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!

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

I admit that I haven't quite finished the book yet. But this is my take so far.

So this kid, Cameron, is kinda a stoner and a loser even though his perfect sister is, well, perfect. Things get worse when after an outburst at school poor Cameron is diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Yep, poor Cameron is going bovine with Mad Cow Disease. Basically, his brain is getting spongy--you can imagine the outcome, but you don't have to because Libba tells us all about it.

After possibly hallucinating an "angel" Cameron goes on a road trip with the hypochondriac little person (dwarf? I am not sure what is the PC description) named Gonzo who shares his hospital room and who Cameron saw a couple times at school.

They traipse all around the country looking for Mr. X. And I have to say, thus far I am concerned about Cameron and Gonzo's safety. Apart from Gonzo who is in the hospital all the time because he and his mother always imagine illnesses, people are generally in the hospital for a reason. I mean Cameron's brain is turning to mush and he is riding buses from Texas to New Orleans to Flordia. It just doesn't seem like a safe environment or one condusive to regaining health.

Okay. Aside from that the book is really funny. Cameran talks like a normal teenager--actually, like a really funny teenager. You hear his inner monologue and it is just funny. I feel like I know people who think and act like him. He thinks his parents are annoying (when really, to this reader they seem normal and concerned). He cusses. He hates his job, ironically flipping burgers. He has a crush on a cute girl at school. Normal kid.

*UPDATE*
I have finished the book...I hate to say it but I didn't like it. I felt like it needed a good editing to reduce the novel by AT LEAST 100 pages.

Did anyone feel differently?

The Pox Party (The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, #1) by M.T. Anderson

It is a very strange storyline. Octavian is a slave in 18th century America but he is not a slave the way generally understand the word. He is a boy dressed in silks and white wigs and given the finest education, raised by a group of rational philosophers known only by numbers. But as Octavian grows up he begins to realize that he is an experiment and begins to find shaming evidence that he and his mother are not always treated as equals. Everything would have remained the same until the house of scholars changes hands and the new master is not so kind to Octavian and his mother. When the disquiet of Revolution reaches Boston, everything changes.

The title comes from an interesting practice held among the rich during this time. Small pox was the scourge in the cities. People were dying. In a immunization-like fashion, people would gather as if to attend a party, purposely expose themselves to the pox, and then hang out and wait around for people to get sick. With the plague being monitored and only being exposed to small amounts of the pox, it was thought that people would have more of a chance to live. The smart thing was, that once exposed to the pox, you are immune. This is described in more detail in the book.

Historically and emotionally this is a very curious and interesting book. We have a Black narator/protagonist telling us a story about being a slave before we really think about slavery. I feel conflicted about the way Octavian is treated. At first he is very well cared for and but on the other hand, he is a SCIENCE EXPERIMENT! That is just so degrating that I can't reconsile the care put into the "project." There are so many interesting discussion points.

This is the first in a series and I really wonder where it is all going.

So you like the Lightning Thief???

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is an incredibly popular book. To prove that fact it is being made a movie:



Now if you haven't read the books yet...you should probably do that. Time is running out before the movie sweeps in and ruins everything! You *KNOW* it is always better to read the book first and then watch the movie!

If you have read the book you are probabaly needing something else to read. Fear not! There is always something good to read. Here is a list of books to read if you liked Percy Jackson. Enjoy!

Myth
Psyche in a Dress by Block, Francesca Lia; YAFic Blo
Odysseus: Escaping Poseidon’s Curse by Jolly, Kan; YAFic Joll
Skulduggery Pleasant by Landy, Derek; JFic Land
The One Eyed Giant by Osborne, Mary Pope; Juv883 Home
The Land of the Dead by Osborne, Mary Pope; Juv883 Home
Sirens and Sea Monsters by Osborne, Mary Pope; Juv883 Home
Sirena by Napoli, Donna Jo; YAFic Napo
Quiver by Spinner, Stephanie; YAFic Spinn
The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Yancey, Richard; YAFic Yance
Humor
Artemis Fowl by Colfer, Eoin; YAFic Colf
Gregor The Overlander by Collins, Suzanne; JFic Coll
Once Upon a Marigold by Ferris, Jean; JFic Ferr
The Lovesick Salesman by Gray, Margaret; JFic Gray
Owl in Love by Kindl, Patrice; YAFic Kind
Larklight by Reeve, Philip; JFic Reev
Alcatraz Verses the Evil Librarians by Sanderson, Brandon; JFic Sand
The Alchemyst by Scott, Michael; YAFic Scott
Adventure and Fantasy
Dark Hills Divide by Carman, Patrick; JFic Carm
The Warrior Heir by Chima, Cinda Williams; YAFic Chima
Hunger Games by Collins, Suzanne; YAFic Coll
The Dark is Rising by Cooper, Susan; JFic Coop
City of Ember by DuPrau, Jeanne; JFic DuPr
Sea of Trolls by Farmer, Nancy; JFic Farm
Magyk by Sage, Angie; JFic Sage

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One winter when Grace was young she was dragged of her tire swing and nearly killed her. Yet, one yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human ... until the cold makes him shift back again. In short, he is a werewolf. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

This is a paranormal/supernatural romance for teens that reads (somewhat) like Twilight. In fact, liked it more than Twilight. The characters take turns narrating the chapters so you get to hear both sides of the story. I totally fell in love with Sam during those chapters he narrated. He is so much cuter and more considerate than Jacob OR Edward. He feels protective of Grace ever since he saved her life and feels a connection to her.

In addition to the romance, there is a sense of a mystery. The beginnings of the werewolf disease (is it a disease?) is completely unknown. Why Grace never changed is unknown. How much time Sam has left is unknown. Everything is on the edge. It all comes down to these few weeks that we, as readers, are privy to. It could go either way. Maggie creates a anxious tone as these two star crossed lovers are desperate for time together.

I also really enjoyed the werewolf-lore. It was interesting and not the traditional switch back and forth business. It was a really interesting take the traditional stories--somehow it made more sense to me than at every full moon there are all these half man/half beast creatures running around under the guise of fur. Why have we never seen some kind of half beast walking around, drinking a Pepsi, and howling at the moon? It just doesn't make sense. But the way Maggie has her characters change is brilliant!

I totally want to read the next book