Kids' Book Awards

There was some interesting news this week about two different book awards for kids' books.

The Children's Book Council announced its finalists for the Children's Choice Book Awards, in categories from kindergarten through teen. One of my favorites made the teen list: Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games - easily my favorite teen/YA books from last year (I read both in 2009). Their author, Suzanne Collins, was also nominated for Author of the Year. Check out the full lists at the CBC website, and vote for your favorites starting on March 15.

The UK's Booktrust announced its winners of the coveted Blue Peter Book Awards. The winner for Best Book I Couldn't Put Down as well as Blue Peter Book of the Year was Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes, an exciting adventure of two cryogenically frozen kids from 1950 who are brought back to life in 2009. Sounds like a great plot, doesn't it? Frozen in Time will be available in the US on May 25, 2010. I can't wait!

Teen/YA Review: Camilla

I jumped at the chance to review Camilla by Madeleine L’Engle because she was one of my favorite authors when I was a kid and teen. Camilla, though, is a very different kind of novel than her better-known sci-fi series that starts with A Wrinkle in Time. L’Engle’s writing talents still shine through in this classic coming-of-age story that I listened to in audio.

Camilla Dickinson is 15 years old, lives in New York City and has lived a happy life so far with her parents, with little strife or suffering. All of a sudden, though, things start to go wrong, and it seems to her that her life is crumbling around her. She doesn’t know where to turn until she meets Frank, her best friend’s brother. The two immediately become lost in conversation, and Camilla feels like she has met her soul mate.

Camilla and Frank spend long hours roaming through the streets of New York and talking about every subject they can think of, from war to religion to philosophy. Frank introduces Camilla to new people – some of them far different than anyone she has encountered before in her sheltered life – and, despite the heartbreak she feels at the divisions forming in her family, Camilla feels alive and in love for the first time in her life.

Although this novel was originally published in 1951, its themes are still relevant today. There are minor hints of its age – especially the prices for a meal in NYC! – but the things that Camilla experiences are similar to what teens today experience: the crushing disappointment at finding out your parents aren’t as perfect as you thought they were, the pull between being a child and growing up, and the universal feelings of a first love. Camilla is a wonderful narrator, full of youthful exuberance about her city and her new love, as she works through the challenges of growing up.

272 pages, Square Fish (reissue)

Listen to a sample at Audible.com

It's Monday 3/1! What Are You Reading?

March 1st - finally! It's been a long, hard winter - I'm ready for spring! We had another busy week, including a whirlwind trip to Connecticut for my niece and nephew's birthdays after yet another snowstorm passed through the area.

It was a good reading week for all of us:

• Jamie, age 15, finished Everwild by Neal Shusterman, the excellent sequel to Everlost. He loved it as much as I did, then passed it on to his Dad who is now reading it!
• Jamie started Sharp North by Patrick Cave, a new teen thriller set in a future Great Britain where mysterious murders occur and the wealthy keep illegal clones of themselves, just in case...
• Craig, 12, is still reading Nick of Time by Ted Bell, an exciting time travel pirate adventure.
• I finished listening to Camilla by Madeleine L'Engle on audio, a coming-of-age teen classic by one of my favorite authors.
• During our car trip, we all listened to the audio of another classic, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. We're about 2/3 of the way through and finishing it at home - we're all enjoying it very much and have decided we need to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC!

Last week, I posted reviews of The Lightning Thief on audio by Rick Riordan and Spacer and Rat, a clever teen sci fi novel by Margaret Bechard.

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Mondays is hosted by One Person's Journey Through a World of Books)

Teen Review: Spacer and Rat

At my 15-year old son’s recommendation, I recently read Spacer and Rat by Margaret Bechard, and I thoroughly enjoyed this clever, funny, and suspenseful sci-fi tale set in the future.

Jack, an older teen, is a spacer, someone who has lived his entire life on Freedom Station, a space station in the Asteroid Belt, in the Black (as space is known). Generations of humans have lived out in the Black, on Freedom Station and other colonies, but there are still more ships full of Earthies coming, trying to escape the problems back on Earth and not really understanding the foreign culture and challenges they’re escaping to.

Jack works in a pub, where he meets all kinds of people and is familiar with all kinds of technology (“tech”). One evening after work, he meets Kit, a runaway sneaking around behind the pub:

The Earthie girl glared at him, hands on her hips, all wild, wiry white hair and eyes as bright green and iridescent as fish scales. They had to be gen mods, no way they could be natural, but Jack had never seen them in the catalog. “You don’t have to grab people.” She sounded just like a school vid, teaching the basic regs. “And don’t call me ‘rat.’”

