I am a big believer of reading, and the importance of reading to your children no matter how old they get. My son is 11. His tastes vary and the books he loves shows that. Here are eight books my son loved so much, they put him in a book slump.
A Box of Bones by Marina Cohen (Raincoast Books, www.raincoast.com)
I really like Marina Cohen's work. The Toronto resident said her favourite author was Edgar Allan Poe and she writes similar works, but for children. This middle-grade book follows the story of Kallie, who despises nonsense. But at her town's Festival of Fools, she meets a faceless man who gives her a puzzle box, which she sets out to unlock and unwittingly lets something out. From then on, her life is entangled with another world where “Liah, a young bone carver, journeys with her master to sell wares to a wicked Queen.”
While I appreciate great books, and this book is great, it is likely the only time I have actually stopped in mid-sentence to exclaim, “Wow, this is amazing writing.” Great characters with a story with the right amount of suspense and excitement.
If you like this one, I would also suggest The Inn Between, fabulous both times I read it.
The Boy, The Bird and the Coffin Maker by Matilda Woods (Penguin Books, www.penguin.com/middle-grade)
Alberto is a coffin maker and widower, whose family died during the sickness that killed many people in his seaside town of Allora where fish fly out the sea. One afternoon, a magical bird arrives at Alberto's home, followed by a boy named Tito, who is looking for a safe place to stay.
“Can the boy and the old man learn the power of friendship and escape the shadows of their pasts?”
The book was a quick read with wonderful characters, particularly Alberto who has lost so many people he has loved and who is just living to die until he meets Tito. My son enjoyed this one so much, we quickly got another book by Woods, The Girl Who Sailed the Stars, which we also liked.
Dog Driven by Terry Lynn Johnson (Raincoast Books, www.raincoast.com)
My son loved this book about a McKenna Barney, who, at 14 is leading a team of sled dogs in a competition through the Canadian wilderness, following the trail of the dogsled mail couriers, which ran from 1856 to the early 1900s. Scary enough, but McKenna is going blind, battling a rare eye disease that has already affected her sister. How her parents treat her little sister has made McKenna avoid telling them the truth about her illness for fear they will make her give up her sled dog team and any other bit of freedom she has.
“Will McKenna risk her survival as well of that of her team to keep her secret.”
Dog Driven was an action-packed book. My son now wants to have sled dogs and start dog sled racing. We also learned about Stargardt disease. It was interesting to hear my son's perspective on how McKenna's little sister was treated by her parents and his thoughts on McKenna's choices. We have gone on to read Dog Sled School by the same author, and look forward to reading more of her books. I interviewed the Canadian author on Book Time. Read it here.
Inkling by Kenneth Oppel (HarperCollins Canada, www.harpercollins.ca)
Inkling was an amazing book about a creature made entirely of ink that jumps off the page of Peter Rylance's sketchbook and becomes his son's Ethan's new best friend, giving him what he is missing except for the one thing Inkling can't give – his mom back. Ethan, his little sister Sarah and Inkling himself/itself? are great characters. The story is amazing. It's another book I read first, knew my son would love it and started to read it to him immediately. He also loved it. Inkling was such a neat way to tell the story. I highly recommend it.
The Invisible Boy by Alyssa Hollingsworth (Raincoast books, www.raincoast.com)
We just finished this book about a girl named Nadia who loves comic books, particularly Superman. She wants to be just like Lois Lane, cracking the identify of Invisible Boy, who swoops in to save her dog from drowning and immediately disappears again. With the help of Paddle Boy, Nadia learns “the real-life adventure she finds is far more dangerous than anything in her comic book.”
The Invisible Boy brings the issue of human trafficking into the hands of the middle-grade set, allowing my son and I to talk about this issue that happens in Canada as often as it happens elsewhere. Great book.
Sara and the search for normal by Wesley King (Simon & Schuster Canada)
My son and I also just finished this book. He loved it so much that he hoped Sara would have a sequel. Turns out Sara is the sequel or perhaps the prequel to OCDaniel.
Sara and the search for normal is another book that allowed for discussions, this time about mental health and abuse. Sara has multiple mental health diagnoses and spends her days in isolation, separated from her classmates, and searching for a way to be normal. She even has a list she reads nightly, which includes tips on how to be normal. But one day in group therapy she meets Erin, who becomes a fast friend. Erin doesn't care about normal, whatever that is.
“But there is more to Erin than her cheerful exterior, and Sara begins to wonder if helping Erin will mean sacrificing their friendship.”
My son wished Sara went to his school so he could be friends with her. We both hoped Sara wouldn't worry so much about being normal, but instead love yourself for the way you are.
The List by Patricia Forde (Raincoast Books, www.raincoast.com)
I was late coming to The List party, starting it just before the sequel, The Last Lie, was due to come out. The List was fabulous, and my son thought so as well. This book allowed us to talk about the importance of words, freedom of speech and control.
The book is set sometime in the future after global warming increased the sea level, killing millions of people and destroying the world as we know it. Leta is the apprentice wordsmith, entrusted to ensure the 500 words that make up the language in the Ark are accessible to its residents.
“When the leaders of the Ark begin to shorten List to fewer and fewer words, Letta begins to panic as she watches speech slowly slip away. Before it's too late, Letta must ask what is life without language? And what does it mean to survive versus to live.”
The List was amazing. Great characters, even the ones who are evil. The Last Lie is the second book in the duology, and was a great end to the series.
The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart
I confess it's been a number of years since I read Trenton Lee Stewart's The Secret Keepers to my son. I don't remember much about it other than he loved it so much and still talks about this book full of mystery, intrigue, treacherous traps and a host of great characters.
“When Reuben discovers an extraordinary antique watch, he soon learns it has a secret power and his life takes an intriguing turn. At first he is thrilled with his new treasure, but as one secret leads to another, Reuben finds himself torn between his innately honest nature and the lure to be a hero. Now he is on a dangerous adventure...Can Reuben outwit and outmanoeuvre the sly villain called The Smoke and his devious defenders the Directions and save the city from a terrible fate?”
Lisa Day is the author of two book blogs – Book Time (https://booktime584.
