Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Stella Diaz Has Something to Say

Title: Stella Diaz Has Something to Say
Author:  Angela Dominguez
Publisher: Roaring Brook
ISBN: 9781626728585
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Good story for younger readers about believing in yourself and overcoming fears.

Rating: 3/5

Piper

Title: Piper
Author: Jay Asher, Jessica Freeburg, & Jeff Stokely
Publisher: Razorbill
ISBN: 9780448493664
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Interesting take on the Pied Piper story.  Great illustrations and deep characters.

Rating: 4/5

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Title: Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Author: Louis Sachar
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780380698714
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: I never read this one when I was little (I did read and like Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School), and maybe I would have liked this better if I did.  It is very, very dated, and the chapter illustrations just killed it.

Rating: 1/5

The Year of Billy Miller

Title: The Year of Billy Miller
Author: Kevin Henkes
Publisher: Greenwillow
ISBN: 9780062268129
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Good story with great characters for younger readers, although the beginning did not seem to have much to do with the end.

Rating: 3/5

The First Rule of Punk

Title: The First Rule of Punk
Author: Ceclia C. Perez
Publisher: Viking
ISBN: 978-0-425-29040-8
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Great story about (not) fitting in with both your classmates and your culture.  Not sure if zines are still a thing, though, among middle schoolers.

Rating: 4/5

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Stacking the Shelves: 2/18-2/24

For possible review (on Bookloons):
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

First Reads from Goodreads:
Resurgence by A.J. Flower
What Secrets May Say by Chris Lofts
Gramp's Manuscript by Sharyn Jensen
Beyond the Blue Door by Elaine Benwell
The Golden Wand Trilogy by Russell Hasan
When Fire Met Rain by Henry Reign
Pretty Little Killers by Rita Herron
The Secret Page by Al Turner
The Ankeny Arsonist by G.G. Morris
The Last Motley by DJ Edwardson
Killing the Secret by Donna Welch Jones
Love Sick by Autumn J. Bright
When the Kingdom Falls by Meagan Hurst
Unidentified by Michael McBride
Corruption by Adam Vine
The Adventures of Lola by Jade Harley
Harvest Sky by Hunter McEgan
The Del by S.G. Courtright
On the Cusp(id) by SW Matthews
Meandering by Vera Mont & Francis Mont

Thursday, February 22, 2018

The Old Brown Suitcase

Title: The Old Brown Suitcase
Author: Lillian Boraks-Nemetz
Publisher: Post Hypnotic
ISBN: n/a
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: It was nice to read a slightly different spin on a fictional holocaust story (mostly after the war and in Canada), but some of the story parts fell a little flat, mainly in characterization of Slava's family.

Rating: 3/5

Gold Dust Woman

Title: Gold Dust Woman: A Biography of Stevie Nicks
Author: Steven Davis
Publisher: St. Martin's
ISBN: 9781250032898
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Like most unauthorized biographies, there were moments of supposition that hurt the narrative, but not bad.  It did not make me like Stevie Nicks any better, but it did make me want to listen to some songs again.

Rating: 3/5

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Clayton Byrd Goes Underground

Title: Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
Author: Rita Williams-Garcia
Publisher: Amistad
ISBN: 9780062215918
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Rather realistic, but it just kind of ends, like it needed to be tied up really fast.

Rating: 3/5

Weekends with Max and His Dad

Title: Weekends with Max and His Dad
Author: Linda Urban
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 9780544598171
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: This cute and fun read is great for kids whose parents have gone through a divorce.

Rating: 4/5

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Bud, Not Buddy

Title: Bud, Not Buddy
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Publisher: Listening Library
ISBN: 9780807204788
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Excellent work of historical fiction (depression era) for middle-grade readers.

Rating: 5/5

The Unlucky Lottery Winners of Classroom 13

Title: The Unlucky Lottery Winners of Classroom 13
Author: Honest Lee
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN: 9780545132060
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Wild short stories about how a classroom of kids spent their ridiculous lottery winnings.  Some good lessons there, but also a funny read.

Rating: 3/5

Clementine

Title: Clementine
Author: Sara Pennypacker
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN: 9780786838820
Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Very cute chapter book - kind of like a more modern Ramona.

Rating: 4/5

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Stacking the Shelves: 2/11-2/17

First Reads from Goodreads:
The Shadow of Armageddon by Jim LeMay
Sanctum Sanctorum by Michael Burns
Tayel Tower by Wray Wrigley
The Spirit of Imagination by S. A. Tawks
All You Need Is Life by Leonard Ryzman
Battle of the Soul by Carl Alves
Love Amidst the Shadows by Carl Turner
Mr. Snuffles by Matthew McCormick
Stranger Things Have Happened by Thomas Gaffney
A Kingdom Besieged by Raymond E. Feist
The Secret of Heaven by Felix Alexander
My Bullheaded Superhero Valentine by Kitty Bucholz
Love Bites by TL Clark
If Souls Can Sleep by David Michael Williams
Alibi Aficionado by Harvey Church
Drip by Andrew Montlack
Potlatch by Bruce Hartman
D for Daisy by Nick Aaron
Echoes of a Storm by Alan Scott
The Flyer by Frederick S. Parker
Beginnings by Chris Hoffman
Gauntlet Fall by Maddy Edwards

Received in February's Scriptd:
Bulrusher by Eisa Davis
Milk Like Sugar by Kirsten Greenidge

Bought from Usborne Books & More (link is to my consultant site):
Uncle Shawn and Bill and the Almost Entirely Unplanned Adventure by A. L. Kennedy
Butterflies by Susanne Gervay