Reviews

I hurt my back very bad this weekend. In fact, I am sitting here with gritted teeth waiting for my last class of the morning, then I am going to head home for the afternoon to lay down. I spent most of Saturday evening and all of Sunday in bed. I do this often enough that I know the only thing that will help is to rest. So, I had time to finish a book. And I realized I have a few I need to review, they will be short reviews.

Recently I have read:
Cicada Summer by Andrea Beatty. This was a very quick read, but good. Lily is the survivor of a terrible accident that took the life of a family member. Because of the accident she doesn't talk. But that is her secret. She can talk, she just chooses not to and everyone assumes she can't. She has a few otehr secrets also, which are discovered by a new girl, Tinny. How she deals with Tinny's annoying presence in her life and come to terms with the accident makes for a good story. I give this one 3.5 cookies.

Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz.
I adore Alex Rider books and they are comforting. The same formula, same characters and a smart, reluctant teenage spy. This one did not fail. It was not one of the best of the series, but it was still excellent. 4 cookies.






Hit the Road Manny by Christian Burch. This is actually going to be the topic of my next tween tuesday so I will save my review for then. But, 5 cookies.








Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew #1). Okay, have you ever gone back and read any of these or does your fond memories of Nancy over ride the desire to revisit? I decided to read one earlier in the year for nostalgic reading. It wasn't great. This is the first in the series and you can certainly tell that the authors/creators were not sure what direction to take. She didn't have her loyal friends(Bess and George) or boyfriend (Ned Nickerson, sigh) yet. But, the mystery was good and Nancy was a sweet and good hearted as she always is. I can see why I admired Nancy so while growing up, but I probably wouldn't read many more of these any time soon. I do think I will try a Hardy Boys, though, to see how they hold up. I did keep thinking, "if only she had a cell phone," while I was reading. 2 cookies

Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus by Kristen Tracy. 3.5 cookies.
First of all, excellent cover. So good that it bumped to the top of my reading pile. This was well written and Camille is a girl you will love. She just hates fourth grade because her best friend has moved away and her parents are constantly fighting, and to be honest, her mother is a idiot. I think the author really captured a fourth grade girl. She is not wise beyond her years, she has a hard time standing up for herself and she has just enough low self esteem that she doesn't want to try and make new friends. Her parents are just wrapped up enough in their own problems that they don't see what is really bothering Camille. She does have a good epiphany and starts to speak up for herself. The book doesn't tie a pretty bow over everything at the end, but it ends on a positive note. I will buy this for my library and push it on many a third, fourth and fifth grade reader.