Busy, Busy, Busy

This month has felt very crazy! As proof you can see that I only completed TWO books, during the whole month, at least in the YA/middle grades category. I have been doing a lot of professional reading and a couple of adult novels for fun as well. My YA/middle grades stack keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Right now I am reading Leaving Gee's Bend. Unfortunately I forgot it at the school on Friday or else I probably would not have been able to resist putting it down this weekend. I also have A Secret Year and Island Sting waiting in the wings with many other books I just can't wait to read.

Hopefully February will bring more time for YA/middle grades reading. My writing course will last until March though, so I will be pretty busy with class readings until then. Something to look forward to though is a YA lit class that I will be taking this summer. I know, I feel so lucky to be able to get college credit for reading YA books. From what I have heard from students who already took the course, the options for books are pretty open but I will have to read from certain genres. How fun! It will be my light at the end of the tunnel during the busy school year where I sometimes don't find enough time to dedicate to reading. I will have to get pretty creative with my TBR pile to see how many I can fit into the required genres!

Slice of Life Mix-Up

I inadvertantly posted my Slice of Life post here instead of on my general blog. Here is the updated link to where I moved it.

New Addition to my Debut Author Challenge List

Today I just added Jessica Brody's debut YA novel The Karma Club that will release in April. I was at her site checking out the new Free Book Friday Teens book, and I was reminded of The Karma Club. I almost did not think to add her book to the list, but then I remembered that adult authors who are have a debut YA novel still count. I know that this will be one of the books I will read for sure.

Class of 2k10

I can hardly wait to get started reading debut novels from the Class of 2k10. Finding out about the classes is one of my favorite discoveries from blogging. I am always satisfied with the books from these classes of talented authors, and it has been fun to see the excitement among my students with so many of the books. Class of 2k7 is the only class that I have not read many of their books, although some day I will need to catch up!

The first books that I will receive from the class are The Secret Year and Leaving Gee's Bend. I just read a very enthusiastic post about The Secret Year over at The Story Siren, so now I am even more excited for my Amazon order to arrive.

I will be sure to check in often to the Class of 2k10 blog to see the latest!

Perfect You

Last year I read Elizabeth Scott's Bloom, and I could tell that she was an author that I would eventually have to read all of her books. Not only do I love her cover designs, but I also enjoyed her writing style and the plot of Bloom. Yesterday I picked up Perfect You and realized that I had not been mistaken.

Everything in Kate Brown's life seems to be going from bad to worse. Just when she thinks it could not get any worse, it does again and again. The book involves Kate trying to navigate her sophomore year without her best friend who lost weight over the summer and has decided to start a new life that does not include Kate. In addition, there is tension in her house because of financial issues. Unfortunately for Kate, her dad decided to quit his real job to follow his dream of selling Perfect You vitamins at the mall and he needs Kate's help out almost every day. The bright spot in Kate's life is that Will is starting to notice her. However, Kate is not sure what to think since he is notorious for not dating.

I enjoyed seeing how Kate evolved and the discoveries she made throughout the book as she tried to deal with everything that came her way. At times I wished she would trust that people in her life were being genuine, and at other times thinking she needed to make the opposite realization. Perfect You was a fun book, and I can't wait to see which of Elizabeth Scott's books I will be able to read next.

2009 in Review

In 2009 I read 92 middle grades and young adult books (I also reread one book, New Moon, and read the partial draft of Midnight Sun). While I did not keep a reading log for any other years, I am fairly confident that this is the most amount of books that I have ever read in one year (at least since high school for sure). I am so glad that I rediscovered my love of reading for pleasure after not reading much aside from academic reasons throughout my college career. Blogging has also been a great avenue to learn about reading ideas. My students often ask me who my favorite author and/or what my favorite book is. That is such a hard question to answer. I have so many books and authors that I absolutely love. I often find myself completely drawn into an excellent book, and close it upon reading the last page completely enthralled and wanting to read more about the characters or from the same author. Then I pick up another book that instantly draws me in as well. Nonetheless, here are some of my top choices from 2009. It is not a conclusive list for the year as there were many other books that will stick with me for years to come.



Absolutely everything by Simone Ekeles. When I do consider my favorite authors, she in the top group of authors who I know that I want to read everything they write as multiple books continue to captivate my attention and inspire the same amount of awe as the first book that piqued my interest. I am so excited to read Leaving Paradise which I already have on my bookshelf, as well as other books that she has in the works to be released this year.



The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas
My 6 year old daughter still periodically bursts out singing, "Hey mambo, mambo Italiano" from hearing it when I was watching the book trailer clear back at the beginning of the year. Every time that I see the book in my classroom library it brings a smile to my face as I remember Antonia's attempts to try to becoming the first living saint, while also seeking her first kiss. I loved her sense of self and conviction throughout the book.



