Book Trailer Presentation from 8-22

Click here to link up to the prezi I shared in class with you today.  The books I recommended were:


The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare (written recommendation coming soon!)


Inhuman, Pivot Point, & The Eye of Minds


The 5th Wave (written recommendation coming soon!)


Blur


If I've already recommended them on the blog, you can click the titles to read a summary of the books.  Happy reading to you!

The Last of the Trumans and More

I have finally finished reading all the Truman nominated books for this school year and I have really been impressed.  I do have a couple that stand out for me as favorites, but you should read them yourself.  If you want to read up on the other nominees, I've linked most of the blogs I've done on those here.  To vote for the winner, you need to read at least 4 of the 12 nominees.





 I read The Raft, by S.A. Bodeen last summer, but somehow missed blogging about it.  In this story, our main character, Robie, is visiting her aunt in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Robie lives on Midway Island and frequently travels back and forth between there and Honolulu.  When her aunt gets called out of town on business, Robie originally decides to stay on her own.  But when she is nearly attacked when out on her own, she decides she wants to go home.  She decides to catch a flight on a cargo plane heading to Midway, but when the plane crashes, Robie has to figure out how to survive on the open sea with the copilot...and all they have for food is a bag of Skittles.  If you like survival-type stories, you'll enjoy The Raft.

Dead City, by James Ponti is about a girl named Molly.  Her mom died 2 years ago from cancer, but she passed on a lot of her characteristics to Molly, including her love for the morgue and studying the dead.  Molly attends the Manhattan Institute for Science and Technology where she is recruited by a fellow student and friend from the morgue, Natalie, to be a part of a secret group called Omega.  Omega's responsibility is to police the undead (ie - zombie) population of Manhattan.  Molly is skeptical of all this until she learns that her mom was actually the creator of the group and was grooming her to be a part of this group.  Molly decides to get involved...maybe a little too involved in some cases.  This is an action-packed story that was a lot of fun to read.  This is the first in a series.  The second book is out - Blue Moon.  The 3rd book is currently untitled but will be published in 2015.




Let me just start by saying that I love Jordan Sonnenblick.  I think he is one of the best authors out there for middle grade students.  I've read all but one of his books and I've enjoyed each one.  In Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip, we meet Peter Friedman, who is about to begin his freshman year in high school.  He has great plans of being a start athlete, because he's a really talented pitcher.  However, over the summer, he injures his arm so seriously that he'll never be able to play ball again.  Life is not going the way he planned, but when he ends up in an advanced photography class with cute new student, Angelika, he realizes that maybe things can work out regardless of whether they fall into the plans you originally had for yourself.

Unstoppable, by Tim Green has some similarities to Curveball because they are both about athletes that aren't able to play their sports, but the similarity ends there.  In Unstoppable, Harrison is a foster kid who has been through multiple foster homes, each one worse than the last.  At his current home, he works like a slave and gets beaten when he doesn't do something right.  When a freak accident takes him out of this home, Harrison eventually ends up with a new family...a family that seems too good to be true.  His new foster father is the football coach of the local middle school team and encourages him to become a part of the team.  When Harrison joins, they discover that he has an unbelievable talent as a running back...he is unstoppable.  But when his knee is injured, and other problems are discovered, Harrison may not ever be able to play football again.  This story looks at his journey and his fight to get back to the game he loves.

One for the Murphy's, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, is also about a foster child named Carley Connors. Carley has recently moved to Connecticut from Las Vegas, and when her step-father beats her badly, and her mother as well, Carley is moved into foster care.  She joins the Murphys a family with 3 boys and expects that they want her just as a free babysitter.  However, life at the Murphys' turns out to be very different from what Carley expected.  Mrs. Murphy treats Carley like one of her own kids and Carley realizes what she's been missing out on, a real mother.  But even while she likes this, she also wants to reject it because her mother is still alive and will eventually reclaim Carley.  Carley's just not sure, though.  Does she want to return to her mother or is it going to break her heart to have to leave the Murphys?

