The Widow's Broom

There's honestly not much for me to say about this book, except that it's super creepy and SUPER fun. A neglectful/forgetful witch lets her broom run out of juice and fall to the ground one night, and is taken in by a kindly widow who let's her recouperate from her fall in her home. The witch leaves in the middle of the night, however, leaving her supposedly dead and powerless broom behind. The widow soon discovers, though, that the broom is still more than capable of performing unique tasks like moving around on its own, gardening, and helping the widow take care of her home. When skeptical and angry neighbors become concerned about the broom's witchcraft and "devil's work," the widow has to take things into her own hands. It's a Chris van Allsburg book, so you know there's a nifty dose of surprise and spin to the ending as well.

This book would be a ton of fun for Halloween, but if you're looking for a deeper, more teacher-ey analysis then I would also say that it could work for a character study of the widow or a discussion of jumping to conclusions and assuming the worst.

The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero

Anyone who has read this blog in the last nine months or so knows that I am in love with Percy Jackson. I'm a huge, huge fan. So when I heard that Rick Riordan had started a new series featuring new demigods I got excited; when dear friends gave me the first book of that series to me as a graduation present I got really excited. I believe it goes without saying that I was not disappointed. I loved this book, and zoomed through the 557 pages in a couple of days.

The Heroes of Olympus series surrounds three new characters: Jason, Piper, and Leo. Jason wakes up on the first page of the book with complete amnesia of his entire life, and yet he seems to have an incredible knowledge of all things Roman (the Latin language, the Roman names of the gods, an "SPQR" tattoo on his forearm, etc.). Piper's father is a famous movie star who doesn't always have time for her, to which she responds with an impressive rap sheet and an uncanny ability to convince anyone to give her whatever she wants. Leo, highly ADHD, is a bit of a screw up who has many secrets surrounding the death of his mother and a certain terrifying babysitter who tried to kill him several times in his childhood. All three of these teenagers, as you might guess, are the children of gods and end up at Camp Half-Blood under the guidance of our favorite centaur, Chiron. An epic quest follows with enough monsters, angry gods and goddesses, and flying spirits to keep any struggling reader interested. Add a plethora of explosions, destructive storms, and an all-gold, fire breathing dragon and pretty much any reader will be interested. I miss Percy - minor spoiler alert: this series starts out with Percy mysteriously missing - but many of my old faves make appearances throughout the book which I always appreciate. The new characters are immediately endearing, which I also appreciate. Bottom line: I loved it and am anxiously awaiting the second book this Fall.

Special note as far as teaching purposes go: the chapters rotate perspective between the three main characters, providing a great example for a study on voice and perspective.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

After becoming exceedingly frustrated with audiobooks in general and scratched ones specifically, I listened to the first half and read the second half of this book. Honestly, although it was really frustrating to have to switch up methods halfway through, it was kind of fun. The actress reading the audiobook did a great job and I believed her as Jenna, and when I switched to reading the hard copy I continued to hear her voice in my head reading. It added a nice touch. As far as the actual book goes, though, I mentioned a while ago during the whiny audiobook posts that I got quickly and easily hooked on this one, and it's so true. I stayed hooked until the audiobook wouldn't work and I had to switch to hard copy while I was in the middle of Matched. That caused problems because I have never been good at reading two books at once [see my "Currently Reading" tab where I have been listed as "reading" Forgotten God for the last four months. I'm averaging about a chapter every three weeks or so.] But once I finished Matched then I moved back to Jenna and remembered why I loved it to begin with.

Jenna, 17-year-old narrator and central character, has just woken up from a year-long coma. She doesn't remember anything at all before the coma but everyone keeps referencing an accident. With no memory, awkward social skills, and basic coordination only just returning to her limbs, Jenna moves into a new house in a new state with her mother and grandmother while her father remains in Boston. As the story progresses, she starts to notice strange things about herself and the world around her, as well as the pieces of information that her family seems determined to keep from her.

Seeing this story through Jenna's limited perspective creates an interesting situation for the reader. A good reader will most likely pick up on subtle details and things that are "off" quicker than Jenna does, but not so much that you figure things out. I won't tell you whether my robot predictions were accurate, but I will say that this futuristic setting is very different from those of other books I've read recently. I adore Hunger Games and I've just recently gushed about Matched, but I also shared that I saw a lot of commonalities between them - particularly their settings - and eventually attributed it to the genre. The Adoration of Jenna Fox, though, clearly takes place in the future, but America is very much the same. Science has taken over a great deal more than now, and there are references to a Second Great Depression and a major earthquake that haven't actually happened in our world, but the majority of American culture/geography/society is the same. Most of the differences take place in the world of science, where technology has allowed our norms to progress in some pretty advanced but believable ways. Extremely interesting debates surrounding science ethics are raised (which might give teachers a cool opportunity for a student debate in the classroom.) Once again, there's definitely a boy interest, and I definitely like him. Last week I realized my weakness for fictional male characters, and this one had a similar affect. It also doesn't help that he's a "bad boy," which I apprently prefer as a trait in my fictional crushes. (Although if that's true...then why do I love Peeta so much more than I love Gale? Hmm. I'm going to have to think about this. That, and why I relate everything I read back to The Hunger Games.)

Matched

Alright. I finished this book not 30 seconds ago, and I have to be completely honest. I struggled with the first...eh...180 to 200 pages. I know that sounds like a lot of text to read while struggling with it, and it is. I wasn't struggling because I wasn't interested, though, or because the writing was bad. I was and it definitely wasn't. From the first review/synopsis I read of this book I've been genuinely intrigued and antsy to read it, and I wasn't disappointed in the plot - even during the first 180 to 200 pages. I was disappointed, though, and I did struggle with the way that the setting seemed to be a subtle rip-off of The Hunger Games. The Society of Matched is eerily similar to the Capitol of The Hunger Games; the love triangle irked me as a Katniss/Gale/Peeta copycat. Now that I've finished the book, however, I've moved on and realized that A) I don't have a lot of experience reading books that take place in the future, and maybe all these authors are just seeing the writing on the wall and doing a good job of predicting the same horrible future for us, and B) Katniss doesn't own the love triangle concept, they're just common. Period. Now that I've gotten that - and the first 200ish pages - out of the way, here's what I really think about it:

Wow. I have learned some things about myself while reading this book. For starters, I'm apparently a sucker for fictional boys. Kind of obnoxiously so. I did a much better job of resisting the wiles of Ky than I did Peeta's, but what does it really matter in the end? I fell for that charm and I fell hard. I like Ky. Of course the problem is that I like Xander. (In case you didn't catch it, this is the love triangle element.) The weird thing is that it took me most of those 200ish pages to like Cassia, the main character/antagonist/narrator. I saw her as weak and flighty...a big part of me wanted to keep comparing her to Katniss and Katniss kept winning. But, also in the end, I moved on. They're two completely different characters and Cassia wisens up considerably, changing from that weak and flighty girl into a headstrong rebel that the Girl on Fire would be proud to march alongside of. (Wow...if you haven't read The Hunger Games, you are so lost. But honestly, you've had a couple years to get on board. Read those books immediately.) As I closed the book for the last time just minutes ago, I decided that I definitely love this book. My feelings went from a mild "eh" to concrete enthusiasm, and I would recommend it without a hesitation. I also appreciate that it seems to be set up for a sequel...I just love sequels. It's so hard for me to say goodbye to characters I have come to love. And I did come to love these characters.

The more blogposts/reviews I write, the more I realize how I am so hit or miss. Sometimes I'm straight to the point and just explain myself. And other times I'm bouncing all over the place. Since this is Friday afternoon and I've been alone at work against my will for two and a half hours now, this is one of the bouncier ones. I'm really sorry about that. Here, succinct and to the point, is my review: Slow start, but comes together in the end. Loved it. Go check it out.

Happy weekend.

