Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I don't even know how to begin to write about this book.  I have been in a bit of a reading rut lately, picking up books only to abandom them after ten pages.  This is no reflection of the book, just my reading ADD.  I did this with this book...picked it up, read couple pages, then left it for a couple days.  Pick it up again, read a couple of pages, then left it for another couple days...you get the idea. 

So I had a hard time getting into the flow of the book.  The first part of the book is a young women's account of how she got captured by the Gestapo and is now forced to reveal war secrets.  The narrative is somewhat disjointed, purposefully done by the author, and the reader is left questioning.  Who is this woman, what exactly does she do for the British government, how did she get captured???  The second part of the book is told by the young woman's best friend, Maggie;  this is where the story really picks up and is literally, unputdownable.  The holes and questions that were left in the first part are answered and the reader is feverishly turning pages to find out what really happened. 

I knew a book about WWII is not going to be a light, summer read, but man this leaves your heart in pieces, in the best possible way. 

Amazon Best Teen Books of the Month, May 2012: Rich in historical detail and intrigue, Code Name Verity is a vivid reminder of what makes historical fiction so compelling. In exchange for a temporary stay of execution and lesser forms of torture, a young female spy captured in Nazi-occupied France writes a confession of her activities in the Resistance. Her story is that of two women who should never have crossed paths, yet were destined to become the best of friends and embark upon the covert mission that would determine which of them would live or die. Courage born of friendship, fierce hope, surprising twists, and ironies abound in this spell-binding novel that will appeal to teens and adult readers alike.--Seira Wilson

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

This is the third installment in the Mortal Instrument series...and I am still loving it.  While I agree with the review below - the story was somewhat predictable - I still was able to go along for the ride.  Jace and Clary are still one of my favorite pseudo-couples (the whole sibling thing did make me a tad gaggy) and then there is Simon - I Simon. 

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–In the two previous books, Clary learns that she is a member of a race of demon-hunters and that she has the special ability to create new versions of the runes that give these Shadowhunters their power. Her mother has been hiding the truth from her for years to protect her from her father, Valentine, a cult-leader-turned-villain who is seeking to gain control over the Shadowhunters by obtaining the three Mortal Instruments. Now, Valentine has only one Mortal Instrument left to find, and the Shadowhunters must ally with the despised Downworlders, including vampires, werewolves, and fairies, to prepare their final defense. The question of whether Clary will be able to harness her unique abilities in time to help–and whether they will let her–is sidelined by the question of whether her love interest, Jace, is really her brother. Though the story is hampered by predictability and overblown writing, Clare continues her talent for mixing hip, modern humor with traditional fantasy, and fans eagerly awaiting the series conclusion should come away more than satisfied.–Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

I had really, really high hopes for this book, and maybe that was the problem.  I love dystopian fiction, I really do,  and this had such a cool premise - the earth's rotation is slowing down.  Longer days and longer nights, how do we as a society function with our days and nights all mixed  up?  Julia is 10 when all this begins to happen - a tough age in the best of circumstances - and we see her trying to live a "normal" life in an abnormal world.  I found myself not caring very much about the characters and whether or not they would survive this slow apocalypse.


Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2012: In The Age of Miracles, the world is ending not with a bang so much as a long, drawn-out whimper. And it turns out the whimper can be a lot harder to cope with. The Earth's rotation slows, gradually stretching out days and nights and subtly affecting the planet's gravity. The looming apocalypse parallels the adolescent struggles of 10-year-old Julia, as her comfortable suburban life succumbs to a sort of domestic deterioration. Julia confronts her parents' faltering marriage, illness, the death of a loved one, her first love, and her first heartbreak. Karen Thompson Walker is a gifted storyteller. Her language is precise and poetic, but style never overpowers the realism she imbues to her characters and the slowing Earth they inhabit. Most impressively, Thompson Walker has written a coming-of-age tale that asks whether it's worth coming of age at all in a world that might end at any minute. Like the best stories about the end of the world, The Age of Miracles is about the existence of hope and whether it can prevail in the face of uncertainty. --Kevin Nguyen

The Summer I Lost It by Natalie Kath

Kat is like every other 14 year old girl, except she is struggling to lose weight.  It is the summer before her freshman year in high school and she wants to enter school as a new person, with a brand new body. 

