2010 Wrap-Up

2010 has been filled with great YA/Middle Grade books. I continued to stretch myself, reading a variety of genres, though I still have my favorite genres that I tend to read most often. In addition, I also listened to my first audio books and read my first Kindle book!

It is always hard to choose my "favorite" books because with so many great books to choose from, I typically read books that catch my interest and am rarely disappointed. Nonetheless, here are some of my favorite books from my 2010 reading list in alphabetical order from my reading list:

Marcelo in the Real World

The Hunger Games Trilogy

Carter Finally Gets It

Deadline

Mexican Whiteboy

The Dark Divine Novels

Everything by Simone Elkeles

The Dreamer

Everything by Lisa Schroeder

Here's to more great reading in 2011 both from favorite authors and new!

Wish

Yesterday my Kindle arrived, and I just finished my first Kindle edition book, Wish by Alexandra Bullen. At the start of the book Olivia has just moved with her mom and dad across the country. They decided to move from the Boston area to her mom's hometown in California during spring break after Olivia's twin sister Violet  died the summer before. The family has not been able to come to grips with the tragedy and thought the change would be good for everyone.

Struggling to fit in when her sister was always the sociable one, it is not long before Olivia is in for a surprise when she realizes that she was able to bring her sister back after she went to a shop by chance and ended up with a magical dress that could grant one wish, unbeknownst to her until her wish comes true and her sister is back. Violet starts guiding Olivia, giving her the encouragement to gain more confidence. Together they also learn that Olivia will be able to get two more dresses from the shop, and other than some rules, she will have a chance at two more wishes. Only, she is not sure what else to wish for, but some wishes come out without her meaning to or sometimes even realizing it, leading to interesting events.

Other than her family's struggle coping with their grief, Olivia was also trying to navigate friendships and a romance in her new town with conflicting interests. I found myself clicking away to see what was going to happen next with Olivia, Violet and all of the other characters. One thing that I enjoyed about the book was that it had some characters from the popular crowd, but they were actually nice, rather than falling into the typical popular stereotypes. As Olivia formed relationships with different people at school, her inner conflicts of trying to be loyal to different people were ever-increasingly complicating.

After reading the book I love looking back and thinking about the different layers of meaning present on the cover. Also, when I got to the end of the book, I realized that Bullen has another Wish novel, Wishful Thinking, coming out January 1, 2011. The first chapter was at the end of the book. It hooked my interest, and I already added to my Kindle Wish List.

Bitter Melon

I always love a good novel about culture and identity. Bitter Melon by Cara Chow is an excellently crafted story that demonstrates the struggles with culture clash as well as mother-daughter dynamics.  In her senior year of high school Frances should be taking calculus and a Princeton Review course in order to boost her chances of getting into Berkley in order to fulfill her mom's goals of college choice, major, and the eventual career of being a doctor. She knows how adamant her mom is about sticking to the path - no extra curricular activities, no relationships with boys or any other potential distraction from her plan. A plan that would reward her single, ailing mom for all the sacrifices she made in her life for Frances.

Yet, when Frances ends up in a speech class by mistake instead of calculus, she is in a class where she can thrive. She can't quite bring herself to submitting the change of class by the two week deadline. She begins weaving plans with a friend to blind her mom from the truth. Naturally, there are challenges in this line of thinking that only build the tension of the plot.

When I read the description of the book I had an image of Frances mother in my mind, but she was actually a lot more extreme than I had imagined. As she went to progressively greater lengths to keep Frances under her control, Frances' situation often seemed helpless and the relationship appeared more unhealthy as the events unfolded. Even in sleep she could not get away from her mom's wrath, as she slept on the top bunk in their single room apartment and her mom would make sure to toss and turn all night to show Frances that she was disappointed in her and to express her thoughts that Frances was an ungrateful daughter causing her mom pain and suffering.

The one glimmer of hope was that Frances was quickly approaching a cross roads where she would finally have some freedom once she started college. Yet, to gain that freedom it quickly became apparent that Frances would have to directly defy her mother and destroy much of their relationship. I wondered if Frances would be able to make difficult decisions that would ultimately lead to her own happiness, rather than remaining closely tethered to her co-dependent mother. After all, I knew that this was not a fairy tale style of a story and was not sure how it would end. As the plot developed I was constantly on edge, cringing about Frances' situation, seeing her dilemma. Yet, I was also sad for her mother - sad that she could not understand Frances and that she did not realize how all of her actions intended to make Frances never want to leave her were actually pushing her away.

I appreciated the various levels of relationships represented in the book through the different characters and their families with parents, teachers, and friends to show an array of perspectives from different cultures that ultimately help Frances figure out who she is and the decisions she wants to make. While reading Frances' mother and a family friend made me think back to The Joy Luck Club with the way they would discuss their daughters, as well as her mom's personality in general. This morning it was interesting to read Chow's information about her inspirations for the book on her website and realize how The Joy Luck Club had been pivotal in her high school years.

Bitter Melon will be released this week (December 28), and I highly recommend it! While reading I was also thinking about how it would be a great addition to a high school or college course or book club about identity, matched up with some of the other books that I have loved about the topic, including: Mexican Whiteboy, Born Confused, Randa Abdel-Fattah's books, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The way Chow wrote the book would facilitate a lot of discussion based on the multiple layers, dynamics, and considerations.

*ARC provided by the publisher.

Guess What Should Arrive Monday?

I have frequently thought about buying a Kindle, and last year started debating between a Kindle and an iPad. Nonetheless, I kept on thinking that I should read all those books on my TBR stacks and shelves before investing in an e-reader. However, it is quite clear that I will always buy more books than I can possibly read, so I would never reach that elusive time when I could catch up with my TBR books in order to justify my e-reader purchase.

At the same time, Kindle prices keep on dropping, and I love the new granite color! Because of my holiday  (as well as other) spending, I just received $50 in gift certificates to Amazon yesterday from my credit card rewards. I finally decided to get a Kindle!

Here's what I ordered:

$139 Kindle with Wi-Fi - I decided against the upgraded 3G version since I have wireless access from home and most airports have access as well. I had debated waiting until I could afford the larger Kindle. My sister recommended that size in case some of my college coursework texts are available via Kindle; however, from the pictures it seems like I will prefer the smaller size since it fits so nicely in one hand (or so it appears).

With the $50 gift certificate that would make it under $100, but then I also ordered this lighted leather cover.

Having books instantly arrive will have its positive and negative aspects. Mainly I will have to be very careful with clicking right away buying books out of control! My books waiting in the wings are proof of how little self control I can have at times when it comes to books. I am going to try to stick to only buying Kindle editions when I have already completed my previous purchase. 

Yesterday after ordering, I got an email that I can already start purchasing books that will automatically be on the Kindle once it arrives. I saw a post over at The Story Siren that Wish is free until January 3rd on Sky Shelf. I had never heard of Sky Shelf before but rushed right over and it was quick and simple to get set up. When I went to Amazon to hear more about the book, I noticed that the Kindle edition was also free right now, so it is probably that all electronic versions are free for this window of time. Thus, it will be the first Kindle book that I will read. 

I am also planning on buying a lot of the books that I will read for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge on my Kindle. After all seeing so many of the books that caught my attention when skimming through the debut author lists available on the Kindle version motivated me even more to take the plunge!

Ivy and Bean: Doomed to Dance

Last year my students introduced me to the Ivy and Bean series, and because so many of them loved the books, I bought the first five that were available at a local store. Thought I caught glimpses of the content, I had never read a full book, but they appeared to be similar to the Junie B. Jones, Clementine, and Judy Moody series.

This winter my daughter noticed Ivy and Bean Doomed to Dance at the store and wanted to get it. This year it has been fun to see her transitioning into enjoying reading chapter books with me, so I was excited to buy the book for her. We read it chapter by chapter each night before going to bed, and last night we read the last pages. Throughout the book we saw Ivy and Bean first begging their moms to agree to signing them up for ballet lessons and then living to regret their pleas once they started and realized it was not exactly what they had expected. When they realize that they will have to be squid for their performance it is more than they can take and they try to do anything possible to get out of it. The only problem is that their moms had the stipulation that in order to start ballet, they had to stick with it.

It was especially pertinent to A as we read because she just started ballet as well, and depending on the day, sometimes she loves it, while other days it does not seem to be quite what she was expecting. Although I think it has more to do with her energy level at the end of the day, rather than the actual ballet classes, it was fun to see the experience through Ivy and Bean's perspectives.

My daughter and I were laughing throughout the book, and I could see how it is an endearing series for children like my daughter who are transitioning into chapter books as well as still being an enjoyable, fun, quick read for middle schoolers. Now I think that I will be reading the other books that I got for my classroom library with my daughter and am thrilled that we are able to enjoy a wider range of books together.  A side note on this particular series is that I love that it is written by two authors, and they have cute bios in the back.

2011 Debut Author Challenge

Even though I had to post earlier this week about having to abandon the 2010 Debut Author Challenge, I can't help signing up for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge. Especially now that I am in my doctoral program and having to divide my reading time more than the past couple of years, I want to make the challenge a priority - a fun escape! I will not be signing up for any more challenges this year.

Kristi at The Story Siren is hosting the challenge, and she has plenty of information about it on her blog (including about, FAQs, buttons, and the sign-up). There are already many participants signed up; it takes a long time to scroll through all of the names!

I went through the list on The Story Siren blog of debut titles and searched for them on Amazon. I am still unsure of the twelve that I will read, although I know I will actually read twelve this year. I started an Amazon Wish List with the titles, so you can see the titles that caught my attention. I also added a Kindle and cover to that list as I am thinking that I will probably want to get a Kindle early next year, so I will hold off on books available on Kindle to see if I get one!

Here's to some great reading in 2011!

Shoot Out

This quarter my 6th graders have all been reading Mike Lupica books in book clubs. A couple of years ago when I started at my school I bought some of Lupica's Comeback Kids novels. I had not realized that since then he published a Comeback Kids novel about soccer, my students' overall favorite sport. I was able to buy a set of the books just in time to include in our book clubs, and that group of boys was thrilled!

Shoot-Out shares the story of Jake, a boy who is disappointed about having to relocate to a new school when his father accepts a new position resulting in him leaving a strong winning soccer team to one of, or maybe the worst teams in their league. Throughout the majority of the book Jake has a horrible attitude. I knew that based on Lupica's other books, Jake must have a dramatic change by the end of the book.

Early on in the book I realized that another character, Kevin, would play an important role in the book. After both his best friend moving and his mother dying in a relatively short time frame, Kevin is withdrawn from others and wishes his father would let him quit the soccer team. Though he is stuck on the team, that does not mean that he is going to try his hardest. The majority of the time it would be hard for him to do any less than the effort he provides.

As the book evolved, the two boys stories merged more than I had initially anticipated, both surprising each other with how much they were able to recognize their own weaknesses based on each other's comments, eventually leading to growth for both of them.

In general, the class loved all the different Lupica books they read, but many of the students have an extra special connection to soccer. Because Lupica already has many basketball, football, and baseball books, I would love to see Lupica write more soccer books. I just might do a Lupica author study each year with my 6th graders!

2010 Challenges: 1 Completed, 1 Abandoned

This year has been filled with fun teen chick lit, and today was the official tenth book that I labeled with the 10 in '10 Teen Chick Lit Challenge on my blog. I always love chick lit, whether it is for teens or adults, so the challenge was a great idea, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Here are the books that I read for the challenge in reverse chronological order, even though they are not the only books on my books read list from this year that could be categorized as teen chick lit:

Return to Paradise
Gamer Girl
Rich Boys
Swoon at Your Own Risk
Leaving Paradise
Rules of Attraction
Chasing Brooklyn
Far From You
Prada and Prejudice
Perfect You

If you want to read more about my thoughts about any of these books, just click on the 10 in '10 Teen Chick Lit Challenge label at the bottom of the post to see all challenge posts.

The other good news is that I still have a lot of the original books that I mentioned from my bookshelf still waiting to be read. I buy more books faster than I can read those I already have, so I always have a teen chick lit book on hand at all times!

As for The Story Siren's 2010 Debut Author Challenge, December 31st is quickly approaching, and it is apparent that I will not be reaching the challenge minimum of 12 debut author books, let alone my personal goal of twenty. Different aspects, such as beginning my doctoral program and needing to shift some of my reading priorities resulted in this. Yet, there are still advantages to signing up for the challenge, even though I hate starting something and not finishing... Because of the challenge, I actually bought a lot of the books that I intended to read for the challenge, so I will read them eventually.

