Teens' Top Ten Voting on NOW!

Between now and September 15th you can cast your vote for the Teens' Top Ten awards for 2011. Here's the link. Go. Hurry!

End of summer already!

Can't believe it's the end of summer already. This is my final end of summer entry, and the rest of what I read was mostly grown up books, so it will be a little bit short. First, thought, I will tell you about 6 books I read by P.B. Ryan called The Nell Sweeny Mysteries. They're shortish books, all set in the late 1800s in Boston. I thought they were excellent mysteries and 8th graders and older who enjoy historical fiction mysteries would enjoy these. Obviously I liked them because I rad all six and I actually had to BUY them! I hardly ever do that. that Kindle can be a little dangerous!

Now for the grown up books. I read the very popular but I'm not sure why A Reliable Wife. I couldn't find anything to really like about theses characters, so I really didn't like it. I tried hard, I really did.

Baking Cakes in Kigali, set in Africa, was funny, culturally intersting and all-around fab and I hope there will be more by this author. Thanks again to the Mother-Daughter Book Club for this gift.

Also read two others they gifted me - The Land of Painted Caves - over 600 pages! - by Jean Auel which was pretty good but I think my reading tastes have changed some since I read the first ones in the series, and The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. This was a fantastic and scary serial killer book Not for kids but great for fans of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Finally, I read about four Pride and Prejudice alikes. I love P&P above all other books, and I love these read-alikes that are usually continuations of the story of Jane et. al., but sometimes they're just the same story told from a different perspective or something. They're almost always great fun and these were no exception.

I hope you had a fantastic summer and found some gems in your reading as well. Looking forward to seeing my WOMS kiddos every once in a while as I start my new job this year. I'll miss seeing you every day, that's for sure!

Buried Alive - A National Parks Mystery, Gloria Skurzynski

This mystery is another great one in the series by Gloria Skurzynski and her daughter. They're all set in the national parks and all have the same family in them, the Landons. The mother in the family is a veterinarian and the parks people call her in when there's a mystery they can't solve with animals in the park. I'm paticularly partial to this one because the mystery centers around wolverines!

When one of our nieces or nephews turns 13 we take them to a national park of their choice, and this summer we took Logan to Denali in Alsaka. That's where this story is set, so it was fun to read about a place where we were and to spot things on our visit that were mentioned in the story. The high suspense in this story made it a great read-aloud, too. There's a mystery about the animals but about one of the people in the story, too, so there's lots going on.

This book is available in the WOMS library. I definitely recommend it and the others in the series that are there.

2 YA books - Ball Don't Lie, Sean Griswold's Head

I am really excited that Matt de la Peña is coming to Portland this year for the Multnomah County Library Teen Author lecture in October. I think he's going to be fab. Ball Don't Lie is a GREAT book with lots of suspense and action. If you love basketball, this is definitely a book for you. This book is a little cahllenging at the start, though, becasue the author's style is a little different than most other authors. It's a very stacatto type of writing and it jumps right on into the action. Plus, the main character of this book, Sticky, is a bit of a quirky character. What I have to say is, STICK with it (get it. Stick with Sticky). It's so totally worth it. Stayed up til like 2 AM reading this one!

Sean Griswold is a completely different kind of book. More "normal" I guess you could say. the main character in this book is going through some struggles, so her counselor tells her to pick a focus object and write about it in a journal. She really means an OBJECT, but Payton can't pick one, so one day she just decides, why not Sean's head. See he sits in front of her in pretty much every class, so she sees a lot of his head. Seems as good as any other thing, right? Except this object is actually attached to a person, and that sort of complicates everything.

It's a funny story and also heartbreaking at times with the struggles Payton is going through. It's really well done and I definitely recommend it. Available at the Multnomah County Library.

The Not So Great Depression, Amy Goldman Koss

The full title of this book is The Not-so-Great Depression : in which the economy crashes, my sister's plans are ruined, my mom goes broke, my dad grows vegetables, and I do not get a hamster. So now I don't really need to tell you about the story because between that title and the cover, you pretty much know what happens. But, I will tell you it's a funny book that deals with some pretty tough issues that a lot of kids are going through with these tough economic times. Amy Goldman Koss has a knack for doing that - dealing with tough things but lightening the situation up. I think that's a great skill for all of us. Rough things happen to everyone, but how we deal with them is what's most important.

