Mrs. Spaeth's Book Blog

I have BUNCHES of titles to recommend to you today.  I have been busily reading, as usual, and have a variety of books to tell you about!

I'll start with PS I Like You, by Kasie West.  If you were paying attention in class this week, you might remember me gushing a little bit about West's newest book.  I'm pretty sure that Kasie West has never written anything less than fantastic (at least in my book), but her books will definitely appeal more to girls than boys.  If you want to learn more about her other books, click on the following titles:  The Distance Between Us, On the Fence, Pivot Point, Split Second, & The Fill-in Boyfriend.  I have a copy of all of those books, except for Split Second, but you can find all of those at MCPL, MCPL's Overdrive, & PP/SS are both in the CMS Media Center.  But back to PS I Like You.  Our main character, Lily, is an aspiring songwriter, but just can't ever finish the lyrics she tries to write.  In real life, she struggles to go after the things she wants and feels a little lost in the crowd in her huge family.  When her chemistry teacher notices that she's always writing in a notebook that contains her partial songs and song ideas, and threatens to take it away, she starts doodling the lyrics from a favorite song on her desk.  Much to Lily's surprise, she discovers that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk when she returns to class the next day.  She and her pen pal continue to write each other, but start leaving notes sharing things with one another that they don't share with people in real life.  When Lily realizes that her pen pal is a boy, she has to decide if she needs to pursue her real life crush with the boy she likes, or find out who her pen pal is.  This book was such fun to read...it kept me guessing nearly the whole way through, wondering who the pen pal could be.  You'll have to read it yourself to find out.  I plan to get a copy of this for my classroom, but in the meantime, you can find it at MCPL or on their Overdrive.

Another fun story that I read over the summer, but forgot to mention in my last blog post is A Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love, by Sarvanez Tash.  In this story, we meet Graham and Roxy, who have been best friends for 8 years.  Not only are they best friends, but they love comics and even team up to write and illustrate their own.  What Roxy doesn't realize is that Graham is secretly, desperately in love with her.  When Graham discovers that Roxy's favorite comic writer is going to be at New York City's comic con, he knows that he just has to get tickets, and put together a surprise that will amaze Roxy...and then he'll be able to tell her how much he loves her, but nothing is ever as easy at it seems it will be.  This funny story is a comedy of errors as Graham tries his hardest to get Roxy's attention.  You can find this story at MCPL or through their Overdrive.

If you've looked much through my blog, you've probably realized that I mostly read fiction, but every once in awhile, I try to read a little nonfiction too.  One nonfiction title that has been on my to-read shelf for quite some time is The Family Romanov, by Candace Fleming.  This story is a fascinating look at the last Russian Tsar (Nicholas) and his family.  If you're scratching your head because you've never heard of them, you've possibly heard of one of the daughters - Anastasia.  There have been several movies written about this particular daughter of the Romanov family.  The story covers the time period from the late 1800's through 1918 when the family was brutally executed.  It's a fascinating look at the family and at what life was like for both the wealthy and the poor in Imperial Russia.  I had a hard time putting it down.  You can find this book at MCPL or through Overdrive.

What I've really been busy reading lately are the potential Truman nominees for NEXT school year.  I always sign up to be a "reader-selector", which allows me to read the potential titles and then be part of the vote that selects the final 12 nominees.  There are 23 books on the list this year, and I had already read around 9 of those titles - and have recommended most of those on this blog.  Let me tell you about some of the most recent ones I've read.

First up is The Honest Truth, by Dan Gemeinhart.  Let me warn you - as most books about boys and their dogs do - this book has the power of making one sob uncontrollably.  At least for me, but oh, the tears were worth it. Mark has cancer - he's been fighting it for several years.  When he receives bad news, he decides that he's done with it all.  He leaves home with his faithful dog, Beau, and the camera his grandfather left him, and sets out to do the one thing he wants to do before he dies - climb Mount Rainier.  Leaving only a haiku poem for his best friend Jessie, Mark and Beau set out to do the impossible - even if may kill him.  I just don't have the words for what this book will do to your emotions, but I loved every minute of it!  You can find this title at MCPL or through Overdrive.

Roller Girl, by Victoria Jamieson, is a super fun graphic novel about a girl named Astrid who goes to a Roller Derby match, and knows that she is meant to not just watch the Roller Derby, but be part of it.  She just assumes her best friend of forever, Nicole, will want to do the same.  But that's not the case.  Not only does Nicole not want to join Astrid in attending Roller Derby camp all summer, she befriends someone who Astrid considers a mortal enemy.  Roller skating is not as easy as it looks and when you pair that with fighting a pack of crazy girls in a match, plus losing your best friend, life gets pretty hard.  Can Astrid prevail over her circumstances?  This book was funny, insightful, and informational too.  I learned a ton about how a Roller Derby match works.  I really liked Roller Girl...as a graphic novel, it is a quick read.  You can find copies at MCPL & in our CMS Media Center.

