Eric Can Read

2012-02-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Reeve, Philip. (2011). Web of air. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

Nolan, Han. (2010). Crazy. Boston: Harcourt.

[.]

STARTED:
Cline, Ernest. (2011). Ready Player One. New York: Crown.

[.]

*

2012-02-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Lu, Marie. (2011). Legend. New York: Penguin/Putnam.

[.]

STARTED:
Nolan, Han. (2010). Crazy. Boston: Harcourt.

[This one is still lingering on the ACL Distinguished List for 2011... and it's from 2010...]

*

2012-01-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

STARTED:
Lu, Marie. (2011). Legend. New York: Penguin/Putnam.

[Going on a trip and wanted something to read outside of what I HAVE TO read.]

*

2012-01-22T15:53:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Riggs, Ransom. (2011). Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books.

[Not quite as wonderful as I had hoped/heard it might be - it was definitely worth reading, though. After his grandfather is viciously murdered, Jacob decides that it might be in his best interest to go visit the island and school where his grandfather grew up in order to see for himself if the wild tales his grandfather told were true. What Jacob ends up finding on the island is way more than he ever imagined, and he must ultimately decide if he wants to return to his old life or stay where/when (...) he is... Filled with creepy, apparently authentic period photos, though overall lacking the eerie tone that I was expecting.]

STARTED:
Reeve, Philip. (2011). Web of air. New York: Scholastic.

[Reading for ACL to see if I deem it worthy of inclusion on our Distinguished List...]

*

2012-01-17T10:13:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Ness, Patrick. (2011). A monster calls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[Whoa. This one is brutal... but amazing. Conor, whose mother is going through cancer treatment, is visited by the yew tree behind their house who says that it will tell him 3 stories, and expects Conor to tell it one story. When his mom seems to be taking a turn for the worse, Conor's grandmother comes to begin making arrangements for Conor to come live with her - something that Conor will have no part of. What is the yew tree after? Why does it keep showing up? What does it want Conor to admit?? Heartbreaking and powerful.]

STARTED:
Riggs, Ransom. (2011). Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books.

[.]

*

2012-01-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Jones, Allan, and Chalk, Gary. (2010). The Six Crowns: Trundle's quest. New York: Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Ness, Patrick. (2011). A monster calls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

*

2012-01-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Bruchac, Joseph. (2011). Wolf mark. New York: Tu/Lee & Low.

[Luke is a seventeen year-old living in a trailer with his father, a former Special-ops agent who has turned to alcohol and pot for comfort after the death of Luke’s mother, who does well in school, has a crush on his best female friend, rides a motorcycle, and just so happens to be a shapeshifter. When his father goes missing and he’s led to an old house by a note his father left behind, Luke finally comes to fully embrace his “skinwalker” ancestry by putting on a wolf skin he finds in an old chest which transforms him into a human/wolf hybrid. Luke’s search for his father ultimately ends (with the help of some Russian students at school who seem to be a vampire mafia) at Maxico, a mysterious “cutting edge” research facility in town which, it turns out, needs shapshifters in order to do tests on cellular self-regeneration, with the goal of hoping to stop the aging process. Despite a few encyclopedic asides that assume ignorance of the reader and come across as didactic, and some cultural references that Luke makes which seem unlikely for a teenager of today (“Make it so!” from Star Trek: Next Generation, David Byrne, E.T.), Luke’s personal journey is thorough and thoughtfully realized with a lot of attention paid to Luke coming to understand who he is and what that means (“That, my father’s brief instructions told me, has long been the way of our people. You must learn to be human first before you can accept the power and not be lost in it. Otherwise, you become a creature out of nightmares with no compassion for any being, no urge other than to hunt and kill.”). The novel’s size (almost 400 pages) and lack of much dialogue may be intimidating, but short, digestible chapters and a story which brings in elements of science fiction, thrillers, horror, spiritual lore, and even teen romance help to keep up a steady pace that moves the action along. An Author’s Note speaks to Bruchac’s own heritage, research on werewolf lore, knowledge of martial arts, and wanting to justly depict Russian characters.]

STARTED:
Jones, Allan, and Chalk, Gary. (2010). The Six Crowns: Trundle's quest. New York: Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

[.]

*

2012-01-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Brosgol, Vera. (2011). Anya's ghost. New York: First Second/Roaring Brook.

[REALLY REALLY liked this one...]

STARTED:
Bruchac, Joseph. (2011). Wolf mark. New York: Tu/Lee & Low.

[.]

*

2012-01-05T16:18:00.001-08:00

FINISHED:
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. (2011). Tantalize: Kieren's story. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[Quincie and her uncle are reopening their family restaurant as Sanguini’s, an Italian restaurant that will cater to “predators” and “prey”… vampires and humans. When the head chef, Vaggio, is found murdered in the kitchen, Quincie’s on again/off again boyfriend, Kieren, a human/werewolf hybrid, is accused of the brutal killing. This sets Kieren off on an investigation to not only find out who really murdered Vaggio, but also to find out what may have happened to all of the high school students that have recently gone missing, eventually discovering that the new head chef of the restaurant is using it as a device to create new vampires. Based on her own 2007 dark fantasy novel Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007), though with the focus shifted from the female protagonist to her hybrid (human/werewolf) boyfriend, this graphic novelization ends up being more boring than violent: there’s one scene where the vice principal of Quincie and Kieren’s school gets his head chopped off, but, otherwise it’s Kieren driving around town trying to find Quincie for the majority of the story. Being based off of a novel, there are definite moments where it seems like there is jump in the storyline/action, and some of the illustrated panels are so busy and muddy that it is difficult to figure out what we are being shown. That said, though the werewolf/vampire craze may be waning, this will find a definite audience – albeit one that may be disappointed in the lack of blood and gore. A brief Author’s Note discusses the literary and setting inspirations for the original novel. [Review based on ARC.]]

STARTED:
Brosgol, Vera. (2011). Anya's ghost. New York: First Second/Roaring Brook.

[.]

*

2012-01-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Skye, Obert. (2011). Wonkenstein: the creature from my closet. New York: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt.

[This one has gotten some decent reviews, but I found it to be quite lacking...

