Candlewax

Bibliography
Sims, C. Bailey. Candlewax. Newton, CN: Terabyte Press, 2012. Print.

My Thoughts
Normally, I don't consider myself a fantasy reader. However, I heard about this book and actually won a copy at library harvest and felt like I should read it. I enjoyed the story. I did find myself smirking and rolling my eyes a bit at the stereotypical "fantasy" elements, such as Catherine's connectedness to ancient prophets that roll into the story at convenient times.

Catherine has a beautiful necklace from her grandmother. She doesn't realize the power it has until it saves her life. She then begins her heroine's quest to find out the rest of the prophecy. The story is complete with super magical powers, talking fairrier cats, a bloody battle between two forces and a love story.

I liked that Catherine is portrayed as a strong figure with an opinion. She has other ideas for her life than what her father decided for her. She is clever and able to devise strategic plans. She does cuss twice in the book, which I think could have been omitted and keep her tough-girl character.

Sims layers the story by allowing the reader to learn of the prophecy just as Catherine learns about it. There are many levels of her enchantment. This became a bit contrived for me, but it didn't take away from the story. The magical creatures, such as trodliks, and enchanted forests are a necessary part of the story.

On page 355, a new character emerges. I think this is a layering for the second book.

Overall, I read the 366 pages because I was captured by the story and needed to go on Catherine's quest. I'm looking forward to reading the next part of the story.

Beneath a Meth Moon

Bibliography
Woodson, Jacqueline. Beneath a Meth Moon: an Elegy. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2012. Print.

My Thoughts
Since the word "meth" is in the title, I thought I'd better take a look at the book in case there were any challenges. I'm glad I did. This book was incredible. I think Woodson captured the characters and made them memorable. This tale follows Laurel's path down the road of using meth. Along the way, she mets Moses who "delivers" her out of trouble.

I don't want to say too much, as the story needs to tell itself. Woodson's writing is descriptive and true. She uses vivid metaphors to describe Laurel's experiences. This is a work of fiction, but how true it really seems.

Don't Sing at the Table

Bibliography
Trigiani, Adriana. Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons from my Grandmothers. New York: Harper, 2010. Print.

My Thoughts
I knew I was going to love this book when I read the author's forward: "This book is a work of nonfiction based upon my conversations with and observations of my grandmothers, Yolanda Perin Trigiani and Lucia Spada Bonicelli. This is a portrait of my life with them as I knew it. I have told these stories on these pages from my point of view, painted with a personal brush, in colors I chose, for the purpose of sharing my personal experience. Any resemblance to others, living or dead, is completely coincidental."

I have not read Trigiani before this book, but I think I will enjoy reading her fiction because I enjoyed her style. There are so many lessons we learn from others---even when we don't realize we are learning the lessons. Trigiani does a wonderful job creating vivid pictures of her grandmothers. Even though both were from Italy, each woman's personality was unique.

As I read this book, I couldn't help but think about my own grandmothers---two women who led vastly different lifestyles. For example, one of my grandmothers was a member of the garden club; the other grandmother worked in a garden. Both loved me and taught me.

I marked several "lessons" in this book to post on this blog. The title reference is on page 164.

• "Nobody has to see how many times you rip out the hem" (Trigiani 74).

Now, I'm not any kind of seamstress, but I understand this lesson. "Details mattered. The results of your hard work should appear effortless" (Trigiani 74). Keep doing something until it is done correctly.

• "The first rule of savings is sacrifice. Before you pay any bill, pay yourself" (Trigiani 85).

The very first job I ever had, my dad tried teaching me this concept. I'm still learning this lesson.

• "Begin each day in a state of calm" (Trigiani 102).

Oh, I wish I could each day. I notice that when I first wake up, I am calm and enjoy the quiet time of the morning. However, once I get to school, the madness begins, and it is a roller coaster of calm and crazy.

• "There is nothing we can say to comfort the grieving, but there is definitely something we can do. We can show up" (Trigiani 151).

Enough said.

• "Do what you can and know that it's just right" (Trigiani 165).

I struggle with this. I try to do what I can, but is it my justification or truly all that I can do? Is what I feel I can do living up to the expectations of others?

• "When you can, walk" (Trigiani 169).

I love walking. I often think about how life was before society became spoiled with vehicles. I should walk more. Walking does clear my head and when I walk with a buddy, we solve all of the world's problems.

• "When you truly love someone, you want the best for them, and their happiness is more precious to you than your own" (Trigiani 172).

Three other moments that I marked reminded me of honoring my own grandmothers. They are gone forever, and I miss them every day. Memories pop in my head of different moments spent with each of them. If I let myself think too much about missing them, I cry. If I let myself think about how my child won't know them, I cry. Sometimes I let myself cry. Reading this book, especially the last few chapters, made me cry. I know that Trigiani was writing about her own grandmothers, but I captured and shared her emotions in the reading.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

Bibliography
Franklin, Tom. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. New York: Harper, 2010. Print.

My Thoughts
I was captured in the opening paragraphs because I visualized my grandparents' home. Franklin absolutely put me in "my happy place," and I kept reading.

"Scary Larry" still lives with his parents until his father dies and his mother is moved into a nursing home for Alzheimer's. His character is believable, and I wondered if there was something a little "off" about him because he still lived at home.

When Larry was in high school, a young girl disappears, and he is the last one to see her. He becomes suspect #1. Twenty five years later, another girl disappears, and Larry is once again the prime suspect.

