Thursday, September 30, 2010

September Accomplishments

These are a few of my favorite 'first' lines read in September 2010.

Owen Jester tiptoed across the gleaming linoleum floor and slipped the frog into the soup.

Harlem Tate hadn't been in Freedom, Georgia, more than three days before it was clear that nobody wanted anything to do with him. Nobody except me, that is. I had a burning desire to be his friend.

Choosing a subject for a biography may be as perilous or as charmed as a marriage. A writer chooses with fingers crossed.

Around midnight, her eyes at last took shape. The look in them was feline, half determined and half tentative--all trouble.

The night breathed through the apartment like a dark animal.

In the first part of Robinson Crusoe, at page one hundred and twenty-nine, you will find it thus written.


September's Top Six:

The Disappeared. Kim Echlin.
The War to End All Wars: World War I. Russell Freedman.
Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman.
Ninth Ward. Jewell Parker Rhodes.
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.
Bleak House. Charles Dickens

Number of Board Books: 7

Have You Ever Tickled A Tiger? Betsy E. Snyder. 2009. Random House. 14 pages.
Pig-a-Boo! A Farmyard Peekaboo Book. Dorothea DePrisco. Illustrated by Treesha Runnells. 2009. Simon and Schuster. 14 pages.
Tubby. Leslie Patricelli. 2010. September 2010. Candlewick Press. 28 pages.
Potty. Leslie Patricelli. 2010. September 2010. Candlewick Press. 28 pages.
Lily's Potty. Begin Smart Books. May 2010. 14 pages
Pete's Potty. Begin Smart Books. May 2010. 14 pages.
Maisy Goes to Bed. A Maisy Lift-the-Flap Classic. Lucy Cousins. 2010. September 2010. Candlewick Press. 16 pages.

Number of Picture Books: 12

Dirtball Pete. Eileen Brennan. 2010. August 2010. Random House. 32 pages.
Animal House. Candace Ryan. Illustrated by Nathan Hale. 2010. July 2010. Walker Books. 40 pages.
City Dog, Country Frog. Mo Willems. 2010. Hyperion. 64 pages.
Love That Kitty: The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be A Cat. Jeff Jarka. 2010. Henry Holt. 32 pages.
Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy by Denise Fleming. 2010. August 2010. Henry Holt. 32 pages.
A Pirate's Guide to First Grade. By James Preller. Illustrated by Greg Ruth. Feiwel and Friends. 48 pages.
My Garden. Kevin Henkes. 2010. February 2010. HarperCollins. 28 pages.
Shark Vs. Train. Chris Barton. Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. 2010. April 2010. Little, Brown. 40 pages.
The Cow Loves Cookies. Karma Wilson. Illustrated by Marcellus Hall. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 40 pages.
Art and Max. David Wiesner. 2010. October 2010. Clarion (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). 40 pages.
The Pirate of Kindergarten. George Ella Lyon. 2010. June 2010. Simon & Schuster. 40 pages.
Clever Jack Takes the Cake. Candace Fleming. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. 2010. August 2010. Random House. 40 pages.

Number of Children's Books: 5

The Viper's Nest. (The 39 Clues #7). Peter Lerangis. 2010. Scholastic. 190 pages.
Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia. Barbara O'Connor. 2003. FSG. 112 pages.
Elephants Cannot Dance! (An Elephant & Piggie Book). Mo Willems. 2009. Hyperion. 64 pages.
Can and I Play Too? Mo Willems. 2010. Hyperion. 57 pages.
Justin Case: School, Drool, And Other Daily Disasters. Rachel Vail. 2010. Feiwel & Friends. 256 pages.

Number of Middle Grade: 5

The Adventures of Nanny Piggins. R.A. Spratt. Illustrated by Dan Santat. Little Brown. 239 pages.
The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester. Barbara O'Connor. 2010. August 2010. FSG. 176 pages.
Ninth Ward. Jewell Parker Rhodes. 2010. August 2010. Little, Brown. 217 pages.
The Birthday Ball. Lois Lowry. With illustrations by Jules Feiffer. 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 186 pages.
Reckless by Cornelia Funke. Translated by Oliver Latsch. 2010. Little, Brown. 394 pages

Number of YA: 4

Revelations. Melissa de la Cruz. 2008. Hyperion. 272 pages.
Faithful. Janet Fox. 2010. Penguin. 336 pages.
A Girl Named Mister. Nikki Grimes. 2010. Zondervan. 232 pages.
Fallen. Lauren Kate. 2009. Random House. 464 pages.

Number of Adult: 6

Jane Slayre. Charlotte Bronte and Sherri Browning Erwin. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 396 pages.
Wench. Dolen Perins-Valdez. 2010. HarperCollins. 293 pages.
Paul is Undead. Alan Goldsher. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 310 pages.
The Disappeared. Kim Echlin. 2009. Grove/Atlantic. 224 pages.
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. 1868. 544 pages.
Bleak House. Charles Dickens. 1852-1853. 912 pages.


Number of Christian: 7

Wildflowers of Terezin. Robert Elmer. 2010. Abingdon Press. 352 pages.
The Thorn. Beverly Lewis. 2010. Bethany House. 352 pages.
More Than Words by Judith Miller. 2010. Bethany House. 368 pages.
In Every Heartbeat. Kim Vogel Sawyer. 2010. September 2010. Bethany House. 352 pages.
Love's First Bloom. Delia Parr. 2010. Bethany House. 320 pages.
A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman. 2010. Revell. 505 pages.
God's Mighty Acts in Creation by Starr Meade. 2010. Crossway. 112 pages.

