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(2)
YA
Narrator Francesca faces the emotional consequences of chronic illness in this poignant verse novel. Chess's timid nature leaves her feeling frustrated and helpless, but her hospital roommate--fiery, sharp-tongued Shannon--empowers Chess to take charge of her health and treatment. Carefully rendered details characterize Chess and Shannon well beyond their shared diagnosis of Crohn's disease. A sympathetic and illuminating story.
279 pp.
| Dial
| July, 2009
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8037-3230-8$16.99
(2)
4-6
Thirteen-year-old Katya hopes homeschooling will offer her the freedom to learn on her own--and to take violin lessons from musically gifted (and cute) homeschooled Milo. Katya's determination and enthusiasm are refreshing. Her parents are sympathetic characters, too, in their struggle to figure out what's right for their daughter. Frank depicts education in its purest form--an unencumbered, joyful quest for knowledge.
Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2009
214 pp.
| Atheneum/Jackson
| November, 2001
|
TradeISBN 0-689-84406-9$$17.00
(2)
YA
The New York City apartment in the largely Hispanic neighborhood to which Iris Pinkowitz, the engaging twelve-year-old narrator; her mother; and older brother have just moved comes with a host of colorful neighbors, all memorable to varying degrees. A rousing display of community action at the end goes a bit overboard, but it is Iris's creative tackling of her own and everyone else's problems that provides the novel's main attraction.
(3)
YA
Joy's bad luck at finding a boyfriend through her school's "Match Quiz" is compounded by her interfering (but lovable) uncle, who moves in with the family following his stroke. With his "help," Joy cautiously befriends Max, a boy who wants to avoid the identity-swamping "derangement" of teenage crushes, but derangement eventually wins out in this hopeful examination of family ties and young love.