Title: William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope
Author: Ian Doescher
Pages: 176
Publisher: Quirk Books
ISBN: 9781594746376
Publication Date: July 2, 2013
AR Levels: N/A
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17262540-william-shakespeare-s-star-wars
In a nutshell: What if Shakespeare had written Star Wars? You may think this is a silly mash-up, but I assure you it is pure genius! This one details the events of Episode IV: A New Hope, and I sure hope there are more to come! (I'd go to a theatrical performance of this too!)
I'd recommend it for grades: 6th and up. This book's actually written for adults, but it's clean enough content-wise that even middle schoolers will love it! It may be tough for younger readers to understand the Shakespearean language, but it might also be a gateway to Shakespeare since many of them know the plot of Star Wars already.
I'd recommend it to: Shakespeare fans and Star Wars fans of course
What I liked most about this book: This
is every bit as awesome as I'd hoped! Not only do you get some
laughable Shakespearean interpretations of classic Star Wars lines, but
you also get even more character development through the soliloquies
(especially with Han...who is also my favorite). Perhaps the best part
is that we finally get to hear R2's voice (only in asides...but
still!)!!! You'll find many borrowed and adapted lines from many of
Shakespeare's plays, including a pep talk from Luke to the rebels
beginning, "Friends, rebels, starfighters, lend me your ears" (Julius
Caesar) and a Hamlet-like reflection ("Alas, poor stormtrooper, I knew
ye not."). If you like Star Wars and Shakespeare, you'll kick yourself
if you don't read this.
Single favorite moment (without getting spoiler-y): This line Han delivers after the shoot-out with Greedo: "And whether I shot first, I'll ne'er confess." Love it.
Star rating (where 5 stars is awesome and 0 stars is atrocious): 5 stars
Title: The Name of This Book Is Secret
Author: Pseudonymous Bosch
Pages: 364
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316113663
Publication Date: October 1, 2007
AR Levels: Book Level - 5.6; Interest Level - 4th-8th grades; Points: 9.0
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1099301.The_Name_of_This_Book_Is_Secret
In a nutshell: When two curious 11 year-olds come across a strange box full of vials with various smells and a coded notebook hidden in an underground house, they embark on an adventure to find a long-lost person, to save a classmate, and to possibly prevent unspeakable horrors from being unleashed on the world. Follow Cass and Max-Ernest on this riddle-filled thrill ride that's sure to make you laugh and exercise your brain.
I'd recommend it for grades: 5 to 8
I'd recommend it to: fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society or Adam Gidwitz's Grimm series, mystery lovers, anyone who enjoys a good riddle, Neil Gaiman fans, and Blue Balliett fans
What I liked most about this book: Told by an interactive and hilarious narrator who is constantly asking if you, as the reader, should really continue considering how dangerous he has deemed it, this book seems to be an excellent read-aloud for a 5th grade classroom. It's equally funny and clever although easier to solve and follow than Balliett's books and The Mysterious Benedict Society series. I also enjoyed the footnotes and appendix with additional information (including historical facts, magic tricks, science experiments, and more). There's something in this book for everyone, and I can't wait to read the other four books in the series!
Single favorite moment (without getting spoiler-y): I think I can safely tell you that at one point Cass and Max-Ernest find themselves in a library full of fancy old books, which the narrator describes as "a treasure trove of books, hoarded by pirate librarians." Be still my librarian heart. Also, there is a blind basset hound in this book named Sebastian, and you know how much I love basset hounds. :)
Star rating (where 5 stars is awesome and 0 stars is atrocious): 4 stars
Title: All Our Yesterdays
Author: Cristin Terrill
Pages: 368
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
ISBN: 9781423176374
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
AR Levels: TBD
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13514612-all-our-yesterdays
In a nutshell: Em has top secret information that's so world-changing that it's landed her and the boy in the cell next to her in a top secret military prison. In order to save the world, she must follow instructions written in a note hidden in her cell and written in her own handwriting, which she can't remember writing. It reads: "You must kill him." Thus begins a whirlwind time travel adventure and romance that is sure to leave you breathless.
I'd recommend it for grades: 10 and up (for language and mild romantic content)
I'd recommend it to: sci-fi fans, romance fans, mystery fans, and Doctor Who fans
What I liked most about this book: I'm so afraid I'm going to give something away, so I can't say much except that calling this a page-turner is a huge understatement and that I absolutely fell in love with the characters. I was stoked to find out that there will be a second book (as the author says on her FAQ page on her website), but I'm also a little scared because this ended so perfectly that I can't imagine there being more! If you enjoy time travel and mysteries and romances, you just need to take my word and read this one! It's one of the best books I've read this year and one of the best time travel books I have ever read.
