Bobbie Lynn and her older brother know that they must take care of their depressed mom, while their dad is fighting in Vietnam. But their mom is sinking further into depression, they are adjusting to living in a new town, and when their dad is declared MIA, the problems get to be too much. With the help of a new friend – Wendy – Bobbie Lynn learns that sometimes, you need to ask for help.

A cute story about the difficulties of starting middle school. Kelly and her friends struggle to find their niche, and all of their problems seem to wrap up neatly by the middle of 6th grade and the end of the book. If only middle school had been that easy. . .

A trilogy, set in 1815, that follows the journey of the Nye family from their comfortable life in Connecticut to the wilderness of New York. Pioneer life is certainly not romanticized in this series, as the Nye family must contend with many difficulties. The main character, Remembrance, is very likeable, and you grow to admire her as she takes on more and more responsibility for her family’s survival.

I very much enjoyed these books. I’ve read a lot of “pioneer fiction,” but still learned a lot from this series. The second book, Frozen Summer covered the true events in the summer of 1816, when snows and killing frosts were felt all summer long in most of Northern New England and New York. These were later discovered to be a result of the eruption of Tambora, but at the time, the settlers truly feared that the world was ending.

Four short stories about a library card that changes the lives of the teenagers who find it. Each story illustrates the power of reading. The first story, entitled “Mongoose” was my favorite.

Nyle and his grandma live on a sheep farm. Her dad left and her mom has died. A nuclear accident nearby destroys much land, kills many and gives many radiation sickness. Ezra, a refugee in need of care, comes to stay with Nyle and her grandma.

It took awhile to figure out where this story took place. I thought it was set in Eastern Europe in the 60′s or 70′s. It was actually supposed to be present day East Coast (near Boston.) I read this book in June of 2001. I wonder if I had read it 4 months later, if it would have been as difficult for me to imagine such a disaster taking place here.

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