Sunrie Over Fallujah - Walter Dean Myers

I listened to this book on my iPod, and I finished it in record time. I was really into this book. Mater Dean Myers, as always, packed a punch into this novel, and the narrator enhanced the experience incredibly. In fact, I'm thinking of checking out who the narrator was and trying to find other audiobooks by him he was so good!

I'm not usually a huge fan of war books, I'm pretty much a peacenik, but my nephew mentioned he wanted to read it, so I thought I'd read it and see what I thought about it. What I thought was WOW! As with most war books, there is a lot of heartbreak and death. There is also a lot of action and suspense. But this book, more than most other war books I've read, delved deep into the personal thoughts of Iraq war soldier Robin Perry, a young man who joined the army instead of going off to college, much to the dismay of his parents. Robin proves to be a deep thinker, though, even at such a young age, pondering who exactly are the enemies in this situation, and where God is in all this, or if he even IS at all.

All the scenarios in the story seem quite realistic, from the friendships built throughout the story to the combat scenes to the nightmares and pain. This story definitely does not glamorize war in any way. I do not know whether Walter Dean Myers was a soldier himself, but his writing certainly makes it seem like he has some shared experiences with these young men an women.

I highly recommend this novel for 8th graders and up who are looking for realistic war stories. Available at the West Orient library.

A Brief Chapter in my Impossible Life - Dana Reinhardt

This is a great story about a young woman, Simone Turner-Bloom, who was adopted as a baby and has always known she was adopted. She says she never cared about her birth mother, doesn't even call her that, in fact. She says she never wanted to or wants to know anything about her. And then Ryvka (spelling may be wrong because I listened to this one on my ipod) calls. Simone does NOT want to talk to her, but her parents keep pushing her. They push gently, but still they push. She can't figure out why because they've always said it's up to her but now they seem to be changing their tune. Finally Simone gets out of them that Ryvka is sick, very sick, and she really wants to see Simone.

Now Simone has a hard decision to make. She talks it over with another friend of hers who's also adopted, and he is the one who really convinces her. He tells her how much he wishes he at least had the chance to know his mother, but even though he's tried, it's just not going to happen. Simone decides to give Ryvka chance, and it turns out to be an amazing experience for her. She learns about what happened, and how she ended up where she did, why Simone had to give her up, how Simone's family responded. Thee are things she never thought she wanted to know, but once she's begun this relationship she wants to know more and more. She also finds out about her Jewish heritage, something she's never practiced before. She's never practiced any religion.

The story has a lot of philosophy intertwined in the plot, and I think it's a book that would best be appreciated by mature 8th graders or high schoolers. There's nothing inappropriate for younger readers, but I think they'll just get lot less out of it and would appreciate more as an older reader.

Available at the Multnomah County Library.

Ranger's Apprentice - Ruins of gorlan Book I - John Flanagan

Very low expectations sometimes turn out to surprise a person, and this was one of those times. You know I'm not a fantasy fan so much, and the first few pages of this book with all the weird words and names nearly tipped me over the edge, but I was determined to finish the Battle of the Books titles this month, and this was second to last on the list. Surprisingly, once the prologue was over, it wasn't really a fantasy book at all until way far into it, and by then I was so totally hooked I didn't even mind.

This is really a story of self discovery more than anything by a boy named Will who wanted to be apprenticed to battleschool to become a warrior but who was asked instead to be the apprentice of a Ranger. At first Will was very disappointed, but he begins to find that he actually likes the things the Ranger does, although he's not entirely sure what ALL the things are. Seems like he's always learning something new. He finds a lot of adventure and learns a lot about the art of fighting throughout the story.

I thought this was a story with a lot of excitement and action that had great pacing and suspense. It did have some fantasy as I said, but the fantasy elements definitely were not the overriding factor. At the end of the story I could hardly stop reading, even when it was way past my bedtime! I'd definitely recommend this book as a great choice. There are several books in the series for those of you who are series fans. Available on the Oregon Battle of the Books spinner rack.

Still Life - Louise Penny

This book is an adult mystery novel that was reviewed as one of the ten best mysteries of the year. I thought it was a little slow at first, but I grew to really enjoy it. It was one I listened to, and I think that if I had been able to read it, I'd have started to enjoy it sooner. This book is not a thriller mystery, but a bit of a psychological mystery that engrosses an entire small town in Quebec province, Canada after a woman who's lived there for many years is killed by bow and arrow. It seems at first that this was a hunting accident but it turns out not to have been, and this sends the people of the town into a bit of a tailspin.

Many secrets of the town's residents are revealed over the course of the investigation, secrets they clearly would rather have left alone. Some of the secrets turn out to be closely related to the mystery, and some do not, but all dovetail into the answer in one way or another.

There is a whole art component to this story as well, and while it is central to the mystery, it's also quite informative about art, and I thought it was interesting how the author wove this in to the story. I'm curious about her background and whether she knew some things about art before she started or had to research everything. I'm thinking the former, but you never know.

I'd recommend this to adult readers who like mysteries that aren't necessarily thrillers. Available at the Multnomah County Library.

Poetry Friday - The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven

It's nearly Thanksgiving, and I wanted to say, "Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone." I hope you have a restful holiday next week and a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends. Jack Prelutsky has some sage advice here for all you cooks in the crowd! Enjoy :)


The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven

The turkey shot out of the oven
and rocketed into the air,
it knocked every plate off the table
and partly demolished a chair.

It ricocheted into a corner
and burst with deafening boom,
then splattered all over the kitchen,
completely obscuring the room.

It stuck to the walls and the windows,
it totally coated the floor,
there was turkey attached to the ceiling,
where there'd never been turkey before.

It blanketed every appliance,
it smeared every saucer and bowl,
there wasn't a way I could stop it,
that turkey was out of control.

I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure,
and thought with chagrin as I mopped,
that I'd never again stuff a turkey
with popcorn that hadn't been popped.

Jack Prelutsky

Book fair starts with a bang!

Wowsa! We had so many kids in buying books this morning they were flying off the carts! It was awesome. Take a look at some of the fun that was had at book fair already. We'll be open in the library all week, and then we'll be in the gym at conferences. Bring your parents to the book fair at conferences and get a prize!

Also, Mrs. FB is looking for a few more kids to volunteer on Monday from 10-noon to move the book fair over to the gym. Pizza for all workers will be served at noon!!! sign up in the library.

Happy birthdays!

This week we have two great birthday suggestions from Brooke and Calvin who actually celebrated their birthdays last week! Thanks for the great ideas :-)

Poetry Friday- A book

The Book Fair is opening on Monday!! Time for you to dig under the couch cushions an beneath the car seats to see what spare change you can come up with! there will be lots of great titles available for everyone.



A Book

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

Emily Dickinson

Happy birthday, Noah!

Today is Noah's birthday and he's picked a sports book, Summer Ball by Mike Lupica. I was just telling him this morning that I just found out Mike Lupica is a sports reporter as well as a fiction author. I didn't know that until recently when I was listening to a John Feinstein book in which he talks about a lot of real sports personalities and reporters, and Mike Lupica's one of the guys he mentions. When I heard his name, I was like, wait a minute, I know that name...Kinda cool. Happy birthday, Noah! Thanks for a great suggestion.

Hummer talks about the book fair!

Click the play button to hear what Hummer has to say about the book fair! Hope to see you there!

Happy birthday!

Do you know who our secret birthday person is today? Hint: his first name and my first name start with the same letter. Today's mystery birthday guest recommends Eldest by Christopher Paolini. Let me know if you can guess who he is!

Henry's Sisters - Cathy Lamb

This is the third book I've read by this Oregon author, and although I liked the book, it had a lot more sadness in it than her previous books, and I was looking forward to something a little lighter when I picked it up.

One thing Cathy Lamb does really well is character development, and I had a particularly favorite character in this one, and that was Amelia Earhart. No, not the REAL Amelia Earhart, but don't tell Grandma because she's pretty sure she is. The main characters in this story are three sisters and their brother Henry. The story is focused on their relationships with one another as well as their family history which has deeply affected all of them. Their grandmother has Alzheimer's, and she is sure she is Amelia Earhart, the famous woman pilot. She is never out of character and lends a bit of lightheartedness to a sometimes heavy novel.

Recommended for adult readers. Available at the Multnomah County Library.