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(Book images retrieved from www.amazon.com or www.goodreads.com)
(Book images retrieved from www.amazon.com or www.goodreads.com)
5/9/22
I finished reading Going Bovine by Libba Bray over the weekend. This book is a mixture of realistic fiction, fantasy, and humor.
In this book, 16 year old Cameron, a loner who just can't seem to get interested in anything, is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob (better known as mad cow) disease. Now his brain is being destroyed and his days are numbered. When he is visited by an angel with pink hair who gives him a mission to find a missing scientist and save the universe with the help of a fellow student and a Viking god in the form of a yard gnome, how can he say no?
Their road trip across America takes them to a happiness cult, an underground bunker, a meeting with a famous jazz musician, and a world famous spring break party pad. Will Cameron find the scientist who may be able to save him and the universe before his time runs out?
This book was recommended by a student and since I've been meaning to read it for several years now, I figured it was time. :) This book definitely has some humorous parts and the main character reminded me a little bit of Holden Caulfield. Their cross country adventures are definitely wacky and a little absurd, but under that layer, you have a kid who is trying to live and find meaning in life, while his life is being stolen from him day by day.
If you are looking for something out of the norm with a little humor and a chance to ponder our existence, this might be the book for you.
I finished reading Going Bovine by Libba Bray over the weekend. This book is a mixture of realistic fiction, fantasy, and humor.
In this book, 16 year old Cameron, a loner who just can't seem to get interested in anything, is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob (better known as mad cow) disease. Now his brain is being destroyed and his days are numbered. When he is visited by an angel with pink hair who gives him a mission to find a missing scientist and save the universe with the help of a fellow student and a Viking god in the form of a yard gnome, how can he say no?
Their road trip across America takes them to a happiness cult, an underground bunker, a meeting with a famous jazz musician, and a world famous spring break party pad. Will Cameron find the scientist who may be able to save him and the universe before his time runs out?
This book was recommended by a student and since I've been meaning to read it for several years now, I figured it was time. :) This book definitely has some humorous parts and the main character reminded me a little bit of Holden Caulfield. Their cross country adventures are definitely wacky and a little absurd, but under that layer, you have a kid who is trying to live and find meaning in life, while his life is being stolen from him day by day.
If you are looking for something out of the norm with a little humor and a chance to ponder our existence, this might be the book for you.
4/26/22
I recently finished the book, A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey. This book is in the realistic fiction / romance genre.
In this book, our main character Lila, lives in Miami with her Cuban-American family. She works in her beloved Abulela's bakery with her family, and dreams of the day she will take it over and bake for all of Miami. She loves her boyfriend of three years, and she and her best friend are planning to move in together after they graduate. Then in a matter of months, her grandmother dies, her boyfriend breaks up with her days before prom, and her best friend announces that she is going to Africa to work as a health aid for two years.
Lila is so devastated that her family worries she is going to self-destruct, so they send her to England to live with her aunt for the summer. Lila feels betrayed and alone. Then Lila starts baking in the kitchen of her aunt's B&B and meets Orion Maxwell. Orion's family owns a tea shop and they have their own problems to deal with. Slowly but surely, Orion lures Lila out of her room, introduces her to his friends and to England. Pretty soon Lila starts imagining a future different from the one she has planned for herself her whole life, what will she decide to do?
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a great blend of family, friendship, romance, and coming of age and finding yourself. It was sweet, but it also tackled some heavy topics in a way that felt realistic while still being hopeful. There are some great side characters and side stories that add to the main storyline, and it is definitely a book I would recommend. This one has summer reading written all over it!
I recently finished the book, A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey. This book is in the realistic fiction / romance genre.
In this book, our main character Lila, lives in Miami with her Cuban-American family. She works in her beloved Abulela's bakery with her family, and dreams of the day she will take it over and bake for all of Miami. She loves her boyfriend of three years, and she and her best friend are planning to move in together after they graduate. Then in a matter of months, her grandmother dies, her boyfriend breaks up with her days before prom, and her best friend announces that she is going to Africa to work as a health aid for two years.
Lila is so devastated that her family worries she is going to self-destruct, so they send her to England to live with her aunt for the summer. Lila feels betrayed and alone. Then Lila starts baking in the kitchen of her aunt's B&B and meets Orion Maxwell. Orion's family owns a tea shop and they have their own problems to deal with. Slowly but surely, Orion lures Lila out of her room, introduces her to his friends and to England. Pretty soon Lila starts imagining a future different from the one she has planned for herself her whole life, what will she decide to do?
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a great blend of family, friendship, romance, and coming of age and finding yourself. It was sweet, but it also tackled some heavy topics in a way that felt realistic while still being hopeful. There are some great side characters and side stories that add to the main storyline, and it is definitely a book I would recommend. This one has summer reading written all over it!
4/19/22
I just finished reading Northwind by Gary Paulsen. This is an adventure/ wilderness survival book.
In this book, Leif is a boy who was orphaned at birth. He was raised on the docks and has been passed from ship to ship, forced to work in the galley, since he was able to walk. When his crew dies from a terrible illness, Leif is left alone with nothing but a canoe, a fishing spearhead, and the order to "go north" in order to survive. Leif must battle the elements every day, but he also finds a sense of peace, and he finds himself as he paddles ever northward.
This book had a very distinctive, dreamlike writing style. It would be a great choice for readers who enjoy a "man vs. nature" survival type story, or readers who enjoy books about the sea. It would also be an excellent choice for fans of Gary Paulsen's other books, such as Hatchet. This was his final novel before his death in 2021.
I just finished reading Northwind by Gary Paulsen. This is an adventure/ wilderness survival book.
In this book, Leif is a boy who was orphaned at birth. He was raised on the docks and has been passed from ship to ship, forced to work in the galley, since he was able to walk. When his crew dies from a terrible illness, Leif is left alone with nothing but a canoe, a fishing spearhead, and the order to "go north" in order to survive. Leif must battle the elements every day, but he also finds a sense of peace, and he finds himself as he paddles ever northward.
This book had a very distinctive, dreamlike writing style. It would be a great choice for readers who enjoy a "man vs. nature" survival type story, or readers who enjoy books about the sea. It would also be an excellent choice for fans of Gary Paulsen's other books, such as Hatchet. This was his final novel before his death in 2021.
4/11/22
In addition to a couple books I borrowed from Mr. Schanhals and Mr. Parnin (thank you!), I also read Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean over Spring Break. This book is in the Realistic Fiction / Romance genre.
In this book, Japanese-American teenager, Izumi, is being raised by her single mother. By accident she happens to see an inscription in a book on her mother's nightstand and based on the date, she thinks it might be from her unknown father. She and her friends do some searching and discover that not only is the book from her father, but he is the Crown Prince of Japan, which makes her a Princess! She reaches out to her father and before she knows it, she's on a plane to Japan to meet him.
Izumi isn't prepared for all the stress of learning new customs, a new language, and how to navigate court life in Japan. She has snarky cousins, a handsome but uptight bodyguard that she might be falling for, the pressure of pleasing her father and the entire country, and the tabloids are relentless in reporting all her mistakes. Izumi always felt a little out of place as a Japanese-American in a mostly white town in California. Will she find herself in Japan, or will she be too American to ever be accepted?
This was a great book with good friends and family moments, romance, and some funny spots that made me laugh out loud. Izumi is a great character, I'd definitely recommend this book! It would be a good choice for fans of The Princess Diaries, Crazy Rich Asians, the Selection series, or American Royals. Stop by and check it out today!
In addition to a couple books I borrowed from Mr. Schanhals and Mr. Parnin (thank you!), I also read Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean over Spring Break. This book is in the Realistic Fiction / Romance genre.
In this book, Japanese-American teenager, Izumi, is being raised by her single mother. By accident she happens to see an inscription in a book on her mother's nightstand and based on the date, she thinks it might be from her unknown father. She and her friends do some searching and discover that not only is the book from her father, but he is the Crown Prince of Japan, which makes her a Princess! She reaches out to her father and before she knows it, she's on a plane to Japan to meet him.
Izumi isn't prepared for all the stress of learning new customs, a new language, and how to navigate court life in Japan. She has snarky cousins, a handsome but uptight bodyguard that she might be falling for, the pressure of pleasing her father and the entire country, and the tabloids are relentless in reporting all her mistakes. Izumi always felt a little out of place as a Japanese-American in a mostly white town in California. Will she find herself in Japan, or will she be too American to ever be accepted?
This was a great book with good friends and family moments, romance, and some funny spots that made me laugh out loud. Izumi is a great character, I'd definitely recommend this book! It would be a good choice for fans of The Princess Diaries, Crazy Rich Asians, the Selection series, or American Royals. Stop by and check it out today!
3/17/22
I just finished the book A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll. This book is realistic fiction.
I sat down to read this book after school yesterday and finished it by dinner. It was so good. SO. GOOD. My t-shirt collar might have been damp from me wiping my eyes so much.
This book is written by a neurodivergent author who is autistic. The book is about Addie, an autistic girl living in Scotland. Her teacher is cruel to her and regularly humiliates her in class. The kids in her class don't understand her and her former best friend is hanging out with a girl who talks about her and makes fun of her.
Addie's happy places are the school library where she can learn all about the things that interest her, and home where she can connect with her older sister Keedie who is also autistic. One day at school they start learning about the witch trials that happened in their small Scottish town and Addie realizes that the women who were accused, tortured, and murdered were just women who were different or misunderstood. People that no one else stood up for when they were accused or attacked by someone in their community. Women like her.
Addie wants the town to create a memorial to those women to recognize and acknowledge the horrible things that happened to them, but the town council doesn't want things that are "not nice" in their town. Addie is determined, but can she convince the town?
This book was so fantastic! I would highly recommend it, and I would recommend that teachers read it too. There is so much depth in this book and it is so well written. I'd say it is a must-read!
I just finished the book A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll. This book is realistic fiction.
I sat down to read this book after school yesterday and finished it by dinner. It was so good. SO. GOOD. My t-shirt collar might have been damp from me wiping my eyes so much.
This book is written by a neurodivergent author who is autistic. The book is about Addie, an autistic girl living in Scotland. Her teacher is cruel to her and regularly humiliates her in class. The kids in her class don't understand her and her former best friend is hanging out with a girl who talks about her and makes fun of her.
Addie's happy places are the school library where she can learn all about the things that interest her, and home where she can connect with her older sister Keedie who is also autistic. One day at school they start learning about the witch trials that happened in their small Scottish town and Addie realizes that the women who were accused, tortured, and murdered were just women who were different or misunderstood. People that no one else stood up for when they were accused or attacked by someone in their community. Women like her.
Addie wants the town to create a memorial to those women to recognize and acknowledge the horrible things that happened to them, but the town council doesn't want things that are "not nice" in their town. Addie is determined, but can she convince the town?
This book was so fantastic! I would highly recommend it, and I would recommend that teachers read it too. There is so much depth in this book and it is so well written. I'd say it is a must-read!
3/14/22
I finished the book Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao over the weekend.
This book was a blend of Science Fiction and Chinese culture. I read a review that called it "Pacific Rim meets Handmaid's Tale" and that was a pretty good summation. This book has lots of fast paced adventure with strong underlying themes of gender roles in society and women's rights.
In a futuristic China, Zetian is raised to believe that a girl's highest worth to her family is to make a good marriage or be selected as a concubine pilot for the male pilots of the huge Chrysalises that protect their borders from the massive aliens that attack the Great Wall. Unfortunately almost every girl assigned as a concubine pilot dies during a battle, the male pilot drains their qi energy until they die. When Zetian's sister is killed by her pilot, Zetian signs up with the intent on killing the male pilot responsible for her sister's death. Instead she discovers that she is a rare girl with vast amounts of qi energy. When she drains and kills her male pilot during battle, she is labeled a rare Iron Widow and assigned as the co-pilot to the most powerful and feared male pilot in the country, Li Shimin. Her power unnerves many people and leads to attempts on her life. Will she survive long enough to uncover the truth about the Chrysalis program and the reason that women are viewed as the disposable pilot? Can she do anything to change it?
This was a very fast paced and exciting book with lots of action (that would make fans of Pacific Rim happy), but it also takes a hard look at the patriarchy and the ways that women are taught their whole lives to be less and accept less (that will make fans of Handmaid's Tale and The Grace Year happy). I would highly recommend this book, it has action plus some real thought provoking material. I look forward to the author's next book!
I finished the book Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao over the weekend.
This book was a blend of Science Fiction and Chinese culture. I read a review that called it "Pacific Rim meets Handmaid's Tale" and that was a pretty good summation. This book has lots of fast paced adventure with strong underlying themes of gender roles in society and women's rights.
In a futuristic China, Zetian is raised to believe that a girl's highest worth to her family is to make a good marriage or be selected as a concubine pilot for the male pilots of the huge Chrysalises that protect their borders from the massive aliens that attack the Great Wall. Unfortunately almost every girl assigned as a concubine pilot dies during a battle, the male pilot drains their qi energy until they die. When Zetian's sister is killed by her pilot, Zetian signs up with the intent on killing the male pilot responsible for her sister's death. Instead she discovers that she is a rare girl with vast amounts of qi energy. When she drains and kills her male pilot during battle, she is labeled a rare Iron Widow and assigned as the co-pilot to the most powerful and feared male pilot in the country, Li Shimin. Her power unnerves many people and leads to attempts on her life. Will she survive long enough to uncover the truth about the Chrysalis program and the reason that women are viewed as the disposable pilot? Can she do anything to change it?
This was a very fast paced and exciting book with lots of action (that would make fans of Pacific Rim happy), but it also takes a hard look at the patriarchy and the ways that women are taught their whole lives to be less and accept less (that will make fans of Handmaid's Tale and The Grace Year happy). I would highly recommend this book, it has action plus some real thought provoking material. I look forward to the author's next book!
3/4/22
Well, I finally finished the book, Gods and Monsters, by Shelby Mahurin.
Now, I don't want you to think that it took me so long to read it because it was bad, it wasn't. I ended up deciding to read the whole Bridgerton series and all the prequels before I actually started on Gods and Monsters (...gotta get ready for the new season in a couple weeks :)
Anyway, back to this book. It is the final book in the Serpent and Dove trilogy and it is in the fantasy genre. This book finds Lou possessed by a powerful, ancient and mentally unstable witch and her friends are desperate to find a way to free Lou from her influence. They journey to the territory of the melusines looking for help. Just when Lou is herself again, Reid makes a terrible sacrifice to save Lou and their friends from her mother, Morgane. Then Lou, Reid, and their allies must face off in a final battle to decide the fate of Belterra. Who will live and who will die in this exciting conclusion to the series? Read it to find out!
Well, I finally finished the book, Gods and Monsters, by Shelby Mahurin.
Now, I don't want you to think that it took me so long to read it because it was bad, it wasn't. I ended up deciding to read the whole Bridgerton series and all the prequels before I actually started on Gods and Monsters (...gotta get ready for the new season in a couple weeks :)
Anyway, back to this book. It is the final book in the Serpent and Dove trilogy and it is in the fantasy genre. This book finds Lou possessed by a powerful, ancient and mentally unstable witch and her friends are desperate to find a way to free Lou from her influence. They journey to the territory of the melusines looking for help. Just when Lou is herself again, Reid makes a terrible sacrifice to save Lou and their friends from her mother, Morgane. Then Lou, Reid, and their allies must face off in a final battle to decide the fate of Belterra. Who will live and who will die in this exciting conclusion to the series? Read it to find out!
1/31/22
I finished up These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong over the weekend. This book is a historical fiction (with a touch of fantasy) remix of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
In 1920's Shanghai, two rival gangs control the city through violence and intimidation. Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov once loved each other and dreamed of a Shanghai free of violence, but betrayal and loss have made them bitter enemies.
Juliette returns from four years in America at age 19 ready to learn to take over the Cai gang. But the Shanghai she returns to is not the Shanghai she remembers, foreigners are encroaching on territory and Communists and Nationalists are speaking out against the gangs. And to make matters worse, there is a madness spreading in the city that is causing people to tear their own throats out, and there are rumors of a monster...
This first book in a new series mixes the history of 1920's Shanghai with the timeless story of Romeo and Juliet in a totally new way. This was a good book and I'd recommend it for fans of historical fiction, Shakespeare, romance, mystery, and gothic horror.
I finished up These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong over the weekend. This book is a historical fiction (with a touch of fantasy) remix of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
In 1920's Shanghai, two rival gangs control the city through violence and intimidation. Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov once loved each other and dreamed of a Shanghai free of violence, but betrayal and loss have made them bitter enemies.
Juliette returns from four years in America at age 19 ready to learn to take over the Cai gang. But the Shanghai she returns to is not the Shanghai she remembers, foreigners are encroaching on territory and Communists and Nationalists are speaking out against the gangs. And to make matters worse, there is a madness spreading in the city that is causing people to tear their own throats out, and there are rumors of a monster...
This first book in a new series mixes the history of 1920's Shanghai with the timeless story of Romeo and Juliet in a totally new way. This was a good book and I'd recommend it for fans of historical fiction, Shakespeare, romance, mystery, and gothic horror.
1/20/22
I just finished reading Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee. This is a historical fiction book.
I've been wanting to read this book since last summer as I have heard MANY fellow librarians rave about it. This book combines historical facts about the passengers and events of the Titanic's tragic voyage and adds a new voice and perspective. Be sure to read the Author's Note at the end for information about her inspiration for writing this book.
The book introduces us to Valora Luck. She and her twin brother, Jamie, were raised by her Chinese father and English mother in London. Her father trained the twins to be acrobats and they performed in public places to earn money for the family. After the death of their mother, Jamie leaves to work shoveling coal in the boiler rooms of ocean freighters, leaving Valora to care for their father, until his death sends her looking for Jamie. She finds out he has booked passage on the Titanic on his way to a new job in Cuba, so she sneaks on board to find him. She hopes that he will agree to go to America with her to start a new life. Unfortunately, at that time the United States had passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning Chinese immigrants from the US (the reason Valora had to sneak on board). Valora finds out that someone with the Ringling Brothers Circus is on board the Titanic and she hatches a plan for the twins to perform for him in order to get a job with the circus, and hopefully find a place in America. Valora spends her time on board going back and forth between impersonating a first class widow in a veil, and pretending to be a boy when she is hanging out with her brother and the other Chinese coal workers, all the while trying not to be discovered as a stowaway. Then tragedy strikes. We all know what happened to the Titanic, but you'll have to read the book to find out what happens to Val and Jamie.
This was a great book that gave a new voice to the tragedy of the Titanic. This book has adventure, family relationships, friendships, romance, tragedy, and hope. I love that Stacey Lee's books take events from history and show them to us from an Asian perspective. Asian voices are often missing from history textbooks and accounts of historical events, so her books are important to read. She is also a gifted writer and her books are just good to read, period.
I would definitely recommend this book, especially for fans of historical fiction or fans of the history of the Titanic (or the movie Titanic).
Come on down and check it out. :)
I just finished reading Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee. This is a historical fiction book.
I've been wanting to read this book since last summer as I have heard MANY fellow librarians rave about it. This book combines historical facts about the passengers and events of the Titanic's tragic voyage and adds a new voice and perspective. Be sure to read the Author's Note at the end for information about her inspiration for writing this book.
The book introduces us to Valora Luck. She and her twin brother, Jamie, were raised by her Chinese father and English mother in London. Her father trained the twins to be acrobats and they performed in public places to earn money for the family. After the death of their mother, Jamie leaves to work shoveling coal in the boiler rooms of ocean freighters, leaving Valora to care for their father, until his death sends her looking for Jamie. She finds out he has booked passage on the Titanic on his way to a new job in Cuba, so she sneaks on board to find him. She hopes that he will agree to go to America with her to start a new life. Unfortunately, at that time the United States had passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning Chinese immigrants from the US (the reason Valora had to sneak on board). Valora finds out that someone with the Ringling Brothers Circus is on board the Titanic and she hatches a plan for the twins to perform for him in order to get a job with the circus, and hopefully find a place in America. Valora spends her time on board going back and forth between impersonating a first class widow in a veil, and pretending to be a boy when she is hanging out with her brother and the other Chinese coal workers, all the while trying not to be discovered as a stowaway. Then tragedy strikes. We all know what happened to the Titanic, but you'll have to read the book to find out what happens to Val and Jamie.
This was a great book that gave a new voice to the tragedy of the Titanic. This book has adventure, family relationships, friendships, romance, tragedy, and hope. I love that Stacey Lee's books take events from history and show them to us from an Asian perspective. Asian voices are often missing from history textbooks and accounts of historical events, so her books are important to read. She is also a gifted writer and her books are just good to read, period.
I would definitely recommend this book, especially for fans of historical fiction or fans of the history of the Titanic (or the movie Titanic).
Come on down and check it out. :)
Check out this book talk on The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks by Mackenzie Lee.
Check out this book talk on All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban.
11/11/21
Hey all!
I'm going to do a brief book talk on Aurora's End by Amie Kaufmand and Jay Kristoff since I've already done full book talks on the first two books in the trilogy.
This book picks up on the very cruel cliffhanger that the authors left us on at the end of the second book. The fate of the galaxy is literally hanging in the balance and every one of our characters is in immediate mortal danger. Some of our characters will find themselves flung into the past, others into the future, and a couple will be stuck in the rapidly degrading present with a psychic message to "fix this, Tyler" hanging over their heads. This book is non-stop action from start to finish with plans and plots rippling through time and being revealed in some fun and sometimes touching ways. I've been waiting for this final book in the trilogy and I was not disappointed. It got a little far-fetched there at the end as they tried to build to a majorly WOW ending, but I forgive them. I still love the characters, the banter, and the story. This is a series I would strongly recommend! Loved it!
Hey all!
I'm going to do a brief book talk on Aurora's End by Amie Kaufmand and Jay Kristoff since I've already done full book talks on the first two books in the trilogy.
This book picks up on the very cruel cliffhanger that the authors left us on at the end of the second book. The fate of the galaxy is literally hanging in the balance and every one of our characters is in immediate mortal danger. Some of our characters will find themselves flung into the past, others into the future, and a couple will be stuck in the rapidly degrading present with a psychic message to "fix this, Tyler" hanging over their heads. This book is non-stop action from start to finish with plans and plots rippling through time and being revealed in some fun and sometimes touching ways. I've been waiting for this final book in the trilogy and I was not disappointed. It got a little far-fetched there at the end as they tried to build to a majorly WOW ending, but I forgive them. I still love the characters, the banter, and the story. This is a series I would strongly recommend! Loved it!
Check out this book talk on Jackpot by Nic Stone.
Check out this book talk on Starfish by Lisa Fipps.
Check out this book talk on Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
Check out this book talk on Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
Check out this book talk on Nimona by Noelle Stevenson.
Check out this book talk on Blood and Germs: The Civil War Battle Against Wounds and Disease by Gail Jarrow.
You can view this video book talk by clicking on this LINK.
You can view this video book talk by clicking on this LINK.
5/17/21
I finished reading The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta last week. This award winning book is a realistic novel in verse.
The main character, Michael, tells us the story of his life growing up in London with his Greek mother and his absent Jamaican father. The story begins when he is six years old and carries us through his first year in college. It takes us through his experiences coming out and his experiences as a young black man, including people's perceptions of him and his own journey through his layers of identity, culminating with him joining a drag society in college.
The writing in this book is very well done, Michael's poetry is sprinkled throughout the novel in verse. This book was honest and a very quick and engaging read. I would recommend it for fans of novels in verse, #OwnVoices books, or realistic fiction.
I'm starting my busy reading season, between the books I am reading for this year's MiSelf in books committee and the books I am reading for my YA literature class, I'll have lots to report on. :) Up next: This is My Heart on Love.
I finished reading The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta last week. This award winning book is a realistic novel in verse.
The main character, Michael, tells us the story of his life growing up in London with his Greek mother and his absent Jamaican father. The story begins when he is six years old and carries us through his first year in college. It takes us through his experiences coming out and his experiences as a young black man, including people's perceptions of him and his own journey through his layers of identity, culminating with him joining a drag society in college.
