Review of Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd

I listened to this book on CD, and the beautiful Irish accent of the reader, Sile Bermingham, had me mesmerized from the very start. This book is written by the author of another of my favorite books, The London Eye Mystery. I don’t know a lot about the political struggle between Northern Ireland and Ireland, but I know a bit more after reading Bog Child. As usual, I appreciate history more when it’s related in a personal story. Fergus is out with his Uncle Tally, having crossed over the border into Ireland to illegally harvest turf, when he discovers a body in the bog. He insists on contacting the authorities, and when archaeologists come to extricate the body, they realize that it’s been there for a long, long time. Fergus feels a strange affinity for the dead girl, even dreaming about her and how she came to end up in the bog. He is also struggling with his own feelings about the struggle for independence. His brother is in prison, and has gone on hunger strike, like Bobby Sands, to protest Ireland’s refusal to label him as a political prisoner. Fergus also is approached by a friend of his brother’s, and coerced into carrying packages across the border on his daily runs. As if this isn’t enough, he finds himself falling for the daughter of the head archaeologist. The writing in this book is beautiful, and Fergus is a great genuine character. The book is funny and sad, my favorite combination. Review by Stacy Church

This month’s book now in! Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd

This month’s book, a wonderful story of a boy growing up on the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland, is now available for pickup in the Young Adult Dept.  Review to follow.

75 belongings

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I’ve been mulling over Larry’s claim to only have 75 belongings.  I think he was cheating, because he didn’t have to count any of the things that belonged to his parents, but which he used to make his life comfortable on a daily basis.  I know, I know, he did go live in that hole in the ground, but that was only temporary.  Now here are the things that I would have trouble doing without.  I would add books, but instead I’ll have a library card, which will give me access to endless numbers of books, magazines, etc.  Theoretically,  I could use the computers there, too, but I’d really rather have my own. 

Stacy’s Review of The Gospel According to Larry

I first read this book right after it came out in 2001 (wow, that was 8 years ago!) and absolutely loved it.  I eagerly awaited the publication of the sequels and devoured them as well.  I chose the book for this month’s selection at the urging of some teens who love it, and I was so happy to find that on rereading, I enjoyed it just as much as the first time.  Of course the set-up of having the author pretend that the book they’re publishing is someone else’s manuscript given to them for safekeeping has been used before, but it does work for Tashjian, and is pretty much necessary for the way she wraps up the story.  The main character, Larry, is funny, and for me it’s totally believable that a dorky high-school kid would set up a web site where he could publish his own personal rants about society.  It’s also believable that people would stumble on the web site and take it to heart, particularly when the subject is anti-consumerism.  And poor Larry, all he really wants to do is move from friends with his best friend, Beth, to something else.  Some parts of the story are not so believable (would any teen, even a dork, sit at the make-up counter in a department store to talk to his dead mother?), but are entertaining enough to overlook the believability factor.  And really, an underground room that he dug himself?  Didn’t anyone ever tell him about the dangers of a cave-in? I love the photos of Larry’s possessions that he posts on his website to see if the clues can lead anyone to guess his identity.

This month’s book: The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian

Available now in the Young Adult Dept. I’ll post the review soon!

Fantasy Trilogies

Sometimes nothing beats a good trilogy. Try some of these other great fantasy trilogies.

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Juvenile

• N.E. Bode – The Anybodies
• Kevin Crossley-Holland- Arthur
• Nancy Farmer – Sea of Trolls
• Susan Fletcher – Dragon Chronicles
• Cornelia Funke- Inkheart
• Charlotte Haptie – Karmidee
• Brian Jacques – Castaways of the Flying Dutchman
• Elizabeth Kay – The Divide
• R.L. La Fevers – Lowthars Blade
• Katherine Langrish - Troll
• Tanith Lee – Dragonflight
• Tanith Lee - Unicorns
• Ann McCaffrey – Harper Hall
• Cliff McNish - Silver
• Cliff McNish - Doomspell
• William Mayne – Hob
• Ian Oglivy – Measle Stubbs
• Christopher Paolini – Inheritance
• Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials
• Guillaume Prevost – Book of Time
• Emily Rodda – Deltora Shadowland
• Kate Thompson – Missing Link
• Kate Thompson - Switchers
• Megan Whalen Turner – Thief
• Anne Ursu – Cronus Chronicles
• Jane Yolen – Young Merlin

Young Adult

• Hilari Bell – Farsala
• Holly Black – The Good Neighbors
• Holly Black - Modern Fairy Tales
• Terry Brooks – Genesis of Shannara
• Terry Brooks - Original Shannara
• Terry Brooks - Voyage of Jerle Shannara
• Terry Brooks - High Druid of Shannara
• Michael Cadnum – Book of the Lion
• Kate Constable –Chanter of Tremaris
• Clare Dunkle – Hollow Kingdom
• Catherine Fisher – Oracle Prophecies
• Geoffrey Huntington – Ravenscliff
  
• Justin Larbalestier – Magic or Madness
• Juliet Marillier – Bridei’s Court
• William Nicholson – Noble Warriors
• Garth Nix - Abhorsen
• Tamora Pierce – Beka Cooper
• Tamora Pierce - Daughter of the Lioness
• Sherwood Smith - Wren
• Jane Yolen – Tartan Magic

Bart’s Guide to London

Bartimeaus’s Guide to London, from the author’s website

http://www.bartimaeusbooks.com/bart_guide.html

This month’s book: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

This long, involved, original and exciting fantasy is the first book of The Bartimaeus Trilogy, and is set in an alternate London, during a time when England is in the power of magicians who hold all government offices. The one dirty little secret that magicians don’t want the commoners to know is that on their own they have no power at all. What little power they do have is gained through the various demons (efrits, djinnis and other spirits) they summon and control with elaborate rituals and protections that force the demons into servitude. Nathaniel is a boy who was sold by his parents at the age of six into apprenticeship to a pompous and stuffy mediocre bureaucrat, Arthur Underwood, who doesn’t see the boy’s exceptional talents. Underwood tutors Nathaniel in magic, but as the pace is so slow and boring, Nathaniel takes the initiative to advance his education behind his master’s back. When he is ten Nathaniel suffers a very public humiliation by an up-and-coming politician Simon Lovelace. He takes revenge by using some of secretly gained knowledge to summon a powerful 5,000-year-old djinn named Bartimaeus. He instructs Bartimaeus to steal an artifact called the Amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace. Little does Nathaniel know that Lovelace himself stole the Amulet (and killed its original owner) and will stop at nothing to get it back. Lovelace has big plans for all of England that involve the Amulet (think overthrow of the government). As if Nathaniel doesn’t have enough problems, he finds out that Bartimaeus has learned his real name, which makes it possible Bartimaeus to gain his freedom from Nathaniel, and to take his revenge on him.

