Books Read in March

Spring has been slow to arrive here in Delaware this year, with our biggest (and only) snowfall of the year at the end of the month and a very cold Easter weekend. But no matter what the weather is outside, it's always a good time for reading! Here are the books I finished in March:

• The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, a fabulous, magical novel (Alaska)
• Crispin -The Cross of Lead by Avi, middle-grade novel set in the Middle Ages (England)
• Stolen by Lucy Christopher, teen/YA novel, about a kidnapped girl and her captive (Australia)

• The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, another amazing novel (California)
• Ruins by Orson Scott Card, a teen/YA sci fi novel (other worldly!)
• Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, an audio book novel (Tennessee)

 It was an all-fiction month! Of the 6 novels I read, two were for grown-ups, two for teens/YA, and one for middle-graders. I enjoyed all of them - it was an excellent reading month! - but I think my favorite was The Age of Miracles. Or The Snow Child. Do I have to choose? I loved both.

2013 Reading Challenges: I added only 3 new states (Alaska, California, and Tennessee) to my 2013 Where Are You Reading Challenge. It's always interesting when you read sci fi, and it is not located on this world, let alone in this country. I read mostly new books this month and just one from my TBR shelf for a total of 7 so far for the 2013 TBR Pile Challenge, but I think I should get extra credit for Crispin because it was on my shelf for so many years! I finally finished my second audio book for the 2013 Audio Book Challenge - I doubt I will make it to my goal of 12; I just don't have enough alone time for listening to audios.

What were your favorite books read in March?

Teen/YA Review: Ruins

My husband, 18-year old son, and I are all big fans of Orson Scott Card. We all read his series that starts with Ender’s Game, a classic by now (my husband and I read it 25 years ago!). So, when we heard he had a new sci fi series out for teens and young adults, we were all excited. All three of us loved the first book, Pathfinder, and I was just the last one of us to read its sequel, Ruins, which was just as good. I’ll try not to include any spoilers for those who have not yet read Pathfinder and still want to start the series…so that means I can’t really say too much about the plot because both books have a lot of twists and turns and surprises.

Most of the main characters from the first book are back for Ruins, setting off on a journey with the goal of literally saving the world. Rigg, the main character from Pathfinder, is back and the de facto leader of the small group, though his best friend, Umbo, is a bit jealous and wonders why he’s not the leader. Both Rigg and Umbo have unusual skills. Rigg can see the paths of all living creatures, even those that passed by thousands of years ago. Umbo can travel back in time to the recent past, and when the two friends work together,  Rigg can travel far back into the past with great accuracy, with Umbo anchoring him to the present and able to bring him back.

These talents come in handy, but the problem is that none of their little group can travel into the future. All they know is that their world will be destroyed in a few years, but they don’t understand why or how to fix it. As they try to save their world’s future, they learn more and more about its unusual origins and past.

As in Pathfinder, much of Ruins deals with time travel and with the philosophical and ethical issues around trying to change the past. I love time travel plots for exactly this reason – the fascinating, often paradoxical, discussions that are integral to them. What happens to your own present when you change the past? Do alternate histories disappear or remain intact? Could you actually make changes in the past that would result in you no longer existing in the present?

Besides these existential issues, there is ample suspense in this story and plenty of action. The group doesn’t know whom they can trust, and it seems that everyone they meet turns out to be lying to them in one way or another. Everything they try seems to fail, as they struggle to figure out how to save the world from its pending destruction. This is a fast-paced and exciting adventure that is also thought-provoking. Card has done it again, and we can’t wait for book #3!

530 pages, Simon Pulse


 

It's Monday 4/1! What Are You Reading?

Happy April Fool's Day! When my kids were little, I cooked a whole April Fool's dinner one year, thanks to ideas from FamilyFun magazine. We had "donuts" that were actually shaped ground turkey with white cheese "glaze" on top, "mashed potatoes and gravy" that was actually vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce, and "French fries" that were really baked apples cut in the shape of fries. It worked really well - maybe a little too well! Jamie, who was about 5, caught on and got a kick out of it, but Craig, 2, was convinced by the foolery. He actually thought the turkey was real donuts and asked for a second one! His eyes really fooled his taste buds. Family legend now, of course.

Hope you all had a nice Easter weekend. We went on a little mini vacation to Rehoboth Beach, but it didn't work out quite as planned. Craig got sick Friday night (not sure if it was a virus or the raw oysters he had for dinner) and spent most of the weekend sleeping in the hotel room. We did manage a trip to our favorite bookstore in town.

