TWILIGHT, PLAYING IN TRAFFIC, GOSSAMER, EACH LITTLE BIRD...

Stephenie Meyer. TWILIGHT

I had heard all the praise for this novel for quite some time. I finally got the chance to read it. Now I see what all the fuss was about! I stayed up really late reading it; I literally could not put it down. Now that it’s over, I can’t stop thinking about the characters! Bella has just moved to a small town called Forks to live with her dad. She meets this incredibly handsome, but confusing guy named Edward, who turns out to be a vampire. To protect her, he wants to stay away from her, but he can’t. She doesn't care about the risks, she can't stay away from him either. They fall in love. There are some cool action scenes, but the best part is the electricity between Bella and Edward. This one will stick with you for a while. Thank goodness there's a sequel, because I think it would break my heart to see this story end!

Gail Giles. PLAYING IN TRAFFIC

I've been wanting to read some more Gail Giles for a while now. She's from Texas like me & rumor has it that she even lives in The Woodlands, which is exactly where I used to live. (she even mentioned a few of the locations around town in the book- too cool.)
Matt is the type of guy who wants to blend in. He doesn’t really want to be noticed or stand out in school. So, when Skye begins to give him attention, he wonders, at first, what the deal is. Skye is definitely noticeable. She dresses in all black, has spiked hair, and is very beautiful. Matt is taken in by her and begins to fall in love with her. There are several interesting twists in this book to keep you turning the pages. The end is…yikes... just read it to find out! This book is recommended for high school and above.

Lois Lowry. GOSSAMER

If you’ve read any of Lowry’s books (The Giver, The Messenger, Gathering Blue, etc.), you’ll definitely love this one. That really is all you need to know to go grab it off the shelf. However, I’ll pique your interest a little more. This novel is as unique as her many others. It is about our dreams and where they come from, as well as how nightmares and good dreams can affect us. There is an eight-year-old boy who has lived a very sad life and a woman in the latter years in her life ready to take him in and help him. It’s a short, but very moving book that I won’t soon forget. * * *update 1/23/07- Lowry just won the distinguished Edwards Award from the ALA, which is an award that honors lifetime achievement in young adult literature. * * *Yea for Ms. Lowry!

Deborah Wiles. EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS

Comfort Snowberger is a fresh and wonderful character in a really sweet story. Her family is in the funeral business, as she shares with us immediately on the first page, "I come from a family with a lot of dead people." Comfort feels pretty at ease at funerals, unlike most other ten-year-olds. However, things change when she has several people very close to her die all within a few months. Comfort and her family are people I very much enjoyed getting to know. I was sad when it ended. I would definitely like to visit them again sometime. (suitable for readers as young as 4th or 5th grade)

PRINCESS FROM ANOTHER PLANET, DEAD GIRLS DON'T WRITE LETTERS, THE EMPTY MIRROR

Mindy Schanback. PRINCESS FROM ANOTHER PLANET

This is certainly not your ordinary “princess” book. Gracie’s mom is the queen of another planet. Or at least that’s what she says. No one believes her- they only pretend to. All of a sudden Gracie’s mom is getting signals from outerspace about some enemies that have landed on Earth to kill her and her family. Will everyone finally believe her that she is a Queen from another planet? Will Gracie finally accept her true identity? This was fun and different.











Gail Giles. DEAD GIRLS DON’T WRITE LETTERS

If you're looking for something different, this one's for you. After Sunny's sister has been dead for about 6 months, she gets a letter in the mail from her sister, Jazz. Guess what? She isn’t really dead. Jazz shows up at their house a few days later. But there's something about her that doesn't feel right. Is it really Jazz, someone else, or something else all together? Intriguing book. Please come see me after you read it, so we can talk about the ending.




James Lincoln Collier. THE EMPTY MIRROR

Wow, this was a different kind of book. Nick has some unusual dreams in the beginning and feels as though he’s lost something. Then later, while at the pond with his friend, they notice that he no longer has a reflection! Then when crimes start being committed in town, people blame Nick. They swear that they’ve seen him in all these locations where the crimes were committed. But Nick knows he clearly was not at any of those places. Unless he’s going crazy? He isn’t sure. This is quick read, because you won’t put it down until the mystery is solved. At least, I couldn’t.

SEA OF MONSTERS, PRINCESS ACADEMY

Rick Riordan. THE SEA OF MONSTERS

The sequel to THE LIGHTNING THIEF was equally as awesome as its predecessor. I had forgotten how funny the author was. At the beginning of the book, the half-blood camp is in danger. The borders are no longer protected because someone has poisoned Thalia’s tree. The campers must continually fight off monster attacks. Percy discovers he has an unexpected relative, the new quest he must go on involves saving his best friend Grover, as well as saving the camp and perhaps Mount Olympus itself. This was a jam-packed adventure story that also cracked me up!



Shannon Hale. PRINCESS ACADEMY

This is not in any way the "fluffy" book that the title would seem to indicate. This is a wonderful adventure of a small mountain town and its young girls. One day the prince, who lives down in the main town, says that he will choose his princess from the mountain town of Mount Eskel. The main character, feisty 14-year-old Miri, along with all of the other teenage girls must go the Princess Academy to learn what it takes to become a princess & to get ready for a ball where the prince will choose his bride. The girls are schooled by a mean headmistress who severely punishes them. There is a little danger and some magic too. This was a wonderful, highly satisfying book. It completely deserved the Newbery Honor it received.

THE SCHWA WAS HERE, FADE TO BLACK, GHOST STORY

Neal Shusterman. THE SCHWA WAS HERE

This book got so much positive press that I had been wanting to read it for ages. Finally, I got the chance. Anthony, known as "Antsy," gets to know a fellow student named Calvin Schwa. They call him the Schwa. The Schwa is the kind of kid who no one really notices. He seems to appear and disappear before your very eyes. Antsy figures a way to make money off of the Schwa's unusual talent…until they get caught. Their punishment is unusual, but better than getting arrested. I enjoyed this extremely intriguing and fun novel. I literally couldn't put it down and had to finish it in one sitting. It's certainly not your everyday novel. Give it a shot; you'll be pleasantly surprised!



Alex Flinn. FADE TO BLACK

Clinton Cole is accused of something that he swears he didn't really do, but somehow people think he's the type of person to have done it. He has actually harassed the new student in the past, so why couldn’t he have attacked him? A witness places him at the scene…
This is another great one by Alex Flinn. She really has a way of getting into people's heads. You connect with each character, so that you feel like you not only know them, but see their side of the story. This novel brings up some some thoughtful issues that make you wonder what you would do in this type of situation.

Julian Thompson. GHOST STORY

This was a fun, quirky little story about a girl whose only friend turns out to be a ghost! Anna has moved to a small New England town where her parents have bought an old inn. One day a ghost named Roxy shows up in Anna's bathroom. They become friends, since they seem to have a lot in common. Roxy used to work in the inn when she was alive. Roxy has to complete a task before she can move on. This task ends up involving coming to Anna's rescue. This is a lighthearted story that is not at all deep, but enjoyable just the same.

WELCOME TO THE ARK, LISTEN

Stephanie S. Tolan. WELCOME TO THE ARK
This novel is set in the near future in a world full of terrorist attacks and bombings all over the world. Four brilliant kids, who seem to be connected in some way, are chosen to live together in an experimental home. The two doctors who direct the experiment live with them as parental figures. They give the kids access to the Internet to connect with kids all around the world who are similarly gifted. The house where they live is called the Ark. They kids are hoping to find a way to ensure survival in the bleak current state of violence an mayhem in the world. This book had some really cool ideas. I couldn’t believe that Tolan wrote this back before 9/11.





Stephanie S. Tolan. LISTEN

Charley is looking at a boring summer recovering from an accident that injured her leg. Her mother passed away, her friend is away at camp and her father works all the time. Then an encounter with a stray dog changes everything. Charley meet the dog in the woods near her house. He won’t let anyone come near him. She names him Coyote and sets out to tame him. Charley has an amazing summer with the dog and reminiscing about her mother. This was a really heartfelt novel. It is well written and beautiful! (Suitable for readers as young as around 5th grade)