The Best Mail Day Ever!!

WOOOO HOOOOO!  Just a very quick post about receiving a note in my mailbox today from the USPS.  It tells me that I have a package from Amazon waiting for me at my local office.  While that may not sound exciting, that is only because I haven't added the fact that inside said package is my copy of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.  I can't wait to read this book!!! 

I promise to get back to blogging as soon as my life gets back into my school schedule....and when I finish reading Mockingjay.

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

From the back cover:

According to Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie – she’s already had her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.


Favorite Quotes:

“We lie on either side of her and flap our arms and legs as hard as we can, tears streaking down our cheeks, though from laughing or crying we can no longer tell.

‘Do you think he sees them?’ Jayne rolls over and asks after we’ve made three angels above the tide.

‘If he does,’ Frankie says, ‘he’s probably wondering why the women in this family are so certifiably nuts.’ “ (page 96)

This is a fantastic quote and an even better part of the book. I can’t elaborate too much, but it did choke me up when I was reading.


My Thoughts:

Wow.

I picked this book up thinking it was going to be just fun, easy summer reading, but it turned out to be a truly touching story. Everyone in the novel is grieving in their own way, but all for the same reason: the tragic death of a young friend, brother, and son. The book really looks at how people grieve differently and how it is very much a long process that takes a while to work through.

Anna and Frankie’s relationship is strained throughout the whole novel, but, for the most part, we really only see Anna’s side of the story. Her hurt and disappointment over losing a best friend and a secret boyfriend. Ockler does a great job of getting the reader inside Anna’s brain and of getting you to understand what’s she’s feeling.

I think that this book makes you stop and think about how precious life is and how much we need each other to get through it.


Ockler, Sarah. Twenty Boy Summer. New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2009.

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern

From the flap:

It's Jessie's sophomore year of high school. A self-professed "mathlete," she isn't sure where she belongs. Her two best friends have transformed themselves into punks, and one of them is going after her longtime crush. Her beloved older brother will soon leave for college (and in the meantime, has shaved his mohawk and started dating...the homecoming queen!).

Things are changing fast. Jessie needs new friends. And her quest is a hilarious tour through high school clique-dom, with a surprising stop along the way -- the Dungeons and Dragons crowd, who out-nerd everyone! Will hanging out with them make her a nerd, too? And could she really be crushing on a guy with too-short pants and too-white gym shoes?

If you go into the wild nerd yonder, can you ever come back?


Favorite Quotes:

#1 - "Now I play Would You Rather? in my head every night we're at Denny's:

         Would I rather
          a. Be in the Denny’s smoking section
          b. Eat a live turtle, shell included
          c. Lick a turkey’s ass

        Yeah. Tough call these days.” (page 7)


#2 – “ ‘Mother of turds,’ I say, ‘He’s gonna be pissed.” (page 186)


Do I really need to explain why I picked these?  I mean, "mother of turds"?  I'm still laughing.

My Thoughts:

I don’t even know if you need to read my take after you’ve read the quotes. Why wouldn’t you want to read this book? It has been a loooong time since I have laughed so hard while reading a book – any book. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder is freakin’ hysterical. My co-workers were actually giving me strange looks (yes, I read while at my summer job) because I would sporadically burst out laughing (sometimes snorting).

Anyway, besides being hysterical, the book is really well-written. All of the characters sound like actual teenagers, but not in an obnoxious way. The book deals with real issues facing teens -- fitting in, making tough decisions, standing up for yourself, having sex and dealing with the consequences – but it handles them in a non-threatening or overbearing way. Jessie has a lot to deal with and I understood that and empathized, but I didn’t feel suffocated with a social message. Or sad – I’ve been reading a lot of really sad (but really great) lately and Jessie and her crew of elves, trolls, and Ren-festers were the perfect remedy.

Ok, back to the funny. Can I just say how much I loved the D & D kids? Some of the best lines (ever!) came from them.

This book made me feel great about being a nerd! I’m looking forward to reading Halpern’s other novel, soon!


How about you? Are you a nerd and proud of it?



Halpern, Julie. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2009.

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

From the flap:

Amy Curry is having a terrible year. Her mother has decided to move across the country and needs Amy to get their car from California to Connecticut. There’s just one small problem: Since her dad died this past spring, Amy hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger; the nineteen-year-old son of a family friend, who turns out to be unexpectedly cute…and dealing with some baggage of his own.

Meeting new people and coming to terms with her father’s death were not what Amy had planned on this trip. And traveling The Loneliest Road in America, seeing the Colorado mountains, crossing the Kansas plains, and visiting diners, dingy motels, and Graceland were definitely not on the itinerary. But, as they drive, Amy finds that the people you least expected are the ones you may need the most – and that sometimes you have to get lost in order to find your way home.


My Thoughts:

This book was fantastic. Amy and Roger were both very believable and likable characters, who do, as the flap says, have some baggage -- Amy more so than Roger. I thought that Amy’s character was spot-on: her grief, her anger, her uncertainty. Same thing with Roger, these characters were people I wanted to get to know. 
I'm a sucker for a "finding yourself" book and this definitely fit into that category.  Both Amy and Roger have to deal with situations that will make you grow-up.  They make mistakes, they learn to cope, and they find themselves.  I won't get into Roger's deal, because it's not really discusses on the flap.  However, I will talk about Amy's issue - her father's death.  I really liked how the book used flashbacks to tell the story of Amy's father's life and death.  It gave you perspective into her family life and also helped you to understand the emotions that she was dealing with on this trip.
The book also gives some great shout-outs to regional things in the states on their trip... yippee for MD's mention... Not as cool as CA or TN, but still -- MD beat out other (larger!) states for a mention!
Anyway, this was a great summer read – not too heavy, but not complete “brain candy” either. And there are some fun playlists from their trip!  Perfect for reading out on the road...y'know, as long as you aren't the driver.


Favorite Quotes:

#1 “ ‘No,’ Walcott said simply, rolling down his sleeve. ‘It’s my home, man. You’ve got to have pride in your home. You are where you’re from. Otherwise, you’re always going to be lost.’”

I agree and disagree at the same time (quite frankly because if I am where I grew up, God help us all). But I do think that no one will understand you – your good, your bad, your quirks, your funny accent – better than the people who live where you grew up. There’s something about your hometown that makes you feel…home.

#2 “The best discoveries always happened to the people who weren’t looking for them.”

What a fantastic quote, right? I couldn’t put the rest of the dialogue in because it would give stuff away, but trust me, it’s good.


Matson, Morgan.  Amy & Roger's Epic Detour. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010.

So I've become a blogger...

Welcome to my blog about Young Adult, or YA, novels. I am an English teacher in a middle school close to Baltimore and I really love the YA novels that my kids bring in to class. I read so many books that I’ve decided to create a blog that reviews and recommends YA lit. to you! I’m sure this will change and (hopefully) grow in time, but for now, I’ll keep it simple. Check back for some good reads…