Return to Paradise

Last night I got home and was exhausted. The last week before winter break is always pretty busy, leading up to the grand finale of the week with our winter performance at school. Afterward we took the girls for ice cream. When I got home, I instantly got into my pajamas. Despite my head ache and wanting nothing more to go to sleep, a package had arrived on my doorstep that day that included Simone Elkeles' Return to Paradise. I guess I still have not learned from experience. I thought I would be able to read a few pages, maybe a couple of chapters before sleeping soundly. As the pages kept flipping, I just could not put it down. Grateful that I had not picked it up for the first time on a school night, I read straight to the end, finally going to bed as the last page turned at about 2:15 a.m.

After finishing Leaving Paradise back in April, I knew that I would eventually be thrilled to get Return to Paradise. By chance Maggie and Caleb are thrown into each other's paths again as part of a four week program to travel around with four others talking to different teen groups about the effects of reckless teen driving. It ends up that the chaperone for the group is Caleb's transition counselor who is giving Caleb another second chance by giving the option to participate with the group of students.

Tensions run high for Caleb and Maggie as they are seeing each other for the first time in nine months since Caleb left Paradise without a trace at the end of Leaving Paradise. Both want to move on and prove that they have gotten over each other, only it is easier said than done.

As with the first book, Elkeles wove together the events from alternating perspectives shifting between Maggie and Caleb with each chapter. We see glimpses into what each is really thinking in contrast to what they say to each other. Both characters are struggling to decide who they really want to be and what would be best in the long run for both involved.

The conclusion of the book reminded me more of the style of Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry novels, which I loved. Just yesterday, I received one of Elkeles' email updates with the cover image for her third novel in that group of books. I am always thrilled that she has a steady stream of books coming out. We'll see if I remember with the next book that once I pick it up, I won't be able to put it down until I reach the end.

The Lost Saint

As with many books in a series, I don't recommend reading this review unless you have finished The Dark Divine. 

Bree Despain took me on a roller coaster ride with The Lost Saint, complete with plenty of twists and turns. I was clutching the book, eyes glued to the page to see what would happen next. 

The end of The Dark Divine left readers with a promise of what Grace might become - the potential to overcome the curse, living up to her name. Yet, early on in The Lost Saint, that plan becomes complicated. Daniel pulls back from helping Grace, but another opportunity opens up to continue developing her powers. Only, there are so many layers it is hard to decide what is really the best. Motivated to track down her brother, Grace sometimes made decisions that left me cringing as a reader, wondering if she just made the worst decisions or if it really would end up being exactly what she was supposed to be doing. 

While I anticipated some of the turns in the plot, Despain had plenty in store that was unexpected. I was constantly trying to determine the different character's motivations and who Grace should trust. I can hardly wait for another Dark Divine novel as The Lost Saint ended with quick paced events and a perfect balance of emotions and an overwhelming heap of questions for what is to come. Where will Despain's imagination take us with her next page turner? 

The Lost Saint Preview

Today I watched the official book trailer for The Lost Saint that was just posted on-line. After recently reading and loving The Dark Divine, the anticipation was building...

Then this evening a UPS delivery had multiple book packages for me: some textbooks for next semester, other educational books, and most importantly, some ARCs, including The Lost Saint. My statistics prep is now officially on hold. I can't resist getting started with The Lost Saint. I am also looking forward to my break - so many great books to come!

I love looking at the two covers side by side. I'm off to read. Expect a post within the next couple of days!

Mockingjay

*Spoiler alert: If you have not read the other two books in the series, I don't recommend reading this before you do. 

I started reading Mockingjay with my own theories. In Catching Fire Katniss brought up multiple times Peeta's gift with words. Although I was devastated that Peeta and Katniss were split up at the end of the book, I was relieved in thinking it was possible that Katniss would work on gaining Panem's freedom from the outside while Peeta used his gift for words on the inside. It did not take me long until I realized that was not exactly the case as the capital captured and tortured Peeta. Luckily, we were able to catch glimpses of Peeta from some broadcasts to at least know that he was alive.

Even though Katniss was out of President Snow's reach in District 13, strange events are also happening there, which made me wonder if their leadership was really what Pamen's rebels was working so hard for. Strict daily schedules, severe punishments, tight regulations of supplies... I could sympathize with the level of confusion that Katniss must have had - inner conflicts on what she should be doing.

