I saw this book at Barnes and Noble last year, but they wouldn't let me purchase it. Apparently, it was free with any James Patterson purchase. I already had every James Patterson book at that time, or so I thought (see an earlier post), so I had no reason to purchase a book to get it free. In the year that passed, I had pretty much given up hope about ever getting to read it. Lo and behold, the new Patterson book of November 2012 was Merry Christmas, Alex Cross. I belong to the James Patterson Library book club, so all I had to do was wait a few days from its release until it landed on my doorstep. Got it yesterday, and finished it a few minutes ago.
As for the book, let me just say this: Alex Cross is one busy man. On Christmas eve, he has to handle a hostages situation with some crazy ex lawyer who is planning to kill his ex wife, his three children, her new husband, and a neighbor. Needless to say, Cross saves the day. Then, on Christmas day, Alex is pulled away from his family again so that he can deal with a terrorist. Again, he saves the day.
You know Alex Cross is a work of fiction because he nearly always saves the day, his kids are incredibly well balanced, and he always makes it out of the most dire situations. Doesn't matter to me though; I still love the books.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Future of Us
I may or may not have mentioned this, but one of my absolute favorite young adult books is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. When I was in my methods classes at SHSU, I had to observe and teach a ninth grade class over the course of the semester. When I was observing, one of the students had that book. I was intrigued by the cove, so I checked it out from the public library. I couldn't put that book down! It's about a girl who kills herself, and gives her reasons why. What was neat about that book was that it was told from the point of view of the girl who died, as well as the boy who had a crush on her.
So, when I was visiting the school library one day and saw that Jay Asher's new book was a possible TAYSHAS book, I knew I wanted to read it-despite the negative review from one of the library aides. The Future of Us was co-written by Carolyn Mackler, and chronicles nearly a week in the life of Emma and Josh.
The year is 1996. Emma is a junior in high school, and Josh is a sophomore. They live next door to one another, and have been best friends their whole lives-until six months ago. Lately, their relationship has been strained, but that doesn't keep Josh from bringing Emma an AOL disk with 150 free internet hours when she gets a new computer from her estranged father.
When Emma logs onto AOL, a strange thing happens: she logs into Facebook. Facebook, as you know, did not exist in 1996. Emma can see into the future through her posts on Facebook. She tells Josh, and over the course of the week, they can see how little things they do in their lives in 1996 affect their lives in 2011.
I enjoyed this book, and it will be hitting my classroom shelf when I go in tomorrow.
So, when I was visiting the school library one day and saw that Jay Asher's new book was a possible TAYSHAS book, I knew I wanted to read it-despite the negative review from one of the library aides. The Future of Us was co-written by Carolyn Mackler, and chronicles nearly a week in the life of Emma and Josh.
The year is 1996. Emma is a junior in high school, and Josh is a sophomore. They live next door to one another, and have been best friends their whole lives-until six months ago. Lately, their relationship has been strained, but that doesn't keep Josh from bringing Emma an AOL disk with 150 free internet hours when she gets a new computer from her estranged father.
When Emma logs onto AOL, a strange thing happens: she logs into Facebook. Facebook, as you know, did not exist in 1996. Emma can see into the future through her posts on Facebook. She tells Josh, and over the course of the week, they can see how little things they do in their lives in 1996 affect their lives in 2011.
I enjoyed this book, and it will be hitting my classroom shelf when I go in tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
TAYSHAS Book 1?
One day, about a week and a half ago, I found myself in the school library. I like our librarians very much, and enjoy talking to them. How could I not? They, like me, love books!
While I was visiting, it was suggested to me that since I read alot, I should read books from the TAYSHAS list. I am still learning about what the TAYSHAS list is exactly, but it appears, so far, to be a list of books that librarians in Texas think young adults should read. The librarians let me peruse the list of possibilities for this year's list. Honestly, I was only familiar with two books on the entire list: one because I've read something by the author, and the other because I was intrigued by the book on many different trips to Target.
The book I ended up reading first was The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern. This was the one I kept coming across at Target. The librarian told me the book was good but there were things that would bother me, being an English teacher and all. She was right. The book starts out a bit slow, but once you get into it, you want to know how it ends. The bothersome part is that the book is written in present tense, a writing no-no when telling a story. Once I got used to that, however, it wasn't a big deal.
The book itself is about a "competition" between the pupils of two great magicians. A duel to the death, if you will. The "battleground" of the "competition" is a circus that is only open at night. This circus is like no other because it is controlled by magic. To be entirely truthful, I am not even sure that my imagination gave that circus justice. The details were intricate, and I wanted to be in the circus itself, but I am fairly certain it would've been better that I could have imagined. I have a pretty active imagination, so I think that is saying something.
As always, I don't want to give anything away, and I am afraid that if I go on much more, I will. Read the book. It has elements that are like being a child again, with all the wonder that is involved in the circus.
While I was visiting, it was suggested to me that since I read alot, I should read books from the TAYSHAS list. I am still learning about what the TAYSHAS list is exactly, but it appears, so far, to be a list of books that librarians in Texas think young adults should read. The librarians let me peruse the list of possibilities for this year's list. Honestly, I was only familiar with two books on the entire list: one because I've read something by the author, and the other because I was intrigued by the book on many different trips to Target.
The book I ended up reading first was The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern. This was the one I kept coming across at Target. The librarian told me the book was good but there were things that would bother me, being an English teacher and all. She was right. The book starts out a bit slow, but once you get into it, you want to know how it ends. The bothersome part is that the book is written in present tense, a writing no-no when telling a story. Once I got used to that, however, it wasn't a big deal.
The book itself is about a "competition" between the pupils of two great magicians. A duel to the death, if you will. The "battleground" of the "competition" is a circus that is only open at night. This circus is like no other because it is controlled by magic. To be entirely truthful, I am not even sure that my imagination gave that circus justice. The details were intricate, and I wanted to be in the circus itself, but I am fairly certain it would've been better that I could have imagined. I have a pretty active imagination, so I think that is saying something.
As always, I don't want to give anything away, and I am afraid that if I go on much more, I will. Read the book. It has elements that are like being a child again, with all the wonder that is involved in the circus.
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