YA Series

(I realize the first two are out-of-order, but for some reason blogspot won't let me put Acevedo properly at the top....so like it or lump it, I guess)

Acevedo & Angell See BELOW Aveyard

Aveyard, Victoria
Red Queen
1 - The Red Queen (2015) 5
2 - Glass Sword (2016) 4
3 - King's Cage (2017)

Acevedo, Kristy
Holo Series
1 - Consider (2016) 4
2 - Contribute (2017)

Angell, Lorena

The Unaltered

1 - A Diamond In My Pocket (2011) 4

2 - A Diamond in My Heart (2012) 3.5

3 - The Diamond of Freedom (2013) 4

4 - The Diamond Bearer's Destiny (2013) 3.5

Barr, Ellisa
Powerless Nation
1.  Outage (2014) 3.5
2.  Voyage

Battles, Brett
(Rewinder Time Travel series....it may not be labeled at YA, but it's perfect YA)
1.  Rewinder (2014) 5
2.  Destroyer
3. Survivor

Brody, Jennifer
The Continuum Trilogy
1 - The 13th Continuum, The (2016) 4
2 - Return of the Continuums

Bowman, Erin
Taken
1 - Taken 4.5
2 - Frozen (2014) 3
3 - Forged

Cameron, Sharon
(The Forgetting)
1 - The Forgetting (4.5)
2 - The Knowing (coming Oct. 2017)

Cast, P. C.
House of Night
1 - Marked
2 - Betrayed
3 - Chosen
4 - Untamed
5 - Haunted
6 - Tempted
7 - Burned
8 - Awakened
9 - Destined
10 - Hidden
11 - Revealed
12 - Redeemed

Charbonneau, Joelle
The Testing
1 - The Testing (2013) 3
2 - Independent Study
3 - Graduation Day

Chima, Cinda Williams
The Heir Chronicles
1 - The Warrior Heir (2006) 4
2 - The Wizard Heir
3 - The Dragon Heir
     3.5 - Dead to Me
4 - The Enchanted Heir
5 - The Sorcerer Heir

Clare, Cassandra
The Mortal Instruments
1 - City of Bones (2007) 4.5
2 - City of Ashes (2008) 3
3 - City of Glass (2009) 3
4 - City of Fallen Angels
5 - City of Lost Souls
6 - City of Heavenly Firee

Tales from Shadowhunter Academy
1- Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy
2 - The Lost Herondale
3 - The Whitechapel Fiend
4 - Nothing But Shadows
5 - The Evil We Love
6 - Pale Kings and Princes
7 - Bitter of Tongue
8 - The Fiery Trial
9 - Born to Endless Night
10.  Angels Twice Descending

Collins, Suzanne
Hunger Games
1- The Hunger Games
2 - Catching Fire
3 - Mockinjay

Condy, Allie
Matched
1 - Matched (2010) 4
2 - Crossed (2011) 2
3 - Reached

de la Cruz, Melissa
Blue Bloods
1 - Blue Bloods
2 - Masquerade
3 - Revelations
4 -  The Van Alen Legacy
     4.5 - Keys to the Repisitory
5 - Misguided
     5.5 - Bloody Valentine
6 - Lost in Time
7 - Gates of Paradise

Dixen, Victor
Phobos
1 - Ascension (2015) 4.5
2 - Distortion (2015) 5
3 - Collision

Elliott, Kate
Court of Fives
1 - Court of Fives (2015) 5

Ethington, Rebecca
Imdalind
1 - Kiss of Fire, 2012 (3.5)
2 - Eyes of Ember
3 - Scorched Treachery
4 - Soul of Flame
5 - Burnt Devotion
6 - Dawn of Ash
7 - Crown of Cinders
7.5 - Ilyan: A Novella

Gier, Kerstin
The Red Ruby 
1 - Ruby Red  4
2 - Sapphire Blue  (2012) 4
3 - Emerald Green

Ireland, Justina
Dread Nation
1 - Dread Nation 2018 (4)
2 - Deathless Divide (coming 2020)

Jackson, Holly

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

1 - A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, 2019 (3)

