PEACE LOVE AND BABY DUCKS posted by Mrs. Schauer

PEACE, LOVE AND BABY DUCKS
by Lauren Myracle
AR: Yes
Interest Level: Middle and Upper Grades

I got so excited when I was at the Penguin Book Publishers booth and saw this book was available as an advanced reader's copy. First of all, the cover...isn't it GREAT? Secondly, the fact that it's by Lauren Myracle and won't be actually published until May, and I had a chance to grab a copy...well, yeah....I snatched it up! I already have a shopping cart full of books I want to order as soon as they're available, and this one is at the top of the list! (Along with the new Sarah Dessen, which won't be published till June!!!!) OK, I got fussed at by the rep working the booth for taking books without asking, but GOSH, to see them just sitting there...calling my name...restraint was just TOO much to ask of me! But back to this book....

PEACE, LOVE & BABY DUCKS is a wonderful story about what it means to be a sister. Carly and Anna have always been rock-solid close. They live in Atlanta and go to an exclusive private Christian school. Their home is in the best neighborhood and have everything money can buy. Appearances, especially to their parents, are everything.

During the summer after her own first year of high school (which is also the summer before her sister's first year) Carly spends six weeks working in the wilderness of the Tennessee mountains. During this time, she connects with nature and realizes that there is so much more to life than shopping, designer clothes, and getting a tan. Being in the wilderness felt so real to her, that her goal for her upcoming sophomore year is to hold onto that realness. Being there made her realize just how fake a her Atlanta life could be.

During the very same summer that Carly was finding out how "real" the world was outside of their small corner of Atlanta, her baby sister Anna was going through her own transformation. She goes from being "cute little Anna"to the kind of girls at which guys ogle and stare. Anna's entering high school doesn't look like it's going to be the "guidance job" for Carly, that she originally thought it was going to be.

Toss in a hot, intense, guitar-playing guy to drool over and dream about, a "best friend guy" that is drooling over and dreaming about HER, and the fact that her sister is the girl that EVERYONE is drooling over and dreaming about...well, let's just say...some drama ensues.

Read this book and experience with Carly and Anna...the joy, laughter, pain, sorrow, frustration, tears, anger, embarrassment, protectiveness, understanding, forgiveness, peace and love that's involved in being a sister. Peace, love, and yes....baby ducks, are woven into this book the way only an author like Lauren Myracle can weave them.

This one will be available as soon as it's released in May!

BOOST, by Kathy Mackel posted by Mrs. Schauer

BOOST
by Kathy Mackel
AR: Yes
Interest Level: Middle and Upper Grades

I bought this book over spring break when I was at Barnes and Noble browsing for titles that reached out and GRABBED me...this one did, and man...the book grabbed hold of me from the first page! When I saw the cover, I immediately thought of Shannon, one of our own sophomore basketball players right here in Pettus--because I knew it was a book she'd be drawn to immediately. (By the way, I was right--as soon as I finished it, she snatched it away from me!)

BOOST is about Savvy, a 6"2 thirteen year old who eats, sleeps, breathes...LIVES...for basketball. Even though she's still in junior high, she decides to try out for the U-18 girls' elite basketball team. The older girls are pretty rough on her, but it doesn't take long for her skill and natural born talent to make everyone sit up and take notice--soon, she's starting at Center.

During a pivotal game against their arch-rival team, a bag of pills is found in Savvy's gym bag--and an investigation ensues. The pills are tested and found to be anabolic steroids. Could someone really resent her that much, to set her up this way? Even worse...could Savvy's basketball career mean so much to her, that she'd go to any length to succeed? You'll have to read the book to find out!

I have to admit there's a LOT of basketball jargon in here, that flew right over my head--I'm not too great about understanding sports--but I know there are LOADS of kids out there who will absolutely love this book. So...when Shannon's done...check with Mrs. Staples (she's signed up to read it next) or Mrs. Schauer to see about getting on the waiting list for it.

Oh--I'm creating a book trailer for this one--but it won't be posted for a week or so.

LIFE ON THE REFRIGERATOR DOOR, by Alice Kuipers posted by Mrs. Schauer

LIFE ON THE REFRIGERATOR DOOR
by Alice Kuipers
AR: Yes (Thanks, Samantha B, for writing the quiz! I made a 100 on it!)
Interest Level: Middle and Upper Grades

My daughter Hailee suggested I take this book with me on my flight to Ft. Worth yesterday, and I loved it! It is a quick read--I finished it in about an hour--and was sad when I was done. The entire book is made up of short notes between a mother and daughter, that they leave for one another daily, on the refrigerator door. The daughter is fifteen and the mom is a doctor, who is at work so much, that many times these notes are their only form of communication for days at a time. Their notes are full of all the normal things moms and daughters go through. There are shopping lists, requests for money, discussions about boyfriends, and tidbits about their days. The notes take on a more serious tone when the mom is diagnosed with breast cancer...I don't want to give away any more than that, because I'd rather people read the book to find out what happens...isnt' that typical of me?