Reviews (3)

Little Things Bring a Family Together
This is the story of 6th grader Tucker Renfro, a boy whose dream is to be a part of a tribe, a family. His 9-year-old sister, Olivia, comes for an extended visit - the first time the two siblings have been together in seven years.

The story revails the little things that bring families together - and tears them apart. It's about Tucker coming of age. He learns that life is not always fair. Pain and pleasure go hand in hand to build a life ... a whole, full life.

Tucker and His Family
Tucker and his dad live together by themselves. His siter's name is Ashley. Tucker's father and mother got divorced when Tucker was 4 and his sister was 2. Now Tucker is 11 and Ashley is 9. His mother and his siter live in Kansas. So a couple of days before school started his siter came down to visit and so she is going to go to school with him. Tucker isn't really happy about her coming down. So when she got here he was kind of being mean to her and a jerk. On the first day of school his dad said to be nice and show her arund, now Tucker wasn't really happy about that, but he tried. Tucker's best friend, Bert, and Tucker both like to hunt. Tucker is suppost to make bow- and- arrows for Bert and him, and Bert is suppost to get the license to hunt. Bert meets Ashley and he likes her because she can burp when sombody tells her to and he thinks she is funny! Tucker gets jelouse and upset because Bert doesn't care anymore about hunting and Tucker is afraid that he will lose a friend.So then they get in a fight and apoligize and they become best friends again!! Mean wile Ashley has been mailing her mom letters saying how she is doing, and that she is having fun w/ Tucker, and she keeps asking her mom if Tucker and his dad and sister and mom could be a family again. One day Tucker went and got the mail and there was a letter that was for Ashley from her mom.Tucker couldn't take it any more and so he opened it and read it.
It said how his mom was doing and that she misses Ashley. At the bottom of the letter it said that they can not be a family again and that her mom and dad are just friends.
After Tucker read it he felt sad and depressed, but he said to himself that he couldn't look sad or depressed because he didn't want to look sad in front of his sister. Now Tucker is finally starting to like Ashley and now she has to go back home and they had just gotten to know each other. Tucker asked if she could stay for a little while longer and she was able to. So now are getting to know each other and be really good friends.

Good Book
My overall opinion about this book was that I found it very hard to understand and actually get into. The two things I hate most about this book was that the characters were flat, this means the characters didn't catch your attention much. Then the second thing was that they paraphrasedalmost everything, and I thought that was very hard to understand or evenknow what they were talking about. Like they would be talking about onething then jump to something else. I would probably recommend this book topeople who like Indian Cultures or like emotional books. ... Read more

Book Description

After his father leaves the family, fifth-grader martin can't imagine life getting any worse until his mother starts dating his teacher.

"A beautifully written book that explores the turbulent feelings engendered by divorce and growing up" Publishers Weekly

Reviews (1)

Marc Talbert did it again!
Well, I loved this book, man! i'm only 12 but believe me! I had to do a book report on Teen's and this was the book to read. It's very inspiring! And u feel all the feelings that the charcters do. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Fantastic Changes
The subtext of Changes is aparent to adults when the background is seen as the protypical 50's nuclear family kitchen table pattern. The story revolves around the new nuclear family of the 90's from the perspective of the child. The use of colors keeps the book neutral and universal at the same time. I feel the art work expresses the story more than the words could ever say for a child. The issue is difficult to speak about with children but through this book I think people can find a good starting point to facilitate a dialogue.

a lovely book for children dealing with blended families
Ms.Hopkins has written a charming book for children dealing with divorce and blended families. The colorful illustrations are enticing and entertaining. Ms. Hopkins has done a beautiful job of normalizing what children go through in dealing with adult issues. It is a book for all children and not just for children of divorce and blended families, as they learn to deal with life's changes. ... Read more

