Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

This book is 108 pages and I read it in one night. Once I started I couldn't put it down. What I really liked about this book is that it's all written in journal entries. Tish Bonner is a sophomore in high school and her English teacher Mrs. Dunphrey wants the class to keep a journal but if it's something they don't want her to read they can label the entry, "Do not read." Tish starts her journal entry's out with "do not read" to see if Mrs. Dunphrey can be trusted. When Mrs. Dunphrey proves trustworthy Tish starts writing about school, her job at Burger Boy, and her home life that is starting to spiral out of control. Her father has been gone for two years and her mother has been in an emotional coma since. She works but doesn't do much else. Tish takes care of herself and her younger brother Matt. When her dad comes back it looks like life might be better but she has a hard time trusting him and soon he disappoints. Then her mother leaves to find him leaving Tish and Matt alone. Tish feels like she can't trust anyone but likes writing in her journal and eventually trusts Mrs. Dunphrey with her secrets. This is an older book and I think the story was set in the 1980's but the issues talked about haven't changed through the decades. I think any teen picking up this book could relate to Tish and her problems. I think everyone has felt the way she felt about school a time or two. It was a very good read.

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

Reading Level: Adult

(3 out of 5)

Jodi Picoult does not shy away from controversial or hot topics. In this book a baby is found dead in the Fisher's barn. The Fisher's are Amish and the most likely suspect is their eighteen year old daughter Katie Fisher. She denies ever having a baby even when blood is running down her legs and the hospital confirms she gave birth. Katie's family didn't know she was pregnant and since she is unmarried it is a sin. Her father Aaron just wants her to take responsibility and not have representation but Katie's Aunt Leda, who has been shunned from the Amish community since she married and Englisher, has a niece by marriage that is a lawyer and just happens to be visiting. Ellie Hathaway came to her Aunt and Uncles to rest and take a break from law cases but she feels compelled to help Katie. To keep Katie out of jail and from having a bond she agrees to be responsible for her and has to live with Katie and her family on their farm. Ellie gets a first hand look at how the Amish operate and what their beliefs are. It takes awhile to untangle the mystery of what happened to baby Fisher. This book was very good but it was really long and a lot of the information given is repeated twice. Once before the courtroom drama and then again in the courtroom. The ending to me was shocking. I wasn't expecting it at all. That's what I like about mysteries. I don't want to figure out the mystery by the first few pages I want to be kept in suspense. To find out more about Jodi Picoult and the books she has written you can visit her website: http://www.jodipicoult.com/

Multiple Bles8ings by Jon and Kate Gosselin

Reading Level: Adult
(4 out of 5)








Eight children in three years? Impossible! For Jon and Kate Gosselin nothing is impossible. When Jon and Kate met it was love at first sight. Not to long after they got married. Both really wanted children but Kate found out she had Polycysitc Ovarian Syndrome, which means that she did not ovulate. So in order to get pregnant they were going to need a little help. In 2000 they got pregnant with twins. It wasn't an easy pregnancy. Nice months later Kate gave birth to Cara and Mady. Kate soon felt the itch to just have one more. Jon was against it at first. He remembered what it was like the first time around. Painful injections and then a turbulent pregnancy. Soon he came around and they started another round of treatments. In 2003 Kate successfully got pregnant. Before Thanksgiving a visit to the infertility specialist gave them the shock of a lifetime. From the ultrasound the doctor found seven fuzzy little blips that represented life. Jon and Kate were against reduction. At a following ultarsound it was determined that there were six babies. Jon and Kate were having sextuplets. On May 10, 2004 Kate gave birth to Alexis, Hannah, Leah, Aaden, Collin, and Joel. This book tracks their amazing journey from Kate's fight to keep the babies in her belly long enough for them to grow to finally being able to enjoy having a family of eight. It was amazing to read about all the support that they had and how their faith provided for them.

Jon and Kate also have a website: http://www.sixgosselins.com/ and they have a show called Jon and Kate Plus Eight on TLC.

Twilight the Movie

I do realize this is a book blog but the movie is based off a book so that's okay right? Stephenie Meyer's books has come to life and I have to say I liked it. It's not as good as the book but they usually never are. If you think of this movie as a separate entity you may really enjoy it. This movie generated a lot of buzz before it even came out and it's creating a lot of buzz now that most of the world has seen it. Some have seen it several times. There are mixed reviews. Some love it, some were disappointed. I myself thought they stayed pretty close to the book. It's a 500 page books so they couldn't keep everything and I thought that the stuff they added to the movie was appropriate. The fight scene at the end I thought was really cool. Better than the book. I did think the movie started out a bit slow. Because it was slow you would think they had ample time to build the romance properly but I felt the romance was rushed. The book had it better played out. I was very disappointed by the lack of sparkle. It seemed to be on the subtle side and I really wanted to see him sparkle in the open meadow not within the trees. Other than that Jasper was a little creepy but I did think all the actors did a really good job portraying these much loved characters. I had my doubts but they won me over. I'm very excited that they will be doing New Moon. It was announced by Summit films that they were given the green light but I'm not sure when they will start filming. If were lucky it will come out some time next year but who knows.

Avatar Series by Tui T. Sutherland

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)




They say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover and I try not to but the cover is the first thing you see when you read a book. I actually saw the third book first. The cover was very intriguing. Once I found out that it was the third in the series I ordered the other two to read. Now if I would have run across this first book first I may not have read it. I know, I know I sound like a book snob. But in my defense there is a huge bird with a man riding on it. It just looks weird. Even though the cover may not pull me in I do read the book jacket to see what the books is about but I like when the cover is really cool. Anyway on to the story.