Cress, by Marissa Meyer is the 3rd book in the Lunar Chronicles.  Cinder, a Truman nominee, is the first in this series.  Scarlet, is the 2nd book in the series.  These stories combine a retelling of a fairytale with a science fiction twist.  Cress, our newest character is based on Rapunzel.  She's been living on a satellite for the past several years doing tech work for the lunar queen and she dreams of being rescued from her satellite by a handsome "prince".  She makes contact with Cinder and her crew, who attempt a rescue, and things start to get crazy from there.  I don't want to give too much away if you haven't read the first two books, but I highly recommend this whole series.  It will end in November 2015 with the publication of book 4 - Winter, a Snow White retelling.  I can't wait!

My final recommendation is not a Truman nominee or related to one - I just really liked it!  Previously, I recommended Bree Depain's Dark Divine series, which was about werewolves.  In Despain's new series, Into the Dark, book one is The Shadow Prince, and the story is based on Greek mythology.  Haden is the Shadow Prince and he has a job to do - leave the underworld and bring back a human girl, who must agree to return with him.  As the black sheep of his family, no one expected him to be the one chosen to do this job, so when he arrives in the regular world, he really isn't prepared for how to socially interact with girls, but he is determined.  Daphne Raines, his target, is just as determined to be her own person.  She has recently been moved to Olympus, California to live with her rock star dad, whom she has met around 4 times in her life.  She wants to become a singer herself, but doesn't want to rely on her dad to get her there.  And she definitely doesn't want to go to the underworld, but she can't deny that she has a connection to Haden.  Their story isn't finished by the end of book one and you'll be eager to get your hands on the next installment, which is yet untitled, but due out sometime in 2015.

There's lots to read out there!  There are 3 weeks until school starts.  Enjoy it!


Dragons, Magic, & a little Romance...

So I've read 28 books so far this summer...halfway to my goal of 60!  I figured I should probably share some of what I've been reading with you!

One book I read recently is Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman.  This was my first ever book about dragons, which honestly, I avoid, because it seems like it's not really my thing.  However, this book had been on my to-read list for over a year, so I finally got around to giving it a shot, and you know what, I liked it!  In Seraphina, humans have enjoyed a tenuous peace with dragons for the past 40 years.  Dragons take human form and live as part of the human world and everyone mostly gets along, but there are definitely ugly feelings toward one another that have not totally been resolved - think racism, but with dragons vs. humans.  Seraphina has lived a fairly solitary life trying to stay out of the attention of most people, because she has a secret.  She is half-dragon, half-human.  But when Seraphina gets a job as a court musician and her talents put her in the spotlight, she also finds herself in the middle of a plot to overthrow the peace and she has to decide which side she is on and what she is going to do to make a difference.  This book is full of really quirky and likable characters.  Though it was published in 2012, there is going to be a long-awaited sequel, Shadow Scales coming out in March of 2015.  If you read this one and like it, you'll want to be on the lookout for the sequel!

Many of you may remember that last year, I recommended author John Stephens' The Emerald Atlas, which was also one of last year's Truman nominees.  I recently read the second book in the series,  The Fire Chronicle, which continues the journey of siblings Kate, Michael, and Emma in their quest for the three Books of Beginning.  In The Emerald Atlas, they found the first book (the atlas) which was able to transport them to different places and times in the world.  In The Fire Chronicle, the kids go in search of the 2nd book, the Book of Life.  Kate gets separated from Michael and Emma, who have to go on in search of the book without Kate.  As in the first book, there is lots of action and adventure, and ironically enough, also a dragon in this story, though it's not the main focus, as in Seraphina.  If you're looking for a book that is full of action with a little magic and fantasy thrown in, you'll love this series.  The third book, The Black Reckoning, is due out in March of 2015.

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to preview The Kiss of Deception, the first in Mary E. Pearson's newest series, The Remnant Chronicles.  Pearson is the author of the popular Jenna Fox series, as well.  In this story, Lia is the first daughter of the king and is about to be forced into an arranged marriage with the prince of another country.  Lia is not one to be forced into anything, though, and runs away on the morning of her wedding.  She manages to find her way to a new, simpler life as a maid where she meets two young men, to whom she connects.  Little does she know that one is the prince she was supposed to marry and the other is an assassin, who plans to kill her.  When she realizes that her actions have placed her country in danger, she knows she must return and try to make amends.  Will she make it home, or will more sinister events occur in her life?  The ending is an absolute cliffhanger that will leave you wanting more of Lia's story.  This book hits bookshelves on July 15th and you will not want to miss it!

