Feature Editors:
Aleka Daley, 17
Erica Telisnor, 14
Massachusetts

Breakfast at Sadie’s,
by Lee Weatherly
David Fickling Books, 2006

Eri Mizobe, 14
Hong Kong

Imagine a life where everything seems to go wrong. Welcome to the life of Sadie. Thirteen-year-old Sadie’s life is bad enough. She never gets decent grades, she only has “so-called friends,” and her dad dies when she is 9, leaving her mom to run the bed & breakfast* that they have in their home.

Breakfast at Sadie’s, by Lee Weatherly

Then one day her mom isn’t able to move her legs. She is diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome* and needs to be hospitalized for three months. Her Aunt Leona is supposed to run the B&B, but she disappears, leaving Sadie alone to take care of the family business.

For the sake of her mother, Sadie doesn’t tell anyone about the situation. She realizes that it is up to her to make things right. With the help of a once-annoying neighbor and an unexpected friend, Sadie struggles each day to keep the business going to support her family.

As outrageous as it sounds, this book is very realistic and I could easily relate to Sadie’s feelings. Lee Weatherly writes in a way that makes you feel deep sympathy. I realized that the greatest heroes aren’t always people who have it all, but those who know what really matters in life.

*Bed and breakfast: nicknamed B&B, a place offering a room for a night and breakfast for a fixed price.

*Guillain-Barre Syndrome (ghee-yan bah-ray): a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the nervous system.

Such a Pretty Girl,
by Laura Wiess
Pocket Books, 2007

Verdah Bismah, 13
Ontario, Canada

Such a Pretty Girl, by Laura Wiess

We often hear news of convicted rapists or murderers being released for good behavior, but this news passes right by us with very little effect. This time though, for Meredith, the convicted sex offender is someone very close to her…her father. He was supposed to be locked up for nine years, way after Meredith turned 18 and could make her way out into the world. Meredith’s own mother doesn’t want to believe that her husband is the one who raped her daughter and others, and lets him back in the house after his release from jail when Meredith is still only 15. Meredith knows that her father hasn’t turned over a new leaf. It’s just a matter of time before he gets the urge to strike again and ruin another innocent child’s life.

Laura Wiess spins a spellbinding tale in Such a Pretty Girl that captivated me from the first line. Her characters are so vibrant and real. She has taken a devastatingly tragic subject and made an important social statement about what is wrong with our judicial system and the rights of victims of violent crime. We need more characters like Meredith in our world and more authors like Wiess to spin them into heartbreaking, enchanting heroines.

Store-Bought Baby,
by Sandra Belton
Harper Teen, 2006

Lindsay Ranger, 16
Ontario, Canada

Store-Bought Baby, by Sandra Belton

Store-Bought Baby is an engaging novel about a teenager, Leah, dealing with the death of her older brother Luce. Luce was adopted into their family before Leah was born, and she becomes more curious about him after his death. She begins to wonder who Luce’s birth parents were. Is there anyone else like him? Did her parents love him more than her? Did they even want her?

The book is highly emotive and surprisingly complex as Leah tries to come to terms with the loss of her brother. Although the situation is completely foreign to me, I got swept up in Leah’s thoughts and emotions. Sandra Belton writes with an ease and sophistication that is rarely found in teen novels and effortlessly allows the reader to deeply empathize with her characters.

Leah’s changing perspectives on life are heartwarming without being cliché and reflect her strength of character. Store-Bought Baby has quickly become one of my favorite books and I have no doubt that it will find other fans.