Number of Nonfiction: 6

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down. Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. 2010. February 2010. Little, Brown. 40 pages.
The War to End All Wars: World War I. Russell Freedman. 2010. August 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 192 pages.
Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman. 2010. June 2010. HarperCollins. 268 pages.
Lincoln Tells A Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (And the Country). Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer. Illustrated by Stacy Innerst. 2010. April 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 40 pages.
Lost Boy: The Story of the Man Who Created Peter Pan. Jane Yolen. Illustrated by Steve Adams. 2010. August 2010. Penguin. 40 pages.
Liberty or Death: The Surprising Story of Runaway Slaves Who Sided With the British During The American Revolution. By Margaret Whitman Blair. 2010. National Geographic. 64 pages.

Number of Graphic Novels: 1

Jane Eyre The Graphic Novel: Original Text. Charlotte Bronte. 2009. Classical Comics. 144 pages.

Number of Poetry: 5

In the Wild. David Elliott. Illustrated by Holly Meade. 2010. Candlewick Press. 32 pages.
The Silly Book with CD. Stoo Hample. 2010/2004/1961. Candlewick Press. 32 pages.
Switching on the Moon. A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems. Collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. 2010. September 2010. Candlewick Press. 96 pages.
Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors. Joyce Sidman. Illustrated by Beckie Prange. 2010. April 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 40 pages.
Guyku. Bob Raczka. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. 2010. October 2010. Houghton Mifflin. 48 pages.

Number of Short Story Collections/Anthologies:

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Bleak House

Bleak House. Charles Dickens. 1852-1853. 912 pages.

London. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets, as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.

How did I feel about Bleak House? Overall, I liked it. I more than liked it. I really, really liked it. What did I like best? The characters, the story, or the writing style? Hard to choose--for me. I think some readers may be so intimidated by the writing style--Dickens way of using a thousand words to paint a picture--that it becomes almost impossible to connect with the characters and enjoy the story.

The characters and story. Esther, a young woman who's clueless about the identity of her parents, becomes a companion to Ada, one of the wards in the legal dispute of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. These two young women--along with Richard, the second ward in the case--are under the guardianship of a Mr. John Jarndyce of Bleak House. Their guardian is kind, compassionate, generous, and an all-around good fellow. He hates, hates, hates Jarndyce and Jarndyce and wants absolutely nothing to do with the matter. Richard loves Ada. He desperately wants to marry her, but Mr. Jarndyce disapproves of the match because Richard doesn't have a way to provide for her. He feels Rick needs to grow up a little and find a career. Unfortunately, Rick doesn't take to this idea of having a profession--of making a living. Though he isn't quite as childish--as shallow--as Mr. Harold Skimpole, a man who borrows freely from anybody and everybody. (He's also fond of philosophizing about how wonderfully childish he is!) Through the course of the novel: Esther discovers the identity of her parents and falls in love; Rick fails at one profession after another until he decides once and for all to devote his entire energy to a law case that his been in the system for several generations, all the while Ada continues to love Rick unconditionally. Then there's the mysterious side of Bleak House. The murderous side. Lady Dedlock has a secret from her husband, Sir Leicester. A secret that Dedlock's lawyer, Mr. Tulkinghorn, discovers, after much unscrupulous searching and digging. There are MANY characters who are despicable. MANY characters who have enemies. MANY characters who have strong motives.

Dickens did a great job with his characters. You'll find characters that you'll absolutely love and adore. You'll find characters that are so enjoyable, so fun, to spend time with. You'll find characters that make you laugh--or at least smirk. You might find a few characters that you love to hate, or hate to love. You'll find characters that are just so despicable, so nasty, so horrid that you hate them--with a passion. There might even be a few that drive you crazy! But I hope that you'll find a few characters that genuinely surprise you! I know a few surprised me! There are so many characters. Some are very important to the plot. Others are very minor. But just because they're minor doesn't mean they're pointless. (For example, I *liked* Mr. Chadband!)

The writing. I won't lie. It took me more than a few chapters to make any sense of this one to begin to like this one. The style of the first chapter is very off-putting. In my opinion. That and the fact that so many characters are introduced in the early chapters.  It's not until the reader is introduced to Esther, Ada, and Richard--not until these three are taken to Bleak House--that it began to work for me. But. I did like this one. I really came to like the style. I came to appreciate his descriptions, his details.

A word from Esther:
I don't know how it is, I seem to be always writing about myself. I mean all the time to write about other people, and I try to think about myself as little as possible, and I am sure, when I find myself coming into the story again, I am really vexed and say, "Dear, dear, you tiresome little creature, I wish you wouldn't!" but it is all of no use. I hope any one who may read what I write, will understand that if these pages contain a great deal about me, I can only suppose it must be because I have really something to do with them and can't be kept out. (102-3)
A description of Sir Leicester:
Sir Leicester is generally in a complacent state, and rarely bored. When he has nothing else to do, he can always contemplate his own greatness. It is a considerable advantage to a man, to have so inexhaustible a subject. (139)
A description of Mr. Smallweed:
Everything that Mr. Smallweed's grandfather ever put away in his mind was a grub at first, and is a grub at last. In all his life he has never bred a single butterfly. (257)
From Lady Dedlock to Mr. Tulkinghorn:
"Of repentance or remorse, or any feeling of mine," Lady Dedlock presently proceeds, "I say not a word. If I were not dumb, you would be deaf. Let that go by. It is not for your ears." (509)
I liked the flavor of Bleak House. It has its difficulties--I suppose. (Though no more than any other classic of its size, its substance). But. I really enjoyed this one. There were so many things that I just loved about it. (For example, Mr. Jarndyce's growlery. I loved that! Don't we all need a place to go when we're out of humor?!)

Is it worth reading?! I think so! I think the characters are very well done--very human, very memorable. I think the writing--especially once the mystery begins--is very suspenseful.