Mockingjay

Mockingjay time is finally here! Just like with Catching Fire, I actually finished this book last week sometime and just haven't had the time or the internet connection to really review it. But here we are. And I have to be honest: it wasn't my favorite. The plot was interesting, and there really wasn't any way to conclude this series without having this book. The rebellion needed to happen, and I think it needed to happen in exactly the way Collins wrote it. As far as the plot and the development of the story goes, I think it was perfect. I just...didn't find it nearly as interesting or engaging as the first two books. There were twists that I didn't see coming, which I always appreciate, but I feel like the big surprise at the end of the book was more predictable than she had intended (if I can see it coming...it was probably a little too obvious). That being said, I definitely did not predict the Peeta element of the story, which I won't spoil for you if you haven't read it. These surprises were there, and as I said there were definitely interesting plot points, I just didn't feel the same glued-to-the-book effect that I felt with the first two. I literally never wanted to put The Hunger Games or Catching Fire down when I was reading them - and rarely did - but I felt as if Mockingjay dragged on somewhat, and I continued to push forward based on the fact that I knew I needed to finish out the series and find out how it ends. And honestly, there was a fair amount of curiosity for how she would end it. There were a few things that she had no choice but to deal with somehow, and I think I was okay with how she did. Despite the fact that I struggled with feeling engaged throughout the book, Collins definitely resolved the plot and the character issues that carried through each of the books. And to be completely honest, who could possibly fault someone for one less engaging book in a series that contain the other two highly engaging books? Good grief, she hooked countless readers of all ages with those. So in the end, it's the series as a whole that gets the gold star.

Catching Fire

I actually finished the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy a while ago, but I was traveling a little bit and then with it being Christmas, I didn't get a chance to write my response right away. As it turns out, I'm about 3/4 of the way through Mockingjay at the moment, but I'm hoping I can keep the plots and events separate enough in my mind to have this be strictly Catching Fire. That being said, these are my thoughts: there was so much about this book that completely surprised me. I honestly didn't see so many of the twists and turns coming (spoiler alert: making the victors go back into the Games? Wow. I was literally blown away.) I loved the surprises and I loved the plot of this one; I became even more endeared to the characters and couldn't wait to keep reading and see what would happen to them in this new, elevated in government-control Panem. The "spark" created by Katniss at the end of The Hunger Games grows into a full-fledged Capitol problem that becomes an even bigger problem for Katniss, Peeta, and the residents of District 12. I think I can say that I loved this book just as much as the first one, despite the fact that it ends with a cliffhanger that stopped my heart momentarily....but more on that when I finish Mockingjay and write about that one.

The Hunger Games

Well...I finished it. And it took me hardly any time at all because, let's be serious, it's one of best books I've ever read. It also helped that I had benchmark testing all day Monday and my only job was to literally sit and watch my kids take a test. All day long. So, clearly, I got a lot of reading done. Honestly though, this book is incredible. One of my friends described it as being the perfect book for a middle schooler - boy or girl - because it has the extreme action and disbelief of teenagers fighting to the death, but there's also a romance. I have to admit that I was completely engrossed in the romance, and I plan to start the catchphrase/clothing line of "Team Peeta" and "Team Gale," since I'm not much of a vampire/Twilight fan and I'm tired of their slogans. I would also like to take this moment to say that I'm Team Peeta all the way.

My heartfelt and serious evaluation of this book is that it's great for several reasons: it sucks you in immediately, it's different from basically anything else out there right now, it appeals to both middle school - and adult - boys AND girls, and it's extremely timely. That last reason is just my own personal opinion, but I have to say that I think it's interesting that this series seems to be a commentary and why you shouldn't have big government...but we'll save the political discussion for Book 3 I suppose. For now, let me just say that you should definitely stop whatever you're doing and right now go find a copy of The Hunger Games. And start reading.

Percy Jackson: The Last Olympian

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the time has finally come. I've finished the Percy books. One of my students informed me this morning, after I announced this wonderful news, that there's a whole other Percy series now. Well to that I say, "bah humbug," and I'm taking a break from Olympus. I'm sure I'll read them at some point, but not now. Anyway...I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I got everything I wanted out of this one - oops...minor spoiler. I really enjoyed this book, despite the fact that it's mostly battle scenes. Honestly, I'm typically one of those girls who loves watching battle scenes in movies and miniseries, but not so much reading them. I have a hard time picturing it, I think. I did enjoy these though, and felt like Riordan broke a lot of the action up with plenty of commentary, Percy thoughts, and enough description that you could feel like you know what's going on. There were also plenty of battle sequences in which I had no idea what was going on, but it didn't really matter. I still got the gist, and I think most YA readers would too. I have to be a teeny bit honest and say that there were moments when I felt like things wrapped up a little too easily, leaving semi-cheesy moments - just my own opinion - but it's the fifth book of the series and the poor guy was just trying to come up with some closure so I guess I'll let it slide. All in all: great conclusion, great series, and great characters. I love these characters. I refer to Percy as if he's a real person in my life, and my students get a little weirded out I think. Hey, I'm just modeling what engaged reading looks like.

Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth

This is the fourth and second-to-last book in the Percy Jackson series, and Percy continues to battle monsters, halfblood friends turned evil, and the rise of a falled Titan lord trying to destroy the world alongside his best friends Annabeth, Tyson, and Grover. I shared in my last Percy post that I thought the third book lacked some of the umph that I loved so much in the first two books, and just as I predicted the umph is back. To be honest, I found that there were points throughout the plot that could have been a little bit faster or more interesting, and there were also moments where I questioned the success of the sheer number of scrapes and difficult situations Percy is presented with - the monsters are neverending in the labryinth - but I was pleased overall. To be honest about something a little bit more petty...I'm slightly worried about the presence of this Rachel Elizabeth Dare character and how she may affect the romance I've been waiting for between Percy and Annabeth. I like Rachel and all...but if she ruins the story line I've been waiting like an eleven year old girl for since Book 1, I'll be pretty put out.

I also want to take this moment to point out that THREE of my male students are now reading The Lightening Thief. After reading Percy in front of them for the last four weeks, using Percy passages as examples during my lessons, and shamelessly advertising Percy, I'm choosing to take full responsibility. And I'm basking in this proud teacher momma moment, thank you.

Percy Jackson: The Titan's Curse

I'm cruising right along with my Percy obsession, but this third book in the series actually disappointed me a little bit. It wasn't bad and I didn't hate it, but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the preceding two. Adventure and excitement was still there, and it wasn't really lacking in plot, and there were plenty of new characters and twists and turns to keep me interested...but for whatever reason, I just wasn't. I think a lot of this reason actually had to do with Annabeth - one of my favorites - being M.I.A. for almost the entire book. I also just honestly think this one might be that necessary and unavoidable transition book, right smack dab in the middle of a five-book series. The plot has to mellow at some point so it can climb back up again and end with a bang. My opinion is that this is where that happened, and that's okay. I've got a lot of faith in Book 4.

Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters

As promised, I read the next Percy Jackson book, The Sea of Monsters, next. And I loved it just as much as the first one. Honestly, I laugh out loud when I read these books. They're so clever and witty and...hilarious. Even for me, someone quite a bit older than the target audience. This one launches right into a new plot, finding Percy at the end of the following school year at a new private school. It's his last day of school and he's gone completely accident and expulsion free for a whole school year (a first for him), until he goes to P.E. and....weird things start happening. And that's all I'll say about that, because it's a fun opening scene and I don't want to spoil it. Just like the first book, Sea of Monsters has a lot of twists and turns and fun new mythological stories to keep you guessing and appropriately confused. Fun new monsters come into the mix, and some interesting and problematic issues from the first book carry over into this one. New developments between Percy and Annabeth are hinted at throughout the book, which made the middle school girl in me pretty excited. We'll see what happens there, though, because a surprise cliffhanger of an ending may mess with that a little bit...which would make the middle school girl in me fairly put out. Despite being slightly shorter, Book 2 is just as exciting, fun, and engaging as Book 1, and I can't wait for the developments that take place in Book 3. (Yep. I'm continuing in this Percy rut 'till the bitter end. Diary of a Wimpy Kid will just have to keep waiting.)

Percy Jackson: The Lightening Thief

Before this book became a movie, I had never heard of it. After it became a movie, I felt like it was all I heard about. To be honest, Fantasy/Science Fiction has never really been a genre that interested me, but I saw so many kids reading these books and saw them on so many classroom bookshelves that I figured it would be smart to have an opinion about them if I'm ever asked. And honestly, my opinion is that I love this book. It's immediately interesting and confusing in a way that you can't put it down because you'll be bugged as you go throughout the rest of the day wondering why the toilet exploded or how the bully ended up in the fountain. It is very well written...clever and catchy and it sucks you right in. I also really appreciated that it's not obvious. I'm not a young adult or a middle school student, and sometimes when adults read books written for younger people the twists and turns don't really seem too twisty or turny. This book, though, kept me guessing and thinking and trying so hard to remember something about Greek mythology or put together a piece of the puzzle before Riordan revealed it...but I usually wasn't able to and ended up being as surprised as he had intended. This book is good. So good that I have abandoned the plan and am not reading Diary of a Wimpy kid next. I'm sure that that book is great too and I'll have all kinds of encouraging and interesting things to say about that series...but for now, I'm starting Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters.