question, 'What happens next?' He's of a rather nonconformist disposition and relates the ensuing adventure in a self-deprecating, conversational manner, weaving into his account many of the topics that people in Britain have to currently deal with. Some may find certain views contentious, especially regarding recent medical matters, while others could well applaud, that at last, their very same feelings are appearing in print. The fact the two main characters are unequivocally described as male and female, rather than theys or personages, should give hint of a little satire contained within and also prepare the reader for descriptions of a sensual nature. Those wishing for anything more lurid, however, will be disappointed. Despite latest labyrinthine entanglements on the matter, the stance is taken, men and women often have a tendency to think differently to one another, which might enrage the few who relish the chance to take offence, but hopefully the majority will find the feelings described, plus the honest exchanges, realistic and entertaining. Although there is an obvious autobiographical input, the main characters are both composites, as is the location. From a fairly innocuous start, I doubt the reader will guess what conclusion the tale eventually arrives at. I must admit, with the book seeming to write itself, even I was enthralled and I can't really tell you any more at the moment, as I'd be giving the plot away.

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
Author: Dan Gemeinhart
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2019-01-08
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1250196701

"Sometimes a story comes along that just plain makes you want to hug the world. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise is Dan Gemeinhart’s finest book yet — and that’s saying something. Your heart needs this joyful miracle of a book." —Katherine Applegate, acclaimed author of The One and Only Ivan and Wishtree A 2020 ILA Teachers’ Choice A 2019 Parents' Choice Award Gold Medal Winner Winner of the 2019 CYBILS Award for Middle Grade Fiction An Amazon Top 20 Children's Book of 2019 A Junior Library Guild Selection Five years. That's how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, criss-crossing the nation. It's also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash. Coyote hasn’t been home in all that time, but when she learns that the park in her old neighborhood is being demolished—the very same park where she, her mom, and her sisters buried a treasured memory box—she devises an elaborate plan to get her dad to drive 3,600 miles back to Washington state in four days...without him realizing it. Along the way, they'll pick up a strange crew of misfit travelers. Lester has a lady love to meet. Salvador and his mom are looking to start over. Val needs a safe place to be herself. And then there's Gladys... Over the course of thousands of miles, Coyote will learn that going home can sometimes be the hardest journey of all...but that with friends by her side, she just might be able to turn her “once upon a time” into a “happily ever after.” This title has common core connections.

The Secret to Lying

The Secret to Lying
Author: Todd Mitchell
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2011-10-25
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0763656216

A teenage boy's self-reinvention gets out of control in a sharp, funny, poignant, and compulsively readable novel that gives a familiar theme a surprising twist. James was the guy no one noticed -- just another fifteen-year-old in a small town. So when he gets into an academy for gifted students, he decides to leave his boring past behind. In a boarding school full of nerds and geeks, being cool is easy. All it takes is a few harmless pranks to invent a new James: fighter, rebel, punk. Everyone’s impressed, except for the beautiful "Ice Queen" Ellie Frost and the mysterious ghost44, an IM presence who sees through his new identity. But James is riding high, playing pranks and hooking up with luscious Jessica Keen. There’s just one thing awry: he’s starting to have vivid dreams of being a demon-hunting warrior, a thrill that is spilling over into dangerous and self-destructive acts while he’s awake. As he’s drawn deeper into his real-life lies and his dream-world conquests, James begins to wonder: What’s the price for being the coolest guy around?