Six New Reads

I've been reading everything I can get my hands on so far this summer.  You should see the stack of books on my shelf...and the number of books on my Kindle!  It is a little (okay - A LOT) nerdy, but yesterday I had to make a spreadsheet to keep track of due dates of all these books, because you know I don't want to rack up any library fines! ;)

Let me make some recommendations for you if you're looking for a good summer read.  I'll start with Insignia, by S.J. Kincaid.  This is one of the Truman nominees, and I had been meaning to read it for a long time, but just recently got to it.  Once I did, I definitely understood why it had been nominated for the Truman Award.  The main character in Insignia is a 14-year old boy named Tom Raines.  Tom lives in a not-too-distant future where the Earth's resources are mostly used up and World War III is being fought in outer space for the natural resources.  War tactics have changed - no lives are lost, because they are fought in space, but the fighting is controlled by people on Earth who never actually physically fight.  Tom is living a transient life, always drifting with his alcoholic-gambler father.  He spends a lot of time in virtual reality gaming areas where he hustles people for money.  When his gaming skills get him recruited into the Intrasolar Forces, Tom sees a chance to make a better life for himself and takes it.  What he doesn't know is all that this opportunity might cost him.  Insignia is book one in a series.  Book 2 is called Vortex and I'm looking forward to reading it soon.  Book 3 - Catalyst - hits shelves on October 28th.

If you're more in a fractured fairytale type mood, you might enjoy The Girl with the Blood Red Lips, by V.B. Marlowe.  In this story, we meet Neva Albano, who was cursed over 200 years ago to re-live her sophomore, junior, and senior years over and over and over.  It turns on Neva is Snow White and there weren't actually 7 dwarfs...just a very evil step-mother.  Neva is tired of living her life over and over, but isn't sure she has the courage to do what needs to be done to break the curse.  This was an interesting take on the Snow White story and it is pretty fantastical and seemed like you were reading a fairytale within a fairytale.  This is a short and fun read.

If you're a fan of heist movies like Ocean's Eleven, you might like my next recommendation, Coin Heist, by Elisa Ludwig.  This story is told from the perspectives of the 4 main characters who attend an impressive and historical private school:  Alice, the somewhat geeky computer genius; Jason - underachieving musician son of the school's headmaster; Dakota - the pretty and popular girl who seemingly has it all together; and Bennie - the scholarship student who doesn't really fit in.  These four students are in the same art class that takes a trip to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.  When they find out that Jason's dad has been arrested for embezzling money and losing it all, they learn their school might close because of lack of funding.  What starts as a crazy idea, becomes a solid plan and the four put into motion a plan to mint and steal coins from the U.S. Mint.  Will they pull it off?  Do they follow through on their plans?  You'll have to read it to find out!

If you're more into a fantasy story, you might like Deep Blue, by Jennifer Donnelly.  In this story, Serafina is part of an underwater world.  She's a mermaid...and an important one too.  Her mother is the queen of their particular colony and we meet Serafina on the day of her betrothal to the prince of another colony.  However, during the betrothal ceremony, their colony is attacked. Her father is killed and her mother is shot with a poisoned arrow.  Serafina escapes with her best friend Neela and they discover together that they've been having the same dream.  They realize their are 4 others like them that they need to find in order to stop the people who are attacking them.  Serafina has to step up and become a leader despite the turmoil her life is in.  This is the first in what will be a 4 book series.  The second book, Rogue Wave comes out early in 2015.

I recently finished an interesting dystopian book called Birthmarked, by Caragh M. O'Brien.  In this story, we meet Gaia (pronounced Guy-uh), who has been training with her mother to be a midwife.  This story takes place about 400 years in the future, but for Gaia's family, time seems to have moved backward.  They live a simple life outside the wall of the Enclave, where the privileged live.  One of the expectations for the people who live outside the wall is to "advance" their children - give up a certain number of new babies born each month to be adopted into families in the Enclave.  We meet Gaia after she successfully delivers her first baby and advances it to the Enclave.  However, when she returns home, she discovers her parents have been arrested and learns information that has her questioning everything about the Enclave and their expectations for advancing babies.  She decides she must do everything she can to save her parents, but it puts her own life in real danger as well.  Again, this is the first in a series of books.  The second is Prized and the third is Promised.  If you like the series, there are also a couple of e-novellas out there, as well.

