Birthmarked

Shipbreaker

Nightshade

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.

Unwind

Check out this cool movie trailer. My blog entry is coming soon!

Check out this link to try and win an autographed copy of one of these book!

Dirty Little Secrets

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.