When Robert Burnside finally got his own room, its closet was without a door so his father installed one that he found at a garage sale. There might be something wrong with it, though: the door handle has a creepy face on it (did it just wink??), and, one evening, a small creature pops out of the closet looking like a hybrid of Frankenstein’s monster and… Willy Wonka (Robert once used the closet as a “laboratory”, and has since begun to throw books in there). Jumping on the Wimpy Kid (Amulet, 2007-2011) bandwagon, Skye’s protagonist shares more than a passing likeness to Greg Heffley: he’s a bumbling, twelve year-old outsider who continually stumbles into awkward situations, and even has a precocious little brother and a typical, aloof, teen older sibling. In addition, it is written in journal style and littered with drawings – and, though this one has drawings that look like a kid might have actually drawn them, they are much less appealing and humorous than those in the Wimpy Kid series. Adding in the fantasy/science fiction element of the creature attempts to set this title apart from Kinney’s series, but the “plot” often wanders away from Wonkenstein and just focuses on the goofy and embarrassing things that Robert does (collecting thumbtacks with faces, trying not to burp in class, accidentally signing up to recite a poem at a school assembly), mostly in front of the prettiest girl at school. Though young readers who just can’t get enough of the Wimpy Kid and/or Big Nate (HarperCollins 2010-2011) books will likely eat this up in similar fashion, it definitely feels like a pale copy. A sequel featuring a hybrid Harry Potter/Chewbacca (Star Wars) creature is teased/promised.]

STARTED:
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. (2011). Tantalize: Kieren's story. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[Reviewing this new graphic novel for ACL...]

*

2012-01-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Scieszka, Jon [ed.]. (2011). Guys read: Thriller. New York: Walden Pond/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Skye, Obert. (2011). Wonkenstein: the creature from my closet. New York: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt.

[Reviewing for ACL...]

*

2011-12-30T16:39:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Joyce, William, and Geringer, Laura. (2011). Nicholas St. North and the battle of the Nightmare King. New York: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

[.]

STARTED:
Scieszka, Jon [ed.]. (2011). Guys read: Thriller. New York: Walden Pond/HarperCollins.

[Reading for ACL...]

*

2011-12-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Auxier, Jonathan. (2011). Peter Nimble and his fantastic eyes. New York: Amulet/Abrams.

[.]

STARTED:
Joyce, William, and Geringer, Laura. (2011). Nicholas St. North and the battle of the Nightmare King. New York: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

[.]

*

Holiday Book 2011

2011-12-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

Duvoisin, Roger. (1955). One thousand Christmas beards. New York: Knopf.

[.]

*

2011-12-15T16:04:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Norriss, Andrew. (2012). I don't believe it, Archie. New York: David Fickling/Random House.

[A week in the incredible life of Archie, the boy who seems to court strange happenings, and the girl whom he meets that wants to be around Archie to see for herself just how crazy things can get for him. Each day, Archie’s mother sends him on an errand from which he always gets sidetracked, with Archie eventually returning home, the errand undone, and his mother exclaiming, “I don’t believe it, Archie!” Monday’s adventures involve a runaway piano and a car that gets covered in gravel; Tuesday revolves around getting accused of killing a dog, though he actually ends up accidentally saving the dog’s life; on Wednesday, Archie helps to save his local library from being bulldozed and turned into a car park when he gets super-glued to the front door; Thursday involves being mistaken for a kidnapped child, etc. This is a mildly humorous, yet unnecessary, episodic Younger Reading title that is frequently maddening – most of the situations in which Archie finds himself could be stopped short if only the adults involved would shut up and let Archie talk. The many British-isms (post [mail], mum, lorry, etc.) may throw some younger readers for a loop, though each double-page spread has at least one pen and ink illustration to help make the text less intimidating. Kind of funny, bizarre, and definitely slight.]

STARTED:
Auxier, Jonathan. (2011). Peter Nimble and his fantastic eyes. New York: Amulet/Abrams.

[.]

*

2011-12-14T17:03:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Smelcer, John. (2006). The trap. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

[.]

STARTED:
Norriss, Andrew. (2012). I don't believe it, Archie. New York: David Fickling/Random House.

[Reviewing for SFPL...]

*

2011-12-12T17:32:00.000-08:00

STARTED & FINISHED:
Kinney, Jeff. (2011). Cabin fever. New York: Amulet.

[.]

*

2011-12-08T15:00:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Barrows, Annie. (2011). Ivy + Bean: No news is good news. San Francisco: Chronicle.

[.]

STARTED:
Smelcer, John. (2006). The trap. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

[.]

*

2011-12-07T17:06:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Morpurgo, Michael. (2011). An elephant in the garden. New York: Feiwel & Friends.

[With her father a soldier serving in World War II, Lizzie’s mother (Mutti) goes work at the nearby Dresden Zoo, immediately taking a shine to Marlene, a young elephant who has recently lost her mother. As Dresden begins to become a target for bombings, the zoo decides that they need to kill all of the animals to prevent them from escaping, but Mutti convinces the zoo director to let her keep Marlene in her care. After their home is destroyed in an air raid, Lizzie, her younger brother Karli, and Marlene set off on a walk toward Allied troops in Heidelberg , along the way coming across a Canadian paratrooper who has been shot down and eventually joins the family on their journey, pretending to be an older sibling in an effort to hide his true identity from the German army. During all of the madness of war, there is a sweet ray of hope where Lizzie and her family end up watching over a group of parentless choir children on their exodus, and, in an effort to keep their spirits up, promise each rides on Marlene’s back. Morpurgo, author of War Horse (Scholastic, 2007) doesn’t shy away from (nor does he beat you over the head with) an anti-war sentiment – early on, when the bombings begin, Mutti explains, “What we are seeing now is a world gone mad, children, a world full of brutes, all intent on killing one another. And we should not forget that we are all responsible for making it happen, for letting it happen.” As per an Author’s Note, Morpurgo has based his tale on two true World War II stories: one of a woman in Belfast who saved an elephant from being slaughtered at a zoo during a bombing raid, and the other documented by a friend’s grandmother who fled with hundreds of thousands of other German refugees toward American forces. Told using a framing technique of modern day Lizzie relating the story to a nurse and her son at the nursing home where Lizzie is spending the rest of her days, this is a moving yet unsentimental or gratuitous story of the neverending spirit, during wartime, of a young family... and their elephant.]

STARTED:
Barrows, Annie. (2011). Ivy + Bean: No news is good news. San Francisco: Chronicle.

[Hey, it's a new Ivy + Bean...]

*

2011-11-30T16:23:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Peck, Richard. (2011). Secrets at sea. New York: Dial.

[.]

STARTED:
Morpurgo, Michael. (2011). An elephant in the garden. New York: Feiwel & Friends.

[Reviewing for ACL...]

*

2011-11-26T11:27:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Dashner, James. (2011). The death cure. New York: Delacorte.

[.]

STARTED:
Peck, Richard. (2011). Secrets at sea. New York: Dial.

[Reading for ACL Distinguished...]

*

2011-11-16T16:15:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Westerfeld, Scott. (2011). Goliath. New York: Simon Pulse.

[.]

STARTED:
Dashner, James. (2011). The death cure. New York: Delacorte.

[Another FANTASTIC trilogy comes to an end...]

*

2011-11-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Lyga, Barry. (2011). Mangaman. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

[Ryoko Kiyama, a graphic novel character from the manga universe, is transported into the physical world and stuck here until the portal that he came through can be fixed to let him go back home. Marissa Montaigne, the most popular and beautiful girl in school, is intrigued by Ryoko despite the horror of her peers. As the two begin a romance, including a failed attempt at copulation where pulling down Ryoko’s pants reveals a pixilated blob, they teach each other about their very different worlds while dealing with the scorn of their classmates and Marissa’s disapproving parents. Things get very “meta” when Ryoko shows Marissa how to experience things his way and break out of the (literal) boxes that he sees them in, and a wrench is thrown into the romance when Marissa is shocked seeing Ryoko pulverize her ex-boyfriend. While Ryoko appears very manga-East, from his androgynous appearance to the hearts that appear in his eye sockets upon seeing Marissa for the first time, Marissa is depicted as quintessentially Western with her flowing blonde locks and various, often period inspired, outfits (cowgirl, Marilyn Monroe). Though it easily falls into the teen high school story cliché of “new fish-out-of-water falls for the most popular girl in school, much to the displeasure of the popular school jock”, author Barry Lyga (The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Houghton Mifflin, 2006 ) has teamed up with longtime comic artist Colleen Doran to pen a trippy tale of East meets West with a rather intriguing twist. [Reviewed from ARC.]]

STARTED:
Westerfeld, Scott. (2011). Goliath. New York: Simon Pulse.

[.]

*

2011-10-31T14:28:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Williams, Michael. (2011). Now is the time for running. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

STARTED:
Lyga, Barry. (2011). Mangaman. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*

2011-10-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Wells, Robison. (2011). Variant. New York: HarperTeen.

[.]

STARTED:
Williams, Michael. (2011). Now is the time for running. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

*

2011-10-16T15:22:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Selznick, Brian. (2011). Wonderstruck. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Wells, Robison. (2011). Variant. New York: HarperTeen.

[Reading for ACL...]

*

2011-10-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Van Allsburg, Chris. (2011). The chronicles of Harris Burdick. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

[One of my FAVORITE children's picture books (for older readers...) is back! My thoughts on it are two-fold: one, I'm horrified by the idea that the very nature of the book - that each illustration only has a cryptic caption, thus hoping the reader will fill in the story - is being compromised; and, two, I'm thrilled that some of the biggest names in young adult/children's lit have put their stamps on this fascinating book. Even after reading it, I'm still at odds...]

STARTED:
Selznick, Brian. (2011). Wonderstruck. New York: Scholastic.

[SO DARNED EXCITED!]

*

2011-10-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Meloy, Colin. (2011). Wildwood. New York: Balzer + Bray.

[.]

STARTED:Van Allsburg, Chris. (2011). The chronicles of Harris Burdick. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

[.]

*

2011-09-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Nix, Garth, and Williams, Sean. (2011). Troubletwisters. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Meloy, Colin. (2011). Wildwood. New York: Balzer + Bray.

[.]

*

2011-09-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Newbery, Linda. (2010). Lucy and the Green Man. New York: David Fickling/Random House.

[Review forthcoming...

Here:
When her grandfather dies and his cottage and garden are sold to a redeveloper, Lucy worries that the Green Man (aka Lob), a shadowy being that lives in the garden who only she and her grandfather can see, will have nowhere to go. Lucy keeps Lob’s memory alive by making pictures of him and talking about him to her friends, though after continually being made fun of she eventually gives up hope of ever seeing the Green Man again. Meanwhile, Lob begins to travel, feeling mysteriously compelled in one direction, eventually coming upon an elaborate garden show in London. There he meets and goes home with an old gardener, Cornelius, who is able to see him, ending up helping to tend Cornelius’s community garden plot. In the end, coincidentally, Lucy and her family are awarded a plot in the community garden right next to where the Green Man has settled. Newbery’s tome is rich on mood and poetic flow: chapters are laid out over the course of a calendar year, marking a change in seasons; Lob’s thoughts are often expressed in a larger font and verse (“Work here’s done. The road’s calling. South. South. Head south, to the glittering city, the snaking river, where roads run together like the centre of a web. The road leads south, the rushing trains, the humming and buzzing in the wires. Walk. Walk.”); and there are quite a few impressionistic ink-pen drawings throughout. Though I really liked the tone and flow of this one, I fear that it may be too esoteric and, thus, have limited appeal to its intended crowd.]

STARTED:
Nix, Garth, and Williams, Sean. (2011). Troubletwisters. New York: Scholastic.

[Have never read any Nix and was intrigued by the cover art on this one.]

*

2011-09-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

STARTED & FINISHED:
Clements, Andrew. (2011). Troublemaker. New York: Atheneum.

[.]

STARTED:
Newbery, Linda. (2010). Lucy and the Green Man. New York: David Fickling/Random House.

[.]

*

2011-09-04T16:43:00.000-07:00

STARTED & FINISHED:
Santat, Dan. (2011). Sidekicks. New York: A.A. Levine.

[.]

Pien, Lark. (2009). Long Tail Kitty. Maplewood, NJ: Blue Apple/Chronicle.

[.]

*

2011-08-31T17:29:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Beil, Michael D. (2011). The mistaken masterpiece [Red Blazer Girls #3]. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[.]

STARTED:
Webb, Philip. (2011). Six days. New York: Chicken House/Scholastic.

[Reviewing for ACL...]

*

2011-08-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Whitehouse, David. (2011). Bed: a novel. New York: Scribner.

[.]

