Miscellaneous YA Books

On Basilisk Station by David Weber

I picked this book up because I like science fiction and it was in the Alaska Battle of the Books section for high school. While there is way too much technical stuff for my interest, the actual story line completely drew me in. I like how Honor Harrington seems like a real person - a woman and a commander. The only complaint is the perennial one - a woman has to be absolutely outstanding to even be grudgingly accepted.


Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce

This book took me a while to actually begin understanding. The beginning seemed rather garbled. But it turned out to be an OK read. It was enjoyable, but it is another one of those books that will be rather quickly forgotten. The only thing that is memorable for me is that it does have a rather unique plot - about an art "theft".


The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman

While this isn't Cushman's best book, it still is interesting enough for a good read. It is also the first book for YAs that I have read that deals with the McCarthy era and the blacklisting of actors thought to be communist sympathizers. It is also interesting for the main character and her best friend. The MC reminds me a lot of myself at that age - easily persuaded to do the conventional thing and slow to stand up for what I really believed in. The main character's friend is what I would have liked to have been like - smart, well-informed and able to stand up for what I believed in, even if it got me in trouble. In the end, the quieter MC does gain a little bit of voice, but it almost comes too late in the book to make much of an impact.


I Am David by Anne Holm

I can't remember if I wrote about this one already. This is a moving story about a boy's escape from a concentration camp (not Nazi holocaust, but rather significantly later). While the chance meeting of someone who is able to point him to exactly where he needs to go is a weak part of the book, the rest of the story is plausible and gripping.


Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman

This was another Alaskan Battle of the Books book. I generally do not like Gordon Korman's books - although I will readily concede that kids do. They are too superficial for me. This one is no exception. I suppose it is funny to treat the MC's family's involvement with the Mafia as humorous - and the book works at doing that, but I can't help thinking that it is just a bit too facile, a bit too frivolous for a relatively serious problem.


Kat's Promise by Bonnie Shimko

This is a complicated book about family troubles - including several different kinds of abuse. One of the best features of it is that it doesn't end up with the "wicked step mother" reforming and turning into a really decent person once you get to know her side of the story.


And, an oldie:
The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery

This book reads very much like a romance novel, which I suppose it is. It is basically fluff and will not be close to me like Anne of Green Gables, but it was a good summer read.