4. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

read on my iPhone
2017 Dutton Books for Young Readers
290 pgs.
YA/CRF
Finished 1/8/18
Goodreads rating: 4.14 - 66,158 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: contemporary Indianapolis, IN

First line/s:  "I might be fictional, my weekdays were spent at a publicly funded institution on the north side of Indianapolis called White River High School, where I was required to eat lunch at a particular time -- between 12:37 p.m. and 1:14 p.m. -- by forces so much larger than myself that I couldn't even begin to identify them."

My comments:  What makes a book "good?"  What is it in a story that leaves you feeling that you just read something really special?  It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, you know it, you feel it.You overlook some of the little things that don't work  for you.   Turtles All the Way Down taught me many lessons.  As hard as I try to empathize with people with mental illnesses, I have to admit that those are some of the many, many times in my life that I'm uncomfortable.  It's books like this one that give you unprecedented insight into what goes on in a mind that's slightly awry.  And Aza's mind is more than a little slightly awry.  This was an incredibly powerful book for me.  Great storytelling.  Great character building.  Great relationships, particularly Aza and Daisy's relationship, best friends forever (as dumb as that may sound) and Aza and her mom's relationship, which makes me look back upon my relationship with my mom, and with my kids.  And I'm so impressed that John Green can write the character of a female protagonist  with such assurance. fI was impressed, inspired, and completely saddened by this work of art.

Goodreads synopsis: #1 bestselling author John Green returns with his first new novel since The Fault in Our Stars!
          Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.
          Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. 
          In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza’s story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.

44. The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

read on my iPhone/Kindle/Book/Audible
2016, Crown Books for Young Readers
384 pgs.
YA CRF
Finished 8/1/2017
Goodreads rating:  4.21 - 8280 ratings
My rating:  5 Top-notch fiction
Setting: Contemporary rural Tennessee, somewhat near Nashville

First line/s:  "There were things that Dillard Wayne Early Jr. dreaded more than the first day of school at Forrestville High.  Not many, but a few."

My comments:  This wonderful book is about so many things.  It's about rising above the atrocities of horrible parenting.  It's about friendship, real friendship that touches your core.  It's about grief and about withstanding the hundreds of little pushes in the wrong direction that it might bring.  It's about perseverance and resilience.  It's about living your life for yourself, and finding the little things that matter the most and can sustain you, no matter what. Not only was this a fantastic book for young adults, fut for old adults, too.

Goodreads synopsis: Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.
          The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia. But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. The end of high school will lead to new beginnings for Lydia, whose edgy fashion blog is her ticket out of their rural Tennessee town. And Travis is happy wherever he is thanks to his obsession with the epic book series Bloodfall and the fangirl who may be turning his harsh reality into real-life fantasy. Dill’s only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia—neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending—one that will rock his life to the core.
          Debut novelist Jeff Zentner provides an unblinking and at times comic view of the hard realities of growing up in the Bible Belt, and an intimate look at the struggles to find one’s true self in the wreckage of the past.

66. George by Alex Gino

2015 Scholastic Press
199 pgs.
Middle Grades
Finished 12/2/15
Goodreads rating:  3,96
My rating:  4
Setting: Contemporary -- New Jersey? (2 hrs. from the Bronx, a couple hours from Pennsylvania's Poconos)
I like the cover.  A lot.

First line/s:  (From Chapter 1:  Secrets)  "George pulled a silver house key out of the smallest pocket of a large red backpack.  Mom had sewn the key in so that it wouldn't get lost, but the yarn wasn't quite long enough to reach the keyhole if the bag rested on the ground.  Instead, George had to steady herself awkwardly on one foot while the backpack rested on her other knee.  She wiggled the key until it clicked into place."

My comments:  First of all, I'm thrilled that this book is written for and accessible to younger (ages 9, 10, 11) kids.  It IS written very simply, it IS a quick read, but it's real, it has heart, it elicits much more empathy than hearing things on the nasty news.  I know I have parents in my classroom that will have a fit if their son/daughter reads it.  I'll deal. A needed book.
     (Then why not a 5-rating?  I'm not sure.  It was a really good book, but lacking the little extra something for me that pushes it up to a five.)