Busy week last week, with my son home from college and my husband out of town, but we all enjoyed our books:

• I finished Ruins by Orson Scott Card, sequel to Pathfinder. It was just as good as my son and husband said it was, and I can't wait for book 3! It's a complex time travel/sci fi plot and very thought-provoking.
• Now I am reading We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver for my library's book discussion next week. It's a very somber topic, about a mother's perspective after her son goes on a shooting spree at his school, but is well-written and engaging so far. The trouble is, my neighborhood book group also meets next Wednesday, and I haven't started that one yet. Ruins took a bit longer than I expected.
• I finished listening to my audio book, Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. It took me a while to get into it, but I was disappointed when it ended! As is typical with Kingsolver novels, the characters felt like close friends by the end.
• My husband, Ken, finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - this one is on my must-read list this year!
• I gave Ken a gift from his Easter basket early since he finished his book on Saturday and had nothing to read! He started The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King, a sort-of prequel to the Dark Tower series, which he loves.
• Jamie, 18, was home on spring break last week and thoroughly enjoyed having some reading time for a change. He's reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin, Book 5 in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and loving it! He said he wants to re-read the first 4 books again - only about 4000 pages or so!
• Craig, 15, surprised us all and bought a book at the bookstore we visited this weekend! Usually, he only reads when required to for school, but his interest was piqued by a nonfiction book about a shipwreck (he loves the ocean and sailing): In the Heart of the Sea: Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathanial Philbrick.

So busy last week that I had no time at all for blog posts or reviews.

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.) 
 

It's Monday 3/25! What Are You Reading?

We woke up to snow this morning! What happened to spring?? This is more snow than we've gotten all winter...and it's March 25. Crazy. We finally had to give up on our plans to go camping next weekend - though it will warm up a bit, the nights will just be too cold still.

I had a bit of a rough week - just experienced a flare-up of my chronic illness as a result of the over-exertion of attending a family funeral last weekend. Fortunately, I didn't have much scheduled so was able to rest when I needed to...and read!

• Last week, I read The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, a Christmas gift from my husband. It was just as good as I'd heard! I was totally engrossed in the story and the characters. It is an emotionally powerful book, both on a personal level and on a global level.
• Now, I am reading Ruins by Orson Scott Card, sequel to Pathfinder. Both books have made the rounds in our family! I worried I wouldn't remember enough of the complex story in Pathfinder, but within a chapter, I was completely absorbed by the story again - Card is an amazing writer.
• I am still listening to Barbara Kingsolver's latest novel on audio, Flight Behavior. I had hoped to finish it by the end of the month, but that might be impossible with 2 weeks of spring break ahead (i.e. no alone-time!). I am really enjoying it.
• My husband, Ken, is reading A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, a recent purchase of mine from the used book store. Neither of us has ever read it before!
• Jamie, 18, is home from college for spring break and among other lazy delights, he is enjoying having some reading time! He is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin, Book 5 in the A Song of Ice and Fire series and loving it! He says he wants to re-read the first 4 books now (and he'll do it, too!).
• Craig, 15, is reading When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka for his freshman lit class, a novel about the Japanese-American internment during World War II. He is actually enjoying this one! I definitely want to read it when he is done, since our neighborhood book group recently read its sort-of prequel, The Buddha is the Attic.

I reviewed two books last week:
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, a highly recommended novel that I loved.
Stolen by Lucy Christopher, a teen/YA novel that explores the relationship between a kidnapper and his captive.

I also wrote a Weekend Cooking post this week.

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.) 

The snow is beautiful this morning...but it's supposed to be spring!!

Teen/YA Review: Stolen

 Stolen by Lucy Christopher won a Printz Honor award in 2011, and it’s easy to see why. This unique novel about the relationship between a kidnapper and his captive has great emotional depth and explores the gray areas of what is usually considered a straightforward issue.

Gemma, a teen traveling with her parents, is kidnapped from the airport by a young man named Ty. Before he drugs her and takes her away, Gemma is attracted to the handsome man with the blue eyes who buys her a coffee, but when she wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings, all she feels is fear.

The novel is told as a letter from Gemma to Ty about her experiences, starting from the moment she saw him in the airport. You would think that her story would be horrifying and terrifying, but it’s far more complicated than that. Ty treats her with kindness, and the two of them are alone, in the definitive “middle of nowhere,” with no one to rely on but each other. She must trust him to some degree, as she is relying on him for her survival in this dangerous and remote – yet beautiful – place.

