What Should I Read? Book Talks and More

The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer Matt lives a surreal existence--alone in a house in a field full of flowers.  His mother is there part of the time, but she warns him to stay inside and not to speak to or be seen by anyone.  Why?  Because something really bad might happen.  And of course, it does.  But the absurdity of his situation does not end there because he is the clone of the most powerful man in the country.  The almost 150-year-old El Patrón is not only the president of the country and Matt's benefactor, he is the head of a powerful opium production and distribution country located between what used to be Mexico and the science fiction future of the United States. Usually when a clone is...made...the thinking part of the brain is destroyed and they are used as slaves or organs.  But El Patrón always raises his clones as people. This multi award-winning book has been on my reading list for about eight years! I took it home over Winter break because I heard t

Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams Ingrid did not intend to find another mystery in Echo Falls, but it happened.  She notices that her brother is suddenly much stronger, has developed a bad case of acne, and he is not exactly his old sweet self.  Based on information she learned in health class, she suspects he is using steroids.  But where is he getting them?  There are a few suspicious characters around.  But she does not realize until after her kidnapping that that she has uncovered more than one mystery in her quiet home town. Abrahams' series called the Echo Falls Mysteries includes three books in the series: Down the Rabbit Hole , Behind the Curtain , and Into the Dark . They are all based around teen super sleuth Ingrid Levin-Hill who is a very likeable character who loves to play soccer and is a Sherlock Holmes fan.  Abrahams includes sports fun.  I enjoyed this book and the others in the series. http://www.peterabrahams.com/

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool Jack's mother dies so his dad, the captain of a WWII navy ship, comes home to Kansas.  Jack and his father have not seen one another in several years, so things are strange.  Jack's dad takes him to a boarding school relatively close to his base.  Jack finds it difficult to fit in since he had not ever seen the ocean before he arrived in Maine and all students are expected to skull.  The first boy Jack meets is Early who seems quite odd.  He lives by himself in the basement.  Early has no family left and he seems to be a charity case at the school.  His oddness draws Jack in and they begin a quest that Jack does not really understand.  It is a quest to find a bear, or maybe it is find Early's brother (everyone knows that he died in the war) all based on the story that Early reads in the number pi. This historical fiction book is a good one.  Everything turns out right.  The details Vanderpool includes and the story she weaves is e