This is cute - nothing earth shattering - just cute.  This is cataloged at our library as a Y (Young Adult) and this is definitely *NOT* Young Adult.  I would say it is perfect for any middle grade girl (4-6).  I do bristle a bit at the fact that her self esteem is wrapped up in losing weight but Kat does come to the conclusion that she has to do this for herself NOT to get the guy...so there is a plus.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

As the school year winds down most parents are taking a deep breath of relief...relief from homework and sports and schedules...it is wonderful.  However, if you know any librarians, summer is when we gear up for Summer Reading Program.  In addition to all the programs we have planned, we are barraged by kids looking for their summer reading books.  I was getting all my summer reading lists organized and books ordered, when I started to come across all these books that I "meant" to read but sadly they got pushed aside for something else.  So I am trying to go back and re-read some of these treasures. 

First up is, If I Stay by Gayle Forman.  This has been on my radar for awhile and now I know why this is on alot of "best" lists.  It is really, really good, SAD, but good.  Reading it from an adult perspective, from a mom perspective, makes it even more heart breaking.  So, while this is not a light, fun, beachy read, it is definitely worth your time.

Book Description

A critically acclaimed novel that will change the way you look at life, love, and family.

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

For the people who read my blog (all four of you lol) I tend to *like* many of the books I review.  It is not that I have never met a book I didn't like, it is more that I don't really finish books I don't love.  I am not a professional reviewer, I am a librarian, and because of that I try to stay on top of what is popular, trending, critically reviewed ect.  But I am not bound to finish a book I hate...sooooo my reviews tend to be positive.  Which is fine.  Until you read a book that is *so good*, that you want to jump up and down and scream - READ THIS BOOK NOW!!!  I know I have said that before but I mean it now, really, trust me...

So I try not to write too much personal stuff on this blog, but I am going out on the proverbial limb now, because this book touched me on so many levels.  As a parent of a child with special needs I guess the reasons seem obvious why I loved this book - I have that kid, the one that people sometimes look at, the one that one darling classmate described as retarded.  (On a side note, that peach of a kid has not seen this side of the honor roll. While my girl has been on it - every.single.semester. But I digress.)  She just has a different way of communicating, of seeing the world and she is awesome - but sometimes people miss that. 

There are so many other reasons why I loved, loved loved this book.  We all have felt like Auggie, God knows I did in middle school.  There were times reading this book that I literally cried from the memories of mean, hateful kids.  But I also think we have been (or are capable of being) Julian - the mean kid.  And we have to remember that lives inside everyone too.  BUT we can overcome that part and remember what Mr. Tushman imparts to the class:  "be kinder than necessary"  Isn't that something we should be teaching our kids - reminding ourselves!!!

Book Description via Amazon

Publication Date: March 1, 2012

"Wonder" is the funny, sweet and incredibly moving story of Auggie Pullman. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, this shy, bright ten-year-old has been home-schooled by his parents for his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the stares and cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, Auggie is being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. The thing is, Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all? Through the voices of Auggie, his big sister Via, and his new friends Jack and Summer, "Wonder" follows Auggie's journey through his first year at Beecher Prep. Frank, powerful, warm and often heart-breaking, "Wonder" is a book you'll read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page.

Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon

I liked it, I definitely like it.  A book about a woman in her forties, *cough* in her midlife, questioning her life, her marriage, her work, her kids...yup I can relate (I am approaching 40 at warp speed).  It was a tad predictable but I loved the narrative flow - from interspersing facebook status updates, to reading Alice's answers to the "marriage questionnaire".  This is a perfect beach read, just in time for the summer!

Book Description via Amazon.com

For fans of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary and Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It comes an irresistible novel of a woman losing herself . . . and finding herself again . . . in the middle of her life.

Maybe it was those extra five pounds I’d gained. Maybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her. Maybe it was because after almost twenty years of marriage my husband and I seemed to be running out of things to say to each other.

But when the anonymous online study called “Marriage in the 21st Century” showed up in my inbox, I had no idea how profoundly it would change my life. It wasn’t long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101).

And, just like that, I found myself answering questions.

7. Sometimes I tell him he’s snoring when he’s not snoring so he’ll sleep in the guest room and I can have the bed all to myself.

61. Chet Baker on the tape player. He was cutting peppers for the salad. I looked at those hands and thought, I am going to have this man’s children.

67. To not want what you don’t have. What you can’t have. What you shouldn’t have.

32. That if we weren’t careful, it was possible to forget one another.

Before the study, my life was an endless blur of school lunches and doctor’s appointments, family dinners, budgets, and trying to discern the fastest-moving line at the grocery store. I was Alice Buckle: spouse of William and mother to Zoe and Peter, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions.

But these days, I’m also Wife 22. And somehow, my anonymous correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn. Soon, I’ll have to make a decision—one that will affect my family, my marriage, my whole life. But at the moment, I’m too busy answering questions.

As it turns out, confession can be a very powerful aphrodisiac.