Jaemi's Reading
Reviews on this Page: The Crimes and Punishments of Miss Payne | Once Upon a Curse | Dragon's Breath | The Frog Princess
Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors | Invisible | Down the Rabbit Hole | Razzle
Buffalo Tree | Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood

Reviews on Page 7: Flipped | Paradise | Goose Girl | A Mango-shaped Space | Necklace of Kisses | Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception
Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince | Goose Chase


The Crimes and Punishments of Miss Payne, by Barry Jonsberg
Miss PayneIf sarcastic humor fed by an incredible wit us up your ally, than you're going to love Calma Harrison. With a skill for English that might surpass that of some of her teachers, and a flair for blunt truth, this girl will have you laughing almost instantly and incessantly, as she delves into her tales of life, Kiffo, and the Pitbull.

Arriving at school after her predecessor was driven out by various forms of emotional torture, Miss Payne presents a picture that lives up to her name, and an attitude to match. Or does she? At first cold and seemingly cruel, she eventually has her students laughing and smiling as they learn. Except, that is, for Calma and Kiffo, who are instead lost in a world of paranoia and suspicion, sure that Miss Payne is up to no good. We follow along on their adventures and mishaps as they struggle to learn the truth of the teacher that can't be tamed, learning valuable lessons of life and friendship and self along the way.

Once Upon a Curse, by E.D. Baker
Once Upon a CurseFuriously seeking to deal with the latest turn of events in her now chaotic life, Emma has become the protector of her Kingdom. Closing in on her 16th birthday, and the family curse, she desperately hopes to find a cure, but everywhere she turns finds nothing. Pitting her wicked relations against one another, she is able to draw from them information to help her find what she needs. And so she and Eadric find themselves traveling back in time. And while she was told not to meddle, of course she does, causing this book to nealy keep me up at night--not from reading, but from worry about how in the world she was going to get out of this. However, interference had no impact on the final results of things, the curse was still cast, and Emma now had the answer she was looking for, though little hope of bringing it to life, but with enough determination to make just about anything possible.

Dragon's Breath, by E.D. Baker
Dragon's BreathDays after returning from being frogs, Emma and Eadric now take off on a pursuit with Emma's aunt to find the cure for the spell cast on Grassina's suitor so many years ago by her mother. Getting the now mean-spirited witch to help with anything was a daunting task to begin with, but when she turns up missing, things become even more desperate. When with the help of a little mouse they manage to find the location of their missing relative, the group arrives only to find her pleasant and memory-free. Overcoming obstacle after obstacle, success is finalle achieved, only to met with a twist that not one of them saw coming.
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The Frog Princess, by E.D. Baker
Frog PrincessI've been having so much fun lately with the modernized Fairy Tales that I finally went back in search of the original Frog. I think I somehow read the second book of this trio once, wanted to go back, but never did. But now I have.

Frog Princess is the story of Emerelda and Eadric. Eadric had the vast misfortune to insult a witch's fashion sense, and was in return turned into a frog. After many months living as a frog, he was quite please when the clumsy Princess Emerelda happened across his path. But when she kisses him to break the spell, events take a new and unexpected twist: now she's a frog too!

Misfortunes pile up, as they are captured by Vannabe when seeking the original spell-casting witch, but with the help of a bat they are able to escape, and guarded by the snake Fang, they make it back to Emma's castle. But not without yet more adventure.

This was another fun one that I plowed right through in no time. I have to say, when all else is hectic, a great fairy tale really can't be beat. And the follow-ups Dragon's Breath and Once Upon a Curse are next on my list.
Also avaiable on Audio CD

Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors, by Jenny Nimmo
Charlie Bone and the Castle of MirrorsWhen I found the latest Children of the Red King book in the catalog I was really excited. Luckily I only had to wait about a week for the hold to be filled, and then I read the book in an afternoon. (Plus an hour.)

In this year's adventure, Charlie heads back to school only to discover some of his key up-points are not in fact present. Manfred Bloor is not in fact gone, neither is his creature-mate Asa Pike, and Mr. Pilgrim, the popular piano teacher, is missing. Even the good news that his friend Billy will finally be getting a set of parents carries no joy. As well it shouldn't.

I still tend to explain these books as "Like Harry Potter, only not." About all they have in common is crazy hair and going to a school for the endowed. But if you like magic and you like a fast-paced adventure and you like Harry, you'll love Charlie Bone.

