Realistic Fiction Book Reviews
295 book reviews found, page 51 of 59. Narrow results by selecting age range:
John's sister says, 'There's just no room for me in Dadland.' John knows exactly what she means. With his parade of expensive cars and new girlfriends, their dad never seems to have time for him. John visits his father only once a year, and he's determined that things will be different this time. When his dad leaves their first meal for a meeting, John is discouraged. Will he ever find his place in Dadland?
Reviewed by: emc
Date read: 5/14/2010
ISBN-10: 0803725639
ISBN-13: 9780803725638
Check the library catalog
Twelve-year-old Claire loves skating on the cow pond in her yard. She doesn't like competing if a judge is anywhere in the building. She's good at math and knows she's needed to help run the family farm and maple sap business. So how can she accept a scholarship to train at Lake Placid? Claire enters the world of competitive skating and learns some surprising truths about herself.
Reviewed by: donna
Date read: 4/19/2011
ISBN-10: 0802720811
ISBN-13: 9780802720818
Summer of the Swans
Betsy Byars (1970), 144 pages
Illustrated by Ted CoConis
Audience: 4th Grade - 8th Grade
Middle school student Sara feels as if she exists on two planes. Sometimes, she is happy and excited, the next moment, she is plunged into despair. Sara has been living with her Aunt Willie, her older sister, Wanda, and younger brother, Charlie, since her mother died and her father left. An illness with a high fever has left Charlie unable to speak and with the intelligence of a much younger child. Sara feels it is her responsibility to care for Charlie and defend him against the world, especially against boys like Joe Melby. Charlie disappears one night and Sara is sure that he has gone to look for the swans they watched the previous day. Before too long, Aunt Willie calls the police and the whole community is on the alert. When Joe Melby offers to help Sara search for Charlie, she isn't at all sure she wants to accept. While the suspense builds, Sara finds she is also on another search, for herself.
Similar books: The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry
Awards won: John Newbery Medal
Reviewed by: vverscaj
Date read: 1/13/2011
ISBN-10: 0670681903
ISBN-13: 9780670681907
Just two months after his grandmother dies, ten-year-old Spoon is already starting to forget her. His dreams about her are starting to fade. He knows he needs to find something to help him remember her. Taking her well-worn playing cards from his grandfather's house soothes him, but when he hears his grandfather is looking for them, he is lost about what to do. This is a poetic, gentle book about learning to cope with the loss of someone you love.
Reviewed by: emc
Date read: 12/31/2009
ISBN-10: 0141300957
ISBN-13: 9780141300955
Alex's imitation of Brick Johnson, a big, tough kid in his grade, gets a lot of laughs, but he doesn't realize Brick is watching. After Brick's reaction, Alex knows he's in trouble. What was he thinking to make fun of a bully? Alex decides his only hope is a karate class, to make him a 'sleek fighting machine.' What will he do when Brick shows up for karate, too?
Reviewed by: emc
Date read: 2/4/2010
ISBN-10: 0395980313
ISBN-13: 9780395980316
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