The Hazards of Working at a Bookstore Vol. 2.7

As I was working yesterday, I was so busy at the beginning of the day, working on getting returns ready from the nonfiction part of the childrens section, that I didn't think I'd find any books to share or post about. But then, when it got busier and I had to spend more time helping customers, I found 5. So, another long post, but here we go.



First is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. The cover caught my eye right way. To me it is kind of creepy, the black and white, a little girl standing all by herself. Looks like the makings of a horror movie poster to me. It's about a boy who goes and explores the island this home is on after a family tragedy. His grandfather was actually once a child in this abandoned home. As Jacob goes searching he learns that the children kept here were more than just "different" there was really something wrong or dangerous with them. There are supposed to be lots of pictures spread throughout to help with the theme and setting. I think I read about this first in Shelf Awareness emails, but seeing it on the shelf at the store really caught my attention.




The 2nd book is Notes from the Blender by Brendan Halpin. The cover of this didn't quite draw me, but the name did. And then, the name of one of the characters. The boy who the boots belong to is named Declan, and when I hear that name, I think Ireland, and my huge love of an Irish accent. Yeah, I know, I can't hear an accent when I read a book in my head, but still, it made me interested enough to pick it up and read the synopsis. Basically Declan is kind of a freak at school, he dresses out there (see the boots in the picture), listens to strange music, but, he has always thought about the other main character, Neilly (how do you pronounce that?) He's watched her in classes and thought about bumping into her in the hall, basically fantasized about her. Neilly is one of the most popular girls at school, until she is dumped by her boyfriend, and betrayed by her BFF. To add insult to injury, she finds out that her dad is going to marry Declan's mom. So now they've got to live in the same house.

The 3rd book is Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper. This is a terrifying tale of being stuck in your body, unable to move or communicate, and everyone thinking you are dead. This is based on a true story back in the 1800's when many people were often buried but not really dead. Her name is Anne Green, she has been falsely accused of a crime and hung. When she is on the dissection table, a young medical student senses something wrong with this body. I guess she survives. This sounds like a really freaky tale, especially knowing that it is based on a true story.

I found the 4th book on my list as I was shelving a v-cart of teen books yesterday. That's why I love when I get to shelve teen books, finding the new things that I may not have heard of yet is great, although it does feed my book addiction. Anyway, the 4th book is The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride. The main characters are Tessa and Noelle. Noelle disappears at the start of 8th grade, and Tessa pulls back from everyone. It sounds like Noelle was kidnapped, and when she escapes her captivity two years later she comes back. Noelle is now going by Elle, and Tessa finds her to be a different girl, changed by her experience. The story is how people change and what that can do to a relationship.

The final book is called Time Riders by Alex Scarrow. I think what drew my eye to this was the book I finally gave up reading, an ARC of the book Map of Time by Felix Palma. But the main characters are kids who should have died at times in history, like on the Titanic. They are Liam, Maddy who should have died in a plane crash in 2010, and Sal who should have died in 2029. So we've got kids from a huge span of time. They have been recruited by a secret agency that is trying to save the world from people using time travel for selfish or evil reasons. Such as going back to make Hitler win World War II. I guess from what I read this is going to be a series, so it sounds like something that would be great to suggest to a lot of kids I know.

The Hazards of Working at a Bookstore Vol. 1.4

This entry will actually be a combination of both last Saturday and last night. I just was too busy to get Saturday night's done. But both nights I found several books, and some of these I'm listing are ones that I had seen before, but forgot about, so my plan of keeping track this way helps me remember those.

First though, one of the books I mentioned in an earlier Hazards blog was Ill Wind, and they had actually stripped the books to send the covers back to the publisher, and were recycling all of the copies! Fortunately they had not sent the stripped books to the recycle bin yet, so I was able to grab a copy. As soon as I check the Nook back in this Saturday it will probably be the first book I read. So look for a review for that soon.

Okay, here are the books I want to buy:

1. Austenland by Shannon Hale: The main character's name is Jane Hayes, she lives in New York and is seemingly normal. However, she has a secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, well, the Colin Firth Mr. Darcy anyway. Because of her obsession, her dating life sucks, because there is no real man who can stand up to Mr. Darcy. She gets a surprise visit to an English resort that caters to Austen obsesseed women, where she gets to dress in regency period dresses and flirt with all the men there, whether they are only gardeners, or possibly actors hired by the resort.

2. Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse by Max Brallier: Okay, who remembers the Choose Your Own Adventures books that were the big deal when I was a kid in the 80's, that they've even brought back to our store? This is basically that same thing, only for adults. It's the same size as a normal trade paperback. And with all the zombie books and movies I've been into lately, this looks awesome!