The first book in the series is "So This Is How It Ends." What would you do if one second the world was fine and the next everyone one was gone but you? I'm not sure either but for Gus, Venus, Kali, and Tigre they are about to find out. The year is 2012 and everything seems like it should be. Kali is in New York on the subway when it happens. She closed her eyes for only a second and when she wakes up everyone is gone. Stepping off the subway she notices graffiti with phrases like "The End has Come" and strange fish drawings. Then suddenly water comes out from nowhere. Gus (tech guy) and Venus (pop star) are in Los Angeles on a sound stage when an earthquake hits. The get safely outside to discover that area has changed and there is a statue of Venus claiming she died. Tigre is in Chile and wakes up to find animals that are grotesque and a huge beautiful bird that can communicate with him. The world is nothing like it should be. All humans seem to be gone and there are these huge crystal creatures that are terrifying. As the four teenagers try to find out what happened they are hearing voices telling them to go in a certain direction. In this book you get to know the characters quite a bit and you are as confused as they are because you have know idea what is going on and you don't really find out until the end of the book and all you want to do is start reading the next book right away.




Book two is called "Shadow Falling." You learn from the first book that the Gods, as in the Roman/Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Incan, and other Gods are behind why the people disappeared and the voices in the teenagers heads. Six pantheons each choose one of there Gods to be reborn as a human child. Now each human/God must fight each other to the death so they can claim the other's powers and see who will be the ultimate ruler of all the Gods. Kali is the Indian Goddess of destruction and her husband Shiva is her trainer for this game the Gods are playing. Kali is not happy with Shiva because he entered her into this contest against her will. Venus, who's real name is Diana, has two Goddess's in her. She is from the Roman/Greek pantheon and was born Diana Goddess of the hunt but then at age 13 had Venus Goddess of love shoved into her as well. Her pantheon made a deal with the Egyptians that if they played nice Amon could win and have Venus as his prize. Gus was actually a normal teenager but had Oro the Polynesian God of war thrust into him when the earthquake happened. Tigre is the Incan Storm God and his real name is Catequil. Then there is Thor, as in the God Thor of the Norse pantheon. Anna and Ereka that show up at different times looking exactly a like with the same memories but no memories of each other and they don't know what Pantheon they are from. In this book the games begin but for Tigre, Kali, Diana/Venus, Gus, and Thor they don't want to play by the rules.


Book Three is called "Kingdom of Twilight." Diana has been stabbed by Anna who is the Sumerian Goddess of love. Diana is alive but barely and she finds herself in the underworld. Meanwhile her body along with Kali, Tigre, and Gus are on a viking ship to Africa. Africa is neutral in this game. The African Gods wanted to be left alone in Africa. Once they get to Africa Gus heads to the underworld to help bring Diana back and Kali and Tigre try and find the African trickster God Eshu. He knows something about the game and about getting them back to 2o12. I don't want to ruin the ending but keep in mind they have been playing a game and they are being played. I loved all the mythology running around in the this book but Ms. Sutherland did a great job with keeping them all straight and it wasn't confusing. With all the Gods that were present I could see how these books could get confusing. I loved these books and I'm glad that I didn't let the cover stop me from reading the first book or I would have missed out on something great and fun to read.

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)


If you had the choice to a. live in Korea with your parents for two years or b. live with seven boys, five around your age and totally cute, what would your choice be? Megan Meade is an Army brat. She has moved from place to place all her life and she doesn't want to anymore. When her parents announce that they are moving to Korea Megan puts her foot down and tells them no. The only other alternative is to go live with the McGowan family which consists of seven boys. You read that correctly, seven boys. There is Sean, Evan, Finn, Doug, Miller, Ian, and Caleb. The mom of the bunch, Regina, is thrilled to have a girl around but Megan is more like one of the boys. She loves soccer, is not into makeup, and wears comfortable clothes. Megan is a normal sixteen year old and she is thrust into an all male world and trying to navigate a new school, soccer team, and her first crush, that happens to be on the boy next door. As in the bedroom next door. Throughout the book are entries in Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys. It's very interesting stuff.

Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Kristi Carmichael can read minds. It's not always easy either. Sometimes peoples thoughts can be very hurtful. Kristi has been through a lot in the past two years. Her best friend ditched her when high school started, her father left for Africa, and her mother and her don't get along. Her best friend is Minnie Mouse, her cat, that she has to keep locked up in her bedroom because her mother is allergic and doesn't even know she has a cat.

Kristi goes to a hippie type high school called Journeys. She takes classes such as Explorations of Nature (biology in disguise), The Language of the Universe (math), Story as Cultural Artifact (English), and they have a contemplation room. At school her only friend seems to be Jacob but the new kid Mallory seems interesting, but Kristi can't help having a crush on her ex-best friends brother Gusty (who is totally hot). When Gusty and Kristi have to work together on a project she is both excited and fearful. Gusty is always thinking she's sick.

This was a fun read with some laugh out loud moments. I shook my head a little when reading about the school. It just doesn't seem possible that a school like that would be real but it might be fun. This is Ms. Ryan's second book and to learn more about her you can go to her website: http://www.amykathleenryan.com/