The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic

The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices From the Titanic by Allan Wolf. Published by Candlewick Press, 2011.

April 14, 1912. The day the Titanic sank. Multiple viewpoints create a vivid account of the disaster. There are many famous books and movies of the sinking with famous people such as John Astor and Molly Brown. This book has 24 narrators, including some unusual perspectives such as a rat, the coroner, and the iceberg.

The individual narrators each have unique voices. Captain E. J. Smith is full of pride that he has such a prestigious assignment as the culmination of his career. The violinist Jock Hume is annoyed that he is not allowed to improvise and share his music with everyone. Another narrator is telegraph operator Harold Bribe, whose increasingly frantic messages foretold the magnitude of the looming disaster. An unusual narrator is the iceberg. It is a cold, dispassionate presence inserted between many of the entries.

The Undertaker, who dealt with the bodies as they were retrieved from the water had a very overwhelming job- try to identify the body and determine cause of death. Each time he was brought a new body, I found myself hoping that it wouldn’t be one of the other narrators who I had grown to care about through the book. Statistically, I knew they were unlikely to survive. The plight of the refugees and the extremely high loss of life among the third class passengers were especially poignant.

This historical fiction with multiple narrators will appeal to a wide audience.  Recommended grades 8 and up.

Visit author Alan Wolf's website

Orchards

Orchards by Holly Thompson. Published by Delacorte Press, 2011.

Missed signs of a classmate’s mental anguish. 8^th grade girls labeled as mean. A loss that is forever.

Half-Japanese, half-Jewish American Kana is being sent to Japan after the suicide of a classmate. Although she is bilingual and has met her mother’s family on previous visits, she is unhappy about this sudden plan. She doesn’t want to live with people she barely knows while attending a nearby public school during her summer vacation. Working in the family’s mikan orange orchards will fill any of Kana’s spare time.

Her family isn’t trying to punish her. But she is cut off from her friends, computers and TV. She isn’t even supposed to have her iPod (but she does). The new school is okay but she doesn’t really fit in there and doesn’t make any new friends. Her mother’s family is constantly correcting her manners and posture.

Kana finds the work in the orchards challenging. It is hot and physically demanding but she finds it a good distraction from thinking too much. She has more in common with her family than she expected and is developing good relationships with them. She gains insights about her mother and her grandfather. She knows the high emotional cost of her mother’s decision to leave Japan and move to the United States. Kana also learns about her classmates, her family and herself. Just like her family before her, she loves the rhythm of life working amidst the mikan orchards.

This realistic fiction is recommended for grades 7 and up. 


Visit author Holly Thompson's website 

How to Save a Life

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr. Published by Little, Brown and Company, 2011.

Jill’s father death was traumatic. She misses him and finds her usually dependable mother changing in some bizarre ways. For one thing, her mother has a sudden desire to adopt a baby and has contacted Mandy, an unwed teen mother. Jill’s mother refused to make any of these arrangements through proper legal channels and Jill’s gut instincts tell her Mandy is hiding something.

Mandy’s arrival puts more pressure on the relationship between Jill and her mother. Jill tries to share her concerns with her friends but each person has a different viewpoint about Mandy and the situation. Mandy has even formed friendships with Jill’s friends, putting an additional strain on Jill.

A blow-up in the obstetrician’s office results in a cascade of other problems. Jill finds herself bewildered about how to help her mother when many of Jill’s worries about Mandy seem to be coming true.

One thing Jill knows- she and her mother cannot take any more heartbreak.

This realistic fiction is recommended for grades 8 and up. 

Visit author Sara Zarr's website