June 2011
54 posts
Haven’t had any book list requests lately. Need to just come up with some random categories and post some on mah own!
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book review: real mermaids don't wear toe rings
Freak of nature takes on a whole new meaning…
If she hadn’t been so clueless, she might have seen it coming. But really, who expects to get into a relaxing bathtub after a stressful day of shopping for tankinis and come out with scales and a tail?
Most. Embarrassing. Moment. Ever.
Jade soon discovers she inherited her mermaid tendencies from her mom. But if Mom was a mermaid,...
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book review: guys read: funny business
A hilarious collection of stories from some of your favorite authors - don’t miss out on this one. My personal favorite is the story by Kate DiCamillo and Jon Scieszka - a series of letters between a favorite author, and a kid looking to get his homework done quickly and easily.
currently reading (or: reasons why i'm not...
for work: the limit by kristen landon as easy as falling off the face of the earth by lynne rae perkins (re-read) advance review copies: imaginary girls by nova ren suma the meowmorphisis by coleridge cook the name of the star by maureen johnson audiobooks: the knife of never letting go by patrick ness (re-read)
for me & me alone: ella minnow pea by mark dunn kraken by wendy williams...
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upcoming reviews (as you can see i'm far behind)
recently finished and on the review docket: belly up by stuart gibbs hit list by laurell k. hamilton a game of thrones by george r. r. martin in a heartbeat by loretta ellsworth
finished this year & on the review docket: stolen by lucy christopher dash and lily’s book of dares by rachel cohn girl parts by john cusick room by emma donoghue bossypants by tina fey one of our thursdays is...
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book review: how to teach a slug to read
Have you ever seen a slug in your backyard or garden? If so, you may have wondered — “how on earth would I go about teaching this slug to read, if it asked me? I don’t know the first thing about teaching a slug to read!” Well, never fear — this wonderful, instructional book will tell you everything you need to know about teaching slugs the wonderful art of...
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book review: rage
Missy didn’t mean to cut so deep. But after the party where she was humiliated in front of practically everyone in school, who could blame her for wanting some comfort? Sure, most people don’t find comfort in the touch of a razor blade, but Missy always was … different.
That’s why she was chosen to become one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War. Now Missy wields a new kind of...
book review: countdown
The year is 1962, and the words on every American’s lips are nuclear warfare. For Franny Chapman, fear of destruction by the Russians is just one of her many fears. Why is her best friend Margie no longer acting like a best friend? Why is Uncle Otts so crazy… and is she a bad person for being embarrassed by him? Will Chris Cavas across the street ever pay attention to her as a girl? Who is...
book review: refresh, refresh
Cody, Josh, and Jordan’s fathers have all been shipped to Iraq. With no father figures in their homes, the boys start a wrestling group in one of their backyards, sneak into bars to drink, smoke, and pick up older women – but none of these ‘manly’ activities make the boys feel any closer to their father. Each boy spends a good portion of each day at their e-mail inboxes, clicking refresh over and...
I forgot to mention
screwingonthealtar:
I helped start a YA book club on Tumblr. So we’ll see how that turns out. The first book is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and then there will be nominating and voting for the next book. Check it out, if you’re interested.
http://onthesamepg.tumblr.com/
book review: the dreamer
Young Neftali loves to collect treasures, and finds value in the smallest things. Rocks, twigs, feathers, birds’ nests, a muddy boot, pinecones, old keys – these are all items important to Neftali and his thoughts. For Neftali is a thinker, a dreamer, a writer – all activities his father disapproves of, for thinking and dreaming make one weak. Neftali and his family go to the seaside for the...
