Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia

This is the story of a day in the life of three very self-absorbed but typical teenagers. Leticia, Dominque and Trina come to life in alternating chapters that tell us everything we need to know about them in very few words. The story of how Leticia overhears Dominque threaten to "jump" Trina after school becomes almost secondary to the inner lives and concerns of these three girls.

Will Leticia listen to her friend, Bea, and warn Trina or should she just hope or assume that she misunderstood Dominque? Is it possible to feel sympathy for someone who is as smug and clueless as Trina?

This was a sparsely written yet very revealing book. Williams-Garcia doesn't really give anything outright but she is able to paint a picture of high school, the pressures that teens face and the self-centeredness of even the nicest teenager. I wasn't really sure how I felt about this book at first, but by the time I finished it I loved it. I can see why it was a finalist for The National Book Award. The characters are spot-on without being stereotypical and the expression of their inner selves is lyrical and brillant.

This would be a great novel for a literature circle or book discussion, but it's not one that many teens will be able to understand on their own. It has been my experience that when things are not overtly obvious the average teen gets lost, confused and loses interest. They really like things to be in black and white.

Cheat Codes for College Entrance Exams

Let's face it, currently the primary method that most colleges and universities use for deciding your fate is your SAT or ACT score. You can be captain of the debate team, student council president or Mother Teresa, but if you don't have a stellar test score, they have a tendency to "misplace" or overlook your application.

Most financial aid is also awarded based on the scores of these tests. On one hand it is probably one of the only fair ways to decide these things, but on the other hand some people who have been very successful in college have not had super high scores. So what's a poor but motivated student supposed to do?

Well, you can always pay someone to take the test for you. Just kidding, I don't think this works very well. You can also pay someone at a learning center lots of money to force you to study and pound the informatin into your head. Or, you can admit defeat and actually spend some time studying for these tests.

These days there are countless websites and databases that make studying for these exams fun. OK, well as fun as studying can be. Here is a list of web places that I have found that will help you prepare in the least painless way possible.

http://teens.arapahoelibraries.org/go2.cfm?pid=11232

quizlet.com

number2.com

collegeboard.com

http://www.4tests.com/exams/exams.asp


http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/

John Green in Columbus

THIS JUST IN.....John Green, author of "An Abundance of Katherines" (one of my all time favorite books!) and "Looking for Alaska" will be appearing at the Columbus, OH Metro library.
Wow, not only is he going to be at the Main branch at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday October 20, 2009, but he will also be spreading his wit and charm throughout the Metro library branches earlier on Tuesday and also Wednesday 10/21/2009.
Green is funny, inspiring and just silly enough to make it worth the drive to Columbus to see him. Look at this picture, what an orator! Don't miss this opportunity to be amused and possibly enlightened.

(photo courtesy of annethelibrarian (ironically) at creative commons--thank you!)

Best Test Prep Site ---EVER!!

I just found a really great website that will help any student with just about any type of test or class. If you need to study for Spanish, Geometry, PSAT or just about any AP test, this is the place to go.

It's called Quizlet and it is a free database that allows students to make flashcards or just use the flashcards made by someone else. After you have studied the words or formulas, you can play games and time yourself or compete against someone else. You can even create groups so that you and your friends can share your work with each other.

How many times have you taken home test books with every intention of studying for the ACT, SAT or whatever? Then how many times did the books just there collecting dust or serving as a coaster while you just couldn't get motivated to open them? Quizlet gives you the opportunity to jump on, look at some flashcards or play a game and study painlessly. It couldn't be any easier except to have someone else take the test for you.

Do yourself a favor and check out Quizlet. What do you have to lose except your failing grade in Spanish?

(photo courtesy of Eyes of the World Media--thank you!)

Look Who's Here

It's long been a goal of mine to create a blog that publicizes all of the famous and maybe not so famous people who are appearing in the North Central Ohio area. I envision myself being the virtual calendar girl for those who like to go to see authors, politicians, musicians, comedians, etc. So, although this is not that blog, I just had to alert everyone to an upcoming author visit. If I wait until I have time to create that blog, this announcement will be irrelevant.

Jeannette Walls will be speaking in Columbus on October 15, 2009. Walls is the author of "The Glass Castle" a memoir about her childhood with two parents who were less than ordinary. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother was a very unusual and nonconforming artist. She and her family spent lots of time homeless and searching for food. The book is amazing and now Walls has published another one. This time it's a story loosely based on her maternal grandmother and it's called "Half Broke Horses."

Walls will be appearing at 7:30 p.m. at the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, 100 Granville St. , New Albany, OH. For those like me who don't know where New Albany is, if you click on the link to the Center it should point you to directions and other info. It looks to me like New Albany is west of downtown near Dublin, but don't take my word for it. Tickets are $15-$25 and should be well worth the price.

If you can't make it that night, Walls will also be appearing at 11:00 a.m. Thursday 10/15 at the Barnes & Noble at Easton.

Xtranormal Booktrailer Experiment

Here is a really cool new website that I just discovered called Xtranormal. Aside from loving the name, I also really love what you can do with it. You can create these short videos using cartoonish characters and your own witty dialogue. It's super easy, in fact, their slogan is--"If you can type you can make movies." It only took me a few minutes to figure out how to use it and I made the following little book trailer in less than an hour.

I can think of lots of uses for these short movies. You could make a presentation for a class, do a little "thank you" video for someone or even just send a quirky, cheery movie to a friend. I don't really consider myself a techno geek, but I might have to rethink that. I love this kind of stuff, especially when I can use it and not want to slam my computer on the ground.

Who Wants to Live Forever?!

