A Little of This, A Little of That

Good Sunday afternoon my En Fuego readers.  Is anyone else totally loving this cooler weather at the end of July?  I guess it's not pool weather, but I do like enjoying the fresh air with my windows open!  The weather does not keep me from reading, though...hot, cold, whatever, you'll find me with a book in my hand about half of every day (or more if I'm lucky!).  Here's what I've been reading.

Ms. Scearcy mentioned this book to me and it's been on my to-read list for a bit.  I finally got a chance to read it and WOW.  So. Very. Good.  Wonder, by R.J. Palacio is about August Pullman.  August was born with severe facial deformities and has been protected and coddled his whole life.  Until suddenly, he learns that his parents think he may need to go to a real school instead of being homeschooled.  August really isn't sure about this, but after a visit to the school they have in mind, he decides to give it a try.  He is used to the shock, the stares, the horror that many people experience upon seeing him for the first time, but it's the first time he's every truly put himself out in the world.  He makes a couple of friends and is betrayed by one, but discovers an inner strength he didn't know he had and doesn't give up.  The story is told mostly through August's perspective, but a few other perspectives, as well and comes together as one of the most touching and heartwarming stories I've ever read.  I'm not going to lie, I cried a few tears at multiple points in this story, but if left my heart warm and fuzzy at the end.

Let's mix it up with a little non-fiction too.  I've been wanting to read Chasing Lincoln's Killer, by James Swanson since I got it from Scholastic last year.  Earlier in the summer, I read Bloody Times, which was also by this author.  This was a fascinating look at how President Lincoln's assassination came about and the hunt for John Wilkes Booth and those who conspired with him to murder the nation's 16th president.  I just love books that are full of historical facts, but read like a fictional story.  This also had lots of pictures of items and places from that time that helped you to picture all the who, what, when, & where details.  If you like nonfiction - pick up this book.

I also finally got around to reading Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld.  This has been on my to-read list probably for a year.  This is part of a dystopian trilogy about a society where people who are normal-looking are considered to be ugly.  At the age of 16, everyone gets an operation that turns them pretty - they're given features that are attractive and those features that aren't so attractive, like that big nose or eyes that are too close together or to far apart, are changed.  Once you turn pretty, you have no worries, you get to party all the time, and live a wonderful life.  Tally can't wait to turn 16 and get her operation.  All her friends have already had the operation and she looks forward to joining them.  But as she waits, she meets a new friend, Shay, who doesn't want to turn pretty and tells her about a place, called "The Smoke", where they can go to escape the operation.  Tally doesn't want to go, but a week before their birthdays, Shay leaves, but leaves Tally directions for how to find her.  When Tally goes in for her operation, she is told that unless she finds Shay and the Smoke for them, she will be ugly for the rest of her life.  Tally goes along, but once she gets to the Smoke, she realizes that becoming pretty has a steep price tag...should she expose her new friends and go back and live the life she always wanted or stay where she is and live a life different from anything she ever expected?  She may not have a choice.  This is a very fast-paced and exciting read.  There is quite a twist at the end that will make you want to rush out & read the next book in the series, Pretties!

So has anyone else looked at the calendar & realized we'll be seeing one another really soon?  I was at school last week starting to get things ready.  The supply list you need is on our facebook page and is also linked on the Congress webpage.  If you need a copy, let me know, I'll e-mail you one.  I hope you're enjoying these last few days of summer...with a good book, of course!

Fairytale, Thriller, & Dystopia...

Good morning En Fuego readers!  My summer book total is up to 40...my goal for the summer was to read 60 books.  Since I head back to school in 17 days, I'm not sure I'm going to get there, but I'm going to keep trying!  Let me tell you about 3 books I've read in the last week.

