Mountain Dog and My Basmati Bat Mitzvah

It's crunch time for the MSBA committee.  We meet soon to create our shortlist and then we'll meet again in March to do the final list.  I have about 20 books in my TBR pile that no one has reviewed yet so those are my priority.  In addition, we are still getting a few more from publishers.

Yesterday, I read 2 books.

  

This was a novel told in verse.  The story was good.  Tony's mom has been sent to prison and Tony finds himself living far from the hustle and bustle (and illegal activities) in LA.  He moves in with his great-uncle who does search and rescue with his dog Gabe in the Sierra Nevada mountains.  The book is told from both Tony and Gabe's point of view and shows how Tony adjusts to this new life and his mother's lack of interest.  

Like I said, the book was good.  I am not sure why the author decided to tell it in verse and at times I found the sections from Gabe kind of odd, but I did like it.

  

Tara is part Indian (India) and part Jewish.  In the fall leading up to her Bat Mitzvah she has a lot of questions about her identity, her best friends, and where she fits in.  I really enjoyed this book.  Tara worked through a lot of issues and learned a lot about herself in the process.  It was not a thrill ride but it was a nice book.

The Fellowship for Alien Detection by Kevin Emerson

  

I loved the beginning of this book and the chapters that focused on Suza...they reminded me of Groundhog Day.  I would be reading it and then go "Wait, what?"  The idea overall was clever.  Two kids who have won scholarships to investigate aliens.  But when they get too close it becomes dangerous.  There was a great mystery to it and the two main characters were interesting but....at 430 pages it was just too long.  The children on the cover look younger so it seems aimed at 4th and 5th graders but the length is going to scare them away.  Older students would be put off by the cover.

What We Found in the Sofa...

 

River, Freak, and Fiona are friends who leave in the part of town that has been destroyed by a coal fire.  Or has it?  When the find a sofa outside an old mansion they discover some weird items in it that lead them on a wild adventure.  Soon they find themselves up against a billionaire from another planet who wants to enslave the human population using their cell phones against them.  Unfortunately he has CDD (Compulsive Completist Disorder) and a zucchini colored crayon may just lead to his downfall.  Sound crazy?  Well it is...but a lot of fun as well.  

I've been in such a reading frenzy over break that I haven't been doing my frogs.  I have been able to get my pile down quite a bit but know that a box of books will be waiting for me once I get back to school.  I'm grateful for this extra snow day and who knows about tomorrow as well...

This one is a readit...

The Last Books I read in 2013

  

Okay, I actually finished this one at 12:20 AM.  I was only 20 pages from finishing at 11;54 and I went downstairs to do the hoopla thing and then came up to finish.  So I guess this one is officially the first of 2014.  The rest I did read in 2013.

"Mouse Minor" is the smallest mouse at Buckingham Palace.  He doesn't know where he came from and he doesn't even really have a name.  So who is he really? He sets out on some adventures that take place around Queen Victoria's Jubilee Celebration. I enjoyed this one a lot - cute, funny, and clever plot.

    

 Riley is an apprentice to an assassin.  On his first "hit" he and his mentor Garrick get a big surprise when they find out the target is from the future.  Riley ends up going to modern day London where he meets up with Chevron.  Together they must stop Garrick from getting control of the Timekey.  I love Eoin Colfer - this was witty, adventurous, and fun. 


 

Stitch Head was professor Eramus' first creation.  They used to be best friends but now Erasmus has forgotten him.  Stitch Head spends his days keeping the professor's creations from getting them all into trouble.  But, when a traveling carnival gets wind of Professor Eramus' creations Stitch Head has to really work hard to keep them all safe.  This was a cute book.
  
  

Another time travel book which I love.  In this book David finds out that he is a dreamwalker.  When he sleeps he can travel in his dreams to different places and times.  The problem is that the Haunters take advantage of this gift and send Dreamwalkers out to scare people and change history.  David must join the fight against the Haunters and protect the man who discovered Dreamwalking - his grandfather.  If he fails not only will history be altered but David will cease to exist.  This book was a lot of fun.