Saturday, December 31, 2011

Fall Into Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

Back in September, I signed up for the the Fall Into Reading 2011 Challenge, hosted at Callapidder Days,my first-ever challenge!  I decided to challenge myself to read 10 grown-up books and 10 kids/teen books before the end of December (you can find my wrap-up for the grown-up books at Book By Book.)  I think I did pretty well for my first challenge.  I read 7 of the 10 kids/teen books on my list:

  1. Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jennifer L. Holm (reading now!)
  2. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
  3. Forever by Maggie Stiefvater - I need to finally finish these sequels to Shiver!
  4. After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick - I never got to it on vacation in June
  5. The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch, another post-apocalyptic novel
  6. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
  7. Goldstrike by Matt Ehyman, sequel to Icecore
The 3 books I didn't get to:
  1. The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede, based on my son's recommendation
  2. Six Days by Philip Webb, a new post-apocalyptic novel
  3. Sabotaged, The Missing, Book 3 by Margaret Peterson Haddix
I enjoyed the challenge and learned some lessons - mostly, not to be so ambitious!  There were several hot kids/teen/YA novels I wanted to read these last few months (including Wonderstruck and Blood Red Road), but I felt compelled to choose off this list instead, though I did insert a couple of new choices.  I prefer a little more flexibility, so next time, I will set more realistic goals for myself.  But I enjoyed it!  Thanks to Callapidder Days for hosting!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Teen/YA Review: Marcelo in the Real World


Ever since Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork was published in 2009, I have been hearing rave reviews of it.   I finally got around to reading it last week and found out what all the fuss was about!  It’s a warm, funny, and insightful novel written from the perspective of a young man on the autistic spectrum.

Marcelo is 17 and facing the summer before his last year of high school.  His doctors have never been able to exactly pin down his diagnosis, so he just describes it as something close to Asperger’s syndrome, though he is considered high-functioning.  He has attended Paterson, a school for kids with a wide variety of disabilities, for many years, and he feels comfortable there.  Marcelo is excited about his summer job, helping to care for the horses used for therapy there, and he is looking forward to learning enough this summer so that he can help to train the newer horses in the fall.  Marcelo’s dad has other ideas.

Arturo is a very successful lawyer with his own partnership.  He wants Marcelo to work there this summer, in the mailroom, so that he will learn how to succeed in the “real world,” as he puts it.  His hope is to show Marcelo that he’d be better off mainstreamed in the public high school in the fall rather than at Paterson.  They agree on a compromise:  if Marcelo works in the mailroom this summer and “succeeds” (i.e. accomplishes the tasks he is given), then he can make his own choice about which school to attend when the summer is over.  Marcelo is not happy about his new summer plans, but he is determined to do well.

His new boss in the mailroom, Jasmine, is not happy about Marcelo working there, either.  She’d already handpicked her assistant, and now she is stuck with the boss’ son instead.  Wendell, a Harvard law student and the son of the other partner at the firm, seems to be welcoming, but Marcelo isn’t quite sure whether he is a genuine friend or whether he is sometimes making fun of him.  As Marcelo works hard to adjust to the “real world,” he tries to apply all that he learned in his social interaction classes at Paterson so that he can succeed, by his father’s definition.  Along the way, he discovers something that no one else at the law firm seems to know about and is faced with a serious ethical dilemma for the first time in his life.

I don’t normally include so much plot description in a review, but this book was so wonderfully engaging and unique that I want to tell you all about it.  Marcelo is a warm, funny, likeable narrator, and the ethical question he faces is a difficult one with no simple answers.  It’s gratifying to see Marcelo learning to navigate relationships and gain self-confidence and independence, and it’s fascinating to see the world through his eyes and to understand the challenges he’s facing.  I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more from Francisco X. Stork.

312 pages, Scholastic

NOTE:  If you enjoyed this book or are interested in other novels dealing autism, you might also enjoy the middle-grade novel Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin.


