Here is a great blog and contest you may want to check out.
http://addicted2novels.blogspot.com/2011/04/900-followers-giveaway.html
The Lively Reader is a blog created and maintained by Mrs. Lively the "lively" librarian at LBHS!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
2010-2011 Virginia Reader's Choice Voting Party
10 LBHS Students read four books from the list and will help determine which title wins the state Virginia Reader's Choice Award.
The Choices:
The Hunger Games
From Good Reads: In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love
Graceling
From Good Reads: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone
Artichoke's Heart
From Good Reads: When she is almost sixteen years old, Rosemary decides she is sick of being overweight, mocked at school and at Heavenly Hair--her mother's beauty salon--and feeling out of control, and as she slowly loses weight, she realizes that she is able to cope with her mother's cancer, having a boyfriend for the first time, and discovering that other people's lives are not as perfect as they seem from the outside.
If I Stay
From Good Reads: In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...
A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.
Shift
From Good Reads:
Imagine you and your best friend head off on a cross-country bike trek.
Imagine that you get into a fight — the cheap s.o.b. won't kick in any cash.
Imagine you stop riding together.
Imagine you reach Seattle then come home alone, still p.o-ed.
Imagine the FBI is now at your college dorm.
Imagine finding out that your former best friend never made it home.
And imagine that he had actually been carrying over $20,000 in cash with him.
Imagine your world shifting....
A tour-de-force about biking, friendship, and the depths of loyalty by a debut novelist who has in fact biked cross country.
Knights of the Hill Country
From Good Reads: In a small Oklahoma town, one star linebacker must decide what kind of man he wants to be—both on and off the field.
Welcome to Kennisaw—where Friday night high school football ranks right up there with God and country, and sometimes even comes in first. This year, the Kennisaw Knights are going for their fifth straight undefeated season, and if they succeed, they'll be more than the best high school team in the eastern Oklahoma hill country—they'll be legends.
But the Knights' legacy is a heavy weight to carry for Hampton, linebacker and star of the team. On the field, he's so in control you'd think he was able to stop time. But his life off the field is a different story. His father walked out on him and his mom years ago, and now his mom has a new boyfriend every week. He's drawn to a smart, quirky girl at school—the type a star athlete just isn't supposed to associate with. And meanwhile, his best friend and teammate Blaine—the true friend who first introduced Hampton to football back when he had nothing else—is becoming uncomfortably competitive, and he's demanding Hampton's loyalty even as Hampton thinks he's going too far.
This unforgettable novel is the story of a boy whose choices will decide the kind of man he becomes, and raises powerful questions about sportsmanship, loyalty, and the deceptiveness of legends.
Rooftop
The Choices:
The Hunger Games
From Good Reads: In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love
Graceling
From Good Reads: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone
Artichoke's Heart
From Good Reads: When she is almost sixteen years old, Rosemary decides she is sick of being overweight, mocked at school and at Heavenly Hair--her mother's beauty salon--and feeling out of control, and as she slowly loses weight, she realizes that she is able to cope with her mother's cancer, having a boyfriend for the first time, and discovering that other people's lives are not as perfect as they seem from the outside.
If I Stay
From Good Reads: In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...
A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.
Shift
From Good Reads:
Imagine you and your best friend head off on a cross-country bike trek.
Imagine that you get into a fight — the cheap s.o.b. won't kick in any cash.
Imagine you stop riding together.
Imagine you reach Seattle then come home alone, still p.o-ed.
Imagine the FBI is now at your college dorm.
Imagine finding out that your former best friend never made it home.
And imagine that he had actually been carrying over $20,000 in cash with him.
Imagine your world shifting....
A tour-de-force about biking, friendship, and the depths of loyalty by a debut novelist who has in fact biked cross country.
Knights of the Hill Country
From Good Reads: In a small Oklahoma town, one star linebacker must decide what kind of man he wants to be—both on and off the field.
Welcome to Kennisaw—where Friday night high school football ranks right up there with God and country, and sometimes even comes in first. This year, the Kennisaw Knights are going for their fifth straight undefeated season, and if they succeed, they'll be more than the best high school team in the eastern Oklahoma hill country—they'll be legends.
But the Knights' legacy is a heavy weight to carry for Hampton, linebacker and star of the team. On the field, he's so in control you'd think he was able to stop time. But his life off the field is a different story. His father walked out on him and his mom years ago, and now his mom has a new boyfriend every week. He's drawn to a smart, quirky girl at school—the type a star athlete just isn't supposed to associate with. And meanwhile, his best friend and teammate Blaine—the true friend who first introduced Hampton to football back when he had nothing else—is becoming uncomfortably competitive, and he's demanding Hampton's loyalty even as Hampton thinks he's going too far.
This unforgettable novel is the story of a boy whose choices will decide the kind of man he becomes, and raises powerful questions about sportsmanship, loyalty, and the deceptiveness of legends.
Rooftop
My Mother the Cheerleader
The Brothers Torres
I Am Scout
Friday, March 25, 2011
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Unearthly is one of the books I selected as a part of the Debut Author's Challenge I am participating in. The other day I had a student ask me if I had a copy of Unearthly and I pulled it out of my bag to show him that I had just started to read it. He then told me he is related to the author. How cool is that! I was so glad I already had a copy in the library. (I was actually pretty proud I did since this is a new release and had not been out long. Thank you Story Siren for running this challenge and making me aware of the debut YA books that are out!)
I just finished the book and I loved it, but at the same time I am disappointed that I am done. I would say this is the sign of a good book. I can't stop thinking of the characters and I want more! I found out from a little research that another book comes out next year- now I just have to find some patience.
Unearthly is the story of an angel-blood named Clara. Clara is only 1/4 angel and to most of the world just seems like a normal teenager. When Clara is 16 she starts have a recurring dream or vision of a forest fire and a boy that she has to save. She discovers that this is a part of her "purpose" as an angel and that her family must move to Wyomng for her to fulfill that purpose. In Wyoming she meets the boy from her visions as well as another guy- the brother of her best friend. As Clara learns more about both Christian, the boy from the visons, Tucker, the best friend's twin brother, and about the angel world, life gets more and more confusing for her.
This fantasy, romantic, thriller is a real page turner. I loved the characters and found them to be very real and believable. I enjoyed the angel story line that Cynthia Hand created and found it to be very plasuible within the story. My only disappointment with the book is that I am not ready to leave Clara, Christian, Tucker and Jeffrey, Clara's brother, behind. I hope that future books will continue the Clara story but focus more on Jeffrey and Clara's mother too.
I highly recommend Unearthly and look forward to booktalking this at school.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Five Flavors of Dumb
Piper doesn't know much about music-- she can't even hear music since she is deaf, but when Dumb, a band from her high school, performs on the front steps of her school she finds herself captivated. Piper becomes the manager of Dumb and her life changes in many ways.
This is a truly great book. Check out the trailer below for a more info. I highly recommend this book and predict it will circulate well at my school.
The Trouble with Half a Moon by Danette Vigilante
Imagine playing with your younger brother and having an accident that leads to his death? Delilah, or Dellie as everyone calls her, doesn't have to imagine this because it happened to her. Dellie feels a crushing guilt for what happed to her brother, Louis, wihle also feeling suffocated by her parents desire to keep her with them and safe at all times.
One day Dellie meets a young, hungry boy named Corey who just moved in on the first floor of her apartment complex. Corey lives with his abusive mother and is badly in need of food and attention. Dellie knows she has to help him even if it means getting in touble with her parents.
The Trouble with Half a Moon is a sweet novel that deals with Dellie's coming of age issues with boys, friends, her parents and the unresolved feelings she has about her brother's death and her relationship with Corey.
While I liked this novel I did feel like the pace was a little slow. I will recommend this book to my student though- especially students wanting a good realistic fiction story.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Empty by Suzanne Weyn
Imagine paying $80 for a gallon of gas. What would you do if the grocery stores had no food on the shelf because it was too expensive for the trucks to resupply the stores. What would you do if you could not cook any of your food because all your appliances use electricity and the power is off-- with no promise of when, or if, it will come back on.
Set 10 years in the future this is a story with a message- to think about energy sources and policies. The world's oil supply is almost depleted Life as Gwen, Tom and Nikki now it is literally over.
Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
"I sat there and looked at my mother, at the ease in her face as she told me how I felt, what I thought, everything. Like I was a puzzke, one she'd created, and she knew the solution every time." (p. 170)
Best friends/First love/Mother daughter relationships/Life changing choices/Growing up
This book touches on so many issues in a well written great story. Halley is the quiet one who always turns to Scarlett, her best friend, for the answers. Suddenly the roles are reversed and Scarlett needs Halley after her boyfriend Michael is killed in a motorcycle accident. It is bad enough that Michael died but then Scarlett discovers that she is pregnant. What is she going to do now? As Halley helps Scarlett naviagte the twists and turns of being a pregnant teenager she is going through some major changes of her own. She starts to date Macon, a wild guy that her parents do not approve of. Read the book to find out what happens to Halley, Macon, Scarlett and her baby.
