Not What I Wanted Wednesday

Didn't mean for this to be a recurring post; just turned out that way!

Beaudoin, Dean. You Killed Wesley Payne.
From the Publisher: "Seventeen-year-old Dalton Rev arrives at Salt River High where he must outwit crooked cops and killer cliques in order to solve the mystery of the body found wrapped in duct tape and hanging from the goal posts in the football field."

Why this didn't work for me: Loved this author's Going Nowhere Faster, but the film noir vibe of this would be a hard sell to my students, and somehow this exhausted me by page 9. The cliques and the slang were maddening. That said, Guys Lit Wire loved it. This is one I'll have some students look at before I return it to the library, but I don't think it will fly.

Bayse, Dale. Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck.
From the Publisher:"Formerly dead Milton Fauster tries to save his older sister Marlo from "eternal darnation" when she is sent to another educational level of the Underworld reform school known as Heck."

Why this didn't work for me: I bought the first because of student requests, bought this one, and will probably purchase Blimpo: The Third Circle of Heck as well, but I didn't like the characters and the Snicketesque vibe didn't make me happy.


Pilkey, Dav. Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen From the Future.
From the Publisher "Silly caveboys Ook and Gluk travel to the future where they meet a martial artist who teaches them kung fu so they can return to their prehistoric time and fight an evil corporation that is endangering the past."

Why this didn't work for me: I love Captain Underpants, but this one bothered me because of all the intentional misspellings. It is also more of a graphic novel, with text arranged in comic book format. The Pilkey I have never circulates after the first couple months of school, so I will pass.

Standiford, Natalie. Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters.
From the Publisher: When the Sullivan sisters' grandmother gathers the entire family on Christmas to announce that she is removing them all from her will unless whoever it is that has offended her confesses in writing by New Year's Day, everybody begins to consider what they may have done.

Why this didn't work for me: Maybe it was the characters named Daddy-o and Almighty, or the fact that the money from the will didn't seem like a big deal. Or maybe the whining letter from the first granddaughter who offends her grandmother by having an inappropriate romance. I just couldn't get into it. I think this would be great for high school, but for a girly book, I am looking for something happier.

A student loaned me Ted Dekker's Blink, which looked interesting, but it is definitely an adult book, and I realized that on the rare occasions that I read adult books, I want Nora Roberts. Sad but true. Then, I figured I might as well plow through some Erin Hunter. Do not ask me to describe Rising Storm, A Dangerous Path or the Darkest Hour. Just believe that I had my eyes on every page. Cats were roaming through the woods fighting with other cats and eating moles.

Some day I will have to issue a public apology to Erin Hunter. All four of her. I did just put three more of the Warriors and Seekers books on my list to purchase.