Book List: My Comtemporary Teen Recommends

Teen
Contemporary:

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis
Foresenic Mystery series by Alane Ferguson (currently 4 in series)
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz (currently 8 in series)
Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan
I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You series by Ally Carter (currently 3 in series)
Heist Society by Ally Carter

Book List: My Middle Grade Fantasy Recommends

Fantasy:
The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins (5 in series)
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George (currently 3 in series)
The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley (currently 7 in series)
Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale (currently 2 in series)
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson (currently 3 in series)
Hidden Talents by David Lubar (2 in series)
How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (currently 6 in series)
Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan (currently 7 in series)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan (5 in series)

Book List: My Middle Grade Contemporary Recommends

Grades 4-6:

Contemporary:

Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls by Meg Cabot (currently 4 in series)
Football Genius by Tim Green (currently 2 in series)
Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (currently 3 in series)
Million Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica
The Adventures of Hashbrown Winters by Frank Cole (currently 2 in series)

Book List: My Chapter Book Recommends

Chapter Books (Grades 1-3):
Contemporary:
Ivy + Bean by Annie Barrows (currently 6 in series)
Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo (currently 6 in series)
Stink by Megan McDonald (currently 4 in series, with one Special Edition)
My Weird School by Dan Gutman (currently 21 in series)
Roscoe Riley Rules by Katherine Applegate (currently 7 in series)
Calendar Mysteries by Ron Roy (currently 4 in series)

Fantasy:
Magic School Bus Chapter Book Series by various authors
Beast Quest by Adam Blade (currently 13 in series, with one Special Edition)
Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo by Nancy Krulik (currently 32 in series, with 5 Super Specials)

Book List: My Picture Book Recommends

Well, another six months have passed, which means it is once again time for the Barnes & Noble Educator Reception! If you're a pre-k through 12 teacher, librarian, or homeschooler, then you need to be at our reception at the Barnes & Noble in Orem at 6:00 TONIGHT! Carol Lynch Williams will be our guest speaker, discussing ways to inspire kids to read and write.

And most exciting about the Educator Reception is the fact that I get to update my recommend list! Today I'm sharing my favorite picture books of late. These are all books that you absolutely have to check out, because they're all amazing in one way or another.


Palazzo Inverso by D. B. Johnson
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
Pingo by Brandon Mull
Birdie’s Big Girl Shoes by Sujean Rim
Dinotrux by Chris Gall
Cat the Cat by Mo Willems
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll
Just Me and 6,000 Rats: A Tale of Conjunctions by Rick Walton
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel

P.S. And looking back at my list from six months ago, did I call it or did I call it on "The Lion and the Mouse?" I so called it. Palazzo Inverso is definitely one of my top contenders for next year's Caldecott, and the year's barely even started!

Book List: If You Loved Hunger Games...

Thought I'd change it up a little and try to do a list of recommends instead of the normal book reviews. These are in no particular order.

If you like Hunger Games, you might also like...

1. Maze Runner by James Dashner
2. Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
3. Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
4. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
5. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
6. The Giver by Lois Lowry
7. Unwind by Neal Schusterman
8. Gone by Michael Grant
9. Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
10. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
11. City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau

Any that I'm missing?

Book Review: Cirque Du Freak #2: The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan

Shan, Darren. Cirque Du Freak #2: Vampire's Assistant. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2000.

“Come,” he said, standing. “The night is young. We will go find a rabbit or a fox for you.”
“You don’t mind me not drinking from him?” I asked.
Mr. Crepsley shook his head. “You will drink eventually,” he said. “When you are hungry enough.”
“No,” I said silently behind him, as he turned to walk away. “I won’t. Not from a human. I’ll never drink from a human. Never!”

Darren is slowly adjusting to life as a vampire's assistant. The hardest part isn't dealing with a cranky vampire or never being able to see his family again, though. The hardest part is having to live without any friends.

I liked this one even better than the first one. Lots of interesting ideas about the life that Darren is now forced into living. Still no improvement with the exclamation points, though. And this is the novel that starts to get really violent. I was shuddering all over the place.

For anyone 13 and over, it would probably be okay, but for the younger group, I recommend parents reading it first to see if it's appropriate for their child.

Buy this book now!

Book Review: Cirque Du Freak #1 by Darren Shan

Shan, Darren. Cirque Du Freak #1: A Living Nightmare. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2000.

"Do you think the Cirque Du Freak is a real freak show?" I asked.

Mr. Dalton studied the flyer again, then shook his head.

"I doubt it," he said. "Probaby just a cruel hoax. Still," he added, "if it was real, I hope nobody here would dream of going."

"Oh, no, sir," we all said quickly.

"Because freak shows are terrible," he said. "They pretended to be like proper circuses but they were cesspits of evil. Anyody who went to one would be just as bad as the people running it."

"You'd have to be really twisted to want to go to one of those," Steve agreed. And then he looked at me, winked, and mouthed the words: "We're going!"

Darren Shan and his friends are just looking for a fun adventure, a forbidden circus held in the dead of night. But when Darren decides to steal a vampire's pet, he discovers the consequences could be eternal...

