Will you believe it - 10 books in a week! 4 OBOB books

We went camping in the Wallowa mountains, and since I'd just been released from my brace for my broken ankle, I wasn't out doing a lot of hiking. Mostly just hanging out by the lovely creek that ran next to our campsite reading. It was awesome!

Several of the books I read are on this year's Oregon Battle of the Books list, and I enjoyed them

Code Orange by Caroline Cooney is a suspenseful book about a boy who's just doing his homework (for once) and might have just landed himself in the middle of a bioterrorism nightmare. Or not. He's not sure.

The Kite Rider (NOT the Kite Runner) by Geraldine McCaughrean is a story set in ancient China that had great action and suspense plus some history. Good read.

Cages by Peg Kehret. I have to say I really didn't want to read this one, but I ended up being pretty impressed with it. It had a good message and was an easy read. It's about a girl (I think she's in 9th grade, but maybe 8th) who makes a bad choice and gets caught. Notice there is a picture of a dog on the cover...and you know what that probably means.

Eleanor's Story - Eleanor Ramrath Garner. This is a WWII non-fiction memoir about an American girl who lived in Germany during the war and how difficult things were during that time. It's a different approach to the time period from most WWII books I've read. It was pretty interesting.

I've now read 13 of this year's BOB books, and I have to say, it's an excellent list. I'm looking forward to getting our team together for the regional competitions! It will be open to 6-8th graders. Keep your ears open for more info.

The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

This is one of the Oregon Battle of the Books books, and I am going to be recommending it right and left this year. It's so fabulous! This is book one in the story of Percy Jackson, who just may be your next Harry Potter. Well, he's no Harry Potter, but if you're as sad as I am about the end of the HP series, this series may help fill the void. You see, Percy is a direct descendant of a Greek god, although he doesn't know that at first.

The novel's premise is that something has been stolen from Zeus, and Percy has to help get it back. This is a true quest/journey novel, and all the 7th and 8th graders out there better be able to tell me that always in a journey novel we have... say it with me ...obstacles to overcome. And when you're dealing with Greek gods and goddesses and their descendants, those can be some pretty significant obstacles.

The book is full of non-stop action and excitement, prophecies and power. I think it's pretty cool how Rick Riordan has brought the ancient mythology into the modern time period and woven them together so easily. Well, probably not so easily, but so smoothly would be a better term maybe. The one thing about this book that will make it challenging, is that there is no glossary of the Greek gods and goddesses (big mistake leaving that out if you ask me, which clearly they did not...), so I'm thinking about a way to help with that - maybe a bookmark or something. It could be a little confusing if you didn't know who all the Greeks were.


I really, really liked this book and I discovered there are two more in the series that have already been published, so I went out and bought them this week as well and they'll be in the library come September!

Happy reading!

So Totally Emily Ebers - Lisa Yee

This is the third book Lisa Yee has written in a sort of trilogy. I say sort of trilogy, because unlike many trilogies, this series can be read in any order. I'd actually call them companion books more than a trilogy.

The three books are Millicent Min, Girl Genius; Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time; and now the Emily Ebers book. They all take place during the same time period, but they're told from each character's point of view, which are decidedly different. All three are decidedly funny, but Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time is the funniest.

Emily's story is written in short letters from Rancho Rosetta, California to her father who is living on the East Coast and touring again with the band he was in a long time ago, the Talky Boys. Since Emily can't send her letters while her dad's on tour, she puts them all into one journal which she says she'll send him when he's done with his tour. Emily's parents have recently decided to divorce, and many of her letters are about her feelings about this. If your parents or your friends parents are getting a divorce, I think this would be a really great book for you. If it's your parents, I think you will really relate to Emily and perhaps learn some things from her about going through such a tough thing. If it's your friend who's going through a divorce of their parents, I think you might get some good perspective about what your friend might be thinking and feeling, and how you might help (mostly, probably by being there and listening).

Although Emily's parents are getting divorced, this book still has lots of laughs and some really great lessons about the importance of honesty in friendship.

I really have enjoyed this series, and I think you will, too!

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation - M.T. Anderson

OK, This book won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature AND a Printz Honor, and to be honest, I really don't get why. I mean, it was sort of eerie and interesting, but I didn't really enjoy it. And if you look back at the rest of my posts, you'll see that doesn't happen that often. The language and syntax in this book are really quite unusual and bizarre, and it took me at least 50 pages to get into the swing of it. And even then I didn't necessarily like it. Unless you're a VERY strong reader with a really good vocabulary, I think this book would turn you off immediately for that reason alone. This book is set during revolutionary times and I also think that you need quite a bit of background knowledge about that time period for this book to make sense because there are a lot of events which require inference. We have this book in our library, but it's not going to be one I recommend to very many readers, award winner or not. I think older high schoolers would enjoy it more.

An Inconvenient Wife - Meagan Chance

Well, this is certainly something I hope my husband never calls me, that's for sure! I read this for my book club, so it's a grown up book, and I don't think many middle schoolers would like it, but for wives especially, I'd highly recommend it. All ten of the women in my book group loved it, and we had so much to talk about. It's set in the 1880's and the main character is a society wife who has some serious emotional issues. Enter a newfangled doctor and let the events unravel. It's suspenseful and surprising, appalling and thought provoking. A fabulous novel, and I'd highly recommend it to book clubs.

Eclipse - Stephanie Meyer author interview

For those of you who loved Twilight and New Moon, you'll be very excited to hear that book three in the series, Eclipse, is now out. There's an interview you can watch with Stephanie Meyer on Amazon if you're interested. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/5646:5463

Happy reading, and don't let any vampires bite you...

Hummer loves Harry Potter 7

Even my cat Hummer was getting in on the fun of reading Harry Potter 7 when I brought it home last week. (I think he may be enrolled at Hogwart's for night classes or something - I'm not really sure where he learned to read...)

I can't say much about the book except that it must be read, if it hasn't been already, by all Harry Potter fans. I'm afraid I'll give something away if I say any more...But if you have finished it, I would LOVE to talk with you about what you thought about this final installment. I'm pretty sad it's the last one.

If you want to watch a cool trailer for the book (never have I seen a trailer for a BOOK before!), try this link (it doesn't give anything away):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG9yBlhXbLI

I will say that I bought four copies of the book for the library and I bought it on CD for the library, too. So if you haven't had a chance to read it yet, it will be waiting for you at WOMS on the first day back See you there!

4 weeks in Costa Rica = 14 books for me :)

Usually when I go on vacation I really don't get much of a chance to read, but with four weeks to spend in Costa Rica, I could see birds, monkeys and lizards in the morning and spend my afternoon lounging around reading. It was awesome. We had a really great time on our trip - I'll post some pictures when we get back to school, and I read some really great books, too. I also read some not so great ones, but when you're doing the trade a book at your hotel, you've gotta take what you can get.

The best books I read out of the fourteen were (most of these are grown up books that I doubt middle shcoolers would like, but your parents might enjoy them).

•The Bookseller of Kabul (a depressing but very interesting book about Afghanistani culture)
•The Memory Keeper's Daughter (thanks, Ms. Fulsher)
•Longitude (fascinating non-fiction about how they learned how to measure longitude)
•When the Emperor Was Divine (about Japanese internment camps in WWII - it's in our library, and if you like historical fiction, I'd recommend it)
•How I Paid for College (by very funny Portland author Mark Acito)
and
•The Moonlit Cage (one of the free exchange fabulous finds!)

In just my Costa Rica trip I spent about 62 hours reading, so I think I've got my reading road trip taken care of! Hope you're finding some great things to read this summer also! If you need new (or more) forms for the reading road trip, go to this webpage http://westorient.gresham.k12.or.us/~fitzpatrick/Summerreading07.html

Multnomah County Reading program starts today!

If you didn't already sign up at school, you can go to your local branch to sign up starting today. Materials for people who signed up at school have been given to teachers at WOMS, so they should be delivering them very soon if they haven't already. Happy reading!

Anahita's Woven Riddle - Meghan Nuttall Sayres

Phew! I'm finally caught up. I've been reading a lot lately, but I haven't done the best job of writing my review right when I read the book and they sort of got piles up. But I saved the best for last. I LOVED, loved, loved this story.

This story is set in 19th century Iran and revolves around the nomadic family of Anahita, who is, herself, like many in her community, a weaver of rugs. As is typical of her people, when she was 15 years old, her father said she needed to get married. I cannot even imagine! He also told her that there was a rich and powerful man, one who could affect the welfare of her people in important ways, who had asked for her hand. This rich and powerful man is also quite old and not kind, and Anahita really does not want to marry him.

Anahita tries and tries to think of a way out of her situation, and finally she decides to ask her father if she can create a riddle inside of her weaving and hold a contest to see which man can guess the riddle and its answer. She says she could not be happy with a man who did not enjoy riddles, and since this is one of the joys she and her father share, he eventually consents to her contest, even though it may, and indeed does, cause some problems.

There are several men who vie for her hand, and their stories are woven through Anahita's story in clever ways, person by person. As I read about each one, I found myself rooting for that one. Then when I'd read about the next, I'd be rooting for him. Except the old khan, I never wanted him to win. In the end I was torn between tow, but I think the better choice was made, and not without some tension and excitement.

This was fabulous, beautifully written story. I would highly recommend it to readers of all ages. It is on the order list for the WOMS library, so you can look for it there in the fall, or go to your local branch of the Multnomah County Library now.

