100 Scope Notes
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The Classroom Bookshelf
by Mary Ann Cappiello
November 24, 2010 by Angela Carstensen
Several first novels stood out this year, many with appeal to young readers. Many of them have already been reviewed here: Girl in Translation, The Girl who Fell from the Sky, The House of Tomorrow, Matterhorn, The Outside Boy, and The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Let’s add one more. A paperback original, Finny is a coming-of-age novel […]
November 23, 2010 by Angela Carstensen
Two mystery series with teen appeal added installments this year. The Spellmans Strike Again is the fourth in Lisa Lutz’s hilarious series. The Spellman Files (2007) won an Alex Award, and was followed by Curse of the Spellmans (2008) and Revenge of the Spellmans (2009). If you haven’t seen them, check out the great mass market paperback covers: […]
November 22, 2010 by Angela Carstensen
I thought I would kick off the Thanksgiving holiday week with two nonfiction titles that are garnering both critical praise and a great deal of publicity. They will likely end up in many a Christmas stocking this year. How do they stack up for young adult readers? First, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the much anticipated new […]
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November 19, 2010 by Angela Carstensen
Connie Willis considers her World War II alternate history/time travel saga to be one book. She calls it Blackout-All Clear, even though Blackout was published in February and All Clear in October. So we decided to publish one review encompassing both. While yes, both books are long (very long), there are teens out there who have no problem […]
November 18, 2010 by Angela Carstensen
Today’s book, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, has an undercurrent of fairytale themes, and brought to mind a conversation I joined recently. One of the advantages of living in New York City is the ability to attend Bookfest each fall. Formerly hosted by the New York Public Library, this year it was titled Bookfest@BankStreet and […]
November 17, 2010 by Angela Carstensen
It has been a long time since I was genuinely scared by a book, especially one featuring zombies or vampires. Maybe it is the fact that they are everywhere these days, mixed with humor or social commentary that dilutes the horror itself. The last time I came close was reading Justin Cronin’s The Passage, but […]
November 16, 2010 by Angela Carstensen
Yesterday I wrote about memoir. Today, I present the review of a mystery written by Homer Hickam, best known for a memoir, Rocket Boys (Delacorte, 1998), which he expanded into a trilogy with The Coalwood Way (Delacorte, 2000) and Sky of Stone (Delacorte, 2001). He may not be writing memoir, but he’s still writing what he knows. […]
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