Last day of school

Today is the last day of school, and I would like to wish everyone a happy and fun summer. I know I plan on having a good one (and it would be great if the weather will be as sunny and warm as it is today all of July and August, too).

Have a great summer!

Summer reading

There are a lot of books out there that make for great summer reading (13 Little Blue Envelopes and Stormbreaker come to mind). This is also the summer of Harry Potter, with book 7 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - and yes, I've ordered it and it should be in the library by September) and the movie version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix both being released in July.

The Cumberland Regional Library (CURL) is putting on a Teen Summer Reading Club for everyone in grades 7-12 this summer, and for every 2 hours you read this summer you could win a prize. Prizes include an iPod, so it's definitely worth entering! You can pick up ballots at any branch of CURL or print them from their website at http://crl.library.ns.ca/. Good luck!

Finally, here are some summer reading lists that have lots of good books listed if you run out of ideas:

Woozles' summer reading list for young adults.

Summer reading list from Horn Book (scroll down to find Young Adult books).

Teens Read Too "Top Picks of 2006" (each entry links to a review of that book).

TeenReads.com's Ultimate Teen Reading List.


Enjoy your summer!

Parrsboro school newsletter and calendar - June 2007

It's June - almost halfway through June, come to that. Less than 2 weeks left!

June Newsletter (PDF file - you will need Adobe Reader to view this file, which you can download for free)

June 2007 Calendar (PDF file)

48 Hour Book Challenge final tally

All told, I read 5 books, 1136 pages, and spent approximately 13 hours reading and writing reviews. Not bad given that I was with my best friend celebrating her birthday for most of Saturday and part of Sunday! :)

Review: Skellig

Skellig by David Almond

Michael, his parents and ill baby sister are living in an old house that needs a lot of fixing up - especially the garage which might fall down at any moment. When Michael wanders into the garage one day to investigate, he finds a frail man sitting near the back who has a craving for Chinese food and aspirin. Michael is shocked and needs to show his new friend, Mina, to make sure the man is real and not just a dream. Michael can hardly believe what happens next.

Skellig was wonderful. It had been on my "to read" list for months, ever since I saw the evocative cover and noted its Printz Honor sticker (always a positive sign). I did not, however, imagine that it would be such a lovely story that delicately balances the very real (Michael's sick baby sister) and the very magical (Skellig). The author also manages to make the very real very magical, notably watching the birds through Mina's eyes. Michael's reactions to the events happening around him were superb and, I think, quite realistic for a 10-year-old boy. Ultimately, to paraphrase Michael's father, this was "a blinking good book."

5 stars out of 5 for Skellig.

Review: Peeps

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Cal is a vampire. Well, okay, not quite - he's a carrier for the parasite that causes humans to become cannibals, avoid sunlight and shun everything they ever enjoyed, which means he can infect other people and make them become vampires. Cal also hunts vampires for a living in New York City, and when he starts tracking down the girl who infected him less than a year ago, things start to get strange...very strange, and very ominous.

Cal was a believable character with vices and weaknesses despite his superhuman powers, and I liked that the story was told from his point of view. I liked this book a lot actually (a recurring theme with me and Scott Westerfeld novels - and me and vampire novels, come to that). I especially liked the tidbits about different parasites every couple of chapters, and the fact that I couldn't guess what was going on until Cal did. A well-kept mystery is quite satisfying.

4.5 stars out of 5 for Peeps.

Review: All's fair in love, war, and high school

All's Fair in Love, War, and High School by Janette Rallison

Samantha just got her SAT scores back and they were horrible, and to top it off her boyfriend just broke up with her after an embarrassing incident involving her cat. When her annoying coworker Logan mentions that leadership skills might help with college applications, Samantha decides to run for student council president with her fellow cheerleaders supporting the cause. But who else will support the cause, and will Samantha find a date to the prom?

Light and fluffy, this book was reasonably entertaining read about how someone has the power to change themselves for the better, even if they don't really want to.

3 stars out of 5 for All's Fair in Love, War, and High School.

Review: That Summer

That Summer by Sarah Dessen

Haven is 15 years old and having a terrible summer: her father is getting remarried, her best friend is away at camp, her older sister is marrying a guy that Haven doesn't really like, and Haven is almost six feet tall and still growing. She looks back to one summer a few years ago when things were still perfect, when her sister was dating the gregarious Sumner Lee and her parents weren't divorced yet. When Sumner appears back in her life, Haven believes it's a sign that things will get better. Will they?

This is the first book I've read by Sarah Dessen, and it's also the first novel she had published. I found Haven to be a very believable character, from her interactions with her sister to her perceptions of her minimum-wage job. I especially enjoyed (and related to) her outburst at the sidewalk sale at the mall when a cranky customer showed up; Haven did what we all want to do in situations like that, whether it's the right decision or not.

3.5 stars out of 5 for That Summer.

Start of 48 Hour Book Challenge

I officially began the 48 Hour Book Challenge this morning (Saturday) at 7:00 am and will finish on Monday morning at 7:00 am.

Hooray!

48 Hour Book Challenge

I will be participating in the 48 Hour Book Challenge this weekend, which basically means I'll be doing a lot of reading on Saturday and Sunday!

The involves posting reviews on this blog so keep an eye out - although I have a stack of books from the public library that aren't available (yet...) at PRHS, every second book I read will be from the PRHS library.

I might even win some prizes, woohoo!

Last day to borrow books

Friday, June 8th will be the last date to borrow books from the high school library. The school year is winding down fast!

New Orca books

The much-anticipated delivery of 14 new Orca books has finally arrived!

Orca Soundings

Bang by Norah McClintock

Chill by Colin Frizzell

The Darwin Experience by Diane Tullson

Exposure by Patricia Murdoch

Hit Squad by James Heneghan

I.D. by Vicki Grant

Something Girl by Beth Goobie

Stuffed by Eric Walters

Truth by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Wave Warrior by Lesley Choyce


Orca Currents

Chat Room by Kristin Butcher

Hypnotized by Don Trembath

Mirror Image by K. L. Denman


Orca Sports

All-Star Pride by Sigmund Brouwer