I won’t say any more about the plot because part of this book’s attraction is its suspense and surprises. The novel is well written and wholly unique. I have read several other teen/YA novels about abductions, and while they were engrossing, this one takes a different approach and explores a far more complicated relationship than just captor and captive. In fact, there are times when you find yourself actually rooting for Ty, even though you know what he did was horribly wrong. I love thought-provoking books that explore the gray areas of life, and this one fits the bill. Stolen is both tender and terrifying, showing that there is almost always more to a situation than meets the eye.

299 pages, Scholastic

 

It's Monday 3/18! What Are You Reading?

We had a long and tiring weekend here, but it was good to spend time with family. My dad and his wife spent the weekend with us, and we all went to my uncle's funeral on Saturday. So, we didn't have a lot of time for reading last week (or blogging), but we did fit in some good books:

• I finished Crispin - The Cross of Lead by Avi. My husband and son were right - it was an excellent middle-grade novel!
• I broke with tradition and read another kid/teen/YA novel instead of alternating with a grown-up book. Last night, I finished Stolen by Lucy Christopher, an award-winning YA novel from the perspective of a teen girl who's been abducted. This one didn't focus on abuse, as have other teen/YA abduction novels I've read, but on the relationship that develops between the kidnapper and his captive. An engrossing and unique story. I haven't decided what to read next yet.
• I am still listening to Barbara Kingsolver's latest novel on audio, Flight Behavior, and enjoying it very much.
• My husband, Ken, just finished Ruins by Orson Scott Card, sequel to Pathfinder. He said it was good, but he liked Pathfinder better. I'm next in line for this one!
• Now, Ken has just started reading A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood which I recently bought at the local used bookstore. Neither of us has read this sci fi dystopian classic before.
• Craig, 15, is reading When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka for his freshman lit class, a novel about the Japanese-American internment during World War II. Ironically, my own neighborhood book group just read the prequel to this book, The Buddha in the Attic, a few months ago, so I am looking forward to reading this one when he is finished with it.
• Jamie, 18, didn't have time for pleasure reading last week because he's been so busy at college, but he is sick today, with a flare-up of his chronic illnesses, so he is planning to finally dive into A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin, Book 5 in the A Song of Ice and Fire series today. A good book is the perfect antidote to a sick day in bed!

I wrote two new reviews last week:  
The House on Mango Street, a classic novel by Sandra Cisneros
Crispin - Cross of Lead by Avi, a middle-grade novel.

I also posted two lists:
Top Ten Books on My Spring TBR List
Top Ten Kids/Teen Books on My Spring TBR List

Finally, I shared some good news, that two of my essays have been published in a new Chicken Soup book.

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

Middle-Grade Review: Crispin: The Cross of Lead

My husband and son have been telling me to read Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi for many years. The book collected dust on my TBR shelf for a very long time, but I finally got around to reading it this week. Guess what? They were right! Crispin is an exciting, fast-paced novel set in a fascinating time period.

It is the Middle Ages in England in 1377. A thirteen-year old boy who has only ever been known as Asta’s son is grieving over the loss of his mother, the only family he’s ever known. He lives in a small, rural village where everyone is very poor and works for the Lord of the local area. Though he thinks he has nothing left to lose, Asta’s son is soon accused of a crime he didn’t commit, with a price put on his head.

Confused, alone, and frightened, he flees his tiny village and goes past its boundaries for the first time in his life. He has nothing but his mother’s cross of lead and a newly revealed name, Crispin. With no sense of anything outside his village, Crispin embarks on an arduous journey through the English countryside with his enemies close behind him, though Crispin has no idea why they are after him. He meets up with a strange, large man named Bear who makes Crispin his personal servant, though Crispin comes to see Bear as more of a benefactor over time, as they flee from Crispin’s pursuers together.

My husband and son were right – this is an exciting, fast-paced adventure story with plenty of heart...oh, and by the way, it won the Newberry Medal. It is filled with surprises (some of which I guessed at, but it is meant for middle-grade readers). Any kids who enjoy historical settings or adventure in any form will come to care for Crispin and root him on, as the pages fly by.

262 pages, Hyperion Books

2013 Reading Challenges:

This book takes place in England for my Where Are You Reading Challenge and counts toward my TBR Pile Reading Challenge.

