hear all the noise surrounding her; Fatima Espérer is a 16-year-old refugee who fled the violence and poverty of her unspecified African country to live in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty; and depending on who you ask, Jimmy Sixes, already a disturbed veteran at age 18, is either a street poet or a junkie. The three form an unusual friendship, connecting both artistically and emotionally. All this is set in a city that has become a powder keg of anti-immigration sentiment (thanks to a recently passed law that rewards citizens for reporting illegals) and is perilously close to the ever-present spark of gang violence. Griffin clearly knows teens, especially the way they speak. In another writer’s hands, this story of three outcasts might have turned into a sentimental mess, but he keeps the depth of emotion honest as his characters battle alienation and find strength in sacrifice. Although readers will be prepared for an unnerving journey from the opening scene, they will nevertheless be floored by some of the turns in this swift, tense, and powerful book. Grades 10-12. –Ian Chipman
______________________________________________________________________
Reisman, Michael. Simon Bloom and the Octopus Effect. Dutton Juvenile. 2009.
From Audiofile:
Nicholas Hormann narrates Simon Bloom’s third fantastical adventure as the 12-year-old explores the Order of Biology, an undersea world of strange creatures. Hormann meets the challenge of a large cast of characters and multiple settings with an abundance of accents that differentiate and add color. He characterizes the story’s omniscient narrator with crisp British enunciation that matches his detached view and depicts a sea creature