Books Read in July

Lake Ontario at sunset, from Selkirk Shores State Park, NY

 What a crazy month! We had a couple of short trips, sent the kids off for a week, and dealt with my husband's emergency eye surgery (which went very well - thanks for all the support!). So, I have not had much time for blogging and am behind on posting reviews, but I did read a lot. I finally got moving on my Big Book Summer Challenge with two books over 400 pages this month, and I managed more audios than usual:

• Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, an emotionally powerful novel by Ben Fountain (Texas)
• Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, on audio (Italy)
• Game Changer by Margaret Peterson Haddix, a middle-grade/teen novel (no location specified)

• Defending Jacob by William Landay, a legal thriller and my 2nd Big Book of the summer (Massachusetts)
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, a teen/YA novel and another Big Book (other world)
• Not Exactly a Love Story by Audrey Couloumbis, a teen/YA audio book (New York)

• Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich, pure summer fluff! (New Jersey)
• The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, a classic, on audio (England)

Wow, I thought I'd read fewer books than usual this month, but all those audios really added up! I read 8 books total (a lot for me), all fiction. Three were audios, 5 were grown-up novels, and 3 were for kids/teens/YA. It was a nice mix this month, and I enjoyed all of them. Hard to choose a favorite this month - I think it's probably Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, with The Knife of Never Letting Go as a close second.


Update on 2013 Reading Challenges:
I added only one new state (Texas) and one new country (Italy) to my 2013 Where Are You Reading Challenge. I read two more books off my TBR shelves, bringing the total up to 11 so far this year for my 2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge. I also added two audio books to my 2013 Audio Book Challenge. And The Time Machine counts as one more for Those Books I Should Have Read 2013 Challenge.

What did you most enjoy reading in July?

It's Monday 7/29! What Are You Reading?

Things have changed dramatically at our house since this time last week. My husband lost the vision in one eye while away on business last week. Something similar happened a few years ago when he had a couple of retinal tears, so he went to the ER. After he got home, I took him to his own retinal specialist who decided he needed to do surgery to get to the bottom of this - there is still too much blood in the eye for him to clearly examine it visually. So, today is surgery day, tomorrow is a post-op appointment, and chances are good that we will be cancelling our vacation to Maine for which we are supposed to be leaving later this week. We've waited over a year for this trip!

So, it's been a rough week, and it looks like our summer will turn out much differently than we expected. We should know more after the post-op appointment tomorrow.

Of course, we continued to read this week:

• I finished The Knife of Never Letting Go, Book 1 in the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness, and loved it! It's hard to categorize this popular YA trilogy: it's somewhat post-apocalyptic, with some dystopian elements and overall a fast-paced suspense novel. I can't wait to read the next two books!
• I had a nice surprise last week. I turned in two brief book reviews for my local library's adult summer reading program and got to pick out two new books for myself! One of the books I picked was Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich, so I started that a few days ago. This is perfect reading for a stressful summer week - light and fun and fast-paced, with plenty of humor.
• I am still listening to the teen/YA audio book A Matter of Days by Amber Kizer, a post-apocalyptic story about a sister and brother making their way across the country after a devastating pandemic. It's very good, though I may not have as much time to listen now that the kids are back home!
• My husband and I had to drive back to Connecticut this weekend to pick up our kids after a week of sailing with their grandparents, so we listened to a new audio book release of The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. I've never read this classic before and am really enjoying it. We'll probably finish it today and tomorrow going back and forth to the hospital and the doctor's office.
• My husband, Ken, was told not to read or look at screens for too long this week, so I helped him put a couple of audio books on his iPod. He has been listening to Fugitive by Phillip Margolin, a thriller. He's enjoying it and finding listening to audio before bed very relaxing.
• Jamie, 18, is still enjoying The Sorcerer's Path series by Brock Deskins on his Kindle. He finished Book 6: The Sorcerer's Abyss and also read Book 7: The Sorcerer's Return. While away on the boat, he said he also read 3 other free books on his Kindle that he enjoyed.
• Craig, 15, was thrilled to be on vacation and not have to read at all! Yes, they were brought up in the same household.

My husband gave me a Kindle for my birthday last week, so I will have to see what's available in e-books!

Very little time for writing last week, so I just managed two posts:

Weekend Cooking 7/27

Review of Game Changer by Margaret Peterson Haddix, a middle-grade/teen novel about an alternate universe.

