Dear Mr. Knightley

by Katherine Reay
Rated PG

A captivating tale, told in letter form, of a seemingly tough but oh-so-vulnerable young woman who is trying to find her place in the world after growing up in the foster care system. Completely unsure of her own opinions, she has always hidden behind dialogue crafted by her favorite authoresses, namely Austen and Bronte, when she can't think of anything original to say, which is nearly always.

Our heroine, Sam, receives an incredible offer of support to get her through college from an anonymous benefactor, who requests only that she write to him occasionally to update him on her progress. This book is the collection of her letters to this benefactor, whom she addresses as Mr. Knightly. She opens herself up to him on paper as she never would in person, and her story unfolds as one of perseverance, grit and compassion.

If you love Jane Austen, you'll be captivated by the little inside jokes Sam creates as she uses Austen's dialogue as her own. And if you don't love Jane Austen, give this book a try anyway. It's got a good heart.

Rated PG, it's a clean book with some darkness as different characters grapple with past tragedies.

The Alchemist

By Paulo Coelho
Rated: PG

Santiago was just a shepherd boy - but not just a shepherd boy. He was a boy who had already left his family to become a shepherd in order to follow his dream of traveling. For several weeks, while resting in a field with his sheep, he had a recurring dream in which he was led to a place where he would find a hidden treasure. In confusion he went to a woman who could interpret dreams. What she told him and guidance provided by a mysterious king led him on a journey to find his personal legend; a trip that takes him over the sea, into foreign lands, through desert sands and through a war.

A story with a strong philosophical bent, I found there were many interesting coincidences and links between characters that a reader may not fully realize until reading through it second time. The book is spotlessly clean and would be an interesting read for teenagers, adults and seems to cry out for a book club.

The Giver

by Lois Lowry
Rated: PG

The community Jonas lives in is extremely orderly: fifty new children birthed every year and assigned to a designated family unit - one mother, one father, one boy and one girl. At age 8, they begin volunteer assignments to identify future areas of work in which they may excel, at age 9, they get a bicycle, at age 12, they get assigned their career and start specialized training after school. Jonas was both excited and nervous about the upcoming Ceremony of the 12. Some kids had shown strong skills in one area or another and felt fairly confident about where they would be placed. But Jonas had no idea - nurturer? pilot? engineer? laborer? In his wildest dreams, Jonas would never have imagined the unique role he would be assigned, nor imagine how dramatically his life would change. "The entire ocean is affected by a pebble" (Blaise Pascal) and it turns out one small boy may change a world.

For all the fans of dystopian fiction out there, The Giver is an excellent - and clean - option. It's appropriate for tweens and teens (and it's also an enjoyable quick read for adults). There are a few mild descriptions of suffering and death, reference to the "stirring," and zero curse words. I highly recommend this book. I would have loved it as a tween and am a little sad it wasn't around then. It's deserves to become a classic because it entertains while helping to shape perspective about freedom and personal agency.

Kalahari

by Jessica Khoury
Rated PG-13

Everything was all planned. The five teens would arrive on their educational trip to the Kalahari, and Sarah and her dad would teach them about living the way of the bushman. But when Sarah's dad goes missing and the campsite is deliberately burned to the ground, Sarah and the other teenagers are left to find their way across the Kalahari wilderness using whatever survival skills they have.

As if that's not enough, a group of mercenaries is after them as they make their way across the desert (semi-desert, the know-it-all Avani would correct me). Every time they get close to safety, another disaster strikes.

As Sarah learns the truth about what is really happening to them, and how her mom really died, her hope for survival dims, and she must call upon all her strength to lead her little group to safety.

Full of action and some science-fiction thrown in, this is a great book for teens who like a fast paced story.

Naturally, there are some love interests woven throughout (it wouldn't be a group of teens without that, I guess!). However, the author has chosen not to take that too far, which I applaud. I got nervous at one point when a kiss is described with some detail, but it never went beyond the one kiss.

The PG-13 rating is for some violence, a somewhat grotesque disease and, you know, the kiss.

Calvin Sparks and the Crossing to Cambria

 by Rusty Anderson
Rated PG

  Calvin Sparks and the Crossing to Cambria, by new author Rusty Anderson, is the first in a series of fantasy adventure books.

