In My Mailbox (29)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a time for everyone to share what books they acquired over the course of the week. I'll share what I received in the mail, bought at bookstores, downloaded, or picked up from the library.

From the bookstore (for a total of $3!)

• Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
• Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

Nothing in the mail or from the library  for me this week. I'm finishing up a few library books this week and then I'm sure I'll pick up some more! 


Happy reading everyone!

2011 Debut Author Challenge (Hosted by The Story Siren)

I'm signing up for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge hosted by Krisi of The Story Siren! I'm excited to join this challenge from the beginning since I joined late this year.

Basically the goal is to read 12 debut middle grade or young adult novels between January 1, 2011 and December 31st, 2011. 

My list:

1. I Am J by Cris Beam
2. XVI by Julia Karr
3. Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
4. Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley
5. Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
6. Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell
7. The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder
8. Bumped by Megan McCafferty - Yes, this counts since it is her debut YA novel :)
9. Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard
10. Rival by Sara Bennet-Wealer
11. Hereafter by Tara Hudson
12. The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker
13. Wither by Lauren Destefano
14. Griffin Rising by Darby Karchut

This list may change, and I may even read more. Interested in joining the challenge? Learn more about it here, and read some frequently asked questions here. Sign up here, and get a challenge button here. 

Wednesday Web Wanderings (30)

This is a collection of interesting book- and library-related things I've come across online this week. Check 'em out!

• Author Walter Dean Myers talks about collaborating with a teen fan for Kick
• National Book Award winners were announced!
• HarperCollins resolves lawsuit with Gawker over Sarah Palin's book
• PWxyz reports that HarperCollins has shut down its e-bookstore
• Author Maureen Johnson discusses the James Frey problem

• You can now sign up for The Story Siren's 2011 Debut Author Challenge - I'll be signing up soon! 
• i09 tells us why J.K. Rowling shouldn't write any more Harry Potter books
• The Huffington Post: 15 Great Books Never Coming to a Theater Near You
• The Huffington Post: 7 of the Best Author Websites
• School Library Journal picks the Best Books of 2010
• Time discusses the e-Reader war of the holiday season: Nook Color vs. Kindle
• Barnes & Noble has begun to divide out its teen fiction genres (I noticed this last week when I went in!)

Fun Video Find: 

• Librarians Do Taio Cruz (This was made by a library that's in the same consortium as my library. Too funny!)

Happy reading & happy Thanksgiving!

It's Monday: What Are You Reading? (26)

What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted over at Book Journey where bloggers gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.


It's been a few weeks since I participated in this meme. Mondays have been crazy for me lately! I wake up at 6 am, babysit my boyfriend's cousins until they get on the bus, go to a workout class (or take a nap!), shower, drive an hour to work, work a full day, drive an hour home, and then do a few hours of homework before going to bed around midnight and getting up at 6 am the next morning. Somewhere in there I manage to eat and walk my dog too. (How do people who have children work and go to grad school? Hats off to you - I don't think I could do it!) Thankfully I don't have this schedule every day. Mondays are just extra tough! Luckily this week my professors are scaling back a bit on the homework in honor of Thanksgiving and I have a little time to relax in the evening. :) 


Over the past couple of weeks....


I finished: 


Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (audiobook)



The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie



Good Girls Don't Get Fat by Robyn Silverman (eBook)


I am currently reading: 

Math Doesn't Suck by Danica McKellar


Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen (audiobook)


Glass by Ellen Hopkins


Next up: 

Chains and Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
 

I also set aside a few books temporarily, and I intend to finish those over winter break.

In My Mailbox (28)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a time for everyone to share what books they acquired over the course of the week. I'll share what I received in the mail, bought at bookstores, downloaded, or picked up from the library.

In the mail: 
 - Kick by Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman (ARC - HarperTeen - releases February 2011)


From the bookstore: 
- Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan


Free eBook from Barnes & Noble (not pictured): 
- Skinny Cocktails by Jaclyn Wilson Foley and Ray Foley


From the library: 
- Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Amelia's War by Ann Rinaldi


Historical fiction week is coming up after Thanksgiving in my Materials for Youth class. I haven't decided what I'm reading yet, but I picked up a few choices from the library!


What's in your mailbox? 

Review - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Recently my Materials for Youth class had contemporary/realistic YA fiction week. We only had to read one book, but I was so excited about the theme that I read two! Here are my thoughts on The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie: 


According to Horn Book magazine, "The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and standup comedy gets unequivocally--and hilariously and triumphantly--bent in this novel about coming of age on the rez" (R.S., 2007, p. 563-564). Considering the author's experiences with film, poetry, and comedy, I'm not surprised that he was able to skillfully blend these elements into an excellent story. 

The dramatic monologue reveals itself in Junior's diary entries. He is brutally honest and candid, holding nothing back when it comes to describing his feelings about different situations or characters. It almost felt to me as if I were sitting down with Junior and listening to him tell me his life story. 