Top Ten Kids/Teen Books on My Spring TBR List

It's Tuesday and that means it's Top Ten day over at The Broke and the Bookish. Today's topic? Top Ten Books on my Spring TBR List! I actually made two Top Ten lists, one here and one for grown-up books over at Book By Book. I probably won't manage to read all 20 this spring, but it gives me something to shoot for! These were easy lists to make because I have soooo many books waiting to be read on TBR shelves, in piles, and in baskets!

Top Ten Kids/Teen Books on My Spring TBR List:

• The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann, a middle-grade novel by one of my favorite authors. This one has been on my TBR pile for a looong time!
• Ruins by Orson Scott Card, sequel to Pathfinder, our whole family is loving this series!
• The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer, another favorite author at our house.
• Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix, one of several of hers in my TBR pile.
• Flyaway by Lucy Christopher, another long-time resident of the TBR pile.
• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, because I loved her Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.
• Infinity Ring, Book 1 - A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner, a new series I keep meaning to try.
• Lucky for Good by Susan Patron, because I loved the rest of the series.
• The Danger Box by Blue Balliett, another one I've been meaning to read for a while.
• The Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone, patiently waiting to be read...

What books are you looking forward to reading this spring?

It's Monday 3/11! What Are You Reading?

Ah, Monday, and life is returning to normal, finally. Our youngest son is back to school, after a month out due to illnesses and surgery, so I am blissfully alone in a quiet house, with no tutoring responsibilities! We had a very nice weekend with gorgeous weather here. I can tell spring is coming because my allergies are going crazy. Between that and Spring Forward, I am dragging this morning!

Lots of great reading this past week:

• I finished The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey and absolutely loved it. It was just as good as everyone said - a well-written, engrossing, magical story. I never wanted it to end!
• I am now reading Crispin - The Cross of Lead by Avi, a favorite middle-grade novel of my husband and son which has been gathering dust on my TBR shelf for years! They were right, as usual - it is excellent.
• I am still listening to Flight Behavior on audio, Barbara Kingsolver's latest novel. I am finding it hard to put aside now. Maybe that will motivate me to take a walk today!
• My husband, Ken, finished The Dark Hour by Robin Burcell, a suspense novel set in Amsterdam. He said it was a very complex story, but I think he liked it.
• Now, Ken is reading Ruins by Orson Scott Card, the teen/YA sequel to Pathfinder, which he, I, and our older son all loved. I am next in line for this one!
• Jamie, 18, has been busy with his second semester at college and hasn't had much reading time. He was home yesterday and told me he has finally given up on a novel that wasn't capturing his attention. He's got a bad cold and will probably need to rest a lot this week, so he's planning to start A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin, Book 5 in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. He blew through the first four books during last year's summer vacation, so he is really looking forward to this one!
• Craig, 15, is fully occupied with a month's worth of make-up work in seven different classes!

I wrote two reviews last week: The Invisible Wall, a fascinating memoir by Harry Bernstein and The Dark Side of Nowhere, a teen novel by Neal Schusterman. I also posted my Books Read in February summary - I fit a lot of reading into a short month!

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

Books Read in February

For such a short month, February seemed to go on and on. Our month started out well, with our annual Mardi Gras celebration, but went downhill after that, with our youngest son out of school for an entire month, due to several illnesses and knee surgery. He went in today for the first time, so hopefully the worst is behind us now. Reading-wise, I spent a lot of time at home taking care of him and read quite a bit:

• In Other Worlds by Margaret Atwood, nonfiction essays about science fiction (Canada)
• The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein, memoir (England)
• Wildwood by Colin Meloy, middle-grade fantasy audio book (Oregon)

• The Far West by Patricia C. Wrede, teen/YA novel (North Dakota)
• Redfield Farm: A Novel of the Underground Railroad by Judith Redline Coopey (Pennsylvania)
• The Giant and How He Humbugged America by Jim Murphy, middle-grade nonfiction (New York)

• The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Schusterman, middle-grade/teen novel (Oklahoma)
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, classic novel (Illinois)

So, I read 8 books last month, which is a lot for me! It was also quite a mix - three nonfiction (one of those a memoir) and five novels. Four of those were adult books, two teen books, and two middle-grade - a nice variety. My favorite book of the month? Oh, it is always so hard to choose. I think Redfield Farm was my favorite - I raved about it so much that most of my extended family is now reading it!

