They Never Came Back- Cooney

A case of mistaken identity or is she really a long-lost cousin who either truly doesn't recognize him or is trying to hide in plain sight?  Tommy is sure she is Murielle, his cousin.  It's been a long time since he last saw her but this girl is a dead ringer for her.

Cathy Ferris signed up for an accelerated language course this summer.  Even though it means car-pooling with Spencer and his mom, Mrs. Tartaglia, she made the commitment and is working hard along with seven other Latin students.  How could Tommy have just walked up to her like that at lunch?  Now instead of worrying about tonight's homework assignments these super students will be researching the unsolved case of Murielle and her embezzling parents.  

Project Sweet Life- Hartinger

Dave, Curtis, and Victor are looking forward to summer vacation.  They are fifteen, the summer of the optional job. Right? Well, not according to their fathers who also happen to be good friends.  The boys get together in their "club house" to discuss their imposed summer situation where instead of coming up with employment opportunities they hatch a plan to make money without taking on summer jobs.  They call their plan "Project Sweet Life."  The boys are very creative when it comes to ideas for fake jobs and ideas for making money.

The book is a fun read.  While their schemes are pretty "out there" at times,  I had no problem with the fact that the young men really put twice the effort into their plan then they ever would have had to by simply going to work.  I also know they never would have learned the lessons they did along the way.  

The Two Towers

Book 2 of 3. This is the sequel to the fellowship of the ring. This book starts with Araagorn, Gimli, and Legolas chasing orcs to get Sam and Merry back. The book then goes in to the fight between Sauramon and Gondor. In the second half of the book, it tells the tales of Frodo and Sam.

Shattered - Baron

Cassie is a very gifted violinist.  She feels the music deep in her soul.  She knows this is what she was born to do. Her dreams are shattered one night when her father, in a fit of rage, throws her valuable violin and it breaks into pieces.  This is when the reader learns that this is not the first time her father has flown into a fit. Cassie is scared and angry.  She decides to run away.  It doesn't take her long to realize this was a big mistake.  We follow Cassie on her journey back to home, family, and forgiveness. 

Lawn Boy Returns-Paulsen

Gary Paulsen picks up right where Lawn Boy leaves off and continues this outrageous story of a young entrepreneur who is incredibly lucky.  Everything is going great the business has expanded, new business opportunities develop, even corporate sponsorship money starts to roll in. What's a twelve year old boy to do? Good thing he has hired only the best employees because their loyalty is the only thing that is going to help him out of his latest trouble.

Jane in Bloom-Lytton

Jane has always felt invisible in her family.  Her older sister, Lizzie seems to be the center of attention all the time.  Even on Jane's birthday, Lizzie got the extra attention because she was so fragile.  Lizzie suffers from anorexia, a horrible disease that impacts the whole family.  When something tragic happens to Lizzie, Jane realizes her family will never be the same again.  Will it be stronger or will it fall apart?  Jane is struggling as they try to work things out. 

Different Horror Books

This isn't a book. If you know of any good horror books please leave them under comments. This way you and others can find out about good books for this time of the year. :O

In too deep-Jude Watson

Amy and Dan go to Austrailia and follow Bob Troppo through out the Pacific islands. Along the way Amy finds out more about that mysterious fire so long ago. But they aren't the only ones in Austrailia. A lot of their family is there. Including, their uncle Shep, the Kabras and Irina.


This is a great book like all of the others.

Pop- Korman

Marcus Jordan had just moved to a new town and already he has been to the police station three times. His mother is not very happy with him. Well, what's a guy to do? He really hadn't done anything wrong except became friends with Charlie. Charlie was the prankster and only the best football player that Marcus had ever seen. Marcus learned more about taking a hit and making a tackle from Charlie then he had from any of his coaches.
Marcus shows up for high school football try-outs ready to play. He has been working on his passing game and thanks to Charlie he is no longer afraid of taking hits on the field. The only problem is that this high school team went undefeated and they have no intention of letting an outsider mess up their chance for a repeat this season. There is certainly no way that their number 1 quarterback is going to accept that Marcus wants to take his position away from him. When his girlfriend shows interest in Marcus the intensity grows and when he learns that Marcus knows Charlie...the war is on!

