What Should I Read? Book Talks and More

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Series by Michelle Paver What was life like for people when we lived in small communities made of clans? Before we knew about science or why things in the natural world happened? Torak lived 6,000 years ago in northern Europe. Spirits and magic make life different and dangerous. His father is killed by a demon possessed monstrosity of a bear. Why did his father keep him separate from all the clans? Torak is unusual because he can speak with wolves. He befriends a wolf cub, whose family was also killed, and together they form their own pack. Eventually Torak is adopted by another clan, but his differences make it hard for the crow clan to accept him. Each of the first four books in the series that I read were exciting and, interesting, and a different kind of fantasy. I really enjoy this series!Torak went on a quest in each and was assisted by his crow clan friend who has power and secrets of her own, and Wolf. 1. Wolf Brother 2. Spiri

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Tim Indian by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney Junior wants a better future.  He doesn't want to give up on life, the way it sometimes seems that his family and community have.  One of his teachers, who seems like a real creep, tells him he needs to get off the reservation and go to a school in the next town. Junior decides to do that, but it is difficult to get there due to his family's situation, and it alienates him from his community and his best friend.  His friend is the meanest kid at the rez school and also the best basketball player.  They were supposed to play together and Junior is pretty nervous that now they will be rivals.  He is surprised and also a little put off by the friendliness and generosity of the students at his new school.  He is not sure if they are genuine or condescending to him because he is Native American; the only other Indian on campus is the school mascot. This is a realistic fiction youn

The Friendship Matchmaker by Randa Abdel-Fattah This funny book is about a middle school girl, Lana, who matches kids together for friendships.  I don't think this is a "thing" because I do work at a middle school, but it makes for a good read.  Lana has rules for who and how she will match.  One of the rules is that she can match two friends or four friends, but never odd numbers because someone will always be left out.  Lana doesn't seem to have friends of her own, after all she is very busy writing manuals for middle school kids which include social rules for all situations, such as "Rules for the School Bus." Lana takes on a very difficult friendship project, and readers will hope that she finds a friend for herself. I enjoyed this book! Genre:  Humor, School Stories

Night Wings by Joseph Bruchac Paul's parents have both gone off to war, as is a tradition in their family since his ancestors decided to never fight against America again.  He is staying with his grandfather who has taught Paul his Abenaki ancestors' stories.  When his grandfather is kidnapped, the bad guys force Paul into a dangerous situation on top of the mountain which includes confronting a legendary monster.  He has the wisdom of his ancestors and all the survival skills his grandfather taught him, hopefully it will be enough to get them out of this terrible situation. This is a very good story.  Joesph Bruchac does a wonderful job incorporating Native American stories into his stories.  He's so awesome! MS

Twice Upon a Time Series by Wendy Mass Wendy Mass retells three fairy tales.  Beauty and the Beast:   The Only One who Didn't Run Away   by  Wendy Mass You know the story--boy gets turned into a beast until someone falls in love with him.  That girl is Beauty and she is tired of not living up to her name. She is a very smart girl who is trying to make a little money for her family.  Her father, a book seller, has run into bad fortune.  Her sister tries but she's really only interested in having pretty dresses and getting married.  The beast's family is cursed.  He is a terrifying beast, and his family has been made invisible.  They must work together to help the Beast find love before time is up and they remain cursed forever. Rapunzel : the One with all the Hair Rapunzel was stolen from home on her 12th birthday by an evil witch and kept in a high tower.  This book is told in two perspectives by Benjamin and Rapunzel.  Benjamin is destined to be king one

The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty Bindy MacKenzie is an irritating, self-righteous straight A know-it all!  But she does not deserve to be murdered.  She's just a kid in high school after all, and she has her own problems.  In addition to being an over-achiever, she is keeping a family secret from her father.  Her parents have split up, even though they won't admit it, and she is living with her aunt and uncle.  And she's losing it!  But how and why would someone want to kill her?  This story is told through Bindy's diary and keepsakes.  I enjoyed this book!   

http://community.sparknotes.com/tag/new-books It is sponsered by Sparknotes.  The book talks are on slides.  Pretty cool.  A great way to find titles that interest you.

The Memory Book by Penelope J. Stokes Phoebe is lost in her life.  She has just finished an advanced college degree and doesn't know what to do next.  She returns home to rural Georgia and her grandmother's home--where she grew up.  Phoebe dream travels and finds family secrets which she hopes learning about will allow her to let those closest to her--best friends and fiance'--truly into her life.  This isn't my favorite type of book, but I was able to finish it and found it interesting. Genre:  Romantic Mystery

Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time by Lisa Yee Stanford flunked 6th grade English.  He is headed to summer school.  No big-time basketball summer camp after all.  Standford is a genius on the basketball court and now he might not get to play on the A team as a 7th grader.  He must pass English this summer, but that is too embarrassing to tell his friends, so he just doesn't.  His cover story:  he tells everyone he has a summer job working every morning at his father's law firm.  Instead he spends all morning in school and gets tutored from Millicent Min--a girl his age who is super smart and already in high school.  Millie and Stanford have history--they are always getting stuck with each other since their grandmothers are good friends...and they are both Chinese--so it's a community thing and a family thing!  They make a pact that NO ONE can know they are working together.  Millicent Min , Girl Genius   by Lisa Yee These are two separate books written about the same time

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen A tragic bus accident caused Jessica to lose the lower part of her leg.  Tragic in all circumstances, but Jessica is a high school girl on the track team.  She loves to run.  Because she is strong and fit, she recovers pretty quickly--physically.  She dreams of running again.  Amid family money problems caused by the accident, survivor guilt since one of her teammates died in the accident, feeling out of place at her hometown school, and missing running, Jessica finds out what is important to her and learns what it is to be different but want to be known for who you are, inside. This book is on the Kansas William Allen White Book List for 2013-14.  It has been awarded a Schneider Family Book Award.  This book is pretty good.  It is a little sappy at times, but the determination of Jessica and the loyalty of her team and friends, and her openness to new experiences make it a worthy read. Genre:  Sports Fiction, Realistic Fiction

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles    Sunny's family receives a letter from her dead sister.  Sunny's mother and father are messed up and Sunny is taking care of everything.  Then, Jazz comes home.  It is hard for Sunny to know what to do.  It is a suspenseful and quick read.  Genre:  Mystery

Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari This dystopic book is set on the New York state island of Manhattan.  A smallpox-like virus killed most people and the people who survived are young people and old people.  It is believed that global climate change caused the virus and water levels have risen.  People had to move out of the cities and are struggling to make it.  Complicating all this, sweepers come and kidnap people, they seem to be looking for a cure that is believed to be in someone who is immune to the disease.  Lucy has been living alone and finds a colony to stay with.  It was really good. Genre:  dystopic

Save the Cupcake!   by Lisa Papdemetriou -- #1 in the Confectionately Yours Series.  Everything is changing for Hayley.  But, that is what 7th grade is like here at my middle school.  But, for her, it is all happening at once--her parents divorced, she moved, her best friends are acting weird, her mom is looking for a new job...  Her constant is cupcakes (recipes included).  She invents recipes and bakes.  She often sells them in her grandmother's Tea House.  Is everything that's going wrong all her fault?  Now the PTO is trying to BAN cupcakes from her school.  I really enjoyed this realistic middle school book.

Slither by Joseph Delaney, book 11 in the Last Apprentice series. When this book came in, I was really excited and took it home to the son who loves this series as much as I do. But he said--"Is this the same series, I don't know who this character is..." And I said, if Joseph Delaney wrote it, it has to be good! This is a parallel plot to Tom Ward's stories.  Grimalkin, the Witch Assassin, appears and is very important in the story.  Who is Slither?  He is a being--not human--maybe like a blood loving wood nymph--with magical powers attached to the land.  He lives within a hierarchical society and "farms" people.  I know that sounds weird, but Delaney pulls it off. One of Slither's tenants dies.  The man has three daughters, the oldest is 17 and the youngest is 8.  The old man traded with Slither and made him promise that he would deliver the two younger girls to their aunt, but he could sell the oldest girl.  The story is about that journey

  Lure of the Dead by Joseph Delaney The Spook seems to be getting old and his apprentice, Tom, knows that he will soon be in charge of all the County's spook business.  Which is, of course, fighting supernatural elements, including witches, demons, vampires, and worse. Tom continues to seek a way to defeat the Fiend. Grimalkin, the witch who is an assassin and his ally, gives Tom bad news about the sacrifices he will have to make in order to get rid of the Fiend--it is the worst possible news.  In this episode, Tom works with another of the Spook's former apprentices to expel  Strigoica , an especially ancient and powerful type of vampire.  This is the tenth installment in The Last Apprentice series.  It is currently my favorite!  In this book, the Spook is rebuilding his home and he and Tom seem to understand one another with mutual respect.  Always remember, this is a VERY scary fantasy series--heed the warning on the cover:  not to be read after dark!