Obviously, Calvin Sparks is the luckiest kid in the world. Not only does he come from a lineage full of magical powers  - powers that he has inherited - but he also has access to Cambria, a world hidden from most people, a secret land full of magical creatures, incredible powers, and loyal dragons.

As Calvin and his two best friends spend more and more time in Cambria, Calvin begins to realize that he has a crucial role to play in the intense battle of good vs. evil that is going on in the land, a battle that was fought before him by the father he never knew.

Calvin Sparks is whistle clean, the PG rating is for some mild violence. As I read the book, I kept thinking that, because it is so clean, it's a great candidate for a read-aloud with your kids. Tweens and young teens will also appreciate it.

Riddle

  By Amanda Cale
Rated: PG

Matt and Anya are best friends. Juniors in high school, they live next door to each other and share a common love for exploring spooky places. After hearing a scream in the woods late at night, they decide to investigate. They found more than they hoped for when they uncovered a copper plate with strange engravings and, even better, a spooky deserted house to explore. Their explorations uncover clues about one of Anya's ancestors and reveal a mystery that is too tempting to resist. And what about that cellar - where does that staircase lead? Matt and Anya quickly find themselves in over their heads as their adventure truly gets underway.

This is a fantasy adventure book intended for teens and is the first in what the author clearly intends to be a series with more books coming (how many, I don't know but at least one because several leads are left dangling at the end of the book.) It is extremely clean, which we always appreciate here! No curse words, no inappropriate romance scenes, etc. There is some violence, which is why it is rated PG but nothing overly horrific or gory.

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

by Michael Scott
Rated: PG

15-year-old twins Josh and Sophie do everything together, they even work across the street from each other in San Francisco: Josh in a used book store and Sophie at a coffee shop. With their parents on an archaeological dig, Josh and Sophie are living with an elderly aunt and enjoying a perfectly ordinary summer until an ancient evil dressed in an expensive suit walks into the bookstore. Josh quickly discovers that his employer, Nick Fleming, is not just a slightly odd bookshop proprietor but is, in fact, the immortal Nicholas Flamel. In an instant, Josh and Sophie's lives are changed forever. They are swept into a world of magic, where legends are fact, mythic creatures are real, and the only chance of saving Nicholas' wife and, indeed, the human race, may be the sleeping powers of the twins themselves.

This is a truly enjoyable read. My niece, who is 13, recommended this book to me and even lent me her copy to read. I can't say enough good things about it. It has great characters, it's completely fun to see mythology come to life, the twins are likeable and real, the story is entertaining and engaging, and in general is a fine read. Best of all, it's a series and my niece assures me that at least the next two books in the series (as far as she's gotten through it) are just as good as this one! There are zero curse words and no sexual tension or inappropriate material. There are fantasy fight/battle scenes that involve violence, which is why the rating is PG rather than G. All in all, I think tweens, teens and even adults (case in point) will enjoy this book. I look forward to reading the remaining books in the series.

The First Phone Call From Heaven

by Mitch Albom
Rated PG

The small town of Coldwater, Michigan is turned upside down when residents begin receiving phone calls from the dead. Suddenly, daughters are getting calls from mothers, mothers from sons, businessmen from partners...is it real, or some sort of complex hoax?

It would seem much of the world believes the phone calls are real, as strangers from all over begin flocking to Coldwater to get a glimpse of the "chosen ones" who receive the calls. Sully Harding, however, is one man who does not believe. A single father whose wife died tragically and recently, Sully is determined that his little son not be duped into thinking his Mama might pick up the phone and call him from heaven. There's enough hurt without that.

As Sully quietly investigates the calls, he finds things he never expected. And that's the premise at the heart of this whole book - what would it mean if the unexpected happened?

A fun, clean mystery, this book is rated PG for suspense and mild references to violence and suicide. This book is really completely clean - thank you Mitch Albom!

Great choice for book club.

Belonging to Heaven

by Gale Sears
Rated PG

I love Christmas, I always get new books, Yay!!!

Belonging to Heaven is historical fiction, based on the life of one of the first Mormon missionaries to preach in the Hawaiian islands, George Q. Cannon, and the man who became one of the first native leaders of the church there, as well as Elder Cannon's lifelong friend, Jonathan Napela.

