the dead & the gone

With a title like the dead & the gone you'd almost expect to hear creaking of doors and wind whistling through an abandoned house, right? Well, you wouldn't be far wrong with this book. Imagine being the only one walking the streets of New York; imagine stealing clothes and jewelry from dead people to barter for food! Very creepy!! Susan Beth Pfeffer, the author of Life as We Knew It, one of the NTB books from last year, has written another disaster book about a meteor hitting the moon and the crises that follow. dead is set in New York City and the hero is a 17 year old Puerto Rican guy, Alex, who ends up having to take care of his two younger sisters, Bria and Julie. With the exception of flooding, tsunamis and earthquakes, the story line is much the same as her previous book.

I'm trying to decide which one I like best. What do you think?

The Missing: Book 1 FOUND

Margaret Peterson Haddix is one of the those prolific authors who just keeps writing good series. Her latest series, The Missing, begins with Found. Siblings Jonah and Katherine join with the new kid in the neighborhood, Chip, to unravel the mystery behind some anonymous mail the two boys have received. The first letter contains 6 words, "You are one of the missing." The second letter warns "BEWARE! They're coming back to get you." (I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty freaked out by now!) As the plot develops, the boys discover they are part of a group of children who were all adopted 13 years ago and something (or someone) is drawing them all together. With a little FBI involvement and the mysterious guy who seems to appear and disappear by magic, the suspense grows. So the question is....who is missing? AND who's coming back to get them?

Read Found, one of this year's Lone Star Books and let me know what you think. Is it possible to go back in time to fix mistakes from the past?????

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature ... Whether you're a Christian or not, this books will give you pause to think. The tale begins on Mena's first day of high school, which she begins hopefully and ends realizing that it was a day that could have only been worse if she'd eaten snails. She is snubbed and verbally abused by all of her former "church friends" for having shown compassion to one of their gay classmates who attempted suicide as a result of the church groups attempts to convert him.

Before you think, "Wow! I'm not gonna read this book...it sounds too grim!" Mena's life does get better when she finds she's assigned Casey as a lab partner in Science class and that her teacher is AWESOME. Mena learns a ton about herself, finds herself writing a web column about the Bible, meets a dozen cute lab puppies and gets her first kiss. This book is much better than I'm describing it...It's on the Lone Star list so you know it's got to be good!!

Oh, yeah...after you read it, let me know if you think the cover fits the plot and characters.

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen is another one of those books that is impossible to put down. From the first page to the last, Bodeen keeps you interested.

First of all, the plot is creepy. Imagine a billionaire dad who has built an underground compound (not an itty-bitty storm cellar...we're talking acres of self contained underground living space) "just in case" there is ever a nuclear holocaust. Sure enough, the "big one" drops and the family runs for cover. Except they don't all make it inside....

The story picks up again after six years. All the kids are older, food is running out and dear old Dad is getting creepier by the day. When Eli, the twin who made it to safety finds a computer and realizes he has Internet access, he makes some very interesting discoveries about his world. The question is....will he be able to convince his dad to do the right thing?

This Lone Star Book is well worth the nail-biting suspense! Check it out and let me know what you think....

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Have you ever wondered what an author looks like? Well, here's a picture of Neil Shusterman, who has written a couple of books that made this year's Lone Star Book List. I have to tell you, he may look like a normal person, but he has some very, very scary stuff living in his head. You might ask how I know that.....

Well, let me tell you about Unwind. It's set in the future, in the United States and in a time where abortion has been totally outlawed. As an alternative, parents can made the decision to have their children "unwound" anytime before they are 18. The novel begins with Connor, a 16 year old not known for keeping his temper, and his discovery that his parents have booked a cruise for 3 after Thanksgiving. Sounds cool, right? Yes, unless they're not planning on taking Connor because they've signed the papers to have him unwound. Then there's Risa, a ward of the state, who doesn't perform flawlessly at a piano concert, and learns that her mistakes will cost her her life. And then there's Lev, who has known for years that he was destined for unwinding. As the 10th child in the family, he's been designated as a tithe.

