"Pretties"--by Scott Westerfeld

I didn't want to put it down.  You definitely need to read "Uglies" first in order to understand everything in this book.  I really enjoyed how the story built on from the last book and just kept going.  I never got bored reading it and I was a little impatient about things and had trouble with wanting to know what was going to happen.  I was a really good book.  I'm so excited to read the next one!

"Uglies"--by Scott Westerfeld

I really liked this book.  I think most kids 6th grade and up would enjoy reading it.  It made me think the way it would be if life were really this way.  It was nice having a book that got me to really think about the way life is.

"River Secrets"--by Shannon Hale

I thought this was a really good book.  I enjoyed reading more about Razo.  I actually liked this one better than "Goose Girl" and "Enna Burning", though those are both really good books.  I would recommend high school students to read this book.  It was interesting that some of the Tiran did want peace and some wanted to go back to war.  Some of the soldiers seemed to be going to extraordinary lengths to go back to war.  It was also interesting how she tied in water speaking, a lot like how the other books she had fire speaking and wind speaking.  It was definitely a very good book.

"Adeline Street "--by Carol Lynch Williams

Leah grows a lot during the book.  I thought it was a good book and I enjoyed seeing that happen.  It definitely helped finish up "Kelly & Me".  I'm glad I read this book after reading the first one.

"Kelly and Me"--by Carol Lynch Williams

If you haven't noticed I have been reading a lot of her books lately and I decided to do this after meeting her.  This wasn't my favorite book of hers, but it was still good.  It did make me cry towards the end, but there are a lot of happy and funny parts in it as well.  She did a really good job at writing/describing things as an 11/12 year old would.  

"Christmas in Heaven"--by Carol Lynch Williams

This was a pretty good book.  The thing I liked most about it is the fact that she is really good at writing at the age of the kid telling the story.  It definitely has is happy, funny, and sad parts.  I really liked how the book ended.

"If I Forget, You Remember"--by Carol Lynch Williams

I have heard a lot of good things about this book, so I decided to read based on that.  I am glad that I decided to read it.  This book made me think about my great-grandfather, he had Alzheimer's for the last 10 years of his life and it was difficult seeing him that way. Carol did a good job at describing Elyse's feelings about her grandmother having it.  This book almost got me crying.  It is definitely a book I would recommend others to read.  

"The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson"--by Carol Lynch Williams

This book really touched me.  I haven't known anybody that was ever abused, but this really makes you realize that it happens and it is definitely not always the dad.  It is kind of sad that none of the neighbors do anything about it being that they at least know that she yells at them a lot.  It also goes to show that we don't know what is going on around us.  This book was really good and I plan on reading more of her books.  It is amazing how much Caity and Kara (her sister) do, they also seem to get stronger throughout the book.  It is hard to imagine someone being able to hurt her own daughters, but it makes you realize that it happens. 

"Among the Hidden"--Margaret Peterson Haddix

I thought this was a good book.  It make me think about what it would be like to live in a totalitarian society.   I wouldn't want to live in a place that controls that amount of children I have.  Though it does make you think about that stuff and makes you realize that you don't want the government to have that much control.  This was an short book and an easy read.  I can see kids liking it.  It was definitely much more interesting once Luke met Jen. 

"Book of a Thousand Days"--Shannon Hale

This book is a lot different than her other books.  It is written more like a journal and it took me a little while to get into it.  I got much more into it during the second part of the book.  I really enjoyed it and I thought it was a good story that was well written.  So far, I have liked all of the books of Shannon Hale that I have read.  

"The Giver"--Lois Lowry

I didn't know what this book was about and I have never read anything like it.  I really liked it.  It was definitely one of those that I just could not put down.  This book definitely made me think about the way life is now and I am glad that it isn't like the community that they are from.  I mean I wouldn't want everything to be the same.  I would definitely get bored with my life.  

I don't know if 12 year-olds would really get it though.  

"Princess Academy"--Shannon Hale

Wow, this was a good book.  I really liked how this story wasn't quite what I expected and I really liked how the story turned out.  I really liked the way she had Miri's thoughts.  I really seemed like the way a 14 year-old would think.  

"Enna Burning"--by Shannon Hale

This was a really good book; I didn't think it was as good as her other book "The Goose Girl".  I really enjoyed reading it.  It's about Isi's friend Enna, that you meet in the first book.  She goes through a lot during through the book and I thought it was very well written.  My favorite part was when Isi went to the camp where Enna was being held prisoner, this is when she realizes what it is that she needs to do...I don't want to give too much away.

I would recommend this book to older children/teenagers.  

"The Goose Girl"--by Shannon Hale

What girl doesn't enjoy reading a princess book?  I really liked this book.  This has got to be my one of my favorite books.  I will definitely buy it and hopefully have the time to read it again.  

This is definitely not a book for very young readers.  This book is probably good for those 15 and older.  It is probably a good thing that all of the bad things happened being that is what made the story and it made Ani/Isi who she is.  It also made her appreciate her life more.  I also liked that she knew how to communicate with some animals (talk in the animals language) and that things like wind have a language as well).  There are some interesting views in this book, that I really enjoyed.  It is such a good book!  

