Philip Pullman: The Golden Compass

WOW.
Ok, for those of you who have only begun--KEEP GOING!!!
I was really unsure I would enjoy this book initially, but finally after about the fifth chapter I was totally hooked.

Action-packed, interesting, imaginative, and a great heroine make up an extremely creative story. Lyra's world is similar to ours, but every human has an animal daemon (almost like a soul that chats with, comforts, and protects its human). Children's daemons change form (mainly to emulate their human's emotion/climate), but when children reach adulthood, the daemon permanently chooses an animal form.

The "controversial" part of the text doesn't really hit until the end of the novel, and I see how some religious sects might take offense, but it really is a masterfully crafted text. The end is also slightly violent and graphic, but not overly done.

Lyra is destined to do things for her world, but what they are have yet to be realized.

I also like this version of the text's cover more than the trade paperbacks I have--they aren't as fun-looking, and look much more like "grown-up" books.

Cynthia Rylant: God Went To Beauty School

Ok, I got this on a whim--inexpensive, short...you never know when a short text may be called for.

I read the first poem and a little worry crossed my mind--what kind of religious book did I pick up??

Well, it is a great novella (all in verse) that spins a unique tale of God (however the reader sees that figure) and what he/she might be like.

I read it in the bathtub, the language is manageable, and it isn't very controversial--unless you are against different perspectives on deities. I am glad I have this for my shelves. It was fun to read, and it is always nice to think that a possibility exists that maybe some Omniscient thing never really wanted death/pain for the world, and there might just be a really good sense of humor and lonely being out there.

My FAVORITE:
God Got A Desk Job
Just to see what it
would be like.
Made his back hurt.
God's always had a
bad back anyway--
the weight of the world
and all that.
He thought His job was tough,
'til He sat at a desk all day.
It was torture.
He could feel the Light
inside Him grow
dimmer and dimmer
and He thought that
if He had to pick
up that phone
one more time,
He'd just start the
whole Armageddon thing
people keep talking about.
(Not His idea, not His plan,
but in a pinch, He's
sure He can come up
with something.)
The only thing that got
Him through to the
end of the day was
Snickers bars.
He ate thirty-seven.
Plus thinking about the Eagle Nebula
in the constellation Serpens.
That helped.
(Cynthia Rylant: God Went to Beauty School pgs. 39-40)

Adele Geras: Ithaka

Really a good read. For those who love stories about Ancient Greece, this is a different perspective of Odysseus & Penelope told through the eyes of a servant-girl who waits on Penelope--Klymene.

*I'll get my book talk up here as soon as I can.

Edith Pattou: East

An enormous white polar bear, a loving and protective brother and father, a troll queen, and an adventurous, brave, spirited and head-strong young woman—combine together in a fast-paced fun adventure/quest in East. The main character’s enthusiastic passion to find her destiny and the changing voices narrating the story’s chapters will keep you captivated for the long haul!

Laurie Halse Anderson: Speak

What happened to Melinda that would cause her to chew her lips bloody and is the root of her not speaking? Find out as a very strong young woman overcomes a devastating and traumatic event through a heart-wrenching self-journey in solitude.

John Green: looking for alaska

By far one of my favorite books ever.

Pudge loves Alaska--crazy, moody, intelligent, beautiful Alaska. Pudge loves her even more than he loves the fact that he now has friends in boarding school he chose to go to a few states away from home.

In a whirlwind year, Pudge learns more about himself then he ever imagined--through pranks and unrequited love and his very first date.

John Green's book really is well-crafted (duh..it did win the Printz award)

Pete Hautman: invisible

If you are looking for an unreliable narrator--this is the text for you. Though, is the narrator really unreliable?

I was actually creeped out and disturbed by this book--something I wasn't really expecting. One of my classmates said that this was "Shin's story" (Shin from godless--who I always wanted to know what happened--what his dealio back-story was) but it totally was not.

The cover is actually exceptional and dead-on with the inherent importance of the struggle of the main character.

Well-written, much darker than godless, and you really never get the impression that you "get" the story--whose truth is truth?

Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm: Babymouse: Queen of the World!

-GRAPHIC NOVEL-

Babymouse reminds me of Ramona Quimby, but in a mouse form.

Ned Vizzini: It's Kind of a Funny Story

Craig is your smarter-than-average, pretty regular, fifteen-year old guy. He studies really hard to get into his dream high school, is infatuated with his best friend’s girlfriend, has a little sister who adores him, and a great mom and dad who love him and are very proud of him.

Craig also voluntarily admitted himself into a psychiatric ward of a hospital where he remained for five days to find a way to live with his clinical depression in the real world. This is Craig’s story of the events that led to the stay in the mental ward offering a candid insight into the battle with a formidable disorder.

Marsha Qualey: Just Like That

Hanna never anticipated that a quiet walk that cold winter night after breaking up with her boyfriend would change everything she knew. Just like that her world turned upside down and even her closest friendships weren’t what they seemed. Hanna embarks on a personal quest to fill voids she wasn’t even aware she had until that fateful night, and she becomes cognizant of the importance of every little moment she has.




