Truman Reader's Award Nominee

Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pferrer
Rating: 4 Stars

Okay, so I took a break from adult literature and went on a quest to find some age-appropriate, yet more challenging books for my daughter. I mean all the middle-schoolers love the Candy Apple Books, but let's be serious. They don't make you think beyond if your crush is going to remember you on Valentine's Day or how to make the boy next door really like you. I guess those books have their place (I read similar books when I was that age - remember Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High?), but they really do make me yearn to find better, more thought provoking material.

I was able to find some wonderful reads through a new award program This new book award is sponsored by the Missouri Association of School Librarians and is called the Truman Readers Award. The purpose of this award is to encourage " students in the early teen years to express their unique voice through: exploring new literary genres, communicating with their peers about young adult literature, and honoring authors writing for young teens."

One of the books nominated for this award is, Life As We Knew It. The theme of the book is cataclysmic when a meteor crashes into the moon and causes devastating change in the earth's climate. The main character is Miranda, a fifteen-year-old everyday teen who recounts the daily events from before the meteor hits to months after in her many journals.

She lives with her mom and two brothers and day by day the precious freedoms and pleasures that most teens think nothing of are slowly stripped away and she is constantly faced with the threat of starvation.

This book is certainly not a feel good book, but it really makes this age group think about the differences between needs and wants. There is minor language in the book (a few damns, a couple of hells, but nothing too bad) and there is some sexual content. The sexual content is not at all explicit and in the entire book there are probably only three or four references. While I typically shy aware from sexual content for my pre-teen, there is a good message halfway through that could be a good starting point for having that inevitable and necessary discussion.

If your pre-teen participates in the Accelerated Reading Program through their school, this book is on the list. It has a reading level of 4.7 and is worth 14 points. Not bad - that could equal one quarter's worth of points.

As always, no matter what the theme of the book, if you are unsure about how your child would react to the content it is never a bad idea to pre-read a book.

All right, well I will be back soon with some more reviews. See ya!

Christmas Break Reading

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer, Twilight Saga Book 2
Rating: 5 Stars

I am a picky reader. I have so many expectations for the books I read that very few live up to my hopes. This book, actually the whole series, has really surprised me.

I started reading the series after my 11-year-old daughter expressed her desire to read them. I have been a fan of vampire lore since I discovered Anne Rice. And this love of the vampire tales and the knowledge of what type of undercurrents occur in such writing made be skeptical of whether or not a book found in the young adult section could deliver the intrigue and intensity that are requirements for this type of tale. It did - with a bite! Sorry, couldn't resist.

This second book kept me up until the wee hours of the morning and provided me with enough material to actually get me spooked. I found myself one night stalking the darkened hallways of my house because of a little noise that I heard outside convinced that I was about to be attacked by something mythical and undead.

I have no complaints about this book, but I do have some warnings. As I stated earlier, my 11-year-old daughter wanted to read this book and I had to say no. I am not about censorship, but I do think that as parents we have only so many opportunities to make good choices for our children to help guide them and I am not sure this is an appropriate book for a middle-schooler.

Aside from the fact that the book is quite erotic, not graphically, but definitely implied - the relationships that Bella forms with the two main male characters can be confusing for young teenagers who are just starting to date and form intimate relationships.

Edward is actually absent during most of the book. This book builds on the friendship between Bella and Jacob. But throughout the novel, Edward and Jacob have two things in common - they must push Bella away in order to keep her safe. They do this quite cruelly at times, but then regret their behavior and express remorse and forgiveness. Bella keeps moving towards them and getting closer no matter how she is treated.


I mean, I know this is fiction. It is part of the book and it makes the plot what it is. However, I am not so sure that young teenagers can understand this. Could they walk away thinking that is okay to be treated cruelly by someone who cares for them? Dating violence occurs frequently in young relationships and some of the interactions in this novel mimics this type of behavior.



Okay, enough of that. I will leave it up to you to form your own opinions. Great book, great read for an older audience.





The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
Rating: 4 Stars

I love Joshilyn Jackson. I first discovered her when I found her book Between, Georgia in the "buy one, get one half" section at Borders. Her writing is southern charm, southern voodoo and southern hilarious with always a little bit of mystery.

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, is about Laurel, a woman who sees ghosts. The most recent ghost that she sees is that of a young girl that is found dead in her backyard pool. The book takes you on a journey to find out what really happened to the drowned girl. During the investigation, Laurel reaches out to her zany, unrehearsed and over-the-top sister, Thalia and invites more ghosts and problems into her picture-perfect life.

The book takes place in the panhandle of Florida and deep south of Alabama. Jackson does a superb job of making these characters real and uncensored. She has a knack for the deep south way of life and sometimes this can be hard to read. She does not use a lot dialect, but the expressions that she uses in her book are full of southern wit and can be nonsensical at times. If you can get past the need to understand everything you read, you will find yourself laughing out-loud at least once a page. And don't forget - there is a mystery to solve. Can you figure it out? I won't give anything away here.

The Midnight Book Blog

So, for the past two weeks I have spent my Christmas break tearing through two books. Don’t laugh, chuckle or poke fun at what I think is a major accomplishment. Between 2 children, my own business and a never-ending amount of self-initiated projects, I rarely finish a book in less than a month. I am the notorious 3-page-a-night girl who falls asleep before I even find my bookmark. That being said, I am thrilled to note this accomplishment.

For friends and family who know me, you know that I love to read. You also know that I am always looking for a new hobby and am never satisfied with just doing something halfway. I always have to take it just a little farther. Well, here is farther.

At the invitation of a friend a while ago, I joined the online book club Goodreads.com. This site allows you to post what you are reading, have read and hope to read and then share your thoughts on such books. Well, have you ever finished a book and just have so much to say? I do (okay in all honestly, I always have something to say about anything - just ask my husband). I thought what better way to praise, preach, or really rip a book apart than by starting by own blog.

So, here is my new hobby for 2009. The one and on Midnight Book Blog. Funny name? Well, I was trying to be creative and since it will usually be well after-hours before I ever have time to update this blog I felt that this would be a very appropriate title. Feel free to check back often, at anytime day or night. I resolve to read more than 1 book a month this year and hope to have a lot of interesting discussions.

Fair warning - I will not censor. If you don’t want a spoiler to ruin your read, check back when you‘ve finished the book and see if you can then handle the truth!