Click here for a list of YAs you might be interested in reading, followed by my Fave Fifteen of 2006. Click here for the Red Hair Is Not As Uncommon As You Think article! Thanks for coming by!

I am in the process of compiling a complete archive of Need To Read that will include all the original posts starting way back when it was a Live Journal.  Check it out here.

Scroll down for the most recent entries! And thanks for stopping by! 

I’ve been reading like crazy and I’m way too lazy to write about each book, so just know that you can’t go wrong with any of these books. I liked ‘em all!

PEELED by Joan Bauer - her latest and really fun. Ripe for a sequel if you ask me.

LUCKY by Rachel Vail - timely and actually does have a sequel coming, two more books I believe.

GEEK MAGNET - really loved this one. I’ve always liked Kieran Scott, but her writing climbs to a new level here. Very good read.

GOOSE GIRL by Shannon Hale - this one’s been around for a while and the library copy is clearly well-loved as it’s falling apart. I raced through this, loving every minute.

Have I got exciting news for you. This is a book you don’t want to miss! Read my review here. This is not just an “I love this book”, but a proper review because this is the author’s debut novel and so I want to help her promote it.

So, it’s just been brought to my attention that it’s Banned Book Week. I immediately dug out my “I read banned books” button, even though I’m home for the evening. Since I don’t want to get in trouble for posting someone else’s list, go here http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm to view the most frequently banned books.

Here are some of my favorites:

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (huh? really?)
Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Anastasia Krupnik series by Lois Lowery (you’re kidding, right?)
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden (I just reread this and wrote about it)

There were quite a few more books on that list that I’ve read too. Do you know what’s really weird? There are a bunch of sex education books that are challenged because they have SEX in them!!! Can you believe it? What depraved mind thought of including information on sex in a sex education book? Sorry…don’t get me started. 

Happy reading everyone. 

Joelle
P.S. What I find particularly hilarious is that I live in a small, conservative town in the South and our library subscribes to a book leasing service for their YAs and MG. That means, they get whatever’s sent to them. If anyone besides me were reading some of the stuff, there’d be RIOTS in this town! Ever heard of Chris Crutcher (yeah, I know you have)…well, he’s featured prominently. And a few other novels many adults in this town would have heart attacks over are on the shelves too. I love it.
Also go here for more info:

American Book Sellers http://www.abffe.org/banned.htm

Long time no post here at Need To Read. Mostly because I’ve been reading Harry Potter. I just finished the whole series, I think it took me about two months, and I really enjoyed the time. I still am dreaming about being magical myself, even though I finished several days ago (I always dream I’m a witch when I read HP and then I’m disappointed when I wake up and I’m not).

In between HP #4 & #5, I read Meg Cabot’s ALLIE FINKLE’S RULE FOR GIRLS - MOVING DAY (I think this picture is for the sequel, but I’m too lazy to go find the right one). It’s MG, and I loved it. I thought it was traditional Cabot in the style, tense, and humour, but very much for MG readers, which is not always an easy thing to do. Meg Cabot is a real pro at keeping her audience in mind when she writes, whether it’s tweens, teens, or adults. I was impressed all the way around and I am looking forward to the sequel (and when I read it, I’ll post the cover to this one instead).

I also read an ARC that my editor sent me (can I just tell you how much I love saying “my editor”?) called MOUSE NOSES ON TOAST. It is a chapter book and quite frankly, I don’t really read chapter books very often (or at all), but this was really fun. I had mentioned that I loved the title and she included it in my welcome package of books she sent me. I passed it on to my 7 year old neice and I bet she’ll love it.

I then started reading a book that I really, really wanted to like, but after 88 pages I finally gave myself permission to give up. It was a bit of a mystery (not like a mystery-mystery, but like one of those things where something happens in the prologue that is supposed to intrigue you to the point where you have to find out what’s going on) and yet I still didn’t care. This author, who shall remain nameless, has several books out. One I’ve read and loved, one I read and was a bit indifferent to, and then this one…EVERYONE loves this author’s books though, so that’s why I gave it more than 50 pages. Alas…it goes on the “lost interest” card.

Lastly, and I think this really should have its own post, but I don’t feel like doing two, I read MEMORIES OF A TEENAGE AMNESIAC by Gabrielle Zevin. This was the most fantastic book. I fully expect it to be on the Fave Fifteen of ‘08. I loved her other book ELSEWHERE and so even though this was due at the library yesterday, I decided to just pay the fine and give it a quick read. By page one I was totally hooked. Zevin not only writes about unusual topics/premises, but she is just a brilliant, beautiful, poetic, and very funny writer. She writes in ways I can only dream of writing. When I read her books, I’m overwhelmed by a mixture of feelings - admiration, envy, a sense of how lucky I am to read her writing, envy, sheer elegance of the prose, did I mention envy? It’s kind of like watching Judi Dench act. On one hand I love it and it fills me up with such beauty and on the other I feel like, “Well, I might as well never act again when Judi’s out there and can act like that!”

