13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This is not a Newbery award book, but it's another one that is too good not to mention. First, the synopsis from the inside cover:

"Clay Jensen's first love records her last words.

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

Hannah's voice tells him that there are 13 reasons she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.

Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a first-hand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself - a truth he never wanted to face."

This is a young adult novel - I would say for ages 15 and up. I know I won't be letting my 12 year old read it for a few years. There are some deeply disturbing themes (obviously). But, it is of a subject that young adults need to be educated about - teen suicide.

The format of the book is very, very interesting - the majority of the book is the content of the cassette tapes, the voice of Hannah in the days leading up to her death. Clay's reactions to what he hears is included. It was so gripping, and very hard to put down.

Although it is a sad story, it was entirely worth reading!

#31 - The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

2007 Medal Winner

This was a cute little book, but honestly I don't have a lot to say about it. A nice story with a happy ending, but just nothing spectacular, in my opinion. One thing that did bother me in the book was that Charles Darwin was mentioned several times as being a favorite scientist of the main character.

Inside cover:

"Lucky, age 10, can't wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, CA (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has.

It's all Brigitte's fault - for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead Lucky is sure that she'll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles where her beloved dog, HMS Beagle, won't be allowed. She'll have to lose her friends Miles, who lives on cookies, and Lincoln, future U.S. President (maybe) and member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers. Just as bad, she'll have to give up eavesdropping on twelve step anonymous programs where the interesting talk is all about Higher Powers. Lucky needs her own - and quick.

But she hadn't planned on a dust storm. Or needing to lug the world's heaviest survival kit backpack into the desert."

#30 - Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

This book was a 2008 Newbery Honor Book.

This was a very quick 118 read. Here is what the inside cover has to say:

"Frannie doesn't know what to make of the poem she's reading in school. She hasn't thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more "holy." There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he's not white. Who is he?

During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light - her brother Sean's deafness, her mother's fear, the class bully's anger, her best friend's faith and her own desire for "the thing with feathers."

Newbery Honor Award - winning author Jacqueline Woodson once again takes readers on a journey into a young girl's heart and reveals the pain and the joy of learning to look beneath the surface."

Basically, the theme of this book is hope and looking inside of people to who they really are. I liked the spiritual references. When Samanthat admitted she thought the new boy WAS Jesus returning, the others started looking for Jesus everywhere.

Overall, a very good read! I will pass it on to my girls!

For fans of Anne of Green Gables

This is not a Newbery book, but it was definitely worth commenting on. I came across this book at my local library, and was intrigued. I have been a huge fan of the Anne series since about 3rd grade, when I read the entire series. I was a tad obsessed with the movies too, watching them over and over and over again (and I confess that Gilbert was my first ever crush.) But I was also a bit hesitant - I mean, this book is not written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, so how good could it be? I just finished reading this tonight, and I thouroughly enjoyed it. You can tell the writing style is different, and there were some things that I don't think Montgomery would've put in her books...but for diehard Anne fans, it's a great prequel.

From the inside cover:

"When readers first met Anne, she is eleven, and has just been sent from an orphanage to meet her new family. Readers never learned the events of Anne's life before she arrived at Green Gables. Until now.

After baby Anne's parents die in an epidemic, she is sent from one foster family to another, always searching for the love and comfort of a real home. A clever child, she learns to talk early, and even in her darkest times she finds joy in the power of her imagination and, eventually, by escaping into the world of books. Through her adventures at school and in foster homes and orphanages, Anne's vibrant personality - her imagination, her hot temper, her impetuousness, her dramatic flair - shines through.

For the millions of readers who devoured the Green Gables series, Before Green Gables is an irresistable treat: the story of how on of literature's most beloved heroines became the girl who captivated the world."

#29 - Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

This is a 2005 Honor book.

This was a really great book! Here is the "commercial" on the back:

"Murderers, mob bosses, and convicts...these guys are not your average neighbors. Not unless you live on Alcatraz. It's 1935 and twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan and his family have just moved to the infamous island that's home to criminals like notorious escapee Roy Gardner, Machine Gun Kelly, and, of course, Al Capone. But that's just the beginning of Moose's troubles because on Alcatraz the kids are all cowed by the clever, danger-loving daughter of the warden, Piper Williams. Now Moose has to try to fit in at his new school, avoid getting caught up in one of Piper's countless schemes, and keep an eye on his sister, Natalie, who's not like other kids. All Moose wants to do is protect Natalie, live up to his parents' expectations, and stay out of trouble. But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very far away."

Moose's sister Natalie, who they tell everyone is only 10, but she is actually 15, is autistic. Autism is a disorder that has always fascinated me, so it was very interesting to read about how this was dealt with in the 1930's. They didn't even have the diagnosis of autism back then, and they were often put in "insane asylums." But, the family in this book were determined to do all they could to help Natalie lead a normal life, and that was the primary topic of this book. Moose's close relationship to his sister was heart warming. I highly recommend this book!

How to get cheap books

Well, obviously, the library is free...but my local library doesn't have the biggest selection. Plus, sometimes, I like to read a book without worrying about finishing it before it being due. So, how do I buy books on a budget? Well, in the last year I discovered www.half.com - a division of ebay where people go to sell books, video games, dvds, cds, etc. But, there is no bidding war. You put in the title you want and it brings up all the sellers who have it and their prices. So, you can select the price and condition you want. You do pay a flat shipping rate of 3.99 per item, so keep that in mind. But I recently found 6 books on my Newbery list - all excellent condition HARD BACK copies for .75 each! So, even with the shipping, they were less than $5 each for books that were originally about $15 each.

Another place I love to book hunt is thrift stores - particularly the Salvation Army store. Paper backs are .99, kids paperbacks are .49 and hardbacks are 1.99! Today I found 6 Newbery books for .49 each! And 6 other books I had been wanting (including a Jodi Picoult book I haven't read yet!)! My kids find books for themselves too, and I don't have to say no because they are only .49 each!

If I Stay

This is not a Newbery book. Although it has lots of excellent reviews, as far as I can see, it hasn't even won any awards. Yet. Although the movie rights have been purchased by Summit with Catherine Hardwicke slated as director. This is the same company and director that did the Twilight movies. But, I HAD to blog about it. It is one of those books that left me feeling like somehow, my life has been changed in some small way. Here is what the back of the book says (the "commercial" as my daughter Natalie used to call it when she was little...)

"Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, adoring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. Then, in an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left - the most important decision she'll ever make.

Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting, and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving."

The entire book takes place in one 24 hour period, but it includes many of Mia's memories. A lot of times when this is done in books, it seems so jarring going from past to present. But the author, I think, does an excellent job of meshing it together. Just very well written. And such a romantic story, but not a cheesy romance. Sad, but hopeful.

2 thumbs up! Run to the store and buy it- only $8 at Wal-Mart, lol! Definitely worth it!