Summer Reading list, take 2

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park : great perspective book for me, would be a good one for kids to read so they can also gain some perspective and gratitude. It is 2 different accounts of a child's life in Sudan.


Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl: had never read this very, very short book. I love Roald Dahl and I just recently saw the movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is hysterical and very clever. I simply wanted to see how the movie and book matched. In this case, I liked the movie more, which is rare...


The Middle of Somewhere by J.B. Cheaney: I think this book was recommended as a summer read in the Friend. It was pretty funny and boys and girls, ages 8 and up would enjoy it. It is about a brother and sister who take a summer trip with their almost stranger grandfather through Kansas.


The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard: this book was recommended to me by my friend, Meagan Sullivan. I liked this book because I couldn't guess the outcome and that is refreshing. It is definitely an adult read. It is a mystery.


The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe: just picked them up at the library on a whim, the illustrations by Ryan Price are magnificent, and that is what attracted me to this particular rendition. I had read the raven before, but never The Tell-Tale Heart although I had heard/seen it referrenced many times before. I am AMAZED at Mr. Poe's gift, truly remarkable his poeticism (is that even a word). It prompted me to research his life and I found a very colorful and somewhat disturbed individual. Like most writers/poets/artists from the past, he did not achieve much success until after his death.


Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool: This is the 2010 Newberry Medal Winner and it is a revelatory book for me. The writing is superb, the characters are rich and have a lot of depth. I found myself both laughing and feeling emotional as well. I don't want to give much away, it is about a young girl searching her father's past and discovering both things about herself and the town where he is from and the town's people as well. It is clever and insightful. There is some writing on pg 143-144 that is magic to me. I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone 10 -100.

Forever by Maggie Stievater: The 3rd book in a trilogy, I read the 1st because Autumn bought it at the school book fair. It seems since the Twilight craze, all these trilogies and series of books involving fantasy and paranormal, witches, vampires, werewolves, fairies etc...have just taken over the young adult section of modern fiction. I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly astounded. This author is a poet. The writing is achingly beautiful, the subject interesting and surprisingly deep. I Loved it. I am a big fan of consequences even in my mythical fiction. I want characters to have conflicts and not necessarily happy endings. This book was a great ending to the series. It did not disappoint and was just as good as the other two, which is rare. Great read for YA's and adults.