More Great Reads

     Since the school year is fast approaching, I have put on hold many of the adult books that I want to read in order to do some quick reading of the young adult books I have on my “to read” shelf.  In the last week I spent a lot of time reading sequels to other great books, but I noticed something that is bothering me about the books I have recently read.  I think it is just the fact that I am an adult, but some of the reactions and insecurities of the protagonists in these books are bothering me.  It seems like the girls in many of the supernatural romance teen books are so insecure and cannot believe that the guy loves them.  Is this something that every teenager thinks??  I wonder if the young adults that read these books even notice this theme.  I hope they do and they are just as frustrated with the main characters so that they are able to reflect on the behavior and avoid it in their lives.  Okay, enough with the frustrations. 

   The first book that I have recently finished is Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick.  This is the sequel to the book Hush, Hush.  In this book Nora is looking forward to a nice summer vacation in which she will spend a lot of her time with her boyfriend and guardian angel Patch.  However, jealousy and suspicions arise and she finds that she has some trouble in paradise.  Add to that some mysterious sightings of her father, who is supposedly dead, and there is a suspenseful adventure waiting for the reader.  I really enjoyed the book and I love the imagination that Becca Fitzpatrick has to come up with some of the twists and turns that occur.  I have to admit that I was a little bothered by the ease with which Nora became suspicious of Patch.  It seems so obvious to me as an adult reader that she is misunderstanding things…I wonder how others react to this.  Overall, it was a fun book to read and I know many teens would really love it.  I am excited to read the third book in the series when I get a chance. 

     Tiger’s Quest by Colleen Houck is the second book in the series.  In this book Kelsey has just left India and has arrived in Oregon to start classes at the university.  She settles into her life in Oregon but has a difficult time because she left Ren behind.  There is quite a bit of the book devoted to the love story between these two characters.  Kelsey really annoyed me because of her insecurity.  It seems quite clear to the reader that she must be much prettier than she thinks she is from the reactions of the men in her life.  Also, she focuses too much on the physical and does not appreciate the gifts she has.  In this book things happen that make it possible for Kelsey to go on the second quest to work toward a solution for the two tigers.  This time she ends up on the quest with Kishan and has to travel into Tibet to learn about the next phase of the quest.  As a reader I was impressed with the details and the imaginative situations that the two found themselves in.  I am certainly much more interested in looking for and reading more Indian myths to see if some of the ideas came from them.  When I reached the end of this book I was reeling from a great twist to the plot.  I can’t wait for the next book to come out so I can see how things work out. 

     Sharon Draper’s book Forged by Fire is a quick read but worth your time.  In this book the reader learns about Gerald’s life with his loving aunt who takes custody of him after his druggie mother leaves him alone in the apartment and he almost dies in a fire.   Years later his mother returns with a new husband and Gerald starts living with them.  The only thing that helps him keep going in this new home is his sister Angel.  The two of them look out for each other in this unhappy home.  I found myself really rooting for Gerald and Angel and hoping that they would be able to overcome the bad circumstances of their home life.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a great story.  Anyone who has read Tears of a Tiger will definitely enjoy this book.

   Last, but not least is another great book by Walter Dean Myers.  In Somewhere in the Darkness Jimmy is living with Mama Jean who is taking care of him.  His mother is dead and his father is in prison but he gets along fine living with Mama Jean.  One day his father shows up at the apartment and takes Jimmy with him to Chicago.  Strange things are happening along the way and Jimmy is not sure he can trust this man, but he wants to get to know his father.  Once again, Myers writes an intriguing story that keeps the reader guessing about what is going to happen next.  This is another quick read and completely worth your time. 

Tiger’s Curse

    I just finished reading Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck.  This is another series in the new fantasy/romance young adult genre.  I was fascinated by the story which mixes in some Indian mythology with the story of Kelsey an American teenager who has just graduated high school.  Kelsey gets a temp job working for two weeks at a traveling circus and becomes very attached to the white bengal tiger that they have.  At the end of her time there a man comes to the circus and offers Kelsey a rare opportunity to travel and continue working with the tiger.  The story is a mystical adventure and mystery in which Kelsey ends up sleuthing to help with reversing an ancient curse.   Readers do have to suspend some disbelief as the situations that the characters get in are quite hard to believe at times, yet they somehow still feel realistic.  That is the beauty of good fantasy writing!  I would highly recommend this book to teenagers and adults alike. 

