No Purchase Necessary by Maria Marianayagam

I got to the section with the Mercury bars and stared at the chocolate bar in front of me, my heart pounding so loud I was sure Scary Al could hear it from behind the till. I glanced up at the cash register. Scary Al was ringing up a customer. I should do it now, I told myself, but my hands trembled in my pockets. What on earth was I doing? This was not me. ... “Some people must steal to survive,” I whispered to myself. I needed to do this to survive Bridge Creek. I’d find a way to pay for it someday.

Ajay and his family (father, mother and younger sister) have come to America from Sri Lanka. Amma and Appa have very high expectations for their children. Ajay does not want to disappoint them, so it seems easier to tell them a lie about the grade for his poetry assignment. His father expects Ajay to always score over 90 but for this assignment, set by Ms Livingston, where students had to respond to the Robert Frost poem ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay', Ajay scored 79. This lie, telling his parents he scored 90, is the first of many. You could think of the term 'slippery slope'.

Ajay is a new student at Bridge Creek Middle School. Jacob is also fairly new too, but Jacob is a bully and has already acquired a couple of thuggish friends. Early in the story there is a terrible scene where Jacob sees Ajay eating a Sri Lankan Sandwich: 

"Just as I was about to take a bite of my sandwich, Jacob walked up with his goons. He stopped in front of me, blocking out the daylight, and my insides went as cold as my outside. He looked at my sandwich and scrunched up his face. “What’s this stinky sandwich, Uhh-jay?” That also wasn’t my name. ... “Swi Lunk what?” Jacob howled. “What kind of meat is that?” Brad and Eric snickered again. ... “Yeah, it’s gross,” I said, and immediately felt guilty. It was my favorite. “You should throw it out,” he said as he munched his chocolate bar mindlessly. I’d never tried a Mercury bar, and here he was chewing it like a piece of stale gum. He was testing me, and I was ready. I needed to prove to Jacob Underson that I could be cool. Carefree. I shrugged. “Okay.” I walked over to the trash can and threw out my uneaten sandwich. Jacob smirked, then turned around and walked away."

From that day on it broke my heart to read that Ajay always bought a simple ham and cheese sandwich to school. He also cleared his locker every day and carried every book home just in case he needed one for a school assignment. Ajay puts so much pressure on himself. Thank goodness he does excel at maths and karate. 

It's that chocolate bar that leads to the next problem and the incident that 'snowballs' into so many terrible lies and dilemmas for Ajay. Jacob tells Ajay to steal a Mercury Bar from Scary Al's store. Ajay is terrified but also desperate for approval so he takes the chocolate and stashes it in the waist band of his trousers. Jacob is 'mock' horrified and he tosses the treat away. When Ajay picks it up he finds he has won the prize. But how can he claim this million dollar prize when he didn't buy the chocolate; and how can he tell his parents; and what about Scary Al, the store owner - surely, he will contact the police; and then there is the complication of his new friend Mindy - the way all of this happened this chocolate bar should have been her purchase. Oh and what do the words "no purchase necessary" actually mean?

There is so much tension in this story which is driven by the complex moral dilemma of what to do if you win one million dollars but actually it seems impossible to claim the prize.

Here are a couple of text quotes:

My throat tightened. That was the thing about Appa and Amma. They could be one hundred percent scary and one hundred percent loving at the same time. And maybe we were all like that. Not a list of things, but a messy pile—jumbled, overlapping, and contradicting.

I wanted to tell them about the chocolate bar, but my heart started palpitating when I thought about it. I couldn’t. The right thing to do was to let it go, I decided. I’d paid Al back. I wasn’t redeeming the prize. It was time to move on and start over. But for some reason, it still felt like I had miles to go before I got some sleep.

I had all these rituals because I wanted my life to be perfect. Perfect student. Perfect son. Perfect everything. And what about my life was perfect anymore? Nothing. I was a thief. And now I’d nearly killed someone.

He cleared his throat. “We put high expectations on you because we don’t want you to ever struggle the way we have. We do it because we want you to have better lives than we’ve had.” He turned to Aarthi. “But maybe, somewhere along the way, we became too hard on you.”