Twisted - Laurie Halse Anderson

I'd read some reviews for this book and was excited to see that a young adult author whose work I really enjoy had a new book coming out, particularly one from the male point of view, so I was happy when it finally came to my turn on the library hold list. I was not disappointed, and this book will definitely appeal to both girls and boys.

Tyler Miller has never been a popular boy, and so he creates a plan that he thinks will turn him around...a little graffiti painting on the school ought to do the trick. That is, unless you drop your wallet at the crime scene and are apprehended and assigned to community service the judge. Oops.

There is a bright side to his manual labor, however. Tyler turns into a pretty studly lookin' senior with lots o' muscles. Enter Bethany Milbury. She's cute, popular, and the girl of Tyler's dreams. And she's diggin' him. things are going well for Tyler. Until he makes a big mistake and shows up at a party where there is a lot of drinking and other bad things happening, and he gets accused of a crime that happened there. He did NOT do it, but it's difficult to get other people to believe that. This is an important lesson in how one bad choice can follow you around for a long time and make things pretty miserable for you in ways you never imagined. In making a choice about how to deal with everything that's happening, Tyler considers suicide as one of his options.

This is a book for mature, older readers because of the content, but it is another book from this author that really makes readers think about many important issues, and I appreciate that there is someone out there addressing these things for young adults.

The Higher Power of Lucky - Susan Patron

this was the Newbery medalist this year, and I really enjoyed it, although I personally did not like it as much as I liked the Honor book Rules by Cynthia Lord. this was a sweet and also a little bit sad story about Lucky, age ten, who lives in a TINY desert town under the guardianship of her father's former girlfriend. Got that? Her mother died, and her father wasn't ready to take on parenthood full time, so he asked his former girlfriend to come over from France to take care of Lucky. And this was quite lucky for Lucky, indeed. Brigitte loves her very much, although it is sometimes difficult for Lucky to realize this. She lives in fear that one day Brigitte will decide she's had enough and return to France, leaving her all alone.

In order to try and cope with her fears, Lucky, who overhears parts of Alcoholics Anonymous and other various "Anonymous" meetings by sitting outside the hall where they have them and putting her ear up to a hole in the wall, attempts to search for her Higher Power. She's not really sure what that means, but it sounds hopeful. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Lucky encounters a giant duststorm and one tiny tennis shoe that throw her whole plan into chaos.

This short book packs a bunch of life's lessons into a small package and is a good read. This book is available in the WOMS library.

In Real Life: Six Women Photographers - Leslie Sills

If you've read my bio, you know that I also have a portrait photography business, so I was very interested to read this book about six women in the field, some of whom I've heard about and whose work I've admired, and some of whom I've never even heard of. the artists were Imogen Cunningham, Dorothea Lange, Lola Alvarez Bravo, Carrie May Weems, Elsa Dorfman, and Sindy Sherman.

My work focuses primarily on people, although I do a little landscape work, but these women have a very broad range, and so it was interesting to read about a variety of approaches to photography and an array of possibilities out there that I don't normally thin about with photograph. Imogen Cunningham, for example, likes to focus on natural objects up really really close, looking at textures and patterns. I do that sometimes, but often if I do, it wasn't really my intent. Dorothea Lange and Lola Alvarez Bravo were recording events to enlighten people. One as an activist, one as a historian.

I liked how this book was put together with lots of pictures interspersed with a good amount of text. Some photography books are really heavy on photos but without much information about them, and sometimes that's ok, but often I want to know more, and this book gave me that.

If you're interested in photography, as a hobby or a career, you can learn a lot from this book, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult

This book was hard for me to read as a teacher because it was about a school shooting, but it was very compelling and I was reminded of some things that teachers need to think about. Peter, the main character in this story, the school shooter, was a teenage boy who all his life was teased, humiliated, and bullied at school. This does not justify his going into his school and killing ten people and injuring many more, but it does help explain it. And the adults around him did not give him the help he needed. It was really sad - for Peter, for the families who lost children in the shooting spree, for the other students who were there, for the whole town that lost its feeling of safety. There were very few good outcomes, although there were some.

Picoult is a fabulous writer - her novel My Sister's Keeper was a senior division young Reader's Choice nominee - and like this one, both had shocking endings. I would not recommend this book to middle schoolers because it is too raw and too real. I would recommend it to other educators and adults. Available at Multnomah County Libraries.

Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief - Wendelin Van Draanen

I’ve heard people talk about Sammy Keyes before and what fun she is, and we have several Sammy Keyes mysteries in the library, so I decided it was time I read one. See, I told you I’d been reading a bunch of grown-up books and now I was going to read some more kid stuff, and here I am delivering on my promise. This is the third book I’ve written about tonight already, and I have four more I’ll have to write about later. Seven books in just over a week. That’s pretty good!

OK, back to Sammy. Sammy is a young woman who’s pretty gutsy but who doesn’t always make the best choices. For example, when she sees a criminal stealing something from a hotel room across from her grandmother’s apartment through her binoculars, she waves at him. And when a bully at school pokes her with a pin, she punches her right in the nose. Things like this lead Sammy into some bad situations. But they make for great reading, I will say that.

Sammy is funny and spunky, and smart enough not to get herself into anything TOO dangerous, just dangerous enough to keep you reading more. I’m looking forward to reading more of Sammy Keyes’s adventures in the future.

As soon as I get my copy of this book to Mrs. Carney it will be available at our WOMS library, or you can pick up other Sammy Keyes novels there now.

P.S. Flipped by the same author is a really great book, too!

Betrayal: Booke the Second - Patricia Finney

This is the second (booke, yes, it's really spelled that way in the book)of the Lady Grace mysteries I’ve read and it was as much fun as the first. Lady Grace, if you’ll remember, is a Maid in the court of Queen Elizabeth the First. Her mother was one of the Queen’s Ladies in Waiting who was accidentally murdered by a drink meant for the queen, so she’s a special favorite of the queen and she gets special favors, like being allowed to investigate mysteries. And this mystery had a bit of the pirate in it because Grace ends up stowed away on a ship, so it’s jolly good fun. (BTW, did you know the new Johnny Depp movie comes out THIS WEEKEND???!!! I can barely contain my excitement!) The ship she stows away on turns out to be the completely wrong ship, but in the end it all turns out right…although not without some stress along the way.

There’s lots of action, suspense and adventure in this novel, and it’s another I think both boy and girl readers would enjoy. We don’t have this one in our library yet, I got it from Multnomah County, but I do plan to buy it, so you can look for it in the fall!

Rules - Cynthia Lord

Rules – Cynthia Lord

This book was Newbery Honor winner this year and it is laugh out loud funny and get me the box of Kleenex sad all at once. Catherine is a twelve-year old girl who just wants, like most teenagers, to be like everyone else. But Catherine has a little brother who’s autistic. Which leads her to have to make some RULES. For example, “A boy can take off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts.” This book does give good insight into the difficulties someone faces when living with someone who has disabilities. And it also has good insight as to what a person with disabilities goes through. More importantly, however, this book gives good insight into what someone with disabilities has to offer even though they might be different and how someone with disabilities really is just a person like everyone else who wants to be cared about.

I really, really loved this story, even though I was crying my eyes out at the end. I would highly recommend it to both girls and boys, kids and grown-ups. It’s a fabulous read!

13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson

This is one of those crossover books - an adult book some teen readers might enjoy. But honestly, after all the hype about this book, I expected a little more. This is what happens when you set your expectations too high. I should know better. It's not that it was a bad book. I didn't quit reading it, and I really did want to know what would happen next, but it just didn't thrill me.

The premise of the book is this: Ginny (of unknown age but old enough to travel Europe alone without her parents completely freaking out) has an eccentric aunt. Or she had an eccentric aunt, but the aunt died. Now she's sending Ginny on a quest, via a packet of 13 Little Blue Envelopes. At each stop on her journey, Ginny opens the next envelope and it has instructions about where to go, what to see, who to look for. Sort of, if it works out. This structure, if the 13 envelopes with instructions is what I enjoyed most about this novel. As a reader, I really wanted to know what was coming next. An although I was never thrilled with an installment, I always hoped the next installment would be better.

There is a trace of romance in the novel, definitely some adventure, for sure more questions than answers. The book is interesting and a bit of a psychological study of the dead aunt, but it fell short of my expectations, so I could recommend it as what I call a "beach book" - one with not so much substance but an okay way to pass the time.

been reading grown up books of late...

So I haven't been making many posts, but I'm ready to read some more YA titles, so look out...I'm sure to be burning up the blog in the next few weeks. Stay tuned...

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

I recently finished this book written by the boy soldier himself, now grown up at 26 years old and living in New York City. The non-fiction piece is very well written for a non-native English speaker. The power of this book, however, does not come from the quality of the writing, but from the incredible, heartbreaking story.

Ishmael was born in Sierra Leone,on the west coast of Africa, in 1980. In 1992 his country was in the midst of a brutal civil war and Ishmael became separated from nearly all of his family. He and several other boys, including his older brother, roamed the countryside, hiding from the violence as best they could, and surviving on whatever they could beg off of someone, or, in most cases, steal. It was a miserable and terrifying existence, but those turned out to be some of the better times, because eventually Ishmael was captured by the army and forced to join the fighting.

