Nailed by Patrick Jones

Have you ever wondered what "normal" means when related to people. You've heard people say that person is just not normal or maybe you yourself have been told you are not normal. In "Nailed" by Patrick Jones, Brett is asking that same question and trying to figure out why his Dad doesn't like him, why teachers don't get his way of thinking. Of course Brett is not your jock type of person, but a pony-tailed, dyed different colors, punk wearing, band playing, individual. He acts in the school plays and has good grades on top of it all. He likes girls and finally gets a girlfriend but things don't always run as smoothly as Brett would like. While Brett is trying to figure himself out there is always the faction at school that has to give him grief - ridiculing him, calling him faggot, just plain making his life miserable. How much more of this can a person take? To find out how Brett deals with the questions, the bullys, and the girlfriend, pick up the book "Nailed" and read it.

Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park. (Multicultural)

In our area we have a youth group called 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America). These two groups help kids learn about agriculture in fun ways, using projects, raising animals of your own, training them, etc. In the book by Linda Sue Park, "Project Mulberry" there is a similar group called Wiggles, not really the moving wiggles, but the acronym WGGL for Work, Grow, Give, Live gets called Wiggles. Two best friends, Julia and Patrick are members and decide they want to make a project that would win first place at the State Fair. This is where the trouble begins. What kind of project could they do? The team live in town houses that won't let you have animals, and Julia and Patrick really want to win, so it will have to be something way cool. Julia's mother comes up with an idea that really excites Patrick, but not so much Julia. Her mother suggests raising silkworms like her grandmother did in Korea. For you see, Julia is Korean and she really doesn't like to emphasis that fact and this project feels too Korean for Julia. But Patrick is really hyped about it and doing all kinds of research to get ready to grow silkworms. Will Julie go along with the project or does she come up with another idea. If she does, how hard is it going to be raise the worms and do they have enough time? To find out the answers to these questions, pick up "Project Mulberry" and find out.

Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff (Historical Fiction)

The Melting Pot - it is what the United States has been called for generations. Have you ever wondered why people from other countries wanted to leave all that was familair and come here to live. For many it was a difficult choice. In Nory Ryan's Song, Nory's family lives in Ireland during the time after the U.S. got independence from England and Ireland was still under control of England. Things were not too good in Ireland. Many of the Irish folk lived in cottages on land that is now owned by the English and they did not treat the Irish very well. Nory is the 3rd child of four, with her Da being out on a fishing boat to earn the money to pay the rent to the English. She lives in the family cottage with her sisters Maggie, Ceclia, and her brother, Patrick, called Patch, and her Granda. They are working hard to keep the family together without any coin to buy food. Potatoes are the main crop, but the crop has been destroyed by the black spots. Hunger is a prominent feeling in this story, there is never enough food to feed them. Then Maggie and her fiance decide that things have to be better in America and leave them. What will happen to Nory and her family when the English want the rent? How will Nory get food for her family? Pick up Nory Ryan's Song and find out what it was like in Ireland when the Potatoe Famine is starting.

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac (Historical Fiction)

Are you good at keeping a secret? I admit that is not one of my strong things - keeping secrets. What if you were in the military and did a job that was so secret that you could not tell anyone what it was you did and I mean no one could know what you where doing. In "Code Talker" you will meet Ned Begay who after many years finally gets to tell his grandchildren what he did during WWII. Before he tells us what he did during the war, he backs up his story to when he was a little boy - to set the mood so to speak. For you see, Ned was a Navajo Indian who was sent to a school far away from his home to teach him English and the American Way. It was thought to be a good American - you had to give up being Indian. Then during WWII, these Navajo Indians with their language became our biggest secret - code talkers. What kind of hardships did these brave soldiers have to endure? What exactly was a code talker and how did they help the United States? To find out more, pick up this book by Joseph Bruchac and find out.

"Flipped" by Wendelin Van Draanen (Realistic Fiction)

Do you really think you know people? Or do you see what you want to see. In "Flipped", you get to meet Juli and Bryce, neighbors since Bryce moved into the house across from Juli in the second grade. When Juli saw Bryce for the first time, she flipped over him - those blue eyes, dark hair. Bryce on the other hand took one look at Juli and tried to stay out of her way. For the next couple of years, Juli would talk, and Bryce would hide. Then in eighth grade, things flipped, Bryce starts seeing Juli in a different light and Juli is seeing Byrce differently too. What's up with that?
Do they end up happy as a couple, or do they end up as enemies? The cool thing about this book is you get to hear Juli's and Bryce's side of what is happening, since there are always two sides to every story - "he said, she said" kind of thing. You will have to pick up the book "Flipped" by Wendelin Van Draanen to see what happens.

"Dear Miss Breed" by Joanne Oppenheim (Non-Fiction)

How many of you remember 9/11? If not what about the latest terrorist attack at the airport? Did you notice how some people will treat Muslims differently after these incidents - like it is all their fault. That they themselves had a hand in it, even though you have seen them every day for the last however long. Do you think this is the first time that has happened in the United States? Well, it isn't. In fact many times, just being associated with the culture that did the deed, makes you as guilty as the guilty party. In "Dear Miss Breed", the author, Joanne Oppenheim takes us back to a time in history right after Pearl Harbor. She connects us to the Japanese Americans who lived in San Diego who were moved to internment camps in the center of the U.S. In this real story of Miss Clara Breed, a Children's Librarian at the San Diego Public Library opens up to us through a series of letters that were written to her by her young patrons from these camps. Through these we learn of the hardships, loss of family, and the prejudice they all encountered. We will follow them from being told to leave their homes to after the war and see what happens to these children. Over 200,000 Japanese Americans were interred during WWII and in this book you will learn exactly what happened. Oppenheim also was able to connect with some of these children to interview them on what they remembered, so you will get first hand accounts.
If you like to read about real people and how history shaped their lives, then this is the book for you.