Jack laughed. “You are a rat. True fact. Your parents dumped you here.”

“Look, spacer.” She took a step closer, her eyes narrow bright slits. Jack took a step back. He couldn’t help it. “No one dumped me on this rusty space station.”

It happened all the time. Earthie parents got out this far into the Black and ran out of supplies, ran out of credit. Ran out of caring. They knew the guards would round their kids up and shuttle them right back to Earth.

As they get to know each other better and try to protect a special bot (robot), Kit changes Jacks’ preconceived notions of her. They have to work together if they hope to achieve their goals.

I love the way this book is written, with spacer slang sprinkled throughout the dialogue that really helps to create a sense of a place and time different from our own. The characters have real depth, and the plot is exciting and fast-paced, with a nice dose of humor throughout. Spacer and Rat is a unique book about what it means to be human – a definite winner both for sci-fi fans and for anyone who enjoys a good adventure story told with heart.

183 pages, Roaring Brook Press

Middle-Grade Review: The Lightning Thief

With The Lightning Thief one of the top movies in theaters right now, I thought it would be a good time to post a review of the book by Rick Riordan that the movie is based on. We listened to audio versions of both The Lightning Thief and its sequel, The Sea of Monsters, on family road trips a couple of years ago. Both were excellent, and Jamie, my 15-year old son, just finished reading the third book in the series, The Titan's Curse, last week - he wanted to re-read the books before seeing the movie!

An edited version of this review appeared in the April 2006 issue of Family Fun magazine:

“I accidentally vaporized my pre-algebra teacher,” says 12-year old Percy at the start of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. During a two-week road trip, my husband and I and our boys, Jamie, 11, and Craig, 7, were so riveted by the audio book that we hated to get out of the car. When the story begins with this strange admission, Percy is at a school for “troubled kids,” dealing with typical pre-teen challenges as well as some increasingly odd occurrences. Things get even stranger as Percy finds that the Greek gods he’s been learning about in Latin class are alive and well in our modern world. When Zeus’ thunderbolt is stolen, Percy and his new friends – a satyr and a daughter of Athena – set off on a cross-country quest to retrieve it from the Underworld, accessed through L.A. Combining classic Greek myths, modern settings, and a hefty dose of humor, Riordan tells a compelling story of adventure and friendship. We can’t wait for the next Percy Jackson book!

And now, we can't wait to see the movie, so we can see how one of our favorite book series has been translated to the big screen!

400 pages, Hyperion Books

It's Monday 2/22! What Are You Reading?

We had a difficult week here. Jamie, 15, in in the midst of a severe flare-up of his chronic illness and has been flat on his back for over a week now. The only good aspect of this is that he's enjoyed some great books as he's been lying on the couch. Jamie loves to read, and escaping into a good adventure helps to pass the time and take his mind off his illness as he waits to feel better again.

• After Jamie finished reading Sabriel by Garth Nix, he read a brand new teen thriller, Icecore by Matt Whyman, about a seventeen-year old boy who hacks into the security system at Fort Knox for fun and ends up in a military prison deep in the Arctic. Jamie says it was very suspenseful, with lots of exciting plot twists. I've added it to my stack of want-to-reads!
• In preparation for seeing the new movie The Lightening Thief, Jamie read the first three books of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan this week! We had previously listened to the first two books on audio a few years ago on family vacations. This week, Jamie read The Lightening Thief, listened to The Sea of Monsters, and read The Titan's Curse. Now he wants the fourth book!
• Finally, on my recommendation, Jamie started Everwild by Neal Shusterman, the intriguing sequel to Everlost, which he and I both loved. I just finished Everwild last week; Jamie's already half-way through and enjoying it very much.
• Craig, 12, is still reading Nick of Time by Ted Bell, a pirate time-travel story that he says is the best book he's ever read!
• My husband, Ken, is reading Brisingr, third book in the amazing Eragon trilogy by Christopher Paolini.
• No kids or teens books for me this week - I've been reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger.
  

So, what are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Mondays is hosted by One Person's Journey Through a World of Books).

Middle-Grade Fiction Review: Fever 1793

Today's review is written by a special guest reviewer, my 12-year old cousin Abby. I have heard wonderful things about Laurie Halse Anderson's books but have never had the chance to read one myself, so I was glad to read Abby's review:

Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a very interesting book because it tells a fictional story about the yellow fever of 1793. After reading a couple chapters of Fever 1793, I was not very interested. I was not very interested because there was not a lot of action happening. I kept reading on to about half the book, and there, there was a lot more action happening, and it was more enjoyable. Finally, after I finished Fever 1793, I was really happy because it mostly has a happy ending. I would rate this book with an eight out of ten. I would give it an eight because the beginning wasn't all that interesting, but by the end, I was hooked, and ready to read a sequel, if there was one. In conclusion, Fever 1793 was a great book, and very enjoyable.

