Trip Reading Recap

I did a fairly good job this week on my trip. I finished four of the books on my Tween Girl reading pile and the audio book of The Light by DJ Machale. For the most part I was not disappointed with any of the books I read. Here's a short recap:

I adored the new Allie Finkle. I don't think I have disliked any of them, but I liked how this one really focused on how to treat friends. This is such a good series and when I recommend them to younger girl readers in my school they are never disappointed. 5 cookies.

Deep Down Popular by Phoebe Stone was probably my least favorite, but it was still a very good story. There were just a few things about the writing I didn't like. For example, the friendship developing between Jessie Lou and Conrad was supposed to be one of the main things in the story, but we didn't see some of the interaction between the two characters. Later in the story Jessie Lou talks about a scene that would have happened during the times they spent together but we were only treated to it as a flashback. I didn't really like that. But, I think many a tween girl would love the story of the most popular boy and the least popular girl becoming such good friends. 3 cookies.

Shug by Jenny Han. This one was probably my favorite because it brought out so many emotions. I ended up crying while reading this. I loved how the author reeled us in with the story, not revealing too much about Annemarie's home life, but just bits and pieces. It was just the right pace. It was also so sad how she and Mark grew apart, but it is so true to life! I think especially with boys and girls who are best friends through grade school. Those are some of the first casualties of middle school! 5 cookies.

Boys are Dogs by Leslie Margolis. This was such a funny read! The first part about the girls prepping for a dance and dressing up and decorating and then the boys coming in dirty shirts was so funny. It was nice to see the main character, Annabelle, find some control over her life when everything else (her mother moving in with her boyfriend, starting a new school, etc...) was out of her control. My only problem is that the author made all the boys that Annabelle meets truly awful. As the mother of a middle school boy I know there are plenty of nice boys out there. I wish she'd introduced at least one like that in this book! 3 1/2 cookies.

I am going to finish Girls Acting Catty and Dear Pen Pal before I allow myself my reward reading of Monsters of Men!