Summer 2015 Reading List

When I was a high school student, I looked forward to June when the cold Long Island weather finally warmed up and freedom from school was just a few weeks away.

My brothers and I spent our summer vacations at Monaco Surf Club on Lido Beach. We had amazing experiences swimming, diving, playing in the sand dunes, and hunting for frogs. Time off from the regular school routine and curriculum allowed us to recharge our batteries and encounter new adventures.

However, research shows that this long three-month break may have affected our learning. It seems that many students score lower on standardized tests at the end of the summer than they do at the beginning, losing two months’ worth of math skills and about two to three months in reading.

If you are a concerned parent, teacher, or student who wants to work on reading skills, nothing does a better job than an old fashioned book. Below you’ll find six recommended YA books that will fill in some of that free time during summer break.

Secrets of Ghosts

Mardi Orlando

468 pages

Review:

Secrets of Ghosts by Australian writer Mardi Orlando is the story of seven gifted teens coerced to a ghost town to save the souls of ten ghosted children from the hungry jaws of Shadow, a monster composed of pure evil.

Madam Glizsnort, chief administrator of the Society of Gifted Teens is responsible for recruiting Jake—an autistic savant, Annabelle—a heartless heroine, Duel and Duette—twins with psychic powers, Blaze—a girl with a weird power over fire, and Santu—a visionary with potential leadership skills.

With an engaging writing style that will keep the reader flipping pages, Orlando brings YA readers and anyone else fascinated with the supernatural a superb novel that shows a creative story on three planes. First, the novel unfolds through the eyes of the seven teens as they try to deal with the very strange Madam Glizsnort. Then flash backs are provided by newspaper clippings going as far back as World War I. Finally, the ghosts get to tell their stories through old recordings made on an ancient radio.

This writer’s only criticism of this superb novel is that it ended. He looks forward reading other novels written by Mardi Orlando, an author to watch.

Lost Through Time

Jessica Tornese

244 pages

Review:

Kate Christenson, a fifteen-year-old girl from Florida, has a unique power. Inherited from her grandmother and recognizable by an hourglass birthmark above her eye, Kate can time travel. As she has learned from a previous experience in Linked Through Time, time travel can be intoxicating; at worst, it can prove deadly.

In Jessica Tornese’s novel, Linked Through Time, Kate traveled back to 1960 where she became her deceased Aunt Sarah, destined to soon die under mysterious circumstances. In Tornese’s sequel, Lost Through Time, Kate is instructed by her grandmother to find Sarah and bring her back through one of the time portals to the present. Kate reluctantly agrees.

Lost Through Time is a science fiction time travel novel that you won’t be able to put down. Tornese’s cinema graphic descriptions and action scenes brings readers into the lives of early 20^th Century Minnesota settlers during the time of the devastating 1910 Baudette Fire. Kate, a spoiled 21^st Century teen takes over the body of her great Aunt Vickie. With the help of Viv, Vickie’s identical twin sister, Kate quickly learns to attend to the needs of her six children and overworked husband.

Kate also knows the family history. Sometime in October Vickie and her daughter, Mary, will die in the horrendous prairie fires that destroyed Baudette. Kate can only hope to change the course of history if she can only survive the daily trials of prairie life.

The Mark of the Successor

Kate Marie Collins

168 pages

Review:

Lily’s abusive mother, Erena, kept the child out of school and obedient so Lily would remain ignorant and submissive. Fortunately, Mama was reported. Soon Lily was boarding the big yellow school bus like the other kids.

Years later, Lily understood the value of an education and the vast list of faults she had to side step in dealing with Mama. Then, as her 18^th birthday appeared on the calendar, Erena introduced Lily to a man more evil than she—Heren.

The next day a couple seemingly appears out of nowhere to rescue Lily from Heren’s clutches. The Cinderella girl soon learns that Erena, Heren and her saviors are “not of this world” and neither is she.

Thus begins Kate Marie Collins’ novel, The Mark of the Successor. With a descriptive writing style that brings her settings alive and excellent character development, the author tells a story of magic about a coming of age teen, her new found responsibilities, and a love interest—all of which will change her Cinderella life forever.