STARTED:
Beil, Michael D. (2011). The mistaken masterpiece [Red Blazer Girls #3]. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[I'm a fan of these ladies...]

*

2011-08-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Mason, Simon. (2011). Moon pie. New York: David Fickling/Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Whitehouse, David. (2011). Bed: a novel. New York: Scribner.

[Saw a "pre-pub alert" about this one and was FASCINATED by the premise...]

*

2011-08-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Henkes, Kevin. (2011). Junonia. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Mason, Simon. (2011). Moon pie. New York: David Fickling/Random House.

[Reviewing for SFPL...]

*

2011-08-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Clements, Andrew. (2011). Fear itself [Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School #2]. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Henkes, Kevin. (2011). Junonia. New York: HarperCollins.

[Who doesn't love Kevin Henkes?]

*

2011-08-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2011). Fly trap. New York: HarperCollins.

[[Reviewed from ARC.] Mosca Mye, a twelve-year old street urchin who is one of only a few in the land who can read, finds herself kidnapped while trying to make some money and brought to the town of Toll. Toll, she quickly discovers, is under the control of the Locksmiths and becomes a different, much more violent and harrowing town by night, when the day citizens are locked down to make way for the night dwellers. Mosca, her goose Saracen, and traveling companion/con man Eponymous Clent, trying to find a way to raise enough money to buy their way out of Toll, end up embroiled in the kidnapping of the Mayor’s daughter and the quest to find the town “Luck”, an object that the townspeople believe keeps disaster at bay. Along the way, plucky heroine Mosca, never one to dwell on adversity and always with her streetwise wits about her, finds herself in more than one dingy cell, impersonates a desert-dwelling girl and a mythic horse made of bone, and amongst a burning city hoping to stave off a war. This is a brilliant story brimming with intrigue, deception and social commentary, surrounding the notions of tyrannical leaders using fear as a method of control and labeling those who refuse to co-operate as “radicals”. Hardinge’s sequel to her widely acclaimed Fly By Night (HarperCollins, 2006), which doesn’t need to be read in order to get into this tome, is dense with detail, giving the story a vivid sense of place and helping to make the physical setting an active participant. The intimidating length and density make this one for serious bibliophiles only, thus limiting its appeal to dedicated young readers and adults. Though the journey is long, the payoff is definitely worth it.]

STARTED:
Clements, Andrew. (2011). Fear itself [Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School #2]. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

*

2011-07-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Silvey, Craig. (2011). Jasper Jones. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[POWERFUL and upsetting. It's the late 1960s in Australia, and Charles wakes to a rapping on his window. It's Jasper Jones, the young town outcast whom everyone believes to be a no-good thief and troublemaker who'll never amount to anything. Charles is led by Jasper to a secluded area near a river where a young girl is hanging by a noose from a tree limb. Afraid that he'll be blamed for the girl's murder, Jasper has Charles help him cut the girl down, ties a rock to her feet, and then dumps her in a watering hole. Who murdered the girl? Was it the town recluse whose peach tree is constantly raided by town kids who want to prove their bravery? LOTS of deep thoughts and conversations abound regarding the existence of a higher power, the nature of good and evil, and whether or not the labels that we are assigned can be rewritten.]

STARTED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2011). Fly trap. New York: HarperCollins.

[Reviewing for ACL. TRIED to read the prequel to this one, but just couldn't slog through it...]

*

2011-07-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Brooks, Albert. (2011). 2030: The real story of what happens to America. New York: St. Martin's Press.

[.]

STARTED:
Silvey, Craig. (2011). Jasper Jones. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[.]

*

2011-07-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Valente, Catherynne M. (2011). The girl who circumnavigated Fairyland in a ship of her own making. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

[Reviewing for ACL - review to come...

Twelve year-old September is whisked away from her mundane existence one evening by the Green Wind, and deposited on the outskirts of Fairyland. There she befriends, and takes along as a travelling companion, a Wyvern who has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things from A-L. September quickly makes a deal with the bratty, young Marquess, the "new management" in Fairyland: if September will journey to retrieve a sword for the Marquess then the Marquess will free the Wyvern on whom she has put shackles that keep its wings bound. Thus, September embarks upon an epic journey where she meets a host of odd characters in extraordinary situations that invite just comparisons to other episodic gems like The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth (Random House, 1961). Indeed, the comparisons are not lost on Valente herself who, when September asks how the story will end, has the Green Wind say, “It seems familiar to me so far. A child whisked off to a foreign land beset by a wicked ruler…” As with many classic fairy tale stories, this isn't sugarcoated sunshine but, rather, there is a constant sense of foreboding as if it is entirely possible that things may not end cheerily and tidily. Indeed, along the way, we see just how grim things in Fairyland can be as we meet a djinn who is kept in a lobster cage by the Marquess and forced to grant her wishes, and how September ends up surrendering her shadow in order to save the life of a little “Pooka girl” destined to be drown and eaten. Advanced readers only need apply here - the densely-worded passages with rich vocabulary roll off the tongue and paint a vivid world, yet often do little to advance the plot and are loaded with thinly-veiled social commentary. Originally published online and compiled for this tome, Valente has augmented this printed edition with Ana Juan's soft and mysteriously evocative chapter-heading illustrations. As a few important details aren't resolved by story's end (September didn't get her shadow back!) a sequel is certain to follow and a legion of readers are surely waiting with bated breath.]

STARTED:
Brooks, Albert. (2011). 2030: The real story of what happens to America. New York: St. Martin's Press.

[He cracks me up...]

*

2011-07-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Wood, Maryrose. (2011). Incorrigible children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery. New York: Balzer + Bray.

[.]

STARTED:
Valente, Catherynne M. (2011). The girl who circumnavigated Fairyland in a ship of her own making. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

[Has gotten some stunning reviews...]

*

2011-06-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

ABANDONED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2006). Fly by night. New York: HarperCollins.

[Temporarily (?) abandoned. I'm beginning to think that Hardinge and I just won't get along...]

STARTED:
Wood, Maryrose. (2011). Incorrigible children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery. New York: Balzer + Bray.

[Reading for ACL to see if I deem it distinguished. I LOVED the first book in the series, so I have high hopes for this one...]

*

2011-06-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Bulla, Clyde Robert. (1962). The ring and the fire. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell.

[.]

STARTED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2006). Fly by night. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

*

2011-06-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Sanchez, Alex. (2011). Boyfriends with girlfriends. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[.]