From ages thirteen to sixteen Ishmael fought beside his friends, high on drugs the army gave all the boys to keep them amped up for killing. The acts they committed were horrific, and many are recounted with a fair amount of detail which is pretty disturbing, even for an adult, so I will not be putting this book in our library. However, the realities of war are not very nice, and this is a good reality check for those whose vision of war is what we often see in the movies. War is a horrible thing, and the inclusion of children in its violence is unforgivable.

At age sixteen UNICEF pulled Ishmael from the fighting, but I was disappointed to read some of the things that happened after the "rescue". The children in the shelter were, of course, in a better place than being out in combat every day, but it seemed like UNICEF had very little in the way of a plan of what to do with these children once they rescued them. It was not much more safe in the shelter at some times than it had seemed outside it.

However, once the drugs wore off and the children got more used to their new surroundings, most of them did seem to adapt. IT was not, however, easy for them, and I believe it had to be much more difficult than was alluded to in this book. There were mentions of some of the young people being withdrawn, rarely speaking, having difficulty adjusting, but it wasn't very deeply addressed, even for the author himself. That is, I'm sure, a coping strategy, and undoubtedly necessary, but I would have liked to read more about the depth of their thoughts and underlying struggles.

Ishmael is one of the lucky ones; he ended up being able to come and live in the United States, finish high school at the UN International School in New York, attend and graduate from Oberlin College, and he is now a member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Division Advisory Committee. Unfortunately, as soon as he is leaving Sierra Leone, the book ends, and we do not hear anything about what happened once he got here. There are a few mentions of things in the course of the story, but overall we know very little about what happened when he left. I'm not sure why this is, but I thought it was a very unsatisfying conclusion, and I was very disappointed. However, it was still definitely worth reading and will provide lots of really great discussion among people who read it. I would not recommend this book to middle schoolers unless they are reading it with an adult so they can talk about it together. It is available at Multnomah County Libraries.

Forever in Blue - the Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares

This is the book where we're saying goodbye to Lena, Tibby, Camen and Bee, young women who I've spent the last several years reading about and who even though they're not real, surely seem to be. Ann Brashares has done a masterful job of character development in these Sisterhod of the Traveling Pants series, and she does not fall short in this last of the series. I will say, however, that knowing it was the last one, I think I read it differently and probably because of this it's not my favorite of the four. I didn't want to become as invested in the characters because I knew they wouldn't be coming back. It's sort of like when you meet someone that you really connect with, but you know they live far away or move in different circles or whatever so you won't be seeing them again, and so you don't really let yourself get close to them so that you won't miss them later. Have you ever done that? It's actually interesting, because it's sort of like one of the things that's happening in the novel, too.

In this novel, the girls are in college, and there are too many things that happen that aren't really appropriate for a middle school library book ,so I'm not going to get it for our library, but you can get it at Multnomah County if you've read all the rest and want to read the conclusion. Get your box of Kleenex handy, though.

Assassin - Patricia Finney

This is the first of "The Lady Grace mysteries, from the daybookes of Lady Grace Cavendish" and I found it to be a delightful story, even if it was about murder. Lady Grace is an orphan girl, favorite maid to Queen Elizabeth I whose mother died accidentally when someone attempted to kill the Queen.

Grace, at thirteen, must choose her betrothed at the Valentine's ball, and so she does. But when one of the other suitors is found murdered and the man she has chosen is accused, Grace decides she must act to save him. She and two friends, with the secret permission of the Queen, engage in some very tricky sleuthing, getting themselves into more than a few close scrapes along the way. Ultimately, of course, Grace and her friends do discover the villain and he is brought to justice by the Queen. Grace also receives some justice in the end, which I was happy to see.

This is an exciting and interesting historical fiction narrative that I think both girls and boys would enjoy. This is the first in a series which is written, interestingly, by more then one author. The first three books are written by Patricia Finney, but then books four and five are written by other people - sort of like the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. I'm interested to read the different authors and see if I can tell a difference between them.

Mountains Beyond Mountains - Tracy Kidder

the subtitle of this book is "The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World." This is the story of an incredibly gifted man who chooses to use his knowledge and skills to fight for some of the poorest people on earth, primarily in Haiti, but also in Peru, Russia, Cuba, and, ultimately, all over the world. Dr. Paul Farmer is a Harvard medical school graduate and professor who has founded a charity called Partners in Health (PIH). His speciality is infectious diseases, especially TB and AIDS, prevalent problems in many parts of the world which, with aggressive care and appropriate drugs can be cured. And yet many agencies, governments, corporations, people are unwilling to put resources toward fighting these diseases in poor regions. The commitment and dedication Farmer has for his work is unflagging, uncommon, and incredibly inspiring. I found myself wanting to quit my job and join the Peace Corps or something as I read it. It is an amazing story and I highly recommend it to high school students and adults. If you want to be inspired by someone who lives his passion and is doing incredible things for impoverished people all over the world, you must read this biography of Dr. Paul Farmer by Pulitzer Prize winning author Tracy Kidder. Available at Multnomah County libraries.

Memoirs of an Invisible Man

Well, I haven't made a post here in quite some time because I've been taking a little break from kid books and reading some grown-up books that probably wouldn't be so interesting for kids, but I'll tell a little bit about this one because it dovetails with Things Not Seen. This was a book my book club (yes, FINALLY I joined one) chose, and I was pretty excited that it came along just at the time we were reading about Bobby who had become invisible, like the protagonist in this novel. But I have to say, Bobby's story was SO much better. This novel had too much detail, went on too long, and was just too implausible for me. Yeah, being invisible is impossible, I know, so I should have had a problem with it in Things Not Seen, but I really didn't. But in Memoirs of an Invisible Man a lot of pretty high powered people knew about him and were after him, but for over a year they never captured him. I mean, come on. And there were just too many ridiculous things he did that I couldn't buy. So if you're really fascinated with invisibility, you might try this novel, but otherwise, I really don't recommend it. How often do you hear me say that????

Things Not Seen Trivia #16

This is our last Things Not Seen trivia question. Thanks for playing trivia!

When Bobby sneaks into the offices at Sears, how many people does he discover have made a complaint about the blankets, and what does he do once he finds this information?

DUE DATE: April 6

Things Not Seen Trivia #15

This is the second to last Things Not Seen Trivia Question!

What law is Bobby referring to when he tells Alicia “Companies love it when…um…people like you apply for jobs…because they actually have to prove that they try to hire everyone. It’s a federal law or something.”

DUE DATE: April 6

Things Not Seen Trivia #14

What company made Bobby’s electric blanket?

DUE DATE: April 5

Things Not Seen Trivia #13

How many hits does Bobby get when he plugs in "invisible people"?

DUE DATE: April 4

Things Not Seen Trivia #12

What classic novel by H.G. Wells does Alicia read because of Bobby?

DUE DATE: March 22

Things Not Seen Trivia #11

Being an astronomer, what scientific phenomenon does Alicia’s dad compare Bobby to?

DUE DATE: March 21

Things Not Seen Trivia #10

How does Alicia figure out Bobby’s telling the truth when he tells her he’s invisible?

DUE DATE: March 20

Things Not Seen Trivia #9

Happy St. (Fitz)Patrick's Day!

When Bobby sees Alicia at the library for the second time, he overhears the book she’s listening to. What’s the title of that book and how does he know?

DUE DATE: March 19

Things Not Seen Trivia #8

Bobby says that he and which famous actor are “men of action”?

DUE DATE: March 16

Things Not Seen Trivia #7

Why does Bobby say, “fear doesn’t need doors and windows.”?

DUE DATE: March 15

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

This 552(!) page novel is a Printz Honor book for this year and is a fascinating and at the same time very distressing book to read. The book is about the Holocaust, and though it has very little in the way of graphic violence, I find most books about this time period to be distressing simply due to the nature of waht was happening. Adding to that, the narrator of this book is Death, a point of view which I have never encountered in a novel before. It's really an intriguing perspective. Dark, but very compelling. Death appears quite compassionate in this novel, not what one might think.

The story is set in Germany during World War II and when nine-year old Liesel, the main character, arrives at her foster home she does not know how to read. Despite this fact, she has begun her career as a book thief already, stealing the gravedigger’s manual from the graveyard where they buried her younger brother on the journey to her new home in Molching with Rosa and Hans Huberman.

Hans Huberman helps Liesel through this most difficult transition in her young life by teaching her to read, and via the Gravedigger’s Handbook she learns the power of words, a power which she will use to get not only herself through difficult times in a war torn country but also those in her neighborhood who must join her frequently in their air raid shelter. There, Leisel helps to calm everyone’s nerves by taking their minds off the bombing with the stories she reads aloud. Her sources for books are varied. A few she is given, like the one the Jewish refugee Max who is hiding in their basement makes for her, but others she steals, from Nazi book burnings and even from the mayor’s wife (well, she sort of steals these).

This beautifully written book is powerful and intense, but should be read only by mature readers because of the mature themes in the story.

Things Not Seen Trivia #6

Who is Bobby’s friend whose dad owns a funeral home?

DUE DATE: March 14

Things Not Seen Trivia #5

What room is Bobby’s mom in in the hospital and how does he find this out?

DUE DATE: March 13

Things Not Seen Trivia Contest update

Several students have participated in our trivia contest so far. Congratulations to:

Isaac M.
Josh M.
Haley T.
Jessica M.
Tim B.

for correct answers so far. All these students have earned entries into the special drawing for 5 tickets in our fundraiser drawing. There's still time for you to enter. Take a look at past postings, some of which can still be answered, and watch for new ones almost every day!

Also congratulations to Rachel W. who filled out a Quote Note and also has earned an entry into the special drawing. Every student who fills out a Quote Note will get an entry into the special drawing.

Things Not Seen Trivia #4

What is Bobby’s Aunt’s name who lives in Miami?

DUE DATE: March 9

Things Not Seen Trivia #3

Answer BOTH questions to be eligible for a ticket in the drawing and be sure to put the page numbers where you find the answers on your sheet.

1. Where does Bobby leave his clothes in the 5th floor bathroom?


2. Why does Bobby like the third floor at the library the best?


DUE DATE: March 8

The Hummingbird's Daughter - Urrea

This is a book for any parents out there who are reading my blog. Kids could read it, but I don't think many middle schoolers would enjoy it. It's a beautifully written historical fiction novel about Mexico in the 19th century centered on Teresita, a young woman who becomes a healer on a ranch in Mexico. Teresa clearly has a gift for healing and is called a saint by many of her followers, who swarm the ranch in legions, but she never accepts this title herself, remaining humble to the end of the story.

The book has religious and political themes woven throughout a compelling storyline with many surprises along the way. I constantly found myself gasping out loud as the events unfolded in ways I never expected. This story is based on the life of the great-aunt of author Luis Urrea, an author who has won awards for his non-fiction writing and who spent nearly twenty years researching this novel. This book was recommended to me by someone who was reading it for a book group, and if you have a book group, this would be a fascinating choice. the history alone is interesting, and there is a lot of richness to be discussed.

Enjoy!

Things Not Seen Trivia #2

What college/university is associated with the Regenstein Library? (only the name of the library is given in the book, you’ll have to research to find this answer)

BE SURE YOU INCLUDE PAGE NUMBER IN YOUR ANSWER (in this case, on what page is the library mentioned?)

DUE DATE: March 7

Things Not Seen Trivia Question #1

March 2 – Answer BOTH questions to be eligible for a ticket in the drawing

1. Bobby’s mom has a special “voice” she uses when she thinks Bobby is messing around. What does he call this “voice”?


2. Bobby’s dad has a favorite word he uses, especially when he gets excited. Bobby even suggests his dad needs a shock collar like they use on dogs to cure him of using the word. What is the word?

DUE DATE: March 5

Fill out your little blue answer sheet (cut one out from the bck of your activities handout) and turn it in to the library. More answer sheets avaiable in the library if you don't have any.

Congratulations Haley T. and Jessica M. and Isaac M. for your correct answers!

Rules of Survival - Nancy Werlin

This was an excellent book but a difficult one to read because it deals with children who are being abused by their mother. For those of you who are Dave Pelzer fans, this would be a good fiction choice.

This is Matt's story which he is writing down as a letter (one that's the length of a book, but anyway...) to his youngest sister trying to explain to her what happened when she was little, why he did some of the things he did, what kind of person their mother was (probably manic depressive and definitely dangerous), etc.

It's a story in which the main character really delves into himself to try and answer some tough questions. On the one hand, he's not sure he did the right things for himself, for his sisters, for his mother, for anyone. On the other hand, he knows he did the best he could, which is all anyone can ask of anyone else, really, but sometimes it just doesn't seem to be enough.

This book was sad to read because I know there are kids out there, probably kids I even know, who are going through really traumatic, difficult situations just like Matt and his sisters. They struggle every day to try and get through. They dream of just one day when things are normal and hope every night that tomorrow will be better. The insights to these children captured by Werlin are hauntingly realistic.

This book has very short chapters, lots of action, and harrowing suspense. This 2006 National Book Award finalist is definitely another fine piece of writing by Nancy Werlin, and I would recommend it to mature readers 7th grade and up because of the nature of the content.

Charlie Bone and the Hidden King - Jenny Nimmo

So I thought this was the last of the Charlie Bone books, but then a student said they thought there were more coming, so I looked on the Internet (how did we ever survive without it I often wonder), and what do you know, there IS another one coming out this summer. It's called Cahrlie Bone and the Beast. So now you know.

I listened to this book on tape in my car; as you might know if you've read some of the other entries I've done, it's the only way I can stand driving. Anyway, it was a great book to listen to, but it was a hard one to listen to because you have to stop listening when the car stops, and there were MANY times when I wanted to keep going. It's a VERY suspenseful story. Well, I guess I could have sat in my car and listened more, but probably someone might have thought that was a little strange, so I didn't.

The Flames, the three cats who have appeared in other Charlie Bone books, and who are really swell kitties, appear early on in this book and warn Charlie to be watchful because something ancient has awoken. This cannot be good news he knows, but what has awoken, and who and where should he watch? And then all the animals disappear, including Benjamin's beloved Runner Bean. And Charlie's mother seems to have forgotten who his father was and even takes off her wedding rings which she's NEVER done before even though his father has been missing so long. And then there's Grandma Maisie who's frozen solid as a rock and dripping on the carpet. What to do, what to do? It's non-stop action and suspense.

Needless to say, Charlie ends up in some very dangerous spots. Will the help of his uncle, several very good friends and an ancient spell be enough to find the hidden king and perhaps even his ever elusive father? Read this page-turner and find out.

An Abundance of Katherines - John Green

John Green won the Printz for his previous book Looking For Alaska which I liked a lot but which is pretty much a downer all the way. He has done a bit of an about face in many respects with this next novel, and I loved it. This one won a Printz Honor. Pretty impressive for such a young author to have won the award AND an Honor! It's one of the kind of books I kept reading parts out loud to my husband and one I was often laughing out loud while reading. This book is hilarious and if you are into math, even just a little, this book is even better. This book is definitely a book for more intellectual readers, though.

Child prodigy Colin Singleton (perhaps better named SingleONE) has had nineteen girlfriends, and ALL of them have been named Katherine. How weird is that? Colin is bereft after the last one, Katherine XIX, dumps him and his best friend Hassan decides that the only way to cure it is to take a road trip. Since he has no better ideas, Colin goes, and when he sees a sign saying that the Archduke Franz Ferdinand is buried in Gutshot, TN, he HAS to go there. See Colin has a LOT of information in his brain, and things he thinks other people will see as interesting, frankly, to most people, just aren't. Which Hassan is repeatedly telling him. Which Hassan tells him in this case, but Colin insists. In Gutshot, they're hired by the wacky Hollis, mother of the beautiful Lindsey, girlfriend of TOC, the other Colin, to do an oral history project. Got all that?

While he's there, Colin decides that he's going to find the mathematical formula that underlies all these relationships with Katherines. He figures there has to be a logical answer. Because logic defines pretty much everything for Colin. This happens to really smart people I guess. I wouldn't know. I'm plenty smart, but I was no child prodigy. And get this, one of the other things this child prodigy can do is anagram pretty much anything. Anagramming means to mix up the letters in a word or phrase to make other words/phrases. Like for example, Erin Fitzpatrick Bjorn can be anagrammed to A BRR INJECT FORK TIN ZIP (and, surprisingly, a WHOLE bunch of other anagrams - try wordsmith.org/anagram to see what your name can be made into). As I write this, this book sounds kind of kooky, but it really works!

Anyway, what Colin wants most in life is to matter, and this book takes him on a journey of self-exploration to try and figure out how he can do that, why he wants it so badly, what does it even mean, and, in the end, is that really what he wants? The trip to Gutshot takes Hassan on a similar journey, and Lindsey, who they meet there, ends up on one as well.

This is an incredibly tightly written novel which I adored, but I don't think most readers will appreciate it until they're at least in high school if not later.

Dairy Queen - Catherine Gilbert Murdock

I believe I checked this book out of the public library because it was listed in Booklist as one of the best first novels for young adults of the year, and I would agree. It is funny, thought provoking, will appeal to girls and boys (really, title aside, it WILL appeal to boys - it's all about football!), and is set in Wisconsin. Who could ask for more? I'm going to suggest it to Mr. Arn since he's a cheesehead.

This is the story of JD Schwenk (tough last name, don't you think?) who is a pretty incredible girl. She basically singlehandedly runs her family's dairy farm AND goes to school. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much of a life outside of school because of it, but she's ok with that.

Brian Nelson is the star quarterback from the next town over and he comes to supposedly help out on the farm - basically because his coach is making him. He doesn't last long, at least at first. He's lazy and working on a farm is not easy. Ask anyone who's done it. So he bails. But he actually comes back and with DJ's training help becomes a decently hard working guy who can really throw a football.

See DJ has helped her older brothers practice football since she can remember, so it's a pretty natural fit for her to help out Brian. But she discovers a lot about herself along the way, and one of the things she discovers is that SHE wants to play football for her high school's team this year. You can imagine that this causes some hubbub, not the least of which is with Brian who she sort of doesn't tell about it until after it's a done deal. Not her best move, but her people skills really aren't the best. She's really good with cows, though!

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. There were lots of laughs and the characterization is quite excellent. I'm very impressed that this is Catherine Gilbert Murdock's first novel and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

The True Darcy Spirit - Elizabeth Aston

Anyone know what book I have on my READ poster at school? Pride and Prejudice (along with Keira Knightly!). This book is written by Elizabeth Aston and is a sort of copycat book of Jane Austen's style. It's quite remarkable how well she does imitate the style. Clearly she has read all of Jane Austen's works QUITE closely. It's pretty cool that someone can do that. I wonder if Jane would be flattered or freaked out that someone was doing this.