2 - Good Girl, Bad Blood, 2020 (5)

Johnson, Maureen

Stevie Bell/Truly Devious

1 - Truly Devious, 2018

2 - The Vanishing Stair, 2019

3 - The Hand on the Wall, 2020

4 - The Box in the Woods, 2021 (4.5)

Jones, Carrie
Need
1 - Need (2009) 3.5
2 -Captivate (2010) 4.5
3 -Entice

Khanani, Intrisar

Dauntless Path

0.5 - Brambles

1 -  Thorn 2020 (4.5)

1.5  The Bone Knife

2 -  The Theft of Sunlight

King, Emily R.
The Hundredth Queen
1 - The Hundredth Queen (2017) 4
2 - The Fire Queen
3 - The Rogue Queen

Laybourne, Emmy
Monument 14
1 - Monument 14 (2012) 4.5
2 - Sky on Fire
3 - Savage Drift

Lore, Pittacus
Lorien Legacies
1 - I Am Number Four
2 - The Power of Six
3 - The Rise of Nine
4 - The Fall of Five
5 - The Revenge of Seven
6 - The Fate of Ten

Lu, Marie
Legend series
1- Legend, 2011 (5)
2 - Prodigy, 2013 (4)
3 - Champion

Maas, Sarah J.
Throne of Glass
1 - Throne of Glass (3.5)
2 - Crown of Midnight
3 - Heir of Fire
4 - Queen of Shadows
5 - Empire of Storms
6 - Tower of Dawn
7 - Untitled coming 2018

Mahurin, Shelby

Serpent & Dove

1 - Serpent & Dove (5)

2 - Blood & Honey

3 - Gods & Monsters

Mead, Richelle
Bloodlines
1 - Bloodlines
2 - The Golden Lily
3 - The Indigo Spell
4 - The Fiery Heart
5 - Silver Shadows
6 - The Ruby Circle

Meyer, Marissa
The Lunar Chronicles
1 - Cinder (2012) 4
2 - Scarlet (2013) 4.5
3 - Cress (2014) 5
4 - Winter

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert
Dairy Queen
1 - Dairy Queen
2 - Off Season
3 - Front and Center
4 - Heaven is Paved with Oreos

Noel, Alyson
The Immortals
1 - Evermore (2009) 3+
2 - Blue Moon
3 - Shadowland
4 - Dark Flame
5 - Night Star
6 - Everlasting

Oliver, Lauren
Delirium
1 - Delirium (2011) 4
2 - Pandemonium 2012 (5)
3 - Requiem

Patrick, Amy

Crimson Accord

1 - Crimson Born, 2020 (3)

2 - Crimson Storm, 2020

3 - Crimson Bond, 2021

Raasch, Sara
Snow Like Ashes - Meira of Winter
1 - Snow Like Ashes (2014) 3
2 -  Ice Like Fire
3 -  Frost Like Night

Reintgen, Scott
Nyxia Triad
1 - Nyxia (2017) 4.5

 Roth, Veronica
Divergent
1 - Divergent (2011) 4
2 - Insurgent (2012) 4
3 - Allegiant

Salerni, Dianne K.
Eighth Day
1 - The Eighth Day
2 - The Inquisitor's Mark, 2015 - DNF, but probably will someday....not in the mood right now (4) (got to page 93)
3 - The Morrigan's Curse (coming 2016)

Sanderson, Brandon
1.  Skyward 2018(4)

Schwab, Victoria
Monsters of Verity
1 - This Savage Song (2016) 3
2 - Our Dark Duet (June, 2017)

Shusterman, Neal
Arc of a Sycthe
1.  Scythe (2016) 4.5
2.  Thunderhead (2018) 5
3. 

