I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

I'd had the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter recommended to me for awhile, but every time I looked at the first book--I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You--I'd be turned off by the title and cover.  (Totally lame that I was judging a book by it's cover, I know.  But it just seemed really teeny-bopper-ish.)  But I really needed a book to read, and a friend recommended it again, so I decided to try it this time.  The book is about Cammie, a teenage girl who attends the Gallagher Academy.  Outsiders think it's a snotty prep school for rich girls, but Cammie and the other students are really part of a school for geniuses learning to be spies.  When Cammie accidentally meets an ordinary boy outside the school walls, she decides to just pretend to be an ordinary girl.  Their relationship grows, but Cammie has to keep up with the lies.

This was a really fun read.  It was totally teenager-y and chick flick-y, but I enjoyed it.  I was really rooting for Cammie and Josh's cute relationship and wanted it to work out.  The plot and characters were very entertaining.  I would read more books in the series next time I need a book to read.  (The book was also clean/appropriate, so I like that I could recommend it without reservation to teenage girls I know.)

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

"The President Has Been Shot!"

I saw "The President Has Been Shot!": The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by James L. Swanson at the library and thought it would be an interesting read, especially because I really like US history.  It is a nonfiction narrative (written for young adults) about the background, presidency, and assassination of President Kennedy.

This was a fascinating book.  I learned a lot and was completely interested throughout the book.  I also found the book to be very inspiring.  (For example, for JFK's funeral, his wife led a procession by foot from the White House to the cathedral.  The Secret Service asked Lyndon Johnson--the new president--to ride in a car because it was too dangerous and they didn't want to lose another president.  But Johnson refused and said, "I would rather give my life than be afraid to give it.")  I felt like the book had lots of tidbits like that that just pointed out the inspiring things various people did.  I really liked the positive feel of the book, especially in that it didn't focus on JFK's affairs, which I know is often talked about with him.  I also liked how the book focused on the most-accepted theory of the assassination (Oswald as a single gunman) rather than delving into all the other theories and conspiracies.  I wouldn't have been as interested in all that.  The book, clear by its subject matter, was sad and hard to read at times, but it was a really great read.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

When I visited my mom a few months ago, she was getting rid of some books, so I took a few that looked good to me--including The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.  This book is about Precious Ramotswe who uses her inheritance to start a new business--a detective agency near her home in Africa.  She slowly builds up her business and solves cases of missing husbands, wayward daughters, conmen, and other mysteries brought to her by her friends and neighbors.

This was a really fun book.  Once I got into it, it was an enjoyable read.  There was a case introduced early in the book that wasn't solved till the end, so that kept me interested as I followed all the other cases in between.  Mma Ramotswe was an entertaining and likable character, so it was fun to be part of her world throughout the book.  This was kind of a fluff read, but I liked it and would read more in the series next time I don't have a book to read.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Almost Home

Almost Home by Joan Bauer has been on my to-read list for awhile (but I can't remember where I heard about this book).  This is the story of Sugar Mae Cole, who has so much going for her when she and her mom lose their home.  Sugar's dad is in and out and can't be trusted, and when Sugar's mom breaks down under the stress of being homeless, Sugar finds herself in a foster home.  But as Sugar pours her heart out into her poetry and comes to love the many trustworthy people around her, she finds there is still good in the world and great hope for her future.

This was a quick read (I started and finished in one day) but a beautiful book.  Sugar is a well-developed character who is real and lovable, and the plot kept me interested the whole time.  The author is obviously a really great author.  (She's also the author of a Newbery book called Hope Was Here, which I don't think I've read--so I will definitely plan to read it.) This book helped me get in the mind of those who are homeless or in foster care and how there is always so much more to their stories.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

The Boy on the Porch

I saw The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech on the NPR list of best books of 2013.  Sharon Creech is a great children's author whose books I've read before, so I got this book at the library.  This book tells the story of John and Marta--a childless couple who one day finds a 6- or 7-year-old boy on their porch.  The boy doesn't speak, but he has a note that tells John and Marta, "Take care of Jacob; we'll be back for him."  As John and Marta take Jacob under their wing, he blossoms with a gift for music and art, and they come to love him--and begin to worry about when or if someone will come back to get him.

This was a really sweet read, and I love how the book concluded.  I just loved the great life that John and Marta built for little Jacob and how they opened their hearts so willingly.  This book was short and simple, but it was a beautiful story.

Rating: * * (2/3 =  Liked it)

Counting by 7s

I saw Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan on NPR's list of best kids' books for 2013, and it looked interesting to me.  This book is about Willow Chance, a 12-year-old genius who is fascinated by plants and gardening, diseases, and the number 7.  When a terrible tragedy completely changes her world, Willow must come to terms with her new reality and find real friends for the first time.

This was a great book.  I was very into it and had to stay up a little late and then spend my morning reading to finish it.  Willow was a fascinating, entertaining, and endearing character, and I loved all the other side characters' uniqueness as well.  The plot was engaging, and I liked how the point of view focused on Willow but also let the reader into the minds of the other characters throughout the book as well.  The book made me laugh aloud but also feel deeply for Willow in her sorrow.  I really enjoyed this book.  I was just reading some reviews of the book on Amazon, and I liked one thing one reviewer said: "I could point to many instances in the plot that were contrived, when events relied just a bit too much on coincidence to be believable, and when things work out just a bit too easy. To do so would be to deny the slight touch of magic that seems to permeate these pages."  So true!  The way things fell into place in this book just made it all-the-more beautiful.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Flora and Ulysses

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo is the Newbery Medal winner for 2014.  It is about 11-year-old cynic Flora who loves comic books.  One day she sees her neighbor outside with an extreme vacuum cleaner, and Flora witnesses a squirrel get vacuumed up.  After Flora does CPR (learned from the Terrible Things Can Happen To You comic strip she follows) on the squirrel, she realizes that the squirrel has been changed--and is now a superhero.  The book follows Flora as she builds a relationship with the squirrel (Ulysses), tries to protect the squirrel from her mother (probably Ulysses's archnemesis), and meets lots of friends along the way.

This book is so, so, SO weird but somehow also engaging, entertaining, and heart-warming.  Kate DiCamillo is an awesome author. (I have loved several of her books--Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane are two of them.) This book had a familiar writing style to me since I've read her books before, and it was (obviously) super well written.  The characters were all so well developed and interesting.  There could be fascinating books written about almost all of the side characters as main characters (Dr. Meescham, Tootie, William Spiver, even Flora's parents).  Flora was a likable, relatable girl, and Ulysses was an unlikely hero.  I enjoyed the book.  The weirdness distracted me a little bit (since I kept stopping reading to comment to myself about how odd it was), but I think kids would find this book hilarious.  I think even Emmeline would love the humor in this book, but the vocabulary in the book is more upper elementary, so we'll wait.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)