Thursday, February 24, 2011


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.]

*

Monday, February 21, 2011

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

[.]

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

[.]

*

Saturday, February 19, 2011


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.

[.]

*

Tuesday, February 15, 2011


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.

[.]

*

Thursday, February 10, 2011


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.]

*

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!]

*

Friday, February 4, 2011


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.]

*