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A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

When I first read this book I was probably in sixth or seventh grade.  I loved the characters, siblings who each had their own “weirdness” and Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which who epitomized weirdness.  There is a little bit of romance and a lot of science fiction.  I remember trying to get my mind around some of the Science concepts was a feat that I was proud to have accomplished.  I was frustrated that none of my friends had read it because I really wanted to talk about it.  Reading it again, many years lataer, the characters still hold up and the Science doesn’t seem outdated.  I also remember thinking that the next book, The Arm of the Starfish, was even better!  Just bought my own copy and I’m ready to read (and share).

I cannot get over the amount of gadgets there are for reading books.  I frequently have discussions with friends regarding their value.  I own a Kindle, an iPod Touch and a netbook in addition to my school and home computers.  I use ALL of them to read books.  The Kindle is the originator of most volumes.  I then transfer Kindle editions to my other gadgets via Kindle for Mac or Kindle for PC.  In any discussion of e-readers, I am always the one who proposes that while there are times when I need an actual book, for example when there are things I need to copy for use in my classroom, usually adding a book to my Kindle makes me feel powerful.  I shelves and shelves full of books, but now I keep a large portion of them in my purse on my Kindle or in pocket on my iPod Touch.

Image via Wikipedia

By far my favorite feature though is the ability to download samples.  I am reading much more now since I have the ability to read a couple of chapters of a book before deciding whether or not to purchase it.  I have been in the middle of a discussion when a book is mentioned and I can immediately get a portion downloaded and ready to read.  Guests on talkshows are always hawking their latest book.  Normally, I wouldn’t bother writing down a title because it would be a long time before I could go to a bookstore to check it out.  Now, I can get on my ever present laptop and have the chapters downloaded in seconds.  I read more because I have the opportunity to take a look at more and I eventually end up purchasing more.  The book authors are not losing any money on me if they offer their books on Kindle.  (I must add that Kindle is the best e-reader because of battery life.  While you need a light to read in the dark whereas other e-readers are backlit, my Kindle last for weeks without charging.)

My only problem with devices is the inability to loan books to students.  I hope to figure out a way to make this happen without buying a class set of Kindles.  Perhaps Amazon will come up with a Kindle Klass for Mac application which will allow multiple copies of purchases for educators.  A girl can dream.

Cover via Amazon

Book Two after Carrie Ryan’s Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Dead-Tossed Waves gripped me from the beginning.  You’ll be re-introduced to some characters from the first book and meet some new ones.  I don’t want to spoil anything here just be sure there will be more mystery, tension and adventure.  From Carrie Ryan’s website:

“One night beyond the Barrier…

One boy Gabry’s known forever and one veiled in mystery…

One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned.”

Yes, zombies have taken over my brain again and I can’t wait to read the next one, The Dark and Hollow Places.  Time to check out the library!

THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan

My Very First Zombie Book

I have to admit that when I first read about The Forest of Hands and Teeth, I was not at all sure I would like it.  It just goes to show, you can’t judge a book by its zombies.  Another book about the dystopian future that includes The Return, when the dead come back to life to eat the living, and I am here to tell you it. is. riveting.

Romantic too.  Here is an excerpt:  His hands seek out and cover mine under the water. I have known this was coming for months. I have seen the way he looks at me now, how his eyes have changed. How tension has crept into our friendship. We are no longer children and haven’t been for years.

“Mary, I…” He pauses for a second. “I was hoping that you would go with me to the Harvest Celebration next weekend.”

I must say that when I think of dark times and zombies, I don’t think much of romance, but Carrie Ryan really has knack for writing about it.  Her words can make your heart ache for each and every character.  While zombies attack, life goes on.  Children disagree with parents, girls are oblivious to the love of their life, boys yearn for the wrong girl and a bunch of nuns have total contol of everything, even life and death.

As much as I enjoyed The Forest of Hands and Teeth, the second book in the series, The Dead-Tossed Waves is even better (but should NOT be read before the Forest of H&T).  This looks to be a series full of surprises, beginning with the fact that I like a zombie book!

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WHITE CAT by Holly Black

What I liked about this book:  sleepwalkers, curse workers, curse workers as the new mafia, poor emotionally tortured Cassel (the main character).

I haven’t read about Holden Caulfield (The Catcher in the Rye) in 40 years but I’m thinking that poor ol’ Cassel Sharpe reminds of him.  He really is downtrodden and put upon by the world, especially by his family.  He’s kicked out of school due to safety issues involving his sleepwalking (important detail, he’s on the roof).  He’s tortured by flashbacks of the last moments with his friend Lila.  Unlike Holden Caufield though, I really like Cassel and his resourcefulness (he runs a very successful betting operation at school where you can bet on ANYTHING).  Sure he has issues, but he is the most normal person in his curse worker family.  This whole curse worker thing has great potential too.  They are organized like the mafia since curse working is actually illegal.  They can do some serious magic with just a touch and you may not know what’s hit you.  They’re even willing to use it on each other.  Talk about not getting along with your siblings, Cassel’s got his hands full with his older brothers.  This is the first book in the series.  I can see the potential.

