ABANDONED:
Fisher, Catherine. (2010). Incarceron. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[Got through more than half and just found it convoluted and convenient. Plus, the whole thing is centered around this physical "place" which I just couldn't wrap my head around - I mean, I just couldn't picture what this "prison" looked like and how it was all laid out, and that seemed like a pretty big thing in a novel where the physical setting is supposed to be a character.]

STARTED:
Sheth, Kashmira. (2010). Boys without names. New York: Balzer + Bray.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

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FINISHED:

Lin, Grace. (2009). Where the mountain meets the moon. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

[LOVED this wonderful little tale. I especially enjoyed the fact that there a bunch of little stories/fables/folktales told throughout the novel which, in the end, add up to a larger tale - in addition to the fact that the whole novel is, in itself, a fable/folktale. Simple, straightforward, clever - all the qualities of a "classic" - and Lin's full-color artwork throughout is excellent. COMPLETELY worthy of the Newbery Honor which it received.]

STARTED:
Fisher, Catherine. (2010). Incarceron. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[Reading to see if I deem it worthy of appearing on the ACL 2010 Distinguished List - and the year has just begun...]

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FINISHED:

Tyler, Anne. (2009). Noah's compass. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Lin, Grace. (2009). Where the mountain meets the moon. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

[Have heard such great things about this one - and it just won a Newbery Honor.]

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FINISHED:

Clarke, Arthur C. (1968). 2001: A space odyssey. New York: ROC/Penguin.

[.]

STARTED:
Tyler, Anne. (2009). Noah's compass. New York: HarperCollins.

[A new Anne Tyler novel! A new Anne Tyler novel!]

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FINISHED:

Stewart, Trenton Lee. (2009). The Mysterious Benedict Society and the prisoner's dilemma. New York: Megan Tingley Books/Little, Brown and Company.

[.]

STARTED:
Clarke, Arthur C. (1968). 2001: A space odyssey. New York: ROC/Penguin.

[One of my very favorite movies (since being shown it in Mr. Norris' English class in middle school) and I've always wanted to read the book... with the ultimate goal of reading all in the series.]

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FINISHED:

Gaiman, Neil. (2009). Odd and the frost giants. New York: HarperCollins.

[Don't really have much to say about this one - honestly, I already couldn't really tell you what happened in it. Very slight and a bit rushed and muddled.]

STARTED:
Stewart, Trenton Lee. (2009). The Mysterious Benedict Society and the prisoner's dilemma. New York: Megan Tingley Books/Little, Brown and Company.

[LOVE this series!]

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FINISHED:

LaCour, Nina. (2009). Hold still. New York: Dutton/Penguin.

[.]

STARTED:
Gaiman, Neil. (2009). Odd and the frost giants. New York: HarperCollins.

[Just a short quickie...]

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FINISHED:

Benioff, David. (2008). City of thieves. New York: Viking/Penguin.

[.]

STARTED:
LaCour, Nina. (2009). Hold still. New York: Dutton/Penguin.

[Reading for ACL to see if I deem it worthy of being on the 2009 Distinguished List.]

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FINISHED:

Barry, D., & Pearson, R. (2008). Science fair. New York: Disney Editions.

[.]

STARTED:
Benioff, David. (2008). City of thieves. New York: Viking/Penguin.

[Got this for Brian to read because I heard good things about it, but decided to read it as well because I LOVED 25th Hour (the movie).]

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FINISHED:

Abbot, Tony. (2005). Kringle. New York: Scholastic.

[Ugh. Extremely disappointed in this one. Number one, it spent way too much time on just one part of his life - fighting goblins, who were building some doomsday device, while trying to save some kids - instead of (I had HOPED) making fun stories up to explain some of those things that we all know about Santa... maybe I was just expecting something more kid friendly... More importantly, I was disappointed that it got all "religious-y". NEVER did I imagine, picking the book up, that there would be a character who talked (for multiple pages) about the STORY of the "Christ child". That said, I would NEVER recommend it to a child at the public library as it isn't as "inclusive" as I assumed it would be. I guess he was truly going for the SAINT Nicholas thing...]

STARTED:
Barry, D., & Pearson, R. (2008). Science fair. New York: Disney Editions.

[Haven't read any of their Peter Pan novels and thought this one looked like it would be fun.]

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