The story is told in alternating chapters: a third-person narrative about Nathaniel (not a sympathetic character by any means, being whiny and self-absorbed), and first-person by Bartimaeus, who is cynical, wise-cracking, and has an extraordinarily high opinion of himself. Bartimaeus’s chapters are filled with very funny footnotes explaining the finer points of magic, details about different planes of existence, types of demons, and the history of magic and the world. Don’t be tempted to skip the footnotes; they’re my favorite part of the book. Review by Stacy Church

Down the Rabbit Hole

Ok, here’s my list of references to “down the rabbit hole.”

page 85: when Ingrid is trying to break into Cracked-up Katie’s house to steal back her soccer cleats, and she pushes open the basement window, gets facedown on the ground, wriggles back into the opening feetfirst. “She could just let go.  Alice, down the rabbit hole.”

page 97: when Ingrid is running from the police in the woods in the middle of the night, and finds herself on the top of a hill overlooking the Falls, on the opposite bank from Prescott Hall, “Griddie, deep down the rabbit hole.”

page 328: the conversation between Vincent and Ingrid at the special rehearsal, the two of them alone in Prescott Hall,

“I know, but I still think it’s meant to be a fun thing.”

“A fun thing?”

“The whole story of Alice,” said Ingrid.  “Falling down the rabbit hole, having all those adventures.”

“Not all adventures are fun…”

page 357: when Ingrid goes back to Prescott Hall in the middle of the night and decides to climb in through the cat door, “This one was big enough for a real big cat, maybe even big enough for a girl Ingrid’s size.  She tried it—yes, just big enough.  She wriggled through to the other side: down the rabbit hole.”

Hmmm…there are only 4.  I can’t find the 5th one.  If you find it, let me know.

Down the Rabbit Hole

How many different references can you find to going down the rabbit hole?  Does it always mean the same thing?  I found 5, not counting the original reference in the book Alice in Wonderland.  Check back later to compare notes.

About the Author: Peter Abrahams

I was born at a time when the last woolly mammoths still walked the earth. My mother taught me most of what I know about writing. She got a pretty good idea that she'd better make me into a writer—since I'd never succeed at anything else—when my preschool teacher told her the following story:

One rainy day the teacher took my class on a make-believe walk. We were indoors, the walk was real, and the sights were not. For example: "A car's coming class," my teacher said. "Everybody stop." We came to a puddle. "Here's a puddle," my teacher said. Everyone walked it around but me. I plodded straight through. "Petey, what about the puddle?" my teacher asked. "I've got boots on," I said.

There you have the nascent writer: uncooperative, attention-seeking, and tiresome. My mother rolled with it.

I graduated from Williams College with an actual degree and went to work as a spearfisherman in the Bahamas. Later I worked a bit in radio, and found I was better suited to working on my own—and what could be more alone than writing? So far I've written 22 novels. These include 17 crime fiction novels, among them Oblivion; End of Story; Lights Out (Edgar best-novel nominee); The Fan (made into a movie with Robert DeNiro); the New York Times bestselling Echo Falls series for middle-schoolers (beginning with Down the Rabbit Hole, an Agatha winner); the new YA Reality Check (2009); and, under the name Spencer Quinn, Dog On It, an New York Times bestseller and first in the Chet and Bernie mystery series. I'm now at work on a YA for publication in 2010 called Bullet Points.

I'm married with four children, most of them now grown-up, or doing a perfect imitation thereof. I live on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, overlooking a salt marsh. We have a great dog named Audrey. She does everything backwards.

reprinted from HarperCollins.com Photo By Dan Cutrona

Review of Down the Rabbit Hole

It’s hard to know where to start. I read this book, the first in the Echo Falls Mystery series, 3 years ago not long after it came out. I read and enjoyed the sequels, Behind the Curtain and Into the Dark, but it wasn’t until I reread Down the Rabbit Hole that I realized how great the first book is. I’ve already quoted my favorite passages, so you can see for yourself how witty the writing is, but I want to tell you, the plot is really well laid out also. The story follows Ingrid, budding actress, talented soccer-player, and devotee of Sherlock Holmes, in the aftermath of the murder of Echo Falls’ most eccentric resident, Cracked-Up Katie. There are lots of side stories (Why is Ingrid’s football-playing brother, Ty, suddenly so pumped up that he can beat their grandfather at arm wrestling? Will their grandfather stop at nothing to prevent the sale of the family farm? What’s up with the new dark version of Alice in Wonderland that the director who’s replacing the recently-run-over-by-a-piano director, Jill, is making The Prescott Players perform? Can Alice really be menacing?) but they don’t detract from the unfolding of the central mystery. As smart as Ingrid is, she has to make some not-so-smart choices sometimes, but those are believable too.

Some of my favorite quotes from Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams

Ingrid’s thoughts on having her braces adjusted: “Adjustment meant tightening.  Tightening didn’t hurt much while it was happening, but every turn of the screw made a squeaky sound that seemed to come from right inside Ingrid’s head, and reminded her of the Shackleton IMAX movie she’d seen a few weeks before on a class trip –that scene where ice floes slowly crush the ship to death.”

Ingrid’s conversation with the foreign taxi driver: “’You are pressing for time?’ he said… ‘What time is it?’ Ingrid said.  The driver snapped open his cell phone.  ‘Five on top of the button,’ he said.”

Ingrid’s musings about algebra: “X.  All those math people had a big—what was the word?  Mom used it all the time –fetish.  That was it.  Fetish…They made a fetish about x, couldn’t keep their hands off it.”

Ingrid’s thought about old people: “Old people didn’t seem to laugh often, but when they did, they loved it, kind of surprising themselves by how much…”

Ingrid’s description of her complexion: “…not just a regular zit, but a zit with a blackhead in the middle –a one-in-a-million dermatological freak show, maybe the basis for some researcher’s prize-winning paper.”