Code of Honor is by the author of last year's Truman winner, Alan Gratz (Prisoner B-3087).  This is a story about Kamran Smith, a Persian-American (his mother is from Iran & his dad is American) who seems to have it all going for him.  He's got a chance at playing football for the Army at West Point...following in his older brother Darius' footsteps.  But everything goes down the drain when Darius appears to be part of a terrorist group.  Everyone turns on Kamran and his family, and Kamran is the only one who believes that there is no way Darius could be guilty.  When Kamran and his parents are taken into custody for questioning, Kamran knows he has to convince everyone that Darius is innocent.  This was definitely a story that kept you guessing about Darius' innocence/guilt throughout the whole story...another winner from Alan Gratz!  You can find this at MCPL, Overdrive, in our CMS Media Center, and I have a copy on my shelf, as well.

I also really enjoyed Gwenda Bond's re-imagining of Lois Lane (of Superman fame) as a teenager, in her new series about Lois.  The first book is called Fallout, and introduces us to Lois, an aspiring reporter who just can't seem to stay out of trouble.  When her military family is relocated to Metropolis, Lois vows that this will be the move where she lays low and actually makes some friends.  However, when Lois witnesses a strange group of kids, called the Warheads, who are bullying another student, and then sees the principal of the school blowing off the bullying claims, Lois knows she can't stay uninvolved.  After nabbing an after school job with Perry White at the Daily Planet newspaper, writing for a junior magazine called, the Daily Scoop, Lois and her team of new possible friends set out to uncover what's really going on with the Warheads.  Oh yeah, and she also gets a little help from on online friend known only as "Smallvilleguy" - I wonder who that could be? ;)  You can find copies of this book at MCPL.

If you're more into a fantasy book, you might like Hunter, by Mercedes Lackey.  This is the first book in a series about a girl named Joyeaux (or Joy, for short), who has been trained to hunt bad guys that come from the "Otherside" after the world went through the Diseray.  These monsters are terrors from both imagination and ancient mythology and folklore and Hunters protect everyday citizens, or Cits, from these monsters.  When Joy is called up out of her mountain home to go to Apex City to become one of its hunters, she sees hunting in a whole different light.  In Apex City, Hunters are like celebrities and sports' stars, but things are getting worse and more monsters are getting through the city's barriers.  On top of that, someone seems to be after Joy.  Can Joy save herself and save Apex City?  You'll have to read Hunter to find out.  You can find copies at MCPL.

A different type of fantasy you might like is The Leveller, by Julia Durango.  In this story, Nixy Bauer uses her parents' jobs as video game designers to her advantage.  She's a bounty hunter who goes into the virtual reality gaming system and pulls kids back out into real life when they've spent too much time in the game.  When the CEO of the video game company calls on Nixy to help pull out his son, who appears to be taking his own life by using the game, Nixy figures it is a sure way to make a big load of cash.  But when Nixy gets into the game, she realizes that Wyn, the CEO's son, isn't committing suicide, he's been kidnapped into the game, and now it seems there is no way out for either Nixy or Wyn.  This action-fantasy story will keep you on your toes as you try to guess how Nixy and Wyn try to outsmart the bad guys and get back to real life.  You can find this book at MCPL or through Overdrive.

If you're more into a horror story, you might like What Waits in the Woods, by Kieran Scott.  In this story, Callie goes on a camping trip with her two best friends and boyfriend.  Callie has never been camping and is already a little weirded out by spending time in the woods, especially when her friends tell her about the "skinner" a murderer who killed kids in these woods back in the 80s.  When strange things start happening to their group and they encounter problem after problem, Callie isn't sure who is the bigger danger - her friends or someone stalking them in the woods.  Can Callie get out alive?  You'll have to read the story to find out.  You can find copies of this book at MCPL or on Overdrive.

Finally, if you want to read a dystopian story, you might try Soundless, by Richelle Mead.  In this story, Fei lives in a mining village high up in the mountains where no one has the ability to hear. She and her sister, Chen, have been orphans for the last several years, but thanks to Fei's talent as an artist, she and her sister lead as good a life as possible in the harsh conditions of their town. When Chen starts to lose her eyesight, in addition to her hearing, Fei knows that she has to do something, but it has always been too dangerous to leave their village to go down the mountain because of their inability to hear.  As Chen loses her eyesight, Fei somehow starts to gain her hearing, and knows she has to use this to her advantage.  With the help of handsome Li Wei, Fei decides to do everything she can to save her village and her sister.  You can find copies of this book at MCPL and on Overdrive.

That wraps up my recommendations for this post.  Hopefully, with all those titles, you can find something you want to read!