WITCH & WIZARD

WITCH & WIZARD

by James Patterson

and Gabrielle Charbonnet

2009

314 pages

From Back Cover:

It's overwhelming. A city's worth of angry faces staring up at me like I'm a wicked criminal. The stadium is filled to capacity. Hundreds of thousands of curious, uncaring, or at least indifferent, faces....

And there are no moist eyes, much less tears.

No words of protest.

No stomping feet.

No fists raised in solidarity.

In fact, as the countdown ticker flashes onto the giant video screens, it's looking to be my family's last day.

I see my brother, Whit, wondering if there's some last-minute way out of this. I see my mother crying quietly for Whit and me. I see my father, stooped with resignation, but smiling at me and my brother-trying to remind us that there's no point in being miserable in our last moments on this planet.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. There's a lot to cover before we get to the details of our public execution.

So let's go back a bit.....

Now that is a build up! I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. I'm so glad I waited to get it from my local library rather than buying it at the book store. If I had spent my own money on it...well, it would have been even a bigger disappointment than it was.

I'm a big fan of James Patterson's adult books. I LOVE the Alex Cross series. I started getting a bit disenchanted after reading The Beach House, one of the first books he co-authored. The next book- I can't even recall the title because I didn't finish it. It was also co-authored. Our relationship has gone down hill since then.

Witch & Wizard sounded so promising. I gave it a shot. The story felt pieced together-like someone didn't edit it before sending it to be printed. The main characters, Whit and Wisty Allgood were so over the top-it was almost laughable. And the bad guys were so BAD it was laughable. What a time waster!

I finished the book but I couldn't wait until the last page so I could be done with them and their story. I won't be wasting my time with the sequel that is sure to come.

This book is available for check out at the Salmon Public Library.

A Chance To Win Some Free Books!

GIVEAWAY!
Emily over on A Few Good Books is giving away a ton of books that have been cluttering her shelves. Get over and enter to win. Go!

IT'S MONDAY-WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Another week! Where is the month going?

Sheila from One Person's Journey Through the World of Books is now running this meme.

It's so much fun to check out what other bloggers are reading. Once again Sheila is offering an incentive prize for those who join in and comment.

Get on over there and check it out.

Sooo this week I'm reading-

Witch & Wizard

by James Patterson

Love, Stargirl

byJerry Spinelli

MARKED

MARKED

by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

2009

320 Pages

When sixteen year old Zoey Redbird is marked one day at school by a tracker-life as she knows it ends. She leaves her family and friends behind to attend the House of Night. A school for vampyres. There she not only has to deal with making new friends and adjusting to a new school, she also has to hope that her body accepts "the change" and she doesn't suddenly drop dead.

This series has been HOT at the library so I was pretty excited to read Marked. I'm not really sure what expectations I had for the book but felt let down regardless. I felt like the "teen language" was way overdone by the characters. There was a oral sex scene at the beginning of the book that was just weird and unnecessary. Lastly, the rituals that the character partake in were long and boring.

I know that a lot of people have enjoyed this series, but I'm not one of them. The end of Marked leaves the story wide open for the next book in the series called Betrayed. But honestly I could care less who or what Zoey Redbird is betrayed by. This is a series I won't be jumping into.

This book is available to check out at the Salmon Public Library. I caution readers that this book contains strong language and sexual situations.

