Bindy Mackenzie

So. I have been reading, but not blogging. I don't like when I do this, because things get a little fuzzy. I will be working backwards for the next few titles.

This is a book that I have been meaning to read for a while. I loved The Year of Secret Assignments, Feeling Sorry for Celia - not so much. But Moriarty got me back with this title.

Bindy is an intense girl. Competitive. Smart. And frankly... a little above her fellow students. She simply cannot believe it when a new course called FAD falls into her year 11 plans.

Friends and Development. What is that supposed to mean? For Bindy, it means sitting in a storage room behind a concertina wall, with a bunch of kids who she can no longer stand. It means being forced to socialize with teenagers when Bindy perceives herself as so far beyond that.

Year 11 is not turning out as it should. For one thing, Bindy is no longer living with her folks, rather with her Auntie and Uncle and cousin Bella. For some reason she is unable to concentrate like she usually can. She isn't handing in her assignments, and she's feeling quite ill. And this FAD class is just getting in the way of everything. Even Bindy's habit of transcribing everything she hears no longer brings comfort.

The Life (Murder) of Bindy Mackenzie is a far fetched tale of the best kind. Bindy is thoroughly annoying, yet readers have sympathy for her. We want her to to catch a clue! Moriarty has the pacing down perfectly, and has written a fun, fast story that fans of more recent titles like Pretty Little Liarswill want to revisit.

Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake...

...is over at Tweendom!

Poetry Friday

This is a poem that comes from The Witch Poems, by Barbara Bucknall. This is the last book of poetry that my dad gave me before he passed away. I always got at least one volume of poetry a year, from the time I was six. Usually Shel Silverstein or Dennis Lee struck my fancy. I love how my dad really appreciated and fostered my love of poetry. It makes me miss him even more.

The Witch is Perplexed

The witch is pondering good and evil.
She thinks she is under a curse.
Every time she casts an evil spell,
Using only the best ingredients
And following the recipes in her magic book,
It backfires.
When she tries to do good,
To see if that will work any better,
It often backfires too.
If neither good nor evil works,
She can reach no conclusion.
Friendship is good, but gangsters can be friends.
Marriage is good, but look at the bad marriages.
Religion is good, but look at the fanatics.
They would murder you for their faith.
There is not a single thing that we call good that cannot be bad
Depending on how we take it.
The problem presents no easy solution.
The witch is fast becoming a total relativist.

Before I Die

No. This is not the book jacket. It is simply what I was doing during the last pages of Before I Die, by Jenny Downham.

Tess has leukemia. She's had it for four years, the treatments aren't working all that well, and frankly...she's sick of it all.

Being sixteen, she has come up with a list of things to do before she dies. The first thing on the list is sex. She lets her friend Zoey in on the list and recruits her in her mission. Zoey doesn't even blink. This is what Tess loves about Zoey. She's the only one, that since Tess got sick, still treats her the same.

Sex, however, is only one of the things on Tess' list, and as life moves on, Tess' list morphs, and surprisingly gets longer.

Her life is complicated by her dad, who just wants to save her, her mum, who doesn't live home or attend treatments, and her changing feelings for Adam, the boy next door.

I wasn't sure I wanted to read this so close on the heels of Thirteen Reasons Why, but I am glad I did. Since I read this is arc format, I don't want to give too much plot away, but I think Jenny Downham has done an amazing job of bringing Tess' struggles to life. I love the fact that during much of the book Tess is indeed, unlikeable. She is real and raw. She is going through things that all teens struggle with, and the fact that she has cancer, while devastating, is only part of the story.

Diary of a Fairy Godmother...

...is over at Tweendom!

Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies...

...is over at Tweendom!

Ivy + Bean

So, I almost named my youngest daughter Ivy, after one of my grandma's friends. Back then I thought ... "Hmmm. It may be a bit too old fashioned." Now as Ivy's pop up all over children's books, I am kicking myself.

Here is a read that pairs up nicely with the Grace books!

Bean's mom is always bugging her to go across the street and play with that nice new girl, Ivy. But Bean knows what nice means. Nice = Boring. Why would she want to play with a girl who seems to like to simply sit on her porch alone, when Bean could be tormenting her older sister Nancy? That is a much more interesting pursuit!

One day, however, fate throws Bean and Ivy in the same vicinity and friendship quickly blooms. Getting into mischief is so much sweeter when you have a partner in crime!

Number 1 in the series by annie barrow and sophie blackhall fits nicely into the early independent reader arena. With just enough black and white illustrations and a couple sassy protagonists, Ivy + Bean is sure to find a place in the hearts of fans of Judy Moody, Just Grace, and those on the way to Hannah West.

Still Just Grace

This has been sitting around on my "to read" pile forever, and boy do I wish I had gotten to it earlier. I was reminded once I glimpsed Mindy's review that I had to get on this! But then Harry Potter and Kiki Strike and Smekday happend. But here we are.

Grace is just as lovable as she was in the first installment. Her best friend Mimi is getting a new neighbour, and frankly, Grace is a little bit worried. What if Mimi likes this new kid Max even better than she likes Grace? And to top it all off, Grace has to take a vacation from school to help her grandma move out of her house and into a Seniors apartment. Normally getting a vacation from school when other students do not would be great, but Grace has a bunch of worries now.

Once Grace gets back, she has even more to face. Their student teacher, Mr. Frank, has assigned a group project. Since Grace was away, all of the groups have been selected. Grace gets stuck with two other Graces, one of whom is "the big meanie". Can Grace work with the bossy Grace? Can she stand that Mimi is spending all of her time with Max and Sammy?

Once again, Charise Mericle Harper has written a winning story about family, friendship, and change. Grace has her assumptions challenged, and she is forced to use her empathy powers quite a bit. I love that Grace is still drawing comics and making lists. Her voice is authentic, and I find myself smiling as I read these titles!

