Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Lissa is tired of playing second fiddle to a sports rivalry. Her boyfriend is on the football team, and it seems like his top priority is to focus on the football/soccer rivalry at Hamilton High. But Lissa has had enough, and she's encouraged the other girlfriends to fight back with the best weapon at their disposal: their sexuality. They are officially cutting off their boyfriends until the rivalry ends. It's not long before the guys are starting to feel the effects of this stance - but rather than giving in, they decide to fight back. Has Lissa started more than she can handle?

I enjoyed The DUFF and was really eager to read Kody Keplinger's second novel. My favourite parts were the sleepover scenes where the girls addressed sexual stereotypes and expectations. Those were, I thought, very honest, touching, and realistic. I also really liked that the book explicitly mentioned Lysistrata (although I'll confess that it was quite a while before I made the Lissa/Lysistrata connection - my excuse is that I was listening to an audiobook). There were some things that I would have loved to have seen explored more, like Lissa's issues of trust, compulsion, and abandonment, or the girlfriends in a role beyond that of "the girlfriends," but the dialogue and tone of the book went a long way to making it an enjoyable read.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
Lysistrata by Aristophanes
Troy High by Shana Norris

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Life in Pandemonium is all that Daphne's really known. She's the daughter of Lilith and Lucifer, half-demon and half-fallen angel. Her brother, Obie, rejected Pandemonium and went to Earth - and now he's missing. Daphne is determined to find him, and she needs the help of Truman, the last person to have seen Obie. But Truman is fighting battles of his own - a dependency on alcohol and a lack of will to live. Will they be able to overcome these demons, both personal and physical, and find Obie? Or will their quest meet a very violent end?

Don't Brenna Yovanoff's books have beautiful covers? I was enticed to pick up The Replacements because of its eye-catching cover (even though I eventually ended up listening to an audiobook version), and this cover is intricately designed and hauntingly beautiful. That's also a great way to describe the story. Daphne is driven by love and fear and there are some large questions raised in this book about love, relationships, duty, destiny, and family - not to mention the whole concept of good vs. evil. There are lots of creepy, atmospheric details that expanded on these themes. After a strong beginning, I got a bit lost in the middle, but the book grabbed me back for a solid ending (so it could just have been the timing of my own reading experience). I just put the book down, and I'm already excited about reading Yovanoff's next book.

I received a review copy from Penguin Canada.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
The Replacements by Brenna Yovanoff
Paradise Lost by John Milton
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Treasures at the Museum by Deborra Richardson and illustrated by George Hilton III

Robbie and Brittany are heading to the museum with their Aunt Imani, but Robbie doesn't want to go! He thinks it's going to be boring and that he won't have anything in common with the archives. But Aunt Imani explains that museums aren't the only things that have archives and collections - people have them too! And who knows what kinds of treasures they might find at the museum?

This is a fun look at museums and archives and a great introduction to the Smithsonian for children. It successfully takes what could be big, impersonal concepts ('what is an archive?') and makes them easy for children to relate to. Given the specialized subject matter, it's a bit hard to picture kids picking up this on their own to read for fun (not that it's not a fun book!), but teachers interested in using it with classes will find some supplementary material at the end of the story to help them with their lesson plans. This would be a great addition to classroom or school libraries, particularly if visiting a museum or archive is part of your school field trip plans.

I received a review copy from NetGalley courtesy of The Elevator Group.

Read it with:
Ulysses Kay: A Bio-Bibliography by Deborra Richardson
Lost in the Museum: Buried Treasures and the Stories They Tell by Nancy Moses
The Rarest of the Rare: Stories Behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History by Nancy Pick and Mark Sloan
A Kid's Guide to the Smithsonian edited by Ann Phillips Bay and Barbara Hehner

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

While the battles of World War II are taking place overseas, the war is about to come to the small town of Jenkinsville, Arkansas. German POWs are being transferred to a nearby facility and the entire town seems to be a bit on edge. Watching the tension is twelve-year-old Patty Bergen. Patty is struggling with a lot of things: she's terrified of her father's abusive temper, her mother is always insulting her, and she's one of the only Jewish people in her small town. When she meets Anton, one of the German soldiers, she's amazed by his intelligence and his kindness. Then Anton escapes from the prison facility, and Patty's world is about to change forever.

