Mrs. Schnetzler's Picks

 I have been busy catching up on my reading over this holiday break.  I recommend the following books for your reading pleasure.

Leaving Fishers by Margaret Peterson Haddix---For high school junior Dorry Stevens, the move to Indianapolis from the small town where she has always lived is difficult and lonely. When Angela invites Dorry to join her and her friends for lunch, Dorry is flattered and excited. Through her new friends, she learns about The Fishers of Men, a religious group to which they all belong, and meets Pastor Jim, its charismatic leader. The group invites Dorry to parties and eventually to a retreat where she decides to join the church. Angela, her guide and discipler, not only engages Dorry in Bible study and church activities, but also gives her tasks to discipline her and make her a better Fisher. Dorry's parents worry about the ever-increasing control Angela has over their daughter's life.

Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix---After her mother suffers a nervous breakdown, 12-year-old Bethany Cole is deposited with Myrlie Wilker, an aunt of whom she has never heard. Myrlie and several other residents of Sanderfield, Illinois, do a double take when they see Bethany--for she reminds them of Elizabeth, Bethany's heretofore-unknown older sister, who died some 20 years earlier. In carefully crafted, gripping prose, Haddix slowly reveals the family secrets that have been kept from Bethany all these years: her sister's death, her parent's desperate grief, and the deal they made with a wealthy businessman.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo---A charming story of unlikely heroes whose destinies entwine to bring about a joyful resolution. Foremost is Despereaux, a diminutive mouse who, as depicted in Ering's pencil drawings, is one of the most endearing of his ilk ever to appear in children's books. His mother, who is French, declares him to be "such the disappointment" at his birth and the rest of his family seems to agree that he is very odd: his ears are too big and his eyes open far too soon and they all expect him to die quickly. Of course, he doesn't. Then there is the human Princess Pea, with whom Despereaux falls deeply (one might say desperately) in love. She appreciates him despite her father's prejudice against rodents. Next is Roscuro, a rat with an uncharacteristic love of light and soup. Both these predilections get him into trouble. And finally, there is Miggery Sow, a peasant girl so dim that she believes she can become a princess.

Synopses courtesy of SLJ.