There is still a month of summer left, so plenty of time to sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge and squeeze in a Big Book this summer! It's super-easy and relaxed, as summer should be, and you only need to read one book of 400 pages or more to participate. There are still six weeks of summer left, so lots of time to read a big book (or two). Join the fun!

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 Unleashing Readers.)

Middle-Grade Review: Game Changer

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Margaret Peterson Haddix’s novels are always fast-paced with original, thought-provoking plots. In Game Changer, she tackles an alternate reality where sports and academics are reversed in our society.

KT Sutton is an 8^th grade softball champion. Her whole life revolves around her amazing talent as a softball pitcher, and her goals are to win a college scholarship and play in the Olympics. Her shoulder has been bothering her, but KT tries to play through the pain. One day during a championship game, KT blacks out. When she wakes up, she’s back in her bedroom, and the world is a different place.

In this strange new world, school is all about physical fitness, with each class one series of boring drills after another: stretching, running, throwing, etc. For fun, the kids participate in academic competitions, and those seem to be the only things that kids, parents, and the school are truly interested in. In this new world, athletic KT is an outcast, and her little brother, Max, is the star of his 6^th grade Mathletics team and the focus of all of her parents’ attention. Max isn’t any happier about this situation than KT is. When KT discovers that Max also remembers the “real” world, the two team up to try to find a way back.

Alternate reality always makes for an interesting story, and there is plenty of suspense here as KT and Max struggle to figure out what happened and how they can reverse it. Haddix’s lessons – about sports and academics, bullying, and the importance of valuing diversity – are rather obvious here, though maybe less so for younger readers. It is not one of her best books, but overall, it is a fun and fast-paced story that will especially appeal to middle-school age readers.

272 pages, Simon & Schuster

If you like alternate reality stories, one of my favorites is Prism by Faye and Aliza Kellerman.

 

It's Monday 7/22! What Are You Reading?

Wow, what a week! I was insanely busy last week...and insanely exhausted! I pushed way past the normal limits of my chronic illness, on my own with my husband away and getting my kids ready for their week of sailing with their grandparents - aka The Annual Grandchildren's Cruise! I took them to Connecticut on Friday, drove back (through awful traffic on the NJ Turnpike) Saturday, and then collapsed. I have been resting and recovering and am starting to feel a little better. The time alone has been such a huge relief, being responsible for no one but myself - bliss! My husband comes home tonight, so I am also looking forward to time alone with him.

Anyway, despite all that, we keep reading!

• I finished Defending Jacob by William Landay. Very suspenseful with lots of twists and turns, pretty depressing, and definitely a surprise ending that I didn't see coming....and my second Big Book of the Summer!
• I am now reading another of my Big Books, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, a YA post-apocalyptic novel. It is very good so far, and I'm enjoying it.
• With all that time in the car by myself, I've had lots of audio book time (for a change). I listened to Not Exactly a Love Story by Audrey Couloumbis, a teen/YA novel set in 1977 about a 15-year old boy with a crush on his gorgeous, popular neighbor who resorts to anonymous phone calls because he's afraid to approach her in person. It was very good and helped all those hours stuck in traffic pass pleasantly.
• Now I am listening to A Matter of Days, a teen/YA post-apocalyptic novel (yes, I've got kind of a dismal theme going at the moment!), about a teen girl and her younger brother making their way across the country by themselves after a pandemic wipes out most of the population. I just started it yesterday but it is good so far.
• My husband, Ken, has been reading Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, but he has had to put his reading aside for now. While away, he had a scary incident with his eye and can only see out of one eye right now. The doctor told him no reading or computer screens until his vision clears - I don't know what he's going to do during his long hours of traveling today. I can't imagine flying without reading. He has a history of retinal tears and will have to follow up with his doctor later this week. Scary stuff.
• Jamie, 18, finished Domes of Fire by David Eddings, Book 1 of The Tamuli series, one of his Dad's old favorites.
• Once back home from our trip, Jamie was able to download the rest of the The Sorcerer's Path series by Brock Deskins to his Kindle. He is currently reading Book 6: The Sorcerer's Abyss. He loves this series!
• Craig, 15, with much prodding on my part, finished The Lord of the Flies by William Golding before leaving for his trip. I asked him what he thought of it, and he said, "Really disturbing." Yup, that about sums that one up!

I was far too busy for reviews or other blog posts last week, but I hope to catch up while I'm alone this week.