For more plot details read this detailed plot summary by Ms Yingling - I love her final comment:

This made me SO anxious the whole time I was reading it, which just shows how good the writing was, but it was not a good feeling! I thought of a dozen different ways that Ajay would have been able to claim the prize, and it was frustrating when he didn't take any of my advice! 

Here in Australian you will need to wait to read this book. I read an ebook version. The print copy (256 pages) is only in hardcover so far and it is very expensive but hopefully a paperback edition is planned. This book will be devoured by readers aged 10+ and it fits that expression "windows and mirrors". For some this book will be a window into the life of a migrant family and the cultural expectations of parents and while others are sure to relate (mirrors) to the pressures placed on Ajay and his sister and the unfairness of the way Amma and Appa are treated in their new country. 

Maria Marianayagam lives in Alberta, Canada: "My stories call upon a childhood and adulthood of multiple identities. I am a Canadian who was born in India. I am a Catholic but also Tamil Sri Lankan. I love writing but have a degree in chemical engineering. We all contain multitudes–and I draw on our intersections to inspire, empower, and engage young readers."

The novel’s plot twists will especially entrance and surprise younger audiences and those able to suspend disbelief and go with the flow of this completely age-appropriate and appealing story. Utter fun. Kirkus Star review

No Purchase Necessary is a warmhearted coming-of-age story about figuring out who you want to be and standing up for what’s right. Marianayagam has crafted an enjoyable, humorous, and thoughtful story that sheds light on immigrant struggles and the pressure kids face to be like their peers. Reading Middle Grade

Bookseller blurb: Ajay Anthonipillai has a million-dollar problem. Ajay has lived his life dutifully following the rules set by his Tamil parents.

• Rule #3: Straight As only
• Rule #5: There is no such thing as a no-homework day.
• Rule #10: Never watch scary movies.

However, moving to a new school gives Ajay a new rule to follow: Get on seventh-grade all-star Jacob Underson's good side. When Jacob asks him to steal a Mercury bar from Scary Al's convenience store, Ajay feels this is his chance to finally "get cool" and stop eating alone. But Jacob rejects the stolen chocolate bar, leaving Ajay to unwrap it and discover that it contains Mercury's Twenty-fifth Anniversary Grand Prize...one million dollars. Faced with an extreme dilemma, Ajay will have to bear the weight of his actions and battle his morality in deciding whether to claim the prize that may change the life of his family forever.

There are some interesting book and poetry references in this story. Ajay loves The Hardy Boys book series. Mindy loves Nancy Drew. Ms Livingston sets assignments on famous poems by Robert Frost: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening; and The Road Not Taken.

Companion books:

Scar Town

The Eleventh Trade

These two are for younger readers:

Bored Book One: Milo finds $105

Mr Chickee's Funny Money

Freddie Spector Fact Collector: Space Cadet by Ashleigh Barton illustrated by Peter Cheong

Freddie has a new obsession - space. He collects every fact he can, and he shares these on post-it notes all around his house. If you met Freddie you could ask him any question about space and he is sure to know the answer. Actually, questions are one theme in this book because five lucky students from Freddie's school have been selected to ask one question each of Astronaut Lilly Jun who is on the International Space Station. She will talk to the students via a video call. Freddie really wants to ask a great question - not something silly. I won't spoil the question he does ask but it is brilliant! You do need to read the whole book which is just over 100 pages, however, before this is revealed. 

The other thread in this book, one that keeps the plot moving, is the mystery next door. Freddie is woken by a noise in the night. He looks into the neighbor's backyard and he is shocked to see a huge hole. Freddie is certain a UFO has arrived and that means an alien is now inside the neighbours home. All of this is confirmed when the neighbour almost slams the door in Freddie and his sister's faces and later when Freddie sees a strange red light in the upstairs rooms of their house. There is also the mystery of green slime on the path leading into school. Did the aliens leave this here?

