Twelve Days of Books - 2015

Twelve Books of Christmas 

On the first day of Christmas, my media specialist recommended to me:  

 This is the second installment of the twelve books of Christmas.  I have had some help this year gathering some recommendations for this year's list.  I am blessed to have children and a niece who love to read, and this year's list is full of their recommendations.  Some books on this list have already been mentioned in previous posts, but since they are in a series, they deserved mention again.  Enjoy these books, and recommend a few of your favorites.  And now to the countdown!

1. Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.    A fantasy with great characters, this trilogy was recommended by my son.  A new and interesting magic system is introduced, allomancy, which is a magic of the metals.  There is romance, unexpected turns and twists, and is action packed.  

    2.  Forever War - Joe Haldeman - Here is another recommendation by my son.  This is a science fiction book that features Private William Mandella who is willing to fight in a war that has been going on for over a thousand years.  He wants to be able to go home, but he must realize that while he is away fighting, he ages in months while the Earth is aging in centuries.  This book was first published in 1976, and soon after being published, it won some impressive awards: 

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1976), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1975), Locus Award for Best Novel (1976), Ditmar Award for Best International Long Fiction (1976).  (Goodreads)

3.  The Lunar Chronicles  by Marissa Meyer.  Fairy tale twists (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel) are the main characters in these science fiction/fantasy books.  Cyborg, intergalactic struggles, an evil queen, and strong female characters that will help save the world makes these books page turners.  These books were recommended by my daughter and my niece.  

4.   Queen of the Tearling  by Erica Johansen

This is a trilogy that was heartily recommended by my daughter.  I have to admit that I was leery about reading this book.  I usually am NOT into fantasy. Fantasy was not my first choice when I looked in the book sections of my favorite bookstore.  However, I was drawn into this book, and I cannot wait until the third book comes out in June.  There are so many elements about this book that ring true for us today - pollution and lack of stewardship in our world, religious zealots who make the rules regardless of what the true teachings were, and the downside of our technology.  A group is led back? in time to another place, another time.  There a new society is started, and where our character, Kelsea Raleigh emerges.  Intrigued?  You'd better have time to sit and read before starting this trilogy.

5. Blessed are the Crazy: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness, Family, and Church by Sarah Griffith Lund

Let's face it. Mental illness is not something that we talk about within our families much.  To be sure, we don't often talk about it enough in society.  Why not?  There is a stigma about mental illness, and we as humans don't like to think that maybe within our families and with those we love, something is not quite right.  This is the author's memoir about her early life, her father's mental illness, and her brother's illness as well.  How do we as a family help those we love?  What can the church do to help our family members and ourselves deal with the implications that a mental illness can bring to a family? This book made me think - a lot - about our society and what we need to do better in helping those who suffer from mental illness.

6.  The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

This book was recommended by my son.  He loves fantasy, and this book is one of his favorites.  Toted as a coming of age story, this book chronicles the life of Kvothe, who becomes a wondrous wizard.  As a huge Harry Potter fan, I think I am adding this book to my personal reading list.  

7.    Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas (Throne of Glass series)

Celaena Sardothian has spent the last year doing hard labor in the Salt Mines. These are the same Salt Mines where most people who are sent there only last for a month or less.  She is offered her freedom by Prince Dorian on one condition.  She must serve as the King's champion and fight battles to survive.  She was once the country's most well known assassin until someone betrayed her.  If she accepts the king's bargain, then maybe she can find out who betrayed her. Celaena is a very strong female character as well.  I loved this series, and am anxiously awaiting the next installment in the series.  

