Finally Finished!

My youngest daughter and I started reading this series in the fall of 2010. We have so enjoyed reading them, and I highly recommend the entire series to lovers of magic everywhere! There are 15 books in the series, so, with my Master's degree and other reading, it did take me some time to finish the entire series. Finally though, the story has reached a most satisfactory conclusion! I loved the wolves, the owls and all the characters throughout the series. At times I thought that Kathryn Lasky was wandering with the story, but she always managed to bring the story back to the main characters and refocus the attention. This series is so much more than meets the eye....

This One Should be Mandatory Reading for Every 5th - 8th Grader

I say that this book should be required reading for every 5th -8th grader, but truly every person should read this book. It is the tramatic yet inspiring story of one girl who survived being bullied in middle school/ early highschool. She experienced events that just made me shake with anger and amazement at how children could possibly be so cruel to one another.

This story really brings home that impact that bullying has - not just on the victims, but also their families. The implications are far reaching and long lasting. Some victims never overcome the trauma that they experienced in a place that is supposed to be safe.

If you have children, please, please, please talk to them about the repurcussions that their words and actions have on other people. Let's create a world that has zero toleriance for bullying.

In the seventh book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, Lasky steps away from our cast of favorites at the great Ga'Hoole tree to introduce some new characters.

This is the story of Nyroc, hatching of that despised Kludd and his evil mate, Nyra. Born under the auspicious sign of the eclipse, Nyroc is portended to have a great capacity for good, or a terrible capacity for evil. As Nyroc grows, he experiences all the typical Owl ceremonies and awaits his Pure Ones "special" ceremony - or Tupsi - with great anticipation. But what does it all have to do with his best friend, Phillip? And what are the strange images he sees in the fires of his father's burial ceremony blaze? What is the truth? His visions, or the stories his mother has told him?

This is a great book about love, the power of friendship and what it means to have free will.

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

This is the story of a brother and sister, Whit and Wisty Allgood, who are taken from their beds in the dead of night by the New World Order. They stand accused, of all things, of being a Witch and a Wizard. Oddly enough, they actually are

The best part of the story is references to "the one who is the One". Considering the time frame in which the story was written, the references to a man who has the power over the masses with his words is both timely and scary. I am looking forward to the second book in the series to see if Whit and Witsy can save the children of the future and take down the New World order. Witsy is a red-head, so I have no doubt that she is going to kick some ass and take names.

13 Reasons Why

This is the story of Hannah Baker, and the 13 reasons that impacted her decision to end her life. I started reading this book because my 5th and 6th grade girls like supernatural stories. I thought this would be right up their alley.

This book is so powerful and though this is his first book, Jay Asher has an incredible voice. He was able to speak to how even the smallest of events can and do impact the lives of other people. I think that this is a wonderful book for all young adults and people everywhere can read. It's a powerful reminder to all of us about the butterfly effect that our actions take - a word spoken in anger, an act of dishonesty, saying and doing the wrong things because of peer pressure.... it's all in there!

For any and all, I highly recommend this book!

This is the touching story of a young girl whose life comes to a close much to early; however, this is not a story about her death but about what happens after. Riley has a difficult time moving beyond the Earth plane, but with the help of her loving dog Buttercup she finally arrives in the Here and Now, only to discover that her life is far from over.

Riley and Buttercup have been given a job, as soul catchers. Their first assignment is the "Radiant boy", a ghost that has been haunting an ancient English castle for centuries. Can Riley and Buttercup succeed and help the Radiant boy find his way to the bridge to Here and Now?

I picked this book up because my 5th grade girls seem to have a penchant for the supernatural and other-worldly type stories. This book has many good messages in it like acceptance of yourself for who you are and never, ever judging a book by it's cover.

If you have a young reader who enjoys these kinds of stories, I recommend Radiance.

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!

When You Reach Me

This book was a Newberry Award winner in 2009, and deservedly so. This is a very unique story about a sixth grade girl named Miranda and her friend Sal. Then one day Sal gets punched by another boy on their way home from school and everything starts to unravel. Notes start to appear with clues about the future. Will Miranda be able to save her friendship? What about the mysterious note that says Tesser Well? Does it reference Miranda's favorite story. Check it out to see.

If you loved A Wrinkle in Time, this book is for you.

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.

