Book Notes

Well, I am finally done with all the historical fiction reading that I had. It became really hard to get through some of them at the end. It’s sort of like how you like cake, but if you had to eat nothing but cake for weeks, you’d begin to think it was disgusting.

Despite the fact that this is one of the last historical fiction books that I read, I wanted to post it here because I really enjoyed it. It starts off so quickly, and the action doesn’t slow down until the last page. Astas’s son’s (Crispin’s) mother dies, he sees the Lord of their land meet with someone in the forest at night, is seen by them and pursued. He comes to find that he has a price on his head, his house in torn down, and the one person who knew a little about his past and was willing to help him is murdered. So begins Crispin’s life on the road. He meets Bear. A minstrel and performer who takes Crispin in. But can Bear be trusted? And if he can’t, is there anyone who can?

It took me a little bit to really get into this book–science fiction is not my favorite–but once I did, it was hard to put down.

Tally Youngblood lives in one of the Ugly dorms. But not for long. Her 16th birthday is right around the corner, and on that day she will be changed into a Pretty. Plastic surgery will make her just as beautiful as everyone else in New Pretty Town. And then she can spend her evenings going to fabulous parties.

Before she is changed, she makes a new friend, Shay, who tells her about a secret place called The Smoke. Where you don’t have to change how you look. Shay runs away there, but not before leaving Tally instructions on how to find it. Instructions that only Tally could figure out. Special Circumstances knows that Tally can find her way to the Smoke, information that they desperately want to have. And they will find a way to make Tally go there as a spy regardless of the cost. But once there, Tally begins to doubt which side she is on. Does she betray her friend? Or does she forgo the life she’s always dreamed of, and remain Ugly?

An amazing read, that goes so quickly. Even at 400 and some pages. It’s frustrating that the non-stop action keeps going, even after this book is finished. Pretties is next. We’ll see what happens there.

Yup. Still going strong with the Meg Cabot. This title picks right up where the other left off. The next day, I think. And keeps going strong. The writing is fun and witty, but I’m getting frustrated with Mia. How dense can she be that she doesn’t see that Michael likes her? I’ll have to get the third one now and see where that takes me.

Despite the fact that I couldn’t care less about football, or any sport, I loved this book. DJ lives on her family’s farm in football-crazy Wisconsin. After her dad injures himself, it’s up to her to do the majority of the work on the farm. It’s a great workout, and she is in top shape. Because her family is so into football, she is asked to coach Brian, the QB (that’s Quarterback to the rest of us,) for her high school’s rival team. She takes on the challenge and discovers that they have a lot in common. She even begins to like him, and it seems that he likes her too.

After a really rough summer, DJ decides that she wants to do something that she really enjoys. Football. And not just coaching it either. She wants to play on her high school’s team. But if she does, she’ll be playing opposite cute Brian. There is a lot to this book. More than just football, and more than just a neat boy story. There is a lot about relationships and communicating with people. It was enticing, and sweet, but also provided a lot of substance to think about.

I am continuing on with my Meg Cabot streak. This was fun. She certainly has a thing for famous people! First a President’s son and now a princess.

Mia just found out that she is a princess and the sole heir to the throne of Genovia–a really really small country. At first she thinks she can fly under the radar and not let anyone know. But eventually the press is alerted and now everyone knows. Her best friend stops speaking to her, the cutest guy in the whole school suddenly takes an interest in her, she’s failing algebra, and she has to have princess lessons with her strict grandmother.

A great book for when you want a nice, fun read.

This was my first Meg Cabot. I know, I know I’m behind. But I actually really liked it. I didn’t think that I would.

Sam (Samantha) Madison is a high-schooler living in Washington D.C. She has her one best friend, and loves to draw. Life is pretty good.  She starts taking a new art class where a vaguely familiar guy sits next to her. He’s pretty cute and he likes her boots. Later, when she saves the President’s life (yup, that’s right) that she realizes why cute art class guy looks so familiar. It’s not because he’s from her school. He’s the President’s son. And he likes her. A lot.

 This was a fun, quick read. I enjoyed Meg Cabot’s characters, and their true-to-life interactions with each other.

This was yet another re-read. I really should start reading new stuff! But this was so good, and each time you read a book you find new things in it, or a new passage catches your eye.

In this story, Nat Field, a Shakespearean actor, is transported back in time to 1599 London. No one knows that he from the future, and he is to perform in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream at the new Globe theatre with Shakespeare as director and performer. It’s a magical book, and if you like plays, or acting, literature or history you will love this.

This was our pick for this month’s 6th-8th grade book club. I’d never read it before, but became interested after I heard Jeanne DuPrau speaking about her writing. So when the group chose this title, I was very excited.

Lina and Doon are twelve and have just received their work assignments. Lina will be a Messenger, and Doon will be a pipeworker. Everyone works together to keep Ember running. However, things aren’t going smoothly. The lights have been flickering a lot lately. And without lights and a working generator, the entire city will be permanently plunged into darkness. Night and day. Things are looking pretty grim until Lina finds a box with partial instructions on it. It looks like a way out of Ember. If only she and Doon can figure it out before it’s too late.

This was another re-read. And a wonderful piece of historic fiction. Set in Scotland in 1306, during the reign of Longshanks of England and Robert de Brus  of Scotland, this book focuses on Robert’s daughter Marjorie and her captivity by Longshanks. She is taken and put in a cage in a town square in England on the Scottish border. This book picks up where the movie, Braveheart, left off, if that helps with setting.

I love the sense of place and time that this book provides. The people are dirty, and they are constantly hungry and cold. Yolen and Harris do a really good job of putting you in the character’s place. And what a great story. A fantastic afterword of what is true and what they had to fill in to make the story is provided.

This was another re-read. And what a fantastic book to re-read. I have so enjoyed this each time that I’ve read it. Hope and her Aunt are on their way to a new town, and a new life in Mulhoney, Wisconsin. Her Aunt Addie is a restaurant manager and is going to be taking over the care of the popular Welcome Diner.

For a small town there sure is a lot happening. There’s a man who is fighting lukemia and corrupt politicians; Braverman who is working as a short order cook and trying to save enough for college; a young mom struggling to make ends meet and care for baby daughter who might have a development problem. And there’s Hope. Who lost a lot of her faith in human beings, but may just be able to find it here at the Welcome Diner in Mulhoney, Wisconsin.

This is the sequel to Spinelli’s wildly popular Stargirl. This book is from Stargirl’s point of view, from her new home in Pennsylvania. She is writing “the world’s longest letter” to Leo, the boyfriend who broke her heart in Arizona.

This book is filled with quirky characters who make Stargirl seem quite average. And I didn’t like that about this one. I want Stargirl to be the sweetest and the most unusual. I also wanted her to not be so broken up about Leo. Sure he broke her heart, but isn’t the essence of Stargirl to be satisfied with who you are? Still, a good read if you miss Stargirl and want to check in on what she is doing now.

I’m starting to really like Jennifer Holm. This book has become one of my favorites. It’s a novel that is told not by the typical paragraphs and chapters, but through stuff. Her report cards, notes left on the refrigerator by her mother, receipts from her purchases at the drugstore, and the occasional clipped out horoscope. Put it all together and you get a great story.

You’ll just have to trust me and dive in. It’s hilarious and sweet. A perfect book to just curl up with for an afternoon.

This is a sweet and very quick read. It is a novel in poems about Josie, a girl with Celebral Palsey. It takes place during one summer in which Josie makes a friend, her grandmother has a stroke, and Josie’s relationship with her mother reaches a nice, new level.

Watch the bottom right hand corner of the  pages. What starts off as a little bud grows into a beautiful flower at the end. A nice read, especially if you enjoy poems.

This was our 6th-8th grade book club pick for November. One of my perennial favorites, I enjoy ever opportunity to re-read this. It’s the story of 11 going on 12-year-old Hattie Owen who discovers one summer that she has an uncle she has never heard of. Adam has been in an institution for mentally disabled adults, and with the advent of that school’s closing, he is returning to live with his parents. The characters and the situation are so beautifully drawn. Adam’s parents have always prided themselves on living a perfect, socially approved existence. Hattie is often at odds with how to treat Adam, he is an adult, and her uncle, but he often seems and acts more like a child.

The book is so beautifully written, and the personalities of the characters are so perfectly drawn. I recommend this to anyone who wants a quiet, sweet, and thoughtful story. Have tissues near by at the end.

Attention fans of Bras and Broomsticks! This new book by Lily Archer is similar to Bras, and tons of fun.

Three girls from three separate backgrounds are all attending a boarding school in Massachusetts for the first time. And all because they have something new and unwanted at home: a new stepmother. After a few false starts, the girls discover their commonality and form a tight friendship, calling themselves “the Poison Apples”. A group dedicated to the eradication of their stepmothers. What better time to make that happen than Thanksgiving break. Think Penguin stealing, itching powder and sibling affection redistribution and you begin to get the idea.

It’s an easy read, each chapter being told from one girls viewpoint. And the ending left it open to a sequel….