STARTED & FINISHED: 
Westerfeld, Scott. (2018). Spill Zone #2: The Broken Vow. New York: First Second/Roaring Brook.

[.]

STARTED:
Springstubb, Tricia. (2015). Moonpenny Island. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[Just one of my absolute favorite books, which I try to read every year.]

*

FINISHED:
Shevah, Emma. (2016). Dara Palmer's Major Drama. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky.

Appreciated this one even more the second time!
[Dara Palmer, a 5^th-grader who lives in London after having been adopted by her Caucasian parents from a Cambodian orphanage when she was a toddler, more than anything in her entire life wants the lead role of Maria in her school’s production of The Sound of Music.  When the part goes to someone else, she begins to wonder if it’s because she doesn’t look like what Maria “should” look like… when really it’s because she just can’t act.  Dara’s narration brims with hyperbolic-tween personality, showcasing her flair for being dramatic – with lots of asides such as “huuuggghhhtttt”, “whuuhhuuuhhhhh”, and the like – and occasionally zoning out while having a “mind movie” (which usually involve her celebrity crush, Bradley Porter).  Fun spot art and doodles adorn every page adding an amusing flippancy, but while humorous, Shevah’s novel is also surprisingly insightful as Dara becomes increasingly aware of her “otherness”, noticing that no one in movies, on TV, or featured in magazines resembles her (“I looked like a giant chocolate bunny in a room full of snowmen.”), while, at the same time, learning the importance/value of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes when taking part in a drama exercise to better understand her sister Georgia, adopted from Russia, with whom she has an adversarial relationship.  A thoughtful look at adoption from the adults’ side, with Dara’s parents reassuring their love for her while also encouraging her to explore her Cambodian heritage through its food and language, and from the perspective of a child who is finally old enough to begin asking questions.  Hilarious, touching, and important.]

STARTED:
Mull, Brandon. (2017). Dragonwatch:  a Fablehaven Adventure. Salt Lake City, UT: Shadow Mountain.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Shevah, Emma. (2016). Dara Palmer's Major Drama. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.

[.]

STARTED:
Stewart, Trenton Lee. (2016). The Secretkeepers. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Lane, Kathleen. (2016). The Best Worst Thing. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

STARTED:
Anderson, John David. (2016). Ms. Bixby's Last Day. New York: Walden Pond/HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Tyler, Anne. (2016). Vinegar Girl. New York: Hogarth/Penguin/Random House.

[Anne Tyler does Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew!]

STARTED:
Springstubb, Tricia. (2016). Every Single Second. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[New Tricia Springstubb!!!   I'm allowed to say that I thought that MOONPENNY ISLAND was one of the ABSOLUTE BEST books of last year.  My Newbery committee didn't award it anything, but, personally, I thought that it was OUTSTANDING, and one that I will read again and again over the years.]

*

FINISHED:
Telgemeier, Raina. (2016). Ghosts. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Cole, Henry. (2016). The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine. Atlanta: Peachtree.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Appelt, Kathi, and Alison McGhee. (2016). Maybe a Fox. New York: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

[Pretty moving, with a solid mood.  Vaguely reminiscent of one of my personal favorites from last year, MOONPENNY ISLAND.  Imagine that this year's Newbery committee will be talking about this one...]

STARTED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2016). The Lie Tree. New York: Amulet/Abrams.

[Starred Reviews from pretty much EVERYBODY.]

*

FINISHED: 
Castleman, Virginia. (2016). Sara Lost and Found. New York: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.



[REALLY didn't live up to my expectations.  Name-checks Dicey's Song, so maybe I'll read that one to cleanse the palate...]



STARTED:
Alexander, Kwame. (2016). Booked. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.



[Whoo hoo!  New one from last year's Newbery Award winner!]



*

FINISHED:
Kelly, Erin Entrada. (2016).  The Land of Forgotten Girls. New York: Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Sepahban, Lois. (2016). Paper Wishes. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Phillips, Helen. (2012). Here where the sunbeams are green. New York: Delacorte/Random House.


