Granny

Aren't "grannies" supposed to be kind, bake your favorite cookies and buy you special treats? Well....meet Joe's granny. She is the ANTI-GRANNY!! In fact, she admits she hates Joe!!

Anthony Horowitz has concocted an unusual, eccentric story. Joe lives the life of wealth. Too bad his parents don't pay much attention to him. After his parents go on vacation ....again, granny makes sure she has Joe to herself. Her plan is to kidnap him and take him to the Golden Granny Awards. Once there, the evil grannies want to remove the enzymes from his body. Hopefully they will then be able to inject themselves with a magic formula that has been developed. Think fountain of youth! The device (extractor) they have built to do this sounds like a torture device from the middle ages. The plan almost succeeds.

Once you read this book I know you will appreciate your granny:)

The Last Invisible Boy

Did you read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books? If you did, you will probably like this book by Evan Kuhlman. The illustrations remind me of those that Jeff Kinney has in his books.

The main character is a 12 year-old boy named Finn Garrett. Finn feels he is becoming invisible....his once dark black hair is slowly turning white. Really! His skin is also a pasty white color. All these changes began in June on "The Terrible Day that Changed Everything". What could possibly happen that would be so traumatic and cause these changes? At first Finn says, "I lost my dad forever." I wasn't sure if his parents had divorced or dad had died. Sadly, his father has died, but he doesn't reveal what happened.

Read the book. See how Finn gradually turns whiter and whiter -- and becomes more and more invisible. Will he ever be normal again?

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

This book by Mary E. Pearson is brand new. (I love new books!)

Jenna's parents adored her.....thus they would do anything to save her. Wouldn't your parents?

This book is a little futuristic. Jenna is 17 and is told she has been in a terrible car accident. The accident explains some of the amnesia, but not everything. Why is she so clumsy? Why is she shorter than she was before the accident? She knows things that she never knew before, but has no recollection of friends and her life in Boston. It doesn't make sense.

Jenna's dad is a scientist. What he has done with Jenna is illegial. Read this "medical thriller" and find out what it is!

Torn to Pieces

Wow.....I could not stop reading this new mystery book by Margot McDonnell. More to come later.

Beastly

Did you know that author Alex Flinn is a woman? I guess using the more masculine "Alex" I thought it was a male author. Alex loves to read fairy tales to her daughters. She made them sit through numerous readings of Beauty and the Beast while she was writing Beastly.

In this modern retelling of the original Beauty, Kyle Kingsbury is the main character. He is "beautiful and handsome" on the outside, yet inside, where it really counts, he is mean, nasty and arrogant. He asks Kendra to an important school dance, only to stand her up. The last laugh is Kyle's though, when Kendra places a spell on him. She turns him into a beast -- hairy, sharp claws, the whole package. Now he is as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside.

Kendra does give him a chance to redeem himself and possibly turn into a normal human again. Read the book and find out how.

Dusssie

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this book by Nancy Springer. It's always out and always popular during booktalks.

Puberty does crazy things to your body:) Dusssie wakes up one morning and finds she has snakes for hair!! If you're "up" on your Greek mythology you know that Medusa shares the same characteristic. Dusssie finds out that her mother - who always dresses in long, flowing caftans and turbans - is a Gorgon AND Medusa's younger sister!

Inadvertently Dusssie transforms a boy in her class to stone, a boy she secretly has a crush on! Obviously, she is just getting used to her new-found powers. Read the book and find out what Dusssie tries to do to remedy the situation.

Greek gods living in the 21st century is a popular genre!

Neptune's Children

The prologue of this book by Bonnie Dobkin pulled me in right away.......

Terrorists have created a virus and planted it in locations around the world. A timing device is set. But...when the virus is released the unthinkable happens...it mutates! All adults die!

The story is set at the Isles of Wonder Theme Park. Families had been enjoying a warm summer day at the park when the tragedy struck. The survivors band together under the leadership of Josh and Milo. Did you ever watch the TV show, Survivor? Like the television show, alliances are made and broken. Disagreements break out and violence often threatens.

This is a good survival story. Read it and see which side you would choose to be on!

Knucklehead

Jon Scieszka is an author many are familiar with -- The Stinky Cheeseman and the Time Warp Trio books are popular even in middle school. His newest book, Knucklehead, is Jon's autobiography. I loved this silly book!!