Goodreads Summary:   BE WHO YOU ARE.
          When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl.
          George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part . . . because she's a boy.  
          With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte -- but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

3 PICTURE BOOKS by Mary Murphy

I found all three of these at the Arivaca Library on 10/17/14.  The two librarians there turned me on to Mary Murphy.

Koala and the Flower

2001 Roaring Brook Press

HC & price

28 pgs  (I wonder if the end pages might have been pulled out?

Goodreads rating:

My rating: 4.5

     Badger and Raccoon see things n black and white.  They are always sure they are right.  Little gray Koala isn't sure about many things.  She asks lots of questions.
     What a clever book - and it has all sorts of atrributes!  Two pages of "graphic novel."  The appearance of a LIBRARY and BOOKS!  Two supposed friends who are subtle bullies.  The excitement of watching plants (flowers! grow from seeds with just a tiny bit of nurturing.  SO much to take in - and all of it was wonderful.

I Like It When ...
Board Book - 12 pgs.
1997

I like it when
     you hold my hand
     you let me help    (thank you)
     we eat new things   (surprise)
     we play peekaboo    (b00)
     you tickle me
     you dance with me
     you read to me
     you hug me tight
     we splash about
     we kiss goodnight

Say Hello Like This!
2014, Candlewick
ages 2 - 5
endpapers:  loud and cool - cows and cucks and chiks.

"A dog hello is licky and loud..."  (turn a half page and see what is described  - "a cat hello is prissy and proud"

Such a vibrant story - both in illustrations AND plot.  I'm not a huge animal person, but the front and back endpapers are just wonderful.

13 - Since You've Been Gone - Morgan Matson

Audio read by Suzy Jackson

11 unabridged discs (12.75 hrs.)

2014, Recorded Books

449 pgs.

YA CRF

Finished 2/7/2015

Goodreads rating:  4.17

My rating:   4.5 Totally loved it- didn't want it to end

TPPL

Setting: contemporary coastal Connecticut, the summer before Senior year. 

My comments:  This book was so much fun to listen to!  Suzy Jackson did a terrific job as a reader, and although her voice for Emily was sweet and young, when she became Frank (especially) she added just enough male inflection to make it sound masculine and believable.  The story itself was great, watching a timid girl come into her own.  Such a nice change from the grizzlier YAs I've read recently.  And this book was totally and wonderfully real.  I think I was a lot like Emily when I was 17.....  So why not a five?  The last few chapters dragged a bit, at least compared to the rest of the book.

Goodreads book summary:  The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell. 
          But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just… disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try… unless they could lead back to her best friend.
          Apple Picking at Night? Okay, easy enough.
          Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not?
          Kiss a Stranger? Wait… what?
          Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?
          Go Skinny Dipping? Um…

49. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life - Dana Reinhardt

Listened to in the car back & forth from the first days of school
Audio read by Mandy Siegfried - and she was great
5 unabridged cds (5:30)
2006 Listening Library/ Wendy Lamb Books
240 pgs.
YA CRF (there's a bit of s-e-x)
Finished 8/8/2014
Goodreads rating: 3.76
My rating:    (4.5) I really loved it
TPPL
contemporary suburban Boston

My comments:  I found this to be a wonderful story. I loved it. The protagonist, Simone, seems genuine and real; a "typical" (whatever that is) American teenager. Her doubts, her questions about life, her constant questioning about her own feelings, her jumping to conclusions about the way boys feel about her....Reinhardt seems spot on. I love the information that was included about Judaism - which would probably be boring for an already-Jew, but would be fascinating for any non-Jew interested in learning about other cultures. My only (tiny) problem with the story is that Simone's parents allow her, a 16-year old, to drive into the city of Boston all by herself from the suburbs. I, as a past-resident of the Boston suburbs - and a parent - know this would be something that most parents I've ever encountered would never allow. Ever. And driving all the way to the Cape.....alone??? Ah, well.....Super story nonetheless.

Goodreads book summary:  Simone’s starting her junior year in high school. Her mom’s a lawyer for the ACLU, her dad’s a political cartoonist, so she’s grown up standing outside the organic food coop asking people to sign petitions for worthy causes. She’s got a terrific younger brother and amazing friends. And she’s got a secret crush on a really smart and funny guy–who spends all of his time with another girl.
          Then her birth mother contacts her. Simone’s always known she was adopted, but she never wanted to know anything about it. She’s happy with her family just as it is, thank you. 
          She learns who her birth mother was–a 16-year-old girl named Rivka. Who is Rivka? Why has she contacted Simone? Why now? The answers lead Simone to deeper feelings of anguish and love than she has ever known, and to question everything she once took for granted about faith, life, the afterlife, and what it means to be a daughter.

Ten Things I Love About You - Daniel Kirk

Illustrated by the author

2013 Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin

HC $16,99

32 pages

Goodreads rating: 3.70

My rating: 4

Endpapers: blue & white illustrations of the path from Rabbit's house to Pig's house (and the surroundings)

Illustrations: Wide brown frames around pages - simple - made to look like crayon lines (or maybe they are!)
Title Page: Same wide brown frame, single page with Rabbit sitting on the floor, writing.

1^st line/s:
     Ring!
     Ring!
     Hello Pig,
     Hello Rabbit,
     Look at this ---
     I am making a list!

My comments:  A sweet keeper-of-a-book.  A book, actually, to give a friend!

Goodreads: Fans of Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie will enjoy Rabbit and Pig’s clever back-and-forth which shows the funny ways friends bounce ideas and feelings off each other.
      Rabbit just adores his friend Pig. So he is excited to make a list of all the things he loves about Pig. And who better to help him write the list than Pig himself? But Pig is busy, and keeps sending Rabbit away. But no matter what Pig does, Rabbit is inspired to add another thing to his list. When Pig says, “Rabbit, I'm starting to lose my patience!” Rabbit has #6—“I love Pig because he’s not afraid to show his feelings!” Fortunately, Pig’s dwindling patience is rewarded when Rabbit completes his list—and the two realizeexactly why they are such good pals.

28. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality - Elizabeth Eulberg

2013, Scholastic

paper $9.99

265 pgs.

YA Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Finished 5/18/2014

Goodreads rating: 3.65

My Rating: 3/ I guess I'd have to say I liked it

TPPL

Setting: Dallas suburb

1^st sentence/s:  "Applying butt glue to my sister's backside is, without question, not the first way I'd choose to spend a weekend."

My comments:  This story definitely got its point across.  There were some parts that were a little difficult to handle (the mom was such a mess!) that I was just plain pissed part of the time I read this. There are so many parents out there that use their children.  This is really a story of abuse and bullying.  It also has the component of learning about yourself as your grow older, a "coming-of-age" sensibility, with all character-types covered - the gay kid, the great friend, the bully, the crush, the perfect-person-for-you-but-you-don't-see-it-till-the-end, the difficult sibling that you really do love - no minority, though.  But this is coming from an adult.  I wonder what teenagers will think of this book?
     There was another element that made me wonder.  Lexi's mother doesn't listen to her, or her sister Mackenzie, but she is clever and strong and at the end comes up with an in-your-face-no-holes-barred way.  But why doesn't she take a stand - a real stand - before that?  Just saying no.  She wants to please, I guess.  This book really does get one thinking - enraged, too.....

Goodreads Summary:  A hilarious new novel from Elizabeth Eulberg about taking the wall out of the wallflower so she can bloom.

          Don't mess with a girl with a great personality!
          Everybody loves Lexi. She's popular, smart, funny...but she's never been one of those girls, the pretty ones who get all the attention from guys. And on top of that, her seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie, is a terror in a tiara, and part of a pageant scene where she gets praised for her beauty (with the help of fake hair and tons of makeup).
          Lexi's sick of it. She's sick of being the girl who hears about kisses instead of getting them. She's sick of being ignored by her longtime crush, Logan. She's sick of being taken for granted by her pageant-obsessed mom. And she's sick of having all her family's money wasted on a phony pursuit of perfection.
          The time has come for Lexi to step out from the sidelines. Girls without great personalities aren't going to know what hit them. Because Lexi's going to play the beauty game - and she's in it to win it.

48. The Year of the Book - Andrea Cheng

with illustrations by Abigail Halpin
2012, Houghton Mifflin
160 pgs.
HC $15/99
Goodreads rating:  3.85
my rating:  It was a very good book/4

1st sentence/s:  "Ray, the crossing guard, is waiting at the curb in his orange vest the catches the sunrise."
Setting:  A small city or large town, somewhere in the US, where's there's some winter and ice. Contemporary.
OSS:  Anna's 4th grade year is spent dealing with being alone, discovering what it means to be a friend, reading, and beginning to learn Chinese.

Quick, good read for 3rd or 4th grade girls.  Anna, American-born although her mother was born in China, puts up with a mean friend and a friend who is being pulled and manipulated by the mean one.  The good friendship wins out, and Anna survives quite well because she's enjoying books so much, reading is way for her to help cope.  She's also, somewhat reluctantly, going to Chinese School for the first time to learn the language, but meets a new friend there.  Anna easily makes friends with adults and is a wonderfully thoughtful, creative young person.  A good side-story is that her mother is studying to be a nurse while still struggling with the English language.  On Saturdays Anna accompanies her to a cleaning job....she enjoys spending time with her mother's elderly boss, but is embarrassed to be seen with her mother carrying a bucket full of cleaning supplies.

Otis & Sydney and the Best Birthday Ever - Laura Numeroff

Illustrated by Dan Andreasen
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2010
$16.95
32 pages
Rating: 4/5
Endpapers: Light blue

This is a very cute story about friendship, about best friends, about enjoying the company and companionship of just each other - needing no other entertainment.

When Otis plans a surprise birthday party for this BFF Sydney, he puts the wrong date on the invitations....and no one shows up, of course, on the right date. All his planning doesn't go to waste, however. The two friends dress up and play and eat and have a blast together anyway.

Once again, it's the illustrations that I love most. Beautfiully inked black lines create the pictures, then they're colored in. The texture, the patterns, the facial expressions, the happiness, are all expressed in the illustrations. My favorite illustrations so far this year, I think!

This would be a great book for adults to give to their own BFFs!

41. Eighth Grade Bites - Heather Brewer

Book #1 in The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod
for: Middle School
Speak paperback, 2007
$8.99
182 pages
Rating: oh, I don't know....

There are a dearth of vampire books out their for young adults right now, and I wasn't going to read another one. However, one of my fourth graders was reading this particular book, he said his high school sister loves them, and I decided to find out what one of my ten-year-olds was sinking his teeth into. (Har-de-har-har)

Vlad Tod is half vampire. Born of a human mother and vampire father, he is learning about how he must live with only the aide of his aunt/guardian, because his parents were killed three years before. He is small, pale, a bit of an outcast, and usually dresses in black. He lives a fairly normal life, getting most of his sustenance on the leftover blood his aunt brings home from the hospital where she works. She puts capsules of blood into his peanut butter sandwiches so that he can eat at school. His best friend, Henry, knows he is a vampire, but no one else. O....kay.....

When Vlad's favorite teacher disappears, the substitute who takes over is named Otis Otis. He introduces the 8th graders to research on werewolves, witches, vampires....and tries very hard to get to know Vlad. The story goes into fast forward from there.

This does not appear to be a romance in the way that many of the previous vampire novels I've read recently have been, although there are already three sequels with Vlad moving into ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades, so surely this will become more prominent. This first installment is the introductory one, with Vlad and Otis winning out over the bad guys and with hints of an upcoming romance between Otis and auntie (they're holding hands at the end). There was some adventure and not many surprises. The story moved swiftly. I can see why kids would like it. And although there's nothing particularly innappropriate for a fourth grader, I'll wait a year or two before suggesting it to most of them. It will be very interesting to see where Brewer takes the story in the sequels. Does that mean I'll read them? Well, maybe.....