Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

I have to say, this is one of the first chick lit books I have read in a long time that I was dog earing the pages that had things I wanted to talk about when I blogged. The first one I'd literally laughed out loud over and over as I was reading it. I don't think I've ever read a book by Teresa Medeiros before. I seem to only remember her books in the romance section. And believe it or not, I usually don't read those books, preferring my chick lit from the straight fiction section at our store. I am now intrigued enough to read more of her books.

I decided to read this book because it was told in mostly all tweets, you know, like on the social network Twitter. And I was hooked right away.

This is the story of an author who had a bestselling, critically acclaimed first novel, and it trying, but stuck on her 2nd novel. So her agent suggests getting on Twitter like many authors are these days. (Authors on Twitter are my favorite people to follow!) When she first joins, she is immediately tweeted by an English professor on sabbatical. It's fun reading as they get to know each other and flirt (I must find the "tweeting" name for flirting) through Twitter. I understand the flirting part, did a bit of that myself in the past, not that it turned out well for me, but still, it was fun at the time.

Anyway, I didn't see the twist towards the end coming. So I will say you won't be able to expect what is coming, but it is a good twist. And now, onto the things I had to bookmark.

First, as I myself follow Alison Arngrim, who played Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie, I love that one of her tweets was about her. Right after that, she learns about hashtags, and they do one on How2Lose Followers. And I love that they point out insulting any president as being a way to lose followers, as I've unfollowed certain celebs that I didn't want to hear their political rhetoric anymore. I also love that the main character is a fan of Sean Astin, who is one of my childhood crushes!! Even after his turn as a hobbit.

In chapter 5 she is on the treadmill and talks about how she prefers to walk outside, which is also me. I love to walk outside, I could walk all day outside if I had the time. She thinks Heathcliff is a misogynistic asshole, as do I. She talks about Edward Cullen and being Team Jacob. (I'm Team Switzerland myself.) She talks about Stephen King's It, one of my favorite books ever, also the one that made me scared of clowns. She's a Spike woman as opposed to Angel, me too. I LOVED all the Buffy the Vampire Slayer bits. Like her cat is named Buffy the Mouse Slayer. Later on she talks about a New Kids on the Block lunchbox. I love NKOTB.

Later on in the book she starts thinking in Tweets. I do that too. The problem is that by the time I can then get to my twitter, I forget the really creative things I had to say.

So that's just a bit of the things in the book that I enjoyed, but the whole thing was good and I highly recommend it.

Last thought. I'm debating, a lot of bloggers rate the books. 4 out of 5 stars, etc. I have so much trouble rating. I have to really hate something to give it a 1, and usually if I hate something that much I won't finish reading it. So, I end up with lots of 3's and 4's. So, I might start rating, but we'll see.

2011 Debut Author Challenge 1: XVI by Julia Karr

I read this book as part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge being sponsored by Kristi over at The Story Siren. I've really gotten into the YA books lately. In fact, it's almost keeping me from reading books by my favorite authors Stephen King and Dean Koontz. But anyway, on with the book review.

XVI, or the Roman numeral for 16 is set in a futuristic world. After we have settled on the Moon and Mars, and we have a government that keeps us from having wars. The 16 is for the age when a girl gets a tattoo, the roman numerals, that tell all men she is 16 and able to have sex. And they call it "sex-teen" in that it is the age when girls WANT to have sex supposedly, and all the ads make girls think that will be cool. There is an organization that virgins can get chosen for, and it is hope for girls who are in the lower tiers, or really the lower class girls. Our main character is Nina. She doesn't buy into all that sex-teen stuff. In fact, she doesn't want to have sex or become available for this program. Especially after seeing some perverted videos her mother's boyfriend left at the house. This is a world, similar to in the movie Minority Report, where as you walk past stores, you are constantly getting an audio of sales and such directed at you. There is a constant program, unless you listen to music, or are talking to a friend. Until girls are 16, they also have a GPS inserted under their skin.

The story starts out as Nina is going to visit her grandparents and some old friends in Chicago. (Which, as some may know, I love Chicago! The novel I have gotten the farthest with writing myself is actually set in Chicago.) There is a stop in this constant noise by some rebels, or NonCons as they are called. Then she sees a homeless boy getting beat up by some 'Letes, or athletes. Turns out this boy isn't homeless, his name is Sal, and his parents were friends with Nina's parents. Nina's father is dead, and at the beginning of the story, her mother Ginnie is killed. This leads to Nina and her younger sister going to live with their grandparents. Ginnie told Nina in her dying moments to keep her younger sister away from her boyfriend, Ed, who Nina believes to be her sister's father. Moving to the city, back to where Nina had lived until 4 years ago, she is now embroiled in a mystery, as one other thing her mother said to her, was that her father was still alive, and Nina should find him.

There was a lot of suspense in this book. Once I picked it up, I constantly wanted to keep reading it to see what was going to happen next. I don't know that I believe we could ever go back to a society where women were treated like sex slaves, or that 16 year old girls were treated that way. I just don't see that. But it is a different story line for a futuristic world, and I think that it left off that there could be a sequel. I hope there is anyway, I want to know what happens next.

This was the 1st in my 2011 Debut Author Challenge list of 12. And I'm really glad I chose to do this. I may even go back to read some of the other books that I didn't choose after I get my first 12 done.

Now, if I could only get my borrowed Nook to work one more day before I have to take it back to work tonight. I really wanted to read Unwind by Neal Shusterman tonight, especially since I have a snow day tomorrow. Oh well. I'm reading another really good book right now that I can't wait to blog about either.

Suite Scarlett & Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

Maureen Johnson's books were not ones that caught my eye at the bookstore, I have to admit. But I began following her on Twitter because I recognized her name as an author, and quite often I get on Twitter just to see what she has been tweeting.

I thought the storyline of Suite Scarlett was interesting sounding. Every child in the family gets the responsibility of one of the suites on their 15th birthday. Scarlett, who is #3 out of 4 children is given the Empire Suite. And just her luck, there is a resident, supposedly permanent, named Mrs. Amberson, who has just moved in. Now, this isn't a big, fancy hotel. It is a little hotel, with lots of NY history.

Scarlett's family is very colorful. Her older brother is an actor, very good at physical acting, stage falls, etc. Her older sister dates a rich guy. And her younger sister is a cancer survivor, and a bit of a brat. It's summer, and while all Scarlett's friends have gone elsewhere, as most New Yorkers do in the summer, she's stuck in town helping at the family hotel. She gets hired by Mrs. Amberson to be her assistant. First to help her write a book, then they decide to get involved in her brother Spencer's production of Hamlet as it starts having issues. Scarlett has a first romance with a boy in Spencer's cast named Eric. This story had a lot of subtle humor. There were several instances where I laughed out loud at lines that came from the same person I follow on Twitter. I could definitely see her influence in these parts of the book.

