Movies and Things

OK, we know that The Hunger Games movie is coming out soon - March 23rd - to be exact.  Trailer above. I only hope it does not disappoint - you know, "Never judge a book by its movie."

Scott O'Dell Award

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

In 1982, Scott O'Dell established The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. The annual award of $5,000 goes to an author for a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults.  Scott O'Dell established this award to encourage other writers--particularly new authors--to focus on historical fiction. He hoped in this way to increase the interest of young readers in the historical background that has helped to shape their country and their world. 

If you read my previous post, I told you this was one not to miss.  I love when I am right.

Potpourri

Potpourri - noun \ˌpō-pu̇-ˈrē\ 2. : a miscellaneous collection (Merriam-Webster online)


The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane is the story of 8th grade Molly.  Her father has recently died in an auto accident, her mother is going through the motions of living, and she is just trying to figure out things and cope day to day. To overcome some of her problems, she decides to join the baseball team - the boys baseball team since baseball helps her feel connected to her dad. She only hopes the knuckleball she can throw will help her earn the position. Realistic and memorable.


Legend by Marie Lu is the first novel for this art director of a video game company.  (I can visualize the characters and settings in a game.)  Set in a post-apocalyptic United States, Day is from the slums and is the most wanted criminal in the Republic.  June is a member of the elite, a military prodigy,with nothing but a bright future ahead of her. However, when June's brother is murdered, Day's and June's paths cross when Day becomes the prime suspect.  June sets out to apprehend him and bring him to justice.  But all is not what it seems.  If you like dystopian novels, this is for you. Action, thriller with a sprinkle of romance.


Jack Gantos' Dead End in Norvelt made me laugh out loud. Really. I know many of you (OK, most of you) avoid historical fiction like the plague.  Even though this is historical fiction/non-fiction - because the character's name is Jack Gantos - don't miss this one.  Jack does some pretty dumb things and suffers an summer of grounding for his actions.  One thing that gets him out of the house/yard is helping an elderly lady write the obituaries for the local paper.  His summer is filled with death, gore, fire, Hell's Angels, and nosebleeds. If you think your hometown is weird, you have never been to Norvelt.  Don't miss this one!

Ranger's Apprentice

If you have a Kindle, you can download John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice for free. Here is the link to Scribd.

How great is that?

Hunger Games. . . again!

THANKS to Mrs. Cole for the CNN link about the upcoming Hunger Games movie.

Read the article and opinion of the movie, and the book(s), here. Oh, and check out the characters and see if they fit your mind's pictures of Katniss and Gale.

Action-Adventure

The Doomsday Box: A Shadow Project Adventure by Herbie Brennan is a Junior Library Guild selection. Somehow the books from JLG either become award winners or are just really good reads. The jury is out on whether this will be an award winner, but my verdict is in - it is a good read!

Four teenage spies - Opal, Danny, Michael, and Fuchsia - are members of the Shadow Project. These teens have supernatural abilities which are desperately needed to stop an undercover agent, Cobra. Agent Cobra has time-traveled to the Middle Ages and returned with a small box containing vials. When the box is opened, a deadly plague is unleashed in the world today that could lead to millions of people dying. The Shadow Project members are needed to go back in time, meet up with Agent Cobra, and stop him from unleashing this horror on the world. And, so they are headed to Moscow. . . in 1962.

If you like Alex Rider, you will enjoy this. If you like spies, you will enjoy this. You can even learn a bit of history in this book too.

Incarceron Update

The sequel to Incarceron, Sapphique, is now in the library. I finished it last night. It is fast paced, packed with twists and turns in the plot, political intrigue, magic, strange characters - you know, all the characteristics of great fantasy. Finn, Claudia, and Jared are dealing with the dangers in the outside world; Attia and Keiro are dealing with the dangers of Incarceron.

If you love fantasy, read the series. And, if you love this actor - Taylor Lautner - you may be interested to know that he will star in the movie Incarceron. Read the book first - it is always better than the movie.

Catching Fire Book Trailer

Lions, Cyclops, and Goats..oh my!

After hearing rave reviews of this series - picture Mrs. Owens doing cartwheels - I had to read this one. It has everything a great read needs - a hero, villains (plenty of them in here), adventure, suspense, humor,and action ...oh and throw in a sword fight or two too. I finished this one last weekend and am now half way through the second one.

Don't miss this rollicking modern day mythology laden adventure!

