Defiance - William Allen White List

Usually in the summer, I try to read several books on the William Allen White Award List. I figure these are going to be the best of children's literature, and it's a great way to keep up with the newest books students will be reading. This book is the beginning of my WAW trek.

Defiance is about a young boy with cancer and the way he finds the courage to continue with treatments. Throughout the story, I found myself relating to his mother. She was very cautious about things like using sunscreen, wearing a bicycle helmet, and eating right. My own children would call me overly protective, like this same boy did. I call it being safe. I suppose this conflict between mother and child is an age old disagreement. The one difference is that this mother could not protect her child from cancer - something that many fear. This is a rather short, but compelling book.

Plain Truth

During the spring semester of 2007, students in the undergraduate reading class I teach were sharing favorite authors, and the name Jodi Picoult kept popping up. One student, Amy, has read several of Picoult's books and mentioned Plain Truth as her favorite. Once I got started on Picoult's books, I couldn't stop. I have read or listened to 8 of them and Plain Truth is in my top two favorites (My Sister's Keeper is the other).

Although I do not know much about the Amish community, Picoult's vivid descriptions made me feel like I was there. The story begins with the finding of a newborn baby recently killed in the barn. At first no one claims to have any knowledge of the baby, but soon the identity of the mother is known. The question becomes whether the father is her Amish betrothed of someone else. As the mother faces trial for murder, her new world cousin, an attorney, moves in with the family and defends her cousin.
The story is a blend of old and new, of truth and justice, and of loyalty and love.