In a cruel, futuristic world, 14 year old "surplus" Anna is trying her best to survive Grange Hall and become a valuable asset to society. As a valuable asset she will become an invisible helper in someone's home, blending into the background and doing whatever is needed. Anna's crime was...being born!

Her parents have taken longevity drugs and have the ability to live forever. But in order to obtain the drugs, they had to sign "The Declaration" and promise that they would not have children. Anna's parents decide to sneak and have a child, but unfortunately Anna is snatched by the vicious "catchers" and taken to Grange Hall.

Depsite her parents' efforts, Anna cannot be returned. She will be forced to live out her days like the other surpluses, obeying the rules and repenting for the sins of their parents. But what about Peter, the new surplus who refuses to accept his situation? Could there really be an underground movement that could help Anna and the other surpluses?

I listened to this book on tape and exercising became a joy. The time on the treadmill flew by while I listened to the reader describe the dismal conditions at Grange Hall and the frightening life outside for those who dared defy the Declaration. The reader is excellent and her British accent makes the story that much more believable.

Whether you read it or listen to it, The Declaration will leave you wondering if you really would like to live forever.

Hot Reads for Summer

It's time for the lazy days of summer. If you're like me, (nerdy spaz) you look forward to having some free time for reading. Here is a list of some of the best books that I have recently read:


Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Project 17 by Laurie Stolarz
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Shattering Glass by Gail Giles
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Grimpow by Rafael Abalos
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
My Father’s Son by Terri Fields

I'm sure you can think of lots of other good books, and I would love to hear about them, but these are some that I know are great. So grab a hammock, some iced tea and a fluffy pillow and get busy relaxing with a good book.

My Father's Son by Terri Fields

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Bang! As soon as the book opens, Kevin sees his father on TV and he's not getting an award. Instead the newscasters are saying the his dad is the DB25 killer, a serial murder who has tortured and killed more than 13 women over the past few years. The evidence is pretty solid. His dad was apprehended by the police when he was climbing out of the latest victim's window. After this brief introduction the book goes back in time a few weeks to show just how normal Kevin's life had been and juxtapose it with the life that he is being thrown into. Of course, Kevin doesn't believe his dad is a killer, but no one will talk to him and his dad tells him not to try to contact him or help him in any way. Is it possible to be living with a monster and not have any idea?

I read this book almost in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down because I had to know the truth about Kevin's dad. Fields does a pretty good job of building suspense and throws in just enough sketchy information to make it seem possible that someone's dad could be a killer.

The characters were well developed and the teen dialogue was right on. Sometimes fictional teens are just a little too witty and pithy to be believable. But that wasn't the case with My Father's Son. There are some great exchanges but the teens don't all sound like Jay Leno is writing monologues for them. Also, the mom was a well developed character for a change. Of course she takes the brunt of Kevin's anger about the situation, but her reactions are believable and understandable. She is able to be supportive without being a doormat.

I am planning to buy this book right away for my school library. That's high praise considering I have no budget and have to eek out books by doing fundraisers and having parents feel sorry for me. I very seldom buy a book in hard cover, but I have to get this one now. I know my 7th and 8th graders are going to love it!


View all my reviews.

Review of "Dead Girl Walking" by Joy Singleton

Dead Girl Walking: Dead Girl by Linda Joy Singleton

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
When Amber has an out of body experience, she takes a wrong turn and ends up in the body of Leah, the richest, most popular girl in school. Now Amber has to get used to a new "somewhat" different family and a group of friends who she would never choose. How can Amber get back into her own body when she can't even convince anyone that she still exists?

This was not a terrible book, but it had many problems. One was that the characters were all "types." I'm so sick of reading teen books with the anarchist, black dressing vegan girl, the geeky techie guy friend who's just a girl with testosterone, and the vapid popular girls. Singleton does give Leah's friend, Jessica a little depth, but the rest of the popular crowd are straight out of an after school special. Also, why does Amber have to be such a ungainly clod who's the complete opposite of the body she ends up inhabiting? Isn't it possible that she could have anything in common with a popular girl? And when is a teen book going to be written where the rich parents aren't complete monsters? A steady diet of YA fiction would convince most people that all wealthy parents are evil, power hungry, controlling fiends who treat their kids like property and have more respect for their Mercedes than their own offspring. Leah's Dad was like Bart Bass (gossip girl) on steroids. Aren't there any any parents with fat wallets who also have kind hearts?

Anyway, this is a series and I couldn't even bring myself to read the sneak preview of the next book at the end of this one. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood, but to me this was a good plot idea that just wasn't very well written.


View all my reviews.

Find your inner decimal

If you're like me I'm sure you've often wondered what dewey decimal number you are. Just exactly where are you shelved in the human library? Well Spacefem.com can help you find out. Just type in your name, choose a color and their calculator will show you just exactly where you could be found in the personality card catalog.

Here is what I found out about myself:

Anne Rhodes's Dewey Decimal Section:

055 In Italian, Romanian & related languages

Anne Rhodes's birthday: 9/5/1960 = 95+1960 = 2055


Class:
000 Computer Science, Information & General Works


Contains:
Encyclopedias, magazines, journals and books with quotations.



What it says about you:
You are very informative and up to date. You're working on living in the here and now, not the past. You go through a lot of changes. When you make a decision you can be very sure of yourself, maybe even stubborn, but your friends appreciate your honesty and resolve.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

I'm informative and up to date. Hah, try telling that to my kids!! I'd like to think that at least at work I can be pretty helpful and informative, after all that is my job description. As for living in the here and now, have you ever seen my closet or our "album" collection? Not exactly cutting edge stuff.

Of well this is a fun and harmless quiz and who knows, you just might want to check yourself out!