100 Cupboards

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book and I can't say that for some fantasy books I've read lately. Henry York is a very different child. His parents are so overprotective (Henry remembers being sent to boarding school with a helmet to wear during P.E.) that he doesn't quite miss them when they are kidnapped. When he goes to live with his aunt and uncle, Henry discovers 99 cupboards that have been covered in plaster in his attic bedroom. From the cryptic comments Henry has with his uncle it is apparent that the uncle knows what is going on. I was surprised that since Uncle Frank surely understood the ramifications of the plaster Henry is carrying outside that Frank didn't intervene sooner. Henry and his cousin Henrietta are soon whisked away on an adventure that I found to be interesting but slightly disappointing. Sure they encounter an evil villainess, and get trapped, and see ghosts but the adventure was so very brief! It is overly apparent that this book is only the first in the series and really just a world building book. My absolute favorite part of this book happened to be the descriptive language used by the author. Some sentences were so completely descriptive that they were as long as sentences in a Tolkien book. Despite my utter enjoyment with the language, I seriously doubt the age range suggested by the publishers to be at all accurate. Older teens and adults would have few difficulties with the over abundance of descriptiveness but 9 to 12 year olds are going to be lost.

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Pretty Little Liars is Mostly Entertaining

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is not for fourth graders. Just want to make that clear as one of my fourth grade students was walking around with it the other day. She thought it was pretty good and I wasn't sure she even understood what is going on. There is a lot of drugs and sex in this book. A lot. I thought it was a realistic portrayal of some of the antics teens pull but at the same time the parents don't seem to influence the girls as much as I think happens in reality. Kinda like those tv shows where the kids can go and do anything they like and the whole time I think...where are the parents? Mine would never have let me do that.

Plot: Five girls are best friends until Alison disappears during the seventh grade. The years go by and the girls are now in high school. Spencer, Aria, Hannah and Emily are upset by Alison's disappearance but at the same time are almost glad she is gone. Alison knew everyone's secrets and the girls are never really sure that she won't spill the beans. As time goes by the girls grow apart and their secrets become larger. Soon all four girls are receiving strange envelopes, texts, and emails from the mysterious 'A'. Is it Alison? Who else could it be? Who else but Alison knew their secrets?

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Slaughterhouse 5 isn't a Horror Book

Slaughterhouse 5: Or, the Children's Crusade, A Duty-Dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This book follows Billy Pilgrim as he has become unstuck in time. The main character bounces between his experiences during World War 2 to being a captive in an alien zoo. Its absolutely weird and ridiculous. Its supposed to be based somehow on Kurt Vonnegut's experiences in Dresden during the 1940's but I failed to see how. I didn't even like the book from a sci-fi point of view.

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A Brave New World

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I didn't like this book due to the shifting viewpoints in the first few chapters. At times I found it difficult to follow the storyline. Otherwise the basic premise of a world controlled by science and ruled by passion is an interesting one. I would not consider this to be a young adult book, however, some teens may find it interesting.

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Speak

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a good book in that it showed how a person can find the strength to keep growing and living after a tragic event. Melinda, is ostracized by her classmates in a way that I found to be realistic after calling the police while attending a party. While some of the events that wrap up the book were a bit unrealistic they didn't ruin the satisfying ending. This secret Melinda carries is one that teenage girls will be interested in but very young teens or younger need parent guidance before reading this book. Parent guidance is recommended only because of the topic not because of graphic details.

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A Unique Look at the Darwins

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith. I liked this book but it wasn't one that captured my complete attention from the beginning. The author tends to ramble a bit as she discusses the marriage of Charles and Emma Darwin. Some of the rambling is necessary to help teens understand the differences between then and now. As I continued to read this book, Emma's struggle with Charles' skepticism of religion drew me into the book. I particularly liked the many quotes inserted from the actual writings of the Darwin's. It made the book feel more accurate however I did wonder if reading the quotes in the context of the letter would change the perception the reader had developed. Would the reader still agree with the author over the connotation of the selected quotes? I can't answer that but I will say that overall the book was more enjoyable than expected.

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Poems aren't Letters

The Firefly Letters by Margarita Engle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I read The Firefly Letters which despite its title is not written in letter form at all. It is written in free verse poetry. I thought it was beautifully written but not a book that should be classified as a biography. The author's notes clarify the true parts of the novel but I didn't see how it was necessary to invent an entire character for a biography. It is one thing to create a description for a biography that while based on reality may have a couple inaccuracies and another thing entirely to create an entire character that didn't exist in reality. I am a proponent of accuracy in books that are listed as biographies or non-fiction. It only makes sense that if you are writing about a topic that is a true story you would strive to keep it as accurate as possible.

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