Then I moved on to the sequel, Scarlett Fever. In this book, Mrs. Amberson has moved out, but Scarlett is still working for her. Scarlett's friends are back in town now that school is starting, and she must try to get over Eric, who told her he wasn't sure what he would want once school started. Mrs. Amberson has decided to be come a talent agent, starting by representing Scarlett's brother Spencer. After many failed commercial auditions, she gets him a job on the hit NY crime show, where he does the unthinkable, and his character kills a beloved NY police officer character. Mrs. Amberson has also picked up a new young talent called Chelsea, and in order to get her, she volunteers Scarlett to spy on Chelsea's older brother Max, since they will be going to the same school. This book was even better than the first, in my opinion anyway, and I say that because I found myself laughing out loud even more. The way it left off though, I'm really hoping that there is going to be a third book in this series. In fact I intend to tweet this very question to Maureen Johnson soon.

Waiting on Wednesday - Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we are eagerly awaiting.

This week is the 3rd in the series that I just finished the 2nd one a week or so ago. The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy will end this summer in July. My blog on Linger should be up for you to check out. But where we left off the first one, Shiver, with Sam now being human for good, we have left off Linger not knowing if he will survive this, as well as Grace now being able to shift, but hopefully not be a wolf for good. The end of Linger left you really hanging, so we are definitely eagerly awaiting the release of Forever. I'm so glad that I read this for the 2011-2012 Gateway Award nominee list. I'm very grateful to have been exposed to this series, this author, and to be able to now recommend it both at the store I work at, as well as with the students I work with every day, and hopefully will work with one day soon as a school librarian myself.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth/The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

I've been wanting to read these books since the first one came out and I saw the cover of it. Not to mention the title. Doesn't "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" just really intrigue you? It did me. And I put it off, lots of other things to read, no money to buy, etc. But two things prompted me to pick them up this past week and jump in. First, after reading Carrie Ryan's short story in Zombes Vs. Unicorns, I knew I would enjoy her writing. Second, I got to check out the Nook again for 2 weeks, and my goal is to read as many books during this time as I can. In the 4 days I've had it, I've finished 2 and a half books. The half book I'd already started reading before I checked the Nook out, and so finished it with the Nook.

As I posted in my New Year's Resolution blog post, if I read a series all back to back, I am going to blog about both at the same time. So that is my plan with these two books. Now, I will first alert you to the fact that by talking about both, there will be some spoilers. Sorry about that.

1. The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

This is a zombie story. The forest is full of what the town calls the Unconsecrated, or what we would call zombies. Our main character is Mary. Mary's father has disappeared recently, and her mother goes to the fence that surrounds the town each day to see if her husband will return. She refuses to believe that he has become one of the Unconsecrated. Mary's brother Jed is one of the crew that goes out to make sure the fences are safe. When he is gone on one of the trips, Mary lingers with a friend, Harry, instead of getting back to her mother at the fence. Without Mary there to keep her back, Mary's mother goes to the fence, and is bitten. People who are infected get a choice, they may be killed by the Sisters, the women who lead the village, or they may wait until they change, and then be thrown out with the other Unconsecrated. Many choose the latter, in order to be with loved ones. It is assumed that Mary's mother might have seen her father out in the forest, and so she chooses to be sent out after she changes. After this happens, and her mother changes, her brother Jed arrives back in the village. He is not pleased with Mary for letting this happen to their mother, and kicks her out, leaving Mary to have to join the sisterhood. Mary had hoped that Harry would have spoken for her, so they could be married, but he does not. In reality, Mary had actually hoped Harry's brother would speak for her, but he does not either.

All Mary's life her mother had told her about the ocean. No one in the village has seen it, and she is told by most that there is no such thing. Mary longs to get to the ocean that her mother told her about. While Mary is in the sisterhood, the sisters keep the arrival of an outsider quiet. This is because as far as the village knows, there is no one outside their village still alive. When this outsider turns into one of the faster Unconsecrated, the village is thrown into chaos, and Mary, and Harry, and his brother and Mary's best friend, all escape down one path. On their journey, they come to another village, and not only lose friends, but Mary does find her way to the ocean at the end. And that is where the first book leaves off.

2. The Dead-Tossed Waves

In this book, we meet Gabrielle, or Gabry. She is Mary's daughter. They live in the lighthouse near the town of Vista near the Ocean. Mary's job is to go out at each tide and decapitate any Mudo, what the town calls them instead of the Unconsecrated name given by Mary's village. They are washed up, there are zombies under the water, we learn they can be in hibernation when it snows, just laying there waiting for a human to pass through. We also learn that there is something called a Breaker, the fast zombies. What happens is that whenever there are not many Mudos around, and one person gets infected, they become the fast Breaker, and infect a lot of people and are almost impossible to kill. This is why humans will probably never be rid of this zombie problem ever. Gabry must deal with leaving the safety of the life Mary has built for her when she learns that Mary is not really her mother. Then the boy that Gabry is in love with is infected. But fortunately, or not, he becomes immune, he carries the infection, but doesn't ever change. They must leave or the Recruiters will capture him and use him as bait or basically to help them with the Mudo since he is not attacked by them.

Anyway, to make a long review short, these books were good. The first I enjoyed a bit more than the second, and I am eager to read the third which is coming out in March. From I read of the summary, it will continue Gabry's story from another person in her past.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

I almost forgot to blog about this one! I checked out the Nook from the bookstore again, and since I get to keep it for 2 weeks, I'm going to try to burn through as many YA books that I know I don't need to buy, but want to read as quick as I can. And first on the list was the sequel to Shiver that I read for the Gateway nominees a few months ago. Shiver was about a girl named Grace. When Grace was a little girl, she was dragged to the forest by wolves, and almost died, except for the intervention of what she thinks of as "her" wolf. Her wolf is a werewolf named Sam. In this series, the werewolves change because of the cold. In the summer they turn back to humans. After a while though, they stop making the change in the summer. And live out the rest of their lives as wolves. Grace and Sam meet when Sam is human. And they fall in love, and at the end of Shiver, they figure out a "cure" for Sam. So we start off Linger with Sam getting used to being human all the time. But we also meet some new wolves, one of which becomes kind of a main character, and his name is Cole. Cole is a former child rock star. He became a werewolf because he wanted to leave his life where all he did was drugs and try to find a way to feel different after he made some mistakes. However, Cole can't seem to stay a wolf. So he ends up back at Beck's house, where Sam ends up having to start living when Grace's parents catch him one night in Grace's room. Grace is sick. And eventually all of these things come to a head, and the fact that Cole's father was a science genius, helps them to figure out what might be a new "cure" for the problem that Grace is now facing.

I really enjoy this series. Although, this book did get a little hard to read at times because it went from one character's viewpoint to another constantly. I often had to flip back a page to remember what viewpoint I was reading from. I don't really remember the first book like that, but it's been a while since I read it. But I do recommend it, and am happy the finish to the series will be this summer.

Welcome 2011!

