Joplin, Wishing, by Diane Stanley

When 11-year-old Joplin's grandfather dies, her mom says that Joplin can keep anything of her grandfather's that she wants. Joplin selects a red cookie jar that contains no cookies, just pieces of a broken china platter. Joplin's mother's friend Jen (though Joplin calls her "Aunt Jen") has the platter restored to what it was, a scene of a landscape and a young girl, around Joplin's age, standing next to a pond.

Joplin has no friends and, feeling lonely, wishes that the girl in the platter could be her friend. The very next morning, the girl is sitting in the garden behind the apartment. The girl introduces herself as Sofie. Sofie explains that she is cursed, and she tells Joplin her story. 

400 years ago, Sofie had lived in a little Dutch village with her mother, father, two brothers, and a sister. Often, her mother would send her to the market to buy and sell basic necessities like food and cloth. On the way, Sofie would pass a large house that belonged to a potter called Hans van der Brock. He would often be standing outside, watching everyone who went by, looking for ideas to paint on china that he made. One day he asked Sofie to pose for him. After that, she would pose for him practically every week. One day, he had her stand in a very specific pose, and, rather than drawing her picture with charcoal, he painted her picture on a china platter. He then sprinkled three different powders on it, one yellow, one white, one blue. Then, suddenly, she was not standing where she had been. Instead, she was looking up at his face. She had become part of a picture on a platter. In addition, she now had to grant every wish the owner of the platter made. 

Hans wished for immortality, which meant that right now he is out there, somewhere.

Sofie just wanted to go back home, and Joplin promised to help set her free. But Sofie said it would be impossible, as the only one with the power to free her was the one who enslaved her, 400 years ago...

I'm just going to say this right now: I loved this story. It has great characters, a cool plot, a few neat twists, and it's suitable for people aged 9+. If you ask me, Joplin, Wishing is a lot like Aladdin; Sofie is like a genie, Joplin is her Aladdin, Sofie is trapped, and Joplin temporarily releases her, so now Sofie has to grant Joplin's wishes, though Joplin is kind and doesn't simply use Sofie for that purpose. Joplin is determined to help Sofie under any circumstances, good or bad. 

Joplin, Wishing is about how true friendship can really (literally!) be magical. The front of the book asks "Can one last wish set her free?" Maybe it can.

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Daddy's afterthoughts: This story is a spectacular twist on the Becoming the Genie trope. Unlike Disney's Aladdin (which young people are, for better or worse, much more likely to be familiar with than its source material, One Thousand and One Nights), this story does not have - nor does it need - the barely-contained chaos of Robin Williams' genie. This novel does not go for slapstick. It also has aspects of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (young girl stays at the house of an eccentric older relative, young girl finds a fascinating object, and magical adventures ensue) and the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea (lonely character crafts a sculpture, realizes how lonely he is in real life, prays for a companion, and the goddess Aphrodite brings his statue to life). Diane Stanley's 2017 story weaves these familiar elements together in a novel that will appeal to young readers (Kirkus suggests 8-12, but I might go as high as 14, or even higher, as it is a lovely story).

Positively Izzy, by Terri Libenson

Brianna (Bri) is a brain, a little Einstein. She likes that she gets good grades, but wants people to know her for who she is on the inside, rather than judging her for pen markings on papers. She doesn't want to have a label stuck on her. 

Izzy is a dreamer, a pure artist. She likes to write stories and loves to act, enjoying the way she change herself, just throw away her identity and take up someone else's. But she isn't exactly an "A" student.

Bri is dreading the school Talent Show. Her mother, the drama teacher, has always been pressuring her to try acting as an activity, but Bri hates to act. Then, on the day of the show, Bri's mom comes up to her and says, "One of the talent show entries is a group of 7th graders doing short, interrelated scenes from a play. There's a two -person scene... and an actor got sick." Bri knows what she is going to say next. "They need a last-minute replacement."

Izzy, on the other hand, can't wait for the school Talent Show. She's been practicing her act for days, and she knows she's ready! But one day, at school, she forgets to do a "mandatory" assignment for math, earning a zero, again. She plans to hide that fact from her mom, but her mom discovers the assignment lying on a table, and punishes Izzy for the zero by telling her she can't go to the Talent Show. 

