Meacham Delivers Again

Leila Meacham's book, Roses, was hailed as the 21st century's Gone With the Wind. I read the book and LOVED it. I loved it so much, that when I saw she was releasing a new book, I didn't even read the synopsis. I just bought it. At the very beginning of the story, I thought that Meacham was retelling Roses from a slightly younger perspective. I was preparing myself for a let down, but let me just say that Leila Meacham delivered again and delivered in a BIG way! Tumbleweeds is the familiar story of three friends - two boys and a girl. Predictably both boys fall in love with Catherine Anne; but her heart only has room for one. Which will it be? There are some familiar plot twists if you read Roses and others that you will never see coming. Every character, from the main characters of Cathy, Trey and John, to the smallest characters like Donny - each character is well thought out and developed. Each character contributes something to the story and moves the plot, providing greater understanding to all that happens. I was shock and awed by this book. I never saw it coming and all I can say is that I truly hope Ms. Meacham writes another!!! BRAVO!

The Guardians of Ga'Hoole

We have a rule in our house - no seeing the movie before you read the book. The book is always better, and you miss so much by cheating and just watching the movie! This could not be more true of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole - books 1 - 3 The Capture, The Journey, and The Rescue. Recently a movie just came out called the Legend of the Guardians based LOOSELY upon these books.

We saw the movie. It was a good movie, but having read the book, such a disappointment. The story was capable of so much more.

The books tell the story of Soren, a young barn owl. He falls from his nest as a hatchling and is captured by evil owls from St. Aegolius's Academy for Orphaned Owls. The problem? Soren isn't an orphan, he's been stolen from his family.

Even worse, the owls at St. Aggie's try to program, or "moon blink" the young owls into believing what they are told. With the help of a persistent young elf owl named Gylfie and some unexpected friends, Soren and Gylfie plan their escape from St. Aggie's.

These books are about so much more than what they seem. They are about love, friendship and what makes a family. They are about truth, belief, and what makes the essence of ourselves.

My whole family is reading this series, even my husband. We have had many discussions about it around the dinner table. I wish more families would read together. I can't recommend these books highly enough. Also by Kathryn Lasky - the Wolves of Beyond, another wonderful story!

We are now on book 7 of 15 and I just can't wait to hear about what happens to Soren and his friends as their adventures continue!

Catching Fire

This book is the follow up to Hunger Games that I reviewed just a few books ago. OMG, it's amazing. I couldn't put it down. It's been a long time since I have been so actively involved in a book and so invested in the characters.
I don't want to give too much away and ruin the book, but if you like sci-fi and fantasy, these books are a MUST. I am counting the days until the final book of the series, entitled Mockingjay is released - August 24th. I can't wait. This book has so much political commentary mixed in, it's just an incredible story. Read it.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This is the story of sixteen year old Katniss Everdean, a poor girl from the Seam of District 12 in Panem, or the remains of what used to be the United States. Her father has died in a mining accident, and Katniss is left to provide for her mother, and twelve year old sister, Prim.

Once the twelve districts rebelled against the dictatorial "Capital" and lost. As a result, each year they must send a tribute - one boy and one girl per district - ages 12 - 18, to fight in the Hunger Games. If you have ever seen Running Man - that's the idea, or think Survivor reality tv, but with real deaths nightly. The rule of the arena is kill or be killed. When Katniss's younger sister Prim is chosen as the girl tribute from district 12, Katniss volunteers to go in her place.

The book is fascinating in the ways that the Capital uses the Hunger Games to manipulate and humiliate it's people. It also shows the desire, drive and resolve of the individual, especially when those they love are threatened. Will Katniss become a victim of the Hunger Games? Or does she find a way to wage her own private rebellion? This one is a real page turner especially with it's political and social implications. I am already reading part two titled Catching Fire.....

The Infinity Gate

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It seems like I have waited for this book to come out for a while. I love Sara Douglass and my fascination with her started some time ago when I read her Wayfarer Redemption series.

This was a very satisfying conclusion to her Dark Glass Mountain series. I will say though that most of her books are interrelated so it helps having past knowledge of the characters. In this book, Axis SunSoar, AKA StarMan, makes a return. Knowing the makeup of his character, and in this book in particular, aspects of his past from the Wayfarer Redemption series, provides helpful insights.

Douglas spins complicated tales, full of complicated and flawed individuals. The heroes are never perfect, but then, they aren't in real life either, are they? I love that she always writes very strong female counterparts, who are powerful in their own right.

If you like Sci-fi and fantasy but haven't read Sara Douglass, I highly recommend most of her books.

The Forgotten Garden

This is the best book that I have read in a few months. It is the absolutely fascinating story of Nell, a little girl who is abandoned on a ship headed for Austrailia. During the journey, Nell has an accident and when the four year old arrives at her destination, she has absolutely no memory of who she is.

On her 21st birthday, Nell finds out that she is not who she has always believed herself to be. This story is the quest for her to find out her true identity. Why are the little white suitcase and the book of fairy tales that she had with her so important?

In spite of being under a mountain of homework, I absolutely could not put this one down. It was a fascinating page turner that keeps you guessing throughout the entire story. It is certainly not predictable and would make an excellent beach read. I highly recommend it!

For any of you that read the Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and enjoyed it, this book is for you!

Code Talkers

I read this book with my fifth grade reading group and it just made for the most amazing discussion. My group was comprised of 10 - 11 year old boys, a difficult age group to encourage reading, and without exception, they all loved this book.

It is amazing how much even I, as an adult, learned from reading this novel. For example, I had no idea how many men we lost in the Pacific to malaria and that the search for a cure to the "mosquito problem" was what brought about DDT. I was amazed at how much information the Code Talkers had to store completely in their memory - the code books never left the base where the Navajo learned the Code to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Even the Code Talkers themselves were assigned protectors among the other Marines to keep them from being captured by the Japanese.

I loved the way that this book was written in the first person. The reader gets to experience everything with Ned Bengay from his departure from his family,to his treatment at the government school, to his time as a Marine. This is an amazing first person narrative of a few of the most colorful members of the Greatest generation. It's a great read and I recommend it highly.

If you have boys in this age group that enjoy Call of Duty or other online WW2 games, this is a great tie in and way to get them reading. I printed the navajo dictionary out from a site online for the boys in my group and they really enjoyed that. It was an awesome experience, being able to share this work with young men and see the real impact that it made on them.