So…definitely add this to your reading list, and if you haven’t read ELSEWHERE, get that too!

I’ll leave you with this one question…If you could have one power (or be able to do one spell or charm) from Harry Potter,  what would it be?

I would definitely choose the ability to disapparate.

I think I mentioned I’m taking a summer splurge and reading all the HP books again. Well..I got through the first three very happily. Then the fourth one loomed, so I got it on audio because I knew I’d never be able to make myself read it. It’s much better on audio, but there sure are a LOT of mistakes in that book. Not mistakes so much as just things that don’t make sense. Like the whole thing about the summoning charm in the beginning is so HUGE and he can do it, but then later when he drops his map on the stairs and is stuck in the trick step, he doesn’t even think of doing the summoning charm. But then he uses is later! And if you’re not allowed to have anything for the tasks except your wand, how can he have Gillyweed in his pocket and not be disqualified? And Cedric has a knife in his pocket for the second task which he uses. And…well, anyway. I don’t think any of the other books have any of these problems, just this one. Luckily, I was so hooked that I read it through really fast the first time and back then, I thought it was pretty good!

However, my “to read” stack from the library is piling up, and my friend has promised me “boxes of new ARCs very soon” so I’m taking a short break from HP and trying to put a dent in my library stack. What are y’all reading?

My policy on Need To Read is to only write about books I love. In the past, I have turned down offers of free books because I was afraid an author might send me their book and I would hate it. I’d either have to lie (not an option) or I wouldn’t post about it and then they’d know I didn’t like it, totally defeating the point of Need To Read (to share great books and give authors kudos when they earn them). However, recently, a couple of authors who are veterans in children’s writing, and already quite successful, offered me ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) and I figured, you know…if they sent me their book and I didn’t like it, and didn’t write about it, they could probably take it, so I accepted.

I am happy to say that the first one I received was just fabulous! I just finished Stefan Petrucha’s new book, THE RULE OF WON, and it’s fantastic. Like his other book, TEEN, INC. which I read recently, Petrucha is truly masterful in the way he works in themes and ideas from history, as well as current events, without seeming preachy or teachy. His characters are real, if not a little eerie at times, and there is humour in even the most serious situations. I think Petrucha really hits his mark in that he is excellent at making the reader feel the sheer force of the situation getting totally out of hand. He draws you in and makes you feel the same panic that the main character feels as things spin crazily out of whack. Even books with great climaxes don’t always accomplish the task of making the reader feel like they want to “do something” to stop the madness themselves. Petrucha really gets his readers’ hearts engaged, as well as their minds in his new book, THE RULE OF WON.

I know…I know…I’ve read them all, and listened to them on audio, and seen the movies…but I couldn’t help myself. I needed a fix and started reading the Harry Potter books again. I’ve never read all seven straight through before! I just read the first two, and now I’m taking a short break to read Meg Cabot’s ALLIE FINKEL’S RULE FOR GIRLS - Moving Day. It’s MG and it’s very funny. Even though the second one just came out, our library just got the first one. I wanted to read it and get it back on the shelf for others, or I would’ve just kept going on HP.

If you haven’t read this post on the daily writings page, pop over there and see how I have hit the jackpot!

  We have a house guest which makes me totally guilty of neglect. I blame it on Zarr’s great writing! It is true that yesterday, I left the entertaining to my husband (and also made our guest fend for herself) while I read SWEETHEARTS straight through. I liked Zarr’s other book, STORY OF A GIRL (along with about a zillion other people and the NBA judges), but this one really kept me on the edge of my seat. Well, okay, I was slouched back in the big, blue velvet chair for hours, but you know what I mean. The pacing and the way this story unfolds is really well done. Sometimes I read a book and think, “Ah…yes. This is the type of book I write. I could’ve written this.” but with Zarr’s books, I just think, “Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? This is just amazing!” It’s not that I want to write like her, it’s more that it could just never, ever happen, and in a way, that makes it even better. It’s like when you go to a restaurant and you order a dish and when it comes you get all excited and start thinking, “Ooooh…I could make this at home.” vs “Wow! So glad I came here because even though I’m a good cook, this could never happen in my kitchen.” Both are great, but sometimes eating (or reading) something you could never replicate yourself is a real treat.

Anyway, I highly recommend this. Especially to anyone who has read all of Sarah Dessen’s books and is looking for something else fabulous by a storyteller who writes in a similar vein. Plus, isn’t it a wonderful cover? Enjoy!

Wow! Another MG book that I love. Maybe I was just reading the wrong MGs before when I said I didn’t like MG that much. This one is really good. I think Caroline Hickey does a great job of tackling a subject that I haven’t come across before in a book (not that I’m saying it hasn’t been done, I just don’t recall reading any books about this topic). I’m not going to tell you what it is because it’s fun to find out while you’re reading. It makes you feel all smart too if you figure it out before it’s actually spelled out for you. Anyway, I’m excited because Caroline has a new book coming out called Isabelle’s Boyfriend. Of course, I should’ve known Caroline would be a good writer because she’s one of those Longstocking Girls!