STARTED:
Bulla, Clyde Robert. (1962). The ring and the fire. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell.

[Boning on up on the story of the Ring and the Nibelung as I'm going to see all four of Wagner's Ring Cycle operas next week...]

*

2011-06-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Mass, Wendy. (2010). The candymakers. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

STARTED:
Sanchez, Alex. (2011). Boyfriends with girlfriends. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[.]

*

2011-06-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Wood, Maryrose. (2010). The incorrigible children of Ashton Place: The mysterious howling. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Mass, Wendy. (2010). The candymakers. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

*

2011-06-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Beam, Cris. (2011). I am J. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

STARTED:
Wood, Maryrose. (2010). The incorrigible children of Ashton Place: The mysterious howling. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

*

2011-05-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Glass, Linzi. (2010). Finding Danny. New York: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins.

[Bree is an only child whose parents are both in the news business: mom is a TV news reporter who’s working her way up to newscaster, and dad is a journalist who travels the world to be on the frontline of world events. In an effort to alleviate Bree’s loneliness her parents give her a fluffy dog named Danny to love and take care of. When Bree’s mother, in a rush, accidentally leaves the yard gate open, Danny escapes and Bree is introduced to the “dingy, smelly, and full of sadness” world of LA animal shelters. Here she meets a wayward “hippie” waif, Rayleen, who can’t seem to stay in one place for long but who loves and takes in abandoned and found dogs. Meanwhile, Bree is dealing with typical preteen worries: are her best girlfriends drifting away? Does she even WANT to spend her friend’s birthday at the spa? Does the most popular (and UBER-richest) boy in school actually like her? While the introduction to young readers of the world of animal shelters is a valuable one, the effect is drowned in the self-congratulations of the wealthy who are drastically out of touch with the real world and who feel that they have done their part to help the less fortunate. [I mean, the characters in this book live in gated “estates” and go to a gated high school, their parents all involved in the Hollywood film and TV business.] Bree’s brilliant (and pat) idea is to host an adopt-a-thon for all of the dogs that are slated to be euthanized in the next week and, of course, somehow, EVERY dog gets adopted. Will Bree be around every week to keep all of LA’s stray dogs from being put-down, or has her one good deed for the underprivileged given her ample karma points? Clichéd and self-serving with a picture-perfect ending. Blah.]

STARTED:
Beam, Cris. (2011). I am J. New York: Little, Brown.

[Reading for ACL Distinguished.]

*

2011-05-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Schmidt, Gary D. (2011). Okay for now. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin.

[After his abusive father is fired from his job, Doug Swieteck and his family are uprooted and replanted to a small, rural town in upstate New York. Doug gets a job making deliveries for a local market owned by the father of a cute girl from school, and follows the girl into the town library. Here, Doug discovers an old John James Audubon book of bird drawings which inspire him to refine his own drawing, and launch a search to recover some of the missing pages. (Each chapter title is that of a bird found in Audubon’s book, with the accompanying illustration included for reference.) In this companion novel to his own The Wednesday Wars (Clarion, 2007), Schmidt has made Doug a good, well-intentioned kid with whom the reader can immediately sympathize and root for. Doug’s library and drawing excursions show the transportative and transformative power of art and the written word/knowledge, and, most importantly, become a ticket of escape and a way to a better future for Doug. Loaded with humor, quirky characters and some sadness (the scenes involving Doug’s oldest brother returning from a tour in the Vietnam War are particularly striking), Okay For Now is a masterstroke for Schmidt in an already glowing body of work. [Reviewed from ARC.]]

STARTED:
Glass, Linzi. (2010). Finding Danny. New York: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins.

[Reviewing for SFPL...]

*

2011-05-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Holm, Jennifer L. (2010). Turtle in paradise. New York: Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Schmidt, Gary D. (2011). Okay for now. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin.

[REALLY enjoyed The Wednesday Wars so I'm excited to start this "companion novel".]

*

2011-05-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Choldenko, Gennifer. (2011). No passengers beyond this point. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[Couldn't really get into this one - as evidenced by the fact that it took me so long to read it. I really enjoyed her Al Capone books, but this one just didn't make a whole lot of sense or have much of a point... that I could find. ]

STARTED:
Holm, Jennifer L. (2010). Turtle in paradise. New York: Random House.

[.]

*

2011-05-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Anderson, M.T. (2010). The suburb beyond the stars. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Choldenko, Gennifer. (2011). No passengers beyond this point. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[.]

*

2011-05-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Lester, Julius. (2005). Day of tears: a novel in dialogue. New York: Hyperion.

[.]

STARTED:
Anderson, M.T. (2010). The suburb beyond the stars. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

*

2011-05-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Jenkins, Emily. (2011). Invisible Inkling. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Lester, Julius. (2005). Day of tears: a novel in dialogue. New York: Hyperion.

[Recommended.]

*

2011-04-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Nielsen-Fernlund, Susin. (2010). Dear George Clooney: Please marry my mom. Toronto: Tundra.

[.]

STARTED:
Jenkins, Emily. (2011). Invisible Inkling. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[Reviewing for SFPL.]

*

2011-04-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Kibuishi, Kazu. (2010). The cloud searchers [Amulet: Book 3]. New York: Graphix/Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Nielsen-Fernlund, Susin. (2010). Dear George Clooney: Please marry my mom. Toronto: Tundra.

[Seeing if I deem it worthy of being on the ACL Distinguished list.]

*

2011-04-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Soo, Kean. (2009). Jellaby: Monster in the city. New York: Disney/Hyperion.

[Looking just now, it seems that this is the SECOND Jellaby tale... I thought that it was the THIRD... so maybe I've actually read it before...]

STARTED:
Kibuishi, Kazu. (2010). The cloud searchers [Amulet: Book 3]. New York: Graphix/Scholastic.

[I don't really recall what happened in the first two, but...]

*

2011-04-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Augarde, Steve. (2010). X Isle. New York: David Fickling Books.

[.]

STARTED:
Soo, Kean. (2009). Jellaby: Monster in the city. New York: Disney/Hyperion.

[Going to blast though a couple of graphic novels that have been sitting by the side of the bed for far too long...]

*

2011-04-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Birdsall, Jeanne. (2011). The Penderwicks at Point Mouette. New York: Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Augarde, Steve. (2010). X Isle. New York: David Fickling Books.

