Just in time...

I almost waited a little too long to complete my books for the Book Awards Reading Challenge II, as it took me up until the last hour of the deadline day to finish my last selection, The Thief Lord. Because of the challenge I read 10 award winners that caught my attention but that may have otherwise stayed farther down on my to-read list, making way to quicker reads. While I go back and forth on whehter or not I enjoy book challenges, I always come back to the idea that they "force" me to read from a wider range of genres.

There is now a Book Awards Reading Challenge III that will run from July 1, 2009-December 1, 2009. For now I will hold off on it as I am still working on other challenges and want to leave myself enough time to complete my challenges and read whichever book grabs my attention at the moment as well. However, I may start up again for the 4th challenge scheduled for next year.

The Thief Lord

One of my students highly recommended Cornelia Funke this year, so I was excited to read The Thief Lord. Prosper escaped with his little brother Bo to Venice after his mother died in order to prevent their aunt, their new guardian, from splitting them up. However, life on the run for two young boys in a foreign country is not easy, especially as winter approaches and their aunt gets close to tracking them down.

I enjoyed the book from beginning to end as it took many unexpected twists and turns. The style of narration switching to shadow different characters, rather than sticking with one, made it even more unpredictable as all the puzzle pieces fit together. I look forward to reading more of Funke's works in the future.

Béisbol en abril y otros cuentos

Béisbol en abril y otros cuentos (the Spanish version of Baseball in April and Other Stories) is a fun mixture of childhood/coming of age stories. While young readers today can connect to universal growing up themes, many of the connotations are nostalgic to references from before my childhood. The English version of the book was originally published in 1990, but even at the time many of the references, such as American Bandstand and La Bamba would have been dated, while others, such as Guess jeans and the Karate Kid would have been more current. I enjoyed the collection, as would some of my students, but it may be harder for them to get into the stories because of the lack of background knowledge to some of the references.

Beautiful Americans

Beautiful Americans caught my attention earlier this year when I was browsing books at Barnes & Noble. Not only did I love the cover, but I was also drawn to the foreign exchange idea. I have always been fascinated with the thought of other countries and cultures, and in college I enjoyed a backpacking trip to Spain and an exchange to Mexico. I would have loved to have gone on even more exchanges while in college.

I loved seeing Paris through the eyes of PJ, Alex, Olivia, and Zach, each with their own interesting plot line that crossed over giving the stories a unifying theme. My favorite story line was Olivia's, but I got hooked on the others as well. At times it was easy to forget that the main characters in the book were high schoolers, rather than college students.

While I do not speak French, I still loved the inclusion of the language throughout the book. I always love linguistic challenges, and they were simple enough phrases with context and/or had some cognates with Spanish to help me get what it was saying. I appreciate that Silag has authentic experiences from living in France to bring to the book creating a sense of verisimilitude in the scenes.

This book goes from September-December of their exchange year, and it looks like the second book in the trilogy will be coming out December 24. (You should not read details about the second book until you have read the first since it gives away some information.)

Author Lucy Silag has a fun blog Perfectly Paris; even though it is written in English it has all the familiar blogger headings in French, a nice touch. I thought this post about herself as an 18 year old in Paris was particularly fun.

Cuba 15

Like Sister Chicas, Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa is another one of those books where the main character finds out she is going to have her quince and is less than thrilled about it in the beginning. These two books are great to read as a pair to compare and contrast. Unlike Sister Chicas, this book is told through Violet Paz's point of view the whole time, rather than having multiple perspectives.

Violet is a comedian, honing her skills for the school's debate team, going through her first romance, and trying to discover her Cuban roots, all while she is planning her quince.

Osa lives in Portland, Oregon and incorporates an aunt who lives there, but the book is set in Chicago where she spent her childhood. I love getting glimpses into how authors choose their settings.

(I am down to two more books on my Book Awards Reading Challenge List to read by the end of the month. Looks like I am going to make it!)

