Notes from the Midnight Driver
by Jordan Sonnenblick
Published 2006 by Scholastic Press

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780439757799

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Jacket Notes:

In this novel some describe as "Tuesdays with Morrie" for teens, a troubled 16-year-old boy discovers a friendship of a lifetime when he is sentenced to do community work at an old folks' home.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 09/18/2006

Sonnenblick revisits several key themes from his debut novel,Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie , to even greater effect here. Narrator Alex Gregory starts off by describing his maiden drinking episode: getting drunk alone, hijacking his mother's car in order to drive to his father's house and give the man a piece of his mind (his parents are separated), and taking an unplanned detour into a neighbor's yard, destroying a lawn gnome. What begins as humor takes on darker implications as the book progresses. Not because Alex has a drinking problem (he never takes another sip in the course of the book), but because of a drunk driver's impact on Sol Lewis, the resident of a nursing home to whom Alex is assigned by Judge J. Trent as part of his community service for his crime. Like Steven's Annette inDrums , Alex's female best friend, Laurie, sticks by him throughout this challenging time. And Sol, who starts out crotchety, turns out to be much wiser below the surface, and far more complicated. He even suggests to Alex that there may be more to the teen's relationship with Laurie than friendship. The bond that guitar-playing forges between Alex and Sol serves not only to make them peers musically, but also personally, allowing Sol to reveal his own past. While readers may figure out the significance of Alex's judge to the broader story before the hero does, they will likely find the ending no less satisfying. Ages 12-up.(Oct.)

10/01/2006 REVIEW: School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up -After drinking some vodka and taking his mom-s car for a spin to his father-s girlfriend-s house, who just happens to be his former third-grade teacher, 16-year-old Alex Gregory finds himself on his neighbors- lawn with police yelling at him and a broken gnome under his car. It is hard to believe that Alex would do anything like this; most of the time he hangs out with his friend Laurie, a sassy petite karate expert, and plays guitar in the school jazz band. He is also trying to get over his parents- recent split. For drinking and driving, Alex is sentenced to 100 hours of community service at a nursing home with Solomon Lewis. Sol is a difficult, crotchety, eccentric old man with emphysema who lashes out at Alex in strange Yiddish phrases. Soon Alex grows found of Sol, who teaches him something about the guitar, respecting the elderly, and taking responsibility for his actions. Alex-s voice is fresh and funny, but doesn-t downplay the serious situations. The other characters in the book are well defined and add interesting touches to the story. Fans of Sonnenblick-sDrums, Girls & Dangerous Pie (Turning Tide, 2004) will be pleased with this follow-up book in which Steven and Annette make a few brief appearances.-Shannon Seglin, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA

The Chocolate War
by Robert Cormier
Published 1974 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780394828053

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Jacket Notes:

Reissued now in hardcover with a new introduction by the author, Cormier's chilling look at the insidious world of gang intimidation and the abuse of power in a boys' boarding school is no less relevant today than it was in 1974.

A True and Faithful Narrative
by Katherine Sturtevant
Published 2006 by Farrar Straus Giroux

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780374378097

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Jacket Notes:

In Restoration London, 16-year-old Meg Moore spends long hours conversing with the famous authors and poets who visit her father's bookstore, and even writes her own stories. Without warning, however, Meg comes to learn exactly how powerful words can be.

05/01/2006 REVIEW: School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up -It-s four years sinceAt the Sign of the Star (Farrar, 2000) ended, and Meg Moore, now 16, still loves bookselling, reading, and, most of all, penning her own stories. Although she no longer dreams about inheriting her father-s bookstore, due to his remarriage and the birth of his son, she still hopes to overcome 17th-century English society-s disapproval of writing as a pastime for respectable women and see her work in print. She thinks that marrying a bookseller may be her strongest hope for the unconventional future she desires. When her friend Anne-s brother announces his departure for Italy and hints about declaring his love, Meg pretends not to understand his intentions and jokes that perhaps he will be seized by pirates. She regrets these words when news comes that Edward-s homeward-bound ship has indeed been captured and that he has been sold into slavery in Algiers. Meg-s guilt inspires her to raise funds to pay his ransom, but it doesn-t stop her from privately writing a lurid account of the horrors she imagines he is suffering. A potential romance with her father-s apprentice, her worries over Anne-s unhappy marriage, and Meg-s reactions to a much-changed, returned Edward flesh out this intriguing, believable glimpse into Restoration London. Although Meg is frustrated by her society-s restrictions, Sturtevant does not attempt to solve her heroine-s problems by imposing 21st-century solutions-there is no doubt that the teen lives within the limitations of her own time. This solid work of historical fiction stands easily on its own.-Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA