#26--Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Auggie says, early on, "I won't describe what I look like.   Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse." He is an average 10-year-old in many ways except that he has never been in public school because of a facial deformity he was born with that has required numerous surgeries and hospital visits over the course of his young life. But Auggie is about to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep.

This story follows Auggie, his family, and classmates through the year and how different people react, or don't, to Auggie. There are immediate friends, bullies, and eventual friends throughout the course of the year.

This was one of the best books I read this summer because it is an amazing story. It doesn't matter that Auggie is 10.  This book is geared for all ages because of Auggie and how he handles himself, his detractors, and his family and their apprehension about sending him to school.

I would recommend this book to everyone! Some of my teachers are thinking about using this book in their classroom as a read-aloud with their classes, which I am really excited about. I will also be adding this title to my book talk rotation too!

Happy Reading!!

#24--My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen is a favorite with my students, especially my boys.  I remember reading Hatchet at some point in elementary or junior high and loving the adventure of it all.  As an adult I enjoy finding out about the author's themselves and if they have had personal experiences that have influenced their writing.  In reading My Life in Dog Years I discovered that Gary Paulsen has lived a very adventurous life, including running the Idiotarod a number of times.

My Life in Dog Years is autobiographical in that it recalls nine different dogs out of hundreds Paulsen has owned over the course of his life....from Snowball, his first ever puppy while the family was stationed in the Philippines to Josh, the trusty and brilliant border collie that was Paulsen's current dog at the time of publication in 1998.  There were stories that made me giggle as well as stories that made me sniffle.  This was a quick and easy read and I know it is a book that my students and dog lovers of all ages would enjoy.

Happy Reading!!

#23--Wolf by the Ears by Ann Rinaldi

Over the years I have found Ann Rinaldi's books to be good historical reads about events or people that you don't always hear much about.  In the case of this title, the main character is Harriet Hemings, daughter of slave Sally Hemings and probably Thomas Jefferson.  In the book, Harriet and her siblings have all been raised as slaves but with light work loads.  They have also been educated and told that when they reach the age of 21 they would have their freedom.  Harriet is approaching her 21st birthday but is unsure if she wants to take her freedom.  She tells her brother Beverly that she loves the master (Jefferson) and doesn't want to leave him or Monticello.  Beverly finally convinces her by telling Harriet that Jefferson lists them, their two younger brothers and their mother in farm journals as just any other slave would be listed....that there is no written record anywhere in the house of what Sally was to Master Jefferson.  Harriet has help in planing her leaving from Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., Jefferson's son-in-law and the governor of Virginia at the time.  Randolph makes sure that Harriet has any and all training and education necessary for Harriet to pass--to live as a white woman.

Much of what I've read in Ann Rinaldi's books appears to be very close to factual.  In this case, Harriet was not freed in real life, but Jefferson never reported her as a runaway and never tried to coerce her into coming back to Monticello.  Reading something like this always makes me want to find out more about the people in the story and what happened to them in real life.

Happy Reading!!

#22--Reservations for Two by Anne Patrick

I was looking for a shorter read on my kindle and this happened to be on the first page and the shortest of the options listed.  This was a quick, easy read.  It was also your typical Christian romance, with the exception of the ages of the protagonists.  In my experience, typical Christian romances place the main characters in their twenties or thirties, and every once in a while you may have a character or two who have slipped into their forties.  In this case, the two protagonists were both retirees who had lost their spouses within the last 3-5 years.

62-year-old Maggie lost her husband of 39 years three years ago and she has traveled to New Mexico, where she and Joe took their honeymoon, to get some closure, as well as some good hiking in.  65-year-old retired judge Carson lost his wife to cancer five years ago and since his only daughter isn't speaking to him, he decided to finally take the trip across the country that he and Emily had always talked about taking.  Maggie and Carson cross paths when she falls while roller-blading and he helps her up.  The owners of the B and B where Maggie is staying encourage the romance, on both sides.  Things move rather quickly and eventually Maggie and Carson set out for her daughter's home in Texas for her grandson's birthday in Carson's RV.  Maggie's daughter is none too happy about this situation, while everyone else (her older brother included) are happy for Maggie.

Like most Christian romances, this one has a happy ending and all the loose ends are tied up by the end.  A year from now I probably won't remember it, but it is a light read, if that is what you're looking for.

Happy Reading!!

#21--Whatever Happened to Janie? by Caroline B. Cooney

So, back in probably middle school or early high school I read the first book in this series The Face on the Milk Carton.....and I probably read it several times.  My students love it too and so I thought it was high time I finally continued on in the series.

In the first book, Janie Johnson picks up her best friend's milk carton at lunch for a swig after eating her sandwich.  This was back when milk cartons had pictures of missing children on them (all you children of the 80's know what I'm talking about).  Janie sees a picture of a 3-year-old girl on the carton, and she immediately thinks it is her.  But there is no reason why it would be her.  She has two doting parents who love her.  She can't be the girl, Jennie Spring, on the milk carton.  Janie obsesses over this picture, to the point that she actually writes a letter to the family--simply to let them know she is ok.  She never means to send this letter; however, it falls out of her binder and someone finds it and mails it to her.  It turns out that Janie really is Jennie and she was taken from a mall in New Jersey when she was three by a woman named Hannah Javensen, the Johnson's estranged daughter who had joined a cult many years before.  Hannah had brought Janie/Jennie to her parents, telling them that the little girl was her daughter.  Her parents had no reason to not believe her.  However, because they were afraid that the cult would track them down and try to take Janie from them, they changed their last name and moved.  The first book ends with both sets of parents meeting, at an impasse....trying to figure out what to do.

The second book picks up with Janie getting ready to leave the parents who raised her in order to get to know her biological family--two parents, three brothers, and one sister.  Nothing goes smoothly.  Jodie, Jennie's slightly older sister, had visions of nightly slumber parties with her newly found sister, her biological parents keep thinking that they can wipe away the past 13 years, and her oldest brother, Stephen is angry at the world, but mostly at Jennie for all the stress and pain her disappearance has cause both him and the family....and the younger twins, well, they are so wrapped up in each other that they don't seem to register the latest addition to the family.  Every once in a while there is a bright spot where Janie forgets that she isn't supposed to be happy with these strangers, but eventually, she demands that she be allowed to go back to her parents, the ones who raised her.

There are three more books in this series, with the last one having been published just this year.  So, I think I need to find out the rest of Janie/Jennie's story before another 20 years goes by!

Happy Reading!!

#14--The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)--Kody Keplinger

When I was at the YA Lit conference in Phoenix in January, the Phoenix Book Company was there with some books for sale.  I picked up a few titles and this was one of them.  I was intrigued by the title--and the fact that it was almost 50% off didn't hurt either!

Bianca, a high school senior, is our protagonist.  The story opens with her at a local club for teenagers, The Nest.  The only reason she is there is because her two best friends, Casey and Jessica, have dragged her there, again.  She is talking to Joe, the bartender, when Wesley Rush, the school "man-slut" approaches her as a way to hopefully get the attention of her more desirable friends. He has nicknamed her "The Duff--Designated Ugly Fat Friend" and she promptly throws her Cherry Coke in his face.  Unfortunately life at home is unraveling.  Her mother, who travels A LOT for her job as an inspirational speaker has had divorce papers delivered to Bianca's dad, an on-the-wagon alcoholic, from afar.     

As an escape from reality, Bianca and Wesley start having an enemies-with-benefits relationship that quickly escalates to them meeting up several times a week for a tryst.  Wesley's family is just as dysfunctional as Bianca's, maybe even more so.  His family is very wealthy and his parents spend much of their time traveling.  His younger sister lives with their grandmother--who despises Wesley, so much of the time, he is in his huge mansion of a home alone.  In the meantime, Bianca's father falls off the wagon when he realizes that the divorce papers are for real and goes on a drinking binge for several weeks.  Bianca doesn't feel like she can confide in anyone about this, so Casey and Jessica feel even more out of touch with her--they also don't know about her relationship with Wesley either.  However, Wesley has witnessed the destruction Bianca's father is leaving in his wake and protects her from his rage.  By the time Bianca discovers that she has feelings for Wesley, she has determined that she has to end their relationship because he could never love a "Duff".

This book was written by an 18-year-old....and it was somewhat obvious.  About halfway through, I was rather disgusted with the language used, unnecessarily most of the time, and the lessons that were being taught to high schoolers about making light of sex and how free they were with it.  I don't have my head in the sand....I know high school kids have sex.  However, it is not something I condone and I didn't like how this book made light of two teenagers jumping in the sack on a regular basis.  I almost put the book down, but decided that I wanted to see how it ended.  In the end, after Bianca tries, unsuccessfully, to move on from Wesley, they both solve some of their family issues and they end up back together.  I'm not sure how realistic this is....it tied itself up a little too neatly at the end, for all the mess that they made throughout the book.

This title will definitely NOT be going on the shelves of my library--and I think I will be giving my copy away.    On to happier reading this week, I hope!

Happy Reading!!