Edgar winner Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready

Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready

Claudine has long buried her own needs and dreams to care for her alcoholic mother. But after her mom suddenly disappears , a much darker truth that lies buried under years of angry denial and enabling behaviour is waiting to be uncovered. When Claudine eventually hits rock bottom, she must literally dig to find the secret that lies in a shallow grave behind the families trailer. Buried is a suspenseful mind-twisting psychological triller that will keep you turning the pages.

Test by William Sleator

Test by William Sleator

Pass the test and your dreams come true. Fail and you might as well be dead.

There are two worlds: the one where the rich and powerful travel by helicopter to homes of unbelievable luxury; and the other, where the unlucky sit in snarled traffic that never ends, breathing the polluted air that will eventually kill them. The test decides which world you'll live in. And Ann knows she won't pass. She'll never escape the traffic. But then strange things begin to happen. A man on a motorcycle follows her home; a mysterious boy reveals a dangerous source of test answers. Ann realizes that the test holds an ugly secret, and revealing it could be deadly.

Thought provoking through most of the book, the ending seemed a bit tidy for me.

Perfect you

Perfect you by Elizabeth Scott

Kate's life is pretty miserable. Her best friend has dumped her. Her father has quit his job to sell infomercial vitamins at the mall. Her family, as a result, is having some serious money problems that can only be solved with Grandma coming to stay. Of course, having Grandma around causes more stress for everyone. Kate also has a major crush on a boy who has caused her nothing but torment since they first met back in grade nine. Will also has a reputation around school for hooking up with every girl he sees. Kate likes Will, but doesn't want to, and when he starts to act like he might be interested, she certainly doesn't want to be another name on that long, long list of girls Will has been with, does she?

I liked this story of family, friends and the guy. I mostly got a kick out of the family, her Dad sees nothing wrong with the pyramid scheme he's involved with and the tactics he uses to sell afew more vitamins - dress up like a bumble-bee or carrot doesn't faze him but would mortify any teenager. Thanks to Megan for giving me this one to read.

Fakie

Fakie by Tony Varrato

While running from his father's murderer, Danny and his mother have moved, changed names and personas so often they've lost count. This time as Alex Miller, Danny takes on the persona of a skater. With his new skateboard, and baggy pants he finds it easy to fit in and feel like he's making real friends for the first time in a long time. Alex hopes he and his mother won't have to move again, but then his worst fears come true, his mother is kidnapped. Dun, dun, dun.

The book shifts perspectives from Danny/Alex to the villian, the man Danny put behind bars that now wants payback. The transition from these two perspectives was rough and could have been handled better.

Teaser

This is the teaser that Scholastic Publishing is putting out there for all of us fans of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Well this, Catching Fire, the book jacket cover and the release date - Sept. 8, 2009. It sounds like they are even protecting and hiding away any advanced reader copies.

I guess we'll just have to wait.

Diary of a wimpy kid: the last straw

Diary of a wimpy kid: the last straw by Jeff Kinney

The third installment of the diary and doodles of Greg Heffley, otherwise known as Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Once again I was laughing outloud at Greg and his friends and family. Hilarious, fun and funny. Ploopy! need I say more. How about when he compares Shel Silverstien to the boogeyman.

This is sure to be popular so make sure you get your name on the holds list. And if reading it in class make sure you have a way to explain your giggles.

Varjak Paw

Varjak Paw by SF Said

Varjak Paw is a house cat, a Mesopotamian Blue, descendants of the great Jalal who lead the Mesopotamian Blues to the new world. His family lives with the Contessa, in her mansion high up on a hill. This family of cats has never ventured outside and in many ways have forgotten what it means to be a cat.

Varjak is somewhat of an outsider within his family due to the colour of his eyes and his believeing his Grandfathers tales of the ancient way (a secret martial art for cats). When the Contessa mysteriously disappears and a dark stranger with his two ominous black cats arrive. In order to get rid of them someone is going to have to go to the outside world and find something called a "dog" that should scare the cats away. Varjak decides to take on the task.

We follow Varjak as he ventures into this new world, filled with noise, strange animals, street cats and encounters the big city. Varjak learns the way of Jalal and will have to use all his new skills in order to defeat gangs of street cats and dangerous man that now resides in the Contessa's home.

For fans of Erin Hunter's Warrior series here's another strong choice. Be sure to also look for The Outlaw Varjak Paw.

Loads of new books

For any of you that missed coming to library this last week, you missed my excitement over the two huge boxes of books that arrived on Tuesday. I've been real busy trying to prepare them so you can take them out, as well as reading a book a day - for booktalks next week. Here's some of my favourites from this new batch.

Alive: the story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read

On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the forty-five original passengers and crew, only sixteen made it off the mountain alive. For ten excruciating weeks they suffered deprivations beyond imagining, confronting nature head-on at its most furious and inhospitable. And to survive, they were forced to do what would have once been unthinkable ...
This is their story -- one of the most astonishing true adventures of the twentieth century.

Toucing the Void by Joe Simpson

Joe Simpson and his climbing partner Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death. The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men. Yates, certain Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall but, crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten, was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson hopped, hobbled and crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reaching the base hours before Yates had planned to break camp. How both men overcame the torments of those harrowing days is an epic tale of fear, suffering and survival; a piognant testament to the unshakeable courage and friendship.

