Weekend Reads

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda

As a seventh grade student, Caitlin was at a crossroads. She was a quiet student, and a trip to Germany her family had taken the previous summer opened her eyes to the idea that not everyone valued the same things that she did, nor were their lives always the same as her own. So when the opportunity to become a pen pal with a student from another country arose, Caitlin went against the grain and chose to write to a student from Zimbabwe when her classmates chose students from England, Germany or other places that were familiar due to experience or family ties. 

In the next chapter we meet Martin Ganda. Martin was a student in Zimbabwe and the recipient of Caitlin's letter. Martin begins his chapter describing his school experience. His classroom was crowded, and competition to be number one is fierce. His mother had very high expectations of him. He lived in a single room with his family, and couldn't always rely on having enough to eat, let alone the money he needed for his education. He was thrilled to get a letter from America, and was chosen to read the letter from Caitlin aloud. 

From there, Caitlin and Martin trade letters and chapters back and forth. Each tells about their lives at the time and what they learned about each other through their letters. Its amazing how different their lives were, yet how close they became while exchanging letters.

Find it in Nonfiction under 305.23 ALI

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

This is the first book in The Missing series and was engrossing from the very beginning. The book begins with a flashback where we meet Angela Du Pre on her first and only day of work at Sky Trails Air. From that scene, we flash forward 13 years and meet Jonah (a boy who was adopted as a baby) and his new friend Chip (who discovers that he, too, was adopted although it was kept a secret from him until now). A series of mysterious notes arrive to both boys, and as they try to understand who they are and where the notes are coming from, answers only seem to lead them to new questions. The series is anticipated to include eight books total, with the final book being published in September 2015. 

Find it in Fiction under F HAD

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

The worst part about this book is that the second one is not yet published and I am not so good at waiting to find out what happens next. This dystopian novel is set (as they often are) in a future we would not recognize. People are sorted into two categories based on the color of their blood. There are the Reds, who are the servants, the workers and the oppressed, and there are the Silvers, god-like creatures with power, wealth, and special abilities. Mare Barrow, the protagonist, is everything you want a protagonist to be - she pushes the boundaries, she loves her family, she's crafty and she cares about those she feels responsible for (even if she can be a little gruff). If you have the patience to read now and wait for the next one, stop by and get Red Queen today!

Find it in Fiction under F AVE