Ice by Mary Beth Durst

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book was filled with so much action and adventure, my head is spinning and I can't wait to find out more about the Cassie/Bear relationship. Cassie lives with her dad in an Arctic research station which Cassie loves because she tracks and researches polar bears. Her grandmother used to tell her stories about the God of the North Wind and his bride but only when her dad was not around. Cassie's world is turned upside down when she realizes, her mother is not dead but living with the God of the North Wind because of some promise made long ago. Cassie is a great heroine because nothing stops her, she is brave, and ruthless in her pursuit of what she wants. She uses her cunning throughout the book and you are in for a wild ride until the last page! I read this on my Kindle and I didn't realize the book had ended, I wanted more! For a great fantasy, adventure, and romance, you will get all three and much more in this fantastic read.



View all my reviews

Crashed by Robin Wasserman

Crashed by Robin Wasserman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Book Two of the Skinned Trilogy was high on excitement,suspense, and guessing who to believe. Lia Kahn is still living at Quinn's house with Jude, Riley, and Ani and the other mechs. She no longer lives at home,and has cut all ties with her family. Lia has become a dare devil knowing she can never die, she has also grown very close to Riley and some people are jealous. But it really hurts Lia that her old friend Auden is one of the leaders who hates the mechs and wants them taken out of commission. It is Savona and Auden's group that set up Lia and as she runs from evil, she tries to save herself and Riley. But will it work? I can't wait to get to Wired because the stakes are really high now for Lia.



View all my reviews

Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu

Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Lucy's life is a nightmare and it has gotten out of control. Her mother has been a hoarder for years and the reader finds that her mother has been this way since her husband left her. She is mean to Lucy and her brother Phil couldn't wait to get to college. Now Lucy looks forward to this time in 2 years but there are no walkways in the house anymore. Lucy can't have her best friend Kaylie over and what would Josh think if he found out her secret? Would both Kaylie and Josh abandon her, once they found out. The trauma of living with this filth, anger at her mother, and not being able to have a life are excruciatingly detailed page after page. I couldn't put this book down, oh how my heart goes out to families that suffer with this hoarding nightmare. Such a sad, but hopeful book. Highly recommended.





View all my reviews

Wired by Robin Wasserman

Wired by Robin Wasserman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There were so many tense moments in this book and I Loved Lia and Zoe forging a bond and enjoying being sisters who got on each others nerves. I love the new Riley, then I missed him and Jude was as all knowing and annoying as ever. The BioMax threat, Lia and Zoe's parents, and Lia and her friend(s)having to always try to outsmart whoever was trying to destroy the mechs was awesome, scary, and sad because you never knew who was going to turn against them. Lia was really a character who grew, as well as her sister. Lia had opinions she voiced, but her inner stream of consciousness was always up and down, good and bad, and she kept the reader totally enthralled with the reality and the unreality of her life, the mechs future and their well being. I was totally unprepared for the ending....

I think now I will start Wasserman's Chasing Yesterday Mystery Trilogy. If it is good suspense, I know our reeucant readers will enjoy it if the reading classes do a mystery genre unit.

On another note, I will be heavy into reviewing my PSLA books, so there will be lots of nonfiction and Reference/Professional books coming in my reviews!



View all my reviews

Top 10 YA Books for 2010

http://animoto.com/play/FO7jD50fI5FWoJ3l702hKA?autostart=true


Thanks to Sue from the TLNing for creating this awesome Animoto of teen favorites from 2010

Great book trailers, reviews, for students---Check it out!

http://www.slimekids.com/

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This beautiful book is about the end of World War II in California and how the Japanese were taken to the internment camps. Henry Lee is the boy telling the story and is Chinese and his parents send him to an American school and make him wear a sign that says "I am Chinese" which most people ignore. He is bullied in school and at home must speak only English (even though his parents don't understand English). Life sucks for Henry Lee, until one day Japanese Keiko Akabe starts at his school and works beside him in the lunch room. Henry cherishes their friendship, and it blossoms into love. When Keiko's family must report to an internment camp, Henry begins to correspond with her. He also visits her when he is asked to help in their kitchens on a weekly basis. As he grows older, Henry promises to wait for her. There is so much in this story to love. Henry is older when the story begins and he remembers his childhood, has an acrimonious relationship with his son and is despondent over the death of his wife, no she is not Keiko. Such a great story, I loved every minute of it and so will you.



View all my reviews

Crossing Stones by Helen Frost

Crossing Stones by Helen Frost

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Helen Frost has written a compelling, sweet and sad novel about two families that live across the river from each other during World War I and how the war affects each family member. Frost uses three characters (Muriel, Emma and Ollie) in her novel in verse to tell the story of war, soldiers, death, and the fight for women's rights and peace. I highly recommend this beautiful novel, the verse is so great and the stories of four young people will stay with you long after you close the book. I loved all the research Helen Frost did, I learned so much about this time in our history. A must read!



View all my reviews

Leftovers by Laura Wiess

Leftovers by Laura Wiess

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wow, this book was disturbing but I couldn't stop reading it! Blair and Ardith are two best friends and what happens to them is shocking but believable. And how they cope and change is believable as well. Blair has a wonderful life with mom, dad, and wonderful old golden retriever, Wendy. One day, mom gets a promotion at her law firm and she becomes Cruella Deville. She is so scary, her husband has a girl on the side. Blair's mom now only cares about appearances and they move to a big, rich, powerful house. Blair begs her family to stay in their cozy house, but her mother will not relent. Both parents end up euthanizing Blair's beloved dog because she has become incontinent and the new rugs can't be spoiled in any way. Blair is devastated, but she realizes she can get her dogs ashes from the vet by impersonating her mother and using her credit card. In her new home, Blair has a shrine to Wendy of her old mattress and toys (she fished them out of the trash can where her parents threw them) and she hides in the closet when life gets too complicated with her parents. Once they move, Blair is left alone all the time. And her best friend Ardith has a hellish life. Her mother, father and brother are all alcoholics. Her mother wears Daisy Duke shorts, allows her father to fondle the teen girls who come to their drug and alcohol parties (nightly) saying they wanted it and never taking her daughter's side. Her brother is good looking but he uses and abuses girls. Her has lecherous friends too so Ardith keeps her door padlocked each night. Ardith has dreams of becoming a podiatrist and getting out of town and away from her family. It is these hellish family relations that cement Blair and Ardith's friendship. As they become teens they are hardened, cynical, forgotten and afraid of life. The only person they truly feel safe with is Officer Dave. Dave has helped the girls a few times and looks out for them because their families don't. These girls weave a mesmerizing story, I couldn't put it down, but I didn't like reading it either. Why? Because it was so sad and so believable. So get ready for a tough book about family dysfunction and the hell that it can wreak on young girls as they become teens.



View all my reviews