Though Waters Roar

by Lynn Austin
Hennepin County library, hardcover, 428 pages
genre: Christian / historical fiction

This generational story stretched from Hannah helping with the Underground Railroad to Bebe and the temperance movement through Lucy and the women's right to vote, and was framed by Harriet's struggle with her identity and cause. Each of these women, and the men in their lives, have an interesting story to tell.

I thought there was a bit too much time-hopping at the start of the story, but it became clearer as the story went on. Enjoyable. Good discussion at the Fish Tale! I love my book club.

City of Bones

by Cassandra Clare
book one in The Mortal Instruments
Becky C loaned it to me, hardcover, 485 pages

Hmmm. This one didn't do it for me. I'm a bit surprised that it's a "New York Times Bestseller" - wonder if that happened before or after Stephenie Meyer endorsed it as a "story world I love to live in." It has some interesting characters and scenes, but I found it to be too dark. The romance angle was also disappointing (spoiler alert!) . . . when the sparks between Jace and Clary fizzle upon their learning that they are actually siblings. I don't even want to read the rest of the series to find out what happens. The scene in the church was most disappointing to me. Jace's abrupt change of allegiances in the final scene with Valentine put the nail in the coffin, so to speak. I'm glad Becky has found a series that she loves, but I don't share the love!

Shug

by Jenny Han
Hennepin County Library, audioCD 6 hours
read by: Liz Morton
genre: YA coming-of-age

Interesting! At first, this story drove me crazy. Annemarie "Shug" Wilcox is starting seventh grade and everything seems to be changing. Her best friend Mark is hanging with the "guys" and spending less and less time with her. Elaine is starting to hang out with the popular girls, and her family seems to be falling apart. I ended up really liking this story. It's got some wonderful scenes dealing with friendship, peer pressure, etc.

Truer Than True Romance

by Jeanne Martinet
PRMS paper 112 pages
genre: humor / romance

What a hoot! When I saw this on the media center shelf, I did a double-take. This is a snarky, sarcastic take on the stereotypical 1940s romance comics. The original splash page is reprinted next to this author's rewritten story lines. A comics-lovers delight. I'm going to send it to the high school, because I don't think most middle schoolers would get it at all. It's hilarious!

Chinese Cinderella: the true story of an unwanted daughter

by Adeline Yen Mah
PRMS paperback 205 pages
genre: memoir

When a student told me I "had" to read this, I was glad to comply. Now, like that student, I want to read Falling Leaves, which is Mah's full autobiography, and an award-winning book. What a horrible childhood - to be blamed as an infant for her mother's death and then treated like a non-person by her stepmother . . . at first, I actually thought she was a bit of a whiner ("poor me"), but as the story went on, I was saddened by the gap between what could (and should) have been for her and her siblings, and their reality. I am curious now to read Falling Leaves. One of the most stark scenes, to me, was when her father had to ask her what her Chinese name was because he didn't remember that (or her birth date). A well-told story.

The Greatest Generation

by Tom Brokaw
Hennepin County Library hardcover 390 pages
WWII non-fiction / heroes

I didn't finish this in time for book club discussion, but found that I was somewhat disappointed in the book. I've heard so many rave reviews of it that I think I expected more. My favorite chapters were on Dr. Van Gorder and Mary Louise Roberts Wilson. I guess in general, I liked the down-to-earth stories of the ordinary people. Even though Brokaw included a "shame" category, the book overall seemed to idealize the generation. We had a great discussion about that. I definitely think that there can be a general social mentality even when there are "good" and "bad" individuals in every era. I think the "me" decade was a time of great selfishness although there were many generous caring people and events at that time, too. Interesting book. Those of a slightly older age were really curious to hear what the 20-somethings thought of the book, but most of the younger book clubbers hadn't read it . . .

Darcy's Story

By Janet Aylmer
Hennepin County Library paperback 268 pages
genre: Victorian romance

I picked this one up when I already have too high a stack of books to read. The title caught my eye! I love Darcy and Elizabeth. It's basically a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice through Darcy's eyes. Though written very true to Austen's original, it lacked something for me. It just seemed like a summary . . . though a pleasant and enjoyable one.

The Loud Silence of Francine Green

by Karen Cushman
Hennepin County Library audioCDs 5:36
read by Anaka Shockley
genre: YA coming-of-age

Cushman's stories are so thought-provoking! This one is about quiet, obedience Francine and her controversial neighbor Sophie Bowman. Set in cold war America, this was especially enlightening after having read Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation." Francine is a good Catholic girl who just tries to stay out of trouble, especially from Sister Basil. Sophie asks questions which provoke.

I'm not sure which of my students would enjoy this kind of book. Cushman is one of my favorite authors of historical fiction for young adolescents. This one reads as though she lived portions of it! Francine shelving books at the school library made me laugh.

Twilight

by Stephenie Meyer
my copy, hardcover, 498 pages
genre: YA romance, paranormal

Re-read for 8th grade book club. I liked it less than the first time I read it. The discussion was very interesting! Most (but not all) of the girls liked it. Most (but not all) of the guys did NOT.

The Hobbit

by J.R.R. Tolkien
our library, paperback, 1977 printing

I re-read this for 8th grade book club, since it's been at least a decade since I've read it. It was a much quicker read than I remembered . . . in the past, the entire adventure seemed so much more drawn-out. I'd forgotten how the confrontation at the Lonely Mountain ended (after Bilbo's "trade" with the Arkenstone). Never count out the goblins and wargs! Beorn is my favorite character, and I'm curious to know more about the necromancer. It will be fun to booktalk this with the kids tomorrow.

Mates, Dates, and Inflatable Bras

by Cathy Hopkins
Hennepin County Library, audioCD 3 hours
read by ???
genre: YA British chick lit

What a fun little story! I'm glad I listened to it. It was not what I expected from seeing this series of books. It's a lot like Rennison's Georgia Nicholson books, but sweeter in a way. Lucy is such a genuine 14-year-old with her worries and joys. This is a really neat little friendship story. Now I know the type of reader to booktalk it to . . . and I'm curious to read some of the other "Mates, Dates . . . " titles.

The reader did a nice job!

The Secret Language of Girls

by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Hennepin County Library audioCD 3:52
read by Michele Santopietro
genre: YA (very young!) chick lit

This book has the *coolest* image and title, but the story just doesn't deliver. I think the reader's voice didn't do justice to the characters, because I enjoyed it a bit more when I read the text in the print copy in my collection.

But the story just didn't work for me even though there were some neat girl moments . . . this would resonate for certain sixth grade girls. But the shifting between Marylin's, Kate's, and even Petey's perspective was disconcerting. The story seemed to shift abruptly from the start of school to Halloween to . . . It seemed more like a string of vignettes than a cohesive story.

I did like certain scenes (e.g. Marylin's first kiss and the disappointment that goes with it, Kate's friendship with Andrew) but it isn't one that I'll be able to enthusiastically booktalk with my students.