I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You

Title: I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You
Author: Ally Carter
Year: 2007
Genre: Adventure, romance
Age: 6th grade up

Summary: Cammie Morgan goes to your typical all girls boarding school. Well, typical except that it’s a training ground for spies. Cammie tries to incorporate some romance in what becomes her hardest operation: dating.

Review: This book is bunches of fun. Superspy girl geniuses have one thing weakness: teenage boys. Boy is a language they don’t speak and a code they want to crack. Romance takes the front seat here and leaves you wanting to know more about the school itself. The stakes aren’t high, as they are in Carter’s most recent book Heist Society, so you’ll feel free to sit back and enjoy the ride. A great book to read at the beach or by the pool.

Heist Society

Title: Heist Society
Author: Ally Carter
Year: 2010
Genre: Adventure, thriller
Age: 7th grade up

Summary: Katarina Bishop uses the skills the family business taught her to con her way into the best boarding school in the world. The family business? World class thievery. Just as she’s getting used to classes and gym instead of casing museums and running from cops, Kat’s family history rears its head and sucks her back in. What follows is a globe trotting adventure with Kat planning the biggest heist of her life to save her father.

Review: I would call this book a young adult version of Ocean’s Eleven with a feisty teen girl in the George Clooney role. And instead of a casino, our group of misfit heroes is stealing art. It’s a super fun, fast read with short chapters and action that never stops. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes fast adventures or Carter’s other books.

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Author: Sherman Alexie
Year: 2007
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age: 8th - 12th Grade
Award(s):

• Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards: Fiction and Poetry
  
• California Young Reader Medal: Young Adult
  
• National Book Award for Young People's Literature
  
• National Book Award for Young People's Literature
  
• New York Times Notable Books - Children's Books: 2007
  
• New York Times Notable Books - Children's Books: 2007
  
• School Library Journal Best Books: 2007
  
• School Library Journal Best Books: 2007

Summary: This story is told in the first-person, from the viewpoint of Native American teenager and budding cartoonist Arnold Spirit, Jr. (better known by the nickname “Junior”). Detailing Arnold’s life on the Spokane Indian Reservation and his decision, upon encouragement from a reservation high school teacher, to go to an all-white high school in the off-reservation town of Reardan, the novel deals with issues such as racism, poverty, and the following of tradition.
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4 Dec 2009, 00:22 UTC. 23 Dec 2009 < http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Absolutely_True_Diary_of_a_Part-Time_Indian&oldid=329572826>.
My Thoughts: As I started reading this book, it struck me, I don’t think I have ever read a book with a Native American as the protagonist. Well, I was in for an interesting peek into a world not readily available to most. This story was full of heartache that somehow made me feel hopeful, but that seems to be an Indian theme. Junior is a 14 year old struggling to better his life without turning his back on the only world he has ever know, which is a world filled with much sorrow and many struggles. It was interesting to read about the alcohol abuse of almost every resident of the “rez” because that is a prevalent stereotype of Native Americans. I was glad the author put the positive role models of Junior’s Grandmother and mother, who can help break the stereotype, and possibly give hope to young Native Americans who read this.
The best part of the book…the cartoons. Junior is a budding cartoonist, and his drawings are either hilarious or perfectly encapsulate a beautiful moment.

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

Title: The True Meaning of Smekday
Author: Adam Rex
Year: 2007
Genre: Science Fiction, Humor
Age: 5-8th grade
Summary: Tip Tucci fends for herself after the Boov (aliens who take over the Earth and rename it Smekland) abduct her mother. With only a flying car, a cat named Pig, and a Boov named J. Lo, Tip must relocate to Florida, find her mother, and save the world.


Review: Possibly the most humorous book I've read in the past 5 years. Rex--who previously illustrated books and whose original art work is featured in this novel--brings an alien invasion to life. Jokes range from crude to sublime, with everything in between. This story really shines when Rex is describing the various aliens and their possessions. Watch out for a short comic within the book, authored by Tip and J. Lo, relating a brief history of the Boov.