Great Vacation!

This week we had no school for February vacation. It was great to have so much time to read and relax! 

I started with Halt's Peril by John Flanagan. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love this series. This time around Halt, Will and Horace are back on the trail of the Outsiders and trail them back to their homeland. Unfortunately, while they're hunting for the Outsiders, mercenaries hired by Tennyson are hunting them. Halt is nicked by an arrow and seems fine at first. Shortly though, his behavior changes and the Ranger who always seems to be in control is confused and disoriented. The arrow was poisoned and Halt is dying. Will and Horace do whatever they can to help him, but their skills aren’t up to the task. As every fantasy reader knows, the mentor eventually leaves or dies and the hero has to continue on by himself (think Dumbledore) and it looks like in this story it may be time for Will to say goodbye to Halt. This book started off slowly, but quickly picks up and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I also read Shooting the Moon by Frances O’Roark Dowell. Twelve-year-old Jamie and her brother TJ have grown up doing thing “the Army way” with their father ‘the Colonel.’ When TJ enlists hoping to get sent overseas to fight in Vietnam.  TJ and Jamie are surprised that both their mother and the Colonel don’t want him to join up.  TJ is sent to Vietnam and sends Jamie rolls of film to develop. Through TJ’s images Jamie learns that war isn’t as exciting as seemed and that there are serious and lasting consequences. This is a very moving story about family and friendship and I enjoyed every page.

Countdown by Deborah Wiles has a fantastic layout. Between the pages of the story are images of the the1960’s. There are song lyrics, historic photos, advertisements and news stories. Frannie Chapman lives with her mother, Air Force pilot father, 2 siblings and an uncle who suffers from PTSD. The Cuban Missile Crisis is in the news and on everyone’s mind – especially while Frannie and her classmates participate in ‘duck and cover drills’ at school. While trying to deal with her fears of the Russians attacking the US, Frannie is trying to deal with her fading friendship with her best friend as well as first love. This is the first in a planned Sixties Trilogy and the groundwork is laid for future books about her college activist sister and aspiring astronaut brother. As these characters struggle through the turmoil of the 1960’s, it is easy to make connections to the turmoil in our country today. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.