Book Description

Alienated at school and struggling with his parents' separation, Kit takes his loneliness to the blacktop, where he loses himself in running -- until one day, an accident on the road catapults him into what seems to be a parallel universe. Names and places are strange yet oddly familiar, and Kit is torn between newfound popularity in this world and panic at the thought of never returning home. While Kit's routine centers on training for an important cross-country race against a rival school, the reader is drawn into Kit's predicament and his growing fascination with an enigmatic teammate, Alrika. She leads Kit to wonder if he is racing not only for his school but also for his life. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

8th Grade son loved this book
I had been trying to get my son to read for months, trying out different authors and styles, and FINALLY, he read this book in three days, couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Best!
This book was Great! My mom bought it for me and I thought it was great! Purple is also my favourite color so you can understand that I loved it! Igive it TOP marks!AWSOME!

A clunker
This book has a great cover but the content doesn't live up to it.The plot is stupid.The portrayal of the protagonist is very unrealistic. And there are lots of inconsistencies. ... Read more

Book Description

The rhythms of a young girl's life, as she moves between her mother's country home and her father's city apartment, are perfectly captured in this beautifully illustrated early concept book.

Durga Bernhard manages to seamlessly blend a simple book of opposites and an exploration of city and country life, with the deeper story of a girl finding her place in the two new homes her parents have created for her. No matter where she is, or how different the environments are, it is clear that both homes are filled with love.

The deceptively simple text is the perfect counterpoint to the richly detailed and innovatively designed gouche illustrations. Thoughtful and energetic, To & Fro, Fast & Slow takes a gentle look at divorce and pays tribute to any child who lives in two worlds. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Stacey Loves Matchmaking!
This book was really good. Don't listen to that person who said her mom and John did the matchmaking. Stacey is my fave charecter, and this book was really, really good. She baby-sits some kids and gets their dad with her mom, but it all falls apart, then together, than apart. You've GOT toread this!

Not really that good.
I don't really like this book because Stacey didn't matchmake---her mother and John (the guy who Stace thinks is perfect for her mom) did all thework. But I was amused by the way Joni tried to ruin her father andStacey's mother's relationship. I can't wait to read The All-New MalloryPike. She is a really crucial character and I'll miss her because we're alot alike. I think it's also about time Jessi got another book. Book #127is Abby's Un-Valentine. Abby again? What happened to Jessi? She hasn'tspoken in over ten books! ANOTHER BOOK ABOUT JESSI, QUICK!

A tribute to mother-daughter bonds & single-parent families!
The McGill are enjoyable characters.Stacey is a wonderful, intelligent, caring daughter and Maureen is lucky to have her!While she was babysitting John's kids, I could see that Joni was hurting which explainedher obnoxious behavior.It's difficult for a girl to grow up without amother.I think Joni's dad John could have done better to let Joni livewith her mother than just yell at her for acting out.Stacey tries tohelp, but ended up making a lousy matchmaker.It's a good thing Maureenand John didn't stay together or both families would have ended upMISERABLE!The part where Abby, Kristy, and Mary Anne talk about theirfamily situations is interesting. I'm glad Abby's mom is still single andhappy.Hopefully, Maureen will stay a single mom; I like the single-momMcGill family as it is!Also neat is how they discuss books that they'veread and Stacey talks with the BSC about the book club and the whole BSCgets into books they've read. I like how the BSC talk about so manydifferent things(unlike the Fabulous Five, who tend to talk mostly aboutboys & clothes).The BSC are a tribute to teenage girls everywhere!

Pretty good.
Though I did like Stacey McGill...Matchmaker? the other reviewers made it sound a LOT more better than I thought it would be. It was pretty realistic though. I would defintely recommend it to anyone.

Wonderful ! It's a treat to read about the McGills'.
I like the relasonship between Stacey and her mother. You could see that they have a strong family bond between them. It was a classic story between a mother and a daughter making it throughon there own. A delight! ... Read more

Book Description

Trouble In Paradise

Sixteen-year-old Travis is looking for a good time. A vacation in Mexico with his mother, sister, and little brother might cramp his style, but he's willing to take that risk for a chance to cruise the beaches.