[(Reviewed from ARC.)  Madeline (Mad) and Ruby (Roo) travel with their mother to a high-end, ultra-green spa (La Lava) located in a remote area of  Central America to investigate the lack of communication they’ve had with their father, an ornithologist there to study a rare bird once believed to be extinct.  There’s something (sinister) going on at the glitzy resort, however, when the girls’ mother seems to be falling under a spell, their father is acting out of character during the few glimpses they’ve been allowed to have of him, and they are told that to catch a Lava-Throated Volcano trogon (LTVT) would drive a person insane and that when the last LTVT dies the local volcano will erupt.  A hint of magical realism elevates this ecological mystery, and a Stepford Wives-ish tension surrounding La Lava – as if the sheen of perfection must certainly be hiding something sinister – keeps the reader exceedingly engaged.  Mad is a believably depicted tween who belittles herself next to her spunky and outgoing little sister, and her dealings with the crush she is developing on local Kyle are true-to-life:  “I mean, now I know he likes me, but why?  How?  What did I do?  I just really want to ask him this before we never see each other again.”  Throw in a plot from the girls to expose the REAL La Lava at a swanky, black-tie event with the help of a famous actress and an ailing LTVT, and Mad having to, ultimately, be the one to save the day, and you’ve got a compellingly rich tome, with a strong sense of family and place, that refuses to be genre-defined.  An Author’s Note includes a discussion of extinction, Lazarus species (animals believed to be extinct but are sighted again), and the author’s trip to Costa Rica which inspired the novel.]


STARTED:
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1937). The hobbit. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[Um, I think there's a movie version coming out soon...]

*

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.]

*

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

[.]

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

[.]

*

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.]

*

FINISHED:

Niffenegger, Audrey. (2009). Her fearful symmetry. New York: Scribner.

[Twin girls, upon reaching their 21st birthday(s), inherit an apartment in London owned by their mother's twin who recently passed away. After moving in they interact with the man downstairs who was their aunt's lover, an OCD hoarder agoraphobic upstairs, and a large old cemetery right outside their door. The girls are unsure of where they want their lives to go and are dreadfully unable to do anything without the other one around Secrets abound and supernatural occurrences in their apartment slowly draw the twins apart until one makes a drastic decision in an effort to permanently cut ties with her sister. Not bad... it kept me pretty well engaged but not super compelled to keep reading. In truth, I much preferred The Time Travelers Wife - it just seemed to have more of a central story to push everything along. Here, there are a couple of characters who just seem there to pad the novel and the whole thing lacks a real central storyline. I enjoyed it for the most part, but thought that it had so much potential that wasn't quite reached.]

STARTED:
Alexander, Lloyd. (1968). The high king. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

[Finishing up the series... finally.]

*

FINISHED:

Peck, Richard. (2009). A season of gifts. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[.]

STARTED:
Dashner, James. (2009). The maze runner. New York: Delacorte/Random House.

[Read good things about this one - plus, the premise seems like a winner.]

*

FINISHED:

Rodgers, Mary, and Hach, Heather. (2009). Freaky Monday. New York: HarperCollins.

[Well, this one lacked SO much of the dry wit and humor of the Rodgers' originals from the '70s and '80s. Here, Hadley is a star middle school student who feels self-conscious, is EXTREMELY jealous of her older sister's beauty, and realizes that she has thrown herself so much into her studies that she really has no social life. Ms. Pitt is the ultimate English teacher: progressive, thought-provoking, and LOVES each of her students dearly. One morning, after Hadley's failed report on "To Kill a Mockingbird", these two switch bodies and spend a day in each other's shoes. Hadley, as Ms. Pitt, has to deal with school administrators, an English department head interview, and the advances of a fellow teacher. Ms. Pitt, as Hadley, has to deal with Hadley's upset sister, a school dance, and the (hopeful) advances of a fellow student. While Hadley's story is interesting - she really is a deep, intelligent girl in the middle of an existential crisis - but there's no real reason for these two to switch like there was in the original stories. Stick to the classics, I say.]

STARTED:
Hicks, Clifford B. (1963). Alvin's secret code. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

[Shelving at the library I come across SO MANY books that look interesting. This is one that kept popping up - admittedly, it is the artwork by Bill Sokol that really drew me in...]

*

FINISHED:

Birdsall, Jeanne. (2008). The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[.]

STARTED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2008). Well witched. New York: HarperCollins.

[I've been wanting to read her first book Fly By Night for quite awhile. Saw that this new one got a starred review.]

*

FINISHED:

Birdsall, Jeanne. (2005). The Penderwicks. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[LOVED this one SO much, and it's no wonder to me that it won such a prestigious award. The tone was really positive and sweet, lots of laughs, true dialogue, and an overall feel of a "classic" to me - like, it's one of those books of old that would make it on to a list that every kid should read. Each of the 4 Penderwick sisters has their own unique personality (oh, and Hound, the dog, does too!) and their adventures over the 3 weeks they spend at Arundel run the gamut from light suspense to wacky hilarity to poignant. Read it read it read it! It's one that I will definitely suggest to as many young people as it seems would enjoy it.]

STARTED:
Birdsall, Jeanne. (2008). The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[Loved the first one so much that I decided to immediately read the follow-up.]

*