The story is rich in historical detail and faith promoting experiences, but at its heart, it is really a love story between Jonathan and his wife Kitty. Their life together is full of blessings and trials, but the real test comes about two-thirds of the way into the book, when Kitty is stricken with leprosy - "the disease that deprives one of family and friends". Government regulations require that Kitty be relocated to a leper colony on the island of Moloka'i, and Jonathan must decide whether or not to accompany her, when staying with Kitty means leaving his precious daughter and grandchild, his work as a church leader in the Mormon settlement at Laie, and running the great risk of catching the dread disease himself.

This book is so well-researched, you will quickly find yourself drawn into the lives of these families, marveling that these astounding events ever really happened.  

The Rent Collector

by Camron Wright
Rated PG

I've been on the waiting list at the library to read this book, and when my turn came I zipped right through it in a couple of days :)

This novel is loosely based on a real family in Cambodia, who make their living, and their home, in the dump, scavenging for metal and glass that they can exchange for barely more than enough money to feed their family each day. They are one of many families surviving in this manner.

The ornery, unsympathetic rent collector is a woman loathed by all, until one young mother, Sang Ly, finds out by accident that this woman used to be an honored university professor, a fact she has kept secret for all her drunken years collecting rent at the dump. Sang Ly manages to convince the rent collector to teach her to read, hoping that it will lead to a better future for her and her son, and her journey changes everything - and everyone.

I really enjoyed this book. It was equal parts unsettling and gratifying.

Rated PG for some gang violence that goes on in the dump, including a child gang member who is beaten to death, so if you are reading this with your children, watch for that. There is also the rent collector's fondness for alcohol.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

by Robin Sloan
Rated: PG

Clay Jannon was a victim of the great recession. His marketing job with a precision bagel company went phut with the company after just one year; barely long enough to gain experience and certainly not long enough to  make any real impression on a prospective employer. As the job search dragged on, Clay decided to take a chance when he saw the help wanted sign on a dusty, dark, 24-hour bookstore in a less than ideal part of town. As the night clerk, time dragged by with few customers and a strict ban on ever opening any of the books. The customers he did get were odd, though. With too much time on his hands, Clay started to notice patterns in the regular customers and when he actually took a peek inside one of the books, he really started to get interested. For within was not a story, but a code. He opened another, then another - the entire bookstore was a giant code. And Clay was going to solve it no matter where it took him.

This book reminded me of a Mr. Benedict Society for adults. I enjoyed it. It's an implausible, fun story with a somewhat corny ending. A great summer book for just relaxing and enjoying the moment. It is also very clean, which you just can't say about too many books for adults these days.

How to Disappear Completely and Never be Found

by Sara Nickerson
Rated PG

Margaret's father died four years ago, and she still doesn't really know what happened. Her mother won't talk about it. In fact, her mother doesn't really talk about anything anymore. Margaret and her little sister Sophie are pretty much on their own, until Fate takes over and leads them to the old mansion that could hide the answer to their father's death.

With the help of Boyd, literally the boy next door, and a creepy set of comic books that seem to tell the story of her father's life, Margaret may finally be able to solve the riddle of her family's past.

Slightly spooky, this book is best for 10 and up. There is no bad language, but there are a couple instances of bullying and other danger.




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Wonder

by R.J. Palacio
Rating: PG

It's 5th grade and officially time for August's first year of school. Oh, he'd been educated previously - home schooling only - but this was his very first year at a real, live school. Although they tried to hide it, August knew he wasn't the only one nervous about this move - his parents were also scared. They were worried the other kids would be cruel to August. August knew they would be - of course they would. Kids were always mean to August. Not always on purpose, but the cruelty of children had become an expected part of his life. Because August had a terribly deformed face. There was nothing he could do about it. The many surgeries in his short life had improved, but far from fixed it. Can August survive real school? Will anybody be able to see beneath his exterior to who he is inside? What will his first year of school hold?

This book was decent. It lacked subtlety and the preachiness sometimes overpowered the story but all in all, it wasn't bad. There were a couple of instances of taking the Lord's name in vain. No other curse words were used and there are no other content concerns.