 I found myself repeatedly telling myself to hold back from skimming to know for sure whether or not Peeta and Katniss both made it to the end of the series. As with the others, the book had plenty of twists and turns as well as chapters that left me eager to keep reading. At one point I was in such shock that I closed the book, sighing, unable to believe what happened, but upon regaining my composure and reading on realized that I had misinterpreted the events. Once again relief washed over me, but anxiety built about the impact of future events.

The turn of events at different points in the book bring clarity, confusion, hope, and disappointment. I had a headache while reading it - such heavy topics and knowing how much the decisions that Katniss had to make must have weighed on her. I have often heard author's say they love it when they are able to evoke strong emotions from their readers, and this book definitely did that for me, right up to the end, which I thought was the most perfect, perfect ending for the trilogy. I started reading the second and third books in the trilogy with trepidation. I had heard many say that they got worse as they went along, but I was not disappointed. I loved all three, and would not be able to choose a favorite. Now, I am ready to read a few books with lighter topics!

Catching Fire

***SPOILER ALERT: If you have not read The Hunger Games, I recommend that you don't read this yet.

Right on the heels of reading The Hunger Games, I could not wait to read Catching Fire. The conclusion of the first book in the trilogy left me wondering what would happen with Katniss and Peeta now that they would be returning home, as well as where Gale would fit into the picture. I had my own opinions about Katniss' true feelings and the confusions brought on by the horrendous experience of being obligated to participate in the Hunger Games.

Early on in the book it is apparent that their relationship is strained upon arriving back home, as well as Katniss' relationship with Gale. It seems like a no-win situation. To complicate matters, President Snow steps in to intimidate Katniss about a fire that she has ignited that could very easily lead to a rebellion. Though the situation is already highly delicate, Katniss and Peeta end up realizing that they will have to go back to the games once again because it is the 75th Hunger Games and they changed the rules of how they would choose the participants.

I loved the way that Peeta's character continued to unfold and the way that he always knows just what to say and is a strong rock for others around him. In much the same way, it was interesting to see Katniss continue to navigate the difficult situations around her, as well as trying to figure out Gale's characters and the other secondary characters.

Needless to say, the book always gave me plenty to think about, leading up to the gut-wrenching conclusion that left me a bit speechless. When I was talking to my students I told them my predictions for the concluding Mockingjay, knowing that I would not be surprised with a "happy" (given the circumstances) ending, but that I am also prepared for a chilling conclusion. They have their own theories.

Right now I am already about half way through Mockingjay. I just could not keep my hands off the glossy hard bound book. Typically, I never begin the next book in the series without reviewing the previous one; however, I just could not hold myself back this time. I will post about it when I finish it up, which will most likely be today or tomorrow.

Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover

I had heard a lot about Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series, and this year I bought a copy of each for my classroom library. There was a Scholastic special with Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, so I bought multiple copies to have for a book club choice. When I book talked it to my 7th graders this fall, I had imagined that it would be an all girls book club. Nonetheless, the spy aspect appealed to the boys as well. There was so much interest, that I did not end up reading the other choice with some of the students and consolidated what would have been two groups.

Though there were some gaps because we read the third book in the series without having read the first two, Carter did a good job in writing it so it could be read as a stand alone novel; although, I really want to go back and read the first two in order to get more of the back story.

The main character Cammie and her roommates go to a special spy school. Even though outsiders think it is a traditional school for girls - prim and proper, it is actually preparing them to advance to higher levels of espionage. It was fascinating to imagine what the school was like based on the description in the book.

This school year is complicated because right before school started when she was visiting one of her best friends/roommates, Macey, the two along with another boy are attacked. Macey's dad is running to be vice president, and after the occurrence, the girls and school know that they will need to take extra measures of safety to keep Macey and the school's identity safe.

Cammie, along with the other two roommates, can't seem to keep themselves out of trouble, as they want to personally have a hand in investigating and keeping Macey safe. Throughout the book they try to unravel just who tried to get to Macey at the start of the book and how they can prevent something similar from happening, but Carter has many twists and turns in mind as the details of the evening are unveiled bit by bit.

My students have not completed the book yet, so I had to make sure to take careful notes of where they were at to not give away any of the exciting events leading up to finally discovering the full story of what happened. So far, the book has been a hit with both the boys and the girls in the group! There has been plenty lively discussions. One of my sixth grade girls has also been reading through the series and is loving it.