8.  A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas

I had to include another series by Sarah Maas. This series is a brand new one, and like the Throne of Glass series, I liked this books very much.  Feyre has to hunt to keep her family from starving.  One day she is out looking for food and she spots a small doe in the woods.  Just as she starts to hit her target, she notices a very large wolf who has also spotted the doe.  Because of the size of the wolf, Feyre wonders briefly whether the wolf might be Fae, but she also knows her family needs to survive the winter and the pelt of the wolf could be sold for quite a lot of money in the market.  She makes the kill only to find out a few days later that she has killed a member of the Spring Court and the wolf was indeed a shapeshifter Fae. Her punishment must be her own death, or to spend the rest of her days in the Spring Court as a prisoner.  What does she choose?  What will her family do if she is gone?    

9.  Red Rising by Pierce Brown (Red Rising trilogy

This is a recommendation from my daughter, who is a huge fan of Dystopian novels.  She was also a huge fan of Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and the Divergent series. According to my daughter, this book is a little difficult to get into at first, but the plot twists will pick up and once you are immersed in the world, you never want to leave.  The scene is a colony on Mars, and Darrow is a Red, which is the lowest of the low.  This book has lots of twists and turns, and speaks about social injustice.

10.  Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

This book is sitting next to my chair waiting in line to be read.  I love the cover, and I  have heard that this book is quite good.  Since it is next on my reading list, I am going to recommend this book as one of the twelve.  This book was inspired by the lives of those people who lived in Ancient Rome. Laia is a slave, Elias is a soldier.  Both are ruled by the Empire.  Neither are free.  Nevertheless, their destinies are intertwined.  

11.  Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

I chose this book because I was able to meet the author, and liked what she had to say in her short discussion during the recent conference I attended.  The main character has an allergy that will not allow her to leave the house for any reason.  Her life consists of seeing her mom and her nurse.  Until...a new neighbor moves in.  Hopefully her life is about to change...for the better.

12. Made You Up - Francesca Zappia

Alex is a high school senior who has trouble distinguishing between reality and fantasy.  She has recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia and is learning how to deal with it.  This book is a must read for anyone who who knows someone who struggles with a mental illness- which is probably all of us.  Francesca is a UIndy graduate, and that makes her an Indiana author as well.  This is her first book, so give it a try.  We have a signed copy in the IMC.  

Happy New Year!  Happy Reading!

Thanks to my three helpers!

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

Rachelle doesn't always believe the warnings that her Aunt Leonie is constantly drilling into her mind.  She knows she shouldn't walk in the forest alone because there are dangers, and those dangers could cost her life, or other's lives as well.  The forestborn and woodspawn are dangerous to any human, and the few humans that survive suffer horrendous consequences.  

Rachelle makes some terrible mistakes, and in order to recompense her sins, she tries to protect her town from the dreaded woodspawn.  She draws the attention of the king who orders Rachelle to be a bodyguard to his son.  

Rachelle knows that the Devourer will be returning soon.  She knows that the Darkness will soon take over, and there will be no more light.  Her Aunt Leonie warned her that this would happen, but she didn't take the old woman seriously. Now her aunt is dead, and it is Rachelle's fault.  She has a duty to stop the Devourer, and she doesn't have time to be a bodyguard to the King's spoiled son.  The future of the world depends on her.  

She knows the forestborn who "owns" her will be returning soon to help the Devourer return to power and eat the sun.  She must find the sword that will end the Devourer's life.  Can she trust Armand, the king's son, to keep his mouth shut?  As a matter of fact, who can she trust?  

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

He's the new kid in school, and there is something about him that makes people want to trust him.  Ben, however, works for The Program, and the Program takes care of suspected threats to our government.

Ben is a sixteen year old assassin.  He has been taught to go in, prepare, finish the task assigned, and leave without a trace.  But now there are complications.  Now there is a "rush" job.  Now there is a target that Ben likes. Now there is a daughter could easily date.

I couldn't put the book down.  I was sucked in and couldn't wait to read about what the next move would be.  There is a sequel.  I usually don't do sequels, but this one will go on my reading list.

The Invasion of the Tearling by Erica Johansen

Kelsea is trying to be a good ruler, but a lot of things are stacked against her.  The dreaded Mort army is approaching, and not only outnumbers the Tear army, but they have more firepower.  She has angered the head of the church, and she has unknown enemies.  Who are Rowland Finn and the Fetch?  What secrets does the Red Queen have that she protects at all cost?

Kelsea has been having more and more blackouts.  These blackouts take her back to Pre-Crossing times.  A woman named Lily is prominent in Kelsea's dreams, so much so that Kelsea is beginning to look like Lily.  What happened in Pre-Crossing America?  What was life like for the people living there- especially women?  Why is Lily so important?

While the Mort army is getting closer and closer to the Keep, Lazarus and the Queen's Guard do all they can to keep Kelsea safe while she deals with her blackouts and tries to understand the darkness inside her.  It is a time of great sacrifice for all Tearlings- and as much as they love their new queen, neither they nor she understand what it takes to be the ruler the country needs during the time of crisis.

The Red Queen will do anything, ANYTHING, to get the sapphires that Kelsea wears and have Kelsea killed.  She has sold her soul already, so she has nothing to lose.

Can Kelsea get her blackouts under control and protect her people?  Who can she trust?  Can she give her heart to someone without him breaking it?  And who is Lily?  Why is her history so important to the Tearlings?

I loved this book, and honestly, I cannot wait to read the next installment.  Let's talk about it!

Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich

Who has worse luck than Stephanie Plum?  Well, no one really.  She has ruined numerous cars, had apartment fires, been attacked by crazed convicts, and cannot decide between the two men in her life.  

Ranger, who was in special forces, has a past that Stephanie doesn't fully understand.  She does understand that a one-eyed Russian agent from the past is trying to kill him.  She also knows that her life is in danger as well because of her association with Ranger. 

Stephanie also needs to bring in Jimmy Poletti, who is a drug runner and sex trafficker.  He's a scumbag; she needs to get him off the streets, and get the much needed body receipt money for a vehicle - since her loaner from Ranger was destroyed by a rocket propelled grenade.

Add Grandma Mazur, Lula, ten crazed chihuahuas, Atlantic City, a three foot magnet for trouble and you have the makings for Top Secret Twenty-One.  If you haven't read the series before, you're missing out!  

Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich

This is the time of year when things get really hectic, and we just need a book that will give us some belly laughs.  If you haven't met Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, you have been missing out on someone's life that is much crazier than mine will ever be.

 Stephanie is in her early thirties and just not ready to settle down.  It doesn't help that she has Joe Morelli and Ranger interested in her romantically - or otherwise.  She also has her Grandmother Mazur, her friend, Lula, an ex "ho." and her hamster, Rex.

Someone is killing elderly ladies and putting them in dumpsters.  Stephanie is quite upset, and wants to find the killer because she is worried about her grandmother's safety.   There is also a giraffe on the loose.  Is Morelli's godfather involved?  Will Morelli's Grandma Bella put the evil eye on Stephanie if she won't leave Sunny, Morelli's godfather alone? Will Stephanie have to give up bounty hunting as work in a butcher shop to help pay the bills?  Is grass fed beef all it is cracked up to be?

If you have a couple of hours, dive into these books.  They are laugh out loud funny.  If you don't have time to sit down and read them, download the audio version from your public library.  I guarantee you will laugh all the way to your destination.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

I have been reading a lot of dystopian novels with the most recent read being The Queen of the Tearling.  In the same vein (no pun intended), Red Queen is set is a time after a nuclear war has wiped out much of the earth.  A war has been continuing for centuries with the loss of many lives, and the world's resources are at stake.

.  Blood is two different colors, silver and red.  The Silvers rule and many have super human powers.  The Reds are the commoner and servants.  Their place in society is determined by the color of their blood.  

Mare Barrow is a thief.  She steals to help keep her family alive, and her blood is red.  She pickpockets the prince of the Silvers, and from that moment, her life changes.  Mare finds that she is different from the other Reds, and she also finds feelings that she didn't realize she had.  

