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Huge. Sasha Paley. 2008. Simon & Schuster. 272 pages.

"Faster, faster!" Wil Hopkins's trainer, Heather, yelled over the sound of crashing waves.

Huge is the story of two girls at fat camp. Wil Hopkins who is understandably angry, bitter, rebellious, and generally unpleasant to be around, and April Adams whose issues may be a little less obvious. Both girls are at Wellness Canyon for the summer. Wil against her will; April because she has worked and worked and saved and saved. The two, of course, are roommates. Their "success" at the camp depends on their ability to work together as a team, to work through any issues, to learn to trust one another, etc. But how do you do that when you can't stand the other person?!

The cover reads, "at fat camp even the drama is huge," and that gives you a fair description of what to expect. Two teen girls who are first brought together when they compete for the attention of a guy, Colin, and then brought together by the need for revenge when that guy turns out to be a big jerk. Perhaps because of the "boy drama" going on, Wil forgets temporarily that she desperately wants to gain weight at fat camp so her parents can't have the satisfaction of her success. So by the end of camp, Wil has lost weight too.

Huge has two narrators. And to be completely honest I had a hard time liking either of them. Wil, the richer of the two, seems to be the biggest pain. She's angry, bitter, rebellious. She acts out--speaks out--in anger a good deal of the time. And she seems to like being rude and hurting people. But her pain is obvious to anyone who's ever been there. Her parents have hurt her repeatedly--hurt her with their words, their actions, etc. What she's hearing is that she's not good enough as she is, that they are ashamed of her, embarrassed of her, etc. She feels that her parents just don't love her, accept her, understand her. I think the more her parents force the issue, force her to try to feel ashamed about her body, the worse it will be for her. I think FORCING her to go to fat camp against her will, forcing her to deal with her weight when she's clearly not ready to deal with it,  may not be the best in the long term. Losing weight is a LOT more complicated than it might appear.

If you're expecting "Biggest Loser" insights--break down moments where they get it, they really get it...then you'll be disappointed.

As for April, I think she's lost in her own dream world. She's equated being skinny with being perfect, being popular, being happy. She doesn't really seem to realize that she'll still be herself when she's lost the weight. She can't escape her issues just by losing weight. I think she desperately wants to be someone else. I think her shallowness may be hidden by her cheerfulness. I think she's able to hide her issues easier than Wil. But April has her own troubles, and they are revealed to a certain extent by the end of the novel.

The drama didn't exactly wow me. It was light and fluffy, a bit silly. The "

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Here is a book that I originally blurbed over at Booktopia.  It's a go-to historical fiction and one of my favorite NYC stories.

Bird and Thomas are growing up in a Brooklyn apartment just as the bridge is rising. Over on Water Street, Bird is the youngest of 3 - daughter of a bridge worker and a healer. Thomas is pretty much on his own - Da being down at the pub all the time.

Thomas dreams of being a writer. He has fashioned himself a notebook and makes sure to write everything down. He has a shadowy memory of a woman in lace sleeves who told him that writing can change it all.

Bird has her own dreams of following in her mother's footsteps and becoming a healer herself. She has a notebook where she writes down remedies ... sliced onion for bee stings, coal from the turf fire held under the nose for sneezing.

Bird always needs to fix things. She needs to get her brother Hughie to stop fighting in the backs of pubs. She needs to get sister Annie out of the box factory. She needs to save all her money to help her mother buy a farm in New Jersey.

Thomas needs to find his past and try to fix his family.

This is immigrant Brooklyn in the 1870s. Patricia Reilly Giff has managed to bring in so many aspects of daily immigrant life without making it seem like school. The streets come alive (especially when Thomas and Bird venture into Manhattan) with sights and sounds and smells. It was a pleasure to read about Brooklyn instead of the Bowery.

This book is equally suited for older tweens and younger teens. There is a bit of detailed gore described in some healing scenes that may have queasy readers blanching. Told in alternating chapters, the stories of Bird and Thomas come to life and are a pleasure to read.

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This is one of those books I read years ago and blogged over at Booktopia. It's one of those books that went under the radar, but every time I hand it to a reader, they come back having loved it.

Poor Ivy. A Jinx has followed her since she broke a mirror almost seven years ago. No matter where she and her mother move, bad luck follows. In fact, getting to Gumm Street is the first good thing that has happened in a long time. Ivy and her mom have inherited Aunt V's old house.

Gumm Street happens to be the very street where Pru, Cat, and Franny live. You would think that 3 girls of the same age who live on the same street would be friends. Well, they used to be. Not any more. After all Pru is all stuck up with her nose perpetually in a book, Cat is a great big show off and queen of the cartwheels, and Franny has so many big ideas that she cannot possibly follow through with any of them!

