Book Review from Goodreads

Jump by Ginger Rue

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a book I received from the giveaways on this site (Goodreads). I had intended to read it sooner but became bogged down in my other reading that needed to get done. I wish I had read it sooner.



Brinkley is the meanest girl in school and has bullied several students out of school. This puts her into counseling to be able to stay in school. She soon starts learning that life may not be easy when she finds herself in the shoes of other students. She tries to understand how she keeps jumping into these other people and finds out that their life is not always what she thinks it is like. Will Brinkley learn to not judge or will she be trapped forever in this world of jumping?



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Baskeball Belles

I found it only appropriate that while the NBA finals were in their halftime I read a book about the beginnings of women's basketball.

Basketball Belles: How Two Teams and One Scrappy Player Put Women's Hoops on the Map
Written by Sue Macy
Illustrated by Matt Collins

This book tells the story of how the first intercollegiate basketball game to happen and the history that it made. The story focuses on Agnes Moreley a girl from a ranch in New Mexico who has never been a girly girl who liked to be dressed up but would rather be out working with the cattle. When her parents sent her to Stanford their hope was that she would become a lady. Little did they know that she would soon be a member of the schools first female basketball team that would play against Berkley.

The story is told in a pacing that will keep the reader interested in finding out what is happening in the game much like you would with any basketball game. The information provided at the end of the boo was the best part to me. Finding out about the history of this particular game as well as that of all of women's basketball is something I had never seen before which makes this book much more original.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars and would definitely encourage girls to read if interested in basketball. Boys will like the book too but I think it will mean more to girls.

More TLA books...

These are 3 books I read during the 48 Hour Book Challenge that I had picked up at TLA. The first two were freebies from the Capstone booth and the last was a purchased book (I think for $3) that was autographed.

This book is part of the "Claudia" series that I had heard about at our library review meeting but had not read yet. I think this book will be excellent for upper elementary and middle school readers.

The book begins by giving a rundown of the characters to help keep everyone straight.
Claudia has had a crush on a classmate for the longest time and he is finally talking to her, even if it is just for help on a class assignment. Then a new boy moves to town and asks Claudia on a date. What should she do? Does she wait around for Brad, her longtime crush, or go for Rusty the new boy?

A very cute story that will be loved by the girls in school.
I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars.

This book is by same author as the "Claudia" series. This is another series for girls that has some of the same characters as the Claudia books.

Monica loves to ride horses and is excited for the overnight trail ride. Everything is looking good until her horse throws a shoe and can't go on the trail ride. She is given the choice of missing the trail ride or riding another horse called Joker. Monica finally chooses to ride Joker but isn't happy that everyone makes fun of the horse and he isn't as nice as everyone's horses. Monica soon learns that having the "prettiest" horse may not be the best thing when her horse is the only one on the trail ride able to do certain things.

I found the format for this book to be cute and creative. The characters are talking to each other on "Friend Book" and texting each other throughout the story. I think students will relate to this part of the story especially.

I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Kate is happy that summer is here and she is enjoying her life in Utah when she comes home one day to find her mother packing and announcing that they would be going to Cape Cod for the remainder of the summer. Suddenly Kate finds herself giving up everything to go with her mother. After arriving in Cape Cod, she finds her childhood friend is not as friendly as she remembers and that her best friend from back home has suddenly got a boyfriend. Soon Kate meets a boy who she is very attracted to named Adam. She thinks he is great and is excited to have a boy to spend her time with. Kate soon has to decide if it is just a carefree friendship she and Adam have or is it truly more.

This book is a great summer time read since it is set in the summer at the beach. Readers in middle and high school will enjoy reading about Kate and her trip to the Cape.

I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.


My goal for the summer is to be adding reviews every few days so be sure to check back since I have a TON of books to read and review!

Wrap up posting

I have completed my 48 hour reading challenge!! It was great fun to lie around reading for most of the weekend (even though I tend to do that a lot anyway). I had set a goal of 20 hours of reading knowing that I would be out of the house for several hours but managed to surpass my goal. I will blog my reviews of the last 3 books I finished later tonight or early tomorrow.

Total time reading: 22 1/2 hours
Total time blogging/networking: 3 hours

Grand total time: 25 1/2 hours!!!

Total books completed: 6 books

I am excited about participating again next year and know better how to plan my time.

This year I will be making a donation to my library aid's family. Her son was in an accident recently and the medical expenses will be huge. The total I plan to donate is twice the amount of hours I read so I will be donating $51 dollars to assist the family.

Midday update

Well I didn't get as much reading done as I wanted because of an extra nap that I snuck in. I did finish another book and have started two others in that time. I started Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy but have decided to put it aside for now and then started Boy Trouble: The Complicated Life of Claudia Cristina Cortez.

This was an ARC that I picked up at TLA in April. It was also published in April so it can be seen with the color pictures in the book while the ARC did not have the color pictures and was even missing a few of the sketches.

Louise Lambert has always loved vintage clothing and when she gets an invitation to attend the Traveling Fashionista Vintage Sale she is excited and ready to find a dress for her 7th grade dance. Little does she know that her life will soon be drastically changed. Louise finds a pink vintage dress that she loves and tries on to be transported back to 1912 on a ship. She is in shock that this has happened but the worst shock is yet to com....she is on board the Titanic. She soon tries to change history and save the passengers only to be told she is crazy. Will Louise make it back to her regular life? Will she save the passengers of the Titanic? Read the story to find out more about Louise's adventure.

