Reviews written by Ed Goldberg

Even though shes feeling great, her swollen glands force twelve year old Isabelle to visit her doctor who immediately sends to her Childrens Hospital for CAT scans and biopsies. It turns out that shes got lymphoma, requiring a hospital stay and eight rounds of chemotherapy. Her hospital stay...

What happens when you have a makeup sleepover party at your house and your friend Junie wakes up in the middle of the night screaming in pain because the night cream she put on before bed is burning her face? The first thing you do, after washing her face,...

Lynne Rae Perkins book As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth begins with a catastrophe and keeps on going. Here are the three main ones (although there are many more): 1. Ry is on his way from Wisconsin to a hiking camp. ...

Caitlin Madison is in mourning. Her pretty much only and best friend, Ingrid, committed suicide just before the end of sophomore year. Caitlin cant grasp that Ingrid is gone. Shes certain that, as a best friend, she should have seen the signs and done something about it....

Lets start out this review by saying I really, REALLY, liked this book&The Vinyl Princess by debut novelist Yvonne Prinz. Lets set the record straight. There are no negatives about this book beginning with the cover art and moving through the story. Allie (Albertaher name...

I really liked Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes. I didnt expect to, but it caught me from the first chapter. Karl Shoemaker is the narrator. Its his senior year in high school and hes got a plan. He wants to be normal..for just...

Sweet Scarlett (OHara) Martin from Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson is back in Scarlett Fever. Also back is her dysfunctional family, older sister Lola who has just broken up with mega-rich Chip, Maureen who has recovered from cancer and is being nice to everyone for some unknown reason and...

In 1950, polio was the big scare. No one was sure how you contracted it and how to cure it. Although the immunization was soon developed, there were many people who contracted it, some of whom recovered, some of whom died and some of whom were confined to...

I always root for the loners and the kids who dare to be different and the kids who dont necessarily care what other people think. Maybe I identify with them, who knows. So, you know Im going to root for 306.4 pound Andrew Zansky. Hes the guy who...

Its 1978 and this is the story of Miranda. Shes addicted to A Wrinkle in Time, maybe because she doesnt know her father. Shes entranced by the thought of time travel. Her mother got picked for the $20,000 Pyramid TV game show and Miranda and Richard, her...

For those of you who are skeptics, who dont believe that poetry about baseball exists, heres a poem about Charm Colors, sponsor of a town baseball team: Charm Colors Its just the name of a team we play, But I cant...

Francisco X. Storks thought provoking book, Marcelo in the Real World (recent winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences), prompted me to read The Last Summer of the Death Warriors and while I...

In Bed Being sick is like taking a trip, isnt it Going to another country, sort of. A country nobody wants to visit. ...

ack in 2008 I read Jennifer E. Smiths The Comeback Season which probably made it to my best of 2008 list. Since I hadnt really followed Smith after that, I was surprised to stumble upon her latest book, You Are Here. I was not disappointed. As a...

Fifteen year old Austin lives in Big Wells, Texas. She wants to be the Sweetheart of the no-Jesus Christmas Parade and be a hood ornament on the lead car. Theres a problem, though. Shes not as pretty or well-endowed as the current Sweetheart, Sundi Knutt. Actually,...