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What Mrs. K. is reading
The books on this page are the books that have been keeping me up past my bedtime...
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 If only I had time to read on the job! |  My book bag is always stuffed with great fiction. |
| What I'm reading now. Check out these titles at the CMS library. | |||
| Books I have recently finished... | These books are back in the library for you to check out. | ||
 The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banksby E. Lockhart My new favourite book. I read it in one gulp! From the book jacket: Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:Debate Club.Her father’s “bunny rabbit.” A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school. Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15: A knockout figure. A sharp tongue. A chip on her shoulder. And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston. No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer. Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society. Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places. Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them. When she knows Matthew’s lying to her. And when there are so many, many pranks to be done. Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16: Possibly a criminal mastermind. This is the story of how she got that way.More about the book -- http://e-lockhart.com/main/?page_id=7 | Awards won by Disreputable History of FLB:
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 The Night My Sister Went Missingby Carol Plum-Ucci Nobody does "thriller/suspense" better than Plum-Ucci. Her books have the added dimension of psychological drama - the hidden subtext of what friends really think about each other and what their motives really are. There is loads of drama, suspense, suspicion and a shocking plot twist or two to keep you turning the pages of this book. | |||
 Audrey, Wait!by Robin Benway I had high hopes for this book because it got such rave reviews from nearly everyone on the planet, including Meg Cabot of Princess Diaries fame. I have to admit that I was underwhelmed. More than that, I was a little irritated by the thinly disguised wish fulfillment teen fiction cliche of "I want to hang out with rock stars and be so famous that everyone recognizes me". Sure, Audrey finds that fame is not to her liking and that rock stars can be boring lowlifes just as easily as the boy next door...but meanwhile she makes out with at least one of them and is mobbed by the papparzzi at every turn. Read this one if you like, but don't say I didn't warn you that it is as shallow as a mud puddle. | |||
 Poison Ivyby Amy Goldman Koss Unlike "Audrey, Wait!", this novel manages to take a well-worn theme in Teen Lit. and make it fresh. The author manages to avoid cliches and revenge fantasies while writing about the victims of bullying and the consequences to the bully. I was a little puzzled by the ending and not quite sure what the author meant by it but it provoked a lot of thought. I'd like to know whether other readers think the bullies got off easy or whether they were exposed, as they deserved to be? I'm leaning towared the second opinion. Let me know what you think. |  This is the cover on the paperback version. I wish I'd waited to buy it because I like the cover a lot more. Besides looking better, it has a lot more to do with the theme of the book, in my opinion. | ||
 First Shotby Walter Sorrells It is two years since the unsolved murder of his mother and David is starting to get on with his life until he uncovers some troubling clues. This is well written and suspenseful. You will not be able to stop reading! Also by this author: Fake ID | Watch a video of the author demonstrating a Japanese sword he has made: | ||
 Diary of a Wimpy Kidby Jeff Kinney Lots of laughs and easy to read. Want to see some auditions for the lead role in the upcoming movie? Click here... iamthewimpykid.com | |||
 Exposed by Susan Vaught What could be safer than an internet boyfriend? Especially if you never plan to meet him face to face...but then things go terribly wrong. If you like this thriller you will also like "Dear Jo" by Christina Kilbourne | |||
 Popby Gordon Korman A football story that will grab even the non-jocks with it's tension, excitement and classic Gordon Korman humour. | |||
 The Bank Jobby James Henneghan If the only good foster family you had ever known was about to be broken up because your foster parents didn't have enough money to meet government regulations requiring a second bathroom, would you start robbing banks...just to help out? These kids do. And they get away with it...until one of them starts feeling the need to confess. | Interesting fact: This book was inspired by a series of actual bank robberies committed by a group of teenagers in Vancouver. | ||
 Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick I have to confess, I started this book because it had such an amazing cover...but the first few pages hooked me. | |||
 Prada and Prejudiceby Mandy Hubbard Time travel meets great shoes! Fun, silly, romantic... | |||
 How to Ditch your Fairyby Justine Larbalestier If you had a "parking fairy" and your friend had a "all the boys will like you" fairy, you would want to trade with her, too! But there are hidden dangers in trying to get rid of your fairy...Dangers you can only imagine. This is an original and funny book. | |||
