Creek Critiques

Tracy Lloyd lives a quiet life in Winfield, Texas .  She moved there from New York after her mother was murdered.  Living with her aunt and uncle, she tries to keep to herself.  While she and a friend are chatting in the cafeteria at school, she notices a rather handsome new student watching her.  His name is Brad Johnson, a transfer from New Mexico .  Tracy is drawn to his intense stare and personable demeanor.  Brad, feeling the same for Tracy , boldly asks for her phone number.  What Tracy doesn’t know is that Brad isn’t really a new student at the school.  He has come to Texas with the sole purpose of finding his younger sister, Mindy, who he believes was kidnapped by his step-father and taken to Winfield.  Brad wants Tracy to pose as a baby-sitter so he can take his sister back home to New Mexico .  Tracy , wrapped up in Brad’s emotional story, agrees wholeheartedly.  The plan is set in motion.  Brad and Tracy work together to find the girl and then take her to New Mexico .  However, when the little girl doesn’t respond to the name Mindy and insists her name is Cricket, Tracy wonders if Brad was telling her the truth about his sister.  Find out in this mystery by Lois Duncan!

Miss Simer’s Rating: ***

The group from Edgemere Alternative School reunites in this sequel to Lubar’s first novel, Hidden Talents. The boys have left Edgemere and returned home and are attempting to hide their hidden talents. This novel focuses on Eddie Thalmeyer AKA “Trash” who has the unusual ability to move objects with his mind. He has been abducted by an evil man intent on using Trash’s power as a weapon. This man also faked Trash’s death so no one is looking for him. Out of the blue, the other boys from Edgemere hear a faint whisper in the wind that reminds them of their friend Trash. This nudge from the past also plants a seed that makes them travel to Philadelphia where they all meet and learn Trash is still alive and being hunted by super-powerful bad guys. Fire-starter Torchie, mind-reader Cheater, death-dodger Flinch, and soul-searcher Martin work with Trash to destroy the villains who are out to get him. In the meantime they must also save their friend Lucky from being brainwashed by the same evil-doers. If you have not read Hidden Talents, this book will still stand on its own!

 Miss Simer’s Rating: ***

In this companion novel to The Giver, Lowry explores another society, but this one is not a utopia.  In this society, it is every man for himself, war and violence are common occurrences, death a reminder to keep to yourself.  The novel begins with Kira, a young girl whose mother has died suddenly.  Her father was killed by “beasts” in the forest before she was born, so she has no one.  She returns to her home to find it in ashes, burned to the ground by the villagers.  A particularly vile woman named Vandara has taken over Kira’s land and refuses to let her rebuild on it.  The conflict is taken before a committee of elders and Kira’s land is given to Vandara.  Kira is allowed to stay in the village and is given an honored job as Threader.  She is responsible for repairing and redesigning the Singer’s robe.  The Singer’s robe has the history of the village sewn on it, and is presented at the yearly Gathering ceremony.  Kira learns how to dye the thread to make the necessary colors, but is unable to find blue.  Her friend Matt travels “yonder” to gather the blue she needs and discovers something much more important to Kira’s life while he is there.

Miss Simer’s Rating: ***

Young Beniamino lives in Napoli, Italy , in the late 1800s and his family struggles to make ends meet.  His father died many years ago and his mother has a difficult time finding work.  She scrapes enough money together to buy Beniamino some brand new shoes and passage to America on a cargo ship.  He boards the ship believing that his mother is there too, hiding somewhere.   When he arrives in America , he discovers his mother has not accompanied him on the journey at all.  He is alone in a foreign land.  He must hide from the padrones, men who take in orphaned boys and make them work.  He also must hide his Jewish identity for fear of persecution and renames himself Dom Napoli.  Finally, he meets Gaetano, an older boy who is surviving on his own on the streets of Manhattan , and Tin Pan Alley, a boy who is under the thumb of a wicked padrone.  Together, they begin a sandwich business and manage to make a living.  Dom dreams of returning to Napoli to see his family and hopes his business will help him do just that.  This first-person narrative gives the reader an inside look into the harsh reality of immigrating into New York .