This month’s book now in!

This month’s book is Down the Rabbit Hole, An Echo Falls Mystery, by Peter Abrahams.  Review to follow.

Post-apocalyptic Fiction

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm is post-apocalyptic because it takes place after some terrible event occurred that altered life as we know it.  If that sort of fiction intrigues you, try these other books.  They all take place after some horrible event –plague, nuclear disaster, alien invasion –you name it!

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Juvenile Fiction

• The Hermit Thrush Sings Butler
• The Roar Clayton
• The Last Dragon De Mari
• The City of Ember DuPrau
• The Other Side of the Island Goodman
• Among the Hidden Haddix
• Phoenix Rising Hesse
• Gathering Blue Lowry
• The Giver Lowry
• River Rats Stevermer

 

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YA Fiction

• The Hunger Games Collins
• Catching Fire Collins
• The House of the Scorpion Farmer
• Gone Grant
• Hunger Grant
• Turnabout Haddix
• Hole in the Sky Hautman
• The cure Levitin
• Tomorrow, When the War Began Marsden
• The Host Meyer
• Shade’s Children Nix
• Z for Zachariah O'Brien
• The Transall Saga Paulsen
• Life as We Knew It Pfeffer
• The Dead and the Gone Pfeffer
• The Last Book in the Universe Philbrick
• Nation Pratchett
• How I Live Now Rosoff
• Bones of Faerie Simner
• Welcome to the Ark Tolan
• The Uglies Trilogy Westerfeld

Summer Reading Book Reviews

Airman by Eoin Colfer

Airman is about a young boy named Conor Broekhart.  He was literally  born to fly.  He was born in a hot air balloon and flying is his goal for life.  He lives in Great Saltee with his scientist mtoher and shooter father.  He and his love for life/best friend Isabella are always together.  As he ages, his mentor Victor teaches him about flying and educates him greatly.  King Nicholas is sponsoring Conor and Victor’s flying mission until one day when the Marshal Bonvilain murder the king and frames Victor and Conor for it.  Even Conor’s own family turns against him and Bonvilain uses the situation as bait.  He promises Declan, Conor’s dad, that if he does what he says, no one will hear of his son’s betrayal.  He goes the step further to lie that Conor is dead.  Really, he has been given the new identity of Conor Finn.  He works in diamond mines, but by befriending Otto, head of the bulls, and tricking his guard Billtoe, he at last escapes.  He becomes “The Airman” who haunts his enemies and steals diamonds to go to America, which is his plan.  (A portion of this review was deleted to prevents SPOILERS) This book is by one of my favorite authors and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was very suspenseful and I couldn’t put the book down.  It is a story of friendship and fighting for what is right.  I recommend this book for anyone who likes adventure, a good plot, and funny characters.  Airman is a fantastic story.  Review by Lucie

Summer Reading Book Reviews

The Fire Thief Fights Back by Terry Deary

This book is the third and final book in a series about a god named Prometheus.  His friends call him Theus.  He is the Greek god that gave fire to the humans.  As punishment for his crime, his cousin Zeus chained him to a rock and had an eagle called the Avenger eat Prometheus’ liver every day.  But, Hercules helped Prometheus escape and Zeus told Prometheus that the Avenger would continue to follow Theus and try to kill him, until Theus found a real human hero.  Zeus gave Theus a pair of wings that would bring him anywhere, anytime.  Theus started his search in a city called “Eden City” in the year 1858.  Theus had been to Eden City twice before this book, searching for a hero.  There was a shrine in the city called the Temple of the hero.  Both times, Theus looked for this “hero,” trying to avoid the deadly Avenger.  But those were the two other books.  Now Theus has returned, once more, to Eden City in 1785.  There he meets a boy named Sam and his mother.  In this book the time often switches from what ishappening in Ancient Greece, back to Eden City.  In Greece, the Avenger gathers monsters together and forms a group whose motto is “Monsters United, Shall Never Be Defeated.”  How wrong they were!  Anyway, the Avenger (also known as The Fury) bring several of the msot ferocious monsters to help him capture Promethus.  Back in Eden City, Sam and his mother meet Theus and Zeus, who was trying to help Prometheus.  The Avenger arrives in Eden City and plants the several monsters in their respective places.  One of the monsters kidnaps a girl to ensure that Theus comes.  Instead, Zeus and Sam arrive.  They defeat all the monsters and rescue the girl using the methods in the Greek mythology book that Sam owns.  But the Avenger isn’t finished yet.  On the way back to the city, The Avenger swoops down and grabs Sam.  He then deposits him in a maze with the Minotaur, much like Daedalus’ Labyrinth.  Theus and Sam’s mother go in, desperate to save Sam.  (This review has been cut short in order to avoid SPOILERS)  Review by Michael

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Kyle Kingsbury is spoiled rotten.  His dad is a news reporter, and teaches his son that looks are the most important thing.  So, when Kyle makes a fool of a witch, he becomes, simply, beastly.  Now, hideous, hated, turned down by his own father, Kyle has to cure his ugliness by kissing someone he loves.  But how can he even meet a girl without her screaming and running away?  This book is a really good book.  It is very suspenseful, and the interludes of IM chats from other characters, such as Silent Maid, Froggie, and Mr. Anderson, all of whom have an interesting, and familiar story to tell. Review by Liz

