Does Anyone See A Problem?

Love Percy Jackson. Love that they made a movie of the book (even though they changed lots of stuff...whatev). Love the whole thing. Just want to say that first.

<--This is a poster that being sold by the American Library Association. But there is a problem with this poster. Percy is dyslexic (this has to do with his demi-god status because his mind was designed to read only ancient Greek. Isn't that cool!? What if you were designed to read some language!? Just really great!). So Percy is a great hero but he isn't a reader in the normal sense because what he can read is ancient Greek and there aren't too many books published in ancient Greek.

Do you see the problem? Yeah. The sign should say, "The Greatest Heroes are Great Reads."

Oh well. The advertising folk tried to be cool. What more can they do? I don't know, maybe read the book?

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner

Grades: 6+

The Red Necklace is the story of Yann, a gypsy boy with the ability to read minds, and Sido, the daughter of a bankrupt nobleman. If either are going to survive the French Revolution they are going to need one another.

The power of gypsy magic was a well-accepted fact of the time period and the inclusion of the paranormal does not distract from the historical context of the novel, but actually adds to the dangerous and unpredictable atmosphere of the times. Gardner does an overall excellent job of depicting the Reign of Terror.

The night that Yann and Sido first meet, Yann is working as a magician's apprentice, putting on a show for Sido's father other members of the French aristocracy, including the sinister Count Kalliovski. When the magician is murdered by Kalliovski, Sido shows unexpected courage in helping Yann escape a similar fate.

Years pass before Yann has a chance to repay the favor. Sido, like all French aristocracy, is in danger of the raging passions from the hoi polloi, and also from an impending marriage to Count Kalliovski, a fate that is perhaps worse than death. Can Yann rescue Sido from both the guillotine and one of the most merciless men on the planet?

Gardner is successful in crafting a strong hero in Yann and villain in the Marquis de Villeduval, Sido's father and Count Kalliovski. Marvelous historical fiction set during the French Revolution. What more could you want when a novel contains mystery, romance, a magician, an orphan, a dwarf, an automotan and evil incarnate?

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible By A.J. Jacobs

Grades: 9-12
From the bestselling author of The Know-It-All comes a fascinating and timely exploration of religion and the Bible.

Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments etc. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes.

Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally and he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain. Jacobs's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges.

I was really surprised I liked this book. I feel like even though Jacobs is a proclaimed agnostic he really gives the "Good Book" fair treatment.

Thou shalt not be able to put it down.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Grades 8+

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but finds it hard to understand other people. When he discovers the suspicious death of a neighbourhood dog, he decides to solve the mystery and write a detective thriller about it. As in all good detective stories, however, the more he unearths, the deeper the mystery gets–for both Christopher and the rest of his family.

Autism is purportedly on the rise although the cause is not really known. People with autism, mild to severe, can be difficult to understand. The story explains some behaviors and gives a thought process to this boy's adventure.

This is a very exciting book and is just good.

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Grades 4+
For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a "savvy"--a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. The story starts on the eve of Mibs's 13th birthday. But when Mib's father is in an accident, Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital. So she sneaks onto a salesman's bus . . . only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up--and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.

This is a very interesting premise. I really like the Beaumont family. Everyone knows that there is something not quite right but of course, no one will ever guess that the Beaumonts have special powers. I also like the family because even though their situation is extraordinary, they act like a real family. There are little inside jokes, fights, and all that stuff that happens in a family--they just keep a different kind of secret.

The Beaumont family, even with it's oddities(Mibs' brother name is Fish!), when juxtaposed with other familes, are doing just fine. Maybe even better than fine. They care about one another and support one another. I would rather be weird, than have a family that doesn't really love me.

I love the premise of the book and the cover art doesn't hurt either. Isn't it a good picture?

Masquerade (Blue Bloods, #2) by Melissa De La Cruz

Schuyler Van Alen is starting to get more comfortable with her new found vampire powers, but she still has many unanswered questions. Meanwhile, back in New York, preparations are feverishly underway for the famous Four Hundred Ball. In true Blue Blood fashion, the ball is totally fab, complete with masks, and hidden behind this masquerade is a revelation that will change the course of a young vampire's destiny.

This is the second book in the Blue Blood series about vampires with a different folklore. It is strange that there are new "theories" about vampirism so late in the game. I mean, the idea has been around for a while, but it is refreshing that we don't get the same sparkly picture that Stephenie Meyer paints. Variety is always welcome.

I really like this series ::looks slight ashamed::. It is fun and the snarky antagonist named Mimi Force, is so fun to read. Mimi is just someone you have in your life that you hate and feel totally justified in it. Mimi is a name for a person destined to be the alpha female in a group who will totally bite your head off for wearing that shirt with those pants ! Love it.

Although, as I read more of the series the mystery starts to wear off. The same thing happened to me when I read Harry Potter. As Harry becomes more familiar with his new environment there are not as many surprises. I really enjoy being enveloped in a new culture and trying to figure out what is going on. But that is not to say there is no mystery at all. We still don't know what is going to happen or what the silver bloods are up to. Very intriguing!

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Conor

This book started out very depressing. Then it progressed to really depressing. But then, there was a happy ending.

Addison, also called Addy, is a 12 year old girl. She is very optimistic and makes the best of her situation which is her mother is crazy, her father is dead, and her step father who loves her and wants to take care of her can't get legal custody.

I loved Addison. At first, I didn't want to finish this book because it just seemed too depressing. But after I read about 50 pages, I fell in love with Addy. She is strong, caring, and loving. She is a wonderful person and so much better than her circumstances.

I am not so much an optimistic person. Could I have survived? Would the author have been able to write a happy ending if the main character was Ms. Librarian? I kept on worrying that everything was going to go wrong and I had to keep reading to make sure Addy was alright. I read this book in 1 day and in 2 sittings (I sat down and read 25 pages and then came back to it and finished the book). It was a delicious satisfying read!

This book reads very much like The Higher Power of Lucky so if you liked that book you should give it a try!