Anni’s Attic

Anne McGee

256 pages

Review:

Though there are a plethora of books on the market about the Civil War, Anni’s Attic, by Anne Loader McGee is one of the best. Written in the first person perspective about life on a Georgia plantation from 1861-1865, it shows the day-to-day experiences of Jennine Parkington and her cousin Annise Bouvoir.

Jenn is an 11-year-old southern belle who recently lost her mother. In October 1861 her dad, Phillip Parkington, a Northern sympathizer, moves Jenn from their New Orleans home to live with his sister near Savannah, Georgia. Phillip then leaves to fight for President Lincoln. Meanwhile, Jenn must live with her “ill-mannered” 12-year-old cousin, Annise Bouvoir, “who could not even speak French like a proper lady.”

When Jenn’s carriage pulled up in front of White Magnolias on that late October 1861 day angry eyes watched her from a secret attic tucked away inside the plantation home. Anni wasn’t very happy about having to play hostess to her know-it-all snobby first cousin.

Anne McGee’s historical novel, Anni’s Attic, provides a heart-wrenching look at the atrocities of the Civil War and its affects on the lives of the people living in the Savannah countryside. The YA book is a marvelous character study of Anni and Jenn. During the course of the war the cousins encounter spies, racial hatred, the Underground Railroad, and Sherman’s March to the Sea. In the confines of a secret attic in White Magnolias, the cousins begin to depend on each other, and in so doing, they mature as they learn to love and respect each other.

Goodbye Tchaikovsky

Michael Thal

119 pages

Review written by Dr. Robert Rich:

It’s not often that a book aimed at “Young Adults” makes me want to cry. Michael Thal managed this with his story of David, a violin virtuoso who suddenly went profoundly deaf the day after his twelfth birthday.

Goodbye Tchaikovsky is excellent on many levels.

First, obviously, it is an introduction to what it is like to be deaf in a hearing world, presented so the young reader identifies with David’s experiences on an emotional level.

Second, it is a primer on empathy. “What if that happened to me?” Michael’s choice of hero is perfect. The underlying message is, “What if I lost the ability to do the activity that gives me meaning in life, joy and purpose?” A teenager with a passion for basketball might imagine what it would be like after breaking his neck, another who lives for computer games may think of blindness or a paralyzed hand…

Third, Michael deals with the issue of stigma and discrimination, showing that, whether you are Christian or Jewish, ethically Japanese or Caucasian, deaf or hearing, you deserve respect, compassion, decency, and love.

If you, or someone you care for, are struck by a handicap such as deafness, you can draw instruction and inspiration from this book. However, any teenager will enjoy reading about David’s journey, and benefit from the underlying lessons within Goodbye Tchaikovsky.

Tyler’s Mountain Magic

Malcolm Ater

226 pages

Review:

Tyler Moore spent most of his early childhood in and out of hospitals. He had cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening hereditary disease causing thick mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive tract. But Tyler wouldn’t let his disability stop him, so when he entered Harpers Ferry Junior High School he decided he would be on the school wrestling team. No matter how much his mother protested, Tyler insisted he would be as much like the other boys at school as he could. Though he never did become an undefeated champion, he did have a gift of leadership that would inspire his teammates and his community to become more than they had ever been before.

Malcolm Ater’s novel, Tyler’s Mountain Magic, tells the story of the Harpers Ferry Junior High wrestling team and the boy who led them to greatness. In the first person narrative, Ater takes his readers through three years of junior high in a West Virginia mountain community showing the trials and politics of a wrestling team.

There aren’t very many books on the market that show the difficulties of a disabled youth. Through shear determination Tyler overcomes his challenges showing everyone around him that dreams can be attained through true grit. Tyler Moore sets the bar for all boys to aspire.

Tyler’s Mountain Magic, based on a true story, is a novel teen boys and their parents should read as they laugh, cry and cheer for the Harpers Ferry Junior High wrestling team as it travels from the depths of defeat to the pinnacle of success.

 

The six books featured above, all read by me, were rated on Amazon with five stars. Weather you decide to read Tyler’s Mountain Magic or Anni’s Attic is up to you, however, reading during the summer months will keep your reading skills strong and make those care-free weeks even more fun.

Have a wonderful summer and happy reading.