A Horse of Her Own

Annie Wedekind drew on her years of experience and passion for horses to create a realistic, detailed depiction of Jane's summer at a horse camp in A Horse of Her Own. Not feeling quite like she fits in with most of the girls her age who attend the camp and are more privelidged, Jane spends the majority of her time enthralled with the horses. Her biggest struggle is not being able to have her very own horse because of her parents financial restrictions, and early on at the camp her favorite camp horse is sold. She tries to block out the in crowd and focus on the few people at camp who appreciate her hard work and support her to grow as a rider. Jane tries to overcome losing "her" horse, find her place at camp, and push herself to do her personal best.

Girls who love animal adventures and overcoming obstacles will really enjoy this book. I am excited to see that Wedekind has a couple more horse books coming out this June: Wild Blue: The Story of a Mustang Appaloosa (The Breyer Horse Collection) and Little Prince: The Story of a Shetland Pony (Breyer Horse Portrait Collection).

The Secret of the Dread Forest

In the midst of the last week of school chaos, I picked up The Secret of the Dread Forest every chance I got. As with the first two in the trilogy, I was able to predict some aspects, yet most of the events were unpredictable. The realm of the genre leaves it wide open to have the unexpected, and it was fun to see how all the pieces would fit together.

I could not wait for this particular book in the series because Keelie goes "home" for the first time to the Dread Forest, which is located in my homestate, Oregon. I always love when books mention places close to where I live or have visited. I was dismayed to see "now it seems that her budding romance with hunky Sean is dashed" on the back cover, but held out hope because of the word seems. As always Keelie had to navigate strange occurences as she got to know her newly discovered (in the first book) elf side and all the secrets of the forest.

The back of the book mentiones that Keelie's story will continue with the Scions of Shadow trilogy. It does not give any details about it though, so I will be anxiously watching for more news later. While I only read one book from some series/trilogies to get a feel for them to discuss with my students, I am hooked into Keelie's world and expect I will be pre-ordering any of the books that come out.

Surprise Amazon Delivery

I can hardly contain my excitement. I had been expecting a couple books from Amazon yesterday that did not arrive, so today I came home to two boxes. I thought that for whatever reason they had to put each book in a separate box, but when I opened the first one I found my copy of The Secret of the Dread Forest. I wasn't expecting it until sometime in June and could not wait, so I am thrilled to see it arrive earlier than expected. The other books that am I reading will have to go on hold for a bit!

One Lovely Blog Award

Ashley at PikeAlicious Books recently let me know that she selected my blog for a One Lovely Blog Award. Don't you just love her blog heading art?

Here is information about the award:
This award is given to new blogs and blogging friends.
The rules to follow are:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

It took me a while to look around from time to time for new book blogs. I had fun glimpsing through various blogs, and I am excited to have 15 more blogs to check up on now.

Here are 15 fun blogs that I recently found:
1. Teen Book Review. I love Jocelyn's signature at the bottom of her posts, and it looks like the blog has a fun mixture of posts, including fun details about an upcoming exchange to Germany.

2. The Story Siren. Although I have seen Kristi's "In My Mailbox" idea frequently on other blogs, I was not as familiar with her own blog. I can relate to her because she loves YA, but she is not a teenager anymore. It appears that her blog always has something fun going on.

3. The Page Flipper. In addition to being another fun book blog, I am excited about the online book club the blog mentions. I have always thought it would be fun to be involved in an online book club. I can't wait to look into this one.

4. J. Kaye's Book Blog. One of my favorites on this site is What are You Reading Mondays? That looks like it would be fun to start doing.

5. Jen Robinson's Book Page. The link goes to Robinson's mission statement page because that was what really hooked me on thinking the blog was special. Sure I have seen other blogs of adults writing about children's literature, but I loved her reason of why she decided to start her blog. While her whole mission is worth reading, here is a taste of what she says, "And it's for people like me, who believe that the world will be a better place if more children grow up with the opportunity to love books." I share her thoughts that helping establish life long readers has the power to change the world.

