Write a Little Play, Have a Little Fun, Get Down Tiny!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is kind of a wild ride for anyone who reads this book. Told in two different voices, by two different characters both named Will Grayson. One thing is for sure, the whole story focuses around the biggest person of all Tiny Cooper. Tiny is such a fun spontaneous, and joyous young man and both Will Grayson’s find him so irresistible. The first Will Grayson is Tiny’s best friend and confidant, the other is his love interest. By a strange chance meeting the first Will Grayson meets the other in a seedy porn shop called Frenchie’s. This chance meeting alters both of their lives forever. Add to the mix, Tiny’s amazing and genius life story musical that is written, directed, and produced by none other than Tiny himself. Will Grayson, Will Grayson is an inspirational tale that is creatively written, seductively cool, and so uncontrollably witty you’ll find yourself laughing out loud.

Mysterious Bites

Kerry has a soft spot for underlings in need of help and it's just her luck that the one that she feels sorry for happens to be a vampire. After she saves the really good looking Ethan she finds out that he actually is a vampire but it's too late because something awful has happened to her family and she has to join forces with Ethan to find her way back to her family and back to the life that she had before the vampire slayers started wrecking havoc in her town. This book is full of excitement and adventure and in the end you might have a little soft spot for Ethan as well. There are definite similarities to the Bella and Edward's relationship except that Ethan is much more mysterious and a little more vampy too. Vampire lovers will adore this fast-paced novel that will absolutley leave them wanting more.

Katniss Kicks It

In a futuristic world, food has become scarce and those who want to eat will pay dearly for it. 14 year-old Katniss Everdeen has been hungry all her life and has forced herself to learn how to be a skilled hunter and forager for food. She has hardened herself to the world and only fears for her younger sister and mother's safety. In order to save her sister, Kantniss steps in her as her replacement in the violent and sadistic Hunger Games in which teens are subjected to fight to the death as entertainment for the world. Katniss has the desire and the will to win, but there will be other obstacles in her way that she never even considered. She will have to out think everyone and trust no one as she fights and puts on the show of her life. Collins has created a world that is enigmatic and horrific at the same time. If has flairs of American Idol and American Gladiator and is utterly captivating. Hunger Games fans can continue to ride the wave of survival with Katniss in Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

The Grimm Legacy

The Grimm Legacy

Elizabeth Rue gave up her shoes and has a real nose for magic. If that doesn't rhyme that's ok because there's plenty more rhymes in this magical mystery. Elizabeth is not so popular and mostly keeps to herself until her social studies professor recommends her as a page at the New York Circulating Material Repository downtown that let's borrowers check out magical objects for a short loan period. She is interested in the Grimm collection, which houses all of the magical objects that we've heard about in fairy tales. There is a dark side to working in the repository because there is a gigantic bird kidnapping pages and someone is stealing the magic from the objects in the Grimm collection. Elizabeth and her friends must find out who is behind the thefts and at the same time take insults from Snow White's stepmother's mirror, which is truly not big on compliments. She has no idea who to trust and who is on her side, but she does have a sense of smell and that can lead her to the magical objects she needs to help her find out the truth. Shulman creates a magical world that is a step beyond the mundane and keeps the magic fresh by adding friendship, kindness, and love.

The Soreceress Fights Back!

In this third book of Michael Scott’s series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Josh, Sophie and Nicholas Flamel are on the run again. This time they are in London and they are ready for a fight. John Dee is up to his same old tricks trying to catch the twins, but this time he doesn’t know what he’s up against. They are picked up and guarded by Palamedes the Saracen Knight who is indeed a true ally. Meanwhile, back on Alcatraz Perenelle is making headway with her ancient and giant spider friend on her side now. Flamel runs into an old adversary who just happens to be the incredibly famous William Shakespeare. The two make amends and Shakespeare turns out to be an outstanding ally.

