The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth

by Jonny Bowden
Scott County, paperback

I've already renewed this book once and really need to get it back to the library. I think I should buy my own copy! It's very interesting and has a balance of ideas. I like how the author points out different perspectives and has his own pov so entertainingly presented. I love this book!

But I'm really, really time-management challenged right now. (For example, I ought to be halfway to work by now.)

ISBN 978-1-59233-228-1 (with CD)

Forsaken

by James David Jordan
Hennepin County Library
paperback 387 pages

I neither loved nor hated this one, but the SOLC book club had an incredible discussion! Terrorism, martyrdom, grace. We had a good time finding fault with some implausible scenarios, but found many characters and situations to praise as well.

The Reader

by Bernhard Schlink
multiple libraries & formats

Book club selection at CMSW. An Oprah pick. No one loved it. Many hated it.

First half = teenage boy in post-WWII Germany having passionate sex with an older woman.
Second half = he watches her trial for war crimes as a college law student.

Sad story. The point? I'm not sure. I missed discussion because of track.

Dragon Rider

by Cornelia Funke
Scott County Library, audioCDs, 11 hours, 36 minutes
read by Brendan Fraser

Nice story. Not in my top ten or anything. Firedrake the dragon and Sorrel the brownie go to seek the Rim of Heaven. They befriend orphan Ben (a human) and their dread enemy's servant Twigleg (a humunculous ?). Full of adventure and fantasy. Predictable but heart-warming ending.

Fraser is one of my favorite actors, but I prefer Jim Dale for reading. Fraser made noises for everything - swallowing, chewing, etc. It got kind of irritating. He also modulated his volume so much that I had to keep turning it up and down to hear everything.

What I liked about it most was the way Sorrel warmed up to beings that she initially distrusted or even despised.

The Year of the Dog

by Grace Lin
Scott County Library, audioCDs, 3 hours
read by Nancy Wu

The reader was fantastic, but the story was hard for me to enjoy. I'm not sure if it's because the target audience is so much younger than the kids I work with, or if it's just a slow story . . . Anyhow, I read it because I had bought a bunch of them at the Scholastic Warehouse sale last year for lit circles. Ugh. Guess I didn't look at it carefully enough. There are some sixth grade girls this might appeal to, especially with the friend element. But this is a really slow story.

Hanging on to Max

by Margaret Bechard
CMSW, paperback, 204 pages

Interesting. This is one of the 8th grade lit circle choices. Most of the kids I talked to really enjoyed it. In fact, one highly recommended it to me. I'm not sure, though, what about it exactly appeals to kids. Now that I've read it, I'm going to have to ask some of them.

Sam is a father at age seventeen. When his former girlfriend decides to give the baby up for adoption, Sam says he'll raise the boy (and rename him Max). Sam's father is supportive (letting them live in his home, helping Sam find a job for after graduation, etc.) but is emotionally distant and critical of Sam. Sam's mother died when he was only nine, so there are definite challenges in this family.

My favorite character was Sam's Aunt Jean, who knew how to help out and how to "be there" for Sam. The ending felt abrupt (a comment I heard from kids), but it made me cry anyhow. No spoiler here. It's a quick read, so you can find out for yourself.

Double Minds

by Terri Blackstock
Carver County Library, hard cover, 309 pages

For most of this book, I didn't really enjoy the story. But by the end, I liked it better. I think the afterword was actually my favorite part!

Parker James is a talented song-writer who would love to become a successful singer. When her best friend Serene asks her to re-write some songs so they're more acceptable for a secular audience, Parker really struggles. Worshiping God is the whole reason she wrote the songs in the first place, but a wider audience might be drawn to Serene's Christian songs if she starts getting more air time. This is not the only "double-mindedness" in the story.

The murder mystery angle was interesting, but a bit too drawn out.

100 Cupboards

by N.D. Wilson
Read by Russell Horton
Scott County Library, audiobook on CDs (6 hrs, 23 min.)

Interesting story. This is one I think I would've enjoyed more reading the text instead of listening, though Horton has a wonderful voice. The girl characters drove me batty! They were such brats. I just wanted Henry to knock his cousins down. The tone of the story was a little dark - kind of like Coraline in its creepiness, especially with the cupboard that led to Endor. Richard was a delightful character and Zeke provided a nice surprise at the end. I don't think I'll bother with the sequel, though. And I'm not sure about buying this title for school. Not sure if it would appeal to a very wide range of readers.

Schooled

By Gordon Korman
CMSW, paperback, 208 pages

I really enjoyed this! Nothing complex or deep, but a lovely little story. It's a lot like Stargirl, but much more lighthearted.

Capricorn Anderson has grown up on a commune with his grandma, Rain. When Rain falls and breaks her hip, Cap ends up staying with a social worker and her gorgeous but angry daughter. Cap has no clue how to function in a normal middle school and the results are both funny and endearing.