6. Book Divas. It looks like Book Divas has a lot of fun components to offer, including a forum.

7. Chicklish. A fun UK teen book review site. I have always enjoyed books and movies set in the UK, and this site has a lot of personality.

8. Eat Sleep Dance Read. I could really connect with her post about Lovestruck Summer since those were my sentiments exactly: excitement over getting the book in the mail and not being able to put it down once I got started. It looks like she has reviewed a lot of books that I would enjoy, so it will be a good blog to follow for book ideas.

9. Reviewer X. I can relate to anyone who as a reading "addiction"!

10. Maw Books Blog. I found out about her site from a link leading to her post about being asked to be on the book blog panel at Book Expo America. How exciting! I bet I will enjoy and learn a lot from her site.

11. The Book Obsession. It looks like this blog reviews books that I have also enjoyed/want to read, so it will be another great source for reading ideas. I especially can't wait to read Shrinking Violet and she has a posts for a review and interview with the author.

12. HipWriterMama. I was expecting this to be focusing on writing, but was surprised that it actually has a good blend of both reading and writing (makes sense since they are so interrelated). I especially liked this post mentioning Readergirlz. I had heard about them before, but I didn't realize how it worked. It is another opportunity to become involved in an on-line book club. I also like the topic of their May book. I am too late to get a copy and read it on time, but it will be fun to read the discussion and look into what their June book will be.

13. DogEared. This is so fun - it's a National Geographic Kids blog. I will check into this often for good mentor texts to show to my students for kids their age writing reviews. I liked this description page of the contributors.

14. Powell's Books Blog. Being able to visit Powell's in Portland is always a fun experience. I am excited to see that they have a blog.

15. Eva's Book Addiction. I love seeing a librarian's thoughts. If I were to do a different profession, I would love to be a librarian or book store owner. I love being surrounded by books and seeing the latest.

Initiation

Since I am a big fan of Class of 2k9, I was thrilled to win a copy of Initiation by Susan Fine. Mauricio Londoño can't wait to be a St. Stephen's gentleman. After visiting the campus and viewing school publications, he is excited to step into the family waiting to accept him with open arms, only everything is not as it seems. He is swept into the brutal world of the all boy's school, focusing on survival. A digital scam backed by elite members of the school's student body leaves Mauricio wondering more than ever about just how the school runs.

In some ways the book reminded me of a boy version of some of the themes in Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld such as having such high hopes for a private school and many unexpected aspects to the schools once starting. Yet, there were also many differences in the plot, such as the integration of technology and social networking.

While I enjoyed the book, I do not think it is for everyone as Mauricio narrates in a gritty way with frequent profanities and crudeness. It is "real" for the story he is telling and makes it more believable, but I can see that some readers would be uncomfortable or offended based on their backgrounds. I grew up a very sheltered life with a dad who only said, "Yoweeeee" after slamming his hand with a hammer on accident. Needless to say, I was never in a setting with frequent bad language, so myself as a high schooler would not have been ready for this book. I do however appreciate that Fine made sure to craft the story in a way that she thought was true to what Mauricio and the St. Stephen's boys were like - how they talked, how they acted... She even mentions in the acknowledgments that her husband would give advice, such as "No ninth grade boy would ever say that."

The sense of scandal was building throughout the whole book, and I was anxious to see exactly what it would end up being, what would lead to it, and the aftermath. Mauricio narrates the story as a senior looking back on his freshman year; it was satisfying to have the ending of the book give us an indication of what has happened in his life during the gap between the end of his freshman and senior years.

As a teacher who loves to investigate identity and culture it was interesting to consider Mauricio's identity development and wonder about the type of person he ends up being. The last line gave me a lot to think about, although I don't want to go too much into it and give anything away. I will just say, my name just isn't right without the accent even though I married into the name and didn't grow up with it.

La Petite Four

Fresh off my excitement for nineteenth century society girls and balls from Bewitching Season, I received La Petite Four by Regina Scott in the mail. Since I noticed that the authors of the two books have a blog together about being a teen in the nineteenth century, I was expecting to see some similarities between the books.