I did not expect to enjoy Freddie Spector Fact Collector as much as I did. This book is the first in a new series and it is one your readers in grades 2 and up are sure to enjoy. The scattering of illustrations by Peter Cheong are also sure to appeal to newly confident readers and they will enjoy the pages filled with Freddie's sticky notes. I did learn a few interesting things about space myself after reading these.  

• Astronauts on the Internationa Space Station see sixteen sunsets and sunrises over earth every day.
• Halley's comet will return in 2061.
• Black holes don't last forever - they slowly evaporate.
• Mercury's moons are named after famous people like Dr Seuss, Beethoven, and Maya Angelou.

Huge thanks to Three Sparrow Books for the advance copy of Space Cadet due out in July this year. It is published by Hachette. I have previously talked about other books by Ashleigh Barton. And Peter Cheong - Every Night at Midnight. 

Publisher blurb: Freddie Spector loves collecting facts - about anything and everything. His latest obsession is space. It's all he talks about: stars, planets, galaxies, astronauts, space travel - and, of course UFOs and extraterrestrials. Freddie writes all his facts on sticky notes that his mum and big sister, Henrietta, keep finding in weird places - like in their sock drawers or their sandwiches. But whenever Freddie collects facts on a topic, his very active imagination always gets involved too. And, after noticing some very suspicious goings-on, Freddie realises it's up to him to discover the answer to a burning question: could aliens have landed in his neighborhood? Fast-paced and funny, this series is all about an everyday eight-year-old boy whose love of facts and extraordinary imagination come together with unexpected and hilarious results.

Here is the second book in the series which will also be released in July, 2024.

The Lion above the Door by Onjali Q Rauf

"It was exactly my name! Not just the Leo part but all of it - Leo Kai Lim! But what was it doing inside a cathedral? On part of an old wall that remembered soldiers? And why did it have a golden lion above it, when none of the other names did? And what did DFC mean?"

Leo and his class go on a school excursion to Rochester Cathedral as a part of their class study of World War II. 

"The school library books about the war hardly mentioned any countries outside Europe and America. Even the ones that did only ever said things like "parts of the Commonwealth' or 'the Far East' or 'Africa' - as if those words were just a single thing and weren't made up of lots of huge countries with millions of people who might have been heroes too."

Leo's family come from Singapore and Sangeeta's family come from India. They also have a new friend Olivia who shares her (surprising) heritage. These three form a team to tell the real history of their connection to World War II. 

The joy and importance of family history are also recognised- gathering memories from those around you and exploring the lives of those who have gone before and acknowledging the contributions they have made.  North Sommerset Teachers' Book Award

Publisher blurb: Leo and his best friend Sangeeta are the odd ones out in their school. But as Leo's dad is always telling him, it's because they're special. Only thing is, if they're so special, how come they never see anyone who looks like them in their school history books?  Then, on a class trip to a nearby cathedral, Leo's attention is drawn to a large marble slab high above the doors of the hall. Right there, bang in the middle of a list of war heroes, Leo finds himself staring at something incredible: his own name. Desperate to know who this other Leo was, the two friends embark on a search. And together, they begin to uncover missing stories from the past, ones which they are determined to put back into their rightful place in the pages of history.

This book is has a slower pace than the previous books I enjoyed by Onjali Q Rauf but on page 251 the action really heats up. Readers aged 10+ with reading stamina, an interest in World War II, and those who enjoy stories about true heroes are sure to enjoy The Lion above the Door. Here are three other books by Onjali:

The Star outside my Window

The Boy at the Back of the Class

The Night Bus Hero

My Brother Ben by Peter Carnavas

It is the summer holidays. Luke is in Grade 6 so he will return to his old school in late January but his brother Ben is moving on to High School. These months are a time of change for Luke. His father has left the family and moved far away to the other side of the country. Ben, who has always been his best friend, is changing in ways Luke finds confusing. Luke needs to hold onto the things that keep him steady. He loves birds, he knows all the birds around Cabbage Tree Creek. He can identify their songs and his favourite book is the battered-up guide book given to him by his Aunty Gem. They regularly go on bird finding expeditions - and these days are filled with joy.

The prologue to My Brother Ben is so dramatic. Luke sees a bird in the middle of a busy road. It is a magpie that has been hit by a car. Just as Luke reaches to touch it, his brother swoops in and rescues him from a speeding car. In a beautiful moment they discover the precious bird is not dead and from then on Maggie becomes Luke's best bird friend.

Someone has abandoned a small white rowing boat in a yard near their house.  The brothers have shared dream:

"I got it all worked out. We'd take off from our jetty, head straight across to the other side. You can find that bird you saw today and all its friends. Then we'd go south, away from the Jumping Tree, all the way past the old windmill ... Follow that bend to The Pocket. We'd fish all day, catch flathead and bream ... a whole bucketful. We'd camp on the bank and cook fish and fall asleep under the stars."

But this is the summer of change. Luke has his birds and Ben seems to be distracted by a new girl who has moved into their town. Then a competition is announced

"The competition was being run by the local council, just for kids under fifteen. You had to make something that celebrated Cabbage Tree Creek. ... but the most important detail was the prize: a three metre fishing canoe, with paddles, life jackets and the chance to name the boat. They'd paint the name on the side for you."

Luke and Ben are desperate to win. 

"When you open your eyes to birds, the world opens itself in return."

When you read this book you will want to also grab any version of an Australian bird guide book. Here are a couple I found:

Or you could use this poster from The Guardian which shows the Australian Bird of the Year 2021:

The writing of Peter Carnavas just gets better and better. He has created such an authentic relationship between Luke and his older brother Ben. Oddly, I kept hoping nothing terrible would happen in this summer time story. At nearly every turn of the river I thought Ben or Luke would have a life changing or even fatal accident. I guess I have read too many books like this marred by tragedy. Instead I discovered a warm, realistic story about two boys who live near a river, share their dreams, and jokes and who deeply care for each other. I guarantee you will fall in love with this place, with the lives of these boys and with this quiet, careful exploration of Luke and Ben and their summer by Cabbage Tree Creek. 

This is a quintessential Australian story set in a small country town with bush nearby to explore and the creek where the boys swim and dream but it is also a book with universal themes of growing up, facing fear, self discovery, change, sibling relationships, and the importance of the natural world. 

‘How I love this book. Peter Carnavas is a wizard with words and a master of character, and his affection for Luke and Ben and the simple, complicated stuff of brotherhood shines through on every page. If you’ve ever had – or been, or known! – a brother, the ebbs and flows of their relationship will ring absolutely true and linger long past their story’s end. My Brother Ben is absolutely bursting with heart, and with the kind of quiet power of the very best books, the ones that leave an indelible mark. I didn’t know I needed a book about brothers, birds and boats; now I wonder how I was ever without it. What a glorious exploration of boyhood and brotherliness, of trust and truth and strength and steadfastness; please give My Brother Ben to all the boys in your life, and all the girls too.’ Meg McKinlay

I have never made this comment about a book before but I do wish UQP had considered producing this book as a hardcover. My Brother Ben has all the qualities of a classic children's book and while the paperback edition is, of course, very affordable for families and keen readers I would love to see a longer lasting edition of this book which could become a treasured one to keep. Paperbacks usually have paper that gradually yellows over time and aged paperbacks loose their appeal. This book is sure to be one on the CBCA 2022 notable list. 

Companion reads:

Twitch 

Half a Chance

Henry Hoey Hobson

The small Adventures of Popeye and Elvis

The Grand Genius Summer of Henry Hoobler

Scarlet Ibis

One last thing.  Years ago I read another book involving a bird guide book. It was an Australian book. It was for Upper Primary readers. The boy in the story loved his bird guide book and he longed to meet the author - a university academic. In my memory, the boy travels from a country town into the city, he arrives at night and he does eventually meet the author of his favourite book.  I am continuing my search for this book. If anyone can help please let me know in the comments. I know this sounds like The Someday Birds but it is a much older book and it is Australian.

