Gary D. Schmidt crosses over to the fantasy genre with his What Came from the Stars. This novel is told in two alternating stories. One in a faraway galaxy where the Valorim people make a last ditch effort to save their culture's arts from the evil Lord Mondus by creating a chain that holds all the beauty of their world and casting it across space where it ultimately lands in sixth grader Tommy Pepper's lunchbox. The second story describes the hurts that Tommy, his little sister, and his father have endured due to his mother's death. Only Tommy knows how badly things ended the last time he saw his mother. He feels like he caused her accident. When Tommy slips the chain necklace on, he can miraculously paint pictures with moving objects and play the beautiful music that his mother loved. Even more special is that he sees his mother and hears her voice clearly. Horrible things begin to happen in his seaside town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Someone from a distant planet is searching for the necklace and will stop at nothing until he gets it. He is leaving destruction in his wake and things become desperate when people end up missing as well. Will Tommy give the necklace back to stop the devastation or will he fight back like a warrior with the help of his close friends? Other great books by Gary Schmidt include Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, First Boy, Trouble, The Wednesday Wars, and Okay for Now (one of my favorite books).
Tim Green's Pinch Hit is told from two perspectives in alternating short chapters that leave the reader anxiously turning the page to find out what happens next. Trevor is a rich actor that has been given every opportunity in life except the chance to play baseball on an organized team. Sam, the son of a loving single father, is a star baseball player hoping to win a place at USC's Elite Training Center. Both boys knew they were adopted. When they meet by chance, they realize that they are twins. Trevor convinces Sam to switch places with him so he can have the chance to play baseball like a normal teenager. Both boys learn things about themselves in the different households as things begin to unravel. The storyline reminded me of Parent Trap - both boys and girls will love this one. Other great books by Tim Green include Unstoppable, Deep Zone, Best of the Best, The Big Time, Rivals, Football Champ, Baseball Great, Football Hero, and Football Genius.
Tom Angleberger is known for his popular Origami Yoda series which includes Darth Paper Strikes Back and The Secret of the Fortune Wookie - my students (especially the 6th graders) love them. Fake Mustache is an action packed humorous story that begins with two boys (Casper and Lenny) shopping at a novelty store. It's Casper's birthday and he purchases a valuable, unique handlebar mustache. He, also, purchases a "man about town" suit to wear. The next day Lenny sees on the news that someone who looks just like Casper dressed in the suit and wearing the mustache has robbed a bank. When he goes to Casper's house, he finds a lot of money. He calls the police and everything backfires. Casper's new mustache gives him the power to brainwash people - he keeps robbing banks and assumes power in the community. He, also, convinces everyone that Lenny is the criminal. Lenny is the only one who knows the truth and must stay one step ahead of Casper or be destroyed. The only who believes him is a has-been movie star named Jodie O'Rodeo. Can the two of them convince society that the mustache is cursed and Casper must be stopped before it is too late? This entertaining read will make you want to go out to buy your very own fake mustache!
My students and I cannot wait until Ally Condie's book three, Reached, is published. We are counting down. Just wanted to share the fun we had at yesterday's festival. Ms. Lester (fellow librarian and good friend) and I having fun posing in the Reached bubble. Purchased 15 amazing autographed novels by Ally Carter, Leigh Bardugo, Jeff Hirsch, Rae Carson, Anna Banks, Sophie Jordan, Ally Condie, Lex Thomas, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Kami Garcia , Margaret Stohl, Marissa Meyer, and Tara Hudson for my end of the year Biggest Reader party. Austin Teen Book Festival rocks!
I picked up Shadow and Bone Friday night when I realized that I would get to see the author, Leigh Bardugo, at the Austin Teen Festival on Saturday. Despite feeling under the weather, I read half of it Friday night and the rest last night after returning from Austin. Hands down, it is the best fantasy novel I have read in a long time. It reads like a movie - which is awesome considering it is going to be made into one. I really hope they don't stray from the original story which is filled with sorcery, good, evil, love, and loss – no Hollywood enhancements needed here. The setting is the harsh mountainous Russian landscape at the height of war which has left the region divided. Alina and Mal, orphaned children refugees, are taken in by a Duke and raised together. The two become inseparable. The Grisha, a powerful group of sorcerers and healers, come to test Alina and Mal. When they both fail to show signs of being Grisha, they are sent to serve in the King’s army. During a hopelessly dangerous mission to cross the Shadow Fold, a deathly stretch of water that must be crossed to hunt for valuable resources, their regiment is attacked by flying lethal creatures called Volcra which seek human flesh and blood. When all seems lost and Mal is seriously injured, Alina sees a flash of white light and passes out. The surviving soldiers realize that she has special powers that only the Grisha can possess. They bring her to the Darkling, the handsome powerful leader of the Grisha, and he takes her to the kingdom to learn how to enhance her magic. He needs it to defeat the Fold and save the people. Things are not what they seem. Will Alina be able to use her gift for good or will evil prevail? Can Alina stand up to the Darkling’s affections and fight to be reunited with Mal, the boy who knows her better than anyone? Book two, Siege and Storm, comes out in 2013.
I thought I would never get a chance to read How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg, illustrated by Kevin O'Malley. Currently, I only have one copy and as soon as a student went to turn it in, a friend would be right behind him or her asking to check it out next. If you get a chance to read it, you will understand why. It is filled with information on how famous people in history died and includes little known trivia that pertains to the person discussed. This book is definitely not for the squeamish as it doesn't hold back in giving you the disgusting details involved with death. Thankfully, many of the diseases mentioned don't exist today thanks to antibiotics and vaccines. The big surprise at my school - the girls love reading it as much as the boys!
This one is for all of you mythology lovers! Tera Lynn Childs'Sweet Venom is told from three points of view. Gretchen, Grace, and Greer are descendants of Medusa - triplets separated at birth. Gretchen has been taught how to fight the monsters from mythology that escape into the human realm. She is one tough cookie who will stop at nothing to find Ursula, the woman who has mentored her and has recently been abducted. Everything was normal for Grace until her family moved to San Francisco. Now she sees monsters...if it weren't for meeting Gretchen and having her train her for the tough battles ahead, she wouldn't make it. Both girls realize they are part of a prophecy, and there is a third sister named Greer. Greer, a pretty girl with a snobbish personality, has been raised with affluent parents. Parents who had her undergo hypnotherapy when she said she could see monsters as a little girl. Can these three huntresses with different personalities conquer the monsters that keep appearing? With a bounty on their heads, the job won't be easy. My students love this one! Look for book 2, Sweet Shadows, to see what happens next.
