Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel

Pages: 341

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Drama / Adversity

Notes for Parents: Some mature content

The Back Cover

When Maisie Winters wakes up, she’s in the hospital.

The last thing she remembers is running through the hills of her neighborhood one misty morning. Slowly, she puts the pieces together: Before she could make it home, a storm gathered. Lightning hit a power line and sparks rained down, the hot-burning electrical fire consuming her. Destroying her face. Where her nose, cheeks, and chin used to be, now there is…nothing.

Maisie’s lucky enough to qualify for a rare medical treatment: a face transplant. At least, everyone says she’s lucky. But with someone else’s features staring back at her in the mirror, Maisie looks—and feels—like a stranger. The doctors promised that the transplant was her chance to live a normal life again, but nothing feels normal anymore. Before, she knew who she was—a regular girl who ran track and got good grades, who loved her boyfriend and her best friend. Now, she can’t even recognize herself.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The author was inspired to write the story after reading an article in 2012 about a man who received a full face transplant. A face transplant is a medical procedure to replace all or part of a person's face using tissue from a cadaver. The world's first partial face transplant on a living human was carried out in France in 2005. The world's first full face transplant was completed in Spain in 2010.

What’s good?

Maisie defined herself by her ability to run and took her good looks, good friends, and good grades for granted. But after an accident alters her life, she struggles to figure out who she is and who she wants to be now that everything has changed. Maisie is a strong, realistic character, who’s search for identity amid adversity is a lesson in perseverance and resiliency. The medical information is fascinating, and thankfully presented in a way that’s easy to understand. Maisie’s unique situation is given perspective when she joins a support group and meets other who understand her many obstacles. The plot is fairly simple, with a few twists, and the pace is even. There’s a bit of romance, some humor, and plenty of emotion.

Best Part: Maisie’s friend Serena.

What isn’t good?

It felt like there was something missing. Or perhaps someone. She had her friend Serena, her boyfriend Chirag, and her parents, but why weren’t there more people rallying around her. Where were all her friends, classmates, teachers, teammates, neighbors? What about the media? The lack of attention, good or bad, felt like a missing element. Also, the ending didn’t resolve anything. It wasn’t terrible, but it felt unfinished.

Worst part: The “lucky” theme was annoying.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

It was good. I liked Maisie, the plot was interesting, and the story was a quick and easy read. The pace was steady, but my no means fast, and there wasn’t a lot of action. But the whole premise was intriguing and the problems Maisie came up against kept me engaged. Recommended.

Sheinmel, Alyssa. Faceless. New York: Scholastic, 2015.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling

Pages: 280

Intended Audience: Tweens and up

Genre: Script / Fantasy

Notes for Parents: Some violence and mature content

The Back Cover

The year is 1926 in the city of New York…

A time and place where the actions of a handful of people…and creatures…will determine the fate of the many. Magizoologist Newt Scamander, newly arrived in town, intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when Newt’s magical case is misplaced and some of his fantastic beasts escape into the city, it spells trouble for everyone…

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is J.K. Rowling’s screenwriting debut. Set in the Harry Potter universe (but about 75 years before Harry), this is the original screenplay for the movie of the same name that was released in November.

What’s good?

Enchanting supernatural beasts, magical spells, disquieting villains, and a delightfully eccentric hero make this new addition to the Potterverse and absolute joy to read. While this is not a Harry Potter novel, it has the same fantastical feel of the Harry Potter series. The plot is simple—very simple, in fact—and the characters are curious and charming. There’s plenty of action, adventure, waving wands, creature chaos, and dark, devious evil lurking in the shadows. The story is both fun and funny, with everything you would expect from a J.K. Rowling story. The book itself is beautifully designed with elaborate drawings and flourishes.

Best Part: The Niffler.

What isn’t good?

The only negative thing I can say is that the story loses a little to the screenplay format. We don’t get the mood-generating imagery, or the world-building descriptions that made the Harry Potter books so visual. However, the movie gives you all of that and more, so the script is more of a companion to the film than a stand-alone book.

Worst part: There were absolutely no “worst parts”!

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺☻

For those who were disappointed with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, this is redemption. Despite the different format, this has all of the elements that made Harry Potter so entertaining – eccentric characters, fantastical beasts, humor, adventure, tense moments, and an everyday hero. Definitely recommended.

Rowling, J.K. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay. New York: Arthur A. Levine, 2016. (Hardcover)

Facing the Mountain by Wendy Orr

Pages: 136

Intended Audience: Tweens and up

Genre: Adventure / Survival

Notes for Parents: Some mature content

The Back Cover

Raven is hiking in the Rockies with her family. But when she gets to the top of her first mountain, the world tilts. She finds herself falling, riding a wave of rocks. Her sister and stepfather are trapped by the avalanche. Now Raven faces wild animals and treacherous terrain as she goes for help. Can she survive long enough to save her family?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This book was shortlisted for the 2013 Diamond Willow Awards in Saskatchewan and for the 2011 Speech Pathologists Book of the Year in Australia. It was also name a Children’s Book Council of Australian Notable Book in 2012 and commended as one of the Best Books for Kids and Teens by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre in 2012. In Australia, the book is called Raven’s Mountain. The author was born in Australia and raised in Canada.

What’s good?