Is it worth watching?! I think many people who might be intimidated by reading the novel would enjoy seeing an adaptation of it. I saw the 2005 adaptation. It was long--fifteen episodes--but I enjoyed it. It definitely has its differences--it's not the book--but I did enjoy the drama. It was DRAMA! It was very compelling.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Girl Named Mister (YA)

A Girl Named Mister. Nikki Grimes. 2010. Zondervan. 232 pages.

Her mom may call her Mary Rudine, but everyone else calls her Mister. Mister's a good girl--a Christian girl--sings in the church choir, loves volleyball. She has a best friend, Sethany, she tells all her secrets to. But things change when she meets Trey.

Things start off safe--and pure. Trey and Mister go on group dates--often at the church, or with the church youth group. But soon that isn't enough for Trey. And well, Mister, has to admit being alone with Trey feels right. Yes, she knows that being alone with him might lead her to temptation. Might lead her to have second thoughts about her commitment for purity. But. She does it anyway.

One time. Mister has sex with Trey just one time. But that was all it took for a new life to form, and for one teen's life to change forever.

Mister struggles with the guilt and shame of being a pregnant teen. She struggles with the truth. She tries to deny the pregnancy--for a time. But she is relieved to find comfort and support not only from her mom but from others in her church as well. She also takes great comfort in reading a book of poetry--a book she borrowed from her mom. A book of poems about Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Readers read not only the contemporary story of Mister but Mary's story as well. It imaginatively examines what it might have been like for Mary. Yes, readers may be familiar with the Christmas story. But have you really, really thought about what it might have been like for Mary and Joseph?

A Girl Named Mister is a verse novel. I enjoyed both Mary's narrative and Mister's narrative. I loved how Mister finds grace and peace in the gospel, in the church. I loved how she was able to turn this experience into a growing one--growing closer to her mother, growing closer to God.

Soft
Soft as fleece,
God's forgiveness
falls over me
like a quilt,
and this time,
I let it smother
my guilt.  (145)

The book trailer:



© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Birthday Ball (MG)

The Birthday Ball. Lois Lowry. With illustrations by Jules Feiffer. 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 186 pages.

When Princess Patricia Priscilla woke on the morning of the day that was five days before her birthday, her first thoughts were not Oh, I am almost another year older, hardly a child anymore! or I wonder what fabulous gifts will be presented to me at the Birthday Ball six nights from now! 
No. Her thoughts were Bored, bored, bored.

Princess Patricia Priscilla was bored, bored, bored until a conversation with the seventeenth chambermaid, Tess, inspires the Princess to make a change...for the better. She decides to become a peasant and attend the village school. As "Pat" she finds life worth living. The fact that the school teacher is young, handsome guy, well, that helps a little. She enjoys spending time with these "peasant" children so much, she decides they must attend her birthday ball. She plans on gifting each one. Her special friends get extra special presents.

When the Princess turns sixteen, she is supposed to choose a husband from among her suitors. Three--or four--suitors are coming just to meet the Princess. Each hopes to woo her at the Birthday Ball. There is Duke Desmond from Dyspepsia, Prince Percival of Pustula, and then there are the conjoined Counts--Cuthbert and Colin--from Coagulatia. Each suitor is inappropriate, at least inappropriate for the princess. But choose she must...

If only she didn't have to marry nobility...

I liked this one. I'm not sure I loved it. But it has a certain charm to it. It's meant to be a funny book. (My favorite scene? The procession of Duke Desmond who has an entourage of 'splashers' to disturb the lake's surface so that his reflection can't be seen as he passes.) It has a certain exaggerated style to it, much like The Willoughbys, I think. At the right time, for the right reader, I think this one would work well.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

What's On Your Nightstand (September)

What's On Your Nightstand is hosted by 5 Minutes for Books.

So here's what I'm reading.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens. I've got about 350 pages left! I am hoping to finish this one soon!

Basil by Wilkie Collins. I started this one yesterday. (I still need to review The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins.)

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. I am really enjoying this one!

The Candymakers by Wendy Mass. I'm super excited to read this one. It's about four kids in a candy-making contest. One of the kids, Logan, lives in a candy factory.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff. This one is off to a very good start. Creepy but good.



© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Fallen


Fallen. Lauren Kate. 2009. Random House. 464 pages.

From the prologue: Around midnight, her eyes at last took shape. The look in them was feline, half determined and half tentative--all trouble.

Luce and Daniel are meant to be--or are they? If you're looking for a Dramatic read, then Fallen may satisfy. It has angst, romance, danger, and destiny. It stars Luce a young woman who's tired of pretending she doesn't see the shadows. And then there's Daniel and Cam. The two guys in Luce's life. Cam, at first, seems to have the most potential. He's friendly and charming. He actually wants to be in the same room with the heroine. But Daniel, well, he's ever-mysterious. And the fact that he keeps running away from the heroine, well, it makes him even more attractive. Sure, he's rude. But he's rude in that oh-so-dreamy way.

Luce is new to Sword & Cross, a reform school, and at first she's not sure where she belongs, who she wants to be friends with. In many ways, every one is so odd, so strange. But then again, so is Luce. She sees things no one else does. It's all haunting and disturbing. And then there was that fire incident last year...

I liked Fallen. I can't say I loved it. But at a time when I thought I would never even "like" another YA paranormal novel, well, I couldn't put it down.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Monday, September 27, 2010

Nonfiction Monday: Liberty or Death


Liberty or Death: The Surprising Story of Runaway Slaves Who Sided With the British During The American Revolution. By Margaret Whitman Blair. 2010. National Geographic. 64 pages.

Liberty and freedom are not the sole province of any set of people anywhere. The fact that three of the first four Presidents of our nation were slaveholders would seem to suggest that our nation was founded in slavery.

I'll be honest. I was mostly interested in Liberty Or Death because I've been fascinated by a few recent fictional titles on this subject: Octavian Nothing volume 1 and 2 by M.T. Anderson, and Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. (Forge, the sequel to Chains, releases this fall.)

I'm glad I read Liberty or Death. I found it interesting and informative. It mentions how African Americans fought on both sides of the War. How some chose to trust the British. How some chose to trust the Americans. It not only covers the years of the American Revolution, it tells the bigger story. What happened to these former slaves who fought for the British after the defeat. Where they settled. What kind of lives they led. Their continued struggles.

I found the book very engaging--very compelling.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Sunday Salon: Reading, Read, To Read #39

Happy Sunday! It's banned book week. Read my post about Speak at Operation Actually Read Bible. "Why Christians Need Speak..."

It's also fall! (Have you signed up for the Fall Into Reading challenge?) I've been able to read a couple of books for this challenge so far. Which leads me to the 24 Hour Read-a-thon. It will be here soon. Very soon. October 9th. I haven't decided what I'll be reading yet. It's just too soon. But. It's not too early to start thinking about thinking about making a list!

I'm still reading Bleak House. I am enjoying it. Much more than I thought I ever would--or could. But yesterday felt like a good finishing-up day. I finished six books! (Sometimes I get so excited about starting books that I forget how satisfying it is finish a book.)

What I've Reviewed This Week:

Ninth Ward. Jewell Parker Rhodes. 2010. August 2010. Little, Brown. 217 pages.
Reckless by Cornelia Funke. Translated by Oliver Latsch. 2010. Little, Brown. 394 pages
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. 1868. 544 pages. 
A Girl Named Mister. Nikki Grimes. 2010. Zondervan. 232 pages.
Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman. 2010. June 2010. HarperCollins. 268 pages.
Lincoln Tells A Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (And the Country). Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer. Illustrated by Stacy Innerst. 2010. April 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 40 pages.
Clever Jack Takes the Cake. Candace Fleming. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. 2010. August 2010. Random House. 40 pages.
My Garden. Kevin Henkes. 2010. February 2010. HarperCollins. 28 pages.
Shark Vs. Train. Chris Barton. Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. 2010. April 2010. Little, Brown. 40 pages.
The Cow Loves Cookies. Karma Wilson. Illustrated by Marcellus Hall. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 40 pages.
Art and Max. David Wiesner. 2010. October 2010. Clarion (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). 40 pages.
Guyku. Bob Raczka. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. 2010. October 2010. Houghton Mifflin. 48 pages.
In Every Heartbeat. Kim Vogel Sawyer. 2010. September 2010. Bethany House. 352 pages.
Love's First Bloom. Delia Parr. 2010. Bethany House. 320 pages.
A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman. 2010. Revell. 505 pages.


Coming Soon:


Fallen. Lauren Kate. 2009. Random House. 464 pages.


The Birthday Ball. Lois Lowry. With illustrations by Jules Feiffer. 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 186 pages.

Currently Reading:


Evil Genius. Wilkie Collins. 1886. 348 pages.


Wee Free Men. Terry Pratchett. 2003. HarperCollins. 400 pages.


Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Alan Bradley. 2009. Doubleday Canada. 304 pages.


Bleak House. Charles Dickens. 1852-1853. 912 pages.



The Stories of Ray Bradbury. Introduction by Christopher Buckley. 2010. April 2010. Knopf, Doubleday. 1112 pages.



© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Reckless (MG/YA)

Reckless by Cornelia Funke. Translated by Oliver Latsch. 2010. Little, Brown. 394 pages.
 
The night breathed through the apartment like a dark animal. The ticking of a clock. The groan of a floorboard as he slipped out of his room. All was drowned by its silence. But Jacob loved the night. He felt it on his skin like a promise. Like a cloak woven from freedom and danger.

Reckless is a dark, bittersweet story of brotherhood. The newest novel from Cornelia Funke stars Jacob and Will Reckless. Jacob, the older brother, is the first to discover the world behind the mirror. The first to explore its beauties, its mysteries, its dangers. But his younger brother, Will, will follow one day. And while Jacob has--so far at least--escaped the dangers he's confronted--from unicorns, faeries, dwarfs, etc--his brother, Will, isn't quite so lucky.

After a brief prologue, Reckless opens with readers learning about the trouble facing the Reckless brothers. Will has been injured--and unless his brother can find a cure--his brother will turn to stone. Jade to be exact. He'll soon lose his humanity, his identity, he'll become a Goyl. Fortunately--or unfortunately--he won't be just any Goyl, he'll be the Jade Goyl. Of the prophecy. The one who is destined to protect the King.

Can Jacob--with the help of some friends (Clara and Fox)--find a way to save his brother? Is his brother's life worth risking his own? To save his brother, Jacob must decide who to trust...but that isn't going to be easy in war-torn Mirrorworld. 

Reckless was a great fantasy read. I liked the characters. I really enjoyed Fox--she was one of my favorite characters. I would have loved to know more about her. Same goes with the Faery sisters--the Dark and Red Faeries.

The storytelling was great too; it was difficult to put this one down!

"Mount up!" Hentzau whispered to Nesser. "Let's catch ourselves a fairy tale!" (157)
What was this yearning, tearing at her insides like hunger and thirst? It couldn't be love. Love was warm and soft, like a bed of leaves. But this was dark, like the shade under a poisonous shrub, and it was hungry. So hungry.
It must have some other name, just as there couldn't be the same word for life and death, or for moon and sun. (254)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Moonstone

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. 1868.

From the prologue: I address these lines -- written in India-- to my relatives in England.

From chapter one: In the first part of Robinson Crusoe, at page one hundred and twenty-nine, you will find it thus written. 'Now I saw, though too late, the Folly of beginning a Work before we count the Cost, and before we judge rightly on our own Strength to go through with it.' Only yesterday, I opened my Robinson Crusoe at that place.