Brianna and Izzy don't exactly know each other at the moment, but soon, their lives will meet in a rather unexpected way...

I can personally relate with Izzy in one or two ways. I do forget assignments and try to hide that fact from my parents, but they eventually find out and punish me for it. And I can't always focus in class. I can relate with Bri in that I do get good grades (straight-A 7th grader, thank you very much!), I don't like acting, and I have parents who pressure me to do things that are out of my comfort zone.

You see, Bri and Izzy are just your two average 7th grade girls. They don't have superpowers, they aren't especially popular, and they enjoy simply to be with their friends and family. But this story of two average girls and their average lives is both surprising (wait until you read the ending!) and likely to put a smile on your face.

Positively Izzy is a graphic novel for ages 9-12. If you are a fan of Raina Telgemeier's Smile, Sisters, Drama, and Ghosts; the well-known Babysitter's Club series; or Sunny Side Up and Swing It, Sunny by Matthew and Jennifer L. Holm, then here is my 100% guarantee that you will like this book.

So read on, and remember, be positive!

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Daddy's afterthoughts:  

"I do forget assignments and try to hide that fact from my parents..."

Say what, now?

Nothing but the Truth, by Avi

Ninth-grader Philip Malloy thinks about one thing: track. His ambition to be in the Olympics keeps him running (geddit?). And his love for running brings on a chain of events that is different from what he first imagined.

Philip hates English class (and homeroom). He hates his English (and homeroom) teacher, Miss Narwin, because she can't take a joke. And when the winter term exams roll around, she gives him a D on the report card due to his disrespectful, mocking answers on the exam, as well for his lazy work in class.

That one D changes everything.

A few days later, Philip tries to sign up to join the track team, but is denied because of his grades: his English grade, to be specific. The rule is that to join a sports team, you have to have a passing grade in every class, and a D is not considered a passing grade. Philip, outraged by the act that he can't join the team, searches for a way to get transferred out of her classes. He finds a way very quickly. 

Every day, in Philip's high school, Harrison High, during homeroom, a tape of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is played on the sound system. Every morning, just before the tape is played, the principal, Dr. Doane, says "Please all rise and stand at respectful, silent attention for the playing of our national anthem." 

On Wednesday, March 28, during the playing of the tape, Philip starts to hum along. Not loud, just to himself. Miss Narwin yells at him to stop, so he does. For two more days, he does the same thing -- he hums along with the tape -- and he gets suspended from school for two days for not following school policy of standing for the anthem in "respectful silence."

While on suspension, Philip's father takes him over to their neighbor's house at the moment their neighbor is talking to a reporter about the upcoming school board election. Their neighbor invites them in, and Philip and his father tell the reporter about the suspension, and the reason why.

The next day, an article appears in the newspaper, in the school section. The title reads "Suspended for Patriotism." 

Over the course of a few days, the story is spread all over the country, on the news, in the papers, and on the radio. It seems that the whole nation wants to hear about the kid whose teacher suspended him for his sense of patriotism. Letters and telegrams arrive for both Miss Narwin and Philip, from all over. Miss Narwin receives hate-mail, while Philip receives letters of support. 

But somewhere along the line, the story has gotten twisted. What is the truth, and what are the lies?

Nothing But The Truth is a fantastic story about the multiple sides to one event. Philip tells his side of the story first, so whoever wasn't a witness to the event believes him. People believe what they're told, and have an irritating habit of not checking the facts before they spread a story. After a while, the spreading of his version of the story has consequences he does not intend.

Perhaps what is the most unique part of Avi's novel is the style of the writing. Much of it is formatted like the script for a play. Plus, there are images of memos, newspaper articles, discussions, diary inserts, and letters mixed in. This "documentary novel" is different -- it's not just paragraphs put together into chapters like most novels --  but is great for ages 11+. There is no profanity, aside from one use of the "b" word. 

Does it sound intriguing to you? If so, go ahead and read it. But before you do, one question:

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

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Daddy's afterthoughts:  This is an amazing non-traditional novel. Actually, for kids who have cut their teeth on books like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, where the text is a melange of prose, snippets and excerpts of documents, drawings, etc... this particular way of cobbling together 150 or so pages of text should not at all be disorienting. What Avi calls a "documentary novel" is really a version of an epistolary novel, and there are a lot of other contemporary examples for tween and teen readers. What I love most about this book, more than the way the consequences of Philip's actions and choices snowball, is the final dozen of so words of the novel. I won't spoil them, so don't be tempted to read the last page first (as some are wont to do), but save the last few sentences for the impact they will certainly have.

