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

Happy Holidays

My holiday wishes curtesty of Wordle.

Something to read for those after the whole Twilight series

Night Runner by Max Turner

This is for those of you who now need your next great read after the Twilight series. I picked up this book on the recommendation of my old boss and mentor Diane, and she is usually right on the mark, and she's done it again. This was an action-packed trill ride of the vampire kind. The action sequences reminded me of The extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp and I just couldn't put it down. It had elements of suspense, humor, action, adventure and romance all within its 261 pages.

From the back cover -

For Zack Thomson, living in the Nicholls Ward wasn't so bad. After his parents died, he developed strange and severe allergies, and the mental institution was the only place where he could be properly look after. As strange as it seems, it was home.

He could watch as much television as he wanted; his best friend Charlie, visited him often enough; and Nurse Ohelia -- the pretties no-nonsense nurse ever -- sometimes took him bowling. Of course, that didn't mean he had it easy. His allergies restricted his diet to strawberry smoothies, and being the only kid at the hospital did get lonely. But it never once crossed Zach's mind to leave... until the night a stranger crashed through the front doors and told him to run.

Now he's on a race for answers -- about his past, his parents and his strange sickness -- even as every step takes him closer to the darkest of truths.

This had a crazy amount to twists to it, and I was kept guessing right to the last chapter.

Congratulations to high school science teacher/author Max Turner of Ottawa for what is sure to be a hit with the kids at Lakie. We need more authors like you, who know how to keep them reading past that first page, first chapter, first hundred pages. Way to hook em!

Read on

Would you?

Would you by Marthe Jocelyn

Would you rather know what's going to happen or not know?

A summer night. A Saturday. For Claire, this summer feels fantastic, because she'll be zooming off to colledge in the fall. For her younger sister, Natalie, it's an okay time with her friends: summer jobs, then hanging out. Fun, mostly, but nothing special. A summer night. An accident. Life changes in a heartbeat.

Would you? Is a game that's played by Natalie and her friends. It goes something like this - "Would you rather have your father sing at the supermarket or your mother fart in the principal's office? / Would you rather lose all your hair or all your teeth? " This game is usually just a way to gross each other out, but the questions of the game take on new meaning after Claire's sister is involved in a life changing accident.

A book that explores what would you do? How well do you know yourself, and how would you answer the hard questions when faced with them. A story about sisters, friends, family and strength. I found this book didn't sugar-coat what a family goes through in an extreme and difficult situation, and that it left room for discussion and introspection. Overall I thought it was well done and reminded me of another great read called The Dive From Clausen's Pier.

Read on

Adrenalin Ride by Pam Withers

It's summer vacation for best friends Peter and Jake, and when they're invited to help develop a mountain bike trail west of the Canadian Rockies, they can' believe their luck. But as they start working hard in an isolated park, the boys sense that something's not right. Join the boys as they plunge into the mountain-biking descent of their lives. (from back cover).

"Adrenalin ride takes me back to my first adventures riding bikes on trails. It captures the energy and adrenalin generated when knobby tires are mixed with generous helpings of trees, rocks and dirt. Add intrigue, danger and suspense to the brew and you have an unbeatable read" Cam McRae, editor, North Shore Mountain Biking e-magazine.

I started this one this morning and finished it this afternoon.So obviously I liked it. I did find that it kind of got off to a slow start, but I felt the action picking up once they were out on the trails. Unfortunately I felt there wasn't enough difference between the characters Jake and Peter. I did however like the plot turns and felt it could be a good read for those into mountain biking. I liked how the guys worked/slaved all day building trails but still had energy and drive to rip-it-up or build jumps after a long day. Reminds me of guys I know, who with mountain biking or snowboarding after the lifts have closed for the day still are out there building jumps and climbing up to take hits off it. Sick! So this one is for those guys -way to go!