 

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Middle-Grade/Teen Review: After Ever After


I’ve never read a Jordan Sonnenblick novel before, but After Ever After sounded like something I’d like.  After spending far too many months sitting on my To-Be-Read shelf, I finally found time to read it.  I really enjoyed it and would love to read more novels by this talented author.

Thirteen-year old Jeffrey is well known among his peers as “that boy who had cancer.” Back in fourth grade, he missed a lot of school and underwent a lot of difficult treatments, while his classmates made cards for him in school and went to fundraisers to help pay for his treatments.  That was all four years ago, and Jeffrey’s cancer hasn’t recurred, but the treatments left some side effects and cognitive challenges that are still difficult to deal with.  On top of all that, Jeffrey also worries about all the usual stuff eighth grade boys worry about: passing the new state-mandated tests, figuring out what his best friend is up to, and trying to impress the new girl in school without seeming like a total dork.  He’s been through a lot in his young life, but there are still plenty of challenges ahead.

I’ve never read a novel about the after effects of cancer treatment before (I didn’t even realize there were after effects), so that element of the book was fascinating.  There’s more to this novel than that aspect, though – it’s a well-written, realistic, even humorous portrait of a young teen’s life.  I was worried that it might be depressing (when I told my teen son what it was about, he said, “Oh, that sounds like fun” – insert sarcasm here.)  And there are certainly some very sad elements to the book, but it is also uplifting, a story of the ups and downs that occur in every life and the way that life somehow goes on in spite of the bad stuff.  I was impressed by the emotional depth of this novel and would definitely like to read more by Sonnenblick.

260 pages, Scholastic

NOTE: Although this book is officially categorized as a teen book, it is also appropriate and will appeal to middle-schoolers, with its 8th grade protagonist.

 

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Kids' Books for Christmas

I hope you all are enjoying a nice holiday season with your families.  I posted a list of the books we received and gave for Christmas on Book By Book, and here are the books we gave for kids and teens on our list:
  • We gave Jamie, our 17-year old son who is an avid reader, lots of books because that's his favorite kind of gift!  The most anticipated one was Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, the long-awaited conclusion to the series that began with Eragon.  Despite its huge size, he lugged it through airports for our trip to visit his Granddad in Oklahoma.  In fact, he's reading it right now!
  • We also gave him I Am Number Four and The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore.  We watched the movie adaptation of I Am Number Four a while back, and he really wanted to read the book and its sequel.
  • We also gave him Patrick Ness' highly acclaimed trilogy, Chaos Walking: The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, and Monsters of Men.  This was in part due to the many great reviews I read on other book blogs, so thank you for the recommendations!
  • Jamie also got a Far Side cartoon book - he loves those.
  • Jamie asked for a video game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for Christmas, and when I discovered there was a follow-up novel, I knew he would love it!  The book is called The Elder Scrolls: The Infernal City.
  • We gave both our sons 4 Harry Potter DVDs, to round out their collection!
  • For my 9-year old niece, I picked out Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, a new middle-grade release by an online friend of mine - it's magical and engaging (I just finished listening to the audio).  It's longer than most of the books my niece has read so far, but she was enchanted by the illustrations, the cover, and what I told her about it.  I love to see kids excited about books!
  • We gave my 5-year old nephew Whoo's There? A Bedtime Shadow Book, a very cool book with cut-out illustrations that you project on the wall using a flashlight.  Our kids used to have a similar book when they were little and loved it.
You may be wondering why we didn't get any books for our 13-year old son.  Between middle-grade review books and all the books Jamie enjoyed a few years ago, our house is already filled with books that Craig wants to read!  He had plenty of other items on his wish list.

So, how about you?  What kids and teen books did you give and receive this holiday season?

Monday, December 26, 2011

It's Monday 12/26! What Are You Reading?

I hope you all enjoyed some wonderful holiday celebrations with your family this past week!  We had a very nice Christmas here.  I've included an "after" photo below of what our living room looked like after opening presents!  There were lots of great books exchanged, as always - I'll post a list later this week. 


Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we still managed to read last week:
  • I finished a light-hearted holiday book, Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin', a warm and funny novel narrated by a fifth-grade boy in 1965.  I loved it!  Perfect reading for this past week.
  • I am now reading  Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, a highly acclaimed teen book I had been meaning to read for a long time.  It's just as good as everyone said.
  • I finished listening to Breadcrumbs, a wonderful, magical middle-grade novel written by Anne Ursu.
  • My husband, Ken, is reading Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table by Sara Roahen, based on my recommendation.  I absolutely loved this book, and he is also enjoying reading about our favorite city and favorite foods.  
  • Jamie, 17, is reading the final book in The Icemark Chronicles trilogy by Stuart Hill, Last Battle of the Icemark.  You know it's been a busy week when Jamie is still reading the same book he started last week!
  • Jamie finished reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga for his World Lit class.  He says it's very good and that I should read it.
  • Craig, 13, finished Curse of the Bane, Book Two of The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney, just in time to take his Accelerated Reader quiz before winter break.
  • Craig is now reading Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted.  He wouldn't normally read a book that I recommended (it's a parent/teen thing), but I also recommended this book to his classmates, who've been loving it, so his teacher suggested he try it!
I only had time to write one review last week of a memoir, She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan (who used to be James) - it was fascinating and warm with a great sense of humor.  I hope to try to catch up on reviews and other posts during the break this week.


What are you and your family reading this week?  Enjoy your time off with a good book!



(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.)


The "After" Picture

Monday, December 19, 2011

It's Monday 12/19! What Are You Reading?

Fa la la la la!  Holiday time and very busy, like everyone else!  We spent the weekend in Pennsylvania with my family, celebrating an early Christmas, plus two birthdays.  It was great to see everyone and start to enjoy the season (as opposed to just running around like crazy), and I got to spend lots of time with my niece and nephew.  I hope you are beginning to enjoy the holiday season, too.

Lots of good books this week:
  • I finished Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King,  book one of a new series, The Guardians, by children's book veterans William Joyce and Laura Geringer.  I enjoyed this seasonal fantasy and reviewed it last week.
  • Next, I read another middle-grade novel, After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick, with a very different tone.  It's the engrossing, warm story of an eighth grade boy who is struggling with the after-effects of cancer treatment in addition to the usual middle school angst.
  • Now, I am treating myself to a light-hearted holiday book, Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin', a warm and funny novel narrated by a fifth-grade boy in 1965.  It's great so far - lots of fun.
  • I'm still listening to Breadcrumbs, a wonderful, magical middle-grade novel written by Anne Ursu, and gave a copy to my niece this weekend for Christmas.
  • My husband, Ken, finished Stephen King's new release, 11/22/63: A Novel, about someone who time travels back to 1963 to try to prevent Kennedy's assassination, and enjoyed it very much.
  • Ken is now reading Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table by Sara Roahen, based on my recommendation.  I absolutely loved this book, and he is also enjoying reading about our favorite city and favorite foods.  We've also been watching Treme on DVD, so he is immersed in New Orleans culture right now!
  • Jamie, 17, is reading a favorite trilogy, The Icemark Chronicles by Stuart Hill.  He finished The Cry of the Icemark and Blade of Fire and is now reading the final book, Last Battle of the Icemark.  He says this is one of the best series he has ever read...and that's saying a lot!
  • Jamie is also reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga for his World Lit class.  He says it's pretty good (high praise for required reading).
  •  Craig, 13, is reading The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney - he's currently on Book Two: Curse of the Bane and hopes to finish it this week.
I didn't have much time for blogging last week, with all the holiday preparations, but managed to post a review of  Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King by William Joyce and Laura Geringer, a unique fantasy novel that tells of the origin of St. Nick.  I also posted my response to the last question in the Fall Into Reading Challenge, about what books I would like to receive for Christmas (easy one!).


What are you and your family reading this week?


(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.)