Raven has to find a way down the mountain on her own after her sister and stepfather are trapped by a rock slide. She battles the elements and the wildlife, finding an inner strength she didn’t know she had. Raven is a strong, likable character, and her adventure and adversities are realistic and exciting. The story is short and the plot is simple, so this is a quick and easy read. While her physical journey is perilous, her psychological journey is just as engaging.

Best Part: The white bear and cubs.

What isn’t good?

Not surprisingly, Raven’s adventures are predictable. Despite getting a bad sun burn, bee stings, a ton of mosquito bites, and having little to drink or eat, the reader isn’t given a real sense of her discomfort – instead the story focuses on the dangers and her disorientation. It’s disappointing, but understandable in a short book.

Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

It was a good, quick, and easy read. This is no literary masterpiece, but Raven’s journey was entertaining, and the themes of strength and courage were thought-provoking. The ending was convenient and tidy, as expected. Recommended for those looking for a good adventure story.

Orr, Wendy. Facing the Mountain. Toronto: Scholastic Canada, 2011.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

Pages: 274

Intended Audience: Adults

Genre: Historical fiction

Notes for Parents: Some mature content

The Back Cover

January 1946: Writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

After the manuscript was accepted for publication (2006), the book's editor requested that the author, Mary Shaffer, make some changes that required substantial rewriting, but around that time Shaffer's health had deteriorated dramatically. She asked the daughter of her sister Cynthia, Annie Barrows, who by that time was a well-established author of children's literature, to finish the editing and rewriting. Barrows did so, and thereby became a listed co-author on the work.

What’s good?

The island of Guernsey was the only part of British soil that was occupied by the Nazis during World War II. Set in London in 1946, this is the story of a group of Guernsey islanders who survived the five-year occupation by reading books, hiding a pig, and developing strong bonds of friendship. Told in an epistolary format (letters), the tale begins when Juliet, a posh British writer receives an unsolicited letter from a man living in Guernsey. They exchange letters and eventually reveal the fascinating story of the islanders during those difficult years. The storytelling is smooth and the plot well-paced (after Juliet gets the letter – before that it’s pretty slow!). With plenty of moments of both joy and heartbreak, this is a gratifying tale with eccentric characters, compassion and wit, and a lesson about the power of love.

Best Part(s): Dawsey Adams, Zenobia the parrot, and the pig story.

What isn’t good?

I didn’t particularly enjoy the letter format because it limited the amount of information accessible to the reader. There were many interesting themes and subjects that were treated superficially because the format didn’t allow for much more. In essence, what could have been a powerful wartime story is better described as romanticized historical fiction.

Worst part: The start was really slow.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

This is the kind of book you read on a chilly winter’s night, wrapped in a blanket and sitting by a fire. Less about war and more about how war disrupts lives, it’s a character study and a heartwarming (at times heart-wrenching) story of friends, family, and community. The story has a kindness about it that is rarely seen in a book about the dark days of World War II.

Shaffer, Mary Ann & Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. New York: Dial Press, 2008.

These Are My Words: The Residential School Diary of Violet Pesheens by Ruby Slipperjack

Pages: 168

Intended Audience: Mature Tweens and up

Genre: Historical novel

Notes for Parents: Some mature content

The Back Cover

September 9, 1966

They took everything away when I arrived here. I had stones from home and some feathers that Grandma gave me. They took my diary too. I had a lot of stuff written in there that I thought would give me some comfort over the year. But now it’s gone.

I was given this notebook and pencils for school, so I am going to start another diary. I am going to hide it with me all the time.

I put the things that were on the bed into the locker. All the clothes had the number 75 written in black marker on the tags. I am now #75.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

Description from Goodreads.com:

Violet Pesheens is struggling to adjust to her new life at Residential School. She misses her Grandma; she has run-ins with Cree girls; at her “white” school, everyone just stares; and everything she brought has been taken from her, including her name—she is now just a number. But worst of all, she has a fear. A fear of forgetting the things she treasures most: her Anishinaabe language; the names of those she knew before; and her traditional customs. A fear of forgetting who she was.
Her notebook is the one place she can record all of her worries, and heartbreaks, and memories. And maybe, just maybe there will be hope at the end of the tunnel.

The novel is part of the “Dear Canada” series.

What’s good?

The diary format and the middle school level makes this a quick and easy read. The main character, Violet, is easily likeable, and the plot is simple. This is a story of survival as Violet struggles to hold on to her personal and cultural identity amidst a system that is trying to strip her of it. There are very few secondary characters, but Violet’s grandmother is noteworthy as a vibrant and independent woman in her community. The inclusion of Anishinaabe words was interesting, and illustrated her efforts to preserve her sense of self. This is a sanitized version of a very dark part of Canada’s history.

Best Part: Blackie the dog

What isn’t good?

Plot development was weak and the whole story lacked any real historical or cultural context. While this was a decent introduction to a dark and complex topic, it serves only as a mild starting point. The events were sanitized so much that Violet’s experience in a residential school felt more like a sad inconvenience for one girl rather than the horrific injustice that was forced upon an entire nation.

Worst part: The lack of emotion.

Recommendation ☺☺☻☻☻ (2/5)

This is not a happy story, nor should it be, but it lacked an element that should have made it feel hopeful. We knew Violet was sad and homesick, but her diary never really explored the deeper emotions. There were bright moments, but ultimately it felt like a story told rather than an experience shared. The story was thought-provoking, but ultimately, for me, disappointing.

Slipperjack, Ruby. These are My Words: The Residential School Diary of Violet Pesheens. Toronto: Scholastic Canada, 2016