Winter break reading

Wrecked by E.R. Frank

Dear anyone who cared about Cameron, I was the driver of the "other" car. The police and my mother and my father and plenty of people are saying that I didn't kill her. But I know I did. That's what her parents must believe. And my brother Jack. He always sees what's true. I want to tell him how sorry I am about the accident. I want to say a lot of things to him and everybody - like how Cameron was smart and beautiful and kind in a way that isn't all that common in high school. Like how much Jack loved her and how sometimes I can hear him crying through the wall at night. I want to say how bad everything can get. In one split second. Upside down and shattered. Just like that. Wrecked. --- from the back cover.

The novel gives an honest portrayal of the ups and downs that plague the main character Anna, as she tries to cope with the aftermath of the accident. Guilt, fear, friendship and the pain of learning to move on are at the heart of this book. If anything, I would have liked a stronger finish.

Winter break reading

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Maddie Cook feels like a slave in her mother's coffee house during the hot summer of 1793, she longs for excitement, change, anything really. So when rumors of a fever are heard amoung the crowd that frequent the coffee house Maddie isn't anticipating that this will be the most profound change of her life.

The "fever" turns out to be Yellow Fever, and it spreads slowly and steadily through the inhabitants of Philadelphia (most say that it's a death sentence). The rich flee to the countryside (assuming they'll be safer there), looters and thugs, sick people and corpses are those left in the city. This illness makes strangers and enemies out of family and friends. The danger is great for a independent minded girl like Maddie who will have some hard choices to make during the summer of 1793.

Read about the 1793 Yellow Fever epidemic, an event that killed 10% of Philadelphia population in 10 months, through the eyes of a girl at the centre of it all.

Winter break reading

Toby Wheelr: Eighth-Grade Benchwarmer by Thatcher Heldring

Toby Wheeler love basketball and playing pickup games at the local rec centre with his best friend, JJ, at his side. But lately JJ's been acting like he's too busy for Toby, and Toby knows it will only get worse once basketball season begins at their junior high. That's because JJ's the star of their school team, while Toby is just an ordinary gym rat.

When Coach Applewhite offers Toby a chance to join the team, Toby's eager to prove he can keep up with JJ. But practice doesn't go quite as Toby planned, and when the coach announces the lineup, Toby's hopes of playing ball with JJ are history: he's an eighth-grade benchwarmer! Befriending the coach's daughter only make matters worse. Now the only way Toby will get in the game is if he starts thinking like a team player, on and off the court. (From the back cover)

Well, as many of you know I'm kind of short and I never really cared for basketball, but I continue to try and understand what a pic-and-roll might be. I know Lakie has some fabulous B-Ball players so, if you love sports and need something for that next book report, this was an easy read with plenty of good basketball action. I liked the story of how Toby and JJ's friendship was put under pressure from basketball and how they kind of got over that hump. The side story of Toby's family was lacking and unnecessary.

Winter break reading

The Smile by Donna Jo Napoli

Here, is the most famous portrait in the world. Here, in prose as rich as the Renaissance - is Mona Lisa's tale -- a story of passion, intrigue, loss and most of all love. Elisabetta longs for romance, though she thinks she's too plain. Then on a fateful visit to glittering Florence, she catches the eye of the great Leonardo da Vinci and falls for a boy named Giuliano de Medici. It is a dangerous time to be involved with a Medici. As tradegy and chaos threaten their happiness, Elisabetta faces the bittersweet truth of love.

What I saw and how I lied

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Bundell

Secrets this story has them. Evie our main character at fifteen she wants more than anything to be a grown-up, and not just any kind of boring grownup but the glamourous, sexy, Hollywood kind that her mother is. Evie's mother (who is a knockout) has her share of secrets too, and as a way of protecting Evie she likes to keep her looking and feeling like a helpless little girl.

Evie's stepfather Joe has just returned from the War in Europe and has many things he won't talk about, as well as a scheme that takes the family to Florida. Enter into the picture Peter, an ex-G.I. who served with Joe in the War. Evie has fallen completely for Peter. And Peter is the keeper of secrets and is threatening to expose them.

This tangled web of lies is bound to catch someone, and Evie find herself in the middle of them. She'll have to decide who to protect- her family or the one she loves.

Dark, smokey, 40's styling language, steamy Florida, and a miriade of unforgettable characters in this couldn't put it down book. Leaves you wanting to watch old black and white movies like Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock.

Winner of the 2008 National Book Award in the Young Peoples Literature category. An unforgettable and page-turner read. Readers will relate with Evie's struggle to find her own place in the world.

WELCOME TO 2009

Hi,

Well the tally has been done, I read 134 books in 2008. If i stopped reading the Saturday paper I think I could easily take it up by another 30. Well we'll see what 2009 will hold.

So I thought I'd create a little best of 2008 list.
Top Five Fave Fiction:
#5 -- Life as we knew it by Susan Pfeffer
#4 -- Savvy by Ingrid Law
#3 -- Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
#2 -- Black Duck by Janet Lisle
#1 -- Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Of course I have some honorable mentions - The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor, The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis, and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

Graphic Novel favorites included: Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale, Dark Wraith of Shannara by Terry Brooks, and The Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan.

I hope some of you will share what your favourites from last year were. I think the obvious choice will be The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers.

Read on in 2009