Girl in the Arena

Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lyn hates everything about the "Glad" life, especially the fact that all 7 of her fathers have been killed while fighting. In the last battle, Tommy, her favorite of all the men her Mom has married, is killed by Uber. Before the fight Lyn had given Tommy her dowry bracelet for good luck. But it wasn't good luck at all; in fact it couldn't be worse. When Uber grabs the bracelet and puts it on his arm Lyn is obligated by the rules of the Gladiators to marry him. Now Lyn is blasted into the spotlight with paparazzi following her night and day to see what she will do. Should she marry Uber and become a "Glad" wife in order to save her family or is there another way out?

This book sounds contrived and hokey but I enjoyed reading it. It had many similarities to "Hunger Games" but was fresh enough to stand on it's own. Lyn is a really strong female character and Uber is also unique. He's not an ogre or a loser and is a pretty likable character. Lyn's Mom is pretty useless which can be annoying, but I found this to be a quick and fun story. I cared enough about the characters to hope that there is a sequel.



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Oh Poo and Merde! I've just read the final installment of the Georgia Nicolson diaries, "Are Those My Basoomas I See Before Me?" I am so full of sadnosity. I hate to think that this is the last book. I always looked forward to reading about Georgia and the Ace Gang.

When we last saw Georgia in "Stop in the Name of Pants," Masimo "the lurvve god" had stropped off to strop central with the Mega hump because he had seen Georgia dancing with Dave the Laugh. Once again Georgia was left in the cakeshop of love. This final book has Georgia trying to display maturiosity and win back Masimo. But what about Dave the Laugh? He is still her fun and crazy mate and he thinks she's a sex kitty. And then there's Robbie, the original sex-god; he can't really like wet Lindsay can he?

If you are a fan of this series, you will love this book. Of course Georgia's crazy family is all there in their complete madnosity as well as Angus and all of the favorites from Stalag 14.

I guess I can't blame Louise Rennison for wanting to move on, you can only remake so many Billy Shakespeare plays and write so many beard jokes, but I will certainly miss Georgia and her self absorbed ways. I am like a depressed person on depressed pills.

Check Them Grammar Errors

We could all use some practice in the grammar area. No matter how correctly we think we speak, often questions arise about the use of a particular word or phrase. The beauty of the internet, besides being able to find and prescreen great restaurants anywhere in the world, is the free access to some great websites that provide a fun (sort of) way to get in some grammar practice in between Facebook stalking.

Here are two places that provide some painless grammar quizes and help you decide whether to use lay, lie or laid. (maybe)

http://roadtogrammar.com/

http://www.chompchomp.com/menu.htm


P.S. If you can't identify the grammar error in this posting, you really need to hit these sites hard.

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!)