Fire 12/19/09

Fire by Kristin Cashore

In a kingdom called the Dells, Fire is the last human-shaped monster, with unimaginable beauty and the ability to control the minds of those around her, but even with these gifts she cannot escape the strife that overcomes her world.

I was a little disappointed with this book. Not because the story wasn't good or the writing needed work. No, it was because the characters from Graceling weren't in this book. I fell in love with Po and Katsa's story. I wanted more!

This book had a lot more sexual situations in it than I expected. Cashore doesn't go into detail, but two characters get pregnant and the father sleeps around (obviously).

I am rating this a B. Probably not fairly as I have compaired it to Graceling but its my blog and my review!

Carbon Diaries 2015 12/14/09

Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd

In 2015, when England becomes the first nation to introduce carbon dioxide rationing in a drastic bid to combat climate change, sixteen-year-old Laura documents the first year of rationing as her family spirals out of control. Told in short diary entries filled with scrapbook clippings, this riveting ecothriller is one girl's attempt to stay grounded in a world where disaster has become the norm.

What a scary book. We see changes now with polar ice caps melting and the quality of air as well as weird changes in weather. Is this what is to come? We have a rude awakening and an irreversible outcome for our children and their children. What have we done? This book made me really think of what we have done to our earth in the name of consumerism. And we are still doing it!!!

Best thing I've read all week

From the book, "Secret Keeper" by Mitali Perkins:

"...life without hope can be worse than death itself."

I know it's not much but it meant a lot to me while I was reading it.

Secret Keeper 12/09/09

Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins

In 1974 when her father leaves New Delhi, India, to seek a job in New York, Ashi, a tomboy at the advanced age of sixteen, feels thwarted in the home of her extended family in Calcutta where she, her mother, and sister must stay, and when her father dies before he can send for them, they must remain with their relatives and observe the old-fashioned traditions that Ashi hates.

Perkins talked a lot about Indian culture without explaining the reasons behind some of their practices. I was left wondering "why do they do that?". The culture seemed very strict and orthodox. I know some Indian's who still practice arranged marriage which, in today's society seems odd. Then there is widowhood. When a woman becomes a widow, she can no longer eat meat, fish and eggs, she has to always wear white which imply's that she is a widow.

The way Perkin's tells this story is page turning and the ending isn't what you would think. I enjoyed this book. I am rating it a B.

Best books in 2009 (according to SLJ)

I went a little crazy today. My copy of School Library Journal came and on the cover was BEST BOOKS of 2009. I immediately started placing many on hold.

Some I've already read and reviewed (in italics). Some I'm reading now (in bold).
Here is the list:

BARTON, Chris. The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors.
BEARN, Emily. Tumtum & Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall.
BISHOP, Nic. Nic Bishop Butterflies and Moths.
BROWN, Jennifer. Hate List.
CASHORE, Kristin. Fire.
COUSINS, Lucy. Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales.
CRUM, Shutta. Thunder-Boomer!
DAVIES, Jacqueline. Tricking the Tallyman.
EMBERLEY, Rebecca & Ed Emberley. Chicken Little.
FUCILE, Tony. Let’s Do Nothing!
FLOCA, Brian. Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11.
GAL, Susan. Night Lights.
HARDINGE, Frances. The Lost Conspiracy.
HEILIGMAN, Deborah. Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith.
HENKES, Kevin. Birds.
HEST, Amy. Little Chick.
HIAASEN, Carl. Scat.
HOOSE, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.
JONELL, Lynne. The Secret of Zoom.
KELLY, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.
KRULL, Kathleen. The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth.
LARBALESTIER, Justine. Liar.
LLOYD, Saci. The Carbon Diaries 2015.
MANN, Charles C. Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491.
MARCUS, Leonard S., ed. Funny Business: Conversations with Writers of Comedy.
MARRIN, Albert. Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl.
METSELAAR, Menno & Ruud van der Rol. Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures.
MONTGOMERY, Sy. Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia.
MURPHY, Jim. Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting.
MYERS, Walter Dean. Looking Like Me.
O’CONNOR, Barbara. The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis.
PALATINI, Margie. Lousy Rotten Stinkin’ Grapes.
PARTRIDGE, Elizabeth. Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don’t You Grow Weary.
PATRICELLI, Leslie. Higher! Higher!
PINKNEY, Andrea Davis. Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride.
PINKNEY, Jerry. The Lion & the Mouse.
RUDDELL, Deborah. A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems.
SÁENZ, Benjamin Alire. Last Night I Sang to the Monster.
ST. GEORGE, Judith. The Duel: The Parallel Lives of Alexander Hamilton & Aaron Burr.
SALLEY, Coleen. Epossumondas Plays Possum.
SCANLON, Liz Garton. All the World.
SPIRES, Elizabeth. I Heard God Talking to Me: William Edmondson and His Stone Carvings.
STEAD, Rebecca. When You Reach Me.
STORK, Francisco X. Marcelo in the Real World.
STURM, James, Andrew Arnold, & Alexis Frederick-Frost. Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles into Comics.
THIMMESH, Catherine. Lucy Long Ago: Uncovering the Mystery of Where We Came From.
THOMPSON, Kate. Creature of the Night.
TRACY, Kristen. Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus....
WALKER, Sally M. Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland.
WEITZMAN, David. Pharaoh’s Boat.
WESTERFELD, Scott. Leviathan.
WILLEMS, Mo. Pigs Make Me Sneeze!
WOOD, A. J. & Clint Twist. Charles Darwin and the Beagle Adventure.
WOODSON, Jacqueline. Peace, Locomotion.

I plan on reading this whole list but there are a couple of authors I really don't like. I can't wait to read Kate Thompson's book or Scott Westerfeld's book! I love being a librarian! My job rocks!

Rating System

I've been trying NOT to use a rating system of any sort since I started this blog back in 2004. However, now that I am actually doing some challenges, I feel like I really need to have one. It may make it easier for me in the long run put together good booktalks, advise children and teens, and not lose my mind (yeah right). So here it is:



So there it is. I'll try it throughout 2010. If it works for me...YAY! If not, I can always go back to just writing my reviews.

2010 Challenge

I'm starting off the year with books and challenges. This one is the 2010 Challenge. Here's the rules:

Rules:

--Read 2 books from each category, making a requirement of 20 books total.
--The categories are intended to be loose guidelines only, if you decide it fits, then it fits. (Apart from those marked **)
--Categories marked with ** have tighter rules, and these must be followed.
--Each book can only qualify for one category.
--Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
--Books read from 01/01/2010 to 31/12/2010 are eligible.

So, on with the categories

1.Young Adult
Any book classified as young adult or featuring a teenage protagonist counts for this category.

2.T.B.R. **
Intended to help reduce the old T.B.R. pile. Books for this category must be already residents of your bookshelves as of 1/11/09.

3.Shiny & New
Bought a book NEW during 2010 from a bookstore, online, or a supermarket? Then it counts for this category. Second-hand books do not count for this one, but, for those on book-buying bans, books bought for you as gifts or won in a giveaway also count!

4.Bad Blogger’s ***
Books in this category, should be ones you’ve picked up purely on the recommendation of another blogger count for this category (any reviews you post should also link to the post that convinced you give the book ago).
*** Bad Bloggers: Is hosted by Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on.

5.Charity
Support your local charity shops with this category, by picking up books from one of their shops. Again, for those on book-buying bans, books bought for you as gifts also count, as long as they were bought from a charity shop.

6.New in 2010
This category is for those books newly published in 2010 (whether it be the first time it is has been released, or you had to wait for it to be published in your country, it counts for this one!)

7.Older Than You
Read two books that were published before you were born, whether that be the day before or 100 years prior!

8.Win! Win!
Have a couple of books you need to read for another challenge? Then this is the category to use, as long that is, you don’t break the rules of the other challenge by doing so!

9.Who Are You Again?
This one isn’t just for authors you’ve never read before, this is for those authors you have never even heard of before!

10.Up to You!
The requirements for this category are up to you! Want to challenge yourself to read some graphic novels? A genre outside your comfort zone? Something completely wild and wacky? Then this is the category to you. The only requirement is that you state it in your sign-up post.

2010 YA Reading Challenge

J. Kaye's Book Blog has a Reading Challenge that I am entering this year. I read enough don't you think? I committed to read 50 YA books and list the titles but I may need to up that to 75. I love YA books! Now to get more proficient on html so I can pretty up my blog...

I'll Never be French 11/10/09

I'll Never be French (no matter what I do) by Mark Greenside

Greenside, a writer and teacher, tells the story of his experience in a small village Brittany, France, after his then girlfriend convinced him spend a summer there. Although he doesn't speak French, he stayed there and ended up loving the village, which became his second home. Here, he recounts the culture, food, and people, as well as his daily life, cultural differences, and anecdotes, as he learns to love this unfamiliar life and culture.

I loved reading about Greenside's clash with the French and their culture. Some chapters seem a little slow going but if you stick with it, in the end it is like a dream come true: living in the US and in France. Well, for me anyway. I even picked up a bit of the French language!

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 11/19/09

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate is instructed to be a lady by her mother, learns about love from the older three of her six brothers, and studies the natural world with her grandfather, the latter of which leads to an important discovery.

Girls back in the late 1800's just weren't supposed to like anything but homemaking, children and learning etiquette. Calpurnia finds that she loves science when she makes friends with her seemingly rigid grandfather. This book is an enjoyable read. It is also a great teaching tool as the author inserts as much history into the book as she can.