**Amazing characters, good story...best for late high schoolers**

Pete Hautman: godless

Bored with his mundane summer life in his small town, Jason Bock questions his religion and the principles that drive blind, uneducated following. He creates a religion centered around the town’s water tower, and recruits his best friend in his endeavor. Soon Jason’s “followers” are more invested than he ever anticipated, and things begin to spin out of control, especially for his best friend Shin who becomes more and more unstable as the story progresses. A glimpse into a small-town’s reaction to an outside-the-box thinking intelligent teen who was merely looking to use his imagination to pass his summer more quickly, and things get completely out of control.

Franscesca Lia Block: weetzie bat

Weetzie isn’t like any character written—or is she a mixture of every single character encountered in life? Weetzie and the people who surround her will sweep readers into her world, dazzle, confuse, and move readers beyond words. A lyrical masterpiece starring one of the most unique heroines you will ever encounter, weetzie bat is a brief escape readers will welcome into their lives!

Karen Cushman: Catherine Called Birdy

Independent, headstrong, stubborn, witty, intelligent young Catherine invites readers to share a year of her life through her writings in a diary that her brother has requested she write in. Life in 13th century England for a teenage girl on the brink of puberty is much more challenging and daunting than the experiences of the modern adolescents. Between incessant embroidering, behaving as a “proper” noblewoman, sharing her bedroom with a crowd of celebrating visitors, and making herself as undesirable as possible to potential future husbands, Catherine has her young hands full. Will she be able to avoid marriage to disgustingly old Shaggy Beard, or will she have to succumb to her father (“the beast”) and his wishes? You won’t be able to put the book down until you find out!

Carol Plum-Ucci: The Body of Christopher Creed

If you were to disappear, would anyone care?

Christopher Creed didn’t fit in. He was bullied and excluded and in no way part of the “in” crowd. Creed’s mother, overbearing and clueless to his unhappiness, turns the town upside-down and inside out after her son disappears leaving behind an ambiguous farewell note which sets Torey Adams on a mission to discover what exactly happened to Christopher Creed.

Torey, in his quest for the “truth,” discovers that those around him aren’t interested in anything that goes against their warped perception of reality. In fact, he discovers all of the lies people tell themselves in order to survive, no matter the consequences. If a reader enjoys mystery and/or suspense, this text needs to find him/her as soon as possible.

Pearl Fuyo Gaskins: What Are You? Voices of mixed-race young people

Unfamiliar with people who come from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities? Do you think you know all there is to know about biracial/multicultural people? In a series of vignettes Gaskins has assembled a variety of voices who all share their experiences concerning growing up multiracial. Valuable resources students, teachers, and families can take advantage of have been compiled in a useful section, and the stories chosen cover a wide variety of issues—from dating to negative encounters about their heritage—this text is a down-to-earth collection useful for anyone interested in people.

Art Spieglaman: The Complete Maus

Ann Brashares: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Four young women linked through friendship since birth embarks on the first summer apart from each other. From Greece to Mexico, South Carolina to D.C.(their hometown), each young woman must mature and find a piece of herself with the help of a pair of magic jeans that just happen to mold to fit each young woman’s spirit and body. A text that will make you laugh out loud, shed many tears, and find a piece of yourself in each young woman—the ride is definitely worth the emotional investment.

Helen Frost: keesha's house

For someone who doesn’t have a safe place to go home to, Keesha’s house is his/her sanctuary. Be it an unplanned pregnancy, the ramifications of coming out to homophobic parents, escape from a potentially sexually abusive stepfather, or difficulty in dealing with the foster care system—all problems can be left outside Keesha’s blue door and behind it a sense of safety, security, and accomplishment can be found. A text written in verse, each poem is someone’s voice that pulls the reader into the world of underprivileged and strong-willed young people who are forced to grow up much faster than anyone should have to.

Robert Cormier: The Chocolate War

When freshman Jerry Renault refuses to partake in the annual chocolate sale at his private school, the entire student body is thrown for a loop and the entire student body begins to question their world. If you are looking for a story that is chock-full of peer-pressure, exclusive cliques, hazing, and corruption, this is definitely a good choice for you!

S.E. Hinton: The Outsiders

In a war between “the haves” versus the “have-nots” Ponyboy learns the true meaning of friendship, the strength and importance in family bonds, and loyalty. In a fast-paced narrative, the reader is flung into Ponyboy’s world, encountering his highs and lows, and one night that will change life forever in the world that surrounds him and his family. While the allegiance of family and friends run deep, cliques and social status will forever remain, and Ponyboy’s journey throughout the text gives readers insight in a world to which they themselves are familiar with.

Thanks to my Cooperating Teacher!!

I am "borrowing" her idea (as all teachers tend to do), and creating this place for my reading ventures. This will be available to my students and my friends and the random blogging world.

ENJOY!!!!!!