The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

The Underneath is the story of an unlikely family -- a bloodhound named Ranger, a calico cat, and her two kittens, Sabine and Puck -- who live underneath the house of Ranger's owner, a social outcast who lives to hunt animals. When Puck, against his mother's warnings, adventures out from under the house, all of their lives change in ways they couldn't have imagined. Woven into their stories is the story of Grandmother Snake, her beloved daughter, Night Music, her husband Hawk Man, and their daughter.

Appelt has a gorgeous writing style, one that brings to mind timelessness and interconnectedness of all nature. She weaves together themes of love and hate, betrayal and redemption, and how we can build a family out of unlikely relationships. There are some difficult scenes in this book (the fact that the blurb likens it to Sounder, Shiloh and The Yearling should give you a hint!) but it is a story for the ages.

NY: Atheneum Books for Young Adults

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Bankes, E. Lockhart

Frankie Landau-Banks is fourteen years old at the beginning of the novel, a freshman at Alabaster Prep, a prestigious boarding school. Frankie is nothing special, but over the summer she grows into a beauty and manages to snag Matthew Livingston, one of the most popular senior boys at Alabaster, in her sophomore year. Matthew and his friends, most noticeably his best friend, a boy named Alpha (for being the alpha dog), are members of a secret society. When Matthew refuses to even acknowledge the existence of the secret club to her, Frankie decides, rather than getting even, she'll prove to Matthew and the others that she is worthy of becoming a member. In an ingenious plan, she soon has the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds doing her bidding, pulling off such memorable pranks on campus as the Ladies, the Doggies in the Window, and the ultimate heist of the Guppy, the traditional symbol of the campus.

Along the way, Frankie learns a lot about herself, relationships, the politics of gender, and power; most importantly, however, Frankie learns that she'll never be part of the good old boys club, simply because she is a girl.

I really enjoyed this book. Frankie Landau-Bankes is a strong, smart, capable female hero, one who thinks for herself and isn't afraid to try to get what she wants. I really enjoyed the verbal banter between the characters, but particularly in the way that Frankie uses words. The way she manipulates the boys into carrying out her pranks is truly devious. I wish she weren't quite so willing to be the girl she thinks Matthew wants her to be, but in the end she has decided to be just who she is -- with or without a boyfriend.

2008, NY: Hyperion

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese is an award-winning graphic novel about Chinese and Chinese-Americans that recognizes the difficulties of being part of a culture that is often misunderstood or stereotyped. The novel follows the stories of three seemingly unrelated characters: the Chinese Monkey King, one of the most beloved characters in Chinese folk stories; Jin Wang, a young Chinese-American boy whose family moves from Chinatown in San Francisco to a mid-western town where is an anomaly; and Danny, a nondescript teenager who has to endure the yearly visit of his inappropriate Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee. Each of the three stories deals with the difficulty of being an "outsider".

This book is laugh out loud funny at times. The teachers in Jin Wang's new school quickly spread their own stereotypes about Chinese people and culture when they hilarious mangle Chinese-American students' names and claim they all came directly from China. Chin-Kee (say his name really fast) is a completely over-the-top representation of all the negative stereotypes about Chinese people, from his fractured accent to his choice of food to his knowing all the answers in Danny's various classes. While some of the stereotyping in this book might be considered offensive, it successfully highlights the experiences of Chinese-Americans, offering both a mirror and a window into what it's like to want to belong.

For an interview with Gene Yang go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYCZqt5WSOM

2006, NY: First Second Books

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwicks is an example of what I would call an " good old-fashioned read". It's a recent book (published in 2005) and it happens in modern times -- but the only reason I know that is because there is a brief reference to a computer owned by Mr. Penderwick. Otherwise, it's one of those secret garden kind of books where the kids enjoy the summer by having great outdoor adventures, not by watching tv or shopping at the mall or playing Wii.

The Penderwick family consists of four girls, Rosalind, 12, Skye, 11, Jane, 10, and Batty 4, their Dad, a widower, and the dog Hound. The story follows them on summer vacation at a small cottage that sits on the grounds of a large old house, owned by a rich lady who doesn't care for the rollicking Penderwicks. My favorite characters were Skye, who is a total tomboy, and Jane, who narrates aloud everything around her because she is writing a book. They meet Jeffrey, the son of the rich lady, and through the course of the book they help Jeffrey gain the courage to communicate openly with his mother -- he wants to be a pianist, but she wants him to go to military school.

The characters are well written, the pace is great, and there's a little bit of something for everyone -- romance, games, dress-up, and of course a satisfying conclusion. I see that Birdsall has already written a sequel and I can't wait to visit with the Penderwicks again.

2005, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers