Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature

The first thing I have to say about this book is that although it discusses religion, science, and the confluence of the two, I do not believe that this book is trying to espouse a certain view or to make any of the readers believe a certain thing. Really, this book is about examining one's beliefs, rather than just following what someone has told you, be that a religious view or a scientific one. It also reminds us that human beings are complicated and complex and sometimes believe more than one thing at the same time.

That being said, on with the book review.

This is the story of Mena, a high school freshman, who finds herself starting the school year with no friends. We get the idea that Mena has done something to alienate her former friends and to anger her parents, but we dont find out what that is. (At least not right away.) Mena soon finds herself caught in the crossfire between her former friends, who attend a somewhat conservative Christian church, and her science teacher, whom Mena really likes. The students (influenced by their pastor) demand that Intelligent Design be included in the biology curriculum, along with the theory of Evolution. The teacher (whose name I have totally forgotten) refuses, on the grounds that she does not believe that Intelligent Design is based on science.

When I began reading this book, I had expected a fairly rote tale telling us that science is good and religion is backwards and stupid. This book was much more complex than that. Through Mena we an investigation of this issue that was thorough and thoughtful. Books can have the luxury of making things simple and reducing life to formulas. This book resisted that temptation and instead reflects the complexities of real life.

When I was in high school this was not really a hotly debated topic. Times may have changed, though, and I suspect that some of you may find resonance in this book or recognize certain characters.

This was a book I couldn't put down and one that I thought about long afterwards. I hope that some of you read it so that we can discuss it.

The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous

Merilee, whose last name is really Monroe, leads what she calls a Very Ordered Existence. She has a schedule that she must stick to at all times. Merilee wears the same clothes every day. And she doesn't talk if she can help it. And then along comes Biswick into her life. He is a very friendly little boy who decides she will be his new best friend. Merilee's family is thrilled that she has a friend. Merilee is not thrilled.
This is a book about friendship and the compromises and sacrifices that have to be made for friends sometimes. Merilee does not relate to others the way most of us do and that made the book difficult to read, at times. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book. It is neither short nor long, but a good sized story that you can get settled into.

Caudill 09 review #1

Since many of you need to read the Rebecca Caudills for school, we have started a new series reviewing the titles. 2008 is mostly over (in terms of the Caudills) so we are starting on the new 2009 titles. Keep an eye out throughout the year as we review all 20!

Oh Rats! by Albert Marrin

This is the first RC for 2009 that I read, although I have read most of the RC nominees for the past 4 years. Oh Rats! is, I must say, one of the most disgusting books I have ever read. Although it is short, Oh Rats! made me feel nautious more than once. It's really, really gross.

Oh Rats! tells the history of rats in the world - the good and the bad. Since this is a pretty short read, I dont want to give away mahy of the details. Let's just say that rats have done more than you can probably imagine.

I know many of you like to look for the short Caudills, so you can get your requirements out of the way. This book would probably be a great way to do that, but be aware of the gross factor.

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

Do you like the age -old story of King Arthur? The Song of the Sparrow takes the legend of Arthur and Camelot and adds a new twist- that of Elaine of Ascolat- the lady of Shalott. Okay, so I couldn't remember who she was either but it really didn't make a difference when I read this great book. It reads in poetry form- very easily and yet lurical. For me, this meant that it flowed beautifully. Told from young Elaine's point of view while living among the knights in military camp, you get it all- love, betrayal, and war. Lancelot is actually in the book too! I hope you check out this retelling of a great epic - you won't be disappointed!

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

Hello fellow book bloggers: Just wanted to let you in on a great read: Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass. You might have read this already, but if you haven't you should really pick it up. Jeremy receives a locked box from his deceased dad a month before his thirteenth birthday. The box is supposed to be open on his thirteenth birthday and contain the answer to the meaning of life. He and his best friend, Liz, search all over New York City to try to find the missing keys that will open the box. They get them themselves in to strange situations and meet interesting people along the way of searching for the missing keys. If you liked MVP*: *Magellan Voyage Project by Douglas Evans, you will really like this book. If you have read the book, you should let us know if you liked it or not!
Here is some more information about the book:
http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafeClient/ContentCafe.aspx?UserID=MLS90879&Password=CC83320&Display=ReviewSummaryByItemKey&ItemKey=0316058297&Options=Y

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

I actually read this book quite a while ago, when it came out, in 2004. It is Australian, so there are some cultural differences, but I don't think they are anything you can't move past. This is the story of Francesca who is starting her junior year of high school. She is starting at a new school - a boy's school that just went co-ed. There are very few girls attending and the boys aren't very excited to see them. She's met a boy she thinks could be "the one" but he has a girlfriend already and is sending very mixed signals. On top of this, her mother, who has always been the rock of the family, is taken by depression and can't make it out of bed most days. Between all of this, Francesca is making great friends at school and has the lead in the school play.
This was a book I couldn't stop thinking about. Even when I wasn't reading it, I found myself thinking about the characters and the story. It was very realistic, seeming like something a teenage girl would actually go through. Because everyone's life gets a little complicated sometimes.

LibraryThing

Check out www.librarything.com


This website will allow you to catalog your home library, so that you can keep track of your books. You can even add tags and search other catalogs. It is a pretty neat website. I signed up last night, but have not done much with it yet. It has a limit of 200 books for free, but since I know you get most of your books from the library, 200 should be no problem!

My To Read List

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Frannie in Pieces by Delia Ephron
Something Rotten by Alan Gratz
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
Best Foot Forward by Joan Bauer
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

What books that aren't on my list do you think I should add? Have you read any of the books on my list and think they are complete rubbish and a waste of time? Let me know!

Click: One Novel, Ten Authors

The idea behind Click is similar to that of Remembering Raquel. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character. Each chapter is also written by a different author. I was really looking forward to this book. I tend to like books that are kind of gimmicky like that, plus there are some really awesome authors on this project. Authors included Nick Hornby, Linda Sue Park, Eoin Colfer, and more. I read the first chapter and enjoyed that. However, the second chapter was not just from another point of view, it was almost completely unrelated. Then, in the third chapter, the characters changed ages and nationalities. This was too much for me. It really just seemed like the authors had written the individual chapters without consulting with one another at all. In the end it just didn't work for me.
A book with a similar idea that worked much better was Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. The book takes the form of letters between two cousins. The authors each pretended to be one of the cousins and actually wrote letters back and forth, without plotting what would happen first. I think this is really cool. This is the first in a series and one of my favorites.

Remembering Raquel

For something different and yet very good, try reading Vivian Vande Velde's new book, Remebering Raquel. This is a story written from several different perspectives- all people who knew Raquel. Yes, knew her- because at the beginning of the book you learn that she has died. There is no actual dialogue, just the private thoughts of people who knew this young woman. I really enjoyed this short read- I finished it in under 60 minutes. I also read that the author was inspired to write this novel after seeing several roadside memorials near her home in New York. She wanted to write a story about how someone is remembered after they're gone. Hope you give it a try!

Curling

I thought it might be interesting to give you some information about a different kind of winter sport: Curling. This sport is very popular in Canada. If you want some more information on this winter sport, here is a couple interesting websites to check out:
http://www.curling.com/ http://www.curling.ca/ http://www.usacurl.org/usacurl/index.php
Also, there are curling clubs in our area. Here is a couple websites to check out if you are interested. http://www.curlingchicago.org/ http://www.oakorthoarena.com/rock_star.htm

Cover-Up by John Feinstein

Cover-Up: the Mystery at the Super Bowl, is the third in the series of Susan Carol and Stevie Anderson. I actually liked this book best in the series so far, mostly because football is my favorite sport.
In this third series plot, Susan Carol and Stevie Anderson must find a way to prove that the Dreams, one of the Super Bowl teams, is cheating. Their team owner, Don Meeker, is behind the plot, hiding evidence that some of his players are using the HGH growth hormone. Will they be able to stop Meeker before it’s too late, and the Super Bowl is over?
If you haven’t read the other two mysteries by John Feinstein, you could still read Cover-Up. I always want to know this about a series. You should still read his other two books in the series, The Last Shot, which is about basketball, and Vanishing Act, which is about tennis. It is a fantastic series!

Skulduggery Pleasant

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy is about a walking, talking, well-dressed, and witty skeleton who is a detective. He was also the best friend of Stephanie's Uncle Gordon prior to Gordon's death. After Gordon's death, Stephanie quickly realizes that something odd is going on and Skulduggery knows what it is. Soon Stephanie finds herself acting as a sort of side-kick to Skulduggery and the two of them are embroiled in a magical war involving something known as the faceless ones. This is a very fun book to read and is both fantasy and mystery at the same time. A good read!

Alabama Moon

Did you like the book Hatchet? You probably had to read this book in 5th or 6th grade... it was about a young boy who found a way to survive alone in the Alaskan wilderness. Well, Alabama Moon has a similiar background, only this time the boy is named Moon, and he already lives off the land with his father in the Alabama backwoods. Because they avoid all contact with people and the outside world, Moon has no idea how to survive in the real world- the opposite of Hatchet. As a big fan of Hatchet, I was hooked on Alabama Moon right away. It had a few slow spots, but I really enjoyed the details and descriptions of the wilderness and how Moon uses everything in nature to live. I hope you give this a try... you also might want to read this because it is one of the 2009 Rebecca Caudill nominees.

More Gary Schmidt

Another title worth reading by this author is Straw into Gold. I read it quite a while ago, but I remember that it was really good too. Straw takes the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin and changes it up a bit. Now I guess I'll have to try more of his stuff- including Newbery Honor book, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. If you've read anything else by him, let me know.

The Wednesday Wars

For a book that started out slowly, The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, sure turned in to a winner! Set in the late 1960's, Holling Hoodhood (I know, weird name for a boy), is stuck staying after school alone with his teacher. She decides to teach him Shakespeare and from then on, the book becomes great. There are some serious topics covered as well, but much of the book had me laughing out loud. Just ask my fellow librarians at the reference desk- I haven't stop talking about this one! Hope you give it a try.

A Crooked Kind of Perfect

For another quick and easy read, try A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban. It's a funny story about a young girl named Zoe who has big dreams of playing the piano, but gets stuck playing the organ. She somehow manages to stay positive through some interesting (and funny) situations and be happy. This book reminded me of Because of Winn Dixie, another funny book narrated by the main character in a unique and quirky way. This book won't wow you, but it won't make you sad or cry either! Enjoy.

The Garden of Eve

Hi. If you're looking for a quick and easy read, try The Garden of Eve by K. L. Going. Evie and her father move to New York where her father has bought a withered apple orchard that the townspeople think is cursed. She encounters a boy who claims to be dead and a mystery surrounding a lost girl and a magic garden. I like a good mystery and while this wasn't the best I've ever read, I did enjoy it. I hope you'll give it a try and let me know what you think.

Award Winners!

Check out these award winners from the American Library Association!

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village written by Laura Amy Schlitz, is the 2008 Newbery Medal winner.

Three Newbery Honor Books were named:
1. Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
2. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
3. Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children. The Invention of Hugo Cabret illustrated by Brian Selznick, is the 2008 Caldecott Medal winner.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults. The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean, is the 2008 Printz Award winner.

Four Printz Honor Books were named:
1. Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet by Elizabeth Knox
2. One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke
3. Repossessed by A. M. Jenkins
4. Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill.


Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults. Orson Scott Card is the recipient of the 2008 Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring his outstanding lifetime contribution to writing for teens for his novels Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow.

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences
1. American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China by Matthew Polly
2. Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff
3. Essex County Volume 1: Tales from the Farm by Jeff Lemire
4. Genghis: Birth of an Empire by Conn Iggulden
5. The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle
6. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
7. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
8. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
9. The Night Birds by Thomas Maltman
10. The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Hello fellow book bloggers: You might have read this already since it is a Rebecca Caudill this year. It’s an interesting read about a girl, Miri, whose small village has been picked to be the home of the future princess. Surprising enough to her, she gets picked to attend the academy where they learn how to become a princess. Miri finds out that learning to be a princess isn’t so easy. She has to deal with a mean academy mistress, competition between the girls, and her own desires to be chosen. The girls find themselves in trouble when bandits try to kidnap the future princess.
Did you like reading the Princess Academy? Why or why not?