Read a portion of White Cat here.  You will want to finish it.

Publishers Weekly vol. 257 iss. 15 p. 53(c) 04/12/2010 In this beautifully realized dark fantasy, which launches Black’s Curse Workers series, Cassel Sharpe is a talented con artist who works as a bookie at his snooty prep school. But skilled as Cassel is, it’s nothing compared to the rest of his family, who are curse workers, able to control people’s memories, luck, or emotions with the touch of a finger (curse work is illegal, and all citizens wear gloves to safeguard against being taken advantage of).

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After Quentin “Q” Jacobson spends an incredible night of pranks and adventure instigated by his next door neighbor Margo, she turns up missing, leaving clues for Quentin and his friends to follow.  This is a great story of friendship, social outcasts,  adventure and teen crazypants culminating in a nail-biting, amateur pit crew practice roadtrip to the rescue.

From John Green, the author:  “Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life–dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge–he follows.”

This book was exciting and fun to read and the characters were people I wish I knew (and probably already do).  It might be objectionable to some readers due to some trash talk and mild situations but I found it apropos to the characters and would still recommend it to most.

Image by Ohio University Libraries via Flickr

WIN THE LOTTERY, FIGHT TO THE DEATH

Scary times to be a teenager.

Months ago my friend Sandi started posting things on Facebook about Mockingjay, some book she was all excited about.  I have to say I didn’t understand until she finally convinced me to read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  (Actually, I wanted to read it and my friend Becky loaned and then GAVE all three books in the trilogy to me.  I am blessed in the friend department, aren’t I?)

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay are books to be read without stopping. The dystopian society of Panem is peopled by fantastic characters.  Each one is smart and foolish, good and evil, compassionate and insincere at the same time.  They are interesting and complex and the competition they endure tests every facet of their personality.  It was enthralling to read how each character evolved throughout each book as well as the trilogy as a whole.

The author of Twilight says:

–Stephenie Meyer, www.stepheniemeyer.com

While I will look forward to seeing the movie, I know that nothing will match the mental pictures that developed from the descriptions of the characters, the costumes, the playing fields, the pageantry, the districts and the playing field and its deadly hazards.  If the movie is half as exciting and action packed as the books it is sure to be frightening, heart-wrenching and a huge success!

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References to What to Expect When You’re Expecting Nymphs make me hopeful that this will be a series similar to the “Diary of” books.  While I own all of those, I must say that I prefer this new book because of the clarity and the question/answer format.  This is definitely a book to add to any library for sharing over and over again.

From the publisher:

Congratulations, insect parents-to-be! You’re about to meet your squirmy, wormy bundles of joy. They’re called larvae. Read this book to find out where to lay your eggs, how many babies to expect, what they’ll eat, and how to keep them safe from harm. Whether you’re a butterfly or a bee, a moth or a fly, a beetle, or even a bloodsucking mosquito, you’ll find answers to all your parenting questions here.

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Kylie Jean Blueberry Queen by Marci Peschke is an adorable story of a girl with a mission: to be a beauty queen.  While beauty queening is not one of those occupations we teach about at school, Kylie Jean is extremely methodical in her pursuit.  She idetifies people to help her, makes a list and does all the legwork (and brainwork) necessary to move toward her goal.  Her abilities to wrangle talent to work on her behalf are quite amazing. Relatives, neighbors and friends all agree to assist her proving that you never know where you can get help until you ask.

Kylie Jean is a resourceful young lady and with her sidekick, Ugly Brother (her dog), she should be able to accomplish many things.  The only thing that might stand in her way is her somewhat affected “Southern” accent and expressions, but if Junie B. Jones can talk funny, why shouldn’t Kylie Jean?

Cover of It All Began with a Bean

It All Began with a Bean, by Katie McKy and illustrated by Tracy Hill (Tanglewood Publishers) is a new addition to the ever popular bodily functions genre for young people.  I can remember the day my own son asked, “Mom, what would happen if everyone farted at the same time?”  This story goes one step further and brings in the animals too.  The gaseous fish are hilarious and the whole idea that even teachers fart is extremely appealing.  Wonderful illustrations keep the story floating along on billowing clouds of exhuberant anticipation and release. No doubt that It All Began with a Bean will be a very popular book with the younger crowd in the end.