Anonymous asked: i absolutely adored the books you recommended. thanks for the great reading experience!
book review: dirty little secrets
One morning, Lucy finds the body of her mother, a compulsive hoarder, under a pile of newspapers and National Geographics. Lucy has always kept her mother’s compulsion a secret, never wanting anyone to see the endless piles inside her house or smell the rotting garbage and mildew from the kitchen and bathrooms. She has been called “Garbage Girl” one too many times and will not go through that...
book review: the trick books
Are you looking for a good read-aloud or an old classic you haven’t read before? Look no further than the TRICK series, starring Kerby Maxwell and his faithful dog, Waldo! The TRICK series’ first novel, The Lemonade Trick, was published in 1960, and paved the way for a comedic series of misadventures mostly revolving around Kerby’s use of the Feats O’ Magic Chemistry Set. Kerby was given the...
book review: bruiser
Tennyson is angry with his twin sister, Brontë – because she’s dating a guy their school has dubbed “Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty.” Tennyson, lacrosse jock extraordinaire, takes it upon himself to threaten his sister’s new boyfriend, since she isn’t listening to his demands to call off the relationship. When Tennyson confronts the Bruiser in the locker room, he sees something that chills...
book review: notes from the dog
15-year old Finn is REALLY looking forward to this summer. His master plan is to speak to no more than twelve people (other than his dad, his grandpa, and his best friend Matthew), get a job, and read as much as he can. But when Johanna moves in next door and hires him to plant a garden in his own backyard, his plans completely change. Johanna tells Finn and Matthew that she’s going to train for a...
“I don’t owe everything to libraries, just almost everything.”
– Writer Salman Rushdie (via librarianista)
book review: kakapo rescue
When you think of a parrot, you might think of a bird with bright colors, a strong beak, a long tail, the ability to talk, and flying. You clearly haven’t met the kakapo of New Zealand, “the world’s most flightless parrot,” as famous science fiction writer Douglas Adams once wrote. Kakapos are also one of the world’s most endangered parrots – and many bird- and kakapo- lovers from all over the...
book review: circle of doom
Lizzie Sharp and her brothers have had a rotten slough of neighbors. They’ve all been grumpy, gloomy old couples – most recently the Potwards – with no kids at all and NO sense of fun. The sound of children having fun – this particular occasion on Lizzie’s thirteenth birthday party - is especially distressing to them. “Noise brings on Stanley’s arthritis. I should have thought you might show some...
book review: the rock and the river
Thirteen year-old Sam Childs has a lot to live up to in his house. His father, Roland Childs, is one of the most prominent faces of the Civil Rights movement in Chicago; and his brother, Steven (Stick), has just joined the Black Panthers, much to his father’s disappointment. Sam doesn’t know who to follow. At first, Sam goes to Panther breakfasts at his school because he is hungry, but after he...
book review: breathless
Two of the most important things in Katie Kittrell’s life have always been her brother and swimming. She feels comforted when slicing her body through the water, feeling the bubbles against her mouth, muscles burning and lungs pumping. But then her brother’s schizophrenia becomes too much for Katie’s family to handle, and he is sent away to an institution. Katie’s parents decide to send her away...
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book review: small as an elephant
Reading Level: Grades 3 - 6
Jack and his mother go camping in Maine over Labor Day weekend, but when Jack wakes up on their first morning, his mother is gone, along with her tent and the car. Jack’s mother has done this before, so he’s worried… but knows she’ll come back eventually. But the end of the weekend looms closer, and Jack’s food money has long since run...
book review: the last summer of the death warriors
After the death of his older sister, Rosa, Pancho Sanchez has nothing in the entire world. No family, no friends, and nowhere to go. All he has is the burning knowledge that someone killed his sister, and that her murder will be avenged. As for D.Q., death is all he has. Recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and living out his days in Las Cruces at a foster home, D.Q. spends his time writing the...
book review: the incorrigible children of ashton...
After graduating from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Girls, Miss Penelope Lumley is on her way to the very first job interview she has ever had. The interview is at the luxurious Ashton Place with the prim and proper Lady Constance Ashton, and everything about the job seems perfect. Except, of course, that Lady Constance has not – and will not – mention the children. But, eager to do her...
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book review: amelia lost
Reading Level: Grades 3-5
Amelia Earhart was one of the most formidable female pilots of her time, spurring her decision to be the first woman to fly around the world - alone. But a few hours into her flight, Amelia’s plane lost radio contact with the ground and became lost. She was never found. Fleming’s new biography of Earhart is great for younger readers interested in both...
book review: going bovine
At sixteen years old, Cameron Smith has his whole life ahead of him. That doesn’t mean he knows what he’s going to do with it, but he’s happy enough smoking pot in the school bathroom, going to Eubie’s record shop after school to pick up new Great Tremolo albums, and wishing he could sleep with Staci Johnson. But then Cameron is diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephalopathy – Creutzfeldt-Jakob...
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book review: tales of the madman underground
In fourth grade, Karl Shoemaker got sent to group therapy and was never released. After years of group therapy at school with other kids who don’t want to be there, Karl has decided it’s time for him to be normal. It’s not that Kurt doesn’t like his friends (the Madmen, members of the therapy group) - it’s that he wants to have a normal relationship. He plays mother to his own mom, who can’t...
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book review: the secret year
Everyone knows Julia Vernon. She’s one of the rich kids who live up on Black Mountain, dating the quarterback, beautiful, popular, in every way perfect. But no one knows Julia quite like Colt Morrison. And no one knows that Julia and Colt were together for a year, in love with each other for a year, despite their vast social and economic differences; despite Julia’s quarterback boyfriend. When...
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book review: i survived: the shark attacks of 1916
Reading Level: Grades 2-4 If one of your friends came up to you and told you there was a man-eating shark in Lake Michigan, right off the shore of Highland Park, you’d probably laugh at them. That’s what happened when Chet, a ten year old boy living in New Jersey in 1916, sees a shark fin in the river near his house. But no one believes him. A few days later, Chet hears about a...
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book review: brain jack
Reading Level: Grades 6+ After accidentally crashing the country’s online systems for three days, teenage hacker Sam finds himself recruited and working for Homeland Security - and all he intended to do was use Telecomerica’s giant bank account to purchase new state-of-the-art laptops and neuroheadsets for him and his best friend. Suddenly, thrust into the world of professional...
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book review: delerium
Love, aka deleria is the reason for all problems in the world, which is why upon every citizen’s eighteenth birthday, a cure is administered, severing the receiver from potential infection. Boys and girls under the age of eighteen, of course, are separated, lest interaction between two uncureds causes an infection. 17 year-old Lena Haloway, like all other teens her age, can’t wait...
currently reading (or: reasons why i'm not...
print books:
for-work books:
e-books: re-reading books:
audiobooks on the train:
book review: say the word
On the surface, this seems to be a book about a teenage girl who is struggling to be perfect in the eyes of others, yet remain true to herself. However, the book is FAR more complex than that — the cover and taglines do NOT fit the book at all. This is a book for those who like the chick lit genre but are looking for something a little heavier or for fans of heavy, dramatic moral dilemma...
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book review: wintergirls
‘…body found in a motel room, alone…’ Lia and Cassie, wintergirls. When Cassie dies, the duo is split, despite the yearlong gap in their friendship. Lia is left more alone than she has ever felt before. ‘…body found in a motel room, alone…’ Alone like Cassie must have felt the night she died, after calling Lia thirty-three times. Leaving thirty-three messages. Lia never picked up. Lia never...
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us dragons exist, but...”
– Chesterton. #YASaves
“…There’s her silence, loud as a roar, pulling at me like the greatest sadness...”
– The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (via minnielovesbooks)
#YASaves - Why young adult fiction is important. →
prettybooks:
It’s fascinating to see the ways in which reading young adult fiction has affected so many people’s lives. I think it highlights the importance of books in general and not just YA fiction. The Twitter trend is in response to this article on The Wall Street Journal.
Question for Everyone:
teachingliteracy:
About how many books do you think you have read in your life?
since i started keeping track of books i read (in mid 2005) i’ve read over 1600. so… 1600 in 6 years, and i’m 24… so… around 5-6k?
book review: the knife of never letting go
“The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say. About anything. ‘Need a poo, Todd.’ ‘Shut up, Manchee.’ ‘Poo. Poo, Todd.’ ‘I said shut it.’ We’re walking across the wild fields southeast of town, those ones that slope down to the river and head on toward the swamp. Ben’s sent me to pick him some swamp apples and he’s made me take Manchee...
what is this, i don't even →
#yasaves