La Petite Four did prove to be a worthwhile read as it had a great balance of mystery, romance, and historical fiction. I appreciated that the book was not predictable, as something I anticipated would end up being unveiled did not end up as I expected. Although I was not way off base, it was enough of a twist that it was a surprise once the events unraveled. The four heroines led me along their path of adventures.

An added bonus is that the book is part of Kay Cassidy's Great Scavenger Hunt Contest, so there is one more book that I can add to my classroom library to have available for my students to participate in Cassidy's fun, creative idea.

Challenges Update

I have two challenges with quick approaching deadlines. I recently posted about my Book Awards Reading Challenge with a June 1st ending date, and shortly after I realized that I said that I would complete my Class of 2k8 Challenge by June 2009.

These books will be at the top of my reading list with some possible detours:
Cuba 15 (started)
The Thief Lord
Baseball in April (started)
La Petite Four
Braless in Wonderland
A Horse of Her Own

Bewitching Season

Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle caught my attention and made me wish that I could have just had SSR with my students all day long so that I would not have to wait to finish it! This evening when I got home and put the girls to bed I was curious to check on Amazon to see if Doyle has anymore books coming out, and I was really excited to see that not only does she have another book coming out this fall but that it is book 2 of the Leland sisters. I can't wait for September when it is released.

On Doyle's site, she gives the following description of her components for a good book, "History…mystery…romance…magic…heroines who discover their own unique strengths and abilities…heroes who are worthy of them… the perfect ingredients for a book!" I couldn't agree more. I was quickly pulled into twins Penelope and Persephone's lives as they were getting ready to make their debut in society and gearing up for a busy "season" filled with balls and social gatherings. The twins balance each other well as Pen can't wait for all the excitement and Persy would rather be back at home. Both are shocked when their governess and magic teacher disappears, and they also have to find a way to solve the mystery of what happened to her in order to save her without calling attention to their search. Then there is Persy's romance - her very own Mr. Darcy. I was left on edge hoping that she would not have the same fate of Elizabeth Bennett and that she would have her happily ever after. I can think of some students in particular who will absolutely love this book!

The book was very satisfying and left me anxiously waiting for its follow-up. In the mean-time I realized that Doyle has a fun blog with Regina Scott, a fellow Class of 2k8 member and author of La Petite Four (which I should be receiving in the mail any day and am even more excited to read now).

Umbrella Summer

In Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff Annie is coping with her brother's sudden death by being careful, very careful about every little detail in her life. Rather than spending the summer enjoying her friends, she is reading up on every imagineable medical condition, stocking up on bandaids, and always coming up with another way to be more cautious in her everyday life. A new neighbor is the key to helping Annie realize what is most important in her life.

I absolutely love the fun cover and the significance of the umbrella in the book. This book is good to help middle grade students understand different ways that people grieve.

Lovestruck Summer

Melissa Walker's latest, Lovestruck Summer, is officially released today, and I was lucky enough to get an early copy yesterday. Even though I have stacks of book I can't wait to read, I pushed aside the current book I am reading to get started on Lovestruck Summer. It ended up being one of those books that I did not want to put down, despite the hour until it was over.

I loved the book beginning to end. I could tell from the first pages that I liked Quinn's voice and the plot of how she called up her favorite band's label to see if she could intern there for the summer before her freshman year at college. She was ecstatic to move to Austin for the summer and live with her cousin. She is in for more than she bargained when she realizes that the studious cousin she remembers is actually very involved in her sorority and has a cross-dressing dog who takes up the second room leaving Quinn with the couch. As the title implies there is also plenty of romance in the mix, making for an exciting (and confusing) summer for Quinn.

The book had several good lines that I loved. Walker captured the story well, and came up with the perfect ending. Another bonus is that I love it when authors make references to characters in their other books, and there is a fun part where Quinn is exchanging facts with a friend about her life back home and we realize that she worked at the same theater as Violet from Walker's other books.

Lovestruck Summer is another hit for Walker. Get to your nearest bookstore to celebrate its release week and check out the fun posts that Walker has on her blog this week.

