This is one of those books I am not sure what to do with. Look at the cover. To me it screams cutesy, younger elementary and I was almost expecting graphics or pictures. From the description I was thinking something along the lines of The Incredibles, MegaMind, or something along those lines.
Then I start reading and within the first few chapters we have swearing, quite a bit of violence, and bullying.
So I actually liked the book but I feel like the cover just threw off the whole feel of the book for me.
Fiona as a character was interesting and spunky. The plot itself wasn't bad and there were all kinds of snarky comments and evil villein parts that were funny. Unfortunately, I don't feel I could put this in my school due to the swearing primarily which is too bad because I liked the idea and I liked the length.
DiDi and GiGi have moved to NY to start a new life. DiDi is a hairdresser and although she won a million dollars she chooses to live as if she didn't. Her younger sister GiGi longs for a more normal life - friends, a job, and just hanging out but DiDi pushes her to get grades. As GiGi starts to reinvent herself - changing her name to Leia and making new friends things get strained between the two sisters. To make it worse DiDi starts to be friendly with the one girl, Mace, that GiGi has the most trouble with.
But what if things aren't as they seem? What is the truth? As GiGi discovers the truth isn't always what you expect but it can still be beautiful.
I enjoyed the book but it took a long time to get to where I felt fully invested in GiGi's journey. At 352 pages I felt it slogged a bit in the beginning. I feel like the book would be good for 6th - 8th grade girls due to the "romance" and some of the things revealed.
This book documents the events surrounding men and women from the Civil War and forward who have been awarded the Medal of Honor. It talks about events leading up to the war or event they participated in and the actions that led to them being nominated and awarded with the medal. For the most part the book focuses on the fact that many felt they were just doing their job or were protecting their brothers and sisters in arms or society as a whole. The take away from the book is that in the moment many people rise to the occasion and choose courage. Most, if not all, would say that there were not necessarily anything special and honor those who died or who may not have received the same honor.
I felt the book was well done. Each story was a few pages long and spanned different races, both genders, and various conflicts and events. For students who are interested in military stories this would be a good fit.
As a librarian in a school that goes up to 5th grade I often struggle with whether to put a book labelled 5 and up in the library. This is a maybe for me...I can see the appeal and the length is good.
For any who may follow this blog I have decided to dust off another blog that I used to do for a class. A few weeks ago someone found that blog and contacted me about a post I had written and asked if he could follow me. I was pretty surprised. The blog "Librarian in a Candy Shop" gave a more thorough analysis of qualitative and quantitative level, curriculum ideas, etc. After the class I took I didn't continue it because it is a lot of work however I can see the value in a longer entry like that. So, if I feel that a book I read has particular value in a content area and warrants a longer entry I will also post to that blog. This book is my first to have a cross posting and can be found at
http://librarianinacandyshop.blogspot.com/2015/03/choosing-courage.html
I read Seraphina a few years ago and loved it so when I saw this show up on NetGalley I had to request it. No, it won't make it on MSBA and no it won't end up in my library but I had to read it. I was a bit daunted by the 608 pages but still...
While I loved Seraphina I had a harder time with Shadow Scale. Some of may have had to do with the length. I am also not a huge fan of high fantasy and the names and places get a bit tricky for me. I did love the intrigue and the villain was actually perfect because even though she was awful you still felt some sympathy which made it harder to completely dislike her and for Seraphina to do what she should. I felt the romance twist at the end was a bit forced but all in all it was a good read.
After many hours, 100s of books read, debate, and concessions we have the 2015 - 2016 MSBA list.
1. Ice Dogs
2. There Will Be Bears
3. Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere
4. Audrey (Cow)
5. The Blood Guard
6. Iron Trial: The Magisterium
7. The Luck Uglies
8. The Mark of the Dragonfly
9. The Night Gardener
10. The Witch's Boy
11. The Zoo at the Edge of the World
12. Arcady's Goal
13. Just a Drop of Water
14. Night Sky Dragons
15. Just Jake
16. Wings & Co.: Operation Bunny
17. The Secret of Ferrell Savage
18. Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile
19. The Greenglass House
20. Under the Egg
21. The Crossover
22. Courage for Beginners
23. Half a Chance
24. Half a World Away
25. Little Man
26. The Meaning of Maggie
27. The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher
28. Rain Reign
29. Saving Lucas Biggs
30. Space Case
31. The Rookie Bookie
32. I am Malala
33. On Two Feet and Wings
34. Neighborhood Sharks
35. Stubby the War Dog
36. When Lunch Fights Back
37. El Deafo
38. Absolutely Truly
39. Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents: MacBeth
40. Through the Woods
41. Voices from Washington
42. Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold
I have read all the books on the list and I believe I have reviewed all of them on this blog sometime in the last year if you care to search out my thoughts. There are some I am not a fan of at all, some I didn't personally like but I know kids will love, some I loved that didn't make the cut, and some that were no brainers.
This book was very well done. My daughter has been intrigued with Anastasia and the Romanovs for several years and I purchased the book for her. She thought it was very well done and I have to agree. Tragic that there was so much misunderstanding and a lack of knowledge about their citizens but also sad that murder was chosen as a way to deal with the problem. Sad story but for those interested in the historical aspect...well done.
I truly loved this book. I listened to this on audio and the way the narrator did Harmless' voice - loved. The characters were engaging and witty, there was good suspense and drama, and even a fair amount of mystery. The were some unanswered questions at the end that hint of a sequel but it felt complete enough. The length at over 400 pages was daunting (over 8 hours on audio) so while I loved it I will not purchase it for my particular library (but I will try to get my own hands on the sequel).