Anyway, you really have to love Pride and Prejudice to enjoy this book, but if you did like it, I'd highly recommend this story set in 1819 (Pride and Prejudice was set in the late 170os) and focuses on one of the daughters of Anne de Bourgh (Lady Catherine REALLY wanted Mr. Darcy to marry Anne in P&P, remember?), Cassandra Darcy.

It's a fun, romantic mystery that's pretty predictable, but still pure pleasure for fans of the genre.

ALA Award books announced

For Immediate Release
January 22, 2007

American Library Association announces literary award winners

SEATTLE – The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books and video for children and young adults - including the Caldecott, King, Newbery and Printz awards - at its Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.

A list of all the 2007 literary award winners follows:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature

“The Higher Power of Lucky,” written by Susan Patron, is the 2007 Newbery Medal winner. The book is illustrated by Matt Phelan and published by Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson.

Three Newbery Honor Books were named: “Penny from Heaven,” written by Jennifer L. Holm and published by Random House; “Hattie Big Sky,” by Kirby Larson, published by Delacorte Press; and “Rules,” by Cynthia Lord, published by Scholastic.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children

“Flotsam,” illustrated by David Wiesner, is the 2007 Caldecott Medal winner. The wordless book is published by Clarion.

Two Caldecott Honor Books were named: “Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet,” written and illustrated by David McLimans, and published by Walker, and “Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom,” illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Hyperion/Jump at the Sun.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults

“American Born Chinese” by Gene Luen Yang is the 2007 Printz Award winner. The book is published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership.

Four Printz Honor Books were named: “The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation; v. 1: The Pox Party” by M. T. Anderson, published by Candlewick; “An Abundance of Katherines” by John Green, published by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.; “Surrender” by Sonya Hartnett, published by Candlewick Press; and “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.

Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults

“Copper Sun,” written by Sharon Draper, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Simon & Schuster/Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

One King Author Honor Book was selected: “The Road to Paris” written by Nikki Grimes and published by G.P. Putnum’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

“Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom,” illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book was written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children.

Two King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: “Jazz,” illustrated by Christopher Myers, written by Walter Dean Myers and published by Holiday House, Inc.; and “Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes” illustrated by Benny Andrews, edited by David Roessel and Arnold Rampersad, and published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

“Standing Against the Wind,” written by Traci L. Jones is the Steptoe winner. The book is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences

“The Deaf Musicians,” written by Pete Seeger and poet Paul DuBois Jacobs, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons wins the award for children ages 0 to 10. “Rules,” written by Cynthia Lord and published by Scholastic Press is the winner in the middle-school category (age 11-13). “Small Steps,” written by Louis Sachar and published by Delacorte Press, is the winner in the teen category (age 13-18).

Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book

“Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways,” written and illustrated by Laura McGee Kvasnosky is the Geisel Award winner. The book is published by Candlewick Press.

Three Geisel Honor Books were named: “Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride,” written by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen and published by Candlewick Press; “Move Over, Rover!” written by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Jane Dyer and published by Harcourt, Inc.; and “Not a Box,” written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis and published by HarperCollins.

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults

Lois Lowry, author of “The Giver,” is the 2007 Edwards Award winner. “The Giver” is published by Walter Lorraine Books/Houghton Mifflin Company.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children

Author-illustrator James Marshall is the 2007 Wilder Award winner. Marshall was the author and illustrator of the “George and Martha” books, the “Fox” easy reader series, “The Cut-Ups” and “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
(more)

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children

“Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon,” written by Catherine Thimmesh, is the 2007 Sibert Award winner. The book is published by Houghton.

Three Sibert Honor Books were named: “Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement,” written by Ann Bausum and published by National Geographic; “Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea,” written by Sy Montgomery, photographs by Nic Bishop and published by Houghton; and “To Dance: A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel,” written by Siena Cherson Siegel, artwork by Mark Siegel and published by Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson (hardcover) and Simon & Schuster/Aladdin.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video

Author/illustrator Mo Willems and Weston Woods Studios, producers of “Knuffle Bunny,” are the 2007 Carnegie Medal winners. The DVD is based on Willems’ book “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale” and is performed by Willems, his wife Cheryl and their daughter Trixie. It is directed and animated by MaGiK Studio, with music by Scotty Huff and Robert Reynolds.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the most outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States

Delacorte Press is the winner of the 2007 Batchelder Award for “The Pull of the Ocean.” Originally published in France in 1999 as “L’enfant Océan,” the book was written by Jean-Claude Mourlevat and translated by Y. Maudet.

Two Batchelder Honor Books also were selected: “The Killer’s Tears,” published by Delacorte Press, and “The Last Dragon,” published by Hyperion/Miramax.

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences

“The Book of Lost Things,” written by John Connolly and published by Simon & Schuster/Atria
“The Whistling Season,” written by Ivan Doig and published by Harcourt
“Eagle Blue: A Team, A Tribe, and A High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska,” written by Michael D’Orso and published by Bloomsbury
“Water for Elephants,” written by Sara Gruen and published by Algonquin
“Color of the Sea,” written by John Hamamura and published by Thomas Dunne
“The Floor of the Sky,” written by Pamela Carter Joern and published by the University of Nebraska
“The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” written by Michael Lewis and published by Norton
“Black Swan Green,” written by David Mitchell and published by Random House
“The World Made Straight,” written by Ron Rash and published by Henry Holt
“The Thirteenth Tale,” written by Diane Setterfield and published by Simon & Schuster/Atria

Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time - Lisa Yee

Finally, I finished Stanford Wong which I have started and interrupted several times this year. Things just keep coming up, you know? Anyway, it was awesome. I loved Millicent Mi,n Girl Genius, which is Lisa Yee's companion novel to this book, but I really think this book is much funnier. You may have heard me say before that for me as a reader, character development is the most important element of a book, and Stanford Wong is QUITE a character. He's hilarious and he can be quite serious, as well. But mostly he's hilarious.

Stanford isn't so big into schoolwork. He's into basketball. Which is why he's the first 6th grader who ever got placed on the top team for Rancho Rosetta Middle School. And he is SO excited about it. He's all ready to go to summer basketball camp where he can learn even more about how to be a great basketball player. Unfortunately, he doesn't pass his English class, and so instead of going to basketball camp, Stanford gets to go to summer school. Let's just say he's less than enthusiastic. If he doesn't pass summer school, he's going to get kicked off the team!

But this is not the worst of Stanford's summer, it's really just the beginning. For one thing, his grandmother's getting senile and she has to go live in a care facility instead of with Stanford's family where she's been living. You could say that like Stanford about summer school, Yin-Yin, his grandmother, is less than enthusiastic about the move. And then there's the thing of his parents fighting all the time and his dad never having anything good to say about him. Plus he's lying to his friends the Roadrunners about the whole summer school thing but Digger, the bully of the group, somehow finds out. Not good. And worst of all, his parents arrange for MILLICENT MIN, of all people, to tutor him. Less than enthusiastic...

One thing Stanford does get enthusiastic about is Emily Ebers, Millicent Min's very cute friend. Oh, yeah, he's VERY enthusiastic about her. But does she just like him or does she LIKE like him?

Just as Millicent Min gets herself into quite a pickle by lying to people around her - that always seems to blow up in your face, have you noticed? - Stanford Wong ends up in a pretty fine mess as well. Have you ever heard this quote from Sir Walter Scott, "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."? Yeah, that pretty much sums up both Millicent and Stanford. You will have to read this book to find out if and how they manage to get untangled. And when you do read it, you'll also get some fine recommendations for other books to read from none other than Stanford himself, who I will tell you, actually starts to LIKE books. Maybe not LIKE like, but at least like. Miracles never cease.

This was a really delightful book, and I would highly recommend both Millicent Min, Girl Genius and Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time by Lisa Yee.

Sticky Fingers - Niki Burnham

Earlier this year I read a couple of Niki Burnham books that were lots of fun but nowhere near seeming like they could be true. This story was completely different from those. It's almost a little bit too real. As a grown up, what happens in this story worries me, although I do think it's a really powerful and important story to tell. The book deals with mature topics, so it's definitely for older readers, both girls and boys, and I haven't yet decided if I'm going to get it for our middle school, but for now you can get it at the public library which was where I picked it up.

This is the story of Jenna, a high school senior who works really, really hard at school and at being "in control" of her life. Jenna is super smart - she knows what she wants for herself, and she knows she doesn't want anything to get in the way of her plans. Once she gets early acceptance to Harvard for college, a lot of people think she should just sit back, relax, enjoy life a little. And Jenna thinks on the one hand that they're right. In the other, she's afraid if she lets go just a little bit, it's all going to go up in smoke. And then suddenly it does. Jenna has one drink at a party, and her life spins wildly out of control in the space of an instant.

The good news is, Jenna learns some really valuable lessons about relationships and the importance of not trying to get through everything by yourself as a result of what happens to her. The bad news is, they're hard lessons and they hurt. Jenna's story needs to be told, and hopefully readers will learn some of these important lessons the easy way (by reading the book).

A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl - Tanya Lee Stone

*If you were the person who sent me a comment asking me about this novel - it's available at Multnomah County libraries. You didn't put your name in the question, so I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you personally.*


This book has way too much sexual stuff to have in our library, but there were some things I really liked about this book. It's a novel told in poetry, and if you've never read a novel in poetry form, I think you're missing out. Out of the Dust is the best one ever, and Sonya Sones and Sharon Creech also have some good ones. They read really quickly and because poets don't have a lot of words to spare, they get right to the heart of the matter. No time or words are wasted. I really love novels in poetry form.

