Latest Updates: family
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jpainte
08:47:49 pm on January 11, 2011 |
Comments Off on Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber |
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Tags: courage, death, family, Realistic Fiction, Romance
While the snow was falling and Lincoln Public Schools were closed for a couple of days, I read the book, Crossing the Tracks, which I borrowed from the public library. I selected the book because the setting is in towns and cities not too far from where I grew up. The novel relates the story of a young girl, Iris, who faces many trials in her life including the death of her mother at an early age and a distant father who sends her away for the summer. Although not thrilled to work for the Nesbitt family, Iris is genuinely surprised by their warmth, friendship and hospitality. However, Iris must face her memories, anger, and sadness especially when tragedy dramatically changes her course in life. I fell in love with the characters in this novel especially Mrs. Nesbitt, Dr. Avery Nesbitt, and Leroy (Iris’ boyfriend). They make the novel worth reading. I was disappointed about the celebratory treatment of a particular death near the end of the novel. I’d tell you who dies, but I’d ruin the story for you.
Crossing the Tracks was a 2011 Finalists for the The William C. Morris YA Debut Award
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So very often you ask me for a short book to read for your book report. Well, here is a cute story that is 193 pages, but a quick and easy read. You’ll fly through it like it’s 100 pages, and you will enjoy the sweet story along the way. In the story, Isabel would give anything to travel outside of her small town in Oregon. So, she enters a baking contest, and if her recipe is selected, she will travel to New York for the national competition. However, two people may stand in the way of her plan. Her best friend, who seems to succeed at everything she tries also plans to enter a recipe, and her mother wants her to enter a cupcake recipe to promote the Cupcake shop their family is opening in town, but Isabel is not sure her best recipe is a cupcake recipe. If you want to find out what Isabel decides, read It’s Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder. We don’t have this book in our library yet, but if you let me know, I can help you obtain a copy to read.
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jpainte
06:32:26 pm on January 1, 2011 |
Comments Off on Lucky: Maris, Mantle, and My Best Summer Ever by Wes Tooke |
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Tags: babe ruth, baseball, family, mickey mantel, roger maris, summer
Lucky: Maris, Mantle, and My Best Summer Ever chronicles Louis May’s experience as bat boy for the Yankees during the summer of 1961, which was the year Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle raced to beat Babe Ruth’s home run record. If you enjoyed the baseball card adventures by Dan Gutman, you will certainly enjoy this book, too.
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Despite the fact that she is currently homeless and living on a school bus, Amber Appleton is the most hopeful, optimistic, and loving teenager ever. She teaches English to the Korean Divas for Christ, created a program that spices up the lives of the elderly at the Methodist home, befriends a lonely Vietnam Veteran, and fights to save her favorite teacher’s job. But when tragedy strikes, Amber must decide if she will remain hopeful or give in to despair. Grab a box of tissues. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but you will absolutely love the way this one ends! Here’s the trailer for Sorta Like a Rock Star created by Matthew Quick, the author of the book:
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Lily’s mom gets a new job, and Lily must leave her school and her best friend to start again in a new town. Willowood is Lily’s story about embracing change, dealing with bullies, making new friends, and doing what is right even when adults may not understand at first.
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A car accident kills Mia’s mother, father, and brother. Now Mia is in intensive care in critical condition. The novel flashes from the past to the present as Mia experiences an out of body experience between life and death where she must decide whether or not she will live or die. An engaging novel that will be loved by anyone who read Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reason’s Why, Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls, or Jennifer Brown’s Hate List.
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jpainte
10:20:59 am on September 14, 2010 |
Comments Off on The Importance of Wings by Robin Friedman |
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Tags: family, friendship, israel, israeli, multicultural
Roxanne moved to the United States from Israel when she was four years old. She wants nothing more than to fit in and be “all American.” With her mom living in Israel and her dad working late nights as a Manhattan taxi driver, Roxanne’s life is far from what she desires. When Liat, an Israeli girl, moves into the cursed house next door, Roxanne learns from Liat what it means to be Israeli and that maybe being all American and what Roxanne considers normal is not as important as Roxanne once thought.
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jpainte
12:57:23 pm on September 9, 2010 |
Comments Off on Beastly by Alex Flinn |
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Tags: fairy tales, family, Romance, supernatural
Beastly is a modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast, which centers around the arrogant Kyle Kingsbury who thinks his amazingly good looks will bring him everything he wants in life. Then a witch cast a spell on him, and he transforms into a hairy half-human half-beast creature. To break the spell, he and a girl must fall in love with each other and kiss. But it seems impossible to Kyle especially with the way he looks after being transformed. The book has been adapted into a movie and will be in theatres March 2011.
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Have you ever been embarrassed by your parents? Do you find yourself competing with one of your brothers or sisters? Does your best friend think you like him like him, when all you want is to be friends? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you can relate to Hamlet, the main character in The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne. Hamlet’s life is anything but ordinary. Her parents are obsessed with Shakespeare to the extent that they appear in public wearing Shakespearean garb. Now Hamlet’s brilliant eight-year-old sister will be an 8th grader at school with Hamlet. To complicate matters even more, Hamlet is receiving cute origami pigs from a secret admirer! With all of this happening to her and more, Hamlet is finding it very hard to do what she desperately wants to do in 8th grade-fit in. Here’s a trailer for the book:
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jpainte
11:51:30 am on July 8, 2010 |
Comments Off on Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen |
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Tags: bikes, divorce, family, friendship, love, Romance
Auden is an intellectual and studious young woman and because of this, she has missed out on most typical childhood experiences including learning how to ride a bike. It is now the summer after Auden’s senior year, and Auden decides to spend the summer with her dad and step-mom at the beach town where they live. Ever since her parent’s divorce, Auden has not been able to sleep at night. So, she spends most of her nights driving around town stopping 0nly for coffee at a cafe or gas station. Then she meets Eli, and they begin spending each night on a quest for Auden to experience those things she missed out on as a child. Along for the Ride was a delightful story of love, family, and friendship. I stayed up all night to read this book! It was that good! Here’s a video clip of Sarah Dessen talking about her book.
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