When Ivy moves to the block, a piano is mysteriously delivered and the elusive Mr. Staccato - piano teacher extraordinaire - shows up to offer some lessons. Ivy's first lesson shows her that there is something else to Mr. Staccato besides piano! His dogs seem to talk, and he has a museum room filled with movie memorabilia from way before her time. The prize of which seems to be ruby slippers.

An adventure soon begins with the girls having to get together and work together to defeat the crazy Aunt Cha-Cha and her creepy nieces Bling-Bling and Coco. The girls travel to Spoz, then Spudz and each of them works to find their "unique talent" that Mr. Staccato has told them they possess.

I am not sure how to really describe the plot. Elise Primavera has written lots of plot! I think that kids who have read The Wizard of Oz series will get more out of this book than kids who have not read it. There is a large amount of magical realism, and necessary suspension of belief is required to get through. I did, however, really enjoy the book. I think that it is written on a couple of levels where older readers will get the wry writing style and younger readers will get an adventure story.

I had fun!

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Ways to Live Forever. Sally Nicholls. 2008. Scholastic. 224 pages.

List NO. 1 - Five Facts about Me


1. My name is Sam.
2. I am eleven years old.
3. I collect stories and fantastic facts.
4. I have leukemia.
5. By the time you read this, I will probably be dead. 

Sam is dying of leukemia. Sam is also writing a book; a book about himself, a book with stories, a book with lists. One of his lists, for example, is about all the things he'd like to do before he dies. Another lists ways to live forever. Which includes things like "Become a vampire. Hope you don't meet Buffy" and "Find a Greek goddess and make her fall in love with you. Have her get Zeus the king of the gods to make you immortal" (92-93)

Sam isn't facing this alone. He's got his mom and dad, parents who are supportive of him when they're not busy arguing. He's got his sister, Ella, who's nice to be with...some of the time, if only she didn't throw baby tantrums. He's got his best friend, Felix, too. Felix is also dying, though not of leukemia. The two can be oh-so-honest with each other. One of the things they discuss is how Sam's book should end. Since it would be impossible for Sam to write about his own death before it happened. But it's not like they're talking all death, all the time. They enjoy living life too. Like trying to sneak in a cigarette so they know what it's like to smoke. Like trying to watch an R rated movie without getting caught by their parents.

How do you live life knowing your dying? How do you write about it when you're eleven?

This novel is a quick read, but it's a heavy one. It deals with death and dying in a raw, honest way.


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Peedie. Olivier Dunrea. 2004/2008. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 16 pages.

This is Peedie.
Peedie is a gosling.
A small, yellow gosling who sometimes forgets things.

Peedie may forget plenty of things--to eat all his food, to take a nap, to come in out of the rain. But he NEVER forgets to wear his lucky red baseball cap. Or almost never. Readers learn what happens when Peedie puts his special hat in a secret place. (I think secret places are like safe places. And you probably know how tricky those can be!) Can Peedie remember his secret place? Or is his lucky red cap gone for good?

I liked this one! I think this series is very fun, very playful.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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The Matters at Mansfield: Or The Crawford Affair. A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery. Carrie Bebris. 2008. Tor. 288 pages. 

It is a truth less frequently acknowledged, that a good mother in possession of a single child, must be in want of sleep. 

Who has killed Henry Crawford, and why should Elizabeth and Darcy care?! In The Matters at Mansfield, readers see a different side of Anne de Bourgh, the 'weak' daughter of Lady Catherine. With a little encouragement from Elizabeth Darcy, Miss de Bourgh has decided to follow her heart and disobey the command of her mother. For better or worse. Literally. The book sees Anne running away with her lover! Who's her lover? Three guesses! The scoundrel from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, Henry Crawford. Has Carrie Bebris redeemed Mr. Crawford? Read for yourself and see all the excitement unfold...you can imagine, no doubt, what Lady Catherine will make of this affair...

I am just LOVING these mystery novels by Carrie Bebris. I love the writing, the style, the language, the witty dialogue, the just-right characterizations. I would definitely recommend these books! They are so well-written.

See also: Pride and Prescience and North by Northanger.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Cows Can't Jump by Dave Reisman. Illustrated by Jason A. Maas. 2008. Jumping Cow Press. 44 pages. 

Cows can't jump...
...but they can swim.
Gorillas can't swim...
...but they can swing.
Giraffes can't swing...
...but they can gallop.

