Thursday, March 13, 2014

Navigating Early by Claire Vanderpool - - ESSENTIAL

Vanderpool, Clare Navigating Early 295 pgs. Random House, 2013. $16.99 Language: G (0 swears); Violence: PG; Mature Content: G.  

When Jack Baker’s mother dies, Jack’s father re-locates the 13-year-old from Kansas to an east coast military boarding school.  With no boating experience, Jack has a hard time fitting in.  But then he meets Early Auden and the boys embark on an adventure of a lifetime. Early tells Jack a story about Pi and his adventure based on those numbers (which are colors, things, textures)  This adventure coincides with the boys' real adventure in the Appalachian Mountains.  

In the spirit of Moon over Manifest, Newbery Medal winner Vanderpool brings us another coming of age novel.  This book is about loss, grief, love and friendship.  This is a great boy book, well written, and would make a nice addition to a middle school library.  Although this novel was a Printz Honor book, it does not contain the mature content found in most books considered for this award.  

MS - ESSENTIAL Lisa Librarian

No comments: