Blindsided

Blindsided by Priscilla Cummings

There were definately parts of this book I really enjoyed and then there were parts that I felt weren't so believable, a little over-dramatic, or maybe too convenient. I guess I'll rate it a 3 outta 5.

Here's the summary:
Natalie is a typical fourteen-year-old girl: a great student, lots of friends, a loving family. Her life seems perfect. But when a routine visit to the eye doctor reveals that she will soon go blind, she is devastated. As if this wasn't shocking enough, she is then forced to leave everything behind and go to a school for the blind to learn the skills she will need to survive. While she does what she's told, inwardly she desperately hopes for a miracle that will save her sight. But ultimately, Natalie must decide how to go on when her future isn't what she expects.

Withering Tights

Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

Confession of Georgia Nicholson is back with Georgia's younger cousin Tallulah Casey. Yes! more hilarity from Jolly Ole England.

Summary:

Picture the scene: Dother Hall preforming arts college somewhere Up North , surrounded by rolling dales, bearded cheesemaking villagers (male and female) and wildlife of the squirrely type. On the whole its not quite the showbiz experience Tallulah was expecting ... but once her mates show up and they start their FAME I'm gonnnna liiivvvve forevvvver, I'm gonna fill my tiggghts summer course things are bound to look up. Especially when the boys arrive (When DO the boys arrive?) Six weeks of parent-free freedom, BOY freedom, artistic freedom, cos it's the THEATRE dahling, theatre.

Here's the trailer.

Dear George Clooney, please marry my mom

Dear George Clooney, please marry my Mom by Susin Nielsen

Twelve year old Violet's TV director father has caused a huge upheaval: he has left his family in Vancouver to start afresh with his new blonde trophy wife in LA. To Violet, it seems like he's traded his old life for a new and improved one - complete with new and improved children.

When her mother takes up with the unfortunaltely named Dudley Wiener after a series of disastrous relationships, Violet - with the help of her best friend, Phoebe - decides to take conterol. If her mom can't pick a decent man herself, Violet will help her snag the most perfect one of all: George Clooney. In turns brazen, infuriating, and hysterical, Violet's antics will delight readers, who will root for her even when she's at her worst.

In this poignant, funny new novel , author Susin Nielsen explores the emotional fallout of divorce by creating a true original in Violet, whose outrageous yet heartfelt ploys to set things right will resonate with readers for years to come.

What a great, fast read. I read it Friday afternoon. Characters you can relate with. Funny stuff that will make you kringe, teenage struggles and of course an encounter with George Clooney, make this into a very enjoyable read.

Read on

Beverly Hills Maasai

Beverly Hills Maasai by Eric Walters

Another title that will be at the bookfair -- $12.50

From the back cover:

When Alexandria answers the phone in her California mansion, the last person she's expecting to hear from is Nebala, the Maasai warrior she befriended during her life-altering trip to Kenya. Not only is Nebala calling, he, along with two other Maasai, have just arrived at the LA airport. They are there to compete in the Beverly Hills marathon, a race they plan on winning so that the prize money can be used to build a well in their village back home.

Before the big run, and with Alexandria as their guide, the Kenyan trio spend some time getting to know their urban surroundings. The Maasai find life in the world's most famous zip code as baffling and intriguing as the citizens of Beverly Hills find them. But in a day full of drama and surprise, whent he Maasai approach the marathon finishing line they demonstrate that what unites us is more powerful than what divides us.

This is the sequel to Alexandria of Africa.

Stealing Heaven

Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott

From the book -

I can pry the molding off a window without making a sound. I can drive a car, climb into a house, deal with growling dogs. I know exactly how much your average 19th century tea service weighs and how many pieces it has.

For silver i learned to read, write, work numbers. For silver I learned the names of every plantation from Virginia to Florida. I can tell you which ones we've visited, which ones we want to, which ones we never will. I can tell you how to find someone's house no matter where it is. I can tell you what to do if there is silver inside.

The story of my life can be told in silver; in chocolate mills, serving spoons, and services for twelve. The story of my life has nothing to do with me. The story of my life is things. Thins that aren't mine, that won't ever be mine. It's all I've ever known.

I wish it wasn't.

This was one of my first picks for summer reading, I took it with me to the lake, and it was perfect, captivating charcters that you feel for. You can't help wanting something good/different to happen for Dani, you know she's good - it's just the way she's been brought up. Butwe all know, it's hard to change.

If you're a Sarah Dessen fan and are looking for something similar in the realistic fiction genre try some of Elizabeth Scott's books I think you'll like them.

The Unwritten Rule

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

From the back cover;
Everyone knows the unwritten rule, you don't like your best friends' boyfriend.
Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years. He's easy to talk to, supersmart, and totally gets her. Lately it seems like he's paying extra attention to her. Every thing would be perfect except for two things, Ryan is Brianna's boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah's best friend.
Sarah forces herself to avoid Ryan and tries to convince herself not to like him. She feels so guilty for liking him, and the last thing she wants is to hurt her best friend. But when she is thrown together with Ryan one night, something happens. It's wonderful... and awful.
Sarah is torn apart by guilt, but what she feels is nothing short of addiction, and she can't help herself from wanting more...

Sounds like a winner to me. It's already been snapped up by a few people so I guess I'll have to wait my turn to read it. Till then I've got a couple that I'm willing to read.
Read On

Current favourite

Hold Still by Nina LaCour

I appreciate what Gayle Forman wrote for the back cover:

"Hold Still may be the truest depiction of the aching, gaping hole left in the wake of a suicide that I've ever read. But it's anything but depressing and gloomy - it's also about the tender shoots of new relationships that grow unexpectedly out of tragedy. A haunting and hopeful book about loss, love and redemption.

Hold Still is not an easy book, suicide is not an easy topic to write about, talk about or even for some of us to think about. And yet it's a topic that needs to have a voice, and Nina LaCour has created a beautiful, real voice that relates the hurt, lonliness and anger that is real in the survivors. Carefully crafted , I can't help but have this as my current favourite.

From page 201 -- "I imagine what would happen if everyone turned their regrets into wishes, went around shouting them. Signal lights would change at intersections, and as the people on opposite sides of the street stepped off the curbs, they would calle to one another - Finish college! Exercise at least three times a week! Never start smoking! Tell your mother you love her! Make peace with your brother! Take your dog to the park! Keep in touch with your friends!"

Loved it!!

Here's the book trailer

Red Kayak

Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings

I've known about this book for a couple of years, and finally I had time to read it and certainly wasn't disappointed.

Part mystery, part what would you do?, these are the themes at the heart of this book.

Brady and his friends aren't happy about the changes that are happening around their small town. Developers are coming in and building mansions for rich weekender families. Tragedy strikes the Di'Angelos family (who Brady occasionally babysits for) when their kayak overturns in the bay, and Brady's left wondering if what happened was more than an accident. As Brady uncovers more and more about what happened he has to start questioning what his role in the accident was and how he'll chose to deal with the outcomes.

To tell you much more would be a huge spoiler, so I'll leave it at that. Don't miss out on this one!

3 Willows

Polly has an idea that she can't stop thinking about, one that involves changing a few things about herself. She's setting her sights on a more glamorous life, but it's going to take all of her focus. At least that way she won't have to watch her friends moving so far ahead.

Jo is spending the summer at her family's beach house, working as a bus girl and bonding with the older, cooler girls she'll see at high school come September. She didn't count on a brief fling with a cute boy changing her entire summer. Or feeling embarrassed by her middle school friends. And she didn't count on her family at all. . .

Ama is not an outdoorsy girl. She wanted to be at an academic camp, doing research in an air-conditioned library, earning A's. Instead her summer scholarship lands her on a wilderness trip full of flirting teenagers, blisters, impossible hiking trails, and a sad lack of hair products.



Enjoy the book trailer ;-)

More fun from the author of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

My summer favourite.

My sister's keeper by Jodi Picoult

Well this has to be my favourite from this summer, in fact as I book talked it this week, I thought I might just read that again - and soon. This was a great, complex and thought provoking book.


Here's what I told students about it. --- The story starts off with the youngest daughter Anna seeking out a lawyer, the reason she is doing this is that she wants to gain the rights to control of her body. You see, Anna has been giving of herself from the day she was born. Anna's sister Kate was born with a rare form of cancer. Basically Anna was created to be the perfect genetic match for Kate - so Anna from that first day and her life following has been that of giving -first her umbilical cord, then countless blood/platelets donations, and bone marrow, now they want a kidney. But this is not only Anna's story, this is also the story of Anna's family.
In the novel each member of the family tells a chapter through their eyes or voice (the omniscient). Because your given each persons perspective, you can examine and empathize with each member of the family - what mother wouldn't want to save her child?, what father wouldn't want to make the members of that family happy and peaceful?, what brother wouldn't act out from being shut out of important events and decisions? and what will sisters do for each other (taken to the most extreme measures)?

There's a delicious twist at the end of this book and I didn't tell the students and I'm not gonna spill it here either.


As I talked with the students about the book, we had all kinds of great discussion - I can't wait to hear what they have to say after they've read it.


This is not a young adult novel, but it is a book that I couldn't put down and I've witnessed that it can create interesting, lively discussion. I loved the interview with Jodi Picoult and the reader discussion guide at the end of the book.

I hope some of you will pick it up, it's sooo! worth it.
Read on...

More summer reading

Being back a school for a week now has been terrific, once I got things back in order that is. As I was shelving books, I realized that I have tons that I want to review here on the blog, as well as books that I'm currently reading. So here's what I read this weekend, followed by some more of what I read this summer.


What my mother doesn't know by Sonya Sones. This is a girlie book, a fast read because it's told in the form of a series of poems (also known as a novel in verse), and covers the topic of Sophie's old boyfriend, new boyfriend and falling for an unexpected potential other new boyfriend? What I really liked about the book was how the titles of the poems chronicle the passage of time through Sophie's year. These were a few of my fav's - Art Class, I hate her, and But we're just friends. Overall I enjoyed the book, I think Sonya Sones totally nails the teenage girl voice in her writing.



The bronze pen by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Twelve-year-old Audrey Abbott dreams of becoming a writer, but with her father's failing health and the family's shaky finances, it seems there is no room for what her overworked mother would surely call a childish fantasy. So Audrey keeps her writing a secret. That is, until she meets a mysterious old woman who seems able to read her mind. Audrey is surprised at how readily she reveals her secret to the woman.
One day the old woman gives Audrey a peculiar bronze pen and tells her to "use it wisely and to good purpose." It turns out to be just perfect for writing her stories with. But as Audrey writes, odd things start happening. Did Beowulf, her dog, just speak to her? And what is that bumping under her bed at night? It seems that whatever she writes with the pen comes true. However, things don't always happen in the way that she wants or expects. In fact, it's quite difficult to predict what writing with the pen will do. Could the pen be more of a curse than a gift? Or will Audrey be able to rewrite the future in the way that she wishes---and save her father's life? Perfect for grades four to six.




Suck it up by Brain Meehl. Well this was my vampire book of the summer. Morning McCobb is a very unlikely vampire and he's been chosen to represent the IV League (International Vampire League) as their poster boy for the major coming out event. Why Morning? well he's young, geeky, and not a threat to humans because he's never even had blood from human or animal, Morning exists on Blood Lite a soy substitute. PR rep Penny Dreadful has been hired as Morning's handler and as well as pumping up the media on the day when the two worlds come together (that of the vampires and ours). There's one hitch with all of this and that's the fact that Penny has a teenage daughter and Morning is starting to like her more than a little. Will his true vampire colors show through?
There's great word play (dare I say -tongue and cheek) in this book, I really liked some aspects of this one and would recomend it for grades seven and eight.


Read on

Summer reading

I've just returned from the PNLA conference in Post Falls, Idaho and decided to get on with what I told myself I was going to do all summer and that was to start this blog. So here goes, the conference was great, even though I think I might have been the only middle school librarian there. I still came away with lots of ideas and things to incorporate throughout the year (time being the key factor). I give myself a pat on the back for getting this far - creating a blog and reviewing my summer reads will be the starting place.



So today I finished The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. It took me awhile to get into to this one, I don't know, it could be the fact that this was my road trip book and I had plenty of distractions along the way that prevented me from having some comfy chair steady reading or it could be that I didn't find the story to really get going till Frankie develops her first order of the Basset Hounds Halloween plan that then I was hooked and wanted to continue to see what kind of pranks Frankie had yet to pull. Once the ball got rolling, I loved the detail in which Frankie disguised herself as being one of the Loyal Order of Basset Hounds and the creative instructions to the club as to their next covert operation.



If you liked The Year of Secret Assignments you're sure to enjoy this one.



Read on!

Ms. Fisch