Hunger Games

This was so sad! But I have to say that I really enjoyed reading it. There was this political intrigue that was believable. It was well written and had a very Shakespearian feel for me, it reminded me of the end of Hamlet where everyone dies. Brace yourself if you're going to read it though, just know ahead of time it is tragic. I don't think I'll be ready to handle the sequel for a while.

Dark Life

This is by Kat Falls and it is awesome! I just finished and I want to read it again. It is set in the future when global warming has diminished land significantly. It is sort of a mystery about a boy living in a community that is located at the bottom of the ocean and a "topside" girl who is looking for her brother.

Princess Stories

I know, it's been forever. Does anyone check this anymore?? :) But I recently read two books that I enjoyed, both fairy tale retellings by Jessica Day George (how did I not know she existed until now?).

Princess of the Midnight Ball -- This is a retelling of the 12 dancing princesses story. I liked the setting a lot, and the main character is really the boy in this one. He was great. And he knits. How about that?

Princess of Glass -- This is a companion book, written about one of the younger sisters from the first princess story. I won't tell you which tale she's rewriting; see if you can guess! I think I liked this one even better than the first.

They're pretty easy reads with well-developed characters and they're both fun worlds to fall into for a while.

Still Alice

I know I just published like two minutes ago but I forgot a book.

For book club we read this one, Still Alice by Lisa Genova.
This one was interesting, that is to say, not on my typical reads list.  This one is about a professore at Harvard, very smart, very accomplished and in her hey day when she is suddenly diagnosed with early onset Alzhiemer's disease.  Throughout the book Alice is faced with challenges that to use are as simple as using the restroom but because of her illness are a major difficulty.  The tragedy is that fifty year old Alice loses her memory, her brilliant intelect, and her ability to understand language in it's more complex forms.  However she gains a much stronger relationship with her children and finds new ways to show love and comprehension for every day events.
It's like she goes from the mind of an intelligent fifty year old to an infant with a mental dissability and has to re-learn how to communicate and understand.
This a great cry book.
anna-banana

Romeo's ex

Out of my latest book wave my favorite was Romeo's ex by Lisa Fielder.
For all those Shakespear lovers like myself, this tells the story of Rosaline, the girl Romeo is in love with at the beginning of the play.  Even if that isn't familiar, if you have seen the movie(s) or read the play you'll figure it out.  The book is funny and uses rennaisance language very creativley mostly they just add "eth" or "st" to contemporary phrases that we use today. 
anna-banana

The Boxcar Children The Guide Dog Mystery #53

Author: Gertrude Chandler Warner

Benny, Violet, Jessie, and Henry used to live in a boxcar. Now they live with their Grandfather.

The book is about Benny, Violet, Jessie, and Henry going to a guide dog school. Someone breaks

into a kennel and also steals a guide dog. The kids try to figure out who did it and where the dog is.

My favorite part is when Benny sees mysterious lights in a dormitory room. I like this part because it's mysterious and you never know what will happen next.

Ian

Scott Westerfeld

I recently finished the Midnighters series and the Uglies/Pretties series. I read the series back to back and both were awesome! Matt has read his Levianthan series and liked that one.

Midnighters is about five teens that are awake during a secret hour that happens at midnight. Monsters also exist during that one hour out of 25. It is action/horror/mystery. There are 4 books in the series.

Uglies is a futuristic story where at the age of 16 you go under the knife and become "pretty". It's conspiratorial and keeps you guessing to the end. There are 3 books in the series but he just came out with a 4th that is about a different character, I haven't read the latest one yet.

There have also been several picture books that Natalie and I have both enjoyed. Here's one of them.
The Black Book of Colors
At night we read Shel Silverstein which she loves. We've read Falling Up, A Light in the Attic, Runny Babbit, Lafcadio. Next of the list is Where the Sidewalk Ends. Not long after we started reading his books she started to ask me if different words rhymed. Also if I am talking and happen to rhyme on accident she immediately notices and says, 'this word and that word rhyme'.