Southwest Harbor
Public Library

Reviews Juvenile Books

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt 2015

September 12, 2016

My favorite book of the summer or maybe even the year. A story about a “bad boy” abandoned, abused and a father. At 14 he is in foster care and has a daughter he has . . . read more »

Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar 2016

September 12, 2016

This book didn’t work for me. It was ambitious in scope and included many themes that I found engaging but the characters were simply not convincing enough to make it work. I felt I should . . . read more »

Backlash by Susan Darer Littman 2015, Indigo Books

September 12, 2016

This was a disturbing book. I admit to doing some eye rolling at first but by the end I was thinking that every parent should read it. It may be the  personal story needed to convince . . . read more »

Rags – Hero Dog of WWI by Margot Theis Raven Illustrated by Petra Brown 2014 Sleeping Bear Press

September 29, 2015

Picture Book As we mark the centenary of the start of the World War I, this fantastic true dog story will also teach a bit of history. Rags, a Parisien stray, was befriended  by a . . . read more »

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai – Harper Collins – 2011

September 29, 2015

This compelling novel in verse begins in Vietnam during the war in 1975. Ten-year-old Ha and her older brothers and mother are living in Saigon, waiting for the return of the children’s father. Even as . . . read more »

Rain Reign by Ann Martin 2014

September 28, 2015

The story takes us inside the heart and mind of a great kid named Rose (rows) who has high functioning Autism. Rose has no Mom, a dysfunctional depressed Dad, and an Uncle who cares. She . . . read more »

Chantarelle by GA Morgan 2015

September 28, 2015

I loved Chanterelle. I didn’t want it to end and I had to read it twice.  It may be possible to read this second book of the Five Stones Trilogy on it’s own, but why . . . read more »

The Zoo at the Edge of the World by Eric Kahn Gale 2014

September 28, 2015

Here is another book I loved and will love to recommend. The story is action packed, is beautifully told and asks big questions. Similar in theme to The Lion Boy Trilogy and We Can’t All . . . read more »

The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale 2015

September 28, 2015

I have loved these Shannon Hale books. The characters touch my heart and fuel my imagination. There are plenty of surprises and crafty plot twists but there is a smoothness to the telling that I . . . read more »

Lara’s Gift by Annemarie O’Brien 2014

September 28, 2015

For me the telling of this story was a little too quick.  It’s a fascinating period of history; I would have liked more detail and more length to develop the characters. In spite of the . . . read more »