The Rest of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness

 Hi, Readers!

I'm so sorry that this month was so slow in postings...being a pug of many talents, I was helping write questions for next season's OBOB and it took me away from my regular reading schedule for a while. But, I'm back - more ornery than ever, sharing my pug wisdom about all things books with YOU, my favorite audience!

The Rest of Us Just Live Here isn't super new. In fact, it came out in 2015. But it's been one of those books that I keep hearing about and wanting to read, and, well, the time was right to read it! And, well...it was very...high school? The main characters are a few weeks away form graduating high school, but a group of kids in their school start to disappear. And it happened before, years ago. Not in an April Henry sort of way, but more of a slightly funny Twilight sort of way. Does that make any sense? No? It probably shouldn't because this book's story line was a lot like that, too.

It's not a bad book - in fact, when it was released it got oodles of starred reviews! But it's not a great middle school read. I don't even know if it's a great high school read, but perhaps kids that age are truly more angsty, so the angst throughout the book will resonate with them. It didn't really curl my tail. It was good, but not great. Would I recommend it? If you are 8th grade or above, and you really like sarcasm and teen angst, you would probably really like this! If that is not you for any of the listed reasons, you could find a better book. Pretty easily. 3 paws. Next!

Fighting Words, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

     Author Bradley wrote one of my favorite historical fiction books, The War That Saved My Life. It won a Newbery Honor, which is a very big deal in the book world. In Fighting Words, which I believe is her fourth book, she won yet another Newbery Honor. She is clearly a very talented writer!

    Fighting Words is a very important and powerful story. Brubaker writes in the author notes that she was abused as a child. Fighting Words is a story of abuse, so it is powerful and serious. The story of sisters Della and Suki, who have landed in a foster home after their addict mother nearly blows them up in a hotel room making meth, are trying to deal with the memories of abuse at the hands of their mom's boyfriend that lasted several years. It is not an easy road.

    But at times it is a healing road. And that part of the story is beautiful and full of hope. Both girls look hard for their power and their voice. In the mind of such a talented writer, their story unfolds, in all of its imperfections and pain...and strength.

    This is a very important book, and so honestly written. 5 paws, and a wag for Brubaker for her bravery!

Everything Sad is Untrue (a true story), by Daniel Nayeri

     Before writing this blog I had to check the reviews to make sure I had picked up and read the right book. I mean the reviews verified that this book is for middle and high school, but after reading it, and even during, I could not decide who would be the best audience for this story. In most ways, everyone should read this book. It is unlike anything I think I have ever read, in good ways. But at the same time, it is written in such a unique style that I'm not sure who would stay with it long enough to find the story's rhythm, then ride that rhythm to the end of the book.

    At the most basic level, this is the story of Daniel, an Iranian boy who flees Iran and ends up living in Edmond, Oklahoma with his mom and sister. He is telling the story of how he came to be in Oklahoma to his classmates in the form of a class show and tell. That is a very, very simplistic version. What fills all the rest of the pages is everything that happens to him and his extended family prior to that, and all the feelings of everything that has happened along the way. And since. It is so hard to describe, as Nayeri's storytelling is so unique that I don't know how to describe what happens in the book. The closest I can come to the narration is The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Except Everything Sad leaves out the intimate details.

    Before I finished reading this book I knew I would immediately start it over again, so that the first 100 pages made more sense to me than they did the first time. Once I found the rhythm of the writing I was swallowed up by Daniel's story. It will change you, if you are willing to stay with it until you, too, find the cadence of the writing. 5 paws. This book will stay with me for a very long time, and perhaps with you, too!

