Middle-Grade Review: I Wanna Be Your Shoebox

Yumi Ruiz-Hirsch, the star of I Wanna Be Your Shoebox by Cristina Garcia, is one of my favorite characters to come along in a middle-grade novel in a long time. She’s an eighth grader in southern California struggling to deal with too many changes in her life:

Don’t you wish sometimes that everything could stay the same forever? A perfect moment stretched out for the rest of your life? Why do things always have to change so much anyway?

My name is Yumi Ruiz-Hirsch, and my grandfather is dying. It feels funny to call him “my grandfather” because from the time I could talk, he insisted I call him Saul. Nobody else I know calls their grandparents by their real names. Saul is Jewish, and my grandmother is Japanese and she’s twenty-five years younger than him. Her name is Hiroko, and I call her by her first name, too. When I tried calling my mother “Silvia,” she refused to answer me. She’s Cuban (with a little Guatemalan thrown in), and nobody in her family calls their elders by their first names. Mom says this mix of identities makes me a poster child for the twenty-first century.

In addition to her beloved grandfather dying, Yumi’s mom has a new boyfriend and wants to move, and her school orchestra is being cut because of a lack of funds. Yumi splits her time between her mom’s house, her punk rocker dad’s loft, and Saul and Hiroko’s apartment. Life is in turmoil for her, but as Saul tells her, the choice is either to sit and watch or join the dance.

Yumi narrates most of the novel, but her parts are interspersed with passages where Saul is telling her his life story:

I spent a few years living hand to mouth in New York. I wasn’t much older than you are now. What are your responsibilities? Cleaning your room? Doing your homework? Luxuries, little one. Yeah, you might be forced to move, but your mother’s alive, ain’t she? And she loves you, right? You don’t know how good things are until you lose them. That’s what I’m telling you – appreciate what you got, kid. I know there’s lots of changes happening right now, but it might just work out for the best. You never know how closing one door can open another.

I just loved Yumi’s close relationship with her grandfather and their long talks together. This endearing novel is warm and funny, with likable, quirky characters who stay with you long after you’ve closed the book.

198 pages, Simon & Schuster

Ages 8-14

Accelerated Reader Level 5.1, 7 points

Top Ten Kids/Teens Books Read in 2009

TEN FOR TUESDAY

2009 was a great reading year - so many wonderful books for kids, teens, and young adults! It was hard to narrow my favorites down to the Top Ten. I suppose I cheated a little by including several multiple books in a series! Anyway, here are the Top Ten Kids/Teens Books I Read in 2009 (in no particular order):

1. Wake and Fade by Lisa McMann
2. Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
3. Alabama Moon by Watt Key
4. Skin Hunger and Sacred Scars (The Resurrection of Magic series) by Kathleen Duey
5. The Higher Power of Lucky and Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron
6. The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
7. Pendragon series (I read books 6, 7, and 8 this year!) by D.J. MacHale
8. Prism by Faye and Aliza Kellerman
9. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
10. The Cronus Chronicles by Anne Ursu

What were your favorite kids/teen/YA books read in 2009?

It's Monday 1/11! What Are You Reading?

We read some great books this week!

• I’m reading an excellent middle-grade novel, I Wanna Be Your Shoebox, by Cristina Garcia, about a thirteen year-old girl who is part Japanese, part Cuban, and part Russian Jew.
• Jamie, 15, was sick this weekend, so he had a lot of reading time. He finished The Pilgrims of Rayne, book 8 in D.J. MacHale’s wonderful Pendragon series. He read all day long, closed the book, and asked, “Do we have book 9 yet?”
• We do! Jamie immediately picked up book 9 in the Pendragon series, Raven’s Rise and is still engrossed in it. He and I agree that this series just gets better and better.
• Craig – who turns 12 this week! – found his lost book and is rushing to finish both books before the end of the marking period. Both are Bruce Coville books, one of his favorite authors: Dark Whispers, book 3 in The Unicorn Chronicles, and Aliens Stole My Body, the fourth and final book of the Aliens series.

I posted a review of a magical tale of Norse mythology, the audio book Odd and the Frost Giants by award-winning author Neil Gaiman.

What great kids and teen books are YOU reading this week?

What are you reading Mondays is sponsored by J. Kaye's Book Blog.