Miss Simer’s Rating: ***

This companion novel to Lowry’s The Giver and Gathering Blue joins characters from both novels in a new village.  I have to start this review by saying that you must read both of the above-mentioned novels before reading this one!  Matty, who had escaped his community with Seer, Kira’s blind father, is now living in a new village, and is patiently waiting for his true name.  He’s hoping to be named Messenger, since he spends much time traveling between villages delivering messages.  But something ominous is happening to his formerly selfless and accepting village.  The townspeople are becoming greedy and self-centered.  They want to close the village to outsiders.  The Leader realizes he can’t stop what the townspeople want, so he sends Matty on a final journey to deliver the news to the surrounding villages.  Seer tells Matty he must retrieve Kira and bring her to the village before it closes for good.   His trip is full of danger, especially when the Forest comes to life and literally attacks him as he passes through it.  Matty’s hidden gift will come in handy when the Forest seizes Kira and Matt before they can return to the village.  Will they make it, or will evil triumph?

Miss Simer’s Rating: ***

Chance’s dad is a drunk.  There’s not a nice way to put it.  He is an alcoholic.  However, he’s not a mean drunk.  He’s never been violent toward Chance, but Chance has had to be the man of the house and be the money-maker for his family.  Chance is a high school senior who works evenings and weekends at a restaurant as the dish washer.  It’s a low-paying job, but it’s the only one he could get.  In his free time, he loves to run along the beach to clear his head.  One day, a man approaches Chance and offers him the opportunity to get rich by running.  He tells him to follow the same route he takes every day and the only difference is that he will stop at a particular rock to look for a hidden package.  Chance knows that this is not a legitimate job because he will be paid $200 in cash each week.  But Chance is desperate, and his father is unemployed again.  He takes the job.  Now Chance’s hobby of running takes on a whole new meaning.  He is now a drug runner, a criminal.  He gets nervous with each run, but even more so when new, mysterious packages arrive.  He gets very concerned that the new packages might by plastic explosives, and he is horrified that he might be working for terrorists!  How will Chance get out of the mess he’s put himself in?

 Miss Simer’s Rating: ***

Preston Scott thought he had one big happy family.  They even appeared on The Family Feud together!  His view changed when he heard his parents fighting one evening.  One evening became many and soon his mother moved out.  If that wasn’t hard enough on the family, she also began dating a popular NFL football player and rubbed it in Preston ’s dad’s face.  Mr. Scott snapped and the unthinkable happened: he shot and killed Mrs. Scott and then turned the gun on himself.  But he survived.  He had to face the consequences of his behavior and was put on trial for murder.  In the meantime, Preston and his brother went to live with his mother’s parents.  They had known Mr. Scott since he was 15 and knew that he was not in his right mind when he shot their daughter.  They forgave him and testified on his behalf at his trial.  Preston is overcome with anger and resentment toward his father for what he’s done, but he still loves him.  The verdict comes in and Mr. Scott is sentenced to five years in prison.  However, he is released early for good behavior and soon Preston and his brother are back in Mr. Scott’s care.  Will they be able to live with him after what he did?

Miss Simer’s Rating: ***

Seventeen-year-old Kaitlin’s family has a long-standing feud with their distant relatives, the Crutchfields.  The feud heated up to a dangerous degree when Kaitlin’s father murdered Mr. Crutchfield while having an argument about their land.  Kaitlin’s mother decides to send her children to another school with a new last name so they will not be recognized as kin of the Crutchfield murderer.  Kaitlin’s only happiness is when she is able to use her lunch break to write her thoughts and poetry into her notebook in a secluded area outside the school.  But she is not as alone as she thought!  A boy with piercing blue eyes also uses the area at lunch time, but he uses it to sketch.  Kaitlin learns his name is Bram and soon they fall in love.  While sharing some of their family drama with one another, Bram confesses that his father was murdered - and Kaitlin soon realizes that he is none other than Bram Crutchfield!  She continues to hide her true identity, worried that Bram will hate her when he finds out her father is the one who killed his.  Will Bram and Kaitlin find a way to overcome the feud that has haunted their families for generations? 

Miss Simer’s Rating: ***