youth book Quotes

Throughout the author merely tells, rarely shows. Wording is awkward and often repetitive. The result is the ponderous text of a story about war and refugees that needs to be told, unfortunately.

Flour Babies centers around Simon Martin, his peers in Form 4C and their experiences of a ‘Child Development’ project, where they each take on the responsibility of a small sack of flour for several weeks.

“The concept behind these types of educational projects is to on the one hand install a sense of responsibility into as yet often woefully carefree and naively irresponsible teenagers (how it feels to be totally and wholly on the proverbial hook for something, in this case a flour baby) and on the other hand to make both male and female adolescents think and consider twice with regard to sexuality, with regard to especially unprotected intercourse, as parenthood is shown to be, parenthood means continuous commitment, responsible thinking (or at least, it should).”

“They must be looked after exactly as if they where real babies and this is a task that Simon Martin is not looking forward to one little bit. But as the weeks progress he begins to find himself caring for his bag of flour and starting to question his own life and actions.”

“Bravest heart will carry on when sleep is death, and hope is gone. Rowan doesn’t believe he has a brave heart. But when the river that supports his village of Rin runs dry, he must join a dangerous journey to its source in the forbidden Mountain.”

“Hundred of years ago they had climbed through the hills, carrying the few things they owned on their back, looking for somewhere in this strange land that they could claim as their own. They had come from far away, across the sea. They had fought a terrible enemy. On the coast they had heard, from the wandering native people called the Travelers, of a place at the bottom of a forbidden mountain in the high country far inland.”

Heart’s Delight opens with a 16-year-old boy poised over a desk. He is alone in the room, going through the left over items of a relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Ann-Kathrin. As he systematically destroys each object, he replays a scene from their relationship that relates to it.

By the end of this moving story, he has gotten rid of everything; he’s torn up the bus pass from the station where they met, blown the unused condoms into balloons and set them adrift from his balcony, and dropped the pot of lemon balm tea she gave him from the balcony, too.

“Now he sits alone in his room, a sixteen-year-old boy, waiting for her to call. Wishing for her to tell him it was real. It was as perfect as he imagined. But the phone sits silently.”

“He throws the pot of lemon balm she gave him over the edge of the balcony. No phone call. He tosses the black Frisbee and the Swiss Army knife over too. Still the phone stays silent.”

Over the course of the novel, the youth methodically destroys each piece of memorabilia from his relationship with Ann-Katrin, whom he thinks of as Heart’s Delight (it is also another name for the lemon balm plant she grows in her bedroom).

Young Spider is different from other boys; he’s handicapped both mentally and physically. But he has a marvellous affinity with animals of every sort. A crowstarver is someone who scares crows away from the growing corn, and Spider is the best crowstarver there ever was; and in his understanding and love of all animals, even the croaks, as he calls them, he finds fullfilment.

There’s a warmth in this book, a profound understanding of the cycle of birth and death, and a wisdom that knows that big things like joy and wonder are often found in little things like robins and Liquorice Allsorts and penknives.

“Crowstarving was the ideal job for Spider - he was on his own - yet never alone, for all around him were animals of one sort or another.”

Discovered as a foundling in a lambing pen, Spider Sparrow grows up surrounded by animals. From sheep and horses to wild otters and foxes, Spider loves them all, even the crows must scare away the newly sown wheat.

“Amazingly, every animal who meets Spider implicitly trusts the young boy. This magical rapport is Spider’s unique gift, but nothing else in his tough life is so easy.”

A foundling, Spider Sparrow isn’t like others; he doesn’t speak much and he shuffles along. But in spite of his infirmities, Spider has a special affinity for animals. And that’s the story. The story of a boy who seems handicapped but who uses his strengths to make a lovely life for himself.

“Fifteen-year-old Jess’s grandfather has just had a major heart attack, but he insists he finish his painting, River Boy. At first, Jess cannot understand why this painting is so important to her grandfather, especially since there doesn’t seem to be any boy in it at all. But while swimming in the river herself, Jess begins to feel the presence of a strange boy. Could this be the same one her ailing grandfather struggles to paint? And if so, why has he returned?”

A foundling, Spider Sparrow isn’t like others; he doesn’t speak much and he shuffles along. But in spite of his infirmities, Spider has a special affinity for animals. The story of a boy who seems handicapped but who uses his strengths to make a lovely life for himself.

Jess’ parents are worried, though. Before they left, Jess’ grandfather had a heart attack. He insisted on being let out of the hospital in order to go on vacation, but their vacation spot is so secluded, they worry he will have another heart attack and won’t be able to get to a hospital again in time.

“Jess’ parents are worried, though. Before they left, Jess’ grandfather had a heart attack. He insisted on being let out of the hospital in order to go on vacation, but their vacation spot is so secluded, they worry he will have another heart attack and won’t be able to get to a hospital again in time.”

“Jess’ grandfather is acting very strangely. He has always been grumpy and irritable--that’s no different from usual. He has always been a painter, too, obsessed with finishing a painting he’s started and especially nasty to those around him until he does manage to find the inspiration to finish it.”

“But the painting he’s working on now is not in his usual style, and this one has a name: “River Boy.” He’s never named one of his paintings before. To make matters even stranger, he has insisted his son and daughter-in-law and granddaughter Jess go on a vacation to the place he lived growing up. ”

“Her grandfather is fixated on one thing--finishing the painting he’s started. It seems to be the only goal he has left in life, but it becomes more and more difficult as he gets weaker and weaker. Jess is torn. She doesn’t know how to help him or what he needs.”