Finally, I'll recommend another interesting dystopian title I was able to preview recently thanks to NetGalley.  Some Fine Day, by Kat Ross releases on July 1st, so if you're interested, you'll have to wait a couple weeks before it comes out.  This is another futuristic story where super-hurricanes, called "hypercanes" have made living on the surface of the Earth impossible, so society moved underground. Jansin Nordqvist has lived underground all her life and is on her way to following her father's footsteps into an impressive military career.  When her father surprises the family with a trip to a tropical island on the surface, Jansin is excited, until their camp is attacked and she is taken hostage by the savages who attacked them.  However, Jansin starts to learn that maybe these "savages" aren't so savage after all - and maybe the life she's been brought up to live is all a lie.  This book is one of my recent favorites.  It's very different and the characters are extremely likeable and believable.  If you're looking for an action-packed book, this one will not disappoint.

That's it for now.  I'll be back with more recommendations as the summer goes continues!

Summer Reading Recommendations

With summer break just within our reach, I know so many of you are plagued with worries about what books to read this summer, right?  Well, have no fear, you know I've been reading and can make some recommendations that are sure to get you right out to your local Mid-Continent branch!

I'll start with Zen and the Art of Faking It, by Jordan Sonnenblick.  If you've paid attention to me ever, you know I loved Sonnenblick's After Ever After (if you still haven't read it, you must!).  I also really enjoyed Zen, as well.  In Zen and the Art of Faking It, our main character, San Lee, a 14-year old Chinese-American boy who was adopted by white parents, has just moved to a new school in Pennsylvania with his mom.  He is estranged and extremely angry with his dad, who is in prison.  He's also frustrated with the fact that he has moved a lot over his lifetime and he's tired of being the new kid and figuring out his identity in a new place.  When his social studies teacher starts a unit on world religions, including Buddhism, San has already studies this and figures out who he will be - the zen guy.  He starts researching in order to pull it off and has everyone fooled, including the girl he really likes.  However, you can't live a lie forever - someone is going to find out.  If you want to be entertained, Jordan Sonnenblick never fails.  His writing is funny and his characters are lovable.  I'm looking forward to reading his 2014-15 Truman nominated title, Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip in the near future!

If you haven't read The Selection series, by Kiera Cass, you're missing out.  The final installment of this series, The One came out last week and it ends the saga of America Singer, a contestant in her country's Selection pageant - a contest in which the Prince chooses whom he will marry.  Prince Maxon and America formed a friendship from the beginning - will it turn into true love forever?  You'll have to read this series to find out.  If you like The Bachelor and Survivor - you'll love this story!

Thanks to NetGalley, I got an advanced copy of Peter Moore's new book, V is for Villain.  Now this was a fun read. If you are totally into superhero stories, this is one for you. Brad Baron has spent his whole life living in his brother Blake's shadow.  Blake is a real-life superhero, who fights evil and crime with the Justice League.  Brad doesn't have any super-hero-like abilities, which frustrates him to no end.  When he's kicked out of super-hero school into an alternative school, Brad starts to wonder if the "super-heroes" are really heroes after all.  He discovers a hidden ability and with a group of new friends decides that maybe being the villain is the way to go.  I liked that this was a totally different twist on the traditional hero-type story.  Brad makes a great anti-hero and despite the fact that he's being a villain, you end up rooting for him anyway!  This book will arrive on bookshelves this coming Tuesday, May 20th.  I encourage you to check it out!