2013 Reading Challenges:  I added 5 new states and 2 countries to my Where Are You Reading 2013 Challenge (see locations above). I read 2 more books for the 2013 TBR Pile Challenge (mostly new books this month). I finally finished the audio book I started months ago for the Audio Book Challenge. And I read 1 book (The House on Mango Street) for the Books I Should Have Read Challenge - hurray!

What were your favorite books read in February?

Teen/YA Review: The Dark Side of Nowhere

We are big fans of Neal Schusterman’s novels here at our house. My husband, son, and I all loved the Everlost trilogy and Unwind and its sequel (which I still need to read). So, I couldn’t wait to read a new reprint of one of his older novels, The Dark Side of Nowhere. While the plot is wholly unique, it has that signature Schusterman fast pace, creativity, and suspense.

This story is full of surprises, so I won’t tell you too much about the plot – part of the fun is seeing it unfold. Fourteen-year old Jason lives in a small town somewhere in the center of the US – basically, the middle of nowhere. Jason has a good life with his parents and friends, but mostly, he is just bored. He feels like nothing exciting ever happens in his pathetic town:

“If God threw a dart at the world and it happened to strike Billington, completely obliterating it, no would notice and no one would care. In fact, I often thought it would be the best thing that could happen to this place. Smack in the middle of the state, Billington is on a highway that couldn’t be straighter if you drew it with a ruler, and whenever I heard people talk about going nowhere fast, I figured they were headed here, although I couldn’t see what the hurry would be. We’ve got your typical fast-food places, an uninspired mall, and way too many satellite dishes – because in a place like this, what else is there to do but watch five hundred channels of TV? If boredom was a living, breathing thing, then its less interesting cousin would be Billington.”

You get the picture. So, Jason’s boring life continues until one of his best friends dies from appendicitis, and his school’s eccentric janitor gives him a strange gift. From there, things just get weirder and weirder, as Jason begins to realize that very strange things are going on in his boring little town – things that may have never happened anywhere else on earth.

It’s a fun, fast adventure with a lot of warmth and heart at its core. Schusterman’s wild imagination is in full swing here. He has also created a likable and unlikely hero in Jason; I tore through this novel in just a few days, hoping things would turn out OK for him in the end. You'll have to read it to find out for yourself!

230 pages, Simon & Schuster

(This book is officially recommended for teens, but I think older middle-grade readers will enjoy it, too.)

 

It's Monday 3/4! What Are You Reading?

Well, I had hoped that life would be back to normal today, with my son back to school after missing 4 of the past 5 weeks, but alas, I am still not alone in the house. He is definitely doing better and was able to work on some make-up work this weekend, so we are thrilled to see him finally perking up. But we tried waking him at 7:00 and again at 8:30 this morning, but he is still too wiped out to get up. One more day at home, then hopefully, he will be able to start some partial days back at school tomorrow.

So, he and I had another long week of being homebound, but the mood here improved dramatically when he started to feel better on the weekend. He did sleep most mornings, so I was able to do a little more writing last week. And we fit in plenty of reading:

• I finished The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Schusterman, one of my all-time favorite YA authors. This quick, fast-paced novel was filled with surprises!
• In order to help my son with his make-up work, I next read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, his assigned book for freshman lit. Despite Craig's complaints about this classic novel, I really enjoyed it! I actually liked the author's unique method of telling a story through short vignettes. And my approach really worked - I was able to help Craig finish his reading log by typing his responses for him and helping him to interpret some of the more ambiguous chapters.
• I am now reading The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, a Christmas gift from my husband. I really wanted to get to this highly acclaimed novel while it was still winter, even though we haven't had any snow this year! I'm enjoying it so far.
• I am still listening to Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver's latest novel, on audio. I felt well enough to take four walks last week, so I was able to squeeze in some audio book time with my iPod!
• My husband is still reading The Dark Hour by Robin Burcell, a thriller set in Amsterdam. He says the plot is very complex, with a lot of characters, but he is enjoying it.
• And, of course, my son finished The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cosneros last week. His older brother had a very busy week in college with two exams, so I don't think he's had any time for pleasure reading.

I wrote two reviews last week: Redfield Farm: A Novel of the Underground Railroad by Judith Redline Coopey, an excellent novel my whole book group enjoyed, and The Far West, conclusion to the teen/YA Frontier Magic trilogy by Patricia C. Wrede. I also linked to some excellent new recipes we tried this week on my Weekend Cooking post.

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

Teen/YA Review: The Far West

After years of my son urging me to read Patricia C. Wrede’s Frontier Magic trilogy, I finally read TheThirteenth Child and Across theGreat Barrier in quick succession. He was right! It’s an excellent series that crosses the Old West with magic. I recently finished the final book of the trilogy, The Far West, and found it just as good and a fitting end to a great series.

For those who haven’t read the first two books yet, I will avoid any spoilers. The author does a good job of filling in essential information for new readers, but I would still recommend reading the series from the beginning. The story focuses on Eff who is now a young woman and finished with her schooling. Eff loves the wilderness west of the Great Barrier Spell, which keeps out dangerous wildlife – both magical like swarming weasels and Medusa lizards as well as nonmagical species. She has already made several trips out there in the previous novels, as an assistant to the professors of the local college.

Eff gets another chance to head out west at the start of this novel as part of a government-sponsored expedition, but this trip will be even more dangerous than previous ones because they’ll be attempting to travel further west than anyone has ever gone (and returned from). Her family is not happy with this plan, but Eff knows that this is what she wants to do with her life. Traveling with a large group of scientists, magicians, and soldiers, Eff encounters new and dangerous wildlife, learns more about her own unique kind of magic, and discovers more about herself. When the team encounters something that could threaten the entire continent, they will need all of their skills – including Eff’s – in order to avert disaster.

This series succeeds on so many different levels. Wrede has created an intriguing fantasy world, populated by strange and wondrous creatures and talented magicians, but the novel is also set against the fascinating backdrop of the pioneer West in a U.S. that is quite similar – though with subtle differences – to our own history. Finally, it is populated by in-depth characters whose lives you come to care about, and is a coming-of-age story of young Eff, as the series follows her from a small child to a grown woman who knows what she wants from her life. All of these elements are wrapped together in an exciting, fast-paced adventure story.

378 pages, Scholastic

NOTE: If, like me, you are fascinated about where the action in the Frontier Magic trilogy takes place relative to our own version of the nation, click on this link and scroll down to the bottom for two maps of North Columbia and the Mill City area.

In this brief video, Wrede talks about why she loves writing, with references to her Enchanted Forest series:



 

It's Monday 2/25! What Are You Reading?

Well, we had another rough week here, with very little time for writing or blogging. My 15-year old son is still struggling to recover from his knee surgery and also has his second sinus infection of the month. So, my focus last week was on taking care of him. On the plus side, I finally filed our taxes this weekend (woohoo!!), so maybe I can get back into the groove of blogging more regularly this week.

And I read some fabulous books last week:

• I read Redfield Farm: A Novel of the Underground Railroad by Judith Redline Coopey for my neighborhood book group this week. I loved this novel about a Quaker family in the 1850's (and beyond) who are part of the Underground Railroad - excellent writing, in-depth and likable characters, and a fascinating plot.
• Now I am reading The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Schusterman, one of my all-time favorite YA authors. It's very good so far - fast-paced with surprises around every corner.
• I also started a new audio book (finally downloaded one to my new iPod so I could listen while I walk) - Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver's latest novel. I have high expectations after my recent Kingsolver love fest (The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven).
• My husband finished Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card and enjoyed it - my older son and I had recommended it. 
• Before he moves onto its sequel, Ruins (another brick of a book), he is reading a lighter suspense novel I gave him for Christmas, The Dark Hour by Robin Burcell. I thought he'd enjoy the setting in Amsterdam because he travels there for business. He says it is overly complex so far with too many characters to keep track of - maybe it will all come together soon.
• Our sons have been busy with college and too sick, respectively, to read much lately, though my younger son did listen to some of his all-time favorite audio book, Looking for Bobowicz, written and read hilariously by Daniel Pinkwater - that cheered him up a bit!

Like I said, almost no time for writing last week, but I did squeeze in one review at the end of the week:  Wildwood, a middle-grade audio book by Colin Meloy. I also wrote a Weekend Cooking post on Sunday, with several of our favorite recipes.

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

Happy Birthday to my Dad today!

Middle-Grade Review: Wildwood

Well, it took me many months, but I finally finished listening to the middle-grade audio book Wildwood by Colin Meloy. It’s an intricate fantasy filled with talking animals, bandits, mystics, and even an evil queen-wannabe.

Young Prue McKeel has a very ordinary life, living with her parents and little brother, Mac, in Portland. Then, one day when Prue is out with her brother, Mac is stolen right out of his wagon by a group of crows and carried into the tangled forest along the edge of the city. Prue takes off into the woods with her friend, Curtis, to find her baby brother, but the pair encounter far more than they could have imagined.

They come across coyote soldiers and animal constables, but finding Mac proves difficult. It turns out there is a whole secret world in the forest that the residents call Wildwood. That world is in turmoil, balanced on the precipice of a major war between forces of good and evil, and Prue and Curtis find themselves – and Mac – in the middle of the conflict.

Wildwood is a classic fantasy tale with its young protagonists at the center of an epic battle between good and evil, fighting not only for their own lives and freedom but for the liberty of all of Wildwood. Author Colin Meloy, lead singer of the Decemberists, has created an original and whimsical world. The audio book was very well done and enjoyable, but I suspect the book is also excellent, accompanied by illustrations by award-winning artist Carson Ellis.

HarperCollins Audio

Listen to a sample.

AUDIO:     

It's Monday 2/18! What Are You Reading?

Whew, rough week here last week. My 15-year old son was home from school all week with bronchitis, then had knee surgery on Friday...the result of which is that he will need a third surgery, with a lengthy recovery period. We're going to try to wait until the beginning of summer for this next one because he has already missed over 5 weeks of school this year. He's still in quite a bit of pain, but we are hoping he can make it into school tomorrow...we'll see how today goes.

So, lots of stress and not a lot of reading time, but we did manage some:

• I finished the memoir, The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was written by a 96-year old man about his first twelve years of life, growing up very poor in a small mill town in England where Jewish families lived on one side of the street and Christian families on the other side; the two sides rarely mixed, until his sister fell in love with a Christian boy and caused an uproar. 
• Now I am reading (and almost finished with) a teen/YA novel, The Far West by Patricia C. Wrede, the third book in her excellent Pioneer Magic trilogy that started with The Thirteenth Child.
• I finally finished the middle-grade audio book, Wildwood by Colin Meloy! It was a long one but quite good. With my son home all week, I didn't have a chance to start a new audio book yet, but I hope to this week. I have quite a few to choose from.
• My husband. Ken, is trying to finish Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card (recommended by my son and I) before his business trip this week - the huge hardcover is too big to travel with!
• Between college, illness, and surgery, neither of my sons had time for reading last week.

I had even less time for blogging last week, but I did manage to write one review while waiting for my son to come out of surgery. I reviewed In Other Worlds, a collection of essays about science fiction by Margaret Atwood that resulted in a long list of other books I want to read!

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

It's Monday 2/11! What Are You Reading?

We had a busy week and a fun weekend, with our annual Mardi Gras party - you can read about the details (well, the food details, at least!) on my Weekend Cooking post.  Lots of work but also lots of fun. We used to live in New Orleans, so Mardi Gras is a major holiday in our house! This will be a hectic week, with both Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day. Also, my son is home sick, so we are heading to the doctor's office this morning.

With all that excitement, we still managed to enjoy our books this week:

• I finished In Other Worlds by Margaret Atwood, a book of essays on science fiction by the much-lauded author of The Handmaid's Tale. I enjoyed it very much, as well as the Bookrageous podcast discussing it. Now I have a long list of sci fi books I want to read!
• I am now reading a memoir that my very kind cousin sent me last week: The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein. My local library's book group is discussing memoirs this week, so her timing was perfect! I am enjoying it very much - the beginning reminds me a bit of Angela's Ashes, only it is about a very poor Jewish family in England.
• I am  - finally - almost finished with the middle-grade audio book, Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis. It is a very long audio, but I have enjoyed it and am down to the last couple of tracks.
• My husband, Ken, is reading Orson Scott Card's Pathfinder, after my son and I raved about it! It is a long one, but I told him it is well worth the effort.
• Jamie, 18, is still reading Shaman's Crossing, Book 1 of the Soldier's Son trilogy by Robin Hobb. He's really not enjoying it much, but he insists on finishing it! Now that he's back at college in the dorms, he doesn't have much reading time.
• Craig, 15, is still making his way through his freshman lit novel, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - slowly and painfully!

I wrote two reviews last week: I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg and Trapped by Michael Northrup, a teen/YA novel. I also posted my January reading summary, a Weekend Cooking post about Mardi Gras, and a preview of 2013 book-to-movie adaptations - lots of good movies to look forward to!

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

Mardi Gras 2010 - me with my sons

Top 10 Anticipated 2013 Books-to-Movies

Publisher's Weekly published their list of Ten Most Anticipated Book Adaptations of 2013 this week - take a look.