When the Whistle Blows- Slayton

Jimmy Cannon grew up in a small railroad town. Railroading was all his family knew. His father worked as a foreman for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad as did many of the men from the community. It was the main source of income for most of the families in town. Jimmy's father didn't want Jimmy anywhere near the railroad but that is all he could think about.

The book follows Jimmy through six years of his life. He spends most of those years trying to figure out his father. Mr. Cannon was a hard man to get to know. He was a hardworking, rule following kind of guy but he had a side to him that was a complete mystery to Jimmy. As we follow Jimmy we learn that he is a young man who isn't afraid to get into a little mischief every now and again. Jimmy is a prankster, a hunter, a football player, and most of all a young man who admires his father.

If I Grow Up- Strasser

DeShawn lives in the Frederick Douglass Project where “daily life is ruled by drugs and gang violence.” He is a smart kid and really wants to do the right thing especially because he knows how much it would mean to his grandmother who has raised him. DeShawn is a cool kid and his friends respect what he is trying to do. They know they can trust him even if he doesn’t agree with their lifestyle. It doesn’t seem fair though when his friends start showing up with new shoes and big-screen TVs. How long can DeShawn hold out when he gets tempted from so many directions?
This comes from the jacket cover, “Strasser opens a window into the life of a teenager struggling with right and wrong under the ever-present shadow of gangs.” He gives us characters who are believable and he certainly doesn’t sugar-coat anything. It is a pretty edgy story and I’m not sure I like how the story ends, but I think it is worth reading.

The Absoluely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian- Alexite

Junior lives on a Spokane Indian Tribe reservation. His parents are both drunks and his family is very poor. Junior takes an inventory of where his life is now and where it is likely to end if he stays on the reservation. He decides to make a change. There is an all-white school in the neighboring town that is one of the best small schools in the state. The students there excel in sports and academics. Junior makes up his mind that he wants to attend school there. This decision creates a few major problems. How will he get to the school that is exactly twenty-two miles away? How will the kids there react? How will his friends take the news that he is leaving them and the reservation each day to go to a fancy “white” school? Especially, when he makes the basketball team and ends up playing against them?
This book is hilarious! I love the fact that the author tells that story though words and comic illustrations. It is really written for the more mature reader, one who can handle bathroom humor and some language appropriately.

All the Broken Pieces- Burg

Matt Pin was air-lifted out of war-torn Vietnam. While he is grateful for the life he has in the United States, he carries a lot of guilt about the family he left behind. Matt’s new family encourages him to go out for one of the local baseball teams. They feel that it would help him get over his shyness and make a few friends along the way. Matt’s new team -mates don’t make it easy for him. Thank goodness he has a coach and other adults in his life who are patient and are willing to help him find his way.

This book is written in free verse which makes it a quick read. Anyone who has ever felt that they were out of place or didn’t “fit-in” would certainly benefit from this story. It is so rich and really makes you think about how people for other cultures need time to go through an adjustment period.

Million-Dollar Throw- Lupica

Nate Brodie is a kid who knows what is important in life. He has a great family, great talent, and good friends. He is the quarterback of his school's 8th grade team. He seems to have everything going for him. As a matter of fact, Nate's best friend Abby, has so much confidence in him that she enters him in a contest where the winner will get to try winning a million dollars simply by throwing a football through a target at one of the Patriot's games. No pressure, right? Well guess who's name gets drawn. Nate should be thrilled, but he's not. He's not ready for everything life is throwing his way right now. He tries to keep his chin up, he knows that is what is expected....but sometimes it just gets too hard.

I can't wait until some of you football fans get a chance to read this book, especially our football players. Mike Lupica does a great job of capturing the excitement of playing in the game. He breaks down plays, explains how the quarterback knows where the offense and defensive players are, and really gets you inside the coach's head as well. He also keeps it real by throwing in a dose of real life, situations that are sometimes out of anyone's control. He uses these events as teachable moments that if you take the time to listen, you will receive some valuable advice.

