Freedom Factor by Gerald R. Lund

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

This book was a great read. The speculation of an America with no Constitution was interesting and eye-opening. This book was written in the 80s and it's startling to compare times then to times now, even with the Constitution. It also gave important insight into political corruption and how politicians use each other. The protagonist's controversial political views are also interesting, and I found myself wondering if some people who read this book today would think that the amendment his party proposes in the beginning would be a good one to actually add to the Constitution, and have to read the rest of the book to learn why it would not be.

Genre: fiction

Setting: America

Introduction:

Bryce Sherwood is a dedicated proponent of the 29th amendment bill, proposed to "give government  back to the people." It would allow congress to pass a vote of no-confidence in the president and oust him if he creates an impasse between the legislative and executive branches. Sherwood does not realize how this affects the system of checks and balances, and believes the Constitution should be updated. But then he meets Leslie Adams-- a member of the Save the Constitution group and an outspoken opponent of the bill. Despite their differences, they find themselves falling in love. But Bryce hasn't changed his mind in the least, and so drastic measures are taken. Nathaniel Gorham, a little-known founding father from Massachusetts, comes from the spirit world to show Bryce the error of his ways. Gorham gets into Bryce's personal life-- he appears on Good Morning America in an episode only he can see, he shows up at dinner during an important speech he attends, and ultimately ruins his relationship with Leslie, all the time attempting to teach and lecture him about the bill's effects and the importance of the Constitution. When all else fails, Gorham transports Bryce to an alternate reality. Bryce doesn't know why things are so different: the police are so oppressive, the borders are different (the original colonies are no longer part of the United States) and the Declaration of Independence has a death sentence attached to it. When Bryce finally finds Gorham again, he learns the horrible truth about the universe he has been roughly ejected into: the Constitution of the United States was never ratified.

Themes: know when you're being used, the Constitution is vital to freedom, checks and balances hold the entire Constitution together

Recommended Age: 13

Rating: 5 stars

Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck

Reviewed by: Mom (does age really matter?)

Richard Peck had me laughing and engaged from the first chapter of this charming book. We listened to the audio version in the car and everyone enjoyed it (except the 2 year old, who likes to scream for music whenever we turn on our book). I loved that PeeWee wanted to be just like her big brother and yet could see glimpses of herself in the librarians who took her under their wing. Great message about girls being equal without being overbearing and insulting to men. Also lots about cars and racing to keep the boys engaged!

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: 1914 small town Indiana

Introduction:

 This delightful story of a young tomboy coming of age at the dawn of WWI, the automobile era, and the suffrage movement. Comedy abounds as their hick town in Indiana becomes the focus of 4 young heiresses who all want to be the town librarian and reform the citizens with books. Throw in a race that is an early version of the Indianapolis 500 and you have a book for everyone.

Themes: Women's rights, family, books inspire change, cars, Indianapolis 500

Recommended Age: 9 and up, but younger will enjoy the read aloud

Full Disclosure: The neighborhood bullies are violent and there may be a few parts that are scary to younger kids, but Peck keeps everything peppered with humor to lighten the mood.

Rating: 4 stars

Other Books:  

All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown by Sydney Taylor

Reviewed by: Bronwen, age 8

I enjoyed this book even more than the first book in the series, and I read it faster. I think that the characters and their personalities came through and I began to feel like they were people that I know. 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: New York City, early 1900s

Introduction:

All-of-a-Kind Family is a family with five little girls, their mama and papa. They live in New York City and they are Jewish. They are kind to one another. Now they have a baby brother and they are all one year older than the first book.

Themes: loving families, working with each other, doing service, living your faith

Recommended Age: 7-9 years old, 5 and up for read-aloud

Rating: 5 stars

Other Books:  All-of-a-Kind Family, All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown, More All-of-a-Kind-Family, Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family

Newton's Gift by David Berlinski

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

Newton's Gift was an educational, inspiring read. Sir Isaac Newton was extremely gifted, and he is an
example of one who finds his true calling. (It definitely wasn't to be a farmer.) This book attempts to not only biograph him, but also explain some of the theorems he discovered in simple language and diagrams. It is a good read for history and math buffs.

Genre: biography, non-fiction

Setting: life of Isaac Newton

Introduction:

Sir Isaac Newton is the father of modern physics and one of the greatest scientists of the eighteenth century. But you wouldn't expect him to be good at much else besides thinking and reading. As an adolescent, nobody recognized Newton's great mind for what it was. Newton often kept to himself; he'd go out to tend sheep and they would wander off while he would be obliviously reading. When his tutors finally convinced his mother to send him to college, Newton was the best student at Cambridge and took his education seriously while others only saw college as a place to live while they spent their college money on other diversions. Newton dabbled in alchemy and Cartesian algebra and a myriad of other subjects, and with that knowledge he would make great discoveries.

Themes: education is important, work smarter not harder

Recommended Age: 13 and up

Rating: 4 stars

Of Mice and Men by Jon Steinbeck

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

I read this book in ninth grade. It was a good read. The characters are thought-provoking and original.

Genre: fiction

Setting: Soledad California area, pre-Civil War

Introduction:

George and Lennie are two men looking for work. George is a thin, cynical man and Lennie is a mentally handicapped, childlike oaf. Both dream of having their own farm (with soft rabbits that Lennie can pet.) Due to a blunder of Lennie's in which he attempted to feel a woman's dress (because of his love of soft things) the two are thrown out of town for attempted rape. The two bindlestiffs head out to Soledad to find new jobs on a ranch. Though they find the job they are looking for, the boss's son Curly is antagonistic to the newcomers because of his lack of height, posing a threat to Lennie, who could easily hurt Curly by accident if Curly starts to bully him. In addition, Curly's flirtatious wife is very pretty and has soft hair, and Lennie soon incurs Curly's jealousy. George and the two other ranch hands, Slim and Candy, must do all they can to stop Lennie from accidentally hurting anyone so that they can achieve their goals.

Themes: No man is an island, know your own strength, be compassionate

Recommended Age: 14 and up

Full Disclosure: There is lots of profanity in this book, and there is also racism. However, the racism is not glorified. There is also mention of sexual activity but none actually described or taking place in scenes in the book.

Rating: 4 stars

Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

This book is the last book in the Shadow series (unless you count the sequel, Shadows in Flight.) I thought it was a good conclusion to the series and it was interesting to see how the story played out after the main antagonist had been killed in the previous book. I enjoyed rereading it.

Genre: Sci-Fi

Setting: Future Earth

Introduction:

The major powers of the world are torn by war. China, India and the Muslim empire are busy making alliances and attacks, headed by each country's respective Battle School graduate: Han Tzu in China, Virlomi in India and Alai as the Caliph. The only person who stands between these three nations, trying to create world peace, is the Hegemon Peter Wiggin. As Peter struggles to create a world to rule in which there is peace and freedom, Bean and Petra search for their lost embryo children, implanted in different mothers. And what with the world being torn by war and Peter Wiggin wanting them to help him fix it, it is no easy task. And Bean and Petra don't know how many of the babies have the same condition as Bean, which is killing him even as they search in a race against Bean's ever-growing body.

Themes: The world should be based on American principles not America, power corrupts, a true religion is one that allows freedom of choice

Recommended Age: 14 and up

Full Disclosure:There is one scene with nudity in this book. There is also violence and crude language.

Rating: 4 stars

Other Books: Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadows in Flight, Ender in Exile

Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

This book was an exciting sequel to Ender's Shadow (a parallel novel to Ender's Game) that takes Bean's story in its own direction and sees the rise of Peter Wiggin to power. It left me wondering just how smart Orson Scott Card is to be able to put some of that stuff in his writing. You will not be able to keep up with the minds of the prodigies in his book.

Genre: Spy-Fi, military/political fiction

Setting: Future Earth

Introduction:

After the defeat of the Formic "Bugger" invasion by Ender Wiggin and his army of geniuses, the world begins to lose its cause to be united. People who would have the veterans of Battle School to use for their own purposes, such as Russia, are making moves to secure the children before they are placed under IF protection. Russians, posing as Turks, kidnap Petra Arkanian and nine other members of the group which fought alongside Ender Wiggin in the Bugger Wars. Bean, the smartest of Ender's "jeesh" (slang for army) has an attempt on his life made on him when his house is bombed. The machinator of these operations is Bean's old nemesis, Achilles, escaped from the mental institution where he was held for his many murders. In hiding, presumed dead and with the help of Ender's brother Peter, who wants to become Hegemon and rule the world, Bean must find a way to rescue Petra and stop Achilles from taking over the world before Peter does.