[.]

*

2011-04-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Hunter, Erin. (2011). Spirits in the stars [Seekers #6]. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Birdsall, Jeanne. (2011). The Penderwicks at Point Mouette. New York: Random House.

[Yippeee!]

*

2011-04-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Yee, Lisa. (2011). Warp speed. New York: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic.

[Marley is a middle schooler who is definitely on the outs. He LOVES Star Trek, lives above the broken down old movie theatre his father runs, is an active member of the school AV club, feels completely invisable, and gets spit on and beat up and chased by bullies almost daily. Things begin to change slightly when Marley gets paired up with a cute new girl at school, his old friend Stanford who is now the star basketball player begins to talk to him again, and it turns out that Marley is the fastest runner his school has ever seen.]

STARTED:
Hunter, Erin. (2011). Spirits in the stars [Seekers #6]. New York: HarperCollins.

[She's got me hooked on these adventures of Kallik, Lusa, Toklo and Ujurak...]

*

2011-04-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Archer, E. (2011). Geek fantasy novel. New York: Scholastic.

[[Reviewed from ARC.] Ralph is an American tech-geek hired by his aunt and uncle to come to their aging British castle to, ostensibly, help them set up a wireless network. Upon his arrival, Ralph meets his three cousins and another aunt, Aunt Chessie, whom the rest of the family has seemed to ostracize. Ralph eventually comes to understand that his mother and her sisters are fairy godmothers of a sort, imbued with the ability to grant each child one wish. However, after a mishap with Chessie’s son many years earlier, the women have sworn off that part of their nature. Naturally, each of Ralph’s cousins ends up making a wish which Aunt Chessie is only too happy to grant, and which ends up transporting each of them to an alternate reality. One cousin’s wish involves mobilizing a bunch of fairies to rebel against their oppressors, another is a riff off Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen”, and in the last Ralph must travel to purgatory and the underworld. Archer (actually author Elliot Schrefer) has written a novel for which the title is perfectly apt: the author has thrown in every fantasy creature, setting, and convention imaginable and, thus, comes across as just too ambitious. By the time you get to Ralph finding a teddy bear with a mirror in its paw which he then wraps around his head in order to view a wintery “otherworld”, you know that Archer has gone overboard. A bit of redemption comes toward the end of the novel when the narrator begins to cross the line and starts to interact with the characters, setting up a plot twist that will likely surprise most readers, and turning the novel into a meta-fictional whirlwind with a rather unconventional denouement. Rather bloated, unfocused and confounding, though, Archer’s novel, even with its exploding bunny rabbits, is just overdone.]

STARTED:
Yee, Lisa. (2011). Warp speed. New York: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic.

[.]

*

2011-04-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
O'Connor, Barbara. (2010). The fantastic secret of Owen Jester. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux.

[Owen is out playing one evening with Tooley, the bullfrog he's captured from a nearby pond, when he hears something fall off of a train that is passing by. After a lengthy search, all the while trying to ditch the nosey neighbor girl, Viola, Owen discovers that what has fallen off the train is a two-person submarine. Now, Owen and his friends are on a mission to get the submarine into the local pond, and might just need the assistance of Viola after all...]

STARTED (FINISHING UP):
Archer, E. (2011). Geek fantasy novel. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

*

2011-03-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Mull, Brandon. (2011). Beyonders: A world without heroes. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[Jason is transported, by way of the mouth of a hippo at the zoo he works at, to another world where he is set on a quest to find the syllables to a word which will vanquish the evil lord of the land forever.]

STARTED:
O'Connor, Barbara. (2010). The fantastic secret of Owen Jester. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux.

[.]

*

2011-03-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Gantos, Jack. (1998). Joey Pigza swallowed the key. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Mull, Brandon. (2011). Beyonders: A world without heroes. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[.]

*

2011-03-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Potter, Ellen. (2010). The kneebone boy. New York: Feiwel & Friends.

[Took me so long because I was on vacation for a week and didn't get a chance to read at all.]

STARTED:
Gantos, Jack. (1998). Joey Pigza swallowed the key. New York: HarperCollins.

[Have had this on my shelf for quite some time... and it's overdue...]

*

2011-03-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Service, Pamela F. (2011). Alien envoy. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner.

[Zack is an alien from the planet Izbor who was physically altered and sent to Earth as an Alien Agent for the Galactic Patrol. On Halloween night, Zack, the Alien Envoy to Earth, is picked up by fellow agents and whisked away in their spacecraft to meet with the Galactic Council who are deciding whether or not to invite Earth to join the Galactic Union. Unfortunately, it’s not an easy trip as the Kiapa Kapa Syndicate, who seem to have uncovered Zack’s true identity and are bent on making sure that he doesn’t make it in front of the Council, seem to be hot on their heels. Service has crafted a brisk, rollicking adventure with just the right amount of action and a healthy dose of hilarious description (“Zythis cleared his several throats.”), and even manages to slip in social messages about race relations (“When our people learned how to change the face of living things, we made it so that everyone was born a different color. That way there could be no groups of one color hating people of another color. Everyone was different.”) and commentary on how we treat our planet (“These people of Earth have not only endangered their own world; they could threaten the peace of the entire galaxy! A study of their history shows them to be a hopelessly reckless, warlike people.”). Gorman’s modern-cartoon illustrations appear in just the right amount – not too often or too sparse – and add the right zing, giving face to some of the more bizarrely described alien beings. This sixth installment in the Alien Agent series (Carolrhoda, 2008) works perfectly well on its own as a brief outerspace adventure that reluctant readers should find particularly appealing.]

STARTED:Potter, Ellen. (2010). The kneebone boy. New York: Feiwel & Friends.

[.]

*

2011-03-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

STARTED:
Service, Pamela F. (2011). Alien envoy. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*

2011-02-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Wells, Rosemary. (2010). On the Blue Comet. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

[.]

STARTED:
Archer, E. (2011). Geek fantasy novel. New York: Scholastic.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*

2011-02-21T12:35:00.000-08:00

ABANDONED:
Donoghue, Emma. (2010). Room. New York: Little, Brown & Co.

[.]

STARTED:
Wells, Rosemary. (2010). On the Blue Comet. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

[.]

*

2011-02-19T12:28:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Spratt, R.A. (2010). The adventures of Nanny Piggins. New York: Little, Brown & Co.