MacKenzie, Lost and Found by Deborah Kerbel
The book cover drew me in from the very beginning, and I can still stare at the cover and remember the magical, yet gut-wrenching story within. I still like to think about exactly what happened to Nasir and wonder how MacKenzie's life has progressed.



I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
This book is brilliant, and I have been enjoying seeing this book passed around between many of my 7th grade girls this quarter who don't want to put it down once they start it and sparking a newfound interest for novels in verse. It's easy for me to see how they are quickly drawn in as I felt the same way!

2010 Reads

Alexie, Sherman
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian


Alvarez, Julia
En busca de milagros


Bachorz, Pam
Candor

Barrows, Annie & Blackall, Sophie
Ivy and Bean: Doomed to Dance

Bayle, B.J.
Shadow Riders

Booth, Coe
Tyrell

Brody, Jessica
The Karma Club

Bullen, Alexandra
Wish

Carter, Ally
Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover

Cassidy, Kay
The Cinderella Society

Chow, Cara
Bitter Melon

Cohen, Marina
Ghost Ride

Collins, Suzanne
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
The Hunger Games

Creech, Sharon
Heartbeat

Crawford, Brent
Carter Finally Gets It

Crutcher, Chris
Athletic Shorts
Deadline
Whale Talk

de la Peña, Matt
Mexican Whiteboy

Despain, Bree
The Dark Divine
The Lost Saint

Draper, Sharon
Copper Sun

Elkeles, Simone
Leaving Paradise
Return to Paradise
Rules of Attraction

Fletcher, Ralph
Flying Solo

Gallo, Donald R.
First Crossing

Hall, Bryan P.
Liselle and the Birch Prince (not a novel)

Herrera, Juan Felipe
CrashBoomLove

Hubbard, Jennifer R.
The Secret Year

Hubbard, Mandy
Prada & Prejudice

Jiménez, Francisco
Reaching Out

Johnson, Angela
The First Part Last


Kerbel, Deborah
Girl on the Other Side
Lure

Laing, Annette
Don't Know Where Don't Know When

Latham, Irene
Leaving Gee's Bend

Leader, Jessica
Nice and Mean

López, Diana
Confetti Girl

Lubar, David
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

Lupica, Mike
Shoot-Out

Lynch, Chris
Inexcusable

Mancusi, Mari
Gamer Girl

McCafferty, Megan
Second Helpings

McCahan, Erin
I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

Meyer, Stephenie
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Muñoz Ryan, Pam
The Dreamer


Myers, Walter Dean
Street Love

O'Connell, Jenny
Rich Boys

Salter, Sydney
Swoon at Your Own Risk

Schroeder, Lisa
Chasing Brooklyn
Far From You
It's Raining Cupcakes

Scott, Elizabeth
Perfect You


Soto, Gary
Cruzando el Pacífico

Taylor, Yuval
Growing Up in Slavery


Voelkel, J&P
Middleworld


Walker Ph.D., Melissa
A Place for Delta


Zweig, Eric
Fever Season

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is Annette Laing's first book in the Snipesville Chronicles series about three kids (Hannah, Alex, and Brandon) who find themselves in the middle of a mystery to search for George Braithwaite. However, it is not just an ordinary adventure. They did not necessarily choose this quest, but rather, they unexpectedly time traveled to England during World War Two and finding Braithwaite is their ticket back home. With each day their situation seems to get more complicated, including Brandon being split up from the other two and finding himself in England during World War One. The events of all three children's lives and the people they meet during the different time periods weave together in unexpected ways. While Hannah's attitude through a large part of the book was infuriating, by the end of the book I realized that I could understand her more and wanted to read more about her.

As I have always loved learning about history, it was fun to learn more about these historical periods in England. I loved that Laing is an historian and a British native. As the dedication of the book states, "For My Grandmother, May Simpson, and All the British Ladies of Two World Wars Who Enlivened my Childhood, With Much Love" I got the sense that Laing has a personal connection to the historical events, making details in the book be authentic. I am even more impressed by Laing's Camp Snipesville where she makes it possible to bring history alive for many children. I can't imagine how wonderful it would be to experience history in such a unique experience for those who are lucky to attend.

I look forward to eventually reading the next book in the series, A Different Day A Different Destiny where Brandon, Hannah and Alex will be off on more time-travel adventures whether they want to or not. Laing's site describes their destinations, "From the cotton fields of the slave South, to the poorest slums of Victorian Scotland, to London’s glittering Crystal Palace, the kids chase a twenty-first century gadget through the mid-nineteenth century. But finding it is only the beginning of what they must do to save two beloved places from destruction, and heal a wound in Time." Sounds like another great window into a historical setting through the eyes of modern day kids.