I began this blog in the fall of 2010, thinking I would read 100 books during the 2010-2011 school year and write about each one. I reached 100 books in May, but decided to just keep on reading. You can stop back any time to hear about the newest books on my list.
This is the story of Luce Price and her admittance to Sword & Cross boarding school. Sword & Cross is the school she has been sent following a terrible event in which a building burned, a friend was killed, and Luce was implicated. Throughout her first few weeks at Sword & Cross she feels as though she is at fault, and even when she meets Daniel (a young man she feels a strong attachment to) she thinks that she is to blame for the past events.
Throughout the book the reader is given the impression that there is a history between Luce and Daniel, but she also feels drawn to Cam, another student. It is only toward the end of the book when Cam seems more suspicious and it seems that Luce's destiny is with Daniel.
Readers who enjoy fantasy and sci fi - paranormal romance stories - will love the Fallen series. Just the titles of the books will tempt them:
#1 Fallen
#2 Torment
#3 Passion
#4 Rapture
If this is the genre you love, you will definitely LOVE these books!
Enjoy this book trailer video (and possible movie trailer).
Laura Moriarty's The Center of Everything is a very lovely read. Evelyn Bucknow is the protagonist, and a child living in the midst of a pretty tough outlook. Evelyn shares all of the drama of a small town and a small town school. She shares with us her dreams, her loves, her joy and her sorrow. As the narrator of the story, Evelyn gives her viewpoint, starting as a young girl in middle school, and growing all the way through high school.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Center of Everything - and especially enjoyed "growing up" with Evelyn. We experience all that she does as she goes through the normal, as well as the exciting, heart-pounding moments of middle school, and then high school. All the experiences she shares - the friendships, the joys, the loves - are similar to the ones we all experienced as we traveled from junior high to high school.
I love the fact that Evelyn is going off to college at the end of the novel, and is going to continue to work to make her dreams come true. She will not be caught in the drama of this small town life.
As much as I enjoyed reading The Center of Everything there were times when I questioned who the best readers of this book would be. While I believe the book was written for high school students, I think that many adults would love the story. That being said, I also believe that many middle school students would love the story - and that there would be a lot of high school students who would feel the story was too juvenile for them, especially when compared to other high school-age novels.
So - who do I recommend this book to? If you are an avid reader, and have plenty of time to enjoy "coming of age" novels, you will certainly enjoy this book.
Now this may be a little self-serving, but here is author Laura Moriarty sharing her love of libraries. Enjoy!
The Pregnancy Project was an extremely interesting book to read, particularly considering the fact that Gaby is telling her own story.
Gaby is an amazing young woman who is determined not to follow in the footsteps of her mother, siblings, and many other relatives who became pregnant at an early age, dropped out of school and gave up any dreams they had for their future. Gaby provides a new perspective on the pregnant teen, however, as with this project she is able to gain insight on how young pregnant teens are treated. As Gaby follows through on her senior project - faking a pregnancy - she sees how her teachers, friends, and family treat her differently. She recognizes the fact that she has a strong support system in her mother, numerous siblings, encouraging friends and boyfriend, and how so many pregnant girls have to deal with these same pressures without that support and guidance. There are voices all around the teen saying "I told you so" and "I knew this would happen" and "Now you've ruined your life". So many people who act supportive, but in reality just tell the teen that she won't be able to graduate, go on to college, live a happy life. And often, then, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The entire book does a wonderful job of illustrating all of the research Gaby did. Her senior project really becomes a life lesson for students everywhere, and a book that should be read by all and I think would make a great text health classes.
I found myself cheering as Gaby presented her project to the entire student body. Although I haven't seen the movie based on the book, I imagine it would be a very hopeful, uplifting movie. It gave me the strong sense that one can truly overcome any obstacles in one's life and reach their full potential, regardless of the circumstances in which they live.
I think of the word resilient, and how important it is for people to learn to be resilient: to be able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. This comes from believing in one's self and in not giving up even when all the odds are against you. But as Gaby points out, for many people it is easier to give in to the pressures and become what others are telling you to be.
Below is one of the news stories from Gaby's project:
I grew up with tall tales and, living in Minnesota, especially the tales featuring characters who could fight a rattlesnake, tame a wild ox, chop down a forest singlehandedly, and eat flapjacks by the dozens. (Paul Bunyan's statues are all over the north country, along with Babe, Lucinda, and more.)
Set in the late 1920s in the forests of North Carolina, Serena arrives in camp after marrying her new husband, George Pemberton. Although Pemberton is a ruthless man himself, she quickly emerges as the most powerful character and enters into her own climb to the top, leaving no one unscarred. When Serena sets her mind on something it is bound to happen, no matter what violent and heinous acts must occur. Pemberton was good at bribery and "accidental deaths" in his climb to the top, but Serena is openly willing to crush anything in their path.
I truly enjoyed the images of Serena, eagle on her arm, riding her white horse into the forest. Throughout the book I continually was reminded of the tales I'd heard so many times about Paul Bunyan, Davy Crockett and Pecos Bill. Actually this helped me enjoy the book more, since I don't usually enjoy reading the types of books where animals are tortured, innocent people are killed, and anything considered to be a threat is "taken care of", but it was pretty easy to chuckle over these, since I didn't take them that seriously.
I've been hearing rumors of a movie based on the books, with a release date of anywhere from 2012-2014. Although I understand the movie will star Jennifer Lawrence and Bradly Cooper, and much of it has been filmed, I still can't find anything solid regarding a release date in the United States. Perhaps it was released and I missed it? Not sure. Stay tuned on that one, I guess. But in the meantime, enjoy the book!
Here's a video with Ron Rash speaking about Serena.
A lovely Minnesota beach day calls for a fun summer novel, and Joanna Philbin's Rules of Summer doesn't disappoint. Although there are a few surprises you definitely don't have to think too deeply when reading this book.
The plot is simple: poor teenager (Rory) heads off to spend the summer at the beach with her aunt, running errands for a wealthy family. Of course, they have a handsome son, Connor, whom she immediately falls in love with. There is also a daughter her age, Isabel, and although they immediately dislike each other, the two become close friends. It comes as no surprise that Isabel's new boyfriend is a lowly surfer/musician: one who would not be accepted by Isabel's rich parents.
Oh - and their last name is "Rule" - which makes the title Rules of Summer very clever indeed.
Typical summer events occur - near drownings, the 4th of July, parties with friends, surfing, horseback riding, and time at the posh Georgica private club - all the things you expect to find in a fun summer romance. The story flows well, and the characters, although shallow, are likable enough.
If you're looking for a fun beach read, Rules of Summer is a great place to start. Pull up your lawn chair, smooth on a little sunscreen, and settle back for a pleasant journey.
Here's a great interview with Joanna Philbin. If you're not aware of this fun fact, Joanna is the daughter of Regis Philbin - which gives her a good understanding of growing up with a famous, wealthy parent. It's a rather long video, but well worth the time.
I got sucked into The Maze Runner from the very first page. Thomas "awakens" in an elevator-type box, and when the doors open he finds a large group of boys his age all starting at him. He quickly learns that he has joined the gladers, trapped in an area surrounded by an ever-changing maze.
The gladers have lived in the glade for two years, with one new boy arriving monthly, just in the way that Thomas arrived. Just as he begins to learn about the community and lifestyle, a new person appears. This new arrival is a girl, the first girl ever. Thomas is immediately drawn to her - and soon learns that their connection is not only strong, it contains the ability to communicate telepathically.
The boys have organized their community well, and have learned to provide for themselves using the tools given them by the creators. They believe their main goal to find a way to escape through the maze, but this is a most dangerous place, because creatures called "grievers" (mechanical monsters) come out mostly at night. A sting from a griever causes the victim to go through a "changing", which appears to affect them greatly. Those victims are lucky, however, because death comes to anyone receiving more than a minor injury.
There is a great amount of mystery surrounding the glade and the maze, and as readers we learn bits and pieces. I enjoyed the book immensely, but have a lot of questions as to how it can be made into a single movie. The books ends as part 1 of a four-part series, and simply delivers the remaining boys (and one girl) to the next phase in their trial.
I know you can find the movie trailer for The Maze Runner, so I'll share an author interview with James Dashner. Enjoy!
If I Stay is on my list of books to read partly because it's being made into a movie. I don't watch very many movies, so it's probably not even one that I'll watch. However, when my students see books being made into movies that means they will want to read the books, so I want to be able to say that I've read the book already. Hence, the list.
There's no secret to this story line. Mia and her family are in a tragic car accident. Both of Mia's parents die at the scene. Her younger brother survives for a day or so and then also dies. Mia is in a coma, in critical condition, telling the story - as she watches it in one of those "out of body" experiences.
Throughout the story we learn all about Mia's life, family and friends. She is a girl with a musical gift for playing the cello, although she was raised around rock music.
The story is told beautifully, and I admit that there were several times where I wiped away the tears in my eyes. Overall, though, the book is a quick read that, although not overly dramatic, pulls the reader and keeps your attention until the very last page.
I especially enjoyed reading the author's notes at the end of the book, where Gayle Forman explains where she got the idea for the book, her references for the music, and provides an author Q and A.
There are a lot of great book trailers on If I Stay, and of course there's the official movie trailer, but instead I thought I'd share this interview with Gayle Forman. Enjoy!