When a cursed diamond is stolen from Miss Rachel Verinder--on the very night it is given--it opens up quite a mystery. Leading the search for the thief is Mr. Franklin Blake, cousin and would-be suitor to the young lady. He calls for the police, a detective, but what he learns--what they all learn after a few weeks search--doesn't quite make sense. What is more surprising is that Miss Rachel doesn't want the thief to be found.

I have come to love Wilkie Collins. (My reviews of Man and Wife and Armadale.) He's a great storyteller. And I love his narration. I do. I really, really love how he tells a story. He's also very good with characters. There were so MANY characters to love in The Moonstone.

Is my favorite narrator Gabriel Betteredge, an elderly house-steward to the Verinder family, a man who is obsessed with Robinson Crusoe? He opens and closes the account--minus the epilogue. Or is my favorite narrator Miss Drusilla Clack,  a young woman obsessed with religion? Her section was definitely the most comical! I don't know how I could ever choose between the two! Of course, those are just two of the narrators--there's also Mr. Bruff, Franklin Blake, Ezra Jennings, Sergeant Cuff, and Mr. Candy.

Here is one of my favorite passages--from Miss Clack's narrative:
As soon as we were alone, my aunt reclined on the sofa, and then alluded, with some appearance of confusion, to the subject of her Will.
'I hope you won't think yourself neglected, Drusilla,' she said. 'I mean to give you your little legacy, my dear, with my own hand.'
Here was a golden opportunity! I seized it on the spot. In other words, I instantly opened my bag, and took out the top publication. It proved to be an early edition--only the twenty-fifth--of the famous anonymous work (believed to be by precious Miss Bellows), entitled The Serpent at Home. The design of the book - with which the worldly reader may not be acquainted - is to show how the Evil One lies in wait for us in all the most apparently innocent actions of our daily lives. The chapters best adapted to female perusal are 'Satan in the Hair Brush'; 'Satan behind the Looking Glass'; 'Satan under the Tea Table'; 'Satan out of the Window' - and many others.
'Give your attention, dear aunt, to this precious book - and you will give me all I ask.' With those words, I handed it to her open, at a marked passage - one continuous burst of burning eloquence! Subject: Satan among the Sofa Cushions.
Poor Lady Verinder (reclining thoughtlessly on her own sofa cushions) glanced at the book, and handed it back to me looking more confused than ever. (202-03)
When this attempt at witnessing proves unsuccessful, Miss Clack decides to hide tracts throughout her aunt's home. When the tracts come back to her, well, she decides to write out her favorite passages from her favorite tracts and send them to her aunt as letters. Concluding that her aunt might be suspicious to receive so many letters from her all at once, well, she has a few friends help her out in her work.

And Lady Verinder (Miss Rachel's mother) is not the only one Miss Clack is anxious to save...

Here is another quote I'd like to share--this time from Franklin Blake.
Some men have a knack for keeping appointments; and other men have a knack of missing them. I am one of the other men. Add to this, that I passed the evening at Portland Place, on the same seat with Rachel, in a room forty feet long, with Mrs. Merridew at the further end of it. Does anybody wonder that I got home at half-past twelve instead of half-past ten? How thoroughly heartless that person must be! And how earnestly I hope I may never make that person's acquaintance. (389)
I really enjoyed The Moonstone. I loved the characters. So many wonderfully quirky characters! And I found the pace--especially towards the end--to be so compelling. It was impossible to put this one down!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Friday, September 24, 2010

Library Loot: Sixth Trip in September

New Loot:

Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers
The Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes
Dark Sons by Nikki Grimes
A Girl Named Mister by Nikki Grimes
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett
Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
No Name by Wilkie Collins

Leftover Loot:

Reckless by Cornelia Funke*
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness**
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the Sea by Jennifer Armstrong*
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness*
Basil by Wilkie Collins
The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins
The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins
The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry*
The Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury*
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley*
The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley**
Bleak House by Charles Dickens*
The Moonstone, The Haunted Hotel, My Lady's Money by Wilkie Collins*

* Currently Reading or Rereading in the case of The Knife of Never Letting Go and Shipwreck at the Bottom of the Sea.

**Second in a series to a book I'm currently reading

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Poetry Friday: Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys


Guyku. Bob Raczka. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. 2010. Houghton Mifflin. 48 pages.
The wind and I play
tug-of-war with my new kite.
The wind is winning.
Guyku is a poetry book that celebrates many things: the changing of the seasons, nature, childhood, friendship, and good old-fashioned fun--playing outside. Here is what the jacket says, "When you're a guy, nature is one big playground--no matter what the season."

The book is divided into four sections--seasons. The poems are haiku, of course. I really enjoyed this one. I liked the celebration of the simple things in life. The joys of jumping, splashing, playing, etc. I liked the poetry. I liked the illustrations.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Ninth Ward (MG/YA)


Ninth Ward. Jewell Parker Rhodes. 2010. August 2010. Little, Brown. 217 pages.

They say I was born with a caul, a skin netting covering my face like a glove. My mother died birthing me. I would've died, too, if Mama Ya-Ya hadn't sliced the bloody membrane from my face. I let out a wail when she parted the caul, letting in first air, first light.

Ninth Ward is a story of hope, love, endurance, and survival. Just a few weeks before Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Lanesha, our young heroine, turns twelve. While she is beloved by her grandmother--Mama Ya-Ya--Lanesha does not have many friends her own age. They've heard there is something different about her. That she can see the dead. Lanesha tries to make the best of it. Not that it is easy. But she tries. For they do speak the truth. Lanesha can see ghosts--her mother's ghost remains behind.

Ninth Ward is an emotional coming-of-age novel about family and friendship, about life and death, love and loss. It's a strong novel--one I won't be forgetting. It's a novel that I would definitely recommend!

