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You are browsing the archives of 2009 June.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
By David Wroblewski
Completed June 28, 2009
 Suspected murder, family loyalty and tragedy all marked David Wroblewski’s debut book, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Loosely based on Hamlet, this doorstop of a book centered on main character, 14-year-old Edgar, and his suspicions of his father’s death.
Edgar was born mute. While going to school, [...]

Oracles of Delphi Keep by Victoria Laurie
Book One
Pages: 552
Ages: 10+
First Published: May 26, 2009
Genre: children, fantasy
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
Ian Wigby sat on his cot, staring at the raging storm just beyond his window.
Reason for Reading: The jacket flap simply intrigued me. The book sounded right up my alley.
Comments: Set in the 1930’s along the White Cliffs [...]

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
Darkest Powers, Book Two
Pages: 360
Ages: 14+
First Published: Apr. 28, 2009
Genre: YA, paranormal, fantasy
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
When the door to my cell clicked open, the first thought that flitted through my doped-up brain was that Liz had changed her mind and come back.
Reason for Reading: Next in the series. I received a review [...]

Science Fiction Classics edited by Tom Pomplun
Graphic Classics, Volume 17
Pages: 144
Ages: 14+
First Published: May 15, 2009
Genre: graphic novel, short stories, science fiction
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
Yes, in a thousand years people will fly on the wings of steam through the air, over the ocean!
Reason for Reading: I’m working my way through the series and it’s not necessary [...]

The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister by Nonna Bannister with Denise George and Carolyn Tomlin
Pages: 299
First Published: March 24, 2009
Genre: non-fiction, memoir
Rating: 3/5
First sentence:
I have now decided that the time has come when I must share my life story — not only with my loving family, but perhaps with all those [...]

And then suddenly an arm of sunlight reached through a high window and opened its hand upon her face. I saw her eyes as clearly as if we had been pressed against one another in a very small space. - from Love Begins in Winter, page 41 -
Simon Van Booy’s five story collection, Love Begins [...]

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
Darkest Powers, Book One
Pages: 390
Ages: 14+
First Published: July 1, 2008
Genre: YA, paranormal, fantasy
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
Mommy forgot to warn the new babysitter about the basement.
Reason for Reading: I’ve been wanting to read this author for sometime now but her adult series has a number of books in it and with all the [...]

Neil Armstrong is My Uncle & Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino
Pages: 154
Ages: 8+
First Published: May 12, 2009
Genre: children, realistic fiction
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
Muscle Man McGinty is a squirrelly runt, a lying snake, and a pitiful excuse for a ten-year-old.
Reason for Reading: Obviously enough, a title like that makes you like twice [...]

Werewolf versus Dragon by David Sinden, Matthew Morgan, Guy Macdonald
Illustrated by Jonny Duddle
An Awfully Beastly Business, Book 1
Pages: 186
Ages: 7-10
First Published: 2008 (UK), Apr. 28, 2009 (NA)
Genre: children, fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
Ulf watched the radar screen.
Reason for Reading: It simply appealed to me: the cover, the title and the write-up.  I thought it would make a [...]

The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon comes out today (June 16th).  If you’d like an advance reader’s copy of this book, enter in the comments below by telling us the best book published in 2009 that you’ve read so far.  If you haven’t read any 2009 books, just state the 2009 book that you’re [...]

The Dark Planet by Patrick Carman
Illustrations by Squire Broel
Atherton, Book 3
Pages: 350
Ages: 9+
First Published: May. 1, 2009
Genre: children, science fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
First sentence:
It was the middle of the night when Red Eye and Socket came into the barracks and started walking between two long rows of beds.
Reason for Reading: The last book in the trilogy.
Comments: The [...]

“See Lola, you’re the only one with nothing to confess. You’re the only one who’s never done anything rotten enough to ask for forgiveness.”
Lola put her had back and laughed, a bright swelling laugh that made the others smile to hear it.
“Why are you laughing?” Mel asked.
“What’s so funny?”
“If only it were that [...]

Zamora’s Ultimate Challenge by M.K. Scott
Pages: 198
First Published: Feb. 1, 2008
Genre: children, fantasy
Rating: 3/5
First sentence:
The little man, named Jemlock, drew his sword, richly decorated with jewels he’d earned during his many adventures.
Reason for Reading: A very long time ago I read a book with the same premise of two children finding themselves inside a video [...]

Rivers of Fire by Patrick Carman
Illustrations by Squire Broel
Atherton, Book 2
Pages: 303
First Published: May 1, 2008
Genre: children, science fiction
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
It was the middle of the night when Edgar entered the fig grove alone.
Reason for Reading: With the release of the last book in the trilogy this year, I decided to read the series. [...]

In this bright and intelligent book, we follow Edward Meopian from the age of 14 to 45 years old (1968-1999). His mother died when he was young and his father did his best to raise him. They live in Minnesota where his father is an encyclopedia salesman.

Edward’s father decides to enrol Edward in private school [...]

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Historical Fiction
2009 Amy Einhorn Books
Finished on 3/25/09
Rating: 5/5 (Outstanding)
Product Description
Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on [...]

As faithful followers of my blog, you all know my love of both YA and Vampires. So it will come as no surprise that the next book I review is Hunted: A House of Night Novel (Book 5) by PC Cast and Kristin Cast (336 pgs, St. Martin’s Press, 2009). Not only is it a selection [...]

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult
Contemporary Fiction
2009 Atria Books
Finished on 2/16/09
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)
ARC - Due out on March 3, 2009
Synopsis (from author’s website):
When Charlotte and Sean O’Keefe’s daughter, Willow, is born with severe osteogenesis imperfecta, they are devastated – she will suffer hundreds of broken bones as she grows, a lifetime of pain. As the [...]

For as long as I can remember, I have loved reading the Ziggy cartoons. He’s such an inspirational little guy that always seems to see the bright side of every bad thing that happens to him.
Zig-Zagging: A Memoir, Loving Madly, Losing Badly….How Ziggy Saved my Life is written by Tom Wilson Jr. He is the [...]

The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth
Medical History/Memoir
2009 Penguin
Finished on 4/28/09
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)
Product Description
An unforgettable story of the joy of motherhood, the bravery of a community, and the hope of one extraordinary woman
At the age of twenty-two, Jennifer Worth leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent [...]