The Mortal Instruments

     I just finished reading City of Glass by Cassandra Clare.  I have to say that I am quite impressed with the three books in this series.  I love the idea of the world in which all of these creatures exist.  I also am always impressed when as a reader I have absolutely no clue in the middle of the book how things will possibly work out for the characters in the book.  Throughout this series there is a tension between the main characters that is both intense and realistic.  There are so many twists in the plot lines but each time it seems that the story must have been meant to go that way.  I love that this third book in the trilogy so neatly wraps up the story but does so in an unexpected way which at the same time made me say…”I knew it.”  Anybody who is enjoying all the great fantasy series out there will enjoy this fast-paced series of books. 

    Along these same lines, I saw that Clare has started a new series.  Reading Clockwork Angel was similar to reading City of Bones.  There are a lot of parallels in the stories and it will be interesting to see where the plot line goes in the other books.  I, for one, was glad to see that this talented author is writing more about the fascinating world of the Shadowhunters.  The fact that the new series is set in nineteenth century England was also quite intriguing.  

AHHH! Summer is here!

     It took almost a year before I picked up the book Burned from the House of Night series.  I was so angry with how the last book ended that I didn’t know if I wanted to continue reading the series.   I was curious about how the books would continue after what seemed like a definitive ending in the last book.  I am glad that I decided to continue reading the series.  This book was less about the difficult decisions that Zoey had to make and more about her friends and what they decided to do.  I enjoyed the plot line of this book and the hopefulness that was present in it. 

     Another book I have read during the few short weeks of vacation so far is Secrets, Lies, and Algebra by Wendy Lichtman.  This is a fun, easy read with a bit of a mystery.  The narrator is a teenager who thinks about life in mathematical terms.  It starts with Tess finding out that her mother thinks that her friend may be a murderer.  She is not sure what to do about this but is pretty sure that her mom should be reporting her suspicions to the police.  What follows is a wacky mystery with all the middle school angst that you might expect from a young adult book. 

Witch and Wizard

      The book Witch and Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet is a fast-paced adventure book as Patterson’s books tend to be.  The premise in this book is the take over in the world of a new radical political party who are trying to rid the world of any possible threats.  Unfortunately that means that they are arresting children who might pose a threat to their power in the future.  The two protagonists in the book are a brother and sister who were never told that they had magical powers but discover throughout the action that they really are a witch and a wizard.  This book has a lot of great fantasy elements but also reads like a lot of the futuristic novels with a warning in them about the state of the world.  I am looking for ward to reading the next book and seeing what happens with the characters and the New Order.

     I also recently read The Princess Bride.  I absolutely love the movie and I wanted to see if the book was as good.  I did not realize that the book is actually an abridged version of the original story written by William Goldman who also wrote the screenplay for the movie.  It was fun to read the story, but there was nothing new in it because the main action was exactly like the action in the movie.

More Great Reads Continued…

   Rick Riordan writes a spectacular adventure in the Percy Jackson series.  I had a hard time putting down each of the installments in the series and couldn’t wait to read the fifth book The Last Olympian.  The development of the relationships among the characters and the twists and turns really made a fantasy story very realistic.  I was as eager to find out what would happen between Annabeth and Percy as I was to find out how they would save the world from the Titans.
      In The Lost Hero Riordan continues to write a fun-filled adventure story.  This book starts a series that includes a different prophecy that is in the hands of other demi-god children.  There are cameo appearances by some of the favorite characters from the Percy Jackson series and a hint that Percy himself might show up in further adventures.  I am very excited to see what else happens to this set of characters.
      The Red Pyramid was also a great read.  I was intrigued by the egyptian myths and gods.  Just as in the Percy Jackson series, I learned quite a bit about mythology.  I also really liked the author’s style of shifting the narration back and forth from Sadie to Carter.  The different styles they had of telling the story added humor and intrigue to the book.
  

Many Great Reads Later

    I am quite embarrassed by how long it has taken me to get back to this blog. I will have a hard time remembering all the books that I have read since the last post.  First I think I will make a list of the books I have read and then I will begin to review them.  I have read most of the rest of the books in the House of Night series, Fahrenheit 451, City of Bones and City of Ashes, The Lost Hero, The Red Pyramid, The Kitchen Boy, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and a few Holocaust historical fiction books.