Sounds great - I can't wait to read it myself! Thanks, Abby!

It's Monday 2/15! What Are You Reading?

Happy Mardi Gras! Happy Valentine's Day! Happy Chinese New Year! Happy President's Day! All of the winter holidays hit in the same weekend this year, so we've been busy this past week. We hosted our annual Mardi Gras party on Saturday. So, not a lot of time for reading this week, but we all enjoyed some excellent books:

• I finished Everwild, the sequel to Everlost (review) by Neil Shusterman, an exciting and creative story about kids trapped in the limbo-world between life and death. The second book was even better than the first - I can't wait for #3!
• Jamie, 15, is still reading Sabriel by Garth Nix. He says it's very good - just the kind of fantasy novel he loves.
• Craig, 12, is reading Nick of Time by Ted Bell, a time-travel pirate story. Craig says it's the best book he's ever read!
• My husband, Ken, is still reading Brisingr, the third book of the Eragon trilogy by Christopher Paolini, one of Jamie's all-time favorite series.
• I just started Rose, the prequel to the acclaimed 10-book graphic novel series Bone by Jeff Smith. I have previously read the first two books in the series. Any graphic novel fans out there? This is an excellent, well-written series with amazing illustrations.

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Mondays are hosted by One Person's Journey Through a World of Books)

It's Monday 2/8! What Are You Reading?

We had the second-biggest snowfall in Delaware's history here this weekend, so the kids have been spending most of their time outside! We're all in the middle of some good books, though:

• Jamie (15) is reading Sabriel by Garth Nix and enjoying it very much.
• Craig, 12, started Nick of Time by Ted Bell last week. He says it's one of the best books he's ever read!
• I'm reading Everwild, book 2 of the Skinjacker Trilogy by Neal Shusterman. Jamie and I both loved book 1, Everlost (review), in this series about kids caught in the interim place between death and the afterlife. It's suspenseful and imaginative, and, so far, book 2 is just as good as book 1 was!
• My husband, Ken, is still reading Brisingr, book 3 in Christopher Paolini's wonderful trilogy that started with Eragon.

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Mondays is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through a World of Books)

It's Monday 2/1! What Are You Reading?

February already! Craig and I were home sick all last week, but we're both feeling better now. On the plus side, we all had plenty of reading time:

• I read - and loved - When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, a book that recently won the Newberry Medal. It's a wonderful middle-grade novel about a thirteen-year old girl obsessed with A Wrinkle in Time who's dealing with her own strange events. Check out my review.
• I also read a book published for adults but perfectly appropriate for older teens and young adults, Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers (recommended by Kim at Page After Page). It's a novel told entirely through the notes that a mom and 15-year old daughter leave for each other, and it's got surprising depth and emotion - I cried my eyes out!
• Jamie, 15, finished The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and loved it. I want to read it next!
• Jamie started Sabriel by Garth Nix, a Christmas gift from us, based on a recommendation from The Eclectic Reader (thanks!).
• Craig, 12, is reading Aliens Stole My Body, the fourth and final book in one of his favorite series by Bruce Coville. He says it's really getting good toward the end!
• My husband, Ken is reading Brisingr, the third book in the wonderful trilogy by Christopher Paolini that began with Eragon. This is one of Jamie's favorite series of all time.

So, what are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Mondays is sponsored by J. Kaye's book blog).

Middle-Grade Review: When You Reach Me

When I read a review written by Heather at Tales of a Capricious Reader of the middle-grade novel, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, I knew I had to read this book. I immediately requested it at the library. I finished it last night and couldn’t wait to tell you about it! You don’t have to just take my word and Heather’s, though. When You Reach Me recently won the 2010 Newberry Medal and has been at the top of many Best Of 2009 lists.

Miranda, a twelve-year old girl living in New York City in 1978, is pretty happy with her life and her best friend, Sal, until one day in October when everything begins to change. Sal gets punched in the stomach on their way home from school by a boy they don’t even know then suddenly cuts Miranda out of his life. A few days later, Miranda receives the first of several mysterious notes:

This is hard. Harder than I expected, even with your help. But I have been practicing, and my preparations go well. I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.

I ask two favors.

First, you must write me a letter.

Second, please remember to mention the location of your house key.

The trip is a difficult one. I may not be myself when I reach you.