I liked this one. I really liked it. I especially LOVED the illustrations. In Cows Can't Jump readers meet a wide variety of animals--snakes, lizards, kangaroos, elephants, cats, fish, ducks, etc. Each animal has something they can do--and do well--but not every animal can do everything well. Each animal is presented as having differences. These differences are celebrated throughout the book. I enjoyed the concept of this one. I thought it worked well. (Perhaps it is a little too long--depending on your audience, of course, it may not hold attention spans throughout the entire book--but for the most part I really liked it.) I think children could easily adapt this one and create their own  story based on this pattern.

You can read sample pages of this one at Jumping Cow Press.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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For a long time I've been interested in writing what I think of as kiddie noir--a kid-level version of the dark, hardboiled, mystery stories made popular in the 1930s by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Well, I don't need to feel any rush to do that because Jack D. Ferraiolo has done it with The Big Splash.

Matt Stevens is most definitely the classic, outsider noir hero with a personal code that he must adhere to. In the slightly twisted middle school world in which he lives, a young crime boss rules the cafeteria and hallways, aided by his personal bodyguards. He controls the sale of sweets in school, as well as the sale of test answers and fake hall passes. There is law at Franklin Middle School. It takes the form of hall monitors, led by one tough customer named Katie Condor. What is Matt's place in this scheme of things? He is neither criminal nor lawman, but something separate, a private detective who students hire for various tasks.

The adults at the school are pretty much invisible. The student subculture is the one kids really live in. Unless, of course, they are humiliated by being shot in the crotch with water pistols usually filled with cat urine. No one survives that. The humiliated spend the rest of their student lives in the Outs. Moving on to high school is no escape. Once in the Outs, always in the Outs.

Yes, it's an over-the-top premise but it's laid out on the page as given by first-person narrator Matt who speaks in classic noir simili. Of Joey Renoni, also known as the Hyena, Matt says on the very first two pages, "He scanned the crowd constantly as we walked, his head swiveling back and forth in a herky-jerky motion, like a lawn sprinker with the hiccups." Just a few pages later, he says of himself, "Apparently, I wore my thoughts like makeup on a little girl: all over my face." The noir style is so well done that it would be very difficult not to accept the world it describes.

The Big Splash is filled with goons and heavies and femme fatales and damselles in distress. The young women in this book are fantastic. They may wear ponytails and, in at least one case, carry binders with horse stickers pasted all over them, but they are tough and powerful. And while all the characters are clever takeoffs on their adult counterparts in adult noir stories, many of them also have some serious depth going for them, too. Nikki Fingers--there's a heart-breaking bad girl.

This is a two-year-old book that seems to have been well-reviewed when it was published, but I missed it until a local librarian bought it a few months ago. It really deserves a wide readership.

Plot Project: This is an idea/concept plot rather than a give-a-character-something-to-want-and-keep-it-from-him plot. The Big Sleep clearly provided some inspiration for The Big Splash, though it's been years since I've read it so I don't know if the plots are at all similar.

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Chains. Laurie Halse Anderson. 2008. Simon & Schuster. 320 pages.

The best time to talk to ghosts is just before the sun comes up. That's when they can hear us true, Momma said. That's when ghosts can answer us. The eastern sky was peach colored, but a handful of lazy stars still blinked in the west. It was almost time.

When the novel opens, Isabel, our heroine, is seeking help from her (dead) mother one last time. But it's to no avail, her mother's ghost does not answer her pleas, can provide no further guidance to her two daughters, Isabel and Ruth.

Their mistress has died. Isabel knows that her mistress freed her and her sister before she died; it's in her will. But her mistress's nephew--Mr. Robert Finch--as her only living relative refuses to believe that consulting a will is even necessary. Naturally, all her aunt's property is his. And since Isabel and Ruth are nothing but property, they are his by right. The fact that there's a will, a lawyer, who could say otherwise? Irrelevant. Mr. Robert sells both girls at the first opportunity. Their buyer? The Locktons of New York. Isabel is even given a new name. One that is "easy" to remember. Sal. But Isabel can never be comfortable wearing a new name, being the property of someone else. Isabel dreams of so much more. She dreams of freedom. What keeps her from acting on impulse? Of running away? Her sister, Ruth. But the actions of a cruel mistress--selling her younger sister--means that Isabel has nothing left to lose. Will Isabel believe the British who are promising freedom to some slaves? Or will Isabel believe the Patriots who claim the same thing--freedom to slaves who help their side.

A nation at war. A young country seeking freedom, justice, liberty. Set in New York City during circa 1776-1777, the story is vibrant and heartbreaking. It's a story rich in detail and emotional and powerful in nature. Isobel's story--her struggles--resonates so deeply that I think this one is a must-read.

I first reviewed Chains in November of 2008. I reread it so I'd be ready for the release of the sequel, Forge.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Revelations. Melissa de la Cruz. 2008. Hyperion. 272 pages.

