My last post about books was at the end of April, and I have read an abundance of books since then. I started an account on Goodreads, which I love, because it helps me keep track of what I've read and makes recommendations for other things I might like. If you love to read, check out Goodreads...the more books you rate, the more (and better) recommendations it makes for you! Here's a rundown of what has come & gone on my bookshelf and Kindle over the last few weeks.
I'll start with some of the YA novels I've read recently. I am trying to read as many as I can get my hands on, so I can make recommendations to my students about what they might or might not like. My very favorite that I've read so far:
Divergent, by Veronica Roth. I'm starting with that, because I just got book 2 in the series
Insurgent from the library today. I can't wait to start it.
Divergent is the story of Tris Prior, who is part of a society where everyone is set apart into 5 factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Dauntless (the brave), Candor (the truthful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Tris grew up an Abnegation, but at age 16, you take a test to see which faction you best fit into. You then make the choice to stay with your faction, or join another. When Tris takes her test, it turns out she is divergent - she could fit into more than one. Her tester warns her not to let anyone know she is divergent, because it's dangerous to their society. Tris doesn't really understand why, but has to make a choice. Once she does, she discovers a plot that could threaten her whole society and has to figure out a way to stop it. It is non-stop action, and of course, Tris meets a boy and romance ensues, as well. It is fast-paced and just oh-so-good. I could not put it down & I can't wait to pick up book 2 later tonight!
In April, I told you about Lauren Oliver, who wrote
Delirium and
Pandemonium, both of which I loved. She had one other novel that she wrote first called
Before I Fall, so I decided to check it out. This story follows Samantha, who dies in a car accident, but then proceeds to live the last day of her life over 7 times...until she gets it right. I don't think I would recommend this book to a middle schooler, but I really liked it myself. It was an intriguing storyline and I enjoyed seeing Samantha grow from a person I really didn't like at the beginning to someone I did like at the end.
Next up...the Heist series by Ally Carter. The first book
Heist Society, follows Kat Bishop, a thief born and raised in a family of thieves. She has to pull off her biggest heist yet to save her father. It was a really fun read. I just finished the second book,
Uncommon Criminals, a couple days ago. Again, we follow Kat Bishop, who is no longer your everyday thief. She now steals to return art lost or stolen during the Holocaust to their rightful owners. When a woman approaches her to steal a famous emerald that was stolen for her family, Kat wants to do the right thing. Unfortunately, it turns out to the be the wrong thing and Kat has to find a way to make it right again. These are quick fun reads...written for teens, but I gotta tell you, enjoyable for anyone!
I also read
I'd Tell You I Love You, But then I'd Have to Kill You, by Ally Carter. This is the first in a series about a girls school that trains them to be...spies! I love the premise. It follows Cammie, who is a legacy. Her mom is a former spy and the current headmaster of the school, and her dad (also a spy) was killed in action a few years before. In the book, Cammie has to grapple with whether becoming is a spy is right for her, because she'd really just like to be normal sometimes. This was also a really fun read. I'm definitely planning to read the rest of the books in the series.
I also read
Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater. This one was not really up my alley, but a several of my students read it, so I thought I'd try it out and see what I thought. The story follows Grace and Sam. Grace was attacked by wolves as a young girl, but one of those wolves ended up saving her life. She continued to see her wolf from time to time as she grew up, only to discover that her wolf is actually a werewolf (which is why this book is
not up my alley - I've never been able to bring myself to read the
Twilight series for the same reason). Anyhoo, the werewolf is Sam...he is a wolf when it is cold, but when the weather turns warm, he is able to become human again. However, it is Sam's last time as a human...he's reached the point where once he turns back into a wolf, he'll be a wolf forever, so they have to try to figure out a "cure" to keep him human. My biggest problem with this book for middle school kids is that the characters have sex...and I'm just not completely comfortable with that with a middle school crowd. I liked the story better than I thought I would, but for me, it is definitely not a middle school book.
Last in the young adult category...
The Selection, by Kiera Cass. The book takes place 300 years in the future. The United States was defeated by China in a third world war, and what was once North America is now the country of Ilea, which is ruled by a monarchy. Whenever there is a prince who comes of age, all girls in each province of a certain age who apply, are placed into a lottery in order to compete for the prince's hand in marriage. America Singer doesn't want to be part of the selection, she is already in love...but with a boy who is from a lower caste than hers. He encourages her to apply, so she does, and SURPRISE, she is one of the 35 chosen to go to the capital, live in the palace, and have her life broadcast on national television. Kind of a futuristic reality show. She goes, because it will provide much-needed money for her family, and get her away from the boy who broke her heart. Now...she develops feelings for the prince...but the story ends before the selection is made. Darn the cliffhanger! I will definitely be looking for book 2 when it comes out!