The writing in this book is very well done, Michael's poetry is sprinkled throughout the novel in verse. This book was honest and a very quick and engaging read. I would recommend it for fans of novels in verse, #OwnVoices books, or realistic fiction.
I'm starting my busy reading season, between the books I am reading for this year's MiSelf in books committee and the books I am reading for my YA literature class, I'll have lots to report on. :) Up next: This is My Heart on Love.
5/6/21
So you may have noticed that my email signature has said that I've been reading Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading for the last month or so. That's a lie. I read most of it this afternoon when I got home from school. Instead, I've been rereading the Court of Thorns and Roses series along with the new book in the series that came out just before Spring Break. I didn't add it to my email signature because we don't have that series in the library and I like to do book talks about books we have, just in case any of you want to run down and check them out. (I know, I know...but I remain optimistic.) In any case, I got sidelined for the last month by...wait for it... a fantasy series. I may need an intervention, people.
Be that as it may, I have now officially read Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading, and I liked it.
For those of you who have been getting "the eye" from me when you check out Diary of a Wimpy Kid books (over and over and over again) may I suggest giving this one a try?? It is a similar format with a few illustrations and a main character with a good sense of humor. In this book, Charlie tells us about how he has made a career out of being the kid who never reads a book, in fact he is famous for it at his school. This book is all about his successes, failures, and tips on how NOT to read a book. You wouldn't think a librarian would recommend a book like this to her students, but I am.
So, if you are a fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, read this book. Since some of you who are fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid probably never read my book talk emails, I'm going to make a plea to those of you who do read these. If you happen to be sitting next to someone who is a frequent checker-outer of Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, please lean over and recommend this book to them. Thank you!
So you may have noticed that my email signature has said that I've been reading Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading for the last month or so. That's a lie. I read most of it this afternoon when I got home from school. Instead, I've been rereading the Court of Thorns and Roses series along with the new book in the series that came out just before Spring Break. I didn't add it to my email signature because we don't have that series in the library and I like to do book talks about books we have, just in case any of you want to run down and check them out. (I know, I know...but I remain optimistic.) In any case, I got sidelined for the last month by...wait for it... a fantasy series. I may need an intervention, people.
Be that as it may, I have now officially read Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading, and I liked it.
For those of you who have been getting "the eye" from me when you check out Diary of a Wimpy Kid books (over and over and over again) may I suggest giving this one a try?? It is a similar format with a few illustrations and a main character with a good sense of humor. In this book, Charlie tells us about how he has made a career out of being the kid who never reads a book, in fact he is famous for it at his school. This book is all about his successes, failures, and tips on how NOT to read a book. You wouldn't think a librarian would recommend a book like this to her students, but I am.
So, if you are a fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, read this book. Since some of you who are fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid probably never read my book talk emails, I'm going to make a plea to those of you who do read these. If you happen to be sitting next to someone who is a frequent checker-outer of Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, please lean over and recommend this book to them. Thank you!
3/26/21
Well, I have officially met my reading goal for the month of March. I finished my 4th non-fantasy book this morning before school. :)
This week, I read Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang. It is an award-winning graphic novel.
This book is a graphic novel that is a little bit autobiography, a little bit social justice, and a lot sports. The author was a math teacher at Bishop Dowd high school in Oakland, CA, home of the Dragons. He was also a part time comic book author looking for his next inspiration. When he heard about the school's varsity basketball team and their years-long quest to be the state champions, he found his story. Never mind that he didn't like sports or know anything about basketball. This book follows the team in their quest to become the state champs while giving us some history of basketball, backstories on team members and the head coach, the author's own struggles with writing the book, deciding a career path and more. As someone who admittedly doesn't really like sports, I really liked this book. It is about sports and would be great for sports fans, but it is about more than that too. It is really about how a team becomes a family and the close bonds that can continue past the school years and how the small steps we take in our lives can lead to bigger things. I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially to sports fans and fans of graphic novels.
Well, I have officially met my reading goal for the month of March. I finished my 4th non-fantasy book this morning before school. :)
This week, I read Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang. It is an award-winning graphic novel.
This book is a graphic novel that is a little bit autobiography, a little bit social justice, and a lot sports. The author was a math teacher at Bishop Dowd high school in Oakland, CA, home of the Dragons. He was also a part time comic book author looking for his next inspiration. When he heard about the school's varsity basketball team and their years-long quest to be the state champions, he found his story. Never mind that he didn't like sports or know anything about basketball. This book follows the team in their quest to become the state champs while giving us some history of basketball, backstories on team members and the head coach, the author's own struggles with writing the book, deciding a career path and more. As someone who admittedly doesn't really like sports, I really liked this book. It is about sports and would be great for sports fans, but it is about more than that too. It is really about how a team becomes a family and the close bonds that can continue past the school years and how the small steps we take in our lives can lead to bigger things. I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially to sports fans and fans of graphic novels.
3/16/21
I finished the book Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds last night. This book is a realistic contemporary fiction novel in ver
As you can see from the book image, this has won A LOT of awards. I've been wanting to read it for a while, and I'm glad I finally did.
This book is about a teenage boy, Will, whose brother, Shawn, is shot and killed in front of their apartment building. Will knows that it is his job to follow "The Rules".
1. Crying. Don't. No matter what.
2. Snitching. Don't. No Matter what.
3. Revenge. Do. No matter what.
He takes his brother's gun and gets on the elevator, intending to go and get revenge on the person he thinks killed his brother. Then something happens on the elevator ride down, something that no one will believe and Will has to decide what to do when the elevator stops on the ground floor. You'll have to read this short, powerful book to find out what happens on the "long way down".
I'd definitely recommend this book. It amazes me how talented authors like Jason Reynolds can pack a whole novel into a short novel-in-verse, and as the reader, you don't feel like you are missing anything. If you like realistic fiction or are a fan of novels-in-verse, give this one a try.
I finished the book Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds last night. This book is a realistic contemporary fiction novel in ver
As you can see from the book image, this has won A LOT of awards. I've been wanting to read it for a while, and I'm glad I finally did.
This book is about a teenage boy, Will, whose brother, Shawn, is shot and killed in front of their apartment building. Will knows that it is his job to follow "The Rules".
1. Crying. Don't. No matter what.
2. Snitching. Don't. No Matter what.
3. Revenge. Do. No matter what.
He takes his brother's gun and gets on the elevator, intending to go and get revenge on the person he thinks killed his brother. Then something happens on the elevator ride down, something that no one will believe and Will has to decide what to do when the elevator stops on the ground floor. You'll have to read this short, powerful book to find out what happens on the "long way down".
I'd definitely recommend this book. It amazes me how talented authors like Jason Reynolds can pack a whole novel into a short novel-in-verse, and as the reader, you don't feel like you are missing anything. If you like realistic fiction or are a fan of novels-in-verse, give this one a try.
3/11/21
I finished reading The Beet Fields by Gary Paulsen last night. It is in the Realistic/Historical Fiction genre.
Well, so far I am meeting my individual reading goal for the month to read one non-fantasy book each week in March. We are in week 2, and this is my second book. :)
I've been meaning to read more Gary Paulsen for a while because he is such a popular author, and the only book I have read prior to this one was Hatchet. This book follows a boy on his journey to try to become a man during the summer when he is 16 years old. He runs away from home and bounces around all summer trying to hide from the law that wants to send him back to his alcoholic parents. He finds work in the beet fields of North Dakota amongst Mexican migrant workers, he hides out on a farm with an old woman who thinks her dead son is coming home from the war, and he works as a laborer in a two-bit traveling carnival. The boy's voice in this reminds me of Pony Boy in the Outsiders, and I kept thinking of The Outsiders as I was reading it. Over the course of the summer the boy meets some people who are sexist, racist representations of the worst in people, but he also meets some people who show him unexpected kindnesses when they don't have to. All of these people shape the man he is becoming. This book was a quick read and I thought it was good. I'd recommend it to Gary Paulsen fans and fans of The Outsiders.
I finished reading The Beet Fields by Gary Paulsen last night. It is in the Realistic/Historical Fiction genre.
Well, so far I am meeting my individual reading goal for the month to read one non-fantasy book each week in March. We are in week 2, and this is my second book. :)
I've been meaning to read more Gary Paulsen for a while because he is such a popular author, and the only book I have read prior to this one was Hatchet. This book follows a boy on his journey to try to become a man during the summer when he is 16 years old. He runs away from home and bounces around all summer trying to hide from the law that wants to send him back to his alcoholic parents. He finds work in the beet fields of North Dakota amongst Mexican migrant workers, he hides out on a farm with an old woman who thinks her dead son is coming home from the war, and he works as a laborer in a two-bit traveling carnival. The boy's voice in this reminds me of Pony Boy in the Outsiders, and I kept thinking of The Outsiders as I was reading it. Over the course of the summer the boy meets some people who are sexist, racist representations of the worst in people, but he also meets some people who show him unexpected kindnesses when they don't have to. All of these people shape the man he is becoming. This book was a quick read and I thought it was good. I'd recommend it to Gary Paulsen fans and fans of The Outsiders.
3/8/21
I finished Clean Getaway by Nic Stone last week (and met my individual reading goal to read one non-fantasy book per week). This time I recorded a Flipgrid book talk. You can view it here:
https://flipgrid.com/0ee11ba4
I finished Clean Getaway by Nic Stone last week (and met my individual reading goal to read one non-fantasy book per week). This time I recorded a Flipgrid book talk. You can view it here:
https://flipgrid.com/0ee11ba4
2/25/21
Well contrary to my "I'm currently reading" message at the bottom of my email, I snuck another fantasy book in and read it instead of Clean Getaway. What can I say, I have a problem. :)
The book I just finished is Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin. It is in the (shocker) fantasy genre
This book is about a young witch named Lou who is hiding in the city of Cesarine with another young witch, Coco. They are hiding from their own people, as well as the Chasseurs; witch hunters sponsored by the church and Archbishop. At the beginning of the story Lou and Coco are searching for a magic ring that will help to hide Lou from a dangerous person who is looking for her. Lou literally runs into a young Chasseur named Reid at a witch attack in the town square, and again when she and Coco attempt to steal the ring. Due to some unforeseen circumstances Lou and Reid are forced to marry each other. Lou has to hide what she is from Reid, who would kill her if he knew what she was. Unfortunately for both of them, they start to fall for each other. This book is full of plot twists and surprises, and it has fast paced action and romance. For fans of The Wicked Deep, The Cruel Prince, A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Discovery of Witches, and Shadow and Bone.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm reading the sequel next, but then I'm really not going to read any fantasy in March. You can see more about my March is Reading Month reading goal by joining my Google Classroom and participating in our March is Reading Month challenges.
Well contrary to my "I'm currently reading" message at the bottom of my email, I snuck another fantasy book in and read it instead of Clean Getaway. What can I say, I have a problem. :)
The book I just finished is Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin. It is in the (shocker) fantasy genre
This book is about a young witch named Lou who is hiding in the city of Cesarine with another young witch, Coco. They are hiding from their own people, as well as the Chasseurs; witch hunters sponsored by the church and Archbishop. At the beginning of the story Lou and Coco are searching for a magic ring that will help to hide Lou from a dangerous person who is looking for her. Lou literally runs into a young Chasseur named Reid at a witch attack in the town square, and again when she and Coco attempt to steal the ring. Due to some unforeseen circumstances Lou and Reid are forced to marry each other. Lou has to hide what she is from Reid, who would kill her if he knew what she was. Unfortunately for both of them, they start to fall for each other. This book is full of plot twists and surprises, and it has fast paced action and romance. For fans of The Wicked Deep, The Cruel Prince, A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Discovery of Witches, and Shadow and Bone.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm reading the sequel next, but then I'm really not going to read any fantasy in March. You can see more about my March is Reading Month reading goal by joining my Google Classroom and participating in our March is Reading Month challenges.
2/16/21
Over the weekend, I read Pumpkin Heads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks.
This is a book I meant to purchase back in the fall for obvious reasons, but I finally got around to buying it. :) I really wanted the book because of the author, Rainbow Rowell, who has written some great books such as Eleanor & Park and Fan Girl. I love her... I am a fan girl. :) This book follows best friends Josiah and Deja as they work their last night of their last year as employees at the Pumpkin Patch. Josiah (Josie) has been crushing on a girl for the last 4 years and Deja tells him that he isn't leaving without finally talking to her. They spend the entire night running around the patch trying to find "The Fudge Girl", running into all of Deja's exes, and having one last adventure together. The conversation between Deja and Josie is funny and there is a sweet twist at the end that makes for a satisfying (if totally rom-com) ending. Overall this is a good, lighthearted book about friendship and realizing the people who are important to you.
Over the weekend, I read Pumpkin Heads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks.
This is a book I meant to purchase back in the fall for obvious reasons, but I finally got around to buying it. :) I really wanted the book because of the author, Rainbow Rowell, who has written some great books such as Eleanor & Park and Fan Girl. I love her... I am a fan girl. :) This book follows best friends Josiah and Deja as they work their last night of their last year as employees at the Pumpkin Patch. Josiah (Josie) has been crushing on a girl for the last 4 years and Deja tells him that he isn't leaving without finally talking to her. They spend the entire night running around the patch trying to find "The Fudge Girl", running into all of Deja's exes, and having one last adventure together. The conversation between Deja and Josie is funny and there is a sweet twist at the end that makes for a satisfying (if totally rom-com) ending. Overall this is a good, lighthearted book about friendship and realizing the people who are important to you.
2/16/21
Over the weekend I read the graphic novel, Almost American Girl by Robin Ha.
This book is a graphic memoir of the author's own experience moving to the United States from Seoul, South Korea when she was in 8th grade. In the book Robin's mother takes them to Alabama for what Robin thinks is a short vacation, but Robin's mother is getting married and Robin will have to leave behind her friends, school and life in Seoul for new life in Huntsville. Robin has new step-siblings and step-cousins in Huntsville, but she finds it hard to relate to them and they don't seem interested in getting to know her at all, one of her step-cousins is mean to her when they are at school. Robin speaks very little English and she finds it hard to understand kids and teachers at school and finds herself the butt of some teasing and cruel jokes.
This was a really good book and it not only shares the experience of what it is like to move to a new country where you don't know the language well, but it also explores some of the differences between Korean and American culture and how bridging the two as a teenager can be difficult. It even touches on Robin's mother's experience as a single mother in Korea and the cultural stereotyping she faced as a woman raising a child without a man and running her own successful business. There are lots of layers to this book and it was definitely worth a read!
Over the weekend I read the graphic novel, Almost American Girl by Robin Ha.
This book is a graphic memoir of the author's own experience moving to the United States from Seoul, South Korea when she was in 8th grade. In the book Robin's mother takes them to Alabama for what Robin thinks is a short vacation, but Robin's mother is getting married and Robin will have to leave behind her friends, school and life in Seoul for new life in Huntsville. Robin has new step-siblings and step-cousins in Huntsville, but she finds it hard to relate to them and they don't seem interested in getting to know her at all, one of her step-cousins is mean to her when they are at school. Robin speaks very little English and she finds it hard to understand kids and teachers at school and finds herself the butt of some teasing and cruel jokes.
This was a really good book and it not only shares the experience of what it is like to move to a new country where you don't know the language well, but it also explores some of the differences between Korean and American culture and how bridging the two as a teenager can be difficult. It even touches on Robin's mother's experience as a single mother in Korea and the cultural stereotyping she faced as a woman raising a child without a man and running her own successful business. There are lots of layers to this book and it was definitely worth a read!
2/7/21
I just finished A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir. This is the final book in the Ember in the Ashes Series.
I have been anxiously awaiting this book. I am a big fan of the series and I was not disappointed. I'm not saying that my red puffy eyes this morning are a direct result of the last several chapters of this book, but they might be. :) This was such a good ending to the series. Laia, Helene and Elias all have a role to play in trying to defeat the Nightbringer and Keris Veturia as their armies sweep over the Empire destroying cities and killing thousands. You'll have to read the book to see who lives and who dies. It was a great ending and if you have read any of the other books in the series you HAVE to read this. If you haven't read any of the series, you HAVE to start it. For fans of The Red Queen series, the Throne of Glass series, the Rebel of the Sands series, the Six of Crows series, or if you like any awesome world building fantasy/adventure series. :)
I just finished A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir. This is the final book in the Ember in the Ashes Series.
I have been anxiously awaiting this book. I am a big fan of the series and I was not disappointed. I'm not saying that my red puffy eyes this morning are a direct result of the last several chapters of this book, but they might be. :) This was such a good ending to the series. Laia, Helene and Elias all have a role to play in trying to defeat the Nightbringer and Keris Veturia as their armies sweep over the Empire destroying cities and killing thousands. You'll have to read the book to see who lives and who dies. It was a great ending and if you have read any of the other books in the series you HAVE to read this. If you haven't read any of the series, you HAVE to start it. For fans of The Red Queen series, the Throne of Glass series, the Rebel of the Sands series, the Six of Crows series, or if you like any awesome world building fantasy/adventure series. :)
2/7/21
Well I took my own sweet time, but I finally have a couple books talks for you. :)
The first was recommended to me by a student. It is The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer. It is in the Dystopian genre (all you 9th graders in Mr. Parnin's class) with a steampunk flair.
This book follows a group of teenage refugees living in a system of underground caverns. They are hiding from the British Industrial Empire and their machines that snatch up people unlucky enough to cross their paths. One day Charlotte finds a strange boy in the woods running from the machines and she brings him back to the Catacombs. His presence sets off events that cause them to leave the safety of the Catacombs for Britain's Floating City where they get involved in the political intrigue and dangers surrounding the rebellion against the Empire. If you are a fan of the dystopian genre, and especially if you like a steampunk twist, I would recommend this book.
Well I took my own sweet time, but I finally have a couple books talks for you. :)
The first was recommended to me by a student. It is The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer. It is in the Dystopian genre (all you 9th graders in Mr. Parnin's class) with a steampunk flair.
This book follows a group of teenage refugees living in a system of underground caverns. They are hiding from the British Industrial Empire and their machines that snatch up people unlucky enough to cross their paths. One day Charlotte finds a strange boy in the woods running from the machines and she brings him back to the Catacombs. His presence sets off events that cause them to leave the safety of the Catacombs for Britain's Floating City where they get involved in the political intrigue and dangers surrounding the rebellion against the Empire. If you are a fan of the dystopian genre, and especially if you like a steampunk twist, I would recommend this book.
12/16/20
I just finished the book Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai. This book is written in verse and is in the historical fiction genre.
This was a very good book about events during World War II that I was totally unaware of. Japan had settlements in China (Manchuria) and all over the Pacific. However, during World War II (specifically when Japan surrendered) many of the people in the settlements in Manchuria found themselves as refugees fleeing from Soviet troops and native Chinese residents who did not appreciate their presence in their country.
This story follows a 12 year old girl whose father is drafted to fight at the Soviet border in the north leaving Natsu and her 6 year old sister Asa alone with a neighbor "Auntie" looking after them. One night Auntie wakes them and tells them that the Soviets are coming and they have to run. They flee with their entire village on foot across the Manchurian plain. They face a raging river crossing and gunfire from passing Chinese planes that kill many villagers. They are picked up by a Japanese train and end up in a town populated with Chinese and Soviets as well as Japanese refugees who are streaming in from all over the country. The remainder of the book follows Natsu, Asa and Auntie as the struggle to stay alive.
This book is specifically about a group of refugees that I wasn't even aware of and their story is an untold but compelling one. On a larger scale, it is the story of ALL refugees; people who are forced to leave behind everything they have ever known and flee to someplace they hope will be safe where they can start over again. This book touches on some of the horrors that refugees face and puts a human face to stories we have all seen on the news. The author's note at the end of the book is worth reading and adds to the experience of the book. A must read for people interested in World War II history, historical fiction, or stories about shared human experiences.
I just finished the book Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai. This book is written in verse and is in the historical fiction genre.
This was a very good book about events during World War II that I was totally unaware of. Japan had settlements in China (Manchuria) and all over the Pacific. However, during World War II (specifically when Japan surrendered) many of the people in the settlements in Manchuria found themselves as refugees fleeing from Soviet troops and native Chinese residents who did not appreciate their presence in their country.
This story follows a 12 year old girl whose father is drafted to fight at the Soviet border in the north leaving Natsu and her 6 year old sister Asa alone with a neighbor "Auntie" looking after them. One night Auntie wakes them and tells them that the Soviets are coming and they have to run. They flee with their entire village on foot across the Manchurian plain. They face a raging river crossing and gunfire from passing Chinese planes that kill many villagers. They are picked up by a Japanese train and end up in a town populated with Chinese and Soviets as well as Japanese refugees who are streaming in from all over the country. The remainder of the book follows Natsu, Asa and Auntie as the struggle to stay alive.
This book is specifically about a group of refugees that I wasn't even aware of and their story is an untold but compelling one. On a larger scale, it is the story of ALL refugees; people who are forced to leave behind everything they have ever known and flee to someplace they hope will be safe where they can start over again. This book touches on some of the horrors that refugees face and puts a human face to stories we have all seen on the news. The author's note at the end of the book is worth reading and adds to the experience of the book. A must read for people interested in World War II history, historical fiction, or stories about shared human experiences.
12/14/20
I finished reading the book Deadly Aim by Sally M. Walker over the weekend. This is a nonfiction book.
This was a really interesting book about Anishinaable Sharpshooters from Michigan who volunteered as Union soldiers during the Civil War. The book starts with a brief history of the Anishinaabe people and their culture and traditions and some of the possible reasons that they may have volunteered to fight for a country that had not been good to them. The book then follows the members of the Company K Sharpshooters from recruitment and training through some of the worst battles of the Civil War including: the Battle of the Wilderness, the Battle of Spotsylvania, the Siege and Battle of Petersburg, the Battle of the Crater and several others. Trying to imagine yourself in these battles as you are reading the book really gives you a grim appreciation for the bravery of these soldiers and the horrors they faced. Many of the men were wounded and some spent time in some of the worst Confederate Prison camps of the war, including Andersonville. These men also faced racism and stereotyping throughout their service. Overall, this was a really interesting look at a group of soldiers from Michigan who have not received much notice or appreciation for their service to their country. For fans of Michigan History, Native American History, and Civil War History.
I finished reading the book Deadly Aim by Sally M. Walker over the weekend. This is a nonfiction book.
This was a really interesting book about Anishinaable Sharpshooters from Michigan who volunteered as Union soldiers during the Civil War. The book starts with a brief history of the Anishinaabe people and their culture and traditions and some of the possible reasons that they may have volunteered to fight for a country that had not been good to them. The book then follows the members of the Company K Sharpshooters from recruitment and training through some of the worst battles of the Civil War including: the Battle of the Wilderness, the Battle of Spotsylvania, the Siege and Battle of Petersburg, the Battle of the Crater and several others. Trying to imagine yourself in these battles as you are reading the book really gives you a grim appreciation for the bravery of these soldiers and the horrors they faced. Many of the men were wounded and some spent time in some of the worst Confederate Prison camps of the war, including Andersonville. These men also faced racism and stereotyping throughout their service. Overall, this was a really interesting look at a group of soldiers from Michigan who have not received much notice or appreciation for their service to their country. For fans of Michigan History, Native American History, and Civil War History.
12/7/20
I finished the book Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare over the weekend. This book is in the Fantasy genre.
First of all, can we just talk about the gorgeous cover?!? I know not to judge a book by it's cover, but a good cover sure grabs your interest!
This book is the first in The Last Hours series by Cassandra Clare. Like many of her other series, it falls in the Shadowhunter universe and fans will find many characters that they know from her other books, as well as new ones from some of the well known Shadowhunter families like the Carstairs, Lightwoods, and Herondales. One of the things I really like about this author is how she has created a whole universe that spans a couple hundred years and some of her immortal characters such as Tessa Gray and Magnus Bane have a part to play in each series.
This book takes place in the early 1900's and the events follow Cordelia Carstairs, the cousin of Jem, and Lucie and James Herondale, the children of Will and Tessa (Gray) Herondale, and their friends. After 20 years of almost no demon activities in London, an outbreak of deadly attacks finds the Shadowhunter community ill-prepared to fight back. Cordelia returns to London and finds herself still in love with James, though his heart has been given elsewhere. As the group of friends try to discover the origin of the demon attacks it becomes apparent that James' and Lucie's warlock blood has gifted them with abilities that seem to draw them into danger. Some secrets will be uncovered, while others remain elusively out of reach in this first installment of the new series.
Obviously I loved this book. :) I'm a big fan of the author and all her work and I'm already dying for the next book. :) For fans of fantasy, and elaborate storylines with vast universes such as Throne of Glass, Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones.
I finished the book Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare over the weekend. This book is in the Fantasy genre.
First of all, can we just talk about the gorgeous cover?!? I know not to judge a book by it's cover, but a good cover sure grabs your interest!
This book is the first in The Last Hours series by Cassandra Clare. Like many of her other series, it falls in the Shadowhunter universe and fans will find many characters that they know from her other books, as well as new ones from some of the well known Shadowhunter families like the Carstairs, Lightwoods, and Herondales. One of the things I really like about this author is how she has created a whole universe that spans a couple hundred years and some of her immortal characters such as Tessa Gray and Magnus Bane have a part to play in each series.
This book takes place in the early 1900's and the events follow Cordelia Carstairs, the cousin of Jem, and Lucie and James Herondale, the children of Will and Tessa (Gray) Herondale, and their friends. After 20 years of almost no demon activities in London, an outbreak of deadly attacks finds the Shadowhunter community ill-prepared to fight back. Cordelia returns to London and finds herself still in love with James, though his heart has been given elsewhere. As the group of friends try to discover the origin of the demon attacks it becomes apparent that James' and Lucie's warlock blood has gifted them with abilities that seem to draw them into danger. Some secrets will be uncovered, while others remain elusively out of reach in this first installment of the new series.
Obviously I loved this book. :) I'm a big fan of the author and all her work and I'm already dying for the next book. :) For fans of fantasy, and elaborate storylines with vast universes such as Throne of Glass, Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones.
11/19/20
I just finished a non-fiction graphic novel called Donner Dinner Party by Nathan Hale. (Not that Nathan Hale, although he is also in the book - -you'll have to read it to see what I mean.)
Nathan Hale (the author, not the historical figure) has written a series of graphic novels about some interesting events in history (including one called One Dead Spy about THAT Nathan Hale).
The book Donner Dinner Party details the travels and disaster the befell the infamous Donner Party from the formation of their wagon train in Independence, Missouri, to their ill-fated decision to take the Hastings Cutoff "shortcut" at Fort Bridger, to their long winter trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains without food.
I actually really enjoyed this book and I feel like I know a lot more about the Donner Party than I did before. For instance, I didn't realize that there were several families and many children with the wagon train and I didn't realize that there were so many people in the party in general.
The author manages to make a tragic story entertaining, funny in some parts, and informative without feeling like you are learning something, and it was a quick read - I like that!
So, if you are a fan of history, you may know about the Donner Party and what happened to them that winter. If not, you have to read the book to find out what happens when a group of people are stranded in the snow for months without food and people start dying of starvation or cold. It's pretty gruesome.
I just finished a non-fiction graphic novel called Donner Dinner Party by Nathan Hale. (Not that Nathan Hale, although he is also in the book - -you'll have to read it to see what I mean.)
Nathan Hale (the author, not the historical figure) has written a series of graphic novels about some interesting events in history (including one called One Dead Spy about THAT Nathan Hale).
The book Donner Dinner Party details the travels and disaster the befell the infamous Donner Party from the formation of their wagon train in Independence, Missouri, to their ill-fated decision to take the Hastings Cutoff "shortcut" at Fort Bridger, to their long winter trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains without food.
I actually really enjoyed this book and I feel like I know a lot more about the Donner Party than I did before. For instance, I didn't realize that there were several families and many children with the wagon train and I didn't realize that there were so many people in the party in general.
The author manages to make a tragic story entertaining, funny in some parts, and informative without feeling like you are learning something, and it was a quick read - I like that!
So, if you are a fan of history, you may know about the Donner Party and what happened to them that winter. If not, you have to read the book to find out what happens when a group of people are stranded in the snow for months without food and people start dying of starvation or cold. It's pretty gruesome.
11/17/20
I just finished reading Millionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnulty. This author was recommended to me by a student since her books tend to be funny and lighthearted, and let's be honest, we could all use some of that right now. :)
For those of you who are old like me, this book will remind you A LOT of the movie Brewster's Millions (which I rewatched the other day after reading this book ).
In this book, two boys, Benji and Felix, find a wallet on a field trip. They return it, but not before Benji takes $20 out of it to buy hot dogs after realizing the wallet belongs to billionaire Laura Friendly and "$20 is like a penny to a billionaire right?" After returning the wallet, Laura Friendly issues them a challenge, If they can spend the amount of money that a penny doubled equals in a month (over $5 million) , she will give them each $10 million. But there are lots of rules to how they can spend the money and they can't tell ANYONE or they are disqualified. The challenge seems to be fun at first, renting supercars and taking a first class trip to Disney, but soon they realize that spending money isn't as fun as they thought it would be. Will they complete the challenge and get the 10 million, or will they fail and walk away with nothing? Read and find out! :)
I just finished reading Millionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnulty. This author was recommended to me by a student since her books tend to be funny and lighthearted, and let's be honest, we could all use some of that right now. :)
For those of you who are old like me, this book will remind you A LOT of the movie Brewster's Millions (which I rewatched the other day after reading this book ).
In this book, two boys, Benji and Felix, find a wallet on a field trip. They return it, but not before Benji takes $20 out of it to buy hot dogs after realizing the wallet belongs to billionaire Laura Friendly and "$20 is like a penny to a billionaire right?" After returning the wallet, Laura Friendly issues them a challenge, If they can spend the amount of money that a penny doubled equals in a month (over $5 million) , she will give them each $10 million. But there are lots of rules to how they can spend the money and they can't tell ANYONE or they are disqualified. The challenge seems to be fun at first, renting supercars and taking a first class trip to Disney, but soon they realize that spending money isn't as fun as they thought it would be. Will they complete the challenge and get the 10 million, or will they fail and walk away with nothing? Read and find out! :)
11/10/20
I just finished reading What the Eagle Sees by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger. It is a nonfiction book.
This nonfiction book talks about the history of Native People in the Americas from the first contact with Vikings to the present day. It gives brief summaries of some of the many injustices done to Indigenous people over the last several centuries including slavery at the hands of the Spanish, the destruction of Haudenosaunee villages by George Washington's troops, The Trail of Tears, the massacres at Sand Creek and Wounded Knee, and the removal of Indian children from their families by the thousands to Indian Boarding Schools. It also details some of the accomplishments of Native people such as the long tradition of Indigenous runners, the influence of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy on the American Constitution, Navajo code talkers during WWII, the current efforts to reclaim traditions among Native peoples.
On a personal note, one of the authors, archaeologist Eldon Yellowhorn, is a member of the Blackfoot tribe and some of the places he describes such as Chief Mountain and The Backbone of the World (the Rocky Mountains) are not far from where we lived in Cut Bank, Montana. It was neat to read the stories and think, "I've been there, we could see that from our house."
If you are interested in history, this is a great book, the chapters are short and easy to read and the content is very interesting. I would definitely recommend! :)
I just finished reading What the Eagle Sees by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger. It is a nonfiction book.
This nonfiction book talks about the history of Native People in the Americas from the first contact with Vikings to the present day. It gives brief summaries of some of the many injustices done to Indigenous people over the last several centuries including slavery at the hands of the Spanish, the destruction of Haudenosaunee villages by George Washington's troops, The Trail of Tears, the massacres at Sand Creek and Wounded Knee, and the removal of Indian children from their families by the thousands to Indian Boarding Schools. It also details some of the accomplishments of Native people such as the long tradition of Indigenous runners, the influence of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy on the American Constitution, Navajo code talkers during WWII, the current efforts to reclaim traditions among Native peoples.
On a personal note, one of the authors, archaeologist Eldon Yellowhorn, is a member of the Blackfoot tribe and some of the places he describes such as Chief Mountain and The Backbone of the World (the Rocky Mountains) are not far from where we lived in Cut Bank, Montana. It was neat to read the stories and think, "I've been there, we could see that from our house."
If you are interested in history, this is a great book, the chapters are short and easy to read and the content is very interesting. I would definitely recommend! :)
11/3/20
I just finished reading The Grace Year by Kim Liggett. It is in the Dystopian genre.
Wow! This was a powerful book with lots of discussion-worthy themes. My husband had to try three times to get my attention while I was reading it. :) If Lord of the Flies, The Handmaid's Tale, The Hunger Games, and The Giver were mashed together, you'd have this book.
This story follows the main character, Tierney, as she embarks on her Grace Year. In her society, when girls turn 16, they are taken to a compound in the woods where they live with no outside help for a full year in order to rid themselves of their "magic" so that they can return to their village to become proper obedient wives or workers. If they leave their compound in the woods they are likely to be killed by poachers for their body parts which are sold back to the village for their "magical" properties.
This book has a lot of action and suspense and a little romance. It also looks at the themes of how women treat each other when they feel powerless or afraid and the ways they stab each other in the back (in this book both figuratively and literally) to try to fight for control and influence. If we step back another level it deals with the theme of what can happen when a few powerful people use fear and superstition to turn groups of people in a society against each other for their own gain, and how if people put their differences aside and work past their fears, they can help and support each other and not hand their power and lives over to the few powerful who stand to benefit from the division and distrust they promote.
A really good book that I would recommend. I hear that it is being made into a movie with Elizabeth Banks directing so keep your eyes open for it, but read the book first! :)
I just finished reading The Grace Year by Kim Liggett. It is in the Dystopian genre.
Wow! This was a powerful book with lots of discussion-worthy themes. My husband had to try three times to get my attention while I was reading it. :) If Lord of the Flies, The Handmaid's Tale, The Hunger Games, and The Giver were mashed together, you'd have this book.
This story follows the main character, Tierney, as she embarks on her Grace Year. In her society, when girls turn 16, they are taken to a compound in the woods where they live with no outside help for a full year in order to rid themselves of their "magic" so that they can return to their village to become proper obedient wives or workers. If they leave their compound in the woods they are likely to be killed by poachers for their body parts which are sold back to the village for their "magical" properties.
This book has a lot of action and suspense and a little romance. It also looks at the themes of how women treat each other when they feel powerless or afraid and the ways they stab each other in the back (in this book both figuratively and literally) to try to fight for control and influence. If we step back another level it deals with the theme of what can happen when a few powerful people use fear and superstition to turn groups of people in a society against each other for their own gain, and how if people put their differences aside and work past their fears, they can help and support each other and not hand their power and lives over to the few powerful who stand to benefit from the division and distrust they promote.
A really good book that I would recommend. I hear that it is being made into a movie with Elizabeth Banks directing so keep your eyes open for it, but read the book first! :)
10/19/20
I just finished the book The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin. It is in the non-fiction genre.
This book won the Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction award from the ALA and is written by a multiple award winning author. It is the true story of Benedict Arnold who was both a hero and a traitor during the American Revolution. This tells the story of his life from his attention-seeking stunts as a child, to his teens years having to drag his alcoholic father home from the taverns every night, to his heroic efforts in some of the important battles of the Revolution to his decision to spy for England. The book did a good job of showing the many sides of Benedict Arnold. I really felt like it was not only interesting from a historical perspective, but also from a Psychology perspective. Asking the question of what motivated this man, who was deeply supportive of the Revolution, to turn on his country, causes us to consider the complex nature of people and the things that motivate all of us to act the way we do.
I would recommend this book for fans of military history, American history, action/adventure, and psychology.
I just finished the book The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin. It is in the non-fiction genre.
This book won the Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction award from the ALA and is written by a multiple award winning author. It is the true story of Benedict Arnold who was both a hero and a traitor during the American Revolution. This tells the story of his life from his attention-seeking stunts as a child, to his teens years having to drag his alcoholic father home from the taverns every night, to his heroic efforts in some of the important battles of the Revolution to his decision to spy for England. The book did a good job of showing the many sides of Benedict Arnold. I really felt like it was not only interesting from a historical perspective, but also from a Psychology perspective. Asking the question of what motivated this man, who was deeply supportive of the Revolution, to turn on his country, causes us to consider the complex nature of people and the things that motivate all of us to act the way we do.
I would recommend this book for fans of military history, American history, action/adventure, and psychology.
10/16/20
I just finished the book Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland.
This book is both realistic fiction and science fiction, although I'd say it is more realistic fiction. You'll understand if you read the book. :)
Sia Martinez is a high school student in Arizona. Her mother was deported by ICE after being reported by a classmate's father, the local sheriff. She tried to rejoin her family for a year before trying to cross the Sonoran desert alone. She never emerged from the desert. Sia is tired of people referring to her mother's death as an "unfortunate incident" and is furious with the racist comments of people in the community. She goes to the edge of the desert every month at a place her grandmother called "the beginning of the world" to light candles for her mother, secretly hoping that they will somehow guide her home. In this place she meets a new student named Noah with a painful past of his own. They get closer, even though Sia's best friend warns her that there are things she doesn't know about Noah. One night in the desert Noah and Sia see bright lights that turn out to be a spacecraft crashing in the desert. When her mother emerges from the wreckage of the craft, secrets and lies are uncovered that will change their lives forever.
This was a really good book that had a combination of elements that really worked together even though on paper they seem kind of all over the place: Relationships with your friends, romance, trusting someone after a traumatic experience, racism, living in a border town, aliens, government conspiracies, treating certain groups of people like they are disposable, LGBTQ, physical abuse, sexual assault, deep conection to the earth, ancestral stories, brujas, etc. Like I said, lots of topics covered here, and done very well, it doesn't feel disjointed at all. The author is also a poet, so her writing in some areas is beautiful, and brutally blunt in others.
All in all, a great book that I'd recommend!
I just finished the book Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland.
This book is both realistic fiction and science fiction, although I'd say it is more realistic fiction. You'll understand if you read the book. :)
Sia Martinez is a high school student in Arizona. Her mother was deported by ICE after being reported by a classmate's father, the local sheriff. She tried to rejoin her family for a year before trying to cross the Sonoran desert alone. She never emerged from the desert. Sia is tired of people referring to her mother's death as an "unfortunate incident" and is furious with the racist comments of people in the community. She goes to the edge of the desert every month at a place her grandmother called "the beginning of the world" to light candles for her mother, secretly hoping that they will somehow guide her home. In this place she meets a new student named Noah with a painful past of his own. They get closer, even though Sia's best friend warns her that there are things she doesn't know about Noah. One night in the desert Noah and Sia see bright lights that turn out to be a spacecraft crashing in the desert. When her mother emerges from the wreckage of the craft, secrets and lies are uncovered that will change their lives forever.
This was a really good book that had a combination of elements that really worked together even though on paper they seem kind of all over the place: Relationships with your friends, romance, trusting someone after a traumatic experience, racism, living in a border town, aliens, government conspiracies, treating certain groups of people like they are disposable, LGBTQ, physical abuse, sexual assault, deep conection to the earth, ancestral stories, brujas, etc. Like I said, lots of topics covered here, and done very well, it doesn't feel disjointed at all. The author is also a poet, so her writing in some areas is beautiful, and brutally blunt in others.
All in all, a great book that I'd recommend!
10/6/20
Good morning!
I just finished the book American Royals by Katharine McGee. This book is in the realistic fiction genre.
This book starts with the premise that when America won their independence from England and George Washington was offered the kingship of America...he said yes, starting the 200 year old Washington dynasty.
Move to present day and Princess Beatrice is being groomed to become the first Queen of the United States. Beatrice has been raised to put crown and country before herself and she has always done a good job of it, until she falls in love with her personal guard, Connor. Unfortunately, she is expected to marry someone more suitable, like Teddy, the boy her younger sister Sam is in love with.
Sam's best friend Nina is secretly seeing Sam's twin brother Jefferson, and Jefferson's ex-girlfriend Daphne is scheming to get Jefferson back at any cost.
You guys get the idea. :)
I liked this book quite a bit and found it to be a fast read.
It is for fans of romance novels, the Selection book series, and the E! tv series, The Royals.
Plus...there's a sequel! :)
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
Good morning!
I just finished the book American Royals by Katharine McGee. This book is in the realistic fiction genre.
This book starts with the premise that when America won their independence from England and George Washington was offered the kingship of America...he said yes, starting the 200 year old Washington dynasty.
Move to present day and Princess Beatrice is being groomed to become the first Queen of the United States. Beatrice has been raised to put crown and country before herself and she has always done a good job of it, until she falls in love with her personal guard, Connor. Unfortunately, she is expected to marry someone more suitable, like Teddy, the boy her younger sister Sam is in love with.
Sam's best friend Nina is secretly seeing Sam's twin brother Jefferson, and Jefferson's ex-girlfriend Daphne is scheming to get Jefferson back at any cost.
You guys get the idea. :)
I liked this book quite a bit and found it to be a fast read.
It is for fans of romance novels, the Selection book series, and the E! tv series, The Royals.
Plus...there's a sequel! :)
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
9/30/20
Fable by Adrienne Young video book talk.
Fable by Adrienne Young video book talk.
6/4/20
I just finished the book The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee. It is in the historical fiction genre.
Well, I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. I loved the main character, Jo Kuan! She is one of the best characters I've read in awhile: feisty, smart, witty, and as she would say "a saucebox". I also liked the setting for this book. Many historical fiction books featuring Chinese main characters seem to be set on the West Coast, while this one is set in Atlanta, GA in 1890. Something that I was not aware of was that southern planters brought in Chinese laborers to work their plantations during the Reconstruction era, and many of those laborers left the plantations when they discovered the terrible work conditions. Many of them found themselves adrift, looking for work in the South, separated from their families in China and in a lonely place in society as neither white nor black during a time when Jim Crow laws were beginning to be enacted. This felt like a book about a group of people that is often overlooked in history and I really enjoyed the perspective.
So that brings us to our heroine... Jo has been raised by Old Gin, an elderly Chinese man who works as a groom for the wealthy Payne family. As a child Jo spent much of her time helping Old Gin on the Payne estate. Jo and Old Gin live in secret in an old Underground Railroad hiding spot under the Focus newspaper office. Jo has grown up listening to the family living above them and credits her extensive vocabulary to their conversations. When Jo finds herself suddenly jobless she takes a job as a ladies' maid to the Payne's mean daughter Caroline, with whom she has a bad history. She also begins writing an anonymous advice column for the Focus as "Miss Sweetie". Her progressive columns and modern ideas generate a lot of talk in town, not all of it positive.
This book really has a lot going on, in a good way. There is the mystery of who her parents are, shady deals with the town's crime boss, racial tensions, suffragists, a horse race, secrets upon secrets, and a whole lot of surprises. There are a lot of layers to this book, each of them well written and thought provoking. This book was funny, thoughtful, and poignant and I would definitely recommend it! For fans of: historical fiction, strong female characters, social justice books, with a dash of mystery thrown in.
I just finished the book The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee. It is in the historical fiction genre.
Well, I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. I loved the main character, Jo Kuan! She is one of the best characters I've read in awhile: feisty, smart, witty, and as she would say "a saucebox". I also liked the setting for this book. Many historical fiction books featuring Chinese main characters seem to be set on the West Coast, while this one is set in Atlanta, GA in 1890. Something that I was not aware of was that southern planters brought in Chinese laborers to work their plantations during the Reconstruction era, and many of those laborers left the plantations when they discovered the terrible work conditions. Many of them found themselves adrift, looking for work in the South, separated from their families in China and in a lonely place in society as neither white nor black during a time when Jim Crow laws were beginning to be enacted. This felt like a book about a group of people that is often overlooked in history and I really enjoyed the perspective.
So that brings us to our heroine... Jo has been raised by Old Gin, an elderly Chinese man who works as a groom for the wealthy Payne family. As a child Jo spent much of her time helping Old Gin on the Payne estate. Jo and Old Gin live in secret in an old Underground Railroad hiding spot under the Focus newspaper office. Jo has grown up listening to the family living above them and credits her extensive vocabulary to their conversations. When Jo finds herself suddenly jobless she takes a job as a ladies' maid to the Payne's mean daughter Caroline, with whom she has a bad history. She also begins writing an anonymous advice column for the Focus as "Miss Sweetie". Her progressive columns and modern ideas generate a lot of talk in town, not all of it positive.
This book really has a lot going on, in a good way. There is the mystery of who her parents are, shady deals with the town's crime boss, racial tensions, suffragists, a horse race, secrets upon secrets, and a whole lot of surprises. There are a lot of layers to this book, each of them well written and thought provoking. This book was funny, thoughtful, and poignant and I would definitely recommend it! For fans of: historical fiction, strong female characters, social justice books, with a dash of mystery thrown in.
5/22/20
Now I'm going to share the book The Ruins of Gorlan, book 1 in the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. This is an adventure/just a teeny bit fantasy novel.
This book was recommended to me by a student last year and has been on my to-read list for a while. Then I recommended it to my son based on the student recommendation, and he read it and said I had to read it. So here we are. :)
This book is set in a medieval-type kingdom made up of small fiefdoms. Our main character, Will, is an orphan that is raised in a castle on one such fiefdom. As a teenager, he and the other 4 orphans he is raised with are chosen by different craftmasters to be apprenticed and learn a trade. Will desperately wants to join the Battleschool and become a knight as he believes his father was. However, the Battle Master says he is too small and he is rejected by the other craftmasters as well. Will fears he will not be chosen at all when Halt, the fief's mysterious Ranger, selects Will as his apprentice. Will begins to train with Halt and soon discovers that he has a knack for the skills that Rangers need as they patrol the kingdom scouting, spying, and keeping order. Of course we need a bad guy, and that is Morgarath. He is an exiled lord who tried to overthrow the kingdom in the past and was defeated. He's been planning his revenge and begins to implement his plans to overthrow the kingdom drawing Will and Halt into a dangerous hunt.
This was a good book and a quick read. I'd definitely be interested in reading more of these books. It is part of a 12 book series and there are a couple companion series as well so if you like to read series, this could be a good choice for you. For fans of adventure, Rick Riordan, Seven Realms series, Eragon, The Dark is Rising, The Book of Three, The Last Apprentice series, etc.
Now I'm going to share the book The Ruins of Gorlan, book 1 in the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. This is an adventure/just a teeny bit fantasy novel.
This book was recommended to me by a student last year and has been on my to-read list for a while. Then I recommended it to my son based on the student recommendation, and he read it and said I had to read it. So here we are. :)
This book is set in a medieval-type kingdom made up of small fiefdoms. Our main character, Will, is an orphan that is raised in a castle on one such fiefdom. As a teenager, he and the other 4 orphans he is raised with are chosen by different craftmasters to be apprenticed and learn a trade. Will desperately wants to join the Battleschool and become a knight as he believes his father was. However, the Battle Master says he is too small and he is rejected by the other craftmasters as well. Will fears he will not be chosen at all when Halt, the fief's mysterious Ranger, selects Will as his apprentice. Will begins to train with Halt and soon discovers that he has a knack for the skills that Rangers need as they patrol the kingdom scouting, spying, and keeping order. Of course we need a bad guy, and that is Morgarath. He is an exiled lord who tried to overthrow the kingdom in the past and was defeated. He's been planning his revenge and begins to implement his plans to overthrow the kingdom drawing Will and Halt into a dangerous hunt.
This was a good book and a quick read. I'd definitely be interested in reading more of these books. It is part of a 12 book series and there are a couple companion series as well so if you like to read series, this could be a good choice for you. For fans of adventure, Rick Riordan, Seven Realms series, Eragon, The Dark is Rising, The Book of Three, The Last Apprentice series, etc.
5/22/20
I finished this book about a week ago and I've been holding off on writing the book talk because I didn't know if I could find words strong enough to convey the importance and depth of this book.
Sorry, let me intro the book first: This is The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and it is a historical fiction novel that won the Pulitzer Prize and The National Book Award. Mr. Byard recommended this book to me and I'm glad he did.
The author has taken different historical events and accounts and taken some liberties with timelines and such in writing this book, including making the Underground Railroad an actual underground railroad (in an interview he says that's how he always imagined it as a child) so it can't be taken as an accurate historical record, although it does represent real events, beliefs, and situations. Here is a link to a transcript of an NPR interview with the author. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/489168232
This book tells the story of Cora, a slave raised on a plantation in Georgia. Cora's mother runs away when she is 10 or 11 years old leaving her behind to fend for herself on a plantation where she faces abuse not just from the plantation owners, but from other slaves as well. As a teenager, another slave, Caesar, asks her to run away with him, and after her master dies leaving his more brutal brother in charge, she agrees. The book follows their flight on the underground railroad, where they don't just go from safehouse to safehouse, but actually start new lives at their stops while they wait for the next train. One of these stops is in South Carolina where Cora and Caesar are given new identities, jobs, and places to live in dormitories for black workers overseen by white "housemothers" called proctors. At first Cora and Caesar feel as though they have found peaceful new lives where things seem totally different from their lives as slaves, until Cora finds out that the proctors, doctors and other white people who appear to be helping them are actually part of a system still trying to keep them down under the guise of helping them. A bar for black patrons is being used as a way to spread syphilis and study the results, women are being encouraged to have their tubes tied as a way to temper bloodlines and control the black population. And then Cora and Caesar are discovered by an infamous slave catcher and Cora's life is turned upside down again.
I don't want to tell too much of the story, but it takes Cora all over the eastern United States and illuminates aspects of black history that I was certainly not aware of. I feel like my own education in US history didn't even begin to touch on some of the cruel, brutal, and conniving things that were done to the black population in this country.
The thing about this book that I struggle to describe is the overall tone. The events that we see through Cora's eyes are horrible beyond words, yet she doesn't describe them in grisly detail or with emotion, but very matter-of-factly as though they are so commonplace and expected that she can't get upset about them. It's as though a lifetime of repeated violence and cruelty has woven a tapestry of acceptance that smothers her emotions and creates a veil between her and the world. Yet, we know that she does feel these things and she continues to pick herself up over and over again, determined to survive things that would destroy most people.
This book is definitely a must-read and is extremely well written. It is important not just as a piece of literature, but as a look into the dark corners of US History that have been glossed over and hidden. I highly recommend it!
I finished this book about a week ago and I've been holding off on writing the book talk because I didn't know if I could find words strong enough to convey the importance and depth of this book.
Sorry, let me intro the book first: This is The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and it is a historical fiction novel that won the Pulitzer Prize and The National Book Award. Mr. Byard recommended this book to me and I'm glad he did.
The author has taken different historical events and accounts and taken some liberties with timelines and such in writing this book, including making the Underground Railroad an actual underground railroad (in an interview he says that's how he always imagined it as a child) so it can't be taken as an accurate historical record, although it does represent real events, beliefs, and situations. Here is a link to a transcript of an NPR interview with the author. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/489168232
This book tells the story of Cora, a slave raised on a plantation in Georgia. Cora's mother runs away when she is 10 or 11 years old leaving her behind to fend for herself on a plantation where she faces abuse not just from the plantation owners, but from other slaves as well. As a teenager, another slave, Caesar, asks her to run away with him, and after her master dies leaving his more brutal brother in charge, she agrees. The book follows their flight on the underground railroad, where they don't just go from safehouse to safehouse, but actually start new lives at their stops while they wait for the next train. One of these stops is in South Carolina where Cora and Caesar are given new identities, jobs, and places to live in dormitories for black workers overseen by white "housemothers" called proctors. At first Cora and Caesar feel as though they have found peaceful new lives where things seem totally different from their lives as slaves, until Cora finds out that the proctors, doctors and other white people who appear to be helping them are actually part of a system still trying to keep them down under the guise of helping them. A bar for black patrons is being used as a way to spread syphilis and study the results, women are being encouraged to have their tubes tied as a way to temper bloodlines and control the black population. And then Cora and Caesar are discovered by an infamous slave catcher and Cora's life is turned upside down again.
I don't want to tell too much of the story, but it takes Cora all over the eastern United States and illuminates aspects of black history that I was certainly not aware of. I feel like my own education in US history didn't even begin to touch on some of the cruel, brutal, and conniving things that were done to the black population in this country.
The thing about this book that I struggle to describe is the overall tone. The events that we see through Cora's eyes are horrible beyond words, yet she doesn't describe them in grisly detail or with emotion, but very matter-of-factly as though they are so commonplace and expected that she can't get upset about them. It's as though a lifetime of repeated violence and cruelty has woven a tapestry of acceptance that smothers her emotions and creates a veil between her and the world. Yet, we know that she does feel these things and she continues to pick herself up over and over again, determined to survive things that would destroy most people.
This book is definitely a must-read and is extremely well written. It is important not just as a piece of literature, but as a look into the dark corners of US History that have been glossed over and hidden. I highly recommend it!
5/15/20
I just finished reading A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. It is in the fantasy genre. (I know, I know, I have a problem. :)
Mr. Fricke was kind enough to let me borrow this book from him, and even though it took me a while to get to it, I have enjoyed it. This book exists on the premise that there are four worlds that sit next to each other, with four Londons, each one different from the other. In the past there were doors that connected the worlds and people could pass between them, but in Black London, magic consumed the people and left that world in ruins, so the other Londons sealed the doors between the worlds to prevent the same thing from happening. Now, in White London magic is wielded as a weapon, in Red London magic and people exist harmoniously, and in Grey London, magic has been forgotten. Our main character, Kell, is one of only two people who can use magic to open the doors and walk between the worlds. One of the rules about walking between the worlds is that nothing is supposed to be transferred except messages between the rulers of the Londons, a rule which Kell doesn't obey. One day Kell is approached to carry a parcel between the worlds, little does he know that it is an artifact from Black London, full of magic with a mind and will of its own. Meanwhile in Grey London, Lila is a thief and pickpocket who dreams of buying her own ship and sailing away from her life.
Kell and Lila meet when Lila steals the stone from an injured Kell, a meet-cute that begins a friendship between the two. Kell and Lila then embark on an adventure spanning four Londons trying to take the artifact back to Black London before the people seeking it kill them, or the dark magic consumes Kell.
This is kind-of a classic fantasy story. I would recommend it to fans of fantasy, The Golden Compass series, LOTR (there is defintely a Frodo/Sam/The Ring thing going on). There is adventure, fighting, magic, and friendship. Overall a good book.
I just finished reading A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. It is in the fantasy genre. (I know, I know, I have a problem. :)
Mr. Fricke was kind enough to let me borrow this book from him, and even though it took me a while to get to it, I have enjoyed it. This book exists on the premise that there are four worlds that sit next to each other, with four Londons, each one different from the other. In the past there were doors that connected the worlds and people could pass between them, but in Black London, magic consumed the people and left that world in ruins, so the other Londons sealed the doors between the worlds to prevent the same thing from happening. Now, in White London magic is wielded as a weapon, in Red London magic and people exist harmoniously, and in Grey London, magic has been forgotten. Our main character, Kell, is one of only two people who can use magic to open the doors and walk between the worlds. One of the rules about walking between the worlds is that nothing is supposed to be transferred except messages between the rulers of the Londons, a rule which Kell doesn't obey. One day Kell is approached to carry a parcel between the worlds, little does he know that it is an artifact from Black London, full of magic with a mind and will of its own. Meanwhile in Grey London, Lila is a thief and pickpocket who dreams of buying her own ship and sailing away from her life.
Kell and Lila meet when Lila steals the stone from an injured Kell, a meet-cute that begins a friendship between the two. Kell and Lila then embark on an adventure spanning four Londons trying to take the artifact back to Black London before the people seeking it kill them, or the dark magic consumes Kell.
This is kind-of a classic fantasy story. I would recommend it to fans of fantasy, The Golden Compass series, LOTR (there is defintely a Frodo/Sam/The Ring thing going on). There is adventure, fighting, magic, and friendship. Overall a good book.
5/5/20
I hope you are all doing well. I wanted to share the book I just finished, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. It is in the fantasy genre.
Zelie is the main character in this book. She is a diviner, a future maji, or magic wielder. But when Zelie was a child, their king found a way to destroy magic, and in a night of fire and blood killed every adult maji in the kingdom. Zelie's mother was among those killed and her death has haunted Zelie since then. Now across the kingdom the remaining diviner children and teenagers are kept as slaves or treated as criminals and are always fearful that what happened to their parents will happen to them. Without their magic to protect them, their future looks bleak. Then a scroll appears that brings back the magic of any diviner who touches it. The king's daughter discovers the scroll and steals it from the palace. As she tries to evade the king's soldiers and her own brother, the Prince, she runs into Zelie who helps her escape. During their escape Zelie and the Prince both touch the scroll, igniting their magic. While Zelie is joyful that her magic has returned, the Prince is horrified to discover that he is the very thing he has been taught to hate and hunt. Zelie, her brother, and the Princess discover that there is a way to bring back magic to their country, but they only have until the solstice before their chance disappears forever. They try to stay one step ahead of the king's soldiers and the Prince, who is fighting his new powers and his growing feelings for Zelie. Will they save magic in time and will the Prince help or betray them?
I have been meaning to read this book for quite a while, and I'm glad I finally did. I really enjoyed the book, it has a quick paced storyline and the characters have some depth. The character of the Prince is especially interesting and his inner struggle to accept his new powers and feelings for Zelie are constantly at odds with what he has been taught and what his father expects of him, and ultimately what he believes is best for his kingdom. If you like good characters and fantasy, this is a good choice for you!
I hope you are all doing well. I wanted to share the book I just finished, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. It is in the fantasy genre.
Zelie is the main character in this book. She is a diviner, a future maji, or magic wielder. But when Zelie was a child, their king found a way to destroy magic, and in a night of fire and blood killed every adult maji in the kingdom. Zelie's mother was among those killed and her death has haunted Zelie since then. Now across the kingdom the remaining diviner children and teenagers are kept as slaves or treated as criminals and are always fearful that what happened to their parents will happen to them. Without their magic to protect them, their future looks bleak. Then a scroll appears that brings back the magic of any diviner who touches it. The king's daughter discovers the scroll and steals it from the palace. As she tries to evade the king's soldiers and her own brother, the Prince, she runs into Zelie who helps her escape. During their escape Zelie and the Prince both touch the scroll, igniting their magic. While Zelie is joyful that her magic has returned, the Prince is horrified to discover that he is the very thing he has been taught to hate and hunt. Zelie, her brother, and the Princess discover that there is a way to bring back magic to their country, but they only have until the solstice before their chance disappears forever. They try to stay one step ahead of the king's soldiers and the Prince, who is fighting his new powers and his growing feelings for Zelie. Will they save magic in time and will the Prince help or betray them?
I have been meaning to read this book for quite a while, and I'm glad I finally did. I really enjoyed the book, it has a quick paced storyline and the characters have some depth. The character of the Prince is especially interesting and his inner struggle to accept his new powers and feelings for Zelie are constantly at odds with what he has been taught and what his father expects of him, and ultimately what he believes is best for his kingdom. If you like good characters and fantasy, this is a good choice for you!
4/20/20
Hope you all are doing well! I wanted to tell you about the book Fatal Throne today. This is a historical fiction book written by 6 female authors and 1 male author about the 6 wives of Henry VIII. Each of the female authors wrote a section of the book as one of Henry VIII's wives, and the male author wrote a chapter in between each of the wives as Henry VIII. The authors researched each wife, Henry, and the Tudor Court and then wrote from each person's point of view based on the idea of the person that emerged from their research. So it is fiction, but it is based on historical fact.
Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres so I expected to enjoy this book, but I didn't expect to get as fired-up about this book as I did. This book sent my head in all sorts of directions and got me thinking about all sorts of things, some of which I'm going to attempt to share with you without rambling too much. Wish me luck...
So a little background... Henry VIII was the King of England from 1509-1547. During that time he had 6 wives, all of whom met with sad ends. He divorced two, executed two, one died after childbirth, and the last wife outlived him but died only a year later. It is believed by some that the wives he divorced or executed may have had charges brought against them falsely or unfairly in an effort to remove them so that Henry could be rid of them and be free to remarry in his efforts to have male heirs.
The first thing this book made me think of was women's general lack of power and freedom to live lives of their own choosing in the past, and in the present in some places around the world. They were often married off in efforts to gain power or position for their families and could have everything stripped from them (including their lives) at the whims of their male relatives or husbands. Reading the chapters told from the wives' points of view, you really felt as the reader how helpless they felt to save themselves from the accusations brought against them. In the case of Anne Boleyn, she points out that she was not in the places she was accused of being, and therefore could not have done the things she was accused of, but she was still beheaded, along with her "conspirators". As a woman it makes me very thankful to live in this time and place, where even though things are not perfect or equal (#metoo movement and pay inequalities for example) I enjoy a much better and safer life than the generations of women who came before me, and I am very grateful to the brave women who fought for the rights I now enjoy. My husband and I have been watching Hell on Wheels on Netflix which is about the building of the transcontinental railroad in the late 1800's. I think because I just finished reading Fatal Throne, I have been extra aware of the similar attitudes towards women and minorities on the show. It's interesting how you notice those themes and topics in other places after finishing a book like this.
The other big thing that this book made me think of was fake news and the author's purpose (specifically, to inform or persuade). Many of Henry's wives were accused of things that they may not have been guilty of, yet they were prosecuted all the same, and the reader is left to determine if the wife was guilty or if someone stood to gain from the removal of each wife. What purpose did someone have in removing them? Henry's court was full of people jockeying for position and influence and some of them stood to gain something personally or politically from accusing and removing the wives, Henry included. I mentally related this to current events and "fake news" and thought about looking at news and political stories from the lens of: Who is telling the story? What do they want? Do they stand to gain anything from what they are saying? Are all of the facts being represented, or only the ones that support this story? How do my own feelings and beliefs relate to those being presented in this story and are my preconceived notions about this topic influencing how I am receiving this information? Is this story trying only to inform me, or is it also trying to persuade me?
I told you my head was going all over the place. :) i think that's a sign of a good book if it gets you thinking and examining how you view the world and events in it. I'm sure you've guessed by now that I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of Historical Fiction, women's history, politics, etc. Other books that this reminded me of, that I would also recommend include: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, 1919, and Voices.
Hope you all are doing well! I wanted to tell you about the book Fatal Throne today. This is a historical fiction book written by 6 female authors and 1 male author about the 6 wives of Henry VIII. Each of the female authors wrote a section of the book as one of Henry VIII's wives, and the male author wrote a chapter in between each of the wives as Henry VIII. The authors researched each wife, Henry, and the Tudor Court and then wrote from each person's point of view based on the idea of the person that emerged from their research. So it is fiction, but it is based on historical fact.
Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres so I expected to enjoy this book, but I didn't expect to get as fired-up about this book as I did. This book sent my head in all sorts of directions and got me thinking about all sorts of things, some of which I'm going to attempt to share with you without rambling too much. Wish me luck...
So a little background... Henry VIII was the King of England from 1509-1547. During that time he had 6 wives, all of whom met with sad ends. He divorced two, executed two, one died after childbirth, and the last wife outlived him but died only a year later. It is believed by some that the wives he divorced or executed may have had charges brought against them falsely or unfairly in an effort to remove them so that Henry could be rid of them and be free to remarry in his efforts to have male heirs.
The first thing this book made me think of was women's general lack of power and freedom to live lives of their own choosing in the past, and in the present in some places around the world. They were often married off in efforts to gain power or position for their families and could have everything stripped from them (including their lives) at the whims of their male relatives or husbands. Reading the chapters told from the wives' points of view, you really felt as the reader how helpless they felt to save themselves from the accusations brought against them. In the case of Anne Boleyn, she points out that she was not in the places she was accused of being, and therefore could not have done the things she was accused of, but she was still beheaded, along with her "conspirators". As a woman it makes me very thankful to live in this time and place, where even though things are not perfect or equal (#metoo movement and pay inequalities for example) I enjoy a much better and safer life than the generations of women who came before me, and I am very grateful to the brave women who fought for the rights I now enjoy. My husband and I have been watching Hell on Wheels on Netflix which is about the building of the transcontinental railroad in the late 1800's. I think because I just finished reading Fatal Throne, I have been extra aware of the similar attitudes towards women and minorities on the show. It's interesting how you notice those themes and topics in other places after finishing a book like this.
The other big thing that this book made me think of was fake news and the author's purpose (specifically, to inform or persuade). Many of Henry's wives were accused of things that they may not have been guilty of, yet they were prosecuted all the same, and the reader is left to determine if the wife was guilty or if someone stood to gain from the removal of each wife. What purpose did someone have in removing them? Henry's court was full of people jockeying for position and influence and some of them stood to gain something personally or politically from accusing and removing the wives, Henry included. I mentally related this to current events and "fake news" and thought about looking at news and political stories from the lens of: Who is telling the story? What do they want? Do they stand to gain anything from what they are saying? Are all of the facts being represented, or only the ones that support this story? How do my own feelings and beliefs relate to those being presented in this story and are my preconceived notions about this topic influencing how I am receiving this information? Is this story trying only to inform me, or is it also trying to persuade me?
I told you my head was going all over the place. :) i think that's a sign of a good book if it gets you thinking and examining how you view the world and events in it. I'm sure you've guessed by now that I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of Historical Fiction, women's history, politics, etc. Other books that this reminded me of, that I would also recommend include: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, 1919, and Voices.
4/2/20
Hope you are all doing well! Today I'm going to tell you a little bit about the book Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen, the author of the Luxe series.
This book follows 3 young women in New York City in 1929. Two of them are friends who have run away from their small Ohio town, one in search of fame on the stage, and the other in search of the father she doesn't remember. The third has grown up in luxurious homes and private schools, but she never feels satisfied with her life and always fears she is missing out on something. The three girls end up meeting and becoming friends as their lives take unexpected turns.
This series reminds me of Gossip Girl if it was set in the roaring 20's, complete with flappers, bootleggers, and speakeasies. I do enjoy this author's books, her other series, The Luxe, which is set in New York City in 1899, has a similar feel to this one. I've started reading the second book in this series, Beautiful Days, on the MADL Hoopla eBooks site.
https://www.madl.org/stream___download/stream___download.php
I guess I'd say these are fluffy, soap opera type books, and there's nothing wrong with that! Sometimes a little fluff does a person good! :) For fans of: drama, romance, historical fiction, and yes, soap operas. :)
Hope you are all doing well! Today I'm going to tell you a little bit about the book Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen, the author of the Luxe series.
This book follows 3 young women in New York City in 1929. Two of them are friends who have run away from their small Ohio town, one in search of fame on the stage, and the other in search of the father she doesn't remember. The third has grown up in luxurious homes and private schools, but she never feels satisfied with her life and always fears she is missing out on something. The three girls end up meeting and becoming friends as their lives take unexpected turns.
This series reminds me of Gossip Girl if it was set in the roaring 20's, complete with flappers, bootleggers, and speakeasies. I do enjoy this author's books, her other series, The Luxe, which is set in New York City in 1899, has a similar feel to this one. I've started reading the second book in this series, Beautiful Days, on the MADL Hoopla eBooks site.
https://www.madl.org/stream___download/stream___download.php
I guess I'd say these are fluffy, soap opera type books, and there's nothing wrong with that! Sometimes a little fluff does a person good! :) For fans of: drama, romance, historical fiction, and yes, soap operas. :)
3/31/20
I wanted to share another book that I read over the past week or so. It is called Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. It is the first book in an eight book series.
This book follows 4 characters across the three kingdoms of Mytica. All young people from different walks of life, from royal palaces to rebel camps, they are drawn together by magic, destiny, and war.
I have been meaning to try this series for a while now and thought that this would be the perfect time. Unfortunately, I only grabbed the first book. Blah! I'll have to search for the sequels through the public library's eBook collections. :)
I enjoyed this book and would like to continue reading the series. For fans of fantasy and adventure. Try these if you liked The Red Queen series, Throne of Glass series, The Seven Realms series, Ember in the Ashes series, The Folk of the Air series, or The Snow Like Ashes series.
I wanted to share another book that I read over the past week or so. It is called Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. It is the first book in an eight book series.
This book follows 4 characters across the three kingdoms of Mytica. All young people from different walks of life, from royal palaces to rebel camps, they are drawn together by magic, destiny, and war.
I have been meaning to try this series for a while now and thought that this would be the perfect time. Unfortunately, I only grabbed the first book. Blah! I'll have to search for the sequels through the public library's eBook collections. :)
I enjoyed this book and would like to continue reading the series. For fans of fantasy and adventure. Try these if you liked The Red Queen series, Throne of Glass series, The Seven Realms series, Ember in the Ashes series, The Folk of the Air series, or The Snow Like Ashes series.
3/30/20
I miss seeing you all at school, but I wanted to keep sending these out so you know what I am reading (and you can try to check out any interesting looking ones from the public library). I just finished The Selection by Kiera Cass.
Well I finally understand what all the fuss was about! I've been seeing this series fly off the shelves for the last two years and it has been on my "to-read" list for a while. I loved it, finished it in a day, and couldn't wait for the next one.
Of course, like a dummy, I only grabbed the first book in the series from school. The good news was that I was able to find the second book, The Elite, through the public library's website on the Overdrive site
https://www.madl.org/stream___download/stream___download.php
and checking out an eBook was really easy! (It's the first time I have ever checked out an eBook, yes, I know, I'm living in the stone age...)
So I'm going to admit something that I may deny later: checking out an eBook and reading it on my school Chromebook was easy, the print was big enough that it didn't bother my eyes, and I read the whole 2nd book in an afternoon. I found the third book and put it on hold, it was also easy. Apparently, I don't dislike eBooks.
If you need help checking out eBooks online, let me know and I'll be happy to walk you through it. :)
So... this series is set after WW4, society has been arranged into a caste system where you are born into a certain caste where your career is set and there is almost no opportunity to advance or move up into a higher caste. Many people struggle to survive and provide for their families. The main character, America, is a 17 year old girl who has received a letter inviting her to be a part of The Selection, a process where 35 girls from around the country are selected to enter a televised contest to win the hand of the prince and become the next princess. Our main character enters, and much to her surprise, she is selected as one of the 35. The book follows her time in the palace as one of the contestants getting to know the prince and learning more about the history of her country, which has been kept secret from the people.
If you mashed up the books The Hunger Games and Matched and the tv show The Bachelor, you'd have this book. :) For fans of dystopian and romance books. Other books to try if you liked this one: The Belles, Matched, and the Hunger Games.
I'll be back tomorrow to report on another first book in a series, Falling Kingdoms...should have grabbed the whole series, duh!
I miss seeing you all at school, but I wanted to keep sending these out so you know what I am reading (and you can try to check out any interesting looking ones from the public library). I just finished The Selection by Kiera Cass.
Well I finally understand what all the fuss was about! I've been seeing this series fly off the shelves for the last two years and it has been on my "to-read" list for a while. I loved it, finished it in a day, and couldn't wait for the next one.
Of course, like a dummy, I only grabbed the first book in the series from school. The good news was that I was able to find the second book, The Elite, through the public library's website on the Overdrive site
https://www.madl.org/stream___download/stream___download.php
and checking out an eBook was really easy! (It's the first time I have ever checked out an eBook, yes, I know, I'm living in the stone age...)
So I'm going to admit something that I may deny later: checking out an eBook and reading it on my school Chromebook was easy, the print was big enough that it didn't bother my eyes, and I read the whole 2nd book in an afternoon. I found the third book and put it on hold, it was also easy. Apparently, I don't dislike eBooks.
If you need help checking out eBooks online, let me know and I'll be happy to walk you through it. :)
So... this series is set after WW4, society has been arranged into a caste system where you are born into a certain caste where your career is set and there is almost no opportunity to advance or move up into a higher caste. Many people struggle to survive and provide for their families. The main character, America, is a 17 year old girl who has received a letter inviting her to be a part of The Selection, a process where 35 girls from around the country are selected to enter a televised contest to win the hand of the prince and become the next princess. Our main character enters, and much to her surprise, she is selected as one of the 35. The book follows her time in the palace as one of the contestants getting to know the prince and learning more about the history of her country, which has been kept secret from the people.
If you mashed up the books The Hunger Games and Matched and the tv show The Bachelor, you'd have this book. :) For fans of dystopian and romance books. Other books to try if you liked this one: The Belles, Matched, and the Hunger Games.
I'll be back tomorrow to report on another first book in a series, Falling Kingdoms...should have grabbed the whole series, duh!