This book is really three girls' stories that are all intertwined and connected by one boy. One boy who drives girls crazy and makes them do or want to do things they really know they shouldn't or they can't ever imagine they would have wanted. Well, he and their hormones combined cause this phenomenon. But in the end, they've all learned something about themselves. About their own strength. About being in control of their destiny. About what they want...and what they don't. About what love is and what love isn't. Important lessons for life that have changed them and will help them become who they want to be.

And one last thing I really liked was how Tanya Lee brought other girls in at the end, giving them all strength and power through a shared experience. It's very important to remember that no matter what happens to us, there's probably someone else it's happened to, and connecting those people together can be a valuable, strengthening thing. And it didn't hurt that she brought them together via a library book, either :)

Things Hoped For - Andrew Clements

I was so excited to discover recently that Andrew Clements had written a follow-up novel to Things Not Seen which is going to be our WOMS ONE Everybody Reads novel (Start digging that $1 in change out from under the couch cushions, by the way. We're collecting beginning next week in homeroom.) This novel takes place a few years after Things Not Seen and is really mostly about Gwen, a young woman who is preparing for auditions to try and get into a prestigious music school for college. Pretty much her hole life is consumed with it - something I can't really imagine. There's never been anything for me that I was SO crazy for that I was willing to practice it 4 or 5 or 6 hours EVERY single day. Or maybe there was nothing I was quite good enough at to warrant it... But in any case, Gwen's good enough and she's passionate enough. She lives in New York with her grandfather where she already goes to a special high school. Her grandfather has created a special sound-proof room for her to practice in and everything. And then one day, right before her auditions, he just disappears. He calls and leaves her a message on the answering machine telling her not to look for him and not to worry. He'll be back as soon as he can, and she should just focus on her practicing. Like that's going to happen. And this is where Bobby comes in. Er, Robert, thank you very much. And together they handle a lot of crazy things, some comical, some creepy, some downright scary. It's a fun, interesting mystery that I would definitely recommend you read right AFTER you read Things Not Seen. I'll be ordering several copies for the library :)

Boy Girl Boy - Ron Koertge

This is a really interesting book told from the perspective of, you guessed it, two girls and one boy. It's by the author of one of last year's Young Reader's Choice nominees whose work I really enjoy. Some of the topics in this novel are pretty mature, so I don't think I'll be getting it for our library, but it was an interesting story based on the premise that these three best friends who are about to graduate from high school are going to take off together to California and live there as soon as they graduate. But underneath it all, the three of them are changing, and none of them is really sure that going to California together is what they want anymore. But they don't really know how to tell the other two because the they think they'd be spoiling the plan.

I think that people often get themselves into situations like this, maybe not as big as moving to California, but they say they'll do something and then something else happens and they want to change their mind but they don't feel like they can. How do we develop the skills to exit gracefully when we need to? And what if we don't? Where does that leave us? Why is it often more difficult to let others down than to let ourselves down? Is this a learned behavior? I'm pretty sure that in part it is, but maybe not completely. Maybe there's a part of us that instinctively wants to protect those we care about. Is it all bad? Definitely not, but sometimes it really is. OK, I'm off my soapbox now. This book would be good for mature 8th graders and up. It's available at Multnomah County Libraries.

Under the Persimmon Tree - Suzanne Fisher Staples

Books about war are hard to read, and this book, set in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was definitely challenging in many repects, but it was extremely well done and a powerful novel. I love Suzanne Fisher Staples' work, her book Shabanu is among my top favorites for young adults ever, and this book is another example of her ability to bring characters to life. Najmah, a young girl who lives in Northern Pakistan has her family torn apart by the war, and ends up alone and afraid in a strange place unsure of what to do or how she will survive. Nusrat, an American woman who married a Pakistan man and moved with him to Pakistan, teaches refugee children under the persimmon tree in her home's courtyard while she awaits news of her doctor husband. The two come together and help one another to survive through what are incredibly challenging times. There is not a lot of overt violence in the story, but the undercurrents of it flow through every page, creating a distinct tension for readers. Like many other books I've read this year, this novel is an excellent example of how writing can help us to develop empathy for a group of people we know little about. In this case it help us to develop empathy for a group we often hear very negative reports about, people of the Middle East. I cannot exactly say I "enjoyed" this book, but I know that it helped me to think differently, and that's a really important thing. I would definitely recommend Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples.

The Lizard's Bite - David Hewson

This is an adult mystery set in Venice, and I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting because the three main police officers in this novel are actually from Rome (this is the fourth or fifth book involving the same characters) and they are always complaining about Venice and how tawdry it is. I' of course, being an American, LOVED Venice. What a fun place to get lost! Reading this book brought back all kinds of fun memories of trips we've made to Venice, and I wondered which vision was more true - mine or theirs? This mystery was quite complex, and I really don't think many middle schoolers would enjoy it, but if there are any parents reading this, I'd highly recommend the Nic Costa series by David Hewson. Available at Multnomah County Library.

Perfect - Natasha Friend

This is a fabulous story about a young woman with an eating disorder. After Isabelle's father died last year, it seems like things have kind of fallen apart at home. Her mom cries herself to sleep every night and has taken down every photograph of Izzy's father, and her little sister April is just a brat, and Isabelle's way of handling things is to eat, and eat, and eat, and eat, and then throw it all up. NOT a healthy way of dealing with things. And while Isabelle's mother can't quite manage to get her own life under control, she's not about to let Isabelle continue with this once she finds out, so she makes Isabelle go to an "Eating Disorder and Body Image Therapy Group." Needless, to say, Isabelle is not thrilled.

I really liked how Natasha Friend dealt with Isabelle's eating disorder and several other adolescent issues along the way. She makes Isabelle's character very realistic. She doesn't just start going to group and magically she's cured as sometimes happens in books and movies but never in real life. In real life, as in this book, there are steps forward and falls back, and Isabelle has to figure out how to handle all the things that come her way, including Ashley Barnum, the prettiest, most popular girl in school who also happens to have an eating disorder, much to Isabelle's surprise. With the help of a good counselor and a wonderful aunt, Isabelle and her family begin to move back into a more healthy way of living, taking small steps, one day at a time.

This is a sensitively written book with great perspective. Another novel that helps readers become more empathetic, and if you've read some of my other posts, you know those books are always winners with me. I definitely recommend Perfect.

The Night My Sister Went Missing - Carol Plum-Ucci

If you've read anything by Plum-Ucci before, I'll bet you're hooked on her; she's an amazing writer with an incredible gift for suspense and making the reader think through the possibilities. But she normally kind of still leaves you hanging at the end of her books. Not in a bad way, necessarily, but it does drive ya a little nuts. Knowing this, I was ready for the same kind of book, and in some respects it is like her others, the suspense is amazing, but in the end she solves the problem which I was pleasantly surprised by. This story takes place almost entirely in one night, when Kurt Carmody and his sister Casey are out on a pier in New Jersey with a bunch of friends (where none of them, of course, are supposed to be) and a gunshot rings out. Casey disappears into the water, and she never comes up. Kurt, of course, blames himself for even letting her go up there, let alone passing around the little gun like everyone else did instead of throwing it right off the pier.

Kurt spends this night in the police station because they won't let him go anywhere else ( his parents are out of town for the weekend) and while there he and a friend spy on the questioning of the other kids who were there, most of whom seem to be pointing a finger at Stacy Kearny, a rich girl who lives on the island who was, in fact, the owner of the now missing gun. No one seems to know why she bought the gun, and this is one of the mysteries that unfolds throughout the book, adding an interesting plot twist. Plum-Ucci has a way of using this topic of a missing person (she's done it in all of her novels I think) to write about how teens treat one another in a way that gets readers to really think about things like prejudice, loyalty and cruelty. I think she's hoping that maybe some kids who read her books won't make the same mistakes the characters in her novels do.

I don't think this is her best novel, for that you should try What Happened to Lani Garver, but it's definitely a good read and I'll be ordering it for our library to go with the rest of her novels very soon.

Amazing Grace - Megan Shull

I have never heard of this author before, although she does have a few other YA books - I picked this book by the cover. For one thing it has a girl holding a giant snowball in front of her head and I'm in a snow mood. And for another thing, it said, "A chick-lit grand slam" on the cover. I had to get it. Now imagine this....You're a teenage millionaire (you earned about 33.3 million last year), you're on the cover of Teen People and Sports Illustrated, you have a Kate Spade bag and your own cosmetics line, etc. Would you like to be in those shoes? Well Grace "Ace" Kincaid, is tired of those tennis shoes. The pressure of being a teen superstar tennis player has pushed her over the top, so she calls her mother sobbing and says the three words her mother told her she could say to end it anytime. But what now...

Now Grace has to disappear if she wants any peace at all, and this will not be easy because the paparazzi follow this beauty everywhere. With the help of a former FBI agent, her surgeon mother and her HUGE bodyguard T, she undergoes a transformation including a major haircut, a RED dye job and a nose ring (which she has always wanted) so she can make her escape. And escape she does, all the way up to Medicine Hat, Alaska, population 813 (+ a bunch of moose). There she changes her name (on the off chance that someone there might have heard of her, although it's not that likely) and actually manages to be a regular girl. Of course, not all regular girls have a bicycle accident involving a moose or live in a house with no indoor plumbing and only a cold water outdoor shower, but still.

