Fledglings: Best Book of the Year

At the final meeting of Fledglings, the members looked back on what they’ve read over the year and voted for the best book. 

Contenders were:

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Child of Dandelions by Sheenaz Nanji
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Graceling by Kristen Cashore
Sphinx’s Princess by Esther Friesner
The Broken Thread by Linda Smith
Suicide Notes by Michael T. Ford
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Impossible by Nancy Werlin

And the winner is:

(more…)

Published in: on June 23, 2011 at 5:01 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Fledglings: Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Impossible by Nancy Werlin, paperback, $12.50

Yesterday, the third of our book clubs, Fledglings, wrapped up a year’s great reading with Impossible by Nancy Werlin. 

Comments included:

Really enjoyed the book.
Liked the mix of realism with fairytale
Pierre was a great dog.
Book did slow down as Lucy’s pregnancy progressed.
Very well written.
Liked the concept of linking the story with the song “Scarborough Fair”.
Pace sped up in the last third of the book.
Excellent description of relationships.
Liked depiction of many different loves.
Zach is the best love interest ever. 
Very believable relationships. 
Slowed down in the middle of the book. 
Really liked the relationship development. 

Final score: 8.355

Still to be annouced: The Fledglings Best Book of the Year and summer reading for all three book clubs.

Published in: on June 22, 2011 at 2:19 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Best Book of the Year: Senior Owlets

At the end of each year, our kids and teen book clubs look back over the ten books they’ve read and choose one as the Best Book of the Year. 

The candidates for Senior Owlets (Grades 7 – 9) were:
Gone by Michael Grant
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Flush by Carl Hiaasen
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Airman by Eoin Colfer
Genesis by Bernard Beckett
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Test by William Sleator
Touch by Francine Prose

And the winner is…

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, paperback $9.99

In a future North America, the Capitol of Panem controls the twelve surrounding districts.  Each of those districts must send one boy and one girl to the Capitol every year to compete in the annual Hunger Games.  Katniss steps in to replace her younger sister Prim when her name is called to represent District 12.  The Hunger Games is a fight to the death and Katniss is determined to survive. 

The Hunger Games was read in October and got a rating of 9.78 out of 10. 

Congratulations, Ms. Collins, on willing Best Book of the Year from the Senior Owlets!

Published in: on June 9, 2011 at 1:32 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Senior Owlets: Touch by Francine Prose

Touch by Francine Prose, paperback $9.99

Yesterday was the June wrap up for Senior Owlets, our book club for grade 7 – 9.  The book up for discussion was Touch by Francine Prose. 

Comments included:
Really liked characters.
Well-written.
Enjoyed development of Joan and her narcissism.
Could completely relate to Maisie.
Joan & Cynthia were the evil characters, but were developed with such care that readers really enjoyed them. 
Compelling read. 
Like how the truth is slowly revealed as Maisie comes to terms with what happened. 
Maisie has a very strong voice.
Joan, Shakes & Maisie were well-developed, while other characters were one-dimensional. 

Final score: 8.3733333

Stay tuned for the winner of Senior Owlets Best Book of the Year!

Published in: on June 8, 2011 at 12:48 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Review from Judith: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Blood Red Road by Moira Young, Hardcover, $19.99

Blood Red Road
by Moira Young
Doubleday Canada, 2011
Hardcover, $19.99

Teen Fiction

It’s the last days leading up to the June 7th release of Blood Red Road by Moira Young.  There’s quite a bit of anticipation for this book, as the movie options have already been sold to Ridley Scott, who produced (among many others) Thelma & Louise and Black Hawk Down. 

I was lucky enough to be able to sit down with an advanced copy over the last few days and I’m please to say it stands up quite well against all the anticipation. 

Saba has always been the foil for her twin brother Lugh.  He’s her light, she’s his shadow.  Together with their Pa and their little sister Emmi, they eek out a living at the dying Silverlake by scavenging “Wrecker junk” — refuse from a society long dead. 

When four strange men appear, kidnap Lugh and kill Pa, Saba vows that she’ll follow and get her brother back, no matter what.  But the road to finding Lugh again is not a straight line. 