IF THE WITNESS LIED

IF THE WITNESS LIED

By Caroline B. Cooney

2009

224 Pages




This fast paced thriller takes place in the span of 24 short hours. Four children are orphaned by horrible circumstances beyond their control.
Sadly the media was there to witness every tragic event unfold.
First, their mother decides to forgo cancer treatment to give her unborn child a chance to be brought into the world. This decision bring protesters and unwanted media attention.
Sadly, the mother does not survive after giving birth to a beautiful healthy little boy. The media is there when they try to bury and grieve for their mother.
A short time later an "aunt" Cheryl shows up at the door to help pick up the pieces and starts helping take care the family. One day as their father is backing down the driveway he stops for some reason to fix something. While he's under the car baby Tristin escapes his car seat and accidentally releases the parking break, causing the jeep to run over their father.
Now baby Tristan is blamed for the death of both parents. The family breaks apart shortly after the burial of their father. Madison goes to live at her godparent's home. Smithy headed to a boarding school in another state, while Jack stays behind to try to care for baby brother Tristan.
The Fountain family seems doomed by sadness and separation until Jack accidental over hears a conversation that "aunt" Cheryl is having with a T.V. producer. It seems that Tristan's upcoming third birthday is about to become a media circus once again. Suddenly these scattered siblings put a plan in motion to protect their baby brother and bring their family together again.

I don't want to give away too much of the story with my review. I can tell you that once I picked it up and started reading I absolutely couldn't put it down. I had to know what was going to happen to this poor family. Also the story is sad, I mean these kids lose both parents! That's a pretty heavy subject. I was hoping and praying that this siblings would conquer and come together. I would really like to get my hands on a couple of Caroline Cooney's other books to see if they are as exciting as this one. I heard "The Face on the Milk Carton" and "Whatever Happened to Janie?" are good ones. So I'll be on the look out for these.
I recommend this book for ages 12 and older. This book is available for check out at the Salmon Public Library.

GIVEAWAY!

I

IN WHICH A GIRL READS is offering a very cool giveaway!

$20.00 from The Book Depository which mean it's open to international bloggers also!

Go to http://inwhichagirl.blogspot.com/ to enter.

Hurry people.....it ends March 6th!

FLOUR BABIES

FLOUR BABIES

by Anne Fine

1992

178 pages

Mr. Cassidy, teacher of room 8 forsees nothing but trouble ahead when the annual school science fair asks his class aka The Sads and The Bads to submit a project.

The class unanimously votes to have flour babies after a student named Simon mistakenly over hears a conversation that leads him to believe that at the end of the experiment they will be able to destroy their flour sacks.

The six pound flour bags are passed out and each boy is given the responsibility to care for his baby around the clock and record his responsibilities and thoughts in a journal. Also the babies come with a set of rules:

Page 34

1. The flour babies must be kept clean and dry at all times. All fraying, staining, and leaking of the stuffing will be taken very seriously indeed.

2. Flour babies will be put on the official scales twice a week to check for any weight loss that might indicate casual neglect or maltreatment, or any weight gain might indicate tampering or damp.

3. No flour baby may be left unattended at any time, night or day. If you must be out of sight of your flour baby, even for a short time, a responsible babysitter must be arranged.

4. You must keep a Baby Book and write in it daily. Each entry should be no shorter than three full sentences, and no longer than five pages.

5. Certain persons(who shall not be named until the experiment is over) shall make it their business to check on the welfare of the flour babies and the keeping of the above rules. These people may be parents, other pupils, teachers, or members of the public.

Day by day the boys figure out different ways to deal with their babies-one boy quickly reaches his breaking point and kicks his baby into a creek, while another starts a babysitting service and makes money by charging the other boys to take their babies off their hands.

Simon has a surprising reaction to his baby-rather than it being a burden he actually starts to feel affection for his little sack of flour.

As the three week experiment draws to an end Simon starts to understand the full time responsibility that his mom has faced raising him as a single parent and starts to come to terms with his absentee father.

I thought flour babies was a good story. A good lesson to be taught about parenthood and responsibility. I had a little trouble with the translation and language with the book. The boys did not sound American although the story is set in America. But all in all worth a read. I recommend this book for ages 10 and up. It is available for check out at the Salmon Public Library.

Yeah Baby! A Contest!

A FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY!!!!

Robby over at Once Upon A Book/Fourteen Years is having a contest.
Here are the details and a link.

