Finished! I can't say this was an excellent book, because it wasn't. It left me with a bunch of unanswered questions and I'm not entirely sure of the theme. But it was entertaining and different and kind of fun, so it wasn't a waste. I am glad it wasn't too much longer. I don't think I'll seek out the other two in the trilogy.
Ah well.
Here's the summary.
Johnny Maxwell, 12, thinks he's a loser. People don't seem to notice him, his parents are threatening to split up, and he's not very good at the shoot-up-the-bad-guys computer games that he and his friends are always playing. But after his hacker buddy, Wobbler, gives him an illegal copy of Only You Can Save Mankind, strange things happen. The captain of the alien fleet that Johnny is supposed to shoot up surrenders to him–unheard of in a computer game–and soon after that all of the aliens from all copies of the game have vanished. Players looking for someone to shoot at sail through light years of empty space and return the game to the store, demanding their money back. Johnny also discovers that he is able to enter the alien ship in dreams and grows convinced that the aliens are somehow real, and are actually dying when human players shoot at them. And soon the day arrives when the humans can resume their shooting.
Yup. Another YA book. But it's funny because it's Pratchett and he's just strange. I'm about a third of the way through, I think. It was one of those, "Well, it's library day anyway. Might as well get something to read," choices. And it's another book for the year!
Get me a book.
Twitch, twitch.
Please? I have a need. I need a fix.
Twitch.
Well, finished that one, too!
Strange things are happening in Skeleton Creek...and Ryan and Sarah are trying to find out why. Ryan writes down everything in his journal, and Sarah records everything on her videocam. The two move deeper into the mystery they've uncovered, determined to discover the secrets buried in Skeleton Creek, in the conclusion to Patrick Carman's thrilling series.
Talk about a scary book! This is one my kids and I are reading together. It's the sequel to Skeleton Creek both by Patrick Carmen. It's a combination of a book formatted like a diary and video clips. Also snuck in are emails, diagrams and notes. Very creative.
Is it excellent literature? No, not even close. Is it incredibly entertaining and a great read aloud? YES! Without a doubt!
Ugh, so I hate the way the title is written. Also, I'm not sure I was in love with this book, but it was definitely a page turner. I had to keep going so I could see if I was wrong about it. Anyway, here's the summary.
When Clay Jenson plays the casette tapes he received in a mysterious package, he's surprised to hear the voice of dead classmate Hannah Baker. He's one of 13 people who receive Hannah's story, which details the circumstances that led to her suicide. Clay spends the rest of the day and long into the night listening to Hannah's voice and going to the locations she wants him to visit. The text alternates, sometimes quickly, between Hannah's voice (italicized) and Clay's thoughts as he listens to her words, which illuminate betrayals and secrets that demonstrate the consequences of even small actions. Hannah, herself, is not free from guilt, her own inaction having played a part in an accidental auto death and a rape. The message about how we treat one another, although sometimes heavy, makes for compelling reading.
(I'll need to pull this one back up as I go, so obviously, it's unfinished.)
In no particular order:
1.
Wednesday Wars
2.
London Calling
3.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
4.
Witch and Wizard
5.
American Gods
6.
100 Cupboards
I need a new book to read! Aaaaggghhhh!
In a field crowded with unlikely sleuths, Israel Armstrong--chubby, nervous, clumsy, headache prone, underachieving--stands out. Jewish and vegetarian, he stands out even more when he accepts a job in Tumdrum, Northern Ireland, where it's assumed that, if he's not Protestant, he must be Catholic. Hired to be a librarian, he arrives to find his library closed and his position retitled "Outreach Support Officer"--driver of the decrepit mobile library. Worse, the books he's supposed to fill it with have disappeared. Worse yet, his new boss will accept his resignation only if he finds the missing books first. Between Israel's inept sleuthing and the general unhelpfulness of the locals, it looks as if he'll be in Tumdrum a long, long time.
The year is 1768, and the story takes place in what will eventually become the state of Maine. It tells the story of a twelve-year-old boy who is left alone in the wilderness while his father leaves to bring back the rest of his family. He must use skills he learns from the Indians who live nearby in order to survive. When he meets a young Indian boy about his own age, they grow together into manhood. In the process, both the parallels and differences between the two cultures are examined.
Twelve-year-old Matt Hallowell finds himself alone in the new Main territory in 1768 as his father leaves the cabin they have just built together to get his mother, sister and a new baby. The territory has recently been opened to settlers after a truce is reached...
Okay, let me do a quick run-through to make sure I have everything.
#1 Pandora Gets Vain by Carolyn Hennesy#2 The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt#3 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain#4 The Sign of the Beaver#5 The Case of the Missing Books
#6 London CallingSo, let me tell you briefly about the last two books I read. They were both pretty great, by the way.
The Case of the Missing Books was kind of silly. It was about a guy who moved to Ireland to be a librarian, but ended up hunting for all the books. What I found annoying was the really neat and kind of unbelievable ending. I won't give it away, but it was kind of silly. I was surprised by where the books had gone, so that was great. It's hard to keep the ending a secret when writing a mystery, but then it was like the author decided he needed a sweet, predictable ending. And I just didn't buy it. Which was a shame and also probably why it was on clearance. The rest of the book was totally worth it, though!
London Calling by Edward Bloor was a very strange book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters were great and believable and...I loved them. The plot was creative. The writing was great. I was hooked from the first page! What was a little annoying was how the main character went from non-religious (at least that's the feeling I got) to uber-religious at the end. I was also a little put-off by the way the character could just get whatever he wanted. Whose father flies them around the world just because they ask?? Nope, not buying it. It's a shame, because the rest was WONDERFUL. I cried and cried (probably only due in part to being over-tired and emotional)! Definitely pick it up!
Also pretty cool, I passed it on to one of my favorite students today! I hope he enjoys it, too. I fully expect he'll have it read by Monday!
Okay, now I'm off to post summaries!
Just a quick note to say that I finished two more books.
Sign of the Beaver and
The Case of the Missing Books were both awesome!
I'm now 5 books in!
Huckleberry Finn had a tough life with his drunk father until an adventure with Tom Sawyer changed everything. But when Huck's dad returns and kidnaps him, he must escape down the Mississippi river with runaway slave, Jim. They encounter trouble at every turn, from floods and gunfights to armed bandits and the long arm of the law. Through it all the friends stick together - but can Huck and Tom free Jim from slavery once and for all?
DONE! Awesome book. Awesome end. Hooray!
Why does Tom Sawyer have to make everything so complicated?? I mean, Huck would have been fine on his own. Yeah, some of Tom's input is pretty brilliant, but he could accomplish the same thing without being so crazy.
Sorry, I'm just nervous that Jim won't make it out!
Hmm. This numbering thing is ALREADY getting confusing!
Oh well. Huck Finn is coming along. Yesterday, he lost Jim when the "Duke" and "King" sold him for $40. I really hate those guys. I'm not sure why they haven't been ditched already. I mean, there have been opportunities.
I've also lost track of Huck's plan. They missed their stop, but instead of trying to get back, they just seem to keep heading south. Seems like a pretty poor idea if you're an escaped slave! Poor Jim. He is the true victim
in this book!
Jim and Huck Finn in the World of Legos. How cute is that?!
I had a hard time figuring out how to number the next several books, because I'm reading them simultaneously. So, I've decided to just write about them simultaneously as well.
The first of the books is called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Heard of it? Now, before you accuse me of cheating, let me promise you that I really don't think I've ever read this book before. I know the story somehow, but I couldn't tell you what happens next or how it ends. I'm thinking I may have read Spark Notes or something of the sort for a class.
Anyway, I'm finding it really enjoyable. It's not, as I feared, difficult to read or boring or wordy. It's actually very amusing and very easy to read. And here's the strange part, I'm reading it on my phone! Aldiko is an app on my Droid that lets you download books. I'm not sure if you can buy them, but you can definitely download classics. I thought, "what the hey" and am really glad I did!
I'm about halfway done. Too bad it's such a drain on my battery!
Are you still reading that book? Yes, actually. I haven't had any long period of time just reading so I'm still picking away. It's so good. Last night it made me cry!
I'm still reading. In fact, I'm only a little over 1/2 way done, but I'm loving this book! The narrator has such a great voice. It's entertaining without being too terribly unrealistic. It's amusing but also somewhat serious. I can definitely see why it's such a highly-awarded book!
On Wednesday afternoons, while his Catholic and Jewish schoolmates attend religious instruction, Holling Hoodhood, the only Presbyterian in his seventh grade, is alone in the classroom with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, who Holling is convinced hates his guts. He feels more certain after Mrs. Baker assigns Shakespeare's plays for Holling to discuss during their shared afternoons. Each month in Holling's tumultuous seventh-grade year is a chapter in this quietly powerful coming-of-age novel set in suburban Long Island during the late '60s. The slow start may deter some readers, and Mrs. Baker is too good to be true: she arranges a meeting between Holling and the New York Yankees, brokers a deal to save a student's father's architectural firm, and, after revealing her past as an Olympic runner, coaches Holling to the varsity cross-country team. However, Schmidt, whose Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (2005) was named both a Printz and a Newbery Honor Book, makes the implausible believable and the everyday momentous. Seamlessly, he knits together the story's themes: the cultural uproar of the '60s, the internal uproar of early adolescence, and the timeless wisdom of Shakespeare's words. Holling's unwavering, distinctive voice offers a gentle, hopeful, moving story of a boy who, with the right help, learns to stretch beyond the limitations of his family, his violent times, and his fear, as he leaps into his future with his eyes and his heart wide open. - Amazon.com
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt promises to be a great read. I started it today, but fell asleep. It was a shame because it starts out with a teacher who "hates her student." I think she resents that she's going to lose her planning or else she thinks he's going to be very smart. She keeps giving him hard things to do and looking at him. Still funny!
The reason I think it's going to be so good (other than liking the beginning and the author's style) is because it's a
Virginia Young Reader book. They all seem really good this year. I've only read a couple, but since the kids are required to read them, I hear about them all.
Since I'm at Mom's, that's all I'm going to write for now. I'll be back to update when I've read a little more.
Oh yeah, did I mention it's also a Newbery Honor Book?
I've read half (a little more than, actually) of Pandora Gets Vain. They haven't found Vain yet, but they have had a lot of adventure! It seems Hera is out to get them. Also, Alcie is still suffering from two left feet (literally) and the inability to curse.
Actually, I'm a little surprised at how gruesome this one is. Pandy fell into a Pit of Despair; basically, it was a pit full of the dead and rotting remains of criminals. There was also a vampire/zombie creature that grabbed Alcie and tried to bite her neck. It was pretty terrible.
That said, it's a humorous quick-read. I should be able to finish it tonight.
ETA: The author, Carolyn Hennesy, seems to resemble Alcie. I wonder if Hennesy is able to curse...
As a part of BNaBBT's 50 Book Challenge for 2010, I'm reading and blogging about 50 books. Reviews, progress updates, summaries, pictures and thoughts: that's what you can find within!
Pandora Gets Vain is book #2 in the Pandora series. As her name suggests, this is the Pandora (Pandy in the book) who opened the box and unleashed evil on the world. In the series, she's trying to collect the evil and put them back in the box before they ruin everything.
Pandora Gets Jealous is the first one in the series. I've read it and it's very cute. It's a great "girl" version of the Percy Jackson series.
Speaking of which, I'm so excited to see the new movie!