[.]

STARTED:
Donoghue, Emma. (2010). Room. New York: Little, Brown & Co.

[.]

*

2011-02-15T09:53:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Sherry, Maureen. (2010). Walls within walls. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Spratt, R.A. (2010). The adventures of Nanny Piggins. New York: Little, Brown & Co.

[.]

*

2011-02-10T14:10:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Kinney, Jeff. (2010). Diary of a wimpy kid: the ugly truth. New York: Amulet Books.

[.]

STARTED:
Sherry, Maureen. (2010). Walls within walls. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[Read an article about this one some time ago and have been intrigued.]

*

2011-02-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Beaudoin, Sean. (2011). You killed Wesley Payne. New York: Little, Brown & Company.

[ACL review to come...

[Reviewed from ARC.] Dalton Rev, a young independent Private “Dick” who’s trying to earn money to buy Kevlar vests for his brother’s platoon in the Middle East, is hired to investigate the death of high school student Wesley Payne whom, it is said, committed suicide. However, with a large amount of money missing from the principal of Salt River High’s safe, and the fact that Wesley was found duct taped to a football goal post upside down, Dalton and Payne’s sister, Macy, suspect foul play. Beaudoin has crafted a frenetic, teen neo-noir set against the backdrop of a hyper-stylized high school ruled by dueling cliques – the Balls (jocks) and the Pinker Caskets (rockers) – and where the faculty can be bribed and turn a blind eye to student wrong-doings. Though this is an amplified version of our world that has a lingo and logic all its own, Dalton is a surprisingly grounded character with typical teen worries effectively making him the character with whom we, the reader, can most identify. Included at the beginning is a chart mapping out all of Salt River High’s cliques as well as a “clique index” which describes, in hilarious detail, what kinds of kids fall into which cliques and sub-cliques. At the end is an extensive glossary of slang and pop culture references which are, much like the clique descriptions, presented with tongue planted firmly in cheek.]

STARTED:
Kinney, Jeff. (2010). Diary of a wimpy kid: the ugly truth. New York: Amulet Books.

[Oh, c'mon! These are pretty fun!]

*

2011-02-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Kopp, Sheldon B. (1972). If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him! Ben Lomond, CA: Science and Behavior Books.

[.]

STARTED:
Beaudoin, Sean. (2011). You killed Wesley Payne. New York: Little, Brown & Company.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*

2011-01-31T12:14:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Langrish, Katherine. (2010). The shadow hunt. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Kopp, Sheldon B. (1972). If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him! Ben Lomond, CA: Science and Behavior Books.

[Saw it on FRINGE, read a description, and knew that I HAD to read it.]

*

2011-01-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Dashner, James. (2010). The scorch trials. New York: Delacorte.

[.]

STARTED:
Langrish, Katherine. (2010). The shadow hunt. New York: HarperCollins.

[Reading to see if I deem it fit to be on the ACL 2010 Distinguished Books list.]

*

2011-01-17T15:21:00.000-08:00

ABANDONED:
Funke, Cornelia. (2010). Reckless. New York: Little, Brown & Company.

[LOVED a couple of Funke's other books, but, as with Inkheart, I just couldn't get through this one. I honestly felt like I had missed a previous volume in a series - it just seemed to start and demand a bunch of advance knowledge of the characters and situation. Maybe I'll give it another try some other time.]

REREAD THE LAST 100 PAGES:
Dashner, James. (2009). The maze runner. New York: Delacorte.

[Reread the last 100 pages in order to find my way back into Dashner's fascinating world of Thomas and the other Gladers.]

STARTED:
Dashner, James. (2010). The scorch trials. New York: Delacorte.

[YAY!!]

*

2011-01-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Gidwitz, Adam. (2010). A tale dark & Grimm. New York: Dutton/Penguin.

[[Reviewed from ARC.] Not your standard Hansel and Gretel retelling, the twin siblings wander their way through a series of “adventures” that are actually riffs on other Grimm’s tales, always hoping to find a good home where they will be taken care of by a good parent. Initially, the pair runaway when they hear that they may be sacrificed by their noble parents in order to save the life of a long-faithful servant, and then find themselves living with a man and woman who seem to have wished their seven sons into birds. The siblings are eventually separated, and Gretel gets caught up with a mysterious (murdering) stranger, while Hansel, after being cut out of the body of a beast, travels to Hell in order to steal three golden hairs from the head of the Devil (which plays out like a scene from Red Riding Hood). The stories are told in the detached and repetitive style of classic fairytales (“’Terrible,’ said the man with the beard. ‘Terrible,’ said the tall man. ‘Terrible,’ said the woman.”) allowing the frequent, contemporary author interjections to stand out and take on a more animated tone. Each chapter acts as a self-contained tale within the larger story, beginning with “Once upon a time…” and concluding with “The End” (although it is more often than not followed by “Almost…”). Indeed, in this, his debut novel, Gidwitz has taken numerous liberties with the Grimm canon, mixing and matching tales while adding his own slant/perspective. Some make take issue with Gidwitz remarking in the introduction, “Once upon a time, fairy tales were awesome. So why are all the versions of the stories you’ve heard so mind-numbingly boring?”, but his point is just that we have Disney-ized classic stories and taken out all of the juicy, gross, brutal parts that older children might revel in.]

STARTED:
Funke, Cornelia. (2010). Reckless. New York: Little, Brown & Company.

[.]

*

2011-01-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Renier, Aaron. (2010). The unsinkable Walker Bean. New York: First Second.

[.]

STARTED:
Gidwitz, Adam. (2010). A tale dark & Grimm. New York: Dutton/Penguin.

[Reviewing for ACL - and has been on my radar for awhile.]

*

2011-01-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Westerfeld, Scott. (2010). Behemoth. New York: Simon Pulse.

[.]

STARTED:Renier, Aaron. (2010). The unsinkable Walker Bean. New York: First Second.

[Reading for ACL.]

*

2010-12-26T13:06:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Clements, Andrew. (2004). The last holiday concert. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[.]

STARTED:
Westerfeld, Scott. (2010). Behemoth. New York: Simon Pulse.

[LOVED LOVED LOVED the first one in this trilogy.]

*

Holiday Book 2010

2010-12-25T08:14:00.000-08:00

Helquist, Brett. (2010). Bedtime for Bear. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

*

2010-12-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Bacigalupi, Paolo. (2010). Ship breaker. New York: Little Brown & Co.