Other reviews: A Patchwork of Books, Welcome to My Tweendom, Rasco from RIF, HappyNappyBookseller, Books Together.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Love's First Bloom


Love's First Bloom. Delia Parr. 2010. Bethany House. 32o pages.

Ruth Livingstone had very little time left to change her father's mind.

Widow Ruth Malloy has come to the village of Toms River, New Jersey, with a toddler, Lily, in the spring of 1838. Welcomed by Mr. and Mrs. Garner, she finds a new beginning. But adapting to that new life--new in so many ways--isn't an easy task. New name, new identity, new child, new job. (She's helping Mr. Garner in his apothecary shop.) Ruth needs an escape sometimes. If only there was a place she could go to be alone...

Jake Spencer is also new to Toms River, New Jersey. He's just settling in when he discovers a woman in his garden. The woman, Ruth, is just as surprised at the intrusion. She thought the cabin was abandoned.

Can these two find a way to compromise? To share a space? It won't always be easy. Because both Ruth and Jake are keeping secrets. Not only from one another, but from the whole town.

Ruth is struggling with so much. Her father has been arrested for murder. She seems to be one of the few who believes wholeheartedly in her father's innocence. And instead of being there for him, she's been sent away--having to keep up with the trial and its aftermath through newspapers. Oh, how Ruth HATES, HATES, HATES newspapers and reporters. And when reporters come to town trying to track Ruth Livingstone down, she feels so vulnerable, she doesn't feel safe leaving home.

Jake has struggles of his own. His own past he's trying to redeem. When the time comes, he'll have a BIG decision to make.
Just one kiss.
One soul-wrenching kiss.
That was all it took for him to know there would not be another time or another place for him to fall in love.
The time was right now.
The place was right here.
And as much as he had tried to deny it, he knew in his heart that Ruth was the only woman he would ever love, just as he knew that by loving her, she was the one woman who could cost him the one thing he so desperately wanted to achieve: his redemption. (257)
I enjoyed Love's First Bloom. I liked both Ruth and Jake. The story, while predictable in places, was well told. And it wasn't without a few surprises. I liked that!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Library Loot: Fifth Trip in September


New Loot:

Reckless by Cornelia Funke
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the Sea by Jennifer Armstrong
Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

Leftover Loot:

Fallen by Lauren Kate
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Basil by Wilkie Collins
The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins
The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins
The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry
They Called Themselves the K.K.K. by Susan Bartoletti
The Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Scumble by Ingrid Law
The Moonstone, The Haunted Hotel, My Lady's Money by Wilkie Collins

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Fall Into Reading 2010


Fall Into Reading
Callapidder Days
Basics Post; Sign Up Post; Reviews Post
September 22, 2010 - December 20, 2010

I'll try to keep my list reasonable. But it's always so tempting to list anything and everything that I might want to read in the next three months. Some of these are 'required' reads. Some are purely for fun. I hope to read a blend of new and old. I'd love to read a few classics!




Desiree: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love by Annemarie Selinko. Sourcebooks. October 2010. 608 pages.
Elizabeth, Captive Princess: Two Sisters, One Throne. Margaret Irwin. Sourcebooks. October 2010. 352 pages.
Passionate Brood. Margaret Campbell Barnes. October 2010. Sourcebooks. 368 pages.

I once asked my great-aunt what her favorite book was as a teenager. And she said Desiree. I've wanted to read it ever since. So I hope to read this one in her memory.



Bleak House. Charles Dickens. 1852-1853. 912 pages.



The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. 1868. 544 pages.


Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson. 2010. (October) Simon & Schuster. 304.


Reckless by Cornelia Funke. 2010. Little, Brown. 394 pages.


Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. 2010. Scholastic. 390 pages.


Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 496 pages.


The Dragon's Apprentice by James A. Owen. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 384 pages.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

In Every Heartbeat


In Every Heartbeat. Kim Vogel Sawyer. 2010. September 2010. Bethany House. 352 pages.

Don't you dare cry.

Libby Conley, Pete Leidig, and Bennett Martin are three friends attending the same college, the fall of 1914. Libby dreams of being a journalist. (And she's looking for a shortcut or two). Pete has wanted to be a preacher for years. And Bennett. Well, Bennett's good at many things--very athletic, very popular. But, truth be told, he's just waiting and hoping for a chance to be a soldier. Though the war in Europe has just gotten started, he's hoping that the United States will join sooner rather than later.

The book is narrated by all three. These three share a deep bond because they all grew up together, grew up as orphans. Though technically Pete has parents. They just happened to kick him out when he was a young boy. Which led to a tragic accident. But. That's Pete's story to tell.

The main story? Pete loves Libby but he feels called by the Lord to preach--and Libby is a bit too worldly to settle down with. Libby loves Pete but she wants to travel the world and be a journalist. She loves Pete. But. She feels the need for some independence.

In Every Heartbeat is a novel that I didn't connect with. Perhaps because it's the second in a series. Perhaps because I wasn't in the right mood for it. On another day, maybe I would have liked it better. Or maybe it's just a bit too much. It seemed to go in a dozen different directions. Just when I felt comfortable with where it was going, it shifted focus entirely. This kept happening which made me a bit frustrated. (Though I was VERY relieved it didn't spend more time on baseball. There was one chapter early on that bored me with its endless details on one baseball game in particular.)

I guess my biggest problem with In Every Heartbeat is the characterization. I had a hard time believing in these characters. And there were a few scenes where I just wanted to slap whoever was speaking. (In particular, the scene where Libby's article is rejected.)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Monday, September 20, 2010

Nonfiction Monday: Sir Charlie


Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman. 2010. June 2010. HarperCollins. 268 pages.

