LOST IT, by Kristen Tracy posted by Ashley , Freshman

LOST IT, by Kristen Tracy
AR: Yes
Interest Level: Upper Grades

High school junior Tess Whistle's school year so far has been crazy. Her parents have decided to leave her for a wilderness camp in Utah. Her best friend builds a bomb is obsessed about the idea of blowing up a poodle. She has a top locker, and a new guy, that she crushes on, has the locker under hers. She ends up dating the guy--Ben--and telling him she's diabetic, (which she's NOT) as a way to explain why she's always drinking those little apple juice boxes. This is a great book...you should read it!

ARTICHOKE'S HEART, by Suzanne Supplee posted by Mrs. Schauer

ARTICHOKE'S HEART
by Suzanne Supplee
AR: Yes
Interest Level: Middle and Upper Grades

I picked this book up at TLA (Texas Library Association's Conference) almost a year ago. I was so excited about getting it, and then for some reason it took me until now to read it--but I'm so glad I finally did. Since I got an "advanced reader copy" I don't have it on the shelves yet, but it's already been ordered, so it should be here soon--and I'm sure when it gets here it won't spend a lot of time on the shelf.
Rosemary Goode (Rosie to the people who love her) has always been overweight--well, not just overweight--she's always been fat. She got the nickname "Artichoke" in the sixth grade, when she got a new winter coat in an awful shade of green--and the cruel girls at school said she looked like a giant artichoke. Raised by a single mom who got pregnant in high school, she's always soothed herself with food--until one day, she decides enough is enough. This book follows her journey, from being harassed by the popular girls at school, to getting her first boyfriend, and dealing with her mom's battle with cancer--her story is chronicled in the pages. As the pounds melt away, the reader gets to see Rosie come into her own and develop into a better, stronger version of the person who's always been there on the inside. I don't want to give too much of the story away, but I do want to encourage everyone to read it--it's a fantastic story.

SLAM, by Nick Hornby Posted by Mrs. Schauer

SLAM, by Nick Hornby
AR: Yes
Interest Level: Upper Grades

When I first picked this book up, I was browsing the YA aisle at Barnes and Noble, looking for hot new reads for my increasingly insatiable readers at PHS. I read on the jacket that it was about a boy who deals with the perplexities of his life by conversing with Tony Hawk, via a poster of the skating virtuoso that hangs on his wall. Now, for the part that is going to make the fact that I'm OLD glaringly obvious....for some reason, I deduced that Tony Hawk was a hockey player...and promptly put it back on the shelf. Living in South Texas, I couldn't imagine that many of my young adult patrons would clamor to read about a teenage skating aficionado who waxes philosophical with an image on a poster. At some point, a few months later, I heard someone say "Tony Hawk" and was like, "I didn't know you like Hockey." My daughter, who was in the library at the time, rolled her eyes, and said, "OMG Mom...seriously? Tony Hawk isn't a HOCKEY PLAYER...he's a skater" (or something like that) Well, that comment, aside from making me feel ancient and out of touch (when did I turn into my mother?) also made me realize that I needed to purchase this book for my library. The book is on order, so I couldn't "read" it, so I did the next best thing--I downloaded the audio book and listened to it on a road trip. While it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, I think it is sure to be a hit with some of the guys in our library.

SLAM is a slang term used by skaters to describe a wipe-out while attempting a trick. (terms I also learned while listening) It's about a fifteen year old skater (who worships Tony Hawk...he would even swear on his autobiography, which he describes as his Bible) who finds himself free-falling in slow motion toward the most harrowing slam of his life--finding out that his girlfriend is pregnant. While trying to deal with the emotional upheaval of becoming a father at fifteen, he begins talking to a poster of his hero--and the hero talks back, offering advice, and even swooshing him into the future a couple of times--kind of like fast-forward glimpses into what fatherhood will hold for him. It's a quick read (7 hour listen) and is full of funny as well as poignant moments. I don't think this one is going to spend a lot of time on my shelves.

Paper Towns, by John Green posted by Mrs. Camden

Paper Towns, by John Green

I thoroughly enjoy John Green's style of writing. His male main characters are educated and have such a wit that makes me grin at many of the things they 'say'! Paper Towns reminded me of Looking for Alaska in that the object of Q's affection was a much-sought-after girl who felt lost and misunderstood, just like Pudge's Alaska felt underappreciated and hopeless. Similarly, both girls -- Margo and Alaska -- presented a facade of confidence and free-spiritedness (<-- word?), while internally they simply wanted an escape in some form or another. I have to say, though, that Margo struck me as self-centered. Around page 294, with only 11 pages left in the book, I had to stop reading for the night because I was so disgusted (too harsh?) by Margo's behavior and lack of concern for the feelings of others! I'm glad, though, that I finished the remaining 11 pages because I ''saw" Q mature in only a matter of hours -- won't say how at the risk of revealing the ending to other readers.

Favorite passage out of book: " . . . .each of us starts out as a watertight vessel. And these things happen -- these people leave us, or don't love us, or don't get us, or we don't get them, and we lose and fail and hurt one another. And the vessel starts to crack open, the end becomes inevitable . . . But there is all this time between when the cracks start to open up and when we finally fall apart. And it's only in that time that we can see one another, because we see out of ourselves through our cracks and into others through theirs . . . we were just looking at ideas of each other . . . But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out."
Makes me want to say, "Kudos for hard times!" haha! You go, Q.!!!

TWILIGHT...The Movie Posted by Mrs. Schauer

OK, I've waited a while to post this, not because I haven't wanted to post, but because I've been freakishly busy with other areas of my life and honestly haven't had time! I saw the movie in San Antonio the weekend it was released, and my reaction to it is mixed. First, let me say that overall I actually loved it and thought the filmmakers did a fantastic job of staying true to the book. For the most part the characters looked enough like the images I'd created in my mind that I had no trouble believing in them...with the exception of Jasper...what was UP with him? Every time he came on the screen, everyone in the theatre laughed...I realize that Jasper is in pain most of the time, but the movie portrayal of the book character was just a little over the top for me. That leads me to explain why my feelings are mixed. I've never had quite this reaction to a movie before...usually when a movie is made of a book, I either love it or hate it, with no in between. I have to say again that I loved it....but at the same time, it was one of the cheesiest, over the top movies I've ever seen. I think the deal is, the saga of Bella and Edward is just one of those things that is better left in the mind of the reader...it's too personal to put on the screen. Then again, I'm back to the fact that I loved it....hmmmm....what are your thoughts on the movie vs. the book?