Hey there

     Happy summer everybody! As a teacher, I love having the summer off, because it is a great time to catch up on my reading. My birthday is this Friday and I am going to be 44, but I read books for young adults and children almost exclusively. I'm keeping this blog so you can see what I've been readIng and my thoughts on those titles I've consumed recently.  I'll give each title a score ranging from 0 to 5 stars with 5 starts being the highest possible score.

     Here are the five books I read this week:

     They've certainly kept me busy! Here they are in order from the one I liked the least to the one I liked the best.

5. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and illustrated by Maira Kalman. In this book, a girl returns her relationship souvenirs to her boyfriend after they break up and reminisces about their time together. It's well written but too dramatic, and the reason for the actual breakup is disappointing. 2 1/2 stars.

4. A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz.    A retelling of the story of Hansel and Gretel as it was first presented in its original form, which is much darker, more violent, and bloodier than the whitewashed version of today. 3 1/2 stars.

3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.  A girl spends her senior year of high school at a school for Americans in Paris, where she meets and pines for a bilingual American with an English accent.  The title is rather stupid and the book is essentially the story of how two young people get together, but it is well written and surpirisingly complex, with subplots like dealing with the illness of a parent and maintaining long-distance relationships with family and friends. 3 1/2 stars.

2. Holes by Louis Sachar. This book won the Newbery and is totally deserving of it. In this story a boy named Stanley is sent to a work camp after being wrongly convicted of stealing a pair of running shoes belonging to a famous athlete. At this camp boys are required to dig a 5-foot hole everyday. The question is, why? Finding out the answer will keep you reading. 5 stars.

1. The Running Dream by Wendelion Van Draanen.  A track star's life is forever changed after she loses a leg in a bus accident. Wonderfully well-written and poignant, I found myself tearing up as I finished this fantastic, feel-good story. 5 stars.

     That's it for today! I'm off to the library for my next batch of books!