Okay...so actual adult novels. I do read those too. However, I am really finding that a lot of the young adult fiction out there is every bit as good as what is out there for adults...sometimes better!
First up, my friend Rachel has a
reading blog and recommended
How to be an American Housewife, by Margaret Dilloway. I just finished this one today and I loved it. The story is told from the perspective of Shoko, a Japanese woman who married an American soldier after WWII and her daughter, Suiko (Sue). Shoko came to America and wanted to be the best American wife she could be, but her upbringing and culture often play a huge role in who she is as a wife and a mother. She and her daughter Sue work throughout the novel to come to a place of understanding and closer relationship. It was a really heartwarming book based on the author's own Japanese-American mother. I would definitely recommend this one!
Next up, two Nora Roberts' books. First,
The Witness...a story of a genius woman who was witness to a double murder by the Russian mafia at the age of 16. She has developed a new identity and is living in the Ozarks of Arkansas. The local chief of police meets her and is intrigued by her eccentricities and true love ensues. Of course, they also have to bring down the Russian Mafia, who is still after her for all these years. I loved the main characters in this story - Elizabeth/Abigail was so quirky because she was so incredibly intelligent, yet very literal-minded. The laid-back chief of police, Brooks, is a great match for her. Their romance was sweet and funny. Definitely, a good fun, yet mysterious read! Also by Ms. Roberts,
The Last Boyfriend, book #2 in the Inn Boonsboro series. In book number one, the first of 3 brothers fell in love and in this one, it is brother #2's turn. Owen, the middle brother is organized and keeps the family's construction business running like clockwork. Avery, owner of the local pizzeria is an old friend. Owen happens to be Avery's first boyfriend...and eventually becomes her...you guessed it, last boyfriend. Again, a short, fun romance. The characters are likable and fun to read about. It would be a great poolside read!
My first book I read poolside on vacation was Meg Cabot's
Queen of Babble. In this book, Lizzie is heading to London to join her boyfriend Andrew. However, she really only met Andrew briefly before he headed home...and it has been 3 months since she's seen him. But...it is going to be an adventure! Unfortunately, for Lizzie, things don't turn out quite as she'd hoped and she ends up joining her friend Shari in France for the summer...and meets a handsome stranger on the way...who ends up being her host. It's a funny, laugh-out-loud, total chick-lit kind of book. A great summer beach read.
Another fun, easy read is
The Bake-Off by Beth Kendrick. Linnie and Amy are sisters who haven't spoken to one another in quite some time. Linnie needs money and Amy needs a break from the chaos of being a mom of 2-year old twins. Their grandmother decides it's time they fixed the problem in their relationship and tricks them into joining a national bake-off competition as partners. They learn to bake from their grandmother and find a way back into each other's hearts again. This was an entertaining and heartwarming story.
I've actually read some non-fiction too. First up, I read Anna Quindlen's memoir
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. I really have liked her novels, so I thought I'd try this. It was just okay for me. She had some interesting and funny stories about her life, but I found that I couldn't really relate to her on some things. But...if you like memoirs, then I think you'd probably enjoy this one.
I also read
Heaven is For Real, by Todd Burpo. I had heard of the book, but didn't really think much of it until one of my students asked me if I had read it. Now...he asked me this probably back in November and I just now got to it. It was a really fascinating story of how the author's son revealed to his parents a visit to heaven when he was deathly ill in the hospital. The author, a pastor, shares his son's story and the fact that many of his son's experiences line up with what is in scripture. It is a fascinating story and I would highly recommend it. Now...hopefully, I run into my student sometime in the near future so I can tell him I read it. :)
Finally, I will close with one of the audio-books Brandon and I listened to on our way home from Phoenix this year.
A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron follows a dog through several reincarnations. First as Toby, whose mother is wild. Then as Bailey, a young boy's dog as he grows up. Next as Ellie, a search and rescue dog, and finally, as Buddy...who finally learns what his real purpose in all those lives was. This was a great audio-book. I wasn't sure at first, but it turned into a great story that was really funny, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. We were excited to see that there is a sequel
A Dog's Journey that I think we'll be listening to on our next long road trip! I would definitely recommend
A Dog's Purpose as either an audio-book or to read yourself!
So...there you have it. I have read some others too...but frankly, these are my favorites of what I've read in the last 2 months, and this post is probably quite long enough! Especially for someone who has not been a regular blogger lately...