quotes from Nancy Farmer, author of The Ear, the Eye and the Arm

At a certain point, I ran off to Africa in search of love and adventure. I had already been in the Peace Corps in India, then come back and lived with the Hari Krishnas for a while. When I left Berkeley, I spent some time in a regular job with the highway department, training the road maintenance crew on the good bugs vs. the bad bugs -- when to spray, when not to spray. But I got promoted beyond my level of capability, from field work (which I'm good at) to administration (which I'm terrible at). I began to get pretty bored, and I wanted to run off to Africa. I was 30, had $500 in traveler's checks, and I got a ticket on a freighter going to South Africa. I had a list of entomologists there, and my grand plan was to walk to the nearest one and ask for work. At that time all you could find in the library were really old books on Africa, so I figured it was like going back in a time warp. I got to Cape Town, and of course it's very modern, extremely beautiful. I didn't really know much about apartheid, which was in full swing back then. But I did walk to the nearest entomologist and ask for work.
The first job I had was collecting Solfugit, which is an arachnid -- they're big, ugly spidery things but they're not really dangerous. There was a group of them living beside this airstrip, and my job was to go out on the airstrip and collect them, all the while looking up to see if anything was landing. (This was why it was the job nobody else wanted.) You'd see a shadow pass overhead, and then you'd run like hell for the bushes! Eventually I got offered a wonderful job in Mozambique, doing water chemistry and entomology. It was probably the best job I've ever had. And Mozambique is where I got to really know Africans and picked up a whole lot of stories. I had an insane lab technician who gave me most of the stories that ended up in The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm...
I wrote about Africa because I knew it -- I'd been living there 17 years -- and I didn't know the United States anymore. The first book I wrote while in Africa was about California hippies because that's exotic and the Africans liked that. But when I wrote it I realized I'd forgotten what it was like, and I didn't really have a feel for American language patterns any more. That was when I realized I had to write about Africa. Do You Know Me? was for little kids. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm was the first 'big' book -- I made a thorough study of African mythology, religion and customs to make sure I got all the facts right –excerpted from Nancy Farmer’s home page http://www.nancyfarmerwebsite.com/bio.html

This month’s book: The Ear, the Eye and the Arm

This month’s book choice is The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer.  This science fiction/fantasy book is set in the future, Zimbabwe in 2194, and involves two trios of characters: the three children of General Matsika, the country’s Chief of Security, and the three detectives the General’s wife hires to find them when they disappear on their first outing outside of the family residence.  Harare is a dangerous place full of gangs (especially The Masks) and criminals who are all too eager to get their hands on the General’s children.  The General would never have agreed to let the children' venture out on their own, if he hadn’t been tricked during his morning session with the Mellower (somehow no one can ever quite remember what the Mellower says to them during the combination praise and storytelling sessions designed to make every feel relaxed and happy).  Of course, the children disappear, the General and his wife suddenly remember the Mellower asking for passes, and, in desperation, they turn to a detective agency operated by three mutants with special talents (caused by a nuclear accident that killed and maimed many people).  The book is full of legends and history based on Shona history.  There is a glossary at the back of the book with a combination of the made-up terminology in the book, and actual Shona, Zulu, and Afrikaans words.  There is also an appendix with info on some topics covered in the book.

Summer Reading Book Reviews

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Among the Hidden is about a boy named Luke Garner who is a third child, and third children are not allowed where Luke lives.  So, Luke has to hide away and no one can know he exists.  After awhile, the Barons move in, and Luke is suspicious about one family.  One day, while the rest of the family is out, Luke sneaks over to the suspicious house.  It turns out that there is another third child in that house.  Her name is Jen.  Luke and Jen have a rough start, but after awhile they become friends.  In the end, Jen wants to have a rally for all third children to have freedom.  Luke doesn’t want to go along with a rally because he doesn’t want to get exposed, but more importantly, killed.  Jen does the rally anyway, and dies.  Luke still goes over to Jen’s house because he doesn’t know she’s dead.  Her dad catches him, and tells him Jen died.  In the very end, Luke takes a fake ID from Jen’s dad and goes to school.  Review by Katie

Soul Enchilada by David MacInnis Gill

Soul Enchilada is a book about a girl named Bug Smoot.  Her grandfather, “Papa C,” really wanted a Cadillac and he has really bad history with credit because he doesn’t pay his rent.  So he goes to the one person who never sends a man away, Scratch.  Papa C ends up selling his soul to the devil for the Cadillac, but he  needs a co-signer just in case he hides away and Scratch can’t find him.  So Papa C makes Bug sign the contract with him, and the rest of the book is about Bug fighting Beals (one of the demons that work for Scratch) to keep her soul.  But in the end Bug and Pesto (her boyfriend) banish Beals to Hell for 1000 years.  Review by Megan

Summer Reading Book Reviews

The Falconer’s Knot by Mary Hoffman 

The main character is Silvano who is a very wealthy boy. He is in love with a woman who is married to a sheep farmer. The farmer is killed and every one in the town believes that it is Silvano that killed him. So Silvano's father sends him to a friary where he has to stay until the crime is solved. When he is in the friary there is a lot of murders. Will Silvano return home? Will the murders be solved? I just gave you a preview of the book The Falconer's Knot by Mary Hoffman. I really liked this book and it is a little love but, a lot of murders, too. It is a good book and I LOVED IT. Review by Conor

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Arthur Dent thought that it was going to be just another normal Thursday –that is, until his strangely unhumanlike friend Ford Prefect told him that the Earth was going to be destroyed. Ford and Arthur are forced to hitchhike across the galaxy, and encounter strange and repulsive creatures alike. They find out the meaning of the universe, just how the Earth was created, and are even tortured by Vogan poetry, the third worst thing in the universe. A hilarious novel by Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a book that you have to read, or you’ll never din out the importance of bringing a towel with you while you hitchhike across the universe. Review by Radha

Mines of the Minotaur by Julia Golding       

I just finished Mines of the Minotaur. It was about a girl named Connie. She has friends that are mythical creatures. She loves her life, but when she is sleeping, her enemy, Kullervo, gets her to summon a storm. In the end, Connie is very hurt. Her friends must do something to keep her safe. I really liked this book. I just stayed up all night reading it! I liked how her best friend, Col, did everything to keep her safe. Review by Rachel

If you like The Enemy Has a Face, try these:

Books about Missing Persons

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Missing by Catherine MacPhail

Shortly after her runaway brother is declared dead, thirteen-year-old Maxine begins receiving phone calls from someone claiming to be her brother

Missing Abby by Lee Weatherly

As the last one to see thirteen-year-old Abby, Emma is determined to discover the truth about her mysterious disappearance, spurred in part by her feelings of guilt over ending their friendship in order to ensure popularity at her new school

Season of Ice by Diane Les Becquets

When seventeen-year-old Genesis Sommer's father disappears on Moosehead Lake near their small-town Maine home in mid-November, she must cope with the pressure of keeping her family together, even while rumors about the event plague her.

Seek the Prophet by Daniel Parker and Lee Miller

In desperation, high school senior Tom Sinclair publishes his missing and possibly kidnapped girlfriend’s diary online, as he looks for help in locating her.

