Next on the list . . .

Unwind was awesome.  I will be thinking about this book for a long time.  I think it would be a great book for an English curriculum read.  There is so much to discuss about morals and religious beliefs. How do you define "life."  Do we have a soul?  Does everyone have a soul?  When do you get a soul -- in the womb?  What is death?  When a child gets "unwound" all their parts are used to help someone else.  So, are they "dead" or not?  The characters in the book discuss these issues, and it would be easy to get a discussion started.  It's all very chilling and thought-provoking.  A very unique plot and a well-written book. I highly recommend it.

Next, I will start Rachel Sontag's House Rules. It's a memoir, and is another book on the Abe Lincoln High School Book Award list.  There are a few memoirs that I have enjoyed, but mostly I'm not a fan.  We'll see.

Ready for a new book already!

It was a quiet day, so I've already finished Wake.  It has a somewhat predictable plot, but an interesting premise, and is a feel-good teen romance.  I would recommend it to my teen readers.  It isn't "supernatural" (which is a good thing in this era of the vampire) but the main character has an unusual ability -- she can see other people's dreams.  That doesn't seem like such a bad thing, except that when she's seeing another's dreams, she is sometimes convulsing on the floor, and this can happen anywhere, anytime.  The plot is helped along by the fact that there really aren't any parental influences in ANY of the characters' lives.  A bit far-fetched, but these are "good kids" so they don't need any adults ;)

I'm still working my way through the last couple of Abe Lincoln nominated titles, so my next read will be Unwind, by Neal Shusterman.  A supernatural thriller -- imagine that!!

Told you it was a quick read . . .

Right Behind You was an intense, riveting, and quick read.  What a tortured youth.  The story ends hopefully, but not before many events occur that continue to affect not just the young kid, but his entire family.  I know that I am one who has always believed that even a young person should be held accountable for the heinous crimes he commits -- but then, there are many extenuating circumstances that we as "the public" are unaware of.  So, I guess we shouldn't judge to hastily.  Everyone has a story -- it's whether they are willing or able to explain it that can be a problem.

Now I'm going to read Wake, by Lisa McMann. The subtitle is "Your Dreams are Not Your Own."  Sounds spooky.  I'll let you know . . .

Another book on the Abe Lincoln List

Little Bee was a great book, as expected.  The thought processes of the characters so wonderfully described, keep you entranced.  The books starts out in present day, and the author does a great job of slowly explaining the background story.  It was heartbreaking, but really a joy to read.

Now for something completely different -- I've started Right Behind You, by Gail Giles.  Also a very sad story of a boy who killed his little neighbor by burning him.  He spent many years trying to be rehabilitated and put his life back together, but apparently his past will catch up with him.  It's a short, quick, read so I'll let you know soon.

New book . . .

What the Dead Know is an excellent crime novel.  It really is a CRIME novel, not a suspense, thriller, or who-done-it.  Lippman is a great story-teller.  She gives wonderful descriptions of characters and settings.  I like the way her novels jump from the present to the past, slowly filling in the blanks.  It was just a very satisfying read.

Now I am going to read Little Bee, which I am really excited about.  I've heard lots of good things about this book-- it's been on the best-seller list, and I had to wait a couple of weeks to get it through inter-library loan.  Must be good . . .

I have to stop!

I have read 61 pages of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and I've had enough.  I get it.  It's exactly the same story as the original, but a desirable trait in the women is the defensive arts.  Every journey they make, they have to stop and avoid or kill some of the "undead."  They are also very flippant about the many deaths of friends and acquaintances at the hands of the zombies.  There doesn't seem to be any concern or mourning.  It is just weird.  Maybe, if I read farther something significant would HAPPEN involving the zombies, but I felt like I was reading Pride and Prejudice again, and although it's been a long time, I'm just not up for that right now.  Not with my reading list as long as it is.  So  . . . next on the list is What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman, a classic crime thriller.  I'm hoping I get to finish it. 

Already finished . .

I finished The Smile yesterday.  Loved it.  Just a really nice historical romance, with some true historical events.  Also, the main character's family are silk worm farmers, so found out a lot of how labor intensive that is!  Very interesting to hear all the artists names before they were famous and about how the people felt about their work.  Of course, the true story of the Mona Lisa isn't known, but Napoli comes up with a very plausible, interesting story.

Now I'm going to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  I don't know if this qualifies as adult, but it was on the top 10 list of books that college students are reading.  It's been very popular in my library too.  I read Pride and Prejudice a long time ago, so I hope I can remember enough of the original to fully appreciate this book.  The cover is very catchy too, isn't it?

Can't Resist Historical Fiction

Finished Born to Rock and it was a light-hearted, enjoyable read.  Very far-fetched, but lots of fun.  It reminded me of Korman's Son of the Mob books, which have the same tone, and are easy to recommend to boys, especially.

I know, I said I was going to read an adult book -- but I found this book, The Smile, by Donna Jo Napoli, and it had the Mona Lisa on the front, and I just had to find out what it was about!  (Isn't that cover irresistible!)

A rock 'n roll book

I finished Perfect Chemistry and thought it was a really good teenage romance book.  Has everything you could want -- guy from the "wrong side of the tracks" falls for the prom queen.  Fairly predictable, but still keeps you reading.  The guy is in a gang and doesn't want to be, so that is an element that could educate some teens about a world they aren't familiar with.  A good message about being who you really are, as opposed to who people think you should be.

Now I'm reading something lighter called Born to Rock by Gordon Korman.  It's a quick read, too.  I'm getting the urge to read something "adult" so I think that will be next on the list.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Time for a Teen Romance

I finished Deadline. At first, I really didn't think I was going to like it, but then I told myself, "Get over it.  Suspend disbelief!"  Because I really couldn't believe that a senior in high school could find out he was going to die and not tell anyone about it.  So, after I suspended disbelief, I thought the book was pretty good.  Definitely a message in there.  Something about not judging people by what you THINK they are -- giving people a chance, taking time to learn about them, and care about them, and things like that.  Good book for promoting some good discussions among teens.

Now I'm reading Perfect Chemistry, by Simone Elkeles.  I've read her book Leaving Paradise and enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to this one.  It's been very popular, and hard to get at the library.  As a matter of fact, I need to hurry and finish this one becuase there's a hold on it (someone else is waiting for it.)