Happy reading!
I'm going to start with my absolute favorite books that I've read. In my last book post back in June, I wrote about Divergent, by Veronica Roth. I mentioned in that post that I was going to the library that evening to pick up a copy of the 2nd book in the series, Insurgent. Wow...it so did not disappoint. In this book, the factions are going to war and Tris must decide where she stands in the face of all this. She has decisions to make and has to learn how to deal with her divergence. It was once again action-packed and I could barely put it down from start to finish. The third and final installment of this series will not be out until sometime NEXT YEAR! The author wants to make sure she doesn't disappoint the reader because she rushes it, which I do appreciate. However, I'm thinking I'll be going back and reading book 1 & 2, so it doesn't feel like it's been so long since I've spent time with these characters! I highly recommend this series if you loved The Hunger Games series. It will not disappoint!
My second favorite thing I read this summer was a series called Chaos Walking, by Patrick Ness. It starts with The Knife of Never Letting Go where we meet the main character Todd. Todd is a nearly 13-year old boy who lives on New World, a planet colonized by people from Earth when the resources began to run out on the home planet. Todd lives in a town of only men, because all the women died after a war with the natives of the planet, called the Spackle. The Spackle release a germ on the colonists which causes everyone to be able to hear all the thoughts of every man, boy, and even animals. As you can imagine, this creates a lot of "noise"...and some people can cover their thoughts with dishonest ones, so you never really know where people stand. Todd was led to believe that the noise germ was what lead to all the women, including his mother, dying off. One day, Todd discovers a secret, though, and must escape his town for a safe haven that he never knew existed...and he learns that everything he's ever believed, just might be a lie. Todd's journey and further adventures continue in the 2nd & 3rd installments...The Ask & the Answer and Monsters of Men. When I first started reading The Knife... I didn't think I'd be able to finish it. The author wrote Todd's "voice" as Todd spoke - completely ungrammatical with spelling errors all over the place. It was hard to follow, but I kept plodding along and when the action started, I couldn't put it down. Amazing, incredibly awesome series. 
Some other favorites - I read a couple books by Sarah Dessen. She also writes young adult novels. These are sweet coming of age/love stories. I can't wait to read more by her. I loved Along for the Ride and The Truth About Forever. 
Finally, for YA books, I'm currently in the middle of the 3rd book of The Iron King series, by Julie Kagawa. I started this series late this summer, because I had several girls last year who loved it and kept telling me to read it. I picked up the first one, The Iron King, and discovered it's about faeries - not Tinkerbell, mind you, either. And, I thought - I don't know if this will be for me. As usual, I was wrong. I am loving this series. It follows Meghan Chase, a normal, very uncool 16-year old girl, who gets pulled into faery land - otherwise known as the NeverNever, when her little brother is kidnapped by the king of the Iron Kingdom. Meghan goes on to learn that she is the daughter of the summer court's king and is half-faerie herself. It is an adventure and quite a learning experience in all things fantastic. Of course, there is an fabulous love story throughout. Love, love, love this series!
Okay, my favorite adult books I've read have really been few and far between lately, so I'll pick the 3 best ones. I just finished One Thousand White Women, by Jim Fergus. Goodreads recommended it to me and Katie also wrote about it back in May and I was intrigued by the subject matter. In 1875, the Cheyenne Indians requested that the US government provide them with 1000 white women as wives in order to better assimilate their culture into ours. (true story) In real life, the government said no. In the book, the government agreed and we learn the fate of this "Brides for Indians" program through the eyes of one of the women who volunteered for the program, May Dodd. It was fascinating and hard to put down. I highly recommend it.
I also recently finished Gone Girl, by Jillian Flynn. This one is about a wife who disappears on her 5th anniversary. The scene is suspicious, and of course, the husband is always the first suspect. The story is told through the wife, Amy's, journal entries prior to her disappearance and through the husband, Nick's, eyes as the mystery unfolds. You don't know what to believe the whole time...one minute you sympathize with Amy, the next with Nick. It is truly diabolical and you come to the end pretty well shocked at how things turn out.
And, I'll end with Moloka' i, by Allan Brennert. This story follows Rachel, a young girl growing up in Hawaii in the late 1800's. At this time, leprosy ran rampant through the Hawaiin islands and the native Hawaiins were very susceptible to it. Rachel contracts this disease and is banished to the leper colony on the island of Moloka'i where she lives out most of the rest of her life. It is the story of her tragedies and triumphs...and excellent, emotional read!
