Rebecca Young

Good Juvenile fiction series (12 Conspiracy books and 2 follow-ups). Would engage young readers into wanting to get to the next one.On New Year's Eve the main character Cal is chased down the street by a staggering, sick man who warns him that 'they' killed his father, they were going to kill him, and that he must survive the next 365 days.... The first one has 15 year-old Callum his days filled with storms, sharks, Parks, the thick weave of sacks covering his face, an angel, a crazy man, a cemetery vault, lifeless bodies, hidden drawings, and clues left by a dead father. He is being chased by good guys and bad guys alike and that is just January. 11 months to go.… (mere)

A young boy fights the enormous waves, braves the unknown with hazards of loneliness, solitude, and hope. All of it taking place on a makeshift boat with a book, bottle, and blanket and a teacup where is life grows anew. Teacup is a story of survival, when one is led off away from home. It breathes the hardened troubles ahead for young immigrants, refugees who must escape and leave home and start anew. In pictures this book is lovely depiction of the shared stations in life that child may feel like going through. What is that book? What is in that bottle? For whatever you may dream or imagine it to be. In today's world, I have met many a child who is experiencing this uneasy and frightful time. May we all find the island we can share.… (mere)

"Teacup" was stunning and thought provoking. The illustrations in this book are each like a piece of art, perfectly pairing with the minimal yet descriptive words. "Teacup" follows a boy from an unknown land, heading out in a small boat with just a book, a bottle, a blanket, and a teacup that held earth from his home land. On the water, he experienced soft days, rough days, light days, and dark days. He saw wales, dolphins, and birds all while looking for a sliver of land. He reminisced on the sounds of home and soon, a tree grew out of his teacup. He used the tree as a lookout and eventually hit land. He made a home with his tree and the book ended with a girl arriving to his land with her own tree in an eggcup. The book is very ambiguous but beautiful. It still tells the journey of a boy journeying all alone to a new place, and his thoughts and longing for the familiarities of home.… (mere)