Books on the Shelf

Book 8: As Simple as Snow
by Gregory Galloway
Finished  February 13th

I was recommend this book by one of my 8th graders.  She told me it was her favorite book and said I should read it.... before Thanksgiving.  I finally purchased it from my Christmas money, and got it in the mail.  I set to work reading it.  This book is full of mystery and oddities.  It is about a girl who moves into a small town, and starts writing obituarites about everyone who lives there.  It is told from the point of view of her new boyfriend, and town native, a character whose name is unknown.  The girl, Anna Cayne has a strange way to communicate, with letters of random information and things found on the street.  On the weekend of Valentine's Day, Anna disapears under mysterious circomestances and her boyfriend spends his time trying to figure out what happened and trying to communicate with Anna from the other side.  The book ends leavng questions unanswered, leaving the reader with a feeling of the unknown.  It was an entertaining book and an enjoyable read.

Book 9: Red Badge of Courage
by Stephan Crane
Finished February 20th

Finally buckled down and read this classic.  It has been hanging out on my shelf for about 3 years.  I can tell why this book is called a classic. Imagery, moral conflict, character building, and hero making filled story.  I liked that the title of the book just popped up on some random page before too much had happened.  I also enjoyed the fact that the hero is a flawed man.  I guess that is the point.  It is a coming of age book for during a war inflicted era.  Henry enlists as an optimistic teen boy, and through is journey with war and developing his character, becomes a man.  Definitely belongs on the classics to read list.

Book 10: The Outsiders of 19 Schuyler Place
by E.L. Konigsburg
Finished February 21st

I loved this book!  The underdog rallies to save the day! Or in this case, the towers her uncles built.  This girl, Margaret Rose Kane is left at a summer camp, and rebels.  Her rebellion is to refuse to participate.  Her response to everything it "I prefer not to."  I love this response.  She also hums or sings "God Save the Queen" to make her statement. She gets kicked out of the camp, but in the process, becomes friends with the camp handyman.  That friendship blossoms (hehe) and helps Margaret save the towers.  This is a feel good, happy ending book.  Unlike the last two books (numbers 8 and 9).  Margaret engineers a committee of unexpected people to help overcome the snobish neighbors who want to disassemble the towers.  She even engages in a sit it passive protest.  Margaret Rose has all the makings of up and coming activist.  E.L. Konigsburg is one of my favorite children's writers, and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and story telling.  Everything from her character building to her foreshadowing, was witty and entertaining.  I don't want to give too much away as it is a read worth book, so I will end here.

one last randomly selected book....

Book 11: Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever
by James Patterson
Finished February 26th

So, I am not a fan of the serious books because I get so sucked in and can never get out.  I usually find that as the book number increases, the interest and storyline decreases.  This series, however, is not written this way.  I feel like the story was written, and then chunked for each book.  In other words, it is like one continuous story with the next chapter in the next book.  I enjoy the characters, and it is great to have a familiar feeling to them.  I did like that there was only about a paragraph of recap from the last book.  I hate drawn out retelling of the previous book.  Ek!  Anyway, I'm rambling.

The story continues with the flock of mutant bird-kids enrolling in school before they are discovered and have to flee.  The same enemies are here, with a few twists and still the same question of who is on the side to save the world.  A big of teen love drama is thrown in to stir things up and test the bonds of the flock.  As well as a short visit with crazy family.  Then end still leaves you questioning what will happen and leads you back to the shelf to pick up the next.  ( I don't have the next one, so we will see when I'll get to it).  It is a good old teen adventure.

Lois Lowry

So,  three of the next four books I've read have been written by Lois Lowry.  I looked her up because I enjoyed the books so much.  They are all so different, but have something trying them together.  I just couldn't figure out how to sum up what it was. This is what she said about her books on her site, which you can check out on your own (http://www.loislowry.com/). "My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections."  I read this, and I was like "Duh! That is it!"  I got interested in Lois Lowry while I was working at George Kelly and the 8th graders there were reading The Giver.  I decided to read the book all these 8th graders were enjoying and loved it.  It inspired me to go out and buy some more of her books. (To be fair, it doesn't take much to give me an excuse to visit a book store and spend some money.)

Book 4: The Silent Boy
by Lois Lowry
Finished January 30th

The book is pretty cool how it incoporated real pictures and ancestors.  It totally got to me, seeing as I am a huge historical fiction fan.  I really enjoyed the story told from a little girls point of view.  It is set in the early 1900's in a farming community.  Katy, the girl, is the daughter of a doctor and tells of her experiences with another boy in the community and his family.  The boy is "touched" and has a special way of seeing the world and handling animals.  I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.  It definitely displays how we are all interconnected in our community.

Book 5: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment
by James Patterson
Finished February 3rd

This book is a teen adventure.  It is kinda one of my secret obsession.  I love teen adventure.  It is adventure without the foul language and usually has some underlying message.  This one is about a group of children that have been genetically altered to have the bones and wings of a bird.  Or course, there are the typical bad guys, and an evil nemesis.  It has them exploring the country for their family history and purpose for exisiting.  It is the first of a trilogy, which I did not realize when I started.  If you are not interested in starting a trilogy, don't read this.  It leaves a lot of items hanging at the end of the book.

Book 6:  Gathering Blue
by Lois Lowry
Finished February 6th

This book has probably been my favorite I've read so far this year.  It is about a primitive like community that rids itself of their weak and young that have flaws.  Although, there are few exceptions, the story is told from the point of view of one of those exceptions.  Her name is Kira, who has had a twisted leg since birth, and was allowed to live.  She has extrodinary talent in weaving, which saves her from banishment when her mom dies from an unexpected illness.  I don't want to give too much away, (I could talk for hours about this one), but it has a couple of surprising turns in the story, and well worth your time.  It is also a book that has a theme of human connections.  Lois Lowry is a genius.  Also, according to her website this is the second book in a trilogy with The Giver.  Their stories are not related to the extend that you need to read one to understand the other.  They share no characters, but... I think it is a trilogy due to the similar setting and theme.  Read it.  You will love it.

Book 7: Gossamer
by Lois Lowry
Finished February 7th

If you are a dream junkie, you will enjoy this book.  It is about how these fairylike creatures collect memories to give us dreams.  The story centers around Littlest One and her experiences with an older lady and the boy that is staying at her house.  Of course you are encountered with this relationship between the lonely old woman, and an angry, hurt boy.... and the dog.  It also connects our dreams with the strength we need to deal with the challenges each day.  The book goes in a full circle, from Littlest One's first day of training, until her last day of training when she meets the newest dream maker.

New Year, New Books

Happy New Year! Yeah, I know I'm over a month late, but it is one of my goals this year to keep my blog updated. This morning I was contemplating what I could do to get myself motivated, or what I could write about. Then I remembered that I also have a goal to read one hundred new books this year. I thought I could do a Julie&Julia thing here. I'm going to try it, so here goes. I am going to blog about each new book I read. I am about 7 books behind at this moment. I will try to catch up. :)

Book 1: Inkheart
by Cornelia Funke
Finished January 10th

I got this book because I saw the movie. I saw the movie and enjoyed it. Like most movies written from books, I figured the book must be better. I will have to say, some parts of the movie played better for me then in the book. Although, in both the book and the movie, my favorite character is the little boy read out of From the Thousand and One Nights book, Farid. This book is fanciful and imaginative. It is a good book to read out loud to children. I think my nephew would love it. Hum, I should lend it to him. I do think he could relate to the martin. Mischievous.
How crazy exciting would it be to met the characters you have created. I think if I knew that could happen, I would try my darnedest to become an author. I don't know what kind of character I would want to come out of a book.

Book 2: Old Magic
by Marianne Curley
Finished January 18th

This book was an adventure. It took you though time and magic. It starts like a typical "I'm different" book. Outsider girl is drawn to new boy who displays a curious talent. The ideas inside are all magical; witches, curses, transformations, time travel, love, etc. It does talk of strong family ties and heritage. I bought this book as Amber's Christmas gift. It is not the kind of book I normally go for, but I thought, Why not? Pretty good. Definitely an Amber book.

Book 3: 'Till We Have Faces
by C.S. Lewis
Finished January 26th

I LOVED this book! As it says on the back of the cover, it is a myth retold. Which myth you say? The one with Psyche and Cupid. Although, sometimes it doesn't seem it, the story is full of all types of developing love. It reminds you of how selfish ones views can get when they are filled with misconceptions and misunderstandings. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I don't want to give too much away except that if you love mythology you will love this new twist on things. Well, not really new, but you will love it. I don't know what else to say, but read it.