Max the Mighty - Rodman Philbrick

I absolutely loved Freak the Mighty. So much so, that when I saw our library had Max the Mighty, I knew I needed to get it.

Max seems lonely, once again. He's still being teased for being tall and looking like his dad (the felon that killed his mother) and once again, he's not feeling smart.

One day, Max is just walking, minding his own business, when he hears a girl scream. This is when he meets Rachel, also known as Worm (named this for being a bookworm).

Later, Max meets Worm and her mother, and learns the "Undertaker" is her step-father. The Undertaker is a large, mean man, who drives a hearse and "threatens" people using the bible as his defence. Feeling uneasy about it all, Max finds his way to Worm's house where he sees her mom, crouched down, beaten, and he hears the screaming. Max bursts in, grabs Worms, and runs off.

Max believes he can take Worm home, and his grandparents will help, but when he gets there, he finds the Undertaker has called the police and have accused Max of hitting his wife and kidnapping his step-daughter.


Thus begins the adventures of Max the Mighty and Worm. Worm believes her father can help, and not wanting to leave her alone, Max accompanies her on their adventure, hitchhiking, riding a train, and meeting people, good and bad, along the way.

This is another one of those awesome, feel good, easy reads.

Freak the Mighty - Rodman Philbrick

I recently joined a book club. I'm terribly excited, as it's been years since I've been part of one. We shall meet the last Wednesday of every month, and the hostess gets to choose the book.

September's book is Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. It's a YA book, so I got a copy from our school library, but hadn't gotten a chance to read it. On Friday, I covered a G7 class, and students had 30 minutes of reading their assigned books. I figured, if the students were reading, so should I. And wouldn't you know it, there was a copy of the book in the classroom.

So I started reading. And then I was upset that the 30 minutes had gone by so quickly, as I was really enjoying it, so of course, I had to come home and finish it.

Freak the Mighty, is the story of best friends, Kevin and Max. Kevin walks with leg braces but is super intelligent. He reminded me a little of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. Max is on learning support, and a very large boy. He looks like his father, who is currently in jail for killing his mother. He's being raised by his grandparents, who seem to be a little afraid of him. These two boys are as opposite as they come. And yet, they become the best of friends. Max often carried Kevin on his shoulders, and together they are Freak the Mighty. Together they go on quests and fight dragons. As a team, they are unstoppable.

This is a book for every Middle Schooler. Just make sure you have tissue handy.

milk and honey - rupi kaur

During my first day at Project Zero, our study group looked at a poem for a text rendering protocol. Here's the poem we read;

For the protocol, the poem is read silently. Then, 3-4 people are asked to read it out loud. We are then split into 3 groups. One group creates a musical interpretation, one group a dramatic interpretation and one group a visual artistic interpretation. At the end of the study group, our fellow mentioned she chose this poem because most of her 8th graders carry around a copy of the book.

Needless to say, I had to look this girl up.

milk and honey is a collection of poems split into 4 sections/chapters;  the hurting, the loving, the breaking, the healing. Each poem deals with some aspect of love, femininity, abuse and violence. Some poems are sweet. Some are harsh. But they all connect in some way to what a lot of teenagers are going through.

Our fellow mentioned all her eighth graders loved this book. While I did too, I'm not sure all those poems are appropriate for 13 year olds. But then again, am I trying to shelter them?

TLOS6 Worlds Collide - Chris Colfer

Chris Colfer's The Land of Stories has come to an end. And while it's sad, the conclusion was fabulous.

When we last saw our beloved twins, Alex had been placed under an evil spell and was wrecking havoc. So now it's time for Connor and his army to try to save Alex, fight the witches AND beat the Grand Army. Phew!

Chris Colfer does an amazing job of tying up all, and any loose ends. All our characters are revisited. Any questions you may have had are answered. Characters you may have wondered about, or forgotten about, are back. And we even get a glimpse into the future.

The Land of Stories has been amazing for a couple reasons.
1) I absolutely loved the series. I would mark down the date for the next books' release and anxiously wait for it.
2) Ethan discovered the series last summer. We spent many days discussing it, making predictions and sharing our favourite moments. This time around, we argued over who got to read it first, and then shared our favourite moments.

What will we do now?

Blood Betrayal - Tessa Dawn

I love the Blood Curse Series. Every book has been wonderful. I dive into them, and gobble them up.

But Blood Betrayal was the first book I cautiously read. Not because it wasn't any good, cos it was awesome, but it also made my heart race and my palms sweaty. Yes, it was that good!

This is the story of the Sentinel Warrior, Saxon Olaru. He finally gets his Blood Moon, but as all other books, things don't go smoothly. Kiera is his Destiny. However, unbeknown, to her, her twin sister, Kyla,  is a vampire hunter who knows all about the curse and the Blood Moon.

When the Blood Moon appears, Kyla realizes that her sister is the new Destiny, and this is also her chance to take out the clan. She arranges for Kiera to be kidnapped, and had the celestial constellation tattooed on her arm.

So, while Kyla tries to infiltrate the house of Jadon, Kiera is being tortured by the vampire hunters. See...now you get why I had to read cautiously?

Spelled - Betsy Schow

"Girl of Emerald, no man can tame. Burn down the world, consumed by flames."

This is the curse placed on Dorthea's family. And because of this curse, our dear princess has never left her castle. And this has also probably been the reason she's turned into an incredibly self-centred brat!!!!

Like all fairytales, Dorothea's parents would like to see her married. They arrange a marriage between her and a prince, she's met once and thought he was the gardener. Needless to say, she's furious!

Wanting to escape this nightmare, Dorothea makes a wish from some orb thingy that was given to her by the Grey-Witch-disguised-as-a-child. Have you ever heard, "be careful what you wish for?" Yeah well, that's an understatement. The wish causes her parents to disappear, protective barriers to be broken and her would-be-husband into a chimera. 

So now Dorothea, Kato (the dog-groom) and Rexi (think she was the cook) are on a quest to fight the evil witch.

For a YA book, it was ok. The best parts were the cute references to modern day things (flitter for twitter, Hans Christian Louboutin shoes instead of Christian Louboutins). Each chapter also starts with a quote from another (made up) book which was quite amusing. 

But Dorothea was a brat. And I really struggled to find any redeeming qualities in her. Yes, she does grow up, but it comes really late, and suddenly. Even as fun as Rexi was, she irritated me. Actually, come to think of it, when Dorothea got on my good side, Rexi not so much. Hmmm.....

Lost in a Book - Jennifer Donnelly

What's the opposite of Death? Think life? Nope, it's Love.

So I'm a huge Belle fan. Love her! My biggest disappointment last week in Disney was not being able to meet her. And yes I'm totally serious.

Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book begins with Love and Death. They are sisters and the total opposites of each other. (In case you didn't get that with their names.) They have been watching Belle and the Beast and Love is confident the spell will be broken. Death, as you can imagine, would prefer not. They wager, and Death decides to cheat.

Meanwhile, Beast tries to make Belle more comfortable in the castle and gives her his library. We all know how much she likes books. But Death has a plan. She plants the book Nevermore in the library.

Nevermore is an enchanted book. You don't just read the book, you enter it. Belle enters the book and meets wonderful characters who treasure her, value her, make her feel like she has friends. But it's a trap that Death has set, in order to capture Belle and keep her there, preventing her from returning to the Beast, and possibly breaking the spell.

While we all know the story of Beauty and the Beast, we know that the spell eventually breaks, but what's wonderful here is watching Belle struggle with her two realities. Are her friends in Nevermore real, or her friends in the castle?

The Chosen - JR Ward

Ok, let me start by saying that I love the WARDen and I love the Brothers. However, I do not like Layla, nor did this book get me to like her, so understandably, this was not my favourite of the series, cos I do not like her!

So now you know, The Chosen focuses on Layla and Xcor. And their "forbidden love". Cos you know, Xcor is the badass that tried to kill Wrath. And Layla, well, she's one of the Chosen. Blah.

But, I have to give it to her. She goes from weakling to a strong woman who takes shit from no one. Not even a Brother.

However, I did have some issues here. First off. Xcor tried to kill Wrath, and not only is he forgiven, but his Band of Bastards get to move into the house while Tohr who has ALWAYS been loyal gets put on probation! WTF???

But you know, Lassiter does bring some laughter to the whole scene, so all's forgiven. Sorta. Kinda. Let me think about that one.

The Playbook - Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander has become one of my newest favourite YA authors. I truly believe all Middle Schools should not only have his books in their library, but that his books should be added to the curriculum.

Unlike the other two books of his that I read, The Playbook  isn't a novel written in prose/poems. Instead, each page contains one rule. While it seems these would be rules on basketball, they are in fact amazing life rules. Each rule is an inspiration for life. Each rule is accompanied by an amazing photograph as well as some inspiring words from athletes and role models. There are some great biographical stories to inspire students to never give up, including one autobiographical snippet.

It's one of those books you want to give to teachers and coaches. It's one of those books to give your child when s/he's feeling down and defeated. It's one of those books your students will love and gain some inspiration and motivation from.

It's one of those books you'll want to read again and again.

Secret Lies Dirty Little Alibis - Jamie Blair & Dawn Rae Miller

There is nothing that Dawn Rae Miller writes that I do not like. And thanks to her, I've discovered another great author in Jamie Blair.