″ Furthermore, there seems to be a mystery surrounding this place. She keeps seeing a boy out in the river at the strangest hours, a boy she suspects is watching her. Who is he? Is he really as mysterious as Jess thinks, or is her imagination simply running away with her?”

“Fritz had had to stop himself or interrupting when Karl spoke about the difficulty of working. Stories are just as hard as clocks to put together, and they can go wrong just as easily -as we shall see with Fritz’s own story in a page or two. Still Fritz was an optimist, and Karl was a pessimist, and that makes all the difference in the world.”

″...and Iff explained that these were the Streams of Story, that each coloured strand represented and contained a single tale. ”

“My head snapped up at the sound of my mother’s voice. Mother came hurtling down the steps, her expression dour and fierce - as always. She’d obviously not had as many glasses of wine today as she normally did, otherwise wouldn’t be in such a bad mood. I turned back where Callum had been, but he was already out of sight -which was just as well. Mother grabbed my arm with bony fingers that bit like pincers.”

“Haroun went with this father whenever he could, because the man was a magician, it couldn’t be denied. He would climb up on to some little makeshift stage in a dead-end alley packed with raggedy children and toothless old-timers, all squatting in the dust;...”

“How can she find acceptance and love in this harsh place? Will the hostile Gladwyn and her kids ever really allow Lara to be part of the family she so longs for?”

“The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ is the first book in the Adrian Mole series of comedic fiction.The book is written in a diary style, and focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenager who believes himself to be an intellectual.”

“In the life of Adrian Mole as he navigates his early teenage years and documents the journey in his diary. Who is it aimed at? The book is best suited at those aged around twelve or older.”

“My father got the dog drunk on cherry brand at the party last night. If the RSPCA hear about it he could get done. Eight days have gone by since Christmas Day but my mother still hasn’t worn the green lurex apron I bought her for Christmas! She will get bath-cubes next year. ”

″ I have been up and down the stairs all day. I cooked a big dinner for them tonight: two poached eggs with beans, and tinned semolina pudding. (t is a good job I wore the green lurex apron because the poached eggs escaped out of the pan and got all over me.)”

In this very real and down to earth book, children will be introduced too many realities involving illegal immigration.

The story centers around Tod, a young boy whose parents are separated and is living at Grandma’s with Mom and 2 sisters. It’s dysfunctional but it works.

When we find out where Shane lives, it is on the streets covered with newspapers and Shane’s drawings of cats. Although Shane has very little, he wants to give everything he can to make sure that the cat has everything that he needs.

When he gets home he gets changed into his jeans and shirt realizing that he’s finally a boy again.

The day is filled with adventures and events that Bill has never before encountered and is a huge learning curve for him. At school Bill is faced with a variety of obstacles that force him to see the way that girls are treated.

Bill finds is so strange being a girl and everything is so different. He spends his day being forced to keep his dress clean but eventually it gets ruined.

The trilogy covers from his ninth to his thirteenth birthday and a variety of adventures all of whom require him to employ his wits and to embrace the magician within.

“Both Dag and Nora felt that houses were like living beings. They had souls. Houses and people couldn’t just be matched up and live together any old way, They didn’t always get along well. There could be things just weren’t right.”

Naughty children with nasty habits, cartoon heroes that come to life, lonely caretakers, unhappy ghosts, fantastical creatures with crazy names, giants, goblins, vampires, mermaids.

The story and the pictures make you want to see the lovely gardens, Japanese bridge, and lily pond for yourself.

“Four thousand miles away; a January dusk falling on sodden Northampton fields, January rain failing in sodden Northampton cows. John Spencer, fifteen years old and orphaned just six weeks, locked in stiff mourning clothes, peered through a streaming window but kept a sharp ear cocked to the muffled voices in the next room.”

Two allegorical stories, one of a boy named Africa and one of a captive Alaskan wolf who has only one eye, Blue Wolf, merge through a unique device in this unusual tale.

“Do you want a charm against warts? Would you like to guarantee that the kid next door never bothers you again? Or spend a day at school freaking all of your teachers out?”

Fifteen-year-old Dolf uses a prototype time machine and gets stuck in the Middle Ages. Trying to find his way back to the twentieth century, he joins a children’s crusade of almost ten thousand children on their way to the Holy Land.

A collection of five short stories set in the small towns of northern England, exploring complex relationships and rare understandings among the young and old.

I found her Dad’s reaction especially fascinating. It was also nice that Miss Brady’s role in the story was staggered – it allowed Helen’s family time to evolve with each new revelation and made the plot progression feel more organic.

“She didn’t know exactly how it all started, but it began soon after they had moved into this old building last spring. She hardly gave the first few occurrences a thought. Because Anders had torn off wallpaper throughout the apartment, revealing closets that had been nailed shut, everything seemed unsettled.”

A very nice book about the need to be loved and important to someone, about time from different perspective with a little sparkle of mystery.

“We live in the block next door to our old block now, in an apartment exactly like the old one, but it’s on the ground floor. We have been given some second-hand furniture by the parish, and the women have also given as some things.”

“He wants to just be an ordinary kid, but, when he was young, he caught a deadly heart disease that caused his ordinary life to be turned into an absolute mess.”

“When Jarl went back on deck later, the big man from ashore was there. ‘Hullo, lad, you look a bit young to be on this ship. Do you speak English?’ ′ My mother was English. I am Norwegian.”

“One day there is a horse standing in front of the house and there’s a man sitting in the living room. ”