(Some spoilers below)

I first heard of this story when I fell in love with the TV Movies - Daring to Love forum thread at Television Without Pity. So many people seemed to have such strong memories of both the book and the TV movie. This book wasn't really what I thought it was going to be - I pictured it being more of a romance, but due to the striking age difference between Anton and Patty (including her being only twelve at the time), I would have a hard time even thinking of it being based on romantic love. I was also surprised by the examination of race and the casual, institutionalized racism, although if I had really thought about the setting and the time period I shouldn't have been surprised (but probably still shocked at its extent). The edition that I read, the Open Road Media eBook edition, includes an "Author's Affidavit" at the front of the book where Bette Greene confesses that Patty Bergen is based on her and the book is based on her life. Reading the book took on a bit of a different light after that, making it even more difficult to read about "Patty's" mother and father and how they treated her. 

Summer of My German Soldier, the TV movie starring Kristy McNichol, aired in 1978. Someone has put the movie in its entirety up on Youtube, but I have no idea how long it will last until someone pulls it down.

Also check out Jezebel's look at Summer of My German Soldier.

I read a review copy of the eBook from NetGalley courtesy of Open Road Media.

Read it with:
Morning is a Long Time Coming by Bette Greene
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Starring Sally J. Friedman as Herself by Judy Blume

Flyaway by Lucy Christopher

Isla and her father share a love of birdwatching, and the time when the swans arrive is a special time of year for them. But an outing together turns scary when her father collapses. He's taken to the hospital where it's discovered that he has a rather serious heart condition. Isla's mom tries to encourage her to go on with her life as normally as possible, but Isla isn't sure that she can. Then she meets a young boy named Harry who has health issues of his own and spots an injured swan on its own just outside the hospital. While struggling with her fears about her father, her loneliness at school, and her relationship with her mom and brother, Isla discovers a strength in herself that she never knew she had.

I picked up this book on the strength of Lucy Christopher's name. The cover wasn't one that would have immediately hooked me, although after reading it I do feel more connected to it. I had read Christopher's Stolen and wasn't really expecting a book like this from her (namely, a book for middle grade readers). That, combined with an early scene involving an accident with a flock of birds, stopped me from getting completely settled with the book. I felt like the rug could be pulled out from under me at any moment, which worked perfectly with the plot, because Isla's world is slipping away from her. It was an unsettling reading experience, but also a very powerful one, and I think the book would be just as strong if I reread it. The blurb at the back of the book says that Christopher is working on a new book, a psychological thriller for teens, and I can't wait to read it.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Flyaway: How A Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings by Suzie Gilbert
Birdwing by Rafe Martin

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

In 1974, Phillipe Petit had a goal: to walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center. It was a dream that many would call foolish at best and life-threateningly dangerous at worst. But Phillipe Petit was not like many people. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is the story of how he dared to do something that so many thought was impossible and how he captivated a city while doing it.

The book starts as if it was telling a fairy tale: "Once there were two towers side by side..." It would be easy to assume that this book won the Caldecott medal on the strength of post-9/11 emotion. I believe, though, that the illustration and style will stand the test of time. The images play with line, colour, and perspective and made me feel quite dizzy (but in a very powerful way). This might not be the book for people who are scared of heights, but for the right child this book could strike the right chord of history and adventure.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Man on Wire by Philippe Petit
September Roses by Jeanette Winter
A Book by Mordicai Gerstein
Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully

Playground by 50 Cent

Butterball is not happy to be going to therapy. What does someone like Liz understand about his life? He's teased because of his weight. His parents are divorced and he barely sees his dad; even worse, his mom moved him to a place that he hates. He has no friends, and the one friend he did have... well, he doesn't want to talk about that. Yeah, things might not be that great, but how is therapy going to help anything?

