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Preorder today!

I'm totally excited that a new Tamora Pierce novel is coming out in a couple months. It's the second book in the Beka Cooper series, and it's called Bloodhound. If you'd like to preorder a copy, send me an email at p1ratewench@hotmail.com or call the store at (510) 339-8210. Here's a picture!

If you haven't read Pierce's other Tortall books, I highly highly recommend them. They were my favorite books when I was a kid, and they made me the reader/writer that I am today. She has two four-book series that you should start with: The Song of the Lioness Quartet, and the Wild Magic quartet. We try to have them on the shelf at all times, so stop by and check them out!

Review

The Magicians

by Lev Grossman

Adult Fantasy

Due August 2009

This book is Harry Potter for grown-ups. Quentin Coldwater arrives at his Princeton alumni interviewer's house to find the man dead on the floor. A paramedic hands him an envelope containing a note and book six of Quentin's favorite 5-part series, a Narnia-esque fantasy for children. But before he can read the manuscript, he finds himself transported to upstate New York, where he is accepted to a magical academy that no one has ever heard of. Thus begins a very unconventional college experience--it involves the usual drama of drinking and relationships, plus the added stress of advanced spell work. Quentin's struggles with power and responsibility, and his search for happiness within the world he's always dreamed of, make this a compelling and strangely believable novel. I couldn't put it down.

Reviews by Sydney

It's Not You, It's Me
by Kerry Cohen Hoffman
review by Sydney
coming June 9th, 2009

This book is about a teenager named Zoe. She used to have many hobbies and made up a magazine club for her school. However when she and Henry started dating, Zoe gave up all of her hobbies just to spend time with him. Zoe also came to every band practice Henry had with his friends. However after they have been dating for 6 months Henry breaks up with her because she isn't as fun as she used to be because she gave up all of her hobbies. After Henry breaks up with her she is devastated and her friends Julia and Shannon make a plan to get Henry back. However during the plan Zoe starts to like Niles, one of Henry's band members. This book was really funny and teaches you that boys and romance aren't always everything.


My Fair Godmother
by Janette Rallison
review by Sydney
available now

This book has to be about one of my favorite books lately.It is about two sisters: Savannah and Jane. One day Savannah and a boy named Hunter start dating. Jane is very jealous because she's had a crush on Hunter because he is in her calculus class. However after Hunter and Savannah had been dating for four months, Hunter realizes that Jane is more his type because they are both smart and Savannah doesn't even know what an acute angle is. After Hunter breaks up with Savannah for Jane, Savannah is so sad. A couple days after the break up, Savannah comes home from a disastrous pool party, where she lost the upper half of her bikini when she did a dive. When she goes into her room she finds a leprechaun named Clover Bloomsbottle. Shortly after there is a big poof of light and in walks a fairy. The fairy tells Savannah that she is her Fair Godmother (not a fairy godmother because she didn't do well in fairy school). The fairy's name is Chrysanthemum Everstar (Chrissy for short). Chrissy tells Savannah that she gets 3 wishes and she needs to sign a piece of paper too. The rest of the story is about the wishes Savannah wished for and the adventures she has in them. I really enjoyed this book and I definitely would recommend it!!

TMI
by Sarah Quigley
review by Sydney
coming April 16th, 2009

This book is about a 15-year-old sophomore named Rebecca (Becca). She is also known as 'Overshare Queen' because she never keeps a secret and always talks about stuff. She doesn't have any secrets because she tells her friend Katie everything! One day a new boy named Jai comes to their school. Immediately Becca opens up to Jai and tells him and Katie how sloppy of a kisser her boyfriend Evan is. One day Evan gives Becca a card because they wouldn't be seeing each other for the entire winter vacation. After reading the card (which is a poem) Becca goes to lunch and shows the card to Katie and Jai. Then Jai grabs the card and writes 'Evan the wonder tongue'. He writes this because from Becca he learned that Evan has a huge tongue. However right at that moment Evan walks in and goes over to Becca. He sees the card and what's written on it and stomps out of the cafeteria. A couple days later Becca gets a call from Josh (Evan's best friend) and Josh tells Becca that Evan is dumping her. A couple days later Becca makes a New Year's resolution not to over share again. However instead of over sharing she writes about her troubles and her friend's secrets on a blog. However soon the school finds out about her blog and Jai won't speak to her and Katie isn't too happy with her either.