Can she use her powers to help her people?  Can she trust those around her?  Will greed, corruption, and intrigue cloud her decision-making? Will the prejudice and servitude ever end? I am ready for book II, so book I is all ready for you!

Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Hundreds of years ago, a group of people left their damaged world behind and sailed to another world, leaving behind technology and all of the problems that it caused.  A new world was set up, but that world remained far from perfect.  This world is ripe for change.  This world needs a strong, fair leader.

Kelsea Raleigh Glynn is not your average princess.  She is not unattractive, but she wouldn't get a lot of notice on the streets of New London.  She also could stand to lose a few pounds as a member of the Queens's Guard reminded her during training.  However, there is something different about her.  She is nothing like her mother, Elyssa, nor her uncle, who is the current ruler of Tearling.

 For reasons that Kelsea doesn't understand, she was sent away as a baby and kept hidden by two of her mother's servants until she turned nineteen.  She doesn't know who her father is, and she doesn't understand the power of the sapphire that hangs around her neck.  She tries to win over the Queen's Guard, and the outspoken Lazarus, but she doesn't know who to trust, or how to rule.  Can she trust the thief, Fetch?

 She has also angered the Red Queen because she has stopped the shipments of slaves to Mortmesne. If the treaty her mother signed is broken, then Mortmesne will invade Tearling.  The last time that happened, it was a slaughter.

Can Kelsea win over the Queen's Guard?  Are they even to be trusted?  Who is Fetch, and why does he show up at odd moments?  Who is her father?  What was her mother really like?

I really liked this book.  I liked this book enough that book II is at my feet waiting to be picked up and started.  Fetch and Lazarus have piqued my curiosity.   I know you will like them too.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Every single one of us knows a Don Tillman.  He's the guy who would make a great husband, but he doesn't quite fit in.  He stays true to his Standardized Meal System by eating the same meals each week.  He is a well established college professor of genetics. He has a total of three friends, unless you count Gene and Claudia's children. Don is just wired differently from the rest of us.

Don realizes he is lonely.  He feels that he needs a female life partner.  His friend, Daphne, once told him that he would make someone a wonderful husband, but Don is just not sure, so he creates a questionnaire for his prospective life partner.  The prospective partner cannot smoke, drink, or wear a lot of makeup.  Enter Rosie, a "barmaid" who smokes, cusses like a sailor, drinks, and is a vegan.  Suddenly there is the Jacket Incident, the Father Project, and the Rosie Project.

If you are looking for a couple of great characters, humor, and a fast pace, this is the book for you.  I am now a member of the Don Tillman fan club.  Lobster, anyone?

                                             The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Since I was a child in Sunday School class, I had heard the stories of Jacob and his twelve sons, and Joseph and his coat of many colors.  Here is a recap.  Isaac, Jacob's father, was the boy whose father almost sacrificed him at the altar until God stopped him.  Flash forward to Isaac and his wife, Rebecca and their twin sons.  Jacob and Esau compete with each other up until their father is on his death bed.  Since Esau was the "firstborn," he had the rights to his father's blessing.  Esau was hairy, and his brother, Jacob was not, so Rebecca told her favorite son, Jacob, to put sheep's wool on his arms to fool his father and steal the blessing from his brother.  He did just that.  However, he had to flee from his brother's wrath and ended up in Canaan looking for work.

When he arrives in Canaan, he finds himself working for a man named Laban.  Laban had two daughters,  Leah and Rachel.  Jacob wants to marry Rachel, but ends up marrying Leah first  (long story), then Rachel, then he sleeps with their handmaidens.  Out of these unions come twelve sons, and one daughter, Dinah.

Dinah grows up as the only girl and as the story in Genesis goes, she visits the king in Shechem, and falls in love with the king's son.  What happens after that is not only tragic, but horrific.  This is Dinah's story from her perspective and what it was like to grow up in Jacob's clan and then travel to Egypt.

