Day 42: 45 Days of Summer

Shark Life by Peter Benchley

Already missing Shark Week????

I know, it's tough to go from sharks, sharks, sharks 24-7, to...nothing.

Read this book. You'll thank me.

Perfect for: grades 5-8. But younger shark fiends and high school readers will enjoy this just as much. This is the young adult adaptation of the author's adult title: Shark Trouble.

And yes, this is the same author that wrote Jaws. But these are the true stories of his life with sharks. That actually dispel many of the myths that he created in Jaws.

Day 41: 45 Days of Summer

Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando

This is the summer that many of my friends have been sending their kids off to college. And many more, like myself, have kids about to start senior year.

This is a great book for anyone about to go to college, or wondering what having a roommate will be like. Told in alternating perspectives, Roomies tells the story of two girls who are given their college roommate contact information well in advance of arriving on campus and the friendship that does (or doesn't) develop between the girls.

Perfect for: high school...and up.

Day 39: 45 Days of Summer

The Secrets of Tree Taylor by Dandi Daley Mackall

Tree Taylor has two goals for summer: have her first real kiss; and become a writer. 

She desperately wants to become a reporter for the high school paper in the fall even though she will only be a freshman. When a gunshot is fired across the street, Tree knows this might be her opportunity to get the scoop before anyone else and write the investigative story that will make her famous.

But when she uncovers more than she intended to, she discovers perhaps that some secrets are not her's to tell.

A great tween mystery, but also a story of friendship and family. One of those books I call a "quiet gem."

Perfect for: grades 5-8. 

Tell a Fairy Tale Day!

Yes, it is true, Mrs. Yusko is finally back at school! It has been a long, LOOOOONG road to recovery, and while I'm still not there, I'm finally done with treatments and surgeries (after a year and a half)! So, it's probably time that I get back to blogging about books...

Today just happens to be "Tell a Fairy Tale Day." So, I thought that I would use today's post to share my favorite fractured fairy tales that we have here in my school library.

In no particular order:

1) Beastly by Alex Flinn. Okay, maybe they are in a particular order. I LOVED THIS BOOK. And I was booktalking it LONG before they made it into a movie. This is such an incredible and inventive retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the Beast's point of view, set in modern day NYC. Many of your fairy tale favorites also have cameo appearances. Please rush out and read this book NOW. And then check out all of Ms. Flinn's other titles because they are all terrific. Cloaked; Towering; Bewitching...I just didn't want this list to become the Alex Flinn fan club.

2) Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. Yes, that Gregory Maguire. Long before Wicked became a SENSATION, this was the book that I liked best. The story of Cinderella told from one of the stepsister's point of view. Terrific!

3) Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde. Another of my "please rush out immediately and read ALL of her books." This book is a collection of short stories featuring all the characters (and I mean all) from Little Red Riding Hood. The author's introduction to this collection is some of the funniest writing ever!

4) Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde. Okay, I know that I told you to read all of Ms. Vande Velde's books already, but this was the first book of hers that I read and I couldn't let it escape mention.

5) Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. I will admit (and all my students know) that I am not a fan of books where there's a girl in a dress on the cover. Ugh. Could there be anything worse for me? (Well, yes, there could be a vampire in it, but I digress). But what the author has done with this book (and the succeeding companion books in the "series") is nothing short of clever, brilliant writing. A must read!

6) The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley. I really enjoy this series. I wish that it was more popular in my school, but alas, it has not found a wide readership. But it is fantastic...and there are 11 books in the series so you could be busy reading it all year long.

7) Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. Okay, I originally read this book (even though there's a girl in a dress on the cover) because the author's "Dairy Queen" series was fantastic. I was won over! You will be too!

8) Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. Again, this is an author where I am just going to say READ ALL OF HER BOOKS. NOW.

9) Toads & Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson. This book is beautiful. Simply beautiful. Again, not the widest of readership as it takes just the right sophisticated reader to appreciate it. But worth the time if that person is you.

10) Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. This is the story of Hansel and Gretel turned on it's head and told in a way that would make the Grimm brothers proud. There are sequels also...read them all.

11) Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. I know, I know, there's a girl in a dress on the cover. That's what I said also. And then I listened to this audiobook while going through chemo one day and realized what all the hype (and trust me, there was plenty of it surrounding this book) was about. So unique!

12) Thrice Told Tales by Catherine Lewis. The Three Blind Mice giving writing advice? What could be better?!

13) The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman. Okay, I'll admit that I'm probably drawn to this because the main character works in a library, but it's a library where they keep the "artifacts" from Grimm's fairy tales. And maybe you could check them out???

14) Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I cannot say enough good things about this entire series (Scarlet; Cress; more to come). Completely original world building that gives a nod to their fairy tale inspiration but does so much more. Science Fiction, dystopian, adventure, mystery...these books have it all.

