Get Jiro! By Anthony Bourdain, Joel Rose, Langdon Foss, José Villarubia

Imagine if power was divided up among the best chefs in the area.  Get Jiro!, written by renowned chef Anthony Bourdain, envisions a future where if you are do not display the utmost loyalty to a given chef and constantly eat at his or her snazzy restaurant in what is supposed to be a future Los Angeles, your life is generally lacking.  But Jiro, a master sushi chef, is a quiet sort, who runs his restaurant out of a strip mall.  One day, the two rival chefs of the city learn of his existence and a race ensues in which they go to whatever extreme lengths necessary to get him on their respective sides…

This is a great read for readers 17 and up.  The artwork is amazing, and the concept is unlike anything I have ever heard of, which is why I picked it up in the first place.  Happy reading!

All These Things I've Done, by Gabrielle Zevin

What if we lived in a time when caffeine and anything made with caffeine was illegal contraband?  Heaven forbid-I could not live without my tea and chocolate!!!  But this is the setting for our story: a world where the crime lords smuggle caffeinated food items from place to place.  Anya Balanchine is the teenage daughter of the Russian mafia’s now-dead boss, and she is trying to live as normal a life as possible in addition to taking care of her two siblings and passing high school.  But sometimes relatives just don’t leave well enough alone, especially when she is the perceived heir to the Balanchine legacy, and she finds herself entangled in her extended family’s doings.  Throw in the interesting new boy at school whose father happens to be the new assistant District Attorney (and intent on dismantling the big caffeine criminal organizations), and you’ve got yourself a quirky, fun read!  For ages 15 and up.

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte & Jane, by April Lindner

Okay, here is the deal: read the original Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte first before you read April Lindner’s re-imagining of the story.  I first read Jane Eyre when I was 12 years old, and I LOVED it.  It was one of those days when I was done with all my library books and needed something new to read, and had to raid my mom’s and dad’s bookcase.  I did not have any problems understanding the language or the plot, and when I read it again a few years later for English class, I understood what was going on even better the second time.  I loved it!  In my mind, it's one of the greatest love stories ever told.  Jane by April Linder takes place in the 20^th century and substitutes a rock star for Mr. Rochester (appropriate, I think, since the original Mr. Rochester is a VIP in his own right) and is pretty much the same story, but for a teenage audience (15 and up).  It’s still a fun book, though, and what I would call a “beach read”.  

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly

First of all, I have to say that I really, really hope Jacqueline Kelly writes another book about Calpurnia Tate, because I don’t think her story is yet finished.  It is 1899, and Calpurnia Tate is 11 ¾ and not your typical turn-of-the-century girl.  Calpurnia Tate is spunky and would much rather spend her time outside finding bugs and plants with her grandfather than inside learning how to sew a straight seam, cook, and do other domestic activities.  Give her credit for trying though!  She does at least attempt all of these things, with mixed results (but it makes Mother happy).  It’s a time of scientific progress and around the time that the theory of evolution is just gaining ground, and Calpurnia wants to be a part of that.  Calpurnia also narrates the story and, like Jerusha Abbott in Daddy-Long-Legs, is very witty and has a great sense of humor.  If a book makes me laugh aloud, and this one did, I usually determine it to be a good read.   Calpurnia reminds me of such favorite characters of mine as Amber Brown, Ramona, Clementine, and Scout.  This is an excellent story for ages 10 and up, and parents should enjoy it, too!

Daddy-Long-Legs, by Jean Webster

Daddy-Long-Legs is an epistolary novel (a novel told in letters or diary entries) that takes place in the early part of the 20^th century.  Now Amazon has posted a School Library Journal summary that suggests this book is for 9^th grade and up, but I disagree.  I think a 10- or an 11-year old could read it, and in fact, I have met 10- and 11-year olds that have read it.  Jerusha Abbott has a mysterious benefactor who pays for her college education, on the condition that he remains anonymous and that Jerusha write him once a month to tell him of her progress.  Since Jerusha is quite sure she saw the back of him as he left the orphanage where she grew up, she decides to nickname him Daddy-Long-Legs.  Jerusha is a spunky, intelligent girl who has a sharp sense of humor and displays wisdom beyond her years, and I absolutely loved this book.  It is an especially good read for girls and young women.  It is lighthearted but at the same time thought-provoking.

Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus

Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus, is really good! It is based on a true story about Manjiro, a 13-year old boy from a fishing village in Japan who, along with four others, is shipwrecked and eventually picked up by an American whaling ship in 1841. Since this is at a time when Japan was closed to foreigners and did not welcome back Japanese people who strayed too far from Japan’s borders (whether of their own volition or not), Manjiro must make the decision of whether he will try to get home anyway or join the crew. What happens next turns into the adventure of a lifetime. Preus does an excellent job of describing the cultural differences between the East and the West and the conflict that is constantly within Manjiro, even as he takes in the wonder of seeing and experiencing things beyond his wildest dreams! The book has a glossary at the back of technical terms and some Japanese words (which was very helpful), and a bibliography of the author’s resources, for those who, like myself, wish to know more about this period of history and its lasting effects today.