This is the Biblical story told from a woman's perspective.  It also reminds us that there have been many strong women throughout the ages.  Dinah, whose "name - two syllables, one high, one sweet - summon up the innumerable smiles and tears, sighs and dreams of a human life."

5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The book creeped me out!  I mean, it really did.  I had nightmares for three days while I was reading this book.  Did those nightmares stop me from reading the book?  Absolutely not.  I was hooked, and when a book invades my dreams, that means that it is having a profound affect on me.

The Mother ship is sitting in the sky.  What do the "Others' want?  Can we be peaceful?  The 1st Wave caused humans to lose all electricity.  There are planes falling from the sky and cars and trucks that have just stopped on the highways.  Transportation that we once knew is no more.  The 2nd Wave is coastal destruction.  The 3rd Wave was a terrible disease that was passed to humans from birds.  This virus is similar to Ebola and most humans never survive the illness.  Cassie's mother didn't.  The 4th Wave is the Silencers.  These are assassins who are sent to kill those remaining people.  Cassie lost her father to the Silencers.

What is the 5th Wave?  How do the "Others" understand human nature so well?  Why do they want to rid the planet of humans?  Cassie is a plucky survivor who only wants to get to her brother and save him from the horrors of the camp.  She knows there are others like her, but how will she know they aren't "Others?"

This book is the first in a series, so there is a cliffhanger at the end of the first book.  I must prepare for the nightmares because I am going to read the second book in the series as soon as I can.  Join me, won't you?

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Twins Cath and Wren are heading to college.  Wren told Cath earlier in the summer that she didn't want to be her roommate any longer.  Wren is an extrovert, but Cath is anxiety ridden and into writing fanfiction for the Simon Snow book series (think Harry Potter).  Her roommate seems weird, and her roommate's boyfriend is always around.  Sometimes it's just easier to disappear into the world of Simon Snow.

As Cath learns she can manage without her sister, she also has to come to grips with the fact that her family would be considered dysfunctional.  She uses her writing to help her deal with her insecurity issues and the fact that she really doesn't have any friends. But in reality, her writing starts to help her make friends.  Enter Reagan and Levi.  Reagan is Cath's roommate, and surprise! Levi is not Reagan's boyfriend- anymore.

The magical world of Simon Snow and the world of Cath Avery meld into an enjoyable read.  Issues are addressed that all college students must deal with at one time or another.

Rosie book 2015-2016

45 Pounds More or Less by K. A. Barson

                                            

What do you do if you are in your aunt's wedding and you want to find a dress that flatters you and makes you feel thinner?  Ann wants to lose weight, but weight has been a lifelong struggle for her.  Her mother is a size 6, and eats healthy all the time.  Ann just doesn't have the willpower or the interest to lose weight.  She knows what she needs to do to lose the weight. She has read countless books, watched shows, and even tried infomercial food.

Ann starts to make changes in her lifestyle when she starts working at the Twisted Pretzel and starts earning her own money and meeting new people.  She gains the self-confidence to make positive changes in her life.  She also learns who her friends are- and which so-called friends really are not her friends.  She also realizes that her mother has her own food issues.

Anyone who has ever had food issues will be able to relate to this book. Characters in the book have issues with too much food consumption and too little food consumption.  Children who see us dealing with our food issues can be affected by our behavior, and this is also addressed.

If you feel you don't have food issues and never have, this book will remind to be s little gentler and kinder to those who do.

Rosie book 2015-2016

Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas

Eighteen year old Celaena Sardothien has spent the last year toiling in the salt mines of Endovier.  What was her crime?  She was the best assassin in the land, and she was caught and sentenced to a place where most people do not survive more than a month.

But who is she?  She was found another assassin nearly drowned and frozen when she was eight years old.  He raised her and trained her to be Adarlan's assassin, until one day she is escorted from the mines of Endovier.  She doesn't speak much of her past, but it is clear that there is more that the reader doesn't know.

Celaena is offered a deal by the Crown Prince of Adarlan and the captain of the guard, Chaol Westfall.  If she wins the competition, she becomes the royal assassin, and she will eventually win her freedom.

