What I'm Reading Now

Zero Day - Addie Webster disappeared from the governor's mansion 8 years ago. At the beginning of this book, she's escaped from her kidnappers and found her way home - but home is quite different as in her absence her father has become president of the United States. Everything is not quite as it seems... Although it got a bit predictable by the end, I really enjoyed the fast pace of the book.
To Catch a Cheat - To be honest, I didn't finish this one. This is the second in the series and I definitely think I should have started with the first one - The Great Greene Heist. Fun, fast paced, realistic characters - there's a lot here to like. If you like the Randi Rhodes Detective novels I think you might like these as well. There's a lot here that's very realistic to middle school kids, but plenty of movie-type action as well.

What I'm Reading Now

Absolutely Truly I must admit I've never read any of the Mother-Daughter book club series but they are very popular in our library. Written by the same author, this first book in the Pumpkin Falls Mystery series was very enjoyable. Truly Lovejoy has moved with her family to the tiny town of Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire where she tries to build a new life for herself among a charmingly eccentric group of characters. K - I think you might like this one.
Flunked I love a fairy tale retelling so I was immediately drawn to this first book in the series Fairy Tale Reform School. Main character Gilly is caught stealing one too many times and is sent to reform school where she's taught by the evil queen from Snow White, the wolf who terrorized Little Red, and other "bad guys" from favorite tales. Could it be true that they have all reformed? Or is someone at the school up to no good? Fans of the Whatever After series who are looking for something else to read might enjoy this one. D?
Randi Rhodes Ninja Detective The fact that Octavia Spencer is the author has been a big draw for this series. Middle school detective Randi Rhodes and her friends DC and Pudge solve mysteries they find in the world around them (much to the chagrin of her famous author father.) Good if you're looking for a realistic fiction mystery - I? Z?
Saint Anything I love anything Sarah Dessen and this one did not disappoint. Sydney and her family deal with the aftermath of her brother's reckless behavior.

What I'm Reading Now

  So many students are reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I enjoyed it too!

What I'm Reading Now

I've finished Shadows of Sherwood which was great fun.  As I shared with the Battle of the Books kids this is really a great mix of dystopian literature and the Robin Hood story - with Robin as teenage girl.  I'm fascinated with how different Kekla Magoon's books seem to be.

I also whizzed right through Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead which was no surprise - I love her books.  I find that her writing is always recognizably hers in a very good way. I seem to be reading a lot of children/YA books about the shifts in female friendships recently and I'm particularly taken with how she addresses this.  It's hard to describe exactly what this book is about, but I've definitely recommended it to several of our middle school students in a vague sort of way.  Some are reading it but not yet finished so I'll have to wait and find out their take.

So.  Two very different authors, one with a recognizable style and one a chameleon.

What are you reading now?

I've recently finished How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson, True Stories ed. by Jon Scieszka, and Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire.  My thoughts? In order: beautiful, absolutely fascinating, and a little bit confusing.

How I Discovered Poetry was a very quick read, beautifully written, and I felt I learned a lot about Marilyn Nelson's childhood.  As in any collection of work, I enjoyed some stories in True Stories more than others.  There were a couple that I couldn't stop thinking about/talking about for days which is always the sign of good non-fiction for me as a reader.  As for Egg & Spoon I'm not sure what I think.  I liked it but thought that sometimes there was just too much going on in the story.  It is based on the folktale of Baba Yaga, the witch whose house walks on chicken legs.  This definitely intrigued me and I thought the first chapter of the book was absolutely beautiful.  As the story went on my attention wavered a bit.  Ultimately I was glad I finished it but would be interested to hear what others thought!

Next up Shadows of Sherwood by Kekla Magoon.  I've read a couple of other books by Magoon and liked them, so I'm looking forward to it.

What are you reading now?

Hope everyone is enjoying Winter Break!  I've been having a blast spending time with my little boys and reading as much as I can.  I finished The Red Pencil.  I've also worked through several graphic novels: Ms. Marvel, Roller Girl, and I found the copy of El Deafo  that I started and finished that as well.  I am really glad I read all of them.  For pure enjoyment I really loved Roller Girl but I'd have a hard time picking a favorite.  I was struck by the fact that all three were very interesting in terms of depicting the changing friendships of their characters.  I also read The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus and Kinda Like Brothers which I loved.  I sped through that one!  

Next up, I've started Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire.  So far I'm really enjoying this novelization loosely based on  the folktale Baba Yaga.  I read one of Maguire's other retellings many years ago and didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to (I usually love fairy tale retellings) so I've been very pleasantly surprised.  It's beautifully written and so far the story is really holding my interest.  

Hope you all have had the chance to read something great over break!

What are you reading now?

I just finished Rain Reign which is one of the Battle of the Books titles for 4th-6th grade.  I'm now starting The Red Pencil which is another Battle of the Books title.  Like other books I've read this year (May B., The Crossover, and Hidden) this is a novel in verse.  Have you ever read a novel in verse?  What did you think?

What Are You Reading Now?

I just finished reading Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff and it was fabulous.  Her books are very popular in our library.  Next up I'm starting El Deafo which was a Newbery Honor book this year.

What are YOU reading now?