Finally: A Review

For the last few years, whenever Rory would ask for something like a cell phone, to go to a girl-boy party, or to get a pet, her parents' response would always be the same. When you're 12. Now that she's a few days from her birthday, Rory has a list of things she can finally do. Will being 12 be all she expects it to be?

This book is one of the many reasons I point my 4th and 5th grade library students to Wendy Mass's books when they don't know what to read. The character is realistic, the parents are typical, the experiences are funny, and there's a hint of unexpected magic.

Preteen girls will identify with Rory, who dreams of finally doing all the things her parents won't let her do. However, when she gets to do them, unfortunate events happen. She maims her legs the first time she tries to shave, she discovers she's allergic to gold when she goes to get her ears pierced, and her parents want her to get a cell phone with two buttons.

Rory's parents are fantastic. Many books and even TV shows portray the parents as clueless or uninvolved. Rory's parents are more realistic in their overprotectiveness and love for their girl.

A final, somewhat magical twist in the end (think 11 Birthdays), shows Rory what really counts about being 12.

This is a great book for a mom and daughter to read and to discuss together. Both will enjoy it and walk away either remembering being 12 or looking forward to turning 12.

The Third Wheel: A Review

As a school librarian, I love the Diary of a Wimpy kid series. They are funny, and the kids want to read them over and over, which is awesome. I was eager to read the newest edition, especially since I knew it would be about a school dance. I know Greg is in middle school, but fans of the books are as young as first grade. I wanted to see how the topic was handled, but I should have known the dance would be more about Greg's mishaps than romance.

Although it's not the best book in the series, I still enjoyed the latest Greg drama--getting locked in the laundry room while babysitting, having his mom come to school to make him take off his jacket, and even Greg getting kicked out of kindergarten. And that's all before the senior citizens crash the dance. Each situation is humorously written, and fans will enjoy getting to know a little bit of Greg's past while seeing him worm his way out of his current predicament.

I've read some reviews that mention the topics jump around, and while I thought the beginning of the book that compared Greg's childhood to Manny's was a little long, I thought Kinney tied the ending back to the beginning, which was a nice touch and great conclusion to the story.
Fans of the story, both young and old, will enjoy this latest book.

House of Mercy: A Review

Believing she has a gift of healing, Beth wants to become a vet and take care of the animals on her family’s farm. One mistake leaves her family on the brink of bankruptcy, her mother turning against her, and a mysterious wolf that keeps appearing after attacking her, a wolf that leads her to the only one who can save her family—the grandfather she’s never met.

I love the theme of mercy and its power. I also like the character of Beth. The twists and turns are exciting. Yet, there was something missing. Beth’s mother seemed unrealistic and while the author pushed the idea of Jacob, he never stood out as a hero. Instead, I wish Trey’s character had been developed more.

Parts of the story jumped around, and I felt there were a lot of loose ends at the end that seemed to try to throw all the parts together, hoping they would stick together.

Despite its shortcomings, House of Mercy is a thought-provoking read, analyzing God’s response to prayer.

I received this book in exchange for my review. My opinions are my own.

My Book Club Needs Help!

An example of one of our Book Club Projects

When I worked in a low-income school, we received state and federal money for our school. In fact, my first year as a librarian, I received over 8,000 dollars from the district to buy books. Now that I am not at a low-income school, I have to fundraise for every dollar my library gets.

That's where Donorschoose.org comes in. They help teachers raise money for things for their classroom through corporate donors as well as people who give to help students.

I am asking for books for my kids to have Book Club. We did one book club at the beginning of the year, and the kids LOVED it! However, I spent a lot of my own  money buying materials. I created a donorschoose account and am asking you to help me get two more sets of book club books.

Here's the great part: Build-A-Bear has already put in half of what I need. Also, if you give and type in the match-word INSPIRE, your donation will be matched by a corporate sponsor!
Second, these books can be used with multiple grades for multiple years. I chose popular titles so the kids would be interested in reading the books for years to come.

Any amount is appreciated.

Here's the link:
http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=910034&sharebar=true&utm_source=dc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=proposal_approve

 

Tidewater Inn: A Review

Growing up, Libby believed her father had died when she was five. A restorer of historical buildings, Libby and her best friend Nicole go to check out the inn her father, who died recently, left her much to the surprise of her new found brother and sister. While there, Nicole is kidnapped while Libby watches online helpless. Libby becomes the prime suspect in her friend's disappearance.

Colleen Coble is a master of writing romantic suspense novels that focus on character development . While this book was good, it's not memorable. I liked the characters, but they don't stand out. My favorite character was Alec, Libby's love interest who has taken in his nephew. He is strong and resilient, two traits every book's hero should have.

While the premise of the book holds promise, much of the plot was the same thing over and over. Looking for Nicole. Arguing with her brother and sister. I think the plot would have benefited from one or two more things happening because the plot is interesting and has some twists and turns that caught me by surprised. I just was kinda bored between twists.

Although it's definitely not Coble's best, it's a nice rainy day read. Fans of Christian suspense will enjoy this book.

I received this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Death of a Kleptomaniac

This is one of the most intriguing books I've read in a long time, and I'm not sure how to describe it other than this: it's a coming of age story that takes place after death. Molly is a popular girl who struggles with the "typical" teenage drama: boys, friends, and the urge to steal. When she dies in a freak accident, Molly has to confront what caused her to steal and somehow provide comfort to her family before she can fully cross over.

Molly is an interesting character. I've never read anything by Kristen Tracy, but I love how she wrote the characters. Each one is well-developed and somehow can't be put into a box in terms of describing them. The only thing that detracted from Molly being fully developed was I didn't ever really understand why she took things. Not understanding her motive annoyed me while reading.

I found Tracy's description of a soul's emotions after death. Molly has to go through the stages of grief along with her parents, and despite a few loose threads (what decisions did Molly make in life that would give her a chance to her last words?), the plot runs quickly and makes this a book a quick but thought provoking read.

What is perhaps the best part of the book is the possibility of a new beginning after death.

High school readers who enjoy a little bit of fantasy will enjoy this book, and I will definitely put Kristen Tracy on my list of authors to read.

I received this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts are my own.

Queen of the Waves: A Review

In a twist of the classic “rich girl falls for the poor boy” tale, Jacqueline asks farm girl Tessa to take her place on the Titanic so that she can elope with the gardener, who happens to be Tessa’s brother. Desperate to escape her abusive father, Tessa agrees, and after a crash course in how to behave like a lady, she boards the ship in pursuit of a better life. When the ship sinks, both women will never be the same.

A longtime fan of Titanic stories, I was eager to read this book and was not disappointed. I found the characters to be engaging and even the side characters were well-developed.  I loved Tessa, the spunky girl who wrestled with pigs and now had to wrestle to get into fancy dresses. The character I wish had more of a storyline is Roland, the man Jacqueline is told to marry, which sparks the identify exchange. Instead of writing him as a mean man Jacqueline must escape, he is a true gentleman and deserving of his own story one day. (Hint, Hint, Jacqueline.)

Because everyone knows what happens with the ship and so many books (both fiction and nonfiction) have been written surrounding the tragedy, it’s hard for readers to find a fresh take on the event. However, Thompson does this beautifully. The well-researched event is written vividly, giving us readers a sense of eagerness, panic, grief, and finally hope that passengers must have felt.

Fans of Christian historical fiction will enjoy this book as well as fans of fiction surrounding the infamous Titanic.

I was given this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts are my own.

Giveaway!

Today, I'm giving away a copy of Queen of the Waves. I just finished it yesterday and really enjoyed it. I plan to post my review this week.
To enter to win, leave me a comment telling me about how you are the queen of something. When I taught middle school language arts, I was the Grammar Queen. I LOVE grammar. Now that I've been out of the classroom a few years, I already feel like I lost some of my skills. During the week, I pull three groups of dyslexia students, and soon I hope to be the coding queen. I love it.

Leave a second comment, letting me know you follow the blog, to get a second entry. Be sure to leave your email address in one of the comments. I'll pick a winner next week. I can only ship to the US.

Have a great week!

Giveaway!

Congrats to Dawn for winning The Widow of Saunders Creek.
This week, I'm giving away Borders of the Heart, which I thought was fantastic.
To enter to win, leave a comment about a trip you've taken where you crossed the border of a state or country.
Leave a second comment if you follow the blog to get a second entry.

I can only ship to the US. I'll pick a winner next week.

Borders of the Heart: A Review

Fleeing Nashville and his songwriting career behind, J.D. Jessup just wants to escape the haunting memories of his beloved wife. Moving to Tucson to work on a farm seems to be the answer until he comes upon Maria, who lies in the desert beaten and alone. Unable to save his wife, J.D. is compelled to save Maria from those who want her dead. Will he find his own salvation while trying to rescue Maria?

Living in a southern state, I often hear about the illegal immigration issue, the drug trafficking from Mexican drug lords, and the plight of those coming to America in search for a better life. I see both sides of the issues and am always curious how authors will handle the controversial topic. Fabry does an excellent job balancing the two sides by creating characters readers will love or love to hate. My favorite character is the pastor who marches past the drug cartels to deliver food, clothes, and hope.

The plot is action packed from the first chapter and continues a fast and furious ride until the last chapter. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that sustains a high intensity throughout 300 plus pages that seem to be a collection of events that could be in today’s newspapers. The authenticity of the plot made it more impactful and a bit of a wake-up call to what’s going on in the world.

Borders of the Heart was the first book I’ve read by Chris Fabry, but I will definitely check out his other roller coaster tales.

 

I was given this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Check out the trailer for the book:
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