Daughter of the Pirate King, by Tricia Levenseller

 A very fun pirate story that I happened upon by accident! This book was sent to Briggs by mistake, and was meant to go to another middle school in Texas. Briggs got it instead, and taking that as a sign, I read it! The first in a now 2-book set by Levenseller, this is the story of Alosa, the daughter of the pirate king, and thus someday-to-be queen of the pirates. She is smart, sassy, and part siren, which gives her powers over men that humans don't normally possess.  The book is full of action, and sass, and more than one example of Alosa using her female charm and appearance to get what she wants. A few times that means the book borders on being too mature for middle school, so I don't know if I'd recommend this to many 6th grade readers, and maybe not many 7th grade readers, but most 8th graders and high school readers would probably be okay with the sexual suggestions throughout - suggestions, but no explicit details.

Daughter of the Pirate King starts off strong and very good, stays steady throughout, and then peaks again with some twists at the end. I had a lot of fun reading this, and it reminded me of older pirate books I remember, such as Vampirates, and maybe even a little of Charlotte Doyle. If you like Pirates of the Caribbean, give this a try! Alosa may well be the next Jack Sparrow! 4 paws, but not a book for all grade level of readers.

The Storm Runner, by J.C. Cervantes

 One of a number of Rick Riordan Presents (RRP) books that I have been eager to read, and one of next year's OBOB books as well! This is author Cervantes's second book but the first of hers I've read. If you are familiar with Rick Riordan, author of The Lightning Thief series and many others, you might be excited about this publishing adventure he has going on. Using RRP, he is promoting new authors who write books similar to The Lightning Thief in that they are action/adventure stories with mythology at their core. In the case of The Storm Runner, the mythology is from the Mayan and Aztec culture, which is very cool!

Unfortunately, I don't feel like this one lived up to expectations. It was good, but fell short of great all the way through. It was as though Cervantes had a long list of gods and goddesses, and she was determined to include every single one in the story, whether or not it fit or made the story better or not. So what we get as readers is a lot of Mayan and Aztec god names, but several of whom are completely unneeded in moving the story forward. I'll be honest, by the midway point I was wanting to get to the end to see what happened. By the end I was trying to finish and thinking about what I would read next. Not a good sign, right?

If you like Riordan's work you might like this better than I did (although I also like his work, but didn't care much for this). I really liked another RRP book, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, so I won't give up on these books quite yet. But Storm Runner? Hmmm 3 paws for the story, and a wag because the other RRP books are hopefully better. Interested to know what you think of this one!

Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

 My human (your librarian!) handed this book to me Friday afternoon, and asked if I wanted to read it. It is an older realistic fiction title, and book 1 of a 3-book set. But I always love the idea of a strong female protagonist (main character in the story), and in this book, DJ is a perfect lead - smart, strong, independent, and flawed...I loved her right away in this book!

DJ lives on a farm in Wisconsin, and due to family circumstances (that many of us can related to), she spends most of her awake time working the farm and going to school. She has little time for anything else, until the quarterback for the rival high school football team shows up one day wanting to "help" work the farm. His coach has sent him to get back in shape for the upcoming football season. Girl meets boy - she's a farm girl, he's a popular athlete, they attend rival high schools - things happen! Until DJ discovers that 1. She enjoys football, and 2. She's good at it! So, SHE decided to try out for her high school team!

If you like sports themes in a book, there is enough here to satisfy your love of sports. If you love a good romance, like a Jenny Han book, for example (To All the Boys I've Loved Before), you'll enjoy this as well! If you like strong, independent girls (or boys!) in your stories (like I do!), you'll like this also! 

This is Murdock's first book, and the first of three in this set. The author writes DJ perfectly - sarcastic, smart, caring, trying to navigate a dysfunctional family, romance, school, life...the characters in this book have stayed in my brain long after I finished reading. That, to me, is the sign of a really good book! Read this! 4 paws and a wag!

Nowhere Boy, by Katherine Marsh

 My first OBOB book from next season, and this was wonderful! Marsh is also the author of several other books, The Night Tourist being the one I remember seeing but not yet reading. Now that I have read Nowhere Boy, I look forward to reading Tourist, and perhaps more of her work!