Secret Lies Dirty Little Alibis is the final instalment in the Kiss Kill Love Him Still trilogy.

This one picks up where book 2 ended. With the psycho Chloe causing havoc on our 4 beloved....friends??????

It continues to shift POV between the four ladies. Ladies! Yes, that's the word....cause really....were they....are they friends????

Anyways, I digress...

Each girl shares her thoughts about Chloe and who killed Jackson. Every time you think you know, another twist comes around the corner. We learn more about Haddie's dad and Livie's mum. We even get some insight into Val's parents. And it gets all wrapped together with a pretty bow that laughs at you when you reach the end and yell "But wait!!!! What about....."

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight - Darynda Jones

I use to be great at blogging about all the books I read. But this year, I seem to be lacking. Time to catch up!

I have been a huge Charley fan from Day 1. What's not to like about her? She's a spunky Grim Reaper/Private Investigator who learns she's also a God and is married to the Devil's son. Follow that?

This time around, Charley helps out Amber who is being stalked. She also gets hired by Reyes' adoptive brother..... is he considered a brother when the people who kidnapped Reyes then gave him away then go and kidnap another child? SMH It sounds hard to understand, but it's really easy to follow. :)

Charley also learns some new bad-ass powers she possesses. Told ya she was cool.

Often with series, after awhile, you can get bored of them, or you can start predicting the events. Not here. The book was exciting from start to finish.

The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah

So I need to say a huge thank you to my dear friend, Hamidah, for telling me to read this book. She didn't just recommend it, she harassed me for a good 2 weeks. Each time I saw her, she'd ask if I'd gotten the book yet. Even though many people have recommended this book, as my other mate Louise said, "there aren't any vampires, are you sure you read it?", it's not one I would've read on my own. And to quote another friend, Juliet this time, "We are too far removed from war to really know the horrors it brings. It's so important that we read these books both as a remembrance and as a warning." So thank you dear friends. I loved this book. Despite it having broken my heart and had me in ugly sobs.

In The Nightingale, we meet sisters Vivianne and Isabelle. They are as different as sisters can be. Vivianne married her love and lives in the French countryside with her husband and daughter. Isabelle has been kicked out of, gosh I cannot recall how many, boarding schools. She's a true rebel.

During World War II, their father sends Isabelle off to live with her sister. Unlike Vivianne, Isabelle cannot sit quietly and watch her country being destroyed. She feels she must do something, and soon she becomes The Nightingale. She helps fallen soldiers make their way from France to Spain.

While Isabelle felt her sister "gave in" and accepted the war, women like Vivianne were left behind by their husbands, who went to fight. Vivianne, like many other women at this time, was forced to house two Nazi soldiers and was manipulated into betraying her friends. She then went on to save many children.

The Nightingale is a moving story of two completely different sisters who did what many women had to do. They survived and fought back in their own way.

"If I have learnt anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are."

- Kristin Hannah, The Nightingale

Crank - Ellen Hopkins

Life was good

before

I met

the monster. 

After,

life

was great

At least

for a little while.

It seems I have a thing for books written in poetry. Although this one is not meant for your middle schooler. 

Written in prose, Crank tells the story of Ellen Hopkins' daughter. At age 16, Kristina starts her downward spiral into the life of drugs. She discovers the "monster" and develops an alter ego named Bree, who is sexy, confident, everything Kristina is not. 

This is one of those books that has mixed reviews on Goodreads. It's also one of those books that I was unsure what rating to give it. Finally, I decided, if a book can have this kind of effect on me, it's a darn good book.

I read Crank in a day and a half. It's poetic nature makes it easy to read. It also makes you feel. You feel sick. You feel frustrated. You feel scared. 

Booked - Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander

has done it again.

He brings a heartfelt story

written in prose.

Twelve-year old Nick

is a book-hating,

soccer loving boy.

He has an immense

vocabulary;

Thanks to his dad's requirement

that he read the dictionary,

from A-Z. 

While soccer may be his life,

Nick does attend

Etiquette classes. 

Here the focus is on

good manners,

proper etiquette

and dancing. 

And it allows Nick to get closer

to his crush.

But things are not always rosey.

He has a difficult teacher.

He has an annoying classmate.

And his bike gets stolen

by bullies!

And then...

Mom moves to Kentucky

to take a job as a horse trainer.

And Nick has feelings

of abandonment

he must face.

Soon Nick discovers

that language can help him

charm a teacher,

impress a girl,

deal with menacing bullies

and help him express his emotions

when his parents' marriage

falls apart. 

"The poems 

were cool.

The best ones were

like bombs,

and when all the right words

came together

it was like an explosion."