Kazumi Reads

Plot Summary:
It's Leonard's 18th birthday and, instead of celebrating adulthood, he is planning to kill Asher Beale and himself. Ever since his parents' divorce, Leonard has felt abandoned and the person he used to called his best friend has made his life a living hell. Leonard is at his whit's end and he believes that the only way he can ease the pain is to die and to take Asher with him. Before committing this last act, Leonard has wrapped four gifts to give to people he cares about. The first gift he gave was for Walt (his chain smoking, Bogart loving next door neighbor). The second gift he gave was for Babak (his Iranian, violin virtuoso friend). The third gift he left was for his favorite teacher, Herr Silverman (Holocaust expert and one who never wears short sleeves). The last gift he gives went to Lauren (the Jesus freak whom he forced his first kiss upon). As Leonard gives away his most precious treasures to, his mission to kill Asher Beale starts to wane; at first, Leonard was ready and willing to end his life, but, after re-living the moments he has spent with those who matter the most, and why he wants to kill Asher, he starts to realize the core of his problems. As the countdown begins, Leonard's plan falls into the place and when he is in front of Asher Beale's window, the inevitable occurs and Leonard's life changes forever.


Critical Evaluation:
I can honestly say that I had to take my time reading this book simply because it hurt so much to hear about Leonard's life. This story is a raw and gut-wrenching story of a guy who had just about every awful happen to him and there was no one he could turn to.  For the last six years of his life, Leonard has had to shoulder an immense amount of pain and his own mother and father couldn't take the time to notice that their once happy son is nothing but an empty shell. The quote that shook my soul the most was:

These people we call Mom and Dad, they bring us into the world and they don't follow through with what we need, or provide answers at all really--it's a fend-for-yourself free-for-all in the end, and I;m just not cut out for that sort of living.

I cannot express how terrifying and painful it is to hear that so many young people, like Leonard, are  out there, all alone, exposed to the evils of this world, and have no one, or no where, to turn to. The reason why Leonard wants to kill Asher Beale is because adults not only warped, and ruined, noth Asher's and Leonard's innocence, it was the adults who turned a blind eye to everything that was happening to these children. After the abuse, Leonard has been slowly dying inside and it literally takes an almost murder/suicide for him to realize that that the people who should have protected, loved, and supported him throughout this whole ordeal weren't there. I thank God for people like Herr Silverman because it is their strength, love, patience, compassion, and faith is what gives teens like Leonard a way out. Although Leonard has a long way to go, he can now do it knowing that he doesn't have to endure the pain any more and hope for a better for life and a better future. This book will live with me for the rest of my life because I never, ever want this to happen to my own children and readers will feel the same way when they come across someone who is suffering like Leonard. If you know someone who is hurting, or wanting to hurt themselves, DO NOT IGNORE THEM and get them help. More importantly, if you are a victim of abuse, you did not deserve this and nor are you to blame. If you feel like hurting yourself, please seek help because you are precious to those who love you and and everyone around you.    

Information about the Author:
According to his website:

Matthew Quick (aka Q) is the New York Times bestselling author of THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, which was made into an Oscar-winning film, and three young adult novels: SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR; BOY21; and FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK. His work has been translated into twenty-eight languages, received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, was an LA Times Book Prize finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a #1 bestseller in Brazil, and selected by Nancy Pearl as one of Summer’s Best Books for NPR. His next two novels for adults, THE GOOD LUCK OF RIGHT NOW and LOVE MAY FAIL, are forthcoming from HarperCollins. All of Q’s books have been optioned for film.

Q spent the first few years of his life in Philadelphia before being raised just across the Delaware River in Oaklyn, New Jersey. He graduated from Collingswood High School (class of 1992) and La Salle University (class of 1996), where he double-majored in English and secondary education. He taught high school literature and film in southern New Jersey for several years, during which he coached soccer and basketball, chaperoned trips to Peru and Ecuador, initiated a pen-pal exchange with students in Namibia, and counseled troubled teens.

