Kaleidocsope eyes

Kaleidoscope Eyes by Jen Bryant

I just read this book this morning and have to say I quite liked it. It's got buried treasure what's not to like?

It's a novel written in verse (these usually end up being speedy reads, but I enjoy the interesting choices of words, quirky spacing lets you imagine the timing of things), set in New Jersey during 1968, young men are being sent off to Vietnam and being sent back in flag draped boxes.

The story begins with this great line: "I wake up every morning to Janis Joplin." The main characters thirteen-year-olds, Lyza, Carolann and Malcolm are preparing for what might be their last summer of freedom - and hoping it won't be boring. When Lyza helps her dad clean out her late Grampa's house, a mysterious surprise brightens the sad task. In her gradfather's dusty attic, Lyza discovers three maps, carefully folded and stacked, bound by a single rubber band. On top, an envelope says, "For Lyza ONLY." What could this possibly be? With the help of Malcolm and Carolann and a cryptic letter from Gramps, Lyza uncovers an impossible mystery: a three hundred year old pirate treasure that might be buried in her own New Jersey town.

Recommend it!

The Night Tourist

The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh

From the back cover: Ninth grader Jack Perdu spends most of his time alone, with his nose buried in a book. But one winter evening, a near-fatal accident changes Jack's life forever.

His father sends him to see a mysterious doctor in New York City - where Jack hasn't been since his mother died there eight years ago. In Grand Central Terminal, he meets Euri, a girl who offers to show him the train station's hidden places - the ones only true urban explorers really know about. Eight flights below the station, however, Jack discovers more than just hidden tracks and mysterious staircases. He has stumbled upon New York's ghostly underworld. This, Jack believes, is his chance to see his mother again. But as secrets about Euri's past are revealed, so are the true reasons for Jack's visit to the underworld.

"It was just after dusk when the accident happened." This alluring first sentence grabs readers' attention, and the compelling story line will hold that interest. Marsh's story focuses on ninth-grader Jack Perdu, a prodigy of classic mythology. Absorbed in a book, Jack fails to see the car that knocks him down. He's physically okay, but after the accident he sees ghostly beings. In New York City's subway, he meets Euri, a spectral girl who leads him eight stories below Grand Central Station, and together they enter the residence of hundreds of ghosts. The spirits, several dead for more than 200 years, are suspicious of Jack, because to them he appears to be alive. Is Jack actually dead? If so, will he be able to locate his mother who disappeared years before? Both Jack and readers will simultaneously unravel the mystery surrounding the author's surreal setting as he learns how to enter and exit this supernatural world. Teenagers knowledgeable about mythology and appreciative of sophisticated wordplay will especially enjoy this intricate read. -- Kirkus Reviews

Dull Boy

Dull Boy by Sarah Cross

Dull boy has it all, humor, friendship, family issues, a little romance, and super powers. What more could you ask for? Sarah Cross leaves readers completely satisfied even though its clear there will be a sequel.

More fun quotes from the book.

"I have a plan. It's not the most brilliant plan, but there's a seventy two percent chance it'll work. Just...one of us has to take the fall, and the other has to be a witness and back up everything that person says. Are you a good liar?"

"Darla? If lying was a sport I would letter in it, go to state, get a college scholarship, and be a first-round draft pick."

"you need a mentor. I mean come on: Obi-Wan, Gandalf?"

From the back cover-- Sometimes I wish I didn't care what would happen if anyone knew the truth about me. But I do care. I have to keep this- super strength, flying- a secret. No one can know- not my parents, not my friends... It's just that it's getting harder to hide it.

I just finished reading the advanced reader copy of this, fun action/superhero kind of stuff.

Other new stuff yet to be blogged about

These are some more of the titles added to our library this past year, don't forget to look for some of them in the summer or next year when your back and yearning for something great to read. Enjoy ;)

The Maze of Bones / part of the 39 clues series





We have books 2 & 3 with #4 on order (release date is June 2, 2008) - there are going to be 10 books total in the series and you can be playing along online at - http://www.the39clues.com/

Here's another one:
Airhead by Meg Cabot


And pick up Being Nikki by Meg Cabot the sequel



I could keep going - but it's a beautiful day - time to get outside and enjoy it.
Read On.

My sister's keeper

Remember at the start of the year, I book talked this incredible book by Jodi Picoult - My Sister's Keeper, well I learned shortly after that they were making it into a movie, and that Cameron Diaz was going to play the mother, and in my head there is no way she can be the mother. I know we've had quite a bunch of you read it, so I thought I would put the movie trailer up for you to check out. Tell me that you agree that the book was and always will be soooooo much better.

New to the library

Wake by Lisa McMann
This was one of your suggestions, I hope to be able to read it soon, but for now I'll just post the book trailer.

Can't wait for this one!!

Some of you know I'm a huge fan of Emily Strange (I've been reading her graphic novels for years) and I've pre-order The Lost Days book. Here's a teaser. I have high expectations being the fan that I am of the graphic novels so we'll see if the novel can hold it's weight.

Favourites

Here's some of my favourite books with their movie trailers and some other stuff I've found on a Friday afternoon.

StarGirl and Love Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli are a couple of my favourite books - at times I wish we all had a little bit more of Stargirl in us - unafraid, compassionate, inspired (who wouldn't want that.)
I also thought these tips from the Stargirl page were fun- http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/stargirl/societies.html

Genesis

Genesis by Bernard Beckett

Would you believe all these different covers are for the same book? Can you put together how they might be linked? Would you have guess from these covers that this is a science fiction book? The publishing industry does some interesting stuff.

I truly enjoyed this book, even though it was a fast read, it really had me thinking the whole way through (I love it when a book does that), and then I handed it off to my grade eight teachers who also had felt that it was engaging. I don't quite see this as a young adult novel, as it is being marketed in parts of the world, but is definately for those who like a book to challenge them, and get them thinking in a new direction.

John De Nardo wrote a great summary for this book in SF Signal - "It's hard to believe science fiction has not yet over used the robot trope, but Bernard Beckett's short novel Genesis shows us that the genre still has great robot-related stories left to tell. It doesn't start out as a robot story, though. Instead, it's a unique presentation of a post apocolyptic distopia that morphs into a philosophical discussion of what it means to be a human.

The book is structured around an oral test being taken by Anaximander, who wishes to become a member of the elite academ, the group that controls her secluded island society. As we come to learn through the first part of her examination, the time is the near future and the setting is an island that has protected its borders from the deadly plague that has infected the rest of the world. Society is strictly controlled by the academy: women and men are segragated into separated camps; breeding is restricted; and the citizens are proscribed at an early age to one of four social classes; laborer, soldier, technicians, and philospher. Anax topic of specialization is Adam Forde, an essential figure in their brief history. In the later parts of the exam we learn that Adam -- imprisoned for showing compassion to an outsider who might be carrying the plague -- is chosen to shape the development of an artifically intelligent robot named Art. Here is where the story turns philosophical, contemplating definitions of humanity and free will."

Into the Volcano

Into the Volcano by Don Wood

I thought this was terrific graphic novel. Action, adventure, brothers, an evil looking aunt and a mission to go deep into a volcano. The art work and sequencing of it were right on the money! At times it almost felt like a non-fiction book because I was learning so much. A fun read for those not yet familiar with graphic novels, this would be a great one to start with.

The authors website is pretty cool too. Here's how it all started. For more check out the cite. www.audreywood.com/mac_site/into_the_volcano/into_the_volcano_menu.html

Read On.