Julie of the Wolves

To her friends in her Eskimo village, she is Miyax, to her friends in San Francisco, she is Julie.

Miyax is thirteen years old and she is running away. The problem is, Miyax lives in Alaska, she is alone on the Barrows and the weather is beginning to turn. Her father was a great Eskimo hunter who taught her many things, Will his lessons help her to survive?

She will need some help, and that is where a pack of wild wolves comes in. Amaroug, the great leader of the wolves, befriends Julie and she is eventually accepted into the Pack. During her journey, Miyax embraces her heritage, learns about herself, and builds a true friendship with the wolves.

When the time comes for Miyax to choose between the old ways and the new, which one will she chose? Is she Miyax of the Eskimos? Or Julie of the Wolves?

This is a wonderful, wonderful story and my fifth grader reading group comprised of girls and boys all enjoyed it. There are some difficult and adult situations in the book, but the details are obscured so that just enough information is given, but not too much. This book is a reminder that we are all stronger than we think we are. I would highly recommend this book to young adult readers.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

When I was a young girl, this was one of my absolute favorite stories. I loved the tale of a young woman struggling to fit it and finding ways to do so seemingly against all the odds. I think that is a story that just about every young girl can relate to. More than that though, The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a story of friendship, loyalty and finally love.

Kit is a strong female character for young women everywhere to look up to and admire. In a literary world crowded with pathetic codependents like Bella Swann from Twilight, our daughters need more examples of young women that the can admire. Kit does not need a man to establish her sense of self, unlike Bella Swann, but rather develops her own strength of character. I admire Kit because she is struggling through so much difficulty - the death of a loved one, the move to a strange new place, the intolerance of those around her - and yet, somehow she always chooses to do the right thing and further, encourages others around her to do the same.

This book has stood the test of time. It has been popular since I was a child and it still speaks to young girls today just as it did back then. I highly recommend it, especially for girls of an impressionable age looking to read a wonderful book about friendship and love and needing young lady role models that they can truly admire.

For my Fifth Grade Reading Group

I faciliate a fifth grade reading group. I have six kids - 3 boys and 3 girls. I love meeting with them every week and it never ceases to amaze me what they take away from any given story. I feel like I learn so much more from them than they actually learn from me, but that's just part of being in a book club I guess.

Right now we are reading a book called Touching Spirit Bear together that I epect to be reviewing very soon. In addition to talking about books we have read together though, we also talk about bookds they are reading, what they like about them, what the learned from them, etc.... Since today is the 12th and Lightning Thief hysteria is in full gear, I thought I would offer my thoughts. My kids begged me to read this one - they all know what a Pottermaniac I am, so they wanted to compare and contrast. I finished Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters with three more books in the series left to go.

So here are my thoughts so far:

I can definitely see why the book is so appealing, especially to the boys. It is full of action and the story never stops. It is my opinion that this work reads more like a screenplay than a book and I believe that it was the authors intention to make it into a movie all along. I think that the idea of gods and goddesses and more importantly the moving of Mt. Olympus to reflect the heart of Western Civilizaton to be quite interesting. I think that Percy Jackson is very American while Harry Potter is definitely very British. I adored Greek Mythology when I was a child and it was fun to revisit some old favorites in this new venue.

In comparision to Harry Potter - well, Harry is written by J.K. Rowling - a woman and personal hero of mine. She is an amazing author that paints all of her characters with such a fine brush. The character development and plot in Harry is much more advanced and developed than in The Lightning Thief. Rick Riordan writes a good story, but he is like the Arnold Schwartzenegger of the fanasy literature world. Bang, bang, shot it up and make things happen. So far the character development in the first two books relies primarily on the events happening around the characters and not on the characters themselves.

I see many similarities between the two books - both center around three characters - 2 boys and a girl. Both invovle children who are in danger from dark forces surrounding them and both have a safe have for said children - one a school and the other a camp - where said children are "sorted" into houses or cabins. Both have at their heart a young boy about whose future prophecies have been made, and I could go on and one. There are some subtle differences, for example both of Percy's parents are alive, but all in all, I find the similarities remarkable.

I will love Harry until I die. I enjoyed reading Lightning Thief and plan to finish the series, but it will never have the magic that Harry Potter did. That said, I am very much looking forward to the movies which I think will be amazing. Especially since I believe that was the intent of the author from the inception of the story.