On a Stick: 80 Party-Perfect Recipes by Matt Armendariz

On a Stick: 80 Party Perfect Recipes by Matt Armendariz is full of recipes of food that you eat on a stick.  I'm sure everyone has had a corn dog or a shish kabob but have you had pizza or waffles on a stick?

The book is split into two parts: savory foods on a stick and sweet foods on a stick.  None of the recipes seem that complex and require easy everyday ingredients. There are many recipes in the book that would be great for kids.  Who wouldn't enjoy Pizza Skewers or s'mores (using the recipe from the book on homemade marshmallows).

One of the most unique recipes is for Frozen Elvis.  You take frozen bananas and roll them in melted chocolate.  Then roll the banana in chopped cooked bacon and peanuts.  Place it in the freezer again and you have a great frozen treat.

Another great thing about the book is it includes recipes for the dips used-cucumber yogurt and spicy garlic soy are two that I will be trying soon! 

Taken by Storm by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Reading Level: Young Adult
(3 out of 5)

This is the third book in the Raised by Wolves series and I am crossing my fingers that it is not the last.  I was less than pleased with this one.  Ms. Barnes resolved many of the ongoing story lines but I was screaming silently at some of the resolutions.  I think that the end of the book leaves you hanging.  I want more.  I really hate to talk about the book so that I don't give anything away.  It just didn't sit well for me.  I love this series and the characters and like I stated above I just want more.

Body and Soul by Stacey Kade

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

I'm sad.  This series is over.  It is only a trilogy and it was oh so good.  I would have been happier if Alona and Will would have been a little less argumentative with each other but that's kind of how their relationship is.  They just spent more time upset with each other than I would have liked since this is the last book and all.  More love, less argue is what I'm talking about.  Other than that Ms. Kade didn't disappoint.

In Body and Soul Alona is still in Lily Turner's body.  While it might be nice having a body Alona is having a hard time adjusting and so is Lily's family.  They can tell Lily woke up from the coma not quite herself.  Will is struggling also.  He thinks Alona isn't appreciating her situation and he is having a hard time sorting out his feelings for Alona/Lily or as Alona wants to be called, Ally.

So Alona and Will are on the hunt for someone who can safely pull Alona out of Lily's body without killing Lily.  That leads them to Malachi the Magnificent, who isn't so magnificent and his crazy ghost sister Erin.  Let the fun that only the Ghost and the Goth novels can bring you begin.  See why I am going to miss them :).

Mod Podge Rocks! by Amy Anderson

I have used Mod Podge a few times to for paper crafts.  When I saw the book Mod Podge Rocks! by Amy Anderson at the library I decided to check it out expecting to find some more ideas for crafts using different paper.  What I found was a whole bunch of different things that you use mod podge for.

Mod Podge Rocks! has instructions for 41 projects.  The project ideas are split into three groups: wearables (who knew you could decoupage cowboy boots!), home decor, and holiday.  Every page is filled with colorful step by step pictures and a picture of the final project.  The list of items you need for the craft are available with every one and instructions are easy to follow.

Since I have just used mod podge a few times I didn't realize how many different types were available.  There's matte and glossy, outdoor and fabric mod podge-basically there is an mod podge for everything you may want to decoupage.  I'll definitely be trying the sparkle mod podge soon which makes everything look glittery.  Being only used to decoupaging with paper, I was surprised to see many of the craft ideas using fabric.  For example, the book gives instructions on how to decoupage a bike helmet using any fabric scraps you may have around (page 30) and also tells you how to decoupage an suitcase (page 86).  Holiday themed crafts included gift tags (page 112) and gift bags (page 114).

One of my favorite craft projects is the retro floral outdoor chair (page 82). Using outdoor mod podge and fabric an old chair can be made to look like new. The bright floral fabric makes the chair really pop.

Anderson also writes the blog Mod Podge Rocks (http://www.modpodgerocksblog.com/) which contains much more craft ideas.

Decoupage is an easy craft to do with all ages.  If you never done it before or do it all the time check out this book filled of ideas.

Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson

Reading Level: Adult
(4 out of 5)

This is the first book I have read by Rachel Gibson and I really enjoyed it.  But whats not to love when you have a bad boy ex-jock and a pint sized, pink-haired bombshell giving each other trouble!

Mark Bressler's glory days are over as a superstar hockey player.  He was in a serious car accident that sidelined his career.  Chelsea Ross's acting career never really got off the ground, but leaving Hollywood to become the personal assistant to a famous hockey player with a bad attitude could be her stupidest career move ever.

Chelsea is determined to put up with Mark's rotten attitude because she needs the money and it doesn't hurt that he is so darn sexy.  Soon sparks are flying and I'm ready to read more books by Ms. Gibson.

Jane Goes Batty by Michael Thomas Ford

I have tried to read this book several times, but the beginning never caught fire
with me until yesterday. Now it is today, and I've finished reading it, and would
have finished the same day I started if not for the kids!

I don't know why I didn't like it in the past, but having finished the whole thing, I
must admit it was quite an adventure. While I'm not entirely sold on the idea of
Jane Austen as a vampire, I do like Ford's treatment of it, because it shows a
cast of other literary geniuses who have joined her as part of the army of the
undead, including lord Byron and Charlotte Bronte. It is amusing here to see
how Austen's vampire (who calls herself Jane Fairfax, amusingly enough one of
Austen's least likeable characters) is rivals with Charlotte Bronte, whose vampire
name is Violet Grey (and no, I haven't read enough Bronte novels to know if that
character exists in her writing or not.) Even more amusing, Austen and Byron call
Bronte "our gloomy friend," and supposedly Bronte holds a grudge against Byron
because he got her pregnant hundreds of years before. I mean, how much fun
can you have with literary characters?

In this modern incarnation, Jane Fairfax/Austen has written a best-selling novel
called Constance, that is being made into a movie. The film crew wants to do
some interviews with her just as her boyfriend Walter's Jewish mother (Miriam
Ellenberg) comes into town. And unlike most mother-in-law/girlfriend
relationships, this one is even more stressful since Miriam is a vampire hunter,
and knows exactly why Jane is bad for her son. The two make nice by the end of
the book, with Miriam extracting a promise from Jane that she must give her a
grandchild within a year, or Miriam tells her son the big secret (and then stakes
Jane.)

There is a subplot about Jane losing her editor at the publishing house and an
evil harridan taking the man's place. That woman ends up dead during an Austen
a-Go-Go event set up by another pink-wearing literary critic/blogger/tour guide
named Beverly Shrop, and the murder is blamed on Charlotte Bronte. If it all
sounds very confusing and amusing, it is, and is well worth the time it takes to
read this book.

No, it's not a classic work of literature. But it's fun that an author has taken
characters that any English major loves, hates, at least knows of, and jams them
all together in a funny, tooth-baring modern mashup. The hardest part to read is
the croquet match between Jane and her mother-in-law that goes on for too
many pages, but that's really my fault for not remembering the rules to that lawn
game. 

 Submitted by Gerti

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

This is the first Suzanne Collins book in the "Hunger Games" series that I have
read, mainly due to the popularity of the books after the movie was released.
However, despite the fact that my husband told me he couldn't make it through
the first book because he didn't like the writing style, I find Collins' style to be an
easy read, and finished the book in one day.

After seeing the movie, it was nice to see some things in print - namely, how to
spell Katniss and Peeta. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her actions after her
victory in the competition, and while it reads like Young Adult fiction in that part of
her struggle is with her love life, the story is most engaging when she is paired
with Peeta for a victory tour, and then later, for an anniversary version of the
Hunger Games they already endured.

I enjoy how the novel deals with the lifestyle changes Katniss endures, not only
in her romantic life, but how her new found fame brings with it rewards, and new
challenges. Becoming a famous television stare in Panem, this country where
she lives in District 12, does not only bring with it great clothes and food. It also
brings for her the difficulty of dealing with the invasion of privacy, as the current
government under President Snow is able to spy on her, and further to force her
to choose one romantic partner to save the life of another.

I enjoy reading about how Katniss endures each challenge, having only moments
of weakness when she sees those she loves, like her old boyfriend Gale or her
dresser Cinna, being hurt or even killed by the current government. I enjoyed
how she is mainly ignorant of the political movement that is brewing behind her
humanitarian actions, as it is plausible that media would be controlled in a
political state like Collins describes in this book. And I also enjoy how she learns
the secrets through her kindness to others.

In summary, while not a classic work of literature, this is a book to me on the
scale of Brave New World, where a protagonist is forced to deal with forces
larger than herself, but through her own strong character and deep family ties,
she can endure and even triumph through the worst of it. While I find the end
confusing, I'm sure all will be answered in the 3rd book, "Mockingjay," and will be
eager to read it when my time on the waiting list is up! 

Submitted by Gerti