Review: Destiny Rewritten (Fitzmaurice)

Title: Destiny Rewritten
Author: Fitzmaurice
Genre: Fiction, Realistic, Families, Dreams, Books/Writing, Fate, Secrets
Pages: 335
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Ages: 4th-7th grades

From the Publisher: 
Eleven-year-old Emily Elizabeth Davis has been told for her entire life that her destiny is to become a poet, just like her famous namesake, Emily Dickinson. But Emily doesn't even really like poetry, and she has a secret career ambition that she suspects her English-professor mother will frown on. Then, just after discovering that it contains an important family secret, she loses the special volume of Emily Dickinson's poetry that was given to her at birth. As Emily and her friends search for the lost book in used bookstores and thrift shops all across town, Emily's understanding of destiny begins to unravel and then rewrite itself in a marvelous new way. 

This is a book review for 5th grade me. I grew up in the era where the only books in my elementary school library that interested me were Nancy Drew, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Little House on the Prairie, and everything written by E.L. Konigsburg. And I'm sure that I read more than one Choose Your Own Adventure. From here I went straight to Agatha Christie (mainly because there wasn't an entire publishing industry devoted to "teen" books). 

There are many other books that were probably sitting on the shelves that I honestly wish I had discovered at the time, and not when I was "old" (Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series for one), but believe it or not, I didn't devour everything on the the library shelves back then. I stuck with what was familiar and proven. (This might be why, when I have a student today that reminds me of "me," I am sometimes known to say, "you will read this because I said so"). 

I also grew up in the era of Danielle Steele novels turned into made-for-TV movies, and I hope it doesn't make me sound lame to admit that I'm pretty sure I watched most of them

All of these things explain why I LOVE this book by Fitzmaurice and am buying a copy of it for my going-to-be-6th grade daughter. 

I truly enjoyed Emily's narration of this book...it read true, like an actual 11 year old. She introduces us to a cast of quirky characters (most of which are her family), and her daily journey. All she wants to do is write romance novels (her correspondence with Danielle Steele almost "steal the show" for me) and find her father. When it is discovered that her cherished book of Dickinson poetry, which accidentally found it's way into the Goodwill box, actually contains clues to her father's identity, she is propelled on a quest to retrieve it.

I love Emily, and I think that tween readers will also. You can't help but root for her...and maybe get a little angry at a mother that won't give up family secrets except via musings in book margins. (And there's a similar history of this in my family, so another reason why I feel so in tune with this book). Emily's story of self-discovery, family, friendship, and making your own fate is one that will resonate with younger readers. I know that 5th grade me would have found a new friend in Emily...and would have desperately wanted to help her find her book. 

Review: Golden (Kirby)

Title: Golden
Author: Kirby
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Love, Diaries
Pages: 277
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Age: 8th grade and up (and adult)

I've decided to post "Book a Day" reviews this summer: a new book each day starting today! Some of these will be books that I posted on my Summer Reading suggestions, but many will be ones that I am also reading this summer. And since my goal is always to read more than one book per day, I'm hoping to have enough reviews to accomplish this all summer long!

The first title I want to post about is Golden by Jessi Kirby. First, let me just say that this is one of the 25-30 books in my "to read" pile that I just didn't get to before school got out. And now I am VERY sad that this did not make it onto my Summer Reading list. Because it is a GREAT BOOK! Wonderful! And a perfect book to read this summer. I have already recommended it to several neighborhood girls (and their moms).

From the publisher: 
Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Each year, Parker's English teacher gives soon-to-be graduating seniors a journal to record their thoughts on the question, "what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" And then he collects and stores the journals, mailing them back to students 10 years after graduation. Parker, as his TA, is tasked with tracking down addresses and mailing the journals from ten years ago. And that's when she discovers the journal of Julianna Farnetti in the stack.

Julianna and her boyfriend Shane were the golden couple of the town, until the night they perished in horrible car accident that plunged them into the river, leaving the whole town to grieve and create monuments in their honor. Parker cannot help herself and starts to read Julianna's journal. And in doing so, she starts to question not only her own motivations and plans for the future, but she wonders if the accident really happened like everyone thinks. With clues from the journal, she sets out to prove what really happened the night the golden couple died.

I cannot say enough about how much I really responded to this book. I am sure it had a little to do with all the Robert Frost references (one of my favorite poets; and The Road Not Taken, which obviously plays a huge role in this book, is my all-time favorite poem). But I also liked Parker and her telling of this story. Her BFF Kat, who she enlists into helping, is such a great friend and I love how the girls balance and support each other. The mystery of what happened to Julianna and Shane is compelling and I will say that this storyline did NOT end how I thought it would.

I think that almost any high school student (and adult) can relate to the "what if" dilemma that Parker faces. What if I had made different choices? What would my life be like? Is it too late to change the road that I am traveling down?

Do yourself a favor and go check out this book NOW! And then go back and pick up the author's first book, Moonglass for another good "summer" title. You will not be disappointed!