While I was on vacation, the news came out that the West Memphis Three had been set free. See the coverage from the Arkansas Times, such as here and here. As explained by that paper, “The West Memphis Three are Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jr. and Jason Baldwin. In 1994, two juries found the men, who [...]
Bumped by Megan McCafferty. Balzer & Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins. 2011. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Welcome to 2035. A virus made almost everyone over the age of 18 infertile, which means that teen pregnancy (but not teen motherhood) is now the ideal. Harmony and Melody are sixteen year old twins, separated at [...]
The question of boys and reading is one that comes up from time to time, and always brings about strong reactions based both on the actual article in question and the personal experiences of those reading the article. Take, for example, Boys and Reading: Is There Any Hope? by Robert Lipsyte at The New York Times. [...]
Down at the Jersey Shore, we’re getting prepared for Hurricane Irene! While I live down the Shore, I am not in an area with either mandatory evacuation or an area prone to flooding. I’m not on the water. We’re pretty much all prepared: full tank of gas, check. Extra cash? Check. Candles and flashlight, check. [...]
KidLitCon and RIF have teamed up! As Colleen Mondor explains at Chasing Ray, “What we decided was to shift things just a bit, both by moving away from publisher donated ARCs as raffle prizes and also toward a long term partnership with one organization. Ultimately what we came up with made sense in so many [...]
Blink & Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones. Candlewick. 2011. BrillianceAudio. Narrated by MacLeod Andrews. 2011. Review copy from publisher. The Plot: Blink accidentally witnesses a crime — actually, a non-crime. Jack Niven, an important businessman, has been kidnapped, but Blink saw Niven with the so-called kidnappers and knows he not only went willingly; Niven was in charge, the boss. [...]
Stay With Me by Paul Griffin. Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin. 2011. Review from ARC. The Plot: Cece and Mack are fifteen when fate — in the form of Cece’s older brother, Tony — brings them together. They have a hundred and two days, from meeting to falling in love to fate bringing it [...]
It’s The First Day of School . . . Forever! by R. L. Stine. Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan. 2011. Review copy from publisher. Middle grade. The Plot: Artie, eleven, is nervous about his first day of sixth grade at Ardmore Middle School. From the moment his alarm rings and he falls out [...]
Everyone’s reading it. Come on, you read it, too! Adults read books for many reasons, including what their peers read. When talking about kids, what about when eighth graders want to read that book the cool kids in high school are reading? And so on and so on and now the fifth graders want it, too. [...]
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce. Little, Brown. 2011. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Gretchen and her older brother, Ansel, are on the road, driving through South Carolina, when their car breaks down. Bad luck turns to good luck when they meet Sophia Kelly, owner of Kellys’ Chocolatier. Sophia needs some help around her house [...]
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