Recently I wrote about Devil's Breath by David Gilman.  The next book in Gilman's Danger Zone series is Ice Claw .  Max is in the French Alps for an extreme sports competition when he and his best friend narrowly escape an avalanche.  Later, back in town, he helps a girl get out of an attack by a motorcycle gang.  This gets him noticed by the wrong criminal element--and then he witnesses the murder of a priest.  Max senses something else, bigger and sinister is going on, so he follows his instinct and begins investigating the murder of the priest. This story is action-packed and exciting with the very likable main character, Max Gordan.  The plot includes elements of science, astrology, international endangered species, and a very very sinister bad guy.

Tending to Grace by Kimberly Newton Fusco Cornelia has a few difficulties:  when she chooses to talk--she stutters, she is poor, she has been put in classes inappropriate for her learning level and her mother leaves her with her very strange older great-aunt whom she has never met before.  This is a coming of age story and Cornelia has things to sort out in order to move on and grow up. Realistic Genre, Coming of Age

Sound Bender by Lin Oliver and Theo Baker.  An orphan with a secret power that he doesn't understand and must learn to control!  It sounds like a familiar storyline. But, it is a good story with lots of suspense and action.  Instead of being disadvantaged and poor, Leo and his brother Hollis live with their wealthy and mysterious step-uncle.  It takes a while to sort out if the uncle is a good guy or a bad guy.  There's a complicated relationship between the brothers, who both have sound talents.  Hollis's is more normal--he is a great musician.  Leo feels very guilty when has to miss one of Hollis's concerts to chase a mysterious sound all the way to a South Pacific island. Genre:  fantasy There is a sequel: 

Son by Lois Lowry   I am not disappointed with the finale to this quartet.  Although it seems that Lowry introduces a new main character, she was there all along.  We didn't meet her because her job as a birth mother was not valued in her society.  This story spans the time frame of all three of the other stories and definitely finishes the story in a way that lets us know about each of the characters we have come to care about in this series. Lowry started this "quartet" in 1994 with the winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal, The Giver .  This is a dystopic series...the world had to start over and things aren't so great for people in the new societies.  They are too controlled by a cruel government, and even though they may not know it, they are unhappy. I re-read the books in the series in preparation for Son . The Giver    Jonas discovers at twelve, that his lifetime job assignment is to be the keeper of memories for his community. This brings him pri

The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore.   Book Three in Lorien Legacies After number Six and number Four get together , things start to happen very quickly in this Science Fiction novel.   They find more Loriens, including Nine, and band together to fight the Mogadorians.   If they succeed, they can save their own planet, as well as return home, and also save Earth.   I was very excited when I unpacked the boxes of new books to find this one—it did not disappoint me!   There is a second part of this series called The Secret Histories.   I am ready to get started on those! Genre:  Science fiction with aliens

I So Don’t Do Mysteries by Barrie Summy     I picked this book up at the book fair.   It is mystery-humor-romance-with a big dash of supernatural.   Sherry has to help her mother, who is a ghost, solve a big mystery in order for her mom to hang around as a ghost detective.   The novel is set in San Diego, and it is always fun to read about a famous place.   Included in the mystery are rhinos at the San Diego Wild Animal park.   It is a funny book based on a middle school character.   It is pretty good and it is part of a series about Sherry.  This is a four book series--since the first one was pretty good, I also read the second and third books in the series, both are very fun. Genre:  Fantasy, mystery, humor  

Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan Kit is dropped off at a very creepy, exclusive new boarding school housed in an ancient mansion in New England.   Her mother and new stepfather are off to Europe on their honeymoon (so they are out of the way).   Will the creepiness turn into something more sinister?   Duncan reworked this 1970s Victorian mystery with modern language and technology.   I enjoyed this fast-paced suspenseful read. Others by Lois Duncan: Don't Look Behind You April suddenly learns that her father's testimony which convicts a powerful drug dealer has put her whole family in danger.  That is bad news.  But even worse her family has to enter the Federal Witness Security Program and leave their life.  She has to change her name, leave her school and friends, and leave her boyfriend! She does not think it is at all fair.  When she decided to contact her boyfriend, one of the agents guarding her family is murdered.  Can she help keep her family safe?  It is an

Devil's Breath by David Gilman  Likable teen, Max, attends an exclusive boarding school.  Dad's an international environmentalist (out of town a lot) and his mom died in an accident related to his parents' work.  Max is a great athlete, not so great student, but his school isn't only about grades.  It is a survival school where students spend part of every day running or kayaking or skiing, etc.  Suddenly Max's life is turned upside down when he gets word that his father is missing.  There is a plan in place for this--Max goes to the vault at the school where his father left instructions and articles for him (all parents at the school do this--a service to the clientele).  School officials think he is on his way to England to live with a cousin, but in reality Max is on his way to South Africa and Namibia to find his father.  All he has are his wits, his survival skills, a certain knowledge that his father is alive and one weak lead...and some very good friends