Tuesday, December 30, 2014

All These Things I've Done

All These Things I've Done By: Gabrielle Zevin

Anya is just trying to get by. She has a lot on her plate, taking care of her dying grandmother, going to school, and making sure her older brother and younger sister are ok.  And, she is the daughter of one of the most notorious crime lords, even though he is dead, his past is still a part of her life. Anya meets Win at school when she is in the office for throwing lasagna on her ex boyfriend, and she really kinda likes him, even though his father is the new DA.  But Anya is framed for a crime that she didn't commit, and her grandmother dies, so Anya has to figure out how to manage everything that comes after.

I liked this book a lot. I really enjoyed Anya's strong character in the face of so many challenges in her life. She truly did what was best for everyone in her life, even if it meant that her happiness was set aside.

I borrowed this from the public library.
ISBN: 978-0-374-30210-8

Let's Get Lost

Let's Get Lost By: Adi Alsaid

It's tough to be a teen, and four of them across the country are going through different things. One thing they have in common is Leila. Leila is on a trip to see the Northern Lights, and she meets each one of these teens at a time when they really need her most.  As she helps them, they also help her, but there is one person she really just wants to see more then the rest, and she has her own past to find.

I really liked this book. It was an interesting story about helping those around you, even if you don't know them. I am sure that some people are going through really hard times, and could use someone to come along and help them out.

I borrowed this from the public library
ISBN: 978-0-373-21124-1

The Ice Dragon

The Ice Dragon By: George R. R. Martin  Illustrated By: Luis Royo

Adara was born during the worst freeze that anyone had ever experienced, and was a winter child.  She was not like other children, and stayed out to play in the snow for as long as she wanted building great castles of snow.  It was in the winter time that she saw the Ice Dragon, and was able to touch it, and fly on it.  Unrest was coming to her small land, and fire dragons and their riders were coming to attack and take over.  Adara used her ice dragon to rescue her family, and he paid the ultimate price.

This book was beautiful.  I loved the story, and the illustrations were ones that would make me stop and stare. I thought that this beautiful girl who was so alone in a way, had a friend in the ice dragon. This book would be great for any reader upper elementary and up to adult.

I borrowed this book from the public library.
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7877-4

Monday, December 1, 2014

Rump

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin By: Liesl Shurtliff

Rump hates his name very much, and we all know why. The kids are always teasing him about it.  Rump has had a hard life, living day to day in the mines so that his grandmother and him can eat. But when he finds a spinning wheel, and is able to make gold his luck begins to change.

I loved this retelling of the story of Rumpelstiltskin.  It was very clever, and will take young readers into the fairy tale quickly.  I liked how Rumpelstiltskin was not told as an evil character, like he is in some of the fairy tales, that he was just a normal boy with a talent that he thought could help him.

I purchased this book from Scholastic.
ISBN: 978-0-545-76586-2