Lucky For Good

Lucky for Good

Susan Patron (2011)

Third in the Lucky of Hard Pan series. Hard to pin down what this book is "about" except it's about Lucky and how she deals with different events -- school bully, friend leaving, religious beliefs, her absent father.... Good characters, interesting stories.

Adoration of Jenna Fox

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Mary Pearson (2008)

A techno-mystery thriller with questions of medical (and parental) ethics. Good supporting characters, quick paced, futuristic, and a little family drama. A girl awakes from a terrible car accident and must put together the mysterious pieces of her life. Friendship and a bit of teen romance, plus her strong courage, help her start figuring things out.

And now for our Guest Reviewer, Son #3:

I liked the book because it is suspenseful. Jenna Fox is a 17 year old girl that just woke up from a coma and is dealing with amnesia. She slowly finds out the danger of the whole truth about her survival of a deadly accident. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a good story of the future of illegal medicine.

Al Capone Stole My Post

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Gennifer Choldenko (2004)

Newbery Honor

One of Son #1's faves growing up, I think he still re-reads it once in awhile. Good brother/sister story as well as a family's struggle with struggling through the Depression and dealing with an autistic child.  Interesting supporting characters, realistic family dynamics/drama, but the star is Moose and his roller coaster of emotions as he deals with being the new kid at school and having a sister with special needs.  Humorous, quick paced, and can lead many ways in discussion.

Some of my students read this and became really interested in Alcatraz, insisting this was a gangster book. Ok. Capone and the prisoners are a part of the story, and if that's what piqued their interest I'll go with it. There is a sequel too, but it's still in the "Read Me" stack. And of course there's a website!

.....



Thought for sure I already read this one, but can't find a post here. Hmm. But it is one of the very first books in my very first Book Club so I'm checking around for stuff to go with it.

Kids love prisons, don't they?

Alcatrez Prison Virtual Tour

http://www.quia.com/hm/299947.html

Zia

Zia

by Scott O'Dell (1976)

The sequel to Island of the Blue Dolphins, although the girl from the island is a minor character; her niece lives in a Santa Barbara mission and longs both to meet/rescue her independent island Aunt and gain her own freedom.  Great for whatever year students study California history and the Missions, and for discussions of how and when to do the right thing -- would you tell the truth if it landed you in jail?

The Alchemyst

The Alchemyst

by Michael Scott (2007)

I generally try to stay away from books that

a) Son #2 retells me for a breathless hour every morning,
b) looks to be part of a series of 6 (minimum) books,
c) and, in sort of a combo deal of a and b, Son #2 reads said series at a pace of a book a night so that by the end of the week his summaries are so fantasy-imbibed and sleep-deprived as to be fairly incomprehensible...

But of course he's still cute enough to convince me once in a while to try a book.  I like this one for the sibling rivalry and the mythical characters -- of all cultures and times, mixed together in a good vs evil plot -- but as I look at how few pages I have left compared to how many unresolved issues (what about the brother's powers? do we trust this Flammel guy?!?), I know I've been sucked in again.  Fast paced, lots of characters, a little humor, contemporary setting/references.

By The Great Horn Spoon!

By The Great Horn Spoon!

by Sid Fleischman  (1963)

A rip-roarin' adventure with a happy ending!

and as far as exactly who or what is a horn spoon, great or otherwise, I'm not sure this explanation helps...