Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Looking for a really creepy story? Neil Gaiman's "Coraline" is just the book.

Coraline is a young girl who moves to a new apartment. Bored and looking for something to do on a rainy day, she discovers and unlocks a forgotten door that leads her to a magical new place.

But any similarities to the Chronicles of Narnia end here.

Gaiman, who re-invented the graphic novel back in the 1980's with his ground-breaking "Sandman" series, doesn't shy away from the spooky stuff, even with his work for younger readers. In fact, the fariy-tale-gone-horribly-wrong tone of "Coraline" only adds to the shadowy eeriness of the book. He is one of those rare authors who understands that what makes a story really scary is the implied stuff, the monsters we don't really see, but know might be lurking under the bed, or behind the locked door.

Victory

I am a big fan of Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series, so I was very excited to see that she recently published a new historical fiction/fantasy book. "Victory" tells two compelling inter-twining stories, set 200 years apart.

One story follows the adventures and hardships of Sam, a young boy living in England in the early 1800's who is drafted into the British navy to fight against Napoleon. He serves aboard Admiral Nelson's famed ship, the HMS Victory.

The other story tells us about Molly, a teenager from modern times whose parents have just moved from England to Connecticut. Homesick and lonely, Molly stumbles across a biography of Admiral Nelson in a used bookshop, and a magical link between Molly and Sam is formed.

You can tell Cooper did a lot of research on the tall ships from the age of sail, but don't be discouraged by all the nautical language. There is a glossary of sailing terms provided at the end of the book.

Being a guy, and a history teacher, I was naturally drawn to Sam's story of adventure and war on the high seas. I was surprisingly also drawn to the story of Molly as well. Any young person who has moved to a new place or has to deal with new step-siblings will relate to her experiences.

The Woman in the Wall by Patrice Kindl

This book is about a young girl named Anna, who is very shy. She was so shy what most times no one paid her any attention. When she was seven her mother told her that she had to go to school and Anna became so scared that she hid inside the walls of their enormous house. Inside the walls of her house she builds hallways and tunnels she can see her family. One day Anna finds a note stuck inside a crack and she must decide if she wants to come out into the world which she was so scared of to begin with.

I enjoyed reading this book it was hard to put it down as I wanted to know what would happen to Anna as she lived in the walls of her house. Would she ever come out into the real world again?

A coal miner's bride : the diary of Anetka Kaminska by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

This book was written by a young girl who lived in Poland with her grandmother and brother. Her mother had died and her father went to America to make a better life for his family. Anetka's father sends them a ticket to come to America and tells Anetka that when she arrives in American she will be married to a coal miner friend of her fathers. Anna kept an account of her daily life as a young girl, wife, widowhood and her true happiness that comes from working hard and staying close to family.

This book is a challenging choice.

I enjoyed reading this book. I could understand a lot of the coal mining information as I visited the coal mines in Pennsylvania. It was a hard life for the people who did this kind of work and for the many who still do.

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen

Cole Mathews is angry: really, really angry. He has been in trouble for years of stealing and fighting. This time he beats up Peter Driscal so badly in the school parking lot that the boy may have permanent brain damage.

Cole is about to be sent to prison when his parole officer, Garvey, suggests a last chance alternative - send Cole to a remote Alaskan Island for a year where the Circle of Justice feels he might heal his horrid soul. Drawing on the Native American legend of a mysterious white bear, this book tells of Cole’s struggle to surivive the Alaskan winter and his own self defeating personality. Will Cole be able to accept responsibility for his actions?

Touching Spirit Bear is an adventure story, difficult to put down because you will want to see if Cole survives not only physically, but also emotionally.

This book is a Challenging Choice and a Character Ed book which illustrates responsibility.