The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Finished reading The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler the other night. A light, easy, enjoyable read... 

Imagine booting up your first home computer and finding a webpage that shows your life as it will be fifteen years in the future.  Who would have thought that even the smallest things you do today can have a huge impact on that future.  That's what happens to Emma and Josh, long-time neighbors and best friends. And sometimes, what you learn about your future might change they way you are now.

International Book Giving Day

Tomorrow, February 14th, is International Book Giving Day. What a great idea!  Check it out at: http://bookgivingday.com/.  We'll be giving away books here in our school library - students & teachers... stop in and see what we have to offer!

Such Wicked Intent, also by Kenneth Oppel

So I'm browsing the library's shelves February 1st to pull books for a "Blind-Date-a-Book" display for February (see picture at bottom!) and I luck across Oppel's Such Wicked Intent (sequel to This Dark Endeavor), so of course I had to check it out and read it immediately since I enjoyed its predecessor so much!  I enjoyed this story line just as much as the first!!! Victor, grieving his dead twin, at first gives up all interest in alchemy. But he finds a metal book-like box that may hold the answer to his desire to speak to his brother again. I highly recommend both of these titles!

And now for my display, which has garned much attention, I am happy to say...

The sign atops reads "Haven't you heard? You should never judge a book by its cover!!!  Blind date a book"  I asked my regular readers to recommended titles and write a one-sentence enticing blurb, and I added some of my recent reads to fill in the display.

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Finished this book last night... it was certainly hard to put down once I was into the second half! This story is intended to be a prequel to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein classic, which I don't recall ever reading but I've seen enough on the screen to know the premise.

Enter Frankenstein twins Konrad and Victor, their distant cousin Elizabeth (who has been raised in their household), and best friend Henry. They stumble upon a secret passage to "the Dark Library", filled with scientific apparatus and alchemy books.  And Victor's fascination with alchemy begins.  When Konrad suddenly falls seriously ill, Victor turns to alchemy to seek a cure, and the adventures begin!

I loved Elizabeth's strong character, and the turmoil and internal struggle we witness Victor work through. I enjoyed the historical setting, although I think it could have used more description. And as I've already said, once the story hit high-adventure mode, I had a hard time closing the cover.  Now I need to go read Frankenstein!!!

Summer reading update... in January?

Sooo...  I have been meaning to review the books I read over the summer, and it just keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.  Now I'm not even sure I remember enough about most of the books to write a thorough review!  So I'll list the books and my general impression of each and move forward from here...

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced (Nujood Ali) - this memoir/autobiography was intriguing. A peek into what it must be like to live as a second-class female citizen in a male-dominated society. It does restore faith that there are people who care and will help you fight if the battle is just.

My Name Is Mina (David Almond) - I tried, and maybe I didn't try hard enough, but I could not get the voice into my head. I just couldn't not finish this book. It has won tons of accolades however, so please give it a shot.

Beauty Queens (Libba Bray) - I hesitated even buying this book for my high school library, because the premise did not appeal to me at all, nor was it something I thought my students would want to read.  But it kept popping up on list after list, so I figured it must be good, right? Nope.  I should have trusted my instincts - I just couldn't get into this story.  I definitely laughed out loud a couple of times, but eventually I just put it down. Maybe I'll try again later...

Going Bovine (Libba Bray) - very... different. This book took me a while to "get into", but I did eventually begin to care about Cameron (the main character) enough to finish his story.

Hate List (Jennifer Brown) - LOVED this story!  It haunts me to this day. Imagine a school shooting, but you know the shooter and remember him not as a shooter, but as a person. The main character of this story, Val, is just that person, and struggles with understanding how this all came to be and her own part in what happened.  Definitely a different perspective on a difficult situation.

What Happened to Goodbye (Sarah Dessen) - Many of my female students love Dessen's stories. This was enjoyable, easy enough to read, and certainly a realistic portrayal of the life of a teen whose parents have divorced. Doesn't make me a lifelong fan of Dessen, but I can understand my students' attraction...

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Seth Grahame-Smith) - LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book!  I have recommended it to SO many people since reading it.  Even got my non-reading husband to listen to the audio version :)  I love biographies, so it was enjoyable to read for the historical information, but the seamless & realistic insertion of vampires put this one over the top.  Highly recommend!

Shine (Lauren Myracle) - Great read! It wasn't the kind of book that I couldn't put down, but it also wasn't the kind that let me leave it unfinished either.  Great story, with several interesting twists and turns, dealing with the dark topic of hate crimes.

So that is what I accomplished from my reading to-do list this past summer. Not nearly as many books as I had hoped to read, but I did have fun playing in the pool with my kiddos!  I'll post some book reviews and library news in the near future...

Dead to You by Lisa McMann

This is the story of every family's worst nightmare... a seven year old son, abducted from his own front yard. Years spent searching, always hoping, never believing the worst.

This is the story of what happens when that little boy returns home nine years later. When he doesn't remember the house, his family, his best friend. When he feels the need to protect his abductor Ellen/Eleanor, even though she later abandoned him. When his little brother doesn't believe it's really him.

This is the story of Ethan De Wilde.



Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent trilogy)

As the second book in the Divergent trilogy, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Insurgent and immediately pre-ordered it after finishing book one!

In Divergent, sixteen year old Tris was faced with the decision to stay in her current faction (the selfless Abnegation) or switch to a faction that realizes what she wants and needs in life. Her decision is life-changing, to say the least. Thankfully, Insurgent picks up right where Divergent leaves us hanging... the factions are at war and Tris is struggling with the loss of her faction, family and friends. As Tris drowns in her loss, she begins to make reckless choices that put her relationship with Tobias/Four, and her life itself, in immense danger. Written with just the right touch of emotion and conflict, and certainly leaving us wanting for more, I highly recommend Insurgent to those who enjoyed the first book of this trilogy.  I would not suggest it as a standalone title.  Start with Divergent and you will be hooked, waiting for book three's release in 2013.  Definitely deserving of five stars!!!!!