I Love Being a Winner!

I tried and tried not to join in on the Twitter bandwagon because I thought I didn't need one more thing to be addicted to (reading, facebook, chocolate, tv, etc.).  But my boss decided we all needed to create accounts this summer and use it to communicate school news. Well, I can say that I have used it very little for school news but have become a major fan of some other great teachers and librarians. I have also found some great authors that love to giveaway books.

Now this last part is one of my favorites. If you've ever seen my to read list (over 200 books) then you know I don't need any more books, but of course every time I see a contest on a website or Twitter I join it. I usually don't win but luckily I did just that recently by becoming the 1001 follower to an author. Matthew Quick was planning to give an ARC of his next book away to the 1000 follower and then a few other followers would also receive books. He choose me since I was so close!! I quickly emailed him letting him know I really wanted Sorta Like a Rock Star (SLARS). He put it in the mail and I received it last week. I was finishing a book but pushed myself so that I could start his book and am I glad I did.

This book gives the story of Amber Appleton. She and her mother are homeless and living in "Hello Yellow" the school bus that her mom drives for the school district. Amber is an optimist. She always finds the good in people and things even when her life gives her nothing to be thankful for.

Amber seems like a great person that I would personally love to be friends with in real life but would have been too afraid to approach. Not because of her appearance or the number of friends (she is a member of Franks Freak Force Federation) but just because she can always find the good in things. Amber's life may not be perfect but she is always full of hope until a fatal tragedy happens in her life. She does a complete 180 and people begin to wonder if Amber will ever be the same again including Amber herself.

This book was awesome and I will be sharing with many of my friends (especially those in education). Just be prepared to have the tissues ready because you will cry unless you have no heart.

Thanks again to the author, Matthew Quick, for selecting me as a winner and I'll aim to be a rock star just like Amber. Be sure to check out his site and his other books at: http://matthewquickwriter.com/ 
or follow him on twitter @MatthewQuick21.

Switched by Amanda Hocking

When your mother tries to kill you at the age of 6 you know your life won't be easy. Wendy knows that 11 years later something is different about her and she is determined to figure it out. When a new boy shows up at school she is sure that Finn knows something as well. Wendy soon discovers she was switched at birth and isn't even a human but a trylle. Her life is turned upside down when she is taken to her true "mother" and finds out all about her life and how she is expected to live.

I am excited about this trilogy and can't wait to read the next book!

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?



View all my reviews

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.