I see everyone else seems to be doing a New Year's resolution/goals blog, so I'll do one as well. I usually only do either book reviews or waiting on Wednesday blogs, but this will be out of the ordinary. First, I want to set some goals for the blog itself. I hope to make it more known by not only posting my updates on Facebook for my friends, but also posting them to Twitter. I also signed up to a challenge for next year: The 2011 Debut Author Challenge.

Next, I couldn't decide if I should list how many books I read only by what I actually blogged about, which is: 104. According to my notebook where I write every book that I read, even re-reads, the number is only 2 or 3 more, and actually 2 of those are ones I started, am still picking up and reading at times, but haven't finished. Weird. I must have counted wrong somewhere. So I think I will set my goal for how many books to read this year to 110. That's only 5 or 6 more than this year, so a reasonable goal. However, since I have a feeling I won't be signing up to read for any of the book awards through the state this year, it might be hard to get that many books in. Or not. We'll see.

I plan to blog in just one entry about series if I am able to read them right in a row, like I did with the Mortal Instruments series, or I am getting ready to do with the Carrie Ryan zombie series right now.

I also intend to take a creative writing class this summer, and get back to work on my chick lit novel I started a few years ago during NaNoWriMo. I'd love to get it finished this year. Since there's a good chance there won't be any need for summer school librarians this year with the state budget, I may have to set up a schedule for myself for writing.

One last reading goal, this year, if a book is just too hard for me to get into, and I don't have to read it for any reason, I will not make myself finish it. I will put it away in a pile and get rid of it. I will not waste any more time on books that I do not enjoy.

Other personal, non-reading goals include getting that final 5 pounds off so I can reach goal and hopefully become a WW lifetime member by the end of 2011. I need to make sure I get out and walk at the gym during the cold months at least twice a week, and then once the weather gets nice, I need to get back to 20 miles a week as soon as I can. With my new online teaching job, I hope to soon be able to start getting some credit cards paid off and get my life in a more financially stable place.

So, those are my main goals/resolutions. I'd add that I want to get a library job this year, but I think that's a pie in the sky dream for me at this point. Not to say I won't still apply and interview whenever possible, but I won't make something a goal that is so far out of my control anymore. I've always liked double numbers, like 11, probably because my birthday is October 22. So I'm hoping my love of double numbers will mean that 2011 is going to be a good year for me.

Zombies Vs. Unicorns - Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black

This is a book I'd been hearing a lot about because of the authors that I follow on Twitter. I guess the idea for the book started out by an argument between these two authors, Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black, about which were better, unicorns or zombies. This led to several short stories being written by several different YA authors.

Now, I honestly have to say, I was a little leery about the book. While I do enjoy zombie movies, and have enjoyed a few zombie books, I just assumed I'd be more on Team Unicorn, because of when I was a little girl and all the unicorn and rainbow stickers I had. I have to admit that I leave the book more Team Zombie, but not completely unsympathetic to the Team Unicorn.

Starting the book did nothing to relieve my leeriness. The first unicorn story actually is a bit of a zombie story, and while somewhat interesting, kind of made me say ho-hum. The second story, a zombie story, (they alternate), I didn't quite feel was maybe teen appropriate? I don't know, the language and some of the storyline was a bit shocking after the unicorn story. And hey, we're talking zombie stories, so there you go. The next story, unicorn story, also was kinda dumb in my opinion, but then, we got to the zombie story by Carrie Ryan, and I was hooked. From then on the stories got better and better, ending with two really good ones. Since Carrie Ryan did hook me with her story, it is only one more reason that I must soon read her book The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

So, I will recommend this book to teens, and tell them that the first 2 or 3 stories just get you a taste of what unicorns and zombies are about. Keep reading through those, it gets a lot better!

The Flappers: Vixen by Jillian Larkin

I found this sitting in the stack of ARC's at the bookstore a couple weeks ago. I took it home, but wasn't quite in the mood for it until I finished the Mortal Instruments series. It wasn't too bad of a book. I enjoyed reading about the time period.

Basically we follow 3 girls that are "flappers". The first is Gloria. Gloria is a society girl getting ready to marry a high society man. Turns out though that her family is having problems, and she needs this marriage to help them. But Gloria wants to live free, be a flapper, go to speakeasies, and is actually attracted to the wrong kind of man for this time period.

Her best friend Lorraine is actually more of a trendsetter, drinking, gets the bob first, and dressing quite stylishly, or scandalously in this case. But Lorraine is jealous of Clara, and her jealousy will do their friendship in.

And finally there is Clara, Gloria's "country cousin" sent by her parents to help make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch. Clara however was sent here due to her own bad judgement and dipping into the whole flapper scene in New York. We learn that her past is not one she is proud of, but in Chicago, Clara finally finds that she might fit in if she reinvents herself. At least until all the dirty secrets from her past come out.

I'm assuming the series will go on to follow where each of them go after this book. But maybe not. Maybe each book will follow three new flappers? Guess we'll have to wait and see. I may or may not continue with the series. It won't be something I'll buy, only check out for free. But I will recommend it to more mature readers at my school who enjoy the historical information and the romance.

Waiting On Wednesday - City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Waiting on Wednesday is a Weekly Event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine

So, as I just blogged, I am now a fan of the Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare. There's not a lot I know about the new one, because I hadn't been following Cassandra Clare on Twitter as she was posting excerpts. Also, I read the hardcover edition of City of Glass, and it was the paperback version that had a chapter in the back. Of course I can always read that at the store.

SPOILER: Now that we know Jace and Clary can be together, I am looking forward to reading on and seeing where things go. So, I'll be waiting till April 5th, 2011 for this. As good as the book is, it is not one that I am dying to have to read now. So it will be nice when it comes out to have it to read.

The Mortal Instruments Series 1-3 by Cassandra Clare

Okay, because I'm so behind on blogging, and I read all three of these books right in a row, I'm going to do a blog about all of them at the same time.

I follow the author of these, Cassandra Clare, on Twitter, and I have been reading all her fans comments and the books are there at the store with a jacket blurb from Stephenie Meyer (authoer of the Twilight series). So, I decided to pick one up when I finished with my Gateway nominees. And I was hooked. Now, there may be some spoilers in this if you haven't read these yet, so keep that in mind as you read on.

Our main character is Clary. We start out with Clary going to a club with her best friend Simon. This guy catches her attention, and she kind of follows him when she notices these three tough looking young people follow him into a back room. Turns out the cute guy is a demon, these three tough people are ShadowHunters, or Nephilim. When Clary's mother disappears, and Clary gets attacked, it turns out that she too is one of the ShadowHunters, because her mother was. Jace, Alec, and Isabelle are the three Shadowhunters she sees. She is soon tied up in this world. She has a bit of a crush on Jace. We learn her friend Simon has a bit of a crush on her. So, we have a love triangle. As we go through the books we learn that the evil person in the Shadow Hunter world was a man named Valentine. Also a Shadow Hunter, but one who wanted to rid the world of ALL downworlders, which are vampires, werewolves, fairies, and warlocks. So, as I read in many reviews, this sounds a little like Voldemort in Harry Potter. Then, I feel a bit of a Star Wars connection as we learn that Jace is Valentine's son, but so is Clary. So it's like Luke and Leah. SPOILER!: We learn in the third book though, that Jace is not actually Valentine's son, so the romance is okay. But while I kind of assumed that this must be coming at some point, because of the continued romantic feelings between the two, for awhile that was just kind of icky. So I was very glad in the 3rd one when it turned out they weren't related.