In the series:

• The Lightning Thief
• The Sea of Monsters
• The Titan's Curse
• The Battle of the Labyrinth
• The Last Olympian

Update: I have finished The Sea of Monsters - another exciting fantastic adventure filled with Mythology references. Now, on to the next one!
Update #2: Finished The Titan's Curse but I can't proceed because I only brought two home...sigh
Update #3: I have finished the series. It is quite good, a bit repetitive with the series recap information in each book. You know why authors do this - someone hasn't read the series inorder, they need to recap and fill in all the blanks - just skip over that since you really don't have to retain any of this. BUT, if you like this, try more detailed stories, like Edith Hamilton, Olivia Coolidge, or even Homer's writings.

If you liked Harry Potter, try this series. They are similar, but this series has more humor.

Another Spirited Adventure

I've looked at this title for at least a year and never took the time to read it. Then, last month the third title in the series arrived - Starclimber - and it looked so intriguing, I just had to read it. Well, you know how that goes. You just cannot possibly read the last book in the series first. How would you do that? Read them backwards to get to the first one last? That didn't work in the logical area of my brain. So, I began at the beginning.

Matt is a cabin boy aboard the airship Aurora, which sails passengers across the seas. He loves being in the air, feeling much more at home than on the ground. His captain is an honorable man, his crew mates are supportive and helpful, and he has a good friend in Baz. The adventure begins when Matt notices a seemingly unmanned balloon headed toward the airship. When the Aurora hooks up with the balloon, the pilot is unconcious, near death, but shares with Matt that he has seen beautiful, winged creatures flying. However, the old man dies before Matt has a chance to discover exactly what creatures he was referring to. It is now a year later, and the rest of the story starts. Matt has never forgotten the balloonist's words of the beautiful creatures, and only when he meets the balloonist's granddaughter, does he begin to believe the creatures could be real.

This book is filled with interesting characters, dangerous situations, and swashbuckling adventures in the skies. Now, on to the sequels...

Sequels: Skybreaker (2) and Starclimber (3)

UPDATE: I finished the sequels mentioned above and they are great reads too. It seems that fantasies are becoming my favorites...never thought I'd write that.

Kenneth Oppel has also written the Silverwing Trilogy.

A bit Depressing, but Good

In the mood for a historical adventure, filled with rich details about what life would be like in a Communist state? Read Anne Fine's The Road of Bones. This novel is a tale of survival by a young teen that is marked as "an enemy of the state" for a few muttered words. Yuri is on the run, leaving his family, to avoid the beating and eventual imprisonment for his crime that is not really a crime as we know it.

Terry Trueman's Hurricane: A Novel is based on Hurricane Mitch, one of the worst storms to ever hit the Caribbean. Jose is fourteen and lives in a small village with his parents, brothers, and sisters. Life is good for his family and him, as he goes to the International School and is learning to speak English, he plays soccer with his friends, and his village is filled with friendly, kind neighbors. But then, one night the hurricane arrives and life changes in a few short hours.

If you have read Ben Mikaelsen's Touching Spirit Bear, don't miss the sequel Ghost of Spirit Bear. Cole and Peter are leaving the island and going home and to the high school where it all started. Neither is sure they can handle the gangs, the taunts, and violence every day at their urban school. Has their time on the island been successful? How do they handle the new bullies that are just like Cole once was? Can they make changes?

Just Have to Read!

My good friend, a school librarian in New Hampshire, emailed and asked if I had read The Hunger Games since it was very popular in her middle school. Since I was already ordering titles from the survey on the library home page (THANK YOU!), I ordered a copy. It arrived yesterday; I finished it this morning. All I can say is September is too long to wait for the sequel.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3 is Here!

You asked for it and you got it - three copies of #3 of the Wimpy Kids books. However, here are three more of the new arrivals:

• Deep Down Popular by Phoebe Stone - Sixth grader Conrad Parker is popular; Jessie Ferguson isn't. Jessie has loved Conrad for as long as she can remember, just like all of the other girls. Conrad really hasn't paid any notice to Jessie until his leg is hurt and his popularity suffers. The two of them start spending time together, first for a school assignment, and then just because.
  
• Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech - Jack (from Love that Dog) continues writing poetry from what he is learning in school. Written in verse, this quick read will clearly explain alliteration, onomatopoeia, and hopefully push you to further explore the poetry of T.S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, or Nikki Grimes.
• Runner by Carl Deuker - This book is edgier than the two mentioned previously. Chance is a senior, his dad is an unemployed alcoholic, his mom is gone, and his home is an old sailboat. The job he has does not pay much and when the opportunity to substancially increase his pay is presented, he takes it. But, could there be something shady about running, picking up the hidden packages, and delivering them?