The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Frankie Landau Banks returns to begin her sophomore year of high school at Alabaster, an exclusive private school in New England, and instantly catches the eye of senior Matthew Livingston, popular boy and member of the secret society The Order of the Basset Hounds.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Comments: I loved this book. Frankie isn't satisfied with being one of the popular crowd when she starts dating Matthew, but instead longs to be a part of his secret society, one that dates back to the early 1950's. She is clever, resourceful and daring as she figures out a way to use the society to carry out elaborate pranks. It would make a great discussion book for the classroom or a book club, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something fun to read.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Summary: Fifteen-year-old D.J. Schwenk, the only girl in a family of football stars, spends her summer working on the family farm, training the rival high school's quarterback for the upcoming season.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Comments: I picked this book off the Young Adult shelves at the library knowing absolutely nothing about it, and, judging from the cover, it easily could have been a trashy teen romance. Fortunately for me, it wasn't. I instantly related to the main character, a girl who isn't
"girlie" at all. She is strong and a hard worker, and has had to shoulder most of the responsibility for the family farm in Wisconson with her brothers off playing football and her dad injured. Although she realizes how valuable she is to her family's well-being, she resents having to do so much alone. Until a family friend, the football coach at a rival high school, sends Brian Nelson, his quarterback in need of refining, to help the family out.
D.J. also loves football, which is obviously something I relate to. When she decided to try out for the high school team (it is only seven on seven after all), I couldn't help but remember how that had been my plan too, once upon a time.
I know this book isn't for everyone, but I loved it, and am excited to get my hands on the sequel. I'm anxious to find out what happens next.
Summary: Fifteen-year-old D.J. Schwenk, the only girl in a family of football stars, spends her summer working on the family farm, training the rival high school's quarterback for the upcoming season.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Comments: I picked this book off the Young Adult shelves at the library knowing absolutely nothing about it, and, judging from the cover, it easily could have been a trashy teen romance. Fortunately for me, it wasn't. I instantly related to the main character, a girl who isn't
"girlie" at all. She is strong and a hard worker, and has had to shoulder most of the responsibility for the family farm in Wisconson with her brothers off playing football and her dad injured. Although she realizes how valuable she is to her family's well-being, she resents having to do so much alone. Until a family friend, the football coach at a rival high school, sends Brian Nelson, his quarterback in need of refining, to help the family out.
D.J. also loves football, which is obviously something I relate to. When she decided to try out for the high school team (it is only seven on seven after all), I couldn't help but remember how that had been my plan too, once upon a time.
I know this book isn't for everyone, but I loved it, and am excited to get my hands on the sequel. I'm anxious to find out what happens next.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Homebody
Homebody by Orson Scott Card
Summary: Don Lark, a lonely man who is trying to escape the pain of losing his ex-wife and daughter in a car accident, buys an old home in North Carolina with the intention of renovating it, but is unprepared for the hold the home has over its former inhabitants, both living and dead.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Comments: I love Orson Scott Card. He is one of my all-time favorite authors. I love his characters, who are always real people with flaws, but always identifiable. He combines fantasy with reality in such a way that it is believable, and this book is no exception. The story is eerie without being disturbing (Lost Boys was disturbing to me), and exciting without a whole lot of action. This book isn't at the very top of my list of OSC books, but I really enjoyed it and would recommend it.
Summary: Don Lark, a lonely man who is trying to escape the pain of losing his ex-wife and daughter in a car accident, buys an old home in North Carolina with the intention of renovating it, but is unprepared for the hold the home has over its former inhabitants, both living and dead.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Comments: I love Orson Scott Card. He is one of my all-time favorite authors. I love his characters, who are always real people with flaws, but always identifiable. He combines fantasy with reality in such a way that it is believable, and this book is no exception. The story is eerie without being disturbing (Lost Boys was disturbing to me), and exciting without a whole lot of action. This book isn't at the very top of my list of OSC books, but I really enjoyed it and would recommend it.
The Empress Tomb
Kiki Strike: The Empress' Tomb by Kirsten Miller
Summary: In the sequel to the book where we first met Kiki Strike, Ananka Fishbein and the rest of the Irregulars use their knowledge of the Shadow City, a series of rooms and tunnels far beneath New York City, to bring a well-known criminal to justice.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Comments: The first Kiki Strike book was so fresh and innovative, and so my hopes were not terribly high for this sequel. But it was a great story, and I found myself enjoying it just as much as the first. I love the characters, the story, the adventure...this was a great book!
Summary: In the sequel to the book where we first met Kiki Strike, Ananka Fishbein and the rest of the Irregulars use their knowledge of the Shadow City, a series of rooms and tunnels far beneath New York City, to bring a well-known criminal to justice.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Comments: The first Kiki Strike book was so fresh and innovative, and so my hopes were not terribly high for this sequel. But it was a great story, and I found myself enjoying it just as much as the first. I love the characters, the story, the adventure...this was a great book!
Sister Grimm
The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley
Summary: Two sisters, whose parents disappeared a year earlier, are sent to live with a grandmother they have never met, and discover that she is a detective in a world they thought only existed in books.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Comments: I checked this book out a couple years ago but never got around to reading it. When I saw it again, I decided I should try it again. I loved the story, with the fairy tale world colliding with the world we know, and it was full of adventure.
Summary: Two sisters, whose parents disappeared a year earlier, are sent to live with a grandmother they have never met, and discover that she is a detective in a world they thought only existed in books.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Comments: I checked this book out a couple years ago but never got around to reading it. When I saw it again, I decided I should try it again. I loved the story, with the fairy tale world colliding with the world we know, and it was full of adventure.
Message in a Bottle
Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks
Summary: Teresa, a columnist from Boston, finds a love letter sealed in a bottle on the beach, and tracks down the widower who wrote it and falls in love with him.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Comments: I had seen the movie, and knew the story ended tragically, but I was in the mood for something sad, so I checked the book out. It is a typical Sparks romance, and fun if you're in the right mood, but it wasn't one of my favorite books of his.
Summary: Teresa, a columnist from Boston, finds a love letter sealed in a bottle on the beach, and tracks down the widower who wrote it and falls in love with him.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Comments: I had seen the movie, and knew the story ended tragically, but I was in the mood for something sad, so I checked the book out. It is a typical Sparks romance, and fun if you're in the right mood, but it wasn't one of my favorite books of his.
Fablehaven
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
Summary: Kendra and Seth spend a week with their grandfather at his mysterious home in Connecticut, only to learn that he is the keeper of a mystical preserve called Fablehaven, where evil is creeping in from the edges.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Comments: I had heard a lot about this book and so I was expecting it to be a great story. It was. Completely unpredictable and full of adventure, I can see why is appeals to so many children. I would love to read this to my kids when they get a little bit older, as I know they will enjoy it, too. Definitely recommend!
Summary: Kendra and Seth spend a week with their grandfather at his mysterious home in Connecticut, only to learn that he is the keeper of a mystical preserve called Fablehaven, where evil is creeping in from the edges.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Comments: I had heard a lot about this book and so I was expecting it to be a great story. It was. Completely unpredictable and full of adventure, I can see why is appeals to so many children. I would love to read this to my kids when they get a little bit older, as I know they will enjoy it, too. Definitely recommend!
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