On an early and bitterly cold morning in late March, Schuyler Van Alen let herself inside the glass doors of the Duchesne School, feeling relieved as she walked into the soaring barrel-ceiling entryway dominated by an imposing John Singer Sargent portrait of the school's founders.

The third in Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods series. The first two are Blue Bloods and Masquerade. It continues the story of Schuyler Van Alen, Mimi Force, and Bliss Llewellyn. These three are very different from one another--in some ways--but they do have some things in common. They're from wealthy families. They live in New York and attend a top school. They're vampires. And they have troubled--very tangled--love lives. (Mimi and Schuyler both are in love with the same vampire guy--Jack Force.) The Blue Bloods are still struggling to accept the current dangers and threats posed by the Silver Bloods, the Dark Angels. There has been a recent change in leadership. And they are preparing to take action. But is it too late? Have they waited too long?

Revelations is a blend of action, mystery, and romance. (Much is revealed in this one!) If you enjoy YA paranormal romances, then I would definitely recommend the series.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Today I am in debt to the many who have embraced Dangerous Neighbors and made today, its launch day, alive and so beautiful, in so many ways.

Thank you, Amy at My Friend Amy, for doing so much, so quietly, so dearly — for finding the energy, for working (with Nicole Bonia) toward the ideas and the ideals, for coining the phrase The Beth Effect, for believing in the power of hope, and finding it.

Thank you, Melissa Walker, for asking me to tell the cover story of Dangerous Neighbors for your Barnes and Noble blog at Unabashedly Bookish. 

Thank you, Holly Cupala, for inviting me to share some of the secrets behind Dangerous Neighbors (and to conduct a book giveaway) for your own wonderful blog. 

Thank you, Deborah at Books, Movies, and Chinese Food, for your gorgeous review and for so kindly posting your thoughts on Amazon.  What a kindness.

Thank you, Anna Lefler, beloved comedienne and faithful Twitterer.

Thank you, Mandy, for more than I can ever tell or say.

Thank you, Karen Mahoney, for this incredible blog nod (and a fantastic list of other blogs you cannot live without).

Thank you, Elizabeth Mosier, for your party-hat wearing (even if it did unsmooth your enviably smooth hair).

Thank you, Jay Kirk, Sy Montgomery, Katrina Kenison, J.C. Castner, Kate Moses, Hipwritermama, Erin McIntosh, Lorie Ann Grover, Melissa Middleman Firman, Jill Santopolo, Rody Gratton, Paul DiLorenzo, Andra Bell, Ivy Goodman, Nate, Nate, Laura, Kelly, Tirsa, Richard, Liz, Jan, Barbara, Jerry, Rosellen Brown, and Alyson Hagy.

Thank you, all of Egmont USA, and thank you, Amy Rennert, for calling, and thank those of you who encourage champagne and a little private reflection on a day that so much corporate work calls, and thank you any that I have inadvertently missed. I don't mean to miss goodness.  Ever.

For so many reasons, this book feels like my first, ever.

I have all of you to thank for that.

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Oscar and the Cricket: A Book About Moving and Rolling. Geoff Waring. 2008. Candlewick. 32 pages.

One fall day, Oscar was up on the hill when he found something round and red in the grass.
He sniffed it and nudged it. What could it be?
Cricket jumped up.
"It's a ball!" He said. "You can make it roll. Try pushing it with your paw."
So Oscar did.

Are you curious about the world around you? Are you always asking questions? You might be a lot like Oscar. He is one curious kitten. He is the star of Geoff Waring's Start With Science series for young readers. In this adventure, Oscar meets a cricket who teaches him about how things move. One of the things Oscar learns is that for things to move there needs to be an outside force.


The series is designed to present (explain) basic concepts to children about the world around them in an age-appropriate way.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Oscar and the Bat: A Book About Sound. Geoff Waring. 2008. Candlewick. 32 pages.

One summer evening in the meadow, Oscar heard a new sound. He looked around to see who was making it.
Bat swooped by.
"It's the baby blackbirds," he said. "Their nest is over there in the bush."
"Oh," said Oscar. "I can hear them, even though I can't see them!"
"Yes," said Bat. "Our ears help us know what's around us, even when our eyes can't."

Oscar is a very curious kitten. And he is the star of Candlewick's "A Start With Science" series by Geoff Waring. In this adventure, Oscar meets a bat who teaches him about sound.

Though there are fictional elements to the book--cats may be curious, but they rarely ask questions--the books are full of facts shared through a conversational format.


The series is designed to present basic concepts to children about the world around them in an age-appropriate way.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! by Kyle Mewburn. Illustrated by Ali Teo & John O'Reilly. 2008. Peachtree. 32 pages.

