The Hunt for the Seventh

The Hunt for the Seventh by Christine Morton-Shaw is a must read for those of you who love ghost stories and mysteries. This is another great read from the Texas Lone Star list 2010-11.Jim and Sally’s father is still grieving their mother’s death. Thinking that he will give his family a fresh start, he takes the position as head gardener of Minerva Hall. The family is allowed to live in a section of the castle-like grounds. The first sentence of the book is –“Somebody died here once”. Actually, six children have died over many years – all on the summer solstice every thirty years. The grounds hold the statues of these children. The ghost of a child tells Jim to find the seventh. The only person on the grounds that he can communicate with is the master’s autistic son, Henry. Henry speaks in riddles and makes very little eye contact. Jim keeps seeing frightening things and soon relives each child’s death. It is up to him to stop the prophecy that is destroying Minerva Hall. Readers who like The Hunt for the Seventh will want to read Morton-Shaw’s The Riddle of Epsilon. Click on the book trailer video below for more information.

North of Beautiful

Justina Chen Headley’s novel, North of Beautiful, is a powerful read for many reasons. It is currently on the 2010-11 Texas Lone Star reading list. Terra describes herself as being perfect in every physical way except for one. She camouflages this one physical defect, a port wine stain birthmark on one side of her face, with a lot of heavy makeup. Terra has had numerous procedures to remove her birthmark in the past to no avail. Terra’s birthmark isn’t her biggest problem. Her father, a cartographer (a person who studies maps), is a bitter and controlling man due to his own insecurities. He constantly verbally abuses her mother who has gained so much weight the past couple of years. He also doesn’t support Terra’s dream of going to an art school. Terra and her mother literally crash into a teenager, Jacob, who was adopted when he was a little boy from China and his mother, Nora. Headley does a superb job of embedding all of the elements of a map into this story – strong symbolism. In fact, Terra and her mother join Jacob and Nora on a trip to China – the very country that brought upon Terra’s father’s failure as a cartographer. Terra will fall in love along the way and discover what beautiful really means. Justina Chen Headley also has a teen network website called readergirlz. Click on the book trailer below for more about the book.

SLOB

SLOB, by Ellen Potter, is on the 2010-11Texas Lone Star Reading List. This realistic fiction is narrated by twelve-year-old Owen Birnbaum. Owen explains how difficult it is to be an overweight kid. He started putting on weight two years ago after he and his younger sister experienced a traumatic event. Owen is extremely intelligent, but is bullied on a daily basis because of his weight. In fact, someone is stealing the few precious Oreos that Owen allows himself to eat each day. Is it a coincidence that Mason Ragg, the guy with the horrible scar on the side of his face and switchblade in his sock, has Oreos at lunch? Could he be the thief? Owen is determined to teach the robber a lesson. Can Owen stop the biggest bully of all - his PE Coach, Mr. Wooly? Owen teams up with the unlikeliest character to put a stop to Mr. Wooly’s antics. Will Owen finally find closure from the fateful day that changed his life forever? Read SLOB to find out!

The Demon King

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima is a fantasy of epic proportions rich in characters and setting. It is on the Texas Lone Star reading list 2010. Chima’s earlier works include the popular Heir series (Warrior Heir, Wizard Heir, and Dragon Heir). The Seven Realms are in turmoil with war and hunger. Han Alister, a young man from the wrong side of the tracks, has had to fight for everything his family has. When he and a friend come upon wizards in the forests who have set fire to the lands, he takes a powerful amulet from them. He doesn’t realize the amulet once belonged to the legendary Demon King. Princess Raisa ana’Marianna is a strong-willed royalty who is being wooed by one of the wizards, Micah Bayar. Although she is reluctant, she will soon have to choose someone to marry. The tale bounces between these two characters’ dramatic stories. The beginning of this book takes some time to set the foundation as there are many characters and lands in the Seven Realms. The ending left me ready for book #2 (The Exiled Queen) which comes out on September 28, 2010.

Prophecy of the Sisters

I listened to Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink on audiobook and the reader, Eliza Dushku (Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), does a fabulous job. At the beginning of this haunting story, Lia and her twin sister, Alice, are at their father’s funeral. The year is 1890. His death has left the girls and their younger brother orphans since their mother died in a mysterious accident ten years ago. Lia decides to search for answers as to why a strange mark appeared on her wrist the day her father died. Although she has always loved her father’s library, it is the secluded Dark Room in their house that may hold the answer. She finds Alice there performing some type of ritual. The mark on Lia’s wrist begins to change. Soon Lia finds out that her father had a special book hidden in his library. This Book of Chaos states that there exist two sisters: “one the Guardian and one the Gate”. The myth continues to state that the Lost Souls, trapped in the Otherworlds, are waiting to be let back into our world – the apocalypse. Lia is determined to find out what this has to do with her and Alice. Book two, Guardian of the Gate, was released on August 1st. Click on the author's name to go to her website. She has a book trailer for both books on her site.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

I listened to the audiobook of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (read by Natalie Ross). This is one of the best books I’ve listened to/read all year. I am so sad that the cover of this book will turn off boy readers, because there is so much they would enjoy about this book. The setting is 1899 in a small town called Fentress in Texas, between San Antonio and Austin. Narrator, Calpurnia Tate, is the only girl in a large family of boys. She spends her days exploring different species and recording her findings in a notebook. She, with the help of her knowledgeable grandfather, makes observations and identifies various species of plants and animals. This naturalist is way ahead of her time; consequently, she faces the challenges of coming into womanhood at a time when women were expected to marry and run the domestic side of the household. I enjoyed her grandfather’s stories of war, the scientific process, and the geography of Texas. I treasured being a part of Calpurnia’s evolution. Girls (AND BOYS) – you have to read this book!