Shusterman, Neal
Unwind Dystology
1 - Unwind (2007) 5
2 - Unholy
3 - Unsouled
4 - Undivided
5 - Unbound

Stiefvater, Maggie
The Wolves of Mercy Falls
1 - Shiver
2 - Linger
3 - Forever
4 - Sinner

Taylor, Janet B.
Into the Dim 
1 - Into the Dim (2016) 5

Taylor, Laini
Daughter of Smoke & Bone
1 - Daughter of Smoke & Bone
2 - Days of Blood & Starlight
     2.5 - Night of Cake & Puppets
3 - Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Yancey, Rick
The First Wave
1 - The Fifth Wave (2013) 4.5
2 - The Infinite Sea
3 - The Last Star (May, 2016)

Young, Suzanne
The Program
1 - The Program (2013) 4
2 - The Treatment
     2.5  The Recovery

Armentrout, Jennifer L. - Obsidian (#1 Lux) 2011 (2.5)

Bracken, Alexandra - 1 - Passenger (#1) 2016 (2.5)

Dyer, Madeline - Untamed (Untamed #1) 2017 (1)

Fitzpatrick, Becca - Hush Hush (Hush Hush #1) 2009 (3)

Forrest, Bella 1 A Shade of Blood (Shade of Vampire #2) 2013 (1.5)

Forrest, Bella - A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire #1)  2012(2)

Lu, Marie - Warcross (WArcross #1) 2017 (3)

Pearson, Mary E. - The Kiss of Deception (2014) 3

Simmons, Kirsten - Article 5 (#1) (2012) 2

Stradling, Rita - Colorless 2

29. Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy - Cassandra Clare & Sandra Rees Brennan

Tales from Shadowhunter Academy #1

Listened to on my iPhone via Audible

Audio read by Devon Bostick

(1:40)

2015 Simon & Schuster

78 pgs.

Genre/Audience: YA Dystopia

Finished 4/25/2015

Goodreads rating: 4.19

My rating:    4

Setting: Sometime in the future at Shadowhunter Academy

My comments:  This short(ish) story about Simon was a blast.  I've only read the first two Shadowhunters books and this takes place after many of the sequels, but it was totally enjoyable all the same.  It was actually really, really funny and I had no trouble following it, especially knowing many of the characters, even if I didn't know some of the changes in their relationships that took place in the books I haven't read.  Yes, it's very Harry Potterish, but as a Harry Potter fan I welcome reminders and extensions of that "lovely" world!

Goodreads book summary: After living as a Mundane and a Vampire, Simon never thought he would become a Shadowhunter, but today he begins his training at Shadowhunter Academy.

28. Boundary Waters - William Kent Krueger

Cork O'Connor #2

Listened on my iPhone through Audible

Audio read by David Chandler

(10:52)

book - 1999, audio - 2010

416 pgs.

Adult murder mystery

Finished 4/24/2014

Goodreads rating: 4.06

My rating:   4.5

Setting: contemporary Minnesota; late fall

My comments:  4.5 Interesting personalities and a semi-complicated plot with a bit of a surprise here and there made this book a great read (or listen-to).  I greatly enjoy the protagonist and I loved the way that the reader got to look at what was going on in three different places throughout the story. So.....excellent plot, characterization, and setting!

Goodreads book summary:  The Quetico-Superior Wilderness: more than two million acres of forest, white-water rapids, and uncharted islands on the Canadian/American border. Somewhere in the heart of this unforgiving territory, a young woman named Shiloh -- a country-western singer at the height of her fame -- has disappeared. Her father arrives in Aurora, Minnesota, to hire Cork O'Connor to find his daughter, and Cork joins a search party that includes an ex-con, two FBI agents, and a ten-year-old boy. Others are on her trail as well -- men hired not just to find her, but to kill her.
A           s the expedition ventures deeper into the wilderness, strangers descend on Aurora, threatening to spill blood on the town's snowy streets. Meanwhile, out on the Boundary Waters, winter falls hard. Cork's team of searchers loses contact with civilization, and like the brutal winds of a Minnesota blizzard, death -- violent and sudden -- stalks them.

$14 to 14 Charities

Facebook post on March 26, 2015

I cannot believe it's been 14 years since I lost my husband and Brian and Laura lost their dad. The anniversary of the day he died is a tough day for us, but it is definitely a time to remember him - to celebrate his life, his energy, and his legacy. I wanted to do something a little different and special to honor him today, so I sat down and wrote 14 checks for $14 each to 14 different charities that he would've approved of, in his memory. If anyone would like to join me and donate $14 to the charity of their choice in his memory, I would be truly grateful. I'd love it if you'd let me know so that I can create some sort of memorial. 14 years ago I promised him he would not be forgotten. He hasn't been. And he won't be. (And thanks so much for reading this to the end.)

