Review: The Seven Songs of Merlin by T. A. Barron

by Carol2 Comments
(Middle school / Young adult) I read this out loud with Amber (11) over a week or two, and we finished it last night. This is the second in the series, but we read the first, The Lost Years of Merlin, about a year or so ago, so it wasn't fresh in my mind. I was able to catch back on pretty quickly, though. At the beginning of The Seven Songs of Merlin, Merlin is 13 and is given the task of traveling across the island of Fincayra, using a magical harp to rejuvenate the land which had been devastated in the first book. The problem is he's a teenager, thinks he knows best and abandons his job to bring his mother, Elen, through the mist to be with him.But within minutes of her arrival, Elen is poisoned by a deathshadow that the evil Rhita Gawr had meant for her son. Merlin spends the rest of the book, learning the discovering the...
Read More

Review: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

by Carol10 Comments
(Young Adult) There are some books that are meant to be savored. There are some whose characters begin to feel like your friends. There are some that keep you awake at night in terror and some whose themes stay with you long after you've finished reading. This does not fall into any of the above categories. I Am Number Four is a book to zip through, it's one to enjoy but not to think too hard about. It won't stand up to being analyzed, so if you can't just relax and enjoy the ride, don't bother picking it up. Four is one of nine Lorien children who escaped with their guardians when their planet was taken over by the Mogadorians. Now on Earth ten years later, Four has taken the name John Smith and is hiding in small-town Ohio with his guardian, Henri. All he wants is to settle in one place, make friends, be a normal teenager, but it's impossible. The...
Read More

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

by Carol5 Comments
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen I don't read many Young Adult novels in general and those that I do read are fantasy more often than not. I am so glad I read this one, though. It is very "teenagey," but I adored Macy, the main character and loved seeing how she grew throughout the book. The story takes place during the summer Macy is seventeen. She is still coping with her father's death, keeping her grief under wraps by trying to be perfect, earn good grades, participate in the "right" activities. She even has the "perfect" boyfriend who is smart, unemotional, focussed on his goals. Macy thinks her summer is planned out for her. While her boyfriend is away at camp, she'll take over his job at the library, she'll help her mom with the opening of the townhouse section of her development, and of course there's always studying for the SATs. Both Macy and her mom are so concerned that...
Read More

A Summer Teaser

by Carol6 Comments
Green and lush, it grew up and around the doublewide, making the structure, with its bright cobalt color and red door, look like one more exotic bloom. Along the front, sunflowers moved lazily in the breeze, brushing a side window: beneath them were a row of rosebushes, their perfumelike scent permeating the air. (pg. 115, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen) I admit that the nice weather lately has made me want to get out in the yard, plant flowers and veggies.  I'm not an outdoors person, but I do love my gardens. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. I cheated a little, but the rules are easy. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. My copy was borrowed from the library and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate....
Read More

By the Numbers – Guest Post by Larry Sweitzer

by Carol6 Comments
Thanks to Larry Sweitzer for taking a page in my notebook today. By the Numbers Statistics and little known facts are a part of life for an avid baseball fan like me. As the most statistical of sports, baseball’s long and storied history lends itself to be remembered—condensed and reduced to a palatable set of memorable numbers. Leonard Koppett wrote: "Statistics are the lifeblood of baseball." - A Thinking Man's Guide to Baseball (1967) A single stat can become synonymous with a player’s name. Cal Ripken will forever be connected to the number 2,632. You can hardly discuss the great Joe Dimaggio without the number 56 coming up. The number 7 has a special meaning to Nolan Ryan’s pitching career. Sometimes numbers define a player’s career. Some would say that stats, more than anything, determine entry into the Hall of Fame. Others would disagree, saying statistics could never define a player—or the game itself. A set of numbers couldn’t possibly tell the whole story....
Read More

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

by Carol13 Comments
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen Becca has been enchanted by her Grandmother Gemma's story of Briar Rose since she was a child. At Gemma's deathbed, Becca makes a promise to her, a promise leads Becca to Poland, discovering Gemma's past and the truth behind Gemma's claim to be Briar Rose. "That castle is yours. It is all I have to leave you. You must find it. The castle in the sleeping woods. Promise me." (pg. 19) This is a powerful, touching retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story. Before reading it, I couldn't imagine how Yolen would connect the fairy tale with the Holocaust, but the wall of thorns becomes barbed wire, the prince has a real-life counterpart and the truth of the sleeping spell is a horrible reality. I shy away from Holocaust literature in general. I'm always worried that it will be too depressing, although so many of the stories, like Briar Rose, end in redemption and  hope. Gemma, as the princess, is...
Read More