In 2004 Q made the difficult decision to leave teaching and pursue his dream of becoming a fiction writer. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Goddard College in 2007 and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from La Salle University in 2013. He lives with his wife, novelist/pianist Alicia Bessette.

Genre:
Teen Contemporary Fiction


Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 10 & up

Books Similar to Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock:

• Th1rtreen R3asons Why by Jay Asher
• More Than This by Patrick Ness

Awards & Recognition:
From Amazon.com

"Books like Quick's are necessary...We should be grateful for a book that gets kids, and the leaders they'll become, thinking about the problem now."—The New York Times

*"Quick's use of flashbacks, internal dialogue, and interpersonal communication is brilliant, and the suspense about what happened between Leonard and Asher builds tangibly. The masterful writing takes readers inside Leonard's tormented mind, enabling a compassionate response to him and to others dealing with trauma."—School Library Journal, starred review


—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Over the course of one intense day (with flashbacks), Leonard's existential crisis is delineated through an engaging first-person narrative supplemented with footnotes and letters from the future that urge Leonard to believe in a "life beyond the übermorons" at school. Complicated characters and ideas remain complicated, with no facile resolutions, in this memorable story."—The Horn Book

"...the novel presents a host of compelling, well-drawn, realistic characters-all of whom want Leonard to make it through the day safe and sound."—Kirkus

"Quick is most interested in Leonard's psychology, which is simultaneously clear and splintered, and his voice, which is filled with brash humor, self-loathing, and bucket loads of refreshingly messy contradictions, many communicated through Leonard's footnotes to his own story. It may sound bleak, but it is, in fact, quite brave, and Leonard's interspersed fictional notes to himself from 2032 add a unique flavor of hope."—Booklist

Plot Summary:
Ivan has been at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade for most of his life. Things were a lot more exciting when Mack and Helen would treat him as their human child, but Ivan is older and yearning for the life he had before the Mall. Although he dreams of being with other gorillas, Ivan has a few friends who keep him company: Bob (the sarcastic, stray dog who sleeps on Ivan's Belly at night) and Stella (the wise and caring elephant and storyteller). The best part of Ivan's nights are when Julia, and her father, George, come to clean the Mall; George is the janitor and Julia helps when she can. Julia is an artist and Ivan loves art. Ever since he was a baby, Ivan always loved looking at colors, shapes, and even using mud to make his own drawings. Life for Ivan, before Mack, was perfect until he and his sister were taken from his troop and sold off. Although Ivan used to be the star of the Exit 8 Big Top, business has been slow and Mack has become more and frustrated. What's even harder is that Stella's past injuries are taking it's toll, but real problem is: Mack has bought a baby elephant and is bringing her to the Mall. Stella, furious and sad, takes the baby, named Ruby, in her care and acts as her surrogate mother. However, when Stella was unable to recover form her injuries, she made Ivan promise that he will care for Ruby. Ivan knows absolutely nothing about raising babies, but he knows everything about being a protector: silver back Gorillas have it imprinted in their DNA. In this story, a disillusioned Gorilla does the impossible to not only save an innocent elephant, but to convey that animals, just like humans, know what it's like to love and care for one another. 

Critical Evaluation:
Katherine Applegate has given a voice to one of the Earth's mightiest creatures and did it very well. The One and Only Ivan is actually based on a true story about a silver back gorilla, named Ivan, who was held captive for 37 years in a mall in Washington. After National Geographic aired a special on "The Urban Gorilla," the public was outraged and even young children wrote letters to have Ivan removed from the Mall. Eventually, the Mall went bankrupt and Ivan was moved to Zoo Atlanta where he lived out the rest of his lifedin harmony with his own kind until his death in 2012. Ivan was 50 years old and he continues to paint until his last breath. I absolutely loved what Applegate said about writing this book: 

"When I started to write about the grim facts of Ivan's solitary existence, a new tale slowly began to take shape. At least on the page, where anything is possible, I wanted to give Ivan (even while captive behind the walls of his tiny cage) a voice of his own and a story to tell. I wanted to give him someone to protect, and the chance to be the mighty silverback he was always meant to be." 

