The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose

Finished up another book fair preview title this weekend, and this one happens to be a nonfiction book.  The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose is about the Danish teens, known as the Churchill Club during WWII.  When Denmark nation accepted German occupation without any resistance, these boys were outraged.  They looked at what was happening in Norway and were inspired to fight as well.  They started with small acts to sabotage the Nazis.  They finally got caught after setting a rail car on fire - truly damaged a German strong hold.  At first the Nazis wanted to trial the boys, but the Danish government stepped in.  The Germans agreed, but had their own officer present to report to Hitler.  The boys were sent to prison, and the time served depended on their age, as they were all under the age of 18.  Prison time was difficult, but the fact a small group of boys showed courage encouraged Denmark citizens.  Soon others organized and the Danish resistance grew.  The book concludes with the boys getting to meet Churchill, who honored them for their service and bravery.  Even though the boys suffered from "prison scars," many went on and lived successful lives.

I would recommend this book to students passionate about the history of World War II.  It was good for those with a high interest, but there are other selections I would use for those not overly interested in WWII historical accounts that would hold their attention better.  In other words, it was good, but not thrilling.

Book Club is One Year Old!

Last night was Book Club Night at my house, and it was a success!  Karen praised my Italian style cooking, so we chose our book with the setting in Italy.  Juliet by Anne Fortier was the perfect choice!  In fact it turned out to be my favorite book for our club yet!

Juliet combines Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet with a modern adventurous mystery.  A major twist to the story is the "real" Romeo & Juliet that inspired Shakespeare actually took place in Siena, not Verona.  I had a blast using this novel to create an Italian themed night.  When researching I discovered Anne Fortier is actually from the Netherlands, and English is her second language.  She loves to travel with her mother, and their favorite destination is Siena.  When Anne came up with the idea, her mother went back to Siena and took pictures to help inspire Anne through her writing.  I had some of them developed and put the quote on the back for the ladies to look through.  I printed off quotes from Romeo & Juliet and made them into bookmarks.  The kitchen was decorated with sunflowers and roses - both featured in the book.  I made a box of treats for the ladies to take home - cookies inspired from Siena and some Bacci (Italian chocolate/hazelnut kisses).  I also included a skeleton key, wooden cross, and small canvas with paintbrush.  All of these items have special significance to the story!

Now for the food...  This was fun!  I researched dishes specific to Siena.  Normally my Italian cooking is definitely southern influenced, but I switched gears and went with a more northern, Tuscany approach.  This region likes beans, and not much pasta.  There's great farmland, including vineyards known for sauvignon.  this means lots of nuts and fruits.  I decided to make a cheese platter and made a bread called pan co' santi to go with it.  This bread is made each fall with dried fruit and nuts, and raisins are the "saints" that rise during baking - yummy!  For drink, I showed the ladies how to make Italian cream soda, and I had a wine drink (used a Tuscan wine, made less than 20 miles from Siena).  For the meal, I made ribolita (one of the characters in the book enjoys a bowl), along with panzenella (bread salad), zucchini & lemon salad (to lighten things up!), and I created an eggplant roll.  I absolutely love eggplant, so I had to serve it some way.  I decided to grill slices, and then stuff with mozzarella and bruschetta.  I top the rolls with some more cheese, breadcrumbs, and a drizzle of olive oil.  I let it bake for about 20 min.  The eggplant proved to be the favorite dish - I'll make anyone love eggplant!  Finally for dessert, I served a Moscato, along with bicsotti, two cookies I made ahead of time, panforte, and gelato.  So the two cookies are also favorites in Siena, and one just happens to be gluten-free.  The first is called cavallucci, or horsemen cookies, because they used to be stamped with a horse character in the middle.  They are a enjoyed during Siena's famous Palio races.  These cookies are dense with dried fruit and nuts - kind of similar to the bread.  The other cookie was my favorite and is the gluten-free.  Cantucci are light shortbread cookies made with almond flour and dusted with powdered sugar.  The panforte has quite a history.  It dates all the way back to the 1200s and was know as the cake for nobles.  It's a honey cake again made with dried fruit and nuts.  Now that I know how delicious and easy it is to make... it's going to be made again & soon!  Finally, we had to have gelato.  I mean, how can you celebrate all thing Italy without some gelato?!?  Turns out one of the ladies had never tried it - I hope I made a believer out of her about this delicious version of creamier ice cream.

We had an interesting discussion about the book.  I found some questions from Oprah Book Lists.  I also had a How Well Do You Know Siena quiz that we all took together.  Out of the 10 questions, we only got 5 right!  We made a date to go see Girl on the Train movie in October, and picked our next book.  We decided to go with a scary one - fun to read during the month of October.  Karen will be hosting this one in November.  I would say this has been a fun way to celebrate our Book Club 1st birthday!  Any many more readings and gatherings in the years to come!

P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

Here's my lastest review from the Scholastic Book Fair Preview Pack.  P.S. I Like You by Kasie West is the perfect choice for your teens wanting cute romance novels.  Personally YA romance books are not my first pick, but I really did enjoy this one.

Our two soon-to-be-in-love characters couldn't be more different.  In fact, they can't stand each other.  So now you're wondering how they actually fall for each other.  Well, Lily loves to create songs and listening to obscure music groups.  She keeps a notebook with all of her ideas.  She gets in trouble in her chemistry class for not paying attention, so her teacher tells her no more notebook.  She tells him she needs to take notes, so he says she's allowed one sheet each class period - that's it - she needs to pay attention in class.  It's not surprising the next day her minding starts to wander.  She writes the first line of one of her favorite songs on the desk top - this band is pretty new and not very people have heard of them or this song.  The next day someone has added the second line.  Totally blows her mind, and this starts note passing.  They even come up with a secret hiding place in the desk.  At first Lily thinks it's a girl, but soon realizes it's a boy.  Then she tries to figure out who it might be. You won't want to put the book down!  Finally Lily discovers it's Cade, her nemesis.  Will they make amends, or go their separate ways?

Adorable book!  Your young teens craving love stories - especially clean ones (don't have to worry about strong sex scenes) - will be pleased with this one.

A Little in Love by Susan E. Fletcher

So... If you love Les Miserables, then this book is for you!  A Little in Love by Susan E. Fletcher has a similar set-up, with France on the verge of a revolution.  Here we have a girl, Eponine, who is born into a poor family.  Both parents are cruel, and they teach her and her sister, Azelma, how to steal and con people.  Eponine wants to be good, to find love, but she is constantly knocked down by the confine and duties of her family.

Eponine learns kindness through Cosette and Marius.  Cosette's mother is desparate for someone to look after her daughter.  She pays Eponine's parents, who own the inn at the time, to take care Cosette while she travels to Paris.  Her family treats Cosette horribly, making her clean after them and sleep on the floor.  When Eponine's brother, Gavroche, is born, Eponine and Cosette are the ones who take care of him.  Then one day a man comes for Cosette.  He whisks her off - away from the nastiness - and Eponine yearns for someone to save her too.  She decides to try kindness, and it works until the family has to flee.  When they get to Paris, Eponine is forced back into a life of crime.  She discovers Marius and falls in love.

Eponine is determined to be "good," but always seems to find herself forced into doing terrible things.  You'll find your heart breaking for her.  Such a great story!  Definitely will be recommending to teens yearning for sad romance!

Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork

I read Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork a few weeks ago, and now I'm finally writing the review.  Not the most fun topic for a book, but a necessary one.  The book opens after the main character, Victoria, has tried to commit suicide.  She ends up at a hospital in the psychiatric ward.

Vicky meets three other teens, also dealing with psychological issues through her group therapy.  Mona, her roommate, and two guys, E.M. and Gabriel, couldn't be more different.  The doctor, Dr. Desai, is a kind woman who helps each one discover their own strengths, especially Vicky.  She learns to stand up for herself and recognize when depression is taking over.  She gains the strength to not be bulldozed into her domineering father's wishes.  She comes to terms with her mother's death, her housekeeper's leaving, her absent sister, and her cold step-mother.  Through all this, she also helps her friends.

I would recommend this book to teens.  It would open the door to real issues people are dealing with and help people realize there is help out there.  Mental illnesses are real, and when correctly diagnosed and properly treated people can continue living happy and meaningful lives instead of believing they're bad and/or would be better off dead. While this is not a "happy" read, it is "real" and you'll be rooting for Vicky as she comes to term with her depression and starts living her life, finding her strengths, and helping others.