The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling

Title: The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling
Author: Mary Rose Wood
Year: 2010
Genre: Historical fiction/ fantasy / faux Lemony Snickett
Age: 5th grade up

Summary:Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children. Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. But mysteries abound at Ashton Place: Who are these wild creatures, and how did they come to live in the forests of the estate? Why does Old Timothy, the coachman, lurk around every corner? Will Penelope be able to teach the Incorrigibles table manners in time for the holiday ball? And what on earth is a schottische? (From the official website)

Review: This book is adorable. Miss Lumley displays powers of remarkable calm in the face of chaos and mayhem. Did I mention mayhem? Well, what do you expect when children are raised by wolves.

I recommend this book to anyone needing a smile. Especially fun for adults who loved Jane Eyre, with it's gentle ribbing of the governess genre.

Gregor the Overlander

Title: Gregor the Overlander
Author: Suzanne Collins
Year: 2004
Genre: Fantasy
Age: 4th-6th grade

Summary: Gregor and his toddler sister Boots fall through a shaft in their laundry room to the Underland, a world beneath our own populated by enormous bugs, rats, bats and even (regular sized) humans. Now the problem is, how will he and Boots return to the surface?

Review: An amazing book. A bit slow to start--world building takes time--once you hit the first battle scene this book takes off. Gregor is beautifully flawed and easy to identify with. The plot is a great adventure and the characters really grow and blossom. I especially liked the interesting politics of the Underland and the interplay of various societies. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves adventure tales.

The Mortal Instruments Trilogy

Title: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass
Author: Cassandra Clare
Year: 2008
Genre: Fantasy
Age: 7th grade up

Summary: Clary is just a regular girl in New York City, until she realizes she sees things others can't.

Review: This book is a wonderful distraction. The characters are a bit slow on the uptake (you might be yelling DUH! when they finally figure things out) but they're still a lot of fun to hang out with. There are twists and turns in the plot and great moments with zingers and descriptions of totally original fantasy elements. I would recommend this to those who enjoyed the Twilights.

Big Mouth and Ugly Girl

Title: Big Mouth & Ugly Girl
Author: Joyce Carol Oates
Year: 2002
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age: Teen
Summary: Matthew Donaghy (Big Mouth) has always had a big mouth. But it never got him into trouble — until one day when two detectives escort him out of class for questioning. The charge is that Matt has been accused of threatening to blow up Rocky River High School. Although he is innocent of the accusation, people shun him, and many adults, including the principal of Rocky River High School, get suspicious.

Ursula Riggs is a strong athlete at Rocky River High. She secretly gives herself the proper name “Ugly Girl.” Ursula has no time for petty high school distractions like friends (except for her friend Bonnie) and dating. Ursula is content to mind her own business. She hardly knows Matt Donaghy at the start of the novel.

But Ursula knows injustice when she sees it and is not afraid to speak out.

“Big Mouth & Ugly Girl.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 15 Nov 2009, 22:37 UTC. 18 Nov 2009 .

My Thoughts: This book is a fun read on a topic that most people probably never give a thought to: being on the inside of the newspaper headline. It is about high school gossip, and how strong of a person you need to be not to get sucked into it. “Ugly Girl” is an incredibly strong female character, who I think many girls could relate to. I especially love how she compares herself to a horse throughout the story…it is just such an apt way to describe how insecurities can make you feel sometimes.
More than just the obvious, I loved how Oates shows how easily people can be thrown into hysterics, and how they are usually tricked into it by the most unreliable source. She highlights how the Salem Witch Trials happen again and again in our society, just disguised as something else.

Millennium Trilogy

Title(s):
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2005)
The Girl Who Played with Fire (2006)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2007)
Author: Stieg Larsson
Genre: Crime/Mystery/Thriller
Age: Mature High School Students
Summary: This series follows the story of two main characters Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist, and Lisbeth Salander, an introvert with a photographic memory. The two meet through unlikely circumstances, and are kept together by even unlikelier circumstances.
My Thoughts: I had to be heavily persuaded to read this set of books, so I am a little late on the "I love the Millennium Trilogy" bandwagon, but I am there now.
I have to admit, it was difficult for me to get into the first book because roughly the first hundred pages are an introduction that involves many Swedish references that left me lost in the dust. Luckily, I had many people encouraging me to keep reading because from there on in it was like going down the most fantastic roller coaster. Each novel in the trilogy has the most sophisticated sets of twist and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat from one novel to the next.
Larsson is a master of not revealing too much at once. The stories are so complicated and well written that it takes the reader a while to realize that Larsson is 5 steps ahead of you.
I do offer one warning before picking up one of these books: there are a few graphically violent scenes throughout the trilogy, so if something like that would offend or upset you, these aren't the books for you.

Vampire Academy

Title: Vampire Academy
Author: Richelle Mead
Year: 2007
Genre: Fantasy, Vampires
Age: 7th grade up

Summary: Best friends Rose and Lissa are sent back to their vampire boarding school after two years as run aways. Readjusting to not only school but vampire politics takes its toll on the two.

Review: What a fantastic vampire book! Mead gives us a new take on vampire myths with a big helping of high school drama. But more than that, the damsel in distress does a bang up job of trying to rescue herself, and when rescuers actually come? That hero is a girl, not a love interest. Girl power, vampire power, romance-- this book is fantastic. Better than that, there’s more, an entire series! Look for it this fall in the middle school.

BOOM!

Title: Boom!
Author: Mark Haddon
Year: 2010
Genre: Adventure, Sci Fi
Age: 5th-8th grade

Summary: Jimbo and Charlie overhear their teachers speaking in a strange language and set out to investigate. They get in far too deep and Charlie is kidnapped (to another planet) and Jimbo must rescue him.

Review: Haddon is British and this book is VERY British. Words that Americans won’t understand unless they’ve watched quite a bit of BBC will throw off many readers. Even I, a complete Anglophile, had a lot of trouble figuring out what on Earth was happening at points. Other than the language barrier, this is a quick little read. I recommend it to those who love British culture and science fiction.