The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This fourth installment in the Percy Jackson series was just as action-filled as the other three. Percy is attending freshman orientation at yet another private school when he is confronted by what appear to be cheerleaders, but which turn out to be much more dangerous. This begins a summer of dangerous adventures for Percy and his friends as they try to prevent the evil Titan Kronos from coming into their camp and destroying Olympus. I will need to order this one for our school library - the fourth and fifth graders will be clamoring for more of this series.


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Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was a really quick read. Joey is a boy who in his own words is "wired wrong". He is on medication for attention deficit, but it doesn't seem to be working and Joey keeps making bad decisions when he starts to feel wound up. Finally, Joey gets in so much trouble that he has to go to a special school for six weeks. At first that seems terrible to Joey, but it turns into a good thing when they begin to find the right medicine and the best methods to help Joey get along in the world. Joey is a lovable and endearing character and I can't wait to read more about him.


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Igraine The Brave by Cornelia Funke

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a story about a girl who wants to become a knight. She is eleven years old, almost twelve, and her parents and brother are magicians with singing magic books. But Igraine is not particularly interested in magic. She wants to be a famous knight and spends all of her spare time practicing to be a knight. Then her parents make a mistake in one of their spells and the nephew of the baroness next door comes to try to capture their castle and steal away the magic books. Igraine and her brother Albert must find a way to reverse their parents' magical mistake and defend the castle at the same time. If you enjoy adventure and fantasy, this is a book for you.


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The Next Thing on My List: A Novel by Jill Smolinski

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was a recommendation from the LM_NET listserv. It took awhile to get it since it was checked out each time I looked for it at the public library. Then, at last, it was in. The story is about June Parker, a 34 year-old woman whose life seems to be going nowhere. Then she picks up a woman who needs a ride, gets in a car accident which kills the woman she thought she was helping. She finds a list that the woman had made of twenty things she wanted to do before her 25th birthday with only two items crossed off. June knows she should give the list to the family of the victim, but something makes her hold onto it. Then, she decides to try to complete the list. This is a very entertaining and touching story about a woman's journey to find a purpose in life.


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The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gratuity Tucci is a twelve-year-old girl who has an assignment to write a five page essay on "The True Meaning of Smekday" for a National Time Capsule contest. She isn't sure how to get started, but then her mother suddenly develops a mole on the back of her neck, which seems to be sending messages. Aliens have taken over the Earth and all humans in America are being sent to Florida. Then,on Christmas Eve, Gratuity's mother is abducted by aliens and Gratuity decides to try to find her. Gratuity's adventures in this story are funny and exciting as she learns more about the aliens after making friends with one. Read to find out what happens to Gratuity and her mother as well as the whole human race.


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Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56 by Rafe Esquith

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is an inspirational look at what a caring, dedicated teacher can do with a class of fifth-grade students. Just reading this book makes me want to be a better teacher. I think this would be a great book for a faculty to read to get charged up for a new school year. I found myself reading parts aloud to my husband. There were many great ideas in this book to try with kids. I highly recommend this for teachers to read.


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The Scent of Lilacs: A Novel by Ann H. Gabhart

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a beautiful little story about a preacher's daughter in a small town. Jocie Brooke lives with her father and her Aunt Love. Seven years ago, Jocie's mother and older sister left without a word. Jocie has been praying that her sister will come back and that she will get a dog. Suddenly, both of those prayers are granted. This was really a heart-warming story with many twists that left me feeling glad I had read it.


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The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne Duprau

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
While this book is listed as the third Book of Ember, it is actually a prequel of sorts to The City of Ember and The People of Sparks. The main character in this story is Nickie, a girl of twelve, who is going with her aunt Crystal to help get her great-grandfather's house, Greenhaven, cleaned out and ready to sell. This house is in the small town of Yonwood. One of Yonwood's citizens, Althea Tower, has had a vision of the cataclysmic end of the world, and after falling into a coma-like state becomes known as the Prophet, whom the citizens believe is giving them instructions on how to avoid the end of the world that she has seen. Nickie has three goals when she gets to Yonwood: to convince her aunt to keep Greenhaven, to fall in love, and to help the world. To find out if she achieves her goals, read this fantasy adventure story.


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Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was unsure whether or not to read this, since I am such a fan of Gone with the Wind. I decided to try it when I learned that the author was chosen by Margaret Mitchell's estate to write Rhett Butler's People. I found the first half of the book rather heavy going. It seemed to jump around with no real connection between the chapters and sections. Some of this made sense as the book continued, but at one point I almost put it down. I did enjoy much of the last half of the book, and I do feel that it helped to explain Rhett's character. What I probably enjoyed the most was that this book extended past the end of Gone With the Wind and continued some of its stories. If you are a fan of Gone With the Wind and/or the Civil War, you might enjoy this book.


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The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
One day while chastising her dogs for being noisy, the Queen of England noticed a mobile library (bookmobile) parked nearby and went in to apologize for the noise her dogs were making. She then felt compelled to borrow a book. This was the beginning of several years of discovering new books and reading all manner of books, sometimes to the detriment of her duty. This was an interesting book about what a difference reading can make in a life. If you enjoy books about reading, books, libraries, or royalty, this is a good choice.


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The People of Sparks by Jeanne Duprau

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This sequel to The City of Ember continues the adventures of Lina and Doon who lead the people of Ember out of the underground and out into the world. They walk for many hours and come upon the city of Sparks, where they hope to find food and shelter. The people of Sparks are alarmed by such a large number of people since they have only just begun to produce enough for their own townspeople. Will they agree to help the people of Ember or cast them out into the "Empty Lands"? At first the people of Sparks agree to help, but after a time they grow resentful of the drain on their resources and the people of Ember grow resentful from the difficult conditions and scarcity of food. If you read The City of Ember, you will want to read this continuation of the story.


