false 64 403 381 true 5638133 read 1 true 839993 currently-reading 21 true 839992 to-read 113 false 2778348 teen 65 false 2778350 fantasy 40 false 4959862 adult 35 false 2833907 smart-girl 32 false 4954438 tween 30 false 4576359 friendship 24 false 4954705 adventure 23 false 3075877 j 23 false 2907559 futuristic 23 false 2820236 graphic-novel 20 false 4543001 death 17 false 4285876 love 16 false 2833902 mystery 15 false 2852997 non-fiction 12 false 4954428 book-talk-09 12 false 2852996 short-stories 12 false 2852993 audio-book 10 false 4954728 scary 9 false 5338088 my-list 8 false 2787401 historical-fiction 8 false 4823539 memoir 7 false 2493471 read-as-much-as-i-am-going-to 6 false 4418317 suicide 6 false 4954692 boarding-school 6 false 4326770 addiction 6 false 3391471 gbltc 5 false 4606769 street 5 false 5615639 scifi 5 false 4959844 e 4 false 4960320 body-image 3 false 4954741 living-abroad 3 false 4960315 homeless 3 false 4663486 verse 3 false 4954771 immigrant 3 false 2857115 my-son-stole-it-from-me 3 false 5153052 abuse 3 false 4663481 war 2 false 4954623 mythology 2 false 4960321 music 2 false 4326768 alcohol 2 false 6346639 local 2 false 4740580 college 2 false 4606772 crime 2 false 3391492 diy 1 false 4954751 slavery 1 false 4576357 eating-disorder 1 false 5338097 hold-placed 1 false 4954742 cloning 1 false 7097729 mental-health 1 false 7097738 illness 1 false 4954746 camp 0 false 3889173 back-to-holds http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62361304 Wally's review of Love is the Higher Law
by David Levithan

Hmmm, I wonder why I am reviewing this one again for us? I am glad I picked it up though. I really liked it and probably wouldn't have read it otherwise. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78971928 to: Blankets (Paperback) by Craig Thompson
bookshelves: adult, friendship, love, memoir, teen
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78971828 to: Good-bye, Chunky Rice (Paperback) by Craig Thompson
bookshelves: friendship, graphic-novel, love, teen
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78859646 to: North of Beautiful (Hardcover) by Justina Chen Headley
bookshelves: abuse, body-image, friendship, local, teen
Terra is 16, living with her mother and verbally abusive father. Her two brothers fled to the refuge of college and far away places after they graduated, leaving Terra to diffuse her father's verbal assaults against her mother and herself on her own. She sets high goals for herself in order to flee, including graduating high school a year early. On top of it all, Terra was born with a large port wine stain on her face that resists all attempts to remove it.

As she and her mother return to Collville from Seattle (yup, this is local) Terra hits a patch of black ice in Leavenworth, and hits the car of another family. Fate took a hand here, because this family is one that will will change their lives forever.

I really enjoyed the way that Justina Chen Headley dealt with the body image issues in this book, leading the main character from hating her own face, covering it with layers of makeup and overcompensating with physical perfection, to slowly coming to terms with the way she looks and finally deciding to be herself everywhere. She doesn't deny how hard it is to do that and you can almost feel the mental shift to courage that takes place. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78858650 to: Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan
bookshelves: death, friendship, gbltc, historical-fiction, teen, tween
Usually, I wouldn't choose to read a book centered around 9/11. Something about reading for pleasure and not wanting to be depressed. I picked this book up because it is by David Levithan and I have been meaning to read more of his books, and I didn't realize the theme until later.

It really blew me away. The way that David twines the lives of three teenagers together after the attacks is masterful, as is the character building. At first, each of the three is like a shell, an incomplete person, but by the end you feel as if you understand them all. I found myself nodding and/or on the edge of tears often as I read; Levithan caught the feelings all Americans had after 9/11, whether you were in New York or not.

Suitable for tweens up. Features a gay relationship and a girl becoming a strong woman, good communication and building friendships. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76924346 to: The City & The City (Hardcover) by China Miéville
bookshelves: adult, mystery, scifi
When I finished this book I thought "That was complicated and compelling." This book is both science fiction and mystery, so it took me a while to step into the world Mieville created, but once I did, I really enjoyed it.

]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65420378 Librarian's review of When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead

I agree with you about the ahhh factor. I only gave it 4 stars for that reason, um, I mean 4.5 but I rounded down... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76924365 Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits (Hardcover) by Robin McKinley
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58461987 to: I Don't: A Contrarian History of Marriage (Hardcover) by Susan Squire
bookshelves: adult, non-fiction
This was hard to get through and probably ruined the tv show Mad Men for me. I liked the historical element and the book really dug into why and how the Church meddled in the sexual and married lives of regular people through time. I wish it had gone up to modern times, however instead of ending around the inquisition. I think it would have been fascinating to hear more about the changes in ideas around marriage in the 1800 and 1900's.

The writing was quick and witty and kept your attention through a difficult subject. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71795747 to: Who's to Say What's Obscene?: Politics, Culture, and Comedy in America Today (Paperback) by Paul Krassner
bookshelves: adult, non-fiction
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