The Monstrumologist: Just Can't Do It

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancy, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, 2009, 448 pp, Horror-Fantasy

I just can't finish this book.

There are a lot of things I like about it: the title (creepy and mysterious!), the cover (ditto!), the opening letter from the author that made me pretty much believe it was a true story, the fact that it's a Printz Award winner...


However, I've been trying to read it for a week and I just can't get into it.

At first I thought it was the writing style: "He recommenced his pacing, incessantly running his fingers through his thick hair, and as he spoke, my presence faded from his consciousness as light fades from the autumnal sky." At times I thought the language was just too heavy handed and it slowed me down as I tried to get into the story. On the other hand, it clearly anchored the story in the very early 1900s, in the office and laboratory of a scientist. If it had been written in today's vernacular, the story certainly would have lost something.

(Plus, the writing style continuously reminded me of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, and that was a book I liked very much!)

So what was it about The Monstrumologist? You know, I think people-eating monsters just aren't my thing. I try to read a wide range of YA and I almost never give up on a book, but the coffin-robbing Anthropophagus were just a little too creepily disgusting for me.

What do you think, Book Lovers? Am I wrong about The Monstrumologist? And what does it take for you to stop reading a book once you've started? I can't wait to hear what you think!

Carrie Bradshaw

"Some people are settling down, some people are settling, and some refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies." - Carrie Bradshaw




I wrote a post a while back about the Ultimate Teen Queen... but the woman I want to be when I grow up? Carrie Bradshaw. Witty, intelligent, loyal, idealistic, hard-working, completely loving... and did I mention her closet? Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha kept my friends and I company throughout our college years. And let's be honest, I still kind of feel like I'm friends with them today!

 With Sex and the City 2 out this weekend, I definitely have Carrie on my mind. So you may be asking, "Sure, sure, she's fabulous. But what business does she have on a book blog?" Good question. First of all, one of the things that I always loved about Sex and the City was the writing. Whether you love Samantha's sass, Miranda's sarcasm, Charlotte's hopeless romanticism, or Carrie's spot-on observations about life and life, the entire show is quotable.

"Maybe our mistakes are what make our fate. Without them, what would shape our lives? Perhaps if we never veered off course, we wouldn't fall in love, or have babies, or be who we are. After all, seasons change. So do cities. People come into your life and people go. But it's comforting to know the ones you love are always in your heart, and if you're lucky, a plane ride away." - Carrie 


"It would be childish of us to deny that our lives were changing. But for this night, none of us were going anywhere. That's the thing about really good friends..." - Carrie

"If you're tired of New York, you take a nap-a. You don't move to Napa!" - Carrie (J, if you're reading, this one's for you!) 

"Maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. Maybe they need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with." - Carrie

And the best news for Book Lovers? The Carrie Diaries. I am dying to get my hands on this book!!! Written as a YA/cross-over prequel, The Carrie Diaries is the story of teenage Carrie from Connecticut, a girl who was only beginning to dream about becoming New York's Carrie Bradshaw. Have any of you read The Carrie Diaries yet? What did you think?! I can't wait to hear your reviews.


And for the true SATC lovers out there, here is one more gorgeous photo with a favorite quote...

"Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you somewhere far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." - Carrie 

Beyond Classroom Classics

I honestly cannot remember a single book that I read for class in middle school. I have been thinking about it all morning (surely, there must have been one!) but I can only recall the big, fat anthology that we used in sixth grade. What did we do in middle school English??

If there's one thing I do know, the middle school kiddos at my school should have absolutely no trouble recalling what they've read... because we read some fabulous books! I've already mentioned my affinity for historical fiction in class (love it!). Here are a few of the other books that our 6th-8th graders read in Humanities:

The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake - An intense and moving story about a young girl coming to terms with herself. I have yet to meet a single student (male or female) who didn't love this book.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Best Book Ever. Truly.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - Such a great compliment to our unit on ancient Greece.

Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes - Alternating prose and poetry, this is the story of a diverse group of students who come together through weekly poetry slams. Again, I have not yet met a student who didn't love this book.

Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic - For whatever reason, students just seem to love diaries and epistolary novels. Zlata's Diary is a vivid look at war-time Sarajevo through the eyes of a middle school-age student.

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman - The story of how a young girl and her garden bring an extremely diverse neighborhood together. Although it is certainly more appropriate for younger audiences (we read it with incoming 6th graders), this tiny novel is a fantastic read.





I honestly can't say enough good things about teaching with novels. While students learn all those good English class-y things like characterization, conflict, theme, mood, and author's purpose... they're also learning compassion, perspective, empathy, and voice. Fictional characters can help students come to grips with all of the real-life issues that they deal with every day. Self image, peer pressure, family issues, relationships... the list goes on and on.

So here is the question, Book Lovers. What books would you recommend reading in class? What novels or non-fiction have you read (or taught!) in school that you felt were particularly effective? I want to hear all about it!

Friday Blog Hop

Happy Friday! If you are not familiar with the Blog Hop, it is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at Crazy for Books. Here is her explanation of the event:

ABOUT THE HOP:

In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blogger Hop to give us all book bloggers and readers a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on!  So, I created this weekly BOOK PARTY where book bloggers and readers can connect to find new blogs to read, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!  So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start PARTYING!

If you are new to Book Love, welcome! I am so happy you found me. Have a look around and please leave a comment or two if you see something you like. I love meeting new Book Lovers!

How Young is TOO Young?

As a middle school teacher, I frequently find myself fighting a self-censoring battle between my students and the books that I'm reading. It's just so difficult to discern how young is too young when it comes to Young Adult literature. Here is a recent prime example...

13 Reasons Why came up in a YA lit class I was taking. Now just so you know, this is a book that at least 17.6 million people had told me to read, but I just hadn't ever gotten around to doing so. In this class, the teachers and librarians present argued back and forth about whether or not the text was appropriate for middle school students. I listened and thought, "Hmmm... a girl takes her life because of some extreme bullying at school. I actually have a few fairly intense bullies in my class. It sounds like this book would be a great way to get my kids to really think about their actions..." and the very next day I checked it out of the library.

As soon as I started reading, I was hooked. Clearly those 17.6 million people were on to something. When I was barely half-way through, I did a book talk on it for my class and several girls wrote it down as something to look for in the library. Then I kept reading... and reading... and realized that there was no way that I wanted my 11-year-olds reading this book. Don't get me wrong, I think the overall message is fabulous! I just strongly believe that some of the more graphic scenes are really far too graphic for my kiddos.

For those of you who are wondering how I back-peddled... I quickly compiled a stack of other fabulous (and more age-appropriate) reads, each of which featured similar themes of peer-drama, female friendships, and bullying. I was very honest with my students, telling them that while 13 Reasons Why is a great book, I just wouldn't recommend it to them anymore. It wasn't that they weren't allowed to read it on their own, I just had a feeling that they would like it a lot more in a few years. Before they were able to really start grumbling, I whipped out my stack of alternatives, giving my most compelling book talks in an effort to put their attention on something else.

What have I learned? Well for starters, I will fully finish the books that I'm reading before recommending them. But even then, how do you determine how young is too young for YA lit? Many of my students are only 11 or 12, but they have dealt with some extremely adult situations in their real lives. So where do you draw the line?

How to Say Goodbye in Robot

How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford, Scholastic Press, 2009, 288 pp, Realistic Fiction, ISBN:0545107083

To: You
From: Future You
Read How to Say Goodbye in Robot. Future You thanks You. 

Do you ever read a book and then put off writing the review for a long, long time because you know that nothing you write will really do it justice? How to Say Goodbye in Robot is that kind of book.


