By the end I was in the Grip of the Shadow Plague

If you have read any of my other blogs you know I have gotten into a series called Fablehaven. I really enjoyed the first book and the second book was fun to read too so I was eager to read book 3. I bought it soon after it came out and started reading it right away. Again it started off where the last book left off and it was slow going. First of all it was a much longer book compared to the previous two and the author had to spend time setting up for the events of the story.

Last night I finally got to the point of the book where I couldn't put it down. I eventually had to go to sleep, but I quickly finished the book this afternoon. I really enjoyed the events in the second half of the book and the ending has made me look forward to the next installment. My favorite things about this particular book were the new characters introduced and the return of past characters as well as the fact that I still felt like the events were not far above and beyond belief.

The Penderwicks...again.

I love the Penderwicks. I love Batty the littlest Penderwick who loves her dog Hound and whose imagination is amazing. I love Sky who is so logical and analytical. I love Jane and her love for books and stories. But my favorite has to be Rosalind who is always in charge and handles it with ease....usually.

In this book The Penderwicks on Gardam Street Rosalind gets thrown off a little bit and you see her be a kid. You see her make mistakes and forget things. It is all because her father gets a letter from her dead mother telling him he must date again. It is a story of minor deceit. All of the Penderwicks are guilty of it. It is the introduction of more characters and of minor catastrophes....which are common for the Penderwiks. It is in wonderful Penderwick fashion though. Simple and human, yet wonderfully entertaining.

If you have not read either of the books about the Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall I recommend you pick them up. I do not think you will be disappointed.

YA Challenge

I have been slacking on the challenges lately, so I went on a search for one that would be perfect for me and I have found it. The YA challenge is especially great because I read YA anyway and so it may actually get done. The Challenge is that I read 12 YA titles in 2008.

So Here is the list I have as of right now of what I would like to read:

1. Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague (book 3) by Brandon Mull (To be released April 12th) Finished 5/13/08 Shadow Plague Review
2. Farworld-Water by JScott Savage (Coming out in September I believe)
3. The Comeback Season by Jennifer E. Smith
3. Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor
4. Maximum Ride-The Final Warning by James Patterson
5. The Book Theif by Marcus Zusak
6. Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pheffer
7. Looking for Alaska by John Green
8. Uglies by Scott Westerfield
9. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
Finished 4/14/08 Penderwick Review
10. Once Upon a Time in the North by Phillip Pullman
11. Tweak by Nic Sheff
12. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer (To Be released August 2nd)
13. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen (To Be released April)
14. Thou Shall Not Dump The Skater Dude...and other commandments I have broken by Rosemary Graham Finished 4/18/08
15. Size 14 is not Fat Either by Meg Cabot
16. Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti
17. The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
18. The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel-Frederick
19. Lost It by Kristen Tracy

I know I will add many more to my list so stay tuned.

And here is a link to the challenge:

YA Challenge

Check this Writer Out!

Ok so I first figured out who this was when he left me a message in regards to one of my blogs. I immediately went to check him out because he had similar interests to me. Once I visited I knew I would love to read his book. I am especially excited to share this with my friends at Library thing and my students at school. So please go check him out and if I am lucky I may just be able to help you and me both get an advance copy of his book.

http://jscottsavage.blogspot.com/

Fablehaven: The rise of the Starcatchers

So I liked Fablehaven so much that I immediately put the second of the series on hold at my local library. We picked up basically where the last book left off. The kids returned home with their parents and all was normal until a new kid showed up at school. He was not actually a kid at all but only one person could tell that.....Kendra. Kendra amazingly finds someone to help her get rid of the new kid and in the process her brother unknowingly gets into more trouble. Despite all of this is still seems safer for the pair to return to Fablehaven and help their grandfather protect Fablehaven from the Starcatchers and to prevent them from obtaining the hidden artifact hidden on the property. They are not the only ones there to help. There are three others: a potions master, an expert on magical creatures and a relics collector.

Before long it becomes apparent that someone on the property is helping the starcatchers and fooling the Fablehaven protectors. It is quite difficult to tell who is the devious person and as they search for answers they turn to anyone they can. One person who seems especially helpful is the Sphinx who teaches Seth how to get rid of his curse. It isn't an easy road for these kids but they fight hard to keep Fablehaven safe.

Fablehaven

Fablehaven was a very pleasant surprise for me. One of the kids in my class showed it to me, yet another great book that I didn't even have on my list. I am normally not a fan of fantasy and this book looked too fantasy like to me, but I like to read what my students are reading so I figured I would give it a try.

This is one of those books I am coming to love. It is an explanation of fantasy things with use of realistic devises. Peter and the Starcatchers did the same thing and I thoroughly enjoy them.
This story is about a brother and sister pair, Kendra and Seth, who are sent to stay with their grandparents while their parents go on a vacation. They end up at their grandparents estate called Fablehaven. This is obviously, now that I look back on it, a set up for future books because they do spend a lot of time setting up the background of the events that will take place. It takes a while for Kendra and Seth to figure out the difference their grandparents home has in comparison to other places and their grandfather does everything he can to keep it from them. Seth's disregard for the rules gets everyone in all kinds of trouble which forces him and his sister to go on an amazing adventure. The second half of this book is packed with action, adventure and magic. The children encounter all kinds of magical characters and are forced to plead with many for help. Some are there to help and some are not. It ends just as you would expect and leaves questions for what the second installment will present.