Books about the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Light Years: A Novel by Tammar Stein

Maya Laor leaves her home in Israel to study astronomy at the University of Virginia after the tragic death of her boyfriend in a suicide bombing.

A Little Piece of Ground by Elizabeth Laird with Sonia Nimr; illustrations by Bill Neal

During the Israeli occupation of Ramallah in the West Bank of Palestine, twelve-year-old Karim and his friends create a secret place for themselves where they can momentarily forget the horrors of war

Real Time by Pnina Kass

Sixteen-year-old Tomas Wanninger persuades his mother to let him leave Germany to volunteer at a kibbutz in Israel, where he experiences a violent political attack and finds answers about his own past

Israel and the US: War and Conflict

  It’s difficult for me to even begin to compare Israel and the United States because they are so different. It seems their only similarity is that both are countries founded on a need for freedom of a people. Israel declared its independence in 1948. It’s only 61 years old! While that’s middle age for humans, sixty years for a country translates into infancy. Most of the world views the United States as a young country, yet we have 234 years of independence, having signed the Declaration of Independence in 1775. Israel was founded in the separation of Arab and Jewish nations – Palestine retaining its Islamic faith and Israel becoming mainly Judaic. The Holocaust shook Judaism to its core and the need for an independent nation to protect its people and its faith became apparent. Hatred, though, was already strong: Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq attacked Israel days after it’s founding. Ever since then the Arab nations and Israel have been in conflict. That’s a very brief history of the struggle, but its roots are much deeper and more complex.

The United States seems to be the polar opposite of Israel. We are a nation founded on differences – the melting pot of different cultures and ideals. There is no one religion and no one voice. Each state is almost like its own country --they’re so unique. We house, as a nation, 306,743,000 people. Israel has only 7,411,500. The religion and most likely the constant strife unite Israel in a way America can never be. Violence here is random whereas in Israel it is political and most likely perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists.

Netta’s family is living in a very confusing place. They’ve gone from complete union of a people to being strangers in a ‘community’ that is very un-welcome to foreigners. Netta noticed at one point that to be Jewish in Israel required almost no effort whereas in America one has to go to temple and seek out that community. Because Israel is so involved in the politics of its nation and constantly at war, the citizens are very aware of the news, although it is biased. In America, even in the midst of the war in Iraq, we are apart from conflicts. It is not fought on our own turf and thus it is easy to forget or misunderstand war. In Israel that is never a possibility.

Laith and Netta

Laith and Netta's relationship seems to be particularly representative of the differences between life in the Middle East and life in the US. The two, although from the same area, say they have nothing in common except their mutual hatred, but they are both "foreigners" to their peers. If you were to pretend Laith and Netta were ambassadors for their countries, what would you conclude about each, and, in turn, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

The Immigrant Experience --Israel and the US

Although I’m in contact with immigrants, living in a country founded on the influx of foreigners, it is difficult to identify with the Hofmans. Netta consistently refers to Israel as “home” and feels very much isolated from America. She mentions that while Judaism was a part of life in Israel, to be a part of the Jewish community here requires active participation. It’s hard for me to imagine a country in which people are so connected. Sure, Americans have pride and are united in that, but we are all completely different. What differences have you noticed between Israel and the United States? It’s important to notice that Israel only became a nation in 1948 after the UN partitioned Palestine into two countries – Palestine (the Arab) and Israel (the Jewish). How do you think this affects citizens and their attitude towards their country?

Jayne's opinion of The Enemy Has a Face

This book is perfect for readers who love mystery, intrigue, and lots of suspense. The Hofmans are convinced that terrorists took their son, especially since Mr. Hofman works with important satellite technology. On the other hand, Adam was in contact with “Sari,” a girl he met online. Could he have eloped or has there been foul play?

This is not just a simple mystery, though. I learned much more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Middle East than I had known before. Netta and Laith usually spend their time together arguing each side. By the end I had a more complete understanding of the conflict and a shock when I learned what actually happened to Adam.

Guest Writer Jayne Warren Takes over the Blog!

I am lucky this month to have a guest writer take over my job with the YA Not-Just-Books Book Club. I have been swamped with the library's 2009 Poetry Anthology (check out the poetry blog, link at right), compiling the 6th grade summer reading list, and trying to read as many books as possible from the list --there are some great ones!

Jayne Warren is a student at Smith College. She is a graduate of Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA, where she majored in writing. Jayne studied with the poet Barbara Helfgott Hyett and is a member of the Workshop for Publishing Poets. Her work has been published in numerous journals, including The Blue Pencil.

Please make her feel welcome by emailing her with your thoughts and opinions!!

Jayne Warren's Review of The Enemy Has a Face

Netta Hofman is having trouble fitting in. A recent immigrant from Israel she is not just different, but foreign with little in common with her sports and television obsessed peers. When her seventeen-year-old brother Adam disappears, she must negotiate her surroundings as both an American and an Israeli. Back home in Israel, Adam’s disappearance would no doubt be the work of Palestinian terrorists. Can this be the case in Los Angeles? To make matters worse, a Palestinian immigrant, Laith, begins to sit with her at lunch. Although the two are from the same region, Netta notes that the only thing they have in common is their hatred – of each other. As the Hofmans struggle to find their missing son, Netta must decide whether Laith is to be trusted or whether he is one of the enemy.

This month's book: The Enemy Has a Face

This month's book choice is The Enemy Has a Face by Miklowitz, a riveting story about the disappearance of a 17-year-old boy. His family, who had recently immigrated from Israel to the US, is convinced that his disappearance is linked to a Palestinian terrorist group. Netta, his sister, makes some unlikely friends in her search for the truth about his disappearance. A full review will be posted shortly.

A Long and Happy Life?

When Jenna first finds out that she might live a couple of hundred years, she's not too happy. How would you feel about living so long? What would be good about it? What would be not so good?

Interested in amnesia?

Explore some other books that deal with amnesia:

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Zevin
Jacob's Ladder by Keaney
The Lost One by Ewing
Stolen by Vande Velde
Lexi by Matthews

Publisher's Weekly asks Mary E. Pearson

"What was the original spark for your story?