    I will start with the House of Night series.  I still enjoy the quick and entertaining reading that those books provide.  I will say that the characters are interesting and it is my curiosity about what will happen to Zoey that keeps me going back to the books.  However, I find the story getting more and more unbelievable and crazy.  In the third book Zoey makes some decisions that I found to be really unrealistic and the rest of the books have continued that plot line.  I would still recommend the series but maybe not as highly as I might have before.

    Part of my mission as a teacher and a reader is to be familiar with classic books as well.  I am a little ashamed to say that until this fall I had not read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  It is a science fiction book that takes place in a world where reading and books are prohibited.  The firemen in this world are called out to start fires in homes where books have been spotted.  The protagonist of this book is a fireman who starts to have doubts about his life and the fire starting that he does.  I found myself wondering throughout the book what a world like that would be like.  I think that is the magic of science fiction…it brings you into a new place and makes you think about what the world could be.  I wasn’t as thrilled with the book as I thought I might be.  It is worth the read and it is good to know that I have read another classic, but I don’t think I was missing much before.

     The new Mortal Instruments series is a thrilling adventure/fantasy series.  The first book City of Bones had me intrigued from the start because the protagonist, Clary, has no idea what is going on.  She starts to see things that no one else can see and her mother starts acting really weird all at once.  Throughout the story she starts to discover a whole world of other creatures and secrets that her mother has been keeping.  Besides all the fantasy and intrigue there is a love triangle that develops and makes for some great reading.  City of Ashes continues the adventure and is as fun to read as the first book.

Looking for Alaska, Copper Sun, Tears of a Tiger, Marked

Hello!  I have been super busy with the beginning of a new school year so I haven’t posted in awhile.  That does not mean that I have taken a break from reading though!

     First up today is the book Looking for Alaska by John Green.  In this book the protagonist is a high school boy who decides to ask his parents to send him to the boarding school his father went to.  He doesn’t really have any friends at his school in Florida and is looking for a new beginning somewhere.  At the new boarding school he becomes friends with a rather motley group of students who enjoy pulling pranks.  One of the group is a girl named Alaska who is gorgeous and elusive and quirky.  There is a sense of suspense throughout the novel because each section has a heading counting down to some event.  This is a novel that contains some mature references but is one I would recommend to many teens.  I was drawn to it first because it is a novel that won the Printz award for young adult books.  Every book that I have read that has had that distinction has been an excellent book.

    The next two books were both written by Sharon Draper.  The first book, Copper Sun, was recommended to me by a fellow teacher.  The book starts out describing a very nice domestic scene in a village in Africa and very quickly turns into a tragedy when the white slave traders come to the village and kill everyone that they do not find to be suitable to bring with them for slavery.  The narration is through the voice of a young woman who then tells of her journey on a slave ship, being bought at auction, and living as a slave on the plantation where she ends up.  Throughout the second part of the book the narration skips back and forth between Amari, the slave, and Polly, a white indentured servant. I learned a few things that I did not know about the history of the United States and a free village that existed in Spanish Florida.  I would highly recommend this book.

    The second book by Sharon Draper that I read recently was Tears of a Tiger.  The book starts with a tragic accident in which a star basketball player dies.  The book explores the level of grief that the other students go through and the struggles of the student who was driving the car with survivor’s guilt.  It is a fascinating and sad book.  I really appreciated the way the author used many different formats to narrate the book.  The narration was a collection of letters, newspaper articles, glimpses into students’ thoughts, etc.  I know that this book is the first in a trilogy and I will definitely be seeking out the other two books. Be ready to read a tragic story when you sit down to read this one.

   The last book that I want to talk about is the book Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast.  This is the first book in the House of Night series.  I have to say that I was somewhat reluctant to read this one because I am a little sick of the vampire craze lately.  (Not that I haven’t also been a part of the craze)  I was pleasantly surprised by this book.  The authors created a whole new idea of what the vampire myth could be and it is very intriguing.  I really enjoyed getting to know the main character and learning about her adventures.  This book is reminiscent of Harry Potter and worth the read.

Incarceron, Shiver, and Cut

Hello All!

