One of my neighbors has a beautiful flower garden. Whenever I have the opportunity to pass by this blooming wonder, I am constantly amazed at the many varieties of plants growing there. It seems that there is a flower in her garden for everyone. As I struggle to grow my own budding backyard botanicals, I find I can always go to my neighbor for suggestions and help to find just the perfect plants to hopefully build my perfect garden.
In the garden of July’s reviews you will find an assortment of titles and stories. There isn’t one theme or idea that these books surround – just a flourishing mixture of good books and unforgettable characters that you will surely want to add to your literature collection. Hopefully, as you tiptoe through the reviews, you will find something that captures your interest and fills the fleeting fragrant days of summer reading.
Megan by Jack Weyland
Although this story was released a few years ago, when I came across it again, I was drawn to it.. Once I read Megan, I knew it was a perfect fit for July’s column.
The story starts by introducing a young teenage girl, Megan, who is cute, fun, smart, and seems to have everything going for her. Despite having a great life, all she wants is to be noticed by Eric, an older boy who seems to be the ultimate boyfriend conquest.
In an attempt to capture his attention, Megan lets down her guard and little by little trades in her values for the fallacy of sin. Megan thinks that by giving in to the persuasions of this boy, she will ensure that he will want to be with her always and surely fall in love with her. As it becomes apparent that nothing is farther from the truth, Megan finds that she has much bigger problems to solve.
At the same time as Megan faces her deep pain and confusion, 300 miles away, another woman pleads with Heavenly Father for deliverance from the trials that she is facing. By no fault of her own, she is dealing with a problem that she does not know how to fix and feels hopeless.
This is a touching story of the ultimate healing power of repentance and how each of us, no matter what our circumstances, desperately needs the blessing of the Atonement and Christ in our lives. I feel very impressed to recommend this book to any teen, but especially those who may be teetering on the edge of what is right and what is wrong.
Larklight by Philip Reece
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Pirates of the Caribbean meets Treasure Planet in this whimsical science fiction story set in Victorian times. A young British lad, Arthur, and his coming-of-age sister, Myrtle, are suddenly forced to flee for their lives between the known planets after large, menacing spiders attack their space home and wrap their beloved father into a deadly cocoon.
As the children face obstacle after obstacle, they must rely upon the dreaded pirate Jack Havoc and his gang of intergalactic creatures to solve a mystery that leads them right back into the clutches of the “murderous spiders”. Can Arthur and Myrtle escape the dreadful spiders and save themselves, the queen, the British Empire, and space life as they know it? Find out in this charming tale of mystery, imagination, and suspense; Larklight.
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
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The Life of Pi is an interesting tale of a young zookeeper’s son who is living in India. When political unrest in the country threatens his family’s way of life, they set off for Canada to start a new life. After a tragic accident leaves him alone, young Pi finds himself calling on the lessons he learned from his father and from life at the zoo to survive the tumultuous life lost at sea with an unlikely enemy and companion.
This story is both exciting and thought-provoking. Through young Pi, Martel poses some interesting conclusions about religion and shows how “everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.” (Moroni 7:13). When I reached the end of this story, I wished for a book two because I was this book captured my attention so completely. I recommend this book for anyone who likes to read fiction that seems so real, it could be true.
First Light by Rebecca Stead
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Peter is a boy from New York who lives with his brilliant mother and father, both of which are scientists. His father gets a rare chance to go to Greenland and study global warming. After much discussion the family decides that Peter will leave school for six weeks and go with his parents to Greenland.
Peter is very excited about the adventure but is a little preoccupied by the headaches that he has been experiencing lately. As their frequency and intensity increases, he is worried that there may be something more wrong with him than just a headache.
Thea is a girl who lives in an icy world underground in Greenland. Her ancestors left England and traveled to Greenland to escape the “hunters” who wanted to annihilate her kind because of their unusual powers. Thea’s community is threatened by their rapid consumption of their depleting food sources. Unless they can find a way to expand their community and grow more food, their chance of survival is doomed.
Thea’s plan to save her friends and family involve a forbidden journey to the surface. While she is frightened by what she might find there, she knows that it is the only way to prevent her clan from extinction.
I was not sure whether to classify First Light as fantasy or science fiction. Whatever the category, First Light is a new and interesting story that I enjoyed reading. The plot and characters are fresh and the story is unique. I recommend this book for all teen readers.
Ellie McDoodle Have Pen, Will Travel by Ruth McNally Barshaw
This book for young teens is a fun-loving illustrated journal written about Ellie’s family camping trip with her aunt, uncle and cousins. She draws and annotates the family and their hair-brained ideas and adventures from her hilarious, sarcastic point of view.
I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it for everyone, especially for reluctant reader, as it is an easy read which quickly pulls the reader into Ellie’s world.