The twins and Flamel are holed up at an old junkyard trying to contact Perenelle on Alcatraz. They finally get through with an old scrying trick that Shakespeare helps with. Perenelle is in grave danger and about to be eaten by some very ugly creatures. So Flamel, Josh and Sophie all send their aura power to her – all at one time! Perenelle is not so thankful because this alerts the Sphinx to her whereabouts. And she really doesn’t want that kind of company at all. What’s amazing is that all of that aura power makes Perenelle stronger than ever and she is able to defeat the Sphinx at least for a while.

Over in France, Machiavelli is making plans to go to Alcatraz to finally finish off Perenelle. He’s hired Billy the Kid to watch her from afar and to fill him in on anything that is essential to know. What Billy doesn’t know is that after Perenelle defeated the Morrigan, she actually died and her two other sister Macha and Badb were able to become free from her grasp- even though they are all in the same body. Perenelle was able to strike a deal with the two and they became her allies too.

Back in London again there is real horror on the loose. This really ancient and old creepy guy by the name of Cernunnos is out to get the twins and Flamel. He also very angry and wants his sword Clarent back. Dee thinks this is great and wants to join in on the party. But Sophie lights a big fire and Cernunnos is stopped but not killed. And of course, there is always a getaway car and the gang always gets away! They are headed to find the King called Gilgamesh and then to Stonehenge.

To wrap this all up, Gilgamesh is crazy, but he gives the twins the power of water. Flamel is aging rapidly and running out of steam, Cernunnos comes back and tries to get Clarent but he doesn’t get it, Dee does! He puts Clarent and Excalibur together and got a new sword. Perenelle gets of the Rock, and the twins and Flamel make it to Stonehenge and then back to San Francisco. Wow that’s a lot of moving and grooving! Michael Scott has a talent for weaving a great story and with all of the dynamic characters this one keeps your attention. It’s nice to read about the familiar places such as Alcatraz and Mt. Tamalpais. In the end, the twins have gone home, but what will happen next, you just never know? Could Dee come back to haunt them with Clarent in hand? Or maybe he’ll be able to lure Josh away with his new sword. Dee has a plan and he’s not giving up until he has succeeded and the dark elders have taken over the world. Find out in the next book The Necromancer, which just came out on May 25, 2010.

Books will come and books will go

Right now I'm reading The Sorceress by Michael Scott. It's the third book in the series the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. So far it's been pretty good, but the first book still has my vote for #1. I also have plans to read Max by James Patterson this week, but have not been able to thus far. I just finished some really great books that I want to write reviews about.

I've become a huge Jodi Picoult fan and my #1 fave book by her is House Rules. I think my second fave is the Tenth Circle. I recently read two books by Sara Zarr and thought her writing was really fantastic. Sweethearts captivated me and I found myself not wanting the book to end. Once Was Lost was again captivating but not as amazing as Sweethearts. Zarr has other books that I definitely want to read and I think she is up and coming as an author and will rock the teen reader world.

I also finished The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Calletti and was actually pretty surprised by the unfolding of this tale. I thought it was going to be a lot of fluff and really the book had a lot of depth to it. The main character Quinn was really a breath of fresh air for me since a lot of characters in teen books are either really shallow or under described. I liked the myriad of women that voiced their stories on the men they had known in their lives and how that affected them throughout their lives and in their current relationships. What was interesting is that all these women could be traced back to Quinn's father, who was the catalyst for the journey in this book. I loved it!

I also read Big Girl by Danielle Steele which is not my usual reading material, but I found it to be a pretty good read. Victoria in the story had always been a big girl and she was treated cruelly by her parents because of it. She had a younger sister who was perfect in every way and that always made her feel like such a loser. The story follows Victoria on a journey of discovering who she is deep down inside and not for what she looks like on the outside. She becomes a high school teacher who is caring and dedicated to her students. Eventually she find love and changes the tides of the emotional abuse she received from her parents as a child. Nice book, not much depth, but a good read for sure.

Ok, let's see what else is on my horizon of reading. Oh yes, I'm about to start Catching Fire the sequel to the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and I've need to go pick up Poor Little Bitch Girl by Jackie Collins and a brand new book by Sarah Dessen called Lock and Key. I'm so busy with books I can't believe it!!

What's Happening!!

HaHa it's kind of funny I tend to post a lot of book reviews in January and June! This must mean that the rest of the year I am very very busy. I've read some really great books lately and I plan to write about them all. I also have taken an interest in realistic fiction and would like to continue to read more that strike home with issues that teens are dealing with. An interesting books club that I was hosting from January to May was called the who's that Lady book club and it was all girls. The topics were very much real life issues and I think that those issues should never be ignored. My new favorite author is Jodi Picoult. I love her stories and her writing, she is one talented lady!

Messed Up

Messed Up by Janet Nichols Lynch

We meet the adorable R.D. who happens to be stuck in limbo in the San Joaquin Valley school system. He's repeating 8th grade again and he is sick of seeing the same old crap day after day. Those who wear red and blue find ways to hide it under their clothes and they fight each other for no reason at all. On the first day of school R.D. gets suspended for helping a teacher break up a fight. One tiny girl is getting her rear kicked by a much bigger girl and R.D. feels bad for the little girl. He later regrets helping her because now she thinks that he is her man. In the meantime, R.D. is living with his grandmother's boyfriend Earl who takes really good care of him, but Grandma is off doing the town with her new boyfriend Hairy. Also, to make matters worse his mom is in the State Pen. Then things get much worse than having a mom in prison. Earl up and dies on R.D. and he's afraid to let anyone know because he knows he will end up in an orphanage and who will want to adopt him? He's part Mexican and part Cheyenne and he thinks that's quite a mixture. I love this story because this kid has got a great heart. He does some messed up things, but he is just trying to get by in life and some how- some way- you just feel like this guy will do great things. He figures out how to take care of himself, feed himself, make money and he also takes care of Earl's burial in a kind and loving way that not even Earl's sister would do for him. R.D. is one heck of a great main character and I think that the author really brings to light the difficulties of growing up in hard times and in diverse communities. He also ends up making some great friends and deep connections that will last beyond this book. I really enjoyed the end of the book and wished that it would not end and that I could go on hearing about how R.D. is doing from time to time. R.D. reminds me of many of the kids that I work with in my library and I know that if you give a kid a chance they will overcome their adversities. I love that the author allowed R.D. to achieve his highest heights!

The Summoning

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

This book is a nice twist on the girl meets ghost and freaks out story. Our heroine is Chloe Saunders who at first has no idea that she has the power to see ghosts and to make contact with them. After a surprise visit from a burned up custodian ghost at her school she has fit and flips out. She can't figure out why this scary dude is chasing her. When she fights to get away from the teachers and principal, she is taken out in a straight jacket and sent to the hospital. Poor Chloe, the doctors think that she is crazy and she herself isn't quite sure if she is or not. She is sent to a home for mentally ill teens called Lyle House and it's there that she realizes that there are other kids that have special abilities too. She really likes Liz, but Liz can't control her special power and she is taken away. Suddenly, Chloe starts to see Liz in ghost form and she is very alarmed. Simon is the cute guy that has a unique power that is usually undetected by others. Derek is the huge neanderthal dude that has everyone wondering if he can control his temper and he is eating all the time. Tori is of course the nasty nemesis of Chloe, although she doesn't really know that Tori has a power and we don't find out what that power is in this book. I hope the sequel will prove to be as exciting and as interesting as this first book in the Darkest Powers series by Armstrong.

The characters are great in this book and Chloe has a strong personality that the reader can really fall in love with. She is caring, sweet and strong willed. Derek is very likable even though you feel like he might be a bad guy you can't help but feel that he has strong feelings for Chloe. As you learn more about the supernaturals you find that each one has a unique power. Chloe seems to have one of the strongest powers as she can summon the dead which as Derek says is called a necromancer. It was Garth Nix's Sabriel that first got my attention with necromancers being in the spotlight. Sabriel was able to go into the world of the dead and fight them off. Chloe is able to talk to the dead. She has to be very careful because she can actually bring them into our world.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes a good story that revolves around mystery and intrigue and yes especially if you like ghosts and creepy things that go bump in the night. Watch out for the click clack click clack!

Bad Girls Don't Die

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Allright! Cue the creepy eerie ghost music right now. This book rocks the house with it's creepy haunted house, scary deaths, brakes being cut, possessed little sister, and main heroine with hot pink hair! I didn't quite know what to expect with this one but I was really pleased by the end. The story starts out with Alexis who is kind of wannabe bad girl. She is trying to not get hurt by the preps at school so she's striking out and becoming the bad girl before they can even say anything bad about her. She is cutting class and has dyed her hair bright pink all in the efforts of showing the school that no one tells her what to do. Meanwhile, back at home she has parents that don't pay any attention to her. Mom is a workaholic and Dad watches sports on t.v. to block out that his wife is always at work. She has a little sister named Kelsey who really annoys everyone with her whining and sensitivity and she's totally obsessed with dolls and wow is that creepy. So one night Kelsey is wigging out about Mom's lack of mothering and Alexis tries to comfort her but instead she is taken over by this weird story that she starts telling Kelsey and she has no idea where this is coming from. The story goes on and on and mentions all kinds of people and it takes place at the house they live in and then bam! the girl in the story dies. Ok, so anyway not too long later Kelsey starts acting absolutely whackadoo and the next morning Dad almost dies because the brakes in the car have been cut. Come to find out later... Kelsey is being possessed by a super evil ghost that lives in the house. I like this book because there is a lot of depth to the characters and as you get to know Alexis you find that she is a very strong girl and she can and will do anything to fight off this evil spirit. She also bonds with one of the cheerleaders who she hated before and this is all because of a common bond that they have which you find out about later in the story. And, Alexis finds that she gets along really well with a boy that runs into her head with a door. For some reason she has been trying to fight off forming friendships with people and now it seems that she has to trust others in order to get rid of the evil spirit. I really recommend this book because it is a suspenseful mystery and an awesomely creepy ghost story.

The Chosen One

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Oh wow this one is intense. The book takes you on a journey through the eyes of a 13 year old girl named Kyra who lives in a community of polygamists. Now she of course doesn't really know any other way of life. But through the course of the book she starts to learn that she lives a very different life than others on the outside. Her life is pretty fine with one dad, 3 mothers and 20 siblings. However, one day the head of their community, he's called The Prophet comes to their house to speak to her dad. In a very distressful meeting Kyra finds out that she is to be married to her 60 year old uncle. He already has 6 wives and she will be the 7th. That's when the story heats up and we find out that Kyra will do anything she can to not marry her uncle. She also has a love interest in a boy close to her own age named Joshua and he wants to try to talk The Prophet out of marrying Kyra off. Things do not turn out well for the two young people and they are both beaten badly. That's when you find out that the community they live in has a lot of secrets and a lot of control over their people. It's all a very sad story when Kyra decides to run away she can't even do that because they catch her and bring her back. It has been said that if you try to run away they might even kill you. The story has a bitterweet ending that does show you that Kyra has been saved but the price she has to pay is very very dear. I recommend this book because it is not only shocking but very intense to find out that people actually do live in this kind of setting and practice the same beliefs. I would have to say that this book definitely opened my eyes to different ways of living.

The Comet's Curse

The Comet's Curse by Dom Testa

I was very excited to read this book. It has a lot going for it. The scenario is that a terrible and deadly comet that makes anyone over the age of 18 get very sick and eventually die. So that's it, the end of the world is near. The book flashes back and forward from the present to the past so we can get an idea of how things got to be the way they are. We find out that a man decided that he was not going to let the human race die out and created what they called the Galahad. 251 teenagers were selected and trained for two years in preparation for a five year journey to a distant planet on the Galahad, which was made special for the voyage. The teens have to be very responsible, actually as responsible as aduts because they are in charge and not one of them is older than sixteen.

This is a very good story and it reminds me a lot of Star Trek and The Next Generation. The reader is pulled in emotionally by the characters and how they have had either a loss in their lives or how they are cut off from everyone. The five main chaaracters called the Council are specially appealing, their dialogue is hip and sounds authentic, and we get to share their very realistic emotional responses to this life and death situation - having to leave their home, parents, etc. and find ways to cope with the huge responsibilities they must take on.

Eon Dragoneye Reborn

Eon Dragoneye Reborn by Allison Goodman


The lead character in the book is 12 year-old Eon who has had some serious setbacks, his leg is mangled, and he has many deep dark secrets that he is holding on to. However, all might not appear as it seems once you get step into Eon's world. Eon’s master Brannon has trained him well to become an apprentice Dragoneye. When Eon tries out he finds he has much more power than anyone ever thought he had. Dragoneyes are the lucky 12 chosen to be the human link to the dragons of magic or Hua that are represented in the twelve year cycle of power beginning with Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Each year, the ascendant dragon chooses a new apprentice to be trained in this magic. The magic of the dragons is a power used to keep monsoons at bay, minimize earthquakes and keep the well being of the Empire. As Eon ascends into a royal state of court, he tries to hold on to his secret. However, when the evil Lord Ido seeks to destroy Eon things get pretty dangerous. Eon must turn to his new friends he has made to help him stay alive. With his secret dangling in the wind his and their lives are all at stake. This book takes you on an exciting journey through the world that Eon lives in and shows you how the power of one’s own self worth can actually help you achieve a winning hand.

The setting is quite mystical and has you visualizing colorful auras of Chinese dragons and 12 tweens trying to harness the power of these mystical beings. This book is fast-paced and full of exciting surprises. Eon goes beyond the normal fantasy book because it encompasses so much more in a world that does not exist yet has many similarities of the world we know. It starts out with Eon as a boy who is hiding a secret and a lame leg and transcends to an epic saga of a girl who finally realizes that she must stop hiding her true identity to prevail and that takes more courage than she ever knew she had.

Wintergirls

I'm back!! I read a lot of books over the winter break and I have been inspired to start reading again on a weekly basis.


Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

This is an amazing book. The writing is excellent and the story is extremely gripping. Basically you'll be on the edge of your seat while reading this book. It is the story of Lia who is a senior in high school. Lia suffers terribly from anorexia and she hurts herself by cutting. She has already been in the hospital for her sickness and she is under careful watch by her dad and step-mom. She has to be weighed everyday and she has to try to stay at a healthy weight. Lia has visions of weighing less than 80 pounds and she sneaks around at night doing exercises and starves herself. She has no idea that she is hurting herself to the point of nearly dying. Meanwhile, we find out that Lia's best friend Cassie has died mysteriously and everyone including Lia is wondering what really happened. Lia goes back to the place where Cassie died, which actually spurs her to start to go into a backward spiral. Can Lia turn her life around? It will take more than just hope and wishes. She will have to make the choice herself and build up all the trust that she has lost from her family.

I highly recommend this book as it touches on a very serious and disturbing disorder that is now not only related to young women, as is reaching out and affecting young men as well.

Long time no blog

Wow, I can't believe I haven't been on since January. So much has been happening I can't quite believe it myself. I start a MLIS program in January and it basically took up all my time. Work has been very busy for the last two months and I haven't had much time to do any reading really. We had a book fair in May and I was able to read a few good books during that week. One of the books that I highly recommend is a novel called The Godmother. I was entrance with this book and I think that it's a really good read. I am currently reading The Ghost Huntress by Marley Gibson and this is really good as well. It's a modern day girl can hear ghosts story that's got all the chills and thrills like The Sixth Sense. I am going to be off of work for the summer and I will be reading a box of books that I received from a bookstore. I look forward to posting their reviews!

Looking Beyond Fantasy

I had a student ask me the other day to recommend a book for him to read. I asked him what subjects he liked and he said he didn’t know. I asked what other books he had read that he liked and again he didn’t know. I knew that I was going to be digging deep on this one and trying to figure out the just right book for this guy. He finally decided that he liked fantasy and proceeded to ask me if I knew what the book about “dust” was called. Immediately my brain was searching for a book about dust – hmmm let’s see is it "The Golden Compass"? The student was astonished. He asked me how did I figure that out just by me saying “dust”? Well, I have read the book and love it very much and I know that Lyra is a journey in search of dust. When I read the book a few years ago I was amazed by the cosmic references to dust and how it related so much with my master’s degree in Consciousness Studies which was all about the “dust”. But to my dismay the student did not want to read "The Golden Compass".

So, the search was on again. We talked about "The Alchemyst" by Michael Scott and "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman and even "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan but none of these tickled his fancy. It was in a desperate moment that the student asked me, “What is your favorite book?” I knew I better search my mental favorite book list and think about this very carefully. Taking in the statistics, 8th grade student, looking for book probably with action and adventure and then it hit me! One of my favorite books is "Ender’s Game" by Orson Scott Card would you like to take a look at it? As the student read the back of the book I heard him saying oh aliens and oh this looks good. And then I told him the best thing of all is that it has an ending that will jump out and grab you. You will be totally surprised at the outcome. He looked inside the book and saw the chapter Thirds and had a very quizzical look on his face. I said you have to read about the thirds it’s so cool. And that was that. He was hooked on the book and I can’t wait to hear back from him to see his reactions on one of my all time favorite book.

The great thing about science fiction is that it can really captivate the fantasy lover as well. There are so many great elements in science fiction that you don’t see in fantasy. Some of the main elements are technology and invention, which are weaved into the story and it may be set in the future or the past, and includes all time travel. The cool thing about science fiction is that it can be set on other planets, dimensions, and can include catastrophes or natural or manmade disasters. I believe the main point of this genre is to allow the reader to draw conclusions on the characters and how the scientific possibilities affect their fictitious world. Also, the interesting factor in science fiction is that it introduces ideas that are wild and out there that can include the past or present.

The difference between science fiction and fantasy is that the latter is a world that does not exist in our reality. In other words, it is a place that is made up and is imaginary and its existence will never be possible. A few ideas that go hand in hand with science fiction are the point of disconnection from our life which is considered mainly normal and in the science fiction world we would say that way of life is not normal such as robots or machines coming alive or travelling through time and getting stuck in Dracula’s castle. The other point in science fiction that makes it stand out from the other genres is the understanding that as the whole planet Earth is connected as a race, we are also constantly moving forward with technology and really this advancement has progress massively over the last ten years. We are also always trying to find ways to move forward in finding cures to diseases and making ourselves live longer and this plays into a lot of ideas for many new science fiction books such as, Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary Pearson and "Double Identity" by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Now, I just want to say that I am a big fan of the fantasy genre and it seems to be the area that I enjoy reading the most. However, I feel that science fiction offers an interesting alternative to fantasy and gives the readers much satisfaction in knowing that there is something else out there. Cue the weird space odyssey music - ooh eee ooh.

Love & Vampires

In "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer, our beloved Bella finally is forced to make the most ultimate and final choice in her life. She and Edward are married in old world style with the help of her true friend Alice. While Bella and Edward are honeymooning Bella begins to feel very ill and their trip is cut short when she feels that there is something growing inside of her. The tension of the story grows as the little "nudge" grows larger and larger itself. The chain of events from this point on lead up to the most amazing transformation I have ever seen in a character. Let’s just say that Bella becomes the main focus of the story and her drive to protect not only Edward and her family but any other vampires that support her family is truly incredible. I have to say that I have heard and read negative reviews of this book and I do not agree with those reviews. I think that "Twilight" fans will find all that they have been waiting for in this final installment of the series. There is a complete and solid ending and everyone in this story does end up happy and that's what I had really wanted for all these wonderful characters that Stephenie Meyer has created. Will Bella’s dream of spending an eternal life with Edward finally come true? I can’t tell you that! It’s up to you to read this book to draw the conclusions yourself. With a mighty bit of blood and ewww the story really lends itself to the true nature of what being a vampire must really be like. This book leaves me thinking that for the vampire the blood is the most motivating goal and that love is the unending desire to protect those you love.