When Beatrice moves to Baltimore during her senior year of high school, one of the first people she meets is Jonah (aka Ghost Boy). Beatrice is by no means what anyone would call "a girl's girl," in fact her mother frequently tells her that she is a robot. So, even though the popular crowd eagerly invites her in... she would rather spend her days, and nights, with Jonah.


Jonah isn't too eager to let anyone into his life - they don't call him Ghost Boy for nothing -  but step by baby step, he and Beatrice form an intense, one-of-a-kind friendship. Together, they try to right the wrongs of the past, support each other's secrets, and make sense of the life they've been given. There is no doubt that Ghost Boy and Robot Girl love each other, but between a ghost and a robot... is love enough?


How to Say Goodbye in Robot is like nothing I've ever read. The transcipts of The Night Light Show were so brilliant. Each character (Dottie! Don Berman! Myrna and Herb!) was fully formed, even if they were only a voice on the radio. I want to go on a flying carpet ride to Ocean City with this fictional group of friends.


I looooved the fact that it was set in Baltimore: high school kids drinking Natty Boh, a new house in Canton, driving up Charles Street, the Washington Monument lit up on its hill. The city was just as much a character as any of the humans. For the inside scoop on other Baltimore institutions that were "disguised" for the book, check out this interview with Natalie Standiford from The City Paper.

Even visually, this book is a gem. With brightly scripted conversations, unique fonts, and bold red calendar pages marking time, it was like a bite of literary eye candy.


While by the end of the book I had begun to grow weary of Ghost Boy's constant melancholy (not that he didn't have good reason!), I was still enchanted by the fact that this was a story where the two main teenage characters fully loved each other... without actually being in love. How often does that happen in YA lit? 


I actually finished Beatrice and Jonah's story while walking through Baltimore's Inner Harbor after work one day. I was honestly so into their lives that I couldn't put the book down long enough to reach my destination. Not only that, I actually felt a cryball growing in the midst of the crowd as I read the last few pages. Strange? Yup. But Ghost Boy and Robot Girl probably would have understood.


I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to high school students - particularly those who just can't bring themselves to follow the crowd. How to Say Goodbye in Robot is a uniquely remarkable read.

Awful(ly Wonderful) Library Books

Wow... this site is wonderful. Awful Library Books will make you simultaneously laugh out loud and scratch your head in wonder that these books ever existed in the first place.

Here is just a sampling from the book to the left's table of contents:
Chapter 3. The Care and Feeding of Girls
Chapter 6. How to Be A'Okay as a Date
Chapter 8. Politeness - Is it All That Jazz?

Some other Awful(ly Wonderful) books found on the site:
- Those Amazing Leeches
- Training You to Train Your Cat
- The Complete Book of Family Bowling

I love it! To all of the librarian Book Lovers out there... What gems have you found while weeding your shelves?

Blog Love

Soooo, I actually skipped last week's Book Blog Hop because life got so busy that I hadn't written a single post since the Hop before that. However, that doesn't mean I wasn't reading! It seems like my blogroll is growing just as quickly as my library list. Here is a list of a few new favorites, in no particular order...

The Page Flipper: This is actually a blog that my mom (a teen librarian!) told me about. At The Page Flipper you can expect guest posts, a variety of YA reviews, and some personal commentary. My favorite feature here is the Author Review, where authors review their own favorite books.

Book Love-Teen: First of all... what a great name for a blog, right? I first saw this site on someone else's blog roll and had to click to find out who the other official Book Lover was. I was not disappointed! There are so many great YA reviews here. Plus, the header pic is fabulous.

Along for the Ride: I love blogs written by teens, and this one in particular is fantastic! Sara posts often and every book she reviews I want to read.

Squeaky Books: Do you know what a "squeaky book" is? No? Well you better head over and check this site out! In the midst of all of her reviews, Enna Isilee also takes the time to point out the absolute "squeakiest."

YS Princess: First off, the shrek-ish/castle/princess-y header is cute, cute, cute. Then once you scroll down, YS Princess has all kinds of beautiful images, a focus on librarians, and random reviews of different games (like Scrabble Slam, which I love).

Afterthoughts: Afterthoughts is definitely a new favorite! There are so many great reviews and interesting posts. Plus, I am loving the Porn for Book Lovers (many of which I've hearted myself on WeHeartIt!).

Time Out: I reeaally like Chelle's site for a variety of reasons! She offers a great mix of reviews, challenges, giveaways, and personal commentary. Plus, I feel like we have really similar book tastes. (This Book is Overdue... I am halfway through and her review got me excited about it all over again!) Finally, I love the simplicity of Time Out. The lack of buttons, bells, and whistles makes it easy to focus on what you came there for... her words!

Good Golly Miss Holly: This is site you will keep coming back to! Again, I love the simplicity of the design, not to mention the fact that it is bursting with great content, including the beautiful inspiration of her popular "Daily Dose" meme.

Forever Young: Jessica is one of the bloggers that I get jealous of because she gets to read and review So Many advance copies and has met So Many great authors! I keep visiting her blog so that I can live vicariously through her...

And that's Blog Love for this week!

top image from here (thank you!)

Friday Blog Hop

Happy Friday! If you are not familiar with the Blog Hop, it is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at Crazy for Books. Here is her explanation of the event:

ABOUT THE HOP:

In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blogger Hop to give us all book bloggers and readers a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on!  So, I created this weekly BOOK PARTY where book bloggers and readers can connect to find new blogs to read, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!  So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start PARTYING!

If you are new to Book Love, welcome! I am so happy you found me. Have a look around and please leave a comment or two if you see something you like. I love meeting new Book Lovers!

The Ultimate Teen Queen

There are certain characters who just stay with you for a long, long time. For me, my favorites resonate either because they reflect back a little bit of myself, or because they are the girls I wish I could be! There are 3 teenage queens of YA literature whom I completely adore and measure every other leading lady against. If they were rolled into one, I'm pretty sure that they could take over the world.

First, Frankie Landau-Banks. Frankie's cunning, wit, creativity, and natural curiosity about the way that the world works made her my most recent addition to the teen queen pantheon. She would never allow anyone to underestimate her.

Second, Stargirl. What can I say about Stargirl? I feel a little tug on my heart whenever I think about her innocence, her creative spirit, her willingness to share her heart, and her ability to make people look at the world in a different light. One of the best compliments I have ever, ever received was when a student was reading Stargirl and said, "Ms. DeKoster, I bet when you were in school you were just like her." I think her comment was probably more of a tribute to my somewhat mis-matched outfits and penchant for bursting into song... but it was a compliment I treasure!

Finally, Katniss. Katniss is the ideal woman. When I grow up, I want to be her. (Yes, yes... I know I'm at least 10 years older already!) Katniss is completely brilliant, brave, selfless, and skilled. She is 100% skeptical of the people around her, while still possessing the softest of hearts when it comes to the people she loves. Katniss can, and will, save the world. (Come on, Mockingjay!)

So what do you think Book Lovers? Who is your Ideal Woman of YA lit? I want to hear all about it!

Swim the Fly

Swim the Fly by Don Calame, Candlewick, 2009, 352 pp, $16.99, Realistic Fiction, ISBN: 076364157X

From playing 1000 rounds of ping-pong to getting their hands on a copy of Playboy, every summer has a goal. This summer, Matt, Sean, and Coop have set their sights high: they are going to see a real-live naked girl.


Of course, they have a few ideas about how this goal should be accomplished. Their schemes range from dressing up as girls and hanging around the ladies' locker room to hiding in a closet at a party and hoping to snap a picture of a couple getting lucky. You can imagine their success...


Matt's personal plan is a little more ambitious. After a history of lackluster summers on the swim team, Matt has decided that he is going to swim the 100 yard butterfly in an attempt to impress Kelly West (the hottest girl on the swim team, obvi) (Did I really just say obvi in an official book review? Yes, I did). And if impressing Kelly becomes a means of achieving the summer's goal, then so much the better. First, he just has to learn to swim the fly...


Let's just say first off, Swim the Fly is hilarious! I had to stop reading it during my students' independent reading time because I literally could not stop laughing out loud. Don Calame has the spot-on voice of a teenage boy. He also writes a pretty good teenage girl: some (like Kelly West) were just a little bit overly stereotypical, but others (like Valerie) provided a great balance against the non-stop jokes from the boys. The rest of the characters (Ulf, Tony Grillo, Matt's grandpa with the cat...) were written so vividly that I could almost watch the movie of the book in my mind. It's not hard to believe that Calame actually used to be (and probably still is!) a screenwriter.


Swim the Fly is one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. It would be one of my first recommendations to boys (and girls! ...but especially boys) from grade 8 and up!


Still need a little convincing? Check out the video below from the author. He will make you laugh :)

Gym Candy

Gym Candy by Carl Deuker, Graphia, 2008, 320 pp, $8.99, Realistic Fiction, ISBN: 0547076312

Think about the one thing you want most in the world. How far would you go to get it? That is the question Mick Johnson has to answer.


Football is the only dream Mick has ever had. His father was a football star in his own time, who actually made it to the NFL. Two walls in their den are completely covered in Mick's father's plaques, news articles, photos, and trophies. The other two walls are reserved for Mick.

"My mom didn't like it that everything was football, football, football... but whenever [my parents] had that argument, my dad always turned to me. 'Do you want to turn out for soccer this year, Mick?' he'd ask.

I'd shake my head.

'How about basketball or baseball?'

'No,' I'd say.

'Chess? The Math Olympiad?'

'I just want to play football.' ...It was true what I'd said--that I loved football. But something else was true, too. I'd played basketball a little, played baseball a little, played soccer a little. I'd played them all enough to know that I was nothing special in any of them and never would be. If I was going to make my mark, it was going to be on the football field."

But what if Mick wasn't good enough to make his mark there either?

What if he needs a little something extra? What if he needs gym candy? 

Gym Candy was a very quick read because I was so engrossed in Mick's story. I knew from the beginning that the book was going to be about a high school student taking steroids... and it definitely was. I learned an incredible amount about different types of steroids, how they are distributed, how much they might cost, and what their effects are. As I listened to Peter, Mick's trainer, explain the perks of "gym candy," Mick's decision to take the drugs made complete sense to me. I mean, here was this man whom Mick completely trusted, telling him that he could have everything he ever wanted. Why not?

Mick's friends were some of my favorite characters in the book. They, along with one of Mick's coaches, were extremely suspicious of his private workouts and his dramatic improvements over the course of the summer. I thought they were fantastic friends, but still written as realistic teenagers. The entire story could have easily gotten overly preachy, but (without giving too much away!) the end proved that some lessons cannot be easily learned. Gym Candy is a book I would recommend to any high school athlete or sports fan.

I have not read any of Carl Deuker's other YA novels, but he is a prolific sports writer. I have recently been on a sports reading mission, and I definitely want to add Deuker's latest novel,  Payback Time, to my library list. What about you, Book Lovers? Are you a Carl Deuker fan? Do you have any great sports reads to recommend?

 

*Sidenote: I found this student-made book trailer online. Have any of you had success making digital book trailers in class? If yes, do you have any advice? I can't wait to hear about it!

Brontë Sisters Power Dolls and the All Powerful Brontësaurus!

Wow... this is awesome. Just watch!



In the words of the creators, "This was a fake commercial we made in 1998 for a series of educational shorts about action figures based on historical figures. Its educational value was somewhat suspect. It was never aired."  If only...