(Spoilers below)

Is it too much of a backhanded compliment to say that this book is better than I thought it was going to be? I'm usually not that optimistic about books written by celebrities - even a New York Times bestselling author like 50 Cent - for children, and even more hesitant for books that have some kind of obvious message. In this case, the issue is bullying, and the twist is that it's told from the perspective of the bully. Particularly strong were the scenes where Butterball realized how his actions affected how other people - including girls - saw him (as well as the incredibly sad and frustrating scenes where Butterball's dad engaged in his own destructive brand of parenting). The revelations near the end about Butterball's mom could have been handled a bit better (by both the character and the author), but maybe this will help to contribute to the normalization of gay parents in children's literature. The ending was a bit too neat for my liking, but it might go over better with younger readers who will take away a positive message about redemption.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
The 50th Law by 50 Cent and Robert Greene
From Pieces to Weight by 50 Cent
My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer by Jennifer Gennari
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

Stitching Together by Ed Choy Moorman

When I ordered Stitching Together, I only really knew that there was a version of Kermit the Frog on the cover; I didn't know what I'd be getting on the inside. There's "Scenes from the Life and Death of Jim Henson," a glimpse at a genius visonary who died too soon. There's "The Life of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew," an early comic done around Muppet Labs' resident scientist. There's a visit to Jim Henson's childhood home (as seen from the outside). And there's an excerpt from another comic where a childhood crush on Kermit is confessed.

This is an absolutely lovely collection. The pieces are funny and sad and touching and sweet. The image of Jim Henson's funeral in "Scenes from the Life and Death of Jim Henson" had me tearing up. While the Dr. Bunsen Honeydew piece gets a lot of downplaying, I loved the visuals of Dr. Honeydew as a baby and the Honeydew family as well as the mini-origin story of how Dr. Honeydew and Beaker met (although for some reason the hatching in the panels and the bunk bed made me think that they met in prison - I imagine that that would be quite a different story). If you get a chance, definitely give this collection a read.

I purchased a copy of Stitching Together at Buy Olympia.

See more at Ed Choy Moorman's website.

Buy Stitching Together at his website (under the Shop tab).

Read it with:
Ghost Comics: A Benefit Anthology for RS Eden edited by Ed Choy Moorman
Tales of a Sixth Grade Muppet by Kirk Scroggs
Muppet Sherlock Holmes by Patrick Storck
The Muppet Show Comic Book: Meet the Muppets by Roger Langridge
Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis

Same-Sex Marriage by Tricia Andryszewski

The issue of same-sex marriage has been an incredibly politically-charged issue in the United States. Should a legal marriage include two men or two women as well as a man and a woman? What happens when religion and the government intersect like this? How have views of same-sex marriage changed over the recent decades? This book takes a look at the history of the same-sex marriage movement and the challenges that it has faced in America.

I admit that I was quite skeptical of this book before I started reading it. I run the risk of exposing my biases here, but I think I was focusing on the subtitle of the book and was anticipating a book that argued against same-sex marriage. Instead, the book reads more like an account of what has happened legally and socially around same-sex marriage. While information is included on the differing opinions, it comes as more to explain the context of the political division. The text is accompanied by news articles from USA Today and there's a timeline and a glossary at the end of the book, along with resources for where to look for more information. It's a book that takes what is still a very contentious political issue and makes it accessible for youth to understand (particularly those who are looking to use it for a school assignment). Still, I am optimistic that the day will come where students will look back on a book like this and wonder why such a debate was needed at all.

I received a review copy from NetGalley courtesy of Lerner Books.

Find an earlier version at IndieBound or the updated version from Lerner.

Read it with:
Gay Rights by Tricia Andryszewski
Courting Equality by Karen Kahn, Patricia A. Gozemba, and Marilyn Humphries
Green Energy: Crucial Gains or Economic Strains? by Matt Doeden
Gay Power! by Betsy Kuhn

Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice? by Paula Danziger

Lauren has realized that there aren't many perks of being fourteen.  She's not a kid, but she's definitely not an adult. High school is filled with stupid rules around what you need to do to be popular, and harsh actions that come when you break the rules - like dating a younger guy. Her parents still hold all the power, and they don't want to see that she's growing up. A law class at school captures her interest, but it gets her wondering: can you sue your parents for malpractice?