Once the competition begins, some of the participants start turning up dead.  Celaena knows that something doesn't feel right about all of this, and there is something evil about this kingdom and the ruler.

This book kept my attention, and I have just finished the second book.  Hurry up, MCPL readers, I need Book Three!

Great quotes from the book -
"Libraries were full of ideas - perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons."

"No, I can survive on my own - if given the proper reading material.'

"Names are not important.  It's what lies inside of you that matters."

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your A** by Meg Medina

We all have known someone like Yaqui Delgado.  We may never know what we have done to attract her attention.  We might actually have done nothing that merits her attention.  But we have it.  And the attention is something we would rather not have.

Sometimes it happens in elementary school, but most often it occurs in middle school and high school. In middle school, it was because I went to the same bathroom every day between the last period of the day and dismissal so I wouldn't have to use the restroom while I was on the bus ride home.  In high school it was because I shared a birthday with a boy that I had known since I was a small child.

While my experience was not as violent as Piddy's experience, nor was social media a threat, reading Meg Medina's book sent me back to middle and high school and caused me to remember what it was like to be bullied. Taunted.  Threatened. Helpless.  Frightened.

Piddy is new to Daniel Jones High School, and she finds it is difficult to fit in.  She is becoming a woman, and a girl at her new high school decides that she wants to make Piddy's life a misery.

Anyone who has ever been bullied - or has bullied anyone - needs to read this book.  Even though we may be "grown up." it never hurts to be reminded what it is like to be bullied.  It reminds us that we need to stand up to bullies and not let them win.

*This book is a 2015-2016 Rosie book.

The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillipa Gregory

"Henry the VIII, I am, I am.  I got married to the widow next door.  She's been married seven times before. And everyone loves Henry.  Henry the VIII I am."  Herman's Hermits







The time is spring 1521.  The Boleyn girls have just returned from France and are being introduced at the English court of Henry Tudor, King of England.  There is much at stake.  Henry is married to his deceased brother's wife, Katherine, and thus far, she has been unable to provide the King of England with a son and heir.

Thus sets the stage for a revolution of sorts.  Both Boleyn girls, Anne and Mary, are beautiful young ladies.  Anne is dark, and Mary is fair-skinned and light.  Both have been educated in France, but Anne is trilingual, well read, and highly intelligent.  The girls' father and uncle want power, and they believe one way to achieve that power is to place one or both of the Boleyn girls under the nose of the king.  If either girl can entice the king to cast off his wife and marry her, then the Boleyn-Howard family will be the most powerful family in the land.

This book is rich with details of what a life at court would be like in the 16th century.  Women were used as bait for men to get the power and lands they wanted.  Life at court was never dull, but everyone was expected to make the king happy - no matter the cost.

Mary Boleyn takes center stage in the book and tells her story.  As the Boleyn girl who was cast aside, she is able to see what life might be like outside of court as a "nobody."

I know the historical aspects of this story.  I know that a great monarch will come in the late 16th century.  This great monarch will change the course of history forever.  This is part of her story as well.

If you like history and are especially intrigued by the life and wives of Henry the VIII, then you will enjoy this book.  It is not completely historically accurate, but it isn't terribly off course.  Now I am off to play some tennis - a sport that Henry dearly loved.


  Cheerio!

This is for you, Brittany Adkins!  Once you get these done, I will share a new list!

For the rest of you, this is our current list of "Rosie" books.  I invite you to read as many as you'd like.  The blog post for December 26th reviews a few of these books. Happy reading!

The Name of the Star: The Shades of London, Book 1 by Maureen Johnson

Who isn't interested in the story of Jack the Ripper?  All of London was terrified during the time period between August and November 1888.  Five, possibly six, women were brutally murdered near the Whitechapel area in London, and not one person noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Rory Deveaux has decided to study at a school in London called Wexford.  Her parents have been transferred to Bristol. She and her parents are originally from New Orleans, and life in London is quite a change for Rory.  She hasn't been at her new school for very long before a murder occurs.  This murder is almost exactly like the one that happened on the very spot in 1888 - and the victim has the same surname as the first "Ripper" victim.  Even though there are cameras every where near the murder site, why can't the murderer be seen?

