One Handed Catch by Mary Jane Auch

Summary: After losing his hand in an accident in his father's butcher shop in 1946, sixth-grader Norman uses hard work and humor to learn to live with his disability and to succeed at baseball, art, and other activities.

This story is based on the life of Herm Auch, husband of the author and the illustrator of many of her books. This is my favorite Bluebonnet book this year. It is a story of hope and great achievement in overcoming a tragedy. Norm loses his hand in an accident in his father's market but does not let his "handicap" keep him from any of his dreams. A great inspiration and entertaining read.

Tall Tales by Karen Day

Sixth-grader Meg Summers and her family move to a new state every few years as her alcoholic father tries to get a fresh start, but when they land in Indiana and Meg finally makes a real friend and begins to talk about her family's problems, they all find the strength to try to change their destiny

I was cheering for Meg throughout the book and hoping she would come to terms with her family's situation in a way that would be satisfactory for her as well as her entire family.

Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret by Obert Skye

Main Character: Leven Thumps
Location: Foo, and the human world
Time period: Contemporary
Genre: J Fiction, Fantasy
Series: Leven Thumps #2

This book starts right where the last one left off. Again, I enjoy the use of language, and, again, I am not fond of the reliance on fate and coincidence.

Leven and his friends are separated when Jamoon, one of Sabine's minions, attacks them with a flock of rovens. Leven is torn between rescuing Winter and taking Geth to the turrets where he can reclaim his seat as leader of Foo. If they delay in reaching the turrets, Geth will die. There is an interesting image of a mountain made of rocks representing the sins and transgressions of the people of Foo. (Fooites? Foovians?) But the storyline that really held my interest was the one still on earth. Ezra, who was also formed from the tree that housed Geth's spirit in Oklahoma, holds the dark side of Geth's heart--all the anger and jealousy and bitterness and resentment. He finds a willing dupe in Dennis, a janitor who has been overlooked his entire life. Dennis is compelled to help Ezra return to Foo, but once in Berchtesgaden they encounter the remains of Sabine. At the same time, Tim, an old neighbor and friend of Winter, is searching for her and his path leads him to Dennis, Ezra and Sabine. I will be very interested in following their story.

This is turning out to be a series that has to be read in order, and this volume ends on a cliffhanger that demands that you read the next book, Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want.

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye

Main Character: Leven Thumps, a human boy with ties to the Land of Foo
Location: Oklahoma, Germany, Foo
Time period: Contemporary
Genre: J Fiction, Fantasy

I'm not one that necessarily notices the first sentence of a book, but this one jumped up and grabbed me. "It was at least forty degrees above warm." Maybe it's because I'm coming off of a long Texas summer where temperatures are routinely above 100 degrees, but I instantly knew what this sentence conveyed. There is a lot of lovely language in this book; very pretty turns of phrase that would just make me pause and savor them.

Leven Thumps is an orphan boy being raised, grudgingly, by his mother's step-sister and her husband in a trailer park in Oklahoma. Unbeknownst to him, he is watched over by Geth, a spirit trapped in a tree, and Clover, a sycophant. Meanwhile, Winter is not an orphan but might as well be one as her mother is one of the most selfish and lazy characters ever seen outside of a Roald Dahl story. Fate brings them together and they learn that they are the only ones who can save the land of Foo from the evil tyrant Sabine.

Fate plays a big role in this book; Geth is a lithen, a race that trusts completely in fate. That means that nothing is too coincidental or serendipitous to be believed--it's all just the workings of fate. This is a little frustrating to Leven, and I must admit that it’s a little frustrating for me, too. I became impatient with the story at times because of this dependence on coincidence, serendipity, and fate. However, I know that it has appealed to a number of my patrons, because they have told me how much they enjoyed it and urged me to read it.

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo is on the 2007-2008 Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee List.

Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 16 by Hiromu Arakawa

Main Characters: Edward and Alphonse Elric
Location: Amestris, a country in an alternate world
Time period: roughly analogous to the late 1910s
Genre: YA Manga, Sci-Fi, Fantasy

After the extended flashback of Vol. 15, we jump back to the story. Edward and Alphonse search for May Chang, the little girl with the black-and-white cat (which I still think looks more like a miniature panda.) They want to learn the purification style of alchemy that she can do. Scar breaks Dr. Marcoh out of prison heads north with him--not because he has any love for Marcoh but because Scar thinks Marcoh might still prove useful. May catches up with them and travels with them. Kimblee is released to lead the manhunt for Scar; they encounter each other on a train and Kimblee is left rather the worse for it.

Major Armstrong tells Edward and Alphonse to head to the north and gives them a letter of introduction. When they arrive at the fortress that guards to border between Amestris and Drachma they encounter Major General Armstrong--the Major's sister! (She is nothing like she was in the brief glimpse we saw of her in the anime series!) Edward discovers that the climate is too cold for his auto-mail and can cause damage to the connective tissue--ewww! Edward and Alphonse are put to work knocking down icicles where the encounter 2nd Lieutenant Falman. A loud rumbling sound can be heard; a new homunculus makes his appearance. "I feel like I'm going to die, but dying is too much work." Could this be Sloth?