Travis soon discovers that even with his headphones and shades, he can't completely cut himself off from his family's problems. He begins to understand why his father didn't come with them: His mother is contemplating a divorce. Meanwhile his younger brother, Teddy, becomes increasingly obsessed with protecting some endangered sea turtles near the resort.

In spite of himself, Travis is drawn into Teddy's efforts to save the turtles. But it takes a devastating tragedy beyond his imagining to shake Travis out of his cynicism -- a tragedy that will change his family forever. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Changes In Latitudes: Will Hobbs
Chages in Latitudes, by Will Hobbs, was a very good book.I wouldn't exactly say it was interesting, it's just like all his other stories; over-exaggerated, to much involvement with nature, a bit of suspense, and his characters lack common sense.Don't get me wrong, I'm just saying this becasue I'm more a fan of romance than nature.I mean I'm not expecting any book in general to be off edge, and completely interesting at all times, I just think that the author could have did a little more to capture his audience.
The beginning of the book was a little slow.It was all this talk about leaving, dad not wanting to come, and mushy, useless, crying stuff.I think that the beginning should have been the grabbing point; you know grab the reader before he sneaks away.I also have some other disturbing views that I think should be recognized.I think that the over-obsession with the turtles that Teddy haedwas completely unneccessary, even if the book did focus on turtles.
I do have some positive things about this book though.For example, I like how Will Hobbs gives a little girl power in the earlier section of this book.He didn't discriminate and give her the role of being the stuck-up, goody two shoes, like she is.They had only been in their hotel for about thirty minutes, and she was flirting with a handsome and rich Hispanic man who grabbed her heart, held on to it, and then squeezed it in a all throwing it like a fast pitch pitcher in soft-ball.
I recommend this book only to people who have the whole world's time on their hands and have nothing better to do, and would like to see that the book that I read was not all it cracked up to be.This book is prodigal, and I regret have choosing to read this book, instead of some of the better choices that I had.I don't recommend this book to peopole who, like me, are smart, and have taken this book review into consideration for their next book choice.

WOW!
Wow. This was a wonderful book. It was touching, sweet and it will make you cry. It will get down into you and touch your heart: the happiness, the sadness, the warmth, the anger, the love and brotherhood. Another reason I enjoyed the book so much was the action and adventure.For example, in one part Teddy, the little bo,) runs away. When the family goes to look for him they can't find him. Finally they find him, whether he's dead or alive is for you to find out.

One of the best of Will Hobb's books. A real tearjerker.
When I decided to read this book, I had no idea it would turn out to be one of Will's best. The interaction between the two brothers is riveting. Icould not put the book down. Keep the kleenex handy, you will need theentire box. The different setting is absolutely fantastic. ... Read more

Book Description

Thirteen-year-old Mac Whitford is caught between her divorcing parents, their lawyers, and friends. With the help of two re-markable new friends, she takes charge in quite a surprising way. "In this debut novel lit by animated, engaging characters, a spirited teenager navigates her way through a bitter custody fight. . . . Robinson sketches characters and relationships with wonderful deftness, delivering Mac's thoughts in a calm but not distant tone; the story is set in Charleston and evokes that town's unhurried grace." -- Kirkus Reviews, pointer ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Teenager Finds Himself
In the book The TV Guidance Counselor A teenage boy finds himself through many trials and tribualtions. After he plummets himself into the river and winds up in a mental hospital he learns to cope with his anger.MichaelMadden learns that it is okay to hurt, it is okay to feel pain that you cancry sometimes and still be human.By the end of this truly amazing down toearth book He finnally meets himself and he thinks that meeting yourselfcan be a wonderful thing. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Charlie's Run
Loved this book and I am an adult.As a grandmother who has many books for my grandchildren to read ,I can feel free to have this book right out on the coffee table for them to pick up.It is good and I say good for the kids of today to read with all their mixed up feelings about devorce in their families. Am turning my copy over to the local library for other children to read and enjoy as we have after my family has finished reading it. Bravo Valerie Hobbs ! Keep these good books coming. ... Read more

Book Description

Big changes are on the horizon. Stacey's Dad is getting remarried, and her mom is not taking the news very well at all. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

totally awesome and heart warming!
i thought the book was great becuz it shows stacey's feeling about her parents divorce, and even though she doesn't have to she feels like she has been pressure to choose sides! but stacey is very smart and creative, but how will she fix her way out of this one?