Middle-grade Review: Odd and the Frost Giants

Neil Gaiman, author of many best-selling books, including Coraline and the award-winning The Graveyard Book, has published a new book for middle-grade readers. During the holidays, we listened to and enjoyed the audio version of Odd and the Frost Giants, written and read by Neil Gaiman.

Odd and the Frost Giants is an old-style fable set in ancient Norway, during the time of the Vikings, featuring a sweet and brave twelve-year old boy:

There was a boy called Odd, and there was nothing strange or unusual about that, not in that time or place. Odd meant the tip of a blade, and it was a lucky name.

He was odd, though. At least, the other villagers thought so. But if there was one thing that he wasn’t, it was lucky.

Odd’s father died when he was ten years old, and Odd walks with a crutch because his leg was shattered in an accident. One year, during a terrible winter that won’t end, Odd runs away from home to escape his stepfather, into the forest. He meets three mysterious animals – a huge bear, a fox, and an eagle – who share with him a very strange story that sets him off on a journey to a magical place.

This enchanting tale of Norse gods and a small boy’s bravery will be especially appealing to kids who enjoy stories of mythology and magical creatures. The audio version, read by Gaiman himself, is a mesmerizing story, particularly when listened to in the car on a snowy day. I haven’t seen the printed book myself, but its listing on amazon shows some beautiful pencil drawings to accompany the tale. It’s a brief book (the audio is 90 minutes long), appropriate for kids ages 7 and up on audio or as a read-aloud.

90 minutes, Harper Audio

128 pages, HarperCollins

Listen to an audio sample.

2009 In Review

I took a few minutes today to tally up the reading I did in 2009. This was the first year of Great Books for Kids and Teens, and I read/listened to a total of 84 books this year. Of those:

• 20 were middle-grade books
• 9 were middle-grade audio books
• 13 were teen/YA books
• 3 were teen/Ya audio books

I posted 39 reviews at Great Books for Kids and Teens. For a tally of the grown-up books I read and reviewed, check out Book by Book.

2009 was a great reading year! I'm still working on my Top Ten lists for 2009, and working to catch up on a bunch of reviews after the busy holiday season, so stay tuned!

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

Happy New Year!

We had a busy holiday season, so I had to take a little break from blogging. We read some great books during the holiday break, though, and I have a lot of reviews coming up!

• I finished Spacer and Rat by Margaret Bechard, an imaginative teen science fiction novel set during the future when humans have populated space. My son was right - it was very good.
• Jamie, 15, read a lot during our trip to Oklahoma (including two 6-hour air travel days!). He finished Raider's Ransom by Emily Diamand, an exciting pirate adventure set in the 23rd century, when most of England is under water. He enjoyed it very much and says the author's view of the future was interesting.
• Jamie also read Nation by Terry Pratchett, a Christmas gift from my husband and I that I chose based on reviews I read on other blogs. He says it was brilliant and gripping.
• He has now started Pendragon: The Pilgrims of Rayne (book 8) by D.J. MacHale, part of our all-time favorite series for middle-grade and teen readers. I read book 8 this summer and loved it.
• Craig, 11, was half-way through Aliens Stole My Body, the fourth and final book in Bruce Coville's Aliens series when he lost the book at school! He was very upset about it (I'm requesting it from the library today for him), but he cheered up when he received Dark Whispers for Christmas. This is the third book in Bruce Coville's Unicorn Chronicles series, Craig's favorite series. He says it's exciting and suspenseful.

What are YOU reading this week?

(What are you reading Mondays is sponsored by J. Kaye's Book Blog).

It's Monday 12/21! What Are You Reading?

Busy, busy time of year! None of us have had a lot of time for reading (and I've had no time at all for writing reviews), but we've squeezed in a few good books:

• I'm currently reading Spacer and Rat by Margaret Bechard, an imaginative and engaging teen science fiction novel that my son highly recommended. I'm loving it so far!
• Jamie, 15, finished The Shadow Dragons, Book 4 of The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographia by James A. Owen in the car on our way to visit family Friday afternoon. He closed the book and said, "That is the best series ever written!" I've only read the first book so far, but I enjoyed it very much. The Imaginarium Geographica is an atlas of imaginary places that H.G. Wells himself assigns to J.R. R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams to take care of - the perfect combination of fantasy and literary references!
• Jamie has started Raider's Ransom by Emily Diamand, an exciting pirate adventure set in the 23rd century, when most of England is under water. Jamie loves sailing and always enjoys tales of adventure and pirates, so I'm sure he'll like this one.
• In the car on our way to and from CT, we began listening to Prism by Faye and Aliza Kellerman, a wonderful science fiction adventure on audio that I reviewed here earlier this year. My husband and sons are enjoying it as much as I did!
• We're continuing our tradition of reading favorite Christmas books before bed each night, and I really enjoyed sharing this tradition with my little niece and nephew this weekend.

