Notes from a Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick

Many students have been encouraging me to read this ... and I am glad I finally did. This author does not disappoint - he does a terrific job of capturing characters personality and emotions. I was sad to see this story end.

From Amazon:

After drinking some vodka and taking his mom's car for a spin to his father's girlfriend's house, who just happens to be his former third-grade teacher, 16-year-old Alex Gregory finds himself on his neighbors' lawn with police yelling at him and a broken gnome under his car. It is hard to believe that Alex would do anything like this; most of the time he hangs out with his friend Laurie, a sassy petite karate expert, and plays guitar in the school jazz band. He is also trying to get over his parents' recent split. For drinking and driving, Alex is sentenced to 100 hours of community service at a nursing home with Solomon Lewis. Sol is a difficult, crotchety, eccentric old man with emphysema who lashes out at Alex in strange Yiddish phrases. Soon Alex grows found of Sol, who teaches him something about the guitar, respecting the elderly, and taking responsibility for his actions.

Happy Reading! If you read Notes from a Midnight Driver, comment on this post and let me know how you liked it! :)

Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes

I listened to this book and the narrator did a great job of giving the characters a believable voice. I found this story to be sad and heartwarming at the same time.

from Amazon:

Mitch Sinclair, 12, is at Bird Moon Lake because his parents are divorcing. But there are tense moments with his grandparents, so Mitch fantasizes about moving into the empty house next door. Then Spencer Stone and his family, who own the cottage, arrive. Spencer and younger sister love the lake, but it’s also the place where their barely remembered brother, Matty, drowned at age four. Told in overlapping chapters, the story is spare. Mitch tricks Spencer into thinking Matty is haunting them; then he does something worse. After the boys become friends, the truth becomes both barrier and bridge.

Happy Reading! If you read Bird Lake Moon, comment on this post and let me know how you liked it! :)

Wow! Summer is over already?!

I hope everyone had a great summer!

I wanted to first start with a Question of the Week ...

The Question of the Week is: What was your favorite thing about summer?

I enjoyed having more time to read and enjoying the warm weather.

Please cast your vote in the poll located at the top of the blog :)

I also thought I would share some titles that I really enjoyed reading this summer:

* Wings by Aprilynne Pike (so good! it reminded me of Twilight)

* The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han (same author of Shug - this was a great summer read!)

* Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (the sequel to The Hunger Games - I could not put it down!)

What did you read this summer? Leave a comment and let me know!

reading...and reading.

I haven't had time to post, it has been busy during the past few weeks. :)

Recently I have read:

Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin (a great realistic fiction pick...the author did a great job of describing the life of Jason, a 12 year old autistic boy)

Exodus by Julie Bertagna (many students recommended this one .. it was good! Fantasy, set in the future)

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston (I LOVED this one!)

Friendship for Today by Patricia McKissack (great story of friendship)

Let me know if you read any of these... and what you think :)

reading... reading...reading

I have been reading quite a bit lately. Some recent titles that I have read:

* Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin
* The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
* Impossible by Nancy Werlin (I couldn't put this one down!)
* Max by James Patterson (newest Maximum Ride book ... I really liked it!)

What have you been reading lately?

Spring Break

I did quite a bit of reading over Spring Break. Almost all my reading is usually young adult, middle school books - but I actually decided to read some "grown up" :) and high school books over break. Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite adult authors so I was anxious to read her new book.

One middle school book that I did read over break was the Maximum Ride graphic novel. I enjoyed it! It was neat to see Max's story told in the graphic novel format.

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

This graphic novel is a gem in my humble opinion. The first page I opened to at the beginning of the book had a small illustration of a sketch book with the words "art saves" on the cover. That illustration just had my attention immediately ... and I loved the rest of the book just as much.

from Barnes and Noble:
Caught in a terrorist attack, Jane changes hair, mindset, and-compelled by her frightened parents-city and school. Spurning the in-crowd, she recruits other outcast Janes to stage guerilla-style art attacks, tagged P.L.A.I.N.: People Loving Art in Neighborhoods. The hyperparanoid authorities are not amused, but P.L.A.I.N. wins over most of the other kids. The premise is intriguing, relevant, and disturbing, even as the resolution leaves more questions. When is an art attack sabotage, graffiti, or vandalism? How can people reinvent their lives despite fear?

Happy Reading! If you read The Plain Janes, comment on this post and let me know how you liked it! :)