Nowhere Boy tells the story of two boys, Ahmed from Syria and Max from the United States. Two teen boys with much in common but also with many differences. Their paths cross in really well-told ways, with credit to Marsh and her beautiful storytelling abilities. I hesitate to explain too much of this story as it sounds like an Alan Gratz book in some ways (which is a good thing), but outside of refugees being a large part of this book as well as some of Gratz's books, the writing style is very different between the two. Gratz tells a tense, fast-moving story, and does it very well (see my previous blog about Refugee). Marsh tells a tense, fast-moving story with more heart, somehow...it really worked for me as few other books have. This story and these characters will stay in my head and heart for some time. That is the sign of an exceptional book (and author)! 5 paws!

Kind of a Big Deal, by Shannon Hale

    One more dog blog post on this last day of March...author Shannon Hale, of Real Friends and Best Friends (graphic novels) fame, writer of one of my all-time favorite books, Princess Academy, released this latest chapter book about a young woman who drops out of high school early to pursue her dream of performing on Broadway.  At high school, Josie Pie is such a talented actress that the drama teacher urges her to go to New York and audition for a Broadway show. Things don't turn out exactly as she had hoped or planned, but the rest is where this story goes in a million different directions...all at the same time!

    Hale has been writing for a long time, and book 1 in the Princess Academy series really is one of the best teen book I have ever read! And I've read a lot of books, dawg! But Big Deal is anything BUT a big deal. I finished it, so there is THAT, but only because I was hoping she somehow brought this story together in one brilliant finish. The ending did get better, for a little while, but then dissolved again into a "what else could I be reading?" kind of book.  

    Some of Hale's books are brilliant (those mentioned above, minus this new one), so make a point of checking something out that she has written. But unless you are a thespian (and if you know what that is you probably are one, which is a good thing!), you could spend your time better on any number of other stories. 3 paws, and only because it's Shannon Hale!

When You Trap a Tiger, by Tae Keller

    The newest Newbery Award winner When You Trap a Tiger is a wonderful blend of folktale, magic, and realistic fiction, told by sophomore writer Keller (that means it's her second book). I read this in bits and pieces - not on purpose, it just worked out that way - and I think that took away a little of the power of the overall story. Even with that element of distraction the story was really good, reminding me of some of my favorite stories by the likes of Kate DiCamillo and Linda Sue Park - two very good storytellers who could make almost anything super interesting!

    Tiger is the story of Lily, her sister and mom, and their move from California to Washington to live with their ailing grandma. Lily navigates her Korean culture as well as her American side along with the move to a new state. She is very close to her halmoni (grandmother), and seems to share her intuitions for magical things. After spotting a tiger, Lily tries to strike a deal with this mythical creature to cure her grandmother. Does it work?

     I can see why this was chosen for the Newbery Award - it has the elements of past winners. It also brings Korean culture into mainstream storytelling, which still does not happen as often as it should. Hopefully that will continue to evolve. While chopping through the early parts of this book I imagined giving it 4 paws, but once I settled into the last half of the story, it is a 5 paw book for sure! Check this out!

No Fixed Address, by Susin Nielsen

 The last of my OBOB books to read for this season, and a pretty darn good one at that! This is Nielsen's 6th book, I believe, and although this is the first one I have read so far, it was good enough to make me want to read some others. That is one sign of a good book, right?! 

No Fixed Address is the story of Felix and his mom, Astrid, trying to live their lives as best they can while living out of their Westfalia van. The further into the story I read, the better the story got. By the end, I could hardly wait to finish my kibble so that I could continue with the story! A realistic look at homelessness, and Nielsen does a good job of telling that story from a teen's point of view, as well as getting into character's heads really well. The dialogue, although occasionally uncomfortable, was very real. I liked that about this book, and the reason I would read more of her writing. The only reason I didn't give this a full 5 paws is because I have the feeling she can do better than this, or perhaps already has. I can't wait to find out! 4 paws and wag!