The Shadow Club: Nov. 7th

• Title: The Shadow Club
• Author: Neal Shusterman
• Genre: still unsure if it's realistic fiction or fantasy!
• AR Points: 7
• Page I am on: p.148
• Where I am to my AR goal: 16/50

I am loving this book. I have yet to come across a Neal Shusterman book that wasn't incredibly interesting! The club members began to work together to play harmless tricks on the "unbeatables" and they grow closer together. Things begin to spiral out of control shortly after a Tyson Mcgaw eavesdrops on one of their secret meetings. Tricks on the "unbeatables" continue but two things change: they are no longer "harmless" & all club members swear none of them did these horrible, nasty tricks. They begin to suspect it is Tyson but this is, again, where the story is getting incredibily great! Tyson claims he didn't do it & I belive him, I suspect there is something supernatural going on. The reason I think this: there is a supernatural vibe I am getting from some of the earlier events in the book. For instance: Cheryl asking Jared "if you could make it so that Austin had never been born. would you?" I cannot wait to get home tonight & read more of this exciting book!

UnWholly: Nov. 4th

• Title: Unwholly
• Author: Neal Shusterman
• Genre: Science Fiction
• AR Points: 18
• Page I am on: p.181
• Where I am to my AR goal: 16/50

This is the second book in the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman, the author who is coming to our school three weeks from today!!! I was picked as one of the teachers that get to have lunch with him; so excited! 

Anyway, back to the book. I am not that far into the book but it definitely lives up to his first book in the series. It takes place about a year after the first book ended. The legal age of Unwind has been decreased from 18 to 17, so Connor is now in the clear. He has taken over as the leader in the Graveyard but things are not going well there. He is aware that the government knows about the Graveyard & is now constantly on edge fearing they are going to raid at any moment. By far, the most interesting section so far was when we met Cam. He was "perfectly designed", each part of his body was planned and taken from some one extremely important. Example: one of his arms is from a professional baseball player. I am curious to know if there is any original parts that are "Cam" or if he was entirely built from different people! I am also curious to know what the intention of people who designed him is! Can't wait to find out!

The Shadow Club: Oct. 31st

• Title: The Shadow Club
• Author: Neal Shusterman
• Genre: Realistic Fiction or Fantasy?
• AR Points: 7
• Page I am on: p.81
• Where I am to my AR goal: 16/50

Strange book so far, but interesting. It is about these two best friends, Cheryl & Jared, who are insanely jealous of someone close to them. They are both "second-best" at something and hate that other person for making them feel crummy about it! They decide to make a "second best club", inviting other peers that are in their same boat. The purpose of their club is to secretly ruin those "first best" people's lives. Where it gets strange is that Cheryl originally asks Jared..."if you could make it so that Austin [the kid Jared is jealous of] had never been born, would you?" & he admits that he would. I predict that something mystical is going to happen later in the book & this exact thing is going to happen to each of the "first-best" people that the club members hate. I look forward to finding out!

Divergent: Oct. 24th

• Title: Divergent
• Author: Veronica Roth
• Genre: Dystopian
• AR Points: 16
• Page I am on: 200
• Where I am to my AR goal: 47/goal point

I have gotten a little further in the book; it's getting good! Beatrice went through her testing that suggests which faction she best fits. Her results were peculiar, the woman testing called her "Divergent" and warned her that she shouldn't let anyone know this. Beatrice is left having to hold this secret in and still chose one faction. Come choosing day, she picks Dauntless, a faction expected to be fearless. With this choice to leave behind her Abnegation family, she also puts behind her name for the new nickname, Tris. Where I am in the book, Tris is in the first stage of Dauntless initiation. She must fight the other initiates for a permanent place in this faction. All initiates that do not make become factionless, which are the homeless and poor of the society. Can't wait to get home and continue to read.

Divergent: Oct. 17th

• Title: Divergent
• Author: Veronica Roth
• Genre: Dystopian
• AR Points: 16
• Page I am on: 90
• Where I am toward my AR goal: 47/goal point

This has been another one of those books that have been on my list for years to read. Everyone says its great and with the movie coming out earlier this year, I decided I should finally take a stab at it. So far, so good. The book has an interesting concept, it is set sometime in the distant future where the population of the U.S. divided into multiple factions to ensure lifelong prosperity of the country. I predict that something big and horrible happened in the past to cause this. The people of each faction have certain qualities that are valued; these qualities were chosen in the past, again, to protect the country. We meet our main character, Beatrice, the day before she is to be tested for which faction she is perfect for. I look forward to seeing what happens next!

The Book Thief: Oct. 14th

• Title: The Book Thief
• Author: Markus Zusak
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• AR Points: 18
• Page I am on: finished
• Where I am toward my AR goal: 47/goal point

Just finished this phenomenal book this morning & got 18 more AR points! War arrives on Himmel Street (the street Liesel lives on) and all pandemonium breaks out. Papa is sent off to war for attempting to give bread to some of the Dachau prisoners. As a result, Max, the Jewish man Liesel's family is hiding in the basement, is forced to leave hiding. Life shattering events start to accumulate one on top of the other and this makes for an extremely intense emotional response.

The Book Thief: Oct. 6th

• Title: The Book Thief
• Author: Markus Zusak
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• AR Points: 18
• Page I am on: 300
• Where I am toward my AR goal: 29/goal point

I am about halfway in the book and it is getting really interesting. Liesel has become extremely close to the foster family she is living with and they are now hiding a Jewish man in their basement. Based on my prior knowledge of the Holocaust and the invasion of privacy from the Nazi's searching German homes; I suspect this will not end well. I predict that they will soon be found out and something horrible is going to happen to all of them. This is a great example of how historical fiction novels can be haunting; they are fictional, yes, but they reflect exactly what was going on in history. This scenario was happening to millions of people in Germany and the surrounding country. It was a dark time in the history of mankind and it is terrifying to see that reflected in fiction.

The Book Thief: Sept. 29th

• Title: The Book Thief
• Author: Markus Zusak
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• AR Points: 18
• Page I am on: 195
• Where I am toward my AR goal: 29/goal point

This book is starting to get intense! Turns out Liesel became a book thief due to being distraught at her brother's death. She needed some way to cling to him & therefore took the first thing she could find at the cemetery, "The Gravedigger's Handbook". Since then, she has stolen two more books, one from a Nazi book burning and another from the mayor. Liesel steals for a very specific reason every time and, in her situation, I totally understand why she does it; I look forward to seeing what happens next.

The Book Thief : September 19th

• Title: The Book Thief
• Author: Markus Zusak
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• AR Points: 18
• Page I am on: 105
• Where I am toward my AR goal: 29/goal point

Glad to say that I was correct about this one; I am rather enjoying it! This is going to be one of those books that takes a while to get through. The book opens in a very different way then most do. The narrator of the book is Death, or the Grim Reaper. He is describing the story of our main character, Liesel Meminger, and how integral death was in her life when she was a child. We meet Liesel as she is being transferred from her mother to her new foster parents. If I had to make a prediction of why she was sent off it would have to do with the "communist" fact that comes up often in the book. She is too young at the beginning of the book to understand what that means when she hears everyone call her father it. I suspect that something has happened to both her parents in relation to being labeled a "communist" in Nazi Germany. I look forward to reading further to find out!

The Book Thief: Sept. 19th

• Title: The Book Thief
• Author: Markus Zusak
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• AR Points: 18
• Page I am on: haven't started yet
• Where I am toward my AR goal: 29/goal point

I am so excited to start this book! It has been on my book list for a couple years and I always end up forgetting about it. I have heard nothing but great things about this book and I honestly have no clue what it is about! I know there was a movie rendition as well, but I am strongly against seeing movies before reading the book; I like to compare & contrast it after I have read it!

To find out the genre & AR points, I needed to look it up & I read the synopsis while I was doing that. Based on that, I further confirmed that I am most likely going to love this book. It is during the Holocaust & I find this subject to be incredibly interesting. Looks like I know what I will be doing this weekend.

In a Glass Grimmly: Sept. 19th

• Title: In a Glass Grimmly
• Author: Adam Gidwitz
• Genre: Fairy Tales/Fantasy
• AR Points: 8
• Page I am on: starting ch.5
• Where I am toward my AR goal: 29/50

I picked this book based off the cover & the title, predicting it was going to be another parody on common fairy tales. I based my prediction on my prior knowledge of who the Grimm brothers were (famous Germans who recorded stories that became fairy tales, such as Snow White, Cinderella, etc.) and the cover with a boy climbing a beanstalk & some black birds near the top. Using this information, I figured I would probably love it since I love adaptions on fairy tales!

Now that I am in Chapter 5, I am glad that I found this book. It is a great pick that I would recommend! The author is very comical; he puts a great spin on these widely known fairy tales. It is a little gruesome and, at times, almost kind of gross, because this author's adaptions are more closely to the original fairy tales, not the happy endings that Disney does. If you are interested in the original stories for (Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White), I suggest this book or even reading the original stories. (Keep in mind they are more gruesome than you would expect for "fairy" tales. I have a book with the original stories if anyone wants to read!

The Shadow Thieves: September 4th

• Title: The Shadow Thieves
• Author: Anne Ursu
• Genre: Myth/Fantasy
• AR Points: 12
• Page I am on: completed
• Where I am toward my AR goal: 21/goal point

Just finished this book tonight, very interesting book. The premise of the book is that Greek myths are in fact real, not myth. Philonecron, an Immortal in the Land of the Dead decides to overthrow Hades, King of the Underworld. To do this, he must build an army made of children's shadows. Two cousins are all that stands between Philonecron & the end of the world. For if Philonecron takes over the Underworld, it cannot mean anything good for the living or the dead. Can Zee & Charlotte stop Philonecron before it's too late?

Mergers: August 25th

• Title: Mergers
• Author: Steven Layne
• Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
• AR Points: 9
• Page I am on: Ch.3
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

Just started this book last night; kinda of a strange and uncommon mix, fantasy and science fiction. (Usually you have one or the other, not both combined.) This book takes place in either an alternate universe or the future where all races have been merged into one race. We are introduced to four different teenagers that are being held captive by the Alliance, the group that was in charge of the Merge. Not only are these teenagers the only non-merged humans on the planet (different races), each of them have a supernatural power. For the moment, it does not seem that the Alliance is aware that these four have these powers. I am curious to know why these teens have these powers!

A Midsummer Nights Scream: August 17th

• Title: A Midsummer Nights Scream
• Author: R.L. Stine
• Genre: Horror/Paranormal
• AR Points: 7
• Page I am on: completed
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

A very strange yet attention-grabbing book! A Midsummer Nights Scream is a horror parody on the famous Shakespeare play: A Midsummer Nights Dream. We are introduced to this infamous haunted house that was the scene of a grisly accident, as multiple people filming a movie were killed one after the other. Years later, the house is revisited by a filming crew to reenact the deaths. As they begin to film the movie, the accidents start to happen one after the other. Can the group figure out what is going on and stop it before they are all killed?

Ashfall: August 8th

• Title: Ashfall
• Author: Mike Mullan
• Genre: Realistic Fiction
• AR Points: 15
• Page I am on: completed
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

A very different apocalypse novel. Why? Because of the genre of this story. Most apocalyptic stories take place outside of reality; they are interesting because they logically won't actually happen. This apocalyptic story is chilling because it is the exact opposite. The apocalypse in this novel is so haunting for the very fact that it is extremely possible and realistic. 

Ashfall is the fictional story of Alex, who finds himself in the midst of catastrophe when the super-volcano at Yellowstone erupts. Alex is in Cedar Falls, Iowa, thousands of miles away and yet this one event turns the world on its end (figuratively). Alex has to find his way across Iowa into Illinois to track down his parents, all the while clinging to survival. 

Cloaked: July 28th

Title: Cloaked

Author: Alex Flinn

Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tales

AR Points: 9

Page I am on: completed

Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

This is another book that has adaptions on classic fairy tales sprinkled throughout the book. Johnny works crazy hours to help his mom at their struggling family shoe repair shop when luck walks through the door in the form of an Alorian princess. She enlists his help in rescuing her brother who has been enchanted by an evil sorceress. Johnny goes on a quest filled with classic fairy tales motifs (talking animals, following directions exactly, etc.) to help out this princess in exchange for her solving their money problems.

Ungifted: July 20th

• Title: Ungifted
• Author: Gordan Korman
• Genre: Realistic Fiction
• AR Points: 8
• Page I am on: completed
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

Funny, funny book. We have Donovan, a typical trouble-maker who is widely known for always causing a ruckus. One of his pranks ends up going way too far and through a mix-up with the busy superintendent, Donovan is put on the list for the gifted academy instead of the punishment list. Donovan now has to fool everyone at this new school into believing he is a genius or else run the risk of alerting the superintendent's attention.

Bruiser - July 12th

• Title: Bruiser
• Author: Neal Shusterman
• Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
• AR Points: 10
• Page I am on: complete
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

This book is very intriguing and mysterious. One of the main characters, Tennyson, is a confrontational high schooler who most people consider a bully. However, he honestly does not see himself the same; all fights he gets into seem justified from his perspective. The conflict of the story arises when Tennyson finds out his little sister is dating a guy with less than respectable reputation. Yet again, we find out that this "reputation" is entirely incorrect. The poor guy has been labeled as something he definitely isn't because teenagers are cruel! Tennyson begins to change his tune about Brewster when he discovers why everyone calls him Bruiser. We discover that Brewster is covered in bruises. Tennyson becomes determined to find out what is really going on in Brewster's home life and this is where the mystery begins to unfold... This is no regular abuse case, something else is at play in this book.

13 Reasons Why: July 5th

• Title: 13 Reasons Why
• Author: Jay Asher
• AR Points: 9
• Page I am on: 125
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point
  
  

**Warning: This book covers a controversial topic.**This book has surprised me with how dramatically emotional it is; it really pulls at the heart strings. Clay, the main character, is normally going about his day in high school, trying to recover from a former crush's suicide when a haunting package arrives from that same girl. You can imagine his surprise and horror, what he must have felt like opening a package from a dead girl. In the box are 13 cassette tapes with 13 different stories connected to driving this girl to commit suicide. The book follows this poor guy, being entirely horrified by having to listen to their chilling tapes, reliving her death over and over. The book is phenomenal but definitely one that will cause an emotional response.

Turnabout: June 25th

• Title: Turnabout
• Author: Margaret Haddix
• AR Points: 7
• Page I am on: completed
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

I finished this book over the weekend. Definitely not as amazing as Unwind, the last one I read, but it had a lot of interesting aspects. This book followed two women who we met close to death in their old age. They were given the option to try out this experimental drug that would "unage" them. They decided to go forth with the experiment & they begin to unage. They quickly find out that the doctors did not have all the "kinks" out and problems ensue. Melly & Anny Beth are on a race against time to find the solution before they end up in diapers again, unable to help themselves.

Unwind: June 17th

• Title: Unwind
• Author: Neal Shusterman
• AR Points: 14
• Page I am on: completed
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

I finished the book today. Phenomenal! I would definitely say one of the best in young adult fiction I have read in years! What follows are spoilers to this book: please don't read the rest if you plan on reading this book and do not want it spoiled for you!

The part I found most intriguing & shocking at the same time was when one of the characters who was the antagonist throughout the book was taken to be unwound. This scene was incredibly graphic and haunting because of the nature of what happened. I think it was so intense because the scene was told from his perspective while the procedure was happening to him; it was much more personal!

Unwind : June 12th

• Title: Unwind
• Author: Neal Shusterman
• AR Points: 14
• Page I am on: 112 (Ch.20)
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

I started this book yesterday and it is definitely one that I have trouble putting down.  It follows a group of teenagers that are known as "Unwinds", unwilling organ donors. In this scary futuristic society, up until the age of eighteen your parents/guardians can sign an order for you to be taken away and your organs harvested. The three characters we have met so far found out they were to be Unwound and made a run for it! We have Connor - a troublemaker who's parents signed the order, Risa - an orphan, who literally was playing the piano for her life, and Lev - a "tithe", who had been brainwashed from the beginning of his life to believe that his soul purpose in life was to be this sacrifice.

In addition to the main story-line being uber interesting, there are a lot of small things that I find intriguing that the author included. For instance, in this society, they have a practice known as storking, where a new mother may drop off their newborn on someones front porch and if they are not caught in the act, the family that finds the baby must keep it as their own! Another cool addition to the series is that donated parts continue to function the way they did was the original donor. For instance: someone can have one hand that can paint extraordinary things while the other hand cannot, since the original donor was an artist. Fascinating book!

Dealing with Dragons: June 5th

• Title: Dealing With Dragons
• Author: Patricia Crede
• AR Points: 8
• Page I am on: Ch.3
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

Cimorene's journey continues: she enters a hovel only to be transported elsewhere and finds herself in front of multiple dragons who want to eat her. Cimorene, being the brilliant non-conventional princess she is, convinces them to forgo eating her to become one of their personal helpers. A female dragon, Kazul, is the dragon that takes Cimorene in and offers to teach her magic again, which was something Cimorene was prohibited from learning as royalty. One thing that stood out to me was when Cimorene mentioned her parents wouldn't be worried once they found out where she was...is she insane? There is no way they will be all for their heir & daughter being held captive by dragons! One mystery I want to learn more about: what "favor" did the dragons do for the dwarves?

Soon, knights begin to arrive, attempting to rescue the damsel-in-distress but Cimorene is having none of that! She does not want to be rescued but each of the knights cannot fathom why a princess would want this, so they continue to come, continually interrupting her work. I predict that Cimorene is going to have to do something about this situation soon otherwise either her dragon or the knights are going to get hurt.

Dealing With Dragons: June 2nd

• Title: Dealing With Dragons
• Author: Patricia Crede
• AR Points: 8
• Page I am on: Ch.2
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

So far I really like this book, it's a fictional fantasy that has adaptions on fairytales. I like that the main character is not your typical "princess" & that she is definitely pushing the bar on what is expected of a princess. I think this book could be good for young students, either male or female, because it shows that gender roles do not define you: girls can do "boy-ish" things while boys can do "girl-ish" things. It shows that, yes, you may catch grief over doing something contrary to the norm but you will be more happy about it.

I love fiction that incorporates twists on the classics, especially fairy tales. I noticed a reference to Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty) in the first chapter. They mention the main character, Cimorene's Great-Aunt Rose, who so happened to have spent "all those years asleep under that dreadful fairy's curse." Sound familiar? Our main character's is clearly the great-niece of Princess Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty. I find these things fascinating & look forward to noticing more of them as I continue to read!

A Feast for Crows - June 1st

• Title: A Feast for Crows
• Author: George R.R. Martin
• AR Points: 45 (oh my!)
• Page I am on: p.459
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

This book is the fourth book in the A Song of Ice & Fire book series, which is the book version of the very-popular TV series Game of Thrones. This book has the reputation for being the worst in the series so far --there are currently 5 books in the series and the author plans on having 7 in total -- and I am on the fence on whether I agree with this or not! I can see possibly why a lot of people dislike the book but I still find it interesting enough to constantly want to keep reading it. One thing I think that is different about this book then the rest in the series so far is that the characters that we have the perspective from this time around are not as important in the series. They are minor characters and a lot of the stuff that happens to them in their chapters are not as dramatic or crazy, so I can understand people's "beef" with this novel. At the same time, I know how intensely interwoven the plot is throughout the series and I know, without a doubt, that literally everything that happens in the book is important to the main story-line. Yes, they are more minor things but they are the things that lead up to everything else! So while I don't agree that this book is horrible, I  agree that it may be the least interesting because it focuses on the smaller details so that once we get to the more important things, they will be that much more intense! Regardless, I love this book series and definitely await the next time I get to read it!

Naked Reading: May 20th

• Title: Naked Reading: Uncovering What Tweens Need to Become Lifelong Readers
• Author: Teri S. Lesesne
• AR Points: none
• Page I am on: p.3
• Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

The first sentence in this book hooked me! "We call it naked reading in our house." This line was interesting enough to make me continue reading; for sure! What I found out was that the author's granddaughter had devised a way to get her daily reading in by reading as she air dries after the shower. This only worked because she was already an avid reader. The author uses this memory to segway into what the book is going to be about: how to make tweens lifelong readers. I picked this book because I am trying to find various ways to get my reluctant readers to read, meet their AR goals, and possibly end up becoming lifelong readers. I think if they find out what interests them, they will become lifelong learners!