Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (2008, Little, Brown)
Peeled by Joan Bauer (2008, G. P. Putnam’s Sons)
I love Joan Bauer’s books. All spring I waited with high expectations for Peeled. Maybe I expected too much, but I am disappointed. The book’s main character, Hildy, is a reporter for her high school newspaper. There are evil-doers afoot in her small town, and she and her friends (with the help of a curmudgeonly adult advisor) uncover their shenanigans. If you’ve read Landry News by Andrew Clements, or more recently, the Adam Canfield of the Slash books by Michael Winerip you won’t find anything new here. If you really like the “high school journalist” genre and are looking for a new book, I prefer Defying the Diva, by D. Anne Love, over Peeled. If you haven’t read Joan Bauer, start with Hope Was Here and Best Foot Forward. I thought they were great; Peeled is just okay. (Marcia, South Branch)
Math Doesn’t Suck, by Danica McKellar (Hudson St. Press, 2007)
As the mathphobic daughter-in-law and sister-in-law of several male mathematicians, this breezy yet tremendously helpful book made me sit up and take notice. A reminder that there are many ways to teach and to learn.
Read more about Danica, her forthcoming book Kiss My Math and her work to promote math for girls here.
Listen to an interview with her on NPR: Danica McKellar’s Mathematical Theorem (Lesley, Reference)
What did you think? Was The Dark Knight as good as you thought it would be? What Oscars could it win?
Visit cities around the world through VR (virtual reality) photography! Step inside the city and turn around via a full, 360-degree panorama visualization of a neighborhood, street scene, museum, and more.
Enter the Teenreads.com contest (through July 31) for a chance to win a beach bag full of 10 books and summer goodies! For more info on the contest, click here!
21 days left before the release the Stephenie Meyer’s Breaking Dawn! What do you think will happen in this book?
What do you think of the cover of the new issue of Entertainment Weekly?
Coming soon to movie theatres – books made into movies! Read the book, then watch the movie and compare. Then submit your thoughts online to Reel Reads!
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 based on Ann Brashares best-selling series of novels.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army based on the Dark Horse comic series by Mike Mignola.
Journey to the Center of the Earth based on Jules Verne’s classic of the same title.
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging from Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison. (released only in the UK in July)
Make your own movie trailer of a book you have read this summer. Submit it to our summer reading contest for a chance to win great prizes!
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
What could be better than a skeleton detective? You read that correctly, the title character, Skulduggery Pleasant, is a skeleton detective with the ability to conjure flames when he snaps his fingers. He’s not your average private eye, to say the least.
We first meet Skulduggery at the funeral of writer Gordon Edgley. He’s the mysterious figure at the edge of the crowd, wrapped up in a trench coat, scarf, and sunglasses, as though he were avoiding the paparazzi. His odd appearance does not go unnoticed by Stephanie, Gordon’s clever niece. She is intrigued by this mysterious figure.
Gordon was a very successful writer and as he had no family of his own, left the bulk of his estate to Stephanie. This opens a world of possibility to Stephanie, and unbeknownst to her, a world of trouble. Through a series of events, Stephanie ends up at Gordon’s estate, now hers, by herself one night. It is there someone comes looking for key; only this is the kind of someone that smashes windows and doors. Skulduggery to the rescue and so begins their adventures.
Recently, Landy was awarded the Red House book prize. Previous winners include Roald Dahl, Jacqueline Wilson, and J. K. Rowling. Not only is he in illustrious company, but the winner is chosen solely by young people’s votes.
If you enjoyed the Artemis Fowl series, or the Bartimaeus trilogy, this is one you should check out, as it has the same elements of magic and humor. (Bridget, The Loft)
This title is also available on CD and eAudiobook. And check out the sequel, Playing with Fire.
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