Monday, January 30, 2017

Review: We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler

We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ohhhh, I wish I still taught World History to high school students! This would definitely be on the reading list. A guillotine? In World War II Germany? How did I not know that form of death existed in Nazi Germany? I love these types of stories--I wish I had known about this when I went to Munich a few years ago. Now I'll have to go back and visit the monument.

I just reread and this and I showed way too much excitement about this book--but it's very teachable. And very 2017. Love how the teens explain why they were sucked into the Hitler youth, but grew disillusioned with the sameness and lack of intelligence.

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Review: We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler

We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ohhhh, I wish I still taught World History to high school students! This would definitely be on the reading list. A guillotine? In World War II Germany? How did I not know that form of death existed in Nazi Germany? I love these types of stories--I wish I had known about this when I went to Munich a few years ago. Now I'll have to go back and visit the monument.

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Review: Giant Squid

Giant Squid Giant Squid by Candace Fleming
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Why did I read this children's book? Because it won a Sibert honor!

And, whoa, cool nonfiction title for little kids! Love the pages that fold out in the middle, and I liked how the story began the title page. Cool diagram in the back with parts of a squid, too.

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Review: Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks, Caldecott committee, for honoring this book with an award! I'm a rural modern art idiot, so I'd never heard of Basquiat before reading this book, but I loved how Steptoe imitated his art. Very cool. So much to look at! And, hey, famous people have bad things happen to their family members. I appreciated how the author didn't sugarcoat Basquiat's mother's illness.

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Review: The Trespasser

The Trespasser The Trespasser by Tana French
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wow--the interview scenes in this audiobook take FOREVER. And I mean, FOREVER. I loved the Irish accents, and the plot was good, but, oh, the talking in the interview rooms! 18 CDs meant that I was changing CDs during the same freaking interview and it just took too long. Tighter editing would have helped during the slow parts, I think.

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Friday, January 27, 2017

Review: Reliance, Illinois

Reliance, Illinois Reliance, Illinois by Mary Volmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read an ARC of this novel on my kindle, and I'm hoping that some things changed before going to press. On the kindle, I was always surprised when time jumped forward--there were no spaces or lines between paragraphs or an extra page.

Madelyn defines herself by her facial birthmark and as her mother's daughter so when the rich lady in town offers to educate and "better" her, she jumps at the chance. While keeping secrets about almost everyone in town, Maddie comes of age, falling in love, making friends, and learning more about her family and those around her. The atmosphere is pioneer era small town--Reliance is a fictional town on the Mississippi that missed its chance for a railroad. It's the Sin Society versus the suffragettes who sneak illegal birth control into town, which hits a little too close to home these days. There were bits of literary-ness, while other parts were jarring and crude, and the two didn't mesh together as well as I would have liked, resulting in the 3-star rating.

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Monday, January 16, 2017

Review: Only Time Will Tell

Only Time Will Tell Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know I read some of Archer's books years ago--perhaps some of the Kane and Abel series? And this reminded me that I need to read more of them, especially the audiobooks! I downloaded this one from 3M Cloud Library through the library system, and it was darn good!

Harry Clifton is a poor kid in the early 1900's. Though he would rather fool around at the docks and skip school, his voice catches the ear of a teacher, and he's sent off to a boarding school on a voice scholarship. This first book of the series is Harry's coming-of-age. He's poor, yet his single mother works hard to make sure he has everything he needs, even when he's surrounded by his rich best friends. When he realizes that falling in love can be difficult with unexpected consequences, he tries to escape the life that God has dealt him. The book ends with quite the cliffhanger--now I have to read on!

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Thursday, January 12, 2017

Review: Tell Me Something Real

Tell Me Something Real Tell Me Something Real by Calla Devlin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Not your typical "cancer" book, but it was a bit too problem-novelish for my tastes. But I know some people love those!

The Babcock sisters do everything together, including driving their sick mom to Mexico for cancer treatments. They are making a lot of sacrifices for their mom--their life is on hold, even as Vanessa falls in love with a boy receiving treatment and the youngest sister takes her Catholic saint obsession a little too far.

Lots of creative references, sisterly love, and a sweet romance!

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Saturday, January 7, 2017

Review: Girl Mans Up

Girl Mans Up Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you, Morris committee, for bringing this book to my attention! This is one that all libraries should have in their teen collection, and, honestly, I'm surprised I haven't read more like it. Love that the author thanks Michael Cart, Malinda Lo, and even names the high school in the book after Julie Anne Peters.

Pen Oliveira (don't call her Penelope) dresses like a dude, but she's a girl, and she likes girls, and she's okay with that. It's everyone else, especially her parents, who seems to have an issue with her not acting like a "real" girl. In her Canadian Catholic school, she's an oddity, but luckily her older brother always has her back. Part of Pen's coming-of-age is discovering who her real friends are, and that can be a very tough difficult decision. I appreciated all the "man up" and "getting some balls" references throughout the text. This will get you thinking about gender, and that's a good thing!

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Thursday, January 5, 2017

Review: Because I'm Watching

Because I'm Watching Because I'm Watching by Christina Dodd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyable romp with likable flawed characters! Mad Maddie has been accused of murder before and has spent some time in an insane asylum. She's at it again, but thanks to a PTSD-suffering ex-POW across the street, she finds out that things aren't always what they seem. The two start a sweet romance, each trying to save the other, and the mysteries of Virtue Falls are solved, thanks to the help of the Sheriff.

The characters make this book--quirky and different, so that when the action is over the top, you just don't care!

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Sunday, January 1, 2017

Review: Blood Red, Snow White

Blood Red, Snow White Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one weird and mature book, and I sure hope it got some discussion at the Printz table this year. Lots of literary loveliness with this one! But, man, I didn't want to keep reading sometimes....it's a lot more than a fairy tale retelling--it's a mature metaphor about war, historical hell in Russia, and adult life problems.

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Review: You Will Know Me

You Will Know Me You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I felt like this audiobook was all over the place! I couldn't decide if it wanted to be about gymnastics, crazy sports parents, or just broken people. I had a difficult time understanding the whole adult man/child lover thing--um, that's rape. That was never really mentioned and I just couldn't get past it. The narrator's voice of the younger brother was disturbing, too. He was ten in the book, but sounded like a three-year-old with a lisp.

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