FINISHED:

Fleischman, Sid. (2008). The entertainer and the dybbuk. New York: Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

[This one was GREAT! Freddie is a ventriloquist in post-WWII Europe who has trouble getting gigs because... well... his lips clearly move during his act. Suddenly, one day, a voice comes out of him that is not his own, but the ghost of a young Jewish boy who was shot dead by a Nazi officer. Freddie and the dybbuk (the ghost boy who is possessing Freddie) work out a deal where the dybbuk provides the voice for the ventriloquist dummy while Freddie astonishes audience by drinking and whistling and making the dummy talk at the same time. The dybbuk promises Freddie he'll move on once he gets his revenge on the Nazi who killed him, so Freddie travels to the U.S. where the officer is on trial for murder under an assumed identity. A startling examination of post-Nazi Europe for young people, this is certain to be one of the best books of the year. Oh, and just LOOK at that cover! A dummy with a Jewish star on his arm and a smoking (and BLEEDING!) bullet hole right through his chest. Fleischman scores again!]


STARTED:
Clements, Andrew. (2004). The report card. New York: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.

[I've liked the other books by Clements that I've read, so I decided to pick up another one. This one intrigued me because it's supposed to be about a kid who wants grades done away with.]

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