Shark Wars by E.J. Altbacker

Shark Wars by E. J. Altbacker

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


In ancient times, Gray is a young shark who is part of Coral Shiver (a clan).  Because Gray is such a huge shark for his age, he often sneaks off to find more food when he's not supposed to, putting his shiver in danger--and this eventually leads him to be exiled.  Luckily, his best friend Barkley (who's a dogfish) sticks with him, and together they try to find a new shiver to join.



The two of them soon find a small group of sharks and they decide to form their own new shiver--calling themselves Rogue Shiver.  Later, they inadvertently get involved in a conflict between two other evil shivers...and the Rogue Shiver get confused, not knowing who they can really trust anymore.



This story has a lot of action, which readers will be sure to enjoy.  A lot of issues weren't tied up at the end, but it's the first book in a series.  Readers who enjoyed this animal book might also enjoy Ragtag by Karl Wolf-Morgenländer.



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You'll Like It Here (Everybody Does) by Ruth White

You'll Like It Here by Ruth White

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


11-year-old Meggie Blue lives a happy, comfortable life in North Carolina with her mom, older brother, and grandpa.  However, the recent talk among her classmates about aliens makes her unhappy because it brings back bad memories from years ago of the crazy man who trespassed into her class looking for aliens.  An experience like this would traumatize any young child, but this was especially traumatizing for Meggie because she is, in fact, an alien.

Meggie's family first moved from the planet Chroma to Earth when Meggie was just a baby.  They had to leave their home planet because the pollution there was too overpowering.  They first lived in California, but then moved to North Carolina after the crazy man incident in Meggie's class.  Now that the people in North Carolina are growing suspicious of them, they decide that it's time to move on again, but this time they decide to move to an entirely different planet.

Interestingly, they end up on a planet called Earth...but a much different Earth from what they're used to.  The place they find themselves in is called Fashion City, a city run by "The Fathers," where adults are assigned to mindless jobs, clothing isn't allowed to be colorful, and taking "Lotus" pills to make one feel good and numb is encouraged.  The Blue family can't wait to get away from this awful version of Earth, but will they be able to escape before falling victim to the overbearing ways of the city?

I enjoyed this book a lot--I began the story without knowing the plot and was completely surprised to find out that the Blue family are actual aliens!  The Blue family is a nice group of people who genuinely care about others, and this trait shines through strongly when they're in Fashion City and want to help all of its citizens stuck in their dull, repetitive lives.  Those who enjoyed this alien story might also enjoy The True Meaning of Smekday (Adam Rex).



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Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve

Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


11-year-old Polly lives on an unusual rhubarb farm where it rains every Monday at 1:00pm. Because Polly doesn’t have any friends (other kids think that she’s weird), her best friend is a chocolate rhubarb plant named Harry who communicates with her by moving its leaves.



The weekly rain is important to the farm because they live in a part of the country that is normally very dry. When the rain suddenly stops coming, everything begins to dry up and die. Polly’s aunt Edith isn’t upset by this because she wants to sell the farm and move away to a big city, but the rest of the family is devastated. Aunt Edith gives her a book of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance and encourages her to think about leaving the farm when she gets older, but how can she—especially after she learns about some of the family secrets hidden in the old tower of their house?



This is an imaginative story that readers will be sure to enjoy. Polly is a likable character who only wants to do what’s best for her beloved family and farm. Those who enjoyed this book might also enjoy Savvy and Scumble, both by Ingrid Law.





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Out of My Mind by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This story is about 10-year-old Melody. She has cerebral palsy and needs help in nearly every area of her life--she isn't even able to speak. She stresses that, just because she can't speak or make her body do what she wants it to do, doesn't mean that she's unintelligent or deaf. In fact, she is very bright.

Melody tells the reader about her life at home and at school--where she's in the special education class and has teachers that usually assume all of the students in that class don't really need to learn. Things change a bit when she starts having inclusion classes, which are a couple of class sessions during her day that she spends with the rest of the kids in her grade with an aide.

Things really change for Melody when she gets a device that she can input words and phrases into (along with music!) that allows her to communicate for the first time in her life.

This is a very touching story; there were just some aspects of it that seemed unbelievable or inconsistent to me...her mom's character, for example. But that wouldn't keep me from recommending this to others. And those that enjoy this book might also enjoy _Anything but Typical_ by Nora Raleigh Baskin.



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The Other Half of My Heart by Sundee Tucker Frazier

The Other Half of My Heart by Sundee T. Frazier

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


11-year old Minni and Keira are twins…but not only are they not identical, Minni is white (she has light skin and red hair) and Keira is black (she has dark skin and dark hair). This difference was able to occur because their mother is black and their father is white. The girls never really gave it that much thought, but Minni begins to notice how some strangers treat Keira differently from her (in school, in stores, etc.), and Minni suspects that it’s because of the color of Keira’s skin.

