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Youth Fiction
1. Allie All Along, by Sarah Lynn Reul,illus. by the author(for Pre-2nd Grade) 
An African American brother and sister arehappily coloring together when the girl’s “deep down blue” crayon snaps inhalf. She becomes angry, so livid that she turns into a furry red monster thatis “furious, fuming, frustrated.” Her brother, startled by her reaction,patiently helps Allie alleviate her wrath by showing her four ways to get itout. He gives her a pillow to punch (“That got the worst of the angry off”). Hegives her her favorite toy to squeeze, tells her to blow out a deep breath, andhas her count backwards. With each step, some of Allie’s anger dissipates,until she’s just regular angry (“and maybe a little sad, too”). Reul’s cartoonartwork was created in Photoshop and uses red, orange, green, and blue todemonstrate the stages of Allie’s ire. A few of her crayons are shown on thefront endpapers, lying atop an enraged scrawl and are named “fire furyexplosion red,” “raging flame orange,” and “simmering storm green,” giving aclue to the tale to come. Leaving the background space white puts the focus onAllie’s changing moods. A roll of tape and a very caring big brother save theday. What appears to be a simple story upon first glance actually offersuncomplicated yet practical remedies for helping a child deal with a strongemotion.
— Maryann Owen
2. Echo’s Sister, by Paul Mosier(for 4-6 Grade) 
While El dreads starting a newschool in seventh grade, the most disturbing part of that first day comes whenDad meets her afterward and delivers the news that her six-year-old sister,Echo, is in the hospital because of a tumor. The coming months bring chemo andsurgery for Echo, a lost job for Mom, and hard times for this close-knitfamily. El can’t bear to confide in her old friends, and it takes awhile beforeshe can open up to Octavius, the one classmate who connects with her. Bygradually giving up the pretense of normality, she is able to accept thereality of what her family is living through as well as the empathy and thesupport of those who want to help. Medically, the ending strikes a cautiouslyoptimistic note. The author of Train I Ride (2017),Mosier creates a network of convincing characters with varied personalities,interests, and relationships. Simple, direct prose makes the writing widelyaccessible, while the realistic portrayal of emotions and relationships makesit compelling. Written from El’s point of view, the story traces a journey thatno one would want to take, but readers will follow her through every line ofthis absorbing novel. — Carolyn Phelan
3. The Forest Queen, by Betsy Cornwell(for 7-10th Grade) 
Lady Silviana is used to livingin comfort in her family’s home of Loughsley Abbey. When her brother, John,always overbearing, becomes the local sheriff, his oppressive rule extends tothe villagers. Powerless to stop him, and unable to escape his plans for her,Sylvie runs away from home with her childhood friend, Bird, the son of ahuntswoman. Together, they forge a new life for themselves in the woods and tryto prepare for the difficult winter that lies ahead. To Sylvie’s surprise, acommunity soon grows around them: they are joined by a girl called Little Jane,cast out of her family after she became pregnant by rape; a midwife named MaeTuck escaping prejudice; and other villagers fleeing a harsh overlord. Thoughshe’s never thought of herself as a leader, Sylvie has made a stand, and shewill see it through to whatever end. This is a quieter tale; Robin Hoodaficionados after a swashbuckling adventure may be disappointed, but with allthe traditional players naturally recast as women, it becomes a fiercelyfemale, feminist take on the traditional legend. It’s a lush, lovelyexploration of the bonds of a community as one girl learns about her ownprivilege, and, eventually, her strength. — Maggie Reagan
4. Heretics Anonymous, by Katie Henry(for 9-12th Grade) 
Michael is not happy aboutspending his junior year attending a Catholic high school, but his father’s jobentails moving around, and it is the best school in the area. Who, he wonders,is going to be friends with an atheist? But he finds a group, collectivelyknown as Heretics Anonymous, who hang out in a hidden room of the schoolbasement to discuss their dissatisfaction with St. Clare’s. Avi is Jewish, andgay Max is eccentric; Eden practices paganism; and Lucy—well, Lucy, arebellious Catholic, is just wonderful. In her debut, Henry takes on a lot: a strainedfather-son relationship, a first romance between Michael and Lucy that’s moretentative than torrid, and a group dynamic that propels the Heretics to takeaction rather than just gripe. The balls stay in the air quite well, and whilea few of the characters, like Max, are never quite developed (or, in the caseof super-Catholic Teresa, stereotypical), adults and teens alike get their due.What is most impressive here, however, is Henry’s multifaceted take onreligion. Michael isn’t searching; he knows how he feels. Yet his introductionto others who feel differently—in the case of Lucy, passionatelydifferently—opens him up. Come for the arch first-person narrative and puppylove, stay for the examination into belief. — Ilene Cooper
5. This Story Is a Lie, by Tom Pollock(for 10-12th Grade) 
Seventeen-year-old PeterBlankman suffers from particularly horrible panic attacks, evidenced in theopening scene as he tries to eat a porcelain saltshaker. Peter is most vitallyalive in the world of mathematics, only comfortable in the presence of hismother and his twin sister, Bel. He is terrified of the day’s plannedappearance at an event to honor his mother, an esteemed scientist.Nevertheless, he accompanies his mother and Bel to the very public awardceremony, where a panic attack forces him to flee. From behind him, Peter hearshis mother call for help, and, doubling back, discovers her in a pool of blood,stabbed. After this, things get really strange. “Colleagues” of his motherwhisk them off, revealing in the process that they, and Peter’s mother, areactually spies. This revelation is merely the first twist in thissophisticated, dark novel, where reality is but a variable in Peter’scomplicated life. His narration, original and disconcerting, continuouslyreturns to the solace of numbers. Even this seemingly constant science,however, proves vexing as Peter strives to explain his own psychologicalcondition in terms of a mathematical equation. Peter is the quintessentialunreliable narrator, shifting between past and present, recalculating the truthas new events collide with memories. Readers who thrill to the combination ofmathematics and psychological suspense will be utterly enthralled. — Diane Colson
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发表于 2018-9-3 21:26:43
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