I Am Princess X, by Cherie Priest

Libby and May have been friends since the fifth grade. Libby is a great artist. May is a good writer, but she can't draw for crap. She says so herself.

Their friendship isn't the only thing that started in the fifth grade. Princess X started there too. She wears a pink dress, red Chucks, a crown, and carries a katana. She lives on a hill, in a haunted house, and has ghosts as friends. She started as a sidewalk drawing, and eventually morphed into a full-fledged character. Libby and May have written and drawn hundreds of Princess X comics.

And then, one night, Libby's mother is in a car, driving over a bridge, with a rushing river underneath. Libby is with her. The car goes over the side, into the water, and Libby dies.

Three years pass, and now May is sixteen, lonely, filled with longing for her friend, and haunted by dreams that say that Libby didn't die that night, that she broke free, and swam to the surface. But May doesn't believe herself.

Until she sees the sticker on the window of a building about to be demolished.

Is it possible? Can it be? The sticker is Princess X! But how? Libby is dead... isn't she?

Princess X stickers, Princess X patches, and Princess X graffiti art start popping up everywhere. But the most intriguing of all is a webcomic on a website called www.iamprincessx.com. May starts to see more and more connections between the webcomic and Libby's "death." 

Because Libby is alive. What May's dreams have been telling her is true. Well, maybe.

I Am Princess X shows just how far a friendship can go. May doesn't give up on Libby when everyone else thinks her dead. May struggles to prove that Libby is alive. Throughout the story, May collects clues and makes shocking discoveries, all in an effort to solve the mystery of Libby's disappearance. And May shows us one thing: When the world tells you to give up, to quit trying, don't.

I first read this book when I was around 10, and I loved it. I read it over and over. I just pulled it off the shelf after a year or two, and it definitely is for a slightly younger reader, ages 9-11, maybe 12. I still liked it, but I have moved on to more grown-up books. Still, it was fin to re-read. The book is definitely "cool" - the artwork is cool, two of the characters are hackers, and this will appeal to a lot of readers. Just read it before you outgrow it!
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Daddy's afterthoughts: This was Julia's favorite book for a good six months after I bought it for her (that's a long time, for her...) when she was 10 or 11. Everything from the colors of the artwork, the strange fusion of novel and graphic novel styles, to the hacker-chic aesthetic, to the quirky style of Princess X's getup and X's super-cool Powerpuff Girls-esque bravado and stance simply screamed "high-interest." I wonder if the title will scare away male readers; if so, it should not. Boy or girl, whether your bag is anime, superheroes, or cartoons of the Powerpuff Girls' extended universe variety (Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack) and the like, this book will be a hit. Yes, it almost certainly was written to target tween girls (say 10-12-ish), but that should not stop anyone who likes this kind of storytelling.

Doll Bones, by Holly Black

Zach, Poppy, and Alice have played a make-believe game (which has no name) together for years. Their game uses action figures as the characters, and a bone china doll whom they call the Great Queen. The Great Queen has the power to curse anyone who displeases her, well, in the game anyway. 

But Zach's father thinks that Zach should "grow up" and stop playing with action figures and play more basketball instead. Zach's father decides to take matters into his own hands, and throws all of the action figures into the trash without telling Zach, while Zach is in school.

When Zach gets home after school and realizes his figures are gone, he gets mad. And then he realizes that without his figures, he can't play the game anymore! This is terrible! Zach and the girls are the best of friends, and this has been their tradition for years. What can he do?

Zach decides to lie to Alice and Poppy about why he can't play. He simply tells them that he doesn't want to play anymore. After that, ties are split for a while, until... 

A few days later, Poppy announces that she's been dreaming about the Great Queen; she dreamed that the Queen was actually the ghost of a little girl named Eleanor, and that Eleanor had told Poppy that her spirit needed to rest. But that can't happen until the doll is laid into Eleanor's empty grave.

The grave is empty because Eleanor's father took her bones and made them into the doll. 