From the prologue: Choosing a subject for a biography may be as perilous or as charmed as a marriage. A writer chooses with fingers crossed.

From the introduction: A dark-eyed man came swaying down the street like a tightrope walker.

From chapter one: In the pesky rain on a March night in 1978, nitwit thieves huddled at the grave of Sir Charlie Chaplin and dug up the body of the world-famous comedian. They held it for ransom. The scheme could have passed as the hectic plot in one of the great film maker's comedies of errors.

Though I was not that familiar with Charlie Chaplin--his life or his films--I knew that this biography would be a must read for me. Why? Sid Fleischman. He has a way with words. He makes me care. He's a great writer, a great storyteller. His writing is engaging, compelling, fascinating.

Sir Charlie is more than informative--it's completely fascinating. Sir Charlie covers the life and death of Charlie Chaplin. From his humble beginning to his greatest successes. It covers his personal life--his relationships with his mother, father, brother, wives, children--and his professional life. Great attention is made to his films. Details on the plot of each one. When it was filmed, how it was filmed, what made each film work, etc. Fleischman often relating scene-by-scene some of Chaplin's greatest moments. How Chaplin could make you laugh and cry. It covers Chaplin's work ethics--noting how we worked, how diligent he was. But it doesn't hide the fact that Chaplin might not have been the best person to get along with. How difficult he could be. Fleischman's Chaplin is very human.

Here is just one example of why I like Fleischman's style:

Like many shy teenagers, Charlie was a loner. That he had few friends was confirmed by his obsessions. At age sixteen he bought a violin and later a cello and began practicing from four to six hours a day. The screech of scales and pizzicati in his private life not only kept friends at bay but isolated him from bill collectors (55)

On the tour west, Stan Laurel recalled being assigned Chaplin and his violin as roommates. He was, in fact, Charlie's understudy. How the gentle comedian arranged to go deaf whenever Charlie opened his instrument case, he doesn't say, unless it was to take four-to-six-hour walks. (57)
Here are just a few of the scenes Fleischman discusses in Sir Charlie:





© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Sunday Salon: Reading, Read, To Read #38

Happy Sunday! If you like Sesame Street and you like libraries, you should definitely visit this little post at Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books.

What I've Reviewed This Week:

The Disappeared. Kim Echlin. 2009. Grove/Atlantic. 224 pages.
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down. Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. 2010. February 2010. Little, Brown. 40 pages.
The War to End All Wars: World War I. Russell Freedman. 2010. August 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 192 pages.
Switching on the Moon. A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems. Collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. 2010. September 2010. Candlewick Press. 96 pages.
Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors. Joyce Sidman. Illustrated by Beckie Prange. 2010. April 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 40 pages.
Elephants Cannot Dance! (An Elephant & Piggie Book). Mo Willems. 2009. Hyperion. 64 pages.
Can and I Play Too? Mo Willems. 2010. Hyperion. 57 pages.
Love That Kitty: The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be A Cat. Jeff Jarka. 2010. Henry Holt. 32 pages.
Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy by Denise Fleming. 2010. August 2010. Henry Holt. 32 pages.
A Pirate's Guide to First Grade. By James Preller. Illustrated by Greg Ruth. Feiwel and Friends. 48 pages.
More Than Words by Judith Miller. 2010. Bethany House. 368 pages.

Coming Soon:


Ninth Ward. Jewell Parker Rhodes. 2010. August 2010. Little, Brown. 217 pages.


Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman. 2010. June 2010. HarperCollins. 268 pages.


In Every Heartbeat. Kim Vogel Sawyer. 2010. September 2010. Bethany House. 352 pages.

Currently Reading:


Bleak House. Charles Dickens. 1852-1853. 912 pages.



The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. 1868. 544 pages.



Reckless by Cornelia Funke. 2010. Little, Brown. 394 pages.


The Knife of Never Letting Go. Patrick Ness. 2008. Candlewick Press. 496 pages.


Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Alan Bradley. 2009. Doubleday Canada. 304 pages.


Fallen. Lauren Kate. 2009. Random House. 464 pages.


The Stories of Ray Bradbury. Introduction by Christopher Buckley. 2010. April 2010. Knopf, Doubleday. 1112 pages.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Disappeared


The Disappeared. Kim Echlin. 2009. Grove/Atlantic. 224 pages.

Mau was a small man with a scar across his left cheek. I chose him at the Russian market from a crowd of drivers with soliciting eyes. They drove bicycles and tuk tuks, rickshaws and motos. A few had cars. They pushed in against me, trying to gain my eye, to separate me from the crowd.

When Anne Greves, our heroine, was sixteen she met the love of her life, Serey, a Cambodian student and musician. The relationship is intense from the start. One of the many reasons why Anne's father objects--that and the age difference between the two. But. Her father can't keep these two apart. But where her father might fail--a war-torn country just might. For Serey is determined to return to Cambodia as soon as the borders open. He is determined to return to his country, to try to find his family. While he loves Anne, he doesn't always understand her. And she doesn't always understand him either. She wants him to remain safe in Montreal. She wants for him to be hers. She wants a happily-ever-after.

But. He does leave her. And for a decade, she hears nothing from him. But he is not easily forgotten. (She even learns his language.) And when she sees him--or thinks she sees him--on television, well, her mind is made up. She will go to Cambodia to find him, to be with him. He still has her heart.

The Disappeared is her story of how powerful and enduring love is. Of how heartbreaking it is. How the loss of it can overwhelm you, shape you. It's an emotional story--beautifully written.