The girls feel this difference even more when they visit their grandmother and enter a beauty pageant for black girls; the other girls competing tell Minni that she’s not really black because of the color of her skin. On the surface of it all, Minni knows that’s not true, but deep down she becomes confused and wonders if she is white, or black, or…maybe, a mixture of both?

This is a great story about how a girl tries to find herself as she enters adolescence, which is made all the more difficult because her sister’s skin doesn’t match her own. For more books about sisters that readers might also enjoy, try The Sisters Club series (MacDonald).

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The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book is fine, it's just not really what I'd normally read--considering that I've only seen parts of the movie Star Wars 1 (or is it 3 now?). Since little boys these days love Star Wars and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, this book covers both subjects and is sure to be a hit!

The story is about a boy named Tommy who collects his fellow students' experiences while interacting with the weird boy in class's origami puppet of Yoda. Because of this, each chapter is written by a different student--with comments and drawings added by Tommy and his friends.

One would think that Origami Yoda would be something stupid created by the weird kid Dwight, but Origami Yoda isn't at all like Dwight; rather, he seems to be wise and full of good advice! So if Dwight was actually putting words into Origami Yoda's "mouth", wouldn't everything it said be stupid and weird? This is the dilemma the kids in Tommy's class face.

Recommend this to any reader who likes the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series OR Star Wars movies.

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My (not-so-successful) 48-hour Reading Challenge Results

I tried to do as much reading and listening to books as possible for the challenge, but I didn't measure up very well next to others competing in this challenge. I broke down my reading time into what I read and when, but it's not very impressive. I suppose that it's okay for someone who had places to be for many of the 48 hours!

--Friday morning: 7:30-8:30--Read the [adult] book _House Rules_ by Jodi Picoult
--Friday morning during errands: 9:30-10:00--continued listening to _The Giant-Slayer_ by Iain Lawrence
--Friday afternoon during errands: 10:30-11:00; 12:00-1:00--continued listening to _The Giant-Slayer_ by Iain Lawrence
--1:15-3:15--continued listening to _The Giant-Slayer_ by Iain Lawrence
--Then, after all of my errands, I was cranky and didn't feel like doing anything but taking a nap! That's not very good for reading...so I lost a lot of time that way. After I woke up, I only read for another hour or so: 6:00-7:00--continued reading _House Rules_ by Jodi Picoult


Friday's total=6 hours


--Then, on Saturday, I had to work all day! On my long commute to work: 8:00-9:00--I finally finished _The Giant-Slayer_ by Iain Lawrence and then started right in on _Falling In_ by Frances O'Roark Dowell. (If I was already listening to an audio book and then I started another one, does that bypass the rule that I can only listen to one? I hope it does.)
--I tried to read while on the service desk, but that is much easier said than done; I kept getting interrupted or distracted by things going on in the department. I began _Redwall_ by Brian Jacques around 10:30 and only managed to read the first 10 chapters by 4:30. When I add all of the starting and stopping that took place throughout the day, I'd say that I only read maybe an hour and a half, total. Reading FAILURE!
--Breaktime at work: 12:15-1:00--I read a WWE magazine.
--On an errand and then to my parents' house: 5:15-6:30--I continued listening to _Falling In_ by Frances O'Roark Dowell.
--On the way home from my parents' house: 12:30-1:15--I continued listening to _Falling In_ by Frances O'Roark Dowell.

Saturday's total=5.25 hours

48-hour reading challenge total= 11.25 hours

Well...it's something to beat next year! Maybe I won't have errands for most of the day one day and have to work most of the day for the second day. Sigh.

The Giant-Slayer by Iain Lawrence

The Giant-Slayer by Iain Lawrence


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
It’s 1955 and everyone fears polio, a horrible disease that affects nerves and can lead to full or partial paralysis; a vaccine against it doesn’t yet exist. Laurie’s close friend and neighbor Dickie is suddenly struck with polio and must be hospitalized because he needs a ventilator (iron lung) to help him breathe. Laurie’s father forbids her to visit him because he’s afraid that she, too, will catch polio, but she visits him anyway. There, she meets another boy named Chip and an older girl named Carolyn, both of whom are also in iron lungs.

To help pass the time for them, she starts telling a story and adds to it each time she visits. Eventually, the three of them begin to see parts of themselves in Laurie’s characters and become very attached to them. Through the story, Laurie provides her ailing friends with a little hope—something they haven’t felt for a long time.

This is a very good book—it is titled The Giant-Slayer because Jimmy, the main character in Laurie’s story, is destined to slay a giant even though he is so small. The chapters alternate between Laurie’s realistic experience and the story she tells to the other kids. Recommend this to those who enjoy a bit of fantasy in a realistic story, much like the book No Castles Here (Bauer).