(this fabulous video was discovered via Squeaky Books)

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, Hyperion Book CH, 2008, 352 pp, $16.99, Realistic Fiction, ISBN: 0786838183

 I want to be Frankie Landau-Banks.

In her sophomore year at Alabaster Prep, Frankie is ready to shed her "Bunny Rabbit" persona, bust out of the Geek Conglomerate, and make a name for herself as someone who shakes things up. Unfortunately, schools like Alabaster Prep are still run by Old Boys clubs and these particular Old Boys, including Frankie's senior boyfriend Matthew, aren't about to let a girl into the club.

But that isn't about to stop her.

Frankie is an idealist; a Wodehouse reader; a fearless do-er; the "near criminal mastermind" behind the Library Lady, the Doggies in the Window, and the Night of a Thousand Dogs; a user and creator of neglected positives and inpeas; not so far above the common woman that she doesn't appreciate the attention of a particularly sought-after senior, but still a force to be reckoned with.

"She might, in fact, go crazy, as has happened to a lot of people who break rules. Not the people who play at rebellion... but those who take some action that disrupts the larger social order. Who try to push through doors that are usually closed to them. They do sometimes go crazy, these people, because the world is telling them not to want the things they want... [but] another possibility--the possibility I hold out for--is that Frankie Landau-Banks will open the door that she is trying to get through. And she will change the world."

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy... or in this case, oh Girl! This is one fabulous read.

E. Lockhart's writing throughout is just so completely brilliant. From Frankie's mental arguments as she attempts to come up with the perfect retorts to the email chains between Frankie-as-TheAlphaDog and Alpha himself, every single word was spot-on perfection. I got the same feeling I had when I first started watching Dawson's Creek... teenagers sure don't talk like this, but wouldn't it be fabulous if they did?! By no means did this book have a happy ending, but it certainly had the right ending. The world needs more Frankies, and I am going to recommend her Disreputable History to every high-school girl I know

This is one of the first books I've read in a long time where I turned back to page one just as soon as I had finished. Frankie is going to stay with me in a long, long time.


Links for the Frankie in YOU!
* How to be Bad
* How to Draw Basset Hounds
* The San Francisco Suicide Club
* The Cacophony Society
* If at All Possible, Involve a Cow
* E. Lockhart's Blog

Absolutely, Positively NO Reading in Bed

What a fabulous list! When I first stumbled over "Thirteen Ways to Raise a Nonreader" at The Secret Adventures of WriterGirl, I was nodding my head and giggling out loud. For all of you parents out there, how many of these guidelines do you NOT follow?!

Friday Blog Hop

TGIF, Book Lovers! Today I am just so darn happy that it is almost the weekend... and that I get to kick it off with you. Last week was my first time participating in the Blog Hop and I found so many gems. I wonder who I will discover this week!

If you are not familiar with the Blog Hop, it is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at Crazy for Books. Here is her explanation of the event:

ABOUT THE HOP:

In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blogger Hop to give us all book bloggers and readers a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on!  So, I created this weekly BOOK PARTY where book bloggers and readers can connect to find new blogs to read, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!  So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start PARTYING!

If you are new to Book Love, welcome! I am so happy you found me. Have a look around and please leave a comment or two if you see something you like. I love meeting new Book Lovers!

100 Best Children's Books

So Betsy Bird from A Fuse #8 Production recently compiled a list of the 100 Best Children's Books. Whew, what a task! Right? Well with the help of her fantastic fanbase of avid readers, she made it happen. As you can well imagine, this list is full of treasures. There is a wide variety of Roald Dahl, old favorites like Anne of Green Gables, and new loves like When You Reach Me and The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Of course, Stargirl made the list well. (I love you, Stargirl!)

As if the list alone wasn't enough, Mama Librarian made this Animoto of the entire list! I had so much fun watching her video, exclaiming over the books that I've read and keeping an eye out for new titles I want to read. (Pssst: If you, like me, have no idea what Animoto is... click here!)