Don't forget, there is still plenty of time to sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge! It's super-easy and relaxed, as summer should be, and you only need to read one book of 400 pages or more to participate. There are still six weeks of summer left, so lots of time to read a big book (or two). Join the fun!

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 Unleashing Readers.)

It's Monday 7/15! What Are You Reading?

Huh? What? Monday already? We just returned from a long weekend spent camping, so it feels like Sunday to me. We traveled up to the farthest reaches of northern New York for my college reunion (Clarkson University) and took our pop-up camper so we could enjoy camping along the way. The camping was wonderful - we haven't had a vacation together in over a year! - and the reunion was amazing. Dozens of my friends from several years in my sorority all came back this weekend, and we laughed so hard my face hurt! There's nothing like old friends. I'm so glad we went.

We had plenty of quiet downtime for reading, too:

• I FINALLY got moving again on my Big Book Summer Challenge and started reading Defending Jacob by William Landay this week. It's very good so far - gripping suspense about a DA whose son is accused of murder - and I have no idea how it's going to turn out.
• My husband, Ken, finished The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. He liked the details of life at the lighthouse and the characters but found the outcome a bit of a downer. I think he's glad he read it.
• Now Ken is reading Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. He says the characters are a bit strange - that seems to be Flynn's thing!
• Jamie, 18, flew through Books 4 and 5 of The Sorcerer's Path series by Brock Deskins on his Kindle: The Sorcerer's Vengeance and The Sorcerer's Scourge. He loves this series that his friend recommended! Problem is that we got on the road - without WiFi - and he realized he hadn't downloaded the next book in the series yet! So, he had to switch to paper books for the weekend...
• Jamie read Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, Book 3 in the Graceling trilogy, which has been sitting on his shelf for months. He said it was very good, but he liked the first two books better.
• Now, Jamie is reading Domes of Fire by David Eddings, Book 1 of The Tamuli series, one of his Dad's old favorites. I think he read this one before but is re-reading it before reading Book 2. He can read in the car, so he read a LOT this weekend!
• Craig, 15, is still making his way - very slowly! - through The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I told him he needs to finish it before he leaves on a trip with his grandparents Friday, so he's going to have to pick up his pace dramatically!

Not much blogging time last week, but I managed to post a couple of reviews before we left town:

Arcadia by Lauren Groff, a novel about a boy who grows up on a 70's commune.

 Lucky for Good by Susan Patron, the final book in the fabulous middle-grade Hard Pan series.

Don't forget, there is still plenty of time to sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge! It's super-easy and relaxed, as summer should be, and you only need to read one book of 400 pages or more to participate. So, join the fun!

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 Unleashing Readers.)

Middle-Grade Review: Lucky for Good

I adored Susan Patron’s first two Hard Pan trilogy novels, The Higher Power of Lucky and Lucky Breaks. I recently read the final novel featuring endearing eleven-year old Lucky, Lucky for Good, and enjoyed the heart-warming story just as much as the first two novels.

 Lucky lives in tiny Hard Pan, nestled among mountains in a remote California desert, with her adoptive mother, Brigitte, who runs the Hard Pan Café. She is happy there, among the other quirky but lovable residents of her town. Lucky now feels confident in her place among them and with Brigitte, but new questions keep popping up in her life. She wonders about the father who abandoned her and about her friend Miles’ mother who’s been recently released from prison. She’s worried about the café’s recent visit from the health department and about a middle-school boy visiting town who is sullen and mean. And when Lucky is assigned a family tree for school, she wonders how on earth she will ever find any information at all about her biological family.

As in previous Hard Pan novels, the town’s residents come together to help solve some of these problems and Lucky leans on her friends and on Brigitte to help with others. Lucky does some growing up in this novel, learning some important lessons about both friends and family along the way and even discovering a new relative.

All of the Hard Pan novels featuring Lucky are warm, funny, and intelligent, and this one is no exception. There is nothing frightening or depressing here, but Patron doesn’t shy from serious issues. In this last novel, Lucky struggles with the definition of family, feeling abandoned by her father, and even the controversy between devote Christian Creationists and the concept of evolution. As always, Lucky’s story is told in a gentle and clever way. These novels have more intelligence and emotional depth than many middle-grade books but are always heart-warming and affirmative. I will miss reading about Lucky and the rest of the Hard Pan residents!

203 pages, Atheneum (Simon & Schuster)

       

It's Monday 7/8! What Are You Reading?