Fever 1793

As with Chains, Halse Anderson beautifully gives a glimpse of a historical time period through her fictional plot in Fever 1793. A group of my students read this for book clubs and I read it along with them. Every one in the group really enjoyed it, even one boy who was skeptical about being "stuck" with all girls and worrying about how it might have too much romance in the book. Then he ended up being one of the biggest fans.

When I recently announced that I was adding some books from Halse Anderson's vet volunteers series to the classroom library. I told the students that I had not read them but I was excited to see the series because I loved her other books. I gave examples of what else she had written but forgot to include Fever 1793 to the list and my students quickly pointed out my omission.

With each chapter Halse Anderson starts out with a historical document that links to the narrative to follow. There is always a lot of excitement and uncertainty as readers are left wondering who will survive and who will lose their lives to the dreaded fever. The book is especially pertinent now to link to current events of swine flu for students to picture how panic and unforeseen medical emergencies can lead to difficult settings. Hearing about how communities in Mexico are responding to swine flu made me think about how it is a modern example of how the community in Fever 1793 must have been toward the beginning of the book.

Mattie, the main character, also shows a lot of growth and development throughout the book. In fact, that was one of my students' favorite aspects of the book. The end of the book also have further background information about the flu and how Halse Anderson pieced together historical events with her imagination.

I am excited to have more students read Fever 1793, as well as other works of historical fiction that capture events so well.

2009 Reads

I decided to create a master list with all the books I read in 2009, listed by author. There may be a few exclusions to the list throughout the year because I decided against posting negative reviews, and it would be obvious that the books without an accompanying review were not my favorites, so I decided to omit them all together!

Abbott, Hailey, Melissa de la Cruz, Aimee Friedman, and Nina Malkin
Mistletoe

Abdel-Fattah, Randa
Does My Head Look Big in This?
Ten Things I Hate About Me

Alvarado, Lisa with Ann Hagman Cardinal and Jane Alberdeston Coralin
Sister Chicas

Amato, Mary
Invisible Lines

Appelt, Kathi
The Underneath

Banks, Piper
Geek High

Borris, Albert
Crash Into Me

Brown, Teri
Read My Lips

Byars, Betsy
Tornado

Cabot, Meg
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day

Childs, Tera Lynn
Oh. My. Gods.
Goddess Boot Camp

Choldenko, Gennifer
Al Capone Does My Shirts

Clark, Terri
Sleepless

Creech, Sharon
The Unfinished Angel

Dessen, Sarah
Just Listen

Draper, Sharon
Romiette and Julio
Tears of a Tiger

Doyle, Marissa
Bewitching Season

Elkeles, Simone
How to Ruin a Summer Vacation
How to Ruin My Teenage Life
How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation
Perfect Chemistry

Engle, Margarita
The Poet Slave of Cuba

Ferraro, Tina
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress

Freitas, Donna
The Possibilities of Sainthood

French, S. Terrell
Operation Redwood

Fine, Susan
Initiation

Fitzmaurice, Kathryn
The Year the Swallows Came Early

Funke, Cornelia
The Thief Lord

Godbersen, Anna
The Luxe

Greenwald, Lisa
My Life in Pink and Green

Graff, Lisa
Umbrella Summer

Hale, Bruce
Dial M For Mongoose

Halse Anderson, Laurie
Fever 1793
Wintergirls

Haywood Leal, Ann
Also Known as Harper

Hemingway, Edith M.
Road to Tater Hill

Herbsman, Cheryl Renée
Breathing

Hoover, PJ
The Navel of the World

Jensen Abbott, Ellen
Watersmeet

Johnston, Tony
Any Small Goodness

Joseph, Danielle
Shrinking Violet

Joseph, Lynn
El color de mis palabras (translated version of The Color of My Words)