Friends BSC Forever:Stacey's Problem(#10)
TEARS!The series almost came to an end!Claud and Stace had finally spoke to eachother!!The book's great but a little sad!
I enjoyed it very much.

Lots of Love,
Fulliem Quach xoxoxoxoxoxo

gr8 book!
i believe that this book is the best one in the series, for finally there are some new, and IMPROVED changes. I think that this books changes weregood. such as Stacey's mom getting a new job, Staceys dad getting married(as a matter of fact, i was glad that Stacey didn't get mad at her dad, asdawn did in previous books, u know?) so just read it cuz it's really goodand if ure a Stacey lover this is a MUST READ!

Great Addition to the Series
I really liked this book in the series. It dealed with someimportant issues that people have to deal with everyday. It'll keepyou reading unitl the suprising end.

One of the best yet!
This book was really good. I liked the way how Ann M. Martin didn't focus really much to baby-sitting and how she created some human problems. A great job you're doing, Ann, and keep up the good work!

Stacey's dad isgetting remarried to his girlfriend, Samantha. It was a bit of a shock forStacey, but she was really pleased. After all, Samantha was nice, caring,and pretty. But her mother, on the other hand, was shocked and devastatedby the news. Meanwhile, Mallory comes back and she realizes things havechanged. Her brothers and sisters don't look up to her anymore, andVanessa's mad at Mallory because she wasn't there for her brothers andsisters when they needed help. While Stacey's mom is sad by the news, shehas something else on her mind. Read this book and find out what! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

ANOTHER WINNER FOR YOUR KIDS!
Simmons does it again with a great bedtime story about Jasper. The ending will make you smile and hug your kid. Definately a re-read! ... Read more

Amazon.com

When her parents' divorce goes from messy to downright weird, a13-year-old British girl finds that she's no longer Juliet (a.k.a. Jules)Cheney--she's "Child X." This excellent debut novel from Lee Weatherly puts someinteresting twists on an otherwise straightforward divorce memoir: The settingalone makes our plucky, put-upon protagonist Jules more compelling (with livelybut easy-to-comprehend Briticisms like "I dashed to the loo and hid out therefor ages, crying into a wad of rough, horrid loo roll"), and then photographersstart popping out from trees and bushes to snap Jules's picture. What's going onhere? Could it have something to do with Jules's harried, distantinternational-financier mum? Or her sweet dad, who writes for "the Beeb"? We'releft--like most kids in a divorce--to figure things out on our own, along withpoor Jules.

Weatherly shows serious skill for a newcomer, drawing our sympathies this wayand that, capturing Jules's inherently unfair age to a tee, and expertlyinterweaving a theatrical production of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights(known as The GoldenCompass in the States and a "stonking great book" in Jules'sestimation). And as with Pullman's kid classic, grownups will likely findthemselves equally sucked in by Child X's tearful lessons in love andloss. (Brilliant work, Weatherly--you ought to be chuffed.) (Ages 9 to 12)--Paul Hughes ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Disapointing
I read Child X expecting a little more than more plot.

I found that the main character running from photographers was less than thrilling. It also had a less than trilling ending. I think that it would have been better if I had read "Northern Lights" it is referred to all through out the book.

