See You at Harry's

See You at Harry's

Author: Jo Knowles

Publisher: Candlewick Press (?)

Word of the wise: Make sure you have tissues nearby when you read this book. I cried for like an hour.

     Fern is the third child in a family of four. Her dad's alway's trying to get more people to come to his diner. Her mom's always off meditating, her older sister Sara is taking a year off before going to college, and can be found kissing the busboy at their dad's diner; her older brother Holden has a secret there's no way he's telling his parents, and then of course there's Charlie. The center of the universe. 

       Frusturated, Fern spends a lot of time with her best friend, Ran. Whenever he says  his motto, 'all will be well', she beleves it. When a terrible event flips Fern's world upside down, will all be well?

    I loved this book soooooo much. I can't really say much without giving anything away, but Jo Knowles spent a small portion of the book building up your relationship with the family, and when the 'event' happens, it feels as if your world gets rocked too. It changed my point of view on life.

Rating (out of five): ****

Suggested age: 11+

Warning: TEAR JERKER!

--D

A Tale Dark and Grimm by: Adam Gidwitz

A Tale Dark and Grimm

Author: Adam Gidwitz

Publisher: The Penguin Group

                A spoof on The Grimm Brothers’ stories, Prince Hansel and Princess Gretel, run away from home after a terrible incident happens in their family. They try to find a family that won’t cut off your head, or try to bake you. When Hansel and Gretel finally find  a respectable home, will something bad happen?

                Adam Gidwitz is an amazing author. In the story, when things start to get intense, he’ll ‘pop’ in to defuse tension. I loved that part, although some of the people in my book club weren’t as enthusiastic about it.

Rating (out of five): *****

Suggested Age: 11+
--D

Catwings

Catwings
By: Ursula K. Le Guin
Published By: Orchard Books

The Catwings are, well, cats with wings. Jane, the catwings's mother, doesn't know why or how. I really liked this book. It's short but not too short. It's 48 pages and has four chapters, but I still liked it. I hope you'll like James, Thelma, Roger and Harriet as much as I do. There are three other books in the series: Catwings Return, Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings, and Jane on her Own. I read this in less than an hour, but if you're looking for a short story, not really a full-length novel, Catwings is great.
Rating (out of five): *****
Suggested Age: 7 and up
Happy Reading,
~B

Warriors: The New Prophecy: Midnight & Moonrise

Midnight and Moonrise
Author: Erin Hunter
Publisher: HarperCollins

Midnight is the first book in the next series of Warriors, The New Prophecy. It is about a cat called Brambleclaw, who receives a message from StarClan. He goes on a quest with five other cats to see what midnight tells them. You'll never guess what midnight is!

Moonrise is the second book in the New Prophecy. Erin Hunter has surprised us again with yet another "Clan", apart from BloodClan. This is the Tribe of Rushing Water, and they believe that Stormfur is the chosen one that will kill Sharptooth, a mountain lion. But is Stormfur really the one?

Rating (1-5): *****  
Suggested Age: 8+
~B~

Sean Griswold's Head

                 Sean Griswold's Head
                Author: Lindsey Leavitt
                 Publisher: Bloomsbury



      After finding out that her father has multiple sclerosis, Payton Gritas is set up by her parents to meet with the school's Guidance Councilor. The councilor suggests having a Focus Object, which is supposed to be inanimate, but Payton chooses the back of Sean Griswold's head. (Which she stares at through-out most of Biology.) After prompting from her best friend, Jac, She plucks up the courage to talk to Sean. Was choosing the back of a head for a focus object the best choice? This answer gets harder to answer as Payton finds herself falling for Sean Griswold.

     I LOVED this book! I read it in four hours. It keeps you guessing until the very end about what will happen between Payton and her family, Jac and Payton, AND Payton and Sean. A page turner and definite re-read!

     Rating: (Out of five) *****

Suggested age: 12+

Caution: Swears

-D

Legend By: Marie Lu

               Legend

Author: Marie Lu

Publisher: The Penguin Group

     In what was once known as California, two very different teens live: Day and June. Day is a famous crimanal and June's a soldier-in-training. Their lives suddenly intertwine when June's brother (and last person in her immediate family), Metias, is killed and Day's the only suspect. June get assigned the job of finding Day, and reporting his whereabouts to the government.

        This book is packed with thrilling events which, by the way, kept me up until two o'clock AM reading... I enjoyed all the surprises Lu put into the book. Legend is a wonderful book, and I recomend it to 7th and 8th graders.

Rateing: (out of five) *****

Suggested age: 12+

Warning: Swears, Violence, Romance

-D

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

By: James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

In the fourth book in the Maximum Ride series, The Final Warning, Max and the flock are sent by her mom and father to Antarctica to help with the "Saving the world" business. When their there, Total, their talking dog, falls for a malamute, Akila. (Who by the way, does NOT talk.) While there, one of the researchers gets attacked by a leopard seal, and it is discovered that she works for the bad guys. Meanwhile, Max and Fang's relationship becomes more and more confusing for Max, as he's spending most of his time with a young scientist.  Angel goes off to find a penguin, and falls into a crevice. Max and Fang go out to rescue her, and the three of them get kidnapped. (Surprise there! Not.) Will they be able to escape while a category 4 hurricane batters there imprisonment?

I liked this book, although it wasn't my favorite. I liked one of the later books best. I'm getting a bit tired of the fact that the plot keeps repeating, but Patterson always finds a way to make it different then the others.

Rating: (out of five) ***

Suggested age: 12+

Warning: Violence and Kissing and Swearing (Use caution!)

-D