The Paper Cowboy by Kristin Levine

The year is 1953 and Tommy Wilson lives in Downers Grove, Illinois.  His  life has become quite complicated.  

His mother, under the stress of grieving her mother who died the previous year, giving birth to her fourth child, and seeing her oldest daughter burned in a terrible accident, often has trouble coping.  She cries a lot, explodes with anger,  and locks herself in the bedroom for hours and days at a time.  The house is a mess, the two youngest children are not adequately cared for, and Tommy receives countless beatings from his mother.  

He bullies his peers at school.  He makes fun of one student because of his weight, calling him “Little Skinny” and makes fun of a student who has a deformed hand due to polio.  

Tommy and his best friend find a copy of The Daily Worker, a communist newspaper during the community paper recycling drive.  Tommy keeps it, and is determined to find out which of his neighbors is a communist.    

Will Tommy’s mother get the help she needs?  Can Tommy change his ways?  And who is the communist? You should read this book to find out.

I haven't read many historical fiction novels set after World War II, and this story was an interesting glimpse into that time period. The different characters were dynamic, and I like the way that the neighbors came together in the end to help each other.

A good read!

All the Answers by Kate Messner

What would you do if you had a way to find out the answers to your questions?

On the morning of a big math test, twelve year old Ava Anderson searches through the kitchen junk drawer for a pencil.  She finds one, puts it in her backpack, and is off to school.  While taking her test, she discovers that when she writes a question, a voice tells her the answer.  Suddenly, she doesn’t have to study for tests, she can tell her best friend which boys have a crush on her, and she can learn secrets about her friends and family.  Ava quickly realizes that she must be cautious with her inquiries because once the pencil is used up, she won’t be able to ask questions anymore.  Ava fights the urge to ask about everything she wants to know, but sometimes finds the pencil too tempting.  She uses it to indulge her fears and anxieties, and finds that she receives answers she may not want to know and ruins some relationships.

Should Ava keep using the pencil, or find a way to give it up?  

Life isn't about knowing all the answers, after all.  That’s part of the fun.

Somebody On This Bus is Going To Be Famous by J.B. Cheaney

As the title suggests, this book takes place on a bus, and someone on the bus becomes famous.  

The book focuses on nine different students.  Each of these students has their own potential to famous...or infamous.  Shelley is an aspiring pop star.  Bender is a bully who struggles to live up to the greatness of his older brother.  Spencer is a genius.  Jay is a great football player hoping for a professional contract.  Matthew won the Science Fair.  Igor is a troublemaker who already had a minor brush with fame.  Miranda is a great writer and an even better friend.  Kaitlyn is very generous and inspires generosity in others.  Alice is the new girl who reads a lot.

Each chapter of the book is titled for one month of the school year, and each month a different character is highlighted.  It was interesting to learn each character’s story and to predict who would become famous.  This book is also a good reminder that students sometimes have difficulties at home, like financial issues, absent parents, divorce, sibling issues, demanding parents, family secrets, and aging grandparents.  

There are several mysteries in this book.  Why does the bus stop make a stop where no one gets on the bus?  What happened to Jay’s uncle, and why won’t anyone talk about it?  Who is the famous bus rider?  To find out, you’ll have to read the book.