 Five Minutes Moreby Darlene Ryan “I play the Five Minutes More game. Five minutes. I can stand anything for five minutes. Even my father being dead.” D’Arcy desperately wants her father’s death to have been an accident. Then she learns the truth. Why would her father choose suicide? Why didn’t she see the signs? How will she manage alone? Enter Seth. Now she has a jealous boyfriend and a troubled new "friend" to contend with. (adapted from book jacket)This book made a few tears roll down my cheeks! | Check out Darlene Ryan's website and learn more about her book Five Minutes More: http://www.darleneryan.com/books/fiveminutes.php | ||
 Afrikaby Colleen Craig Kim travels to South Africa with her mother, a journalist covering the Truth and Reconciliation hearings. Kim has her own truth she wants to uncover...who is her father and why is his identity such a well kept family secret? | |||
 SwindleGordon Korman For a very short time, Griffin holds a treasure more valuable than gold in his hands...a rare Babe Ruth baseball card worth millions. That is, until he is tricked out of his find by a lowdown swindler named Palomino. Griffin is not about to let his fortune go without a fight. This is classic Gordon Korman with out-there characters and lots of laughs. | ....the plot thickens when killer dogs are added into the mix. | ||
 Rise of the Golden Cobraby Henry T. Aubin When 14 year old Nebi escapes a brutal attack that leaves his master and household dead, he desperately flees to the remote, but powerful, king Piankhy, ruler of the African kingdom of Kush. Furious battles on sea and land ensue and Nebi rises in the ranks of the Pharoah's army until he comes face to face with his enemy, Count Nimlot. Based on a true story of one of the biggest military campaigns in the history of Ancient Egypt. This book has it all...danger, intrique, battles, love interest, evil villians and valiant heroes. What's not to like? | |||
 Leftoversby Heather Waldorf This is classic Heather Waldorf fare...great characterization, gritty story line, suspense and some humour. This author always gets the tone just right and then, just when you are settling in and liking the main character a lot, she comes up from behind and hits you with a plot turn that knocks the breath out of you. Other books by this author: Grist, Fighting the Current | |||
 Run Like Jaegerby Karen Bass This is a must-read novel about a Canadian exchange student living in Germany. The taunts of one of the school's toughest bullies start "Jaeger" on a quest to find out the truth about his German grandfather. Was he a Nazi and a coward? | |||
 The Escapeby Robert Muchamore World War II spy thriller. Lots of violent deaths and harrowing escapes for the action fan. Prequel to the Cherub series. Also by this author: Eagle Day (book two in the Henderson Boys series) | |||
 Exploreby Christy Goerzen Mike Longridge has a choice--join the Outdoor Adventure school Explore or go to a youth dentention centre. Officer "Lardface" has made that perfectly clear. Obviously, Mike chooses the first option but he's not too happy about it. At first, all that is keeping him from ditching the program and following Chris into youth detention (aka prison) is a hot girl named Lisa. Then Mike starts to find other reasons to stay. Wouldn't you know it. Just when things are finally starting to go his way his loser of a father decides they have to move...again. | |||
 Walking on Glassby Alma Fullerton Written in blank verse, this is a short book but a very powerful one. The main character's mother is in a coma from which she will never recover because of a botched suicide attempt. His father is sinking into depression, his best friend is spiralling into ever more violent behaviour and there's a girl who could help him if he could bring himself to let her. He is the only one left to make a life and death decision and it is too much for him. | |||
 The Wreckers by Iain Lawrence The first book in the HIgh Seas Trilogy, this book is amazing! Fast paced and thrilling doesn't begin to describe it. HIghly recommmended. | |||
 Fakie by Tony Varrato Alex Miller is on the run with his mom. They are forced to continually change their identities, leave friends and home at a moment's notice to stay one step ahead of a ruthless criminal that Alex helped to put in jail. Alex's latest identity, as a skateboarder, is one that suits him...but his biggest trick will be staying alive |
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 Impossible Things by Robin Stevenson Cassidy Silver is not having a good year. Her engineer father is away in the Middle East, her artist mother is too busy to listen to the painful details of her daughter’s grade seven life, her younger brother is being bullied, and her best friend Chiaki has abandoned her to hang out with the meanest girls in school. Then Cassidy meets Victoria, and everything changes. Victoria appears to be able to do the impossible—but is she telling Cassidy the truth? (from the author's website http://www.robinstevenson.com) | I have to say this wasn't my favourite book I've read recently. Read it and tell me if you disagree. | ||
 Divaby Alex Flinn I enjoyed Beastly by this author and now I enjoyed reading about Caitlin, a young diva-in-training who lands a prized spot in the Miami High School of Fine Arts. | Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys the fine arts, especially music. Loved this book. | ||