3. Jane Goes Batty by Michael Thomas Ford: I actually am a little bit over the whole vampire or zombie re-writing of classics. This however sounds interesting. It is actually a sequel to another that I wanted to read, Jane Bites Back. Where Jane Austen is actually a vampire, and is a bookstore owner in New York. In this sequel she is now the author of a new book, and now she has to really fight to keep her identity as "the" Jane Austen secret. I haven't read the first book, but I think Lord Byron is also a vampire. So she must deal with a Bronte sister coming back in revenge as well. Sounds like a fun romp to me!

4. Stolen by Lucy Christopher: This is a teen book I saw awhile ago and forgot about. But it sounds really intense! So I must make sure to remember to read it. The main character is 16 year old Gemma. She is kidnapped at the airport by a man named Ty. He takes her to the remote wild lands of the Outback in Australia. To Gemma who has always lived in the city, this is so scary how remote it is with no people for miles and miles. This book is told as a letter from Gemma to her kidnapper, as it seems she comes to understand her kidnapper. It brings up the Stockholm syndrome, which I think is very interesting for a teen to read about.

5. Claim to Fame by Margaret Peterson Haddix: Well, first, this is one of my favorite YA authors. Second, the story, the main character was famous as a child, but the stress of fame and the fact she could hear other people's thoughts in her head caused her to have a nervous breakdown and disappear from the public eye. The rumor is that her dad kidnapped her. But really she's gone to live far from all the voices and has become less stressed. Unfortunately some former fans think she's been kidnapped, and these teens go to "save" her and bring her back to the headaches of hearing everyone's thoughts. Sounds really good!

There are actually a few others I want to talk about, but as I've got plans to go see a movie tonight, and need to leave in about 5 minutes, I'll post later on.

Gateway 22: Gray Baby by Scott Loring Sanders

Yet another male protagonist. But this was a good one. I thought from the premise that it was more historical fiction, but not really, and that is kind of sad. The main character is Clifton. His mom is white and his dad is black. When he was 6, in the 80's I believe, he watched his father be beaten to death by two police officers. It was later deemed to be an accident. Of coures this totally messes up Clifton as well as his mother, who turns to drinking once she determines Clifton will be okay. Clifton is lonely though, so he begins throwing bottles with notes into the river. Hoping that whoever finds it will write him back. And someone does. An old guy named Swamper. So, a bit nervously, Clifton sets out to meet Swamper. And it turns out, they get along great! Swamper teaches him about his fishing methods, and even starts letting Clifton have some of the money he makes for helping him.

Some big things happen, a girl gets kidnapped, and Clifton sees the girl in an ice cream truck. Clifton is scared to tell the police for two reasons. One, he does not trust them after what happened to his dad, and two, the guy knows where he lives and threatens to come back and get him if he tells.

At the same time Clifton's mother gets arrested for DUI. So Clifton goes to stay with Swamper, who we learn has a bigger stake in all this than he lets on.

A really good story in my opinion. I enjoyed it.

Book Review 47: Stolen Children by Peg Kehret

Peg Kehret's books seem to always be on the Mark Twain list like every year, kind of like Mary Downing Hahn's books do. While they've not been my favorites in the past, and I alwasy feel they tend to have some similar trends in them, I decided this was a really good book. The main character is Amy, and she is babysitting for a girl named Kendra, who gets kidnapped, and the kidnappers decide they have to take Amy too because she sees them. The kidnappers intend to send a DVD every day for a week and then ask for ransom. Amy is a writer, (I'm enjoying all the books this year with kids who like to write in them), and so she uses what time she has to try to figure out how to put clues into the recordings so that hopefully when her family and friends see them they might figure it out and come help them. I really like how it gives all the ways Amy thinks to do this, as well as all her thoughts about making sure she keeps herself and Kendra safe as long as she can. I feel this could be helpful to kids that may end up in a similar situation. Another thing I really liked was how it showed people who had chances to really help, and didn't. In these cases, it was because they figured no one would believe them, or that someone else would do something because they were away from what was going on. But it really stood out because of a news story I heard last night about a girl who was raped right outside her high school while a bunch of people watched and took pictures on their phone, but no one did anything. Not to mention they went back to a woman who was murdered years ago and people just closed their windows and did nothing even hearing what was going on. The one person in the story who does something at the end, you really have respect for. And I liked this a lot.

Next on to my last sports book called Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park. I believe I've read one or two of this author's books and enjoyed them in the past. I only have 3 more books, although one I'm still waiting to get to re-check out from the library, and then I'll be done!

I want to do NaNoWriMo this year, but the more I read, the more I figure it is a waste of my time. I really don't know how to think of all the details and stuff these authors do, so I think that means I probably am not meant to be a writer. We'll see. I have an idea for a new novella, or I could go back and work on my one from 3 years ago.