I have been busy reading this week and have found some great reads. There is nothing like reading to let you travel to new lands and get inside the head of a character.
The first book that I read is a fairly new release. I was able to buy a set of books for teachers at Scholastic that included three of the books that had just come out in May or early June. This book is Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. The premise of the book is a little bit far-fetched but it is another of the doomsday plots where in the future the people have made a mess of things and found something they thought would be the solution. The narration in the book goes back and forth between the story of Finn, a boy who is trapped in the world of Incarceron, and Claudia, the warden’s daughter. The people in Incarceron, a prison, have been told that there is nothing outside and that the whole world that exists is inside of the walls of the prison. Finn does not remember his time before waking up inside of the prison but he has a nagging feeling that he came from outside. He has some dreams that seem to be memories and he is convinced that he came from somewhere else. Claudia is betrothed to the crown prince and once she is married she will be queen, but that is not what she wants. Fisher weaves a story that keeps the reader intrigued and wondering about this mysterious world of Incarceron. I would recommend this book mainly to fans of science fiction.
The second book I read was Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. This is a story about a girl who was attacked by wolves when she was younger. She becomes obsessed with the wolf pack that lives in the woods behind her house and particularly one wolf who always seems to be watching the house. She is convinced that there is something different about these wolves. The narration again goes back and forth between Grace, the girl, and Sam, the wolf. It is a love story and fantasy all wrapped up in one. There is a mystery in the book as they have to search for a boy who was attacked by wolves and died but then his body disappeared from the morgue. I am a sucker for a good love story and this one fit the bill. Fans of Twilight will enjoy this story. I am looking forward to finding the sequel and reading more about these characters.
The last book I want to write about here is Cut by Patricia McCormick. This book is written in first person and is about a girl who is in a mental hospital because she has been cutting herself. The author brings the reader inside the mind of the narrator and the reader is able to feel the experience of day to day life in the hospital. It is a short book and I was unable to put it down once I started. I found myself crying at certain points of the story because McCormick brought out the pain of the character in such a real way. Overall, though, this book is an uplifting story about a girl who is in pain but is on the track to getting better. I would recommend this book to most girls if only to help them to see the things that could be happening inside the minds of those around them.

39 Clues, Percy Jackson, and The Warrior Heir

I have enjoyed reading the many great adventure series out there for a while now. It is such fun to imagine a world in which monsters, secrets, wizards, etc. exist. The best thing about this kind of series is the fact that it usually starts with a kid who has absolutely no clue that these kinds of things exist or that he/she is involved.

The first series that I want to talk about here is 39 clues. I love the idea for this series. I love that it will stay fresh throughout because each book is written by a different author. Each book is in itself a mystery which resolves itself by the end to reveal a clue. The clue hunt is a dangerous game and Amy and Dan find that they know many of the answers because of things that their grandmother did with them. I love that this series is very easy to read. Anybody, even a struggling reader, would be able to get through these books. Each book is short and quick to read and I find myself really curious to see how the whole thing will work out. The only thing that I don’t like about the series is that there are some things that happen that are quite unbelievable…the reader needs to use quite a bit of imagination to think that these two kids would survive some of the adventures that pop up for them. I just finished reading the 8th book in the series and am looking forward to finding the 9th book.
I also just finished the 4th book in the Percy Jackson series. The premise of these books is that the Greek gods actually exist and still rule over the happenings on Earth. Percy Jackson is a demi-god because Poseidon is his father. He ends up having to go on quests to keep different bad things from happening. I like the fact that there is a prophecy that the reader finds out about in the books because it foreshadows a big decision that Percy will have to make soon. In this book the battle is shaping up to be a major battle to keep the Titans from returning and overcoming the Gods. I was very intrigued by the hint of a love story taking shape and the two girls that Percy is probably going to have to choose between. I can’t wait to get the 5th book and read the conclusion of a great series of books.
The Warrior Heir by Cinda WIlliams Chima is another book along the same lines of the Harry Potter, Pendragon, Percy Jackson line. In this book the protagonist, Jack, has no clue that he actually has a warrior stone and will need to train to play the game that the wizards run. The book describes the struggle that he goes through as he finds out that he is more than what he thought he was and learns about the Weir people. There is a very intriguing story to explain the secret workings of the wizards, sorcerers, enchanters, and warriors. Jack has to take on the new story of who he is and keep it a secret from his mother and his friends who are Anawier…people without special powers. It all comes to an exciting conclusion as Jack has to participate in a fight to the death against another warrior. I am looking forward to finding and reading the other books in this series. If you like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, you will like The Warrior Heir.