April Reading List!
Before I even start posting this, I'm saying "Revision Ate My Life." Hmmm... maybe I should revise that to "Revision and BEDA ate my life" so I only read four books last month. I started a bunch more, I just didn't get them all done by the end of April. So here's April's short-short list...
1) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
YA, Ages 12+
I will admit, this was for my kiddie lit book club, and I probably would still just be hearing good things & not reading it yet if not for the group choosing it. That said, I'm so, so, so glad they picked it. It was fantastic. I loved Junior and was rooting for him the whole way through. It's honest and funny and heartbreaking and beautifully illustrated with Junior's comics/drawings (art by Ellen Forney). I put 12+ for the age range, but it really depends on the individual reader (as does everything!)- I think some kids on the younger end of the YA spectrum might not like it quite as much as those 14+. It certainly deserves that shiny National Book Award medal on the cover.
2) Escape by Sea by L. S. Lawrence
Middle Grade, Ages 9-12
Not my thing. I wanted to like it, I'm interested in ancient history, but it just didn't catch me up in the time or the action. The fight scenes bored me. Somewhere near the end it picked up a little and I wanted to know how the problem at the climax would be solved, but overall I just didn't enjoy it.
3) The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause
YA, Ages 12+
This was a strange kind of re-read for me, since I hadn't read it since the first time I picked it up in my local library when I was in Middle School. I remembered I'd loved it, I knew it had sparked a bit of my vampire obsession back then, but I just hadn't read it since. It held up surprisingly well. I really felt for Simon, and I wanted everything to work out for Zoe. I had a few "vampire lore" issues and my writer's brain wanted to make a few things Zoe or Lorraine said sound more "teenish" but I was so glad to find I still really liked it. I was a little afraid I'd wonder what the heck I'd been thinking, even though I have friends now who still list it as a favorite book. Compared to some of today's stuff, it's tame, but this should definitely be read by any YA vampire romance fan.
4) The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (carrie_ryan)
YA, Ages 12+
What can I say? Carrie has me jumping out of my skin every time I hear a branch scrape a window. I'd been looking forward to this book ever since Carrie first talked about it over on fangs_fur_fey. Of course, then I got it, started reading it, and freaked out. It's scary! I'm soooooo not a zombie girl. I set it down for a couple days, (did I mention zombies terrify me?) but Mary's story called to me, and I had to finish it. And I'm so glad I did. Even if I spent the entire night after I finished it watching for the zombie apocalypse. ;-) I think this trailer says it all so much better than me:
Books read this month: 4
Books read this year: 24
I'm hoping since this year I won't be cramming for Hollins that I'll get more fun reading done in May than required reading, but we'll see... Probably just means I won't get as much done as the last couple years, unfortunately...
1) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
YA, Ages 12+
I will admit, this was for my kiddie lit book club, and I probably would still just be hearing good things & not reading it yet if not for the group choosing it. That said, I'm so, so, so glad they picked it. It was fantastic. I loved Junior and was rooting for him the whole way through. It's honest and funny and heartbreaking and beautifully illustrated with Junior's comics/drawings (art by Ellen Forney). I put 12+ for the age range, but it really depends on the individual reader (as does everything!)- I think some kids on the younger end of the YA spectrum might not like it quite as much as those 14+. It certainly deserves that shiny National Book Award medal on the cover.
2) Escape by Sea by L. S. Lawrence
Middle Grade, Ages 9-12
Not my thing. I wanted to like it, I'm interested in ancient history, but it just didn't catch me up in the time or the action. The fight scenes bored me. Somewhere near the end it picked up a little and I wanted to know how the problem at the climax would be solved, but overall I just didn't enjoy it.
3) The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause
YA, Ages 12+
This was a strange kind of re-read for me, since I hadn't read it since the first time I picked it up in my local library when I was in Middle School. I remembered I'd loved it, I knew it had sparked a bit of my vampire obsession back then, but I just hadn't read it since. It held up surprisingly well. I really felt for Simon, and I wanted everything to work out for Zoe. I had a few "vampire lore" issues and my writer's brain wanted to make a few things Zoe or Lorraine said sound more "teenish" but I was so glad to find I still really liked it. I was a little afraid I'd wonder what the heck I'd been thinking, even though I have friends now who still list it as a favorite book. Compared to some of today's stuff, it's tame, but this should definitely be read by any YA vampire romance fan.
4) The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (carrie_ryan)
YA, Ages 12+
What can I say? Carrie has me jumping out of my skin every time I hear a branch scrape a window. I'd been looking forward to this book ever since Carrie first talked about it over on fangs_fur_fey. Of course, then I got it, started reading it, and freaked out. It's scary! I'm soooooo not a zombie girl. I set it down for a couple days, (did I mention zombies terrify me?) but Mary's story called to me, and I had to finish it. And I'm so glad I did. Even if I spent the entire night after I finished it watching for the zombie apocalypse. ;-) I think this trailer says it all so much better than me:
Click to viewBooks read this month: 4
Books read this year: 24
I'm hoping since this year I won't be cramming for Hollins that I'll get more fun reading done in May than required reading, but we'll see... Probably just means I won't get as much done as the last couple years, unfortunately...