Reddit reviews Number the Stars

You wanna have a good cry? Well...okay.

Grief and Loss

Bridge to Terabithia

Katherine Patterson's masterpiece is rightly remembered as one of the saddest books ever written for an elementary-aged audience. A young boy strikes up a friendship with his new neighbor, a girl his own age, bonding over the fact that their individual interests make them outsiders among their classmates. Together, they form a "kingdom" they christen "Terabithia" in the woods behind their houses. Tragically, the girl dies accidentally and the boy must what he's learned and move on.

Mick Harte Was Here

Notable in that the tragedy happens in the first act, this novel follows teenaged Phoebe as she struggles with the reality that her brother died in a bicycle accident.

On My Honor

Probably the shortest, but also arguably the most brutal, of these books. After promising his father he would only ride his bike out to the rocky ridge, Joel follows his daredevil friend Tony to the Vermillion River. Joel challenges Tony to a swimming race. Joel surfaces, Tony does not. And Joel must face their parents.

Just for You to Know

A young girl, the oldest in her large family, finds herself in over her head when her mother dies in childbirth.

The Man Who Loved Clowns

If somewhat dated, this tragic novel follows thirteen-year-old Delrita as she struggles to come to terms with not only her parents' untimely deaths in a car accident, but also her maternal uncle Punky, who has Down's Syndrome.

Turtle On A Fencepost

The sequel to The Man Who Loved Clowns follows Delrita as she tries to find her place in the world, and her desperation to connect with her Aunt Queenie. She finds a kindred spirit in an unexpected place.

Pets

Old Yeller

Fred Gibson's novel is more than a story about a boy and his dog. It is a story about a boy becoming a man, and how becoming a man is not easy at all.

Where the Red Fern Grows

Billy's quest to gain dogs, not just any dogs, but hunting hound dogs, is a classic and rightly so. The story of Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann is one that is not to be forgotten.

Shiloh

Phyllis Naylor's beloved quartet about a boy and his beagle was one of my favorites growing up. Marty's struggle to rescue Shiloh from the abusive Judd Travers is just the beginning, with later books exploring themes of faith and forgiveness.

Stone Fox

Young Willy must gather all his strength to win the National Dogsled Race and win desperately needed money for his grandfather's farm, with his beloved Searchlight as lead dog.

A Childhood Lost

These books are often similar to those under Grief and Loss but I felt that it was important to separate these as they feature heavy themes of racism, discrimination, and war.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963

Told from the point-of-view of the bookish nine-year-old Kenny, the titular Watsons get into their fair share of misadventures in Flint, Michigan, but for the most part, things are relatively peaceful. The most strife comes from teenaged Byron. But a family trip to Birmingham flings the family head-on into the thick of the Civil Rights Movement, including the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Let the Circle Be Unbroken

The Road to Memphis

These three books are part of a series, telling the story of an African-American girl named Cassie who grows up during the Great Depression in the Deep South and sees first-hand just how ugly Jim Crow can be.

Number the Stars

Lois Lowry's novel tells a dramatized version of the efforts of the Danish Resistance, with special emphasis on the evacuations to Sweden.

Abuse

Call Me Hope

Twelve-year-old Hope struggles with the emotional abuse brought on by her mother and copes by "awarding points" for specific insults.

Currently whipping through Harlan Coben's latest thriller, Missing You and Bob Dylan's Chronicles Vol. 1.

Up next, a few nostalgic re-reads I received from the reddit book exchange, Number the Stars and The Giver.

How about you? What are you reading and looking forward to reading?

Great discussion. Any discussion involving books is good stuff!

One of my favorite books ever Number the Stars During WW2, when the Jew were being rounded up. A little girls and her family harbor the little girls best friend and her family on the night of a round up and help them escape.

For some reason, this book has always had a special place in my heart. Shows true love for friends and family and how scary times were doing WW2.

Thank you for the contest!