Miranda tries to unravel this strange puzzle, while helping her mother prepare for her appearance on the game show The 20,000 Pyramid. One of my favorite aspects of this book, though, is that Miranda is obsessed with the book A Wrinkle in Time, which just happened to be my favorite book when I was her age!

“Still reading that same book?” Belle asked, once I had settled into my folding chair next to the cash register to read. “It’s looking pretty beat-up.”

“I’m not still reading it,” I told her. “I’m reading it again.” I had probably read it a hundred times, which was why it looked so beat up.

“Okay,” Belle said, “so let’s hear something about this book. What’s the first line? I never judge a book by the cover, “she said. “I judge by the first line.”

I knew the first line of my book without even looking. “It was a dark and stormy night.” I said.

She nodded. “Classic. I like that. What’s the story about?”

I thought for a second. “It’s about a girl named Meg – her dad is missing, and she goes on this trip to another planet to save him.”

Just like Miranda, I read and re-read A Wrinkle in Time when I was a kid, along with the rest of that wonderful series by Madeleine L’Engle. I even played Meg in our class play of the book! I love that Stead used that wonderful, classic novel as the jumping off point for a whole new mystery. And it is a good mystery, one that kept me guessing right up until the last chapter, with a very satisfying conclusion. Stead’s writing kept me interested from the first pages, with characters I came to care about and clever plot twists. Whether you’re a fan of A Wrinkle in Time like I am or just looking for a good story, you’ll love When You Reach Me.

197 pages, Wendy Lamb Books (Random House)

It's Monday 1/25! What Are You Reading?

I've been busy reading two grown-up books for two different book groups this past week, but the rest of my family enjoyed some good books:

• Jamie, 15, finished Raven's Rise, book 9 in the fabulous Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale. He said it was insane (that's good), filled with lots of twists he didn't see coming. Now he's one book ahead of me, so I'll have to get to this one soon!
• Jamie started The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, a Christmas gift from us. We must be the last family on earth who hasn't read this award-winning book yet!
• Craig, 12, finished Dark Whispers, book 3 in his favorite Unicorn Chronicles series by Bruce Coville. He says it ended with a cliff-hanger - he can't wait for book 4 to come out! You can read his summary here.
• My husband, Ken, is reading Brisingr, the third book in Christopher Paolini's trilogy that began with Eragon. I haven't read the series, but it's a favorite of Ken and Jamie.
  

What books are you and your family reading this week?

Middle-Grade Review: Dark Whispers

Today's review is written by my 12-year old son, Craig. He read Dark Whispers, book 3 in The Unicorn Chronicles series by Bruce Coville. This is Craig's favorite series. It's an exciting fantasy adventure about a young girl, Cara, who's trying to save the unicorns from extinction. He says that boys shouldn't be afraid to read this series just because it's about unicorns! It's full of suspense and action, and both boys and girls in his class are enjoying the series. Here's his summary of Dark Whispers (I haven't read the book myself, so his summary might include some spoilers):

Cara is on a quest to the Centaur’s valley to get a story about the Whisperer to figure out who it is and where it came from. Cara’s father is also on a quest to find Cara’s mother and rescue her from the rainbow prison.

In Cara’s quest she gets attacked by delvers and gets thrown in an underground dungeon. There she meets a delver that was charged for treason. They escaped together and got out alive. On Cara’s dads quest he has found some friends that accompany him on his journey to the rainbow prison.

The climax of the story is when Cara achieves her goal and obtains the story of the Whisperer. The price she had to pay for the story was unthinkable. Cara makes her way back to the queen of the unicorns to tell her the story of the Whisperer. She has to make haste before the hunters come and hunt down the unicorns to extinction.

Craig says the book ends with a cliff-hanger - he can't wait to read the next one in the series!

It's Monday 1/18! What Are You Reading?

Craig turned 12 this week and had a bunch of friends sleep over last night. We also had two sets of grandparents visiting this week, so it was a very busy week! We managed to squeeze in a little reading:

• I finished I Wanna Be Your Shoebox, a warm and funny middle-grade novel by Cristina Garcia. You can read my review and some additional quotes I really liked.
• I'm listening to a teen/YA audio book, Camilla, by one of my favorite authors, Madeleine L'Engle. It's very good so far.
• Jamie, 15, is still working on Raven's Rise, book 9 in the fabulous Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale. He's got mid-terms this week...and it's a 550 page novel!
• Craig is almost finished with Dark Whispers, book 3 in his favorite Unicorn Chronicles series by Bruce Coville.

I also posted my list of Top Ten Kids/Teens Books Read in 2009 last week.

What are you and your family reading this week?

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

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).