Catch a falling star by Meg McKinlay

I like the way tension drives this story. I think this list might be a way to explain some of the plot threads and the tension I felt.

• It is 1979 and Skylab is falling back to Earth (this is based on true events).
• No one knows where Skylab will land - there is huge media coverage and international speculation. 
• A space station falling to earth could cause enormous damage and injury. Every day people check the sky and NASA send updates as the days count down. 
• Frankie's Dad is gone, he has died, but mum won't talk about it and Frankie didn't get to say goodbye. Mum even puts his photo away. 
• Frankie is happy to help out at home but she also needs her mum to stop spending such long hours at work.
• Dad loved astronomy and Frankie shared his passion. Who can she talk to now?
• Newt, her younger brother, is a gifted boy whose brain is filled with science facts but he is also secretive - what is really going on in his bedroom? Does he know more about Skylab than the adult scientists?
• Kat is Frankie's friend in Grade 6 but sometimes the road of true friendship is a rocky one.
• Frankie did not mean to get A+ on her Storm Boy assignment and she certainly didn't want to make Kat hate her. If only she could tell Kat how hard it is at home with mum working such long hours, Newt hidden away and her desperate need for answers about her dad.
• Mrs Easton has set another almost impossible assignment - Fantastic Futures - which must include two thoughtful and relevant reasons for your choice. Once Frankie would have said she planned to be an astronomer but now that choice seems too hard. Every Friday afternoon is torture hoping Mrs Easton won't ask Frankie to present her futures speech.

Catch a falling star is an honest story about grief and growing up. I really enjoyed the link in this book with the real life event. Skylab did crash near Esperance in Western Australia. The town council did send a fine of $400 for littering. A US newspaper did offer $10,000 to the first person to arrive at their studio in San Francisco with a piece from Skylab. A seventeen year old boy from Esperance won this prize. Take a look at exhibition in the museum at Esperance.

Anna Fienberg said: "A witty and tender story mapping the marvels of science and the human heart. A gripping read."

Read Meg McKinlay's thoughts about Catch a falling Star here.  I read an advanced reader copy of this book late in 2018. It will be published in March, 2019. This is a long way off but I predict Catch a Falling Star will reach the CBCA notables list for 2020 - I do hope so. Megan Daley agrees with me - here is her review.  I have read other books by Meg McKinlay which I really enjoyed - Once upon a small Rhinoceros and her Duck stories - Duck for a day and Definitely no Ducks!

The thing about jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

Surrounded by the cruelty of adolescence, Zu is awkward, smart, methodical, and driven by sadness. 

As humans we constantly seek answers.  When someone dies, especially a younger person, we want to know why and how and most importantly was there something we should have done to prevent this.

Franny and Suzy had been friends since elementary school.  One day her mum calls her inside and says "Franny Jackson drowned."  Suzy is obsessed by numbers.  These are just three words but these words begin a tumultuous internal dialogue which sees Suzy trying to make peace with her childhood 'friend' and her own mistakes of the past.

"None of it made sense. Not then, and not later that night when the Earth dipped toward the stars. Not the next morning when it rolled back around to sunlight again."

Suzy needs answers so she turns to science she also decides to become silent.  Her self imposed silence means finding the answer to this tragedy become very one sided.  There is no one to collaborate with - no other view points.  Suzy is utterly convinced the culprit is the Irukandji jellyfish and so her scientific mind sets about intensive research to find everything she can about this mysterious creature - hence the title 'The thing about jellyfish.'

The class have to present a science talk on a topic of their own choice.  Each chapter of The thing about Jellyfish begins with an aspect of the scientific method their teacher Mrs Turton expects them to use.  One day she shows the class a set of pictures of earth seen from space.

"Here I was, just one out of seven billion people, and people were just one species out of ten million and those ten million were just a tiny fraction of all the species that ever existed, and somehow all of fit onto that fleck of brown dust on the screen. And we were surrounded by nothingness."

There are three narratives in this story shown with different fonts. The present action where we read about Suzy, her family and her jellyfish research, childhood scenes in happier times when Suzy and Franny were best friends and the recent past when pressures of the peer group and feelings of alienation wrecked everything for Suzy.  The scenes where Franny's new friends reject Suzy and Suzy's own social confusions are quite confronting.