I'll start with Entwined, by Heather Dixon.  This is one I pulled off my shelf at school and brought home with me for the summer.  I picked it out completely for it's gorgeous cover (how superficial, I know!), but it turned out to be a fun read.  It was totally not what I expected.  Entwined is a retelling of the fairytale of the twelve princesses who love to dance.  In this book, Azalea is the oldest sister, who is left in charge of all her other sisters when their mother dies.  Their father goes off to war, but insists that they spend a period of a year in mourning for their mother, which means the princesses cannot dance, which is their passion passed on to them from their mother.  Azalea discovers a magical passage in their castle and the Keeper of this passage invites Azalea and her sisters to come every night and dance there, where they'll never be caught.  However, over time, it seems that the Keeper wants something from Azalea and the princesses in return and it could cost their father his life.  This was a fun story & I highly recommend it!

After reading last year's Truman winner, Girl Stolen, I put April Henry's newest book, The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die on hold at the library.  This was another thriller that you won't want to put down.  In this story, our main character wakes up and has no idea who she is or where she is, but she overhears a conversation between two men where one says to "take care of her" because she doesn't know anything.  She knows her life is in danger and that she must escape and not only that figure out who she is and why people are trying to kill her.  This is a short, fast-paced read.  If you like mystery and suspense, this is a book for you!

Finally, I've been wanting to read the Bar Code Tattoo, by Suzanne Weyn, so I also brought this one home from my school bookshelf.  In this futuristic story, everyone is getting a bar code tattooed onto their arms to make life easier.  This bar code is identification, contains their medical information, is like a bank card, and many other things.  Everyone is getting them & eventually it becomes the law to get one.  Kayla saw what getting the bar code tattoo did to her father.  Once he got it, things started falling apart in his life until he eventually committed suicide.  She doesn't know or understand what the bar code tattoo had to do with it, but she knows that it is at the root of the problem.  Kayla eventually has to go on the run to try to join the resistance against the tattoos and what they mean for the future of their society.  This is another thrilling and fast-paced story.  

In other news, your schedules for the year were mailed home last week.  Hopefully, yours has arrived.  If it hasn't, or there are any problems with it, contact one of your teachers and we'll help you get it straightened out.  Registration is coming up on August 8!  Enjoy what's left of the summer...and don't forget to do some reading!

Dark Life

Dark Life, by Kat Falls was one of the 2012-13 Truman nominees that I just didn't get around to during the school year, but really wanted to read.  I was at Mid-Continent & saw it sitting on the shelf and knew it was time I brought this one home.  Dark Life follows Gemma and Ty in a new under-sea society.  Gemma comes from "above" in search of her brother, whom she believes is prospecting in the depths of the ocean.  She meets Ty, who lives, and was in fact the first baby ever born under the sea.  The picture on the front cover is what his house looks like - a giant jellyfish!  There are rumors that kids who live in the depths have developed "dark gifts" due to the immense pressure of the ocean when living so deep, but Ty tries to convince Gemma it isn't true.  There are undersea bandits who are trying to tear apart the delicate society that has been built under the sea and Ty knows that he is the person who has to stop it.  This is a terrific fantasy and adventure novel about what life might be like if we had to live under the sea.  There is a 2nd book in this series called Rip Tide and I'm definitely planning to pick it up sometime soon!

Confessions of the Ungifted...

So far this summer, I've read 28 books!  How many have you read?  The most recent two books I've read are Ungifted, by Gordon Korman and In Front of God and Everybody: Confessions of April Grace.

Ungifted follows Donovan Curtis who is always in trouble.  If he sees something that looks like fun, he goes for it without thinking of it and it usually lands him in a world of trouble.  For instance, when he decides to hit a statue holding a globe near his school in the backside and the globe, which is held by only one rusty bolt, gets loose and rolls into your high schools gym, destroying the floor.  Oops.  Caught by the superintendent of his school district, Donovan knows he is going to be in big trouble, but the superintendent accidentally places his name on a list of students who are going to be assigned for the district's school for gifted students.  Donovan knows he is not gifted, but decides to go and hide out there until the superintendent (hopefully) forgets all about him.  Donovan somehow manages to befriend the gifted kids, who see him as the only "normal" student in their school and he joins their robotics club.  Donovan learns how to control some of his impulses and starts to learn more about what it means to truly be a friend.  This was a fun and funny story.  I highly recommend it!