I also kind of wonder, these are people with angel blood, and Jace's name is Jace because of his initials are JC. Um, Jesus Christ? Hmm.

I did enjoy this series, and as you can see from the next blog I'm going to post, my Waiting on Wednesday post, that I will continute to read it. I'm not sure if I'm going to read the prequel, or I will at some point, but no hurry for now. So, I will recommend it, and I will continue to read it, but you have seen my comparisons and my questions, so judge for yourself.

A Hollywood Ending by Robyn Sisman

My latest chick lit read. It was okay. It's kind of hard for me to relate to a movie star main character, but I did enjoy the setting of her moving to London. It's always fun to think about moving to a foreign country and falling in love. It was a bargain book, so cheap, so worth the money. Not sure if I will seek ou any more by this author, but would probably read if it was cheap.

The main character is Paige, who goes off to London to try Shakespeare on stage after having some issues with a leading man in her latest movie. There she stays in Ed's hhome that he rents out the main floors of. Ed is a documentary maker, and he is not looking forward to having a spoiled American starlet in his home. He also is trying to sell his company which is on the verge of financial problems.

Of course the two opposites are attracted to each other, and through trials and mishaps they fall in love.

Paranormal State by Ryan Buell

I'm so behind on blogging! I actually have 4 other books to post about AFTER this one. Oh well, I'll try to get one tomorrow, and two on Tuesday as I don't work at all on Tuesday and should be done grading for my online teaching job for the next 2 weeks by then.

So, I remember when I heard Ryan Buell was going to be writing a book. I was very excited. And the date in the computer at work kept getting moved back. Finally, this past September came, and it was released. And I, well, I was broke, and couldn't buy it right away. Then, I bought it, but because of reading for the Gateway nominee list, I wasn't quite sure when I could fit it in. But it was the first book I picked up to read after all the Gateway nominees were read. And I really have to say I enjoyed it.

I do love Paranormal State. Some people have said it is boring, and I can see their point. No, it is not all sensationalized like the Ghost Hunters show is. But, that is a reason I can't hardly watch Ghost Hunters, but love Paranormal State. When something happens on Paranormal State, you see it, and don't doubt it. There have been some really spooky episodes. This book goes through all the episodes and cases from the first season. The first thing that really stood out to me was learning about where the term "dead time" came from. Dead time is the time on the show when they go to different parts of the house/building, and try to communicate with the ghosts, or find evidence. So, you would assume, dead time, means communicating with the dead. It's usually around midnight, often around 3 am, the time which is said to be opposite of when Jesus died on the cross and the time when evil comes into the world. But, this is not where this name actually came from on the show. To Ryan and the rest of the PRS staff, it meant turning off all cell phones and other electrical equipment that could cause false readings or noises to occur and blow any chance of real evidence.

It was very interesting to hear about things that you didn't get to see on the show because of trying to fit it all into the half hour time slot they have. So many more details, or evidence to the contrary of an actual haunting.

The other entry I really enjoyed reading about was when Christopher Moon was on the show and brought the Frank's Box. This was neat to me because I have attended two separate ghost hunting classes and weekends with Christopher Moon, and he really got me interested into the scientific aspect of ghost hunting. All the stuff he talked about at the weekends, or most of it, really made sense based on the things we know about physics and the physical world. Now, this Frank's Box. I totally agree with several of the things Ryan and the other PRS members said about this in the book. First, Chris tends to immediately interpret what is heard out of the Box. Whether people agree or not, I think everyone should hear what they think, then compare. My thought on Frank's Box, it uses radio waves. And knowing, again with physics, that radio waves just keep going forever, there are waves bouncing around out there all the time, why does it mean it is a spirit, and not just what is coming through that area at the time? I have great respect for Chris Moon, don't get me wrong, this just brought up my questions about the Frank's Box. I would still definitely attend a ghost hunting weekend in Iowa with Chris Moon again.

Anyway, if you are a fan of the show, or ghost hunting in general, this is a very interesting book in my opinion. I do love that Ryan Buell is a fan of many of my favorite things as well, Buffy the Vampire Slayer being one of them, his dog is named Xander, after one of the BTVS characters. I do not enjoy always reading Buell's very liberal political views on Twitter. But hey, that's his opinion, and I have mine, and differences in political opinions to me, is not a good reason to not like or be friends with someone, so, I just read past those for his ghost related posts. Now I'm just waiting for the show to start up again. Hoping this season isn't already over, that there will be more episodes coming up in the next year.

Gateway 26: After by Amy Efaw

Wow, finally I am done with reading the nominees for next year's Gateway Award list. And just in time, my ratings are due on December 1st!

And let me say, what an intense book to end on. In fact, I'm somewhat surprised that we have this book in my middle school library. It is really such a teen girl topic. The main character is Devon. We start out with Devon laying sick in her apartment when her mom comes home from work. Devon is having flashbacks, and it turns out, she's just given birth in her own bathroom. And apparently put the baby in a trash bag and threw it out. Devon seems to be suffering from memory loss/amnesia. She doesn't remember being pregnant, or giving birth, or any of it for a long time. Well, I say a long time, but really the whole book takes place over a 2-3 week time span, other than the flashbacks Devon has.

This book is really intense in talking about the whole situation. Goes into deep detail with the baby being born and how Devon dealt with all of it.

It's really sad. I actually felt empathy for Devon. I know that what she did was horrible. But as I assume the author meant, you get her side of the story, you understand that what she did wasn't premeditated, or selfish exactly, she was operating in a state of shock basically since the moment that the whole issue began, her first sexual experience.

Very intense, just very intense. I felt sorry for the way she was treated by the people, even after they knew what she'd been like, that she'd been a model student, athlete, even babysitter. So for people to just assume she was horrible and treat her that way was hard to read. But understandable on their part as well for what she had done. The decision Devon comes to at the end, I don't know that I would have come to. But I understand why she, or the author, decided that way.

Good, but intense story.

Gateway 25: Brutal by Michael Harmon

FINALLY! A female main character! And really, this was a good book. Our main character is Poe, yes, named after Edgar Allan Poe. Her mother, a really good doctor, has decided to move to some third world country to take care of patients there, and so has shipped Poe off to live with the father she doesn't remember, in a small town. She's used to living in LA and being part of a punk rock band. However, Poe has also been kicked out of many schools. Poe gets to the small town and finds out her father is the counselor at her new school. She meets the boy who lives next door and goes by the name Velveeta. He's a little bit off, and as you'd expect, he gets bullied, a lot. Poe makes friends with the mayor's son Theo. Theo is also a bit unusual for the town.

