M.C. Higgins the Great

It took me a long time to get through this book. The story was okay, but not my favorite so far. Nothing too exciting takes place in it, but M.C. learns and grows from the occurrences in the book. M. C. overcomes his concerns about his home and stands up to his father in regards to a friends of his.

Sounder

I liked Sounder, again, as well as I'd like any other dog story. This one really does have an enduring spirit. Sounder is a dedicated dog. This is the story of how his owner is arrested and Sounder is hurt. The owner's young son looks and looks for both his father and Sounder. He does find something great while on that search.

Julie of the Wolves

Julie of the Wolves was an interesting story that really encourages you to think about who you are and what you're really capable of. I liked how the story of Julie unfolds. I know that I could never accomplish what she is able to do. This story has a lot of very interesting Eskimo information. I like how Julie sticks to her upbringing and uses these skills to become not just Julie, but Miyax.

The Higher Power of Lucky

The Higher Power of Lucky has a really great main character. Lucky is funny, quirky, imaginative, you name it. She's a girl on a mission: to find her Higher Power. This is a funny book about a girl in search of ... something. She has a pretty great little adventure on her way to find it!

My Sister's Keeper

I really enjoyed My Sister's Keeper. This was a really interesting bioethical storyline. I had wanted to read this book for a long time and I'm glad that I did. I finally got it on hold at the library and devoured it. The story involves a 13 year-old girl that wants medical emancipation from her parents because they want her to donate a kidney to her sister. Interestingly enough, she was biologically engineered to be a perfect donor match for her sister that has leukemia. It's definitely a thought-provoking book. I would recommend it.

I'm also excited, because there is a movie of it coming out in June sometime, I think. Hopefully it's as good as the book.

Dicey's Song

For a "coming of age" book, I liked Dicey's Song. Usually for me, coming of age books end up right back where they started; or the main character goes through all of this (usually self-imposed) crap to realize something that I could have told them in the beginning. I may sound a little down on the coming of age, but they can just frustrate me sometimes. There are many that I've liked. This is one of them. This story follows a girl, Dicey, and her family through some struggles. How the family deals with these obstacles, and the outcome of strengthening her as well as her family is great.

A Year Down Yonder

I really enjoyed reading A Year Down Yonder. It's about a young girl that moves from Chicago to a small town to live with her grandma for a year during the Great Depression. This book is filled with funny stories and the grandma is a HOOT! I couldn't help but think what it'd be like for me to live a year with my own grandma! (That would probably bee a hoot too!) Anyway, I would recommend this for sure - the grandma has some really great lines; I laughed out loud many a time!

Maniac Magee

I really enjoyed the way that Jerry Spinelli wrote Maniac Magee. It's a fun book about a boy that likes to run, but he also does a lot of other surprising things - including living in the buffalo pen at the zoo and making friends with a kid named "Mars Bar." This was a fun story to read and I like the way that the author brought Maniac to life.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices From a Medieval Village

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices From a Medieval Village was actually a really interesting book about life in a Medieval village. It was written by a librarian for students to perform, but also to teach a little history to as well. This book consists mostly of soliloquies by children that live in the village; from the tanner's apprentice to the lord's daughter to the pilgrim. I actually learned a lot. There are a lot of historical facts included.

Shiloh

Just finished listening to Shiloh on CD. It was a pretty good story. Maybe a little too dog-ish for me. I'm not a huge lover of dogs, so I guess that I don't get that whole relationship thing. I did like how hard Marty was willing to work for this dag and how much he loved it. I also appreciated the "change of heart" that Shiloh's previous owner had at the end of the book.

The Slave Dancer

The Slave Dancer was a really interesting historical story about a young boy that is forced to play his fife on a slave ship. I thought that this was a great way of introducing this history to a large audience. I felt like the book shared many points of view and it made me really consider those events in a way I hadn't before.

Very Valentine

I read a book by Adriana Trigiani called Very Valentine last weekend. I thought that it was pretty good! It's about an Italian-American woman (and her family) that is an apprentice in a custom shoe shop in NYC. Who wouldn't like a book that involves shoes to this extent? It obviously involves her love life, her family, shoes, and the crisis of losing the shoe shop. I would definitely read another book by this same author. I appreciated that it was pretty clean and surely entertaining.