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Middle-Grade Review: Nicholas St. North (The Guardians)

 Paging through the Simon & Schuster children’s catalog last spring, I was intrigued by a big 2-page spread for a brand-new series called The Guardians by veteran children’s authors William Joyce and Laura Geringer.  What caught my eye?  The copy said that a movie adaptation was in progress…and the first book of the new series hadn’t even been published yet!  Companion pictures books (beginning with The Man in the Moon) are also planned.  I decided to check out this new multi-media concept and requested a review copy of Book One: Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King.

The series concept is that each book will tell the legend of the beginning of various Guardians of Childhood: the Man in the Moon, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, etc.  This first book, as you might have guessed, tells the story of St. Nick (and also the Man in the Moon), but you won’t recognize anything from other traditional stories you’ve heard.   As the inside flap says, “Here, in this first in a series of epic Guardian adventures, meet the legendary St. Nick.  You’ve known about him for years, but, it turns out, you don’t really know him at all…”

The story opens with a classic tale of good versus evil as the Nightmare King (evil, obviously) escapes from his state of frozen paralysis and also releases the spectral boy with his crystal dagger, powered by moonbeams (good).  Meanwhile, in the peaceful, isolated Siberian town of Santoff Claussen, a kind and powerful wizard named Ombric senses that something bad has happened and hastens to protect the people of his village.  Through a dream, he summons Nicholas St. North, a notorious bandit, to help him.  An epic battle ensues.

This is a fast-paced adventure story, full of imagination and fantasy, though it never did fully connect the St. Nick we know today with these early events that obviously helped to point him in that direction (perhaps the story will continue in one of the sequels).  I’m not familiar with Geringer but know that William Joyce is well known for his very creative stories, like George Shrinks, A Day with Wilbur Robinson (made into the movie Meet the Robinsons), and my family’s favorite, Dinosaur Bob.  This new middle-grade series has all the originality and imagination of those picture books and is illustrated by Joyce’s fanciful “illuminations.”  It’s sure to be a hit with kids who enjoy action and fantasy.

228 pages, Atheneum (imprint of Simon & Schuster) 

 

Monday, December 12, 2011

It's Monday 12/12! What Are You Reading?

Monday...a fresh start to a new week.  Everyone is healthy and in school, so that's an excellent start!!  We spent the weekend working on college and scholarship applications, make-up work (my son), and finally getting our Christmas tree and decorating it.

Remember a few weeks ago, I mentioned I gave talks on writing and reading at my son's middle school to the 8th grade English classes?  Well, on Friday, I received this note from the teacher:
The students are LOVING your recommendations!!! Esp. Mike Lupica, Everlost  and Alibi Junior High. Parents are thrilled with the fact that their kids are reading more. You really helped start this with your reviews and by talking to them. THANK YOU!
As a book lover AND a parent, this just made my day!  My son says that everyone is requesting books now, talking about my recommendations, and even recommending books to each other.  How exciting!

Meanwhile, my family is enjoying our books as well:
  • I finished She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan, a memoir about James becoming Jennifer, for one of my book groups.  I loved this book - it was well-written, warm, funny, and fascinating.
  • I am now reading the first book in a new series, The Guardians, by children's book veterans William Joyce and Laura Geringer.  Book One is Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King - I wanted to be sure to get to this seasonal novel before Christmas.  The series will explain the origins of legendary characters, including St. Nick, through the kind of imaginative fantasy tales you'd expect from Joyce.
  • I'm still listening to Breadcrumbs, a wonderful, magical middle-grade novel written by Anne Ursu.
  • My husband, Ken, is still reading Stephen King's new release, 11/22/63: A Novel, about someone who time travels back to 1963 to try to prevent Kennedy's assassination, and he is loving it.
  • Jamie, 17, was sick all last week with a bad flare-up of his chronic illness, so he did a lot of reading.  He comforted himself with an old favorite series, The Great Tree of Avalon by T.A. Barron.  He read all three books: Avalon, Avalon: The Eternal Flame, and Avalon: Child of the Dark Prophecy.
  • Next, he moved onto another old favorite series starting with The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill.  He's been waiting literally years to read the final book in the trilogy because a friend borrowed book 2 from him and never returned it.  His friend finally admitted he'd lost it, so Jamie bought the second book last week and is eager to get through the full series.
  • Jamie is also reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga for his World Lit class.
  • Craig, 13, is reading The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney - he's currently on Book Two: Curse of the Bane.
Not much time for blogging last week (or this week probably) because of all the holiday preparations, but I did post one review of The Songcatcher, a novel set in the Appalachians by Sharyn McCrumb.