Poe comes across the school bully really beating Velveeta up and stops it. Later on, she does slaps the bully's girlfriend, who then won't tell him who it was that did it, so he assumes it was Velveeta. He and other football players pull Velveeta in the bathroom and he begins beating him up very brutally. Only the fact that Poe finds out and tries to stop it, screaming loud enough that a teacher hears, stops it. But because Velveeta and the other witnesses all refuse to say what actually happened, no one can do anything about it. So the school tries to have a bully awareness assembly, but of course the only people who show up since it is not mandatory are those who are being bullied.

Poe gets angry. A lot of what she says in this book is really true. And I agree a lot with her. She even points out something I've always noticed. Some of the "odd" or outside of the popular people are just as cliquey and judgemental as the people they claim are that way. But what it takes Poe a bit to see is that she is just as judgemental and elitist about those people as she claims they are. But she does realize it, and that is what I like.

With the bullying going on at my school this year, it was really good to read this book. I think that it is true that there are so many things that make it impossible for schools to do anything, I'm not saying this is good or acceptable, just that it is true. And it sucks. In the end there is a pretty good solution, but it sucks that it often has to go that far, or that it doesn't ever get taken to the point where something can happen to change it.

Only one more book for me to read on the Gateway Award nomination list. Can't wait till I can read something of my choosing! And I'm thinking it will not be a YA book for a few weeks, or few books, whichever comes first or last.

Gateway 24: If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser

So, I was really excited to read this book because one of the other books by this author is one of the best YA novels there is in my opinion. It was also made into an awesome After School Special when I was a kid as well. Todd Strasser is the author of The Wave. About a teacher who starts an experiment in the school that simulates the holocaust. And it is a very touching, haunting book in how realistic it is.

So, I'm sure this book is also very realistic, even though I have some complaints about it. In If I Grow Up, our main character is DeShawn (another male protagonist, go figure). DeShawn lives in a project where the Disciples are the gang to be a part of. Their rivals are the Gentry Gangsters from another nearby project. We go through DeShawn's life quickly from the time he is 12, and the last chapter is when he is 28 and in prison. It starts out that everyone knows DeShawn is different, smart, he could go somewhere. But as it always goes, he eventually gets swept into the gang. He resists a long time, until his family doesn't have enough food and he catches his sister drinking her own baby's formula. He isn't a normal kind of gangster who kills, at least not at first. He's kind of the brains that the head guy, Marcus, looks to for answers. Marcus is kind of a father figure to him. Marcus seems to really be above it all, and be fair, to the extent you can say that for a gangbanger. But when Marcus is shot, DeShawn learns Marcus was only 21, not as much older as he assumed from his "wiseness".

I understand this is what really happens. But I also know DeShawn had some chances that he chose not to take due to peer pressure. So, hey, you get what you get based on your own decisions sometimes. My opinion. I think it is horrible that this goes on, but I don't feel it is impossible to get out of. It is difficult I'm sure. But it can be done, and does get done. We just don't always hear about those stories because they are so few and far between. What's familiar and easy is just what people tend to do. So, that's what happens.

Okay book I guess.

Gateway 23: King of the Screwups by K.L. Going

This was a pretty good book. I really had trouble putting it down at times. The main character is Liam, which is a name I really like, yeah, I know, short for William. But I like just Liam. Anyway, Liam has screwed up parents. You'd think a former supermodel for a mother and an extremely successful and wealthy CEO for a father would make a kid happy. But not Liam. His father is constantly disappointed in him, but really, Liam is a lot like his mother. It's amazing that his father loves his mother, but can't love the same things about his son. After getting in trouble over and over, his father kicks him out. He wants to send Liam to his parents, who treat Liam just as bad as his dad does. But his mom arranges to have Liam sent to his father's brother. His uncle is, or used to be, a drag queen. He is in a Glam rock band and lives in a trailer in a small town. Liam calls him Aunt Pete. Liam decides in order to make his dad proud, he will be unpopular and involved in an academic club like his dad was in high school. See, that is Liam's "curse" if you will. He is too good at being popular. And it takes nothing for him to become popular at this new school. He wants so bad to make friends with the girl who is a social outcast that lives next door to his Aunt Pete. But that doesn't seem in the cards either.

All that Liam does, and finally he thinks his dad is coming to visit and talk for his birthday. But instead, his dad sends an army recruiter. Now Liam must decide whether to join the army and maybe please his dad, or do what he is good at and know that he is good enough and loved by his aunt/uncle and others in his family.

Really a pretty good story.

2011 Debut Author Challenge

I have decided to sign up for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge. Seeing that I only have to read like 12 books within a 1 year period, and that I spent the last 3 months reading 26, or will have read 26 after 3 more, I feel this is not going to be a problem, and should be fun! This challenge is through The Story Siren.

The books I'm hoping to read, as long as I can get a hold of them are:

1. XVI by Julia Karr

2. So Shelly by Ty Roth

3. Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

4. Wither by Lauren DeStefano

5. Entwined by Heather Dixon

6. Those that Wake by Jesse Karp

7. Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky

8. The Revenant by Sonia Gensler

9. Never Sit Down in a Hoop Skirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell by Crickett Rumley

10. Dark Parties by Sara Grant

11. The Circle Cast: The Lost Years of Morgan le Fay by Alex Epstein

12. Ashfall by Mike Mullin

There are many more on the list I may read, I just need to read these 12 by next December! Wish me luck! By that time I'll be done with Gateway, and will be ready for more YA novels.

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.

Gateway 21: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

First I have to say as I was titling this blog post that I think I've messed up my numbering on these Gateway posts. But finally, a female protagonist!

This was a pretty interesting book. The main character is 17 year old Mia. She is a musician with a promising future and a rock band boyfriend, as well as a wonderful family and an awesome best friend. At the beginning of the book they have a snow day and since school is cancelled the family decides to take a drive. On the drive they have a wreck. Mia comes to standing outside the car. She sees her father and mother are both dead. She soon learns her younger brother has been taken to a close hospital where she has been taken farther away because of the condition she is in. The whole story is told from Mia's viewpoint as she watches over her body and what is going on around it. It's really a very short time period, but we get lots of flashbacks to learn about her and her life.

The title refers to something a nurse says that first day, that it is not up to the doctors whether Mia makes it, but up to her. She must decide to stay or go. We get to hear her friend, family, and boyfriend all plead for her to stay. The part that made me choke up was when her grandfather tells her that as much as he wants her to stay, he understands if she wants to go having lost her family. The author puts it much better, but I totally almost cried at this point.

I've seen this book at the bookstore where I work. Without actually reading the book's information, I just assumed it might be about suicide. But it's not really, just Mia deciding whether it is worth coming back to life after such a loss. In the end, it's almost as if she doesn't get to make the choice, that it's made for her. But I won't spoil it for you. Read it.

