Bombdiggity Books

2/12/09

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I read this book last summer. I was totally absorbed. I have this problem where I become emotionally involved in anything I read or watch. So, at one point I had to stop because I had some actual anxiety for the main character. I was physically ill for her. I made my husband give some hints of the outcome because I didn’t want to read it if it had a reeeeeaaaaaaalllllly bad ending. It doesn’t. It has a good ending. A proper ending. An ending where I sighed with relief. Every teenager should read this – boy and girl. My husband is teaching it in his Senior class. The kids love it. Read it. Even if you’re a grown up, read it.

5/8/08

Kaline Klattermaster’s Treehouse

I absolutely adore the little boy in this book. I wanted to take him home with me and just hug him. I’ll try not to tell too much as you should just experience this book on your own. It is written from a third grader’s point of view. His name is Kaline and he is incredibly creative and has a wonderful imagination. He uses his imagination to cope with his parents separation, although, because he is only 8 or 9 he doesn’t fully understand what’s going on. It is heart breaking, yet his imagination really makes you laugh. I especially liked how he was trying to live up to his dad’s expectations even while his dad wasn’t there. It was a very sweet story and very funny. I even READ it rather than LISTENED to it. That’s how much I loved it.

3/31/08

Charlie Bone and the Hidden King:

I finally finished the next Charlie Bone. Took me long enough. Not because it wasn’t good, though. It was really good. El Jefe makes fun of me because he says I only like this series because of its Harry Potter qualities. No way. First, the boy joins a school because of his special talent, not because he’s a wizard. Second, the boy has his mother, and in this book, he finds his father. Third, most of the kids at his school are just normal kids gifted in the arts, unlike Hogwarts where everyone must be a witch or wizard. Fourth, those who are gifted have different gifts. Fifth, Charlie Bone to have tea time everyday whereas Harry Potter didn’t seem to follow that British tradition everyday. So, you can see these books are totally different. OK they are similar but ‘whatev’. I like them. They follow a pattern but what adolescent hero book doesn’t? (As you can see I need to defend myself from my husband’s accusations of loving Harry Potter too much.)

Back to the book:

It’s all a journey to find his father, who has been under their noses the whole time. A couple more interesting characters are introduced. They are on the good side and will probably be a big part of the next book. I don’t want to give anything else away. These books are fun. They also make me want to make and eat yummy sandwiches, like what you’d eat at tea time. Harry Potter always made me want to drink pumpkin juice and butterbeer, or eat treacle tart. I’m hungry.

2/23/08

2/15/08

I am now on the next Charlie Bone book, Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors (Book 4, I believe). This is a fun series to listen to (see below for the titles of the first three)

2/10/08

My friend Phoenix recommended The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I absolutely adore this book. It is one of the most beautiful children’s stories I have ever read. I can’t wait to read it to the Chunks when they get a little bit older. Go read it with your kids or loved ones, young or old, you’ll thank me later.

2/7/08

Ever since I took an adolescent lit. class at BYU I’ve been a huge fan. As of late I love to listen to audio books and children’s/adolescent lit are the easiest to follow (also, I think Jonah is starting to catch on a bit and that’s only good for him, right?) So, I’ll share some of my fave’s here.

These are the latest books that I’ve been enjoying:

This is the one I am currently listening to (or, to which I am currently listening–I don’t know, which sounds better?):