Since they probably have to read about war

Bull Run, by Paul Fleischman

This short, historical fiction tells the story of the first battle of the Civil War from the perspective of 16 narrators from all walks of life and both sides of the Mason Dixon line. By weaving together so many narrative perspectives in short, one or two page increments, author Paul Fleischman paints a rich, if sometimes disjointed, portrait of a divided nation on the brink of war.

Early in the book, I made the choice not to list the characters and their backstories, though it might have made for a little bit more cohesive read. Instead, I found myself backtracking a little and trying to keep track of which narrative voice was whose on a lot of occasions.

Some of my favorite characters were Shem Suggs, an illiterate southern man who joins the cavalry because of his love for horses, and Gideon Adams, a light-skinned black man who shaves his head to pass as white in order to join the Union army. I looked forward to reconnecting with these characters each time their turn came up to narrate the story in its march toward war.

The battle scenes in this short book do depict a bloody encounter that fortells a longer, more brutal war than most of the characters seem to expect in the pages leading up to the first canon fire. Although it is a little on the rough side, the book is accessible to readers from 5th grade and up, and deals appropriately with tough issues like death, child abuse, slavery, and racial discrimination. I would recommend this as an excellent fiction text for students studying this part of American history.

I spent a lazy Saturday with a teen vampire slayer

First Kill: The Slayer Chronicles, by Heather Brewer

 Joss McMillain witnesses the death of his own sister at the hands, or teeth, of a vampire and his life takes a dark and strange turn. He discovers that he is descendant from a long line of vampire slayers and travels to the Catskill Mountains to train for the hunt with a long lost uncle.
 I could not put this book down, finishing it in about four hours of delightful reading. Halfway through, I was captivated by Joss’ training and curious about how he would find his niche in the slayer community. His relationship with Abraham, the uncle who works him mercilessly to prepare Joss to fight a “hive” of vampires.
 The secret of the book is that the reader, like Joss, never knows who to trust. Brewer, the author, puts Joss alone in the woods with the prospect of a vampire attack looming more than a few times and each time I became nervous with anticipation. When Joss’ loyalty to the suspicious group of slayers is questioned, I read more quickly, anxious to find out how he would avoid persecution or even death.  
 I recommend this book for fans of either the Cirque du Freak series or Twilight. Readers wrote on Amazon that this book is not nearly as good as Brewer’s companion series, the Vladimir Tod chronicles, so I think I would recommend that series on the strength of my experience with this one. Although the book has some violent scenes with a fair amount of blood and dismemberment, the book is probably PG and an acceptable selection for middle schoolers and Amazon recommends it for 12 and up.