Pages

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Summer reading

Ahh, summer. Time for sun, swimming, scooping blueberries, and roasting marshmallows over a bonfire. Also time - lots of it - for reading!

There are dozens of summer reading lists to be found on the internet and I've rounded up a good variety. If you're stuck for something to read (I won't be - I have about 30 books on my list to read over the summer!), you shouldn't be after taking a look at these lists.

ALA Booklists - dozens of booklists of award winning fiction from the American Library Association, including Best Books for Young Adults and Quick Picks.

ReaderGirlz - not so much a book list as a book club for girls that includes author bios and book playlists.

Top books for boys - a list 167 books long from the United Kingdom.

TeenReads Ultimate Reading List

Don't forget to sign up for the public library's Teen Summer Reading Club! For every 2 hours you read you can qualify to win gift certificates and other prizes.

Have a great summer and see you in September!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Book review: Shark Girl

Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

Jane Arrowood is fifteen, loves cooking, and is an accomplished artist. Her life changes one day at the beach when she is attacked by a shark and loses most of her right arm. Not only does she find it incredibly difficult to come to terms with the loss of her arm, but a man at the beach caught the attack on video and it was shown on the news across the country. While hundreds of people write to say how brave she is and that they are pulling for her, Jane struggles with anger and frustration at not being able to do the things she could do before. And how can she even go out in public when everyone knows what happened to her and will be staring?

Shark girl was a captivating read. Jane was very realistic: angry at the world (and herself) for what happened, frustrated that the things she most loved to do now seem impossible, and anxious about going out in public knowing that absolutely everyone has seen the horrific footage of the attack. The reactions of the people around her - her mother, brother, relatives, friends, therapist - are all different yet realistic. All this, and the novel is entirely in verse form.
I didn't think
things could get much worse
when the doctors told me,
their voices penetrating
some faraway cloud
I'd been inhaling,
"Jane, we've had to amputate.
Your right arm, Jane.
Above the elbow."
I didn't think things could get worse.
But then I was in a coma for
the first ten days. (excerpt from page 6)
I'd never read a poetry novel before but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading others in the library collection. Bingham does an excellent job.

4 stars out of 5 for Shark Girl.

Author's website.

Author interview (discussing Shark Girl).

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Sunset on Mars

Mars sunset, taken in May 2005 by the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The sun appears so tiny! From NASA image of the day.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Breaking Dawn cover

The cover for Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, has just been released.

I'm not sure I like it - it has a computer-generated/artificial look to it that the previous books didn't have with the apple, flower and ribbon on the covers. I can't really put my finger on exactly what I dislike about it, though. Perhaps it just reminds me too much of Through the Looking Glass. :)

**You can read the first chapter of Breaking Dawn online.