The Book Search

I've been rooting around in Netgalley for something good to read and I have been rewarded for my patience!  I found some really great YA books that will be published soon.  Check these out... The first one is called "Shooter" by Caroline Pignat.  It's told from the point of view of 5 very different high schools students.  Isabelle, or Izzy,  is the class president but worries about not being enough.  Hogan is a former football player who has some big issues surrounding his temper.  Xander is a photographer who struggles with social skills (the author never names his diagnosis but you could assume it was Asperger's or possibly high functioning autism).  Noah is definitely autistic and has limited self control.  Alice is his sister who worries about him and tries as much as she can to protect him.  They all end up in a boys bathroom at the school during a lockdown, which the kids initially assume is a drill, but it turns out, it's a real...

This week I've been reading some advanced readers copies from Netgalley again, and wow, was THIS a good crop. The first one is definitely middle grade fiction by Carol Weston.  It's a sequel to her fabulous book called "Ava and Pip" about two sisters struggling to fit in.   Here is the review of "Ava and Pip"  This one is called "Ava and Taco Cat" and it's just as good as the first one, but this one is a bit more girly than "Ava and Pip" so it may have a harder time finding wide spread appeal because although I liked it, there are a couple of things that will make middle grade boys squirm.  First, the good parts.  Ava is back as a prolific writer and lover of words.  She has decided she wants a cat and finds one at the local shelter.  She names him Taco Cat (a palindrome) because the shelter is near their favorite taco spot.  Ava writes a great story about Taco Cat and even ends up in the newspaper, which brings a whole new set of ...

Today was my first day back to school.  I always forget how much stamina it takes to get through a day at school, so this afternoon, I was totally ready for a nap.  Thank goodness my friend, Pam called and teased me into going to the beach.  It was far more refreshing than a nap and I'll probably sleep a lot better! I've been reading a LOT this summer (and when I count how many books I've read, I'm really surprised!  72!  Holy cow!  Did I do anything else?).  I found a couple that I think will be awesome for the start of the year. For the littlest kids, I just read one called "F is for Feelings" by Goldie Millar.  It's an ABC book about a variety of feelings, both positive and negative.  What's really great about this one, is that the sentences are short and both name the feeling and give a situation or describe the feeling.  On top of that, there is beautiful artwork that shows not only the facial expression, but the body language a...

I've been trying to figure out how to get to advanced readers copies so I can read the latest and greatest books so I can then recommend them to my students.  Through a group I follow on Goodreads, an completely awesome book recommending site, I found Netgalley.  Netgalley provides advanced readers copies online (like through a Kindle) so you can read books ahead of time.  Some of them are REALLY badly formatted, but in the case of this last book I read, the formatting didn't distract from the complete awesomeness of the book! This one was called "Ava and Pip" by Carol Weston.  Ava and Pip are sisters and they are word nerds.  Their names and their parents names are palindromes, they like to play a homonym game, and Ava would like to be a writer.  Pip has some un-named issue that makes her smaller and shyer than Ava so Ava tries to help.  When a new girl decides to have a party the same time as Pip's thirteenth birthday party, Pip is very hurt. ...