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The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I want to start this review by saying "WOW!". I really had trouble putting this one down. Lina is a twelve-year-old girl living in the city of Ember. It is her last day of school when she and her classmates will receive their jobs that they will work at for the next three years. Lina hopes to work in the greenhouses or be a messenger, but when she chooses her job from the bag held by the mayor, it says "pipeworker", which means that she will be working in the pipeworks below the city where all of the water comes from. She is disappointed. Her friend Doon receives the job of messenger and offers to trade jobs with her because he wants to do a job that will save the city of Ember. The city is in trouble, because the generator that provides the only light in the city has begun to break down causing blackouts. Lina and Doon must find a way to help the city, but how. I read this book so quickly that I feel that I need to reread to catch all of the details I might have missed, but I am too anxious to read the next book. I will definitely order this one for my school library!


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The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a sequel to Chasing Vermeer. Calder and Petra are joined by Calder's old friend Tommy who has returned to Chicago at the end of the school year. They learn that the Robie House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is about to be cut up into pieces and sent to several museums around the world. Calder and Petra are joined by Tommy to form the Wright 3 as they work to solve the mysteries surrounding the house and the accidents that have been happening around it. This mystery was difficult to put down and I would recommend it for anyone who likes a good mystery or who enjoys learning about art and architecture. It was especially interesting trying to read the code that the Wright 3 used to write about their discoveries.


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The Wish List by Eoin Colfer

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Wish List is the story of Meg Finn, a teenager who is left with an abusive stepfather after her mother dies. She has been a troublemaker, but then she falls in with Belch who gets her involved in a robbery attempt of an elderly man, Lowrie McCall. Things go wrong and Meg and Belch are killed in a gas explosion, but it is not the end for either of them. Meg has a chance to go back and right some wrongs in order to earn her way to heaven, and Belch is recruited to try to stop her. Meg finds herself helping Lowrie McCall complete his "wish list" of things he wants to do before he dies. Will she be able to help him and what will Belch do to stop her? This story was a very interesting afterlife adventure, probably more suited to middle school and older students.


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The Rope Trick by Lloyd Alexander

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lidi is a traveling magician with amazing skills in sleight of hand and many other fascinating magic tricks, but the one she wants to know, the rope trick, is apparently known only by the famous magician Ferramondo. Lidi sets out find Ferramondo and learn the rope trick, but along the way she finds many other adventures. She meets Daniella, a little girl who seems to be able to see the future, and Julian, a young man on the run from the authorities who has a mission of his own. Read this fast-moving story to find out if Lidi learns to do the rope trick and what happens along the way.


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The Gawgon and the Boy by Lloyd Alexander

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
David has been very sick, and the doctor recommends that he not go back to school for awhile. His elderly Aunt Annie says that she will take him for few hours each day to help keep up with his education. This to David who sees Aunt Annie as a gorgon and develops a secret name for her: The Gawgon. After a short time, he changes his mind about her and together they begin a journey that will change David forever. I really enjoyed this story. It moved fairly quickly, and jumped back and forth between the story and the stories David was making up in his mind.


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101 Ways to Bug Your Teacher by Lee Wardlaw

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
In this book Sneeze, whose real name is Steve, is in middle school. He has a reputation at school from a book he wrote and sold the previous year at school called 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents. He is an inventor with a problem: inventor's block. We meet his friends Hiccup, Hayley, Goldie, Ace, Pierre, and many other interesting characters. While Sneeze is trying to figure out what to do about his inventor's block, his parents spring the news that they have arranged for him to skip 8th Grade and go straight to high school. But what will he do without his friends? Then, suddenly his two best friends, Hayley and Hiccup, are not speaking to him: Hayley because she is angry with him and Hiccup because he seems to developed a terminal case of hiccups. And to top it off, his parents have yet another surprise for him. This is an entertaining story, probably more of interest to middle schoolers than elementary students. It is surprising to find that the author used to be an elementary school teacher. It seems she has gone over to the "dark side" ;->.


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Anne of Windy Poplars by Lucy Maud Montgomery

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Anne of Windy Poplars takes Anne from her college years at Redmond to the principalship of Summerside High. These are the years that Gilbert, her fiance, is going to medical school so much of the story is told through Anne's letters to him describing events in her life. There were many heart-warming incidents in this story and Anne seems to be responsible for the happiness of many people she meets. I would recommend these stories to anyone who enjoys an old-fashioned romantic story about real people who lived a long time ago.


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Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a sequel to Anne of Avonlea in which we follow Anne through her college years at Redmond. Some friends from Prince Edward Island are also attending and Anne is growing up and learning to be independent. Anne and three girlfriends decide to rent a house together rather than staying in boarding houses and find the perfect place in Patty's Place, a charming house on the same street with mansions of millionaires. This story has slightly more adult themes than the last, including the death of a friend and the marriage of several friends. It seemed more romantic than Anne of Avonlea, and I had trouble putting it down.


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Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I never read these books when I was young, so I thought I would try one now and see what I think.

Anne of Avonlea was a charming story of a girl of seventeen who is becoming a woman. She serves as the schoolmarm of Avonlea school and continues to live with Marilla, who brought her through the past few years. The descriptions of Anne, her friends and pupils, and of Avonlea were detailed and beautiful. Although the vocabulary in this story is pretty advanced, the storyline itself is unobjectionable. I think that students, particularly girls, who want to be teachers might quite enjoy this story. I think that I may go back and read Anne of Green Gables now that I have read this.


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