A perfect example of if you are famous, you can get anything published, even if it’s drivel.

There was not much effort in the writing of this “book.” Does anyone out there remember slam books? Remember the notebooks you would pass around to your friends where you would write questions and answer them and add drawings or whatever so that your friends would get to know you? I guess, they are a bit like those memes that go around now. Yes, well, that is the format that Madonna uses in the first book of the series, “The English Roses.” There are 5 friends, each a stereotype of a girl: the sporty one, the fashionista, etc. It’s a bit like the Spice Girls. Anyway, so there are questions and the girls answer them. With some “helpful tips” pages, created by each character, thrown in between their entries. All in all, it was not that interesting. I am not sure if girls would enjoy it because it really did not make you all that interested in the characters or their friendship. It was just like a Q&A with Madonna coming up with random answers that a girl might write. She probably should have had Lourdes and Lourdes’ & her friends to answer the questions. If you like Madonna maybe you should buy it but it was not that good.

This is a retelling of a number of different fairy tales, like Jack & The Beanstalk, Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, through the perspective of a mouse that is about to be eaten by 2 house cats. The fairy tales are experiences and stories that have been passed down to this mouse over generations. It is a really cute story and the illustrations are adorable. It was be fun as a read-aloud and also a refreshing take on well-known fairy tales. Another plus is that the mouse is a baker and there are wonderful sentences about the wonderful wafting smells of baking cookies. I would bake some cookies and read this to my nieces and nephews if they were around.

I decided to take part in Book A Month Challenge (http://bamchallenge.wordpress.com/) to help me read more adult books instead of getting bogged down in reading all so much YA literature. You should check it out if you are so inclined.

This month’s challenge theme is “mother.” So, I had to pick a book where the mother is one of the major characters. Check out the site for more information.

So, here it goes:
“What would you do if you could spend 1 more day with a lost loved one?” That is what happens to Chick Benetto when he reaches his breaking point after losing everything and everyone he loves.

One day, Chick receives a letter from his daughter. The letter contains pictures from her wedding. There is no return address. How would that make you feel? For Chick, it was a slap in the face and he knew that now everything he lived for was gone. Would you stick around? Would you end it all?

Chick Benetto makes his decision after going on a 3 day bender. He drives to his home town and ends up in car crash where he is thrown from his car. However, Chick gets up. He walks to his childhood home. He walks in. There is food in the fridge and dishes in the sink. He sits at the dining room table. He hears footsteps. He looks up and there she is – Mom.

The rest of the story follows Chick as he spends a day helping out his mom. He finds out things he never knew about it. He finds out things about his father. They both get to say the things they did not get to say before.

“for one more day” is a touching story, retold by Chick’s daughter, who just like Chick was estranged from her parent. It made me re-evaluate my relationship with my mom and also my relationship with my dad. Parent/child relationships are always a bit difficult to navigate. Sometimes you are so similar, it is difficult to get along (my mom and I) and sometimes there is just not that much communication (my dad and I) and sometimes it just is not there. This book just illustrates what can happen when a person knows themselves, knows the truth about things and also is honest with their parents. Some relationships are not meant to be reconciled but when they can be, especially if it’s with a parent, then why not try. Plus, I do not think we can ever really understand our parents until we are parents ourselves.

Highly recommended. I feel like I am making it sound sappy than it is. It is not so don’t be fooled by what I wrote. On a side note, I also liked how Chick is a baseball player and played in the World Series. And I’m not a parent but I do know that my folks sacrificed a whole lot to get us to America and to put us through school…

Mystics are being murdered. There is a strange tension that is building up as Senneth and her companions are traveling south in the country of Gillengaria. Some thing dreadful is happening in this country that is broken up into Twelve Houses, which are ruled by King Baryn, who lives in Ghosenhall. King Baryn has sent Senneth, a mystic on a mission to find out what is happening in this vast kingdom.

Mystics and Riders are different groups. Mystics have powers, for example, Senneth can control fire. Riders are the most elite group of warriors, who serve and are loyal only to the king. Senneth’s diverse group is made up of 2 Riders, one born to it and one introduced to it after being found on the streets surviving, and 4 mystics, one who just discovered his power, one who controls fire and 2 who can shape shift.

As they journey south, they encounter friends but more foes. The people’s views on mystics is changing. They see them as evil and some begin to feel that they need to be destroyed. Why is this happening? Who is fostering and proselytizing the destruction of this specific group of people? However, the mistrust and suspicious is not only outside the group but it is also amongst the companions even though they share the same mission.

Will the in-fighting stop amongst the companions long enough for them to discover the menace that is rising in Gillengaria? Will they make it back alive to the king to report on what they discover?

“Mystic and Rider” is book 1 of the Twelve Houses fantasy series by Sharon Shinn. It is filled with wonderful imagery of a land filled with strange people and strange creatures. Full of adventure and intrigue, as well as a bit of romance, “Mystic and Rider” will leave you wanting to know more about Gillengaria and its people.

Neddie, the main character, had to move to Los Angeles because his father is that kind of man. His father just spontaneously does something and this time it’s a move to L.A.

On the way there, Neddie is given a turtle. The turtle is special. The shaman, whose name at this point is Melvin, tells him to take care of it. On the way to L.A., Neddie has some mis-adventures: he misses a train, he meets an actor and his son and ends up at the Grand Canyon, more interesting adventures ensue.

I did not particularly enjoy this book. However, I do think it is a good boy book for a 6th – 7th grader. There a lot of little anecdotes about Los Angeles history, an introduction to a Native American creation tale, trains, bullies and saving the world. It is fun and a lot of our students enjoyed it and for this one, I would take their word over my own.