3/5/20
I just finished reading The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe. It is a humorous realistic fiction book.
This book follows the life of Norris, a 16 year black french Canadian, who has to move to Austin, Texas after his parents divorce and his mother gets a job teaching at the University of Texas. Norris expects to find all of the movie cliches about American teenagers (jocks, cheerleaders, loners, etc.) and he begins to keep a snarky journal of all the kids who seems to be exactly the stereotypes he was expecting. Then he gets a job at a local restaurant, courtesy of the "Beta Cheerleader" Madison who turns out to be a pretty great person, and he starts a hockey team with the super chill "Prozac Popper" Liam who is one of the only people Norris doesn't seem to anger every time he opens his mouth. He's surprised when "Hairy Armpits" Patrick, the football player, joins the hockey team and turns out to not be the total jerk Norris thought. Norris even falls for the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" Aarti, and he gets dating advice from Madison on how to win her. Norris finds himself starting to enjoy all the stereotypical American teenager activities that he once scoffed at, and thinks he might be happy, until the night of prom when things get turned upside down and he has to decide where he belongs, Austin or Canada.
For fans of funny books, realistic fiction, books about finding yourself, books about life as a teenager.
I just finished reading The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe. It is a humorous realistic fiction book.
This book follows the life of Norris, a 16 year black french Canadian, who has to move to Austin, Texas after his parents divorce and his mother gets a job teaching at the University of Texas. Norris expects to find all of the movie cliches about American teenagers (jocks, cheerleaders, loners, etc.) and he begins to keep a snarky journal of all the kids who seems to be exactly the stereotypes he was expecting. Then he gets a job at a local restaurant, courtesy of the "Beta Cheerleader" Madison who turns out to be a pretty great person, and he starts a hockey team with the super chill "Prozac Popper" Liam who is one of the only people Norris doesn't seem to anger every time he opens his mouth. He's surprised when "Hairy Armpits" Patrick, the football player, joins the hockey team and turns out to not be the total jerk Norris thought. Norris even falls for the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" Aarti, and he gets dating advice from Madison on how to win her. Norris finds himself starting to enjoy all the stereotypical American teenager activities that he once scoffed at, and thinks he might be happy, until the night of prom when things get turned upside down and he has to decide where he belongs, Austin or Canada.
For fans of funny books, realistic fiction, books about finding yourself, books about life as a teenager.
2/10/20
"The sausage...was made from a pulverized mass of meat scraps swept off the floor - along with the rat feces - and mixed with borax to keep it from rotting."
So begins the book The Poison Eaters by Gail Jarrow.
It is a nonfiction look at Dr. Harvey Wiley, a government chemist who spent a majority of his life trying to enact laws to protect consumers from the harmful ingredients in our food. His work led to the formation of the FDA. While Dr. Wiley's work happened in the early 1900's, there are events and quotes in the book that resonated very strongly and are still valid today. This was a very interesting (and pretty horrifying) book. It was also a quick read and really held my interest all the way through. There are also pictures of some of the advertisements for products from that era, such as "Radithor Radioactive Water" and "Cocaine Tooth Drops". I would definitely recommend this eye opening book.
"The sausage...was made from a pulverized mass of meat scraps swept off the floor - along with the rat feces - and mixed with borax to keep it from rotting."
So begins the book The Poison Eaters by Gail Jarrow.
It is a nonfiction look at Dr. Harvey Wiley, a government chemist who spent a majority of his life trying to enact laws to protect consumers from the harmful ingredients in our food. His work led to the formation of the FDA. While Dr. Wiley's work happened in the early 1900's, there are events and quotes in the book that resonated very strongly and are still valid today. This was a very interesting (and pretty horrifying) book. It was also a quick read and really held my interest all the way through. There are also pictures of some of the advertisements for products from that era, such as "Radithor Radioactive Water" and "Cocaine Tooth Drops". I would definitely recommend this eye opening book.
2/6/20
I just finished reading the book King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. It is the first book in the Nikolai Duology, and is a part of the author's "Grisha-verse".
Obviously, I'm a big fan of this author since I've just read 4 of her books despite telling myself that I need to branch out a little bit for these book talks. I have good intentions to read something other than fantasy so that I can share a variety of titles with you guys, but then I read fantasy anyway. :) #sorrynotsorry :)
You will be familiar with some of the characters in this book if you have read any of the following: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising, Six of Crows, or Crooked Kingdom.
This book follows three characters: Nikolai, the king of Ravka, Zoya, his Grisha general, and Nina, a Grisha spy. This book takes place a few years after the events of the previous books. Nikolai is trying repair the damage years of war and bad leadership have inflicted on his kingdom and trying to hide the fact that the Darkling's creature is still living inside him, taking control of him more and more often. Zoya is his trusted general and leader of the Second Army of Ravka. She is one of the only people Nikolai completely trusts and she helps Nikolai to keep the secret of the dark magic inside him. Nina has been sent to Fjerda as a spy for Ravka to help smuggle Grisha out of Fjerda. She is still reeling from Mathais' death and hoping to find a place to finally lay his body to rest in his home country. Her new powers lead her to a munitions factory where the voices of the dead have called her there to give them justice. Old enemies and even older Saints are resurrected in this book and it definitely ends on a cliffhanger. I can't wait for the sequel!
I just finished reading the book King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. It is the first book in the Nikolai Duology, and is a part of the author's "Grisha-verse".
Obviously, I'm a big fan of this author since I've just read 4 of her books despite telling myself that I need to branch out a little bit for these book talks. I have good intentions to read something other than fantasy so that I can share a variety of titles with you guys, but then I read fantasy anyway. :) #sorrynotsorry :)
You will be familiar with some of the characters in this book if you have read any of the following: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising, Six of Crows, or Crooked Kingdom.
This book follows three characters: Nikolai, the king of Ravka, Zoya, his Grisha general, and Nina, a Grisha spy. This book takes place a few years after the events of the previous books. Nikolai is trying repair the damage years of war and bad leadership have inflicted on his kingdom and trying to hide the fact that the Darkling's creature is still living inside him, taking control of him more and more often. Zoya is his trusted general and leader of the Second Army of Ravka. She is one of the only people Nikolai completely trusts and she helps Nikolai to keep the secret of the dark magic inside him. Nina has been sent to Fjerda as a spy for Ravka to help smuggle Grisha out of Fjerda. She is still reeling from Mathais' death and hoping to find a place to finally lay his body to rest in his home country. Her new powers lead her to a munitions factory where the voices of the dead have called her there to give them justice. Old enemies and even older Saints are resurrected in this book and it definitely ends on a cliffhanger. I can't wait for the sequel!
2-5-20
Good morning,
I just finished the book Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliot.
Before you lose interest in this book talk, let me just say, this was a fantastic book. It is written in verse and each page or couple of pages is told in the voice of Joan or a person or object (the fire that consumes her for instance) that was present in her life. I was a little skeptical about this book at first, but it was very good and worth the short time it will take you to read it. If you enjoy books written in verse such as The Crossover, The Poet X, Crank, etc. then this might be a book for you. It is beautifully written and very thoughtfully done. A definite recommend from me!
Have a great day!
Good morning,
I just finished the book Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliot.
Before you lose interest in this book talk, let me just say, this was a fantastic book. It is written in verse and each page or couple of pages is told in the voice of Joan or a person or object (the fire that consumes her for instance) that was present in her life. I was a little skeptical about this book at first, but it was very good and worth the short time it will take you to read it. If you enjoy books written in verse such as The Crossover, The Poet X, Crank, etc. then this might be a book for you. It is beautifully written and very thoughtfully done. A definite recommend from me!
Have a great day!
1/13/20
Good morning!
I hope you all had a great holiday break (and that you had a chance to read something you wanted to read). I was able to read a few books in the truck on the way to Montana so I wanted to tell you about a few of them.
Some of you may remember my book talk last year on Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
The Grisha Trilogy (Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising) are also by Leigh Bardugo.
These books take place in the same universe as Six of Crows and feature a couple of the same characters.
In these books by Bardugo, there are people called Grisha who have powers to control wind and tide, healing and killing, and fabricating materials and objects. They are both loved and feared by those without powers, and most of them serve in the Second Army of Ravka led by a mysterious Grisha called the Darkling. The Grisha Trilogy books focus on an orphan named Alina Starkov who is raised in an orphanage with her best friend Mal before they both go to join the First Army of Ravka (non-magic soldiers). The army is attacked when trying to cross the Fold, a dark and evil place created by a rogue Grisha years before. When Mal's life is threatened in the Fold, Alina's powers as a Sun Summoner awaken for the first time. Her power hasn't been seen in generations, so the Darkling gathers her into his army and begins to train her to fight the darkness in the Fold. Soon Alina realizes that the Darkling may not be who he claims to be, and a civil war erupts in Ravka that will split the country and the Grisha apart. Alina must try to control her developing power (and the lust for more power) to try to be the leader that Ravka and the Grisha need, before Ravka and all the Grisha are destroyed.
I really like this author and I have enjoyed every one of her books that I have read. I would definitely recommend them!
Have a great day!
Good morning!
I hope you all had a great holiday break (and that you had a chance to read something you wanted to read). I was able to read a few books in the truck on the way to Montana so I wanted to tell you about a few of them.
Some of you may remember my book talk last year on Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
The Grisha Trilogy (Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising) are also by Leigh Bardugo.
These books take place in the same universe as Six of Crows and feature a couple of the same characters.
In these books by Bardugo, there are people called Grisha who have powers to control wind and tide, healing and killing, and fabricating materials and objects. They are both loved and feared by those without powers, and most of them serve in the Second Army of Ravka led by a mysterious Grisha called the Darkling. The Grisha Trilogy books focus on an orphan named Alina Starkov who is raised in an orphanage with her best friend Mal before they both go to join the First Army of Ravka (non-magic soldiers). The army is attacked when trying to cross the Fold, a dark and evil place created by a rogue Grisha years before. When Mal's life is threatened in the Fold, Alina's powers as a Sun Summoner awaken for the first time. Her power hasn't been seen in generations, so the Darkling gathers her into his army and begins to train her to fight the darkness in the Fold. Soon Alina realizes that the Darkling may not be who he claims to be, and a civil war erupts in Ravka that will split the country and the Grisha apart. Alina must try to control her developing power (and the lust for more power) to try to be the leader that Ravka and the Grisha need, before Ravka and all the Grisha are destroyed.
I really like this author and I have enjoyed every one of her books that I have read. I would definitely recommend them!
Have a great day!
12/16/19
Good morning!
I finished the book When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon over the weekend. This book is realistic romantic fiction.
This book follows our main character Dimple Shaw, a non-traditional girl from a traditional Indian-American family. Dimple wants to write code and design apps and programs, her mother wants her to wear more make-up and pay more attention to her appearance.
Dimple talks her parents into letting her attend a coding competition in San Francisco and she can't believe her good luck, until she bumps into Rishi Patel at the competition...and finds out he is the boy her parents have arranged for her to marry. She is outraged by the idea, but Rishi is a guy who respects tradition and is excited to meet his future wife.
After a very rocky first meeting, Dimple and Rishi get teamed up to design and produce an app for the competition, as they get to know each other will they find out that they have more in common than they thought??
I enjoyed this book and would like to read others by this author. For fans of romance, coming-of-age stories, humor, realistic fiction, family dynamics.
Good morning!
I finished the book When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon over the weekend. This book is realistic romantic fiction.
This book follows our main character Dimple Shaw, a non-traditional girl from a traditional Indian-American family. Dimple wants to write code and design apps and programs, her mother wants her to wear more make-up and pay more attention to her appearance.
Dimple talks her parents into letting her attend a coding competition in San Francisco and she can't believe her good luck, until she bumps into Rishi Patel at the competition...and finds out he is the boy her parents have arranged for her to marry. She is outraged by the idea, but Rishi is a guy who respects tradition and is excited to meet his future wife.
After a very rocky first meeting, Dimple and Rishi get teamed up to design and produce an app for the competition, as they get to know each other will they find out that they have more in common than they thought??
I enjoyed this book and would like to read others by this author. For fans of romance, coming-of-age stories, humor, realistic fiction, family dynamics.
12/3/19
Good morning!
I just finished reading the book 1919 by Martin W. Sandler. This book just won the 2019 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. This is a nonfiction book.
I have to admit to being personally interested in this book because my grandmother was born in 1919. I was curious to see what national events shaped the world she grew up in. The thing I found most interesting about this book was the fact that I never learned about some of these events in school. This book describes:
* The Great Molasses Flood (yes, that's a real thing) that would influence building code, laws about corporate negligence, and prohibition.
* Women's Right to Vote - The Amendment was first proposed in 1848 and took until 1919 to be passed. People actually thought women would become hysterical and faint when presented with the stress of voting (rolling my eyes right now). The hardships women went through to share in this basic right were amazing.
* The Red Summer (Yet another one I'd never heard of.) WWI ended in 1918, and nearly 400,000 African American soldiers returned home hoping their patriotism and sacrifices on the battlefields of Europe would mean greater rights on the homefront. Unfortunately, they were met with racism and denial of their equal rights. 1919 saw race riots, lynchings, and increased violence against African American communities all over the US. The things that were in this chapter were horrifying.
* The Red Scare - This chapter talks about how the rise of communism in Russia caused panic in the US and how some politicians and newspapers falsely used claims of communism to discredit and deport thousands of immigrants. This chapter immediately brought to mind the current state of immigration in the US and the treatment of immigrants being held in detention centers.
* The first major labor strikes in the US - 1919 saw a major strike by Boston's police force and steel workers around the country. Workers were striking to protest low wages, unsafe working conditions, and long hours. However, politicians and companies portrayed the strikers as communists who were trying to bring Russian values to the US. Both strikes failed and the entire Boston police force lost their jobs as a result.
* The final chapter was on Prohibition. The Volstead Act passed in 1919 and enforcement began in 1920. Americans immediately began finding ways to circumvent the laws and the US saw a rise in drinking and organized crime as a result of Prohibition.
Overall, this book was very well written and interesting. This is not a dry, boring textbook (no offense textbooks). The thing I found most interesting (and sad) is the way that events in history seem to repeat themselves, new generations don't seem to learn anything from past events. Do better than we have done young people!
Good morning!
I just finished reading the book 1919 by Martin W. Sandler. This book just won the 2019 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. This is a nonfiction book.
I have to admit to being personally interested in this book because my grandmother was born in 1919. I was curious to see what national events shaped the world she grew up in. The thing I found most interesting about this book was the fact that I never learned about some of these events in school. This book describes:
* The Great Molasses Flood (yes, that's a real thing) that would influence building code, laws about corporate negligence, and prohibition.
* Women's Right to Vote - The Amendment was first proposed in 1848 and took until 1919 to be passed. People actually thought women would become hysterical and faint when presented with the stress of voting (rolling my eyes right now). The hardships women went through to share in this basic right were amazing.
* The Red Summer (Yet another one I'd never heard of.) WWI ended in 1918, and nearly 400,000 African American soldiers returned home hoping their patriotism and sacrifices on the battlefields of Europe would mean greater rights on the homefront. Unfortunately, they were met with racism and denial of their equal rights. 1919 saw race riots, lynchings, and increased violence against African American communities all over the US. The things that were in this chapter were horrifying.
* The Red Scare - This chapter talks about how the rise of communism in Russia caused panic in the US and how some politicians and newspapers falsely used claims of communism to discredit and deport thousands of immigrants. This chapter immediately brought to mind the current state of immigration in the US and the treatment of immigrants being held in detention centers.
* The first major labor strikes in the US - 1919 saw a major strike by Boston's police force and steel workers around the country. Workers were striking to protest low wages, unsafe working conditions, and long hours. However, politicians and companies portrayed the strikers as communists who were trying to bring Russian values to the US. Both strikes failed and the entire Boston police force lost their jobs as a result.
* The final chapter was on Prohibition. The Volstead Act passed in 1919 and enforcement began in 1920. Americans immediately began finding ways to circumvent the laws and the US saw a rise in drinking and organized crime as a result of Prohibition.
Overall, this book was very well written and interesting. This is not a dry, boring textbook (no offense textbooks). The thing I found most interesting (and sad) is the way that events in history seem to repeat themselves, new generations don't seem to learn anything from past events. Do better than we have done young people!
11/21/19
Good morning!
I finished The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton last night.
The Belles is set in the imaginary kingdom of Orleans. The people of Orleans have been cursed by the God of the Sky to have gray skin, red eyes, and hair like straw. The Goddess of Beauty intervened by creating the Belles, young women who can use their gifts to change a person's appearance or even their temperament. Camielle has been raised away from society in a luxurious home with her sisters, trained to change the appearance of those who can afford to pay for her services. Her dream is to be chosen as "The Favorite", to live in the palace and serve the royal family as her mother did. However, Camille soon learns that the gift of beauty is not what she thought and some people will use their position and influence to do terrible things in the name of beauty.
The book feels very opulent and the suspense really picks up from the middle to the end. This is the first book in a series, for fans of fantasy, dystopian, romance, dark fairy tales, and coming of age books.
The author provides an interesting look into her inspiration for this book at the end, and her concerns with the lengths women will go to to achieve unrealistic expectations of beauty.
Have a great day!
Good morning!
I finished The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton last night.
The Belles is set in the imaginary kingdom of Orleans. The people of Orleans have been cursed by the God of the Sky to have gray skin, red eyes, and hair like straw. The Goddess of Beauty intervened by creating the Belles, young women who can use their gifts to change a person's appearance or even their temperament. Camielle has been raised away from society in a luxurious home with her sisters, trained to change the appearance of those who can afford to pay for her services. Her dream is to be chosen as "The Favorite", to live in the palace and serve the royal family as her mother did. However, Camille soon learns that the gift of beauty is not what she thought and some people will use their position and influence to do terrible things in the name of beauty.
The book feels very opulent and the suspense really picks up from the middle to the end. This is the first book in a series, for fans of fantasy, dystopian, romance, dark fairy tales, and coming of age books.
The author provides an interesting look into her inspiration for this book at the end, and her concerns with the lengths women will go to to achieve unrealistic expectations of beauty.
Have a great day!
11/20/19
Good morning,
I just finished reading the book Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri.
This book is a graphic novel/biography about 11 year old Robert "Yummy" Sandifer. He was a gang member in Chicago who shot and killed a 14 year old girl from his neighborhood. A city-wide manhunt followed and Yummy was killed by his own gang for being a "problem". This is the story of his last days told from the perspective of another boy in his neighborhood. This sad and powerful book was a Coretta Scott King Honor Award recipient.
Good morning,
I just finished reading the book Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri.
This book is a graphic novel/biography about 11 year old Robert "Yummy" Sandifer. He was a gang member in Chicago who shot and killed a 14 year old girl from his neighborhood. A city-wide manhunt followed and Yummy was killed by his own gang for being a "problem". This is the story of his last days told from the perspective of another boy in his neighborhood. This sad and powerful book was a Coretta Scott King Honor Award recipient.
11/11/19
Good morning!
I finished the book This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee over the weekend. The author identifies the genre as historical fantasy.
This book is a reimagining of Frankenstein and the original author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, appears as a character in the story. In this book, Alasdair Finch works in his father's clockwork shop with his father and older brother, Oliver, in 1818 Geneva. They repair clocks and machinery, and in a secret back room, they manufacture and install clockwork parts for people who have lost limbs in wars or to accidents. This practice is forbidden and "clockwork people" are persecuted all over Europe. The people who manufacture these parts are called Shadow Boys. Alasdair's greatest hope is to go to university and study with Dr. Geisler, a Shadow Boy and one of the scientific minds behind the clockwork movement.
One night, Oliver is killed, and in his grief, Alisdair takes some of Dr. Geisler's journals and brings Oliver back from the dead. But has Alisdair made a monster, or is Oliver still somewhere inside of the clockwork man he has become?
For fans of gothic horror, historical fiction, fantasy, and steampunk.
Have a great day!
Good morning!
I finished the book This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee over the weekend. The author identifies the genre as historical fantasy.
This book is a reimagining of Frankenstein and the original author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, appears as a character in the story. In this book, Alasdair Finch works in his father's clockwork shop with his father and older brother, Oliver, in 1818 Geneva. They repair clocks and machinery, and in a secret back room, they manufacture and install clockwork parts for people who have lost limbs in wars or to accidents. This practice is forbidden and "clockwork people" are persecuted all over Europe. The people who manufacture these parts are called Shadow Boys. Alasdair's greatest hope is to go to university and study with Dr. Geisler, a Shadow Boy and one of the scientific minds behind the clockwork movement.
One night, Oliver is killed, and in his grief, Alisdair takes some of Dr. Geisler's journals and brings Oliver back from the dead. But has Alisdair made a monster, or is Oliver still somewhere inside of the clockwork man he has become?
For fans of gothic horror, historical fiction, fantasy, and steampunk.
Have a great day!
11/4/19
Good morning!
I was finally able to get some reading done this weekend and I finished two books and almost a third which hopefully I will tell you about in another couple days.
The first book I read was What the Eyes Don't See by Mona Hanna-Attisha. This is a nonfiction book.
This book was written by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha who is a pediatrician and hospital researcher who works in Flint, MI. She was one of the people who brought the Flint water crisis the attention it needed. This story documents her realization that there was lead in the Flint water system and that the government knew and was ignoring it, or in some cases covering it up. My dad grew up in Flint, so this story had some personal significance to me and I told him that he and his sister both need to read this. It was a good book that was both horrifying and hopeful. This book has also been designated at The Great Michigan Read for this school year. I hope that many of you will read this book!
Good morning!
I was finally able to get some reading done this weekend and I finished two books and almost a third which hopefully I will tell you about in another couple days.
The first book I read was What the Eyes Don't See by Mona Hanna-Attisha. This is a nonfiction book.
This book was written by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha who is a pediatrician and hospital researcher who works in Flint, MI. She was one of the people who brought the Flint water crisis the attention it needed. This story documents her realization that there was lead in the Flint water system and that the government knew and was ignoring it, or in some cases covering it up. My dad grew up in Flint, so this story had some personal significance to me and I told him that he and his sister both need to read this. It was a good book that was both horrifying and hopeful. This book has also been designated at The Great Michigan Read for this school year. I hope that many of you will read this book!
11/4/19
The second book I finished was Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. It is in the fantasy genre.
I wanted to finish this book before Halloween so that I could book talk something about werewolves, but I didn't quite make it. This book is a little different take on the standard werewolf lore. In this series, werewolves are called Guardians. Their job is to serve and protect another group called Keepers. Both of these groups have been at war with a third group called Searchers. This story follows a teenage girl named Calla who is the alpha of her high school pack. Since birth she has been destined to marry Ren, the alpha of another rival high school pack, on Halloween, the night of their 18th birthdays. They will then join their packs together and serve a young Keeper named Logan who goes to school with them. A new boy comes to town named Shay with a mysterious past who Calla is tasked with keeping safe. Shay uncovers some long hidden information about the relationship and history of the Guardians and Keepers that threatens to unravel everything Calla believes is true. For fans of fantasy, paranormal, romance, mystery.
The second book I finished was Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. It is in the fantasy genre.
I wanted to finish this book before Halloween so that I could book talk something about werewolves, but I didn't quite make it. This book is a little different take on the standard werewolf lore. In this series, werewolves are called Guardians. Their job is to serve and protect another group called Keepers. Both of these groups have been at war with a third group called Searchers. This story follows a teenage girl named Calla who is the alpha of her high school pack. Since birth she has been destined to marry Ren, the alpha of another rival high school pack, on Halloween, the night of their 18th birthdays. They will then join their packs together and serve a young Keeper named Logan who goes to school with them. A new boy comes to town named Shay with a mysterious past who Calla is tasked with keeping safe. Shay uncovers some long hidden information about the relationship and history of the Guardians and Keepers that threatens to unravel everything Calla believes is true. For fans of fantasy, paranormal, romance, mystery.
10/7/19
Good morning!
I recently finished the book Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse. It was recommended to me by a student.
