2009 YA Challenge

The challenge is to read 12 YA novels in 2009.  I'm pretty sure I won't have any trouble with this one.  Here's some books that qualify on my TBR:

• Uglies
• Poison Study
• Hattie Big Sky
• The Adoration of Jenna Fox
• The Loser's Guide to Life and Love
• My Most Excellent Year:  A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park
• Suite Scarlett
• How I Live Now

Because of Winn-Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Book 5 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge
Book 9 of 10 for the Book Awards Reading Challenge

Awards: BCCB Blue Ribbon Book; NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts; Newbery Honor; Parent's Choice Award/Honor Book; SLJ Best Book; Josette Frank Children's Book Award; State Award; Smithsonian's Notable Book; Book Sense Book of the Year Award/Honorees; Publishers Weekly Best Book; Young Reader's Choice Award/Nominee; ABC (Assoc. of Booksellers for Children) Choice Award; ALA Notable/Best Books; Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Opal is a lonely 10-year old who has just moved to a small Florida town where her father is a preacher. She misses her mother desperately, although she left when Opal was only three. However, Opal's sad summer begins to change when she takes in a stray dog that she names Winn-Dixie.

Overall, this is a sweet, somewhat melancholy, touching book about making friends.

Recommended for girls ages 8+.
(This is another Battle of the Books selection.)

Also reviewed by:

• Maw Books
• A Patchwork of Books
• Mrs. Magoo Reads
• Stuff As Dreams Are Made On
• The Way I See It

P.S. I haven't seen the movie. Should I?

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Book 8 of 10 for the Book Awards Reading Challenge

Awards: NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts; Newbery Medal; SLJ Best Book

rating: 3 of 5 stars

My daughter read this one for Battle of the Books and I decided to read along with her since I'd never read this one before. My 8-year old loved it, and for me it was OK. I mean, I get why this book is loved, but I also get why I don't love it.

A Wrinkle in Time fantastic fantasy, but there isn't enough character development for me. I wanted to develop more of a relationship with Meg, her brother Charles Wallace and their friend Clint as they traveled through time and space, fought the IT, and found their dad. But, I just didn't.

I also get that fantasy is essentially about good versus evil. But, I wasn't totally comfortable with how religion was integrated into the story.

Maybe I should have read it when I was younger?

Also reviewed by:

• Devourer of Books
• Books Love Me
• Maw Books
• The Well-Read Child
• Book Dads
• Rebecca Reads
• things mean a lot
• The Boston Bibliophile
• SMS Book Reviews
• In Spring it is the Dawn
• Dolce Bellezza
• Stuff As Dreams Are Made On
• Bookworm Burrow
• 1morechapter.com

84, Charing Cross Road

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Book 1 of 3 for the Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge

Book 4 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge

Book 2 of 25 for the Support Your Local Library Challenge

rating: 5 of 5 stars

I heard a lot about this book in conjunction with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which I read last year. Both books are epistolary in nature containing letters between a bookseller and a collector. However 84, Charing Cross Road is the real-life account of Helene Hanff's correspondence with the employees of Marks & Co. bookshop in London beginning in 1949.

Most of the letters are between Helene and Frank Doel, although Frank's wife, a neighbor and other Marks & Co. employees wrote as well. Unlikely friends (Helene was a sarcastic, witty, cigarette-smoking, martini-drinking Jewish scriptwriter in New York and Frank was a conservative British bookseller) Helene and Frank wrote for nearly 20 years as Frank procured hard-to-find secondhand classic texts to suit Helene's eclectic literary taste. Helene appreciated the shop so much, she sent them generous food and clothing items that were rationed in England during the time and in return they sent her books and other gifts.

A story about the true nature of kindness and love, humanity and friendship, this is well worth the hour it takes to read it. This book is a real gem. It had me both laughing and teary-eyed. I highly recommended it!

Also reviewed by:

• The Bluestocking Society
• Ticket to Anywhere
• Book Nut
• Lesa's Book Critiques
• things mean a lot
  

Love Walked In

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

Book 3 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge

rating: 4 of 5 stars

You know what? I liked it...a lot. I know it had flaws and I know some parts might even not be plausible, but I was drawn into the voices hook, line and sinker. 

Cornelia is a 31-year old woman who works as a cafe manager in Philadelphia.  She loves old movies (and although I'm not a classical movie buff, the frequent references throughout the book to them did not bother me) and shopping in antique stores.  She is college educated and very smart, but hasn't quite figured out what will make her truly happy in life.  Everything changes for her the day a Cary Grant look-alike comes in to the cafe.

Clare is an 11-year old girl living in the suburbs with her single mom.  Clare is extremely bright and creative and attends a swanky private school.  Her mother comes from old money and they want for nothing...except Clare's mother hasn't been acting like herself and Clare is scared and very worried.

Each chapter in the book alternates from Cornelia's to Clare's perspectives.  Cornelia's chapters were my favorites because they were told in first person.  I thought it was a little strange that Clare's chapters were told in third person, but I got over it.  The writing is so beautiful, in the way it is lyrical yet tight, and so full of meaning and dichotomy.  It's hard to believe this is Marisa de los Santos' first novel.