There were a lot of different inspirations but the biggest one was that my youngest daughter, Jessica, was diagnosed with cancer in 2000. As any parent would be, I was terrified. She was 17 years old. Spending all that time in the world of medicine and hospitals, I realized how incredibly lucky we were. Fifty years earlier she would have died from it. (Jessica, now cured, had Hodgkin's lymphoma.) Now, there's an excellent cure rate. So that got me thinking, what will medicine be capable of doing 50 years from now? And as she was going through the treatment, we met a lot of children who were far sicker, or who were tiny little babies. At least my daughter could talk to me. I spent a lot of time thinking about what those parents were going through and the question gnawed at me, 'How far would a parent go to save a child?'"

So, how far do you think you would go to save your child? How far do you think your parents would go?

Human Engineering - Genetic Engineering - Cloning

Interested in the topics raised by The Adoration of Jenna Fox?
Try these books:

Sharp North by Cave
House of the Scorpion by Farmer
Star Split by Lasky
Shade's Children by Nix
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by Patterson
Gem X by Singer
Double Helix by Werlin

Kate M's Review of The Adoration of Jenna Fox

This was a fantastic book and I recommend it for ages 12-112. Every chapter led to something else, so you never wanted to put the book down. The author used alot of detail so you actually felt like you were in a coma, which was cool, in a weird way. My only complaint is that the big secret was reveled a smidge too early, so because of that, near the end it got sort of boring. The ending, however, made up for all that boring time and you completely forgot about that part. So if you need to find something to do on a rainy day (or anyday), this is the perfect book for you and once you start, you can't stop. Kate M.

Stacy's Review of this month's book: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

I love the voice of Jenna Fox. She's very direct, straightforward, pared down, which allows you to wonder about the same things she's wondering about. "I used to be someone. Someone named Jenna Fox. That's what they tell me. But I am more than a name. More than they tell me." Jenna has woken up from "a coma" with no memory of who she is, or what has happened to her. Her parents encourage her to watch endless DVD's of herself growing up, seemingly documenting every important moment of her life, showing what she comes to think of as her parents' "adoration of Jenna Fox." Her narrative is interspersed with even more pared-down free verse poems which are very affecting."There is a dark place.A place where I have no eyes, no mouth. No words.I can't cry out because I have no breath. The silence is so deep I want to die.But I can't.The darkness and silence go on forever.It is not a dream.I don't dream."This book is one of those remarkable science fiction books that bring us to ask the most basic ethical questions, questions about the meaning of life and self. As Jenna begins to remember things from her past, the memories raise even more questions for her about what has happened to her, and what her parents are keeping from her. I read this book in one afternoon because I couldn't put it down. I love the ending, where the author manages to bring everything full circle without tedious explanations or an overly simplistic plot.

The School for Dangerous Girls

Imagine yourself cast away by your parents, sent to Hidden Oak boarding school. Not so bad, but now imagine if Hidden Oak was a school for “Dangerous girls,” where almost all of the girls have some sort of criminal record. What goes on behind the locked doors of the school? The school's job is to reform criminal girls, but what about girls who can’t be reformed? Where do they go? And what about the mansion’s dark past? Find out these questions and more by reading The School For Dangerous Girls by Eliot Schrefer. Review by Liz

Famous People Who Have Disappeared - D.B. Cooper

To this day, no one knows his real name but on Nov. 24, 1971, everyone in America was talking about the mysterious man who called himself "D.B. Cooper." That day, Cooper hijacked Northwest Airlines Flight 305 and its 36 passengers using a briefcase that he said contained a bomb. "We will ask you to stay there until we get coordinated with our friend in the back," the pilot told the control tower after the plane landed in Seattle. Once $200,000 and several parachutes were delivered per Cooper's request, he demanded the plane fly him to Mexico. He also asked for the rear door to remain unlocked and the plane to be flown low and slow.
Cooper clearly had a plan, although officials wouldn't realize what it was until it was too late. While the plane flew to Reno (ostensibly for a re-fueling stop), Cooper parachuted into the night. Despite the fact that law-enforcement officials in five different planes were tailing the jetliner, no one witnessed the jump. Though the FBI contends that Cooper couldn't have survived, they released new composite sketches in 2007 in the hopes of closing the case. (Time Magazine)

Famous People Who Have Disappeared - Frank Morris & John and Clarence Anglin

Dubbed "The Rock" for its formidable location in the middle of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz held prisoners during the Civil War. But after the Lindbergh kidnapping, FDR's Attorney General turned the island into a Fort Knox-like fortress for the nation's most horrific criminals — Al Capone, "Machine Gun" Kelly and Robert Stroud, the infamous "Birdman of Alcatraz." During the 1960s, it also held three men who would later defy the odds and manage to escape: Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin. Morris and the Anglin brothers spent more than two years planning their getaway.
The scheme was a complicated one that involved MacGyver-like ingenuity. Using what little materials they could buy or steal, the men drilled holes in the air vents of their cells, fashioned lifelike dummy heads made of plaster, flesh-tone paint, and real human hair, and created a raft. On the night of June 11, 1962, they shimmied through the air vents and into a utility corridor. From there, they made it to the prison's roof and later scaled down a smoke stack to reach the shore. After prison officials learned of their escape, authorities launched one of the largest manhunts since the Lindbergh kidnapping. The trio were never found, though most believe they drowned. The FBI officially closed the case in 1979. That same year, Clint Eastwood starred as Morris in the film Escape From Alcatraz. (Time Magazine)

Famous People Who Have Disappeared - Amelia Earhart

The Kansas native achieved a number of "firsts" as a female aviator, becoming an icon to women around the world in the process. By the time she was 40, Earhart had become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, the first woman to fly non-stop across the U.S. and the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross award. But there was still one record that alluded her — she wanted to become the first female aviator to fly around the world.
On June 1, 1937, Earhart and co-pilot Fred Noonan set off in their "flying laboratory" from Miami and headed toward Howland island, some 2,550 miles away. They never reached their destination. (The plane's navigation equipment, it turns out, had been malfunctioning before their departure). Almost immediately, Earhart's husband, publisher George Palmer Putnam, sent a telegram to President Franklin D. Roosevelt requesting the help of the U.S. Navy. At a cost of $250,000 a day, military ships scoured the ocean for any sign of Earhart, her co-pilot or the plane. Two years later, her death was officially declared. (Time Magazine)