Very hectic week last week, and another one starting today! I probably won't be online much this week. On the plus side, my oldest son finished his college summer class this weekend, and my youngest is off crutches and feeling great, so now our summer can really begin! We have a mini-vacation coming up - taking our camper along to my college reunion and camping along the way - our first road trip/vacation in over a year! I am sooo ready for that, even if it's just for a few days.

It has been horrifically hot and humid here lately which is extra-tough for me because of my chronic illness, so I have been hiding out indoors whenever I can (that's the other reason I can't wait to head north!). We managed lots of good reading this week:

• I finished Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain, and this novel about a team of young soldiers stationed in Iraq who are taken on a whirlwind Victory Tour of the US for acts heroism just blew me away. It was funny, emotionally powerful, and made me look at both the military and "normal" life in America in a whole new way.
• I decided to squeeze in one more short teen/YA book before jumping into the rest of my long books for my Big Book Summer Challenge. I am almost finished with Game Changer by Margaret Haddix Peterson, an alternate reality novel that's been very engaging.
• I finished Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter on audio and loved it - a great story of how seemingly minor events in the distant past affected a group of people decades later.
• My husband, Ken, is reading The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman on his Kindle, though he's not sure he's going to finish it. He's finding it interesting but can tell it's not going to end well - he's not a fan of sad books or movies! I think the characters are making him nervous as they make some questionable choices.
• Jamie, 18, continued to plow through The Sorcerer's Path series by Brock Deskins on his Kindle; he is thrilled that his friend bought the whole series, so he can borrow them! He read Book 2: The Sorcerer's Torment and Book 3: The Sorcerer's Legacy this week. Now that he is done with school and has a couple of months off, I'm sure his reading time will expand even further!
• Craig, 15, is reading The Lord of the Flies by William Golding - required reading for school - but is not making much progress so far! A few people commented here last week that they think required summer reading is a bad thing, but for my son, it is a very good thing! If he weren't required to read this summer, he would never pick up a book at all. He claims to hate reading, but often, if he starts a book for school, he ends up liking it. So, I am thrilled that he will at least read his two required novels this summer.

I did manage a few blog posts last week:

Review of The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, an excellent novel my entire book group enjoyed.

Review of The Silver Six by A.J. Lieberman and Darren Rawlings, an imaginative and action-packed middle-grade graphic novel.

And a summary of Books Read in June - it was a record-setting month for me!

Don't forget, it's only the first week of July, so there is still plenty of time to sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge! It's super-easy and relaxed, as summer should be, and you only need to read one book of 400 pages or more to participate. So, join the fun!

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 Unleashing Readers.)

Books Read in June

Wow, I can't believe it's July already - June went by in a flash, though it was an odd month here. School ended, but my youngest son had knee surgery and my oldest started a summer class in college. We normally spend June on a long, relaxing camping road trip together, so this June was very different! My youngest is now walking without crutches and going to PT, and my oldest has his final exam tomorrow, so now our REAL summer can begin!

In the meantime, I read a LOT last month and started my Big Book Summer Challenge. Here's what I read in June:

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, a teen/YA novel, my first Big Book of the summer, and just as good the 2nd time! (Germany)
• Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall, a novel set in Civil War times (Florida)
• The Silver Six by A.J. Lieberman and Darren Rawlins, a middle-grade graphic novel (Massachusetts)

• The Infinity Ring #1: A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner, middle-grade fiction (Pennsylvania)
• The Infinity Ring #2: Divide and Conquer by Carrie Ryan, middle-grade fiction (France)
• The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, novel (San Francisco, CA) 

• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, fictional audio book (Germany)
• Arcadia by Lauren Groff, novel (New York)
• Lucky for Good by Susan Patron, middle-grade fiction (California)

Nine books in all! That's definitely a one-month record for me. It helped that several were quick middle-grade novels. This was a big book group month for me - I read The Book Thief, Blue Asylum, The Language of Flowers, and Arcadia all for book groups (and yes, my husband has already informed me I have an addiction!). The Book Thief is a long-time favorite of mine - I first read it several years ago - but of the books I read for the first time, I think The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is my favorite this month - it was just so unique and emotionally powerful.

Update on 2013 Reading Challenges:
I added only 1 new state (Florida) to my Where Are You Reading 2013 Challenge, but I also added 2 new countries (as usual, the titles are piling up for California and New York). Of these 9 books, only 1 (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) came from my TBR pile - yikes, I better quit taking more books out of the library! - so my 2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge is up to 9 books now. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was also my 5th audio book for the 2013 Audio Book Challenge.

