April Book Club

The books for this month have arrived. We'll be reading What I Saw and How I Lied -- a National Book Award winner by Judy Blundell. The meeting will be held during SSR advisory on Tuesday, April 20 in the library. Make arrangements to stay through the first half of 4A if you have a class that hour. Bring a sack lunch! See you all there.

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Disappointing and leaves room for yet another installment..., March 30, 2010

This review is from: This World We Live In (The Last Survivors, Book 3) (Hardcover)

I was really excited to be offered this novel for review having read both Life As We Knew It and The Dead and the Gone (The Last Survivors, Book 2) as soon as they were released. I was very disappointed in this book and found it unsatisfying. Not so much a conclusion as just another part of a series that should have ended with this third book.

I love an apocalyptic novel. I had really liked the first one I read, Life As We Knew It, and although slightly unimpressed with the companion novel, The Dead and the Gone, I did hope for some sort of culmination as the characters from both books met up and interacted in Howell. In the first place, there really isn't much backstory so unless you've read both prior books you will be somewhat lost as this third story begins.

Miranda and Alex and their families try to forge a sort of existence in Howell a year after the meteor collided with the moon. Their continuing struggle for food and survival fills page after page of this book. All try to be hopeful about an uncertain future and each makes choices and decisions that alter the course of their existence. Yet another calamity occurs toward the end of this book and it seems that the band of remaining survivors will move on to find a more suitable place to live.

All in all the book left me unsatisfied and irritated. I can see room for yet another in the series and am disappointed about that. I doubt I will read the next book. This series was called "action-packed, thrilling and utterly terrifying" but I think that each successive book lost those characteristics.

Borrow, don't buy.

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks: a review by Ana Stock

Dear John

This novel proves the strength and capacity of young love. Dear John, by Nicholas Sparks, is a tear-jerking novel which proves the human capacity for love. Many say that long distance relationships do not work, but personal experience proves that wrong. From an odd father, who is later diagnosed with a developmental disorder which caused his obsessive compulsive behaviors, to a perfect college girl and her waning relationship with her knight in shining armor, this novel is sure to bring tears to your eyes. It all begins with John Tyree, his father, his passion for surfing and his new found love, Savannah. It was love at first sight, instigated by a cocky, polo-strapped frat boy who knocked her purse in the ocean. John, while on his annual two week leave, had been out catching some waves and taking in the rays, when along the pier came two college girls, one blond and the other, Savannah, brunette. John, who was an army grunt through necessity, felt obligated to be the damsel in distress’s hero when the prep knocked her purse into the raging waters. Needless to say, Savannah found his heroic action charming. The college students were in North Carolina, for a month, living in a house on the pier and working with Habitat for Humanity, an organization that employs volunteers to build homes for those in need. Savannah and John hit it off immediately and John attended his first party with her group of volunteers. Their romance progressed as the night continued and while neither was expecting to fall in love they found comfort in each other’s arms. Savannah was the girl of John’s dreams, everything about her was just so perfect, she did not drink, and she was the valedictorian of her high school class and everything that he was not. She was religious and reintroduced him to faith, something that he had lost at a young age, because of his estranged father. They both knew that he would have to go back to the base where he was stationed in Germany at the end of his two weeks, so they made the best of the time they had together. Fighting and tears preceded John’s early morning flight back to the cold government barracks. The two young lovers promised to stay in contact and vowed that if John came back at the end of his term, they would marry. An entire, tearful year goes by and the two seem to be going strong until a few incidents strike up quarrel during his leave the following summer. As the story progresses John’s dad suffers a heart attack, John is sent to Iraq following the September 11^th attacks, and something happens with the young couple’s relationship. The novel is definitely bittersweet and its readers become totally engulfed in its pages.

I give Dear John five stars, because it was so easily relatable. Having experienced similar feelings and emotions in relationships, one in particular, I definitely felt the pain that the characters were experiencing. It seems that just as two people get closer and they begin to be themselves together, summer ends and reality hits; feelings of detachment strike and leaving that person feels like the hardest thing you will ever face. Just as John and Savannah, many people in long distance relationships suffer from these same feelings; those of loss, jealousy, distrust, and even betrayal. The reality of Dear John makes it a great read for not only those in long distance relationships, because of the ability to relate, but also to teenage girls across the globe, but I would not recommend this for the adult, married audience. The story is touching and seems so perfect, Nicholas Sparks definitely captured his audience with this one and Dear John unquestionably surpasses The Notebook, in the emotional aspect. Reading the book painted the perfect picture in my mind and I feel that seeing the movie Dear John would ruin my perfect story. I am a sucker for love and I have to say that I definitely recommend!

Book Club Meeting March 23

Attention all book club members -- this month's meeting to discuss Thirteen Reasons Why will be held in the library on Tuesday, March 23 during SSR. If you have first lunch, or if you can be excused for part of your 4A class, please bring a SACK LUNCH to the meeting with you!
Pass this along to fellow members in case they don't see this message!

Ms C.

Johanna Kelly's Book Review

WAKE

by Lisa McMann

**** stars

Your fingers go numb. Then your body falls limp. And you are falling into a dream. Someone else’s dream. Most likely, someone else’s nightmare. You would do anything to make it stop, but you can’t.

This is Janie’s reality. She falls into people’s dreams, it interferes with everything, she can’t tell anyone.

This is a thrilling, quick read. Its different from what I normally read--it has some aspects of fantasy in it--but it also has a deep emotional story. It deals with alcoholism, domestic violence, drug abuse, bullying, and poverty. Of course, if you are interested in dream analysis, this is the book for you. Check it out today! There is even a sequel, FADE.

Johanna Kelly's Book Review

Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging

Louise Rennison

5 stars

There are a few things wrong with your life. You have a little sister, but you love her. You have a best friend, but you sometimes hate her. You have awkward social skills, but people love you. You don’t have any serious drama and you’re hilarious. On the top of that, you keep a journal.

This book is about Georgia, a 14 year old British girl who sees all her flaws and just wants to be normal. However, she ultimately realizes that no one is normal.

I love this book! It is so lighthearted, and it is hilarious. It is perfectly innocent. I had to stop reading just to laugh! Its refreshing after reading so many books about drugs, rape, death, etc. Also, this is a ten book series, and there’s a movie!

Jo Burdett's Book Review

The Lovely Bones
By Alice Sebold

***** Five Stars

“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” Are the beginning two sentences of a chillingly good novel. Susie Salmon is brutally raped and murdered by her neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Through the whole novel, Susie narrates from heaven, which she learns is different for everyone. That every person gets their own slice of heaven. She narrates in the past and the present, watching her grieving family and relating things that happen with them with things from her own life. She follows Ray Singh, an Indian immigrant, who was the boy she “almost kissed” in the gym. Who the police suspect to be Susie’s killer, and that accusation excludes Ray and his family even more. When Susie’s father begins to suspect Mr. Harvey, and have the police ask him some questions, he comes off clean. But Mr. Salmon suspects that Harvey lied to the police, and that Harvey knows something about Susie’s killer. As her family deals with Susie’s death in each of their own ways, her mother starts to retreat into herself, her sister starts to grieve, but also doesn’t want to be known as “The dead girl’s sister”. Susie learns that she is homesick, and misses her mother with the help of her guidance counselor, Fran The suspense only grows throughout the novel, and I considered the entire book to be one of the best mystery/murder/suspense novels that were written for YA in a very, very long time.

Sebold holds the readers attention the entire book. With Susie’s childlike innocence, and the use of a child’s voice, this book is definitely worth the five stars I’ve given it. I seriously recommend this book. But only to those who are mature enough to deal with the Rape and the Murder scenes, for they are quite graphic. The graphic violence is the only reason I would consider taking a star off, but Sebold’s writing ability completely erases that possibility. Ya’ll should come to the library to check it out today!

Teenage Drama Taken Way Too Seriously!

Teenage Drama Taken Way Too Seriously!
Reviewed by Ana Stock

The 2007 novel, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, disgusted me. The novel surrounded a girl, Hannah Baker, who popped a bunch of pills and killed herself, because she was entirely too sensitive to her peers judgments! Come on girl grow up and fight back, it’s your life not theirs! Every teenager is surrounded by pressures to drink and have sex and let’s face it, we are all tormented and teased sometime in our lives. The last thing I want to hear about is some girl who committed suicide, recorded seven tapes (thirteen sides) to spite her so called “instigators.” The story’s main character, Clay Jensen, was just as confused and bothered as I was as he listened to the tapes one after another in search of his name among Hannah’s long list of wrong-doers. She sent the tapes in a box with instructions to send them on to the next person on her list; the next person among her montage of accusatory, childish reasons for hating her peers. She was new to the town when she attended school one day to see her name on a “Hot or Not” list. She was labeled hottest a** in the class. Instead of doing something about the list, confronting its creator, Hannah let it go and the snowball, as she called it, grew and a grab of the butt every now and then, a peeping tom, lost friends, and tiny smirks all brought her to her breaking point. Clay didn’t understand his faults; he assumed that he was some sort of a mistake, that he was not even on her list. Hannah ruined her peeping toms life with her words, she forced people into serious anger towards him and, as Clay discovered, people began to throw rocks at his window, “If he has the guts to look into Hannah’s window, why should we not break his?” She sent a map so that people would feel sorry for her as they visited each spot, which was marked with a red star. Clay followed the map in an almost obsessed manner all the way along the journey, mourning with Hannah’s voice and allowing anger to build up inside of him. To me this book was very juvenile, I don’t understand the point! Life has its stresses but, hello! we all deal with them, Hannah Baker was being ridiculously immature, grow up and do something about what is going on. It is the most selfish thing to commit suicide in the first place and Hannah tried to justify her means of death with frivolous reasons and she was just trying to find someone to blame for every tiny thing, which disgusted me and made me think even deeper about how selfish she was. Life sounded hard for her yeah, but OPEN YOUR EYES and you will notice that every person, child or adult has struggles; if someone grabs your butt, turn around smack him and make your presence well known.
I give this book 1 out of five stars. Sorry guys! You may think I am to critical of Young Adult fiction, but really I just like to hear a well developed and thought out story, I don’t want to hear about something that just seems stupid, there was no really solid reason for her to commit suicide, it would be like me saying I don’t like the cover of this book, I’m going to burn every copy and the stores that sell it. I like real life stuff and this was very unsatisfying, a suicide is not accidental and a rape, while she may not be able to control that, is STILL no reason for an “accidental auto death.” I don’t recommend this book, however if you feel you must I wish you luck!

Jo Burdett's Book Review

The Angel of Death

By Alane Ferguson

4 stars

In Alane Ferguson’s sequel to her first novel “The Christopher killer” called, “Angel of Death” Cameryn has found secrets from her past, and that her long lost mother named Hannah would like to reunite with her. Cameryns character has changed a little, according to her friends Adam and Lyric. She’s grown quieter, and is a darker person. Her two friends and her family are worried that maybe her working with her father as assistant to the corner has finally taken a toll on Cameryn’s person. When confronted, Cameryn gets offended by her friend Lyric’s crude way of telling her, and ends up breaking the friendship off for her work.

The next victim Cameryn has to work on is her Ex-Honors English teacher, Mr. Brad Oakes. The case is especially awkward, seeing as Mr. Oakes seemed to be cooked from the inside out. No burn marks, no fire in the house to be burned with. A truly baffling case. Even with the help of the grump Dr. Moore, Cameryn cannot seem to figure out what is wrong with the body! After interviewing Kyle O’Neil, a boy scout and a close friend of Mr. Oakes-Kyle’s the one who found the body- Cameryn starts to have feelings for the handsome popular guy at school who coincidentally asks her to be his girlfriend. With a boyfriend, and her favorite job at hand, but with the loss of her best friend, Cameryn not only begins to lose faith in her abilities to solve the case of her favorite ex-teacher, but also in the faith she once had in her mother. Cameryns mother is a shadow in the entire book. She has called Cameryn’s work asking to talk to her, and has even sent a letter, detailing as to why she left Cameryn and her father. With an ending that is both sad and joyful, Alane leads the reader to her third installment in the Cameryn series, “The Circle of Blood”. This should guarantee another spell-binding forensics case set by the fabulous Alane Ferguson.

I gave “The Angel of Death” four stars because, Ferguson does lose herself in the relationship problems between Cameryn and her friend Lyric, and The relationship between Cameryn and Kyle. Although its good for character development and such, I was much more anxious to figure out who the killer of Mr. Oakes was, and didn’t care much for the relationship issues. It was a damper on an excellent novel, and I hope that Ferguson does not continue those issues in “The Circle of Blood”. I do recommend “angel of Death” however, to anyone who likes murder mystery novels, or anyone who enjoyed “The Christopher Killer” as much as I did.

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

Saving each other, a sweet ghost story..., March 2, 2010

Teen girls and reluctant readers will enjoy this book written in free verse. The sparse language and lack of descriptive detail keep the story moving forward and also bring out the emotions experienced by the characters in a more stark manner than does the typical novel written in prose.

This story, told in alternating voices, is about Brooklyn and Nico -- both are being "haunted" and experience visions and visits. Nico by Brooklyn's boyfriend and his brother Lucca and she by Lucca's friend Gabe. The two boys are dead -- Lucca in a car wreck and Gabe a suicide. Both are trying to pass along an important message to Brooklyn and Nico -- to choose life instead of wallowing in solitude and despair.

Although a bit contrived and predictable, the journey that each takes is a bittersweet effort to reconnect with friends and family. Brooklyn and Nico learn that the path to happiness involves making choices to stay involved and active in the world without staying constantly in the past. It's about getting over a terrific and horrible loss, and somehow finding peace and the desire to go on despite the pain and grief.

Recommended for high school libraries.

Ms C.