So these three characters hook up in a really exciting beginning and the book just steam-rolls ahead. It's really hard to put down, will give you tons of things to think about, and will, I promise, creep you out. Consider yourself warned.....

I.Q. [Book One: Independence Hall]

Roland Smith is one of my favorite authors and it was so cool to hear him talk about how he writes books last spring at the Texas Library Association Conference. He writes them by hand in little "journal-like" books called moleskins that he can carry around with him while he travels. I can't imagine writing a 300 page novel by hand, can you?




Anyway, I.Q. is the first novel in a series that kind of reminds me of James Bond's 007 (Bet you didn't know there were books before the movies?!). Book One begins with a wedding between two musicians, who each have a teenager. The guy's daughter is Angela, a fifteen year old "wanna be" spy and martial arts expert, and the woman's son is "Q" (stands for Quest), a thirteen year old magician. While the parents are making music and becoming famous, the two kids become partners in unraveling a terrorist conspiracy with the help of some retired intelligence agents and a really old gap-toothed dog named Croc and ends with a trip to the White House. In between, Angela and Q discover a mutual love for Big Macs and use their special skills to save each other.



This is quite a page turner...full of suspense, foreign terrorists, counter-terrorists, and has more twists than a roller coaster. Just when you think you've got the bad guys figured out, Smith throws another curveball into the plot! I can't wait for Book 2! In the meantime check out the IQ series website at http://www.iqtheseries.com/. You can learn Q's magic tricks, here music by the parents' band, and all kinds of really coooool stuff!!

The Possibilities of Sainthood

Mamma Mia! This is one fun book. Fifteen year old Antonia Luchia Labella is still waiting for her first kiss AND she wants to be a saint. You might think that first kisses and sainthood can't possibly go together. I mean, aren't saints supposed to be holy, virginal and untouched? Oh yeah, they're also supposed to be dead!

Antonia has it all worked out. She wants to be the Patron Saint of First Kiss and Kissing. She thinks she knows exactly how her first kiss will happen and who the kisser will be...but is she right?

Along her way to sainthood, Antonia's life is full of twists and turns as she navigates life with her stereotypical Italian mama who refuses to let her date until she's sixteen, her forgetful grandma, her best friend Maria, her hateful cousins and Andrew, the boy she wants to kiss and Michael, the pesky, good looking creep who always turns up in the most impossible places (like the fire escape outside her window!).

This book's on the Lone Star list and will be one of the Name that Book titles for 2009-2010. Move it to the top of your "must read" list!

What's new with you?

Sorry it has been awhile since I've posted, but I've been traveling a bit, trying to button up the BMS library for summer and starting my two grad. school classes. I've also been doing some reading (surprised?!... NAW!!)


One of the YA books I've read is Gym Candy by Carl Deuker. I love his books and he's written several. I always get insight into a guy's point of view. This is helpful since I'm not a guy. I think it's good to know how the other side thinks. So even if you're a girl, this book is worth reading.

So what's Gym Candy about? Football, steroids, relationships, personal integrity, and decision making. This is one of the Lone Star book titles that will be on the Name that Book list for next year's competition....hint to all you NTB readers....READ THIS!

Speaking of Name that Book, the list for next year's books hasn't been released by Library Services, yet. I'll have it out on the blog as soon as it gets posted.


Happy summer and HAPPY READING!!!

Summer Reading

One of my favorite things to do over the summer is....you guessed it! READ!!! When I was a kid, my mom, brother and I would have reading contests every summer to see who could read the most books. I was a frequent winner! I think my mom was inspired to come up with the idea. Trips to the library were basically free, reading kept us quiet and out of trouble, and she loved to read, too.

Think about picking up a book instead of turning on the TV or your Ipod. It is better for the environment ('cause it doesn't use electricity) and much better for your brain.

Here's another place to find good book recommendations - http://txla.org/groups/yart/Assets/Files/lonestar/lone0910.pdf

This list is designed to promote student reading. It's not about books that are "good" for you to read (like eating vegetables is good for you) , but rather includes "good" books you'll ENJOY reading.

Check it out and let me know what you think. I can't wait to hear from you.