FINISHED
Saenz, Benjamin Alire. (2012). Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe. New York: Simon & Schuster.



[.]


STARTED:
Lu, Marie. (2013). Prodigy: a Legend novel. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.


[.]


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FINISHED:
Rosenthal, Betsy R. (2012). Looking for me. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.


[.]


STARTED:
Saenz, Benjamin Alire. (2012). Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe. New York: Simon & Schuster.


[.]


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FINISHED:
Barrows, Annie. (2012). Ivy + Bean make the rules (Ivy + Bean #9). San Francisco: Chronicle.


[.]


STARTED:
Rosenthal, Betsy R. (2012). Looking for me. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.


[.]


*

FINISHED:
Snicket, Lemony. (2012). Who could that be at this hour? (All the wrong questions #1). New York: Little, Brown.


[.]


STARTED:
Barrows, Annie. (2012). Ivy + Bean make the rules (Ivy + Bean #9). San Francisco: Chronicle.


[.]


*

FINISHED:
Palacio, R.J. (2012). Wonder. New York: Knopf.


[.]


STARTED:
Snicket, Lemony. (2012). Who could that be at this hour? (All the wrong questions #1). New York: Little, Brown.


[.]


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FINISHED:
Levithan, David. (2012). Every day. New York: Knopf.

[LOVED LOVED LOVED this one.  "A" is a being who wakes up in a different body every morning and doesn't identify as male or female.  One day, A wakes up as the boyfriend of Rhiannon and shares such an incredible day with her that he ends up falling in love.  From then on out, regardless of who A wakes up as s/he makes an effort to contact Rhiannon, eventually revealing to her the situation of his/her life.  A FASCINATING premise that, with only a hint of preachiness, brings up a multitude of issues.  AND, this is one that called up so many questions surrounding the premise (such as:  What do the teens whose bodies A takes over remember from that day when A is inside them??), but, amazingly, addressed all of the questions I had.]


STARTED:
Palacio, R.J. (2012). Wonder. New York: Knopf.

[So much buzz...]


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FINISHED: 
Kinney, Jeff. (2012). Diary of a wimpy kid: the third wheel. New York: Amulet.

[.]

STARTED:
Levithan, David. (2012). Every day. New York: Knopf.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Rowling, J.K. (2012). The casual vacancy. New York: Little, Brown.


[.]


STARTED:
Kinney, Jeff. (2012). Diary of a wimpy kid: the third wheel. New York: Amulet.

[.]

*

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


[.]


STARTED:
Rowling, J.K. (2012). The casual vacancy. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

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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...]

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