Cheater

Ok. So, I did it. I broke down yesterday and read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! The dishes piled up, the girls destroyed the living room, and I sat on my bed under the ceiling fan and read, and read, and read.

I loved it.

I am not going to really blog it for a month. I spent the last week madly dodging spoilers, and I don't feel like inflicting unwanted knowledge on anyone.

Woot!

I FINALLY got my copy of HP 7 in from England today! But of course there is an obstacle. I am helping a friend out and speaking at a YA lit course on Monday. So no reading until that's done. Maybe I can sneak a bit in!

Successfully avoided spoilers thus far! Much different than when I was still working in the public library. I had to sequester myself away so that some kid wouldn't ruin it for me!

I will blog a couple things over at Tweendom that I read over my vacation.

Cheers!

The Babysittin Wars...

...is over at Tweendom!

The Mistress of the Art of Death

There used to be a time in my life when I read quite a few forensic style mysteries. This is the first I have read in a while - this title being a choice of our grown-up summer book club.

The year is 1170 and the place is Cambridgeshire, England. Children are disappearing, and the village is up in arms. Surely the town Jews are to blame. Child sacrifice is part of the culture afterall, isn't it?

King Henry needs to keep all elements of his kingdom in line. He needs the tax money from all areas, he needs peace. He tells his tax collector "Peace is money, Aaron, and money is peace." (p.10)

So how to solve these disappearances? Henry calls for one of the best detectives from Italy by way of his cousin, the King of Sicily. Simon of Naples is to come over to clear the name of the town Jews, and to find out what really happend. And to accompany him, a master in the art of death will come as well. This person is schooled in reading dead bodies for clues as to how they were killed. What Henry and Simon do not count on is that this person is a woman. Adelia is the child of professors and a student from the University of Solerno...one of the only places where a woman is allowed an education.

How will she fare in medieval England where the Church rules as well as the King, and women with knowledge are oft accused of witchcraft? And what will happen to those accused when the children start surfacing -- their bodies obviously violated before death in numerous ways?

Ariana Franklin has written quite the page turner. And, I have to say it ... eeewww! Lots of detail that I would have done quite well without. Mind you, the detail is not over-the-top in a gore for the sake of it way. It certainly ties in with the plot. But what made this title so readable for me, were the characters and their development. Adelia herself is complicated, smart, and torn. Little Ulf is utterly charming in his own messy way, as is his grandmother Glytha.

The reader also gets a real sense of the racism, religious fervor, and overall danger of the times. Unless you were a catholic, white man, your very existence could be wiped out with very little consequence.

While this title didn't capture me as much as last summer's The Historian, I did learn quite a bit about the time period, and it has spurred me on to want to read some non-fiction about the times.

Magical Kids

What a cute book!

Josie Jenkins is very tricky. She can do lots of tricks. But one day, the best trick ever happens to her. Billy Brand has his head stuck in the bars of a fence and nobody can help him. But then Josie feels a tingling in her arms and she knows just what to do! She simply bends the bars! None of the grown-ups believe her until she bends the bars back.

Josie's fame spread quickly, and while she just wants to use her trick to help people, there are other folks who see dollar signs in Josie's strength. How can Josie avoid becoming another pony show?

Once you are finished Josie's story, just flip the book over to read about Sam.

Sam's parents have just won a Dream Maker Tour trip to the moon! Everyone is so excited until they realize that nobody under age 12 is allowed to go. Sam has to stay home. It's all okay, because Sam has plans to stay with his friend Billy Brand. But when the big day comes, Billy's contagious and Sam has nowhere to go.

Then neighbour Hilda Hardbottom volunteers to watch Sam. This is a bit fishy as old Hilda isn't the friendliest neighbour ever...but his parents are in a pickle. Turns out, Hilda's in it for the insurance money. Certainly something has to happen on the first ever trip to the moon for tourists. Sam feels doomed until he gets some help from an unlikely source!

What a fun little duo of stories! Sally Gardner has put together a great text to illustration ratio for the younger set who are beyond easy readers, but in need for a not-too-long story. The illustrations are so cute, and give the reader a real sense of the kids. Quick aside...I know that my students will pick up right away that the twin towers are still in the NYC skyline in Josie's story. Not that it's a big deal, but conversations may arise.

I Cannot Wait....

...to see the movie of the Spiderwick Chronicles.

Go here to watch the trailer!

Woot! And starring Freddie to boot!

Summerhouse Time ...

is over at Tweendom!

Vacation!

I am off to my homeland! Woot!

No computers for a week.

But...these 2 delightful pixies won't be with me either. So expect a pile of reviews when I get back!

Cheers!

Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star...

..is over at Tweendom!

Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb

Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb, is over at Tweendom!

Punished

Logan and his friend Benedict head over to the library to get a head start on their project for school. They have to write 5 whole pages on "What's So Great About Being a Human?" For Logan, this is easy. Baseball. He heads right over to the baseball books and gets to work.

It's not so easy for Benedict, however. He can't seem to pay attention to anything for more than 5 minutes, and before Logan knows it, Benedict smacks him on the back and calls out "tag".

Who can resist?

Logan is soon chasing Benedict down into the Reference Section. He soon crashes into a elderly gentleman. Logan gives him a bit of cheek, and the man says that Logan needs to be punished. He then blows a bunch of dust right in Logan's face.

Logan hightales it out of there only to discover that when he speaks more than 3 words, all he can utter are puns. Will he ever be able to speak normally again? What will his friends and teachers think of this new way of speaking?

Young readers are introduced to wordplay in the form of palindromes, anagrams, redundancies and oxymorons. Definately appealing to those kids who love language.

Candyfloss...

...is over at Tweendom!