HATTIE BIG SKY

HATTIE BIG SKY, by Kirby Larson (Delacorte 2006)(ages 12+). In late 1917, sixteen year old orphan Hattie Brooks is bequeathed her uncle's homestead claim in Vida, Montana. Tired of being shuffled from remote relative to remote relative, Hattie heads out by herself to prove the claim.

When she arrives, she finds hard work, bad weather, and new friends. Through it all, she shares her experiences with old friends back in Iowa and on the Western Front, and encounters the anti-German prejudices of the day.

A 2007 Newbery Honor Book, HATTIE BIG SKY is an elegant and sweet story of one girl's quest for independence and family.

THE LAST EXIT TO NORMAL

THE LAST EXIT TO NORMAL, by Michael Harmon (Knopf 2008)(14+). Skater punk Ben (Ian's best friend from SKATE) is causing trouble, like he's done ever since the day three years ago that his dad announced he was gay and his mother left. Now, Ben's dad and his partner Edward have decided that what seventeen year old Ben needs is a change of scenery. So they pack up and move back to Edward's hometown of Rough Butte, Montana (population 450, give or take)...

There, things aren't quite what Ben expects, as he clashes with Miss Mae, Edward's mother; begins to date a pretty girl; encounters a friendly cop (of all things); befriends the abused neighbor boy; and he and his father finally begin to come to terms with who they are separately and what they are together.

In THE LAST EXIT TO NORMAL, Harmon eschews cliches and portrays each of Ben, his father and stepdad, and the people of Rough Butte as authentic, realistic, and rounded. Ben's voice is wry, unaffected, and occasionally surprising as Ben ultimately finds his own way in a believable and satisfying fashion.