I've also attached both the cover pictures, the blue one is for the hard cover, and the girl's face is the paperback. I actually like the paperback cover better.

Gateway 20: Diary of a Witness by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Yet another male protagonist. Maybe I just saved all those, stupidly, for the last books I would read? So far a lot of the books are about nerds. In this case it is a boy, overweight, named Ernie, and his best friend Will. They get picked on and beat up by the jocks in their school. The story is told from Ernie's viewpoint as if he is writing in a journal that his Uncle Max, who is a writer, gave him and asked him to write in.

Both boys like to fish. At the beginning of the book, Will has convinced Ernie to try it his way, out on the ocean. So they go out on Will's father's boat, with Will's younger brother Sam, who Will doesn't like, and the feeling is kind of mutual for Sam. Will's dad leaves them to go alone, while he goes to a bar to drink. A big wave comes up, and the boat tips over due to Will trying to get a big fish he has always wanted to get. Will and Ernie make it, Sam gets stuck under the boat, his pants caught on a fish hook, and drowns.

Will's father gets sent to jail, and we learn what a messed up life Will has. After some other bullying type issues happen at school, Will tries to kill himself. Ernie figures out something like this is happening and calls 911 to save him.

After Will gets out of the hospital, Ernie takes him up to stay at his Uncle Max's. This is a great time for Will, but as they get ready to go back home, back to Will's unhappy life, Will takes a turn for the worse. I like that Ernie is able to stand up to his friend, doing the right thing. I think this had a good message.

Well, I've been busy reading, and not had time to do much blogging. So I've got 2 more books to blog about later tonight if I have time. Trying to get the rest of the books done by December 1st.

Gateway 19: Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

Yet another male protagonist book for the Gateway possible nominees. This book was okay. The main character is Blake, and as you might guess from the title or the cover, he is into photography. He has a girlfriend and yet he also has a really good friend, who is a girl, in his photography class. Blake tends to take what his photography teacher calls "gritty" photos. And in one of them he has found his photo friend Marissa's mother. Marissa's mother is a meth addict. Marissa goes to find her, and brings her home. Her mother goes to rehab. During this time Blake has normal dealings with a girlfriend, and the girlfriend sometimes feels a little jealous of Marissa. In a way, this is very similar to the book I read a while back about the mountain, I think it was called "Funny How Things Change." A guy, a girlfriend, and another girl.

So, not a favorite or extremely original book in my opinion. If you read it though, and like it, here is the author's website:

http://www.flashburnout.com/

Gateway 18: The Devil's Paintbox by Victoria McKernan

I love, love, loved this book! It was another male main character, but I think I must really enjoy historical fiction, something I never knew I enjoyed really before I was an adult. Our main character is Aiden. We meet him and his sister Maddie trying to find grasshoppers to eat while they're living in Kansas, in the dustbowl time. The rest of their family is dead, they've had to bury their siblings, older and even newborn babies. They also buried both parents. When we start the story, a man is riding through looking for people he can take west to be loggers. Aiden sees a chance and convinces Mr. Jackson to take him and his sister, saying he will work off the money it costs him. Over the passage they face all kinds of hardships, and run into Indians, Native Americans, whatever you want to call them. The Nez Pearce to be exact, a peaceful tribe. As they head to Seattle, there are all kinds of tragedies and scares, a river that is not going to let them cross. A small pox epidemic, and even soldiers that want to kill the Indians that have showed up to help them. When Aiden finally gets to the logging camps he has been through so much misery and loss that he is only relieved to give in to the pain and no thinking life of logging. He becomes a fighter in the camp, to make more money. One of his Indian friends comes back at the end to ask his help in obtaining the small pox vaccine. I always knew that our diseases were part of what killed off a lot of the Native Americans, but didn't realize that part of the reason was that we refused to share our vaccine with them.

I like how at the end the author talks about the historical things in the story, even gives websites for readers to go read further about these topics. This is one I really will recommend highly for next year's Gateway List.

Gateway 17: Funny How Things Change by Melissa Wyatt

Another male protagonist. Go figure. This book was not a favorite of mine. It was kind of boring to me. Our main character is Remy Walker. His family has owned the mountain he lives on for generations. His girlfriend, Lisa, is going away to college next year, and wants Remy to go with her, they will get an apartment and he can work while she goes to school. But really he does not want to. He can't afford it, and the only way he will be able to afford it is if his dad does the unthinkable and sells the mountain. And for awhile, Remy thinks this is the way to go. A new girl, college age, has come to town to paint the water tower. Remy finds himself somewhat attracted to her, which of course is a problem since he believes himself to be in love with Lisa.

Basically it was a quick story of letting your family and past win out over what seems like it will be what you need, to get away. I don't know that the students would really enjoy it. There are much better books on the list of possible nominees.

Gateway 16: We Were Here by Matt De La Pena

Once again, another boy protagonist. A Mexican boy again strangely enough. Seems like a theme, although I guess this is really on the 2nd one on the list. This was a pretty good book. I do like again how this is a boy that knows it isn't cool to read and be smart, but still does it on the sly. Our main character is Miguel. Miguel starts out in Juvie, then shortly after is sent to a group home. We get the idea that he did something violent. We learn a lot about his brother Diego, who he idolizes. There are 2 other boys at the group home that he becomes friends with unintentionally through the fact that they all decided to run from the group home and go to Mexico. It is on the journey that we learn about all of them. Mong, the seemingly psycho boy that Miguel gets in a fight with almost as soon as he walks into the group home. Mong is life-threatiningly sick we find out. And Rondell, a big black kid, that actually was Miguel's roommate when he got to Juvie, and he always calls Miguel, Mexico, even though Miguel has always lived in the United States. Rondell is not quite all there, and when he gets into a rage, he will keep beating until someone dies.

I kind of guessed what Miguel did before he actually confessed to it, in fact, I caught on pretty quick. I won't give it away in case you're going to read it. A good book, but violent at times. Again, the next book I even picked up is also a male protagonist. Pretty sure, if I get these last 10 books done in the next 20 days, I'll read a really girly book after. :-)

Waiting on Wednesday: Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I haven't done this in a while, for two reasons. One, I've been pretty busy with the new online class I'm teaching. And two, I haven't been quite sure what books I'm waiting on. But I decided to see when the next book by Diane Mott Davidson was going to be out. I'm not a huge mystery genre fan. But for some reason I just love these books. I do love reading the recipes, and I think occasionally of trying to make them. But seeing as how our main character, Goldie, is a caterer, these are really complicated recipes. One day, though, I will try them.

Right now I can't find a synopsis on the book, so I'll give you a little more background on the series. Goldie is our heroine, when we first meet her, she has divorced her abusive husband and is trying to raise her son Archie on her own with her catering career. She calls her ex-husband "The Jerk" along with another of his ex-wives, Marla, her best friend. It never fails, Goldie tends to find dead bodies wherever she goes to cater. She then wants to solve the mysteries herself, and she does this despite the wishes of detective Tom Schultz. Later in the books Goldie and Tom get married, and of course her sleuthing continues. One other main character is Julian, a young man she mentors in cooking, and he is also a genius in cooking.