So, what are YOU reading this week?

(What are you reading Mondays are sponsored by J. Kaye's Book Blog)

Top Ten Children's Christmas Books

TEN FOR TUESDAY

In honor of the holiday season, today's Top Ten list is devoted to our favorite Christmas picture books. We have a stack of holiday books that we store with all the other Christmas stuff in the basement and just brought up this weekend. Even though my kids are now 11 and 15, they still love our tradition of reading these family favorites out loud in the days leading up to Christmas. Some of these are classics; some are pretty obscure! They're our favorites because the kids have grown up with them:

• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• Darby's Christmas Adventure by Ray Bentley, illustrated by Mike Hamby - two former Buffalo Bills who came up with this series about a kid dinosaur named Darby
• Dear Santa: The Letters of James B. Dobbins by Bill Harley - a more recent entry by one of our favorite entertainers; if you don't know who Bill Harley is, you're missing out. He's hilarious and this book is great! Also check out his recent CD/DVD, Yes to Running!
• Carl's Christmas by Alexandra Day - our boys loved this series of wordless books about the sweet dog, Carl.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss (of course)
• A Cowboy Christmas: The Miracle at Lone Pine Ridge by Audrey Wood, paintings by Robert Florczak
• Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad by Mercer Mayer - my sons LOVED the Little Critter series when they were little.

And on Christmas Eve, we always read the same 3 books:

• Santa Mouse by Michael Brown - a favorite from my own childhood
• The Christmas Star by Marcus Pfister
• The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Cheryl Harnes

I suppose we could use some holiday books for older kids, now that the boys have grown so much. Any suggestions?

What are your favorite Christmas books for kids?

It's Monday 12/7! What Are You Reading?

None of us got much reading done last week. We were too busy with holiday preparations and the kids with school work. Here's what we're each reading:

• I'm reading Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey, Book 2 in The Resurrection of Magic series, a dark and compelling teen fantasy. It's excellent, but I can already tell it's going to end leaving me wanting more!
• My husband is reading The Doom Machine by Mark Teague, at the recommendation of Jamie, 15, who recently read it himself and loved it.
  
• Jamie is still reading Ringworld, a classic science fiction novel by Larry Niven, after The Doom Machine put him in the mood for sci fi.
• Craig, 11, finished Hatchet by Gary Paulsen for school and went back to his own book, The Search for Snout by Bruce Coville, the third book in his Aliens series. Craig really likes Coville's books, and this series is an old favorite.

We're also reading aloud from our collection of favorite holiday books at bedtime each night. Even though the boys are older now, they still enjoy this holiday tradition - we all do! Check back tomorrow for a list of our Top Ten Favorite Holiday Books.

So, what are YOU reading this week?

It's Monday 11/30! What Are You Reading?

We had a very busy week, visiting family for Thanksgiving. Not a lot of time for reading, but we did listen to some great audio books on our trip!

• Jamie, 15, who usually reads non-stop, was too busy with his cousins this weekend for much reading! I think he's still reading Ringworld, a classic science fiction novel by Larry Niven. Next on his list is The Shadow Dragon, Book 4 in The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series by James A. Owen, a wonderful fantasy adventure series that features dragons and lots of references to classic characters from kids' literature.
  
• Craig is still reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen for school and enjoying it very much.
• At the start of our road trip on Wednesday, we finished listening to Erec Rex and the Monsters of Otherness by Kaza Kingsley, book 2 of an excellent fantasy series about a 12-year old boy who discovers a hidden magical world.
• We also listened to Odd and the Frost Giants, written and read by Neil Gaiman (award-winning author of The Graveyard Book), a fun short story of Norse gods, set during the time of the Vikings. I'll post a review here this week.
• On the way home yesterday, we got into the Christmas spirit with two holiday audio books. First we listened to The True Gift, a Christmas Story, a very sweet holiday story by Patricia MacLachlan (author of Sarah, Plain and Tall).
• And it wouldn't be Christmas without a good rendition of that Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. We already have a couple of versions on audio, but yesterday we listened to a new one, performed by Patrick Stewart (aka Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: Next Generation) - excellent!

I'll review these audio books here, so check back! Hope everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving holidays.

What are YOU reading this week?

It's Monday 11/23! What Are You Reading?

Busy week, with Thanksgiving coming up! Not a lot of time for reading last week:

• Although I've had to set it down twice to read books for upcoming book group discussions, I'm still working on Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey, book 2 in the dark fantasy series The Resurrection of Magic. Jamie and I both like this series very much.
• Fifteen-year old Jamie finished The Doom Machine by Mark Teague, a funny, exciting new sci-fi book. He enjoyed it so much that he wanted to read more science fiction, so his Dad searched through his extensive collection of classic sci-fi novels and recommended one....
• So Jamie started Ringworld by Larry Niven.
• Craig is still reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen for school and enjoying it very much. We've listened to it (and its sequels) on audio - excellent!

Last week, I posted a review of Sent, book 2 of The Missing, an exciting time-travel series by Margaret Peterson Haddix. We'll be traveling this week to visit family for Thanksgiving, and we'll be taking along a stack of audio books!

What are YOU reading this week?

(What are you reading Mondays is sponsored by J. Kaye's Book Blog)

Middle-Grade Review: Sent

When Sent, Book 2 of Margaret Peterson Haddix’s series The Missing, arrived in the mail, my son and I both grabbed for it. We loved the first book in the time-traveling series, Found, and couldn’t wait to find out what happens next. If you haven’t read Book 1 yet, you may want to skip this review for now (it contains Book 1 spoilers) and check out my previous review of Found. Haddix has a talent for writing exciting and suspenseful series for middle-grade readers that also appeal to teens (and adults!).

Before Jonah and Chip have time to digest the news that they’re both children who were kidnapped from some period of history, they find themselves – along with Jonah’s sister, Katherine, and fellow missing child Alex – hurtling through time, thanks to a device called the Elucidator that they wrestled out of the hands of the bad guys, as JB tries to set history straight:

“Jonah,” JB protested. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Certain things have been set in motion. Chip and Alex have to go to the fifteenth century.”

“Then, Katherine and I are going, too,” Jonah said. He didn’t know how it was possible, but he could feel time flowing past him, scrolling backward. He felt like he had only a few more seconds left to convince JB. “What if…what if we could fix the fifteenth century? Make everything right again? Then couldn’t Alex and Chip come back to the twenty-first century with us?”

When JB reluctantly agrees, the four kids find themselves in a castle in England in 1483, where they discover Chip’s true identity – Edward V, king of England. Alex is his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York. History says they were both murdered, and the four out-of-time kids have to find a way to “fix time,” so that they can return to the home they know.

Although some of the time travel details get a little confusing at times, the book is non-stop action and excitement. It’s also very interesting to learn about how people lived during that time in history and the – true – historical events surrounding them. Haddix did a tremendous amount of research for this book and strived to keep the known facts accurate, as she played with the real-life mystery of the young boys’ disappearance. The result is a fast-paced, suspenseful adventure. I can’t wait for Book 3!

308 pages, Simon & Schuster

Best Books fo 2009

It's only November, but the lists of Best Books of 2009 have already starting coming out! Some interesting ones:

Publisher's Weekly Best Children's Books of 2009
(includes pictures books as well as fiction and nonfiction for older readers)

Amazon.com's Top 10 Picture Books of 2009

Amazon.com's Top 10 Books of 2009 of Middle-Grade Readers

Amazon.com's Top 10 Teen/YA Books of 2009

Lots of good holiday gift suggestions here! I'll save my own personal Best of 2009 list until the end of the year.

It's Monday 11/16! What Are You Reading?

The boys and I had a good reading week last week:

• I started Sacred Scars, Book 2 in The Resurrection of Magic series by Kathleen Duey, a dark and compelling fantasy series that Jamie and I really like. He finished it last week, and I couldn't wait to pick it up!
• Jamie, age 15, started The Doom Machine by Mark Teague, a fast-paced, humorous science fiction novel about two kids battling aliens. He says it's very good so far.
• Craig, age 11, is reading a classic, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, for his Language Arts class. We've listened to the audio version before (excellent!), but this is the first time he's read it.