Phantom horses, mystical castles, and more antics than the previous years will leave you turning the last page with the hopes that Book 5 is not far behind.
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Invisible, by Pete Hautman
InvisibleI think the most impressive part of this book, to me, was that someone actually took the time and effort to make a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge out of matchsticks. Can you imagine? I have hobbies, but building an entire town and people for a train set...that's dedication. And it's also part of what worries Dougie's parents so much. That and his late-night conversations with Andy, and the fact that Dougie rarely goes out. But we've all probably once said "people are stupid," and it's doubtful any of us would like to swallow a pill that made us sleep 14 hours a day. So can you blame him?

There's obviously more to this story than first meets the eye. There are small clues throughout, in words, and in the visual of Dougie's sigil, which he creates and recreates with his same steady determination. Or as he would say, "focus." But in the end, it all becomes clear. ...or does it?

Down the Rabbit Hole, by Peter Abrahams
Down the Rabbit HoleI think I actually plowed through this book faster than a Harry Potter. I'm really hoping, since "An Echos Falls Mystery" is in the title...maybe that means more will be forthcoming. Our little sleuth, Ingrid Levin-Hill, is a real treat. And if she can come out as well as she did while still in the midst of a lot of teenage craziness (you know, those ideas that should never work, but somehow you manage to get out the other side anyway), by the time she hits her 20's she could be giving her idol Sherlock Homes a run for his money.

While the jacket somehow led me to believe this story would be another kind of twisted Alice in Wonderland, that being the next play Ingrid was to star in, the Alice part actually had very little to do with it. But that was fine with me. There was indeed enough madness going on in the plain old world. In fact, my only problem with this book was one sentence somewhere deep into it where the tense was wrong, and I don't even know why my brain picked up on it. Otherwise, solid story, very quick pace, entirely entertaining. As a first foray into writing for Young Adults, this was an awesome entry, and I'm sure any avid Abrahams readers would be just as pleased with this book as with his others.
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Razzle, by Ellen Wittlinger
RazzleMeet Razzle Penney. I'm not sure it gets more unique than this girl, with her love of all things, mysterious roots, most unusual family, and blunt personality. She sure turned Kenyon Baker's life right around. More so than being uprooted to Truro Cape Cod did.

This book had a little of everything. Coming of age, mystery, suspense, teen angst, creativity, depth, new looks on life, family relationships, retirement....but no, I would not consider it a "kitchen sink" book. Sometimes I wanted to toss it at a wall, which would have been more useful than yelling at the characters, but to me that's just a sign that it was well written.

Though the book is cyclic, it sort of leaves you hanging at the end. On the one hand you're heading for closure, on the other, it seems possible that Kenyon and Razzle could show up again someday. I'm sure it would be more story worth telling.

At any rate, if you're up for something unusual, this is the girl for you.

Buffalo Tree, by Adam Rapp
Buffalo TreeI read this book because someone told me there was a hubub around it being banned. So I wanted to know why. But I also happen to like Adam Rapp. Now that I've read it...I'm still not entirely sure why. It had some rather disturbing parts I suppose, though I've read true stories, like Sleepers, that had much more disturbing parts, and they were true. If it were required reading...I guess I can see why you might not want your child subjected to it. At the same time, between TV and Games and the web, there are plenty of worse or equal things anyone could stumble upon. Life happens. Whether you read about it or not. Me, I refuse to pay attention to the news, because I can't do anything about it. But I know it happens.

So, this isn't a book to pick up if you're looking for a good feeling at the end. Prison tales rarely are. Although unlike many, this does have a happy ending.

If you've read anything by Adam Rapp, you'll know what you're in for. If you haven't, this is probably one of the easier ones to start with.
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Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood, by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Sammy & Juliana in HollywoodI don't really know what to say about this book. I really enjoyed it. Being the story of a small barrio in New Mexico, it was a lot different from most of what I've read of late. A lot of the story lines were sad, yet left you with hope. I think if I knew Spanish or had been near a computer I would have taken even more away from it, because there were bits of conversation throughout lost on me--but even so, I don't think I necessarily lost anything because of it.

Reading about close-knit families, and close-knit ethnic groups always strikes me, because I've never truly known anything like that in my personal experience. It's a glimpse at what was out there and what could be. And a lesson in how life will always throw you a curve ball.



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