I don't know why, but I just love these books, and cannot wait for the next to come out. While I'm glad she takes the time to make each one really good, sometimes I wish she was one of those authors who puts out a book every year so I wouldn't have to wait for my mystery fix. Unfortunately I'll be waiting until April 2011 for this release.

Gateway 15: Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

I'm beginning to feel like most of the Gateway nominees have male protagonists. Not sure, I'm going to look through them again to make sure, but right now I feel like all my stories I'm reading are about boys. I've got 10 more to get read this month, so I guess I'd better get going!!

Anyway, I've seen books by this author at my bookstore, but never read any. This one was okay. The main character is a high school junior, boy, who is a football player. His girlfriend is from a wealthy family. And at the end of sophomore year, her father finds her and Cody together, and then when he sees Clea's grade card, with a low grade for her, a B, he decides to send her away to boarding school. Cody decides to break up with Clea instead of trying to have a long distance relationship.

Well, early into the football season, Cody, who has already had scouts talk to him about college, gets an injury that puts him out for the rest of the school year football season. Soon Cody decides to quit school. About the time he makes this decision, there is a news story that Clea has gone missing. Cody goes to the town of her new boarding school to try to help in the search.

Of course once he gets there, at first he doesn't want to tell anyone who he is. He had received a letter from Clea right before he left, and it mentions that she doesn't know who to trust. So Cody is unsure who he should trust. He meets her classmates, including her new boyfriend, as well as teachers and the people who work at the stable where she keeps her horse. He also meets two different cops, and doesn't know which one is giving him the real truth. Cody gets really close to the answer, and then of course, gets himself in trouble as well.

A good mystery, not sure it is award winning material though.

Gateway 14: Muchacho by Louanne Johnson

I have to admit I was not looking forward to this book. It didn't sound good. Boy was I wrong. Maybe if I'd paid attention to who it was written by, the same woman who wrote the memoir that became the movie Dangerous Minds, I would have known better.

This book is told from a Mexican boy's point of view. His name is Eddie. He has a rough life. He's been sent to a special school because of his anger and fighting. He has lots of things in his life that work to try to keep him from finishing school. But Eddie is a secret reader. Eddie is a secret writer as well.

What I loved about this book, from the first page I was hooked. When he began talking about the teacher that kind of really inspired him throughout this book. And how she got kicked/chased out, and while he did nothing to stop it, or let her know at the time that she did reach him, throughout the book he references things she did or talked about with them.

And I love that this book is written just how I'm sure most students think. I can hear these same ideas coming from the things my students say. The why do we need to know this? I know it was written by a teacher/adult, but I also am sure she based it on those writings from her students and how she knew them from working with them. I do love how the kids says testing is ruining school even for the students who like it. Something I am wholly onboard with.

Other than a bit of language and risque themes, but still all realistic for high school kids, this is one of my highest recommendations for the Gateway list for next year. I loved, loved, loved, loved it!!! Might even have it as a staff rec at the bookstore at some point.

Matched by Ally Condie

This is another of the Penguin teen advance reader books I had to read. And I loved it! It's set in the future. Our main character is Cassia. We first meet Cassia on her way to her Match Banquet. In this future society, everyone is matched sometime during their 17th year. They get to wear a really fancy dress for the night instead of their normal basic clothes that are the same as everyone else. They get to have really fancy food, instead of the normal just what is needed food rations each person gets. At the banquet they call each girl, and then the screen shows the match live from all around the different boroughs. Only in Cassia's case, something that has never happened before, or at least not in a very long time happens. She is matched with her best friend, someone from the same borough, Xander (I just love that name!). When they're matched they're given a little data card to look through and learn about their match, since usually they don't know them. Cassia waits to check hers, but when she does, just for the fun of it, after Xander's face pops up, it goes blank. Then, another face appears, another boy she knows, Ky. Because she's played the card in the house computer, it's no secret. An Official shows up and collects the card and tells her it was a mistake. She now learns that Ky is an Aberration. He is not ever supposed to be matched.

This of course has intrigued and made Cassia wonder who she is really supposed to be matched with.

This futuristic world, or Utopia in a way you might say, is just incredible to read and think about. To save Society, they have gotten rid of all but 100 paintings, 100 poems, 100 books, etc. When you reach the age of 80, you will die. You live a very healthy, full life until then. But we get to experience Cassia's grandfather's final banquet. Every person carries a container with pills, 1 when they're really young, 2 when they get to be teens, and a 3rd, red pill when they become adults. WE find out later in the later part of the book what the red pill is for. We find just how far this Society will go to make sure their rules and ideas are followed.

This was a really good book. I don't know that they definitely left it open for a sequel. It could have one. Or it could just leave off the way it did. Either way would probably be fine. In fact, I sometimes think it is okay to just end instead of having to continue all stories. This is supposed to come out at the end of November, and I may put it as one of my staff recs at the bookstore at that time.

Herself by Leslie Carroll

This was my latest chick lit book. It took longer because of course I'm trying to get through the Gateway nominees pretty quickly. Other than I didn't necessarily connect with the main character Tessa Craig because of her age and job, I love what she did. When her politician boyfriend basically ends their relationship, she decides she can't work for him as his speech writer anymore, and she takes a trip to, wait for it, Ireland! The place I want to go so bad! And, she meets an Irish guy who is funny and a charmer, and falls instantly in love with her! Totally what I always daydream will happen if I ever visit Ireland. He follows her back to America where it all turns out pretty good.

All in all, I really, really enjoyed it because it was totally one of my daydreams written out in a book. This is the 3rd book I've read by this author, and I've enjoyed all of them.

Gateway 13: hold still by Nina LaCour

I know, I've been so busy it's been a way long time since I've blogged. And in that time I have 3 books to blog about. Here is number 1.

As you can see it was on the Gateway nominee list. And while it was a good book, all I can say is WOW! These books are sooooo depressing and sad! I know that teens seem to like these books, but it's kind of bringing me down to read these. Anyway, here's the review.

Our main character is Caitlin. Her best friend Ingrid has committed suicide, and as you would expect, it has really messed up Caitlin. She didn't know her friend had emotional issues, and had suffered from them forever. We are with Caitlin through summer, as she spends most of the time in her car. When she goes back to school the next year, she makes a new friend, but then loses the new friend when she decides to pull back into her shell. She gets a boyfriend too. She has trouble in her once favorite class, photography, because she and Ingrid had been the best students in the class before, and now her teacher is treating her differently. And then, Caitlin finds Ingrid's journal stashed way underneath her bed. And as she reads through it, she goes through all kinds of emotion, guilt, anger, sadness, and finally coming to terms with what Ingrid has done in the best way she can.

So of course, a good, uplifting ending, just a really sad book to try to get through.

