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Archive for October, 2009

Catch Up Post: Books Read October 2009

Oct-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 October 2009

The Rock and the River Front and Center The Dead and the Gone Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Book #87 10/1/09 Surface Tension Brent Runyon Grade: B-
Surface Tension is the story of a teenage boy and his family, set over four summers on their cottage on the lake. The book deals with Luke’s mishaps and adventures on the lake, his crushes on local girls, his relationship with his best friend from home, his girlfriend Jennifer, and his neighbors at the lake (the kind but sometimes distant and very lawn obsessed Richardsons and the crazy preacher with a secret that’s never quite cleared up). The writing is clear and concise and the book has moments that are quite nice, but overall, there is little to no plot and the characters and setting are not strong enough to hold up the book. It isn’t until the fourth summer than anything major happens and the ending doesn’t do enough to tie up with little loose ends are left. You could give this to former Gary Paulson fans, but make sure they love reading, since this offers nothing to reluctant readers.
Book #88 10/3/09 The Rock and the River Kekla Magoon Grade: B+
Sam lives in Chicago in 1968 and is in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. His father Roland Childs is a leading activist and Dr. King occasionally stops in for dinner when he’s in town. Sam believes in his father’s peaceful protests but becomes intrigued when his older brother Stick becomes involved in the Black Panthers. There are two small, but pivotal subplots involving a girl Sam likes and a friend who is beaten by a police officer. This a great book about the civil rights movement and the relationship between brothers.
Book #89 10/7/09 Front and Center Catherine Gilbert Murdock Grade: A-
A fitting end to DJ Schwenk’s story.
Book #90 10/14/09 Charles and Emma Deborah Heiligman Grade: B+
Charles Darwin is not my cup of tea and I wouldn’t have picked this up if not for our Mock Awards. I have difficulty comparing non-fiction to fiction in terms of quality; they can both be good, but I don’t usually feel like one can be better than the other. This is one non-fiction book with prose that is just lovely to read. If it weren’t for the beautiful writing, I would not have gotten through this.
Book #91 10/15/09 When You Reach Me Rebecca Stead Grade: A
If I had written this review when I actually read the book I would have said this was going to win the Newbury. Since I’m several months late, I can say that it deserved its Newbury Award. This was warm and touching and had great characters and it was a historical book that didn’t seem to have a tacked on setting, which I appreciate.
Book #92 10/19/09 Al Capone Shines My Shoes Gennifer Choldenko Grade: A
A wonderful sequel. I worried that the continuation was unnecessary, but it was just as good as the first.
Book #93 10/24/09 The Dead and the Gone Susan Beth Pfeffer Grade: A
In many ways, this was more gutwrenching than Life as We Knew It. Great characters and honesty. The one shocking scene was incredibly done; I only figured out what was going to happen moments before Alex.
Book #94 10/26/09 Bad Apple Laura Ruby Grade: B+
I didn’t like this as much as Good Girls, but it was a good read.
Book #95 10/28/09 Liar Justine Larbalestier Grade: C
I enjoyed part 1, but when I got to part 2, I wanted to throw the book out the window. Not only did I not appreciate the twist, but I felt that in the end the book had no meaning as opposed to multiple potential meanings. Ambitious, but it didn’t work for me.
Book #96 10/30/09 Superfreakonomics Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner Grade: A-
Another fun read.
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Catch Up Post: Books Read September 2009

Oct-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 October 2009.

Ballads of Suburbia Love is the Higher Law Pop Carter Finally Gets It
Book #78 9/1/09 Ballads of Suburbia Stephanie Kuenhart Grade: A-
Kuenhart’s story of music (I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone) was a bit more touching than this story of drugs, but the unique characters were very believable. These books have a special authentic edge to them in the way that some of the “issue”-y YA books only dream of. Love the title and cover as well.
Book #79 9/3/09 Love is the Higher Law David Levithan Grade: B
This story of three characters after 9/11 didn’t entirely work for me, but it’s had to put my finger on why. I found Claire to be the most compelling character. Definitely brought back my own memories of that time, but I didn’t quite care as much about the characters’.
Book #80 9/8/09 Here’s How I See It, Here’s How it Is Heather Henson Grade: B
BookEval Review: A girl with dreams of being an actress works on three summer plays at her family’s rural theater. Told alternatingly (and somewhat irritatingly) in sections based on how Junebug imagines things should go and how they actually happen, Junebug copes with her parents’ separation, a lack of attention from her family, and her desire to be a star despite being on the sidelines.
Book #81 9/14/09 Blue Mountain Trouble Martin Mordecai Grade: C
BookEval Review: Told in Jamaican dialect, this is the story of twins who are dealing with growing up and leaving their elementary school, mysteries surrounding their family’s history, and a dangerous man named Jammy who squats on their land and grows plants which might not be so innocent. Not much plot here, and not enough characterization to make up for it.
Book #82 9/15/09 Gravity Leanne Libermann Grade: A-
This story of an Orthodox Jewish girl who falls in love with another girl is written really well and the characters were compelling.
Book #83 9/15/09 Pop Gordon Korman Grade: A-
Not as funny as my favorite Gordon Korman books, but just as warm. Kind of makes me want to prevent my future offspring from playing high school football. (We’ve had several HS football player deaths in my area over the past few years, which makes me feel extremely justified).

I got this in ARC format and Gordon signed it for me.
Book #84 9/18/09 Carter Finally Gets It Brent Crawford Grade: B+
Funny and authentic, though perhaps not as amazing as all the other reviews made it out to be. I’ll happily read the sequel.
Book #85 9/23/09 How to Build a House Dana Reinhardt Grade: A-
Like usual, Reinhardt has a touching understated story about the life of a teen girl.
Book #86 9/29/09 If I Grow Up Todd Strasser Grade: B+
BookEval Review: If I Grow Up is the story of DeShawn, a kid growing up in the projects, from the ages of 11-18. His building is run by a gang called the Disciples and when DeShawn is younger he does not want to join the gang even though his best friend Terrell will do anything he can to get in, including slinging drugs. When his older sister gets pregnant with twins and later when her baby daddy is killed, DeShawn starts to realize that he has to step up to protect his family. With a limited education, no money, and no prospects, he turns to the gang leader Marcus, who he has proven himself to over the years. DeShawn rises through the ranks quickly but soon discovers that even at the top there’s no guarantees. Although the novel deals with many issues including poor schools, poverty, lack of safety, gangs, teenage pregnancy, violence, guns and drugs, Strasser is successful in creating a character driven work, although his authorial voice occasionally creeps in (particularly during the last chapter). This book will be popular with teens who like books such as Black and White by Paul Volponi, but some teens will want a story with more authenticity.
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