I realized a little while ago that my life needed more Paula Danziger in it (and frankly, with a cover like this one, how could I resist?). There's a whole bunch of tween-early teen books that I seem to have largely skipped when I was in the actual age bracket, so I'm exploring some of them now. Reading this book was like peering in on some kind of time capsule in terms of women's rights and gender relations, which I found fascinating. Sometimes it's hard to take all of the teen-related angst (like, is it really that big of a deal if someone's who's 13 dates someone who's 14?), but I think that's because it's tinged with my own memories of being that age.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger
P.S. Longer Letter Later by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin
It's Not What You Expect by Norma Klein

Murder, She Wrote: The Fine Art of Murder by Donald Bain

While on vacation in Italy, Jessica Fletcher becomes an unwitting witness to a terrible art theft-turned-murder. The violent act continues to haunt her back when she's in the United States, but she tries to put it aside and focus on her new novel. But her work comes to an abrupt halt when she discovers that the husband of an old friend in Chicago has been killed. Jessica finds herself drawn into this murder mystery, lending support to her friend while wondering about the identity of the true killer. Jessica is shocked when the Chicago murder seems to have ties to the Italian murder. Has she found herself in the middle of another international incident?

Is there anything better than a cool autumn evening, a warm blanket, and a new Murder, She Wrote mystery? Jessica Fletcher is back, and this time she's taking on the world of art forgery. Well, sort of - it's more like the backdrop for her latest murder encounter. (Spoiler alert) I was expecting the Italian plot and the Chicago plot to come together a bit more and be more tied together in the resolution, but I wasn't exactly disappointed in the true resolution. It just felt a bit like there had been two possible ideas for this book, but at some point they got mashed up into a single story. Still, it's very much the Murder, She Wrote series that I know and love, and I think fans of cozy mysteries will be satisfied with this new volume.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Murder, She Wrote: A Question of Murder by Donald Bain
Murder, She Wrote: Provence - To Die For by Donald Bain
Murder, She Wrote: A Fatal Feast by Donald Bain

The One Week Job Project by Sean Aiken

When Sean Aiken graduated from college, he had no idea what he wanted to do and no idea how to go about finding out what he wanted to do. So he developed a project that would give him the chance to find out. Every week for one year he would take on a different job. Then, after having worked at 52 different jobs, he would hopefully be closer to finding out what he wanted to do. When he started out he had no idea where the jobs would take him or what he would be doing. When he finished, he had a much different understanding of himself.

This is a fun concept. It's not something that I have the personality or the inclination to do, so I get to live vicariously through this person's experiences. It's easy to be skeptical or even cynical about this experiment. On one level, there's the question of the job experience. How much can you really experience in a week? If you step into a job with no experience and little training, are you really doing the job or are you shadowing? Some of that is just a semantic difference, and Sean Aiken does a good job of explaining how the project worked and what experiences he did have. I also found myself wondering how, for lack of a better word, 'genuine' this project was. Aiken, from very early on the project, used social media and web technologies incredibly smartly. He was able to promote the project and himself. In the book, he admits that he anticipated writing a book about the project. At the end of the 52 weeks, he doesn't really come away with a job that's right for him; he comes away with a job/career that he's created for himself through the One Week Job Project. Would it have been more satisfying for me as a reader to find out that at the end of the project he had decided that he really did want to be a brewmaster (week 19) or a yoga instructor (week 7)? Would that have been more "honest"? Probably not, and then we wouldn't be reading this book, which creates a weird kind of loop. Besides, this book is just as much (if not more) about Sean and his relationships with others (his parents and family members, his friends, his new girlfriend) while he goes on this journey.

But to the book itself! It's is structured really well and hooks you in and keeps you interested. It's a fun read. This has been marketed (or at least I have seen it being marketed) to the 'just out of school' crowd, but I think it is a story that will resonate with anyone who has ever wondered if there's a perfect job out there for them.

See more at the One Week Job website.