This book is available at the Multnomah County Library.

Wolves, Boys and Other Things that Might Kill Me, Kristen Chandler

Somehow I got it into my head that this was going to be a werewolf book, so I have put off reading it. WRONG. And I loved it. It was actually a mystery story and it reminded me a lot of the National Geographic series I like called Mysteries in the National Parks as this one was set in Yellowstone. Although I have to say this one did have more kissing than any of those have had.

The story focuses on the struggles between humans and wolves around Yellowstone. Many ranchers have problems with the wolves killing their livestock and they want to get rid of the wolves. Environmentalists, on the other hand, want to keep the wolves since they were actually there first. It's a really interesting story and well told from both sides of the issue.

Available in the West Orient MS library and recommended by yours truly.

one last gasp of summer reading

School started this week, and I needed some EASY adult reading, so I turned to an old favorite, debbie Macomber. I read Orchard Valley Grooms, and I have to say that while it did its job of being an easy read, it was not my favorite of hers. A little TOO predictable, even for her!

Summer Installment #2 - 2 Louise Penny Mysteries

I love Louise Penny murder mysteries. They're more suited for grown-ups, just because they move kind of slowly and the writing is pretty complex with lots of French thrown in, but high school students who enjoy mysteries would like them. I first read one of her mysteries a few years ago when she won a big mystery writing prize, and I've been working my way through ever since. She sets all her mysteries in and around a small fictional town in Quebec, Canada, called Three Pines. It sounds like a magical place, really, aside form the fact that there are murders and mayhem happening all too often. But besides that, who wouldn't want to live there? :-)


I heard an interview with her recently, and she said that she had to draw herself a map of Three Pines so she didn't accidentally put something in the wrong place. She also said she wasn't even sure the first would ever be sold, let alone a whole series. Nice to be wrong like that I'm thinking.

Recommended for high school and adult readers of mysteries. Available at the Multnomah County Library.

Summer reading installment #1

As usual, when summer comes I get way behind on my blogging. But I DO read a lot. I promise. In fact, I'm ready to turn in my Multnomah County Summer Reading sheet and hope to win a prize! How's your summer reading coming along? I saw they were giving out some prizes at my branch yesterday. Have you been in to collect yours? Remember, if you're a WOMS student, you're already signed up!

Here are the first five book blurbs of summer. Three were audiobooks. You know I love those, and I have been training for the Portland to Coast walk in late August, so I've logged a lot of miles listening.

I listened to Andrew Clements' Things that Are - Part of the Things Not Seen series. Or is it really a series? I think more like companions. Anyway, this one focuses mostly on Alicia, Bobby's friend who is blind. That blind thing worked out really well for him in book 1. You should read it if you haven't. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. It had a good mysterious hook and good character development. Much better than the previous book in this collection.

I listened to Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell, and I have to say I did NOT like the main character for most for the novel. She was super annoying. Even her friends said so. Of course they didn't know they were talking to her - they thought they were talking to a character in her novel. The premise of this novel is that the main character's grandmother invited her on a vacation to SE Asia, and she was so self centered and rigid that she was missing so many opportunities. Drove me batty. She did come around by the end, but it was nearly too late for me to make my peace.

Knit 2 Together by Elizabeth Lenhard is part of the Chicks with Sticks series - a fun series about a bunch of teenagers who actually knit! I am way into crafty, homemade kinds of things, so it's really appealing to me. Again, though, not the biggest fan of the main character. She, too, started to come around, but really, girl, get it together!

Joy for Beginners is a grown up book that I actually won! It was about a woman who'd recovered from cancer and got together to celebrate with her friends. They were trying to encourage her to go on a trip with her daughter, but it was a rafting trip, and she was really apprehensive. She agreed to go, on the condition that each of them allow her to choose an activity THEY had to accomplish over the next year. She picked some doozies, and it was interesting to watch the women face their fears - many admitting they even had these fears for the first time. I enjoyed this book.

Once was Lost by Sara Zarr was the final audiobook in the group and it was a doozie. It was one of those that made me walk farther and want to keep driving just so I could listen. It is a super intense mystery, one with many red herrings that made me very unsure and a little panicky at times. A young girl goes missing form a small town, and pretty much everyone knows her. The story takes place over the short period of time that they are looking for her and focuses on the daughter of the family's minister, who seems to be losing her faith in God, and on the brother of the missing girl who is a suspect in the abduction. I thought it was fab!