All of London now knows the dates and the times that the next murders will occur.  Who will be next?  How can the Ripper be stopped?

Rory notices a strange man around her school's campus.  Why can't other people see him?  What is the strange power that Rory realizes she has? Will this power put her life in danger?

This is the first Rosie book that I have read from the 2015-2016 list.  I can already tell it will be a favorite.  This book will keep you on the edge of your couch -so much so that I believe we had better get the other two in the set ordered.

Go Set the Watchman: A Novel - by Harper Lee

Pre-ordered

Release day delivery: Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Well, I did it.  I just pre-ordered my ebook edition of Harper Lee's upcoming novel Go Set the Watchman."  Why?  You may ask why I would pre-order a book that hasn't been reviewed yet.  Will this book even come close to my favorite book of all time?  (Harry Potter is a close second.)  Why has this manuscript not surfaced before now? There are still many questions surrounding this recently located manuscript.

I preordered this book because of the impact that To Kill A Mockingbird has had on my life. My students and I read this book in countless freshman English classes, and they STILL remember it.  Some have even traveled to Monroeville, Alabama to see where Harper Lee grew up.  They also wanted to compare the fictional Maycomb with this small Alabama town and see the similarities and differences.

We had a lot of class discussions on Boo Radley, his parents, Atticus, Tom, Mayella, Bob, Miss Maudie, Scout, Jem, and the list goes on.  One of the things that I kept telling my students is that we don't know what goes on beyond the walls of our friends' homes. We may think we know some of the things our friends are dealing with, but we certainly can't relate totally until we live it. My students realized that Boo's life, and even Mayella's life, were more difficult that we could sometimes comprehend. We also knew that in that classroom of thirty-two people, there were those who were living their own nightmares.  Atticus says, "First of all," he said, "if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." (3.85-87)  Wise words to live by, I think.

So, I preordered. I am taking a chance on an author who changed my life.  There are few who will ever fit into my "preorder" category, but Harper Lee, you always will.  

Happy Birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder!

Today, February 7, 2015, marks the 148th birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  As most people know, Laura Ingalls Wilder was a writer of a series of children's books that chronicled pioneer life in the 1870s - 1880s.

Wilder was born in Pepin, Wisconsin on February 7, 1867.  She is best known as the author of the Little House books.  There are eight original Little House books with The Little House in the Big Woods as the first book in the series.  Little House in the Big Woods starts with four year old Laura's perspective of living in the big woods with her ma, her pa, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and her brindle bulldog, Jack.

There is much to learn about pioneer life within these pages.  You would either grow or kill what you ate.  The threat of wolves, a panther, or becoming lost in a blizzard was always a threat, but these threats teach the reader about the hardships of pioneer life.  Nevertheless, their evenings were filled with warmth from the fireplace and Pa's stories.  After Pa told stories, he would pull out his fiddle and entertain the family until bedtime.

As a child, I was introduced to the Little House books by my second grade teacher, Mrs. Franke.  Every day, she would read a chapter or two during reading time.  I was learning more words as I became a book lover, and I soon started reading the books on my own.  I was entranced by Laura and her family, and as she grew older in her books, I was growing up as well.

I would become incensed at Nellie Olsen and her mean pranks.  I also wanted to know more about those Wilder boys and why they had come to the area.  I wondered what it would be like to live in a sod house.  Why did Mary become blind?  Did Laura really love Almanzo?  How did their real lives compare with the stories of the author?

