Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman - ESSENTIAL

Eddleman, Peggy Sky Jumpers, 275 pgs. Random House, 2013. $16.99. Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG. 

Hope is the protagonist of this story and she has a lot to prove to her family and her town. She was not a very good inventor and that is all that matters in the town of White Rock. White Rock is a town that was established after World War 3 and the townspeople are trying desperately to come up with inventions to replace all the things that were lost due to the war. Hope has to dig deep and find her own talents to help her family and the whole town. 

I loved this book, it grabbed me right away and it made me smile and tear up a few times. It is a very clean book and only got a PG rating from me for violence because of the way the bandits treated the townspeople and used a gun once. I loved the way the author wrote this book, it flowed from beginning to end and I could hardly put it down. The story is one girls quest to find herself and the talents she has to offer her family and community. 

EL-ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: Carie Middle School Librarian

Hostage Three by Nick Lake - OPTIONAL

Lake, Nick Hostage Three, 368 pages; Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2013. $17.99.  Approximately 20 swear words, 13 F words. 

This is Amy Field’s story.  Her mother had suffered from mental illness most of Amy’s life, but when her mom commits suicide and her dad remarries with in the year, the wheels come off of Amy’s life.  To “fix” things, Amy’s Dad buys an elegant yacht and plans a six month trip around the world.  The adventure of a lifetime turns into a fight for a lifetime when Somali pirates hi-jack the yacht and Amy becomes Hostage Three.  The language is tough, there is one very brutal scene that starts out as an attempted rape and ends up as an execution, but the book has an excellent moral.  At the end of the book sullen broken Amy realizes that broken can be fixed.  

Mature themes PG13, violence PG13 maybe R but interesting story and background material make it palatable.  High School interest level, a hesitant yes on the recommendation. 

HS – OPTIONAL.