Squashed Continued

I finished Squashed today.  I sometimes wish life was as simple as the end of a book.  This is one where they could have written 'and they all lived happily ever after' at the end and it would be fitting.  I like happy endings even if it's not real life.  There is definitely a strong be yourself and do what you love message in this book.  It also makes me want to grow a giant pumpkin although I think it's too hot here for that and I don't have any land to do so on.  That's about all on this particular book. 

Squashed

A friend suggested that I read Squashed by Joan Bauer.  She said I'd love it.  She wasn't wrong.  I haven't gotten very far into the book but it's shaping up to be a pretty good fit for me.  The premise of the book is that Ellie wants to grow a prize winning pumpkin (which is a squash for you non-agricultural types hence the title) and lose 20 pounds to impress a new boy to the town.  It is all in first person, which I love.  

I feel like I can really relate to Ellie.  She just a 16 year old girl who hasn't quiet found her way in the world yet.  She loves growing and wants to be the best grower in her area.  I always have wanted to be the best in all I do.  She also struggles with losing the few extra pounds that she carries.  More insights into the world of Squashed to come.  I'm hoping to be able to finish the book this weekend.  It's killing me that I haven't been able to read as much as I'd like recently but that is the life of a busy teacher.

Talk about Forever...

I finally finished Forever...and it seemed like it took forever.  I'm not a fan of anti-climactic endings and that's what this felt like.  To catch up on what happens in the book, Tom Culpeper, Isabel's dad, arranges a hunt on the wolves.  This prompts Sam, Cole and Grace to try to figure out what to do to save the wolves.  They end up moving them out of Boundary Woods to a peninsula that officer Koenig owns.  To move them Sam has to shift after being 'cured' so Cole figures out how to do that.  Sam leads while Cole gives directions.  Beck dies, Cole kills Shelby and almost dies himself.  It finally ends with Grace fixing to shift for the winter and ready to take the same 'cure' that Sam took at the end of Shiver.

I just wasn't wowed by this one.  I think it could have been better.  Oh well, time to move on.  Reached is next and I'm very excited to get this one started!

Forever and Christmas Break!

Well one of my favorite times of year is coming up, Christmas Break!  It means family, friends, food, Doctor Who Christmas Special and reading to my heart's content!  I have one book that I'm finishing, Forever (which I will write about in the next paragraph or two), one book from the media center at work, Reached and Son the last book in the Giver Saga by Lois Lowry.  Having Son to read means I will need to re-read The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger.  I love those books so it's ok.  If I finish all that then I'm going to venture in to the world of J.K. Rowling's adult book Casual Vacancy.  I hope it's half as good a Harry Potter, if it is it'll be amazing!  So Forever...

It's the third and final book in the Shiver trilogy.  Shiver was good (read previous post), Linger was not bad and Forever is proving to be a good end to the series.  To catch up, in Linger Grace was sick, one of Beck's new warewolves, Cole, is a famous rock star who is an addict and suicidal and the other is killed by Tom Culpeper.  In the end Grace needs to shift to keep from dying and Cole thinks he can find a cure once and for all.  Forever picks up with Sam worrying about Grace and waiting for her to shift back to human for the summer and Cole trying to find the cure.  Shelby is crazy and kills Olivia and tries to kill Grace and Cole respectively.  

It's not a bad series.  It's a good easy distraction from the busy day to day.  I will hopefully finish this weekend so I can move along to my other books...happy reading!

Shiver

I hate when I don't have books to read when I'm on a break from work.  I live for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring and Summer Breaks because I get to read, read, read!  Therefore I went to the media specialist at work and she suggested the Shiver Saga by Maggie Stiefvater.  I was wary at first because it's out of my usual distopian kick, but I'm glad I got into it.

Shiver is told in 1st person (which if you've read my other posts you know I love) from the perspective of two different characters, Grace and Sam.  As Grace grows up she is obsessed with the wolves that live in the woods behind her house.  She was attacked by the wolves when she was young but a wolf with yellow eyes (her wolf) saved her from the rest of the pack.  Sam just so happens to be that wolf.  Ever since he saved her he watched her from the woods in the winter.  When a boy from school is 'killed' by the wolves the men of the town go out hunting the wolves.  Sam gets shot as a wolf.  Grace sees her wolf is shot and goes to help him.  When she goes into the house and comes out Sam has phased back into a human.  From that point it's a love story with the added wolfy drama in it.

I like Grace and Sam.  Grace is a strong independent person who seems to be raising her parents more than they are raising her.  Sam is always respectful of Grace and doesn't try to push himself on her.  They do end up having sex which I saw coming from the fifth chapter or so that it was going to happen.  It's a middle school level book and I think they can leave that kind of thing out, but I'm not the author.  All in all it is a very well written book.  A quick and easy read for me as soon as I had a chance to sit and read.  It kept me up until 2am two nights in a row so it must have been good.  I'm pretty excited to move into Linger, which is the second book in the saga.  

Until then, happy reading!

Mark of Athena

It took a week but I finally finished Mark of Athena.  I really enjoyed this book.  It makes me want to buy all the Heroes of Olympus books which would then require me to buy all the Percy Jackson books...it's a cruel, vicious cycle that I'm stuck in.

Let me just say, I LOVE Annabeth!  She is totally the hero in this book.  She's smart and strong and uses her fatal flaw to her advantage.  The whole group of 7 is amazing.  Leo cracks me up and I was sort of not surprised that he's a descendant of Sammy, Hazel's old friend.  I like the fact that Percy and Jason were able to put their egos aside and work together for the greater good.  I don't want to wait a year for the next book....argh. 

:)

I love the media specialist at my school!  The new Heroes of Olympus book, The Mark of Athena, came out on Tuesday and I got a copy delivered to me in class today!  I am soooo excited to have something good to read this weekend!  I will surely be posting as I make my way through this book!