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T.J has always taken care of his sister, Angela. In and out of foster homes, T.J. was the only one who could coax his sister out of her bad moods. He was the only one who knew why she made origami paper cranes and let them fly whenever she could. He tried to protect her from the truth about their mother until neither of them could bear the lies anymore. Now, though, T.J. is waiting in the Emergency Room for his sister to wake up from a bad fall. They have a new life now, with new parents, and a new house, but their painful past still haunts them. As T.J. sits waiting for Angela to wake up, he remembers all of the things - good and bad - that got them to this point and will shape their future - if she ever wakes up.
Waiting to Forget by Sheila Kelly Welch is a heart-breaking story of a young boy coming to terms with his past and looking toward a brighter future. This book would be great for middle school fans of A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer.
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger.
First of all, this author is an absolute geek or an absolute genius. It's hilarious. Each character's story had me laughing out loud. One day, Dwight, the class weirdo starts giving his friends advice via a paper origami Yoda puppet on his finger. He would spout in a Yoda like voice some bit of wisdom. For example, Tommy wasn't sure if he should ask this girl to dance> Well, Origami Yoda said "Rush in fools do". Basically, no don't do it! Everyone else was saying go ahead. And before he can embarrass himself with the girl AND her BOYFRIEND in front of the entire school, he gets saved by Yoda, cause he stopped to think about it. AND that was what Yoda did for Tommy.
So is the advice of Origami real or not? It seems like a lot of things kids have asked Origami Yoda really came true and the only way to find out for sure is to investigate it scientifically and document it.
A truly funny read about boys and coming of age - falling for girls, standing up for yourself and your friends and what you believe in. Basically, the mystery of growing up but done in a hilarious way- a cross between Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Gary Paulsen's writing. A short read for readers in 6th - 8th grade.
The colorful pictures in this book are so beautiful that even if the reader doesn't want to read the poems which consist of few lines that are clever ans smart, they will just enjoy the pictures. The protagonist in the story is a boy, which adds so much more to the story since poems are usually not as popular with boys. Throughout the pages of the book, he makes different origami animals. The pages are really amazing in that they illustrate the essence of what the poet is expressing and these illustrations are in origami format. It's an engaging book that not only is pleasant to read, but you can also make the origami's that are in the book as well. FOLD ME A POEM by KRISTINE O'CONNELL GEORGE and illustrations by LAUREN STRINGER. Grades 3rd and older.