Filled with both action and emotion, Blood Red Road is an excellent read for teens, both boys and girls.  Saba’s voice will stick with you long after you finish.

Published in: on June 3, 2011 at 4:37 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Fledglings: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (paperback $12.99)

The May selection for Fledglings was The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. 

In Mary’s world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

The Fledglings gave The Forest of Hands and Teeth a score of 8.9141105 out of 10 and provided the following comments:

Very descriptive.
Well written.
Page turner.
Like the idea of post apocalyptic zombie war.
Left it open for sequels.
Very detailed.
Creepy.
Some weaknesses with having first-person narration because we only know so much. Conversely, can be a strength. 
Very strong beginning.
Enjoyed religious and political overtones of the Sisterhood. 
Refreshing look at zombie apocalypse with the people unaware of the true history. 
Raises lots of questions.
Hooked the reader right away.
Very strong writing.
Excellent building of suspense. 

Impossible by Nancy Werlin (paperback, $12.50)

June’s selection for Fledglings (and our final book of the year) is Impossible by Nancy Werlin. 

Inspired by the ballad Scarborough Fair, popularized by Simon & Garfunkel, this riveting novel combines suspense, fantasy, and romance. It tells the story of a teenage girl who has nine months to break an ancient curse in order to save both herself and her unborn daughter.

Fledglings is a book club for teens in Grades 9 to 12.  If you’re interested in joining Fledglings or one of our other clubs, check out the Book Clubs page on our main site, chat with us at the store, or just drop in to one of the meetings.

Published in: on May 20, 2011 at 3:45 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Senior Owlets: A Curse Dark as Gold

Curse Dark as Gold, paperback $12.99

This month, Senior Owlets read A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce. 

Comments included:

Really liked the retelling of the Rumpleslitskin story.
Some of the characters were too stagnant
Charlotte was trying too hard.
Randall was a shallow character (undeveloped).  Reader doesn’t really get to know him.
Charlotte was very focussed, very driven.
Loved the language, very realistic and evocative of the period.
Main character (Charlotte) well developed.
Majority of the other characters (save Randall) were also well developed.
In places the pacing was slow. 
Loved the title and cover art.
Depiction of early industrial mill very well done. 

Final score: 7.189333

Test, paperback $10.50

The next Senior Owlets meeting will by May 3rd, 2011 at 4:30pm.  The book up for discussion is Test by William Sleator. 

Pass, and have it made. Fail, and suffer the consequences. A master of teen thrillers tests readers’ courage in an edge-of-your-seat novel that echoes the fears of exam-takers everywhere.
 
Ann, a teenage girl living in the security-obsessed, elitist United States of the very near future, is threatened on her way home from school by a mysterious man on a black motorcycle. Soon she and a new friend are caught up in a vast conspiracy of greed involving the mega-wealthy owner of a school testing company. Students who pass his test have it made; those who don’t, disappear . . . or worse. Will Ann be next?

Senior Owlets is a book club for kids in Grades 7 to 9.  If you’re interested in joining Seniors or one of our other clubs, check out the Book Clubs page on our main site, chat with us at the store, or just drop in to one of the meetings.

Published in: on April 11, 2011 at 6:14 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Fledglings: The Broken Thread by Linda Smith

The Broken Thread by Linda Smith (paperback $12.95)

The March selection for our teen book club, Fledglings, was The Broken Thread by Linda Smith. 

Some of the comments included:

Liked the writing style.
Quite descriptive.
Idea of a taspestry appears in many mythologies.
Quite suspenseful in places.
Like the idea of how her hair binds them together.
Do the weavers not have their own thread in taspestry?
Interesting assumption that to rectify damage to taspestry she had to kill Ranjan.
Very satisfying that she was able to repair the damge without resorting to violence.
Sorry that there wasn’t another meeting with little brother.
Seemed to trade off little brother.
Interest in Daris was just enough to pique interest.
Ranjan’s change was believeable.  Really liked. 

Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford (paperback, $9.99)

The April meeting for Fledglings will be on Tuesday the 19th at 4:30 pm.  The book up for discussion will be Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford. 

Fifteen-year-old Jeff wakes up on New Year’s Day to find himself in the hospital. Make that the psychiatric ward. With the nutjobs. Never mind the bandages on his wrists, clearly this is all a huge mistake. Jeff is perfectly fine, perfectly normal—not like the other kids in the hospital with him. They’ve got problems. But a funny thing happens as Jeff’s forty-five-day sentence drags on: the crazies start to seem less crazy. . . .

Fledglings is a book club for teens in Grades 9 to 12.  If you’re interested in joining Fledglings or one of our other clubs, check out the Book Clubs page on our main site, chat with us at the store, or just drop in to one of the meetings.

Published in: on March 16, 2011 at 11:38 am  Leave a Comment  
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Senior Owlets and Genesis by Bernard Beckett

Genesis by Bernard Beckett, paperback, $11.95

March’s selection for Senior Owlets (Grades 7-9) was Genesis by Bernard Beckett. 

Comments included:

Very compelling idea.
Book has a “killer” ending.
Dragged in places. 
Liked how the hsitory of the Republic was presented through Anaz’s exam. 
Gave a chance to really examine the degradation of society.
Mirror’s society, giving it a positive spin.
Discussion was prompted by how surprising the ending.
Realization of the role of the individual.
Very thought provoking.
Set up like a science experiment.
Worthy of a second read, possibly in a couple of years.
Excellent discussion!

Final score out of 10: 7.4212916

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, paperback, $12.99

The next Senior Owlets meeting is April 5th at 4:30pm.  The book up for discussion is A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce. 

Charlotte Miller has always scoffed at talk of a curse on her family’s woolen mill, which holds her beloved small town together. But after her father’s death, the bad luck piles up: departing workers, impossible debts, an overbearing uncle. Then a stranger named Jack Spinner offers a tempting proposition: He can turn straw into gold thread, for the small price of her mother’s ring. As Charlotte is drawn deeper into her bargains with Spinner–and a romance with the local banker–she must unravel the truth about the curse on the mill and save the community she has always called home.

Senior Owlets is a book club for kids in Grades 7 to 9.  If you’re interested in joining Seniors or one of our other clubs, check out the Book Clubs page on our main site, chat with us at the store, or just drop in to one of the meetings.

Published in: on March 2, 2011 at 7:16 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Fledglings and Sphinx’s Princess by Esther Friesner

Sphinx's Princess by Esther Friesner, paperback, $10/99

This month’s selection for Fledglings (our teen book club) was Sphinx’s Princess by Esther Friesner. 

Some of the comments offered:

Liked the story.
At times the writing talked down to the reader.
Really like historical fiction.
Liked how Nefertiti developed into a strong young woman.
Female characters were well-developed, but male were more two-dimensional.
Fascinating to read about a culture that was primarily illiterate.
Did not like the overuse of italics.
Liked exploring Ancient Egypt through female eyes.
Liked the character Nava. 
Easy introduction to Ancient Egypt. 

Final score out of ten: 8.3457055

The Broken Thread by Linda Smith, paperback, $12.95

The March selection for Fledglings is The Broken Thread by Linda Smith.  We’ll meet on Tuesday, March 15th to discuss it. 

Fifteen-year-old Alina comes from a long line of women who have gone to serve on the Isle of the Weavers, and she has always dreamed of doing the same. Her older sister is going to inherit the farm. She hasn’t found any boy in the village that she’s attracted to, like her other sister. And she loves her 10-year-old brother, but he’s getting to be a pain to look after all the time. Still, a girl must be chosen to be a weaver, and Alina’s already older than others were when they were called.

Fledglings is a book club for teens in Grades 9 to 12.  If you’re interested in joining Fledglings or one of our other clubs, check out the Book Clubs page on our main site, chat with us at the store, or just drop in to one of the meetings.

Published in: on February 25, 2011 at 5:07 pm  Leave a Comment  
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