Wolf Hollow

Upper Elementary--Middle School

If you enjoyed reading To Kill A Mockingbird you'll enjoy reading about an awakening of 11-year-old Annabelle in Lauren Wolk's novel Wolf Hollow. Much like Scout in "Mockingbird," Annabelle has a sense of what's just as she encounters a bully in her small community.

Annabelle lives on a farm in a rural section of Pennsylvania with her parents, grandparents and two younger brothers during early World War II. Life is pleasant in their little valley with most of the able bodied men off fighting the war.  The few men that remain are mostly too old, with the exception of  Toby, an odd duck who lives in the Hollow and we learn was a veteran of World War I. Toby's odd ways are accepted and Annabelle's mother takes subtly takes care of Toby and even ends up making a gift of a camera to him.

Annabelle attends school with her brothers and the other children of the Hollow in a one-room schoolhouse and she loves learning along with her best friend Ruth. The calm is upset, however, when Betty Glengarry arrives and turns life upside down for Annabelle and her friends and family. Betty was sent to live with her grandparents due to a "difficult" situation with her parents, and it's not long before Annabelle discovers why Betty really came to live with her grandparents.  The bullying that Betty dishes out has many disturbing consequences until it's turned around and Betty is the one in a terrifying situation. Wrongful accusations and an ensuing manhunt lead to fatal outcomes for Betty and Toby in Wolf Hollow.

Booked by Kwame Alexander

"For the rest of the week
     you can't sleep
      your head aches
      your stomach's a wreck
      your soul's on fire
      your parents are clueless
      you fall asleep in class
      you fail the math test
      you're scared to talk to April
      and you're trapped
      in a cage of misery
      with freedom
      nowhere in sight.

      If not for soccer,
      what'd be the point?"

Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

The Danger Box by Blue Balliet

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Me Before You by JoJo Mayes

"If he's in Switzerland, Bee, I'm not sure he's going to change his mind."

 "It's not my choice. It's not the choice of most of us on this board.  I love my life, even if I wish it was different. But I understand why  your friend might well have had enough. It's tiring, leading this  life, tiring in a way the AB [able-bodied] can never truly  understand. If he is determined, if he really can't see a way of things being better for him, then I guess the best thing you can do is just be there. You don't have to think he's right. But do do have to be there."

 Jojo Moyes examines the decisions of those with physical  disabilities and the choices they make based on their quality of  life. Louisa (Lou) Clark is a young woman who suddenly finds  herself unemployed. Louisa has helped to support her parents,  sister and young nephew with the wages she earned at her job.  When faced with the task of finding a new job, she ends up as  caretaker for a man who is a quadriplegic. Although she has no  experience as a caretaker or of medical issues that may arise, she  decides to "stick it out." After all, it's only for 6 months.

Will Traynor is a dynamic business executive, that is until a motorcycle accident robs him of everything that made him who he is. Living with his parents and as a quadriplegic is a daily chore for Will and he would like nothing better than to leave this world and his misery. The 6 month deal he makes with his parents ends up bringing Lou into his life and changes his outlook. But is it enough to cancel the deal?

Hold Fast by Blue Balliet

    "Gone. Four miserable letters. What does the word mean? Does 4:44, a measurement made of fours but shown by three, mean a family of four is still four, even when one is gone? Can a soul hide in a three that belongs to four?"

   In one of her newer novels, Blue Balliet weaves the story of Early, an 11 year old girl living in the Woodlawn area of Chicago. Early lives with her parents and brother Jubie in a one-room apartment with dreams of having a "real" home someday. The family unit is tight and they refer to themselves as DashSumEarlyJubie. Early's world is rocked when her father, Dash, mysteriously disappears and the family is embroiled in a mystery that violently leaves them homeless and new members of the shelter system.
     Early becomes the head of the family that was four, now three, and takes the lead to help find out what happened to her father. While Sum struggles with the complications of their new situation and life without Dash, Early, along with help from the writings of author Langston Hughes, discovers clues to determine if her father is still alive.
     Blue Balliet, in her incomparable way, weaves an intelligent mystery that takes a look at the lives of the homeless and the reality of life in the shelter system. This book leaves the reader wanting to learn more about this close-knit family and their predicament as each chapter unfolds.