Looking for Happiness
Outside Your Comfort Zone
By Hollie Parry
In January’s reviews you
will find a group of kids who have to look for happiness
outside of their comfort zones. They all must take some
kind of risk to do what is right for themselves or for
other for whom they are responsible. As they struggle,
they find that a little humor and help from someone who
cares goes a long way.
Befiddled by Pedro
de Alcantara
Becky
Cohen is a 13-year-old who has it rough everywhere. She
doesn’t fit in at school, with other kids, at her group
violin lesson, and can’t seem to please her mother. She
loves music more than anything, but doesn’t possess the
confidence or the means to hire someone who can help her
move the music in her head to her violin strings. Her
biggest fan and ally is her brother, Benjy. Becky’s life
changes one day when she meets the building supervisor,
who begins to teach Becky how to play the violin with
passion and find confidence in her life. From lessons
taken from incidents in her life (including a dog chasing
a Frisbee and a haircut), Becky prepares to face her fear
and enter a scholarship contest. Winning this contest
could provide the avenue to all her dreams coming true.
I loved this book; especially Benjy’s monthly paper that
he writes — it made me laugh.
Babymouse: Queen of
the World by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Babymouse
is a junior high mouse who faces the same problems as
most adolescents; friends, enemies, homework, and getting
her locker open. Her arch enemy is Felicia Furrypaws,
who is extremely popular, talented, and a VERY big bully.
Babymouse’s best friend is a loyal, steady weasel named
Wilson.
Babymouse finds herself vying
for the coveted invitation to Felicia’s birthday party
in hopes that she will gain popularity and status. But
when she shows up at the party, she finds out that being
Felicia’s friend does not make her Queen of the World,
as she supposed. Written in comic form, this book is both
funny and interesting. Babymouse has a great imagination
and shows us all that things are never as dramatic as
they first seem.
Babymouse: Our Hero
by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Book
two in the Babymouse comics shows the heroine returning
to face getting to school on time, forgotten homework,
her lost sneakers, and her enemy Felicia Furrypaws in
a vicious game of dodgeball. With the help of her weasel
friend Wilson, she practices up for the big dodgeball
game, and slips through by the skin of her teeth thanks
to … her socks? I loved both of the Babymouse books, which
are easy to read and laugh-out-loud fun.
Nicky Deuce: Welcome
to the Family by Steven R. Schirripa and Charles Fleming
When Nicky’s summer camp plans are thwarted by a septic
tank explosion, he is sent to spend time with his grandmother
in Brooklyn. As Nicky arrives in Brooklyn, he realizes
that his father’s childhood was very different from his
own and even starts to like the Italian life much better.
It seems as if the members of the Italian community in
Brooklyn are hiding something, and Nicky feels like his
uncle is not what he seems as well. Nicky makes friends
with a local boy and finds himself involved in less-than-honest
errands for a group of thieves. When Nicky and his friend
Tommy find themselves in more trouble than they can handle,
you will not believe who comes to their rescue.