Comments and Questions from a reader

I just finished "How To Disappear And Never Be Found." I liked it better than the last book. It definitely kept my attention, and I was quite surprised by the ending. I was left with lots of questions, though. After I finished the book and realized that now Margaret's mother would be allowing Uncle Ratt to continue living as a recluse in the house, I found myself wondering... Is that really okay? He seems happy living in his reclusive world, but still... I also wonder about Margaret's Mom. The fact that her two daughters manage to catch a ferry and leave town for days without her even noticing seems a bit concerning, especially with Sophie being so young. Does anyone (perhaps Boyd's family) have an obligation in this situation? I know the book is meant to be somewhat funny and mysterious, and I did enjoy it, so maybe I shouldn't worry about these issues. Ellen

Not so happy, not so birthday

"There’s that moment, right before you blow out the candles on your birthday cake, that moment you have a fleeting sense of something not so happy and not so birthday. Maybe it comes from understanding the order of things, because I know Sophie doesn’t feel it yet. When I was her age, I didn’t feel it, either. But once you understand the order of things, you know that when the presents are opened, you’ll never again be able to wonder what they might be. And when the candles are blown out, it’s time to eat the cake. And when the cake is eaten, there’s nothing left but to say thank you and send everyone home. I still like cake and I still like presents. It’s just that now, there’s one little moment of sadness right before I blow out the candles—that one little moment
where I peek into the future and say good-bye to another birthday, even before it’s over."

This is probably my favorite quote from How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found. I always get that feeling myself on Christmas Eve when I'm ready to go to bed, and even though I'm excited that in the morning it will be Christmas, I'm always a little sad to know that soon it will all be over. Do you ever feel this way?

Review of Ghost Town

When Dr. Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais), a dentist with a serious social problem, undergoes bowel surgery, he insists that anesthesia is used. But there is a problem with the surgery and he dies, but only for 7 minutes. When he comes out of the hospital, he meets a man named Frank Herlihy, who is a ghost. All of the ghosts are people who died with unfinished business . As Pincus embarks on his hilarious journey, will he overcome his social fears, and meet the girl of his dreams or will he forever be a jerk? Watch “Ghost Town" to find out! Review by Liz

Liz's Review of How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found

This story is about Margaret and Boyd, two completely different kids who are forced together when Boyd’s favorite superhero, the Ratt, and Margaret’s deceased father cause a mystery that seems impossible to solve. The cover of this book makes the book seem like fantasy, with the monster hands and the scary mansion, but it’s an almost believable story! I found this book hard to get into, but once you do, it’s a page-turner!

Disappearing

What reasons can you think of for why someone would want to disappear and never be found (besides the complicated reason in this book)? What would you have to do to make your disppearance work?

Trees

"I’ve always thought of trees as friendly spirits—you know, shade, shelter, photosynthesis—but these trees were not friendly at all. These trees seemed to resent the intrusion of the heavy concrete slab of road—and anyone who dared use it. " I have sometimes felt this way myself, when walking down a lonely road at night. Ever felt like this about trees?

Review of How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found by Sara Nickerson

Sixth-grader Margaret's life has gone downhill since her father's death. Her mother spends entire days lying on the couch in front of the TV, her younger sister is obsessed with "The Hardest Jigsaw Ever Made," which she takes with her everywhere, and their "Family Fun Day" involves going to the laundramat and the grocery store. So the girls know something is up when their mother loads them into their pick-up truck one Sunday, drives them a long way to a broken-down mansion at the end of a lonely road, and then plants a "For Sale" sign on the lawn. Boyd lives next door to the mansion and is obsessed with a series of hand-drawn comic books by an author named Ratt. He finds the comics at the local library which isn't really a library at all: there's no catalog, all the books are hand-written, and there are no patrons except for Boyd, who comes every day to get the latest Ratt comic, which will have shown up on the doorstep during the night. This is one of only two books that I know of that incorporate graphic novel sections into the text. The other is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, published in 2007. Margaret goes into the mansion when her mother isn't paying attention, and finds an unopened package addressed to her mother. It's marked Return to Sender, and Margaret takes it. When she opens it later, she finds a comic book, a swimming medal and a key to the old house. Margaret's father drowned, so when she finds out the championship swimming medal was his, she knows she has to find out what really happened to him. How could he have drowned if he was a championship swimmer? There are other mysteries, too. Who is in the old mansion and what is he trying to tell Boyd and Margaret? Is he trying to kill them or help them? He chases them out of the house, along with some growling, hairy monster they never really catch sight of, but he also leaves them pages from comics that chronicle whatever has just happened or is about to happen. This is a creepy mystery with lots of suspense.

Comment on Godless

I thought the book Godless was great except for the ending. The ending was VERY disappointing. This is because the author left the reader too many unanswered questions. I recommend this book to middle schoolers and up, but don't expect the ending to blow you away. Kate M.

Latest book choice available at the library

Pick up your copy of How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found from the display in the Young Adult dept.

This month's book

This month's book selection is How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found by Sara Nickerson. Ms. Nickerson says that she's always fantasized about disappearing, but she was nudged towards writing a screenplay (which later became a book) on the subject when she "happened upon the book, How To Disappear Completely and Never Be Found by Doug Richmond. I hadn't been looking for it, would never have imagined that it even existed...I'd just been killing time in a bookstore, wandering up and down aisles. It was a thin white book with a picture of one of those plastic noses and dark-rimmed glasses on the cover - a stand-up comedian's prop, a drugstore disguise. But this book was no joke. It was a genuine how-to manual for people who truly wanted or needed to escape. I couldn't believe I'd found it." (http://www.indiebound.org/author-interviews/nickersonsara)

Copies of the book will be available at the library soon. Review to follow.

Pete Hautman's Own Book Review of Godless

Pete posted this on his web site. Here's what he has to say about his report: "Feel free to copy and paste these book reports! They might get you a "C" or better in an eighth grade English class, assuming that: a) You find and delete (or correct) the three untrue sentences I have hidden in each book report, b) your teacher has not seen this web page, and c) your teacher has extremely low standards." If you find the mistakes, email us and let us know.