This is a fun book and would be great for any older child. I am already on the waiting list at the library for book two and will tell you all about it once I get it finished.

Good Dog. Stay.

Good Dog. Stay. is basically a long eulogy of Beau, a great black lab. Anna Quindelen has apparently won writing awards, but I have not previously read any of her writing, or even heard of her (oops!). I am glad that I picked this book up despite the fact I had no previous knowledge of this person. Just on a side note, I don't always have to have heard of, or read a book by an author, but I often have heard of well known authors and was surprised to have not known this one.

I finished this book in about an hour I think. It is filled with adorable pictures of all kinds of dogs and moves quickly. My favorite thing about the book was the way Anna Quindelen generalized the lessons she learned from Beau to apply to all dogs, in all stages of life. I only read this book a day or so ago and already forget the particulars of Beau's life, but I do remember the day they put Beau down. It was a family event and all were crushed because of the effect this animal had on their lives. That part will stay with me.

If you enjoy reading about the relationships between animals and their families then you will enjoy this really quick read. There have been other dogs in Anna Quendelen's life and I beleive she wrote about this dog in particular for a reason.

I will leave you with my favorite quotes from this book:

"For children, the point of having a dog is something like the point of having a mother and father. Our job is not to do but to be, not to act but to exist."

"Dogs make messes, it's true, but they clean them up as well."

And my favorite: "In a world that seems so uncertain, in lives that seem sometimes to ricochet from challenge to upheaval and back again, a dog can be counted on in a way that's true of little else."

Magic Tree House

I love children's literature but I am not sure I would call the Magic Tree House books children's literature. I adore these books, but they are all quite similar and repetative. I can always guess what will happen next. Even though this is true I can always count on these books. They are always informative, entertaining and use good writing.

I just finished reading Dingoes at Dinnertime and was able to read it in about a half an hour. At the same time I really enjoyed myself and even learned a thing or two about life in Australia. I use these books a lot in reading groups and to help in teaching about a topic. If you have never read any of the many books Mary Pope Osbourne has written you should try at least one. They are fun!

Eclipse......Finally

I have been waiting and waiting to read this book. I didn't want to buy it because I didn't own the previous books and I thought it was silly to have only the third book of a series in my possession (ok maybe that is odd). So I immediately put myself on the waiting list at my local library and was 40 somethingth (gasp) on the list. So I finally got the book a few days ago from the library and saved it to read as I took a long plane trip to Chicago.

I have been reading comments on library thing about these books a lot lately so it was difficult to not take what I read in these into account. I agree with the group opinion about many of the negative parts of this book, however, I continue to be compelled to finish the story. The group doesn't like the relationship between Bella and Edward for many reasons, but my dislike comes mainly from the fact that Bella is so focused on Edwards looks as opposed to his behaviors.

The engaging part of these books to me, a non-vampire book reading girl, is the relationship between the humans and vampires. I have also come to quite enjoy the werewolf introduction to the events. In this edition of "Hunt for Bella" we find Bella finishing high school. She continues to date Edward and struggles to find a way to have Jacob as part of her life while still loving Edward. I like that she is standing up for what she wants in her life (at least a little bit) and both of the men in her life allow her to do it her way. Not that they don't pressure her to do it the way they want, but she finds a great balance. I love Jacob and Bella's camaraderie throughout the story and an intrigued to see how his character is involved in the lives of Bella and Edward in the following installments of the book.

So at the end of this installment of the book I am not much further than I was before. I am still wondering what Bella and Edward will do with their lives. I am still wondering if Bella will really become a vampire and I am wondering what Jacob will do about it.

Books and Movies

I have been to the movies more times in the last month than in a long time. During one set of previews I saw the trailer for P.S. I Love You. Even though I only saw the preview I immediately put the book on hold at my local library. I was finally able to pick it up yesterday and finished it quickly.

It was a fast read (even for me) and I really enjoyed it. In this story the main character has lost her beloved husband and is learning to deal with the effects in her life. She is only forced to deal with the loss of her husband, she has no job or children to complicate her grieving process, but that does not make it any easier for her. One thing that does bring joy to her grief filled life is the arrival of a package filled with letters from her dead husband. She has one letter for each month of the remainder of her year. In each letter her husband gives her a challenge. It is through these challenges that she learns to live again without him. It is a constant battle, as I am sure it would be in her circumstances. Although the premise of the book is death, the story is filled with laughter, fun and positive events as well.

The thing I enjoyed most about the book was the growth of many of the characters through the events in the book. While they mainly focus on the woman there are people in her family, and new friends she makes that also must endure hardships and learn from them. I am excited to see how the screenwriter has changed this tale as it goes from the written word to the big screen. One thing I can guarantee is that I will cry in the movie just as I cried in the book and yes...even the preview.