Racial Identity

Picked up Beverly Daniel Tatum's "Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" because I had seen a student carrying it around. What I took away from it, in one sentence, was that middle school students are trying to figure out who they are, and for black students, it often means hanging around with other black students because their white friends don't understand the challenges that come with race.

I've been trying to find books with black characters (and Tatum does use the term black), but it's hard. So many of the books are about inner city children struggling with gangs and drugs, and certainly a lot of my students like to read that sort of thing. Still, if children want to read books about children like themselves, where are the books about suburban black children wanting to find their identity?

Philana MarieBoles' Little Divas was especially good, because it had characters that were black, but the whole book was not about that fact. I guess what I want is a black Henry Huggins.

Janet McDonald's Brother Hood was good because it addressed the dicotomy of a boy who is from the inner city but who goes to a private school. He has two personas, and struggles with when to be which person. I am going to have to read McDonald's works again-- Tatum's book brought up the thought-- do I just not like these books because I am not familiar with the black characters? Are these books my students need to help them decide who they are and where they fit in the world?

Walter Dean Myers' Handbook for Boys: A Novel also addresses the issue of making choices. It is unabashedly preachy. Two inner city boys who made some bad choices get sentenced to community service in a barber shop where the elderly men mentor them and getting a good education and making good choices. If I can get children to read this all the way through, they might take something from it.

I'm also going to reread Christopher Paul Curtis' Bucking the Sarge. I thought the grandmother was described in very negative, stereotypical ways, but the boy in it was trying to distance himself from her, so it was about establishing identity.

What I am really looking for, though, is books with black characters just living their lives. Maybe this is what students need. Clearly, if students are trying to establish their identity, books would help. But, like Tatum pointed out, it's hard to start conversations about race.

Also read Hughes' Lemonade Mouth, which looks really fun but didn't pull me in. Oddly wordy, and nothing happened. The back cover describes Hughes' other book, I am the Wallpaper, as quirky. Seeking a second opinion, I gave it to my son (who loves comedic realistic fiction), and he couldn't get into it either.

The Teflon Effect

Sometimes, I read a book, and my eyes start at the top of the page and then are suddenly on the bottom, having stuck to none of the words. The worst culprit of this was Terry Brooks Shanara series. Too high a fantasy for me. I won't claim I read them all, but I did turn every page.

This often happens to students, too, and when it does, you can imagine what it does to their comprehension. There needs to be some action on the page, something that captures their attention. This is why navel-gazing quirky dysfunctional award winners are not sought out by my students.

That said, I think that Jerry Spinelli's latest effort, Eggs, will win many awards because it is a finely crafted, introspective tale about a boy who is being raised by his grandmother because his mother has died, and a girl named Primrose who lives with her pychic consultant mother. And they... and that's where I lost interest. I did like the cover a lot, but the students I waved it at during the day were not intrigued. They thought it was going to be nonfiction. About eggs. Not a selling point.

I've been reading a fair amount of Ann Rinaldi lately, and really liking it, which is why I was so surprised to be disappointed by Come Juneteenth.There is a warning box on the back cover that states "WARNING: This is a historical novel. Read at your own risk. The writer feels it necessary to alert you to the fact that you might enjoy it." This is akin to the eye doctor telling my child that she was AFRAID my daughter would need glasses. No. You GET to wear glasses, and there is nothing wrong with historical novels. You get to find out that people are people no matter when they live, and you get to learn cool stuff about history. The biggest problem with this book was that I couldn't connect to the characters, which made me feel bad when I read the notes at the end where Ms. Rinaldi said that she liked these characters best of the one's about which she has written. Perhaps that was the problem. They were too real to her and therefore hard to capture on the page.

Summer Reading, Part One (For Parents)

I hope to get lists posted soon of particularly good books, but here is my first round of hints about how to keep students reading over the summer:

1. Make sure they have their own library card. This is good for school projects, too.

2. Take them to the library!

3. Have them talk to librarians about recommendations.

4. Read yourself. Consider reading aloud your favorite middle school title.

Woman's Day and Scholastic put out a nice article on summer reading that includes the following information:

1. Most children start losing interest in reading at age 8.
2. The number one reason children don't read more is that they can't find books they want to read, and need help finding things.
3. Children read more when it isn't stressful. Praise them. Make it fun. My daughter spent the summer after second grade reading nothing but I Can Read and Captain Underpants books, but she would read them ten at a time, and raised her reading level about three grades. Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT make your child read War and Peace because it is "at his grade level".

4. Children should read about four books over three months to maintain their abilities. This seems like a very small number to me.

For the parents at my school, Book Fair will be May 31 and June 1. I'll be glad to recommend books that your children will like over the summer!

Greek and Roman Reading

While Druitt's Corydon series didn't quite do it for me (I wanted more Lightning Thief, which was unreasonable), I gave it to one of my students, and he said that while it was odd and different, he liked it. It will be one of those books that gets mixed reviews (Shusterman's Full Tilt is either loved or hated), but certainly has a place in the collection considering the 7th grade curriculum's emphasis on Ancient Greece and Rome. Will buy, and perhaps invest in the Accelerated Reader test to get a few more readers.

Here's a list of titles that are popular: (Updated 5/14/2008)

Rome:
Banks, Lynn Read. Tiger, Tiger (2005)
Barrett, Tracy. On Etruscan Time (2005)
Denenberg, Barry. Atticus of Rome (2004)
Dillon, Ellis. The Shadow of Vesuvius (1977)
Lawrence, Caroline. Roman Mysteries Series *****
Ray, Mary. Ides of April (1974)
Rubalcaba, Jill. The Wadget Eye (200) *****
Scieszka, Jon. See you later, gladiator (2000)
Winterfeld, Henry. Detectives in Togas (1956)


Greece:
Cooney, Caroline B. Goddess of Yesterday (2002) *****
Denenberg, Barry. Pandora of Athens
Fleischman, Paul. Dateline: Troy (1996)
Ford, Michael. The Fire of Ares (2008) series.
Galloway, Patricia. Aleta and the Queen
The Courtesan's Daughter
My Hero Hercules
Gates, Doris. A Fair Wind for Troy
Mightiest of Heroes, Hercules
Two Queens of Heaven (1976)
Geras, Adele. Troy. (also Ithaka, which was not as good)
Goode, Caroline. Cupidity (2008) (Modern, but with gods.)
Hennessey, Caroline. Pandora Gets Jealous (2008) series
Johnson, Dorothy. Farewell to Troy (1964)
Witch Princess
Kindl, Patrice. Lost in the Labyrinth (1992)
Marsh, Katherine. The Night Tourist (2008) Modern, but with mythology.
McClaren, Clemence. Aphrodite's Blessings (2002)
Behind the Walls of Troy
Waiting for Odysseus
McMullan, Kate. Have a Hot Time, Hades (SERIES)
Napoli, Donna Jo. Sirena (1998) *****
The Great God Pan (2003)
Osborne, Mary Pope. Retelling of Odysseus
Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief (2005)SERIES *****
Roberts, Katherine. I am the Great Horse (2006)
Spinner, Stephanie. Quiver
Quicksilver
Yolen, Jane and Richard Harris. *****
Atalanta and the Arcadian Beast(2003)
Jason and the Gorgon's Blood
Hippolyta and the Curse of the Amazons
Odysseus and the Serpent Maze (2001)

There are certainly more, and as a former Latin teacher I am always on the lookout for additional titles.

Not so much.

Books that just did not meet the needs of my collection:
Wlater Mosley's 47. Too much fantasy to be considered historical, too much history for fantasy.


Christian Burch's The Manny Files. Good idea, too young for my students.

Tobias Druitt's Corydon and the Island of Monster and Corydon and the Fall of Atlantis. I may reconsider these, since they are heavily historical/mythological, but they didn't grab me. I will try the students who really like The Lightning Thief, and see what they say.

Also read a book about a tv addicted mother who was trying to raise a tv free child. Too much whining for me. It's not that hard to limit screen time. My own children watch very little, but then they read a lot.

Why Have the Books Stopped Circulating?

In my trek through the fiction, I came across Zoa Sherburne's Why Have the Birds Stopped Singing(1974). While it circulated frequently for ten years, it hasn't been off the shelf in 20. What happened? In this case, it might well be due to the fact that the dust jacket fell off and it is sitting in its unappealing yellow underwear. It's a decent enough tale of an epileptic girl who has seizure and goes back in time to live an ancestor's life. I may keep it because I have fond memories of the author's Girl in the Mirror, but at some point, if no one will check it out, it must go.

Kate Morgenroth, who wrote the fabulous Jude, replied to the circulation card with a lovely letter and a copy of Echo, her latest. Very kind of her, but while Echo was very riveting, I think the language makes it more appropriate for grades 9 and up. Of course, as a student reminded me yesterday, Jude has some bad language and that was what was part of what made it GOOD. Of course, I have to then look very disapproving-- It's the Blume Principle. I would never have wanted to read Forever unless it was forbidden!

Sean Beaudoin, Going Nowhere Faster

For the sake of all my boys who love humorous books but are past the 6th grade, I am grateful to authors like Mr. Beaudoin, who are able to write funny books about older boys and yet not include foul language and undesirable adventures. Thank you!

Not only was the storyline funny (gifted boy decides to work at Happy Video and stay with quirky parents instead of going to college), the prose was well-crafted and I irritated my family my snorting through the first couple of chapters and having to quote them. I knew I had to buy the book after page 5, where Stan describes his life thus: "... so people thought I was destined to Become Something. What that something might be was more or less negotiable, as long as it involved a bow tie, some chalk, super-thick glasses, and lots of published articles in journals no one ever reads." No, Stan, no! Don't major in Classics! The job opportunities are better at Happy Video!

Even the quirky parents (run health food store, drive biofuel car) did not distract from the funny and hapless way Stan bumbles through his life. Definitely one to add to the collection, along with Adam Selzer's How to get suspended and influence people, Jordan Sonnenblick, Alex Bradley's 24 Girls in seven days, and just about anything Gordon Korman.

Mel Odom, The Rover--- WOW!

This author came to my attention when I was reading reviews on Amazon.com, and his views aligned quite well with mine. When I found out that he wrote, I e mailed and asked which of his works he would recommend for middle school students, and he kindly replied that The Rover would be appropriate AND had an Accelerated Reader test. (fun that he knew that!)

Middle grade fantasy fans are voracious and picky. It's hard to keep them in books. Adult fantasy is a tricky business. On Mr. Odom's recommendation, I bought this book without reading it, which is rare for me, and was pleased that this book was exactly what my students and I wanted. Hefty, the first of four books, high fantasy but not inaccessible, Tolkein-ish but much fresher than Eragon, humorous, well-paced (explanations of history are always followed by a rollicking adventure, and yes, it is necessary to use rollicking!), and gently philosophical. I read it, gave it to a student after testing who devoured 30 pages and waited during his lunch for me to process the book, and have four other students (and our secretary) waiting for him to finish.

Well-balanced. So hard in YA stuff, but there was just not a misstep in this book. (Well, okay-- one. The Price is Right by Bahbarker? Groan, but forgiven.) Halfling librarian with penchant for adventure stories (which hamper his success in the library) is shanghaied by pirates, sold into slavery and welcomed into a band of thieves. The basis of his success??-- his vast knowledge acquired by reading. "I'm a librarian," Wick declared proudly. "It's my job to know something about everything."

These are a must-have in a middle school collection. I can't wait to read the rest. In fact, I am going to need more than one copy of the first book.

1. The Rover (2001)2. The Destruction of the Books (2004)3. Lord of the Libraries (2005)
4. The Quest for the Trilogy (2007)

For other titles and bio, check out:
http://www.melodom.net

Celia Rees, Witch Child

Don't know why it took me so long to read this title-- could be that it is rarely on the shelves. I also was not entirely sure what it was about-- was it historical, or a fantasy, or something in between? Like reading Tangerine while under the impression it was a fantasy, I don't like to be confused. So, this is in fact a historical novel, following a girl who is thrown out of her home in England because her grandmother is killed for witchcraft. She ends up in a Puritan contingent and travels to the new world, only to have her powers be called into question. There is a sequel that I will read this summer, because it's not on the shelf.

Must admit that I am quickly approaching Evil Librarian End of the Year Mode: I just want all my babies back home safe and sound so that I can glue them and send the to the rebindery if needed, and then put them all on the shelves and see what volumes of series I am missing, and what gaps I have in the collection. Communing with the books is important, really. I don't do it often, but in the summer I really like to come in and look at all of the books sitting snugly on the shelves. They work hard during the school year and deserve a little rest.

Also working on massive order for the fall. I'll have my reading list all ready.

Howard Pyle

Otto of the Silver Hand (1888) was okay; a nice story of a boy in the middle ages caught in bad circumstances. Enjoyed it. Men of Iron, however, was wonderful. You can just imagine ten year old boys in the 1930s sitting in trees reading this book. Normally, I hate dialect, but you just have to love the middle age-speak "Verily, forsooth." Great stuff; great scope for the imagination. Myles isn't a goody-goody-- he gets in fights, he doesn't want the older boys to push him around (Warning: Lengthy discussion of 'fagging', but at least the idea of service in British schools is all explained.), but he grows up to be knighted by the king himself and attempts to avenge the wrong done to his father. Will he succeed? Of course, but it is tense while he is trying. The language is a little tough, but I was able to entice a student to check it out, and we'll see how he likes it.

Weetzie Bat

The time has come to say goodbye to Weetzie. Maybe its a midwestern thing, but "stunning debut" or know, it's a disturbing book, and the 1989 counterculture references don't work any more. A boy checked this book out, and brought it back complaining because of a sentence on page 13 "He had met someone in a video booth at a local sex store and they had groped around there for a while, then gone to the guy's apartment". Later on, Weetzie decides to have a baby-- it's just not a good example. There is a whole series, and luckily this was the only one at my library. The latest Weetzie book came out last spring

I love Melissa Kantor!

The Break-up Bible was fabulous! Exceeded ALL expectations! Wish I had the book here to quote the first paragraph, which was hysterical, but my daughter is reading it.

While the cover is aggressively Pink, and will appeal to those fans, there was so much more going on in this book. Yes, Jen spends the first several chapters in the throes of a massive, drama queen depression after Max dumps her (which was alien to me, but probably will speak to many older girls), but then she slowly moves beyond it.

Since she works for the newspaper, she gets involved in a very intriguing story about race relations in her school-- the administration says there are no problems, but she and a fellow writer (who is African American) notice that minorities are underserved in many honors classes and would just like to start some discussion about why this is. This added some substance to the book without detracting from the Pink enjoyment. A tough balance-- well-done!

I like how her family is involved, her friends are there for her, and while she starts to date another boy, she seems to have learned from the break-up that stuff like that happens, and the only thing to do is to move on.

The only downside is that there is a lot of drinking. Maybe this is a New York City thing. Here in the midwest responsible parents would never take children out to dinner and serve them wine. Hopefully, if a date offerred my daughter sangria, she would reply "My mother would kill me." Gives me pause.

Oh, but the rest was so good, I'm going to have to go with TWO copies. The whole process of coming back from rejection was so well done that I think it is valuable for girls to read. Hoping to hear more from Kantor for many, many years!

Gory versus GORY

A note about gory-- many middle school students love it. Obviously, I'm not all that comfortable with books where multiple people get their heads hacked off. Not in the curriculum. Still, I can't tell my horror fans that they must read Mandy. They will not read. So, I've been working on a collection of horror that is at least well-done, intriguing, or clever.

Paul Zindel's book fit this category. Wildly popular with my lowever level readers, although I must admit that I haven't finished Reef of Death yet! It's fun to say all of the titles: Rats, Raptor, Reef of Death, Lock, Doomstone, Night of the Bat.

Darren Shan's Demonata series almost lost me. Debated for a long time. Cirque du Freak is okay, and oddly addictive, but any book that starts out with demons murdering a boy's family in a rather graphic and gory way gives me pause. Read to the end, and it was so clever that I gave in. Playing chess against the demon was very effective. Well-written. Just be warned.

Carter's Hand of the Devil was also good-- killer mosquito whose venom dissolves its victims, and its pyschopathic, serial-killer handler. Had some good twists. Bought two copies.

Enthoven's The Black Tattoo kept me reading to find out what was going on.

However, Pike's The Hollow Skull did not fit into this category. After reading it, I felt like I should go apologize to all the students who have checked it out. Graphic, crude, unpleasant to read-- I may have to pull it. I do have one very reluctant reader who has read all the good stuff and is refusing everything else I suggest. May try it on him. Basically, evil scientists/aliens implant silicon in people's brains and it turns them into raging murderers. I can't quote lines. Just ick. Just when I was warming a bit to this author, too.

Light Fantasy

Recently purchased a copy of Avi's Bright Shadow (1985) at the request of a student, since it is a core novel for a class. 95% of Avi's work is great stuff (A Place Called Ugly doesn't go out much.), so I purchased without reading it. Nice, fast-paced, quasi-medievalish fantasy that students who aren't thrilled with fantasy will like. I don't know how much students will think about whether or not having five wishes would be a good thing or not, but there was enough action that this will circulate very well. It pays to listen to what the students request.

Other titles that work well when students are assigned fantasy:

Bauer. Twonk. Be careful what you wish for. The pinkest of the fantasies.

Brock. No Flying in the House. One of my very favorites. For slightly younger students. The small dog Gloria is so cute in the Wallace Tripp pictures. This one makes me sigh with pleasure as much as Edwards' Mandy.

Banks. The Farthest-Away Mountain, The Fairy Rebel. The first is a classic quest that is easier to follow than a lot of fantasy, and the second is a lot of fun. Both are popular.

Coddel. Diary of a Fairy Godmother. The sparkly cover sells this one, but I liked the idea that no one can live up to all expectations, and it's okay. (Young witch prefers not to be evil.)

Levine. Two Princesses of Bamarre. The story of the sisters appeals to girls who might not care otherwise about the fantasy.

4/27-- Pullman. Clockwork. Just a nice, vaguely creepy short book about some mechanical figures gone wrong. Reads like a long picture book.

Schanback. Princess From Another Planet. Does her mother have mental health issues, or is she really a Princess? Another fun and fairly pink entry.

Wrede. Dealing with Dragons. More traditional fantasy, but the story of a princess who is tired of staying in the palace and apprentices herself to a dragon has great appeal.

There are more, but it's early morning!

4/27-- Many thanks to Ronni for the comment. I had a student loan me his copy of Leven Thumps, but I couldn't get into it. The over-the-top nastiness at the start, and then the evil teacher, just did me in. When I thought about rereading it, I has too much of a nose wrinkle factor going on. (If I ask students if they might like something and I see a nose wrinkle, it's a no-go.) I reread a review, and it compared it to Michael Chabon's Summerland, which goes out once a year here. I WILL recommend this to my hard core fantasy reader, most of whom have cards for our local public library, which graciously delivers items. There is an audience for this, but too small of a one for inclusion in my library, I'm afraid.

Airball: My Life in Briefs (L.D. Harkrader)

Since I am always on the lookout for both basketball books AND funny books for boys, (there are not nearly enough written)this was a nice surprise. No bad language, just a great basketball story with underlying problem, and a problem more fun than most. Is Kirby's father the famous basketball player who comes to town, even though Kirby is not a good basketball player?

There is compelling evidence, but the book is so much fun that it doesn't matter. I thought the Stealth technology uniforms were very funny (think The Emperor's New Clothes) and while it almost went over the line of plausibility, it didn't. I can see that a team playing in their underwear would become more closely knit.

The boys will love this one. Clever language speeds the book along, and I've stated the rule before-- if I buy a book with underwear on the cover, it has to be good!

Got through Pike's Time Terror and Night of the Vampire, and am starting to find that I care what happens to Watch, Cindy and the rest. This must be why children like series so much. They are comfortable and familiar. My own children read all 54 Animorphs books and were big fans of the Magic Treehouse series. Note to college professors of children's literature-- it didn't hurt any of them!

Found two older titles that have not circulated well on the shelves-- Bonnie Pryor's Rats, Spiders and Love (1986) which is a very readable story about a girl whose mother might marry a man who will take them away from their home. The girl tries a variety of ways to get her mother interested in her teacher instead, but eventually comes to terms with the boyfriend. Easy to follow, this will go out if I suggest it.

I really liked Mary Frances Shura's The Josie Gambit, also from 1986, which has only gone out four time in 20 years. This is too bad. It is really a mystery-- why does the unhappy Tory seem to be the root of a lot of bad things going on-- and was fast paced and intriguing. Again, if I don't read all the books, how will I know what I should push? I was glad to find this one.

Lily B. on the Brink of Awesome

Lily B. has the freshest voice of any character I have read lately. She is perfect for middle school students, because she does what she wants to do is such a brash and forthright manner-- and suffers the consequences with such grace and humor. Had I had half of Lily's sense of self, my middle school years would have been far happier.

Lily B. first surfaced On the Brink of Cool; the second book is Lily B. on the Brink of Love, which I adored for the vocabulary list in the back. Lily is very smart-- just doesn't always think things through.

Lily B. on the Brink of Paris is the latest romp, and Lily gets into her usual trouble. I sighed with a huge amount of pleasure when I turned the last page, having saved the book for a Friday afternoon as a reward for a long week. Now, though, I want another, and I want it now! The girls in my library feel the same way. Great choice. Pink, but with attitude, which is the best kind of Pink!

Still More Pike and Pierce

I'm afraid these will be a bit boring for a couple of days. I'm finishing up Tamora Pierce, which I am liking, and Christopher Pike, which is just not my favorite stuff. I will admit that I have been checking out a lot of the Pike now that I am reading it. The Accelerated Reader tests are pretty easy.

4/25-- Master of Murder was a bit odd, but I think students will like it. High School student Marvin is secretly a best selling mystery writer, and conniving girl tries to get him to solve the murder of her boyfriend. Big difference between Spooksville and regular Pike. A lot of mature subject matter, but written in such a bald way it's not that offensive.


Did get lazy over the weekend and read Summer at Tiffany, a memoir by Marjorie Hart about the summer circa 1945 that she and her friend traveled from Iowa to work for the summer in the big city. Quite fun, but of little interest to the students.

When I get through enough Pike, I have Melissa Kantor's new book, The Breakup Bible waiting for me. Looks lovely and PINK!

Christopher Pike

Must first say that I am not a horror fan. Students, however, routinely ask for Stephen King (read Carrie and Thinner last year and was surprised at how silly and vulgar they were-- I really thought that King would be better than that and was disappointed)or "books where people get killed". If this didn't happen so often, I would be in the conselours' offices frequently. Instead, I send them to more psychological thrillers.

But now, I don't have to! I have Christopher Pike, who actually predates R.L. Stine by one year, since Slumber Party came out in 1985, and Blind Date, by Stine, came out in 1986. Stine is, however, the second most popular author in Germany, after J.K.Rowling. (Cornelia Funke is third.)

Didn't care for Final Friends: The Dance. Doesn't really matter that it is the second book in the series-- there's a long recap. Plenty of unpleasant things happen, but it's a very soap opera-ish book, with seemingly random things popping up in a distracting manner. Look! He's building a telescope! Look! She's at Planned Parenthood! No, someone's parents are divorcing.

I also had trouble with a homecoming dance a few weeks before Christmas, after a basketball game and in a tent. This must be set somewhere a lot warmer than Ohio.

Chain Letter will be popular with the students, since students pay for accidentally killing a man in a car accident with all sorts of blood and gore. These books tend to be a bit on the mature side, with drinking and kissing.

I'll continue my march through. Must admit that Overdue sounds intriguing.

Also read Pierce's Trickster's Queen. Took me much longer than usual to read, since I know that once I finish reading about Tortall, I probably won't get to go back and visit. I especially admire how Pierce makes me care about each new heroine she introduces. Alanna's daughter Aly is my new favorite!

Time in Tortall

I am well and truly hooked on Tamora Pierce, and her work has even left me with a new criterion for Good Books-- if I pretend to be the main character when I am doing the dishes or biking to work, it must be good. I haven't done that for years, probably since middle school, when I spent a whole lot of time being Anne of Green Gables. Not all of Kel's powers were useful in conquering the dreaded overdue slips, but it made the time pass more pleasantly. I've asked a lot of students and teachers if they ever pretended to be characters in a book, or worked themselves into new adventures in the book, and seems to be fairly common.

Felt a need to devote some space to putting the books in order. I think this is right:

Song of the Lioness
Alanna: The First Adventure
In the Hand of the Goddess
The Woman who Rides Like a Man
Lioness Rampant

The Immortals
Wild Magic
Wolf Speaker
Emperor Mage
Realm of the Gods

Protector of the Small
First Test
Page
Squire
Lady Knight

Trickster's Choice (About Aly, Alanna's daughter. Reading this now.)
Trickster's Queen

Then, I think
Terrier: Beka Cooper #1
Bloodhound: Beka Cooper #2

Whew. Enjoying these, but some of them are a bit on the long side! If I were 12, this would be a fabulous thing; since I am trying to read every book in the library, it's a mixed blessing!

Define "Normal"

Julie Anne Peters' Define Normal is a great addition to my list of depressing problem novels. Nice girl with good grades is to peer counsel black-lipstick-wearing-peer, Jazz. Jazz has some anger management issues, especially toward her mother. As the two get to know each other better, readers find that sometimes the good girls are the ones with the real problems. Hate to say more than that and ruin the plot, which has twists. Not the kind that make you scratch your head, but interesting, logical ones that surface in good time, thanks to sensitive writing. Not gushy or overly sentimental, this is another book that deftly describes the odds that some students need to face while trying to make it through school.

Especially appreciated that there was happiness in the ending, although not of the deus ex machina type. Happy endings require work and maintenance, just like happy endings do in real life.

Other good titles for problem novels-- Shelter, by Cooley; Rules of Survival, by Werlin; Wolfson's What I Call Life. I need to post my longer list before summer.

Forever in Blue

This fourth, and probably last, book in the Ann Brasheres' Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series was a little more mature than some of the others. This is difficult-- I want to have the series for the girls to finish, but it's a little much for 6th graders. Okay for 8th, since it's done in a sensitive manner.

Enjoyed, but must say that I can never, never keep the characters straight. There are four girls, and the story switches from one to another so frequently that I get confused. Still, a solid entry in the Pink genre.

Lola Douglas

Side Effects-- Koss

Loved Koss' Side Effects, about a teenage girl who has lymphoma and lives. The voice is fresh and irreverent, and so different from the other books about cancer. I had to laugh when the main character and her friend go to the library to look for books on cancer, and I got all of the references-- yeah, the one about the kid who gets superpowers because of chemo has never been my favorite either. This book doesn't pull any punches about how hard treatment for cancer is, but there is no self-pitying and whining, but no sanctimonious fighting-the-good-fight, either. Great book.

Another fairly new one-- John Attanas' Eddie and the Jets. Main character is 6th grader, and it's a standard football book with assorted problems (father leaves, friends fight), but easy to follow and moves along at a good pace. Bought this without reading it (had desperate need for football, basketball and war books), so thank the author for a well-done book.

Don't get Pinkwater. Just don't. Fat Men From Space left me cold. THere is some late 70's Monty Pythonesque quality that just never made sense to me, but I've never been a 12 year old boy, and that's the target audience. Did get Lizard Music off the shelves, and my son read Fat Men, so we'll see.

Paul Pitts' Racing the Sun (1988) was a surprisingly (okay, I'm having issues getting through all of the "P" authors-- haven't weeded there and am finding some moldy oldies) readable. Young Navajo boy whose family has decided to live off of the reservation and eschew traditional values has to host ailing grandfather. Nice generational tension, good resolution, interesting examination of culture and what it means to either embrace or reject it, and how there are indeed compromises to be made.

Finally, Alison's Houtte's Alligators, Old Mink and New Money: One Woman's Adventures in Vintage Clothing was just pure fun. I have a few vintage pieces I like to wear to work to amuse the students (most notably a polyester dress in pink, electric blue, lime, orange and hot pink paisley), but don't live the sort of lifestyle where I can pay more than five dollars for any article of clothing, so this was vicarious thrills. Sigh. My reward for making it through Pinkwater, I guess!

Too young, too old

Vera Propp's When the Soldiers were Gone was written from the point of view of an 8 year old who doesn't really know what is going on-- he's been living with another family to survive the Holocaust and is reluctant to go beack to his real family. This will check out to 8th graders who have to read a Holocaust book--it's 101 pages.

Mordecai Richler's Jacob Two-Two meets the Hooded Fang irritated me tremendously-- again, too young for my audience. Six year old goes to buy tomatoes, gets scared by the shopkeeper, falls asleep in the park and dreams that he is in a children's prison. Just didn't get into it at all.

Coburn's LoveSick is liberally sprinkled with the f-word, so there is no way I am going to buy it, no matter how interesting a story it is. Thanks, though, for using it on page one. That helps. I can stop reading.

Looked forward all day to Pierce's Wolf Speaker, but didn't like is as much as I thought I would. The print was really small. I think I was just tired.

Immortals, steroids and fried chicken...oh, my

Loved the Tamora Pierce Wild Magic. Great title. Follows the Alanna series and tells the story of Daine, who ends up working at the palace. Lots of action and adventure with fighting metal birds who are evil, and lots of magic. Now I know the order of the series. This is why I'm trying to read everything.

Eric Walter's Juice, an Orca book, is a slim volume about the fangers of steroid abuse, but will appeal to the lower level readers who want sports books but have read all the Matt Christopher. Easy to follow, good character development. I liked it a lot.

Not so much Maureen Fergus' Exploits of a Reluctant (but extremely goodlooking) Hero. Have to love the title and the cover (striped, with a chicken bucket), but it did not draw me in at all. The fact that every third paragraph is sectioned off with **** didn't help. Just to make sure it just didn't hit me on a bad day, I gave it to my son, who also was not impressed. We are blaming it on being a Canadian writer. What I learned (Juice was also from Canada)-- instead of 6th grade, they say Grade 6 in Canada. Who knew.

Assorted Spring Break Reading

Was oddly intrigued by Ritchie's Erin McEwan, Your Days Are Numbered, which was basically about a girl who struggled with math. She goes to work in a deli from which her mother was just fired, and learns a lot about business and practical applications of math. It was quite good. I'll recommend it.

Qualey's Thin Ice was a great mystery about a girl whose brother (who is her guardian after their parents' deaths) is thought to have been killed in an accident. She doesn't think he's dead and tries to prove it. Compelling.

Peck's The Teacher's Funeral was better than the more popular A Year Down Yonder. I liked the relationships in the family, and the struggles of the sister, Tansy, to teach school. Good historical novel.

Roberts' Jo and the Bandits was also a good one for students who need something historical. It was a bit of a mystery, a bit of comedy, and I enjoyed it. Her Girl with the Silver Eyes was science fiction enough for students who are assigned that, and problem novel enough for students who would like something else.

Phleger's Pilot Down, Presumed Dead was a GREAT survival tale of a pilot who crashes along the coast near Baja, California. He befriends a coyote and manages to survive by fishing. The details of survival were very specific, and there will be a lot of students who love Hatchet who will snap this up.

Pinkwater's Lizard Music was a bit odd, but then Fat Camp Commandos was not exactly mainstream. The only worry I have with this one is that it is dated-- many references to Walter Cronkite and Roger Mudd will confuse students. I will try this science fiction fantasy with comedic touches out on a few students.

Meredith Ann Pierce's The Woman Who Loved Reindeer was good high fantasy about a magic woman/healer who is trying to save several villages from instinction when the earth buckles and mountains spew lava, but the fact that she nursed the half reindeer/half human child and then fell in love with his just disturbed me. Still, fans of The Dark-Angel will like it.

More Tamora Pierce

Loved Alanna. Have several girls reading through this great series about a girl who wants to be a knight rather than go to a convent at all times.

The Circle of Magic series was somehow painful for me, which was a huge disappointment. Helps to know that one should read The Circle of Magic (Sandry's Book, Tris, Daja, Briar) and then The Circle Opens (Magic Steps, Street Magic, Cold Fire, one other I can't remember). There was somehow too much going on, too many characters to follow, and it somehoq diluted my interest in each one.

It was with great dread, then, that I picked up First Test, the first book in the Protector of the Small series, and with great glee that I put it down to pick up Page. Bother were excellent. Kel, a young girl from an interesting family, wants to become a knight ten years after Alanna. This time, the other students know she is a girl and give her a hard time. She triumphs, of course, in many ways. I must bring home the other two books tonight.

Seem to have missed something in between, with the Immortals series. All the books are checked out, and I am disappointed!

Rodman Philbrick

Freak the Mighty was an interesting problem novel about children with different abilities. Can't say it was terrific, but it was certainly painless and interesting. I think it is frequently used as a class novel. Will certainly haul it out for the problem novel unit.

Last Book in the Universe was sort of Fahrenheit 451-esque, but had more action and suspense. Have to love a book whose message is that everyone's life is a story yet to be written. Will get this out today to a student.

REM World didn't do as much for me. I think it is perhaps for slightly younger students. Fat child orders device that will make him thin in his sleep-- when he slips it on he goes into another world where he must save the universe from Nothingness. A bit Phantom Tollbooth-esque, and the pat ending-- where he is suddenly thin-- somehow took away from the story for me. Still, I think there is a reader or two out there for it.

Mark Harmon-- Skate

Got the copy I ordered the day after I read the public library copy. There was some language, but I liked the story. (From my catalog-Facing a disintegrating home life and trouble at school, teenager Ian McDermott runs away with his younger brother to Washington State in search of safety, justice, and their long-absent father.) Boy is is trying to keep things together at home (drug addicted mother, developmentally delayed brother, no food), and gets kicked out of school for a fit of violence provoked by rude teacher.

A friend of mine who generally dislikes fiction liked it. The first student I loaned it to liked it. My principal couldn't finish it because the principal in the book was so evil, which I hadn't considered, but he did say it was a fairly accurate description of the home life some students have. I found that I could remember a lot about the book even after time has passed, so it was memorable and effective. Well worth it. Just apologies to any principals!

Jeff Stone's Five Ancestors

Another hooray! Starting on the second book (Monkey) made it hard for me to follow the plot (some mentor is found to have killed student's father; revenge must be taken), but that's not why I liked the book. It's got action! Scurrying! Martial arts! An odd amount of spitting! And no talking animals! (I must have been laboring under the impression that the animals talked when I first saw this series, but a student recently mentioned it, so I checked it out.) It's clearly set in 1650 AD, which is so helpful when students have to read historical fiction and need to prove it to their teacher.

The best part about this book is that the chapters are short and things happen all the time. Chases, fights, general running about. Definitely getting the set, perhaps even in Bound-to-stay-bound, since the copy I borrowed is a Random House Gibraltar Bound, which might as well be called Marshmallow Bound for as well as they wear. Grrr.

Action packed historical fiction! I'm so happy!

Emako Blue

Thank you, Brenda Woods. I've had a lot of students looking for realistic fiction concerning African-American culture, and this was great. Sad, since Emako is killed by a drive by shooting, but most of the book is just about school and singing and friends, from different students' points of view. No language, well-written, very nice. A hard-to-find niche, or at least at the Westerville Public Library, where I try to get everything before I buy it for school.

Blackthorn Winter

Love the title, and Pale Phoenix was one I read a while back. Same author, Kathryn Reiss. I had been really enjoying this book about a California teen who is moved to a sleepy English village by her artist mother, but when the nasty local lady's death turns out to be murder, I thought "Whoa, I'm enjoying this because it reads like Sayers or Christie". Not sure whether the children will like it. Will try on my guinea pig children at home and put it on my list. It will probably be a good book for the girls who like books set in England, when they are forced to read mysteries.

Finished-- Ooh, a bit of a twist here, with some child neglect thrown in. Also a good chase scene at the end. Definitely buying. I enjoyed it too much!

Baby Sister

Another Marilyn Sachs title, from 1986. Didn't age as well as the others, but enjoyed an odd popularity a few years ago. Yes, people actually did make their own clothes, and girls did wear dresses. A lot. This was a fairly interesting read about a teenage girl living in the shadow of a dynamic older sister, but the fact that it ended with her happily planning a wedding to sister's exboyfriend somehow is just disturbing 21 years later. Good thing the mother is empowered and goes back to work.

Things have changed, haven't they?

Marily Sachs

First of all, congratulations to this author for having a web site! A lot of authors who have been in print for a while don't do this, and it is a huge help in getting students interested.

http://www.marilynsachs.com/

Lacking the concentration at the moment to figure out the different Tamora Pierce series (Loved Alanna, by the way. Loved a lot.), I took home a pile of Sachs' work as comfort reading. I was not disappointed. Veronica Ganz (still in print after almost 30 years) was worth reading, if only to ascertain that it is indeed historical fiction. Set during the Depression, it reads more like a fun modern story until the brother goes Christmas shopping with 15 cents! Will get this one out today.

Also liked Fourteen, which is not a surprise, since I swear I had the very same outfit when I was in high school, which is roughly contemporaneous with the publication date (1983). This one will go out as a "historical" pink book-- pink doesn't really change, although the cover fashions do. And it's serious pink-- new neighbor boy has some problems, and I loved the description about the mother being an author. Much fun.

Also liked Ghosts in the Family when I read it a while ago. There are quite a number of books by this author in the library, but I should probably go back to the "P" authors for a while.

Historical Success!

Alice Mead had a hit in my library with Adem's Cross, set in Kosovo in 1991. Boys like war books for some bizarre reason, so I try to get them books that do not in any way glorify war. Mead's Dawn and Dusk is another winner. Set in Iran in 1987, it involves a Kurdish boy whose father is an informer. This slim volume will appeal to many students, and the description of what it is like to have war as a part of your daily life makes it seem definitely unglamorous. I will check the other titles by this author.

Deborah Hopkinson's Into the Firestorm: A Novel of San Francisco, 1906 (and the title really does help-- I won't have teacher questioning whether or not it is historical!) was great. Several good things going for it-- the title, the cover, and the first couple of lines:
"Hey, kid. Get back here and empty your pockets."
Nicholas Dray whirled to see a burly policeman pointing a black club right at him. He froze in astonishment. This should not be happening.

Yes! This will make a child pick up the book! There is some discussion of how Nick got to San Francisco, having run away from the cotton fields after his grandmother died, but it's done in flashbacks that are interspersed with the excitement of San Francisco. Have several students in mind for this and can't wait to get a copy! This author also did Shutting Out the Sky:Life in the Tenements of New York which I liked. I'll have to check for others!

Quirky Dysfunctional

I check out about 200 books a day, and a lot of those are recommendations. When it's busy, I get about five words to describe a book. I have to be enthusiastic about it. This is why I'm picky. That, and the budget cuts. Books I buy have to be a sure thing.

It was clear that Mass's Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life would involve some philosophical navel-gazing, but what the kids can't get past is the first line: "My sweat smells like peanut butter." I thought the boys would find it amusing, but they didn't. Will pass.

Myers' Confessions from the Principal's Chair also sounded intriguing, but just didn't do it for me.

Quirky Dysfunctional that I liked:
Weeks. So B. It
Cassidy. Dizzy

Adam Selzer's How to Get Suspended and Influence People

I was fully prepared to hate this book. In fact, I am not quite sure why I even wanted to read it, since it was about a gifted student who was making a sex ed video for a class. The fact that the author looked 12 also gave me pause.

I loved this book.

Never mind the painful epiphany this morning that yeah, I should identify more with the parents. (Since my daughter is 13, I should, shouldn't I?). Not only will students want to read this because of the topic, the cartoon cover, and the great Danzigeresque title, it was a good book.

I'm still trying to stop reading Lenora Mattingly Weber (I'm on the 3rd Katie Rose book and can't stop), so you'd think that this book would have sent me into culture shock. I like how Booklist described it: "occasional cussing ("bullshit"), and mostly abstract references to sex."

Rather like Lynch's Slot Machine, this book walks along the line but never falls over. On page 68, Selzer even mentions "the f-word" which would cause his mother's "eyes to bug out, inless it was being said by someone with a British accent. For some reason, she found it less offensive coming from the British." Librarians everywhere are grateful. Like Mr. Streich, I just want to avoid a fight.

It was this sort of mastery of language and wit that made me chuckle every couple of pages. Not as laugh-out-loud-and-quote-to-my-family funny in the way that Sonnenblick is (and why are these young gentlemen channeling Paula with their titles?)but the humor is more pervasive. I loved the parents-- I collect cookbooks from the 50's and never thought of actually trying things like green bean and applesauce casseroles, even though it would be an excellent way to torture my children and I'm dissappointed that I never thought of it myself.

I liked the character development. Even Ms. Smollett wasn't completely evil, just evil enough to dislike. Of course, I can never let my son read this, because he will try to convince his teachers that he is a satanist.

Anymore and I will be gushing. There are not enough funny books for boys, so this made my day. Definitely buying this one and waiting eagerly for the sequel. Check out the author's web site at:
http://www.adamselzer.com

Weekend reading

Liked Krech's Rebound, and was grateful that as a basketball book that dealt with disappointment, racial relations, and general discontent, it was still completely appropriate.

Also liked McCormick's Sold, even though it was sort of in verse, but not really. Still, since it is about a girl sold into prostitution, may pass on buying.

Enjoyed Abbot's The Bridesmaid much more than I should have. Pink, fluffy, but ultimately satisfying. Won't ruin the ending for you, but it was much different from Cleary's Sister of the Bride. We've made some progress in 50 years.

Kadohata's Cracker didn't do it for me. Almost, but not quite. The boys who want books on Vietname are going to give up on this too quickly.

More Scott Westerfeld--Uglies!

Have to say-- Westerfeld is a super new author. All of his books have been going out wildly, and his Uglies, Pretties and Specials books are never, ever in.

I should have guessed at their success when my daughter wanted Uglies at the book fair. Okay. Read it, intriguing enough. A futuristic society where everyone gets cosmetic surgery at 16. Sort of Harrison Bergeron-esque.

However, there is a group of normally reluctant readers--GIRLS-- to whom it would never occur to me to recommend sci fi who are devoring them. One a night. And these are long books. I will have to wait for the summer to finish the series, because they are never on the shelf.

Got a lovely comment (thank you) that I should read Peeps. How could I not have mentioned that? Peeps is great stuff, although not for the faint of stomach! Based on the idea that vampirism is caused by a parasite that is transmitted by kissing and cats and can drive most people insane, it jumps right into a great adventure complete with great ugly worms boiling up from the bowels of the earth. A little romance, way too much information about parasites (NEVER go swimming in a tropical river. NEVER.), and general saving the world. As I said, Last Days (the sequel) is a little confusing at first, but makes sense in the end. Both are must reads!

The Midnighters Trilogy is also good, and involves kicking some supernatural evil rumps, which you have to love. Need to read books 2 and 3.

So Yesterday also checks out well. Pales in comparison to everything else, but a good mystery.

In short, the Westerfeld section in my library is always pretty empty! Makes my job much, much easier!!

Too old/Too young

The Philip Pullman "His Dark Materials" trilogy goes out well, even though the talking killer polar bears didn't do much for me. I think that "The Firework-Maker's Daughter" is too young for my group. Cartoony pictures even though the story isn't really funny, combined with random silliness (The Norwegian National Comdey Cowbell Players? What?)just didn't do it for me. For silliness to work in middle school, it must be very purposeful and more ongoing. Captain Underpants, for example. By 8th grade, children tend to lose patience with silliness. But a fine book-- just not for my age group.

Then, there was McGhee's "All Rivers Flow to the Sea" which was too old. Or too artistic. A moving story about a girl trying to get back to her regularly scheduled life after her sister is severely disabled in an accident, it is more about emotions than action, and my number one complaint about books is "Nothing happens." Newbery worthy, perhaps, but I will pass.

Working on Cynthia Leitich Smith's "Tantalize". I'm not sure how I feel about it. May be like "Twilight"-- I'm too old. Vampire romances don't do it for me, although this book, while good, is feeling a bit disorganized for me to get into it. I am giving it to a couple of students to see what they think.

Willo Davis Roberts

This prolific author died in 2002, and is sorely missed. Her book Don't Hurt Laurie is the single most popular book about child abuse that I have, and well-done, too. Last night I read her A View From the Cherry Tree, which is a fast-paced mystery with lots going on. I think that boys who normally read comedy would like this, although it isn't really funny. Nightmare is good for the older students, especially boys, and involves a road trip and someone stalking the main character. Megan's Island was really good-- the title doesn't really suggest a mystery, but I think that this one will be very popular. All of these titles will be off of the shelves today, I know!

Did not much care for Birdsall's Notes From a Near Life Experience, or Jonsberg's Am I Right or Am I Right. Both fell under the quirky/dysfunctional category and were sort of drab and depressing, belying their bright covers. Quirky dysfunctional is hard going for me under the best of circumstances, the main exception to this being Sarah Weeks' So B. It, which is quite wonderful.

Are kids books boring?

Okay, already said that Rick Riordan is a demi-god, and this is further proof:

http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/2007/01/are-kids-books-boring.html

Must quote from the above web site(I hope this is okay) because it is spot on what I have been thinking recently (mainly about the Newbery Award):

"There are relevant, haunting, wonderfully written books that appeal to adults but are simply not kid-friendly, even if they are labeled as kids' books. The major award lists are mostly populated by books like this. Visit any English classroom in the country and you will find these books being taught in the curriculum, because the teachers love them (or more often, the teachers don't have time to read them, but the books are on a literary award list, and so they must be safe choices)."

The old "contemplate-our-navel" school of thought. Oddly enough, middle school students are less interested in contemplating their navels than tenured professors are. Not that I'm at all bitter about tenured professors.

The Geography Club

Brent Hartinger is a nice guy. He is active with AS IF and very nicely answered some questions that I had. That is a marvelous resource for a librarian-- to actually have contact with people who write the books I am pushing!

I was glad that I liked his book, The Geography Club. It is more of a high school book than a middle school book, (drinking, dating, other situations) so I don't think I will buy it, but I will make sure that I read other books by this author. I liked his style, because it seemed very realistic, and I was greatly informed by his topic, which was about a high school boy who is gay. It wasn't sensational, but very matter of fact in its tone. It was fun to read. Since I can't travel everywhere or be everyone in the world, I like to read about places and people who are different.

The only bad thing I would say about this book was that the use of the f word was a bit gratuitous, at least in one scene. We know that the girl is drunk and obnoxious without her using the language. Other than that, I loved his descriptions-- I have already given the book to a student or I would quote them. Definitely an author to watch. I feel like I have learned a lot from both the book and the author.

Tamora Pierce

Well, finally figured out why it's taken me months to get through Magic Steps; while it is the first in the Circle Opens series, I needed to read the Circle of Magic series first. I was not understanding the whole weaving magic thing, and so was not interested in the book, which was such a shock, since I loved Alanna.

This is why it's important to have a librarian around to tell students "Yes, it matters that you read these in order," or "Read these in whatever order you would like" !

Robert Newton Peck

The Soup books have been popular among students who need historical fiction they can finish in two days. A couple of the students even came and said "I really liked that; are you sure it was historicla fiction?" That always makes me smile.

The King's Iron is definitely historical. Lenghthy and with enough period dialogue to make me pause, it is an interesting story about several men involved in moving a large canon from Fort Ticonderoga. The more interesting story is that of the men-- one a young Native American, once a disgraced Virginian from a good home, one an old trapper. Would I have bought this one? Probably not. But since it's been on the shelves for thirty years, I will keep it. There is a fair amount of bawdiness and violence hidden among all of the history, not unlike Dumas' The Three Musketeers. The Revolutionary War is in our curriculum.

Continuing Guilt/Rosemary Graham

Rosemary Graham can be pleased that I ordered her book Thou Shalt Not Dump the Skater Dude without having read it, on the recommendation of one of my students who swore to me that there was no bad language or people engaging in "take home exams for 8th grade health class", even though I hadn't bought the Hippie Hotel book, with the excuse of quirky/dysfunctional. I'm liking the Ellen Confordesque titles, though, and figure that this woman has to be about my age.(I'm about 42, I think.)

I also liked the book, when it came back into the library long enough for me to take it home to read. It was the highlight of the week. I will give it the ultimate compliment-- it reminded me slightly of Beany Malone. This winter, I want all books to be Beany Malone.

Now the guilt part-- I came across this essay by her and agreed:
http://notsoterrible.blogspot.com/2005/11/its-only-pink-on-outside.html

I don't like the term Chick Lit. Chick is derogatory. I can't see it as anything else. But pink, now. I use the term pink. A lot. It's short. When I have a line of 15 children who all want a recommendation, and the rounder is empty except for 30 year old books I am trying to push, I need to know from them ONE WORD about what they want. War? Sports? Vampires? History? Books-about-strong-girls-who-nonetheless-want-to-attract-the-boy? No, we use the term Pink.

What else to use? How else to categorize the plethora of issues facing teenage girls? SureBeany cared about how she looked in that horrible beige dress that her friend Dulcie made for her, but she also worked at Lilac Way and tried to help those girls better themselves. She was a good, hardworking, frugal person, who also wanted to turn Carlton's head. (And marry him after dropping out of college, and pop out two kids by the time she was 23, but this was 1960. Also why I don't actually have those books in the library.)

Until I find another solution, I am going to continue the use of Pink. We will embrace the pink. We will make it not a pale, vapid pink (like Beany's other formal, the one she had to wear with the amethyst broach), but a hot, powerful, in-your-face pink (Like the cover of Graham's book) that says "we are women, we are strong, and we don't want to be boys-- we want to be sucessful females".

That's really the best I can do at 6:30, awash in guilt as I am.

Newbery Winners/ The Higher Power of Lucky

You knew that eventually I would have to weigh in on The Higher Power of Lucky. In the end, I decided that it was too young for my audience.

It's almost worth buying just for the flurry of controversy it has caused over the first five pages and the use of the word scrotum so many times. (And it was a noticeable number of times.) I read a review somewhere that perhaps the author used the word to push the envelope, etc. Nonsense. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. It was what the story demanded. I don't believe there was some ulterior motive in using the word; however, anyone who has worked with ten-year-olds might guess that if they even knew what the word meant, they would giggle.

I'm not buying the book because it was, like sooooo many Newbery winners, a bildungsroman about a quirky/dysfunctional young person who blah blah blah. Like Criss Cross last year. Nothing happens. Just doesn't. It's about feelings and personal growth. Why, on earth, the people on the committe think this is something children would like, I don't know. I suspect they don't think of books as something to recommend to children. They think of them as literature.

And this, I think, is the source of my guilt. If I can't get a book into a child's hand and have that child like it, it is a useless book to me. Serves no purpose. If I recommend a book to a child and that child brings it back later in the day because it didn't draw their attention, they trust me just a little less. (Case in point-- my best friend's librarian in high school swore by I am the Cheese. My friend hated it, and didn't ask for many recommendations because of it. ) Yes, I would like children to make up their own minds, to discover books in the stacks, but the truth is, often they stare at the shelves and have no idea what they want. They look so relieved when I hand them something that sounds good. And then they read.

They won't be reading a bunch of the Newbery books. I refuse to buy them just because they won awards, and if the committee keeps going the way it has been, I will start to avoid medal winners. And really, any book that talks that much about a dog's scrotum. Just not that interesting.

No luck, but lots of guilt.

I want to buy every book I read. Well, I want to WANT to buy every book I read, but I don't, and I feel guilty. Goodness knows that I couldn't write a book. Having a book published is a triumph. But I can't buy everything, and I can't recommend everything, and I want my students to know why. This blog is mainly for them and their parents.

I need books that 1) fit the curriculum, 2) are something students ask for and 3) are so good that I can enjoy them even if they are about topics I don't want to read about. If they don't fit into a couple of those, I can't buy them.

So, I won't be getting Paratore's The Cupid Chronicles. It is relentlessly pink, but somehow not engaging. I was not drawn into The Wedding Planner's Daughter, either.

Pullman's The Ruby and the Smoke, a Victorian Adventure, would have been great if a boy were the main character, but I don't have students who would check this out, and I think it may be out of print anyway.

Hearn's Sign of the Raven was promising, but started with too many details about the mother's cancer and visiting the grandmother-- I have a lot of books returned the same day they are checked out, and the main reason is that they start slowly. Doesn't matter if they get better-- that slow start is a killer.

I liked Jones' Standing Against the Wind. May buy this one. An inner city girl strives to get into a boarding school so that she can improve her lot in life. The only thing lacking here is an audience. I will think about this one.

Cupid (Lester), A Pickpocket's Tale (Schwabach)

Thought A Pickpocket's Tale was interesting and well-written (even the use of dialect didn't bother me as it usually does-- there was a very clear gloassaray in the back), but it is an odd period in history (1730 London and New York), so I think I'm going to pass. It just wouldn't get the readership here.

Lester's Cupid was an interesting story, but the style seemed inconsistent with the subject matter, and I'm just not sure. There is a huge interest in mythological tales, so I will probably buy it eventually, but I didn't like it as much as something like Stephanie Spinner's Quiver.

Simon Cheshire- The Prince and the Showgirl

I was looking at this for my 8th grade boys who really want to read romances, but I was not able to sell it to them. I thought it started out well, but I lost interest when they started to ski. The boys I showed it to thought it looked too young for them, and that's the big thing. Even if I thought it was really good (I did enjoy the first chapters when the boy was doing his job imitating a prince), the boys still would not pick it up. Thought it was an especially nice touch that the boys job as a double was not to be Prince William, but someone fictional, so the book wouldn't date.

St. Iggy

LIKED IT: WILL BUY.Felt like this was damning with faint praise, but I'm really not.

Read this one because, and I quote the flap, it is about the sort of child my students wish to read "When Iggy Corso gets kicked out of high school, there's no one for him to tell. His mother has gone off, his father is stoned on the couch, and becuase the phone's been disconnected, even the social worker can't get through." Sounds good, but I did flinch when opening-- when would the bad words start?

Not until page 94. And there weren't that many, so they can be bowdlerized. (Sorry, AS IF.) I loved the voice. I loved the cadence of the words. It read beautifully. Iggy was born drug addicted, and his thoughts are in marvelous run on sentences, and his ADHD tendencies make him prone to disconnected outbursts.

He's not a good kid, but there are reasons, as stated above. But he wants to be better. He just doesn't know how. He tries, with the help of a friend and his mother (and who is more messed up, Iggy, or his friend with the "good" background?)

Ultimately, there is redemption, which I think most adults look for in this sort of cautionary tale, even though the ending confused me. I even reread it, but it was rather impressionistic, and it was late, and I read faster than I should have.

Heavy Metal and You

If there was ever a book for which I had high expectations, it was this book. I had a student last year who only wanted to read things about heavy metal music; very little is appropriate. I even wrote to a band (Metallica, perhaps?) to ask if the members could recommend books; they sent a nice sticker and an autographed post card, but could not send any titles the band members liked. So this book, by Christopher Krovatin (who, having been born in 1985, is six years younger than the vest I wore to work the other day), which was about a boy who liked a girl who did NOT like his lifestyle-- would he change, etc.-- sounded perfect. I even read through the TWO PAGE acknowledgements. Note to all authors: anything over two lines (in short: To Mom and Dad, who supported me in spite of heavy metal, and my friends, who supported me because of it) is not going to be read by the general populace. Put them in the back.

Line 8. That's how long he held off before he dropped the F-bomb. And not in a constructive, realistic way. No one was shot in the foot by a policeman. Just felt like swearing. To the girlfriend. And a few milder words, and then our old friend again on page 11. Combine that with constant name dropping of bands, which were so obscure that I couldn't tell if they would date quickly or not, and I gave up. It's too bad. With a little more adult supervision, this probably could have been a compelling book. You hit me with words the students are not allowed to say that early in the book, and there is no way I am going to bat for it.

E.R.Frank

Is America powerful? Yes. Would my students who like really sad abuse books like it? Yes. They would also like to read A Child Called It which I refuse to have. For one thing, there is the language, and for the second, there is the somewhat graphic scenes of sexual abuse (In America.) That's just not a call I want to field from a parent when a 6th grader checks it out when I am at lunch.

*Sigh*

Peeps: A Candy Coated Tale

Depressing Titles

William Durbin's The Darkest Evening, about a Finnish-American family that is recruited to move to Russia in the 1930's, is as depressing as you would think.

Kevin Brockmeier's The Brief History of the Dead was arty/adult stuff. My son just giggled at some of the passages. Very Artistic.

Jodi Picoult's The Pact was like a car wreck-- couldn't look away. Kept skimming just to find out what happened, but bleeeeeeah. I like happier things. Compelling, though.

Wolfson's What I Call Life

May have to buy this one, since it was such a good description of a positive foster care placement. It follows an 11 year old whose mother has an episode in the public library and ends up in the care of "The Knitting Lady", who has several other girls in her care, all with different issues. There is a second story line that the caregiver delivers a bit at a time, while telling stories to the girls, and it is oddly intriguing, especially figuring out early on that the lady is telling about her own, less than optimal childhood, as well as that of her mother.

All in all, very good. I will check it today with my "problem novel" readership to see if it is something that they would like, but it is nice to read some books that I end up enjoying. There have been so many lately that have just been bad.

More odd historical eras

Thought that Samurai Shortstop was a long shot. 1890s Japan, odd culture versus new. Boy playing baseball. Even had a good beginning (which was apparently written up in Nintendo Power) where the uncle commits ritual suicide instead of being executed. It then continued with a lot of school hazing and people being really mean to each other. Again, who is the audience. I'm going to have to pass.

Lisle's Black Duck almost made it, but it was very disorganized. It kept flipping back to a boy interviewing a man who may or may not have been a rum runner. It started well, with a newsclipping of a three rum runners being found, but switched to the interview. Got into the story, got exciting, then switched back. This happened so often that I lost any interest I would have had in the Prohibition Era, which was too bad. I wanted to take an Exacto knife to the book and just take out the boring parts. Again, not an era we study in middle school, so will pass.

Zevin's Elsewhere

After reading Shusterman's Everlost, my son picked this up, continuing on our "Views of Heaven" tour. When he finished, my younger daughter picked it up, laughed at some parts, and told me some was very sad. The impressive part there is that she finished it. In two days. She usually only reads the first three chapters of books.

Basically, Liz dies at 15 and goes to "Elsewhere". When she arrives, she stays with the grandmother she never met, and spends a while moping and watching the life she left on earth before settling down to a job and hanging out with friends.

Yes, in Elsewhere people have jobs and have to clean the house. I found that really depressing.

Liz finally becomes a conselour who matches dogs to people, and meets Owen, who has been pining for ten years for his wife. Since people age backwards, he and Liz are the same age.

Then it just gets sad and complicated. I don't want to wreck it (my older daughter is now reading it!) by saying too much. It was good. No question. But I can' t for the life of me think to whom I would recommend it. It's a girl book, and a fantasy. But it is too real life for people who want fantasy. Too sad for people who want romance; too happy for people who want sad. All in all, it's very deep and philosophical, and really, very mature.

In the end, loved it but am not going to buy it, even though it made me cry.

What are authors thinking?

Open note to all YA authors-- before you start on your next book, please talk to some actual young adults. Or even people who deal with young adults. If you can't bring yourself to do that, here are some things that I never have any students ask for: (At the bottom, what they DO ask for.)

Novels in verse: They'll check them out, but bring them back and ask what is wrong with the book, especially since most novels in verse aren't really in verse-- they are just chopped up prose. So I won't be buying Stone's A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl. Exception to this: Helen Frost can keep writing, but I'd stick to contemporary issues. Historical novels in verse are a hard sell, even when they are good.

Novels about inner city gang members-- AFTER exciting things happen.Rehabilitation and redemption are all good, but don't start there. It's not exciting. I was relieved when Pagliarulo's A Different Kind of Heat lapsed into curse words. I was bored. Start with the shooting, start with stuff leading up to the shooting, don't start with the therapy in the detention center.

Novels about little known points in history-- I'm all for slow moving, introspective historical novels set in places that the curriculum covers, like the Civil War. Or fast paced, exciting novels set during 1912 mill strikes. But Katherine Paterson picked the worst of all possible worlds with her Bread and Roses, Too. Good in theory, but it's not going to make children like historical fiction.

Novels about anyone who swears three times a page: Likes the idea of Gil's All Fright Diner, and I think it is an adult book, but still. Do we need that much bad language in a book about a vampire and a werewolf. No.

Novels where we don't even meet the main character for 30 pages, especially when the book is only 144 pages long. Abbott's Firegirl was a long shot, anyway-- few children ask for books about sensitive young men who help badly fire-disfigured classmates adjust to school-- but if I wanted to read about that, I don't want to wait that long to meet the classmate.

Novels about quirky dysfunctional people who are not quite able to change themselves. No one ever asks for quirky dysfunctional, and yet about 40% of young adult literature is about that sort of person. Stop already! I should have know from the title of Mark Peter Hughes' I am the Wallpaper that it would fall short, and it doesn't help to have a man write about a girl's struggles with adolescence. Other topics, sure. Just didn't work.

What students ask for: Basketball and football books about students who play the sport and have a few mundane issues in their lives. Notable NO: NO boys who like girls who are secretive about their lives because their mothers have lesbian partners. Just no. And not as much baseball.

Books that are exciting from the very beginning. Things happen. People go places. Cars get blown up. Not saying that people can't sit around and find the meaning of life in their navels (that's the only way to get a Newbery, after all), but have them do it in chapter four after they have sucessfully escaped the evil, drug dealing werewolf skateboard gang.

Girly pink books about fun stuff, with few problems. Problem novels where horrific things happen to children. Don't combine the two.

Humor books. Check humor with actual young adult.

And no quirky dysfunctional. Please.

Students Across the Seven Seas (S.A.S.S.)

How could I have forgotten to mention this series? They aren't as good as 13 Little Blue Envelopes, nothing could be, but if you need to travel to exotic locations (and this is February in Ohio, so I certainly do!), this is the way to do it. Each book features a girl in a different overseas study program. Most of the girls are not as happy as they should be, so I wanted to slap some of them, but in general, the chance to travel, plus some light romance, overrode the impulse.

Pink and fluffy is my favorite. None of these are great literature, but they are great fun!

Check out all of the titles at:

http://us.penguingroup.com/static/html/youngreaders/features-sass.html

Food Writing

I don't hate everything. Really. Loved Schlosser's Chew on This, an expose of the fast food industry. It had historical foundation, too, and even though it told you why fast food was not good for you, it didn't call it evil. Well, not in so many words. Definitely getting a copy of this. And letting my children read it.

Of course, one book I also bought was Kimmerle's Candy: A Sweet History. Very well done, lots of pictures but enough text, too. Half Priced Books had it and I got, well, just a few copies. I've been looking for something like this for a long time, and it was perfect. It might be out of print in hard cover, but it is an excellent addition to any collection above elementary school. And even then, my 3rd grader liked looking at the pictures.

Alfred C. Martino's Pinned

This was one very intense book about wrestling. Cutting weight, running until you puke-- wrestling in all its glory. I was riveted, however, and devastated when the ending... well, not to ruin it for the types who LIKE the lady-or-the-tiger endings, but I about screamed when the book ended at the beginning of the state champion meet. I was reading avidly to see if Bobby or Ivan won, and we never find out! Arg! Very good though. Too much sex for middle school-- Mr. Martino, put less in the next one and I'll buy it for the library!

More Scott Westerfeld

Read Last Days yesterday. Had to wonder what all of the rock band stuff was-- interesting and compellingly written, but shouldn't we be more concerned about the vampires? It all made sense in the end, and my only regret was that it ended too abruptly. I was enjoying it, and thought for sure that it would be all wrapped up in a third book, but no. Sigh. Good stuff, too. Wouldn't have minded a third.

Jordan Sonnenblick

Read Notes from a Midnight Driver and read so many passages aloud to my daughter that she had to read it, too. I don't know how this author (who also did Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie) can write what are essentially sad books and make them so funny.

This book is about a boy who makes the very bad decision to get drunk and try to drive his mother's car. Fortunately, he doesn't get any further than the neighbor's yard, but he has to serve community service time in a nursing home. This wouldn't be an intriguing plot to most students, but the book is written in such a delightful and funny way that it works. The cover doesn't hurt-- fun cartoon.

Also read Zarr's Story of a Girl, about a girl who makes a bad decision in 8th grade and spends the rest of her school career trying to get past it. The family is entirely dysfunctional. Good book, but too much information, as well as language issues, for middle school.

Not liking the new Blogger style. Can't italicize titles. Sorry.

Neal Shusterman

Everlost is my son's second favorite book. (First is Lubar's Flip. He likes reality based fantasy.) It is a complicated and textured account of what happens to well-loved places and children when they die and don't make it all the way to where they are going-- they go to Everlost, where they battle a variety of evils but ultimately reach redemption. It did take me a week of reading a bit at a time, but it was good. I am not a huge fantasy fan, which would explain my reluctance.

A similar book is one that two of my children have read but I haven't-- Zevin's Elsewhere. Looks promising, and my youngest asked for her own copy, which must indicate some quality.

Geraldine McCaughrean

While her Theseus, Odysseus, and many other titles were quite good, I think I will pass on Cyrano. While I enjoyed it, I can't see many students asking for a book of its type. Her others, especially Peter Pan in Scarlet, are all excellent.

Grisham's Bleachers

Always on the lookout for football books, I thought this adult work would be worth a try and was pleasantly surprised. Nothing objectionable, just a sentimental look at one coach's career through the eyes of his players. I had a student who liked it as well. I'll get a copy and look into more Grisham. Not even any bad language. I appreciate that. The students have liked it, too. Whew.

The Yearling vs. Hell Phone

The Yearling is a wonderful piece of classic literature. Award winning, in fact. And it bored me out of my skull. Is anything ever going to happen? Granted, has it been the only book that I had on me at the lake, it would have been great. However, when I am behind in my reading (a combination of too much quilting and Beany Malone novels), I don't want something leisurely.

This is why the children prefer something like William Sleator's Hell Phone. Would I want it to be the only book that I had with me when marooned on a desert island. No. But is it an interesting, fast paced, quick and dirty read. Yes. Which is why I recommend it and not The Yearling. I am enough of a librarian that this makes me feel bad; I am enough of a middle school teacher that it doesn't.

Dodie Smith

Even though we had four snow days, I didn't read much. Just some more Beany Malone books, plus I did a LOT of sewing.

Did read 101 Dalmatians, which was fun. Well-written, if a bit dated (it's Pongo and Missus; Perdita is the wet nurse dog). Children who have seen the movie will have no problem getting through this fun book.

The only other thing I read was Roux-Lough's The Fresh Air Kid, about a girl from the inner city who spends two weeks with a suburban family. A little hokey, but an easy read. I'll try to get it out to someone today, although with missing so much school, we have over 400 overdue books!

Michael Simmons

My PermaBound rep gave me a copy of Simmon's Vandal. I liked Pool Boy (13 Mar 2006) a lot, and Vandal was not a disappointment. Boy who sings in a KISS tribute band (and is appropriately arch about it) is terrorized by his older brother, who can't make a good decision to save his soul. Interesting depiction of how the family deals with this, and the ensuing tragedy. The end let me down a little because it didn't wrap anything up, but then, that's realism! Do recommend. Will look for other titles by this author.

Kathryn Reiss, etc.

Pale Phoenix (1994) was a good time travel/mystery/suspense book. It hasn't gone out a whole lot, but I think I can recommend it. It is also a nice, small size which makes it fun. I think I have a copy at home of Time Windows, also by this author, but not at school.

Also read Robert Kimmel Smith's Squeaky Wheel, and liked that. Fairly light story of boy struggling with the aftermath of his parents' divorce. Really liked this author's Jelly Belly.