And then there's Teague, adorable boy who rescues her from the whole moose incident and immediately falls head over heels in love with her, as she does with him. This is a funny, interesting, feel good story with enough depth to keep it interesting. If you like Chick-lit, you'll definitely like this one.

Side Effects - Amy Goldman Koss

This is a really great book by the author of The Girls about a 14 year old girl who is diagnosed with lymphoma (a kind of cancer) and everything she has to go through with treatment and school and how other people react to her now and just a whole lot of the not so wonderful stuff that happens to you when you get cancer. BUT, what's really great about this particular cancer story is that Izzy LIVES. Most books about kids with cancer the character dies, and that does happen to some kids who get cancer, but a whole lot of kids who get cancer go on to live really great, cancer-free lives, and I wish more authors would show that side. In fact, that's why Amy Goldman Koss actually wrote this book. Someone she knew had cancer, and in trying to find a book for this person, she could only find ones where the patient died, so she set out to write a different kind of story.

I also enjoyed this book because even though Izzy is going through a lot of horrible stuff, for the most part she maintains a wry sense of humor about things, and is very witty, so it isn't a really depressing read. I also enjoyed how she used art through a lot of the story to get her through the rough parts. Art is a really great outlet for stress - a nice little by-product lesson in the story.

Anyone who reads this book will learn a lot about cancer and a lot about how people with cancer feel about what's going on with them and about how they feel about the reactions of others. This book helps create empathy, and any book that does that is a winner for me. We don't have Side Effects in the WOMS library yet, but it is definitely going on my order list, so look for it soon!

In the Belly of the Bloodhound - L.A. Meyer

I took a break from YA lit and read a few adult novels, but I really have been waiting for this 4th book in the Jacky Faber series, so I moved it to the top of my list, and it was quite a fun read, "being a particularly peculiar adventure in the life of Jacky Faber." And I for one am glad it is clearly not to be the last, based on the final line of the novel! Jacky Faber is a girl who has made a life as a sailor with all kinds of wild pirate adventures in her past, but who returns in this novel to Boston to the Lawson Peabody School for Girls intent on behaving herself and settling down (and since the British government wants her head, this is probably a wise choice). Difficult as it is for her adventuring soul, Jacky manages to actually follow her plan of behaving herself while in Boston, and the crazy predicament in which she and the other girls find themselves is, for once, no fault of her own. You see, the girls of Lawson Peabody are all kidnapped and thrown into the hold of the ship the Bloodhound, where they are bound for North Africa to be sold as slaves or worse!

It's quite a dramatic situation, and Jacky, being the only one who's really had any even remotely similar experience takes charge. She gets the girls organized and creates a dramatic plan for their escape which requires a lot of steps to be completed before it can become a reality. There is quite a lot of drama and suspense created during the course of the voyage, and all does not go smoothly, for what would be the fun in reading that? There is quite a lot of humor weaved into the story as well, so you can also relax at some times. There are lots of references to the previous stories, enough to fill you in if you haven't read them, but I think you will wonder about the details and want to read the others if you haven't already. A fun, fun series.

These books being about a young woman who's spent her fair share of time amongst pirates and sailors, does have some bad language in it, so you should make sure that's ok with your parents before you choose to read it.

We don't have this book in the WOMS library right now because it's so new, but you can get it at the Multnomah County Public Library.

Specials, Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, and Eagle Blue

Well, so far I've read three books over the break, at least one of which was not on my list...

Specials - this is the third book in the Scott Westerfeld trilogy which at one point I just wanted to throw out the window. I had had enough of Tally and her bubbly bad choices. She was NOT the character I wanted her to be, and I was getting tired of her. That sometimes happens to me when I read a bunch of books in a series in succession. BUT, I have to say, Tally was redeemed for me in the end, and I was so glad I stuck with it. Really glad. It didn't turn out like I expected, but it was good. I'm kind of thinking there might be a companion novel in the future, but well have to wait and see. I definitely recommend reading all three of these books. Scott Westerfeld really did a nice job tying them all together and up.

Next on my list was Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler which I bought for the library after reading about it in one of my reviewing journals. It's a great read. It's one of those books where one chapter is told from a girl's point of view (Calliope, or Cal) and the next is told from the boy's (Eliot). Both of these kids have a lot going on with their parents - Cal seems to be more of a grown-up than her mom a lot of the time and Eliot's parents are having difficulties in their marriage - and they find each other just at the time when they both really need a friend. Of course if you go around with green lips, which Eliot had when he first met Cal, it might explain WHY you need a friend...Most of the time Eliot seems WAY more mature than most high school guys, more mature than half the adult guys I know, actually, and Cal's mom's solution to their problems in the end is a bit unbelievable, but overall it's a story that deals with a lot of real issues in a not too heavy way, interspersing a lot of humor into the story. I liked this book a lot and I'd recommend it to 7th and 8th graders especially.

The third book I read is a fabulous non-fiction piece called Eagle Blue by Michael D'Orso. This is a sports story, but it's also a story of a culture, a land, a people. Michael D'Orso spent several months up in Fort Yukon, Alaska (a few hundred miles north of Fairbanks), following a high school basketball team from their opening practice of the season all the way through the state championship games. It's a fascinating look at a place most of us will never even visit, let alone live. A place where there are only 32 kids in the whole high school, and 21 of them play basketball. A place where the temperature is below freezing for months at a time and it's dark nearly all day in the winter. Spending so much time with this team, D'Orso was really able to capture this small community and does a remarkable job of making these people come alive. There are lots of cultural insights to the native way of life in this small community, both good and bad. And the writing about basketball is really exciting. He gives just enough play by play to keep it interesting but not enough so that you want to skip theses sections. Of course it helps that many of Fort Yukon's games are really exciting. Gregory Lum, the Jesuit High librarian recommended this book to me, and it is really excellent, so now I'm recommending it to you. This is non-fiction, so it's a more challenging reading level than many fiction books, but it is not yet lexiled. I'm planning to get this book for our library soon, but in the meantime you can find it at the Multnomah County Library.

Three down, three hundred to go...

My Vacation Reading List

So here are the books on my list...tell me what's on yours

Specials - Scott Westerfeld
Grab On To Me Tightly As If I Knew the Way - Bryan Charles (voted one of the 10 best novels by a new author)
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl - Tanya Lee Stone
For King and Country - Kate Sedley
The Night My Sister Went Missing - Carol Plum-Ucci (the newest by one of my fave YA authors)
The Lizard's Bite - David Hewson
I'm Your Girl - J.J. Murray
13 Little Blue Envelopes - Johnson (I keep hearing about this one)
In the Belly of the Bloodhound - L.A. Meyer (I've been WAITING for this newest Bloody Jack book!)
Assassin - The Lady Grace Mysteries - Patricia Finney writing as Grace Cavendish
Ella Mental and the Good Sense Guide - Amber Deckers
Amazing Grace - Megan Shull
Side Effects - Amy Goldman Koss
Things Hoped For - Andrew Clements

Phew - Looks like I'll be busy. Make a guess as to how many I actually get through, and if you're right, you'll get a prize. Pick the actual titles I'm going to finish and you'll get two prizes.

Alphabet of Dreams - Susan Fletcher

We are SO lucky in Oregon to have many great authors in our midst, and one of my favorites is Susan Fletcher. Alphabet of Dreams, her most recent novel, is, I think, on of her most finely crafted. It is a beautifully written, rich story which re-tells in a new way, the New Testament tale of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. The story is told from the point of view of a teenage girl, Mitra, who, along with her brother, five-year-old Babak, is traveling with one, then two, then three of the Wise Men who are following the tale they see in the night sky (two bright stars, together, apart, together, apart, together, apart) to witness the birth of a king. Babak is a central figure in the plot as he has the gift of dreaming for people dreams that portend the future and the wise men use his gift to help guide them. But the dreams he gives them suck the life-force from him, and it is all Mitra can do some days to keep him alive.

As I have said over and over in my booktalks, every journey tale is filled with obstacles to overcome, and this story fits that exactly. The tale is full of adventure and suspense, often the result bad choices made by young people who let hopes and dreams instead of common sense guide them. Mitra and Babak come from royal lineage, but their father tried to overthrow the king, and so they have all been banished from his kingdom. Mitra and Babak have been separated from everyone else in their family, and it is Mitra's greatest wish to be reunited with them and she will do nearly anything to get that. In her coming-of-age through the story, she learns that perhaps she has given up more than it was worth in this quest.

This is a beautifully told tale, woven together with cultural insights, highly developed characters, lyrical language and a mythical story that has lasted for 2000 years. I listened to it read by a Middle Eastern woman, and I think that added an additional layer of enjoyment for me, but this is an extraordinary piece of writing I would definitely recommend on paper or in your ears.

Enjoy!

Specials - Scott Westerfeld

I was so happy that Mrs. Volz bought me this book for my birthday, because by the end of Uglies I was going crazy to know what would happen next. That seems to be happening for almost everyone who's reading Uglies. MUST READ THE SEQUEL. Mrs. Schroeder even came down and pilfered it out of the holds box, and now Mr. O'Sullivan is hounding Ms. Johnston to hurry up and finish already so he can have it.

I could NOT figure out what was going to happen at the end of Uglies to lead to this sequel, Pretties, and I will say I was definitely surprised at how it came about, but if it had to happen, this was for all the right reasons. In theory. Unfortunately, as often is the case, the theory didn't quite pan out the way it was planned by Tally, David and the rest. It did lead to a LOT of suspense, though, and it was much harder to put down this installment of the trilogy than Uglies was for me. It was high tension all the way. What about pushed me over the edge was the bubbly speak in this book. Drive a person crazy. It's the Valley Girl phenomenon all over again. Very in character with the empty headed pretties, but very nuts-making (that's a little inside joke for you readers of the novel). Can't say too much about this story because I'm afraid I'd give it away.

I've actually moved on to Specials, book three in the trilogy, and I have to say, Tally is really not my favorite right now. She is making a LOT of bad choices and really isn't behaving like who I thought she was. Could it be new lesions???

Another Book Blog to Check Out

Cascade Middle School in Bend also has a blog about books. Their blog is all about YRCA books, so go take a look. You can also comment on those books. Let me know here if you do that!

www.cascadeyrcablog.blogspot.com

Uglies - Scott Westerfeld (post #2)

OK, I cannot write much about this until book club is over, but let's just say there are a lot of people talking about what a fabulous story this is and who are dying to read Pretties, the next installment, including me! Mrs. Schroeder even came in and stole a copy right out of the hold box because she just can't wait! I have a feeling I'd better stock up on those when I go to the Scholastic sale this week. About 30 kids came to book club last week along with several teachers and even one parent! It's so fun to have people reading something together an spending time talking about it. I am really enjoying it. Next meeting is tomorrow - I am looking forward to hearing what people have to say about Peris, Tally, Shay, and so much more.

Scary Beautiful - Niki Burnham

I found a copy of one of Niki Burnham's books lying around school last year, Royally Jacked, so I read it, and I really liked her. Afterward I read Spin Control which was also good, although not as good as the first (have you noticed this theme running through my reviews?). Mostly I'd say these romantic comedies are girly books, so guys, you might just want to go to another post now. Sorry.

Scary Beautiful is another romantic comedy about Chloe, the girl described in the title by her ex-boyfriend. Now why would your boyfriend, of all people, say you were SCARY beautiful? I dunno, might have been a clue, do you think? Actually, though, he did seem like a pretty decent guy....right up until he dumped her at the airport that is. So now she's facing a year without a boyfriend, a situation she hasn't been in for a long time, and that's really much more scary. Chloe discovers that it seems like being really beautiful is strike against you, particularly for other girls. All the girls around her, even some of her best friends, become very insecure and, therefore, pretty nasty to her. But there's no reason for it on Chloe's side, she's the same person she's always been, and it's really hard for her to figure it all out.

It's also a little hard for her to figure out how she can be falling for WAY nerdy book-boy, taking physics OF HIS OWN FREE WILL Billy. OK, granted, he is really, really cute behind those glasses, but still. Now being someone who has fallen for a nerd herself (oh, it's true, and he even knows it), they have some things to recommend them. Like they can actually carry on a conversation. They think about other people. And, they can help you figure some stuff out. I'd highly recommend the nerdy ones.

I really liked how this book turned out - and I really should have started reading earlier last night because I had to stay up way too late to finish it. Maybe a nap is in order this afternoon?

This book does have some swearing in it, so before you read it, you need to be sure that your parents would be okay with that. If they're not, choose something else. There are lots of great books out there! This book is available at Multnomah County Library.

EBB

Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments II - The Domino Effect

The guys from EepyBird are back, with 251 bottles of Diet Coke and over 1,500 Mentos mints. In Experiment #137, they did a mint-powered version of the Bellagio fountains. This time, it's one giant Coke & Mentos chain reaction that has to be seen to be believed. This is CRAZY! An somewhere I'm sure there's a book about it... --Mrs. F-B

What's the best book you read in 2006 and why?

Wow, this is going to be a HARD choice for me. I think I read about 75 books this year. It's hard to even remember all of them! For sure some of my top choices are Princess Academy, Peter and the Starcatchers, Twilight, My Sister's Keeper, David Hewson's books, Sarah Dessen's new book Just Listen, and Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie. But to have to pick just one? Wow!

I think I'll have to go with Twilight, Stephenie Meyers' first novel, a vampire story set in Forks, Washington. This book had incredible writing - I was stunned that it was her first novel - great setting, engaging, non-stop plot, and great character development. These are sort of the four main elements in a novel, and it's not that often that a novelist excels in all of them, but I really think this one hit the mark. If you like vampire novels, it's the best I've read. See my previous blog entry on New Moon to read more about the sequel.

Let us know what you read and loved and why.

New Harry Potter publication date???

So I keep hearing that the 7th (and final!) Harry Potter is going to be published on 7-7-07, but I'm not sure who made that up. Has anyone seen the actual date officially published somewhere? Please tell me!!! If it comes out in July I'll have to buy it in Costa Rica, and I really hope they'll have it in English, because although my Spanish is decent, I have tried reading Harry Potter in Spanish, and it takes me forever!

Also, do you really believe that what happened at the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was true? Don't tell what happened in case someone else who's reading this hasn't read the book yet, but just tell me if you think it's true or not.

How to Be Popular - Meg Cabot

Well, when one of my favorite authors is about to publish something, I usually know it ahead of time, but this time I was caught by surprise to see a new Meg Cabot title. Apparently, so were other people, because I got it right away from Multnomah County Library. Since it's a Cabot novel, I was prepared to love it, but when I started reading, I wondered if she hadn't headed down the wrong path this time. The story is all about a girl who thinks she wants to be popular and if she is, then everything will just be great. She finds a very old book among one of her best friend's grandmother's things called _How to be Popular_ and she decides this is her chance. And since school is about to start, she'll be a junior this year, she decides this is the time to implement her plan. Of course she can't tell anyone about it, especially her two best friends, so she has to go about everything clandestinely - not always a great idea.

As I thought about this premise, I was really frustrated, because I know there are kids out there who don't feel like they're part of the popular crowd and that they're missing out by not being part of that crowd. Meanwhile, what they're really missing out on is all the fun they could be having with the friends they do have who are really great people. Why is the grass always greener on the other side of the fence? Why do we so often want what we don't have instead of being happy with what we do? Another teacher was just telling me that they read recently about someone who said every month we should have less and be happier. It's a great philosophy, but why is it so difficult to put into practice?

So that's the philosophical rant for today, now back to the book. The good news is, the book Steph found to help her with her plan isn't some book about getting popular by being a mean girl or doing things that take others down (an EIGHT year old little friend of mine recently said that being popular meant you had to be mean, so she wasn't popular!) but really about how if you're a good, kind, and nice person who exhibits leadership characteristics, you'll become popular naturally. And that's what she sets out to do. Mind you, her plan does not go off flawlessly, and she learns several things along the way that make her question her motives, her peers, and herself.

This is a charming, fun and funny book that I would definitely recommend. (And if your mother is expecting a baby, here's another book for you in addition to Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie). I knew Meg Cabot wouldn't let me down!

The Gospel According to Larry

I've kind of been in the mood for funny books lately, and this one caught my attention. It's actually been out for five years, and I can't remember where I heard about it, but I just saw something lately and so I decided to check it out from good old Multnomah County Library. I LOVE that place. I'm sure they love me and my 25 items currently checked out, too. I just got the new Artemis Fowl on CD. I'm hoping to start listening to it this afternoon.

But I digress. Back to Larry. Like Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, which once again I cannot recommend heartily enough, this book is a make you laugh out loud kind of read. It also made me cry. Of course, if you know me at all, you know this is not that hard to do, but anyway... I liked this novel, and I really loved Larry's message which he anonymously posted quite regularly on his website, and I was WAY jealous that he got to meet Bono who is one of the really cool, cool people on the planet I think, but in the end I was disappointed by his choice of how to live his life. As I raked leaves yesterday having just finished it, I was wondering, though, if it I was really upset about Larry's choice, or if I was also sad and upset by how adults sometimes don't give kids the support they need to get through life, especially through the rough parts. And how can we do that better in the system we live and work in? It's a difficult question, and one that probably doesn't have the real answers I'm hoping for. This is a good, thought provoking read that I'd recommend for 8th grade and up. Mature 7th graders might enjoy it also.


P.S. Anyone else secretly hoping that the windstorm that's supposed to come tonight knocks out power to WOMS and we get to sleep in tomorrow? Just wondering.

Uglies book club coming soon!

Don't miss our first Lit Over Lunch book club meeting on Tuesday, November 28th. You will need to have a copy of Uglies, but you don't have to start reading until the 28th. Of course, you can if you want - I have, but I don't want to post about it yet because I want to wait until we start discussing. Suffice it to say, it's freaky weird but really good. We'll be meeting at every grade's lunchtime in the library on the 28th and the first two Tuesdays in December. Don't miss the fun! C U There!

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

This is one of the funnier books I have read in a long time. I was literally laughing out loud over and over. Scott, the protagonist, is, predictably, a freshman, and he go through pretty much every trial that a freshman could go through...quite often involving girls. You see Scott is madly in love with a girl who is so NOT madly in love with him, and he makes many attempts at becoming involved in activities she's going to be involved with just so he can be near her, until she's not...and then he's not. And to top off his troubles, Scott's parents have announced they're having another baby! Which brings us to the premise of this novel - Scott is writing a journal (NOT a diary!) of advice to his sibling so that he or she won't have to make all the same mistakes he is. I absolutely loved the humor in this book, but another thing I loved was the writing. David Lubar injects some fresh ideas into his writing style, based, hypothetically, on things Scott is learning in his English class. Hooray for English teachers! Eighth graders will especially love this novel as you think about heading toward high school.