This is my January/February contest. Is there a book that has come out in January or that will come out in February that you're just itching to get your hands on? Well, it could be yours.Any book that came out last month or that comes out this month. Any book (as long as it's under $20) that you fancy. And it could be yours.All you have to do is comment. You don't have to choose your book now. You can choose it later, if you happen to be the lucky name I pick out of my cute little brainhat.If you haven't already realized, And here are just a few books that came out last month/will come out this month-

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson
All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
Pretty Little Liars - Heartless by Sara Shepard
Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman
In A Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth
Getting Revenge On Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook
and of course there are countless more...

What are you waiting for? GO!!!!

NEW BOOKS!

YAHOOOOOOOOO!

These are books that have moved off my wish list onto my bookshelf.

I bought them used from Amazon.com

I bought them because I loved the reviews I read about them. I had to have them!

The first one is The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams it was reviewed by the Shelf Elf

Second one is the Maze Runner by James Dashner it was also reviewd by the Shelf Elf

Lastly, Gentlemen by Michael Northup reviewed by Bookshelves of Doom

Thank you ladies for the awesome reviews! Keep up the good work!

CONTEST!

WIN THIS!
Win A Match Made In High School Prize Pack
by Kristin Waker
Prize Pack includes:
A Match Made in High School (signed) by Kristin Waker
shirt
megaphone
bookmarks
pencils
engagement ring
gum
Post-it matchbook
Giveaway of this very cool Prize is Tina at Fantastic Book Review
http://fantasticbookreview.blogspot.com Get over there and sign up!

LIBRARY LOOT!

This a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, go to either one of their sites to sign up. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!
Here are a couple of books that I've been waiting to get my hands on:

*Marked by P.C. Cast

*Boot Camp by Todd Strasser

Stay tuned for reviews!

THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX

THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX
By Mary E. Pearson
2008
265 Pages

Seventeen year old Jenna Fox awakens after spending a year in a coma. After surviving a horrific accident it's been called a miracle recovery. Jenna has absolutely no memory-she remembers nothing. Not her parents, her friends or the accident that took a year of her life.
She asks herself "Why can I remember details of the French Revolution but can't remember if I ever had a best friend?"
As small bits and pieces start to come back her parents caution her to tell no one who she is or where she 's from. Jenna is certain important information is being kept from her as she digs deeper to recall her past. But as she gets closer to the truth the people she loves and trust seem to want to keep certain things secret. Are they protecting her or betraying her?
Page 7
On the fifth day, when I walked out onto the veranda without stumbling, Mother cried and said, "It's a miracle. An absolute miracle."
"Her gait is still not natural. Can't you see that?" Lily said.
Mother didn't answer.
On the eighth day Father had to return to work in Boston. He and Mother whispered, but I still heard. Risky...have to get back...you'll be fine. Before he left he cupped my face in both of his hands. "Little by little, Angel, " he said. "Be patient. Everything will come back over time all the connections will be made." I think my gait is normal now. My memory is not. I don't remember my mother, my father, or Lily. I don't remember that I once lived in Boston. I don't remember the accident. I don't remember Jenna Fox.
Father says it will come in time. "Time heals," he says.
I don't tell him that I don't know what time is.

What a page turner! This book had me staying up too late reading into the night forcing me to go to work blurry eyed. I couldn't put it down! The story was a perfect blend of mystery, suspense and science fiction. I felt an emotional connection to Jenna but also her parents. The twists and turns had me intrigued the whole way through. I loved it! I recommend this book from ages 12 and up. I bought it used from Amazon.com and I'll be donating to the Salmon Public Library.

AUGUST 24TH CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH!

HERE IT IS PEOPLE!

The cover for the third book in the Hunger Games Trilogy. Can you tell how excited I am about this? It's just want I needed for my lack of sunshine February blues.

For more information on the upcoming release of MockingJay by Suzanne Collins go to: http://onourmindsatscholastic.blogspot.com

DOES MY HEAD LOOK BIG IN THIS?

Does My Head Look Big In This?