 The Facts Speak For Themselvesby Brock Cole A book about the grittier side of life. Young Linda is left to fend for herself and to pick up the pieces when her mother doesn't look after her obligations to her husband or to her children. Not a happy ending kind of story but one that will stay with you. Linda is a very appealing and very lost young woman. | "The Facts Speak for Themselves" is recommended for grade 9 and up. | ||
 Goneby Michael Grant After seeing the book trailer, I couldn't wait to read this thriller about kids trapped in a town with no adults and no rules. Animals are mutating and the teens, themselves, are changing. I raced through this one to get it into the hands of all the CMS students who have been asking for it! | Warning: Like many first books in a series, the ending doesn't resolve all the problems. You will want to read book two...Sent. | ||
 The Pale Assassinby Patricia Elliott Eugenie's sheltered life changes forever as revolution grips France and hated aristocrats are hunted down. Eugenie tries desperately to help her brother escape from death but soon she must flee to save her own life. Who will find her first: the mob, the revolutionary guards or , most terrifying of all, the pale assassin? (from the book jacket) Book One in the Pimpernelles series. | Coming Soon: Pimpernelles Book Two: The Traitor's Smile | ||
 Impossibleby Nancy Werlin Lucy is seventeen when she discovers that the women of her family have been cursed through the generations, forced to attempt three seemingly impossible tasks or to fall into madness upon their child’s birth. But Lucy is the first girl who won’t be alone as she tackles the list. She has her fiercely protective foster parents and her childhood friend Zach beside her. Do they have love and strength enough to overcome an age-old evil? (publishers description) | |||
 Locked Insideby Nancy Werlin Marnie's mother, Skye, was a famous musician before she died in a plane crash. Now Marnie is rich but unhappy in her dreary boarding school where she survivies by escaping into an on-line role playing game. When Marnie is kidnapped by someone who claims to be Skye's daughter Marnie must depend on her on-line gaming skills and her on-line friend"Elf" to survive real-life danger. This book has it all, suspense, romance, etc. by the author of "The Rules of Survival" and "The Killer's Cousin" | |||
 Riley Parkby Diane Tullson Coban and Darius are best friends and rivals for the attentions of a girl named Rubee. When they are beaten by a gang of three crowbar-wielding thugs and Darius dies, Coban suspects Rubee's ex-boyfriend. But how will Coban convince the police who suspect him of his friend Darius's murder? by the author of Lockdown and Red Sea | |||
 The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Thingsby Carolyn Mackler I resisted reading this in spite of all the great reviews it got, probably because I didn't like the first few pages - it seemed like another "I hate my body, I want to make out with hot guys" boring teen novel. Happily, I gave the book another chance, because there is so much more to this novel than the first chapter would lead you to believe. It is a very positive, book that reminds the reader that individuality is a good thing and that people in families, even serioiusly screwed up families, have the potential to rise above the worst situations. Definitely worth reading. Will probably appeal more to girls than guys but I could be wrong about that. | Awards for The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
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 Looking for Alibrandiby Melina Marchetta This novel, set in Australia, has been called a modern classic of Young Adult Literature. It's a wonderful story about a young woman who is finishing high school, meeting her father for the first time, falling in love... | Awards for Looking for Alibrandi
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 The Contenderby Robert Lipsyte Alfred is scared. He's a high school dropout and he's in a nowhere job. His best friend is sinking into addiction and a street gang is after him. So Alfred starts going to Donatelli's Gym, a boxing club in Harlem that has trained many champions. (adapted from the book cover) This is an older book that grabbed me from the first page. It's short but good! | Awards for The Contender
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 Anahita's Woven Riddleby Meghan Nuttall Sayres A friend recommmended this one to me. I also really love the cover and it has an interesting title. The premise of the novel is intriquing. Anahita lives in a nomadic tribe with a tradition of arranged marriages. Her father is planning to marry her off to a rich, older man, a leader from a neighbouring tribe. Anahita is repulsed by the man and being a resourceful girl, she convinces her father and the religious leader of her community to allow her to weave a riddle into her marriage carpet; the man who can solve the riddle will be her husband. She is a skillful weaver and dyer and, more than that, she enjoys the clever word play of riddles. Four men set out to win Anahita's hand by accepting her challenge. Who will be one to match his wits with hers and win her hand? | |||
 Porcupineby Meg Tilly This is a beautiful novel! My advice...read it, soon! When Jacqueline (Jack) Cooper's father is killed in Afghanistan, her life changes forever. Her mother abandons Jack and her siblings with a great grandmother who lives on a farm. A very worthwhile book about the power of love and family. I loved Jack and her indomitable spirit. A definite 5/5. | |||
