Daniel Webster's Reading Blog

The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz is on the 2021 list of Rebecca Caudill Book Award nominees. It tells the amazing and life threatening journey of Jaime and Angela who have to flee their home in Guatemala after Miguel, Jaime's cousin and Angela's brother, is murdered by a gang known as the Alphas. There's really no other choice-either they join the Alpha's as requested or the run for their lives.  After their family scrapes up as much money as they can, Jaime and Angela depart in the middle of the night in hopes that they can somehow make it across multiple borders and into the United States. Along they way they face numerous obstacles: the environment, different gangs, getting enough food and water, and their own personal doubts as to whether they are doing the right thing and if they will even make it or not. This story is based on so many stories of individuals who have been forced to flee their home countries in hope of finding a better, safer future. I could not put

  Words on Fire is a great historical fiction novel that tells the story of Audra, a girl living in Russian occupied Lithuania who finds herself involved in smuggling books into and around Lithuania. In the late 1800's, Russia attempted to extinguish Lithuanian culture by banning books, language, and the history of Lithuania itself. When Audra's book smuggling parents get caught and arrested, she follows her mom's last order to get a book to a woman in a neighboring town. This sets off a series of events that force Audra to make life threatening decisions seemingly ever day. Along the way, Audra meets a fellow book smuggler named Lukas who allows her to join in a fight that she never thought she'd be a part of. If you like history, especially history you may not be familiar with, this book is for you. It is fast paced and action packed. The fact that a country would try to erase another country's existence is scarily fascinating.  I am a huge fan of all of Jennifer

This book was awesome-- full of action, mystery, love, and science. By the middle of the book, any sound could make me jump!  America has been torn in two by a war, and the east half--the Salvage Zone-- is no longer civilized. Some say, they are no longer even humans, but manimals. At times, people venture east with humanitarian aid, but otherwise it is forbidden to go there. Lane’s dad --a Fetch by trade -- sneaks eastern artifacts back into the west to sell them and keep the family afloat. That is, until he is caught.  Lane, a teenage girl, must complete her fathers last job: steal a rare eastern artifact and return to the west without becoming contaminated. If she doesn’t, he’ll die. Rafe, a rogue salvager in the east, may be her only hope of completing her fathers mission. This story is about inner strength, courage, and intelligence. How to decide who you can trust, what it takes to survive, and what it means to be civilized. How much control the government should have. The power

 Ok, the premise of this book will sound weird. But I promise it is weirdly fun! Nicoletta is a high schooler who falls involve with the new guy in her art appreciation class. Unfortunately for her, the new guy, named Jethro, happens to be a rock. When a popular friend named Christo asks her out, she says yes, only to end up having to try to stop him from killing Jethro-a.k.a the rock.  This is a short, quick read. Like I said, it's odd. But, like many of Cooney's stories, the themes of friendship, love, and right versus wrong abound in this. So, if you are asking yourself how can a girl love a rock, well, read the book!

  The Ickabog is a wonderful fantasy/fairytale written by the one and only J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter series). This is wildly different than the Harry Potter books, but fun and fast moving just the same. In the Kingdom of Cornucopia, King Fred rules over a massive area of land filled with different cities that specialize in one spectacular food or another. The people love King Fred and he enjoys his peaceful and successful rule.  Not everything stays nice and sunny though! There are rumors that a scary, man-eating creature known only as the Ickabog lives up north in the Marshlands. Pushed by one of his closest (and most coniving) advisors, Mr. Spittleworth, King Fred leads an expedition to hunt the Ickabog down and kill it. When the hunt goes badly, and Mr. Spittleworth continues to plan and connive,  the fate of the Kingdom of Cornucopia lays in the balance. This story is really about the the power of kindness and love, but also about how lies and deceit can ruin even th

Mr. Meneses recommends The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This tells the story of Santiago who travels the world looking for fantastic treasures. He leaves home and travels to many cities, but is intent on ending up at the Egyptian pyramids where he feels in his heart he will find the treasure that is destined for him. Along his journey he encounters many people-some who try to stop him from continuing and others who help him along the way.  If you are looking for an escape, a true adventure, and a positive message about finding your true self and not giving up, then The Alchemist is for you!  

  Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman tells the story of Rumi, a junior in high school who tragically loses her sister, Lea, in a car accident. When Rumi's mother cannot cope with the loss of Lea, she sends Rumi to live with her aunt in Hawaii. Rumi is absolutely devastated and torn apart by not only the loss of her best friend, but also by not having her mother there to help her cope. Angry at the world, Rumi does her best to try to heal on her own, but spends most of the first week in bed, not wanting to face a world without her sister in it. They did everything together, including sharing a passionate love of music. They played a game where they would create song lyrics based on the first three words that pop into their heads. "Summer Bird Blue" is a song that went unfinished. How in the world can Rumi finish it without her other half? With the help of her two next door neighbors, one being Kai who is a handsome and silly senior in high school as well as Mr. Watanabe

  Barely Missing Everything tells the story of Juan and JD, to high school friends just trying to live life. They go to school, play on the basketball team, go to parties, and deal with family issues much like all teens do. Everyone has family "stuff", right? Juan lives with his single mother and despite asking frequently, his mom has never told him who his father is. JD seems to lack direction-can he really be good at anything? Even his new dream of being a filmmaker gets laughed at by his family and friends. Even though they have their family issues, Juan and Jd stick together, until one night at a party when cops show up. Both Juan and JD run. Unfortunately, Juan gets caught and arrested and that night seems to set a whole bunch of decisions, on both of their parts, in motion. Even when they both think they might have everything figured out, a plan to get everything back on track, life just seems to get in the way. This is Matt Mendez's first book. It gives an interest

Not going to lie- this book is a tough read. Based loosely on an amalgamation of true events, Devils Within follows Nate, a teen who was raised at The Fort. The Fort is home to a white supremacist hate group led by Nate's own father. After escaping, Nate finds himself locked in a Psychiatric Ward until his uncle, whom Nate refers to as "the Traitor" for most of the book, agrees to take him in.  Now, trying to start his life over with a new name in a small Alabama town, Nate constantly has to fight against his own "devils within". He wants to be good, he wants to make friends, but the trauma of his childhood-everything his dad made him watch and made him do, haunt him almost daily. Can Nate find peace? Can he keep his past a secret or will his real name (and the crimes he committed and witnessed) be found out? Will the members of The Fort come looking for him if they do? One thing I'll point out is the author's note at the end. She makes it crystal clear

  I will start by saying if you have not read Dear Martin, you should! This book, Dear Justyce by Nic Stone , is a companion novel. Quan is a character that appears in Dear Martin and his story simply needed to be told. This much is made clear in the author's letter to the reader at the beginning of the book. She writes of a text conversation she had with a couple boys she meet when Dear Martin was published and how they felt that story, while awesome, did not truly reflect their own life experiences. Thus, we get to peek into Quan's life. Quan lives in a poor house with a single mom who has a jerk of a boyfriend and a dad who is in jail. Though Quan tries his best to stay out of trouble and to do well in school, he always feels that it's just not good enough. Trouble always finds him. He gets blamed for things he didn't do and that leads him to make some "new friends." Those new friendships end up with Quan getting sent behind bars for a crime he swears he di

  It is amazing when an individual does something that no other person has accomplished. It is even more captivating when a person refuses to believe that a specific goal cannot be obtained no matter what is stated by naysayers.  Mo'ne Davis, at the age of 13 years old became the first female pitcher to win a game in the Little League World Series. Mo'ne also became the first Little Leaguer to be portrayed on the cover of  Sports Illustrated.  Wait! That's not it. Mo'ne's  legendary accomplishments secured her a place in the prestigious Baseball Hall of Fame.  "It always seems impossible until it is done." Nelson Mandela  -SP

Disclose is the sequel to Joelle Charbonneau's Verify. I won't go into much of the details of Disclose so as to not ruin anything from Verify. All you need to know is you definitely should read Verify first! Verify tells the story of an all-too-real dystopian America where the government has been in the process of censoring and weeding out certain words that might be used to question or sew dissent their decisions. Meri stumbles across this fact and decides to get the bottom of how the system works in order to make others aware of the censorship and lack of freedom and truth. Disclose is the thrilling conclusion. I will say I think I enjoyed this more than Verify for the simple reason that it moves more quickly and some of the images Charbonneau creates are downright scary!  (Charbonneau is best known for her series The Testing. I highly recommend this series. Imagine instead of taking the SAT's or ACT's in order to get into college, you have to take an exam which deter

Jake Liddell is a war hero. After being badly wounded in a firefight in the Middle East, he returns home to fanfare that he is not sure he deserves. His veteran grandfather, known as the General, praises him for his bravery. The people of his hometown cheer for him and interview him. He's set to get the Silver Star for his courage under fire. But Jake struggles with the idea of war. He struggles with PTSD because of what he saw over there and because of some of the things he had to do over there. His stress and feelings about his experiences seem to cause a rift between he and his longtime girlfriend. Then, when he is approached by a reporter from his old high school, he continues is uncertainty about whether or not her wants to heal up and go back for his next deployment. Sure, he survived the first time, but was what he lost too much for him to bear again? This is a short read, probably the shortest of our posts so far. However, It does provide a very heavily researched look into

  I was a huge fan of The Hate You Give when it debuted a few years ago, and of course I loved the movie as well. Concrete Rose is the prequel to Angie Thomas's best seller and it just may be better than THUG! Concrete Rose gives us the backstory on Maverick Carter. He's the son of Adonis Carter who happens to be serving a prison sentence of 40 years to life. At 17, Maverick is known to most of his King Lord gang as 'Lil Don. He has a reputation to uphold being son of Adonis. But his life changes dramatically when he realizes he is going to be a father. Can he balance being a responsible father with gang life? How will he pay the bills if he doesn't stick with his set. Will Maverick listen to those around him who are giving him good advice, or those around him who are giving him selfish advice? This book raises a ton of thought provoking questions. What's more important? Your reputation or your family? What does it mean to be a man? What does it mean to be responsib

  The Inheritance Games is by one of my all-time favorite authors, Jennifer Lynn Barnes (you should also check out her series The Naturals ). In this mystery thriller, we meet Avery, a poor girl who lives with her guardian older sister, Libby. One fateful day Avery is summoned from class to the principal's office where she meets a young man named Grayson. Avery has been summoned to the reading of a billionaire's will. How rich? Let's just say almost 50 BILLION DOLLARS RICH! She's not alone in the room though when the will is read; 4 grandsons and assorted other people who are hoping to cash in are present as well. What ensues is a wild ride of puzzle solving, brushes with death, a bit of possible romance, and potentially a huge inheritance...if she can survive living in the palatial estate for at least a year. There are so many twists and turns in this book that your head will be spinning. Have you ever read a book that leaves you super excited even after it is over? We

 https://www.aisled.org/pdf/Lincoln-2021-Master-List.pdf This is a link to the 2021 Abraham Lincoln Young Adult Book Award nominees. These books are generally for 8th grade and up due to reading level and subject matter.

 https://www.rebeccacaudill.org/images/2021/2021CaudillAuthorList.pdf These are the nominees for the 2021 Rebecca Caudill Book Award Nominees- great for any middle schooler!

 This website is a GREAT resource to help you find books that are similar to books by your favorite author, title, or genre.  This is a GREAT resource to find the book that you'll fall in love with next! https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/

  Do you like romance? Do you like Greek Mythology? Do you like reading about war? Then Lovely War by Julie Berry is the book for you! Set in Europe during World War I, we meet four star crossed lovers who are in the throws of a deadly war. Hazel, a classical pianist turned nurse, meets James shortly before he is due to set out for the trenches of France. They fall madly in love but are immediately separated. Will they ever be reunited again? We also meet Aubrey, a Harlem-born ragtime genius in the U.S. Army, and a Belgian orphan, Colette with a gorgeous voice and a devastating past. After a brief meeting, they are starting to catch feelings but a dark prejudice pushes them apart.  Their story is told to us by the Greek Gods, Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo who are watching down upon them as the perilous war rages on. The fate of the four lovers is in the hands of the gods. -LG

 This book will make you stop to think and reflect about this country and how people treat each other. It contains a collection of 21 essays written by authors, some more famous than others) and a couple essays from (as of the publication) unpublished authors. These essays cover a wide range of topics from racism, sexism, rape culture, sexuality and gender roles, among others. These authors share their experiences growing up female, black, white, gay, straight, rich, poor, stereotypically beautiful, and stereotypically not. These essays all tell their experiences of when someone, or many people made them feel as though they were "other" or "less than."  This anthology is very honestly written, and by that I mean the authors are blunt and to the point. Most of the essays spare no details and do not gloss over the difficult experiences they had or were witness to. These are real, mature subjects that make even some adults extremely uncomfortable. Also, there is a defi

Watch Us Rise is honestly one of the best books I have read in a long time. Jasmine and Chelsea arebest friends who attend a school that claims to be very mindful of social issues and all-inclusive. In fact, every student must join an after school club that is dedicated, in part, to some cause. Early into their junior year, however, both girls quickly realize their school might not really practice what they so proudly preach so the girls set up a Women's Rights Club. They mission is to give women and girls of all shapes, sizes, races, and ethnicities fair and just treatment. Initially their blog posts are a huge hit until there is some push back from "the cool crowd" as well as the principal. Will they allow their voices to be canceled? Of course not. Along with some close friends, Nadine and Isaac, the girls endeavor to use art of all forms to raise awareness to gender inequality that has gone on far too long. It is an uphill battle, for sure, but the girls are strong an

  After the Shot Drops by Randy Ribay is a PHENOMENAL READ! I read it in one day-I simply couldn't put it down. The story is told in alternating perspectives of Bunny, a high school basketball phenom, and Nasir, Bunny's longtime friend. Bunny and Nasir both live in Whitman, a run down city where people constantly struggle to make ends meet. When Bunny gets recruited to attend a private school called St. Sebastian, he jumps at the offer without telling any of his friends. This causes many of his friends to shut Bunny out. While being a basketball star and chasing a state championship might sound glorious, being one of maybe six black kids in his new school is challenging for Bunny. He feels alone (though he does have his Whitman girlfriend named Keyona), but he wants a better life for himself and his family. Nasir, on the other hand, feels alienated and hurt because of Bunny's decision. Nasir's life gets even more difficult when he finds out his cousin Wallace is on the

 Cammie McGovern is a master at writing books about unique and unexpected relationships that originate out of the most difficult situations. In A Step Toward Falling we meet Lucas, Emily, and Belinda. Lucas is a star football player, Emily is a do-gooder who wants to make the world a better place, and Belinda is a classmate of theirs with special needs. They are clearly in different social circles and have very little interaction with each other until one fateful night at a high school football game. During halftime, Belinda finds her way under the bleachers where she is attacked by a classmate. Both Emily and Lucas witness the attack...and do nothing to help. As a disciplinary action, both Emily and Lucas must attend a "Relationship class"for individuals with special needs s at the community center as a way of performing community service. Through their experience, both Emily and Lucas come to realize sometimes you need to accept people for who they are, but that may start w

  We Told Six Lies by Victoria Scott is a YA thriller that will leave you jaw dropped by the end of the book. Told in "Then" and "Now" alternating chapters, the audience is introduced to a very troubled high school teen named Cobain and a girl named the new girl Molly who seemingly has her own issues she's dealing with. The two quickly connect and Cobain's issues seem to be improving, that is until Molly goes missing. At first the police think Molly simply ran away because she mailed a note to her mom, but when things don't add up, immediately Cobain is a main suspect. He basically had no friends, kids talk about him behind his back, and apparently Molly had told people she had broken up with Cobain shortly before she went missing. The ending of this book is fast paced and exciting. I read this in one day. Please note, this book is listed as for 7th grade and up. There is a lot of mature content in here, so make sure it's okay with your parents. It i

  Karen McManus is one of my favorite authors. She writes awesome mystery/thrillers that are full of twists and turns. Her debut novel, One of Us is Lying is still by far her best (think the 80's movie The Breakfast Club only with a murder). That book has a sequel titled Two Can Keep a Secret, which is also very good.  In her third novel, which is completely separate from her first two, the readers sees three cousins get called to their grandmother's island home for summer jobs. They have no idea why they have been summoned because, after all, their grandmother disowned their parents years ago. Each cousin receives a note that says "You know what you did"which adds to the oddity of why they are there. Upon arrival, it quickly becomes clear that their grandmother has no idea they were even invited. Thus, the three cousins, who haven't seen each other in years, join up to figure out just what the heck is going on. The secrets the three cousins begin to dig up leads

 This Abraham Lincoln Book Award nominee is not for the faint of heart. It tells the story of Mickey, an all-star high school softball catcher who is surely on her way to a scholarship and more. Then one day she gets into a horrific car accident that leaves her leg shattered and her future in doubt. In an effort to help with the pain, her doctor prescribes painkillers. Mickey, in her desire to kill the pain and get back on the field starts to abuse the pills. When they are gone, she isn't sure what to do. That is, until she meets a new group of friends who tell her they can "help her out." This leads to a cycle of more, more, more. When that is not enough, she begins to look for something even stronger than pain pills. Lying, cheating, stealing, and even worse comes as a result. This book is a scary reminder of how addiction can ruin a person's life. This book is a painful reminder of how addiction, no matter how innocently it may have started, can ruin a family's

  We'll    Fly Away by Bryan Bliss is an award nominated YA book that is gritty, suspenseful, and actually a really quick read. Luke and Toby have been friends since they were kids, despite Luke being a champion wrestler and Toby being a bit awkward and rather unpopular. They have always done everything together despite their difficult home lives. Toby constantly lives in fear of his abusive father and Luke deals with being the "man of the house" to his two little brothers since his mom is not around a lot (for a variety of reasons). Regardless of their struggles, Luke and Toby know they can always depend on each other. Luke's focus on chasing a fourth state championship is threatened when a new girl moves into his apartment complex. He grows close to Annie even though he knows Toby liked her first. This causes a rift between Luke and Toby which sends Toby into a spiral of bad decisions. In an effort to gain his dad's love, or maybe to avoid his fists, he enters h