Last week, I posted a review of Hush, Hush, a paranormal romance for teens/YA and a list of the Top Ten Books of My Childhood.

What are YOU reading this week?

Thanks to J. Kaye's Book Blog for hosting What Are You Reading Mondays)

Teen/YAReview: Hush, Hush

I am not normally a big fan of the paranormal romance genre (admission time: I haven’t read the Twilight books!), but I enjoyed Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. Interestingly, I noticed that one reviewer at Amazon complained that it didn’t have “enough” paranormal in it, so I guess you can’t please everyone! I thought Hush, Hush was well written, with an engaging, suspenseful plot, and the audio version that I listened to was very well done.

Nora Grey lives with her mom in Maine in an old house and is a pretty normal teenager, working hard in school and hanging out with her best friend, Vee. She’s never been too hung up on romance, but her mysterious new biology partner, Patch, makes her feel both intrigued and uncomfortable:

Patch’s eyes were black orbs. Taking in everything and giving away nothing. Not that I wanted to know more about Patch. Since I hadn’t liked what I’d seen on the surface, I doubted I’d like what was lurking deep inside. Only, this wasn’t exactly true. I’d liked a lot of what I’d seen. Long, lean muscles down his arms, broad but relaxed shoulders, and a smile that was part playful, part seductive. I was in an uneasy alliance with myself, trying to ignore what had started to feel irresistible.

Then strange things begin to happen, some of them frightening and even dangerous, that make Nora suspect there may be much more to Patch’s past than he’s willing to tell her. Meanwhile, she and Vee meet two new boys who are also interesting, but one of them seems to have secrets of his own. When Vee ends up in the hospital, Nora decides to find answers, no matter where they lead her. The climax is exciting and surprising.

I was completely drawn into this suspenseful story and would recommend the audio version in particular.

400 pages, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Top Ten Books of My Childhood

TEN FOR TUESDAY

My Mom taught me to read before I started kindergarten, and once I mastered Go, Dog, Go! (P.D. Eastman), there was no stopping me! I read voraciously throughout my childhood. I devoured Dr. Seuss and the Ant and Bee books (does anyone else remember these?) and soon moved onto chapter books. Many of my favorite series were discovered through my second-grade teacher who read aloud to us at the end of every day (thanks, Mrs. Holzschuh!) These ten books or series were among my all-time favorites:

• A Wrinkle in Time and all of its sequels by Madeleine L’Engle
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene
• Trixie Belden series by Kathryn Kenny
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
• Katie John by Mary Calhoun
• Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume
• The Borrowers series by Mary Norton
• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

These wonderful books started me on the road of a lifetime love of reading, and I've introduced most of them to my own kids.

What were the favorite books of your childhood?

It's Monday 11/9! What Are You Reading?

Lots of good books read last week. Fifteen-year old Jamie got sick this weekend and had such a hard time choosing a new book to read that he grabbed four of them and had me choose a number! We read lots of series' books this week:

• Jamie read Charlie Bone and the Shadow by Jenny Nimmo (inspired to go back to this old favorite series by his brother who recently finished it).
  
• The book I helped Jamie randomly choose to read next was Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey, book 2 in A Resurrection of Magic series. We both loved the first book, Skin Hunger (I'm next in line for this one!).
• Eleven-year old Craig is reading The Search for Snout, book 3 in the Alien series by Bruce Coville, one of his favorite authors.
• I read Sent by Margaret Haddix, book 2 of The Missing series, a time-travel middle-grade/teen series which Jamie and I both love.

And in the books-to-movie category, we watched the DVD of The Spiderwick Chronicles this weekend and enjoyed it very much. Jamie read the first book in the series many years ago, and the movie inspired him to go back and read the books.

Last week, I posted a review of a wonderful new mystery for middle-grade and teen readers, The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt.

So, what are YOU reading this week?

(What are you reading Mondays is sponsored by J. Kaye's Book Blog).

Middle-Grade/Teen Review: The Mystery of the Third Lucretia

I was a huge fan of Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden books when I was a kid (still am!), so I thoroughly enjoyed reading an exciting new mystery novel, The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt. This book is the start of a new series starring two fourteen-year old girls, Kari Sundgren and Lucas Stickney, who are best friends.

