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 This book was fun! I don’t really understand how Quantum Physics works, but the author seems to do a good job of explaining it and integrating a challenging scientific topic into the basis of the story. This book introduces the main character, “Tick” Atticus Higginbottom, and his journey to become a “Realitant” who travels to different realities. I was pleasantly surprised by Tick’s close relationship with his father. In other children’s novels I am often frustrated when the main characters do not communicate with the adults. In The Journal of Curious Letters, Tick actually confides in his dad, and dad listens and supports him. It’sRead More →

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  I couldn’t put Savvy down until I was finished! It was fun and touching with great characters and a clever premise. When a Beaumont kid turns 13, they get their “savvy.”   Mib’s older brothers have powerful savvys: one can make storms and the other makes electricity. What will Mib’s savvy be? Right before Mib’s 13th birthday her father is hospitalized from a terrible car accident. She is determined to visit her father at the hospital 90 miles away because she is convinced that her savvy will allow her to save him. On the journey to her father Mib has a grand adventure where she gets toRead More →

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My Most Excellent Year is an hilarious and poignant novel of love, friendship, the nurturing nature of teen boys and of course, Mary Poppins. Told in letters, IM’s and emails, the author does a wonderful job of transitioning between the multiple voices. Filled with engaging and witty dialogue that will make you laugh, chuckle, or smile(or some weird genetic mutation of all 3) on almost every page.  The relationships between the characters are fresh and uplifting without being over-the-top. My Most Excellent Year is a charming and delightful read, and can be enjoyed by book lovers of all ages. Posted by FaithRead More →

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Schooled, by Gordon Korman Capricorn has had a sheltered childhood growing up on an isolated old farm commune with his hippie grandmother. When she is injured and cannot care for him for two months he is forced to enter the real world and attend middle school in town. At first all the kids treat “Cap” terribly because he is so different. He is easily confused by the strange, foreign environment of middle school!  His innocent, kind and peace-loving nature help him to acclimate and eventually even win the kids over. It was interesting to follow the story from the different points of view of various people telling the story:Read More →

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I finished Haddix’s Found earlier this week and loved it. Since I had already read Flanagan’s Battle for Skandia, equally satisfying, the next big book was Patterson’s Final Warning. (I’m a movie fanatic and waiting for Max Ride 4 after Ranger’s Apprentice 4 was the same feeling as waiting for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Dark Knight.) Usually it’s my duty to hype books. I understand that sometimes it’s easier to just watch a TV show, so I understand the importance of finding a great book quickly. I especially understand a need for lots of action in a book. A few explosions neverRead More →

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Revolution is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine is the sleeper hit of my library this semester. It sat on my new releases shelf for a while, unchecked by students. One afternoon, as I prepared for a booktalk, I stared at the book, wondering what had made it stand out to me when I made my purchasing order. Imagine a world where George Bush put his face on posters all over the country, required everyone to have a picture in their home, and stopped work halfway through the day to listen to his teachings. Thankfully we have a president and not a ChairmanRead More →

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This is the third book in the Grey Griffins series and they just keep getting better! Max, Ernie, Harley and Natalia are the Grey Griffins, four kids in the small town of Avalon, Minnesota who enjoy playing a card game called Round Table. In the first book, The Revenge of the Shadow King, the exciting adventures begin when the kids discover that the fantastic creatures and characters on their Round Table cards actually exist!  Max finds a magical book in his grandmother’s attic and is tricked into releasing an evil creature from it. Max becomes the new guardian of this important book, called the Codex.Read More →

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The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 is a fantastic sci-fi book for all ages.  Excellent for reluctant readers! Johnny Turnbull, aka JT, and his little sister Ketheria never knew their parents.  Years before they were born, their parents agreed to leave Earth to make a long trip through space to work on the far-off rings of Orbis.  After a malfunction killed all of the adults on the ship, the computer raised the embryos that the adults had brought on board.  When these children, no older than twelve, arrive on Orbis they discover that they must work off their parent’s debts by being virtual slaves for theRead More →

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Harmless, a book that is anything but, raises some eyebrows. Do you buy it for your child? Do you put it on the shelf as a librarian? Can it be used in the classroom? As an 8th grade Language Arts teacher I saw many heart-wrenching situations that my students wound up in, many situations that I think we as educators don’t always catch or know how to deal with. I grew up in a pretty stable environment, a fact I am thankful for, but a stable environment is not always par for the course. What I love about Harmless is that it is told fromRead More →