What are you and your family reading this week?


(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.)


Our Biggest Tree Ever!



Monday, December 5, 2011

It's Monday 12/5! What Are You Reading?


We are now in the midst of the busy holiday season!  I haven't even thought much about the holidays yet - other than some online shopping - because it is also college application season.  That has been occupying our time and attention - it's like having an extra full-time job!

We are still squeezing in reading time, though:
  • I finished The Songcatcher by Sharyn McCrumb for my neighborhood book group this week.  It's the story of an old ballad that is passed down through generations of family, from 1700's Scotland to present day Appalachia, including, of course, the stories of those family members.  I enjoyed it very much.
  • I usually read a kid/teen book after an adult one, but I have another book group meeting next week, so I figured I better read that book first.  We are reading She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan, a memoir about James becoming Jennifer, so I'll start that today.
  • I'm still listening to Breadcrumbs, a wonderful, magical middle-grade novel written by Anne Ursu.
  • My husband, Ken, is reading Stephen King's new release, 11/22/63: A Novel, about someone who time travels back to 1963 to try to prevent Kennedy's assassination.  It's a hefty novel, and he keeps laughing out loud at King's spot-on descriptions of ordinary people (one of his many talents!).
  • Jamie, 17, started a new teen dystopian series by Robin Wasserman, The Cold Awakening trilogy, starting with Book One: Frozen, but he gave up with only 30 pages to go!  He said it's well-written, but he suspects it's meant more for girls, with very little action in the first book.
  • Jamie said he was more in the mood for fantasy than dystopian books, so he switched to an old favorite, The Great Tree of Avalon by T.A. Barron.
  • Jamie is also starting The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga for his World Lit class.  It was hard to find a copy because there's a local book group reading it right now, as well as his entire senior class!
  • Craig, 13, is still enjoying The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney, so he moved onto Book Two: Curse of the Bane this week.
  • Craig has also been reading an excerpt from Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes for his English class - it's one of my favorite books and so sad!
Last week, I posted two reviews: Midwives by Chris Bohjalian and  Goldstrike by Matt Whyman, a teen thriller.  I also posted a summary of my Books Read in November.


What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.)

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Teen/YA Review: Goldstrike


I just finished reading Goldstrike by Matt Whyman, the fast-paced sequel to his techno-thriller Icecore.  Both my 17-year old son and I are enjoying this exciting series.  It’s going to be challenging to tell you about Goldstrike without giving away too much about what happens in the first book.

Carl Hobbes is an eighteen-year old hacker who was imprisoned by the CIA for breaking into Fort Knox.  Carl only did it to impress a girl and to see if he could (the motivation for most hackers), but the US government believes he is a threat to national security and suspects him of being a part of a terrorist network.  After he manages to break out of the arctic detainment camp where they imprisoned him, they are even more determined to stop him.  At the same time, there are real terrorists seeking revenge on Carl for some of the fallout from his escape.

As Goldstrike opens, the chapters jump around to locations all over the world, as both the CIA and the terrorists try to track down Carl.  Eventually, we find out where Carl really is and what he is now up to, as his main goal has turned to protecting himself and maintaining his freedom.  It’s a fast-paced, suspenseful novel, with lots of details on how Carl uses his hacking skills in his latest scheme to try to remain free.  The book reads like a classic thriller with the requisite high-tension chase scene at the end, only written for teens.  We can’t wait to find out what happens to Carl next!

262 pages, Atheneum