"Ida B"--by Katherine Hannigan

I decided to read this book because everyone that has read it, has really good things to say about it.

Wow, this book was really good.  She has such interesting views on things; which is understandable being that she is going through so much at the time.  I am glad that she was happy at the end of the book.  I would recommend this book to young readers, girls would probably like it more than boys though.  

"The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

At first I didn't know if I was going to like the book or not.  I ended up really liking the book.  I never would have thought that a seventh grade boy would be interested in Shakespeare.  There are probably a lot of people that may not like this book, but I definitely did enjoy it.  There are several funny parts and just as many serious parts.  One of my favorite parts is when Holling decided to win the cross country race even though he knew the eighth graders would hate him for it.  At the beginning of the race he wasn't going to try and get first, but he decided to once he heard his teacher tell him to "pass those boys".  This is definitely a book I would recommend for others to read.  

"Knots in My Yo-yo String: The Autobiography of a Kid" by Jerry Spinelli

I really like this book. It was really funny and I enjoyed finding out how he got some of his ideas for his books. There are things about him that I would think are normal about boys that age; like enjoying sports. Though he seemed to be a good writer from a very early age. That is one thing that got my attention. I also liked that there were photographs in the book as well, so you knew who or what he was talking about. The pictures made it to where you get to know him even better as a kid.

"Maniac Magee"--by Jerry Spinelli

I really like this book and think it is a good book for everybody to read. I really like Jeffrey/Magee's thoughts about the black side of town. The fact that he doesn't think that they look black and he thinks they look like all sorts of differents colors; dark fudge, light fudge, and acorn are a few examples.
The other thing I liked about this book, is the fact that it shows that not all of the people cared about the color of the skin. Most of them didn't really understand the other side of town and Maniac made it to where some of them realized they weren't any different.
I am not surprised that this author won the Newbery Award for this book. It was very well written.

"The Slave Dancer"--by Paula Fox

This book really makes you think about the things were for the slaves. It is about a boy named Jessie that gets kidnapped so he can play music on a slave ship. The story is very interesting and captivating. I really liked this book. I think it was well written and would recommend it to just about anybody. Definitely would be best to have kids not read it until they are teenagers or have a greater understanding of the way history can be.

"A Mother to Embarrass Me" by Carol Lynch Williams

This was definitely a funny book and I think many teenaged girls would be able to relate to her. It reminded me how I used to be embarrassed by my parents too. But it wasn't one of my favorite books. It did make me laugh though and if you want to read something a little funny, then you should read this book.

"The Watsons Go to Birminghom--1963" by Christopher Paul Curtis

I have heard a lot about what happened in the South during that time, but have never read a book that brings it up. It is sad that this book has some truth to it, but I feel as though it is important for kids to understand what has happened in our countries past. I think this book is more for middle school or high school aged kids; being that they probably wouldn't understand everything if they were much younger.
I liked this book a lot. I had a hard time putting it down. I liked how I could see what was happening.

"Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

There are probably some parents out there that wouldn't want there kids to read this book. I feel as though she wrote it really good, being what it is about. It would be a good book for someone to read that has gone through the same things (being sexually abused or raped), and it definitely doesn't go into details about this. It just goes through her thoughts and feelings about herself and what happened for the following year. I probably wouldn't have my kids read it until they are old enough to understand this sort of stuff and that is entirely up to the parents' when that is. I really enjoyed this book and had a really hard time putting it down to do other stuff. The way she wrote it almost makes it to where it seems like you are seeing what is happening instead of reading it.

"Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

I didn't really get into the book until I was several chapters into it. I do think this book would be good for fifth or sixth grade girls to read. It brings about a subject that might be hard for some parents to talk about; which would be whether or not to do things just to fit in. This book is about an odd girl that named herself Stargirl and you get to see her life through a boys perspective. It goes to show that highschool is hard for everybody, but she doesn't seem to care what other people think about her. She would be a great example for young girls these days. I did end up really liking the book, even though I couldn't seem to really enjoy it at first. But then it was hard to put down.

"Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast" by Robin McKinley

This book is definitely for teenaged girls. She definitely keeps it clean; but she doesn't dumb it down either. I prefer this story over the movie "Beauty and the Beast" done by Disney. My favorite part of the book is the first time she meets the Beast. She notices that he is huge and hairy, but he has eyes like a humans. Though she doesn't realize then that he really is human underneath it all. I will say that it is a little cheesy, but a very good book and written well.

"Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

I loved this book. It was hard for me to put it down. The details he goes into describing what is happening just pulls you into the book. My favorite part of the book is after he gets attacked by the moose and the tornado. Brian (the main character) after first feels as though he should just give up and die. Then when he woke up the next day he had an epiphany of sorts that made him realize he had made it this far with just the hatchet, and he still had that hatchet. This made him a stronger boy and made it to where he felt he could do anything.I would recommend this book to all those that like to read and to boys around 5th grade to read because this book could make it to where they enjoy reading.

My First Blog

I am starting this blog for a class I am taking this semester. This class is Children's Literature. We are required to read approximately 12 books during the semester and I have decided to do a blog on it; because we were given this as a choice for one of our assignments. So, the rest of my blogs will be my thoughts and opinions on these books.