Finally, I'll recommend another book I was able to preview thanks to NetGalley.  Jex Malone, by C.L. Gaber & V.C. Stanley brought back my favorite memories of previous girl detectives, including two of my favorites from growing up - Trixie Belden & Nancy Drew.  Jex (Jessica) Malone has been sent to Las Vegas for the summer to stay with her dad.  She's hardly spent time with him at all over the past several years.  She still hasn't really forgiven him for the fact that her parents split, but her mom, and a judge, force her to adhere to her visitation time.  Upon arrival in Las Vegas, Jex soon meets three new friends who fill her in on the neighborhood mystery - the disappearance of Patty Matthews, a 13-year old case that has never been solved.  Since Jex's dad just happens to be the officer who was in charge of the case, they snoop into his files and set out to solve the mystery themselves.  What Jex didn't count on was how cute she'd find Patty Matthews much-younger brother...and the danger that solving this mystery places her and her crew in.  This is a fun read and I really enjoyed it.  Jex will arrive in bookstores on June 18th, so you have a bit of a wait if you want to read her story.  I encourage you to check it out!

Of course, I've got more recommendations I'll send your way in the near future.  I hope you've started your summer to-read list!

Just a Few Recommendations

I'll start my recommendations with one of the Truman Nominees for next year, Elemental, by Antony John.  In Elemental, a plague has killed off most of the population of the U.S. and the few survivors have isolated themselves along barrier islands along the East Coast.  Thomas lives with a group of survivors who all have some control over natural elements -water, wind, weather.  Unfortunately for Thomas, he doesn't have this ability and has always felt like an outsider.  However, when a group of pirates attack their island, Thomas may be the only one who can save them.  This was an interesting story - and the first in a series.  There is a lot of action and suspense throughout the whole story with a science fiction/dystopian element.


If you're more into a romantic-type of story, you might like The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, by Jennifer E. Smith (author of my previously recommended This is What Happy Looks Like).  In this story, we meet Hadley, who misses her flight to London by 4 minutes and is forced to wait at the airport for the next flight.  She doesn't want to go to London for her Dad's wedding, but is going anyway, and the fact that she missed her flight just makes a bad situation worse...until she meets Oliver, a fellow passenger who helps her out.  They strike up a friendship and end up sitting next to each other on the flight.  They have a connection, but get separated upon reaching customs at Heathrow.  You'll have to read the story to see if they can find a way back to one another.

For an interesting fantasy/dystopian story with a star-crossed romance, you might want to check out Marie Rutkoski's The Winner's Curse.  In this story, Kestrel is the privileged daughter of an important General who impulsively purchases a slave while out with a friend one day.  As she gets to know her slave, Arin, she starts to question the rightness of the acceptance of slavery in their society.  She develops a friendship with Arin, but knows more would be impossible.  However, when the tables are turned on Kestrel, she has to decide to whom she will be loyal - her father and society or Arin.  I loved this book - but I warn you - the ending is a bit of a shocker.  Have no fear, though, because this will be a series, so there will be much more to Kestrel and Arin's story.

Today I just finished a book that comes out on May 27th, so you can put it on your summer reading list.  I read an early copy thanks to my friends at NetGalley, who are so kind to let me preview upcoming books.  In Blur, by Steven James, we meet Daniel who is heading into a funeral for a younger classmate, Emily Jackson.  He didn't know her well...no one really did, but everyone from their small town has turned out for her funeral.  When Daniel goes through the line to pay respects, Emily sits up in her coffin and speaks to him.  When he realizes no one else saw it, he's a little freaked out, needless to say.  When she appears to him again - in the middle of the homecoming football game - he knows that he has to find out more about her death.  When her twin brother expresses his belief that Emily's death was not accidental, Daniel decides that he is going to do all he can to find out what really happened to her.  This was an excellent story - full of mysterious and supernatural things happening.  It was full of action and suspense...and guess what...it's the first in a series.  I can't wait to see what Daniel will do next.

2014-15 Truman Nominees

Here is a list of the Truman nominees for next year.  I have already blogged about most of the ones that I've read, so if you want more information, click on the title and it will take you there!

Dead City, by James Ponti
Ungifted, by Gordon Korman
See You at Harry's, by Jo Knowles
Elemental, by Antony John
The Raft, by S.A. Bodeen
Cinder, by Marissa Meyer
Unstoppable, by Tim Green
Shadow & Bone, by Leigh Bardugo
Insignia, by S.J. Kincaid
The False Prince, by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip, by Jordan Sonnenblick
One for the Murphy's, by Lynda Hunt

I have yet to read 5 of these titles, but I already have 2 or 3 favorites!  If you're looking for something to read, the Truman list is always a good place to start!