In this first book, Kari and Lucas stumble upon a mysterious man in two different art museums, and before they know it, they’re mixed up in an international art crime. The girls live in Minnesota with their families, where they share an interest in drawing and painting. When Kari’s mom has to travel to Europe for work, the girls are lucky enough to accompany her.

Kari and Lucas visit London’s National Gallery while Kari’s mom is busy at work, and they spot the same foul-tempered man painting in the Rembrandt room that they saw months ago at The Art Institute in Minneapolis. They hurry out of the room and talk about what they’ve seen:

“See, I knew it was the same guy!” Then I added, “I wonder…”

“What he’s doing that makes him think he has to wear a disguise?” Lucas finished for me.

“Uh-huh.”

Now we were both quiet for a minute. “What are you thinking?” I asked finally. She had an expression I’d seen before.

“Oh, nothing.”

“Nothing my meep. When you get that look, it usually means you’re making some plan that’s going to get us in trouble.”

“No, no, nothing like that,” she said, trying to sound all innocent.

But I was right. She was planning something. In fact, that afternoon in the National Gallery was the beginning of something that would get us into more trouble – and put the whole Gleesome Threesome in more danger – than we’d ever been in before.

Kari and Lucas come across as real girls, with intelligence and humor (like their habit of substituting meep for swear words!). This realism may be partly due to the fact that the author’s daughter helped her write the book and consulted with her in particular on the characters and dialogue of the two girls.

The suspense builds as pieces of the mystery are uncovered while the girls travel with Kari’s mom from London back home to Minnesota, then to Paris and Amsterdam. I loved the travel aspect of the book, reading about different cities the girls visited, as the mystery deepens and their suspicions build. Like all classic kid detectives before them, they figure things out that the grown-ups miss and become more deeply entangled in sinister events until their very lives are at stake, building to an exciting climax in Amsterdam.

I’m looking forward to reading more Kari & Lucas Mysteries! The second book, Rescuing Seneca Crane, was released in August. To read more about these books and the rest of the series, visit Susan Runholt’s website.

278 pages, Puffin Books (Penguin)

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

Hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend! We had a lot of fun, as you can see. Jamie, my 15-year old son, came up with the great idea of dressing up as the Where's Waldo? characters (that's me as Wenda), while Craig, 11, did an excellent impression of an old man!

Not a lot of time for reading last week with soccer, Halloween, and the last week of the marking period, but we each managed to read a little:

• Jamie is still reading Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, the third book of the Eragon trilogy. It's one of his favorite series ever, and he's really enjoying it.
• Craig finished Half Magic by Edward Eager (a classic!) and is starting The Search for Snout, book 3 in the Alien series by Bruce Coville, one of Craig's favorite authors.
• My husband Ken finished Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. He said it was very good; Jamie tells us that book 3 is even better!
• I finished the audio version of Hush, Hush, a paranormal teen book by Becca Fitzpatrick. I enjoyed it very much and will post a review here.

Also to come this week, look for a review of The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholdt. I got a little behind in reviews while I was sick, but I hope to catch up this week.

So, what are YOU reading this week?

It's Monday 10/26! What Are You Reading?

(What are you reading Mondays was started by J. Kaye's Book Blog.)

Lots of good books last week!

• I finished The Circle of Gold by Guillaume Prevost, last book in the middle-grade/teen The Book of Time trilogy - very exciting conclusion!
• I'm still listening to Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - I should finish it this week.
  
• Jamie (15) finished Leviathan, a brand-new, unique novel by Scott Westerfeld, author of The Uglies series. It's a novel set at the cusp of World War I, except the two sides are battling with Clankers, steam-driven iron machines, and fabricated animals, including the Leviathan, a whale airship. The novel is illustrated with detailed drawings. He says it was amazing!
• Jamie started a book he's been saving so he could savor it: Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, the conclusion of the Eragon trilogy, one of his all-time favorite series.
• Craig is reading Half Magic by Edward Eager, one of MY all-time favorite books! He already read it once this summer, but he's re-reading it for his Accelerated Reader program at school.
• Ken, my husband, is still working his way through Inkspell by Cornelia Funke.

I'm finally feeling better after a lengthy illness, so I'll be posting some new reviews this week!

Check out Book By Book to see what grown-up books I'm reading.

What are YOU and YOUR kids reading this week?