What we human tend to forget is that animals have their own consciousnesses, their own identities, and their very unique abilities. When I hear about animals, like Ivan, it is incredibly upsetting because these animals were not made to be pets nor side show attractions; wild animals are a part of this world for a specific person and we, humans, have only one purpose: observe and learn. As readers find out what happens to Ivan's families, they will be in for a shock at the current reality that all of the world's gorillas face. As Ivan re-lives these awful remembers, he becomes determined to not let Ruby waste away in the mall like he has. Unlike the Ivan, the story's Ivan is given the opportunity to be just like his father and protect little Ruby. In fact, Ivan and Ruby have so much in common, it was inevitable that he would predict Stella's wish for him to protect Ruby. The ending is absolutely beautiful so be sure to have the tissues handy. 

Information about the Author:
According to her website:

I've written many books for children and young adults, including The Buffalo Storm (a picture book), Roscoe Riley Rules (a chapter book series), and Animorphs (which I wrote with my husband, Michael Grant.) My novel Home of the Brave was awarded the 2008 Golden Kite Award for Best Fiction, the Bank Street 2008 Josette Frank Award for children's fiction, and was a Judy Lopez Memorial Award honor book.

I live in California with my husband, two children, and assorted pets.

Genre:
Tween Fiction

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 4-7

Books Similar to The One and Only Ivan:

• Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
• Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo

Awards & Recognition:
From Amazon.com:
School Library Journal Best of Children's Books 2012

Kirkus Reviews Best of Children's Books 2012

Amazon 2012 Best Books of the Year, Middle Grade

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2012

New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing, 2012

Cybils shortlist, 2012 middle grade fantasy (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards)

Texas Bluebonnet Award, 2013-14 Master List

2012 Nerdies Book Award, middle grade fiction

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews:
"How Ivan confronts his harrowing past yet stays true to his nature exemplifies everything youngsters need to know about courage.”

Starred Review, School Library Journal: 
“The characters will capture readers’ hearts and never let go.  A must-have.”

Starred Review, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books: 
“Extraordinary.”

Plot Summary:

R misses many things, but the thing his misses the most is his own name. After being transformed into a zombie, the hustle and bustle of his former life has changed, significantly, and the only thing he looks forward to is standing still and looking at the desolate world. R lives in an abandoned hanger of an airport with his good friend M. Just like R, M is still in the early stages of decay and the have the ability to moan and groan and to form a zombie language. Inside of his head, R is alive and filled with ideas and coherent speech, but his body won't allow him to say the things he want to say. Although being a zombie is pretty easy, the days just get longer and longer. Another downside to being a zombie, other than not being able to talk, read, or remember names, is eating. R doesn't like hearing the cries and the pain that comes from his meal, but the only thing he takes pleasure in is eating the brains of his prey; by eating the brains, he can absorb the memories of that person. Although R has established his ranks in the zombie community (he has a wife and two kids), something is still missing. On a routine hunting, something inside R makes him ravenous and when he eats the brain of a young man named Perry, R has devoured everything that makes Perry who he is. After re-living Perry's memories, the ones that stick out the most are of Julie. Julie was Perry's everything and now that he is a part of R, R chooses to protect her.  After saving her from his horde of hungry zombies, Julie actually follows R and discovers that zombies are not what them seem; at least this one tries to talk to her, has a great collection of Frank Sinatra LP's, and is actively protecting to her. The question that nags at her is "why?" Why is R protecting a girl he doesn't know, but is attracted to because of the brain he consumed? Lastly, something about him is changing and he doesn't know why.  