By Randa Abdel-Fattah

2005

360 pages

Sixteen year old Amal Mohamed Nasrullah Abdel-Hakim is an Australian-Muslim-Palestinean who is a perfectly normal teenager growing up in Melbourne Australia. As if being a teenager isn't tough enough she makes the biggest decision of her life- to wear the Muslim head scarf called a hijab full time.

Page 1

It hit me when I was power walking on the tread mill at home, watching a Friends rerun for the ninetieth time. It's that scene where Jennifer Aniston is dressed in a hideous bride'smaid's outfit at her ex's wedding. Everyone is making fun of her and she wants to run away and hide. Then she suddenly gets the guts to jump onstage and sing some song called "Copacabana," whatever that means. I'm telling you, this rush of absolute power and conviction surged through me. I pressed the emergency stop button and stood in my Adidas shorts and Winnie-the-Pooh T-Shirt, utterly captivated by that scene. It was like stepping out of one room, closing the door behind me, and stepping into another. One minute it was the last thing on my mind. The next minute this courage flowed through me and it just felt unbelievably right. I was ready to wear the hijab. That's right. Rachel from Friends inspired me. The sheikhs will be holding emergency conferences.

So starts Amal's emotional and spiritual journey.

I really enjoyed the first person narration of this story. I felt connected to Amal as she dealt with the effects of her choice to publicly wear her hijab. I also felt like I learned a lot of her culture, customs and practices. She was a strong, smart and funny. The situations and problems that she experienced felt real. I loved that she was so strong in her religious convictions but didn't come across preachy.

As Amal says in her story-"Putting on the hijab isn't the end of the story. It's just the beginning."

I encourage you to read Amal's story and take this journey with her.

I recommend this book for ages 12 and up. It is currently available for check out at the Salmon Public Library.

IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Sheila from One Person's Journey Through the World of Books has kindly taken over this meme from J-Kaye. I'm sure she'll do a wonderful job. Sheila is offering an incentive prize for those who join and comment. Head on over and join the fun!

http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/

This past week I reviewed:

Huge by James Fuerst

The Seer of Shadows by Avi

This week I plan to read:

LIBRARY LOOT

Library Loot:

is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!
Love , Love , Love this idea because I work at a library of course!

Feed by M.T. Anderson

Four Babies by Anne Fine

Happy Reading Everyone!

GIVEAWAY!!

This book is up for grabs over at http://bookblather.net/

Get over there and enter Drea's contest and read her awesome review!

Contest ends Feb. 11th

SUPER GIVEAWAY!

Super Giveaway!

Here's a chance to win the following FIVE books:

*Stupid Cupid by Rhonda Stapleton

*What Would Emma Do by Eileen Cook

*Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott

*Kissed by An Angel by Elizabeth Chandler

*Romantic Comedies: Perfect Shot by Debbie Rigaud

Want them? Get yourselves over to http://stephsureads.blogspot.com/ and fill out a form! It's that easy! Go! Contest ends on Valentine's Day.

HUGE

HUGE
By James Fuerst
2009
304 pages

Taken from back cover:
Life hasn't been easy for Eugene "Huge" Smalls.
Sure, his IQ is off the charts, but that doesn't help much when your growing up in the 1980s in a dreary New Jersey town where your bad reputation precedes you, the public school system's written you off as a lost cause, and even your own family seems out to get you.
But it's not all bad. Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett have taught Huge everything he needs to know about being a hard-boiled detective...and he's just been hired to solve his first case.What he doesn't realize is that his search for the truth will change everything for him.

