Staff Review: "13 Gifts" by Wendy Mass

"13 Gifts" by Wendy Mass

Angelina D'Angelo is using her magic on another unsuspecting child in Willow Falls.  This time, it's Tara Brennan; she's spending the summer with her aunt and uncle.  Tara's parents are from Willow Falls, but this is the first time she's visiting.  Unfortunately, she's made a few unwise choices, and as a consequence, she must chase down some unusual items in this small town.  And she only has two weeks to get it done!  Sound crazy?  It is.  By her 13th birthday, Tara needs to sort everything out. Luckily, she's made some amazing new friends who are more than willing to help her. As a bonus: there's a big musical number at the end!

This book is a companion to the other two Willow Falls books.  Readers will recognize Tara's new friends as Amanda and Leo from "11 Birthdays" and Rory from "Finally."  If you've read those, you'll know some of the background on these other characters, but you can read the books in any order and still understand everything.  "13 Gifts" is a Mark Twain Reader Award Nominee for 2013-2014; grab it before everyone else does!  This series is best suited for grades 4-7.
If you liked this book, try one of these stories with a bit of magic:
--Angie R., Headquarters

2013-2014 Mark Twain Award Nominees Announced

The 2013-2014 Mark Twain Award nominees have been announced. Students will be able to read these books and vote on their favorite. Take a look at these great books.

"Close to Famous" by Joan Bauer. Twelve-year-old Foster McFee and her mother escape from her mother's abusive boyfriend and end up in the small town of Culpepper, West Virginia, where they use their strengths and challenge themselves to build a new life, with the help of the friends they make there.

"Missing on Superstition Mountain" by Elise Broach. When brothers Simon, Henry, and Jack move with their parents to Arizona, they are irresistibly drawn to explore the aptly named Superstition Mountain, in spite of warnings that it is not safe.

"Will at the Battle of Gettysburg" by Laurie Calkhoven. In 1863, twelve-year-old Will, who longs to be a drummer in the Union army, is stuck in his sleepy hometown of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but when the Union and Confederate armies meet right there in his town, he and his family are caught up in the fight. Includes historical notes, glossary, and a timeline of events.                                            

 

"Barn Boot Blues" by Catherine Friend. Meet 12 year old Taylor McNamara.  She’s a city girl. But her parents have just moved her onto a sheep farm in the middle of nowhere. She’s trying to get into the spirit of farming, but things aren't going very well. Taylor struggles to adapt to her new life, but finds it hard to adjust to the farm’s daily surprises, especially those that prove to be embarrassing at school. With the help of her friend Megan, Taylor embarks on a nearly disastrous plan to move her family back to the city.

"Hidden" by Helen Frost. When fourteen-year-olds Wren and Darra meet at a Michigan summer camp, both are overwhelmed by memories from six years earlier when Darra's father stole a car, unaware that Wren was hiding in the back.

 

"The Underdogs" by Mike Lupica. Small but fast twelve-year-old Will Tyler, an avid football player in the down-and-out town of Forbes, Pennsylvania, takes matters into his own hands to try and finance the city's football team, giving the whole community hope in the process.       

"13 Gifts" by Wendy Mass. Shortly before her thirteenth birthday, shy and withdrawn Tara is sent to stay with her aunt, uncle, and cousin in her parents' hometown of Willow Falls, where she makes friends and becomes involved with an elderly buyer and seller of collectibles, who seems to be trying to give Tara some kind of mysterious message.

"In Front of God and Everybody" by K.D. McCrite. Growing up in the country is never easy, but it sure is funny—especially if you happen to have a sister obsessed with being glamorous, a grandma just discovering make-up, hippie friends who never shower, and brand new neighbors from the city who test everyone’s patience. From disastrous dye jobs to forced apologies and elderly date tagalongs, you’ll laugh ‘til you cry.

"The Unwanteds" by Lisa McMann. In a society that purges thirteen-year-olds who are creative, identical twins Aaron and Alex are separated, one to attend University while the other, supposedly Eliminated, finds himself in a wondrous place where youths hone their abilities and learn magic.

 

"Sparrow Road" by Sheila O'Connor. Twelve-year-old Raine spends the summer at a mysterious artists colony and discovers a secret about her past.  

"Wonderstruck" by Brian Selznick. Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's in pictures. 

"Pie" by Sarah Weeks. After the death of Polly Portman, whose award-winning pies put the town of Ipswitch, Pennsylvania, on the map in the 1950s, her devoted niece Alice and Alice's friend Charlie investigate who is going to extremes to find Aunt Polly's secret pie crust recipe. Includes fourteen pie recipes.

 

 

                                

 

2012-2013 Mark Twain Award Nominees

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Hide & Seek by Katy Grant

Half Upon a Time by James Riley

Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret

The Familiars by Adam J. Epstein 

Palace Beautiful by Sarah DeFord Williams

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

Twenty Gold Falcons by Amy Gordon 

The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

  

Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve