Summer Reading & A Confession

I still haven't read this book:

I know. Here's the thing - I was just getting started on the Lone Star Reading List committee when this book came out and I was busy reading other things. I could have fit this in, but I really wanted to go back and read book six before this one...and then I decided I should go back and re-read them all in a row before reading the last one...and then, I just never got around to it.

So, my goal for this summer is to read the entire series, and I'm really looking forward to it. What's on your summer reading list?

Owly & Wormy

Owly & Wormy, Friends All Aflutter!

by Andy Runton

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011

I don't read a lot of graphic novels, but last year I got hooked on the Owly series by Andy Runton, and I was delighted to find this wordless picture book featuring the same cute characters!

Best friends Owly and Wormy decide they want butterflies and head off to the nursery looking for a plant that will attract them. Once home, they create their little patch of garden to welcome the butterflies, even going so far as to make welcome signs. But all they end up with are green caterpillars. Wormy tells the green guys that the plants are for butterflies and the plants are not for caterpillars. Because this is a wordless book, the thought bubbles have pictures in them, and so for this conversation, we see a picture of a plant, an equal sign, and a butterfly. Then we see a picture of a plant, an equal sign with a slash through it, and a caterpillar.

While a little disappointed to not have butterflies, and a little puzzled as to why they don't, Owly and Wormy soon make friends with the caterpillars, only to have them disappear. And then the friends don't understand why the caterpillars left, and once again they're left wondering.

I've never tried a wordless picture book with a group, but I think is perfect for one-on-one reading; it gives the child a chance to help tell the story. I love these characters, their friendship, their facial expressions, their adventures...I hope we get more picture books of the two!

Reviewed from library copy



Chime by Franny Billingsley

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Dial Books, 2011

     "I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be hanged. Now, if you please. I don't mean to be difficult, but I can't bear to tell my story. I can't relive those memories - the touch of the Dead Hand, the smell of eel, the gulp and swallow of the swamp. How can you possibly think me innocent? Don't let my face fool you; it tells the worst lies. A girl can have the face of an angel but have a horrid sort of heart." (p.1)

And so begins the story of seventeen-year-old Briony Larkin: daughter of a village clergyman, twin sister, keeper of a terrible secret. She's a witch, and she called up a wind that injured her sister, and she killed her stepmother. She can't share her secret or ease her burden - they hang witches.

We meet Briony at her trial, and then flash back to the day Eldric arrives in town ("That's where proper stories begin, don't they, when the handsome stranger arrives and everything goes wrong?" p.2). As the two become friends, Briony struggles to continue to keep her secret when faced with someone who wants to not only know it, but to help.

When Briony decides she must sacrifice herself to save her sister and the children taken ill by the swamp cough, her secret comes to light - which leads us to her trial, where, as it turns out, Briony is not the only good at keeping secrets.

The first chapter sucked me in...but, beyond that, it didn't transistion into an easy read - with a world and creatures to learn, and the way Briony narrates, but I quickly became engrossed. The latter half flew by, and by the end, the book had been such a rewarding experience.

It's a gorgeously written tale of witchcraft and otherwordly creatures, with mystery and a sometimes rocky, but swoon-worthy romance. But, it's also about discovering the truth, and seeking redemption and forgiveness, and most importantly, learning to love yourself.

Reviewed from library copy



The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker

The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker
Sourcebooks, 2011

Kate's best friend Grace died over a year ago, in a tragic accident at their private school. And when Grace died, her other best friend Maddie started hanging out with a new group of girls, without any explanation. Kate's kind of on her own, still reeling from the death, when she starts receiving emails from Grace. Emails from a dead friend? That contain clues? Convinced that her friend's death was not an accident, she begins to follow the clues. And then, she begins to catch glimpses of Grace.

The clues lead Kate to start exploring her exclusive private school, and researching its history. Along with the boy next door, who'd be like the brother she never had, if he didn't keep asking her out, and the boy with a bad repuation, who gives her that "I-need-to-kiss-this-boy-or-I-will-die type of feeling" (p.299), Kate discovers that some really big secrets are being kept by some really powerful people.

Kate has a great voice, with just the right amount of sarcasm. Here's one of my favorite examples: "Liam struggled with the door, trying to pry it open with one of the shovels, a flashlight, and even a stick (yeah, I wasn't impressed either), but the door wouldn't budge." (p.261

It's a page-turner of a mystery with a dash of romance and lots of fun. It had unexpected twists and I enjoyed every minute of it! Try this if you're still mourning the loss of Veronica Mars, and hope for more from the Roecker sisters.

Reviewed from library copy

 



48 HBC - The Final Stats

I finished last night at 8:45. I read for 10 hours and 15 minutes yesterday! I started at 6:30am and pretty much all I did yesterday was read.

Final Stats

Total Time Read: 21 hours, 15 minutes

Total Time Blogged: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Total Time Spent Social Networking: 45 minutes (a goal to do more of this next year!)

Total Books Read: 6 (The Case of the Case of the Mistaken Identity; Bullet Point; Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator; The Midnight Tunnel; The Liar Society; Girl's Best Friend) (started Desires of the Dead but didn't finish)

Total Challenge Time: 23 hours, 15 minutes

For Next Year (because I had a blast and of course I'm doing this again!):

• I was so, so focused on reading. I've got some notes and passages marked, and have a couple of reviews to write and post soon. Next year, I want to work harder to blog more and post more reviews during the actual 48 hours.
• I really only listen to audiobooks in the car, so I didn't have one on hand because I knew I wouldn't completely finish one. Next year, I'd like to have the same book in print and on audion, so I can listen and then pick up reading where I left off, and go back and forth between the two.

Many thanks to MotherReader for all her work hosting this challenge!

48HBC - Brief Thoughts On What I've Read/Quick Update

Finished Bullet Point by Peter Abrahams yesterday after work - whoaa...so not the ending I was expecting...at all! After this I needed something with less grit and hard-crime, so I moved on to:

Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator by Allison Joyce - geared toward an older audience than I expected...while it touches on some heavier things like depression and suicide, it never feels like a heavy issue book...and it has some laughs...spunky Gilda is a riot!

The Midnight Tunnel: A Suzanna Snow Mystery by Angie Frazier - This had the misfortune of being the book I picked up late last night...whether it really started off slow or just seemed that way because I was tired, I can't say...I almost put it down and picked up something else, but I'm so glad I didn't...great middle-school read...everything a mystery should be...if boys can get past the cover, they might like it, too...guessing this is the start of a new series...reminded me of the Enola Holmes series.

At this point, I really had to get some sleep. Two late nights of reading, combined with a crazy week of work (kids out of school, the start of summer reading programs, an air conditioner that has worked off and on, and an outreach program yesterday) had begun to take their toll. But, I woke refreshed this morning and reading to keep reading.

This morning's choice: The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker - so, so good...more thoughts coming when I finish.

My time ends at 8:45 tonight - must keep reading!

Total Time Read: 13 hours, 22 minutes
Total Time Blogged: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Total Time Social Networking: 45 minutes
Books Completed: 4

Reading List for the 48 Hour Book Challenge

I really love seeing the stacks of books people are choosing from this weekend, but alas,  I just have a list:

The Case of the Case of the Mistaken Identity by Mac Bennet - completed

Bullet Point by Peter Abrahams - in progress

The Curse of the Ancient Mask & Other Case Files by Simon Cheshire - sounds great for Encyclopedia Brown fans (juvenile fiction)

Death Cloud by Andrew Lane - young Sherlock Holmes (young adult)

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting - second in a young adult series, about a girl who can find dead people (That's about all I remember about the first one, but I do know I enjoyed it!)

Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator by Allison Joyce - the start of series; I've been wanting to read it for ages and just haven't. (juvenile fiction)

The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker - I read a review of this somewhere (Booklist, maybe?) and it sounded great. (young adult)

Girl's Best Friend by Lisa Margolis - a girl, a dog, a mystery (juvenile fiction)

The Midnight Tunnel: A Suzanna Snow Mystery by Angie Frazier - early 1900s, girls dreams of becoming a detective (juvenile fiction)

Judy Moody, Girl Detective by Megan McDonald - I threw this in because JM is a  hugely popular series and I haven't read any of them. And she's got a movie coming out soon. I'm usually that person that has to read series in order, but I may make an exception here. (juvenile fiction)

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton - my "grown-up" choice - It's been on my list for awhile - I've heard good things about all of her books.

We'll see how many I actually get read!