What a fun series. Really. I decided I needed to read this series when I saw that J.K. Rowling had a blurb for it (which I have never seen before or since...has anyone else?) And I am enjoying the series immensely. Fun characters, fun storylines, fun take on vampires. And in case you're confused, yes, Darren Shan is the name of the author and the main character, because it's a "true story."

On the other hand, it's no Harry Potter. I mean, you see J.K.'s recommendation, and you kind of assume it's going to be outstanding and phenomenal, the best of its kind....it's not. There are WAY too many exclamation points, which makes it feel almost like a younger reader, even though it's a YA. And don't make the mistake of giving it to someone that's too young. Even though the first book isn't bad at all, the next couple get fairly violent (someone's arms get ripped off, one character's stomach is eaten, etc.) It's in teen for a reason.

But if you're a horror seeker, this is definitely a book you'll have to check out. Boys will especially love it. I'm so excited for the future of horror!

Buy this book now!

Book Review: Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

This quote and review are based on an advanced reading copy and uncorrected proof, courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Fantaskey, Beth. Jekel Loves Hyde. New York: Harcourt, 2009.

"Your grandfather suffered from dementia in his final days." Dad overrode me again, actually reaching across the table and clasping my arm. I suppose the gesture was meant to be reassuring, but he held too tightly, and it came off as confining, almost threatening. "Those 'crimes' he confessed to--they never happened. There was no 'evil alter ego.' No late-night forays that ended in violence. No 'blackouts' for God's sake."

"But--"

Dad squeezed harder, his finger surprisngly powerful, given that the only exercise they ever got was turning the pages of his academic texts. "The Case of Jekyll and Hyde was a novel, Tristen," he said, boring into my eyes. "A work of fiction. A good book, with some admittedly interesting insights into man's dual nature. But a tall tale. And we are, quite obviously, not descended from a fictional character. It's ludicrous!"

I stared at my father's eyes, which were a peculiar metallic gray. Eyes the color of two padlocks and nearly as impentrable. I had inherited my mother's brown eyes. Sometimes when I looked in the mirror, I could almost see her in my refecltion. I loved and despised those moments.

Where was Mom?

A chemistry duo of Jekel and Hyde sounds like a gimmick, a cheap way to win a chemistry scholarship. But with Jill Jekel's mother barely gripping reality and Tristen Hyde's father growing stranger every day, Jill feels she has no choice. She must find out what her father's last project was before he was murdered--and Tristen Hyde is the only one desperate enough to help her.

I have definitely seen Beth Fantaskey's growth since Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. She's using fewer cliches and her characters are more well-rounded. This is a fascinating, original story.

It starts slow, I have to admit. It took me nearly a week to get through the first few chapters. Little Jill Jekel has a way of putting me to sleep. But Tristen...oh Tristen! Now that's an interesting psyche, even if it is rather Edward-esque. And the idea of a monstrous alter-ego as a symbol for emerging sexuality was beautifully done.

Now, was it flawless? No. Like I said, Jill's a bit on the dull side and Tristen is a little too perfect. But Twilight fans will love it. Anyone who's feeling the paranormal romance genre right now will love it. If you're putting together your summer reading list, make sure this one is on it.

Pre-order this book now!

Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Random House, 2007.

Still, it's possible that you might be asking, why does he even need a vacation? What does he need distraction from?
Which brings me to my next point.
It's the leftover humans.
The survivors.
They're the ones I can't stand to look at, although on many occasions I still fail. I deliberately seek out the colors to keep my mind off them, but now and then, I witness the ones who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprise. They have punctured hearts. They have beaten lungs.
Which in turn brings me to the subject I am telling you about tonight, or today, or whatever the hour and color. It's the story of one of those perpetual survivors-an expert at being left behind.
It's just a small story really, about, among other things:
* A girl
* Some words
* An accordionist
* Some fanatical Germans
* A Jewish fist fighter
* And quite a lot of thievery


I saw the book thief three times.

Narrated by Death, The Book Thief takes place in Nazi Germany and follows the story of a German girl who falls in love with literature, at one point even risking her life to save a book from the Nazi book burnings.

Don’t expect a happy ending, but it is a beautifully written novel. The writing is absolutely outstanding, one of the best examples in the entire teen genre. Anyone who says that all YA is fluff is disproven by this novel.

One thing I found interesting was how he gave away the ending. Repeatedly. I knew what was coming, and maybe that's what made it a little easier to accept it when it happened (though trust me, if you're the kind that tears up, you'll be crying.) On the other hand, stupid hopeful reader that I am, I kept hoping that Death was somehow mistaken or just pulling my leg and we'd somehow come to a happy ending anyway.

Yeah, there are no happy endings in WWII stories. At least, no completely happy endings. But this does give you a sense of resolution. You're not left screaming "Whyyyyy?" to a lightning-ridden sky.

Fantastic book club book, fantastic historical fiction, fantastic everything. I do recommend it for the 14+ group, though. It's a little intense for anyone younger.

Buy this book now!