What was your favorite book read in June?

Middle-Grade Review: The Silver Six

As I’ve mentioned here before, I rarely read graphic novels, but sometimes I stumble across a good one. I received a proof of The Silver Six, a middle-grade graphic novel by AJ Lieberman and Darren Rawlings, and thoroughly enjoyed its futuristic, kids-save-the-world story.

As with all good action-packed adventures, there is an evil, powerful bad villain at its center: Mr. Craven, owner and CEO of Craven Mining Co, the corporation that controls much of this futuristic world and that is responsible for continuing to destroy the earth in search of ever-more profitable fuels. As the story opens, young Phoebe is worried about paying her rent and convincing the landlord that her parents are still there…because they aren’t. Phoebe is an orphan who, with the help of her beloved robot, Max, has been fooling the authorities for a year now so that she can stay in her home, near her friends.

But Mr. Craven disrupts her plans, as his minions search for an important electronic file that appears to be hidden somewhere in Phoebe’s home. In short order, Phoebe is caught and sent to an orphanage. It’s a dismal life, filled with hard work and poor conditions, but Phoebe quickly makes friends. Gradually, she and her friends discover they have far more in common than just being orphans, and before long, Phoebe is leading the rest of the Silver Six in an escape plan! The kids have more to worry about than just escaping the orphanage, though, as they find they are being pursued by mysterious forces that clearly want them dead.

From there, the action continues and the suspense builds, both on earth and in distant space, as the mysteries surrounding Craven Mining and Phoebe’s parents’ deaths slowly come to light. The Silver Six is kind of like James Bond for kids: it has cool technology, an evil villain, and lots and lots of action and adventure. The characters are fully developed – which surprised me in a graphic novel – and I quickly came to like Phoebe and to root for her and her friends in their quest for truth and freedom. Lots of fun for middle-grade readers who enjoy action and adventure.

188 pages, Scholastic

 

It's Monday 7/1! What Are You Reading?

Yikes! How can it be July already? The year is officially half over - and there is so much I meant to do that I haven't gotten to yet! June flew by, but the good news is that my son is back on his feet after his knee surgery in early June. He started walking without crutches last week, started PT on Saturday, and is feeling great. Even better news? I no longer need to wait on him! Of course, now that he is able to get up and around, our schedule is filled with doctor's appointments, haircuts, PT, etc.

So, it was another busy week, but we enjoyed plenty of reading:

• I finished Arcadia by Lauren Groff in plenty of time for my book group on Wednesday. It was a bit slow to start, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying this novel about a boy who grows up on a hippie commune in the 60's. There was lots of good discussion, too.
• Next, I read a short middle-grade novel, Lucky for Good by Susan Patron, the last book in the Lucky Hard Pan trilogy. This one was just as fabulous as the first two - warm, intelligent, and surprisingly sophisticated for a middle-grade novel. I will miss Lucky!
• I am now reading Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain, an impulse pick-up from the library's New Paperbacks shelf, even though I have a stack of books waiting to be read for my Big Book Summer Challenge! I had heard such great things about this novel that I couldn't resist it. I'm only on chapter 3, but it's good so far.
• I am still listening to Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter on audio and enjoying it very much. I think things are building to the end, and I can't wait to hear what happens!
• My husband, Ken, finished Gone for Good by Harlen Coben and enjoyed the light suspense read.
• Now, he has started The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, a novel I purchased on his Kindle earlier this year for one of my book groups (and loved!).
• Jamie, 18, continued to tear through fantasy novels on his Kindle, starting with The Weight of Blood by David Daglish. 
• He is now reading The Sorcerer's Ascension, Book 1 in The Sorcerer's Path series by Brock Deskins.
• And Craig, 15, has finally started his required summer reading for school with The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. He's not too impressed so far, but he's not even through chapter one yet! I think he'll like it once he gets into it.

With so much running around last week, I didn't have much time for writing but managed just a couple of blog posts:

I posted my review of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas on both book blogs (Book By Book and Great Books for Kids and Teens) because it was marketed for adults but is just as good for teens and YAs. The audio book just blew me away.

And I wrote my Weekend Cooking post, with a couple of recipes using the bountiful summer produce available now.

Don't forget, it's only the first week of July, so there is still plenty of time to sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge! It's super-easy and relaxed, as summer should be, and you only need to read one book of 400 pages or more to participate. So, join the fun!

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 Unleashing Readers.)