Gateway 12: Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff

This wasn't a bad story, don't get me wrong, it was just kind of predictable and eh. The main character is Andrew Zansky, who weighs over 300 pounds as a sophomore in high school. He met a girl the weekend before school started back up, and then she shows up at his school. She says she likes people for who they are, not for being popular, but then, her actions don't back up her words. So, Andrew goes out for the football team instead of doing model UN with his best friend as they'd planned all summer. All of a sudden he's popular, but the girl is also getting popular, and she's in love with the star QB, who Andrew is friends with and helping with school stuff.

We do have a bit of a twist in my opinion when we find out there was some planning and that Andrew joining the team was kind of a plan by the coach and others. And like many other books I've read, the parents are having problems and getting divorced. Yeah, yeah, I know, lots of kids deal with that, I'm the child of divorced parents myself. But it would be nice once in awhile to have some happy parents, even divorced and remarried they could be happy parents, like mine were.

So this won't be a very high recommendation from me for the Gateway nominees.

Gateway 11: The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford

This book was okay. The story was somewhat interesting. Obviously anyone who is interested in mysteries and detective stories will enjoy it. And I wanted to really like it for that reason alone. But all in all, it was kind of eh. I rated it lower because I didn't feel it was probably going to have that interesting of a story line for teenagers. I also don't like that the main characters, just graduated from high school, are drinking beer and going to a bar. Yeah, I know it's naive of me to think that teens don't drink. But I don't feel the blase way it was put out in this book is the best. So, it will be so far, the lowest of all the books I've rated for the Gateway possible nominees.

Gateway 10: Hate List by Jennifer Brown

This was a really good book. It really hit hard on the school shooting topic. It also focused in on the bullying issue. The main thing that I really liked about this book, is how it takes place from the point of view of the shooter's girlfriend. The person who actually started the "hate list". The story follows her, Valerie, through going back to school the year after it happens. We get flashbacks to each moment as it happened in May. But we also get to see how the other students are dealing with it. We see how her family, which was actually screwed up to begin with, and possibly part of the reason the hate list started, is completely finished by this. I think a good point is to think of how this shooter was thought of by his fellow students before all this happened. How people had no idea he was going to do it. And how the very day it happened, Valerie had been bullied by her biggest antagonizer. The ending is very touching. I also like that it looks at how the principal of the school tries to say that all the students have all changed and become like a family and that there is no more bullying or treating other students poorly. Which is wrong. I think schools often try to cover things, or at least I think I can totally see this happening. There are things that have happened in my district, that I wonder how they never made the news, when around the same time, you hear about the same type of issue happening in other districts on the news.

Anyway, I am going to hopefully have that as my next staff rec at the book store. I was also extremely interested to learn that the author is a good friend of a friend that I teach with. With some of the bullying issues going on at my school currently, it might be good to have her come in and speak to the kids. I wish I could read this book with my students, I think they could really learn from it. But I'm guessing a school shooting book would not be considered appropriate to read to 8th graders.

Gateway 9: Liar by Justine Larbalestier

All I can say about this book is WOW! It started out as what seemed to be a total realistic fiction type YA novel. Our main character Micah, is a liar, hence the title. She lied when she came to her new school, or just let a misconception spread without correcting it. And when that lie was found out and corrected, she changed it to something else. First she had a teacher call her a boy. Then when it was found out she was a girl, she told people she was born with parts for being a boy and a girl. Then she tells us that she was born covered with hair. The whole main part of the story is that a boy, Zach, has been found dead. It turns out that Micah was his girlfriend, on the side, anyway. He had a girlfriend at school that everyone knew about. We constantly learn about all the stuff she lies about, as she tells us lie after lie. And then, about halfway in, it turned into a fantasy book. Werewolves. And at the time you're wondering, is this another big lie, or is she actually telling the truth now? It's the truth, and the end of the book is very interesting. We never do find out for sure about what happens to her brother, at least I don't remember, so that is one question left open.

All in all it was a good read, kept me interested, etc. I think the kids will enjoy it.

Mini-Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella/Nook Review

This blog will serve as two reviews. Since I read Mini-Shopaholic while I was borrowing a Nook from the bookstore, I will review both at once.

Our main character Becky is back. This time she has a two year old daughter named Minnie, who seems to be a terror. She's gotten them kicked out of seeing Santa a couple times, and doesn't really help Becky with her shopaholic tendencies. In this book Becky decides she is going to throw her husband Luke a surprise birthday part for a reasonable price, and since her family and friends seem to assume she can't do it, she tries to do it on her own. She gets into the world of bartering, and of course that doesn't work out. And Luke thinks Minnie needs a super nanny to fix her. Which Becky of course doesn't think is necessary. They're living with Becky's parents due to some financial issues, as well as the houses they plan on buying keep falling through.

This book has the same funny issues with shopping that the others have, and some more stress as people getting older tend to deal with. I laughed out loud as normal with the shopaholic series, and so I will continue to wait and hope for more to be written as part of this series.

Nook review: Well, it was definitely fun to use. And I can see times it would be nice and convenient to have. But as I feel that having almost 300 books sitting in my house still NOT read, it is just not financially responsible to get one. I even considered asking for one for Christmas, but still, I would have to buy new books to put on it, so again, not financially responsible of me, unless I win Powerball! :-) But I definitely think it is a good piece of technology, and would recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a ton of books sitting around waiting to be read.

Gateway 8: North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

This was a really good book. The main character is Terra. Both she and her brothers are named after map related things because her father was a mapmaker. A humiliated mapmaker as he bought into a fake map supposedly from ancient China. Her brothers are both old enough that they are away at college or out on their own, and Terra is in high school. Her mom is overweight, and her dad is hateful and cruel to her and her mother. And Terra has one other strike against her, a huge port wine stain birthmark on her face. She's learned how to cover it with makeup as she's gotten older, in fact, she has a very hot boyfriend. Terra's outlet is art. She creates collages that represent people and things in her life. When a guest speaker at school gives Terra a suggestion of a new laser surgery that is supposed to fix this type of birthmark, Terra decides to try once more to get rid of this defect. On the way back home from the first treatment, it is a snowy, icy day, and they have an accident. The other car involved includes a Chinese boy named Jacob, and his adopted mom. Jacob looks like a goth, but Terra sees he has a cleft lip scar. This is why Jacob was probably given up in China as normally boys are not adopted.

Jacob and Terra connect, as do Jacob's mom and Terra's mom. After a bad holiday experience with her brothers, Terra's oldest brother invites her and her mom to visit him in China where he works. Jacob and his mom choose to go along, as they keep trying to visit the orphanage he came from, but keep hitting brick walls. The trip is a growing experience for all involved. And in a good way, they all come back changed. But Terra must decide if she wants to give up the "perfect" boyfriend that she doesn't "deserve" with her looks for someone like Jacob, who she has instantly connected with, as he just seems to "get" her.

Awesome, awesome story. I look forward to reading more by this author.