He Aint Just Nobody

"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman is one of the most refreshing books I have read in a long time. We begin with an eerie story about how a horrible man murders a family quietly sleeping in their home. However, the man can’t seem to find the baby who has mysteriously slipped out of the house and into the graveyard across the street. When the baby is found by a pair of old married ghosts in the graveyard they decide to raise him and call him Nobody Owens. Now, he must stay in the graveyard because the terrible man named Jack is the one that killed his whole family and he is still after him. At any time he could strike terror in the graveyard. As Nobody grows up he begins to refer to himself as "Bod". Bod has a good time at the graveyard and makes many ghostly friends. He also makes friends with Scarlet who happens to be the exact same age as he is. Sadly, though Scarlet thinks that Bod is a ghost and her parents make her move far away. As time goes on, Bod grows into a strapping young boy and must face his worst and greatest fear, the man called Jack. He is prone to going on many interesting and ridiculous journeys that always bring him straight back to the graveyard. Will Bod ever get out of the graveyard and live a normal life? This book is a fun and intriguing tale that will definitely have you rooting for Nobody Owens.

Get the Doll Rolling

Decapitated doll heads and aliens are the focus in "Carlos Is Gonna Get It" by Kevin Emerson. Trina and her friend Sara are really tired of Carlos and his strange antics. It seems like 6th grade couldn’t get any worse except that it can when Carlos has one of his “Day After” episodes. Trina can usually tell when it’s going to happen right away. Carlos comes into class late and then he starts to fall all over the floor and on top of his classmates.

The problem is not that Carlos is so clumsy; no it’s that Carlos says he is visited by aliens at night. This makes the class think he’s so weird that no one wants him near them.

Tired of all of the alien talk and crazy outburst, Trina and her friends begin to hatch a plan that they think will teach Carlos a lesson. The plan is to teach Carlos a lesson that he will never forget.

Unfortunately, as the plan is being mapped out Trina and Carlos get hooked up as science partners. They are assigned to do an oral presentation on any subject they like. Trina’s reaction to finding out that Carlos is her partner is not a pretty one. She is really upset. Her friends think this is perfect because Trina can learn more about Carlos so they can execute their plan.

When Trina visits Carlos at home she sees that his home life is not so great. He has a little sister who bites the heads off of dolls and a teenage cousin who babysits them while his mom works. Trina starts to feel sorry for Carlos and that means that she really starts to question the need to continue with the plan.

After a lot of hard work, Trina and Carlos are ready for their presentation. Carlos has drawn some great pictures and is prepared for his part of the talk but something goes drastically wrong and Carlos has a meltdown right there in class in front of everyone. Trina is humiliated and vows never to speak to him again and she immediately thinks to herself – the plan is on!

Taking into consideration the difficulties that young adults face in middle school and the challenges of fitting in this book covers a lot of emotions that many people can relate to. The issues that Trina is faced with and the decision that she makes will decide her fate as well. Can she live with the consequences that the plan leaves her with? Can Carlos help himself for things he says and does? Read this book to find out and watch out for aliens and flying doll heads!

If He Looks Guilty Is He Guilty?

"Falling From Grace" by Jane Godwin in an amazing mystery that will have you on the edge of your seat right from the start. Sisters Grace and Annie are trying to help a dying penguin on the beach at Point Nepean in Australia. Grace and Annie are 11 months apart and for one month out of the year they are the same age so at the time they are both 12. On the other side of the beach 14 year old Kip is dealing with his own issues, his thoughts, his feelings on being a teenager, and then there is this strange man that appears from nowhere. The man says his name is Ted and he’s bleeding and in need of help.

These young people’s stories collide when Kip finds a backpack in the water with a ringing cell phone. Kip drastically changes the course of his destiny when he answers the phone and hears the panicked voice of Grace and Annie’s father on the other end. Back at the point, Annie has lost Grace, there is a heavy mist and Grace has fallen through the sand on a cliff. Annie panics as well and runs home to find her father.

Kip’s life becomes a whirlwind of secrets, lies, and grunge rock. After the police begin to interrogate him, he begins to look very guilty in the eyes of everyone including his own parents. The police have been searching for days for Grace, but they have not found her. There were only a few clues, her pants were found on the beach with blood stains and her backpack that Kip said he found.

Finally, Kip has had it with all eyes focused on him and decides to try to find Grace himself. It would be a miracle if Grace was alive. Told in the perspective of mainly Annie and Kip, this book is riveting. It rocks you to the core and is sure to have you wondering – did Kip really do it???