The story flashes back and forth which was a little confusing, but once the characters became "real" to me, I could follow the story. I was surprised at the unfolding of the past. Franklin does a good job teasing the reader and layering the story so that the plot is not as predictable as it might seem. A friend of mine described this as "traveling through the stories." I liked that expression.

Silas "32" Jones is the constable and gets "hunches" which are not quite out of the blue. His police work actual saves Larry's life. We find out later in the story that Silas has carried a huge secret and perhaps it is his guilt that guides his hunches.

Larry is a sympathetic character because in spite of his reputation, he's managed to live. He knows what is true and plods along in spite of the rumors, stares and vandalism. He is not the simpleton the reader (me) assumed he is.

This was an enjoyable story set in M-i-crooked letter-crooked letter-i-crooked letter-crooked letter-i-hump back-hump back-i.

Dreams from the Monster Factory

Bibliography
Schwartz, Sunny, and David Boodell. Dreams from the Monster Factory: A Tale of Prison, Redemption and One Woman's Fight to Restore Justice to All. New York: Scribner, 2009. Print.

My Thoughts
It only took me only a day to read this powerful book. Sunny Schwartz writes of her personal experiences working in the San Francisco penal system. She began as a legal intern who helped fill out paperwork for prisoners' complaints. She later created a new version of prison life called RSVP (Resolve to Stop the Violence Project).

She is honest about the realities of prison life.

What she writes makes sense to me. Why do we, as taxpayers, spend so much money to incarcerate people just to give them time in jail to stew and only to release them to continue the patterns of crime? Why aren't we trying to really make sure criminals are given the skills and systems to guide them to become more productive citizens upon release? Why aren't we trying to make better people of them even if they won't ever leave jail?

As I read, I kept thinking about my students. Did I do everything I could in my classroom to help them become good citizens of my community? Once they were "released" from my care, did they go away as a better person or did they just let old habits continue?

As a librarian, do I want to have this book available? If a teen reads this, will it make a difference in his or her actions and behavior?

This book has made me think about myself and my attitudes and my assumptions. Sometimes we must keep trying even when the situation seems hopeless.

Bad Girls Don't Die

Bibliography
Alender, Katie. Bad Girls Don't Die. New York: Hyperion, 2009.  Web.

My Thoughts
I liked the mystery of this book. There were some moments that foreshadowed what might be happening, but Alender didn't force the plot. As I read the story of Alexis (Lexi), her family and the house that truly became a character, I thought about how it would be neat to merge this story with Miss Peregrine's that I read earlier in this summer. Creepy places, abnormal happenings and distinct characters fill both book's pages. This book has a interesting doll that takes an important part of the plot.  

I read this book on my phone and found myself book marking pages that I thought I would include on the blog. Looking back on some of the marks, I realized I missed some foreshadowing moments.

"Home is where the heart is" is not just the Homecoming motto.

The Doom Squad is a group of kids who fit in together because they don't "fit" anywhere else (61). I visualized students that I know who feel the same way. As Lexi explains, "That's the pathetic thing about high school. Everyone tries so hard to be something they aren't" (60). Amen! Lexi has her own opinions about the different high school cliques. "Preps are like cheerleaders, only with less jumping" (70). I liked Lexi's humor and her insight. When her world begins to merge with a cheerleader, she explains, "Alexis's universe, Megan's universe. One is over here, and the other is waaaaay over there. Completely separate. And that's how I liked them" (300). I can hear her. I like how Alender doesn't just use the stereotypes to create flat characters, but she tries to dig into the idea that we are all the same and can put aside our differences when the time comes to help one another. She uses this story to help defend the idiom that you can't judge a book by it's cover, just as you can't judge a person by their appearance or who they eat lunch with at school.

I liked that Lexi made use of her school & public libraries. I found the episode with the school librarian to be humorous and true (294). I am dreading my first run in with a CPA  (Concerned Parents Association) group questioning a book. They might even question this book.

Alender had her characters use outdated technology (a microfiche reader). I wondered if my students would get the same visual I had while reading this. Thanks, Alender, for trying to memorialize a piece of equipment that helped me through many research projects!

The entire cast of characters seemed relevant to the story and helped the mystery unfold. As in real life, pieces of information come to us from various sources and don't always make sense until the entire mosaic is created.

I know that is it necessary, but I didn't like how I read to page 553 to find "Seven months later" and the story gets a summarization to propel us to the current evening of Prom. That visual was pretty cute, and I realized that a YA novel would not be complete (perhaps) without a nice prom scene with a movie ending.

The Savage Grace

Bibliography
Despain, Bree. The Savage Grace: A Dark Divine Novel. New York: Egmont, 2012. Print.

My Thoughts
This was the worst written books of the trilogy. I think Despain figured that she had a readership, so she didn't have to try hard to sell this book. I was very disappointed!

There were some very unrealistic scenes (despite the fact that Grace is an infected werewolf) that I just didn't buy into. Again, it seemed that Despain was forcing the story. The entire set up for the challenging ceremony seemed too cliche, "let's kick some butt girl power!"

Some things are explained in this installment, like what a perfected urbat is (Despain 188). We learn more about Daniel's genealogy and the new character Talbot appears (and reappears and reappears). The clues pointing to his character were too obvious.

The title reference is on page 470. Ironically, I was at Disneyworld when I was reading the Peter Pan reference (page 382).

I kept thinking that I probably would like this book more if I didn't feel like I'd read it before now or if I was a 17 year old girl looking for a 17 year old heroine story.