When You Reach Me-Stead

Miranda and Sal have been best friends since they were babies. They have always walked back and forth to school together, past the crazy man on the corner, and avoiding the group of older boys who were always hanging out along the way. Things change when one of the boys punches Sal in the stomach for no apparent reason. Sal avoids Miranda and starts spending a lot of time alone. What should she do?

Miranda begins hanging out with a different set of friends but that is not the only thing that changes. The apartment key that Miranda and her mom have kept hidden in the same hiding place for years is stolen. Then Miranda starts finding notes in random places that are addressed to her and contain weird messages. All of this adds up to a very interesting read. I enjoyed the book but I'm a little puzzled by one event in the story. (If you read it, the thing I am referring to is on page 161. ) Talk to me so you can help me figure it out!

Mrs. G.

Notes from the Dog-Paulsen

Finn is looking forward to summer vacation. His goal is to talk to no more than twelve people all summer. His dad, his buddy, Matthew, and his dog, Dylan, that only leaves room for nine more. That all changes when Joanna enters his life. She is a college student who is house- sitting next door. She seems to know just what Finn needs to bring him out of his shell. Finn ends up working harder than he could have imagined. He also ends up caring more about Joanna then he knew he could.

Bystander-Preller

Griffin Connelly is a bully. Everyone knows he is a bully but no one wants to stand up to him. Really, because standing up to him might just make you his next target. Who wants that kind of trouble? He has quite a group of followers. They always seem ready to carry out Griffin's orders.

Eric is the new kid at school. He has just moved to town with his mother and younger brother after his dad left the family. Eric is struggling with the fact that his father is suffering from a mental illness. It doesn't make him any less angry at his father for leaving them but he is trying to understand things.

David Hallenback is Griffin's main target. Eric hates how David is being treated but is afraid to get too involved. What should he do? Should he be a bystander or possibly the bully's next target?

One of my favorite lines in the book comes after a class meeting on bullying. The quote is, "In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." I looked it up. This quote is from Martin Luther King, Jr. I will remember it always!

The Watcher-Howe

While the book was published in 1997 the message is still very relevant today. James Howe has written a story about child abuse and the impact on the victims. The characters are interesting individually but even more so once their lives start to intersect. He makes a point of showing us that things aren't always as they seem.

SLOB-Potter

Owen Birnbaum is a bully-magnet. Kids make rude noises and snide comments every time he walks by. To make matters even worse his PE teacher loves to find ways to humiliate him. It could be because Owen is the fattest kid in school, he also happens to be one of the brightest. He is trying to do something about his weight but the one thing he won't give up are his favorite cookies at lunch. Someone has started stealing them right out of his lunch bag each day. Owen can't catch a break. Owen's family suffered a tragedy two years ago and it still haunts him. He is working on an invention that he hopes will help him get some closure and allow him to move on. Now, he has a mystery to solve as well.

Jerk, California- Friesen

Sam Carrier used to be "normal" until the the jerking and twitching began. Then, not only did Sam's life change but the way people reacted to him began to change as well. His abusive stepfather, Old Bill, (who has some issues himself) is always ready to make Sam feel worse about having Tourette's by bashing on Sam's father. You see, Sam's father also had Tourette's. The only thing his father gave him before he died.

Running is Sam's release. He loves running and is really good at it but Bill would never allow him to "waste" time after school so he can't try out for the track team. One day as Sam is running home from school he meets another runner on the path. Naomi becomes very significant to Sam as the story progresses. Another key character is an old "coot" named George. It is through George's persistence and kindness that Sam learns about himself and the true story of his family.

I really enjoyed this story. I was somewhat surprised to learn that the author, Jonathan Friesen, has Tourette's Syndrome but you could tell from the writing that he was speaking from his heart. The emotions that Sam expresses are very real.

Summertime Reading!

Wow, I didn't realize how much time has gone by since I last updated on this blog! It's not that I haven't been reading...far from it. Let me tell you about a couple books I've read this week. Then I will go back and write about some of the others I have read and enjoyed! Can't wait to hear about what you are reading this summer.

Mr. G.