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The Fast and the Furriest by Andy Behrens

The Fast and the Furriest by Andy Behrens


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
12-year-old Kevin feels like  he has a lot to live up to: his father is a famous former Bears player and his younger sister is a super soccer player.  Kevin, on the other hand, isn’t good at sports at all. Needless to say, his father is not pleased with him.

Kevin prefers staying in the basement with his video games and his lazy dog Cromwell.  While flipping through channels on the tv one day, Kevin comes across a dog agility competition.  He was about to change the channel when he notices Cromwell’s  reaction to the show; he appears excited!  Kevin is shocked by Cromwell’s behavior after this; Cromwell now seems to want to run around and jump through the tire swing in the backyard.  Kevin’s best friend Jack suggests that they find an agility class for them to join as an outlet for Cromwell’s energy.  Kevin is skeptical, but he goes along with the idea (despite the fact that his dad is adamant that dog agility is not a real sport).

This is a great book!  Kevin is a very likable character with funny responses to those who try to make fun of him for being so bad at sports.  Cromwell is entertaining, too.  Readers who enjoyed this book might also enjoy The Problem with the Puddles (Feiffer) and Dog Lost (Lee).

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Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Odd is a boy who lives in an old Viking village quite contentedly until his father passes away and his mother remarries.  After times passes with his mother’s new husband and all of his awful children, Odd decides to leave his village for a hut in the wilderness that used to belong to his father.

While out for a stroll one morning, he first meets a fox outside the door who appears to want to tag along with him.  He next encounters across a bear with its paw stuck in a tree; he helps the bear, and the bear returns the favor by letting Odd ride on his back on the return trip to the hut.  On the way back, Odd sees an eagle following them.  When they all arrive at the hut, Odd invites them in for something to eat, then lets them stay for a rest.  Hours later, Odd wakes to hear the three animals talking to one another.  After much probing, he learns that they aren’t really animals; they are in fact the gods Loki, Thor, and Odin—they were tricked by a Frost Giant and then changed into animals.  Odd is determined to help these strange creatures return to their true forms and to put a stop to the endless winter the world has been suffering at the hands of these Frost Giants.

This is an interesting story full of magic.  Odd is a likable character—he is kind, gentle, and not at all how one would picture a Viking, but these traits are what help him face the evil Frost Giants.  Recommend  this to fans of mythology and fantasy.

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11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

11 Birthdays - Audio Library Edition by Wendy Mass


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Amanda and Leo have celebrated their shared birthday together since their first birthday, and
they are each other’s best friend—that is, until Amanda overhears Leo say something mean about her to his friends at their 10th birthday.  Angry and hurt, Amanda hasn’t spoken to Leo since that day.

Now it’s a year later, and Amanda and Leo are both turning 11—but they will celebrate their birthdays separately for the first time ever.  Amanda is glad when her birthday is over and can just forget about her awful day—if she has to hear about Leo’s cool party one more time, she is going to lose her mind!  When she wakes up the next morning, she’s happy that it’s finally Saturday and her and Leo’s birthdays are behind her.  But the strangest thing happens…when she wakes up, it’s not Saturday at all—it’s Friday (and her 11th birthday) again!  To make things worse, when she wakes up the next morning…and the next morning…it’s still Friday!

No one besides Amanda seems to notice that she keeps living the same day over and over again; everyone else is living Friday for the first time—that is, except for Leo, who she learns is living the same day over and over again too!  After a year of not speaking, Amanda and Leo work together to figure out why every day is their 11th birthday.

This is a very cute book that might call to mind the movie Groundhog Day.  Amanda is very likable (as is Leo, once he’s forgiven).  Readers who enjoyed this book might also enjoy Take Two (DeVillers) or The Secret Language of Girls (Dowell).

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Highway Cats by Janet Taylor Lisle

Highway Cats by Janet Taylor Lisle


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Shredder, a grizzled old cat, discovers three abandoned kittens on the highway he lives near.  Miraculously, the kittens survive crossing the busy lanes.  At first, Shredder and the other feral cats don’t much care for these seemingly helpless kittens, but they soon warm to their innocence in the face of life in the wild.

Meanwhile, the mayor of the town has plans to build ramps leading to and from the highway—ramps that would run right through the woods in which the cats live.  Because the arrival of the kittens has changed the attitudes of so many of the previously cold-hearted cats, they band together to frighten the workers who would destroy their home.

This is a good story with drawings at the beginning of each chapter.  It was interesting to read about how all of the cats’ different personalities work together to care for the kittens and to save their homes from being destroyed.  Recommend this to readers who enjoyed The Incredible Journey or Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

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