Themes: don't underestimate children (especially if they're geniuses), don't start wars, ambition corrupts before you even obtain power

Recommended Age: 13 and up

Full Disclosure:

There is swearing in this book (no F word), and violence.

Rating: 4 stars

Other Books:  Ender's Shadow (previous book) Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant, Shadows in Flight

The Westing Game

Reviewed by: Ian, age 10

I loved it! It was hard trying to find out who was the murderer. I couldn't stop reading it until I found out.

Genre: Fiction

Time Period: No particular time

Introduction: Uncle Sam Westing is dead. One of the heirs is the murderer. So says his will. He has set up a game to reveal who the murderer is.

Themes: Money corrupts people, family, smart is good, overcoming hard things can make your life better, teamwork

Recommended Age:10 and up ( I read it when I was younger and didn't enjoy it as much as I do now.)

Full Disclosure:Nothing to see here

Rating:4  stars

Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

Reviewed by: Henry, age 13

A preposterous storyline with a touching moral. This book is good if you like perfectly good plans which are thwarted  in silly ways, action, ponies, Where the Red Fern Grows, or monkeys.

Genre: Fiction

Setting: Modern Era, Cherokee country.

Introduction:

A young farm boy on Cherokee land is playing in the wooded ravine by his house when he sees something strange. A monkey! It yells at him and he gets out of there fast. When he talks to his grandpa, he learns that there is a reward for returning them to the circus they escaped from. And it will be enough buy a pony, which he has dreamed of riding for quite a while. But catching a monkey turns out to be harder than he thought...

Themes: Determination, Family love, Cleverness, Caring for less fortunate

Recommended Age: 10 and up, younger if read aloud

Full Disclosure: The monkeys get him drunk at one point, but he feels terrible afterward

Rating: 5 stars

Other Books:  I don't think this is a series, but it is written by the same author as Where the Red Fern Grows.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Reviewed by: Michal, the mom (does age matter?)

We listened to this as an audio book and the whole family was sucked in. We loved the brilliant kids and their courage in the face of great danger and personal risk. I liked that they determined to work together in spite of being different from each other-- and even in spite of finding one member of the team to be difficult to work with. Their unity made all the difference in the outcome of the book. Some good lessons there. I also appreciated that these "brilliant" kids were all smart in different ways. This would be beneficial if you have a child who doesn't see their own strengths as brilliance.

Genre: Fiction

Time Period: present/near future

Introduction:

Reynie, an orphan, responds to a mysterious newspaper ad seeking gifted children. After successfully passing a series of strange tests, he and three other children are given the opportunity to save the world from certain destruction, but it's a long shot. 

Themes: orphans, misfits, smart is good, your differences make you special, good vs. evil, courage, unity, teamwork

Recommended Age: 10 and up, younger as read-aloud

Full Disclosure: There were bullies in the book, but they certainly weren't glorified in any way. The kids cheat and break a few rules in order to complete their mission, but not without wrestling with it first and determining that the rules were there to protect the evil they are fighting.

Rating: 4 stars

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (autobiography)

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

Benjamin Carson, M.D. is arguably the most talented and successful surgeon in the world. He has saved countless lives and has changed the perception of black people in the world. His autobiography tells how he worked hard to become who he was and all the obstacles he had to face.

Genre: Autobiography

Time Period: 1959-1986

Plot

When Ben Carson is eight, his mother finds out that his father is cheating on her and so they divorce, leaving Sonya Carson a single mom of two. Ben explains his early life: coping with not having a father, being ostracized for being black, and how his mother, who had a third grade education and couldn't read, took it upon herself to educate him and made him read until he was at the top of his class in school, and how he and his brother Curtis became top students when before they hadn't considered themselves to be smart, blaming the color of their skin. He discusses how religious he is and how God helped him throughout his life to get a good education, control his anger and deal with racism. He talks about his college experience and the tests he had to study for and when he met his wife and how he saw the hand of the Lord in everything. As a medical doctor he performs many revolutionary and successful surgeries which change understanding of neurosurgery, neuroscience and the field of medicine. A famous example is the separation of two twins joined at the head performed by him and his team. The surgery was almost unsuccessful but in the end the twins miraculously survived.

Themes: You are the master of your destiny, race doesn't matter, trust in God

Recommended Age: 12 and up

Full Disclosure:

Anti-black racial slurs. There are also descriptions of surgeries which are not inappropriate but may cause squeamishness.

Rating: 4 stars