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<![CDATA[Kelly added 'Riot']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81310811
to: Riot (Hardcover)byWalter Dean Myers bookshelves: work
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<![CDATA[Kelly added 'Anything But Typical']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77493414
to: Anything But Typical (Hardcover)byNora Raleigh Baskin bookshelves: work
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<![CDATA[Kelly added 'The Magician's Elephant']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77493211
to: The Magician's Elephant (Hardcover)byKate DiCamillo bookshelves: work
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<![CDATA[Kelly added 'The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77493131
to: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Hardcover)byJacqueline Kelly bookshelves: work
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<![CDATA[Kelly added 'My True Story Of The Holocaust']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79002649
to: My True Story Of The Holocaust (Hardcover)byElly Gross
Heartbreaking first person narrative of her time in Auschwitz/ Berkenau. Fifteen when separated from her mother and brother, Elly Gross tells her own story of life as a Jew in Eastern Europe during World War II, day-to-day life in a concentration camp, and how holocaust survivors often had no one to go home to after becoming free. Though she survived, she carries with her the memories of a terrible time.
May be a nice supplement to Ellen Klages' White Sands, Red Menace, as the engineers and scientists in that book work with the rockets and engineers and scientists from Germany who ran the Volkswagen plant in which Elly worked as a slave.
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<![CDATA[Kelly added 'Kaleidoscope Eyes']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77494003
to: Kaleidoscope Eyes (Hardcover)byJen Bryant
Lyza and her friends, Malcolm and Carolann, all teens in suburban New Jersey, search for buried treasure in their hometown. After her grandfather dies, Lyza receives a package from him with maps and minimal instructions... an adventure in which he was too old to partake near the time of his death.
While the ending isn't totally believable, and parts of the plot seem contrived, this was a great read. Written in verse, I didn't know how long I'd be able to keep reading, but it went smoothly and quickly, and I couldn't stop. Chapters interspersed with quotes from popular music of the 1960s add to the context of the time period in which it takes place.
The Vietnam War (at home and abroad) and single parent families, and civil rights add interesting layers to the pirate mystery plot. Deaths, both young and old, are common to Lyza's world, and parent abandonment is central. Psychedelic drugs and anti-war protests, along with stereotypes from those who are both possible drug users and protesters add additional depth to Kaleidoscope Eyes. The civil rights movement is integral as Malcolm is seated for the first time in a white diner by Lyza's feminist waitress sister.
Recommended for historical fiction and mystery fans.
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<![CDATA[Kelly added 'Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77425606
to: Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me (Hardcover)byNan Marino bookshelves: work
Briefly, I really enjoyed the writing - Marino does a great job of describing the setting. It feels as if she stole my grandparents' photo album from the 1960s and wrote about the kids in those photos. I did not, however, care for Tamara, the main character. She's mean, oblivious, and selfish, and I can't understand why "Muscle Man" would even want to befriend her. The only time I felt as though there was hope for Tamara was when she talked with her brother. She softened and acted like a normal child.
Perhaps that says a lot for Marino's writing... I loathed the main character, but liked the book overall.
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<![CDATA[Kelly added 'A Season of Gifts']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78975523
A Season of Gifts (Hardcover)
byRichard Peck bookshelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Kelly added 'Where the Mountain Meets the Moon']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77493362
to: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Hardcover)byGrace Lin bookshelves: work
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.