What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week.

Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.
Have I mentioned how much I love this idea? Check out all of the What Are You Reading? participants for new books you'll want to read. Debating how to use this in school ... a video blog entry? Or just like a graffiti table with some cool markers so that they can sign it? At least there are still a couple weeks to think about it!


Let's see ... no picture books this week. Will have to remedy that with a visit to a bookstore. Anyway:
The Phantom of the Post Office (43 Old Cemetery Road #4)
3 Humphrey books (Betty Birney)      
(Go here for the reviews for those four books. I already posted them. All VERY good if you've got a ... oh, what. Kiddo reading on a third grade or up? The next books are more for fourth through sixth.)

Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fun! I agree with Mrs. Yingling ... this one is not quite as believable as Gallagher Girls or Alex Rider but for all of it's goofiness it's still enjoyable. Ben is a reluctant hero but a hero all the same.

Will we see Mike again? I don't know why but I sort of hope so.

If I were in a middle school library this would be a definite. Because I'm in an elementary ... hmmm. Will have to think. Definitely have some 4th and 5th graders that could read it and would enjoy it. But ... I don't know. Good thing there are still at least a few weeks left to decide!


The Awakening by Michael Carroll
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can't quite decide--this was in the juvenile section at my public library but the main characters were 13 and 14. So juvenile or YA? Anyway, that said I can now go on.

I liked it. The idea is cool ... "What if there had been superhumans ... and what if they disappeared?" Their powers were different than many of the comic book movies recently released. But I was a little lost at least a couple of times along the way. I don't know if that was on purpose ... to sort of make us feel like the characters that were developing super powers? Anyway. In all a successful if slightly imperfect impulse pickup from the library stacks. Now I want to read more.


Racing the Moon by Alan Armstrong
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was fun for the sense of time (Cold War and space travel in their infancy). By the end I was getting tired of the journal entries from Captain Smith. And ... seriously? Chuck and Alex need to learn some common sense.
Or maybe I am just a fuddy-duddy with no sense of adventure.
Three. But barely. The author is a Newbery Honor winner. I just don't see a lot of kids really enjoying it.


 YA BOOKS

A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I stayed up too late last night finishing it. Which perhaps was not the best idea because the story really picks up steam and gets spooky right in that last ... oh, fourth of it. So I couldn't go to sleep for a while after I did finally finish it.

Charlotte is stubborn. Sometimes that is a very good thing and sometimes it is not. I got a little frustrated with her by the end. Lots of great characters and an interesting setting. I guess you would say this is loosely based on Rumplestiltskin?


Invisible Sun by David Macinnis Gill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish I remembered the first one better. Of course, this one had so much heart pounding action I almost couldn't put it down from the first moment I started it.
Can be read w/o reading the first one but you're missing out if you do that. Sci-fi fun at it's best as the story takes place on another planet. Characters would make more sense knowing more of the backstory. Only the cover? Awful! Embarrassing to be seen picking up.


Winter's Child: A Retelling of "The Snow Queen" by Cameron Dokey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Three because it seemed like it needed a little more time to truly do the story justice. Four for some of the random beautiful written lines.

View all my reviews




I did not get to the Negalley or Edelweiss ARCs. #oops. Which is silly because I am excited about them, too! One Year in Coal Harbor, Ashen Winter, The Classroom, Unspoken, In a Glass Grimmly, and Almost Home?

On deck ...
I'm in the middle of The Gathering (super heroes). I also have book three. Maybe it's the frustrated fangirl in me but even though these books have some faults I like the whole superhero element!

And I have three professional books that I've started.
Choice Words
In Words and in Pictures
I See What You Mean

And since my #leagueoflibrarians shirt came in I've realized I need to remedy the situation that is that I've never read a Lunch Lady (even though JK visited our school-in my defense only a couple of them were out back then) or a Babymouse. So a couple of both of them are coming in.



PS Anyone aware of a nice explanation for how to get a picture to link (I usually cut and paste the HTML from Goodreads but there has to be another way)? I've Googled but not found one that I can get to work. Also ... know that I am totally blogstalking because I want to improve my review system. Maybe do better at the pros/cons like Mrs. Yingling? Or post each review separately and more clearly tag items so they can be searched? Or like our lovely hostesses and give more teaching ideas? Still mulling it over. You'd think after two years I'd have a clue but oh well. :] The thing is to always move forward!