[.]

STARTED:
Clements, Andrew. (2004). The last holiday concert. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[REALLY like Mr. Clements, haven't read this one, and wanted something seasonally appropriate...]

*

2010-12-15T19:11:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Cunningham, Michael. (2010). By nightfall. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux.

[.]

STARTED:
Bacigalupi, Paolo. (2010). Ship breaker. New York: Little Brown & Co.

[Been WAITING to read this one - such great things have been said about it.]

*

2010-12-10T18:57:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Teller, Janne. (2010). Nothing. New York: Atheneum.

[Whoa.]

STARTED:
Cunningham, Michael. (2010). By nightfall. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux.

[Thought it was time to read a "big boy" book...]

*

2010-12-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Railsback, Lisa. (2010). Noonie's masterpiece. San Francisco: Chronicle.

[.]

STARTED:
Teller, Janne. (2010). Nothing. New York: Atheneum.

[Lots of great reviews.]

*

2010-12-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Black, Holly, and Justine Larbalestier, eds. (2010). Zombies vs. unicorns. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books.

[Which is cooler: zombies or unicorns? This anthology of 12 short stories, 6 featuring zombies (on whose side editor Justine Larbalestier firmly falls), and 6 featuring unicorns (the team led by editor Holly Black), aims to settle this debate once and for all. The stories themselves run the gamut: a girl rescues a newborn unicorn from a carnival sideshow at a time when unicorns are running wild and murdering with their poisonous horns; a take on a babysitter horror story where a college student ends up sitting for a famous actress’ adopted, reanimated children; a man is beheaded after being accused of sexually assaulting a princess, but when the princess gives birth is becomes clear that the baby’s father was actually a unicorn; and a group of high school students are determined to have their prom despite the fact that their town is becoming overrun with zombies, many of whom are their family members and fellow students. Interestingly, two of the zombie stories are written in 1st person and are not explicitly about homosexuality, but in both there are references, or a sense of equation, between homosexuality and being a zombie. In one of the stories, after the female narrator and a female friend become “blood buddies” with a bit of zombie blood, the friend cryptically says, “Like, if Dr. Bill saw you and me next to each other, he’d figure out what we were.” Each story is preceded by a witty tete-a-tete – palate cleansers that involve the editors stating their arguments, relating to the upcoming story, on behalf of their preferred beast. For the most part, every story is a compelling gem – some funny, some eerie, and some just plain bizarre – making the debate of “zombie or unicorn” that much more difficult.]

STARTED:
Railsback, Lisa. (2010). Noonie's masterpiece. San Francisco: Chronicle.

[Reading for ACL Distinguished.]

*

2010-12-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Williams-Garcia, Rita. (2010). One crazy summer. New York: Amistad/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Black, Holly, and Justine Larbalestier, eds. (2010). Zombies vs. unicorns. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*

2010-11-29T10:15:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Alexie, Sherman. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time indian. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

[.]

STARTED:
Williams-Garcia, Rita. (2010). One crazy summer. New York: Amistad/HarperCollins.

[The buzz!]

*

2010-11-27T10:08:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Erskine, Kathryn. (2010). Mockingbird. New York: Philomel.

[.]

STARTED:
Alexie, Sherman. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time indian. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

[Been on my list for awhile.]

*

2010-11-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Telgemeier, Raina. (2010). Smile. New York: Graphix/Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Erskine, Kathryn. (2010). Mockingbird. New York: Philomel.

[.]

*

2010-11-24T13:03:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Sedaris, David. (2010). Squirrel seeks chipmunk. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

[.]

STARTED:
Telgemeier, Raina. (2010). Smile. New York: Graphix/Scholastic.

[.]

*

2010-11-23T12:47:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Stroud, Jonathan. (2004). The golem's eye. New York: Hyperion.

[.]

STARTED:
Sedaris, David. (2010). Squirrel seeks chipmunk. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

[.]

*

2010-11-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Epstein, Adam Jay, and Jacobson, Andrew. (2010). The Familiars. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Stroud, Jonathan. (2004). The golem's eye. New York: Hyperion.

[Read the first in the series YEARS ago and have been wanting to get back to it. Stroud's got a great sense of humor.]

*

2010-11-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

FINISHED:
Lore, Pittacus. (2010). I am Number Four. New York: HarperCollins.

[Number Four is a fifteen year-old who came to Earth with his “handler” Henri ten years ago, escaping his home planet of Lorien when Mogodorians invaded and wiped out the rest of the population. Still on the run from the Mogodorians, Henri and Number Four (who has taken on the pseudonym John Smith) settle for the umpteenth time in a small rural Ohio town, hoping to keep a low profile while John begins to come into and develop his “legacies”, or special powers. Unfortunately, after looking into a “they walk among us” underground ‘zine which has info that hits a bit too close to home, and being a bit too heroic and conspicuous while saving friends from a house fire, John receives a note saying “Are you Number 4?” and realizes that he’s been found and will have to fight for his survival. While it reads like a typical “teenager moves to a small town” screenplay, the plot is cliched (of course, John falls for the prettiest girl in school who happens to be the ex of the school sporto/bully), and most characters are 2-dimensional, the novel does move at a steady pace and there are a few surprises (what’s up with Bernie Kosar, the beagle that follows John around??). Though the book is said to be written by Pittacus Lore, a 10,000 year-old Loric Elder, Lore is actually a pseudonym for two co-writers, one of whom is Oprah-shamed author James Frey (A Million Little Pieces, Nan A. Talese, 2003). A feature film version of the book (co-executive produced by Steven Spielberg) is already due out in February 2011.]

STARTED:
Epstein, Adam Jay, and Jacobson, Andrew. (2010). The Familiars. New York: HarperCollins.

[Can't remember where I first heard about this one, but I was intrigued.]

*

2010-10-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
DiTerlizzi, Tony. (2010). The search for WondLa. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[LOVED LOVED LOVED.]

STARTED:
Lore, Pittacus. (2010). I am Number Four. New York: HarperCollins.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*

2010-10-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

FINISHED:
Balliett, Blue. (2010). The danger box. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
DiTerlizzi, Tony. (2010). The search for WondLa. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[.]

*

2010-10-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

STARTED & FINISHED:
Riddell, Chris. (2008). Ottoline and the yellow cat. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

*