Book Report: Godless
Godless is the book that I read for this report. It is about some weird kids who decide to be water tower worshippers, so they start a religion called Chutengodianism. The book was written by Pete Hautman, who writes a lot of books and once ate 22 hot dogs in 15 minutes.The first thing that happens in Godless is that Jason gets clocked by a guy named Henry, who is smaller than him. Jason gets the idea then to start a religion, Pretty soon his friend Shin is into the religion too. Shin is even weirder than Jason and Henry. The best part is where they all climb up to the top of the water tower at night and go swimming and almost drown, and Henry falls off, and they all get caught.There is a lot of stuff about being Catholic in this book, which Jason is but doesn't like. They are always arguing about God and stuff, which might make some people uncomfortable, especially the part about cannibalism. There is also a bunch of stuff about snails and comic books. I thought it was a pretty good book considering that it is mostly about things that I am not interested in, and it had no sword fights or interesting creatures or cyborgs like on Terminator which is really cool. The only really amazing part in it was when the water tower speaks to Jason in his sleep and tells him to slay his parents. The book is not what you think it will be, because in the end the main kid, Jason, doesn't figure anything out, really. Instead he just gets more confused that ever, but at least his dad is less of a jerk than he was at first.300 words (including these).

Unusual religions

Ok, you think Chutengodianism is a weird religion, there's a temple in India devoted to rats.

What are some other strange religions you've heard of?

Should kids read books like Godless?

I think that this book was fine for people of all religions because the religion in the book was more of a joke that got carried out too far. This book doesn’t say anything disrespectful about any religion and doesn’t make fun of religions, or religious people. Liz

Ordinary Friends

I think it's important to have different types of friends. Sometimes, having a friend that's really different from you can let you discover new things about yourself that you might not otherwise have found out. Friends can help you find new activities and likes/dislikes, but sometimes if you go too far outside your comfort zone, you can get lost. So, it's also nice to have friends that you share a lot in common with, to help you stay grounded and feel comfortable. I'm not sure if I'd call any of my friends "ordinary", though. Maybe Dan is just a bit shy, so no one ever really gets a chance to get to know him, so that's why Jason refers to him as "ordinary". I do have some friends like that. They might seem ordinary to other people, but not to me! Ellen

Ordinary Friends

Early in the book, Jason says, "Dan Grant is my ordinary friend. Everybody should have at least one ordinary friend, and Dan is as ordinary as they come. He is so ordinary that most people have to meet him six or seven times before they remember his name." Do you find that you have different kinds of friends? Is one or more of them what you would call "ordinary?"

Should kids read books like Godless?

Some parents are not comfortable with their kids reading books that challenge or question their beliefs. What do you think? Is it harmful for kids to read books or watch movies that tell stories of people who are questioning or going against their parents?

Stacy's review of this month's book: Godless by Pete Hautman

Godless is a funny, tense, suspenseful book about a bored, nerdy teenager who, on the spur of the moment, to irritate his church youth group leader, invents a new religion that worships the town water tower, because "Water is life." A motley collection of other kids join in worshipping the "Ten-legged One," mostly as a lark, but Jason Bock's best friend, Shin, starts to take the religion and his role as the First Keeper of the Sacred Text too seriously. As he writes the Chutengodian bible he begins to channel the Ten-legged One, speaking in a deep, authoritative voice that is definitely not his normal self. The group begins to have ceremonies which involve midnight excursions climbing to the top of the tower. Of course, events spiral out of control, and the consequences are more serious than any of them could have predicted. This book was the Winner of the 2004 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Review by Stacy Church

This month's book: Godless by Pete Hautman

What Pete Hautman has to say about Godless:

"A FEW THOUGHTS, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER...
What sort of book is Godless? It's a coming-of-age story, a comedy, a tragedy, a drama, an adventure. I've been told that the title makes it sound like a scary, violent tale about someone or something evil. It is not. My intention was never to equate godlessness with evil. They are not the same thing at all. I was thinking of the temporary godlessness that descends upon a person who is actively searching for his or her faith. Maybe I should have called it "Churchless."
Godless is neither pro- nor anti-religion. The main character, Jason Bock, is Roman Catholic, but he could as easily be Protestant, Jewish, or Muslim.
Godless is not about God. It doesn't weigh in on the existence or nature of a Supreme Being. It is not about which religion is the truest, or the best. It's about how people--teenagers in particular--deal with the questions that arise when their faith has been shaken.
If you strip away the whole religion thing, Godless is about a big fat nerdy kid named Jason Bock who has an excess of smarts and imagination, and his relationship with his even nerdier snail-collecting best friend Shin.
Godless is about the power of ideas--Jason conceives the Chutengodian religion, he sets it in motion, but he is unprepared for the consequences. This is a latch-key teenage moment--our first conscious realization that the expression of our own beliefs can have a huge impact on the beliefs of others--especially our friends. It's about discovering personal power, and the heady experience of plying it.*

The Closer and Burn Notice

I am so happy that the new season has started for my 2 favorite TV shows, The Closer (TNT Mondays at 9), and Burn Notice (USA Thursdays at 10). The Closer is a police show starring Kyra Sedgwick as LAPD Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. I like pretty much everything about this show: the characters are great (Brenda Leigh is from the South, and she has the funniest way of saying, "Thank you, thank you very much," when she's told people to do things they don't want to do); the cases are interesting and exciting (there's plenty of blowing things up and smacking people around); and the ongoing plot line involving Brenda's romance with Fritz, an FBI agent, is alway entertaining. If you haven't watched this show before, and you get hooked on it, you might want to check out the DVD sets of the first three seasons from the library.

Burn Notice is another adventure show, but instead of police, the main character, Michael, is an ex-FBI agent who was "burned" by the agency, dumped in Miami with his bank accounts frozen and no chance of ever working for the government again. What he does have are a lot of skills as a spy, and an ex-IRA agent who loves to blow things up as an ex-girlfriend, and a best friend who is a washed-up ex-military intelligence operative who started out keeping an eye on Michael for the feds. Does it sound complicated? It is. Each episode involves a case that Michael takes on to earn money and help out some poor unfortunate who's being taken advantage of by the mob or some other criminals, and also the progress Michael makes in trying to find out who "burned" him and why. The cast is excellent, and includes Sharon Gless as his cigarette-smoking, wise-cracking mother. Take a look at Ask a Spy: http://www.usanetwork.com/series/burnnotice/video/spytips/index.html