This is the first book by this author and the first of this series. The next book won't be out until April 2012 but should make for an interesting follow up to this story. The author found an interesting way of mixing history in with fiction in order to find the right mix.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.


Reading time total: 15 hours 30 minutes
Blogging time: 1 hour 45 minutes

My next update will include any other books I read today and my final time total.

End of the first 24 hours of reading...

During the first 24 hours I have managed to read 2 whole books and part of 2 other books. Not as much as I hoped for but that's okay.

My second complete book read was The Calder Game.

For this book I chose to listen to the book as an audio book since I was traveling in the car and at a graduation party for most of the day. The travel time allowed me to listen to over half the book and the other half was done between visiting with family and friends.

In this third book of the series, Calder and his father travel to England. While there Calder is allowed to roam and visit places on his own. He soon finds that Alexander Calder the sculptor he was named after has a piece on display in the town. The town's people don't appreciate it and wish it were gone but Calder is fascinated by it. One day he visits the maze of town and doesn't return that evening. His father panics the next day and calls for reinforcements to help look for Calder: Calder's friends Petra and Tommy. More than one mystery will have to be solved in order to get all of the answers in this story that keeps the reader on the edge of the seat.

I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Great choice for upper elementary and middle school students. Even though it is part of a series it can be read as a stand alone but is better if read after the others.

Total reading time: 10 hours 19 minutes
Blogging time: 40 minutes

I have already started my next books and am having a hard time deciding which to finish. More to come later!!

Book 1 complete!

After reading for 3 hours I have finished book number 1!!! I know I will get many more read and will update as soon as possible but this weekend is getting busier by the minute.

In this modernization of Pride and Prejudice the characters are students at private school who can do nothing but plan for prom. Lizzie Bennet is a scholarship student at Longbourn Academy who has had a difficult time. The other girls in the school don't like the scholarship students and take it out on them by hazing and torturing them until they leave the school. Lizzie has only two true friends, her roommate Jane and another scholarship student. Jane decides her roommate needs to get out more and introduces her to some of the boys from the neighboring school. Lizzie is happy that Jane and Charles are back together after being separated for a semester while he was in London but is not impressed with his friend Will Darcy. Lizzie takes an instant disliking to Will, but Will seems to be everywhere she is. Soon Lizzie finds that she shouldn't judge others without knowing the whole story and has a revelation about others that are in her life as well.

Author Elizabeth Eulberg does an excellent job of keeping the characters true to the original Pride and Prejudice but makes it much more hip and modern for the readers of today. Students in middle and high school will surely enjoy this tale even if they have never read Pride and Prejudice.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Reading time: 3 hours 3 minutes
Blogging time: 15 minutes

Check back for the next blog this evening!!

And we're off...

I started the 48 hour Book Challenge sponsored by Mother Reader at 7 p.m. Friday and will end 7 p.m. Sunday. I had planned to start earlier in the day but had to work late due to the end of the school year wrap up.

My goal will be to read for at least 20 hours during the 48 hours. My goal would be longer but I have a graduation party on Saturday that will take out some of my time.

Okay back to reading... my book list isn't getting any smaller.

http://www.motherreader.com/

Check out the site and join in on the fun!!

Books from TLA Conference....

Here are the first of a few of the reviews I will do for books that I picked up at TLA in April.

This was a free book given away from the Follett booth and signed by Richard Peck. At first I had considered giving it away to a student but I didn't think a 5th grade boy would want to read a book about girls.

Kerry has always been the invisible girl that no one notices until she starts hanging out with the three most popular girls in school. Kerry thinks life is great once she joins the "in" crowd but soon discovers she may have to give up everything in order to stay a part of their group.

The story has great pacing and is a "ghost story" that is more current with the times. An enjoyable read that would work great in a middle or high school library.

I will be keeping my copy and not placing it in my school library since I am in a PK-3rd grade school.

This book also had me pick up some of Richard Peck's other books. I am currently listening to Here Lies the Librarian. I thought it was appropriate when I didn't have a job for next year but now I am enjoying it while knowing I DO have a job for next year!!

This was a book that I picked up at TLA for $5 in hardback. It was one of the few that I payed for mostly because I was aiming to get as much "free" stuff as I could during the trip.

Cassia lives in a world in which all her choices have been taken care of for her by the officials of her society. She has always trusted those choices until her Matching screen doesn't show the face she expects to see. Cassia is challenged to make a choice between her best friend as her match or going against everything she knows to be with Ky, the boy she discovers she loves.

This book was AWESOME!!! I am so excited and don't know if I can wait all the way to November for the next in the series. 

Sixth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge | MotherReader

Sixth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge | MotherReader

I have signed up to participate in the 48 Hour Book Challenge. My goal will be to read for at least 20 hours during the 48. I have a huge stack of books from TLA that I haven't had a chance to read yet and am so excited to get to set aside some time to read these. This wonderful event is being hosted by another blogger that I follow MotherReader. Feel free to join in or just check back with me throughout this weekend to see what I have been reading.

Long Absence

Well, I have been missing in action for a few months. This fall was a busy and crazy fall! Even though I am no longer in school I seem to have more and more to do. I promise to update with some of the reviews I have done for books in the last few months. There have been some great books and I have a whole stack of books to review in the next few weeks. I will try to pick out some of the better books to showcase on this blog!!


I promise to get back in the hang of things!!