You made me cry again Jordan Sonnenblick!

One of my favorite books is Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pies by Jordan Sonnenblick. Now I can honestly say that Notes from A Midnight Driver will join that list. Alex gets into some trouble and has to do community service at a nursing home. His assignment is to work with a cranky man named Mr. Lewis. It's a learning experience for both of them filled with humor and tears. I laughed heartily and then burst out crying. It kept me so engrossed in the plot that I ignored TV and finished the book in one day! This book would be an awesome book club book for middle school boys and girls. Excuse me, I need to go blow my nose now.

Airball: My Life in Shorts!

Airball: My Life in Shorts by L.D. Harkrader is a quick and funny read. A 7th grade basketball team who hasn't won a game in 3 years has to start winning in order to be part of a ceremony at the state university to retire a hometown hero now an NBA star's number. Their coach's answer to winning? They will play in their underwear! The main character, Kirby, who hasn't an athletic bone in his body is sure that the NBA star is his father. Will he be able to prove it? Will the team prevail and finally have a winning season? If you have reluctant middle school boy readers who like sports, have them give this book a shot.

You go girl!

Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner made me want to pump my fist and shout, "You go girl!" This YA novel is about the early years of Helen of Troy (you know, the chick who had the face that launched a thousand ships). Helen is truly a likable heroine who wants to be a hero and have adventure rather than weaving and getting married. This book was action packed and it left you wanting more (it will have a sequel). It might require though having some general knowledge of Greek Mythology (gods, goddesses, heroes, oracles) in order to truly "get it". There is no horrible violence or mature content. I would recommend this book to someone who wants a girl power or girl adventure book. It is a longer book so it will require some stamina but the plot does a good job keeping the reader interested.

LOVED An Abundance of Katherines!

I just finished reading John Green's Abundance of Katherine's. It was one of the funniest books that I have ever read. It is also one of the smartest. It is definitely for high schoolers. I am a pretty liberal middle school librarian and I know that some of my 8th graders would totally love this book (Jacob...I'm thinking of you!) but most of my kiddos aren't mature enough to "get it" and some of the language is very mature and "Catcher in the Rye"ish. The main character Colin has been dumped by 19 Katherines and he tries to develop a mathematical theorem on a road trip with his best friend to explain the phenomenom of dumpers and dumpees. Colin and his friend are total nerds and are proud of it. The trip leads them to Tennessee where they learn many life changing lessons about themselves and others.

The Wizard, The Witch & Two Girls from Jersey

I just finished reading Lisa Papademetriou's The Wizard, the Witch and Two Girl's from Jersey. Before I give you the 411 on this book, I think I need to let you know that, I'm truly not a big fan of fantasy (I know, I should be beaten to death by an elf with some sort of magic contraption). This book is a fantasy but it also has a lot of Chick Lit flava to it. It's like the Princess Diaries meets Lord of the Rings. It allowed a non-fantasy lover to delve into the magical world of elves, dwarves and evil magic and actually enjoy the ride. Two main characters, Heather and Veronica are of course, are opposites. One is popular and the other, not so much. Both have a paper due on a fantasy book and guess what? There is only one copy available. This leads to a struggle over the book resulting in the girls literally falling into the realm of the book and becoming part of the story. This leads to the story changing and the girls having the task of destroying the Twilight Queen, trying to mess up the whole story and saving this new world.

The book is 273 pages. Serious fantasy readers will probably balk at this book. There is some cussing by the characters but it is lightly sprinkled in this book. I recommend this book for someone who wants a fun, chick lit read (romance, snappy dialogue (mostly) between the characters). Also, if you are digging the fairy tales, give this one a try. I really think 7th graders and up would get it better, in my opinion.