 Saving Graceby Katherine Spencer Grace's brother is killed in a car crash which leaves Grace and her family totally altered. Grace copes with her grief by changing everything about herself: her appearance, her behaviour, her social circle. Grace lies to her parents and rejects her former friends. She becomes angry with God, whom she blames for her brother's death. Grace is a very appealing character and you will want to keep reading to see whether or not she weathers this difficult time in her life. | |||
 Gravity Journalby Gail Disonie Sobat When Anise is hospitalized for anorexia she turns to her journal where she can vent, dream and make a decision about whether to live or die. This one dragged a little for me, in parts but it has won awards, so not everyone agrees with me. ***/5 | Awards: Ontario Library Association’s White Pine Award for 2009. | ||
 The Body of Christopher Creedby Carol Plum-Ucci Part thriller/suspense novel and part murder mystery, this book is unforgettable. What happens when the school loser just disappears? Accusations start to fly and history seems to repeat itself when innocent people are accused of murder...but where is the body? I couldn't put this one down, it kept me guessing until the end. *****/5 | Awards won by The Body of Christopher Creed
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 Sister Wifeby Shelley Hrdlitshcka This book is based on the experiences of girls and women in polygamous religious sects such as the community of Bountiful, in British Columbia. The main character, 15 year-old Celeste is about to become, against her will, the sixth wife of a much older man. The problem is she is in love with his son! Although her sister is sure of her religious beliefs and her place in the community, Celeste has many questions. But questioning is taboo in her community leaving Celeste torn between her desire to please her family, satisfy the demands of her faith and be "pure' on the one hand and her desire to realize her own dreams of freedom on the other hand. I read this book in preparation for the author's visit to our school. She's came with Diane Tullson on May 19th and spoke to about 100 grade seven CMS students. | |||
 A Curse as Dark as Goldby Elizabeth Bunce When her father dies, Charlotte and her sister inherit the mill and are determined to keep it open. But there are whispers among the townspeople that the mill is cursed. It certainly seems that way to Charlotte who faces a series of disasters. When Jack Spinner comes to her rescue by spinning straw into gold she strikes a bargain with him that will come back to haunt her....literally. This is an interesting adaptation of the familiar fairytale of "Rumpelstiltskin". ****/5 | Watch a booktalk about Curse As Dark As Gold here: | ||
 What I Saw and How I Liedby Judy Blundell Evie' wants to be just like her mother; she wants to walk down the street and have men notice her; she wants to be beautiful and glamorous. When Evie's stepdad returns from the war and takes the family on a Palm Beach vacation it seems that Evie's dreams are about to come true, especially when a handsome young stranger takes an interest in Evie. But there are secrets in the air that Evie knows nothing about and soon her dream begins to turn into a nightmare. For tension, taut writing, excellent characterization and just plain readability, I give this book a 5/5. Suitable for grade nine and older. | Awards won by What I Saw and How I Lied
http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2008_ypl_blundell.html | ||
 Code Talkerby Joseph Bruchac 16 year-old Ned Begay finds out that the US Marines are looking specifically for Navajo recruits for a top secret mission. He lies about his age to enlist and finds himself in the midst of some of the heaviest fighting of the Second World War. Ironically, it is his knowledge of his native language, a knowledge that was nearly beaten out of him in his boarding school, that is now needed by the US government for a top secret code which will help the Allies win the war. THis book is based on true events of WWII when Navajo speakers developed a secret code based on their language; a code that was unbreakable by the enemy. A great book! | Awards won by Code Talker:
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 Triggerby Susan Vaught Jersey Hatch doesn't know why his best friend hates him. He doesn't know how to keep random words from flying out of his mouth. And he doesn't know why he tried to blow his own head off. But he is determined to find out while he attempts to piece his life back together after a year in the hospital. Most of all, he needs to know why he pulled the trigger in the first place.(adapted from book jacket) | Awards won by Trigger:
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 Double or Nothing by Dennis Foon Kip is stealing from his mother, his college fund, and risking alienating his girlfriend because of his gambling addiction. The stakes are high in more ways than one. How far will Kip go before his house of cards come crashing down? Some of you met Mr. Foon, the author of this book, Dirt Eaters and the Longlight series, when he visited Chilliwack Middle School to give an author talk a few years ago.****/5 | Awards won by Double or Nothing:
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