The Cruisers by Walter Dean Myers YP FIC MYERS

Zander Scott and his friends Bobbi, Kambui, and LaShonda call themselves the Cruisers because that exactly what they expect to do, cruise through the DaVinci Academy for the Gifted and Talented in Harlem with a solid C and little to no effort, but their underachieving ways have finally caught up with them. Now the assistant principal has tasked them with stopping a new civil war! The high school has been split into the Union and Confederate sides as a way to teach about the civil war and if the Cruisers can’t get the sides to come to a truce they are going to be booted out. But when real life racial tensions make the assignment all too real and the Cruisers may have to actually TRY.

Walter Dean Myer is an all time great writers of young adult lit. He writes such real and raw books that pull no punches, so I was surprised he was writing a book aimed more at middle schoolers than teens, but he pulls it off very well. the book is smart, fast paced, and all the characters feel real. Myers is always great at looking at the really tough issues like racism, war, and class, but without ever getting boring or preachy. One of the really tricky question of the book is, what would have happened to America without the Civil War? A great read for people that want a new series about the middle school set but with a cool urban flair.

Deep Down Popular

Deep Down Popular

by Phebe Stone

(YP FIC STONE)

Jessie Lou is part tom-boy and part wild child, but the one thing she is not is popular. Conrad Parker is popular though. He's the most popular kid at their school and a soccer star at their small school, that is until his leg is injured and he has to start wearing a brace. Suddenly Conrad is unpopular, but Jessie Lou, who has always liked Conrad, doesn't care. She still likes him anyway. Then their teacher asks Jessie Lou to help Conrad take his things home from school. Gradually they, along with Quentin--a fourth grader, become friends as they try to solve a local mystery. When Conrad is selected for a special operation that could heal his leg, Jessie Lou is afraid that she will lose her new friend.

This simple story of friendship and crushes is told in an almost lyrical fashion. The small town, country setting is beautifully captured throughout, as are the several outlandish characters, such as Jessie Lou's mischievious grandfather and the rascally Quentin. Stone does an exceptional job of capturing the attitudes and typical behaviors of sixth graders.

Schooled

Schooled

by Gordon Korman
J FIC KORMAN





Capricorn "Cap" Anderson has spent his entire life on what's left of a hippy-style commune. He has been home schooled by his fierce grandmother. His hair is long and shaggy and he wears homemade shoes. He's never seen a TV, rarely used a phone, and has had very little contact with the outside world. He doesn't know a single person his own age or even in his own generation. All that changes though when his grandmother is hurt, and she has to spend several weeks recovering. Cap moves into a foster home until she gets better.

Abruptly Cap is faced with modern life, and modern life in Claverage (C-Average) Middle School no less. The "popular crowd" quickly zeros in on Cap for bullying. As part of a prank, Cap is elected eighth-grade class president. An assistant principal looks the other way as Cap becomes target for spit balls, phoney press conferences in non-existent rooms, and other mean-spirited pranks. Through it all Cap stays true to the ethics of the sixties that his grandmother has taught him (All you need is love...and a little duck tape) and wins the heart of the student body. Of course, driving the school bus to the hospital in a police chase doesn't hurt his popularity either. Before long, Tai Chi in the morning on the school lawn becomes a social event and Tie-dye is the new fashion. When Cap goes missing just before the big dance of the year, chaos commences.

This book is classic Gordon Korman...funny, funnier, and even more hilarious with every page! Cap is a thoroughly likable character: kind and conscientious without a touch of malice. Which is good, because there is more than enough malice in the characters around him. All that changes with Cap's influence as each character undergoes a change of heart.

A fun, lighthearted read.