What do you think, Book Lovers? Are there any titles you would add to the list? And what do you know about making Animotos? And which one of you is going to create the list of 100 Best YA Books? I already can't wait to read it!

If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Dutton Juvenile, 2009, 208 pp, $16.99, Realistic Fiction, ISBN: 0525421033

Mia's life is basically a dream come true. Not only does she actually enjoy spending time with her parents (who are fabulous, if a little unconventional) and her little brother, she also has the kind of best friend who most girls only read about. On top of that, Mia has fallen in love with Adam, an "older" musician who actually loves her back. And did I mention that Mia is about to be accepted into Juilliard? Life is good.


But then one cold, winter morning, Mia's family is in a car accident. Both of her parents are killed instantly, and her brother follows them soon after. Mia can't understand why she was able to leave the accident without even a scratch, until she sees the charm bracelet. Her charm bracelet. The one that is still on her arm. The arm that is sticking out of the broken car window. And then Mia realizes that she may not have survived after all.


 Mia follows her body to the hospital and watches the doctors, nurses, and parade of family and friends who come to see her. She quickly realizes that she is not quite a ghost. She can't walk through walls or wish herself to Hawaii, but she also can't get back into her own body-- and without her family, she isn't sure that she even wants to. However, Mia can't just hang around the hospital room forever. She has a choice to make. As one nurse explains...

"You might think that the doctors or nurses or all this is running the show," she says, gesturing to some hospital equipment. "Nuh-uh. She's running the show. Maybe she's just biding her time. So you talk to her. You tell her to take all the time she needs, but to come on back. You're waiting for her."

So what will Mia choose? To leave and follow her parents and brother? Or to stay? 

I just want to take a moment and say right now... I love this book.

I have not read a book that I loved this much in a very long time. I never read more than one book at a time, but when I realized that I only had a few chapters left, I quickly started reading the next book in my library bag because I just could not bear for If I Stay to be over. Mia is the type of girl I wanted to be in high school. She is smart, loyal, just spunky enough, and super talented. Mia's particular talent is the cello: her means of making her way into Juilliard's next freshman class. The different references to cello music throughout the book have actually forced me to listen to nothing but the Yo Yo Ma station on Pandora ever since turning the last page. I just want to live in Mia's world for a little bit longer!


If I Stay is a love story. It is a story of friendship and faith being tested. It is a story about music. It is also 100% realistic, and I think that is why it is such a gem. Mia's story was an incredible reminder to not take one single day for granted.


The If I Stay website has both a written and a video interview with author Gayle Forman where she explains some of the background behind writing the book. She also describes the music scene in Oregon, which played such a huge role in Mia's story. In addition, the website features several trailers for the book and has a place to download an excerpt. 

Did I mention that I love this book? Because I really, really do. Please go read it! And then come back and tell me what you think. 

Pop

Pop by Gordon Korman, Balzer + Bray, 2009, 272 pp, $16.99, Realistic Fiction-Sports, ISBN: 0061742287

When Marcus moves to Kennesaw, he doesn't have a friend in the world. Fresh off the roller coaster of his parents' divorce, the only thing Marcus wants to think about is football. On one of his daily, solitary practices in Three Alarm Park, Marcus runs into Charlie - literally. Charlie is a middle-aged man who seems to appear out of nowhere, running Marcus  through new plays, throwing rocket-launch style passes, and teaching Marcus to love the pop of two bodies colliding.

Of course, things are never what they seem. Charlie has a past. He used to be an NFL player: the King of Pop! That's something any family would be proud of, right? So why does Charlie's family seem so intent on keeping him hidden away?

On top of his struggle to understand Charlie, Marcus is battling to earn his place on the Kennesaw football team. After a history-making perfect season last year, no one is in a hurry to shake up the team, least of all the current quarterback... Charlie's son, Troy. When you add Troy's ex-girlfriend, a sexy, pom-pom shaking, football expert into the equation, Marcus is in way over his head.