I also just finished In Front of God & Everyone...  I picked it up at the library because I liked the cover.  After I got it home, I realized it was a Mark Twain Award nominee for this year, so I knew it must be pretty good.  April Grace lives in the country outside a small town in the Ozarks of Arkansas.  She lives with her parents and older sister, and her Grandma Grace lives right next door and is at April Grace's house more often than not.  It's summer vacation and new neighbors from San Francisco, California move in, or try to, next door.  The place is so run-down, though, that April Grace's parents invite them to move in until it can be fixed up.  Now these folks are snooty and look down on April Grace and her "hillbilly" family.  There is also Mr. Rance, who is trying to romance April Grace's grandma, but April Grace has her suspicions that he is up to no good.  This is a humorous account of how April Grace deals with her parent's guests and the over-the-top gentleman who is going after her Grandma.  This was a quick and very entertaining read.  April Grace is quite the funny narrator and I found myself laughing out loud at her use of grammar and colloquial sayings (file that away - we'll talk about what that means next year).  I loved this book!

We're about halfway through the summer.  My goal is to read 60 books and I'm not quite halfway there, so I'd better get moving if I'm going to reach it.  If you want, comment below & tell me what you've been reading this summer!

The Final Truman Nominees

I have now officially read all the Truman nominees for this school year and these last 2 were excellent.  I did not want to put either of these down.  The great news is that both are the first books in a series, so I can't wait to get my hands on the next installment of both.

First, I read The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson.  This is the first book in the Shades of London series.  The main character is Rory Deveaux, who is from near New Orleans, but heads to London for her final year of school before college. Her parents are college professors and are teaching for a year in Bristol, England and Rory wants an adventure too.  Shortly after Rory begins her school year, murders are committed on the same dates and in the same manner as those of Jack the Ripper.  The crimes of today are eerily similar to those that occurred in 1888 and all of London is feeling alternately terrorized and excited by these crimes that are occurring.  On the night of one of the murders, Rory and her roommate Jazza sneak out of their room and when they're sneaking back in Rory sees a mysterious stranger who stops and talks to her.  The next day, Rory realizes that the man must have been the new "Jack".  Rory makes some incredible discoveries about the murderer and some special abilities she has that allowed her to see him when others can't.  Can she stop the murderer before he commits his final and most devastating crime?  Read it & find out.  This was a great non-stop, paranormal adventure.  I can't wait to see what Rory does next in the second book in the series, The Madness Underneath. 

The final Truman nominee I had to read was The Girl of Fire and Thorns.  I loved this book, but I don't think it will be a book that everyone would like.  It was a historical fantasy type story of kings and queens and fights for kingdoms.  Our heroine is 16 year old Princess Elisa, the overweight second daughter of the king of Oravalle.  We meet her on her wedding day as she prepares to marry the king of a nearby country of Joya.  She's not really excited about it, because she hasn't ever met this guy.  Elisa is also unique in that she is the bearer of the "Godstone" - a jewel that was placed in her navel shortly after her birth.  This happens only once each century to one who is "chosen by God".  Elisa doesn't really know all that being the bearer of the Godstone entails until she enters her husband's country and is kidnapped because of it.  She learns about her destiny and has to pull it together and become a leader in order to save her husband's country and herself from ruthless invaders who are trying to overtake them.  This was a great adventure and also coming of age story for Elisa who really grows and develops from a not very likable character to one who you admire and root for to win.  

I've blogged about all the Truman nominees except for the ones I already talked to you about in class: Legend and The Eleventh Plague.  I definitely have my favorites and I think I know what my top pick would be, but I'm going to keep that to myself.  Remember - in order to be able to vote for the Truman winner, you must read at least 4 of the titles.  These are some really good books.  Mid-Continent has lots of copies available, so if it's too hot to be outside...head to the library and pick up one of these!