What Should I Read? Book Talks and More

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 fo...

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 ...

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 som...