The books were my friends, and I wanted to be friends with their author.  Sadly, Laura Ingalls Wilder died before I was born.  I have traveled to DeSmet, South Dakota to see where Laura spent part of her life, and I have also been to Mansfield, Missouri.  Someday, I will make a stop near Pepin, Wisconsin to see where it all began.  There have been many books that have made a significant impact on my life, but the Little House books were the start of a lifelong love of reading.

Happy 148th birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder.  You've changed my life.

A Girl Named Zippy - Growing up Small in Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel

The year is 1965, and Mooreland, Indiana was a lot like the towns where many people my age grew up.  My town, for instance, had no theaters, no doctors,and no department stores. We did have drugstore with an actual pharmacist.  My great aunt ran the dry goods store, and our next door neighbors ran the IGA.  Mooreland, Indiana had a population of 300.  That number really never varied.  My hometown had the same population.  This book started me on a trip down Memory Lane.  Ah - the memories!

It appears that Zippy and I had somewhat similar childhoods.  While I didn't end up in the emergency room quite as often as Zippy, our lives have similar parallels.  Both of us had an assortment of animals- at one time I had over fifteen cats.  (My mother was NOT happy.)  However, Zippy bonds with a chicken named Speckles and a pig named Sam.  The reader will also enjoy the hijinks of a the cat named PeeDink and a dog named Kai.  The visits to her friend Julie's farm bring back memories of visits to our friends' farm.  We slogged through the fields while trying to stay away from the cows. We jumped in the shelled corn, and hid in the corn fields.

Her parents and my parents were quite dissimilar,  but as I read about her parents and their relationship, so many memories came flooding back.  I can vividly remember having to try on dresses that my mother was sewing for me for one event or another.  The worst possible thing that could ever happen to me was having to try on those clothes while there were still pins in them.  I can also remember having to go to Easter Sunrise service while it was still dark, and quite chilly. Having to eat liver - oh!  The horror!

One of the most difficult chapters to read was about the items that Zippy's father lost while he was gambling.  Life wasn't easy for some of my classmates in the 60s.  Zippy develops coping skills, and does  persevere.   One can see Zippy changing from a precocious child who ignores a classmate having an epileptic seizure to a more mature child who notices that a friend wants to stop music lessons because of the instructor's inappropriate behavior.

This book is a Rosie book that has been on our list for ten years. It is a book for anyone who grew up in the 60s or has an interest in that time period.  It is a blast from the past for those of us who grew up in small towns and remember the crocheting craze, and the other popular hobbies of the time.

Even if you didn't grow up in a small town, anyone who grew up in the 60s will relate to this book.  Kimmel no longer lives in the small town where she grew up.  I still live in my hometown, and my thoughts these last two weeks have drifted back to my childhood many, many times.  Ah - the bittersweet memories!

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Quentin Coldwater is searching for happiness.  He cannot seem to find it - at his school, with his friends, or spending time with his family.  The only time he is truly happy is when he is reading the books he loved as a child about a magical place called Fillory.  But this place is a figment of the author's imagination, or is it?

Quentin is a senior in high school when he realizes that magic is real.  He finds himself admitted to a prestigious school of magic called Brakebills which is located in upstate New York.  He starts rigorous training to become a magician.  Will Quentin find happiness and start to like himself, or will he still be the same old Quentin with magical powers?

For those who liked the Harry Potter series, this book might just might bring back the Hogwarts magic. There are monsters, spells, and complex characters. Sadly, Dumbledore does not make an appearance, but Dean Fogg does have some Dumbledorian characteristics.  

However, a few words of warning - this book is not for children.  If you are familiar with the Harry Potter series, you will know that each book became increasingly darker.  The Magicians has a lot of darkness in plot and theme.  The characters are flawed, and sometimes unlikable.  They are, however, very human in their thoughts and feelings.  There are also instances of the strength of the human character, bravery, and the growth of an individual.  Finally, friends are what get us through the darkest of times.  Friends sometimes have to rely on each other to survive.

So, who is up for some grown up fantasy?  This book is the first in a series of three.  I would love to hear your thoughts once you have gone over to the dark side.