Harry Potter thoughts

Wow... hard to believe that book 7 will be out in a few short days. :) I have my theories about what will happen ... I wonder if my theories will prove to be true?? It has been fun working at the public library to hear everyone's thoughts about what they think will happen. The challenge for me will be to read it fast enough before I work at the public library again ... because I sure people will be talking about it. :)
I have not seen the new movie, but I heard that it was pretty good. That might be on my list of things to do for tomorrow. :)

In other new book news... not much longer for Eclipse to come out! I can't wait!

East by Edith Pattou

I had put off reading East because of the length - it is quite long...right around 500 pages. I should of read it months ago! I started reading this Monday afternoon and finished it last night. I read it in 1 & 1/2 days - I could not put it down. :) East is on the Rebecca Caudill 2008 list.
East is the retelling of the folktale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon". You will also recognize elements of the the folktale "Beauty and the Beast." Many of you know that I love books that are retellings of classic folktales.

from Barnes and Noble: "Rose has always felt out of place in her family, a wanderer in a bunch of homebodies. So when an enormous white bear mysteriously shows up and asks her to come away with him--in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family--she readily agrees. The bear takes Rose to a distant castle, where each night she is confronted with a mystery. In solving that mystery, she loses her heart, discovers her purpose, and realizes her travels have only just begun."

I loved the voices in this novel - each chapter is told from a different character's point of view. The author does a terrific job of capturing the emotion and personality of each character, especially the white bear.

Happy reading! If you read East, comment on this post and let me know how you liked it. :)

The Schwa was Here by Neal Shusterman

The Schwa was Here is on the Rebecca Caudill 2008 list.
Here is the excerpt of the review from Amazon:
"When Anthony "Antsy" Bonano and his friends meet Calvin Schwa, they are impressed and puzzled by his ability to appear and disappear before their very eyes. Antsy concocts a moneymaking scheme based on the Schwa's invisibility that seems promising until he and his friends overreach and are caught by the town's legendary mean millionaire, Mr. Crawley. Schwa is an average kid who hangs on the outskirts of the crowd and longs to be noticed and included, not simply ignored."

The narrator of the story, Antsy, had a wonderful voice. He was a bit sassy and often had me laughing out loud. :) The story also gives you alot to think about: friendship, including others, and being comfortable with yourself.

Happy reading! If you read The Schwa was Here, comment on this post and let me know how you liked it. :)

Cover-up by John Feinstein

I just finished reading Cover-up: Mystery at the Super Bowl by John Feinstein. This was another advance reader copy that I got at my conference. Steve and Susan Carol (who we met in Last Shot) are back in another sport mystery.

Here is the review from Amazon:
"THE SUPER BOWL. America's biggest sports spectacle. More than 95 million fans will be watching, but Steve Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson know that what they'll be watching is a lie. They know that the entire offensive line of the California Dreams have failed their doping tests and that the Dreams' owner is trying to cover up the test results. These two teens are sitting on the biggest sports scandal of the decade. What they don't know -yet - is how to prove it."

Happy reading! If you read Cover-up: Mystery at the Super Bowl, comment on this post and let me know how you liked it. :)

Harry Potter fever?

Is anyone excited for the new Harry Potter book to come out? Less than two weeks now...

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Wow! What a book! I started reading this book on my way home from San Diego - it made the flight go by very quickly! :) As some of you might know, I am not a huge fantasy fan - so I have been putting off reading this book, but now I am eager to read the next two books in the series.
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment tells the story of 14 year old Maximum, a spunky girl who isn't afraid of sticking up for herself. Maximum is the leader of her ragtag "family" - a group of 6 kids that are quite special. They are 98% human and 2% bird. Max and her friends are being hunted by the evil scientists that altered their DNA. They must struggle to survive and also find out more about their own origins.


Happy reading! If you read Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, comment on this post and let me know how you liked it. :)

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin was one of the advance reader copies that I got at the conference I attended. I was VERY anxious to read it because I loved Elsewhere, which was also written by this author. This book did not disappoint me - I had a hard time putting it down. I think the book description at the front of the book does a great job of setting the mood of the book so I will include that here:

"If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn’t have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn’t have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn’t have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia. She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her “Chief.” She’d know about her mom’s new family. She’d know about her dad’s fiancée. She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss him back. But Naomi picked heads."

Memoirs of Teenage Amnesiac should be out in mid-August. Happy reading! If you read it, comment on this post and let me know how you liked it. :)