If you’re the parent of an avid reader, you understand the constant quest for that next great book. It’s me against the screen, and if I can quickly transition a new book into their hands, this is a victory for all involved. This is not always an easy task, and I sometimes find it hard to keep up. If you have other suggestions, please feel free to comment!
Three cheers for Lynda Mullaly Hunt. My 12 year-old daughter has whipped through two of her books in a row and absolutely loved them.
First she read One for the Murphys and said it was one of the best books she has ever read. She then recommended it to a friend who was home sick one day from school. She plowed through it and adored it as well. It is not without emotion. My daughter cried at the end, but overall felt the story left a lasting and positive impression.
My daughter is currently sitting downstairs writing a summary for school about Fish in a Tree, Mullaly Hunt’s newest book. When I asked her what makes the author so good, she said that the character development in both books made the stories feel so real.
Sheila Turnage is another author we are loving lately. She wrote Three Times Lucky, which has been a real hit around here, starring Miss Moses LoBeau as the main character. My daughter has since passed it on to her ten year-old brother, who is reading it right now and cannot put it down.
She went on to read the next book, The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing (Mo & Dale Mystery) and in an act of (somewhat rare!) kindness towards her younger brother put her copy on his nightstand the other day so he can move on to it when he finishes Three Times Lucky.
Another book she’s been talking about is Crunch by Leslie Connor, where a couple of teenagers are left to run their parents bike shop in an interesting twist of events following a gas shortage.
She absolutely loved Kristin Levine’s The Lions of Little Rock, which does a great job depicting what it was like growing up in a racially split Little Rock, Arkansas in 1958.
She has not read Kate Messner’s All the Answers but looked through the review on Amazon and wants to read it. It’s about a magical pencil, and what happens when it falls into Ava Anderson’s hands. It looks quite good!
It’s worth noting that my daughter would recommend all of these books to boys as well as to girls.
