31 Ways

31 Ways to Change the World by We Are What We Do

'We Are What We Do' are a movement whose aim is to inspire people - in this case children- to use their everyday actions to change the world. Their motto is - small actions x a lot of people = big change. It's not rocket science, but it works! The actions in the book - including one brand new knitting action - are fun and easy to do but add up to making a big difference. It gives kids the responsibility for changing the world, one bit at a time.

David Lubar

True Talents by David Lubar

Here's one more of my favourites by David Lubar.

It's been over a year since 14 year old Eddie "Trash" Thalmeyer and his friends from Edgeview Alternative School found out about their special "hidden talents". Trash can move things with his mind, Torchie is a fire-starter, Cheater reads minds, Lucky finds lost objects, Flinch can predict the future and Martin can see into people's souls. Now back home with their families, all the boys want to do is get back to their normal lives, start attending high school, and keep in touch with their friends from Edgeview.

When Trash tests his power in a bank and accidentally steals a fistful of cash - the real story of this group of friends and their hidden talents will come to light.

Here's an interivew with the author.

David Lubar

New titles from one of my favourite authors David Lubar.
First up: Invasion of the Road Weenies
Welcome to the weird and wacky world of award-winning storyteller and master of the macabre, David Lubar. These thirty-five tales ranging from the silly and offbeat to flat-out horrifying are just right for reading alone or for telling aloud in the dark.

Second- Flip
Did you ever wish you could be anybody else but who you are? Twins Ryan and Taylor do all the time. They hate who they are. Now they have their chance. They've discovered mysterious alien disks that allow them to "flip"... to become legendary heroes from the past.
But being a hero may not be as much fan as they think.

This author is one of my favourites cause he can always make me laugh.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

When each summer begins, Belly leaves her school life behind and escapes to Cousins Beach, the place she has spent every summer of her life. Not only does the beach house mean home away from home, but her favourite people are there: Susannah, her mother's best friend, and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has been chasing Conrad for as long as she can remember, and more than anything, she hopes this summer will be different. Despite distractions from a new guy named Cam and lingering looks from Conrad's brother, Jerimiah, Belly's heart belongs to Conrad. Will he offer his to her? Will this be the summer that changes everything?

Sarah Dessen fans will now have another author to look forward to.

Here's the book trailer.

Incarceron

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron - a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the decendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It's a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torchture chamber, chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has alway been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her form of a prison. A futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage she dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron and Claudia, outside, simultaneously find a devise - a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so a plan for Finn's escape is born...

Book trailer.

Dream House Kings Series

Dream House Kings Series by Robert Libarulo

As you can see these are the first three titles in the series. Here's a little write-up.

Dream house... or bad dream?

When the Kings move from L.A. to a secluded small town, fifteen-year-old Xander is beyond disappointed. He and his friends loved to create amateur films ... but the tiny town of Pinedale is the last place a movie buff and future filmmaker wants to land.

But he, David, and Toria are captivated by the many rooms in the old Victorian fixer-upper they moved into - as well as the heavy woods surrounding the house.

They soon discover there's something odd about the house. Sounds come from the wrong directions. Prints of giant, bare feet appear in the dust. And when David tries to hide in the linen closet, he winds up in locker 119 at his new school.

Then the really weird stuff kicks in: they find a hidden hallway with portals leading to far-off places - in long-ago times. Xander is starting to wonder if this kind of travel is a teen's dream come true ... or his worst nightmare.

Here's an interview with the author.

The Last Song

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Always, always, always! Read the book first.

Here's the write up.

Seventeen-year-old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside down when her parents divorced and her father moved to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains alienated from her parents, particularly her father ... until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she and her brother spent the summer with him. Resentful and rebellious, Ronnie rejects her father's attempts to reach out to her and threatens to return to New York before the summer's end. But soon Ronnie meets Will, the last person she thought she'd ever be attracted to, and finds herself falling for him, opening herself up to the greatest happiness - and pain- that she has ever known.

Here's the trailer for the movie.

The Schwa Was Here

The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman

I love this book and think it's hilarious. It's crying out to be made into a mini-film book trailer, especially the scene in the boys' bathroom, with the florescent orange sombraro.

The summary:

A Brooklyn eighth-grader nicknamed Antsy befriends the "Schwa" an invisiblish boy who is tired of blending in with his surroundings and going unnoticed by nearly everyong.

Here's the book trailer:

My Invisible Boyfriend

My Invisible Boyfriend by Susie Day

Heidi has the perfect solution to her popularity problems - a fake boyfriend. She's even made him an internet profile that makes him look like a motorcycle riding, poetry reading badboy, "swoon" Heidi's friends are so impressed that they start emailing Heidi's fake boyfriend with their problems ... including their problems with Heidi.

As if that weren't bad enough, a delicious and possibly single person called "A Real Boy" emails Heidi to say he knows the truth. Can Heidi escape from her worldwide web of lies? Or will her chance at romance disappear faster than you can type gtg.

If you liked Louise Rennison's - Georgia Nicholson series, Angus Thongs and Full-frontal snogging then you might enjoy this too.

Read On

City of Bones

City of Bones (Book One in The Mortal Instruments Series) by Cassandra Clare

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder comitted by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.
Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon.
But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

And now the book trailer.