Kelsey, Marybeth
A Recipe 4 Robbery

Kerbel, Deborah
Mackenzie, Lost and Found

Hennesy, Carolyn
Pandora Gets Jealous

Laird, Elizabeth
A Little Piece of Ground

Logsted, Greg
Something Happened

Lupica, Mike
Miracle on 49th Street

Lytton, Deborah
Jane in Bloom

Mackler, Carolyn
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

Marr, Melissa
Wicked Lovely

McCafferty, Megan
Sloppy Firsts

Meyer, Stephenie
Breaking Dawn
Eclipse
Midnight Sun, partial draft
New Moon (read Jan. 2009 and reread Nov. 2009)

Mikaelsen, Ben
Touching Spirit Bear

Mikulski, Keri
Screwball: An Ashley Clarke Novel

Myers, Walter Dean
Lockdown

Na, An
Step from Heaven

Nelson, R.A.
Teach Me

Neri, G.
Chess Rumble

O'Connell, Jenny
Plan B

Osa, NancyCuba 15

Parry, Rosanne
Heart of a Shepherd

Pennypacker, Sara
Clementine

Reed Fischer, Debbie
Braless in Wonderland

Riddell, Chris
Ottoline Goes To School

Riordan, Rick
The Lightning Thief

Rodgers, Mary with Hach, Heather
Freaky Monday

Rodriguez Wallach, Diana
Amor and Summer Secrets

Salter, Sydney
My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters

Sandoval, Lynda
Chicks Ahoy

Scott, Elizabeth
Bloom

Scott, Regina
La Petite Four

Schroeder, Lisa
I Heart You, You Haunt Me

Silag, Lucy
Beautiful Americans

Soto, Gary
Accidental Love
Béisbol en abril y otros cuentos

Spinelli, Jerry
Love, Stargirl

Stanley, Diane
Bella at Midnight
Elena

Stiefvater, Maggie
Shiver

Summers, Gillian
Secret of the Dread Forest

Summy, Barry
I So Don't Do Mysteries

Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa
Haters

Vogel Frederick, Heather
The Mother Daughter Book Club

Walker, Melissa
Lovestruck Summer
Violet on the Runway

Wedekind, Annie
A Horse of Her Own

Williams, Suzanne Morgan
Bull Rider

2008 Reads (Incomplete)

Here is my 2008 reading list from the time I started blogging in summer '08 to the end of the year.

Alvarez, Julia
Cuando Tía Lola vino de visita (a quedarse)
Return to Sender

Avi with Rachel Vail
Never Mind!

Berkley, Jon
The Lightning Key

Brooks, Heather
Running Horse Ridge

Butzer, C.M.
Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel

Calonita, Jenn
Secrets of my Hollywood Life

Creech, Sharon
Hate That Cat

DiCamillo, Kate
The Tale of Despereaux

Farmer, Nancy
The House of the Scorpion

Flake, Sharon G.
The Skin I'm In

Hale, Shannon
The Princess Academy

Halse Anderson, Laurie
Chains

Hoover, PJ
The Emerald Tablet

Jaramillo, Ann
La línea

Jennings, Patrick
We Can't All Be Rattlesnakes

Lubar, David
Punished!

Martinez Wood, Jamie
Rogelia's House of Magic

Meyer, Stephenie
Crepusculo (Twilight)

McCormick, Patricia
Cut

McKissack, Patricia C.
A Friendship for Today

Meyerhoff, Jenny
Third Grade Baby

Muñoz Ryan, Pam
Esperanza Rising

Myers, Walter Dean
Monster

O'Dell, Scott
The Black Pearl

Peet, Mal
Keeper

Rayburn, Tricia
The Melting of Maggie Bean

Rennison, Louise
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging

Sánchez, Carlos Cuautémoc
Sangre de campeón

Sandoval, Lynda
Who's Your Daddy?

Selznick, Brian
The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Soto, Gary
Tomando partido (Taking Sides)

Summers, Gillian
Into the Wildewood
The Tree Shepherd's Daughter

Tacang, Brian
The Model President

Taylor, Brooke
Undone

Vande Velde, Vivian
Three Good Deeds

Viau, Nancy
Samantha Hansen has Rocks in Her Head