“This is my letter to the World/That never wrote to Me.” – Emily Dickinson from Martha Graham’s “Letter To the World”

I have written about Martha Graham before in another blog I have and I have to say she is one of the most amazing artists I have ever been lucky enough to learn about in American Studies at UCSC. My professor, John Dizikes, would show different clips of her dances, one of them was “Medea.” Ever since than I have been intrigued by her.

Russell Freedman writes a warm glowing biography of her life. In 175 pages, he takes the reader on a journey from when Graham first started dancing to her rise to fame to her heartbreak and then her painful retirement. She was and is a dancer and that was all she loved. She seems to have sacrificed a lot of her personal life for her art and in that she created her own movement.

It is a wonderful biography filled with photographs and commentaries from her dancers and friends. If you do not know about her, this is an excellent place to start. Freedman weaves between the dances she created and Graham’s personal life so you can see how her personal and professional are all intertwined. Highly recommended.

“There was a pop and then nothing,” Jane states on the first page of this graphic novel. The next panel is black with the text “I didn’t know what was happening.”

Cecil Castellucci’s “The Plain Janes” follows Jane after she has moved to the suburban town of Kent Waters. Before she leaves Metro City, she cuts off her hair and dyes it black. She changes her outward appearance to reflect the changes in her after that day – the day of the bomb explosion.

Jane is a reluctant loner. She wants friends but not the kinds of friends she had before. She is drawn to the nerds, benchwarmers, theater kids and the outsiders. In this short graphic novel, the reader follows Jane as she copes with what happened in the city, her relationship with “John Doe”, her move to the suburbs and the fear the engulfs her family through art and humour and a little help from her new friends, who all happen to be named “Jane.”

Fast-paced, humourous, inspiring, empowering – this is definitely a great book to give to that girl or boy who just fits a little bit outside the “norm.” It is a great g.n. and highly recommended.

Ann Dee Ellis’ debut novel “This Is What I Did:” is intense, horrific, mildly humorous and definitely a page turner. In 157 pages, Ellis’ moves back and forth through Logan’s (the narrator) memories and his present experiences. From the dust jacket, Ellis states that “Logan came from not knowing how to be. Not knowing what to do. Not knowing how to talk about it in a world where everyone else seems to know what’s going on. How do they know what’s going on? How do they know how to be? In the end, I figured out you just have to do whatever you can do.”
Logan is no longer best friends with Zylar. Logan no longer lives in Mullholland. Logan no longer rides his bike by his crush, Cami’s house. Logan no longer plays with his twin brothers. Logan no longer talks. Logan no longer does anything.
Written more like a screenplay and interspersed with images of handwritten notes and tiny silhouetted images, Ellis’ presents a boy who has witnessed something so horrific that he can no longer function and does not know how to function. Logan’s journey of discovering how to deal with a situation that has forever changed his life. Will he move forward? Will he find his voice again?
I started and finished this book yesterday. I could not put it down. I needed to find out what happened to Logan and Zylar and Ellis’ story keeps the reader engaged. A great read and one worth picking up.

Stephanie Meyer’s second book in the Twilight series is definitely worth a read. She continues this “Romeo and Juliet” tale except that in book 2, Edward, is not such a prominent character. Bella Swan, has been a zombie for the past 6 months since Edward broke up with her. She is coming to her own but the pain for a true love lost continues to consume her. She tries to get out of it and becomes closer friends with Jacob Black, whom we met in Twilight. He’s younger than her but is in love with her.

In Twilight, Jacob tells Bella some of they myths and legends that have been passed down from his people, the Quileutes, about the “cold ones” and “werewolves.” This tale becomes one of the foundations for “New Moon.” Things are changing for everyone who lives in and around Forks, Washington.

Bella’s struggle to keep from falling apart after losing Edward, Jacob’s bond with Bella and Edward and the Cullens’ connection to Bella Swan will all come into play. Who does Bella choose? How much danger has she put her self and her family and friends in?

“New Moon” does not move as quickly as “Twilight” but it is still a page turner. This book seems to be the one that gives the reader the history for what will happen in the 3rd book, “Eclipse.” It was more of a foundation building book and it definitely is not a stand-alone book. You need to read “Twilight” to understand what is happening. It is action packed and filled with longing and romance. However, it certainly can be enjoyed by both girls and boys. Readers will be torn, like Bella, between their fascination and admiration of the Cullens, the vampire family, and Jacob Black and his pack of werewolves.

For the past couple of months, the kids have been waiting and ILL-ing this series. As with Harry Potter, I held out because other books interested me more or I have been extremely busy. Also, this book is always out so I have not had a chance to even check it out. (Meddling kids :) )
I finally got it in my hands and honestly, I could not put it down. I am not much for vampire stories, I was never into Anne Rice the way my friends obsessed over her. But this is definitely worth a read.
Bella (Isabella) moves to the town of Forks to live with her dad, Charlie. She hates it there. She grew up in Arizona with the sun and desert and cannot stand the cold and the lack of sunlight. However, she makes the move because her mother is dating a basketball player and is always traveling with him. She does not know her father very well and knows that she is in for challenge by moving to a town she hates and father she does not know.
As she becomes acclimated to her new surroundings, Bella has to face the fact that she is going to a new school. She goes and on her very first day in science class, she sees one of the most beautiful boys in her class. He is obviously repelled by her. She feels him loathing and hating her and does not know why. But she’s draw to him and cannot stop herself from being attracted and fascinated by his presence.
One day, Edward Cullen, starts talking to her. From that point on, for the both of them, they begin a dangerous dance that could place Bella in mortal danger.
This book is a young adult romance novel. Nothing sexually graphic happens but the tension between the two characters is so intense you cannot help but continue reading to see what happens. Bella’s life takes more and more interesting turns as she grows to accept her need for Edward Cullen. Highly recommended.