I have to say I would not recommend this book

An excellent debut novel.
What if your whole identity changed in an instant?Aspiring actress and fantasy fan Jules can�t understand why her loving father has suddenly packed up and moved out and wants nothing to do with her.Sure, he and her mom have their differences, but she never dreamed they�d actually separate.Cast as fierce tomboyish Lyra in a local performance of Northern Lights (the British title of The Golden Compass), Jules hides this secret she is so proud of as her family falls apart.When she learns that her father has confronted her mother with the accusation that Jules is not his child, she is stunned to discover she is at the heart of a media frenzy, the unsuspecting subject of DNA tests, and the victim of the lawsuit her non-biological father is bringing against her mother.As a minor, Jules remains only Child X in the papers until a coy reporter gets her to spill the beans at an interview about the play Jules is involved with.
Both a mystery thriller and a wonderful tribute to author Philip Pullman, Child X is a dramatic and moving exploration of the dynamics of relationships of all kinds. The author takes a hard look at the power of the press (and their perseverance for a story). Jules is a likeable and sympathetic character that the reader roots for all the way through, and the ending is a satisfying one.People change in realistic ways, and Jules finds friends in unexpected places.The British tale is low on slang and very accessible to American readers.

A Very Good Read
A book with lively characters, with a strong story line, with fans of "The Golden Compass," with lots of fun British slang---what more could you ask for?

"Child X" is a well-written book, although the story line seemed a bit predictable to me.I could tell what was coming with the divorce, when the main character just couldn't understand why her dad was gone.But I must say, there was a great twist at the end (that I won't give away!) that surprized me and a happy ending after all.Jules is a character with a lot of spunk and a cheeky British vocabulary, which makes the book fun to read and balances out the predicibility factor.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book--just not to older teens who will see through the plot right away. ... Read more

Book Description

Perfect Strangers

Every day, she sits at the top of the stairs leading to the beach.
Always writing in her little notebook.
Always watching.
Watching the loving big brother, so caring and attentive to his little sister.
Watching the handsome lifeguard with his golden tan.
But no matter how closely she watches, she can't begin to know the secrets behind the perfect facades of their lives.
And they can't begin to know the truth about the strange, sad girl who each day sits alone -- and watches. ... Read more

Reviews (94)

I Couldn't Put it Down
The Watcher is one of the most amazing and beautifuly written books I've read. Words cannot express this book, but I'll try. Margaret is "the watcher", a mysterious girl who is commonly found sitting by the beach, just watching. Nobody really knows anything about her, they think she's just some weird kid. But really Margaret's life is complicated and tormenting. She is stuck in a deep, dark hole and can't escape. Her mind weaves stories of perfect familes and perfect lives, made up of the "perfect" people she sees on the beach. But are these people really so perfect? Margaret is intrigued by Chris, a seemingly care-free lifeguard. To some he appears shallow, even stupid. Really, his life is constanly being tormented by a memory which isn't even there, a memory of his brother which he lost even before he was born. Then there's Evan. Evan lives a seemlingly perfect life. He spends his time with his little sister Callie and his seeminlgy perfect parents. But behind their cheery faces, his family is in great pain. His little sister is constantly worried about her parents fighting, and their parents are constantly trying to hide their unhappiness from their children. How could all these charectars, who seem so different, really be so close? This book is, once again, amazing. The ending is thought provoking and ties everything together. I urge you to PLEASE read this book. It will stay on your mind long after you've finished it.

You should read "The Watcher!"
A tear-jerking novel by James Howe is "The Watcher." Evan is a yong teen-aged boy who fears his parents are going to get a divorce. Chris is a life guard who is desperately struggling to find his place in his family, what he should do with his life, and is still grieving his brothers death. Margaret is an abused, lonely girl, and who tries to be invisible while observing the life around her instead on participating in it.
Margaret sits on the beach everyday and just watches all the people. While she watches these people she writes in her little book about what she thinks of them and what she thinks their lives are like. Of course, she always assumes their lives are much better than hers.
The two boys both notice her sitting at the beach alone, watching, and writing. What they don't know is, is that she is very abused by her father and needs to be rescued. They can't understand why she just watches and never plays herself. All three of them eventually come together in a horrific and saddening climax in the story.
This is a wonderfully written book with an acception of some foul language. I recommend this book to anyone from about 8-12 grade who thinks their life is bad or just needs a good cry.

