How to read a book you don't want to read

Here's some helpful hints on "How to read a book you don't want to read"

The Shadows of Ghadames

The Shadows of Ghadames by Joelle Stolz

At the end of the 19th century, in the Libyan city of Ghadames, Malika watches her merchant father depart on one of his caravan expeditions. Malika too yearns to travel to distant cities and she longs to learn to read like her younger brother. But nearly twelve years old and soon to be of marriageable age, Malika - like all Muslim women - must be content with a more secluded, more limited life. Then one night a stranger enters her home ... someone who disrupts the order of things, and who affects Malika in unexpected ways.

This was an interesting look at the complex culture of the families of the city of Ghadames, with it's narrow alleyways, rooftops that are inhabited only by females, mysterious customs and rites of passage.

This book reminded me of my travels in Morocco and of my time spent on the tiny island of Lamu off the coast of Kenya (both places predominately Muslim), and my parents stories of their time spent in Turkey, Iran and Lebanon. It made me dream of far off places and mint tea poured from high above the glass.

When you reach me

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Another great read, Yeah! I'm on a roll lately with book after book that I love.

This book even started with a quote that would resonate throughout - "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious." Albert Einstein ~ A mix of realistic fiction, mystery and science fiction doesn't always combine to make a great book but I assure you this book ends up being pure yumminess. I enjoyed the chapter headings which are based on the $20,000 pyramid game. This one will be one to add to your TBR shelf - for sure.

From the back cover:

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know who to avoid. Like the crazy guy on the corner.

But thing start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment ky that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then a mysterious note arrives, scrawled on a tiny slip of paper:

I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.

The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows things no one should know. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she's too late.

Read On

A Map of the Known World

A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell

Loved it!! Read it in one sitting! Have a ton of sticky notes pasted to pages that need to be reread and enjoy yet again. This book reminded me of how teens are often searching for some kind of escape - from old friends, from the small town that is suffocating, from being labeled a certain kind of person, from the pressures placed on them from parents, families, histories, teachers. I know I was definately one of those teens, longing for the day when I would strike out on my own, discover that far off place and escape into the person I wanted to be. This book captured all of that.

Here's the summary.

Cora Bradley dreams of escape. Ever since her reckless older brother, Nate, died in a car crash, Cora has felt trapped in her small town. Her parents are increasingly overprotective, and even her best friend, Rachel, has begun to slip away.

So Cora seeks solace in art, drawing elaborate maps and envisioning herself in exotic locales. Then Cora's mapes lead her someplace unexpected: to Damian, the handsome, brooding boy who was in the car with Nate the night he died. Cora forms a tentative bond with Damian - himself an artist - who reveals to her the truth about who her brother really was. As Cora begins to piece together the fragments of her life, she finds herself falling for Damian. But will she have the courage to follow the chart of her heart?

Here's some of the quotes I flagged.

"They say no land is left to be discovered, no continent is left unexplored. But the whole world is out there, waiting, just waiting for me."

"Kids stream by me, swiftly dodging and moving past in circling eddies, like a river will wash around a tall rock of log."

"Cliques seem to gather their members, the way a magnet will draw filings of iron."

"I will map the world that I know better than anything. The world, the places I've shared with Nate. And I will finish his last, unfinished piece with this map of the known world. I'll draw the places we used to go and the kids we used to be. Then I will mount this map on the pedestal Nate built."

"We sat around the table, five of us, my grandparents, parents and me, caught in a silence as thick as an oil spill and twice as deadly

I know this will be one that I will rave about for a while.

Read On.