So that's my first installment. I'm determined to get caught up before I leave for my last vacation of summer next weekend, so watch for more. We're heading to Lassen National Park where the sun will be shining and the books beckoning, so I'll be getting a lot more reading done there! See you again soon!

The WOMS OBOB champions!!!

The final round of the WOMS OBOB competition came around last week, and Mrs. Van der Meer's afternoon class of 6th graders took the lead in a hurry and went on to a convincing victory over Ms. Johnson's morning group of 7th graders. Enjoy these photos of the victors with their trophy. Congratulations!

birthdays galore

A few birthdays from the last few weeks and then a whole group of summer birthday kids! Celebrate!!

Any books still hiding under your bed?

It's that time of year again when Mr.s F-B gets a bit rabid about you returning all your books to the library. Help Mrs. FB maintain her sanity (what little there is left) and get those books back to the library as soon as possible, please.

Mother Daughter book club

I have been so lucky to have been part of an amazing group of women and their daughters this year again! We met every month to discuss books and share food and build a community. It was great fun and I hope that even with my job changes next year I'll be able to join the group for some of their meetings! Thanks, everyone, for your participation. It's been great!

Happy birthday, Amber

Amber chose a favorite this year - probably one of my highest checkouts for the year! Happy day, Amber!

Enjoy!

Win a free book from Lisa Schroeder

The lovely author Lisa Schroeder is having a contest over at her blog. You can win a copy of her new book plus other goodies. Check it out HERE.

But you should know that I'm also entering and I'm pretty sure I'm going to win...Just sayin'

Go see A Wrinkle in Time for FREE!

This Saturday at 2 p.m., all kids with a library card get in for free to see the Oregon Children’s Theatre production of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic tale, “A Wrinkle in Time.” The show is best for ages 8 and up. Adults pay $9 or $12. Call 503.228.9571 before 5 p.m. on Friday to order tickets; offer valid only for new orders at the OCT box office. Watch a preview and learn more about the production here:

Oregon Children's Theatre : A Wrinkle in Time

TWENTY-ONE books blogged today!!!!!!

Holy smokes, I can't believe I just did that. Hope you enjoy reading about the 21 books I've read in the past couple of months. I definitely enjoyed reading them!

Happy birthdays!

Somebody on this post got to go to Great Wolf Lodge for his birthday and someone writing this post is very jealous...Just sayin'

Enjoy these great suggestions from these two birthday boys.

What Happened to Goodbye - Sarah Dessen

Well, as is typical when I read one of her new books, this is not my favorite Sarah Dessen, but it was fabulous. Usually it takes me some time and two or three readings of one of her books to move it up the SD faves list. This is not a criticism, of course, as all her books are great and it would be awfully hard to top The Truth About Forever, Just Listen and Along for the Ride. I mean, come on!

Strengths of this book are the strong, true to life characters, the difficult mother-daughter relationship, and the reprise for characters and places from previous novels (but just a peek, so it doesn't leave people out who never read the earlier books or overshadow the new story). Oh, and I always consider a little romance a plus myself.

Those who love Sarah Dessen already will love this one, too, for all the usual reasons. Those who've never read a Sarah Dessen will be pulled in by McLean and Dave's coming of age story and won't want to say goodbye to this one.

Recommended. Available in the WOMS library now.

Once Was Lost - Sara Zarr

I listened to this book (read by the author), and it was one of those where I was always looking for the next opportunity to go for a walk or get in the car so I could hear what was going to happen next. It was riveting, and I was not sure what the outcome was going to be, so I had a bit of a stomachache a lot of the time I was listening. That's a good thing, though!

There are sort of two main plotlines in this story. One is that of main characters Sam's family. Her father is a minister with very little time for his own family, and her mother is an alcoholic who just recently entered an inpatient treatment.

The other main storyline is of the disappearance of a young teenager from the small town Sam lives in. The girl went to Sam's church and Sam knows her and her older brother.

Both of these plotlines lead Sam to question her faith - a big issue for anyone to tackle.

I thought the characters were extremely well developed and the plot very intense. Several times I was holding my breath hoping that this person or the next would make the right decision or not have made the wrong one or would get the answer they were looking for.

A great book!

Available at the Multnomah County Library.