Not Too Pleased
This book didn't really please me. The beginning of the book was very very slow. I had a hard time keeping up with it and several times just stopped reading it altogether. I finally forced myself to get into the book and found that it was very boring until the end. The book wasn't really interesting and I wouldn't recommened it to anyone who wants to read about abuse. Seeing as how the abuse came at the very end of the book and not throughtout the whole thing.

The Watcher
The Watcher is an amazing book! you keep guessing and guessing and wonderin gwhere the book is going until the very end. You are AMAZED by what shock you are in at the end...everything comes to play...you realize a lot
READ IT TODAY!

Girl All Alone
the watcher is one of the most powerful books about young teen life i have ever read. it gets so real sometimes you feel like your in it, living the life. theres a girl named marget and she is all alone and just sits on the top of steps and watches people. when she wants to she writes notes in her notebook. one day these two boys saw her watching them and didnt know why. everytime they saw her she was in the same spot and never with anyone else or playing on the beach. one of the boys name is even and as he watches her he ais faceing problems of his own. his sister and he both think their parents are getting a divorce. a guy named cris he is a life gaurd and not sure what he wants to do with his life and really confused. until the one day they saw the truth about the girl they call the "watcher.in a way theres sometingh that brings them all together and some how help out in there lives." i recommed this book to people who have there own problems and like to cry feel the pain marget gos though. ... Read more

Book Description

The reality today is that many kids come to school from less than ideal settings.

Divorce, abuse, dysfunctional families, low self-esteem are common elements of the backgrounds of many kids. Even in the best of communities, children with heavy emotional baggage are in the majority.

Fred’s Prayer Machine is the story of a group of such kids who despite their personal problems buy into their fifth-grade teacher’s plan to help them set goals and achieve them.

It’s also the story of Fred whose parents are divorced, whose father is a recovered alcoholic, and Fred’s special technique for unloading his problems.

Fred’s Prayer Machine is an upbeat ultimately feel-good story that is engaging at many levels. It is also a powerful tool to help children get a handle on their lives and on their futures. ... Read more

Book Description

Having grown up with divorced parents, 14-year-old Melinda (called Mindy by her mother; Linda by her father) is weary of being caught in the middle of her warring adults. She finds relief during a summer spent with her aunt, uncle, and beloved older cousin, Sharon. She also meets Paul, the boy who helps her find the “Melinda Zone.” But her cousin’s household is in turmoil and Melinda learns more than she dreamed about standing up for herself and being fair to the people she loves.

Reviews (1)

The Melinda Zone
I thought the Melinda Zone was a pleasing book to read. It wasn't too overwhelming. However, it wasn't blunt. The story is of a teenage girl going through the divorce of her parents. Friends and relatives help her through her troubles. She finds a way to confront her parents with her feelings about the divorce. This would be a nice book for a young adult to read. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A New Room for William by Sally Grindley
This storybook is suitable for children ages 6-8; younger children will need to have it read to them. The book tells of William, who moves to a new house with his mother after his parents separate. While the book doesn't allude to the fact that William's parents no longer live together until near the end of the story, it is clear throughout that William is uneasy about the move to the new house and and other changes in his life. He feels nostalgia for the old house and at first is unwilling to make the effort to like his new home.

William's mother reassures him by involving him in decorating his new room. His growing eagerness to decorate his room with a dinosaur motif, as well as meeting a friend, helps him to begin to feel at home. When William realizes that his father will still be in his life and that he can decorate his bedroom at his dad's new home as well, he begins to feel comfortable with his new life.

The book should appeal to children who are experiencing changes in their own lives and espcially to children who like dinosaurs. It is well-written and nicely illlustrated in a brightly colored watercolor style. ... Read more