City of Ember movie coming in October...

Check out the super-cool City of Ember movie preview stuff down at the bottom of my blog! I absolutely loved this beginning book in the trilogy by by Jeanne DuPrau.

The movie is set to be released on October 10th 2008 and I can't wait! I just hope it somewhat lives up to the book. If you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for?

"For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing ... and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. "

Hot Chick Lit

Since I'm on the Texas Lone Star committee, I've had the opportunity to read lots of great books--including some chick lit this summer. Here are 3 I enjoyed, and I hope you enjoy them, as well.

Lucky by Rachel Vail

14 year old Phoebe and her friends are most definitely lucky girls, and Phoebe has always seemed the luckiest of all of them. She's beautiful, rich, and popular--what more could a girl want? She and her friends are planning a huge bash to celebrate their 8th grade graduation (think MTv's "My Super-Sweet-16 kind of shindig) when the unthinkable happenss. Her mom loses her high-powered job and suddenly the cash stops flowing in. Now, while her friends excitedly plan the party, it seems unattainable to her, and life is turned upside down. Fans of Meg Cabot will love LUCKY.

The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper

Kate is a very practical girl who hasn't been lucky in love. After winning an essay contest she goes to Verona, Italy to experience Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for a summer session. She and her classmates learn just why the Bard's (as Shakespeare is known) work is still as relevant and real today as it was when it was written when life begins to imitate art. Those of you who love romance or theatre will enjoy this book. Those of you who love romance and theatre will adore it.

How Not to be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler
I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. I actually laughed right out loud (causing a few innocent bystanders to wonder about my sanity, I am sure) while reading it. Sugar Magnolia Dempsy (Maggie) and her wandering hippie parents have moved wherever the wind has taken them ever since Maggie can remember. Now that she's older, it gets more painful to leave friends and loved ones each time. Since her parents moved to Austin, Texas she's made a new plan. No longer will she try to fit in with the "populars", now she will purposefully make no friends--and therefore not be hurt when her family inevitably picks up and moves again. She dresses in weird and bizarre ways (even for Austin--Keep Austin Weird!) and joins the "nerdy" group when she has to join anything. Her plan completely backfires and the ensuing story is delicious.

For those of you who love to read ghost stories...

Here are 2 great ones! For the older set...The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein. This book is incredibly appealing--it really grabs you quickly and takes you for quite a wild ride. A creepy, haunting tale that made it difficult at times to read at night.

Zach's mother has just died, and his dad has remarried. They relocate to a new town that holds a very mysterious and old evil. Have you ever for a moment thought you saw an angry face in the trunk of a tree? Zach has. And now a vengeful ghost is out for revenge...and Zach. This is a great psychological thriller that has suprising twists and turns. You'll love it.
Fans of Mary Downing Hahn, you will not be disappointed in her latest and greatest ghost story! I liked it even better than Wait Till Helen Comes---and I LOVE that book.

Travis and his sister Corey unknowingly unleash evil in an attempt to play a prank at their grandmother's inn. Soon, all the lovely bad ones...and the really bad one chasing them are awakened again. A wonderfully scary story...and how cool is this cover???

Don't mess with the librarians

I'll be back with more book reviews by tomorrow, but until then...here's another video that I just had to include.

Okay, this youtube video is just creepy enough to be fantastic. I love the vintage feel that the black & white gives it, and the librarians are soooo Stepford Wives meets evil genius. Enjoy!

Library Ninja

This youtube video KILLS me. I swear, I laugh my head off everytime I see it.


I believe I have a new goal for the year.....

become Sensei Insight FU, Library Ninja

(not that I don't LOVE technology...but still, ya gotta admit this is mighty clevah!)

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Unwind is absolutely amazing. I've long been a fan of Neal Shusterman (who by the way is not only a brilliant writer but a fascinating dinner companion, as I found out at this past year's Texas Library Association conference)and enjoyed his previous works (I am a particular fan of The Schwa Was Here), but Unwind takes things to a whole new level.

Connor Lassiter founds out he is about to be unwound---you see, he lives in a time in which parents or guardians can choose to have their teens aged 13-18 "unwound" if they choose to do so. Got a troubled kid? Send him to a harvest camp and have him "unwound", that way you aren't really killing him---after all, his body parts will go on to someone who needs them, so in that sense he is just "living" in a different way. When Connor finds the paperwork that spells out his future he decides to run. If he can make it until he is 18 he'll be safe. Along the way he picks up two other kids destined for the same future, Risa, a ward of the state who is being unwound because while she is okay at certain things she isn't a genius at any of them, and after all, more space is needed in the state home, and Lev, a tithe, who has known since birth that his family was voluntarily unwinding him as a gift to God.

This is one of those books that will keep you on the edge of your seat while reading, and haunt you afterwards. It is incredibly disturbing and complex, and would be an excellent book for a group to discuss. I can't wait for school to be back in session so that I can talk this book with you guys! I HIGHLY recommend this book for grades 7 and up.

a busy, busy summer

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted to this blog. So, without making any excuses (which would all be valid ones!) let's just say that I'm going to start anew and attempt to post to the this blog a minium of 2 times per week. Okay? Thanks!