Starry River of the Sky

by Grace Lin
Rated: G

This charming story brings Rendi, a runaway boy, to the mysterious Inn of the Clear Sky where he becomes a reluctant and scowling chore boy. But there are mysteries at the Inn of the Clear Sky, not least of which is the missing moon. Nobody else seems to have noticed but every night, Rendi can hear the terrible moaning of a sky ripped apart. Where is the moon? Where is the innkeeper's missing son? And what part do Mr. Shan and Madame Chang have to play in this mystery? Resolving these questions may just help Rendi find his own true path.

This book took me a while to get into but I grew to truly enjoy this charming tale. Ms. Lin weaves modernized Chinese myths into the mystery to create a unique path for the story. Very enjoyable and squeaky clean.

Have a Little Faith

by Mitch Albom
Rated: PG

Mitch Albom has done himself proud in yet another inspirational true story. The story begins when his childhood rabbi asks him to give the eulogy at his funeral, whenever that may be. Mr. Albom assumes it will be soon and decides he needs to meet with this man he knew only from a distance to really be able to eulogize him. What he thinks will be a few short visits turns into eight years of laughter, discussion, learning, and love. Interspersed with the stories of his visits with the Rabbi are Mr. Albom's visits with a very different kind of preacher named Henry - a Christian, former drug-using, drug-dealing ex-con who turned his life around and founded the I Am My Brother's Keeper ministry in Chicago. Through the interweaving of these stories, we appreciate the good people do, regardless of religion. A good act is a good act and should be celebrated. This is a story of redemption, tolerance, and loving your fellow man no matter what. I found it truly inspiring.

Although the book gives Henry's background which is a potluck of unfortunate decisions, it doesn't represent any of those deeds as desirable or good. Instead, it is used to juxtapose where Henry was to where he is now, giving all hope that lives can indeed be changed. There are no curse words or inappropriate sexual material.

The Lifeboat

by Charlotte Rogan
Rating: PG-13

It is two years after the Titanic has sunk. War is quickly coming to Europe and newlyweds Grace and Henry quickly book first class passage on the Empress Alexandra, trying to get back home to New York. The only darkness on Grace's horizon is the thought of meeting Henry's family, a well-to-do banking family. Her darkness quickly expands as a mysterious explosion rocks the ship and Henry miraculously gets her into a lifeboat with 38 other people, including one crew member, leaving Henry behind. For the next several weeks, Grace and the others in the lifeboat discover what survival really means and just what they are willing to do to ensure it for themselves. When life is restricted to the very next moment, you never think what will happen when you actually manage to survive. What happens when a court of law holds you accountable for the atrocities that occurred in the terrible name of survival?

As with the others I've recently reviewed, this book was well-written. But this one was deeply disturbing to me. I guess it is the spectre of confronting what darkness could lie in each of us - in me - in similar circumstances. We like to believe that we would be noble and moral. That no circumstance could change our convictions about right and wrong. This book forces us to question - would we? Would we really?

There was no bad language that I can recall and no sexual references. There was a scene or two of sometimes brutal violence, although not bloody, and much death - sometimes by choice and sometimes by force. This is not light summer reading and only read it if you are prepared to feel internal upheaval. It certainly brings a lot of larger points and ideas for discussion which makes it good for a book club.

An Elephant in the Garden

by Michael Morpurgo

Rating: PG

Believe it or not, Lizzie and Karl, her younger brother, have an elephant in their garden. A real, gray, young, elephant. Or they did - in Dresden, during World War II. Lizzie is old now, in an assisted living facility and while the nurse assisting her does not believe her, she listens for the sake of her son, also named Karl, who is enamoured by the tale of an elephant in a garden. Lizzie's mother was a zookeeper in Dresden after her father was conscripted into the German army and sent off to fight at the Russian front. Dresden had not yet suffered physical damage from the war but rumours of a future bombing were swirling in the cold air. Lizzie's mother was told she could care for Marlene, an orphaned baby elephant, and so every night, she walked Marlene home from the zoo to their home in Dresden to keep her safe. And because of this elephant, when the Allies did bomb Dresden, Lizzie's family - and elephant - escaped the terrible destruction that occurred. Now they had to find shelter and safety, trekking through the deep winter snows of the German countryside. 

The story is well-written and an unusual tale set during WWII. It offers important perspective as we see the people of Germany struggling to survive through the war just like those in the allied countries. We recognize that when war comes, humanity on all sides suffer, no matter the nationality. 

The book is clean, no bad language, no sexual innuendo, and violence is minimal and mild, almost muted. The story is not about the violence of war but about survival, finding unexpected friends along the road, and how something that could seem a burden can be a great blessing.

Endangered

by Eliot Schrefer

Rating: PG-13

When Sophie traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to spend the summer with her mother at her bonobo sanctuary, she was expecting a normal, somewhat boring, summer at her former home. Congo had other ideas. On her way from the airport, Sophie rescues a young bonobo from a trader in the street. Although her mother is upset, she accepts little Otto into the sanctuary under Sophie's charge. Much to Sophie's surprise, as she nurses Otto back to health, they form a strong bond. A few days before Sophie is to depart back to the States, with her mother gone on a long journey to release adult bonobos into a wild island preserve, Congo erupts. Revolution has come once again to the country and all is chaos. Unwilling to leave Otto, Sophie hopes that the sanctuary will remain safe but as the fighting draws nearer and smoke rises from a nearby village, she retreats with Otto into the wild of the sanctuary. But the revolution draws near and fighters occupy the sanctuary buildings. Can she and Otto survive while revolution swirls around them? Can they escape the false security of the sanctuary to find her mother, the only person Sophie has to turn to in Congo?

The language is clean in this book - I only recall one curse word used. The story is intense. Sophie and Otto are on the run in an extremely dangerous situation for most of the book. The country is in revolution and there are occasionally scenes of massacre and one scene where Sophie barely escapes without being violated. For this reason, the book is rated PG-13. It is a well-written book and reads like a true story, which it is not. But the characters are believable and the journey is descriptive and tense. I enjoyed it but with the scenes of violence and revolution, it's not for young kids.

Splendors & Glooms

by Laura Amy Schlitz
Rated PG

This slightly spooky book includes:
*  A puppetmaster with magic powers
* Two orphan children
* A rich but lonely little girl, Clara
* Grief-stricken parents
* A witch on her deathbed

When the orphans suspect that the evil puppetmaster they unwillingly serve has turned Clara into a puppet, they realize they must not only save themselves, they must save her too. Fleeing London, they run straight into a trap set by the dying witch, a witch who is determined to lift a curse off herself by passing it onto someone else.

If your tweens enjoy magic, mystery or suspense, they will really enjoy this book. This book is suspenseful but not super scary, so I'd say it's appropriate for ages 9+.

There is just a small amount of language from one of the orphans. Rated PG


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Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen

by Richard Paul Evans
Rated PG-13

Richard Paul Evans is one of my favorite authors, and he recently turned his hand to the YA market with his Michael Vey series.

In Book 2, Michael Vey and his friends (aka the Electroclan), most of whom possess the supernatural ability to use excess electricity in their bodies in unusual ways, are on a quest to rescue Michael's mom from the evil Dr. Hatch and his minions, the Elgen.

Against impossible odds, this handful of teens, with the help of a mysterious, anonymous voice,  launches an ambush against the Elgen's most superior stronghold, where they come face to face with Dr. Hatch and his murderous "punishments" once again.

Book 2, Rise of the Elgen, has me so conflicted! As I anticipated, the storyline is very compelling, and the characters are a group of teens who are courageous and good and value their families, all of which I love. Also, the language is clean (yay! so rare!) and there is no inappropriate intimacy. However, scenes starring the power-hungry villain, Dr. Hatch, are a little too vivid in their depiction of human to human cruelty (the worst of it is a live prisoner who's fed to a pack of rats in front of an audience). Umm, yeah, that's disturbing. For that reason, I'm not going to let my 11-year-old daughter read this book, and I don't recommend it for tweens at all.

But I admit, I myself really want to read the next installment! See what I mean about conflicted? You'll have to make your own call, as always ;)

Rated PG-13 for violence, including the rat scene mentioned above, and allusions to and some depiction of torture, both physical and psychological.


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