Ann Rinaldi's Girl in Blue was a bit of a twist on the girl-disguising-herself-as-boy-to-go-to-war story; she gets found out three months in but then becomes a spy for Allan Pinkerton. That was great fun. Hard to go wrong with Ann Rinaldi. I've liked everything of hers that I've read, with the possible exception of The Coffin Quilt.

Rostkowski's The Best of Friends I will keep, since it is an interesting depiction of life during the Vietnam Conflict, but Peyton's Prove Yourself a Hero and Rodowsky's Sydney, Herself have to go. Not only were they boring, but they have stupid cover art. I'll try to get them out today, but I have my doubts. Nah. I would feel bad foisting them on students. That's a sure sign that it's time for something to be retired!

Sic transit Beany Malone

It snowed on Sunday, and I felt like hibernating. Instead, I hauled a stack of Lenora Mattingly Weber's Beany Malone books out and started reading. I don't know why these books still appeal to me so much. Written starting in 1943, they capture everyday family life in that era. The last one was published in the late 60s, and reading them all in quick succession can give one the bends (wait-- weren't we just in WWII?), but they are wonderful. Life isn't easy for Beany, but I always loved the way she perservered. I like the Katie Rose books as well; depending on how long the cold that settled in my head lasts, I may read those too.

The great philosophical debate is whether or not to let my 13 year old daughter read them. Lura Green has a great essay on this type of books, and includes the line "the nostalgia I felt for Jane's movie-and-a-coke dates was so intense it was as if they were something not that I had read about once, but that I had actually experienced and lost. " That pretty much describes what reading these books does to me.

What would they do to my daughter? Hmmm.

Bridge to Terebithia

So the question is: How did a book (1987) that has been used for years to help children come to terms with unexpected death suddenly become a fantasy where the children " battle the Dark Master for the salvation of the magical land they call Terabithia"?
http://movies.aol.com/movie/bridge-to-terabithia/25017/main

I had to reread this book after seeing a trailor for this version, because it seemed to bear no relationship to the book I remembered. Luckily, I have plenty of copies here in the library. I think some fantasy fans who grab it will be confused and disappointed; the book is concerned more with the running abilities and impoverished background of the main character, and with the death of his friend at the end. Hmmm.

Makes me wonder what they will do with Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate (1997), which has been much advertised, although there was enough blood, gore, and nudity in the book to make a Hollywood film without much problem.

Ann Rinaldi

If you have to pick up a historical fiction book, you can't go too far wrong with this author. I read Sarah's Ground last night, which was a very fascinating story about the real girl who was in charge of George Washington's house at Mount Vernon during the Civil War. And interesting mix of historical eras, with a little romance thrown in as well.

Other titles that I particularly liked-- Wolf by the Ears, about the purported children of Thomas Jefferson with one of his slaves, and Or Give Me Death, about the wife of Patrick Henry, who was mentally disturbed. The Quilt Trilogy is also worth picking up. Second Bend in the River, about a very young girl in early 1800s Ohio who has a crush on the much older Indian chief Tecumseh, was odd but good as well.

Usually these books cover the period from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War.

Maureen Johnson

Loved 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Bought my own copy. Have three here at the library; they are never on the shelf.

However, I haven't liked Johnson's other books. Very disappointed. The Key to the Golden Firebird, although I liked the cover art, started in with ... don't even remember, so it didn't pull me right in, and then articles of clothing started being removed and undergarments were mentioned by name, so I stopped reading. I'm sure this will increase the circulation of this book at the public library, but I'm not buying a copy.

The Bermudez Triangle started out pretty well-- teens with summer jobs and at camp-- but when the main character got back from camp and found out that her two BFF's were, um, dating, I decided that I would pass on this title as well. I don't ever have students who come in and ask for books with those circumstances.

Devilish I will buy, even though it wasn't as good as Envelopes. Girl as private school finds out that her somewhat geeky best friend has sold her soul to a demon in exchange for a somewhat better life. Girl offers her soul instead; complications ensue. I am thinking that a sequel is in the offing. Demons always sell well, and it is certainly much less gory than Darren Shan's Lord Loss.

If you want to find out more about this author, whose good book is so wonderful that you must read it, check out her website at
http://www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com

I will read Girl at Sea when I can find it!

Why new books are better than old books

First, I don't really believe this on a personal level. I collect teen fiction from the 1950s, but it's hard to get students to check out old books. I have a shelf that I set books on for students to grab quickly, and All Alone in the Universe by Lynne Rae Perkins has been sitting there for two weeks. It's not that old (1999), but there's something about it that the students don't like.

Then there's the book I read last night, David and Max by Provost. Cheesy cartoony cover art. (There is a whole day that could be spent on why Richard Cuffari's illustrations doom a book, although I personally like them.) Previous slight water damage that made the book crinkle alarmingly when I opened it. Nearly twenty years, 9 times out of the library. Could spend the whole day recommending this book, and it would still sit here. The story is perfectly good. I enjoyed it. But nothing really happened. Boy's grandfather, who lived through the Holocaust, thinks he finds a friend with whom he grew up but who was thought to have perished.

It makes me sad. Are my students just spoiled? How many books from the 1950s did I read when I was in middle school? None. Well, other than Beany Malone. And I was a huge L.M. Montgomery and Alcott fan. But I read Paula Danziger and Richard Peck and authors that were fairly new at the time. That is the way the world works, I guess. I am not an archive. I fear that if these two books aren't going to circulate here, they are going to have to be on their way to different homes where they might be more appreciated. **Sigh**

Cathy Cassidy, my new favorite author!

Adored Dizzy. Had to buy a second copy, the first one is out so much. Read Indigo Blue (10/20/2006) from the public library, and liked it so much that I ordered Scarlett sight unseen, which I try not to do. I was not disappointed. Not only did it have a pretty, shiny cover, but it was a great story about blended families, teenagers who are creating their own rough times and not quite able to stop doing it, AND an "exotic local" (Irish countryside). I don't think any of these books ever get shelved-- they go out when I am still waiting to check them back in.

I wrote to Ms. Cassidy, sending her a filled-up circulation card, and she was wonderfully kind and sent me a copy of Driftwood, which isn't available in the US! I will be sending it to the rebindery for a nice hard cover, because it was an excellent story about, well, about a lot of things. The foster child's difficulties in adjustment and being bullied at school are quite timely, the romances are intriguing, and the whole book just made me sigh. I have a line of 8th grade girls who are demanding they be lent the book before they move on to high school.

The only problem I have with these books is that, like Julie Edwards' Mandy, they seem to have an indefinable quality that makes them appealing. I love them, but find it hard to express just why. Luckily, most of my students will accept this, and check the book out. There's just no brief "hook" I can use to describe them, which, considering I get children to check out Paul Zindel's Reef of Death by telling them I stopped reading it after the man's legs were bitten off and I couldn't stand it anymore, might not be a bad thing!

The natives are restless. Must go check out books. This is the other reason I have not been able to muster coherent thought to post.

Teenreads.com ROCKS!!!

I use Teenerads.com rather extensively for reading reviews, and one early morning I entered a contest (had to pick five books you would give as gifts or somesuch), and I WON one of the five gift baskets (randomly picked, not because of my exquisiste prose!). It has hot cocoa mix, socks, candy, a gingerbread house kit (why do people even try to eat those? Bleargh.), a candle, etc. and ten BOOKS! I got to read Pretty Little Liars, which was intriguing but not appropriate for middle school, Hattie Big Sky, which was a great historical/survival novel, and Lenhard's second Chicks with Sticks, which I liked even better than the first one. I figure that since actual teenagers will be reading the books and benefitting from them, it's not really cheating that I won. It just said you had to be over 13, and I'm certainly way over 13!

Fablehaven

A student (who also loaned me Leven Thumps, which I could NOT get through) loaned me Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. I was a little apprehensive, but it sucked me right in. Didn't help that it bore some resemblance to my aborted fantasy novel that no one would want to read (the world really does not need any more YA fantasy novels, unless they involve football playing werewolves, but I've said that before), but I did enjoy it. I wanted to smack the main character who insisted on going into the woods when his grandfather TOLD him bad things would happen, but the plot wouldn't have gone forward quite as nicely.

If I'm finding small things to nit pick about, I must have liked it. The web site (fablehaven.com) is cool, but not complete yet.

Melody Carlson

The 7th grade girls Looooooove problem novels. They especially want drugs! Abuse! Makes for much cheery reading. However, most books of this sort are more than disturbing, which is why I went ahead and ordered several of the "Color Me" series by Melody Carlson without reading them. She is a Christian author, which can get really annoying. Color Me Silver was not too bad, but Faded Denim sent the quasi-anorexic main character to a church camp and it got preachy and boring. Haven't worked my way through the other ones, though. On the plus side, she lists resources for help at the back, and there are no objectionable scenes-- well, no gratuitous nudity or swearing.

Speaking of just plain gratuitous, I finished Peyton's Darkling last night, which was a prefectly serviceable story about a girl from an impoverished family who gets a horse and manages to race it, and buried deep in the middle she has a semigraphic fling with the neighbor boy! Not bad enough to remove, but rather a shock.

Pierce and Pfeffer

Read The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce and it was not as bad as I thought. The girls who are liking Meyers' Twilight and can handle higher fantasy will enjoy this. A slave girl whose mistress is stolen by an almost-vampire is also kidnapped and forced to serve his wives and gargoyles. Inexplicably, she falls in love with him and attempts to save him after saving his wives. The author was 23 when she wrote this, which explained, for me, the slight oddity of the prose. Not my cup of tea, but fairly well done, and the students will like it. Working on the sequel-- A Gathering of Gargoyles.

Also read Kid Power, by Susan Beth Pfeffer, which I enjoyed. Light, realistic fiction about a girl who wants to earn money to by a bicycle and sets up an odd jobs business to do so. Even though this was written in 1977, I think it translates well. I'm dusting it off and pushing it!