Here are a few passages I'd like to share:

People do not like to think of love as a crucifixion but I know now, thirty years later, that if a person is tough enough for love nothing less than rebirth will be required (21)


The ocean has one taste and it is salt. (25)


There were those who could not reveal themselves, the torturers, the prison guards, the soldiers. For them there was no exhilaration in language. Virtue is terror, terror virtue. Without slogans, they found themselves speechless. (116)


I see your long silence as I see war, an urge to conquer. You used silence to guard your territory and told yourself you were protecting me. I was outside the wall, an intoxicating foreign land to occupy. I wondered what other secrets you guarded. Our disappeared were everywhere, irresistible, in waking, in sleeping, a reason for violence, a reason for forgiveness, destroying the peace we tried to possess, creeping between us as we dreamed, leaving us haunted by the knowledge that history is not redeemed by either peace or war but only fingered to shreds and left to our children. But I could not leave you, and I could not forget, and I did not know what to do, and always I loved you beyond love. (120)


Why do some people live a comfortable life and others live one that is horror-filled? What part of ourselves do we shave off so we can keep on eating while others starve? If women, children, and old people were being murdered a hundred miles from here, would we not run to help? Why do we stop this decision of the heart when the distance is three thousand miles instead of a hundred? (172)


Memory is a bit of light on a winter wall. (176)


False of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand. Is man no more than this? (207)
I found The Disappeared to be compelling. I didn't want to put it down. It was beautiful. It was powerful. It was haunting. I thought the writing was incredible. It gets ugly in some places--because war, terror, death, and hate are ugly. The Disappeared is definitely a novel I'd recommend.

And at the moment I'm writing this review, this one is clearanced at Barnes & Noble.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Friday, September 17, 2010

Poetry Friday: Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors


Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors. Joyce Sidman. Illustrated by Beckie Prange. 2010. April 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 40 pages.

I don't often associate poetry with science--or science with poetry. But reading Joyce Sidman's Ubiquitous may just change that. In Ubiquitous, she pays tribute to nature. Each spread features a poem, an illustration, and an informational paragraph providing readers with more background, more science. What subjects are presented? Bacteria. Mollusks. Lichens. Sharks. Beetles. Diatoms. Geckos. Ants. Grasses. Squirrels. Crows. Dandelions. Coyotes. Humans.

The poems are written in different styles--formats. Perhaps my favorite are the shape poems.

I'd have to say my favorite poem is "Tail Tale." This shape poem is written from the point of view of a squirrel and it is essentially one big run-on sentence! I just loved how Sidman portrays this animal!

Here's how it starts...

OK,
your brains are
big while ours are
just the size of
walnuts which
we love to eat by
the way with teeth
that can chew through
any sort of bird feeder you
care to erect and believe me
we will find them no matter
where you put 'em being insatiably
curious and natural-born problem-
solvers just as we find the nuts we...

I appreciated the combination of poetry with scientific fact. The poems are very creative, very artistic, in a way. Yet. The scientific details are there as well. I think this combination makes for an engaging read.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Sabotaged (MG/YA)


Sabotaged. Margaret Peterson Haddix. 2010. August 2010. Simon & Schuster. 377 pages.

Jonah fidgeted in his seat, and his chair fidgeted right along with him.

Sabotaged is the third book in Margaret Peterson Haddix's The Missing series. The first, Found, introduces us to Jonah and his sister Katherine. (Jonah is adopted.) It concludes with the big reveal--Jonah is one of hundreds of children kidnapped rescued by future time-travelers. These are 'special' kids taken from their time periods. There are several people from the future who have plans for these kids. (The main one is JB.) Of course, these adults don't agree! And the children can become confused on who to trust. In the second book, Sent, we learn the identities of two of the children. Chip and Alex are really Edward V and Richard, the Duke of York. The two children that were imprisoned in the Tower by their uncle who then seized the throne--yes, Richard III. The third novel, Sabotaged, introduces readers to the third mystery child, Andrea. In the first few chapters, readers learn that Andrea is Virginia Dare--the first English child born in the 'New World'. Roanoke has always been a historical mystery. What happened to those colonists? So the premise of Sabotaged is that there are three kids (and a dog) being sent back to 'fix' time. If time is 'fixed' then Andrea may just be able to claim her modern life once again. That's the plan. But with a title like Sabotaged--expect trouble and chaos.

The Missing series combines action, mystery, and science fiction. The second and third in the series have a historical setting--especially the second--but they're definitely science fiction. I didn't like Sabotaged as much as Found or Sent. I wouldn't say I was bored, but it wasn't as compelling perhaps. But that could be because I LOVED Sent so much. I found Sent so compelling, so engaging.

The ending wasn't as complete as I wanted.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Library Loot: Fourth Trip in September


New Loot:

Fallen by Lauren Kate
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Basil by Wilkie Collins
The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins
The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins
Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming
Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy by Denise Fleming
A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh

Leftover Loot:

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Lincoln Tells A Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (And the Country) by Kathleen Krull*
Ninth Ward by Jewell Rhodes*
Liberty or Death: The Surprising Story of Runaway Slaves Who Sided with the British During the American Revolution by Margaret Blair.*
The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry
They Called Themselves the K.K.K. by Susan Bartoletti
Sabotaged by Margaret Peterson Haddix*
The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson*
City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems*
What if? by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Lyon*
My Garden by Kevin Henkes*
The War to End All Wars by Russell Freedman*
Ubiquitous by Joyce Sidman*
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Pinkney*
Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman*
Disasters: Natural and Man-Made Catastrophes Through the Centuries by Brenda Guiberson
Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton
Antarctica: Journeys to the South Pole by Walter Dean Myers
Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart
Cold Earth by Sarah Moss
The Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury**
The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
Bleak House by Charles Dickens**
Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley**
How To Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor
Scumble by Ingrid Law
The Moonstone, The Haunted Hotel, My Lady's Money by Wilkie Collins**
Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters by Rachel Vail**
The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer**
The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer
Pistols for Two by Georgette Heyer
The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

* Books I've finished reading
** Books I'm currently reading

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews