FINISHED:
Avi. (2010). Crispin: The end of time. New York: Balzer & Bray.

[.]

STARTED:
Oppel, Kenneth. (2010). Half brother. New York: Scholastic.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*

FINISHED:
Martel, Yann. (2010). Beatrice and Virgil: A novel. New York: Spiegel & Grau.

[.]

STARTED:
Avi. (2010). Crispin: The end of time. New York: Balzer & Bray.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Mull, Brandon. (2007). The candy shop war. Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain.

[Interestingly, I read where Brandon Mull said that The Candy Shop War was a fan favorite and many people ask him if there will be a sequel. I found this one a bit sluggish and difficult to get through. Four kids are recruited by the mysterious old woman who runs the new candy store in town. As a reward for their help, the woman give the kids candy that makes them somewhat weightless, that shocks others when you touch them, and even changes their appearance. Meanwhile, the woman has the whole town hooked on a confection which renders them oblivious to anything around them. The four friends put some bullies in their place, rob a grave, break into the local library, travel through mirrors, and one even gets to jump back and then forward in time. Fun, and I'll certainly read a sequel because I think Mull is a talented author, but for some reason it took me WAY too long to finish.]

STARTED:
Martel, Yann. (2010). Beatrice and Virgil: A novel. New York: Spiegel & Grau.

[It may be cliche to say but, I LOVED Life of Pi - I even have it on my shortlist of books to read again.]

*

FINISHED:
Sachar, Louis. (2010). The cardturner. New York: Delacorte/Random House.

[Hoping to be included in the will of a wealthy uncle, Alton's mom forces him to be the cardturner (cardplayer) for his blind "favorite uncle" who is an avid bridge player. Not my cup of tea. Funny, in the note from the author at the beginning, Sachar says that people told him, "Who would want to read a book about bridge?" Having read this one, I can understand where they are coming from. It just didn't grab me in any way, and all of the bridge-speak went right over my head. Without a rudimentary knowledge of trump-like card games your average kid would be lost and likely give up.]

STARTED:
Mull, Brandon. (2007). The candy shop war. Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain.

[LOVED the Fablehaven series so much I thought I'd try out this one - which I remember seeing Mull comment on as being a fan favorite.]

*

FINISHED:
Pullman, Philip. (2010). The good man Jesus and the scoundrel Christ. New York: Canongate/Publishers Group West.

[.]

STARTED:
Sachar, Louis. (2010). The cardturner. New York: Delacorte/Random House.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Houtman, Jacqueline. (2010). The reinvention of Edison Thomas. Honesdale, PA: Front Street/Boyds Mills.

[My review for ACL:

After a neighborhood school crossing guard is laid off, science wiz Edison Thomas, fearing for the safety of the other school children, attempts to construct a contraption that can that can take the place of a human at the intersection. Though never mentioned outright, Edison clearly lies somewhere on the high funtioning end of the Asperger’s/autism spectrum as he has weekly visits with a school therapist to help him distinguish facial cues, and is constantly baffled by figures of speech. Thus, scattered throughout the text are fun random facts and figures (all detailed in an appendix) from Edison’s cluttered brain which loosely pertain to situations/conversations in which he’s found himself. One of the strongest elements of Houtman’s tome is that it deals with the topical issue of bullying: Edison is unware, until it is brought to his attention by a new friend, that another boy whom he believes to be a friend is actually ridiculing Edison and attempting to get him in trouble. A strong novel of friendship and understanding, but one that will likely have limited appeal.]

STARTED:
Pullman, Philip. (2010). The good man Jesus and the scoundrel Christ. New York: Canongate/Publishers Group West.

[It's a blasphemous new Philip Pullman!]

*

FINISHED:
Shan, Darren. (2010). The thin executioner. New York: Little, Brown & Co.

[After being publicly humiliated for his perceived weakness by his executioner father, Jebel embarks on a mythic quest to ask a fire god for invincibility in hopes of being able to return to his home and win a competition to be the new town executioner. Accompanying Jebel is a slave, Tel Hesani, whom he knows he will eventually need to sacrifice in order to appease the god, though along the way Jebel learns tolerance and the fact that it’s the journey, not what’s at the end of the road, that really matters. Shan, author of the popular vampire series Cirque du Freak (Little, Brown, 2001) has penned a (trademark) gory homage to Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which includes cons, cannibals, and involuntary graverobbing. Most characters are a bit one-dimensional and the quest story is nothing new, but Jebel’s paradigm shift in regard to what he has always learned is traditionally “right” or “normal”, and the examination of religious differences (though somewhat heavy-handed) are important lessons. Plenty of blood is shed through realistic human-on-human stabbings, slicings and beheadings which should satisfy young adult horror fans [Reviewed from ARC.].]

STARTED:
Houtman, Jacqueline. (2010). The reinvention of Edison Thomas. Honesdale, PA: Front Street/Boyds Mills.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*

FINISHED:
Mull, Brandon. (2010). Fablehaven: Keys to the demon prison. New York: Shadow Mountain.

[.]

STARTED:
Shan, Darren. (2010). The thin executioner. New York: Little, Brown & Co.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*