Forgotten

The Land of Forgotten Girls came out before Hello Universe, which won the Newbery last year.  Last year Kelly published You Go First which I actually liked better than Universe.  I also really liked TLOFG more than HU, but still these three are really great books.  This one was good even though I really didn't like the main character.  I could understand why she was so unlikable, having had a really raw deal all of her young life, but wow, she was just super not likable, which made her more real. 

I just wished

I liked Locked in Time.  It was good, expected storytelling from Lois Duncan.  No complaints.  But I think I could have really liked it if the setting, New Orleans, had played a greater role.  That's such an incredible city and the culture (in books and movies and tv anyway) lends itself to adding a lot to a supernatural mystery like LIT.  Still, I did enjoy this.  Very quick listen.

Real

This is a very powerful middle-grade fiction story.  I liked it so much because the main character was likable and not likable, he was real.  Lost in the Sun is told from the POV of Trent, who has just entered middle school.  Entering middle school is bad enough, but Trent also is bringing with him a lot of baggage.  The winter before he shot a puck during a hockey game that hit a kid in the chest and the kid died.  It wasn't the fault of the puck, or Trent, the kid had a heart problem, but Trent blames himself.  He is full of so much rage against himself that he takes it out on the world.  This is also a story of friendship, as Trent becomes friends with a girl who has a scar on her face and is often the butt of jokes at school.  It is also the story of family, as Trent's dad has a new wife and she is having a baby.  Trent's dad comes across as a super-jerk, in my opinion.  He was super-easy to dislike has he is a seriously dualistic thinker and tells Trent that you only get one chance in life at most things, and of course, Trent, having had his part in the freak accident that resulted in the death of a friend, well, this man is just not a nice or smart man.  Also Trent can't read.  It is a book packed with things to discuss and it is also just a very compelling tween read.