I decided to post the list here because many of these movie adaptations are based on teen/YA books! It looks like the paranormal/supernatural trend is still in high gear!!

I haven't read most of these, but our family is looking forward to Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Catching Fire, and - of course - The Hobbit #2. 

But we are most excited about the movie adaptation of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card!  My husband and I both read this novel for the first time about 25 years ago, so we've been waiting a long time! It's a favorite of our older son, too.

Which movie adaptations are you most looking forward to in 2013?

Teen/YA Review: Trapped

I thought that Trapped by Michael Northrup, with its snow-covered cover, would be a perfect mid-winter read, and I was right. I read this suspenseful teen/YA novel in just two days and could scarcely set it down.

Trapped is an apt name for this story about seven high school kids trapped inside their school for days during a blizzard. A winter storm of historic proportions, even for New England, covers the area with over 10 feet of snow, piling up faster than the plows can clear it, until it is so deep that even plows can’t get through. Oh, and did I mention the power went out?

This novel works on two levels: as a fast-paced adventure story and as a character study. The adventure comes in, of course, simply from trying to survive. The kids are left without adult supervision and must fend for themselves to provide food, water, and heat.  Their challenges grow and become more extreme as the storm worsens and continues far longer than any of them thought it could. The suspense builds as the snow piles up outside. Eventually, they realize if they are going to be saved, they need to save themselves. Their deteriorating situation provides ample suspense and makes this book a page-turner.

But this is also a fascinating story of seven very different people trying to get along with each other under extreme circumstances. The high school setting adds another layer of intrigue, since these seven kids are not ones who would normally hang out together (or even acknowledge each other) in the normal school atmosphere. There are three guys who are good friends (though very different people), a gorgeous and popular female athlete and her BFF, a chronic troublemaker, and a social outcast. At first, they stick to their own kind, but as their situation becomes more dire, they need to work together – and even rely on each other – in order to survive.

I really enjoyed this fast-paced novel. It was the kind of story that completely pulled me in, so I was thinking about it all the time. I felt like I was there, in that cold, dark school in the midst of a blizzard, with them. I love novels that so completely capture my imagination. Just writing about it makes me want to read it again!

232 pages, Scholastic

 

It's Monday 2/4! What Are You Reading?

 

A new week, a new month, and a new start for me. College-age son moved back into the dorms yesterday. High school-age son is off today (and we have a hectic day filled with doctor's appointments), but hopefully, he will be back in school tomorrow after being out sick all last week. And then, I will be...alone!  Woohoo! Maybe I can finally get some work done this week...though we will miss having our older son at home.

Last week, we read:

• I finished I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg in plenty of time for my book group. Everyone enjoyed it for its sense of humor and irony, though it was a bit light compared to what we usually read. Not great literature - just a bit of fun!
• Next, I blew through Trapped by Michael Northrop in just two days. This teen/YA novel about seven teens stuck in their high school without power for days during a record blizzard was fast-paced and full of suspense - perfect for a cold winter week!
• Now, I am reading In Other Worlds, a book of essays by Margaret Atwood about science fiction. This is the current selection for book discussion on the Bookrageous podcast, so I decided to try it. I'm enjoying it very much - I worried it might be dry, but Atwood's writing is lively and full of wit. I've been laughing out loud a lot!
• And I am trying to finish a very long audio book, Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, a middle-grade fantasy adventure. It's been very good. Maybe with both kids out of the house this week, I can finally finish it!
• My husband, Ken, finished The Likeness by Tana French; he's enjoying this series very much.
• Now, Ken is reading Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card, a fabulous teen/YA novel that my son and I both loved.
• Jamie, 18, is still reading Shaman's Crossing, Book 1 of the Soldier's Son trilogy by Robin Hobb. It's not his favorite kind of fantasy, but he said he wants to finish it. His reading slowed way down this week with exams at school. Now that he's back in the dorms for spring semester, he probably won't have much fun reading time!
• Craig, 15, was home sick all last week, but he doesn't really enjoy reading. He did read more of his freshman lit novel, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, but he doesn't like that it is not a straight-forward chronological story.

I finally found time to write a couple of reviews last week - I was getting behind!  I reviewed Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver and Across the Great Barrier by Patricia C. Wrede, a teen novel - both were excellent and highly recommended! And I wrote a Weekend Cooking post yesterday.

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)