The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden

I rarely devour sequels as I did the original.  This was an exception.  Karina Yan Glaser's Great Stone Face nominee, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street was one of my favorite reads this year.  This one picks up shortly after that ended.  You do not have to read the first, however, to understand this one.  (But please do!  You can thank me later.)  The Vanderbeeker children try secretly to build a community garden on their block.  When a neighbor gets sick, and a greedy land developer descends on the land, the children need to find a way to save it.  These stories make me an occupant of that brownstone in Harlem...part of their extended family... and I am so very grateful for it.  (FIC GLA)

Louisiana's Way Home

In this latest story from Kate DiCamillo, we revisit the character of Louisiana, whom we met in DiCamillo's Raymie Nightingale.  (You do not have to read that one, though, to follow this story.) Louisiana and her Grammie leave Florida to end a curse put on their family by her Grannie's father, a magician who left his partner and wife in two pieces on stage - "sundered" in 2.  I liked the story very much and I loved the character of Louisiana, with her manner of speaking like a grandmother.  Since an older woman raised her, it made sense to me that she would talk like that.  I was sucked in by the climax and enjoyed the resolution of the story, but I found it hard to believe.  (FIC DIC)

Ghost Boys

Holy cow. What a powerful book.  It is unsettling and uncomfortable, but important.  Jerome is a young black boy killed by a white policeman while running away with a toy gun.  As a ghost, he sees how his family struggles, but he also sees the hundreds of other boys, from his era and before, who have suffered the same fate.  He learns why he has still not "crossed over" from Emmitt Till, the ghost of the boy whose death helped start the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.  This is timely and tragic and, unfortunately, true-to-life.  There is hope for change.  We can all be a part of it if we change our thinking and our prejudices.  (FIC RHO)

The Incorrigible Children Of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery

I liked the first one in this series well enough to read this sequel, despite the fact that the first had more questions than answers.  I had assumed this second installment would answer some of them.  It did not.  It only left me with more.  I found that it did not really develop the mystery enough in this story.  They went to London from the countryside and met some interesting people - one gypsy woman who scared them with something she said.  The guide book that was given to Miss Lumley which was the core of this installment was not well-explained.  I found it disappointing.  I will not read  more.  (FIC WOO)