Safe by Susan Shaw
Immediately I was drawn into this novel. The first scene takes you back in the past of Tracey and her father saying goodbye to her mother as they leave her funeral. The main character is a 13 year old girl named Tracey and it is the last day of school and summer fun is right around the corner. However, the summer plans change in an instance. While Tracey and her best friend Caroline walked home tragedy occurs. Once Caroline goes inside her house Tracey is left to walk alone just 6 houses from hers when suddenly she finds her self being thrown into the backseat of a car and then raped and dumped being left for dead. Caroline survives the incident, but know has to struggle with how to go on mentally and physically. She refused counseling and shuts her self off from her friends and activities because she feels that everyone just pities her and is not a true friend. Summer ends and she now must force her self to go back to school, so she plans on just being alone, not socializing or begin around anyone, even her best friend Caroline whom she told she could not be friends with anymore. She plan is going well until she has to complete a group assignment for her music class. Now she is forced to work with individuals. All goes well until one day she breaks. The boy who raped her is going in front of the judge to plea, her weekend was wrecked, she can’t remember the poem her mother used to tell her when all of a sudden the flood gates of emotion rupture causing her to run away from school. When she is finally found at her favorite spot, Monkey Mountain, and taken to the hospital she realized that she needs help, agrees to go to a new counselor and finally admits she was raped, it did not happen to another girl, and starts to make some sort of recovery when she realizes that she must grieve for everything that has occurred in her life. You will be swept on a roller coaster of emotion and will not want to put this novel down until you are at the end!
Immediately I was drawn into this novel. The first scene takes you back in the past of Tracey and her father saying goodbye to her mother as they leave her funeral. The main character is a 13 year old girl named Tracey and it is the last day of school and summer fun is right around the corner. However, the summer plans change in an instance. While Tracey and her best friend Caroline walked home tragedy occurs. Once Caroline goes inside her house Tracey is left to walk alone just 6 houses from hers when suddenly she finds her self being thrown into the backseat of a car and then raped and dumped being left for dead. Caroline survives the incident, but know has to struggle with how to go on mentally and physically. She refused counseling and shuts her self off from her friends and activities because she feels that everyone just pities her and is not a true friend. Summer ends and she now must force her self to go back to school, so she plans on just being alone, not socializing or begin around anyone, even her best friend Caroline whom she told she could not be friends with anymore. She plan is going well until she has to complete a group assignment for her music class. Now she is forced to work with individuals. All goes well until one day she breaks. The boy who raped her is going in front of the judge to plea, her weekend was wrecked, she can’t remember the poem her mother used to tell her when all of a sudden the flood gates of emotion rupture causing her to run away from school. When she is finally found at her favorite spot, Monkey Mountain, and taken to the hospital she realized that she needs help, agrees to go to a new counselor and finally admits she was raped, it did not happen to another girl, and starts to make some sort of recovery when she realizes that she must grieve for everything that has occurred in her life. You will be swept on a roller coaster of emotion and will not want to put this novel down until you are at the end!
Thalia Belleza! Lessons in Lip gloss and Happiness by ThaliaThis book is a how to manual for women and young girls. It focuses on techniques of how to care for ones self, both on the exterior and on the interior. Through this book young girls will learn how to care for their skin and how to be healthy with diet and exercise. The illustrations on how to correctly apply makeup appropriately with just the right amount of color and how to apply it for their face shape. Not only does it teach them how to apply the make up it gives them tips for cleansing their face daily. The book also gives them tips for hair care and styles. The book also touches on beauty tips and secrets for the older female as well. My preteen LOVED this book especially since she is starting to dabble with the idea of wearing makeup and styling her own hair. I thought it was interesting that I have been reminding her to wash her face daily and until she read the section on skin care did she finally understand, or was it that someone who knew better than Mom gave the suggestion. Toward the end of the book there is a section on plastic surgery and other methods one can seek out to enhance their outer appearance.
Quaking by Kathryn Erskine
AWESOME!! I have to admit I did not think I would enjoy this book because the cover gave me the impression of it being a dark, depressing novel. Boy was I wrong! The novel is full of hope and mystery. Matt, as she likes to be called is a 14 year old girl moving in with yet another foster family. She was left orphaned when her mother was murdered and her father was arrested for the murder. Through story the murder is revealed as Matt talks about the beast, her father, all and the physical abuse he dealt to her and her mother. She is very quiet and has built a wall around her heart and all of her emotions. Her cousin, Loopy, has brought her to some friends who have agreed to foster Mattie. Sam and Jessica are a young couple who also have a handicapped child, Rory, whom they are fostering as well. Matt has a plan to run away to Canada when she turns eighteen so she is going to be on her best behavior. Throughout the story Matt is witness to violence by the local bully, “The Rat,” and the major conflict is the war, there are sides for and against the continued fighting. Matt finally realizes that she has grown to care for her new family when their Quaker meeting place is going to be bombed by the bully and his gang who are pro war and killing. The suspense of what will happen next in the struggle will keep you on the edge of your seat as well and wondering will Matt fall in love with her family and decide not to run to Canada.
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