false 22 97 97 true 5633653 read 0 true 1820823 currently-reading 0 true 1820822 to-read 54 false 2011458 fiction 23 false 1820828 bookclub-read 15 false 1832424 ya-fiction 8 false 3189455 juvenile 6 false 3189385 non-fiction 3 false 5166469 romance http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72103742 to: Best Friends and Drama Queens (Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls, #3) by Meg Cabot
bookshelves: juvenile
Allie's excited when a new girl from Canada moves in, but Cheyenne is not what they expected. Cheyenne thinks they all play "baby" games, and bullies them into becoming more grownup - having boyfriends, playing kissing games, etc. It disrupts the dynamics of the school and Allie's friendships. Fun, quick read about peer pressure and being true to your own standards. Good read for young girls - just what Cabot had in mind when she started writing them. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72103509 to: The Penny Pinchers Club (Hardcover) by Sarah Strohmeyer
bookshelves: fiction
Kat Griffiths has been happily married to Griff for 20 years. During those 20 years she's been shopping to her heart's content and slowing driving the family into debt. When she accidently discovers what she thinks is an email from her husband's assistant discussing him leaving her, it shocks her into fiscal responsibility. She joins the Penny Pinchers Club and finally grows up. Fluffy fun, with a seriously important topic - the importance of becoming debt free and discussing finances with your family - especially important for a good marriage. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72103160 to: The Lost Quilter (Elm Creek Quilts, #14) by Jennifer Chiaverini
bookshelves: fiction
When Sylvia Bergstrom Compson discovers some letters in an old desk, it takes her back to 1859 and the story of a slave Joanna who had made it as far as Elm Creek in her bid for freedom. Recaptured and then forced to go back, she leaves behind her master's baby. The story then goes with Joanna to VA and then SC where she finally escapes during the war. She goes back to Edistoe Island after the war - her former plantation - where she's given a land grant and forms a quilting group. The clues from these now famous quilts and quilters is what ties the story together for Sylvia. Very interesting and well done. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72102856 to: The New Girl (Allie Finkle's Rules For Girls, #2) by Meg Cabot
bookshelves: juvenile
Allie Finkle's starting her first day at Pine Heights Elementary. She's nervous about making new friends and fitting in, but neighbor Erica and her friends Caroline & Sophie make it pretty easy. The only problem in Rosemary - who repeatedly threatens to beat Allie up. Finally the custodian clues Allie in on why Rosemary threatens her, and they learn to be friends. Cute, quick read with the non-preachy moral about being a friend to all. Great read for young girls. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72102315 to: The Widow of the South (Hardcover) by Robert Hicks
bookshelves: bookclub-read, fiction
On Nov. 30, 1864, Carrie McGavock was in seclusion at her plantation, Carnton, in Franklin, TN. mourning the deaths of 3 of her 5 children, as she had been for years, when the Civil War arrived in Franklin. Her plantation house was taken over for a hospital and her life changed forever as she nursed the wounded, and then created a cemetery for the dead on her land after the town experienced the bloodiest 5 hours of the Civil War. This is a fascinating fictionalized account of the facts. The cemetery that she created and cared for still exists as the largest private military cemetery. There's great information on this little known, but important battle but the love story was strange.

Interesting book club discussion, but not one of the best books we'd read. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72102045 to: All of the Above (Hardcover) by Shelley Pearsall
bookshelves: ya-fiction
Based on a true story of a math teacher in an inner city middle school in Cleveland, OH. In desperation one day, he involves his students in building the biggest tetrahedron to get into the Guinness World Record book. Four students take the challenge. They have a shaky start, but eventually come to really care about each other, their school, and making something better in their lives.

Quick read, fun story with sad lessons on the lives of inner city (black) teens. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72101379 to: Along for the Ride (Hardcover) by Sarah Dessen
bookshelves: ya-fiction
Auden West has always been the studious, good child, unlike her brother Hollis. Her only problem is that she can't sleep, a remnant of her parent's divorce. A new high school grad, she impulsively decides to spend the summer with her dad and his new wife and baby daughter in the small coastal town of Colby (CA?) Chaos reigns when she arrives, with a colicky baby and a rocky marriage. Auden finally makes friends with some of the girls in the boutique where she works and with Eli - another nightowl trying to overcome his guilt for a driving fatality. This is a great story about friendship and healing with a sweet romance. Kirkus called it "Lighthearted, summer fun story which offers up complex issues" and that nails it. Clean. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72101002 to: The Graveyard Book (Hardcover) by Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens, or Bod to his friends, is fairly normal except that he lives in a graveyard with the ghosts. As a toddler, a man named Jack came to his house and murdered his family. Bod escapes by toddling out of the open door and up the street to the graveyard. The inhabitants take him in, care for him, and educate him. As a teen, he learns about the "Jacks" and must help defeat them before he can enter the wider world.

This won the 2009 Newbery Award, 2008 Cybils Award for Middle Grade Fantasy & Science Fiction, and was a 2009 British Fantasy Awards Finalist. It's an interesting book, with an unusual topic and treatment, but I'm not sure it was deserving of the Newbery. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72100654 to: Abhorsen (The Abhorsen Trilogy, #3) by Garth Nix
bookshelves: ya-fiction
Abhorsen picks up right where Lirael ended. Lirael and Prince Sameth are in the Abhorsen's house surrounded by Claw's evil forces. The Disreputable Dog shows them a new way out and Mogget goes with them. They escape Claw temporarily, ut encounter many other problems as they continue their attempt to rescue Nick. Meanwhile, Touchstone and Sabriel are having their own problems, but all come together in the end for the final battle against evil, when other secrets are revealed. It appears to be the end of the trilogy, but not all of the ends are wrapped up, so hopefully more to come? Well done - highly recommend the series to teens and adults. ]]>