29. The Secret School

The Secret School Avi. 2001. 157 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: On a cool Monday morning in early April 1925, Ida Bidson, aged fourteen, carefully guided her family's battered Model T Ford along a narrow, twisting dirt road in Elk Valley, Colorado. "Brake and clutch!" she shouted. Ida, only four-feet-eleven and unable to reach the floor of the car, knelt on the torn seat and gripped the steering wheel tightly. Her seven-year-old brother, Felix, hunched on the floor before her and used his hands to push the brake and clutch pedals down. 

Premise/plot: Ida desperately wants the chance to go to high school. Ultimately she wants to go to "normal school" and get her teaching certificate as well. But this eighth grader may not get the chance to graduate eighth grade dashing all her future dreams. Why? Well, their current teacher is leaving abruptly--a family emergency. The school board had decided to end the term early. The two eighth graders wouldn't get a chance to take their final [final, final] exams and graduate. The two wouldn't be permitted to go on to high school the next school term. But Ida, well, she has BIG dreams. And when someone suggests that she should be their teacher for the rest of the term, well, it makes a lot of sense. It has risks, for sure. She'll be a secret teacher at a secret school. Will she get a chance to take her exam? Will she be going to high school after all?

My thoughts: I love, love, love stories of one-room schoolhouses. This one was a PERFECTLY PERFECT fit for me. I loved getting to know Ida. I loved getting to know all her classmates/students. I felt the story was fleshed out. It felt very REAL. I cared about these students and their families. I wanted more, more, more. 

I don't know WHY I'm just now discovering this one. But I am super thankful I read it.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

31. Survival in the Wilderness (Great Escapes #4)

Survival in the Wilderness (Great Escapes #4) Steven Otfinoski. 2020. 128 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: It was now or never. The young men reached for the cord connected to the gas valve. He gave it a sharp tug and listened as the helium in the balloon rushed out with a loud hiss.

Premise/plot: Survival in the Wilderness is a fictionalized account of three navy lieutenants--Walter Hinton, Louis Kloor, and Stephen Farrell--and their failed "routine" training flight in a hot air balloon. It is based on a true story. (The structure is true enough based on records we have, but all dialogue has been fictionalized.) The story is set in December 1920. The balloon went off course--way, way, way off course--and the balloon ended up crashing in Canada. These three would have to work together in order to survive...

My thoughts: This one is for those who love reading survival stories and/or adventure stories. The setting is the Canadian wilderness in winter. Three men battling the elements--and sometimes arguing about how to best battle the elements--and looking for any sign of civilization. As I mentioned earlier, the year is 1920. This is still the age of Arctic/Antarctic exploration. But these men weren't looking for that kind of adventure; nor were they prepared...not even slightly. 

I personally found it an interesting read. I have never really given any thought to the military's use--at the times--of the hot air balloon. This was a "routine" training flight that went very, very wrong. But plenty of training flights went right. Just something to think about. This one also makes use--though this might need a trigger warning--messenger pigeons.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

108. Rosetown

Rosetown. Cynthia Rylant. 2018. 149 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Wings and a Chair Used Books was where Flora Smallwood's mother worked three afternoons a week. Inside, it had a purple velveteen chair by the window for anyone who wanted to stay awhile, and Flora, who sometimes felt quite acutely the stress of being nine years old, and sensitive, loved this chair. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were her favorite day because of it.

Premise/plot: Flora Smallwood (9) lives in Rosetown, Indiana--the year, 1972. She loves vintage books and reading, and she loves hanging out with her new friend, Yury. What she doesn't love is change--at least not too much change, too quickly.

My thoughts: Rosetown is a character-driven book. Flora, our protagonist, is adjusting to being a fourth grader AND to her parents separating AND to life without her dog (Laurence). The book takes place over a school year. The focus is on family and friends.

I loved, loved, loved the WRITING. Rylant (one of my favorite authors) just has a way with words. I believed in Flora's voice from the first page. By the end of the second chapter I knew were were kindred spirits. I knew that Flora was going to end up being a good, good friend.

Here's a quote from chapter two:

What Flora noticed at once on the first day of fourth grade had been the sudden confidence all the former third graders seemed to have found, and she wondered where they had found it. Nearly all of her classmates appeared to be taller, louder, stronger, and possessed of a sureness of opinion that had been entirely absent the year before. The stumblers, the wanderers, and the floaters of third grade had suddenly, mysteriously, found their feet. They weren't afraid of school anymore. Or maybe of anything. All of this made Flora a little shy. She missed the uncertainty. Fortunately, a new and uncertain person had arrived in room 22, and with him Flora was beginning to build that precious thing called friendship. His name was Yury, which set him apart right away. His Eastern European name, combined with the burden of being the new boy, made Yury a very uncertain fourth-grade person indeed. He wore large round glasses, which made him look rather owl-like. And he was very smart, like an owl, beneath all of the new-boy uncertainty. Flora knew this right away because he was clever....but he shared his cleverness with only one person in fourth grade: Flora. He sat behind her in class, so it was easy for him to whisper to the back of her head. Yury whispered, Flora smiled, and the seeds of friendship were planted.

I highly recommend Rosetown. I loved everything about it!

© 2021 Becky Laney of Young Readers

96. Amelia and Me

Amelia and Me (Ginny Ross #1) Heather Stemp. 2013/2020. 207 pages. [Source: Review copy]

 First sentence: EVEN IN AUGUST the early morning in Newfoundland was cold. I snuggled under my quilt until the grandfather clock in the parlour struck three. Then I swung my legs over the side of the bed and reached into the warmth under the covers for my clothes. I wiggled out of my nightgown and quickly pulled on my navy dress and red sweater.

 Premise/plot: Amelia and Me is a historical middle grade novel based on the author's own family. The main character, Ginny, is the author's aunt. The novel opens in 1931 and is set roughly 1931/1932 during the Great Depression. Our young heroine is obsessed with airplanes and wants more than anything to take flying lessons and fly herself. Yes, it's awesome to watch other people fly planes, to keep up with all the news stories and headlines as pilots break one record after another after another. But she wants to FLY herself. The problem? She's young, still in school, and her mother is dead set against it. So what's a girl to do???? Well, if you are Ginny Ross you write the world's most famous woman pilot, Amelia Earhart, and get her advice....

My thoughts: I really loved seeing the photographs at the end of the book. I loved knowing that these characters were real people--even if this is historical fiction and should not be considered strictly nonfiction. 

I went through a period where I read ANYTHING I could get my hands on about Amelia Earhart. Not because I was fascinated with flying or wanted to fly myself, but, because it was my sister's research project and I just happened to read all of her library books. Once I read one or two, well, the rest just seemed to come naturally. I think part of the appeal to me was the mystery surrounding her final flight. Of course, this book is set a good many years before that tragic ending. 

I am curious how many books will be published telling Ginny Ross' story. I am curious, for example, to see if Ginny Ross became a flyer and perhaps flew for the WASP during the second world war??? Of course I don't know the answer to that question! 

 

© 2020 Becky Laney of Young Readers