November, December, January, February

Well… you can read this like Johnny Cash sings “I’ve been everywhere.”

Flight - Sherman Alexie [this author rocks!]
Absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian – Sherman Alexie [ditto]
Twisted - Laurie Halse Anderson
Rat Life - Tedd Arnold
The Opposite of love - Helen Benedict
Someday this pain will be useful to you – Peter Cameron
Deadline – Chris Crutcher [wow]
I am Rembrandt’s daughter - Lynn Cullen [one of my faves]
Run far, run fast – Timothy Decker [a graphic novel!]
Gym Candy – Carl Deuker
In search of Mockingbird – Loretta Ellsworth
Beastly – Alex Flinn
The Noah Confessions – Barbara Hall
Get Well Soon – Julie Halpern
How ya like me now – Brendan Halpin
Elvis Presley - Wilborn Hampton [a fantastic bio!]
Split screen – Brent Hartinger [continuing Geography Club]
All-In – Pete Hautman [if you like poker...]
Your own, Sylvia - Stephanie Hemphill
Anything but ordinary – Valerie Hobbs
Impulse - Ellen Hopkins
Glass – Ellen Hopkins [anticipated sequel to Crank doesn't disappoint!]
Lemonade Mouth – Mark Peter Huges [if you liked Notes from the midnight driver you'll probably like this too]
Repossessed - A.M. Jenkins
What happened – Peter Johnson
Chasing Tail Lights – Patrick Jones
Strays – Ron Koertge
Miracle Wimp – Erik P. Kraft [LOVED this one!]
The Miner’s Daughter – Gretchen Moran Laskas
The Night Birds – Thomas Maltman [loved this one, too!]
The Snows – Sharelle Byars Moranville
Echo – Kate Morgenroth [in the same vein as Invisible]
Johnny Cash - Anne E. Neimark [fantastic bio that reads like a novel!]
Coal Black Horse – Robert Olmstead
Chloe Doe – Suzanne Phillips
The ghost of Mary Prairie – Lisa Polisar
Cures for Heartbreak – Margo Rabb
How to Take the Ex out of Ex-Boyfriend – Janette Rallison [fun story!]
Red Glass - Laura Resau
Come Juneteenth – Ann Rinaldi
Safe – Susan Shaw
Tantalize - Cynthia Leitich Smith
First shot – Walter Sorrells [couldn't put this one down!]
Freak show - James St. James [probably not Gateway material, but a great book anyway!]
Boot Camp - Todd Strasser [stressful reading]
Seven days at the hot corner – Terry Trueman
Remembering Raquel - Vivian Vande Velde
Rucker Park Setup - Paul Volponi [if you like basketball...]
Quad – C.G. Watson
Red Moon at Sharpsburg - Rosemary Wells
Resurrection Men – T.K. Welsh
Booth’s daughter – Raymond Wemmlinger
Such a pretty girl – Laura Wiess
Falling - Doug Wilhelm
Parrotfish - Ellen Wittlinger
Zane’s Trace - Allan Wolf
Rubber houses – Ellen Yeomans
Story of a girl – Sara Zarr
Memoirs of a teenage amnesiac – Gabrielle Zevin

Published in: Reading on February 19, 2008 at12:08 pm Comments (0)
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As promised!

2008-2009 Gateway Award Nominations

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson
Diva by Alex Flinn
What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles
Born to Rock by Gordon Korman
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Terrier: The Legend of Beka Cooper #1 by Tamora Pierce
Dead Connection by Charlie Price
A Brief Chapter In My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt
Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick
Rooftop by Paul Volponi
Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Published in: Reading on at11:37 am Comments (0)
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It’s catch-up time!

I can’t believe I haven’t updated this site since October! I’ve been very busy … reading! I just finished Right behind you by Gail Giles and am working on Resurrection men by T.K. Welsh. Watch closely for the complete and total recap of everything I’ve read since my last post. If you want to see the list of 2008-2009 Gateway Award nominees, visit the MASL website. I’ll post the list here in the near future. In the meantime, keep up to date on the casting and production of Twilight - set for release on December 12, 2008.

Published in: Reading on February 17, 2008 at9:27 pm Comments (1)
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Graphic novels …

….aren’t too bad! I recently read The Plain Janes by Cecil Castelluci. What a good story in graphic novel format! I can’t wait to read others from Minx Publishers.

Published in: Reading on October 1, 2007 at11:06 am Comments (2)
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A couple more in progress….

I picked up Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead at the public library and it’s my read-at-home book. It’s a gripping and descriptive story about a 14-year-old boy who’s sent to find is father during the Civil War. I’m nearly done with it and love it! Unless it completely falls apart at the end (which I doubt it will), I’m totally recommending it and will most likely purchase it for our collection at some point.

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins (author of last year’s winner Crank) is my lunch time read. It’s great, but I only have about 20 minutes a day to read it. I’m about 75% through with it and am recommending it also. I can’t wait for Glass to come out – it’s the sequel to Crank. Happy reading!

Published in: Reading on September 25, 2007 at9:06 am Comments (2)

Coming up with titles for these posts is no fun

Well… one more to add to my reading repertoire…
Chasing Tail Lights by Patrick Jones (who wrote Nailed). Both of these were awesome, but this one was pretty rough… an excellent read, but rough nonetheless. A basically unloved, unwanted girl, Christy is going through some horrid experiences at home finally opens up to a teacher who does her best to help her.

I’m now reading Impulse by Ellen Hopkins, author of Gateway Award winning novel Crank.

Published in: Reading on September 18, 2007 at10:26 am Comments (1)

For all you Stephenie Meyer fans…..

Check out these links…
Her website
fan art
articles
interviews
Good Morning America video
Borders.com video

Plenty to keep you busy.
Enjoy!

Published in: Reading on at10:15 am Comments (2)
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Jacob Jacob Jacob……

Yup… finished it. Couldn’t put it down. Reinforced my opinion that Jacob is the right person for Bella. Apologies (not – ha!) to all you Edward lovers out there, but JACOB RULES!

Published in: Reading on September 10, 2007 at7:11 am Comments (4)

Another graphic novel…

Yes, I’m broadening my horizons. I read another graphic novel today – Emma vol. 3. Pretty good for a story set in Victorian England!

I also am about 90 pages into Eclipse and it’s going home with me this weekend. Hmmmmm Jacob or Edward? Does she or doesn’t she?

Published in: Reading on September 7, 2007 at12:25 pm Comments (1)
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3 books up, 3 books down

Rat Life by Tedd Arnold examines the relationship between a 14 year old boy, a 17 year old Vietnam vet, a dead puppy and a floating body.

In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth was a little weird for me. The main character and I share a birthday – which isn’t too strange. What is strange is that on our shared birthday, she’s taking a trip from Minnesota to Alabama and makes a stop in the small Missouri town where I was born. If you come tell me what day and town, you’ll get a wonderful prize!!

The Snows by Sharelle Byars Moranville was a multigenerational story of four 16-year olds from 1931 through 2006. While interesting, I think it would have worked much better as a big, long book with many more details… possibly for adults instead of YA.

Up next… I don’t know. Maybe A long way from home.

Read on word warriors!

Published in: Reading on September 4, 2007 at10:09 am Comments (0)