Jon grew up in Flint, Michigan in the 1960's. He was the second of six brothers. Mom was a nurse -- a good thing in a house of rambunctious boys, and his dad was a school principal. I laughed and laughed at the goofy things he did during childhood. Because his mom was a nurse she demanded that the boys use the "proper" name for things. He devotes a chapter to "urinating", not the slang word that most kids use. The chapter on a family vacation was hilarious. Their family cat (a boy also) accompanied them. When it threw up after eating a candy bar that one of the boys dropped, it set off a chain reaction. You can only imagine how the car smelled.

Read the book....the stories are timeless:)

Pictures from the tea!

Tea with author Laura Schaefer. Yes.....we really served tea!

Laura shared a Powerpoint with students that explained the process she went through to have her book published.

You can visit her online at http://teashopgirl.blogspot.com/ Check out the blog for more pictures from our tea!

The Teashop Girls

Laura Schaefer, author of The Teashop Girls, was at Tipler for our "teashop". It was a great opportunity for students to meet a "real" author. Pictures from the event will be posted later......

The book itself revolves around the friendship between three girls -- Annie, Genna, and Zoe. Annie's grandma run the Steeping Leaf, a teashop in Madison, WI. Economic times are tough and the Steeping Leaf is facing stiff competition from local coffeshops. The prospect of closing the tea shop brings the friends together with a purpose. Can they save the shop? What role will the "horrid" Zach Anderson play?

The Midnight Twins

I always knew author Jacquelyn Mitchard as an adult author. This book, The Midnight Twins, is her first young adult book.

Can you imagine being a twin, but not sharing the same birthday....or even the same birth year? That is exactly what happens to the Brynn sisters -- Meredith and Mallory. One is born on December 31 and the other 2 minutes after midnight on January 1. It makes for an interesting story. Their personalities are very opposite, but they share many things -- including a "secret" twin language.

On another New Years Eve - the eve of their 13th birthday there is a terrible fire. One of the sisters is left with a scar on her hand. For the first time, the twins are not identical. The fire does more than just physical damage. The girls no longer share dreams. Mallory starts to dream about future traumatic events and Meredith past events. They will need to put their dreams together to solve a mystery.

Bonechiller

Bonechiller is the newest book (and a very creepy one) by Graham McNamee, the author of Acceleration....another book that I really liked.

The story is set in Harvest Cove, Canada. It is a tiny, tiny isolated town in the province of Ontario. Danny is returning home late one night. He feels eyes following him. Panic ensues as he runs faster. He sees the large shape continuing to follow him. Danny stumbles over the snow piles and falls into a ditch. The creature is on him in an instant and stings him. After that, it disappears. At first Danny wonders if it was just a weird dream. But as other classmates disappear and he grows colder and colder, Danny knows it was more than just a dream.

What stung Danny? What creature stalks other teenagers in the town? Read the book and find out!

Reaching for Sun

I love the cover of this new book by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. The yellow dandelions make me think of warm summer days...days that currently seem a long way off!

Josie has a disability - cerebral palsy. As the story begins she is struggling. No one wants to be her friend because she is different. Her mom is going back to college and busy with her job. No dad is in the picture. Grandma is there to provide stability.

Through the free verse poem format Josie really shares her feelings. Mom wants Josie to be successful -- be a doctor or a lawyer. Josie feels weighed down by her mom's expectations and describes it "like wearing a heavy wool coat in summer."

Jordan, a "geeky" science-loving kid moves into the neighborhood --- finally a friend! Josie has lots of challenges ahead of her. Read the book for the beautiful language she uses.

When I Crossed No-Bob

What in the world is No-Bob? That was my thought when I looked at the title of this book. No-Bob is a hollow in the Mississippi woods. Addy O'Donnell lived there -- until she was abandoned by her mother. The O'Donnell family...and extended family... don't have very good reputations. They are poor, they are fighters and they are involved with the Ku Klux Klan.

The story takes place after the Civil War. After Addy's mom leaves, she is taken in by the Russell's. Finally, Addy is raised in a comfortable, loving home. She goes to school, makes friends and tries to overcome the bad reputation of her last name. Things happen though..... a new friend, Jess Still, a black boy, is killed in a fire. Addy knows her father, a member of the KKK was responsible. She feels a loyalty to family, but reaches a point where she thinks, "Pappy? You are a killer and a thief. You have stolen from so many. You have taken lives." What decisions does Addy make about her future? Read the book!