I think this is a great book to curl up with and reading clubs would enjoy discussing it.  There is a smattering of offensive language and sexual content, but nothing egregious.  Overall, I really enjoyed the time I spent with this and I ran out to the library to get Belong to Me (the sequel) right after I closed the book.

Also reviewed by:

• Caribou's Mom
• paper diet books
• Thoughts of Joy...
• Maw Books 
• Book Addiction
• Book Club Classics
• she reads and reads
• The Bluestocking Society
• Page Turning Momma
• Melody's Reading Corner
• Michele - One 'L'
• Books in Every Room

Lydia Bennet's Story

Lydia Bennet's Story: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice by Jane Odiwe

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark

Published on:  October 1, 2008

Book 2 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge

She really is the silliest girl in all England.

Thankfully, Odiwe doesn't make her any less silly in this sequel, but you do understand why Lydia is the way she is and what motivates her rash decisions. This book is told in both journal and third person narratives, providing an interesting perspective on the events we know so well from Pride and Prejudice. The novel continues Lydia's story after her marriage to George Wickham, which you'll have to read if you want to see how it all turns out. Needless to say, it happens a lot as I imagined it would, except for the ending. Let's just say, it was all tied up a little too "happily ever after" for me.

Lydia Bennet's Story is a fun Regency period read. It was a little naughty for me in some parts, complete with heaving bosoms, but overall I found it enjoyable and true to the Austen spirit.

Also reviewed by:

• Austenprose
• Becky's Book Reviews
• Diary of an Eccentric
• Savvy Verse & Wit
• The Book Zombie

Thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks!

Every Soul a Star

Every Soul A Star by Wendy Mass

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book 1 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge
Book 1 of 25 for the Support Your Local Library Challenge

This middle grade fiction book is told in three voices--Ally, Bree and Jack. Ally lives at the Moon Shadow campground that her family has run for years. Bree is the popular girl at school who cares about fashion and friends and tries to distance herself from her scientist parents as much as possible. Jack is an overweight loner who loves art and fantasy and is headed to summer school for failing science.

In one summer, these three 8th graders are brought together for a very special event: A total solar eclipse.

Over just a couple of weeks Ally, Bree and Jack learn a lot about themselves and the world. Each one is forced out of their comfort zones as they face up to change and responsibility. The truths of the book are universal though for any age and really hit me hard because of some things going on in my own life right now. I promptly burst into tears when I finished this book causing my husband to exclaim: What a terrible book! But, in actuality, it's a great book and one I definitely recommend.

Also reviewed by:

• A Patchwork of Books
• Book Nut

Oh, and this book totally made me want to see a total solar eclipse someday. Here's the info from NASA on the next one:

On Wednesday, 2009 July 22, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half of Earth. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in India and crosses through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. After leaving mainland Asia, the path crosses Japan's Ryukyu Islands and curves southeast through the Pacific Ocean where the maximum duration of totality reaches 6 min 39 s. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to make it!

2009 Book Challenges

I've decided on the following challenges for 2009:

I'm still participating in the Book Awards Reading Challenge which runs until June.

So far I've read:

1. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! (BCCB Blue Ribbon Book; Newbery Medal; Parent's Choice Award/Honor Book; SLJ Best Book; Booklist Editors' Choice; ALA Notable/Best Books; Kirkus Editors Choice)
   
2. An Abundance of Katherines (Booklist Editors' Choice; Horn Book Fanfare; -Michael Printz Award/Honor Book; ALA Best Book for Young Adults; Kirkus Editors Choice)
   
3. The Road Home (Orange Broadband Prize)
   
4. Ender's Game (Nebula Award/Finalist; Margaret A. Edwards Award; ALA Best Book for Young Adults)
   
5. The Glass Castle (Book Sense Book of the Year Award/Honorees; Booklist Editors' Choice; Alex Award/Honor)
   
6. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (YALSA Best Books for YA)
   
7. The Hunger Games (SLJ Best Book; Publishers Weekly Best Book; Horn Book Fanfare; Kirkus Editors Choice)

Book possibilities to finish:

• Bel Canto
• To Say Nothing of the Dog
• The Sparrow
• The City of Ember

One of my bookish goals for the year is to read over 100 books since I am no longer in school.  So, I'm joining J. Kaye's 100+ Reading Challenge.

There's no way I can list 100 books here, but to see a list of books on my TBR shelf (which currently has 97 books on it), click here.

Another J. Kaye challenge I'm joining is the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge.  This one is a natural for me since I have a degree in library science and I'm at the library at least once a week.  

Last year I read 44 books from the library.  So, just to be safe, I'm going to join the challenge at the 25 book level, although I may well get to 50.  If I quit being such a bookmooch, used bookstore, and library book sale junkie I would do better.  But, I've also got a lot of unread books on my shelf that I want to get to this year.

I'm also joining in Melissa's Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge.  The rules of the challenge are as follows:

Rule #1: The challenge runs from January 1 to March 31. (No cheating and starting before!)