Will Marcus ever earn his rightful place on the team? Does Alyssa really want him, or is she just trying to make Troy jealous? And what is the secret that Charlie's family is working so hard to keep? If I were you, I would run straight to the library, pick up a copy of Pop, and find out! 

I reeeaaallly like this book. I can count the sports books that I've read on maybe two fingers, but I always need more good books to recommend to my boys. So based on a recommendation from another teacher, I picked up Pop. And then I couldn't put it down. 

There was plenty of action on the football field. Between Charlie's expertise and the Kenneshaw Raiders' obsession with winning, I actually felt like I learned a lot about the game. But more than that, I was sucked in by the action off the field. The tension among the members of the Charlie's family was palpable. Even when I believed they were wrong, I was rooting for them because it was clear that they were working so hard to protect their father. Marcus was right there, caught in the middle between the high school guys he wanted to be like and the middle-aged man who somehow became one of his best friends. Charlie was just such a fantastic character: funny and brave and sad and so very real. He is someone I will remember for a long time!  

I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to both middle and early high school age students. I'm going to call it a great Boy Book, but I think girls would like it just as well. If you are looking for other great reads by the same author, check out Gordon Korman's website and his blog (linked through his website). This guy knows how to write for kids!

And now I need your help, Book Lovers. What other sports books would you recommend? After such a great experience with Pop, I'm hungry for more! 

Sovay

Sovay by Celia Rees, Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, 2008, 416 pp, $16.99, Historical Fiction, ISBN: 1599902036

Sovay is a wealthy, strikingly beautiful young woman, living in England in the late 1700s, at the height of the French Revolution. When she learns that her betrothed has been unfaithful, she throws propriety aside and dresses as a masked highwayman, holding up the young man's coach. When he hands over all of his possessions, including the ring that he wore as a symbol of their love, she knows for certain that their love affair has ended. However, Sovay soon realizes that far worse storms are brewing than a broken heart.

Sovay learns that her father has been accused of treason against the British crown. The penalty if he is found guilty? Death by hanging. To make matters worse, both her father and her brother have disappeared. The remainder of Sovay's story details her quest to find her father and brother, which leads her all the way to Paris during the final days of the Reign of Terror. Over the course of her journey, she meets Dysart, one of Europe's darkest and most devious spies; Greenwood, the dashing highwayman who covets the opportunity to work alongside Sovay; and Toby, alternately a call boy and locksmith, depending upon who's doing the hiring! 

Although the cast of her characters in her life are all too happy to offer their own opinions, Sovay must ultimately decide for herself what she values most: family, love, or liberty.  

You know, I love historical fiction. And I haven't read any good chick lit for a while, so I picked up Sovay, thinking that I could kill two book-birds with one stone. However, Sovay was just not one of my favorites. Sovay could have been such a fabulous leading lady, but I felt like she never really got the opportunity to come into her own. Her role as a highwayman filled only a few dozen pages, and there were way too many different men swooping in to save her on every occasion. She had at three or four different possible love interests, but ***Spoiler Alert!*** ended up with some guy who popped up in the last few pages. Finally, I felt like the many different plot lines of Sovay's personal drama overshadowed the real drama: the French Revolution. Sure, I read about a few trials and beheadings, but Rees never really got to the true roots of the whole affair.

Although Sovay is not about to make an appearance on my All-Time Favorites list, I can see why some high school students would like it. There is plenty of romance and adventure, and if someone was learning about the French Revolution it could be a good compliment. I'm still interested some of  Rees' other work. In particular, I would like to read Pirates! and her brand new novel, The Fool's Girl. What do you think, Book Lovers? Which of Celia Rees' novels would you recommend?

You can go here to Celia Rees' website for more information on why she decided to write Sovay, an interview with the author, a link to her blog, and all kinds of other interesting tidbits.