The Declaration

It seems like many books being published, or at least ones that I am reading, are about the future. This sci-fi book fits that description - but it is a scary future.

Do you want to live forever? In the year 2140 you have that opportunity. Gemma Malley writes about a future where you have the choice to take longevity drugs. Have you read Turnabout or Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix? Both books reminded me of this one.

Anna is 14 years old and should never have been born. She is known as "Surplus Anna". Both her parents signed "the declaration" when they made the decision to take the drugs and live forever. The declaration states that you will never have children. Children would create more competition for resources -- food and shelter. Peter comes to Grange Hall where Anna lives with others like herself, and tells her she is more than a "valuable asset". She has parents that love her and want to be with her. Peter tries to convince Anna to escape with him. Does she? You will have to read the book to find out!

The Other Side of the Island

Did you ever read The Giver by Lois Lowry? This book by Allegra Goodman really reminded me of it. The Other Side of the Island takes place in the future, but it feels like it could be tomorrow.

The future world is peaceful, in part because Earth Mother and the Corporation control everything....even the weather! Honor and Helix are the main characters. Both live on the climate-controlled Island 365. Both sets of parents disappear. Is it because they are secretly working against the Corporation? Is it because Honor's parents had a forbidden second child?

Honor and Helix band together to find their kidnapped and zombie-like parents. Do they find them on the other side of the island? You will have to read the book to find out!

The Graveyard Book

Bod - short for "Nobody" Owens lives in a graveyard! Yes -- he is alive and is cared for by the ghostly inhabitants of the graveyard.

How did Bod come to have such an unusual upbringing? The first line of the story, "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." begins the story. Bod's parents and sister are murdered by the intruder. Somehow 2-year old "Bod" toddles out of his crib, through the front door, down the street and crawls through the gate of the old graveyard. Bod is adopted by the ghosts of Mr. and Mrs. Owens who raise him as their own child. He is given "Freedom of the Graveyard" which allows him to do things normal humans can.

The killer is still out there looking for Bod. Read the story if you like a fantasy/suspense story filled with magic and ghouls!

Neil Gaiman is also the author of Coraline, which has just been turned into a movie. It comes out February 6, 2009. To be honest, I liked this book a lot more!!

Guest blogger -- Maggie

This book Prom, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about a high school senior girl named Ashley Hannigan. Ashley is your normal slacker "I dont want to do anything except for hang out with my boyfriend", my life stinks kind of girl. At first. Her best friend Natalie, "Nat" is on the prom committe and is totally commited! But when the prom committe's advisor is arrested for stealing the money for the prom, the prom is cancelled. Now Nat is totally depressed and she doesn't want to do anything except for brainstorm ways for them to get the prom back on. But somehow Ashley gets sucked into the plan and now she is Nat's "assistant." Then Nat breaks her leg because she tripped down the stairs in new high-healed shoes. So Ashley is now the one and charge and does not know how she is going to pull this off! Read Prom today and I promise you that it will be a great book!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This book is intense ....... and it leaves you waiting for the sequel!

Katniss, the main character lives in District 12. She is one of 2 tributes selected from her district to attend the yearly "hunger games". The games are held in the capital city, Panem. Although the setting is somewhat futuristic, it reminded me of the time of the ancient Romans. Tributes from all the districts fight in the games like the gladiators did in Rome. The fight is to the death!

Because Katniss comes from a poorer district and family, she has always had to supplement the family's food supply with animals she has trapped or shot. Her skill with a bow and arrow do afford her an advantage in the games. Still.....I found it hard to accept that a society would sacrafice its own members --- and young adults no less!

Will Katniss and Peeta, the other tribute from District 12 survive? What will become of their budding romance? Will it help or hinder the brutality of the games? You have to read the book to believe all that happens!

Firestorm

Firestorm by David Klass is the first book in the Caretaker Trilogy. If you want to read a sci-fi thriller, this is it!!

Until the night that Jack broke the school's rushing record everything was normal. Until later that evening at the diner, everything was normal. Until the time, even later when Jack's dad tells him he is not his father, everything was normal. Why now does Jack's father call him the "beacon of hope"? Why is Jack pursued by strange creatures? What is shooting lasers at him? Jack finds out he was born 1000 years into the future. His birth father has sent him back in time with caretakers, to the present day, so that he can find "firestorm". With any luck, firestorm will save the earth.

According to Wikipedia, a screenplay for the movie version is being developed. I can't wait to start the second book, Whirlwind.