One of the bloggers I follow is Mrs Yingling and the part of her reviews I really appreciate is her final comment "What I really think".

So what do I really think about The thing about Jellyfish.   I knew I would cry in this book but really the tears were not a result of my deep emotional connection with Suzy and her terrible experience of the death of a close friend.  I admire her drive, her attention to detail and her deep research but I remain a little confused about Suzy.  I felt she may be on the autism spectrum because she was so obsessive about numbers and details and so confused by social situations but the final scenes made me revise this idea.  I am sure this is a book that readers over 12 will enjoy and perhaps relate to especially as they navigate their confusion with identity and peer expectations.

My big problem with this book, though,  is with the suggested readership. The New York Times says 9-12.  I totally disagree.  I think this is for very mature senior primary students but really it is even more suitable for junior High School students.  There are references in this book to same sex relationships and after an especially awful scene Suzy, who is twelve, finds her period has started. In contrast Kirkus say 12+ and I agree with this.

Here is an interview with the author.  You might also enjoy Counting by 7s and True (sort of).

Paper things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

What do girls do who haven't any mothers to help them through their troubles? Louisa May Alcott

I have mentioned  this in the past.  People often ask me why I only read 'kids' books.  I reply with two answers - I don't have time with all the books on my reading pile and yes they are 'kids books' and when I do finally pick up an adult book that someone has told me is fabulous I am usually so disappointed.

Here is a book I need to give to every adult who has ever thought 'kids books' are a lesser species. Paper Things is a breathtaking book.  It is emotional, raw and utterly honest.  Start by listening to this audio sample which takes up the story from about page 4.

Ari and Gage have lost both their mum and dad.  Janna, a family friend, has become their guardian but she and Gage, now aged nineteen keep clashing and so Gage has decided to leave.  He takes eleven year old Ari with him and promises he has already set up an apartment where they will live. But "we didn't have an apartment. Not yet. We didn't have a home of any kind.  That was the beginning of February This is almost the end of March. We still don't."

Gage organises a different place to sleep each night and Ari learns to keep her most important possessions in her back pack. Some places where they stay offer a shower and laundry and food, others do not but through it all Ari stays so optimistic.  There are some truly heart breaking moments when you just wonder how she can keep going and some incredibly kind people who offer help, sometimes without knowing the real situation.  One of my favourites  relates to Ari's shoes :

"I was running as fast as I could, but my shoes has started to flap where the stitching is coming out, and it falls of easily."

"We head over to the door to get my shoes. ... and my finger pokes through the hole in the stitching. Gage ... doesn't want Janna to notice what sorry shape they're in."

"Ms Finch was giving me a free pair of shoes - of really cute shoes.  Why me? .... And suddenly I'm crying."

The quote above from Louisa May Alcott comes from an assignment Ari is working on.  She discovers she has some things in common with the famous author and so does Janna who introduced her to the book Little Women.

There is also so much that resonates in the title of this book.  Ari cuts paper people and furniture from junk mail catalogs.  She uses them in a comforting game of make-believe.  These paper things are so precious to Ari.  To get in to assisted housing Ari and Gage need to complete official paperwork - more paper things.  Ari wants to fulfill her mother's dying wish and attend Carter Middle School but she needs to fill in an application form and for that she needs an address - more paper things that all seem too hard.

If you have questions after reading this book Jennifer Jacobson has recorded a long and informative video where she talks to students.  Here is a review with more plot details.  Kirkus also have a good review but oddly did not give this book a star. I would give it FIVE stars!

Here is a brief set of teaching ideas.

Following this book I would recommend How to Steal a dog, Crenshaw, and Hold fast.  I also found a book list with a range of titles from Picture books through to YA on the themes of empathy and homelessness.

In this poignant view of one child’s experience with homelessness, Jacobson deftly shows how easily it can happen, an insidious downward spiral 

with heart-wrenching consequences.