This is the companion novel to Life as We Knew It, a Caudill nominee from 2009. A much darker novel, it chronicles 17-year-old Alex Morales' plight after the crash of the asteroid into the moon. A straight-A student, working a part-time job and hoping to get a scholarship to Georgetown, it is Alex who becomes responsible for the care and well-being of his 11 and 14-year-old sisters when his parents do not return home after the disaster and are assumed dead. The setting is New York City and the Morales live in an apartment. Food becomes an immediate problem and death and disease grow as the story progresses. As one sister gets sicker and the other one more scared and difficult, Alex knows his only hope is to find a way to get them out of the city. As in Life as We Knew It, it is the story of the importance of family and love, hope, and faith, set against a terrifyingly real background.

Reviewed by: ewl

Date read: 7/2/2009

ISBN-10: 0152063110

ISBN-13: 9780152063115

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Simon Drake dreams of being out at sea, and becoming a long-distance sailor, so he signs up for a week-long, live-aboard sailing course. Trouble begins when Simon, and Olivia, another student, get curious about a nearby boat, and when they investigate, they stumble upon an abalone poaching operation. The poachers have far too much at stake to let a couple of kids get in their way. Simon finds himself caught, bound, gagged, fighting to survive, and learning things that were definitely not in the description of the class.

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 3/25/2009

ISBN-10: 155143962X

ISBN-13: 9781551439624

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New York City, 1906 - a deadly outbreak of typhoid fever is sweeping the city. Sixteen-year-old budding scientist Prudence Galewski leaves secretarial school to follow her dreams and work as an assistant in the Department of Health and Sanitation. This agency is responsible for discovering the reason for the spread of the deadly disease. Meet 'Typhoid Mary' the Irish immigrant blamed for this outbreak, who has never been sick a day in her life. Follow the path of Prudence and her boss, the head epidemiologist as they try to prove what no one else will believe - that someone without symtoms can be the carrier. This historical fiction is told in journal form and very satisfyingly chronicles the heroine's growth as a person as well as a scientist in the turbulent era when women did not even have the right to vote.

Reviewed by: ewl

Date read: 3/10/2011

ISBN-10: 0689857381

ISBN-13: 9780689857386

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Cimorene is not your ordinary princess. She is a rebel by princess standards. Instead of being happy with her etiquette and embroidery courses, she wants to learn fencing, Latin, and magic. When Cimorene's parents discourage her from taking these lessons, their best argument is that, 'It's simply not done.' Cimorene finds herself extremely restless, and bored, after her parents end lesson after lesson. Finally, Cimorene meets an enchanted frog that claims to be able to help her. He directs her to a cave which turns out to be filled with dragons. Just before she is eaten, Cimorene asks to be one of the dragon's princess. The kind dragon, Kazul, takes Cimorene in. In exchange for cooking, cleaning, and doing other bits of housework, or perhaps cave work, Cimorene gets the opportunity to practice Latin, learn magic, and interact with all sorts of new, interesting creatures. Cimorene couldn't be happier, until the Society of Wizards begins to create trouble for the dragons. Cimorene, and several friends, are swept into a grand adventure to protect the dragon kingdom, but will they find themselves in over their heads in magic, and monsters?

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 3/27/2009

ISBN-10: 015204566X

ISBN-13: 9780152045661

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Commenter: St. Charles Reader, grade 0

Commenter: St. Charles Reader, grade 0

Dear Mr. Henshaw is a series of letters written by Leigh Botts, from his home in California, to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw. Through his letters, and the diary Mr. Henshaw encourages Leigh to keep, Leigh is able to work out some of the problems he's been dealing with since his parents got divorced. This is the winner of the 1984 Newbery Medal.

Awards won: John Newbery Medal

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 4/12/2009

ISBN-10: 0688024068

ISBN-13: 9780688024062

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