It's also a movie; view the trailer here.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Craft Rubin
Living Oprah by Robyn Okrant
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
Not Buying It by Judith Levine

Happy Pig Day! by Mo Willems

Piggie is really excited - it's Pig Day! The happiest day of the year! But Gerald feels a bit left out. Pig day is for pigs, and he's an elephant. He doesn't want to make Piggie unhappy on her special day, but is there a way that they can all celebrate together?

There's something about Elephant and Piggie that just makes me smile. I love these characters and their friendship. I even have an Elephant and Piggie poster in my home. Although of course I hate seeing anything that makes Gerald anxious (though that could be almost anything), there's a great message in here that friends don't have to be identical to each other. Many children may celebrate different holidays than each other or have cultural differences, but that doesn't mean that they can't be friends and celebrate each other. This wasn't quite up there for me with my favourite Elephant and Piggie boks (I think I was spoiled by We Are in a Book), but it is another solid entry into the Elephant and Piggie canon. And for extra fun, check out this interview with Mo Willems from EW.com. (I had never put together Elephant Gerald).

Find it at IndieBound.

Don't miss visiting Mo Willems' website. (I particularly love the fan mail.)

Read it with:
We Are in a Book by Mo Willems
I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems
Pigs Make Me Sneeze by Mo Willems

I Before E (Except After C) for Kids by Susan Randol

FOIL. BEDMAS. HOMES. These are all acronyms that I used in school to remember different things. There were many more tricks, too: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas (the order of the planets, including then-planet Pluto)), Thirty days hath September (the days in each month), Never Eat Shredded Wheat (the order of compass points). Many students find these acronyms, poems, and memory aids helpful in memorizing information for tests. This book has lots of fun ways to remember information. Wondering when to use affect or effect? Need to remember the order of the US Presidents? Forgetting how to spell "believe"? This is the book for you.

It was a bit of an information overload to sit down and read this book from cover to cover, but it seems like it would be a fun reference book for students to have in classrooms and libraries. I fully admit to my more nerdish tendencies, but I would have really loved this book as a kid (and I definitely still found it useful today). True, from an adult perspective there were some rhymes or tricks that were so elaborate that I wondered "Wouldn't it just be simpler to actually memorize the information?" But I think that there are enough different tips and approaches for a variety of students to find this book useful. It's also the type of book that could be really helpful for adults who are preparing for any type of trivia competition - did Socrates teach Plato, or was it the other way around? This book can help you remember! (P.S. - Socrates taught Plato, who taught Aristotle - you can remember it with the acronym SPA).

I received a review copy from NetGalley courtesy of Reader's Digest Children's Books.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Popular Mechanics' The Pocket Genius by Susan Randol
I Before E (Except After C) by Judy Parkinson
"I" Before "E" Except After "C" by Dr. Laurie E. Rozakis

The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin

Aggie Winchester's life just became extremely complicated. Her friend Sylvia is pregnant - and the father refuses to publicly acknowledge Sylvia or the baby. On top of that, a new girl at school is driving a wedge between Sylvia and Aggie's friendship. Aggie's mom, who is also the principal, is undergoing cancer treatments. And all of this is coming to a head as a rumour starts that Aggie's mom interfered with the prom court elections to prevent Sylvia, a pregnant Goth, from winning. Add in some boy trouble of her own, and Aggie isn't sure what to do anymore. Will things ever get back to normal?

One thing that I thought worked particularly well in this book is how Lara Zielin nailed the high school dynamic of a friend that you're friends with because of circumstance, not because you necessarily like them. Aggie is a particularly interesting character because she's still trying to find out who she is. She doesn't necessarily want to be a Goth, but she doesn't necessarily want to live exactly as her parents want her to. Her rebellion seemed realistic. There was also some extremely questionable parenting choices being made by Aggie's parents, but unlike, say, Wait Till Helen Comes (one of the first books that inspired by 'questionable parenting' tag), the choices are understandable if not necessarily right. Sometimes the strands of the dramas seemed to be bordering on a bit too much, but Zielin has a strong writing style that kept everything in check.

Check out Lara Zielin's website.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti
Bumped by Megan McCafferty
How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr
Prom Kings and Drama Queens by Dorian Cirrone
Donut Days by Lara Zielin