ARRRGGGG! I really tried to get into this book. I really tried to like Eugene "Huge" Smalls. Okay, he's twelve. He's being raised by a single mom who works two jobs. He drives around a cruiser that he built himself out of spare parts from a junk yard and he has a stuffed frog, named Thrash as a side kick.
What I could'nt get past was that this kid has MAJOR anger issues and is a HUGE bully.
Page 66
Sure, Thrash was pretty sick, but his schemes for revenge didn't always work out like they were suppose to. Like that time Keith Montgomery was shooting spitballs at me on the cafeteria, I pretended to ignore him at first, then I circled behind him real casual, as if I were leaving, and then swung my lunch tray with both hands and whacked him in the back of the head as hard as I could. But Keith's head didn't go flying off like Thrash said it would; the light weight plastic just made a loud thunk against his skull and I got two weeks detention.
I tried to understand Eugene but I found and his mouth unlikeable. I struggled to finish the book and would have a hard time recommending it to anyone. Also be warned that there is a scene where Eugene is involved with some very heavy petting with another twelve year old.
Glad to be done with it and moving on.

A CONTEST!

A Cool Contest!

Here's a chance to win an awesome book-

Possessed(ARC)

by Kate Cann

The giveaway is offered by

http://fantasticbookreview.blogspot.com

Go there and sign up! It's free people! Go!

Another Challenge!

Another Book Challenge!

Okay I had to sign up for this one-I work at a library for pete's sakes!

This challenge is a great way to support your local library so join me if you can!

This challenge is hosted by

http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com

THE SEER OF SHADOWS

The Seer of Shadows

By Avi

2009

202 Pages

Set in New York city during the 1870's Horace Carpetine, age fourteen has just become the apprentice to society photographer Enoch Middleditch. The wealthy Mrs. Fredrick Von Macht hires them to take a picture of her to put on the grave of her deceased daughter, Elenora. Soon Horace begins to understand that Mr. Middleditch is a unscrupulous business man who is more than willing to prey on the grief of a mother. His idea is to tamper with the photos to make Mrs. Von Macht believe that her daughter's ghostly presence is still in her house and in the very photos that he takes. After the portrait session very strange things start to happen to Horace. A mysterious servant girl reveals that Elenora's death was not an accident and Horace starts to see Elenora first in the Von Macht's home and then It turns out that Horace actually has a supernatural abilities-to bring spirits alive with the pictures he takes. No one is prepared for the ghost of Elenora who returns-an angry spirit intent on punishing those who abused her before she died.

I loved this book. It was a great ghost story! I found myself getting so caught up in the story and the creepy atmosphere I was literally getting goose bumps! I love it when a story can do that to you. Horace is a great character that has been raised in an environment that encourages him to rationalize and use science to figure out what is going on. So through the story he continues to try to wrap his mind around the presence of a ghost and how it can really be happening. So as the reader I felt myself going back and forth with him trying to guess what was going to happen next.

Loved the book! I would recommend it to readers 12 and up. I bought it at a school book sale and will be donating it to the Salmon Public Library. It will be available for check out.

Winner-Winner-Chicken Dinner!!!

Okay, maybe not a chicken dinner but I won two cool books in January!!

Yahoo!!

The first one is Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials

by Rosalind Wiseman

The giveaway was from Kristi at http://www.thestorysiren.com/

The second book I won is Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughn

a giveaway from Trisha at

http://trishasbookshelf.blogspot.com

Thank you ladies for offering such great giveaways!!

Can't wait to read them!

What are you reading on Mondays?

It's Monday what are you reading?
Is sponsored by: j-kaye-book-blog
http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/
Its a fun way to keep track of what you're reading.
Go there and join the fun!!

I'm about half way done with Huge by James Fuerst.

I'll have a review posted on it by the end of the week.

Also in my TBR pile for the week is-

*What Happened to Casss McBride? by Gail Giles

*Flour Babies by Anne Fine

*If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney

Happy Reading!!

100+ Reading Challenge

January has ended and we are on to February.
As you know I'm doing j-kaye-book-blog 100+
reading challenge. I just wanted to recap January and what I read-
1. The Magician's Elephant
2. Magyk
3. The Cupcake Queen
4. Rules
5. The Wednesday Wars
6. Bloody Jack
Not bad! If you want to join j-kaye's reading challenge head on over to her blog.