Check out the book trailer found on You Tube:
Best friends/First love/Mother daughter relationships/Life changing choices/Growing up
This book touches on so many issues in a well written great story. Halley is the quiet one who always turns to Scarlett, her best friend, for the answers. Suddenly the roles are reversed and Scarlett needs Halley after her boyfriend Michael is killed in a motorcycle accident. It is bad enough that Michael died but then Scarlett discovers that she is pregnant. What is she going to do now? As Halley helps Scarlett naviagte the twists and turns of being a pregnant teenager she is going through some major changes of her own. She starts to date Macon, a wild guy that her parents do not approve of. Read the book to find out what happens to Halley, Macon, Scarlett and her baby.
Check out the book trailer found on You Tube:
Dirty Little Secrets by c.j. omololu
Can you imagine being afraid that someone might see your home? Lucy is. Her mother is an well admired oncology nurse by day but at home she is a totally different person governed by her stuff. Lucy's two older siblings have grown up and escaped the mess but she has two more years until she graduates from high school and gets away.
One day over Christmas break Lucy and her best friend meet up with two guys from school they really like. Josh asks Lucy to come to a party the next night and she agrees. Then she goes home and discovers something in the mess...
What will Lucy do? She needs help but if she asks everyone will know how she lives.
Check out this interview with the author:
Friday, January 21, 2011
this lullaby by Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen books are very popular in the LBHS library so I was excited to finally read a Dessen novel to see what all the buzz is about. Dessen writes a mean romantic novel! I just finished this lullaby.
Remy and her brother Chris are preparing for their mother's fourth, and fifth if you count the nonbinding marriage to their father, wedding the summer after Remy graduated from High School. Remy never even met her real father, who is famous for writing the song This Lullaby when she was born.
This lullaby is only a few words
A simple run of chords
Quiet here in this spare room
But you can hear it, hear it
Wherever you may go
I will let you down
But this lullaby plays on....
This background of multiple stepfathers and no relationship with her real father, who died when she was very young, has made Remy more than a little skeptical about love. Following her mother's example, Remy goes through boyfriends on a regular basis-- but she differs from her mom by trying to never get too close and actually give her heart away. Until Dexter....
Dexter is everything that Remy is not-- sloppy, unorganized, and a musician to boot, when she swore she would definitely not date musicians. But what starts as a simple summer romance turns out to be different. This fast paced coming of age novel is a must read.
Check out the author's website:
http://www.sarahdessen.com/
Monday, January 17, 2011
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
What a great book!! I can't wait to see this movie-- which will be released on February 18th. I look forward to the next book in this series and I predict this will be a popular book and series in my school's library. I need to catalog this and get it out asap. (I read this title before I even cataloged which is a fun librarian perk but also speaks to how interesting the book looked!)
Synopsis from Barnes and Noble
Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books-but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.
I am Number Four.
I am next.
Check out this extended preview from the movie:
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
I read the first book in the Pretty Little Liars Series yesterday while I was home with a sick child and I can't wait to get back to school to get the next book. This book was just an easy fun read and I am hooked with wanting to know who "A" is!!
Synopsis from Barnes and Noble
Everyone has something to hide—especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna.Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.
But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.
How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and all the dirty secrets they've kept. And guess what? I'm telling.
Check out the author interview where Sara Shepard discusses how she feels about the Pretty Little Liars Series being made into a TV show for ABC.
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Hate List By Jennifer Brown
Have you every said that you hate someone? Have you every casually said that you could just kill someone for something they did? You probably didn't mean for anyone to take these comments literally did you? What would you do if one of your friends did take you seriously and actually killed the people you had mentioned. That's what happens to Valerie...
This is a great book that deals with some very important issues.
Synopsis from Barnes and Noble
Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.
Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.
Here is a book trailer from You Tube for Hate List.
Friday, January 7, 2011
2011 Debut Author Challenge
http://www.thestorysiren.com/2010/11/sign-up-for-2011-debut-author-challenge.html
Debut books I have read:
1. The Trouble with Half a Moon
Debut books in my to read pile:
1. Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley
2. Havan by Kristi Cook
3. Leaverage by Joshua C. Cohen
4. Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
5. Head Games by Keri Mikulski
6. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
“It amazes me how easy it is for things to change,” Samantha thinks. “how easy it is to start off down the same road you always take and wind up somewhere new”.
Synopsis from Barnes and Noble
"You'll have no choice but to tear through this book!" Jay Asher, author of the New York Times bestseller Thirteen Reasons Why What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.
Instead, it turns out to be her last.
Then she gets a second chance.
Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death-and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.
I did tear through this book and enjoyed seeing the ramifications of the different ways that Samantha spends her last day over and over again. I expected this to be a sad book and it really wasn't-- instead it made me think about how important the choices we make in life are.
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