Single favorite moment (without getting spoiler-y): There's so little I can tell you about this book, but one of my favorite moments is when a female character uses "Elizabeth Bennet" as an alias. Nice little Pride and Prejudice shout-out there. ;)
Star rating (where 5 stars is awesome and 0 stars is atrocious): If I had a time machine, I'd give this 5 stars then go back in time and give it 5 stars again...and again...and again... ;)
*I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley.
Title: For Darkness Shows the Stars
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Pages: 402
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
ISBN: 9780062006141
Publication Date: June 12, 2012
AR Levels: Book Level - 5.4, Interest Level - 6th and up, Points: 14.0
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8306761-for-darkness-shows-the-stars
In a nutshell: Four years ago, Elliot North gave up her chance at love and freedom when she refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, Kai, a servant on her family's crumbling estate. Now, Kai's come back into her life, and he's made quite a life for himself as an explorer, renaming himself Captain Malakai Wentforth. Unfortunately for Elliot, all hopes of rekindling their romance is dashed when Captain Wentforth makes it clear that he still harbors anger and resentment toward her, but maybe all is not as Elliot sees. Can Elliot save her family's estate from ruin, protect all the servants she's known and loved her whole life, and find a way to heal her broken heart when the source of her pain is living in her grandfather's home just down the road? Based loosely on Jane Austen's Persuasion, this novel asks thought-provoking questions about love, honor, duty, envy, pride, second chances, forgiveness, technology, and class in a post-apocalyptic setting.
I'd recommend it for grades: 7th and up (quite clean for a teen romance)
I'd recommend it to: Jane Austen fans, tween girls wanting to ease into teen romances, Hunger Games fans (something about Eliot and Kai reminds me of Katniss and Gale), and fans of the Lunar Chronicles
What I liked most about this book: As a huge Jane Austen fan, I'm a little embarrassed to say that I only read Persuasion just a few days before this book, but I loved it. After finishing it, I did wish I could have seen more of what Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth's relationship had been like before she refused him. This book does a great job of filling in those gaps in Kai and Elliot's relationship prior to the action of the book by interspersing letters they wrote back and forth throughout their childhood. It's sweet and heartbreaking all at the same time, but it helps you see just how much they lost when they separated.
Single favorite moment (without getting spoiler-y): This book may appear on the surface to be just another teen romance, but there are some deep thoughts lurking just below the surface, such as this gem: "Envy hurt exponentially more than heartbreak because your soul was torn in two, half soaring with happiness for another person, half mired in a well of self-pity and pain." I think Jane Austen would be proud of this ambitious retelling with nuggets of truth like that.
Star rating (where 5 stars is awesome and 0 stars is atrocious): 4 stars
It's no secret that I love graphic novels. Honestly, they are some of my favorite books to read, but I'm aware that some parents and teachers have their concerns about the format. Far too many times I've seen a child in my library thrilled to check out a stack of graphic novels only to be told by a parent to put them back and get a "real book." After discussing the merits of graphic novels with co-workers and parents two or three times in the last week or so, I thought it might be helpful to give you the short version of why I think it's more than okay for your child or your student to read and love graphic novels.
1. Anything that gets them reading is a good thing.
If your child can find something they enjoy reading that is age-appropriate, then please don't take it away from them. I'm convinced that one of the biggest hurdles a child faces in their education is the learning-to-like-reading hurdle. If they find a graphic novel they love, they just might take the first step into become a lifelong reader. Should you only let your child read graphic novels? Probably not (Do you let your child eat only ice cream?), but the range of content in this format will probably surprise you, which leads me to...
2. There are some high quality graphic novels in all genres out there.
Graphic novels are a format...not a genre. You can find well-reviewed and well-loved graphic novels about anything under the sun, and I don't just mean fiction. Some of my favorite graphic novels are non-fiction titles and biographies (such as Satrapi's Persepolis and To Dance by Siena Siegel), and I adore reading graphic adaptations of classic novels (like Marvel's Jane Austen series). These classic books adaptations are especially great for reluctant readers because they are getting exposed to the original work (often with the original text) in a way that's fun for them. It's a wonderful way to ease them into a love of classic literature. If you give a reluctant reader a copy of Pride and Prejudice, he or she may initially get too bogged down in the language to like it, but give a reluctant reader a graphic novel of Pride and Prejudice, and he or she may like it. And once they like it, they will probably want to read the original, and since they're already familiar with the plot and the characters and a lot of the original dialogue, they may like that too...and they'll probably want a cookie to go with it (couldn't resist the Numeroff joke). ;)