The three friends go on an adventure to East Liverpool, Ohio (the location of the grave), by boat and bus, in hope of finally letting Eleanor's spirit rest, and on the way, they discover things that they never knew about each other...

Doll Bones is (yet another) novel about a trio of friends going on an adventure. The author perhaps borrowed the "haunted doll" thing from the "Child's Play" movie series (?), except this doll doesn't kill anyone. Not that kind of book.

The book is a bit creepy, and the front cover illustration makes it look like a horror novel. This book would fall under the "horror" category... if you were eight years old. For anyone over eight, this novel will be a suspenseful adventure story. Doll Bones may give you a feeling, a leering feeling, like there is just something there, waiting for you... 

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Daddy's afterthoughts:  This 2013 Newberry Honor book is the product of Holly Black, who co-created the Spiderwick Chronicles. This book has been decorated with a veritable slew of awards. It's a spooky read for younger readers, but older pre-teens will like it just fine. But it's not just a creepy-spooky story that involves a haunted or possessed doll; this is also a story about relationships and friendships in the tween years, that awkward time between childhood and teenager-dom. A wonderful read for ages 8-13.

Flash, by Michael Cadnum

Bruce, 16, and Milton, 18, are brothers, and the type of high schoolers that always get into trouble. Bruce gets into fights, and Milton gets arrested. In fact, Milton and Bruce are planning a robbery even though Milton hasn’t even had a trial from his last crime. But it's not what you think... they're not "bad" guys.

When they get to the bank that they want to rob, Bruce gets out of the car that they used to get there, and which will also act as their getaway car, and everything seems to go fine. Until Bruce tears out of the bank, with a practically empty sack, and tells Milton to drive. They get 3 blocks away when the bag explodes. The teller had sneaked a dye bomb into the bag. And now they have useless money, and are covered in neon green dye.

They bury the evidence in their backyard. But they haven’t buried the soiled wealth unnoticed, though. Terrence, an “almost legally blind” neighbor, has heard them and recorded their conversation while out bird-watching. (Actually, he doesn’t really “watch” them. Since he is nearly blind, all he can do is record their songs and the sounds they make. But this is why he has his recording equipment with him.)

Bruce and Milton know that they are in trouble, because Terrence had been recording birds while they were burying the money, and Terrence may have recorded their conversation too. What Bruce and Milton didn’t know was that Terrence told his girlfriend, Nina, and her brother, Carraway, a soldier back home from the War after surviving a tank explosion in Iraq. Carraway is “a stickler for law and order.” Carraway knows that Bruce and Milton attempted to rob a bank, because Terrence told him. And he’s not too happy about it.

The dust jacket says that Flash is based on an actual robbery that the author witnessed. I liked the way the narration is in the third person, but the point of view switches from seeing Nina’s side, to Milton’s side, to Terrence’s side, and back again, as if someone were recording their thoughts and words. The novel talked about the crime from the criminals’ perspective, and I liked that too – it is not something you see a lot: Bruce and Milton are motivated by the need to get money for their family, not just to be "bad guys." Ever since an explosion at the sugar refinery killed their father, their family has been very tight on money. The insurance company forced the family to take only 1/3 of the payment they were due. The insurance company knew that he had nothing to do with the accident, and was just ripping the family off. They told them they could take 1/3 or take nothing. What choice did they have? Now they are poor, and their mother is sick (and lacks the money to get proper medical help). 

I found this in a “horror” section in the library... which is weird. This book is not scary, other than the mildly disturbing cover image. Michael Cadnum used a real event to write a “thriller” that in my opinion was not super-thrilling. But don’t let what I say get in the way of if you want to read it, if you like crime thrillers or detective stories, that type of thing. By all means, go right ahead!

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 Daddy's afterthoughts: Julia was not especially enthralled with this one, but it's not really her genre of choice. Kirkus rates the book highly, praising its "unpredictable resolution that brings the cast to the end leaves room for reflection on motivation and character in hard times." Bob's Book Blog calls Cadnum's writing "vivid and evocative" and calls it a "brilliant story for teens and reluctant boy readers." Well, Julia is neither a reluctant reader, nor a boy, so maybe that's it. The book is gritty, realistic fiction, not the fantasy and dystopian fare that is de rigueur in YA fiction these days, so if you are looking for something in that vein, there you go.