Junior often describes things in his life in a poetic way. For example, he says, "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats" (p. 6). These metaphors evoke deep emotion and really get across the message of how important Junior's cartoons are to him. It's how he copes with all of the terrible things that have happened in his life. 

Another way that Junior copes with tragedy is through humor. He's especially good at throwing out one-liners. I laughed out loud when Junior stood up to Mrs Jeremy by saying, "The world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are assholes and the people who are not" (p. 177). 

This is a story that both teens and adults should read. I think it sends a great message to teens that no matter how high the odds are stacked against you, you should never give up on your dreams. Junior was determined to get a good education, despite the enormous obstacles he faced. Adults can learn an important lesson from Junior's story as well. While most of the adults in Junior's life were poor role models, Mr. P. and Coach believed in Junior and encouraged him. After Coach says, "You can do it," Junior reacts by saying, "Do you know how amazing it is to hear that from an adult?" (p. 189). Adults should not forget the impact they can have on teens just by believing in them. Junior even draws a picture imagining who his parents would have been if somebody paid attention to their dreams (p. 12). 

Alexie, S. (2010). Official Sherman Alexie Biography.  Falls Apart. Retrieved from http://www.fallsapart.com/biography.html 

S., R. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indiana. Horn Book Magazine, 83(5), 563-564. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. 

NaNoWriMo - Author Visit #5

This week my library welcomed another local author as part of our NaNoWriMo series. Susan Crandall, author of women's fiction and suspense, spoke to our patrons about common writing mistakes and how to avoid them. She gave them many practical tips and answered a ton of questions for the aspiring authors in the audience. Everyone I know who has read Susan Crandall raves about how great her books are, and I look forward to reading them!

Happy reading! (And writing if you're doing NaNoWriMo this year!)

Wednesday Web Wanderings (29)

This is a collection of interesting book- and library-related things I've come across online this week. Check 'em out!

• E-Reader sales are expected to be big this holiday season - NYT
• If you live in Indiana or nearby, you may be interested in the Indianapolis Youth Literature Conference. I may go, but it's a wee bit expensive for my grad student budget!
• Check out the Class of 2k11 blog which has 19 debut middle grade & YA authors. 
• You can also check out The Elevensies blog for even more debut middle grade & YA authors. 
• The League of Extraordinary Writers is a blog by five debut YA authors who write science fiction & dystopian works. 
• Don't miss Steph Su's guest post on The Story Siren!
• For teen & school librarians or library science students - YALSA has published its first issue of The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, an online, open-access, peer-reviewed journal. 
• Libraries look ahead to the future. 
• Ooh la la - the Most Beautiful College Libraries. 
• The World's Greatest Bookshops - I've been to half of the cities on this list (thanks to studying abroad on two different continents), but I've only visited 2 of the bookshops - City Lights in San Francisco and Shakespeare & Co. in Paris. My uncle and I love to visit famous bookstores and libraries when we travel to big cities...we're kind of nerdy like that. 

A photo from my trip to Shakespeare and Co. in Paris :) 

Happy reading!

Review - Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (audiobook)

Last week was contemporary/realistic YA fiction week in my Materials for Youth class - my favorite week so far! For my first book of the week, I chose a Sarah Dessen novel because people are always raving about how great her books are. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and I certainly wasn't disappointed! 


Seventeen-year-old Auden has been an insomniac ever since her parents began fighting. Her sleep problems have continued even after their divorce. Auden is highly-motivated, a trait she gets from her scholarly parents. The summer before she leaves for college, Auden goes to a small beach-resort town to stay with her father, her new stepmother, and a newborn baby who just won't stop crying. Auden's father and stepmother fight a lot, but she tries to stay out of it most of the time. Auden intends to spend much of the summer preparing for her college courses, but her plans quickly change when she befriends a group of carefree local teens who bring her out of her shell. One boy in particular, Eli, shares her nocturnal habits, and together they embark on a quest to help Auden experience everything she's missed out on by being so focused on achievement. Eli has been grieving the loss of a friend, but finds that he can open up to Auden. For awhile, everything seems to be going great, but when her father and stepmother's fighting worsens, Auden's memories of her parents' divorce resurface and really shake her up. 


Along for the Ride was my first Sarah Dessen novel, and I'll definitely be reading more of her work! The characters felt very real, and I identified with Auden because she reminded me of myself as a teen. (Plus, Eli is exactly the type of guy I would have had a crush on in high school. Swoon!) I think a lot of readers can probably relate to the relationship between Auden and her parents, too. At the beginning of the novel, Auden's parents seem to be more concerned with her academic development than her emotional development. She missed out on a social life in high school because she was so busy studying. I loved watching Auden grow over the course of the summer as she learned more about herself and opened up to new possibilities. The audiobook narrator captured Auden's voice well. It took a long time to listen to (the unabridged version has 11 CDs), but I kept listening because it was such a great story and I cared about the characters. 

P.S. The book cover is adorable, but I don't think the models match the descriptions of Eli and Auden very well. Does anyone else get bothered by this on book covers, or is it just me being too picky? :)