This book is in the historical fiction and mystery genres. The book is set in Amsterdam during World War II during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Hanneke, a teenage girl, is the main character. After her boyfriend is killed during the German invasion, she goes to work finding and supplying black market goods to people that can pay for them in an effort to keep her family afloat. When one of her regular customers asks her for help in finding a missing Jewish girl she has been hiding, Hanneke doesn't want to get involved in what she sees as a dangerous and foolish job. Despite her protests, she finds herself drawn into a group of college students, including the brother of her dead boyfriend, who are working behind the scenes as part of a national resistance movement.
This was a good book with equal parts historical fiction and mystery. There were lots of twists and turns to the story as Hanneke tries to discover what happened to the missing girl and as she deals with her own personal trauma related to the Nazi occupation. This was a good book and I would definitely recommend it. For fans of World War II history, historical fiction, and mystery.
Next up I am reading a nonfiction book called What the Eyes Don't See about the Flint Water Crisis.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
Good morning!
I recently finished the book Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse. It was recommended to me by a student.
This book is in the historical fiction and mystery genres. The book is set in Amsterdam during World War II during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Hanneke, a teenage girl, is the main character. After her boyfriend is killed during the German invasion, she goes to work finding and supplying black market goods to people that can pay for them in an effort to keep her family afloat. When one of her regular customers asks her for help in finding a missing Jewish girl she has been hiding, Hanneke doesn't want to get involved in what she sees as a dangerous and foolish job. Despite her protests, she finds herself drawn into a group of college students, including the brother of her dead boyfriend, who are working behind the scenes as part of a national resistance movement.
This was a good book with equal parts historical fiction and mystery. There were lots of twists and turns to the story as Hanneke tries to discover what happened to the missing girl and as she deals with her own personal trauma related to the Nazi occupation. This was a good book and I would definitely recommend it. For fans of World War II history, historical fiction, and mystery.
Next up I am reading a nonfiction book called What the Eyes Don't See about the Flint Water Crisis.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
9/25/19
Hi all,
I just finished reading The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter. It is in the fantasy genre (shocking, me reading fantasy, I know).
So... I am still reading The Girl in the Blue Coat (and enjoying it), but someone returned The Goddess Test and I started thumbing through it, then started reading, and then I just decided to take it home and read the whole thing. I'm going to make the excuse for sneaking a book into my lineup by saying that this book happens to be written by a Michigan author and it is set in the U.P. which I thought was kind of neat. :)
Kate Winter and her dying mother are moving to her mother's hometown of Eden, Michigan. She is starting at a new school and trying to spend as much time with her mother as possible. After a prank turns into a tragic accident, she meets Henry who says he is Hades, the god of the Underworld. He offers to keep her mother alive if, like Persephone, she will agree to live with him for 6 months of the year as Queen of the Underworld. If she can pass seven tests she will be granted immortality, marry Henry, and become a goddess. The problem, she's not sure if she wants to be immortal, and every girl who has tried before her has died...
This book was a quick read and was fun take on Greek myths. I'd recommend it to people who like greek mythology and romance.
Next up, I will finish The Girl in the Blue Coat.
Have a great day!
Hi all,
I just finished reading The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter. It is in the fantasy genre (shocking, me reading fantasy, I know).
So... I am still reading The Girl in the Blue Coat (and enjoying it), but someone returned The Goddess Test and I started thumbing through it, then started reading, and then I just decided to take it home and read the whole thing. I'm going to make the excuse for sneaking a book into my lineup by saying that this book happens to be written by a Michigan author and it is set in the U.P. which I thought was kind of neat. :)
Kate Winter and her dying mother are moving to her mother's hometown of Eden, Michigan. She is starting at a new school and trying to spend as much time with her mother as possible. After a prank turns into a tragic accident, she meets Henry who says he is Hades, the god of the Underworld. He offers to keep her mother alive if, like Persephone, she will agree to live with him for 6 months of the year as Queen of the Underworld. If she can pass seven tests she will be granted immortality, marry Henry, and become a goddess. The problem, she's not sure if she wants to be immortal, and every girl who has tried before her has died...
This book was a quick read and was fun take on Greek myths. I'd recommend it to people who like greek mythology and romance.
Next up, I will finish The Girl in the Blue Coat.
Have a great day!
9/11/19
Good morning,
I just finished the book Who Was Leif Erickson? It is a biography in the Who Is/Who Was series. I recently purchased about 15 titles from this series.
You may be thinking, "That looks like a book for kids." This biography series is at an elementary reading level, but I still like and recommend them. These books are great if you are curious about someone, but you don't want to commit to reading a 600 page biography. These short books will give you a good overview of the person's life without a big time commitment. Then if you decide you'd like to know more, you can always look for a longer, more in depth biography.
The next book I'm going to read is The Girl in the Blue Coat, a student recommendation.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
Good morning,
I just finished the book Who Was Leif Erickson? It is a biography in the Who Is/Who Was series. I recently purchased about 15 titles from this series.
You may be thinking, "That looks like a book for kids." This biography series is at an elementary reading level, but I still like and recommend them. These books are great if you are curious about someone, but you don't want to commit to reading a 600 page biography. These short books will give you a good overview of the person's life without a big time commitment. Then if you decide you'd like to know more, you can always look for a longer, more in depth biography.
The next book I'm going to read is The Girl in the Blue Coat, a student recommendation.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
9/9/19
I finished a new book over the weekend that I wanted to report on. :)
It is called The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrian Young.
It is a companion book to one I read last year called Sky in the Deep.
This latest book is set 10 years after the events of Sky in the Deep. It features some of the same characters, but adds some new ones that are the focus of this story. It follows a girl named Tova who is washed up on a beach in a half-burned boat. She is found by the spiritual leader of the local clan and raised in the village as a truthtongue (one who can speak to the gods to read the future). She is feared and even hated by most of the village for her abilities. In this book some of her fortellings lead her adopted clan to war against the characters from Sky in the Deep. The other main character is Halvard, who was a child in the previous book. As a young man, he has been chosen as the future leader of his people. His ability to lead is tested when war comes to his people who have known only peace for the last 10 years. Tova and Halvard find themselves connected by fate, but don't know if war will destroy their bond.
You may remember that I really liked Sky in the Deep, so I was excited for this book to come out. I thought that it had a bit of a slow start (probably because I was trying to get all the character names straight), but it picked up quickly and was fast paced after that. I would recommend this book for fans of: Sky in the Deep, Throne of Glass series, Rebel of the Sands series, And I Darken series, Brotherband Chronicles, and the Vikings tv series on the History Channel.
Up next, I'm reading a biography on Leif Erickson. :)
I finished a new book over the weekend that I wanted to report on. :)
It is called The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrian Young.
It is a companion book to one I read last year called Sky in the Deep.
This latest book is set 10 years after the events of Sky in the Deep. It features some of the same characters, but adds some new ones that are the focus of this story. It follows a girl named Tova who is washed up on a beach in a half-burned boat. She is found by the spiritual leader of the local clan and raised in the village as a truthtongue (one who can speak to the gods to read the future). She is feared and even hated by most of the village for her abilities. In this book some of her fortellings lead her adopted clan to war against the characters from Sky in the Deep. The other main character is Halvard, who was a child in the previous book. As a young man, he has been chosen as the future leader of his people. His ability to lead is tested when war comes to his people who have known only peace for the last 10 years. Tova and Halvard find themselves connected by fate, but don't know if war will destroy their bond.
You may remember that I really liked Sky in the Deep, so I was excited for this book to come out. I thought that it had a bit of a slow start (probably because I was trying to get all the character names straight), but it picked up quickly and was fast paced after that. I would recommend this book for fans of: Sky in the Deep, Throne of Glass series, Rebel of the Sands series, And I Darken series, Brotherband Chronicles, and the Vikings tv series on the History Channel.
Up next, I'm reading a biography on Leif Erickson. :)
Good morning!
Finally! I have finished this book. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson is in the realistic fiction genre.
It took me a long time to get going on this book, the first few chapters were slow for me. Once I got a few chapters in however, it picked up and I finished the rest of the book fairly quickly.
This book is actually a good choice for a summer read; it tells the story of Emily a high school girl whose best friend Sloane has disappeared at the start of summer. Emily has no idea where Sloane and her family have gone, and Sloane won't return any of her calls or texts. Emily feels lost without her since Sloane was the outgoing, social one and Emily always felt safe and comfortable tagging along with her. A few days after discovering Sloane's absence, Emily receives a list from Sloane, 13 things for Emily to do, things that Sloane knew Emily would be afraid to do on her own.
Over the course of the summer Emily begins trying to check off each thing on the list, hoping it will somehow help her to discover what happened to Sloane. Along the way she makes some new friends and begins to find out who she is when she's not living in Sloane's shadow. By the end, the list becomes less about Sloane and more about Emily's newfound confidence and sense of herself.
This question is: will she find out where Sloane went??
If you enjoy realistic fiction and friendship stories, this could be a good choice for you.
Finally! I have finished this book. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson is in the realistic fiction genre.
It took me a long time to get going on this book, the first few chapters were slow for me. Once I got a few chapters in however, it picked up and I finished the rest of the book fairly quickly.
This book is actually a good choice for a summer read; it tells the story of Emily a high school girl whose best friend Sloane has disappeared at the start of summer. Emily has no idea where Sloane and her family have gone, and Sloane won't return any of her calls or texts. Emily feels lost without her since Sloane was the outgoing, social one and Emily always felt safe and comfortable tagging along with her. A few days after discovering Sloane's absence, Emily receives a list from Sloane, 13 things for Emily to do, things that Sloane knew Emily would be afraid to do on her own.
Over the course of the summer Emily begins trying to check off each thing on the list, hoping it will somehow help her to discover what happened to Sloane. Along the way she makes some new friends and begins to find out who she is when she's not living in Sloane's shadow. By the end, the list becomes less about Sloane and more about Emily's newfound confidence and sense of herself.
This question is: will she find out where Sloane went??
If you enjoy realistic fiction and friendship stories, this could be a good choice for you.
Good morning!
I just finished reading Looking for Alaska by John Green. This book falls in the Realistic/Contemporary Fiction genre.
This book is semi-autobiographical as the author, like the main character, is from Florida and attended boarding school in Alabama. Our main character, Miles, lives a pretty solitary life at home with no friends, spending his time reading the last words of famous people. He heads off to boarding school on a quest for the "Great Perhaps". He meets some friends at school, including the beautiful and unstable Alaska Young, who shake up his world and turn boarding school into his new home.
This was a good book, although I didn't emotionally connect with these characters as much as I thought I should have. I found the same thing to be true when I read another of his books, The Fault in Our Stars. His books have been very popular and several have been made into movies, so they are obviously well liked, but for some reason, I just have a hard time really caring about his characters. He writes about deep and meaningful events in life and tackles some of the "big questions", but when the punch to the stomach comes in his books, I find that I don't care as much as I think I should. I found that another book I recently read, Winger, made more of an impact on me, when a similar event happened. I'm going to chalk it up to my personal preference for writing style or author's voice, and not a bad review of the book or author. I would recommend John Green books if you like realistic fiction that has serious topic matter and characters struggling with some of the big things life can throw at you.
The next book I am reading off my list is Since You've Been Gone. I'm hoping to have it done later this week (I have a 2 week break in Grad school before Summer session starts, so I'm hoping to get some extra reading done. :)
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
I just finished reading Looking for Alaska by John Green. This book falls in the Realistic/Contemporary Fiction genre.
This book is semi-autobiographical as the author, like the main character, is from Florida and attended boarding school in Alabama. Our main character, Miles, lives a pretty solitary life at home with no friends, spending his time reading the last words of famous people. He heads off to boarding school on a quest for the "Great Perhaps". He meets some friends at school, including the beautiful and unstable Alaska Young, who shake up his world and turn boarding school into his new home.
This was a good book, although I didn't emotionally connect with these characters as much as I thought I should have. I found the same thing to be true when I read another of his books, The Fault in Our Stars. His books have been very popular and several have been made into movies, so they are obviously well liked, but for some reason, I just have a hard time really caring about his characters. He writes about deep and meaningful events in life and tackles some of the "big questions", but when the punch to the stomach comes in his books, I find that I don't care as much as I think I should. I found that another book I recently read, Winger, made more of an impact on me, when a similar event happened. I'm going to chalk it up to my personal preference for writing style or author's voice, and not a bad review of the book or author. I would recommend John Green books if you like realistic fiction that has serious topic matter and characters struggling with some of the big things life can throw at you.
The next book I am reading off my list is Since You've Been Gone. I'm hoping to have it done later this week (I have a 2 week break in Grad school before Summer session starts, so I'm hoping to get some extra reading done. :)
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
Hi again!
Here is the book talk for the last book I read over break, Winger, by Andrew Smith.
This book is about Ryan Dean, a 14 year old junior at a boarding school in the Pacific Northwest. After running afoul of the school on a disciplinary matter the previous year, he is assigned to the O-Hall, where all the delinquents and trouble-makers live. The book starts with Ryan Dean thinking to himself how grateful he is that it is the beginning of the year and the toilets are clean since his head has been shoved into one by two other guys in the dorm.
This book has friendship, a crush on an older girl, navigating the waters of school as a smart young guy two grades ahead of where he should be, and the best sport of all: rugby. For all his seemingly dorky characteristics, Ryan Dean is the varsity team's star wing (hence the nickname). Like real life rugby teams, the guys on the team stick up for each other and become a sort of family. When I told my husband (a former rugby player) about the book, he actually started reading it, in fact he read half of it in a day (unheard of). He actually suggested that we, "Spend some time reading" yesterday. :) It was the rugby that did it.
I laughed through about 95% of this book and loved the great banter between characters. Then, the author dropped a bomb involving Ryan Dean's best friend that completely changed the tone of the book and took it to a serious place real quick. The author gave some foreshadowing of what was coming, so I wasn't completely surprised, but I found that as I was coming up to the words I knew I was going to see, I was mentally going, "No, no, no, no, no."
This was a really good book, and was both funny and heartbreaking. The characters had depth and there were lots of relatable and relevant situations. I would definitely recommend it!
Here is the book talk for the last book I read over break, Winger, by Andrew Smith.
This book is about Ryan Dean, a 14 year old junior at a boarding school in the Pacific Northwest. After running afoul of the school on a disciplinary matter the previous year, he is assigned to the O-Hall, where all the delinquents and trouble-makers live. The book starts with Ryan Dean thinking to himself how grateful he is that it is the beginning of the year and the toilets are clean since his head has been shoved into one by two other guys in the dorm.
This book has friendship, a crush on an older girl, navigating the waters of school as a smart young guy two grades ahead of where he should be, and the best sport of all: rugby. For all his seemingly dorky characteristics, Ryan Dean is the varsity team's star wing (hence the nickname). Like real life rugby teams, the guys on the team stick up for each other and become a sort of family. When I told my husband (a former rugby player) about the book, he actually started reading it, in fact he read half of it in a day (unheard of). He actually suggested that we, "Spend some time reading" yesterday. :) It was the rugby that did it.
I laughed through about 95% of this book and loved the great banter between characters. Then, the author dropped a bomb involving Ryan Dean's best friend that completely changed the tone of the book and took it to a serious place real quick. The author gave some foreshadowing of what was coming, so I wasn't completely surprised, but I found that as I was coming up to the words I knew I was going to see, I was mentally going, "No, no, no, no, no."
This was a really good book, and was both funny and heartbreaking. The characters had depth and there were lots of relatable and relevant situations. I would definitely recommend it!
Hi all,
I hope you had a great break! I have a couple books to report on. The first two are The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee.
This award winning historical fiction book is set in the early 1700's. It is the story of Lord Henry "Monty" Montague a teenager about to embark on his yearlong Grand Tour of Europe with his sister Felicity and his best friend Percy. Monty has been described as a cad, a rake, and a scoundrel, and he plans to behave badly from one end of Europe to the the other. Unfortunately, his father is tired of his embarrassing behavior and has hired a chaperone who is sure to prohibit the decadence and debauchery Monty has planned. Fortunately for them they are attacked by highwaymen and separated from their chaperone. They then find themselves drawn into a mystery that will have them running from France to Spain to Italy trying to escape a French Duke and a crew of pirates. There's also the small problem that he's in love with Percy and he's trying very hard not to ruin their friendship by letting him know.
This book had me laughing by the end of the first paragraph. Monty is inappropriate, incorrigible, selfish, and he always seems to do the wrong thing. I loved him. As someone born into privilege, he doesn't always think about other people's situations, or how his actions affect others. Yet he himself is in love with a man during a time when he could be disinherited, publicly shamed, or even executed because of that. He is a flawed character that you can't help but like.
The thing I really like about this book is that under the veneer of humor and adventure, there are several significant social justice issues that readers can identify with. The author is even good enough to give us a breakdown of these issues (the Grand Tour, politics, epilepsy, race relations, a woman's place in society, and queer culture) in their historical context at the end of the book. I definitely recommend this one!
For fans of: Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Adventure, Humor, Plot lines dealing with social justice.
I hope you had a great break! I have a couple books to report on. The first two are The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee.
This award winning historical fiction book is set in the early 1700's. It is the story of Lord Henry "Monty" Montague a teenager about to embark on his yearlong Grand Tour of Europe with his sister Felicity and his best friend Percy. Monty has been described as a cad, a rake, and a scoundrel, and he plans to behave badly from one end of Europe to the the other. Unfortunately, his father is tired of his embarrassing behavior and has hired a chaperone who is sure to prohibit the decadence and debauchery Monty has planned. Fortunately for them they are attacked by highwaymen and separated from their chaperone. They then find themselves drawn into a mystery that will have them running from France to Spain to Italy trying to escape a French Duke and a crew of pirates. There's also the small problem that he's in love with Percy and he's trying very hard not to ruin their friendship by letting him know.
This book had me laughing by the end of the first paragraph. Monty is inappropriate, incorrigible, selfish, and he always seems to do the wrong thing. I loved him. As someone born into privilege, he doesn't always think about other people's situations, or how his actions affect others. Yet he himself is in love with a man during a time when he could be disinherited, publicly shamed, or even executed because of that. He is a flawed character that you can't help but like.
The thing I really like about this book is that under the veneer of humor and adventure, there are several significant social justice issues that readers can identify with. The author is even good enough to give us a breakdown of these issues (the Grand Tour, politics, epilepsy, race relations, a woman's place in society, and queer culture) in their historical context at the end of the book. I definitely recommend this one!
For fans of: Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Adventure, Humor, Plot lines dealing with social justice.
The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy picks up shortly after the end of The Gentleman's Guide. This book follows Monty's sister Felicity and her quest to be admitted into medical school at a time when the only medical fields open to women were herbalist or midwife. After a year of being turned down by every school in Edinburgh, she retreats to her brother's house in London. She finds an opportunity to meet Alexander Platt, a medical idol of hers. It happens that he is marrying her childhood friend Johanna. Unfortunately, Felicity and Johanna didn't part on good terms. This is when the pirate crew from The Gentleman's Guide makes another appearance with a mysterious new female crew member who gives Felicity a way to meet Dr. Platt. So begins an adventure that takes Felicity from Germany to the Barbary coast of Africa.
Like The Gentleman's Guide, this book has some social justice issues along with the adventure and humor we have come to expect from the Montague siblings. As I was reading this, I kept thinking that it is a book women should read. (Not that you guys can't read it too.) The hurdles that women had to overcome to be taken seriously and treated as equals still exist today, but back then they were almost insurmountable, and women who refused to live within the expectations of society often had to completely go it alone. Like the previous book, this book has characters who dare to find out what happens when they refuse to conform to the expectations of their families and society.
I recommend this book, it is for fans of: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Humor, Piracy, Medicine, Women's History.
Like The Gentleman's Guide, this book has some social justice issues along with the adventure and humor we have come to expect from the Montague siblings. As I was reading this, I kept thinking that it is a book women should read. (Not that you guys can't read it too.) The hurdles that women had to overcome to be taken seriously and treated as equals still exist today, but back then they were almost insurmountable, and women who refused to live within the expectations of society often had to completely go it alone. Like the previous book, this book has characters who dare to find out what happens when they refuse to conform to the expectations of their families and society.
I recommend this book, it is for fans of: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Humor, Piracy, Medicine, Women's History.
2/28/19
Good afternoon,
I just finished the book Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton. This book falls in the Fantasy/Adventure/Western genre. (I'll explain that in a second.)
Our main character is Amani, a girl who has grown up in a small dusty town in the desert where women are the property of their fathers or their husbands. The mythical creatures of legend like Djinn have been beaten back into the shadows by the abundance of iron in this town of sand and guns. At 16, Amani is an unlikely gunslinger trying to get out of town before she is forced to marry. One night, she sneaks out dressed as a boy in an attempt to win a shooting contest that will finally give her the money she needs to leave. There, she meets Jin, a foreigner with secrets of his own. After a fire and a run-in with the Sultan's soldiers, they find themselves thrown together and running for their lives. As they travel the desert trying to evade danger, Amani finds out the truth not just about Jin, but herself as well.
This book is the first in a trilogy that was recommended to me by a NMPS student. Unfortunately, we don't have these books at our library. The good news is, the public library does have them (I am going to add them to my list of books to buy for our library though). This was a good adventure story with a little fantasy and romance thrown in. What I really liked about this book was the "Arabian Nights meets The Quick and the Dead" vibe. It is an unusual mash-up of genres, and it really works in this book. I would definitely recommend this book for fans of The Red Queen series or the Throne of Glass series.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
Good afternoon,
I just finished the book Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton. This book falls in the Fantasy/Adventure/Western genre. (I'll explain that in a second.)
Our main character is Amani, a girl who has grown up in a small dusty town in the desert where women are the property of their fathers or their husbands. The mythical creatures of legend like Djinn have been beaten back into the shadows by the abundance of iron in this town of sand and guns. At 16, Amani is an unlikely gunslinger trying to get out of town before she is forced to marry. One night, she sneaks out dressed as a boy in an attempt to win a shooting contest that will finally give her the money she needs to leave. There, she meets Jin, a foreigner with secrets of his own. After a fire and a run-in with the Sultan's soldiers, they find themselves thrown together and running for their lives. As they travel the desert trying to evade danger, Amani finds out the truth not just about Jin, but herself as well.
This book is the first in a trilogy that was recommended to me by a NMPS student. Unfortunately, we don't have these books at our library. The good news is, the public library does have them (I am going to add them to my list of books to buy for our library though). This was a good adventure story with a little fantasy and romance thrown in. What I really liked about this book was the "Arabian Nights meets The Quick and the Dead" vibe. It is an unusual mash-up of genres, and it really works in this book. I would definitely recommend this book for fans of The Red Queen series or the Throne of Glass series.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
2/25/19
Good morning!
I finished a book off my list called My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick this weekend. This book falls in the Realistic Fiction/Romance genre.
Samantha is the main character in this book. She lives with her older sister and her mother, a senator. They have lived next door to the Garretts, a loud, large, and happy family, for years. Samantha's mother has always considered the Garretts to be a family to be avoided, and Samantha always has, watching them from her roof, until one night, Jase Garrett climbs up on the roof next to her, and everything changes. Jase and Samantha fall for eachother and Samantha comes to feel more at home with the Garretts than her own family. Samantha's mother strikes up a romance with her new campaign manager, a man that Samantha doesn't trust, and Samantha notices that her mother's behavior is changing. One night something terrible happens and Samantha has a secret that could tear apart her family and the Garrett family as well. She has to decide what to do and live with the consequences of that choice.
I liked this book overall. I felt like it moved pretty quickly and there were some good conflicts between family members, friends, and Sam and Jase that kept things moving along, and Sam and Jase's relationship was a positive one.
I am finishing up the book Rebel of the Sands (which I am really liking) and hope to have it finished this week.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
Good morning!
I finished a book off my list called My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick this weekend. This book falls in the Realistic Fiction/Romance genre.
Samantha is the main character in this book. She lives with her older sister and her mother, a senator. They have lived next door to the Garretts, a loud, large, and happy family, for years. Samantha's mother has always considered the Garretts to be a family to be avoided, and Samantha always has, watching them from her roof, until one night, Jase Garrett climbs up on the roof next to her, and everything changes. Jase and Samantha fall for eachother and Samantha comes to feel more at home with the Garretts than her own family. Samantha's mother strikes up a romance with her new campaign manager, a man that Samantha doesn't trust, and Samantha notices that her mother's behavior is changing. One night something terrible happens and Samantha has a secret that could tear apart her family and the Garrett family as well. She has to decide what to do and live with the consequences of that choice.
I liked this book overall. I felt like it moved pretty quickly and there were some good conflicts between family members, friends, and Sam and Jase that kept things moving along, and Sam and Jase's relationship was a positive one.
I am finishing up the book Rebel of the Sands (which I am really liking) and hope to have it finished this week.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
2/12/19
Good morning,
I hope you all are enjoying yet another snow day. I just finished one of the books from my list, Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
Graceling is in the fantasy genre and is the first book in a series. In this story, our main character, Katsa, is a girl who is one of the few people born with a Grace, a kind of "superpower" that sets her apart from the rest of the population. Her Grace is fighting and she is put to work by her king to be his personal thug. She is also secretly a member of The Council, a group she helped found to right wrongs in her kingdom and others. On one of her missions for The Council she meets Po, another Graced fighter, with a closely guarded secret that threatens to destroy their growing friendship. When Katsa and Po have a horrible realization about a situation in another kingdom, they must work together together to rescue a child princess and overcome the strongest foe they have ever encountered.
I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend it to others. It had action, adventure, plot twists, romance, classic good vs. evil, as well as personal growth and self discovery.
Good morning,
I hope you all are enjoying yet another snow day. I just finished one of the books from my list, Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
Graceling is in the fantasy genre and is the first book in a series. In this story, our main character, Katsa, is a girl who is one of the few people born with a Grace, a kind of "superpower" that sets her apart from the rest of the population. Her Grace is fighting and she is put to work by her king to be his personal thug. She is also secretly a member of The Council, a group she helped found to right wrongs in her kingdom and others. On one of her missions for The Council she meets Po, another Graced fighter, with a closely guarded secret that threatens to destroy their growing friendship. When Katsa and Po have a horrible realization about a situation in another kingdom, they must work together together to rescue a child princess and overcome the strongest foe they have ever encountered.
I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend it to others. It had action, adventure, plot twists, romance, classic good vs. evil, as well as personal growth and self discovery.
I also recently read Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin. This is a book in the epic fantasy genre, and is a part of the Game of Thrones universe, though it happens several hundred years before the events in the main GOT series. (Also, this is my personal book, we don't have it in the library, though we do have the other GOT books.)
This book is about the history of the Targaryen family in Westeros from the time that Aegon first conquered the seven kingdoms until the reign of Aegon III about 130 years later. Fire and Blood reads like a history book, though it does have some beautifully drawn illustrations. My only complaint is that there are no maps in this book. When I am reading a story that spans an entire world (such as Eragon or Lord of the Rings), I like to have maps to refer to. I actually got out another GOT book so that I could refer to the maps (yes, I'm a total dork). I would recommend this to fans of GOT, and I think it makes more sense if you have some preexisting knowledge of the GOT universe, either from the books or the tv series.
This book is about the history of the Targaryen family in Westeros from the time that Aegon first conquered the seven kingdoms until the reign of Aegon III about 130 years later. Fire and Blood reads like a history book, though it does have some beautifully drawn illustrations. My only complaint is that there are no maps in this book. When I am reading a story that spans an entire world (such as Eragon or Lord of the Rings), I like to have maps to refer to. I actually got out another GOT book so that I could refer to the maps (yes, I'm a total dork). I would recommend this to fans of GOT, and I think it makes more sense if you have some preexisting knowledge of the GOT universe, either from the books or the tv series.
1/21/19
Good morning,
Well, I've been having good luck so far this year with books. There have been no duds in the bunch, until now. Before I shred this book, I'm going to report on another book that I just finished and did actually enjoy.
I finished Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon over the weekend. This book falls in the romance genre. In this book, Maddy is a girl who was diagnosed with a rare disease called SCID in childhood. This disease causes her immune system to be severely compromised and as a result, she has spent her entire life inside her home and has never interacted with anyone other than her mom, her nurse, and her online professors. One day a family moves in next door. As Maddy watches out the window, the teenage boy next door looks up at her, they make eye contact, and events are set in motion that will change her world forever. She and Olly start IMing every day, then her nurse, Carla, sneaks him into the house so they can meet. Pretty soon Maddy realizes that she's not satisfied with the safe, sheltered life she has been living. She wants more, and she wants it with Olly, even though Maddy knows that if she leaves the house, it could kill her. About 2/3 of the way through the book there is a revelation that was pretty surprising and changes the direction of the book and Maddy's life.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It held my interest, and was a fast read.
Good morning,
Well, I've been having good luck so far this year with books. There have been no duds in the bunch, until now. Before I shred this book, I'm going to report on another book that I just finished and did actually enjoy.
I finished Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon over the weekend. This book falls in the romance genre. In this book, Maddy is a girl who was diagnosed with a rare disease called SCID in childhood. This disease causes her immune system to be severely compromised and as a result, she has spent her entire life inside her home and has never interacted with anyone other than her mom, her nurse, and her online professors. One day a family moves in next door. As Maddy watches out the window, the teenage boy next door looks up at her, they make eye contact, and events are set in motion that will change her world forever. She and Olly start IMing every day, then her nurse, Carla, sneaks him into the house so they can meet. Pretty soon Maddy realizes that she's not satisfied with the safe, sheltered life she has been living. She wants more, and she wants it with Olly, even though Maddy knows that if she leaves the house, it could kill her. About 2/3 of the way through the book there is a revelation that was pretty surprising and changes the direction of the book and Maddy's life.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It held my interest, and was a fast read.
Now, onto the book I couldn't even finish. Last night I started reading Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard. It is in the Mystery/Thriller genre. I gave it 6 chapters, and then I decided life is too short to spend my time reading something I don't like. This is the book that the TV series was based on (I've never seen the series, but I had a basic idea of what to expect). Basically, we have a group of girls that are frenemies and the queen bee disappears when they are in middle school. Each girl has a secret that the missing girl knew and they don't want revealed. The girls have drifted apart over the 3 years since the disappearance and we pick back up when they are in 11th grade.
The problem I had with this book is that the characters are terrible people. They are shallow, selfish, spoiled, whiny, mean girls and I couldn't bring myself to care enough about any of them to stick around to find out what their secrets were.
I like a good anti-hero and I've read some books recently had that really flawed characters who did some bad things, but I still cared about what happened to them. As a reader I was invested in their story and I wanted to find out what happened. In this book, the characters felt two dimensional, they were just bad people, and I wanted to be done with them. Maybe later in the story, more is revealed that makes them more interesting, but I just didn't want to hang around and find out. As always, you are free to disagree with me, we all have different taste, but this one gets a thumbs down from me.
Next up, I'm reading a book I got for Christmas. Fire and Blood, the new Game of Thrones book. Can't wait! :)
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
The problem I had with this book is that the characters are terrible people. They are shallow, selfish, spoiled, whiny, mean girls and I couldn't bring myself to care enough about any of them to stick around to find out what their secrets were.
I like a good anti-hero and I've read some books recently had that really flawed characters who did some bad things, but I still cared about what happened to them. As a reader I was invested in their story and I wanted to find out what happened. In this book, the characters felt two dimensional, they were just bad people, and I wanted to be done with them. Maybe later in the story, more is revealed that makes them more interesting, but I just didn't want to hang around and find out. As always, you are free to disagree with me, we all have different taste, but this one gets a thumbs down from me.
Next up, I'm reading a book I got for Christmas. Fire and Blood, the new Game of Thrones book. Can't wait! :)
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
1/17/19
Good morning!
I just finished reading the book Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. It is in the Fantasy/Adventure genre.
This book is the sequel to Six of Crows which I reported on several weeks ago. I really enjoyed this book and would like to read the next one in the series (which means I better buy it for the library). Like the first book, this one is considered fantasy, and it is, but I would say that the primary feature for me, is that it is a book about a heist, or outsmarting your enemies and being two steps ahead of them in order to achieve your goals. All the characters are back from Six of Crows in this book. They've been double crossed and backed into a corner, the whole city is looking for them, and as the reader, you don't know if they are going to make it out of this jam alive. Usually, when I read a book, I make pretty good guesses about what's coming, it's hard for me to be really surprised by a turn of events. This author keeps you guessing all the time, it's great! I also love how every chapter is told from a different character's point of view, it keeps things interesting. The last thing that I really like about this series, is that I think it can appeal to people who like different types of books. It has adventure, mystery, fantasy, romance, good vs. evil; really something for everyone. I definitely recommend it.
I've already started on my next book from the booklist, Everything, Everything. So far it has been really good, I'm thinking I will finish it and then watch the movie this weekend. :)
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
Good morning!
I just finished reading the book Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. It is in the Fantasy/Adventure genre.
This book is the sequel to Six of Crows which I reported on several weeks ago. I really enjoyed this book and would like to read the next one in the series (which means I better buy it for the library). Like the first book, this one is considered fantasy, and it is, but I would say that the primary feature for me, is that it is a book about a heist, or outsmarting your enemies and being two steps ahead of them in order to achieve your goals. All the characters are back from Six of Crows in this book. They've been double crossed and backed into a corner, the whole city is looking for them, and as the reader, you don't know if they are going to make it out of this jam alive. Usually, when I read a book, I make pretty good guesses about what's coming, it's hard for me to be really surprised by a turn of events. This author keeps you guessing all the time, it's great! I also love how every chapter is told from a different character's point of view, it keeps things interesting. The last thing that I really like about this series, is that I think it can appeal to people who like different types of books. It has adventure, mystery, fantasy, romance, good vs. evil; really something for everyone. I definitely recommend it.
I've already started on my next book from the booklist, Everything, Everything. So far it has been really good, I'm thinking I will finish it and then watch the movie this weekend. :)
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
1/7/19
Good afternoon,
I hope everyone had a great break! I got to do some reading, which always makes me happy, and I have a few books to report on.
Here we go...
The first one I read was The Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare.
It is the third book in The Dark Artifices series. This series is a part of the Shadowhunter universe that includes The Mortal Instruments series and The Infernal Devices series. I really like this author and this series. I have read all her books and was anxiously awaiting this one. It is the continuing saga of Emma and Julian and the Blackthorn family. This book also draws in favorite characters from the other series including Jace and Clary, Alec and Magnus, and Tessa and Jem. Don't let the third rate TV series sway you away from these books, they are WAY better than the series or the movie. There is action, romance, magic, good vs. evil, and current political and social issues hiding behind the fiction in these books. I definitely recommend!
Good afternoon,
I hope everyone had a great break! I got to do some reading, which always makes me happy, and I have a few books to report on.
Here we go...
The first one I read was The Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare.
It is the third book in The Dark Artifices series. This series is a part of the Shadowhunter universe that includes The Mortal Instruments series and The Infernal Devices series. I really like this author and this series. I have read all her books and was anxiously awaiting this one. It is the continuing saga of Emma and Julian and the Blackthorn family. This book also draws in favorite characters from the other series including Jace and Clary, Alec and Magnus, and Tessa and Jem. Don't let the third rate TV series sway you away from these books, they are WAY better than the series or the movie. There is action, romance, magic, good vs. evil, and current political and social issues hiding behind the fiction in these books. I definitely recommend!
1/7/19
The next book I read was Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter. It is the first book in The White Rabbit Chronicles.
I have read some of this author's adult fiction and liked it, so I wanted to give some of her YA fiction a try over the break. Even though the title suggests that this is a redo of Alice in Wonderland (the way that Cinder is a redo of Cinderella), I didn't really find it to be the case. To me, this book felt like if Zombieland, The Vampire Diaries, and a teen romance novel had a baby, it would be this book (no vampires though). In this book, Alice, a teenage girl, has never been allowed out of the house past dark because her father thinks there are monsters that come out in the night that will kill you. Alice has always thought her father was crazy until the family is involved in a car accident, and Alice sees zombies attacking her injured parents. After this, orphaned Alice starts at a new school where she meets Cole, a dangerous boy who has secrets that may impact Alice in ways she never expected. This books was pretty good, but I would rank in third of the 3 Gena Showalter books I read after break...
The next book I read was Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter. It is the first book in The White Rabbit Chronicles.
I have read some of this author's adult fiction and liked it, so I wanted to give some of her YA fiction a try over the break. Even though the title suggests that this is a redo of Alice in Wonderland (the way that Cinder is a redo of Cinderella), I didn't really find it to be the case. To me, this book felt like if Zombieland, The Vampire Diaries, and a teen romance novel had a baby, it would be this book (no vampires though). In this book, Alice, a teenage girl, has never been allowed out of the house past dark because her father thinks there are monsters that come out in the night that will kill you. Alice has always thought her father was crazy until the family is involved in a car accident, and Alice sees zombies attacking her injured parents. After this, orphaned Alice starts at a new school where she meets Cole, a dangerous boy who has secrets that may impact Alice in ways she never expected. This books was pretty good, but I would rank in third of the 3 Gena Showalter books I read after break...
1/7/19
The next Gena Showalter book I read was Intertwined. It is the first book in the series.
In this book Aden Stone is a teenage boy with no family and four other souls living inside him. These four other people are always talking to him and have been both friends and the source of trouble his whole life. He has spent his life in and out of foster care and boys' homes. When he is moved to a new home in a new town, he meets a girl, Mary Ann, who quiets the voices for the first time in his life. They quickly become friends, but their lives are complicated with the arrival of supernatural creatures from all over the world who are drawn to Aden's power, including a vampire girl and her werewolf bodyguard who become love interests for Aden and Mary Ann.
This was a pretty good book, and my second favorite of the Gena Showalter books I read over the break.
The next Gena Showalter book I read was Intertwined. It is the first book in the series.
In this book Aden Stone is a teenage boy with no family and four other souls living inside him. These four other people are always talking to him and have been both friends and the source of trouble his whole life. He has spent his life in and out of foster care and boys' homes. When he is moved to a new home in a new town, he meets a girl, Mary Ann, who quiets the voices for the first time in his life. They quickly become friends, but their lives are complicated with the arrival of supernatural creatures from all over the world who are drawn to Aden's power, including a vampire girl and her werewolf bodyguard who become love interests for Aden and Mary Ann.
This was a pretty good book, and my second favorite of the Gena Showalter books I read over the break.
1/7/19
The last Gena Showalter book I read was Firstlife. It is the first book in the Everlife series.
In this book, everyone has two lives, your Firstlife, and the life you lead after your first death in the Everlife. There are two realms that are in power, and both try to recruit people to join them. In this book, the main character, Tenley, is being actively recruited by both realms because they believe she will be important in the war between the realms. Tenley doesn't know which realm she should sign with. Her parents want her to sign with their side, Myriad, so badly that they send her to an asylum to be "persuaded" to join. Two boys are sent to the asylum to recruit Tenley to their side and Tenley is caught in a tug of war between them and her feelings for both. Will she live long enough to make a choice?
This was my favorite of the three Gena Showalter books that I read over break and the one I would be most likely to recommend. It was an interesting blend of fantasy, dystopian, and romance.
The last Gena Showalter book I read was Firstlife. It is the first book in the Everlife series.
In this book, everyone has two lives, your Firstlife, and the life you lead after your first death in the Everlife. There are two realms that are in power, and both try to recruit people to join them. In this book, the main character, Tenley, is being actively recruited by both realms because they believe she will be important in the war between the realms. Tenley doesn't know which realm she should sign with. Her parents want her to sign with their side, Myriad, so badly that they send her to an asylum to be "persuaded" to join. Two boys are sent to the asylum to recruit Tenley to their side and Tenley is caught in a tug of war between them and her feelings for both. Will she live long enough to make a choice?
This was my favorite of the three Gena Showalter books that I read over break and the one I would be most likely to recommend. It was an interesting blend of fantasy, dystopian, and romance.
1/7/19
The last book that I read over break was The Lost Heir, the second book in the Wings of Fire series, by Tui Sutherland.
I read the first book in this series last year. This series follows the dragonets of destiny, who have been prophesied to end the war between the dragon clans and usher in an era of peace. Each young dragon was stolen from their people as an egg and raised in secret. The dragonets escape and go in search of their families. In this book, the dragonets go to the Sea Kingdom where Tsunami wants to meet her mother Queen Coral and take her place as the queen-in-waiting. However, things in the sea kingdom aren't what she was expecting and the dragonets find themselves in trouble again. This series is a good one for people who like fantasy and adventure books. The author, Tui Sutherland, is also one of the authors who writes under the name Erin Hunter. Erin Hunter books include Warriors, Seekers, etc., so if you like those books, I would try the Wings of Fire series (and vice versa).
The last book that I read over break was The Lost Heir, the second book in the Wings of Fire series, by Tui Sutherland.
I read the first book in this series last year. This series follows the dragonets of destiny, who have been prophesied to end the war between the dragon clans and usher in an era of peace. Each young dragon was stolen from their people as an egg and raised in secret. The dragonets escape and go in search of their families. In this book, the dragonets go to the Sea Kingdom where Tsunami wants to meet her mother Queen Coral and take her place as the queen-in-waiting. However, things in the sea kingdom aren't what she was expecting and the dragonets find themselves in trouble again. This series is a good one for people who like fantasy and adventure books. The author, Tui Sutherland, is also one of the authors who writes under the name Erin Hunter. Erin Hunter books include Warriors, Seekers, etc., so if you like those books, I would try the Wings of Fire series (and vice versa).
12/17/18
Good morning!
This weekend I read the book Frostblood by Elly Blake. It is in the fantasy genre.
In this book a teenage girl has spent her life hiding her Fireblood abilities from the Frostblood king and his soldiers. One day soldiers come to her village because they have discovered her presence. Her mother is killed defending her, the village is destroyed and she is taken away to prison. Several months later she is broken out by two Frostbloods, the last people she would expect to rescue her. They have a proposition for her that will enable her to get revenge on the Frostblood king and gain her freedom, but are they telling her the whole truth about themselves and their cause?
This is the first book in a series and was a good one, I'm definitely interested in reading the next two books. There were several revelations towards the end that provided nice twists to the story. This would be a good choice for fans of the Red Queen series.
I started the new Cassandra Clare book last night, and so far she does not disappoint. It's going to be a good one. :)
Have a great week!
Mrs. Howard
Good morning!
This weekend I read the book Frostblood by Elly Blake. It is in the fantasy genre.
In this book a teenage girl has spent her life hiding her Fireblood abilities from the Frostblood king and his soldiers. One day soldiers come to her village because they have discovered her presence. Her mother is killed defending her, the village is destroyed and she is taken away to prison. Several months later she is broken out by two Frostbloods, the last people she would expect to rescue her. They have a proposition for her that will enable her to get revenge on the Frostblood king and gain her freedom, but are they telling her the whole truth about themselves and their cause?
This is the first book in a series and was a good one, I'm definitely interested in reading the next two books. There were several revelations towards the end that provided nice twists to the story. This would be a good choice for fans of the Red Queen series.
I started the new Cassandra Clare book last night, and so far she does not disappoint. It's going to be a good one. :)
Have a great week!
Mrs. Howard
12/13/18
Good morning!
So, I'm reading books out of order again... I was thumbing through the memoir My Story by Marilyn Monroe about her life, and I ended up just taking it home and reading it. This book is nonfiction and falls in the biography/memoir genre.
This is a book written by Marilyn Monroe before her death. She gave the manuscript to Milton Greene who was a photographer that she'd worked with. The book was published several years ago with some of Milton Greene's photographs of Marilyn and a foreword by Milton's son Joshua.
There have been lots of biographies written about Marilyn Monroe, but I thought this was interesting since she wrote it about her life and events that she felt were misunderstood by others. It was very stream of consciousness and felt like she was talking to you. I happen to like Marilyn Monroe movies, so I enjoyed reading about her life from her own perspective. This would be a good one for fans.
Next, I am going to read the book Frostblood, since I have a student waiting for it, then I will read the new Cassandra Clare. :)
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
Good morning!
So, I'm reading books out of order again... I was thumbing through the memoir My Story by Marilyn Monroe about her life, and I ended up just taking it home and reading it. This book is nonfiction and falls in the biography/memoir genre.
This is a book written by Marilyn Monroe before her death. She gave the manuscript to Milton Greene who was a photographer that she'd worked with. The book was published several years ago with some of Milton Greene's photographs of Marilyn and a foreword by Milton's son Joshua.
There have been lots of biographies written about Marilyn Monroe, but I thought this was interesting since she wrote it about her life and events that she felt were misunderstood by others. It was very stream of consciousness and felt like she was talking to you. I happen to like Marilyn Monroe movies, so I enjoyed reading about her life from her own perspective. This would be a good one for fans.
Next, I am going to read the book Frostblood, since I have a student waiting for it, then I will read the new Cassandra Clare. :)
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
12/10/18
Good morning!
I finished Anna and the French Kiss over the weekend. It was one of the books off of my challenge list and falls in the Romance genre.
In this story Anna is sent to a boarding school in Paris her senior year of high school. She leaves behind her family, her best friend, and a budding romance with a guy from work. When she arrives in France she has some culture and language shock (she doesn't speak any French). but she quickly makes a few friends who help her find her way. Among these new friends is Etienne St. Claire, a boy who becomes one of her best friends. Anna thinks she wants more, and that he might too, but he has a girlfriend, and one of Anna's new friends likes St. Clair too.
This was a great book with a lot of funny, witty banter between the characters, and great internal dialogue from Anna. The situations were very realistic and believable, and there are some good side-stories going on in addition to the main storyline. I read the majority of this book in one night, so it definitely held my interest and was fast paced. A must read for fans of YA romance.
Next, I'll be reading all 897 pages of the new Cassandra Clare book, Queen of Air and Darkness. I've been waiting for this one to come out, so I'm super excited to read it!
I'll report back soon.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
Good morning!
I finished Anna and the French Kiss over the weekend. It was one of the books off of my challenge list and falls in the Romance genre.
In this story Anna is sent to a boarding school in Paris her senior year of high school. She leaves behind her family, her best friend, and a budding romance with a guy from work. When she arrives in France she has some culture and language shock (she doesn't speak any French). but she quickly makes a few friends who help her find her way. Among these new friends is Etienne St. Claire, a boy who becomes one of her best friends. Anna thinks she wants more, and that he might too, but he has a girlfriend, and one of Anna's new friends likes St. Clair too.
This was a great book with a lot of funny, witty banter between the characters, and great internal dialogue from Anna. The situations were very realistic and believable, and there are some good side-stories going on in addition to the main storyline. I read the majority of this book in one night, so it definitely held my interest and was fast paced. A must read for fans of YA romance.
Next, I'll be reading all 897 pages of the new Cassandra Clare book, Queen of Air and Darkness. I've been waiting for this one to come out, so I'm super excited to read it!
I'll report back soon.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Howard
12/5/18
Good morning!
I just finished another book from my list, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. This book is realistic contemporary fiction.
This is a book that I had to read when I was in Jr. High or High School, so it has been a while since I read it last. I'd forgotten what a good book it is. The book is told from the viewpoint of Ponyboy Curtis, the youngest member of a greaser gang. His parents died and he lives with his older brothers Darry and Sodapop. The other teenage boys that make up their "gang" are the only real family the Curtis brothers have, and the same goes for the other guys, Two-Bit, Dallas, Steve, and Johnny.
This book covers the events of a week that starts off with a an attack and a death when they fight a rival group of boys they call "Socs" (rich kids from the other side of town). Events start spiraling out of control from there.
This is a great book that really looks at the way we see other people and what we can learn about them if we take the time to see things from their perspective. It also gets into the idea that it is futile to hate people just because they are different from you, and in the end that will only cause trouble and pain and more of the same. The characters have a lot of depth and it is a fast paced book that sucks you in. I would definitely recommend it. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it again after all this time.
Next, I will be reading another book from my list, Anna and the French Kiss.
Have a great day!
Good morning!
I just finished another book from my list, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. This book is realistic contemporary fiction.
This is a book that I had to read when I was in Jr. High or High School, so it has been a while since I read it last. I'd forgotten what a good book it is. The book is told from the viewpoint of Ponyboy Curtis, the youngest member of a greaser gang. His parents died and he lives with his older brothers Darry and Sodapop. The other teenage boys that make up their "gang" are the only real family the Curtis brothers have, and the same goes for the other guys, Two-Bit, Dallas, Steve, and Johnny.
This book covers the events of a week that starts off with a an attack and a death when they fight a rival group of boys they call "Socs" (rich kids from the other side of town). Events start spiraling out of control from there.
This is a great book that really looks at the way we see other people and what we can learn about them if we take the time to see things from their perspective. It also gets into the idea that it is futile to hate people just because they are different from you, and in the end that will only cause trouble and pain and more of the same. The characters have a lot of depth and it is a fast paced book that sucks you in. I would definitely recommend it. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it again after all this time.
Next, I will be reading another book from my list, Anna and the French Kiss.
Have a great day!
12/3/18
Good morning!
I finished a great book over the weekend. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is in the fantasy genre.
Even though this book is fantasy (and it definitely is), I'd say it is a book about a heist, before it is a fantasy story. In it, a teenage crime boss pulls together a 6 person crew consisting of a runaway, a sharpshooter with a gambling problem, a thief, a convict, a girl with the power to stop a human heart, and a spy. Their mission is to break into a fortress no one has ever breached before to bring back something that could change the world as they know it, and make them all rich beyond their wildest dreams, if they don't double cross each other in the process.
I really enjoyed this book, it was fast paced and had something for everyone. I'd definitely like to read the sequel and would recommend it.
I'm working on reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton next, hopefully I will have it done by the end of the week.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Howard
Good morning!
I finished a great book over the weekend. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is in the fantasy genre.
Even though this book is fantasy (and it definitely is), I'd say it is a book about a heist, before it is a fantasy story. In it, a teenage crime boss pulls together a 6 person crew consisting of a runaway, a sharpshooter with a gambling problem, a thief, a convict, a girl with the power to stop a human heart, and a spy. Their mission is to break into a fortress no one has ever breached before to bring back something that could change the world as they know it, and make them all rich beyond their wildest dreams, if they don't double cross each other in the process.
I really enjoyed this book, it was fast paced and had something for everyone. I'd definitely like to read the sequel and would recommend it.
I'm working on reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton next, hopefully I will have it done by the end of the week.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Howard
11/27/18
Good morning,
As promised, I have a book talk on The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. This book is historical fiction.
The Nightingale begins with a old woman preparing to move into a retirement home and remembering her past in France as she goes through her belongings. Most of the story is set in France during World War II. It follows the lives of two sisters, Isabelle and Vianne. Vianne's husband is called away to fight the Nazi's, leaving her with her young daughter Sophie and her eighteen year old sister Isabelle. Isabelle has always been reckless and impetuous, and a frustration to her sister. When a Nazi soldier is billeted at Vianne's home she fears that Isabelle's negative comments about the Nazis will bring trouble to her house. Vianne just wants to keep her head down and do what it takes to survive. Isabelle ends up leaving and heading to join the French resistance opposing the Nazis. She takes on a fake identity and the codename "The Nightingale" as she leads downed British and American fighter pilots across the Pyrenees mountains and into Spain where they can escape and return to the war effort.
Meanwhile Vianne is watching the France she loves come apart day by day under the Nazi rule. Rights and liberties vanish one at a time, food is scarce, and people are terrified. Then the Nazis start rounding people up and sending them to camps in Germany, including Vianne's best friend and neighbor. Vianne realizes she can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch the Nazis destroy her country.
This was a very good book, though I found it hard to read. Even though the book is fiction, the events described are real, and it was hard to watch through the eyes of Isabelle and Vianne as their world comes apart and people's lives are destroyed. Knowing that these things did happen to real people and all of the unimaginably horrible things that happened during WWII, make this book all the more powerful.
I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction or war history.
The next book talk will be on one of the books from my Goodreads list: Six of Crows.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Howard
Good morning,
As promised, I have a book talk on The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. This book is historical fiction.
The Nightingale begins with a old woman preparing to move into a retirement home and remembering her past in France as she goes through her belongings. Most of the story is set in France during World War II. It follows the lives of two sisters, Isabelle and Vianne. Vianne's husband is called away to fight the Nazi's, leaving her with her young daughter Sophie and her eighteen year old sister Isabelle. Isabelle has always been reckless and impetuous, and a frustration to her sister. When a Nazi soldier is billeted at Vianne's home she fears that Isabelle's negative comments about the Nazis will bring trouble to her house. Vianne just wants to keep her head down and do what it takes to survive. Isabelle ends up leaving and heading to join the French resistance opposing the Nazis. She takes on a fake identity and the codename "The Nightingale" as she leads downed British and American fighter pilots across the Pyrenees mountains and into Spain where they can escape and return to the war effort.
Meanwhile Vianne is watching the France she loves come apart day by day under the Nazi rule. Rights and liberties vanish one at a time, food is scarce, and people are terrified. Then the Nazis start rounding people up and sending them to camps in Germany, including Vianne's best friend and neighbor. Vianne realizes she can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch the Nazis destroy her country.
This was a very good book, though I found it hard to read. Even though the book is fiction, the events described are real, and it was hard to watch through the eyes of Isabelle and Vianne as their world comes apart and people's lives are destroyed. Knowing that these things did happen to real people and all of the unimaginably horrible things that happened during WWII, make this book all the more powerful.
I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction or war history.
The next book talk will be on one of the books from my Goodreads list: Six of Crows.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Howard
11/21/18
Good morning!
I just finished the book Dumplin' by Julie Murphy. It is realistic fiction. I've seen Dumplin' mentioned on several book lists as being a good book, and it has been made into a movie that will be on Netflix.
Dumplin' is about Willowdean, a high school student in Texas with a beautiful best friend and a former beauty queen mom, who still runs the big annual beauty pageant in town. Her mom is the one who nicknamed her Dumplin'. Willowdean is very comfortable in her own skin and thinks that, "There's something about swimsuits that make you think you've got to earn the right to wear them. Really, the criteria is simple. Do you have a body? Put a swimsuit on it." When "Private School Bo" starts working at the local fast food place where she works, she is surprised that she likes him, and even more surprised that he likes her back. For the first time, she starts to feel uncomfortable with her looks and wonders what people will think if they see them both together. Will they wonder, "what is he, doing with her?"
I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a quick read. There's a little bit of everything, friendship, family, romance, finding yourself, humor, and a few touching spots too. I'd definitely recommend it.
Next time, Nightingale. :) I'm about halfway through it and so far it has been good. I will finish it over the long weekend.
Good morning!
I just finished the book Dumplin' by Julie Murphy. It is realistic fiction. I've seen Dumplin' mentioned on several book lists as being a good book, and it has been made into a movie that will be on Netflix.
Dumplin' is about Willowdean, a high school student in Texas with a beautiful best friend and a former beauty queen mom, who still runs the big annual beauty pageant in town. Her mom is the one who nicknamed her Dumplin'. Willowdean is very comfortable in her own skin and thinks that, "There's something about swimsuits that make you think you've got to earn the right to wear them. Really, the criteria is simple. Do you have a body? Put a swimsuit on it." When "Private School Bo" starts working at the local fast food place where she works, she is surprised that she likes him, and even more surprised that he likes her back. For the first time, she starts to feel uncomfortable with her looks and wonders what people will think if they see them both together. Will they wonder, "what is he, doing with her?"
I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a quick read. There's a little bit of everything, friendship, family, romance, finding yourself, humor, and a few touching spots too. I'd definitely recommend it.
Next time, Nightingale. :) I'm about halfway through it and so far it has been good. I will finish it over the long weekend.
11/11/18
Good morning!
I have a couple new book talks for you this morning. I am still working on The Nightingale, (I'm only a few pages into it). It started out with a dying old woman going into an attic to look through mementos from the war, so I knew it was going to require a box of Kleenex, and I jumped to these other books instead. :) Then Kingdom of Ash made me all teary anyway.
So....
Kingdom of Ash is the final book in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah Maas. It is in the epic fantasy genre.
We have all the ingredients for a classic epic fantasy, hero's journey, book in the style of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. We have: a hero overcoming internal and external struggle, the world hanging in the balance of a good vs. evil struggle, magic, battles, love, betrayal, secrets, and cliffhangers. I may have gotten caught dabbing my eyes with a Kleenex a few times too. :) In the style of Tolkien or Martin, we have a whole universe created with lots of players all over the map, whose lives intersect and each of their actions influences the storyline.
I love this series, I love this author, and I loved this book. I will read anything that she writes. A definite recommend from me!
Good morning!
I have a couple new book talks for you this morning. I am still working on The Nightingale, (I'm only a few pages into it). It started out with a dying old woman going into an attic to look through mementos from the war, so I knew it was going to require a box of Kleenex, and I jumped to these other books instead. :) Then Kingdom of Ash made me all teary anyway.
So....
Kingdom of Ash is the final book in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah Maas. It is in the epic fantasy genre.
We have all the ingredients for a classic epic fantasy, hero's journey, book in the style of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. We have: a hero overcoming internal and external struggle, the world hanging in the balance of a good vs. evil struggle, magic, battles, love, betrayal, secrets, and cliffhangers. I may have gotten caught dabbing my eyes with a Kleenex a few times too. :) In the style of Tolkien or Martin, we have a whole universe created with lots of players all over the map, whose lives intersect and each of their actions influences the storyline.
I love this series, I love this author, and I loved this book. I will read anything that she writes. A definite recommend from me!
11/11/18
The Golden Tower is the last book in the Magisterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. It is in the fantasy genre.
As I've told people in the past, this series reminds me a lot of Harry Potter (not quite as good though). It has 3 friends who attend a magic school, a villian from the past that emerges as the main character starts to develop his magic, and the fate of the magical world hangs in the balance if the friends can't beat the enemy. I've enjoyed this whole series and liked the last book. It would be a good read for fans of Harry Potter and fantasy in general. (I do not have the last book, it was loaned to me by a student. The Elementary library does have the rest of the series though.)
Next time....hopefully...I'll have a report on The Nightingale. I may have to stock up on Kleenex first, I'm getting a definite "old woman with a necklace on the Titanic" vibe.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Howard
The Golden Tower is the last book in the Magisterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. It is in the fantasy genre.
As I've told people in the past, this series reminds me a lot of Harry Potter (not quite as good though). It has 3 friends who attend a magic school, a villian from the past that emerges as the main character starts to develop his magic, and the fate of the magical world hangs in the balance if the friends can't beat the enemy. I've enjoyed this whole series and liked the last book. It would be a good read for fans of Harry Potter and fantasy in general. (I do not have the last book, it was loaned to me by a student. The Elementary library does have the rest of the series though.)
Next time....hopefully...I'll have a report on The Nightingale. I may have to stock up on Kleenex first, I'm getting a definite "old woman with a necklace on the Titanic" vibe.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Howard
11/1/18
Good morning!
I just finished reading One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus.
It is realistic fiction/mystery. This book is the story of four high school students who find themselves in detention after school for cell phone violations, though none of them is guilty. During their detention Simon, a student who runs a gossip site that has embarrassed many students, dies from an allergic reaction. It turns out his death wasn't an accident, and soon these four students find themselves at the center of a murder investigation, each hoping that no one will find out what secrets Simon knew about them. This was a good book with lots of twists and turns. If you like contemporary mystery, this could be for you!
The next book I am reading is The Nightingale. It is not on the YA list that I have been using, but I have been told by several people that I need to read it, so I am. :) I'll report back soon. Have a good day!
Good morning!
I just finished reading One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus.
It is realistic fiction/mystery. This book is the story of four high school students who find themselves in detention after school for cell phone violations, though none of them is guilty. During their detention Simon, a student who runs a gossip site that has embarrassed many students, dies from an allergic reaction. It turns out his death wasn't an accident, and soon these four students find themselves at the center of a murder investigation, each hoping that no one will find out what secrets Simon knew about them. This was a good book with lots of twists and turns. If you like contemporary mystery, this could be for you!
The next book I am reading is The Nightingale. It is not on the YA list that I have been using, but I have been told by several people that I need to read it, so I am. :) I'll report back soon. Have a good day!
10/22/18
Over the weekend I finished Cinder by Marissa Meyer. This book is a science fiction/dystopian version of the classic Cinderella fairy tale. In it, Cinder, a cyborg mechanic lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters. Her work as a mechanic keeps the family afloat, though her stepmother doesn't let her keep any money for herself and treats her like property. One day the Prince of the Commonwealth approaches her to fix his android. His father, the emperor, is dying of the plague that has been sweeping across the land, and the prince hints at the fact that he needs important information on the android. Cinder soon finds herself drawn into interplanetary intrigue involving an evil, mind-controlling Lunar Queen intent on marrying the prince and becoming empress, a missing princess who could dethrone the queen, a cure for the plague, and a possible romance with the prince, if he doesn't find out who she really is. This is the first in a four book series that turns fairy tale characters such as rapunzel, red riding hood, the big bad wolf and snow white into science fiction heroes.
I enjoyed the updated spin on classic fairy tales and thought this was a good book. I am definitely interested in reading more in this series. It is for fans of science fiction, dystopian, adventure, fairy tales, and there is a little romance thrown in too.
I am currently working on the book One of Us is Lying so I will report back on that soon.
Over the weekend I finished Cinder by Marissa Meyer. This book is a science fiction/dystopian version of the classic Cinderella fairy tale. In it, Cinder, a cyborg mechanic lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters. Her work as a mechanic keeps the family afloat, though her stepmother doesn't let her keep any money for herself and treats her like property. One day the Prince of the Commonwealth approaches her to fix his android. His father, the emperor, is dying of the plague that has been sweeping across the land, and the prince hints at the fact that he needs important information on the android. Cinder soon finds herself drawn into interplanetary intrigue involving an evil, mind-controlling Lunar Queen intent on marrying the prince and becoming empress, a missing princess who could dethrone the queen, a cure for the plague, and a possible romance with the prince, if he doesn't find out who she really is. This is the first in a four book series that turns fairy tale characters such as rapunzel, red riding hood, the big bad wolf and snow white into science fiction heroes.
I enjoyed the updated spin on classic fairy tales and thought this was a good book. I am definitely interested in reading more in this series. It is for fans of science fiction, dystopian, adventure, fairy tales, and there is a little romance thrown in too.
I am currently working on the book One of Us is Lying so I will report back on that soon.
10/10/18
Hi all,
I grabbed a book this morning during PSAT testing to read and I'm almost done with it so I am just going to tell you about it now. :)
It is called Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman. It is historical fiction. It is the story of the famous pirate Blackbeard, when he was still a wealthy merchant's son, Edward, in England. He desperately wants to work as a captain on one of his father's merchant ships instead of being engaged to a woman he is growing to despise. He meets a girl named Anne who is more than she appears who wants freedom as much as he does. I'm not sure yet how it ends, but there is a book 2 so I know there will be more to follow. I also know that Blackbeard's famous and feared ship was named the Queen Anne's Revenge soooo.....
I've really been enjoying this one. It is for fans of historical fiction, pirates and romance. I'm thinking there is about to be some lying and scheming coming too. We'll see if my suspicions about a few of the characters turn out to be right or not.
More book talks to come in the next couple weeks. Have a good one!
Mrs. Howard
Hi all,
I grabbed a book this morning during PSAT testing to read and I'm almost done with it so I am just going to tell you about it now. :)
It is called Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman. It is historical fiction. It is the story of the famous pirate Blackbeard, when he was still a wealthy merchant's son, Edward, in England. He desperately wants to work as a captain on one of his father's merchant ships instead of being engaged to a woman he is growing to despise. He meets a girl named Anne who is more than she appears who wants freedom as much as he does. I'm not sure yet how it ends, but there is a book 2 so I know there will be more to follow. I also know that Blackbeard's famous and feared ship was named the Queen Anne's Revenge soooo.....
I've really been enjoying this one. It is for fans of historical fiction, pirates and romance. I'm thinking there is about to be some lying and scheming coming too. We'll see if my suspicions about a few of the characters turn out to be right or not.
More book talks to come in the next couple weeks. Have a good one!
Mrs. Howard
10/10/18
Hi all,
I just finished the next book on my reading challenge list. It was Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is realistic/contemporary fiction. This is the story of Melinda, a 9th grader who starts her freshman year as an outcast because she called the police on a party she was at over the summer. All of her friends have turned their backs on her, and no one at the high school wants to befriend her either. What none of them know is why she called the police, or what she has been silently going through. Will she find a way to speak about what happened?
Aside from the compelling storyline, one thing I noticed was the very unique writing style of the author. It feels like you are in the character's head, listening to her stream of consciousness and inner thoughts. The whole book is kind of darkly funny, except when you start to realize what happened. Overall this was a good book that portrays serious issues.
Hi all,
I just finished the next book on my reading challenge list. It was Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is realistic/contemporary fiction. This is the story of Melinda, a 9th grader who starts her freshman year as an outcast because she called the police on a party she was at over the summer. All of her friends have turned their backs on her, and no one at the high school wants to befriend her either. What none of them know is why she called the police, or what she has been silently going through. Will she find a way to speak about what happened?
Aside from the compelling storyline, one thing I noticed was the very unique writing style of the author. It feels like you are in the character's head, listening to her stream of consciousness and inner thoughts. The whole book is kind of darkly funny, except when you start to realize what happened. Overall this was a good book that portrays serious issues.
9/24/18
Good morning!
I've been reading up a storm the last week so I have 4 new books to report on. Since there are so many, I'll keep each one short.
Just a reminder, here is the list I am working off of for my challenge:
https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/1315-52-books-that-hooked-readers-on-ya
The first one I finished was Thirteen Reasons Why. It was a very good book, but one that dredges up a wide range of emotions, probably different for each person who reads it based on your own life experiences. The topic of suicide is a really tough one and I know I felt (as Spock would put it) "emotionally compromised" by this book.
My next book from the list will be:
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Howard
9/24/18
After reading Thirteen Reasons Why, I needed an emotional break, so I chose a book from the Romance section of my list. I read Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride. In this book, a very studious girl with no real social life goes to stay with her father and his new wife at the beach for the summer before college. There she meets a boy, who like herself, is an insomniac, and together they explore the town in the wee hours of the morning. Like virtually every romance book, this one ultimately has a happy ending, which frankly is why I chose it from the list. It was a good book though, and it did have some nice side stories with the main character and her family and the main character and the girlfriends she makes that summer.
After reading Thirteen Reasons Why, I needed an emotional break, so I chose a book from the Romance section of my list. I read Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride. In this book, a very studious girl with no real social life goes to stay with her father and his new wife at the beach for the summer before college. There she meets a boy, who like herself, is an insomniac, and together they explore the town in the wee hours of the morning. Like virtually every romance book, this one ultimately has a happy ending, which frankly is why I chose it from the list. It was a good book though, and it did have some nice side stories with the main character and her family and the main character and the girlfriends she makes that summer.
9/24/18
After that book, I felt like I still needed a break so I picked another Romance book that was not on the list (a student turned it in and I thought I'd give it a go). Through to You is by Lauren Barnholdt. In this book our main character is a girl (Harper) who gets a note dropped on her desk by the badboy/heartbreaker (Penn) of the senior class. They are both taken by surprise when they hit it off. After a fair amount of trials and tribulations, they get their happy ending. Overall, I liked this book.
After that book, I felt like I still needed a break so I picked another Romance book that was not on the list (a student turned it in and I thought I'd give it a go). Through to You is by Lauren Barnholdt. In this book our main character is a girl (Harper) who gets a note dropped on her desk by the badboy/heartbreaker (Penn) of the senior class. They are both taken by surprise when they hit it off. After a fair amount of trials and tribulations, they get their happy ending. Overall, I liked this book.
9/24/18
After that book, I returned to the list and chose Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. In this book, our main character, Simon, is having a secret email romance with another boy "Blue". They have been using pen names to maintain their privacy as neither boy has come out, and they aren't' sure they are ready to. When one of their emails falls into the wrong hands, Simon finds himself getting blackmailed to keep both their secrets. He wonders what will happen if everyone finds out, and if it will jeopardize his chances of ever meeting "Blue". This book had funny and suspenseful moments and it felt real and well written. There are good side stories with family and friendships in this book as well. Overall, I really enjoyed it. This book has also been made into a movie and will be featured in our October "From the Page to the Screen" display.
After that book, I returned to the list and chose Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. In this book, our main character, Simon, is having a secret email romance with another boy "Blue". They have been using pen names to maintain their privacy as neither boy has come out, and they aren't' sure they are ready to. When one of their emails falls into the wrong hands, Simon finds himself getting blackmailed to keep both their secrets. He wonders what will happen if everyone finds out, and if it will jeopardize his chances of ever meeting "Blue". This book had funny and suspenseful moments and it felt real and well written. There are good side stories with family and friendships in this book as well. Overall, I really enjoyed it. This book has also been made into a movie and will be featured in our October "From the Page to the Screen" display.
9/9/18
Hi all,
Mrs. Howard here, I wanted to send you all an email to let you know about my annual Librarian's Reading Challenge and include my first book review.
Each year, I challenge myself to complete a certain reading goal and then report to students on the books that I have been reading. In the elementary, I would report during our weekly library time, but since things work differently up here, I thought I'd send out an email with a book review each time I finish a new book. :)
This year I challenged myself to read the "52 Books that Hooked Readers on YA" blog posted on Goodreads. Here is the link to the list.
https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/1315-52-books-that-hooked-readers-on-ya
I've already posted the books from this list that I have previously read, along with my reviews, on a bulletin board in the library if you'd like to stop in a take a peek.
This week I am reviewing The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.
This book falls in the fantasy genre and has a female protagonist.
Meghan Chase feels like an outsider at her school in Louisiana, she has only one real friend, Robbie. As she approaches her 16th birthday, she begins to see and experience strange things, and the only other person who seems to notice is her 4 year brother. When he mysteriously vanishes, her eyes are opened to a world she didn't know existed and a destiny that will change everything she knows.
This book deals with the fae and all the creatures that are a part of the fae myths and legends. This book reminded me of the parts of other book series that deal with the fae courts and their worlds, such as parts of the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, The Mercy Thompson series by Patrica Briggs, and The Southern Vampire (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) series by Charlaine Harris. The difference is, that in those other books, the fae were a side story and a smaller part of the series, where as in the Iron King series, the whole storyline deals with the fae and their world.
I thought that this was a good book, parts of it were fast paced and very interesting, though I found that a few parts were less exciting. Overall, I rate it as good, but not OMG I have to read the next one good.
Here's my disclaimer: These are just my opinions, you are free to disagree with me, and I encourage you to read the book and decide for yourselves. :)
This book and series are available in our library, stop by and check one out!
Hi all,
Mrs. Howard here, I wanted to send you all an email to let you know about my annual Librarian's Reading Challenge and include my first book review.
Each year, I challenge myself to complete a certain reading goal and then report to students on the books that I have been reading. In the elementary, I would report during our weekly library time, but since things work differently up here, I thought I'd send out an email with a book review each time I finish a new book. :)
This year I challenged myself to read the "52 Books that Hooked Readers on YA" blog posted on Goodreads. Here is the link to the list.
https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/1315-52-books-that-hooked-readers-on-ya
I've already posted the books from this list that I have previously read, along with my reviews, on a bulletin board in the library if you'd like to stop in a take a peek.
This week I am reviewing The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.
This book falls in the fantasy genre and has a female protagonist.
Meghan Chase feels like an outsider at her school in Louisiana, she has only one real friend, Robbie. As she approaches her 16th birthday, she begins to see and experience strange things, and the only other person who seems to notice is her 4 year brother. When he mysteriously vanishes, her eyes are opened to a world she didn't know existed and a destiny that will change everything she knows.
This book deals with the fae and all the creatures that are a part of the fae myths and legends. This book reminded me of the parts of other book series that deal with the fae courts and their worlds, such as parts of the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, The Mercy Thompson series by Patrica Briggs, and The Southern Vampire (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) series by Charlaine Harris. The difference is, that in those other books, the fae were a side story and a smaller part of the series, where as in the Iron King series, the whole storyline deals with the fae and their world.
I thought that this was a good book, parts of it were fast paced and very interesting, though I found that a few parts were less exciting. Overall, I rate it as good, but not OMG I have to read the next one good.
Here's my disclaimer: These are just my opinions, you are free to disagree with me, and I encourage you to read the book and decide for yourselves. :)
This book and series are available in our library, stop by and check one out!