Seedfolks / Paul Fleischman / 69 pages / Color in the title / Required Reading / Tasty cover

In Cleveland of 1997, a young girl takes inspiration from her late father, who was a farmer, and plants some lima beans in a dirty vacant.  At first, it starts off as her own private garden, but as soon as more and more people find out about it, the vacant transforms into the neighborhood's community garden, where people from diverse races and cultures come together to work, celebrate, and even look after one another.

It was a nostalgic read, as this was a book I had to read in my 6th grade English class, almost ten years ago.

My Name is Parvana / Deborah Ellis / 176 pgs

A young teen is found wandering around in the ruins of a bombed out school building in Afghanistan, and is picked up by American forces.  She refuses to speak to the soldiers even though she knows English and is put in an isolation cell for being a suspected terrorist.  The narration weaves between her interrogation and the events that led up to the school bombing.

When I picked up this book I didn't realize that it was part of a series, so many times the main character will refer to people or events that happened in other books.  While the reader can follow this story without reading the past book, you do get a sense that you missed parts that belong to the bigger picture.  Especially, since there were a few times when a side character would just show up and save the day.  It really felt like this book was a little thin on plot and was mostly trying to tie up loose ends from the other books in the series.

Still, the writing was descriptive, and I felt I got a sense of the time and place that this girl was living in.  I also loved the strength and courage that the main character Parvana shows to survive all of the things that happen in her life.  It looks like the author Deborah Ellis has been following and writing about the changes that have been occurring in Afghanistan since the early 2000's (after the fall of the Taliban); with an emphasis on women's rights in the region.  I am really looking forward to read the first book in this series called "The Breadwinner"; and Ellis has a nonfiction book called "The Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War" (2012) where she interviewed real kids living in Afghanistan and shows how current events have affected them.

Due to some discussions of torture and violence (which you really cannot gloss over when you are talking about living in a war zone) this book is probably for older "Tweens", maybe 5th grade and up.

The Savage Fortress / Sarwat Chadda / 292 pgs.

Ash and his little sister Lucky Mistry are in India visiting their Uncle who is an archaeologist and working on a dig for a very Eccentric and Mysterious Benefactor.  After an accident occurs at the archaeological site, Ash is thrown into a supernatural world of demons (called rakshasas) and  is in a fight of good vs evil and the fate of the world.

This book reminded me a lot of Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" Series; except substitute the Greek Gods for Hindu ones.  Lots of action, some violence; although I'm pretty sure kids will get a kick out of the description of the hero pulling a demon's heart out of its chest and crushing it with their bare hands.  :)