Critical Evaluation:




Information about the Author:
According to his website:

Isaac Marion was born near Seattle in 1981 and has lived in and around that city ever since. He began writing in high school and self-published three novels before finally breaking through with Warm Bodies. He currently divides his time between writing, playing obscure instruments in obscure bands, and exploring the country in a 1977 GMC motorhome named Baleen.

 
Genre:
Fiction, Romance, Horror

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 10 & up


Books Similar to Warm Bodies:

• Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
• World War Z by Max Brooks
  

Awards & Recognition:
From Amazon.com:
(Audrey Niffenegger, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Time Traveler's Wife)

(Wired)

(Examiner.com)

(Commonsensemedia.org)

(Thereadinggate.com)

(Goodereads.com)

(Teenlitrocks.com)

(Gliterarygirl.com)

(Seattle Times)

(The Onion A.V. Club)

(Seattletimes.com)

Plot Summary:
It all started with a squirrel who got sucked up in a vacuum and turned into a superhero. Before his accidental sucking up, Mrs. Tickham was well into her favorite volume of poetry when Mr. Tickham gave her the Ulysses 2000 X vacuum as a present. Not only was this vacuum super sucky, it was multi-terrain! However, when Mr. Tickham turned on the super sucky vacuum, it took ohf with Mrs. Tickham straight into Flora's yard. What should have been a quiet day with her favorite comic The Illuminated Adventures of the Great Incandesto, Flora saw Mrs. Tickham being dragged by a crazy vacuum that was headed straight to a poor, innocent bystander: a squirrel. In a flurry, Flora did everything she could to warn the squirrel, but it was too late...he was being inhaled by the Ulysses 2000X and was kaput. However, Flora read in in a bonus comic of The Illuminated Adventures of the Great Incandesto called the Terrible Things That Can Happen To You how to perform CPR and that is exactly what she did. After resuscitating the former dead squirrel, a miracle occurred...the squirrel had somehow developed a consciousnesses and abilities such as super strength and he can now understand human speech. When Flora explained to Mrs. Tickham that the squirrel, named Ulysses, after his metal maker, was now a superhero like The Great Incandesto, she read to him from her poetry book, which stirred something deep inside of Ulysses: he loved words. Furthermore, when Flora took him home, Ulysses discovered her mother's typewriter, which revealed yet another super power: HE CAN TYPE! Flora decided to take him in under her wing to help him develop his new found powers just like Dolores, the parakeet, from The Illuminated Adventures of the Great Incandesto. However, Flora and Ulysses face a variety of obstacles that another bonus comic, entitled The Criminal Element, has predicted starting with Ulysses arch nemesis who has set out to separate Ulysses from Flora and ultimately destroy him! Holy Bagumba! Will our dynamic duo be able to escape their arch nemesis named "MOM!?!"

Critical Evaluation:
Kate DiCamillo has done it, AGAIN, in making me love everything about her stories. DiCamillo takes some very tough issues such as divorce, broken families, parental neglect, and the onset of adolescence and wraps them up in a funny, yet well-written story of a genuine friendship between a young girl and a squirrel. For Ulysses, he has never known what it's like to be human, in the sense, that he now has a conscience and sudden urge to express himself; everything used to be about food, but it's now about being alive. Although being sucked in a vacuum, and a near death experience, would rattle anyone, this incident has given an animal (that most people neglect) a new purpose in life: to be the superhero that saves everyone in the end. Along with this amazing friendship, Flora, a self-professed cynic, is starting to change because she, like Ulysses, is more aware of her surroundings and herself: Flora realizes how much she misses her father and how lonely she is. Although Flora's mother is the arch nemesis of the story, it's obvious her mother is also still grieving from the divorce, but is unable to express herself to her daughter so she throws herself into her work. It's not until the end of the story that she realizes the error of her ways, but, in the meantime, Flora feels that her mother loved her cheesy lamp than her; Flora's father, who has spent many nights on Mrs. Meescham's horsehair couch,  crying his eyes out because he is separated from his little girl, is also unable to relay his feelings to Flora (he's a pro at evading questions). Clearly, the adults, even Mrs. Meescham, are nuttier than Ulysses breath, but with Ulysses and William Spiver, Flora finally learns that she isn't alone, which not makes her happy, but a little less cynical. The best part of this story are the comics that K.G. Campbell has drawn because he captures not only the mood, and comedy, of the story, but the softness of the penciled comics conveys the fragility of both Ulysses and Flora who want nothing more than to be loved. This really is a sweet story and I giggled quite a bit simply because of all the "Holy Unanticipated Occurrences!" that occurred, a young finally realizes just how loved she really is.

Information about the Author:
According to her website:

I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, raised in Clermont, Florida, and currently live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I write for both children and adults and I like to think of myself as a storyteller.

Here are a few more facts about me: I am short. And loud. I hate to cook and love to eat. I am single and childless, but I have lots of friends and I am an aunt to three lovely children (Luke, Roxanne, and Max) and one not so lovely dog (Henry).

I think of myself as an enormously lucky person: I get to tell stories for a living.

Genre:
Tween Fiction, Tween Adventure

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 4-6


Books Similar to The Illuminated Adventures of Flora & Ulysses:

• Unhooking the Moon by Gregory Hughes
• Who Could That Be At This Hour? By Lemony Snickey

Awards & Recognition:

• 2014 John Newbery Medal Award Winner 

From Amazon.com:
Newbery-winner DiCamillo is a master storyteller not just because she creates characters who dance off the pages and plots, whether epic or small, that never fail to engage and delight readers. Her biggest strength is exposing the truths that open and heal the human heart. She believes in possibilities and forgiveness and teaches her audience that the salt of life can be cut with the right measure of love.
—Booklist (starred review)

Original, touching and oh-so-funny tale starring an endearingly implausible superhero and a not-so-cynical girl.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Despite supremely quirky characters and dialogue worthy of an SAT prep class, there’s real emotion at the heart of this story involving two kids who have been failed by the most important people in their lives: their parents.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Rife with marvelously rich vocabulary reminiscent of the early superhero era (e.g., "Holy unanticipated occurrences!") and amusing glimpses at the world from the point of view of Ulysses the supersquirrel, this book will appeal to a broad audience of sophisticated readers. There are plenty of action sequences, but the novel primarily dwells in the realm of sensitive, hopeful, and quietly philosophical literature.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Eccentric characters, snappy prose and the fantastical plot give this delightful novel a giddy, over-the-top patina, but the core is big and hopeful, contemplative and bursting with heart. No small feat, even for a superhero like DiCamillo.
—Shelf Awareness

In "Flora and Ulysses," longtime fans will find a happy marriage of Mercy Watson's warmth and wackiness and Edward Tulane's gentle life lessons. In Flora, they will find a girl worth knowing, and one they will remember.
—The New York Times Book Review

[L]augh-out-loud funny, tender, difficult and hopeful all at once. ... Cynics beware, this book is meant for those open to joy, wonder, loyalty and friendship of all stripes.
—The Huffington Post

This is a fun and clever tale of an unlikely hero uniting an even more unlikely cast of characters. Kate DiCamillo strikes again. Each character is well-drawn, the story is packed with fun references and asides. It's a perfect blend of poignancy and magic.
—Fall 2013 Parents' Choice Book Awards

DiCamillo does here what she does best, which is tell a deceptively simple story that elucidates big truths. ...
Though their adventures are wild and wacky, the heart of the story is about a girl adrift and how she finds her way home. Pencil illustrations and comic book panels by K.G. Campbell complement Kate DiCamillo's text perfectly. After reading Flora and Ulysses, you'll be asking when the next installment is due.
—NPR Books