Here's where I gave:

Northeast Harbor Library - website
Camp Beech Cliff - website
UCC - Northeast Harbor, ME - website
Friends of Acadia - website
Ronald McDonald House - Bangor - website
Ronald McDonald House - Tucson - website
Pima County Public Library - website (asked them to put it towards a good mystery...)
Hermitage No Kill Cat Shelter - Tucson - website
Ben's Bells - Tucson - website
Heifer Project International (donated through Ella's GS Troop #10552) - Heifer website
JDRF - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation - website
Project Linus - website
Soles4Soles - website
Donors Choose.org - website (this donation went to a 3-5 art classroom in Fort Smith, AR for quality scissors - Steve and I visited here on one of the hottest days in his life - 108 degrees - it was unforgettable)

That's 14!

Grandmother's Flower Garden - Week 7 Update

Three weeks since my last posting....including 10 days vacation on the east coast.  I took my hexies with me, but since I can only sew them together with my glasses off, this eliminated some of my quality work time.  I can baste them with my glasses on, so I got to do quite a few of them.  A lot of whip stitching happened on the plane - and because the quarters in the economy seats are so confined, I stabbed myself in the cheek!  Here's what I have completed so far:

I also started a pillow for Ella.  I've got the flower done, still have to turn it into a pillow.  That added another 37 hexies to baste and sew together...

I spread out on Laura's kitchen table (it was so wonderful to be there...)

The count, at the end of 7 weeks:

Completed flowers:  38

Completed kits (flowers ready to be sewn together): 12

Diamonds completed: 10

B/W Edge Rows of 10 completed:  2

Hexies for other projects: 40

Hexies waiting: 343

Total hexies:  1442

Total single edges sewn:  1965

Letterboxing Experience #1 - Two Fails and a HIT!

During Spring Break in Pennsylvania, Ella and I had one full day together, just the two of us.  Since she's almost finished Brownies and she's not yet earned the Letterboxing Badge, we decided to try it out.  I'd learned about Letterboxing a few years ago, but had never done anything but research it.  So she found a stamp she liked at Michaels (a pawprint) and gave herself the trail name "Puppy Power."

First, I used the Letterboxing site and found a short hike, close to Mt. Holly Springs, called Girl . Scouts Rule.  The day was ultra-gorgeous and perfect.  The hike was a lot longer than expected, but the trail was excellent, totally flat, and shaded the entire way.  However, there was no letterbox.  None.  We hunted hard.  Bummer. It was a disappointing walk back to the car, but we had some great conversations and cool rest stops.

Second, we headed up to King's Gap to find  "Gloria's Pepsi."  Once again we followed all the directions, and once again came up empty.  Double Bummer.

Undaunted, we set out to find "Beautiful Spring," which is at a rest stop on 81 North.  Eureka!  We found it!

I didn't have my own stamp yet, so Puppy Power was the only one who got to stamp inside the log.  Needless to say, we were both more-than elated!

MOVIE - While We're Young

Rating/Time

Wide/Limited release

Viewed date at

RT Critic: Audience:

Cag: 6/Awesome 5/Loved it 4/Liked it a lot 3/Liked it 2/It was okay 1/Didn’t like it

Directed by

Studio

Based on the book by

Actors

My comments:

RT Summary:

27. Twisted Innocence - Terri Blackstock

Audio read by Nan Gurley

6 Unabridged cds (&;28)

2015 Zondervan/Brilliance Audio

320 pgs.

Adult Mystery - Faith Based, I think you'd call it....

Finished 4/14/15

Goodreadsrating: 4.32

My rating: 2/It was okay

PBS trade

Setting; contemporary Panama City, FL

My comments: Three sisters - and three brothers (though one is deceased) - still trying to put away the drug lord that has paralyzed the family.  Cops, investigators, and lawyers, all rally around youngest sibling Holly as she tries to distance herself from her 4-week old daughter's father; Kathy as she tries to get her fiance a pardon from prison; and Juliet who is recovering from a bad marriage.  Then, all of a sudden, God is introduced, then slowly but surely the story includes talk of God and faith and gets a bit preachy - at least for me.  I actually don't think this was Ms. Blackstock's intention, but it became too overwhelming for me.  I believe there are a book or two that preceded this one, but I understood what was going on very well.  Some of the storyline just was a little unbelievable, but..... 

Goodreads book summary:  When Holly s secrets backfire, is the mess too big to unravel?
          Holly Cramer has worked hard to keep the identity of her daughter s father a secret, shamed and embarrassed by the one-night stand. But when the police knock on her door searching for Creed Kershaw, she realizes his identity isn t as hidden as she thought. The fact that Creed is a person of interest in a recent drug-related murder only increases her humiliatioWhen Holly s secrets backfire, is the mess too big to unravel?
          Holly Cramer has worked hard to keep the identity of her daughter s father a secret, shamed and embarrassed by the one-night stand. But when the police knock on her door searching for Creed Kershaw, she realizes his identity isn t as hidden as she thought. The fact that Creed is a person of interest in a recent drug-related murder only increases her humiliation.
          When Holly s and Creed s paths cross, Holly is unsure whether to be terrified of him or trust him. His tenderness with their daughter makes her want to believe his story that he had nothing to do with the murder. Then she discovers that Creed has a connection to Leonard Miller who killed both her sister s fiance and her brother-in-law, and kidnapped her nephews and things only become more complicated.
          Will Creed lead them to the man who has plagued her family, or become another of his victims?"
When Holly s and Creed s paths cross, Holly is unsure whether to be terrified of him or trust him. His tenderness with their daughter makes her want to believe his story that he had nothing to do with the murder. Then she discovers that Creed has a connection to Leonard Miller who killed both her sister s fiance and her brother-in-law, and kidnapped her nephews and things only become more complicated.
          Will Creed lead them to the man who has plagued her family, or become another of his victims?"

MOVIE - Home

Rating/Time

Wide/Limited release

Viewed date at

RT Critic: Audience:

Cag: 6/Awesome 5/Loved it 4/Liked it a lot 3/Liked it 2/It was okay 1/Didn’t like it

Directed by

Studio

Based on the book by

Actors

My comments:

RT Summary:

POETRY PICTURE BOOK - In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden by Jack Prelutsky

Illustrated by Petra Matthers

2007, Greenwillow Books

64 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.50

My rating: 3

Endpapers: rusty red

Title Page: double page, with the title (etc) on the LEFT page - nice to model that anything goes

Illustrations: borders around each page, pages numbered

Here's a poem I'd model  to show that even silly poems need to make sense:

The Poodles Ate Oodles of Noodles

The poodles ate oodles of noodles,

the setters ate lettuce on rye.

A small Pekingese

at nothing but peas,

and a greyhound ran off with the pie.

Here's one that plays with colors:

In Amarillo, Texas

In Amarillo, Texas,

upon a yellow chair,

complete with yellow pillow,

sat little Willa Ware.

She at a yellow apple,

she ate a yellow pear,

while wearing yellow flowers

atop her yellow hair.

And of course I must include one that features Maine - and uses the wonderful word galoshes: (and gives kids the ridiculous notion that you can wander the beach and find a LOBSTER!!!! ...oh my, Mr. Prelutsky....)

There's a Lady in Galoshes

There's a lady in galoshes,

and her name is Jolly Jane.

How she loves to look for lobsters

on the rocky coast of Maine.

She can find them by the dozen

in the sun and wind and rain.

She's the queen of lobster ladies,

and her name is Jolly Jane.

T

My comments:  I love Prelutsky, but this isn't one of my favorites.  The illustrations are cool, but the poems are pretty young - too young, in most cases, for me to use with fourth graders.

Goodreads:  In this companion to The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders, a gardening giraffe, a contented bluebird, and poodles eating oodles of noodles are featured in a collection of 28 poems from the award-winning team of Prelutsky and Mathers. Full color.