3. Contrary to popular belief, graphic novels are "real books" and can actually make your kids smarter.
Okay...I say that a bit cheekily, but graphic novels do include many higher-level vocabulary words, and they help kids develop visual literacy. What is this "visual literacy" I speak of? It's the ability to "read" images. It's how we follow movies and television shows. By using images in comic strip format, graphic novels teach us how to create narratives frame by frame and understand what's happening in the story when there aren't any words. The old adage is still true; a picture can be worth 1,000 words, and in our increasingly-digital and visual society, it's important for students to be able to interpret and comprehend visual arts as well as the written word, and graphic novels allow them to do both! One of my absolute favorite examples of this is a book that's a quasi-graphic novel - Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick. This tale alternates between a boy's perspective told in words and a girl's perspective told entirely in beautiful charcoal illustrations, and when the stories begin to intersect, it blows your mind!
So that's my two cents on the subject, and I'll leave you with a short list of a few more of my favorite graphic novels with the Goodreads links:
Title: Mary Poppins
Author: P.L. Travers
Pages: 224
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780152058104
Publication Date: this edition published June 1, 2006 (originally published in 1934)
AR Levels: Book Level - 6.1, Interest Level - 4th-8th grades, Points: 6.0
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/152380.Mary_Poppins
In a nutshell: When the Banks family loses a nanny, another one drops out of the sky, onto their doorstep, and into their lives. But Mary Poppins is no ordinary nanny, and life will never be the same at 17 Cherry Tree Lane...at least not until the West Wind comes.
I'd recommend it for grades: 3 to 5
I'd recommend it to: fans of the movie (obviously), Narnia fans, those who like books set in our world but with a dash of magic, and anyone who likes sassy nannies :)
What I liked most about this book: I'm always hesitant when people ask me what my favorite movie is, but I can say with confidence that Mary Poppins is one of my absolute favorite children's movies. Mary Poppins was my role model as a child. If I'm honest, I think she still is, and so that's why it's odd that I had never read this series. I think I may have been afraid it would ruin the movie for me, but it didn't! *sigh of relief* While this book isn't "practically perfect in every way," I did enjoy it. The prose is delightful and would make for a great read-aloud. Travers' Mary Poppins is a bit sassier (and a teeny bit colder) than Julie Andrews' portrayal, but she's just as charming, and I still love her. I can't wait to read the rest of the books before Saving Mr. Banks comes out in December (I CANNOT WAIT!!!)
Single favorite moment (without getting spoiler-y): I don't want to give away too much, but let's just say the relationship between Mary Poppins and Bert is absolutely adorable even more so than in the movie, and my favorite part happens when they go into his chalk painting. (I also had a crush on Dick Van Dyke as a girl.) ;)
Star rating (where 5 stars is awesome and 0 stars is atrocious): 4 stars
Title: Sugar
Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes
Pages: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316043052
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
AR Levels: Book Level - 2.9; Interest Level - 4th-8th grades; Points: 4.0
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15790805-sugar
In a nutshell: Ten-year-old orphan Sugar lives and works on a Louisiana River Road sugar cane plantation in the years following the Civil War. She's no longer a slave, but little about her life has changed, and she longs to leave the only home she's ever known to explore the world. However, when Sugar befriends the white plantation owner's son, Billy, and the Chinese men hired to help harvest this year's sugar crop, everything will change, and Sugar will feel like the world is at her doorstep.
I'd recommend it to grades: 3 to 6
I'd recommend it to: historical fiction fans or anyone who enjoys a story that will warm your heart
What I liked most about this book: I loved Ninth Ward, and after reading this one, I am officially a Jewell Parker Rhodes fan. You fall in love with Sugar from the first chapter. She's funny and playful with an incredible streak of bravery and adventure. The book also captures an interesting tidbit of history by featuring Chinese workers in the post-Civil War South. It was something I knew little about, and it makes for a fascinating blend of three cultures living side-by-side and learning to adapt to a changing way of life.
Single favorite moment (without getting spoiler-y): Sugar and Billy spend an afternoon floating down the Mississippi River on a raft pretending to be pirates. I confess...I have always wanted to do that, and it's a sweet picture of how imagination unites us all no matter our skin color.
Star rating (where 5 stars is awesome and 0 stars is atrocious): 4 stars
Title: Island Eyes, Island Skies
Author: Richard Levine
Pages: 268
Publisher: Feathered Tale Books
ISBN: 9780982926901
Publication Date: January 5, 2011
AR Levels: TBD
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13824887-island-eyes-island-skies
In a nutshell: Rob and D.C. are just two normal teens who meet at a party and find that spark between them, but when family tragedy strikes each of them separately, their flame is cut short. Fortunately, Rob and D.C. get a second chance at love and help each other process their grief.
I'd recommend it to grades: 6th and up
I'd recommend it to: younger teens and tweens struggling through first love and/or tragedy
What I liked most about this book: I enjoyed hearing this story told from the perspectives of both Rob and D.C. It's interesting to see what's going on in their heads while experiencing the same events. It makes their characters easy for tweens to relate to as well.
Single favorite moment (without getting spoiler-y): The dance/party scene in the beginning rings so true for awkward tween gatherings. It's both funny and painful to read!
Star rating (where 5 stars is awesome and 0 stars is atrocious): 3 stars
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Pages: 452
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
ISBN: 9780312642969
Publication Date: February 5, 2013
AR Levels: Book Level - 5.8, Interest Level - 6th and up, Points: 16.0
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13206760-scarlet
In a nutshell: Scarlet Benoit's grandmother has been missing for far too long, so she takes matters into her own hands, and with the help of street fighter, Wolf, she goes in search of her. Her investigation will not only uncover her grandmother's secrets but also Wolf's, and along the way she meets a girl on the run who may just be the key to the whole mystery.
I'd recommend it for grades: 9 and up
I'd recommend it to: fairy tale fans, sci-fi lovers, and adrenaline junkies (this one moves fast!)
What I liked most about this book: This is the complete polar opposite of a sophomore slump if I ever read
one. Wow! It's definitely better than the first one, Cinder, which I loved!
(Go back and read it first if you haven't yet!) There's just something about the blending of fairy tale and science fiction in
this series that is completely unique and impossible to put down. This second book is a perfect mix of fast-paced action and deep characterization. I worried with this one that the introduction of so many new characters would take away from the first book's characters, but the expansion only adds flavor to the universe of the series. I am beyond stoked about the third and fourth books! I read the sneak peek of the first chapter of Cress, book three, and it's amazing. I can't wait to see what Meyer does with the Rapunzel adaptation.
Single favorite moment (without getting spoiler-y): I've always seen the traditional Little Red Riding Hood as a bit of a naive, silly pushover, but in the opening chapters of this book, it's clear that Scarlet is going to be a firecracker of a second female protagonist for the series. She's a force to be reckoned with, and after reading the first few chapters, I knew she would be my favorite character in the series thus far. Wolf isn't so bad either. ;)
Star rating (where 5 stars is awesome and 0 stars is atrocious): 5 stars!
Title: The Caged Graves
Author: Dianne Salerni
Pages: 329
Publisher: Clarion Books
ISBN: 9780547868530
Publication Date: May 14, 2013
AR Levels: TBD
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12394044-the-caged-graves
In a nutshell: 17-year-old Verity Boone is returning to her hometown of Catawissa, Pennsylvania after being sent to live with relatives following the death of her mother. It's been 15 years since she left, and Verity is looking forward to seeing her father and to meeting her fiance, Nathaniel, in person since they've only been exchanging letters to this point, but Verity's arrival in town stirs up an old mystery surrounding her mother's and aunt's deaths. She is horrified to learn that their graves are caged in and interred outside the churchyard, and she is determined to find out why. The real question is whether the graves have cages to keep the living out or to keep the dead in.
I'd recommend this book for grades: 8 and up
I'd recommend it to: historical mystery/romance fans
What I liked most about this book: I confess I picked up this book because when it came across my desk I was intrigued by both the title and the cover and immediately wanted to know why those graves had cages myself. Once I read the blurb in the book jacket, I knew I had to read it. Apparently the author stumbled across these real-live caged graves in Pennsylvania and did some research on them. She found out who the two women were but could find no evidence of the reasoning behind the cages, so she wrote this book as an imaginative, fictional explanation. Fun fact: the cover image is taken by the author's husband and shows the actual graves. Way cool. As for the story itself, it's definitely a page turner full of suspense and mini cliffhangers, and there's a love triangle too (not the best, but okay). It's a quick, intriguing, and entertaining read.
Single favorite moment (without getting spoiler-y): I won't say too much, but Verity's first encounter with her pen pal fiance doesn't go exactly as planned, and he's not quite who she imagined him to be. If only she'd had eHarmony, right? ;)
Star rating (where 5 stars is awesome and 0 stars is atrocious): 4 stars (would be 5 if the romantic parts were a bit less cheesy)