Auntie Elsie was always pleased to see Andy.
"Hi-de-hi, Andy Apple Pie!" she yelled.
"Hello, Auntie Elsie," he replied, and got ready to run.
But Andy was too slow.
Auntie Elsie's arms swooped out and grabbed him in a squishy hug.
Andy wriggled.
He held his breath.
But the sloppy kisses came, all the same.

I love this one! I do! I think it's very fun. It stars a little boy, Andy, and his very loving aunt. Whenever his aunt comes to visit, Andy tries and tries and tries to outwit her. He plots and plans how he can avoid her yucky kisses. Each time he fails. But one day, his aunt doesn't come...and Andy realizes that maybe being kissed isn't the worst thing in the world! Can Andy find a place in his heart for his Auntie?

I enjoyed this one very much!

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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Mr. Cavendish, I Presume. Julia Quinn. 2008. HarperCollins. 384 pages.

It was a crime that Amelia Willoughby was not married. At least that was what her mother said.

Mr. Cavendish, I Presume is a companion novel to The Lost Duke of Wyndham. I can't remember reading two books tied so closely together--within the romance genre. (The only example I can think of is Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow.) While The Lost Duke of Wyndham tells the story of Jack Audley and Grace Eversleigh, Mr. Cavendish, I Presume tells the story of Thomas Cavendish and Amelia Willoughby.

Thomas and Amelia have been betrothed for twenty years. Amelia was just an infant when her father contracted the marriage with the future Duke of Wyndham.

As far back as her earliest memory, it had been impressed upon her that this man (boy that he was at the time) was in charge. Her life, quite simply, and with no arguments accepted, revolved around his.
He spoke, she listened.
He beckoned, she jumped.
He entered a room, and she smiled with delight.
And most importantly, she was glad for the opportunity. She was a lucky girl, because she got to agree with everything he said.
Except--and this had to be his greatest offense--he rarely spoke to her. He almost never beckoned--what could he possibly require that she could provide? And she'd given up smiling when he entered a room because he was never looking in her direction, anyway. (32)

Thomas is indifferent to Amelia, and that infuriates Amelia. It's not that she's in love with him. She's not. How can she love a man who's practically a stranger to her? What frustrates her is that she wants to get to know him. And he obviously doesn't want to get to know her. Now that she is of age, why isn't he taking the proper steps to making her his wife? How long will she have to wait for him?

What changes? It starts when he finds her alone in the garden and they share a kiss.

"I ought to kiss you again," he said, lifting one brow into a practiced, arrogant arch.
She wasn't so sophisticated that she had a ready retort for that, a circumstance with which he found himself quite satisfied. He leaned forward slightly, smirking.
"You're quiet when I kiss you."
She gasped with outrage.
"You're quiet when I insult you as well," he mused, "but oddly, I don't find it quite as entertaining."
"You are insufferable," she hissed.
"And yet they arrive," he sighed. "Words. From your lips."
"I'm leaving," she declared. She turned to stalk back into the assembly hall, but he was too quick, and he slid his arm through hers before she could escape. (38)

It escalates when his world becomes threatened by the arrival of Jack Audley, a young man who could very well be the rightful Duke of Wyndham. Who is Thomas if he isn't the Duke? Amelia has been raised to be the Duchess. Does he even have a claim to her if he loses his title and land? Would she want him if he wasn't the Duke? Is it fair that he would want her still? Will these two have their happily ever after?

Mr. Cavendish, I Presume shares so much with The Lost Duke of Wyndham. Same characters, same scenes, same dialogue. But the book is narrated by different characters. So readers learn what went on behind

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The Lost Duke of Wyndham. Julia Quinn. 2008. HarperCollins. 384 pages.

It's very silly, but it works: "You don't know Jack. But you could. Read this book. Fall in love. With Jack Audley, Julia Quinn's most dashing romantic hero yet."

First paragraph: Grace Eversleigh had been the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham for five years, and in that time she had learned several things about her employer, the most pertinent of which was this: Under her grace's stern, exacting, and haughty exterior did not beat a heart of gold. Which was not to say that the offending organ was black. Her grace the dowager Duchess of Wyndham could never be called completely evil. Nor was she cruel, spiteful, or even entirely mean-spirited.

Our heroine, Grace, works as a companion. She's not of the same social class as her employer. She's good enough to be at the beck and call of the dowager. But not good enough--wealthy enough--to merit marriage proposals from the eligible men in the neighborhood. And she's especially, especially not good enough to entertain thoughts of a grand marriage. Class has always mattered to the dowager--a prouder woman Grace has never met--but it's never been an issue with Grace. Not really. But all that changes when Jack comes on the scene.

Who's Jack? He is a highwayman. He meets the dowager and her companion late one night. He holds them at gunpoint. What Jack didn't expect was to be recognized. The dowager becomes convinced--then and there--that this man, has to be the son of her favorite son, John, a son she's never stopped mourning. She begs him to visit her--without a mask--the next day. She needs to see him. She won't rest until he's been restored to the family. Even if that means seeing the current duke, Thomas, lose his place in the family.

The encounter upsets Grace as well. Jack takes her breath away with one little kiss.

"She was being seduced. She could barely breathe--but this, she knew. In a few minutes they would part ways, and he would have done nothing more than kiss her, and she would be forever changed" (12).

And

"Grace touched her mouth, trying to pretend she did not love the shivers of excitement that rushed through her at the memory. He had kissed her. It had been her first kiss, and she did not know who he was. She knew his scent, she knew the warmth of his skin, and the velvet softness of his lips, but she did not know his name. Not all of it at least" (18).

Within a day or two of their first encounter, he's moved into the mansion. And Grace is encountering him again and again and again. He's just as drawn to her as she is to him. Jack is charming. He's more than just handsome. He's witty too. He loves to tease.

"You stole a kiss."
"That," he said, leaning forward with great cheek, "was freely given."
"Mr. Audley..."
"I do wish you'd call me Jack," he sighed.
"Mr. Audley," she said again. "I did not--" She looked quickly about, then lowered her voice to an urgent whisper. "I did not...do...what you said I did."
He smiled lazily. "When did 'kiss' become such a dangerous word?"
She clamped her lips together because truly there was no way she would gain the upper hand in this conversation.
"Very well," he said. "I shan't torment you."
It would have been a kind and generous statement if he hadn't followed it with: "Today."
But even then, she smiled. It was difficult not to, in his presence. (121)

But now that this highwayman is quite likely the rightful heir, the Duke, their love is more forbidden than ever. And the dowager is not f

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Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris. R.L. LaFevers. 2008. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 400 pages.

The lace on my party frock itched horribly.

Theodosia is back in her second adventure. The first being Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. Theodosia is an eleven year old who takes advantage of her parents' neglect. She enjoys her independence. She needs time for her research. She needs her freedom to work undercover as well. Which is why Theodosia hates the fact that her grandmother is insisting on a governess. Theodosia doesn't need a governess to slow her down! How can Theodosia save the world, save Britain at the very least, if she is always being watched? And the world does need saving...make no mistake about that. Chaos is on the rise again in the second book. This time the 'magical' artifact--ancient Egyptian artifact of course--is a staff with the ability to raise the dead. Can Theodosia keep the staff out of the wrong hands?

I enjoyed this one.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Julia Gillian (And the Art of Knowing) by Alison McGhee. 2008. Scholastic. 290 pages.

Julia Gillian, her parents, and her dog, Bigfoot, all lived together in a third-floor apartment in south Minneapolis.

Julia Gillian is a kindred spirit in many ways. She's a quirky nine year old. Sensitive too. She's good at many things, but not so good at others. One of Julia Gillian's weaknesses is fear and anxiety. What does Julia Gillian fear? Well, in this first book in the series, she fears a green book. You should probably know that Julia Gillian is not a big reader. So the fact that she picked out a book and asked her parents to buy it for her, well, it's a big deal. But there is a problem. About forty pages into it, Julia Gillian gets worried. The book is about a dog, you see, and she has a bad feeling, a very bad feeling about where the book is heading. So she doesn't want to finish the book. So what's the big deal? She can't stop thinking about the book. She wraps two ponytail holders around the book, but she still doesn't feel "safe." And that's just the first step. Her parents think she needs to finish the book. That finishing the book would be good for their daughter. Can Julia Gillian find the courage to read a sad book?

I mentioned that Julia Gillian is quirky. That is one of the reasons why I loved her so much.

Julia Gillian loved lamination. Someday she hoped to master the art of lamination. She pictured all the things that she could then laminate if she wanted to: birthday cards, abstract portraits, excellent spelling quizzes, and all manner of signs. Lamination was a wonderful thing. Sometimes, when Julia Gillian's parents were sighing over their newspaper, she wanted to remind them that there were many good things in the world, such as lamination. (75)

I enjoyed this one. I enjoyed getting to know Julia Gillian, her friends and family. I enjoyed the writing too. I thought Julia Gillian made a great narrator!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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One False Note. Gordon Korman. 2008. Scholastic. 160 pages.

The hunger strike began two hours east of Paris.

One False Note is the sequel to Rick Riordan's The Maze of Bones. In the first book, readers are introduced to Dan and Amy Cahill. These two children are just two of the people who accept the strange challenge set forth in Grace Cahill's will. They are just part of the mad clan dashing frantically around the globe trying to unearth the family secrets and piece this puzzle together. Time matters. Loyalty does not. Can any person be trusted?

In this second adventure, the two are trying to puzzle out how Mozart figures into the family secret. Where is the clue hidden? And why do they need to go to so many boring--at least boring-to-Dan--museums to solve the mystery?

I'm not the biggest fan of this series--well the two I've read so far. But I am not the target audience for this one. I think they are quick reads. I think they're well-paced. I think there is enough action and adventure and mystery involved to keep readers reading. (At least if readers are initially hooked.)

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Cinderella. Max Eilenberg. Illustrated by Niamh Sharkey. 2008. Candlewick Press. 56 pages.

Once upon a time there lived a girl whose mother--the kindest mother in all the world--had died and whose father had married again. The wedding had barely ended before the new wife began to reveal her true nature. She was snobbish, mean, and foul-tempered. Ooh, she was horrid. And she was especially cruel to the girl, whose beauty made her own two daughters look positively hideous. the stepmother couldn't stand this.

I really enjoyed this retelling of Cinderella. I liked many things about it. I liked the way it was told. (I loved the parenthetical commentary, for example.) I liked the fact that there was more than one ball. I really, really loved that. It was the third ball, in fact, where Cinderella lost her glass slipper. I liked the fact that Cinderella's father wasn't dead--he was just weak and enchanted (in a way). That it was with a little help from him that she was able to "win" her Prince in the end.

I really enjoyed the illustrations. I thought they complemented the text perfectly.

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Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story From Africa. Jeanette Winter. 2008. Harcourt. 32 pages.

Wangari lives under an umbrella of green trees in the shadow of Mount Kenya in Africa.
She watches the birds in the forest where she and her mother go to gather firewood for cooking.
And she helps harvest the sweet potatoes, sugarcane, and maize from the rich soil.

Wangari Maathai is an environmentalist who won in the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. This book is the story of how she started a movement in her own country by planting just nine seedlings. After returning to her country--after attending school in America--Wangari was saddened by the loss of trees. She hated seeing what the lack of trees was doing to the environment, the community, the village. She wanted everything to be green again. What can one woman do? Well, for one thing get other women involved too! By working together they can make a difference!


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Mercy Watson Thinks Like A Pig. Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. 2008. Candlewick. 80 pages.

Mr. Watson and Mrs. Watson have a pig named Mercy.
Mr. Watson, Mrs. Watson, and Mercy live together in a house at 54 Deckawoo Drive.
One day, Mr. Watson and Mrs. Watson and Mercy were sitting on their patio.
Mr. Watson and Mrs. Watson and Mercy were drinking lemonade.
Mr. Watson said, "Mrs. Watson, this lemonade makes my lips feel puckery."
"I put an awful lot of lemons in it," said Mrs. Watson.
"That explains it," said Mr. Watson.

I finally got a chance to read this one, the fifth in the series. Last month, I read the other five Mercy Watson books. Fortunately, you don't have to read the books in order to appreciate Mercy Watson*.

What is this Mercy Watson adventure about? Well, it's about Mercy being Mercy. And Eugenia being Eugenia. Eugenia, for those that may not be familiar with the series, is a neighbor who DOES NOT like having a pig live next door. Not even a little bit. No, Eugenia is tired of the pig ruining everything. And she's had enough! She's calling animal control. Surely, they can send someone to take care of one not-so-little pig, right?

I love the Mercy Watson books because they are funny. I think you might like them too!

*Here are the other books:

Mercy Watson to the Rescue. Kate DiCamillo. 2005. Candlewick Press. 80 pages.
Mercy Watson Goes For A Ride. Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. 2006. Candlewick Press. 80 pages.
Mercy Watson Fights Crime. Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. 2006. Candlewick. 80 pages.
Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise. Kate DiCamillo. 2007. Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. 73 pages.
Mercy Watson Something Wonky This Way Comes. Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. 2009. Candlewick Press. 96 pages.


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Perfect Chemistry. Simone Elkeles. 2008. [December 2008] Walker & Company (Bloomsbury). 368 pages.

Everyone knows I'm perfect. My life is perfect. My clothes are perfect. Even my family is perfect.

Brittany looks like she has the perfect life. A life that includes the perfect boyfriend. But. Appearances can be deceiving. Brittany is keeping more than a few secrets. Not wanting anyone at school to know how her home life really is. She doesn't want anyone to see the real her. Brittany has a role to play, control to maintain.

Alex, our other narrator, doesn't even pretend to have the perfect life. (Though that doesn't mean he's not pretending about other things.) There are thousands of rumors going round about him at school. And some of them are true. Not all of them, mind you. But some of them. Like the fact that he's a gang member. Like the fact that he's been arrested.

