#27--Fat Cat by Robin Brande

This is one of those titles that I've been eyeing since it first came in at the beginning of the year.  And now I've finally had the opportunity to sit down and devour it!

Cat wants nothing more than to beat Matt McKinney at the annual science fair in the spring.  They have both signed up for a rigorous Special Topics in Research Science class and it the class itself is legendary.  Cat and Matt used to be friends, until the science fair in seventh grade, when Matt stabbed Cat in the heart and she has never forgiven him. 

Cat's 7-month long research project is to research the effects a hominin diet can have on a modern homo sapien.  Cat determines to eschew all modern conveniences like TV, cell phones, and cars (with a few logical exceptions--after dark, for safety purposes), and to begin eating a diet as close as possible to what hominins would have eaten.  Cat goes from a diet that consisted mainly of Diet Coke and junk food to a cleaner, mostly vegetarian diet and adds daily walking to and from school and work to her routine.  The only people who know about the details of her experiment are her parents, her best friend, Amanda, and her teacher, Mr. Fizer.

Over the course of her experiment, the weight starts to drop off, but Cat still thinks about herself as "Fat Cat".  When boys she has never really spoken to start to pay attention to the new Cat, she adds another dimension to her experiment--how do guys react to the new Cat?

Through it all, Amanda (and her boyfriend Jordan) are supportive of Cat--but Jordan doesn't know the truth behind the animosity between Cat and Matt.  And the animosity keeps growing....

Will Cat beat Matt?  Will they ever be friends again?

Loved this book!!  Cat had some great points with her research.  I have often wished that I enjoyed cooking enough to attempt to eat a more "clean" diet like the one Cat follows....maybe one of these days it'll happen.  In the meantime, I'll be running off my meals.  :)

Happy Reading!!

#26--Girl, Stolen by April Henry

At the end of every school year I check out a bunch of books that have sounded really good during the year that I haven't had a chance to read.  So, before I left the building on Friday, I checked out my summer reads and today I got started on them.

Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of her stepmom's car while waiting for her prescription to be filled to help get rid of her pneumonia.  Within just a few minutes of leaving the car, the door opens and slams shut and the car is started and then moving.  Pretty quickly, without looking, Cheyenne knows that it isn't her stepmother, Danielle, driving the car--and that the car is being stolen, with her in it.  Cheyenne isn't sure how she is going to survive because, not only is she sick, but she is also blind and without her trusty guide dog, Phantom.

Griffin didn't mean to kidnap Cheyenne.  He simply saw the fancy Escalade, with keys dangling from the ignition, as an easy target.  He didn't realize that there was someone in the back seat, until it was too late.  He knows that he will pay for his impulsiveness when his dad, Roy, finds out what he has done.  Roy runs a chop shop and has committed petty crimes, and taught Griffin to do the same, along with his two employees, TJ and Jimbo.  While watching the evening news, Roy discovers that Cheyenne's father is the president of Nike, and he hatches a plan to ask for a hefty ransom for Cheyenne's return. 

Told with alternating narration between Cheyenne and Griffin, this is a quick, easy read, that had me on pins and needles, wondering what was going to happen to Cheyenne and Griffin, with a great twist at the end!  I will be definitely be adding this one to my list of possible book talks for next year!

Happy Reading!!

#25--Redemption by Veronique Launier

There are often themes in young adult literature that come and go....currently we are in a werewolf/vampire stage (one that I personally hope goes "softly into that good night").  I recently came across two books that had gargoyles as their central characters...today's read and a title I can't bring to mind as I type this, but am hoping it comes to me.  Gargoyles are fascinating to me ever since I first saw Disney's Beauty and the Beast (and possibly even before that).  The intricate carvings builders used to include in their work, including gargoyles, are amazing, and the fact that they are still around, hundreds of years later, is even more amazing.  (We Americans are often suprised when a building or other artifact is still around at 200 years, when people in many other parts of the world think of anything 200 years old as just a teenager!)  Thanks to my quick research (go wikipedia!) I discovered that gargoyles were originally used as a way to divert water (think modern-day downspouting), and have been connected to Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, including the Temple of Zeus. 

One of the first things that grabbed my attention with this book was its cover:

Today's story opens with Guillaume, a gargoyle (but you don't know he is one yet), observing people going about their business in the streets below him.  While taking in his surroundings, he notices a girl, by herself, and looking aprehensive....with good reason....three men approach her in a meanacing fashion, but there is nothing Guillaume can do to help her from his perch on top the former church.  It is obvious to him that these men mean to do her harm.  Suddenly he hears distant drumming and chanting in a language he learned long ago, the Mohawk language.  The chanting, coming from the girl, sparks something in Guillaume and his three other family members, and stones from the top of the building begin to fall to earth, as do some dead pigeons.  The men take off, and so does the girl.  Guillaume, awakened from decades in stone must find this girl to discover how she was able to awaken him and his family.

Aude (pronounced Ode) is freaked out about what happened at the old church.  She is convinced that she is losing her mind.  Then this good-looking guy keeps popping up places and asking her questions that don't make sense.  All she wants is to focus her time and energy into the band she and her friends Lucy and Trick have, Lucid Pill.  Aude is the guitarist and singer, and writes a number of their songs as well.  Lucy and Trick are really her only friends, and now that Lucy and Trick have started dating, Aude worries that Lucid Pill isn't long for this world.

Guillaume quickly finds ways to run into Aude and they become wary friends.  They discover they both have a love for music....at the beginning of his life (in the middle of the thirteenth century) he studied organ at the Notre Dame in Paris and was considered to be a prodigy even then--imagine what 800 years of practice would do to improve on that!  They eventually discover that Aude has the ability to transfer essence (or life), which is what the gargoyles need in order to continue to appear human.

After further sleuthing by Guillaume, Aude, Guillaume's family, and a Mohawk shaman, it is believed that Aude may be the key to an ancient prophecy about the end of the world.  There are clues all around that the prophecy has already been set in motion, but will Aude, Guillaume and the others be able to stop it before all of Montreal, and even the world, is destroyed?

The author includes details in her story from the French legend of La Gargouille, including the form that Guillaume takes when he is at his most powerful, which made it all the more fascinating for me.  The narration alternates between Aude and Guillaume, which gives the story a little extra something, and keeps you on the edge of your seat because you don't always know the whole story until the author is ready to share it with you.

There's much more to this story, but I don't want to give too much away. 

I really enjoyed this story.  There were a few times when I believe the timeline may have been off slightly, but that also could be due to the fact that you don't find out how Guillaume and his family became gargoyles until more than halfway through the book.

This title is already in my wish list to be purchased for school for next year!  Can't wait to tell my students about this one!!  The ending leaves it open for a sequel, which I'm really hoping happens, and soon!

Disclaimer: I was provided with an advanced copy of this book for my kindle by the publisher.  All opinions are 100% mine.

This book will be available for purchase on September 8, 2012, but can currently be pre-ordered.

Happy Reading!!