Catch Up Post: Books Read July 2009
Jul-1-2009 By Keri
Real life caused me to get very far behind on my reviews last year. Here are the books I read in July 2009.
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| Book #54 | 7/2/09 | Juliet, Naked | Nick Hornby | Grade: B |
| I was really excited to get an ARC of this at BookExpo since I didn’t even know that Nick Hornby had a book coming out. The story of a couple that has stayed together because it’s comfortable, where one partner is a bit self-centered and obsessive and the other just doesn’t have a clue what she wants but she knows it’s not this, was interesting but not as earth shattering as High Fidelity or About a Boy, which are Hornby’s most successful endeavors. I particularly liked the character of Tucker Crowe and his inability to cope with most of the children he’s fathered. | ||||
| Book #55 | 7/3/09 | Boy Heaven | Laura Kasischke | Grade: B |
| I think I picked this up because I read a review which made it sound amazing but didn’t give away what happened. Wasn’t for me, but I can see why other people liked it. | ||||
| Book #56 | 7/7/09 | Unwind | Neal Shusterman | Grade: A |
| This was a great book to booktalk and a great discussion book. This is a page turning thriller with realistic relatable characters. The horrifying scene near the end really makes the book. If you have a high school bookclub you MUST read this book. | ||||
| Book #57 | 7/11/09 | Life as We Knew It | Susan Beth Pfeffer | Grade: A |
| This book scared the living daylights out of me. I really wanted to go out and buy a bunch of canned goods and I’m not one of those crazy survivalist people. Miranda’s story and her family’s journey is incredible. The book sucks you in and you must know what happens next. This made for an excellent booktalk and a great book discussion. | ||||
| Book #58 | 7/12/09 | Boy Toy | Barry Lyga | Grade: A |
| It was definitely a proud librarian moment when I booktalked this in front of over 1000 high school students over the course of a few days, calling it “the most disturbing book I’ve ever read.” There was plenty of interest in reading this but unfortunately not as much interest in joining my book discussion group. The two girls who did come really enjoyed it although they admitted to skipping some pages because it was too uncomfortable. This was a reread for me, but it was still as great as the first time. | ||||
| Book #59 | 7/17/09 | Best Friends Forever | Jennifer Weiner | Grade: B- |
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This is less of a winner for me than Weiner’s previous books, which is interesting because it seems to be among the most commercially successful (which isn’t to say her other books aren’t successful, but this one just seemed to be on everyone’s radar and had lots of prominent bookstore placement.) I just never really got the friendship between the two women and thought it was unfair that Addie was dragged into all of Valerie’s drama. I liked Jordan a lot though.
I received a copy of this from the publisher. |
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| Book #60 | 7/20/09 | The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian | Sherman Alexie | Grade: A |
| When I booktalked this, I focused on the bad parts of Junior’s life - the poverty and alcohol, bad schools, personal tragedy. But what the kids in my discussion group liked was how funny it was. Every single thing came back to them giggling over the hysterical situations and cartoons in the book. I’ve changed my booktalk, but I’m glad they loved it. | ||||
| Book #61 | 7/21/09 | Now You See Her | Jacqueline Mitchard | Grade: B |
| Oooh, you unreliable narrators. I’m very mixed on unreliable narrators, but more often than not, I’m not a fan. I liked this one better once I found out the ending, but not by much. | ||||
| Book #62 | 7/22/09 | Denied, Detained, Deported | Ann Bausum | Grade: B |
| This is an excellent book about immigration but it lacked the heart of With Courage and Cloth. This is probably something most libraries should own but I can see why books like Claudette Colvin and Charles and Emma ended up with much more praise. | ||||
| Book #63 | 7/23/09 | Love You, Hate You, Miss You | Elizabeth Scott | Grade: B+ |
| All of Elizabeth Scott’s books are great. This one wasn’t as strong as Perfect You or Living Dead Girl but is comparable to Something Maybe in quality if not spirit. | ||||
| Book #64 | 7/27/09 | Al Capone Does My Shirts | Gennifer Choldenko | Grade: A |
| This one did not go over well as a book discussion with our teens. The children’s librarian and I absolutely love it. I don’t think it’s one of those children’s book that is written for adults, but probably has a limited kid audience. | ||||
| Book #65 | 7/28/09 | Sunrise Over Fallujah | Walter Dean Myers | Grade: B+ |
| This is only the second book I’ve read by Walter Dean Myers and while it wasn’t as amazing as Monster, it did a great job of describing the situation in Iraq from the point of view of a soldier. This worked well as a book discussion choice. This definitely made me want to go back and read Fallen Angels since I know way too little about the Vietnam War. | ||||
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