Destiny steps in when the chemistry teacher pairs these two (from opposite sides of town) as lab partners. These two teens have nothing in common (so they think) and don't want anything to do with each other. At first. Brittany just doesn't know what to make of Alex, his teasing, his charisma. Does he really like her? Does he really understand her more than Colin?
Is she brave enough to go there?

I loved this one. It's not that I think it's the most perfect book I've ever read. It's not. But it's satisfying. Really satisfying. I really enjoyed these characters. I loved the development of this relationship.

There's been something nagging at me all day. As long as I'm here with him, I might as well ask. "Did we kiss last night?"
"Yes."
"Well, it wasn't memorable because I have no recollection of it."
He laughs. "I was kiddin'. We didn't kiss." He leans in. "When we kiss you'll remember it. Forever."
Oh, God. I wish his words didn't leave my knees weak. I know I should be scared, alone with a gang member in a deserted place talking about kissing. But I'm not. Deep in my soul I know he wouldn't intentionally hurt me or force me to do anything. (142)*

If you enjoy romance, you'll probably enjoy this one. It's satisfying in the same way as 10 Things I Hate About You, Dirty Dancing, and How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days.

*All quotes are from an ARC. They might have been revised in the final edition.


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Boys Are Dogs by Leslie Margolis. Bloomsbury USA Children's Books. 2008. Brilliance Audio 2009. Reviewed from audiobook from Brilliance. Narrated by Ellen Grafton.

The Plot: Annabelle has moved to a new house. Because her mother has decided to move in with her new boyfriend. So now she has to go to a new school, a public middle school after years at an all girl's school. Also? Annabelle has a new puppy.

New house, new Mom's boyfriend, new school, new puppy, new friends, new boys. It's a lot to deal with and Annabelle does so -- sometimes gracefully, sometimes not, sometimes reluctantly, sometimes wholeheartedly, but always with humor and a unique, invidual outlook on life.

The Good: Annabelle is a terrific sixth grader. Boys are Dogs captures that perfect mix of excitement and fear over starting a new school in a new town where you know no one. Sometimes, it all goes wrong, like when the puppy eats Annabelle's back to school clothes. Other times, it all goes right, like when Rachel, a girl her age in her new neighborhood, invites Annabelle to eat lunch with Rachel and her friends. If you don't understand the importance of having someone to eat lunch with on the first day of a new school -- well, I can only assume you never had a first day at a new school.

Annabelle and her mother have always been a tight unit of two; the inclusion of Ted, Mom's boyfriend, is done both realistically but also, well -- in a nice way. While it's not easy and all Brady Bunch at the beginning, how refreshing to have a book where the grownups (Mom and Ted) act like, well, grown ups, thinking of Annabelle. Annabelle may not always agree, such as when she had to move away from her school and her two best friends.

A new school with boys... and this is where the book really kicks into gear. Whether it's because Annabelle had no father or brothers, or went to an all girl school, or is now a sixth grader in middle school (I know some teachers who really dislike middle schools), Annabelle has only just now encountered boys. This is not a book about tween romance. Annabelle is not boy crazy -- and before I continue, not every sixth grade girl is boy crazy and it's nice to see that reality reflected in a book. Sixth graders will like this book; but so, too, will younger kids.

Even if Annabelle wanted a boyfriend, the actions of the boys at this new school hardly scream "date me." They kick her chair, play practical jokes on her, call her Spanabelle and Spaz, hog the science equipment, ruin her homework, and I could go on and on. You know what is great about this book? No one ever says to Annabelle or the reader, "that boy is acting like that because he likes you." Hallelujah to at least one book that doesn't perpetuate the myth, "if a boy is mean or disrespectful it's because he likes you."

Annabelle puts up with it.... at first. But she has a secret weapon. Remember her clothes eating puppy? She's been reading how to train dogs. Annabelle puts two and two together and figu

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Scaredy Squirrel At The Beach. Melanie Watt. 2008. Kids Can Press. 32 pages.

Scaredy Squirrel never goes to the beach. He'd rather vacation at home alone where it's safe than risk being surrounded by the wrong crowd.

To avoid encountering the wrong kinds of crowds, Scaredy Squirrel plans on making his own private beach, right at the bottom of his nice happy nut tree. True, kitty litter doesn't have quite the same feel as sand. But still, a few sacrifices must be made for safety, right? But there is one thing his beach needs--really needs to be complete. Seashells. What's a squirrel to do? This one heads off to the real beach to get a few. To bring home. What will he learn along the way?

This one is funny and cute. I definitely liked it!

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

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