“The Seven Gifts That Came to Earth,” by John Mellor

“The Seven Gifts That Came to Earth,” by John Mellor is a philosophical exploration of human character and behavior under the guise of seven short stories.

On the grand scale “The Seven Gifts That Came to Earth” is about a young boy and an Angel.  The Angel directs the boy to read seven books.  Each book is a story about a gift that was bestowed upon the Earth by its “guardian.”

“Custer’s Last Band” tells the story of a retired rock and roll musician who leaves his hermitic refuge in the mountains to play one last gig at the Princess’s birthday party.  But his song isn’t quite what the people were expecting. Read the rest »

“The Truth About Sparrows” by Marian Hale

“The Truth About Sparrows” by Marian Hale is a historical fiction novel about a family who moves from drought-plagued Missouri to Texas where they hope to start a new life.

Sadie hates the idea of moving to Texas. Not only will mean losing her best friend Wilma, but Sadie knows she will miss their familiar house and surroundings. However, Sadie’s family has little choice. A drought has destroyed all the crops. With no source of income they can’t make the mortgage payment and soon the bank will foreclose on their property. Read the rest »

“The Kind of Friends We Used to Be” by Frances O’Roark Dowell

“The Kind of Friends We Used to Be” by Frances O’Roark Dowell is the story of two twelve year old girls and their changing friendship as they go through middle school.

Kate and Marylin had been best friends for years. They knew everything about each other, and felt that they shared a history because of the time they spent together. But last year they had a dramatic falling out and Marylin gave Kate the silent treatment all year long. This year those feelings are left behind and Kate and Marylin want to be friends again, but it is proving to be more difficult than both girls had originally thought. Read the rest »

“The Girl Who Threw Butterflies,” by Mick Cochrane

“The Girl Who Threw Butterflies,” by Mick Cochrane is an appealing story about a girl who faces her father’s death by playing on the school baseball team and throwing the knuckleball that her father taught her.

Molly Williams is known to other eighth grade students as the girl whose father died. The other students treat her differently, like they are sorry for her, but Molly doesn’t want to be treated differently. She wants life to go back to the way it was before her father was killed in a mysterious single car accident. Read the rest »

“Counter Clockwise,” by Jason Cockcroft

“Counter Clockwise,” by Jason Cockcroft is a slightly psychedelic, mind-bending time travel fantasy about a boy who must travel back in time to the fateful day when his mother was killed.

One year ago Nathan Cobbe and his father Henry suffered the tragic loss of Nathan’s mother.  She accidentally stepped out in front of a bus and was hit before anyone could stop her.  Ever since then Nathan’s father has been acting rather strange, and seems a little bit out of it.  Nathan is greatly affected as well but he puts on a facade for his father, because he knows that Henry has enough to worry about. Read the rest »