This book is really funny and in the end Becca starts a diary in paper so nobody can read it. I enjoyed reading this book.


Second Skin
by Jessica Wollman
review by Sydney
coming July 14th, 2009

This book is about a teenager named Samantha (Sam) Klein. One day the most popular girl in school (AKA Kylie Frank) moves next door to Sam. Sam is so exited because she thinks she has a chance at becoming popular. One day when Kylie's parents are out of town Kylie has a huge party that Sam isn't invited to because she isn't popular. The next day Kylie is worried because there is a broken window where somebody threw the beer keg out the window. Sam sees that Kylie needs help and Sam gets her safe that has a lot of money in it and goes over to Kylie who is pacing outside and gives it to her. Kylie is relieved but also confused as to why Sam would be giving her this money however she is satisfied and takes the safe and goes back into her house. A couple minutes later Sam realizes that she forgot to tell Kylie the code to the safe and goes into Kylie's house. When she gets to Kylie's room she sees Kylie unzip her skin!! Sam screams and then Kylie turns around to look at Sam. Sam asks what that is and Kylie explains to her that it is popularity. You wear the skin and you have instant popularity. After Sam leaves she decides to sneak into Kylie's room and steals popularity. After Sam steals the skin she becomes popular. In the end Sam learns that popularity isn't that great.

I enjoyed this book!

Young Adult Book Club

A Great Good Place is starting a young adult book club!

Our new all-girls book club will be co-hosted by me (Jake-the-Girl) and Isabella Hershey. We haven't decided on a day of the week or a time, but the first meeting will be in March and we'll meet once a month or so. Our first book will be The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry.

Each month, a different member will choose a book and find a few facts about the author. At the meeting we'll discuss our favorite parts of the book, talk about the characters, and maybe ask a few questions for the group to think about.

If you are a girl between the ages of 9 and 12, send me an email at p1ratewench@hotmail.com to join.

Reviews

Delicate Edible Birds

by Lauren Groff

Adult Short Stories

I'm not a short story person. I prefer novels, and I actually don't think I've read a book of short stories in about 6 years (excluding the ones I read in college). I gave this one a try, though, because I loved The Monsters of Templeton and I knew that I was going to meet Lauren Groff. I am so glad I read it. Short stories are just a different reading experience, and these are like miniature novels. The characters are incredibly well-developed, and each of the nine stories has its own flavor and feel. They didn't necessarily convert me to short story-lover, though--I don't think any other collection could compare to this one.

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

Young Adult (??) Historical Fiction

This book is wonderful: powerful, nuanced, epic, poignant, heartwrenching, and all of that. It's a novel of Hitler's Germany, where a young girl is put into foster care and watches her country change while her new family is formed. Death tells the story, so life and death are powerful motifs throughout the narrative. For over a year I've been ordering The Book Thief for book clubs and shelving copies in the young adult section, where it allegedly belongs. However, I had noted that very few young adults actually bought or read the book, and finally my curiosity overcame me and I read it. After finishing the book, I was surprised by how vehemently I opposed its categorization as Young Adult Fiction. It isn't. The main character, Liesel Meminger, is 9 when the book begins and 14 when it ends--but this does not a YA make. This is the kind of book that requires a lot of life experience, and a sophisticated understanding of life and death, to truly appreciate: while Liesel sees things through young eyes, there's a certain amount of contextualization required. In my experience, no one under the age of 14 has enjoyed the book. Thoughts, anyone?

(And Markus Zusak, did you intend this book to be YA or Adult Fiction??)