Rule #2: You must read three books. After that, it's up to you how much you want to read.

Rule #3: The books must:

have a food name in the title
OR
be about cooking/eating
OR
have a place name in the title
OR
be about one (or more) person's travel experience
OR
be about a specific culture
OR
be by an author whose ethnicity is other than your own (see, I squeezed it in!)
I'll leave it up to you to choose how the three books you read fit the criteria.

Rule #4: They must be middle-grade on up, but can be either fiction or non-fiction.
My possibilities include:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
  
• The House on Tradd Street
  
• The City of Ember
  
• Elijah of Buxton
• Sister of My Heart
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
• The Known World
• Loved Walked In
• Esperanza Rising

Finally, I plan on joining in on the Once Upon a Time Challenge, the Southern Reading Challenge and the Orbis Terrarum Challenge as they start! 

Should be a fun year!

Home Girl

Home Girl: Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block by Judith Matloff

Date published:  June 24, 2008

Publisher:  Random House

This is a memoir written by a foreign news correspondent who got married and decided to set down roots in Harlem with her Dutch husband. It is an interesting look into life on a crack-infested street where drug dealers traded right on their doorstep.

Perhaps I was looking more for The Money Pit when I read this book, but the slow process of restoring their home got a little tedious for me after awhile.  Granted, I can't imagine what it was like for them!  I also don't think Judith was really blindly buying this house without realizing what kind of mess she was going to have on her hands--both structurally within the house and socially on the outside.  (She is a native New Yorker and journalist after all.) But, I do think the house was a fabulous investment and she has an incredible amount of square footage for a Manhattanite, including some very interesting tenants!

I enjoyed the last half of the book the most.  The house is basically done and author has a chance put on her obviously capable reporter hat. She details how September 11th affected her life and neighborhood, how the AA 587 crash in the Bronx affected the street dealers, and how the August 14, 2003 energy blackout brought together a community. I would recommend this for those interested in the social activist side of the book (Judith attended many police-community meetings to encourage the politicians to clean up the neighborhood) as well as those interested in sociological change and dynamics.

It was really fun to watch this trailer after reading the book because you actually get to see the house and meet some of the "characters" in the book.  Do beware, there is some colorful language in the trailer as well as in the book:

Also reviewed by:

• Linus's Blanket
• Planet Books
• Book Room Reviews
• Leafing Through Life
• Booking Mama
• Considering All Things Literary
• The Printed Page

Thanks to Julie at FSB Associates for the book!

2008 Top 10

Well, I read 90 books in 2008 which I am pretty pleased about since my goal was to read 52.  

Of my Top 10 favorite, 6 are YA.  I have one non-fiction favorite in Outliers, but The Last Lecture deserves a very honorable mention.  I've highlighted my favorites in red:

90. Preach My Gospel (not reviewed)
89. The Hunger Games *
88. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks *
87. P.S. I Love You
86. Rules *
85. A Christmas Carol
84. Fairest
83. Charity Girl
82. Ender in Exile
81. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
80. Engaging Father Christmas
79. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
78. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
77. Regency Buck
76. Outliers *
75. Finding Father Christmas
74. An Abundance of Katherines
73. Foreordained (not reviewed)
72. The Book of Mormon **
71. Life After Genius
70. American Wife
69. Ender's Game
68. Ramona and Her Mother
67. Deep in the Heart of Trouble
66. Chasing Diana
65. Water Street
64. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination
63. Persepolis 2
62. Rapunzel's Revenge
61. Someone Like You
60. Can't Wait to Get to Heaven
59. The Off Season *
58. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
57. Dairy Queen
56. The Truth About Forever *
55. The Weaver Takes a Wife *
54. The Measure of a Lady
53. The Road Home
52. The Wednesday Sisters
51. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas *
50. The Heretic's Daughter
49. Gap Creek
48. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
47. The Glass Castle
46. Three Cups of Tea
45. The Thief
44. Breaking Dawn
43. Right Ho, Jeeves *
42. Harris and Me
41. The Widow of the South
40. The English American
39. Othello
38. Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man
37. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
36. The Good Earth *
35. So Brave, Young, and Handsome
34. Did I Expect Angels? *
33. What Love Is
32. Comfort Food
31. The Orchid Thief
30. The Host
29. The Last Lecture *
28. The Red Leather Diary
27. Unaccustomed Earth
26. Dreamers of the Day *
25. The Book Thief *
24. Everything Bad is Good for You
23. The Miracle at Speedy Motors
22. The Other Boleyn Girl
21. What Leaders Need to Know and Do
20. The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters
19. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
18. The Long Tail
17. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
16. An Incomplete Revenge *
15. Jane Austen in Scarsdale
14. Book of a Thousand Days *
13. A Great and Terrible Beauty
12. Bound on Earth
11. Sarah: Women of Genesis
10. The Next Thing on My List
9. The Friday Night Knitting Club
8. The Alchemist *
7. The Goose Girl *
6. Ophelia
5. People of the Book *
4. Mansfield Park
3. Northanger Abbey
2. Persuasion *
1. The Shadow of the Wind *