What Should I Read? Book Talks and More

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