Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Five Flavors of Dumb

Title: Five Flavors of Dumb

Author: Antony John

Publisher: Dial

Publication Date:11-10-10

Pages: 352

Challenge:

Source: A-Z Challenge

 

From Good Reads:

 

The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig.

The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.

The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf?

Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb.

 

My thoughts:

This is a truly great book.  I really enjoyed the references to real Seattle bands and found the characters to be very captivating.  I think Piper's family dynamics concerning the cochlear implant really added to the complexity of this story.  While this is an easy and fun read there is really a lot to think about and discuss in this story which really adds to its value.  I highly recommend this title.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Title: Unearthly

Author: Cynthia Hand

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 435 pages

Publication Date: Jan. 4th 2011

Challenge: Debut Author

Source:  Library book

Unearthly is one of the books I selected as a part of the Debut Author's Challenge I am participating in.  The other day I had a student ask me if I had a copy of Unearthly and I pulled it out of my bag to show him that I had just started to read it.  He then told me he is related to the author.  How cool is that!  I was so glad I already had a copy in the library.  (I was actually pretty proud I did since this is a new release and had not been out long.  Thank you Story Siren for running this challenge and making me aware of the debut YA books that are out!)

I just finished the book and I loved it, but at the same time I am disappointed that I am done.  I would say this is the sign of a good book.  I can't stop thinking of the characters and I want more!  I found out from a little research that another book comes out next year- now I just have to find some patience.

Unearthly is the story of an angel-blood named Clara.  Clara is only 1/4 angel and to most of the world just seems like a normal teenager.  When Clara is 16 she starts have a recurring dream or vision of a forest fire and a boy that she has to save.  She discovers that this is a part of her "purpose" as an angel and that her family must move to Wyomng for her to fulfill that purpose.  In Wyoming she meets the boy from her visions as well as another guy- the brother of her best friend.  As Clara learns more about both Christian, the boy from the visons, Tucker, the best friend's twin brother, and about the angel world, life gets more and more confusing for her.

This fantasy, romantic, thriller is a real page turner.  I loved the characters and found them to be very real and believable.  I enjoyed the angel story line that Cynthia Hand created and found it to be very plasuible within the story.  My only disappointment with the book is that I am not ready to leave Clara, Christian, Tucker and Jeffrey, Clara's brother, behind.  I hope that future books will continue the Clara story but focus more on Jeffrey and Clara's mother too. 

I highly recommend Unearthly and look forward to booktalking this at school.

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

Title: The Beginning of After
Author: Jennifer Castle
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: 9-6-2011
Pages: 432
Challenge: Debut Author's Challenge
Source: ARC EBook from NetGallery


Summary from Good Reads:
Sixteen-year-old Laurel's world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all, there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel's life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss, a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.

Fans of emotionally true and heartfelt stories, such as Sarah Dessen's THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER and IF I STAY by Gayle Forman, will fall in love with Jennifer Castle’s incandescent debut novel...a heart wrenching, surprisingly witty testament to how drastically life can change in the span of a single moment.

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this title and know it will be a hit with my students.  One of the books on our 2010 summer reading list was If I Stay and this book will appeal to students who enjoyed that title.  I liked that Laurel, the main character, is so realistic in how she handles her grief-- it seemed very realistic and is very moving.  I could not put this book down and read it very quickly-- always a good sign! 

This is Jennifer Castle's debut novel and I felt that she did a great job of hooking the reader emotionally.  So many YA books deal with death but this novel focuses mostly on how Laurel slowly begins to live in the after of such a life changing tragedy.  Laurel struggles with such normal things as college applications and her first prom as she struggles to define herself without her parents.  I also really liked how Castle handled the grandmother "Nana"/guardian in this novel.  While the novel does not focus on this adult character, the reader still glimpes how Nana is also grieving and making sacrifices for the sake of Laurel.

There is some romance in this novel as Laurel has two guys that are interested in her.  I like how Castle does not allow a guy to fix Laurel though.  I would like to have learned more about David, the son of the driver in the accident whose mother died.  He does not seem to have anywhere near the support that Laurel does and he ultimately reaches out to Laurel.

Overall this is a good read that I am sure will be popular.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Title: Between Shades of Gray
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Publisher: Philomel Books
Publication Year: 2011
Pages: 344
Challenge: Debut Author
Source: LBHS Library

Summary from Good Reads:
Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously - and at great risk - documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

My Thoughts:

WOW- blown away!  This book by debut author Ruta Sepetys is incredible.  As a former history teacher I love historical fiction and this historical fiction title is well written and deals with WWII in a very different way then so many other stories. 
The main character is a Lithuanian girl who is deported by the Soviets during WWII.  It was very interested to think about how the various events of WWII, such as Hitler's invansion of the Soviet Union and the US and the Soviet Union becoming allies, affected people like Lina.  This story is horrifying and also inspirational.  I highly recommend for anyone who enjoys historical fiction and I can't wait to suggest it to World History II students and teachers. 
Check out the author's website:

http://www.betweenshadesofgray.com/

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

Title: Keeping the Moon
Author: Sarah Dessen
Published: 9-1-99
Source: LBHS Library

Summary from Good Reads: 
Colie expects the worst when she's sent to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt Mira while her mother, queen of the television infomercial, tours Europe. Always an outcast -- first for being fat and then for being "easy" -- Colie has no friends at home and doesn't expect to find any in Colby, North Carolina. But then she lands a job at the Last Chance Cafe and meets fellow waitresses Morgan and Isabel, best friends with a loving yet volatile relationship. Wacky yet wise, Morgan and Isabel help Colie see herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all along

My thoughts:
I have been on a Sarah Dessen kick this summer and I really love her books.  Keeping the Moon was written in 1999 and there are a few references in the book that show its age but the story is just as appealing as a book written in 2011.  Colie learns to like herself in this story and as a result she realizes that others like her too.  I really enjoy how Sarah Dessen's books take realistic teenage experiences and scenerios and built empowering stories around them. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to talking it up at school.