Five New Titles

I've been on vacation...so sorry for the break between updates, but I'll make it up to you with 5 new recommendations. :)  Three of the five are Truman nominees for this coming school year...let's commence with the recommending!

I'll start with Beastly and Cloaked, by Alex Flinn.  Cloaked is one of the Truman nominees for this year and when I looked at it on goodreads.com or somewhere of the like, it said it was Beastly #2, so I decided I had better read Beastly first.  Well, wherever I saw it was Beastly #2 was untrue - the two books are not related whatsoever, except in the fact that they are new versions of different fairy tales and both very fun summer reads.  In Beastly, Kyle Kingsbury is a very popular, but self-centered freshman in high school.  He's rich, has a lot of friends, and can get any girl he wants.  One day, Kyle decides to ask a not-so-pretty or popular girl to the upcoming dance as a joke...you see, he's really going with totally pretty & popular Sloane, and he's going to ditch this other girl, Kendra at the door.  What a nice guy, right?  Well, it turns out Kendra is a witch, who casts a spell on Kyle, turning him into an awful beast.  She gives him 2 years to get a girl to fall in love with him for him - not for his looks or money.  Only then, can the spell be reversed.  This is a modern-day retelling of Beauty & the Beast.  The book was funny and has a great message about the fact that maybe we shouldn't judge others solely on how they look.  Cloaked is not just based on one fairy tale, but is a mash-up of several different tales.  In Cloaked, Johnny is a poor, 17-year old shoe repairman who is trying to help his mom make ends meet.  One day, a princess stays in the hotel where his shoe shop is located and asks him to complete a quest of her - find her brother who has been turned into a frog by an evil witch.  She gives him a magical cloak that can transport him to wherever he wishes and a magical earpiece that allows him to talk to any animal that was once human to help him.  In return, she'll marry him and he'll have all the money he's ever wanted.  His best friend Meg ends up helping him out in this quest.  The story has a lot of twists and turns and will introduce you to some fairy tales you might not have heard of before.  If you are a lover of fairy tales, these 2 books will be just right for you!

The Running Dream, by Wendelin Van Draanen, was an incredible story of overcoming what seems to be impossible.  Jessica is a runner...it is her passion and her life, but on her way home from a track meet, her bus is in an accident.  Another student is killed and Jessica's foot is crushed beyond repair and must be amputated.  This story is Jessica's journey of learning how to deal with the loss of not just her foot, but her ability to do the thing she loves the most...to run.  I. Absolutely. Loved. This. Book.  I think this one is a strong contender for winning the Truman Award this year.  Be inspired by Jessica & read her story!

If you were paying attention when we were in the library this year, Mrs. Gehrt and Erin from Mid-Continent both spent time talking about the book The Death Catchers, by Jennifer Anne Kogler.  This book is another favorite Truman Nominee of mine.  The story is told by Lizzy in a letter she is writing to her English teacher in hopes that she will pass her English class despite not turning in a really important project.  The letter shows her teacher her understanding of all the literary techniques & elements learned over the year (is it any wonder your TEACHER loved this book?).  Lizzy tells the story of how she saw her first "death specter" - or prediction of the death of someone close to her.  Her grandmother, Bizzy, shares with her, their family legacy of being "death catchers" - ones who learn of the untimely deaths of those close to them and have the opportunity to stop that event from happening.  This gift dates back to the time of King Arthur's court and is a job that must be taken seriously, because there can be bad consequences if you handle it in the wrong way.  Lizzy learns of a plot for "doomsday" and she, Bizzy, and her best friend Jodi, must do all they can to keep doomsday from happening.  This is an exciting, action-packed, funny adventure and I highly recommend it!

And finally, let me tell you about The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater.  If you were paying attention in class, you know this is a title I added to my bookshelf a couple of months ago.  I said I hadn't read it, but really wanted to, because I had heard good things about it.  Well, I finally got to it, and it did not disappoint. In the story, Puck (Kate) Connolly and Sean Kendrick live on the island of Thisby where every October, something magical and mystical occurs - water horses come out from the sea, but these aren't any kind of horse you'd really want to be around - they're flesh-eating and violent horses.  But the people of Thisby have a tradition of racing the water horses on November 1 every year, so many young men catch the horses and attempt to train them and race them without being injured of losing their lives.  Sean Kingston has won the Scorpio Races four times and has a way with the water horses that keeps him in demand in the island.  Puck has just learned that her oldest brother is leaving the island for the mainland, and since their parents died 18 months ago, she doesn't know how she is going to support herself and her younger brother, so she decides to do the unthinkable - enter the Scorpio Races and race on her own regular horse, Dove.  Sean and Puck strike up an unusual friendship when many on the island don't want to see a) a girl & b) a regular horse in the race.  Can Puck win or will Sean win for a 5th time.  This is an adventure you don't want to miss.  I loved it!

And that is that for now.  I'm currently reading Lost in the River of Grass - another Truman nominee.  Stay tuned for more about this one later in the week!  I hope you're all enjoying your summer!