Well, I'm back after a bit of a break - writing these articles can wear you out after a while. So, i have a bunch of catch up to do...

I'll Start with the semi-new 39 Clues threequel, The Sword Thief. Written by the virtually unknown Peter Lerangis, the book was written in a way that boasts writing experience and personality. While it is certainly a book meant for a younger age group (8-12), the sense of good literature that was absent in some of the biggest hits in YA history (coughtwilightcough) makes its appearance. I actually find this kind of kidlit to be better than some YA I have read becuase while the storyline is sorta childish, it has a point to it, and when the author built the story to a climax, the protagonist didn't just talk their way out of it - they ACTUALLY ENDED UP IN THE FIGHT YOU WERE WAITING FOR. (coughtwilightagaincough)

The book was about the hunt for 39 clues that would reveal the secret of alchemy - how to make the philosopher's stone.(the ideas in the book became rather Harry Potter-esque)
Action packed and full of suspense, The Sword Thief will not dissapoint.

4.0/5
great

Ages 8-12 (Scholastic said so and I don't dispute this)

reviews for the first 2 books in the series:
Book 1
Book 2

Well, I just finished reading The Big Over Easy, a novel by Jasper Fforde...

It was a mystery about nursery rhyme characters in the town of "Reading"...

It is sort of like fantasy/sci fi/ mystery, but all that i can tell you is that it was REALLY good...

In this installment of the series, Humpty Dumpty has been murdered as he fell of the wall...

Jack Spratt and his detectives are on the case!

4.7/5
AMAZING

Ages 14 and up...

Well, after reading the longish title, it doesn't seem very appetizing, but trust me, it is a GOOD BOOK. Around 9th grade level, the book is about a guy going through his life in 9th grade. It consists of going to two parties, renting one tux for his prom, and making a movie about The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck...

Very surprising, don't you think?
It has other elements too, like becoming popular and then becoming unpopular, and then becoming popular again and then unpopular, the popular, and then ending where he started...
amazingly good book...

4.7/5
VERY GOOD

ages 14 and up...

I just found out that Warner Bros. changed the end of Harry Potter 6. When I first heard that it was PG, I was very surprised, but now it looks like they didn't kill Dumbledore. First they split the 7th movie into TWO F***ing parts, and now they cut the end of the 6th movie. Warner Bros. is starting to really annoy me!

some of this information was found at:

http://thebookbind.blogspot.com/2009/03/test-screening-of-harry-potter-and-half.html

Lately, I have been reading a lot of John Green, but unfortunately, this is the last book written by him that I am going to review for a WHILE.

An Abundance of Katherines was a book that was closer to Looking for Alaska than it was to Paper Towns, both of which make up the other 2 books written by Green. Lindsey, in particular, was very close to Alaska in my opinion.

The book was about a child prodigy named Colin, who has dated 19 Katherines. He is amazing at math, and tries to create a theory that will predict romance. The book is about his success, and he tells his story at the same time.

It was very well written...

4.3/5
Excellent

Ages 12 and up for content

Breaking news that is not breaking anymore:

Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games, has signed the contract that will make The Hunger Games a movie - and a gruesome one at that. It will be produced by Lionsgate - which is also currently creating the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie - and is slated to come out in 2011.

Speaking of 2011, it seems like a big year for book movies. Eragon, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 2), The 39 Clues Series, and more should be coming out then...

Of course, that is making sure that the distributor doesn't get greedy and wait for another year to maximize profits.

I wonder how the Collins, who will be the screen writer, will manage to adapt the movie so that it isn't R - after all, it is full of genocide...

Hopefully, she will do as good of a job as Louis Sachar did with his adaptation of Holes.

More news coming later on this blog!

After reading Looking for Alaska, by John Green, I couldn't help but read Paper Towns, by the same author.
Paper Towns was a bit of a surprise, in the way that it was different from Looking for Alaska on many counts. It was about this boy who falls in love with a girl named Margo. It could have easily been named Looking for Margo, because the storyline was very similar with the exeption that instead of Margo dying like Alaska, she went missing. This book was much more fast paced and enjoyable, although it was a bit less moving in the end.

4.6/3
AMAZING

Ages 13 and up for references to (omminted because of age level of some readers)

Next week is Harry Potter Week. Every day, we will have news, reviews, and more about the Harry Potter books and movies. We just thought that we would give you a heads up. Enjoy!

After getting back from BLOG VACATION, I read To JayKay: Life Stinx, by Jean Davies Okimoto. It is an old book (1999) that was nothing like I expected it to be. The back gave it a completely different angle to the book than what you would read in it. It was far worse than I thought it would be, and the only thing that wasn't so bad was the fact that it wasn't rated "R" but it was in fact rated PG(maybe 13). It was about this kid who meets this person on the internet using a chat room and they start a correspondence. Meanwhile, his life is completely disorganized and messed up, he has NO life, and his dad thinks that he is a psycho. It was an interesting book...

3.7/5
O.K.

Ages 11 and up for references to cyberbullying and inappropriate material.

For some reason, I have been reading extremely disappointing books recently. First After Tupac and D Foster, and now The Astonishing Tales of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, both of which were award winners of famous awards. It just goes to show you that random adults who think that they know what kids will like in literature and give out awards to praise themselves are sorely mistaken.


Octavian Nothing was about this slave boy and his mother, the princess of some African Tribe, but now a slave. It is boring, boring, boring. And not because there is no interesting story, like in After Tupac and D Foster. There is just no hook at all. There is nothing to keep you reading, and I discovered that the hook is vital to a book. Without it, the book is boring whether or not the rest is perfect.

In this case, unlike After Tupac..., the book is over 500 pages and on 8 1/2 by 11 sheets, quite a substantial amount. Therefore, I abandoned, and I know that I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry, but I have so many books to read. I just hope that abandoning a book isn't considered an act of evil.

Thanks...
BC101

I took a trip back into kidlit - not that I am getting tired of YA, but this book sounded very good. "This book" was Scat, another book by Carl Hiaasen. It had such good reviews, and the author is historically good, albeit I hadn't read him since '05. Still, I gave it a shot, and it paid off.

It was about this kid named Nick. His dad was in Iraq, and he was very "fond" of this girl. Now, I just HAVE to mention that fond hasn't been used since the 60s or something. Well, on his class field trip, his least favorite teacher went missing. He is very interested in the mystery, and tries to solve it...

Meanwhile, this kid named Duane is convicted of arson, and people are going ballistic about it. And an oil company gone bad is running an operation around there...

Well, I would tell you more, but you wouldn't read it.

Hiaasen did a great job, although he lacked detail, and used jargon from ages ago.He also gave away the mystery in the begining of the book, although he did save little pieces until the end.

4.3/5
EXCELLENT

Ages 7 + It was an appropriate book for most grade levels, although his dad does get blown up by a bomb in Iraq...

What a confusing book.

I just finished Madapple, a novel by Christina Meldrum. It was quite a confusing book, mostly because it had too many flashbacks (or flashforwards I suppose) and the storyline wasn't very clear. It did, however, give me an interesting tour through world religions, both ancient, and ones practiced today, and it gave me an interesting view of what goes on in a courtroom.

It was a tale of murder, of romance, of fate, and of family. A tale of happiness and sadness, of right and wrong and morals galore. (sorry about that - I was feeling poetic.)

Well, the basic storyline was that there was a girl. Her name was Aslaug. Her mom dies. She is sad. :( Then, she gets tried for murdering her mom. She goes to live with her aunt. Her aunt gets murdered. You should get the point by now.

The writing was very good for a first time author, and she clearly did her research well...

4.5/5
Very Good

Ages 12 and up for content and storyline...

Well, I just finished reading the book Looking for Alaska, by John Green. It was an enjoyably book with a nice plot, although it was a very complex one. The really BASIC storyline is that this unpopular guy goes to a boarding school because he doesn't want to stay at home any more. When he shows up to Culver Creek boarding school, it seems like his popularity got worse. Then, his roommate gives him a step up into the world of Alaska Young and her friends.



(SPOILER ALERT)(SPOILER ALERT)(SPOILER ALERT)

After Alaska dies, the protagonist, Miles, and his roommate who is nicknamed the colonel want to find out HOW Alaska died. I'll leave the rest for you to read...

The one thing that I didn't like about this book is that it was impossible to solve the mystery until the last second, where he gave you an answer that you could have not known otherwise. For example, in Siobhan Dowd's The London Eye Mystery, using all of the clues that were given, you could theoretically figure out the answer to the mystery without the book telling you. But still, great book, and I look forward to more!

4.6/5
VERY GOOD

Ages 11 and up for references and colorful grammar, as well as suicide.

Well, every first Sunday of the month, I will read a passage from a book that I am reading,so that you can get an idea, and hopefully like the book, and read it yourself...

Right now, I am reading Madapple, by Christina Meldrum...

I should have a review soon,but until then: enjoy!

Then I remember the wartwort.
I want to scream,to obliterate mother from my mind, from my face.
She'd not been hiding my father from me; I'm going to leave of there... halfway through a sentence, yes, but it is more likely to entice you as a reader that way...


You should see a review on this book soon - it might be after I review Coraline though, I want to do a compare/contrast with the movie...

Well, I just finished reading After Tupac and D Foster, a novel by Jacqueline Woodson. I'm not really sure if it is considered YA or not - I found it in both YA and KIDLIT at libraries and on websites - so I decided to post about it online...

I personally didn't like it AT ALL, boring story, boring plot, boring period...

I don't know HOW it won Newbery Honors...

Waste of paper and ink - I pride myself to be an environmentalist, so you know that I'm not kidding about the waste part - but I might as well tell you a bit about it since you may like it - or not.

It is about this girl and her friend who seem to be happy or sad depending on whether this rapper named Tupac is in jail or not - WHY, I don't know - well it said something about being similar but still - WHY, it doesn't give a rational reason...

They make freinds with this foster kid named Desiree (D) and they go roaming and make snow angels - it took me 7 nights to finish it, every time I got into bed and started reading, the story bored me to sleep - and it is under 150 pages!

I WOULD NOT recommend it...

1.5/5
Waste of paper and ink

Ages 2 and up - it would probably bore them too...

The Newbery awards are going DOWNHILL.

Well, YA blog newsletter is having a contest, coordinated by ME...

Check it out...

The prize is a free blog ad for a week...

You can find it at http://yablognews.blogspot.com/2009/02/contest.html!

You have 'till March 9 to enter...

--__--

I got tired of reading romance reviews - romance here, romance there - so I started a blog that wasn't as ROMANTIC. It has reviews of books that aren't as blogged about and it usually doesn't have chicklit - but it still reviews good books.

Check it out at thesundaybookreport.blogspot.com!

Thanks for visiting!

I am sorry - this post should have been on Monday, but I got so caught up in reading good books that I completely forgot - Remember that these winners are for posts before 11:59 PM on Sunday.

Today's winner is...














Little Brother, by Cory Doctrow...


This fantastically written book was a good read - I would have given it the PRINTZ award - FAR BETTER than Jellicoe Road, especially if you understood the politics involved.

i also found out some more fabulous news! THIS BOOK HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE NEBULA AWARD!!!

I warmly anticipate Doctrow's next novel (if it exists)

Congratulations!!!

My next award will be on Wednesday, March 25!
see you then!

The second annual children's choice book award finalists have been announced. Remember to vote at www.BookWeekOnline.com from March 16 through May 3.

I put in bold what I think is the best books - no pressure for you to vote for that book though.

The favorite book finalists were determined by close to 15,000 children and teens.

Teen Choice Book Award
Airhead by Meg Cabot (Point/Scholastic)
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown and Company) - I wouldn't vote for this one
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen (Viking/Penguin Young Readers Group)
Paper Towns by John Green (Dutton/Penguin Young Readers Group)

Author of the Year
Jeff Kinney, Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn - I wouldn't vote for this one
Christopher Paolini, Brisingr
James Patterson, Maximum Ride: The Final Warning
Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth

P.S. The MONTHLY BLOG WINNER will be announced later today!

Fantasy & Science Fiction: Middle Grade
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Fantasy & Science Fiction: Young Adult
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Middle-Grade Fiction
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

Young Adult Fiction
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Non-Fiction: Middle Grade/Young Adult
The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir by Cylin Busby and John Busby

Graphic Novels: Elementary/Middle Grade
Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hale

Graphic Novels: Young Adult
Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Steve Rolston

Poetry
Honeybee by Naomi Shihab Nye

Congratulations! I wanted to add that I loved The London Eye Mystery and The Hunger Games.

Hello,

I just finished reading Saving Francesca and Looking for Alibrandi, two novels by Melina Marchetta, who also authored Jellicoe Road, the Printz Literature Award for Teens winner this year.

In Saving Francesca, Melina Marchetta weaves a tale of a girl who has a mother in acute depresssion. Francesca, the protagonist, wants to help her mother, but doesn't know how. She looks it up online, but all that she finds is some information about how the "root cause must be addressed." Francesca goes through teh job of finding her mother's root cause, while facing problems at school and at home.

In Looking for Alibrandi, Marchetta writes about a girl who doesn't know her father. Then, her father moves in with her grandmother, who doesn't even know that he is Josephine's father. Josephine Alibrandi is the protagonist by the way. The book, a great first by Marchetta, was amazingly good, and follows the storyline very well. Book readers can only hope that Josephine gets through the ride of her life without some kind of nervous breakdown - that is, untli you read the book! This book also came out as a film - in case any of you are interested.

Looking for Alibrandi:

4.2/5
Good

Ages 13 +

Saving Francesca:

4.0/5
Good

Ages 13 +

Hello,

I just finished reading The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

This was a book about the same time as Life As We Knew It, With the only difference being that it was told from a religious boy woho lived in a city' s point of veiw, and not a practically atheist girl who lived in a small town.

Another major difference was that there was a lot more heartfelt death - first the boy's parents, then (THIS IS A SPOILER) his sister.

Certainly more sad, and Pfeffer show again her natural knack at immersing the reader in the book. Certainly a better job done on the sequel, after getting used to the idea, and Pfeffer did throw more surprises at the reader along the way...

Another thriller, and I know that I will be expectantly waiting for her next book - that is if it exists...

I gave the first book a 4.8, so I feel inclined to give this a 4.9, not that it was better than teh other 4.8 books - it just was so good that it would beat the first book any day

4.9/5
Probably the next "BOOK OF THE MONTH"

Ages 9 and up... If the first was a horror story, This one is scarier...

Hello,

Ha Ha Ha...

I finished reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, by Jeff Kinney, and it gave me the usual Diary of a Wimpy Kid laugh. In this book, Greg is set by his dad to do some "manly" endeavors, and to reduce his wimpyness. Greg, of course, sidesteps every one of his dad's needs, from continuing to wear his mother's bathrobe, to volunteering for substitute goalie in order to sidestep soccer time.

Kinney weaves a thriller again with Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw.

4.9/5
"Worth Every Cent"

Ages 7 and up

I just finished reading Savvy, a novel by Ingrid Law! Oh, let me slow down - I even forgot my greeting! Still, it was a very good book, and if I was deciding the Newbery, I would have voted this over The Graveyard Book. Oops! I wasn't supposed to tell you about that review that is coming up soon.

Anyway, Savvy was about a family that has special powers. The family calls their powers their "savvy." In the book, Mibs, the main character, chances stowing away on a rickety bus to try to save her father, who had been in an accident.

That day, she was going to find out what her savvy was, and she convinced herself that it would save here father.

She finds love, sadness, and almost every other emotion after the bus ends up going in the wrong direction.

Law wrote a wonderful tale of happiness and sadness, love and affection, cruelty and loneliness.

4.8/5
Very Good

Ages 8 and up