Smile and the World Smiles With You!

While taking a very short break from my Book Fair yesterday I browsed through the tables and picked up "Smile" by Raina Telgemeier. It is a graphic novel and normally I would put it right back down. But I began reading and kept reading and kept reading. I liked it - I really liked it!

This story is about a girl named.... Raina... who, at the age of 12, falls and damages her two front teeth very severely. Over the next few years she has numerous surgeries, braces, false teeth, headgear and this story chronicles beautifully all that anguish with teenage drama.

But it also highlights family, boys, fashion mishaps, school anxiety, and relationships, both good and bad. It's a winner and I bought it on the spot. (It's now sold out of the Fair!)

What are you reading today?

The Maze Runner

I like puzzles but "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner is not a puzzle that I would want to be a part of.

In this eerie compelling book our main character, Thomas, wakes up in an dark box that is clanking noisily as its rises upwards. While he knows his name Thomas remembers nothing else; who he is, where he comes from, where he is. The doors open and 60 boys await him... 60 boys who have been living in this area they call "The Glade" for up to two years, one new boy being delivered each month. They think they can escape by running and exploring the adjoining maze but so far without success. Huge doors to the maze are closed at night and horrific Grievers, creatures that are part beast, part machine, prey on any runner caught in the maze after dark. Thomas is still trying to figure things out when everything changes; a girl is lifted into The Glade" the next day with the ominous message that the game is ending.....

This book has you in its clutches right from the beginning... like a love/hate relationship.... full of tension that has me sitting on the edge of my chair but wanting to know what is going to happen next and not being able to put it down.

Not for the faint of heart and definitely for the mature readers.

What are you reading today?

Keeper

Kathi Appelt writes magically and the way she puts words and ideas together is simply beautiful.

"Keeper" is her newest story about love, all sorts of love, with more than a hint of mythology and some wonderful cats and dogs thrown in. It revolves around a 10 year old girl with the name Keeper who believes she is the daughter of a mermaid who swam away many years ago. She has been looked after ever since by a young woman, Signe, in a little house on the coast of Texas. On this particular day Keeper hears the crabs destined for the gumbo pot talking to her so she lets them go. This act leads to another and another and before she knows it Keeper has disappointed all those who love her so she gets it in her mind to go find her mother.... at sea. She has a plan and while everyone is sleeping Keeper drifts off to the ocean to find her.

This books begins with an act and then goes forwards and backwards and forwards for one, two, three special characters. I just wanted to be sure Keeper was safe... but this back and forth tied all the stories together very neatly. A lovely story.

What are you reading today?

The Billionaire's Curse

Now if I inherited billions, yes billions, of dollars, I think I might plan how how to spend some of that money! In the "The Billionaire's Curse" by Richard Newsome, Gerald is the very lucky heir to his great aunt Geraldine's fortune. Unfortunately, Gerald receives a letter from his aunt who tells him chances are she has been murdered and it is up to him to find the murderer! With his parents off jaunting around the world, Gerald is forced to stay in his very large inherited house in London with a very formal butler to "look"after him. He manages to "escape" to the British Museum to find information about the only clue he has, a magnificent diamond that has been stolen. After two children help extricate him from the clutches of a sinister and threatening character, Gerald knows he has to solve the mystery of the missing diamond and its box. It is his only chance of survival.... with a little bit of psychic power and his two new friends at his side to help him.

Quite fun..

What are you reading today?

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

Are you thinking that you might like to be a lawyer? Read on! This book "Theodore Boone:Kid Lawyer" is by John Grisham who has written numerous adult books about the law and lawyers. They are all page turners and have numerous twists and turns that keep you hooked. This is his first foray into books for the younger readers and is about a 13 year old kid, the son of two lawyers, who also wants to be a lawyer. In fact he already knows so much about the law he even helps out fellow students who have problems. However he becomes involved with a murder trial and must decide how to deal with information he has received that will make a difference in the outcome of the verdict. A guilty man could go free if he doesn't speak up.

While I enjoyed the book, at times it felt like Grisham was writing a book for a certain age instead of just writing a fabulous book. The writing is filled with facts that allow the young person to understand what is happening but it sometimes feels stilted, not natural.

What are you reading today?