The Mysterious Benedict Socitey

Most of the time when someone refers to classic literature, they mean something that has been around for a while and has withstood the test of time. Families have enjoyed classics for years and it is expected that no matter how much time passes, these stories will continue to be enjoyed. Every once in a while you come across a book that although new, you just know will become a classic. The Mysterious Benedict Society should be one of those books. I say should because I fear that in this world of all too often dumbed-down movies, games and books (SpongeBob Squarepants and Captian Underpants come to mind), that this book will go undiscovered. It is so witty and full of intellectualism and just a really good children's adventure story. My kids had a blast trying to solve all the riddles and problems along with the kids in the book. This is a trilogy and Jared and his friends have already read the other two and say that they are just as great. The Mysterious Benedict Society is timeless!

The Last Song

by Nicholas Sparks
For the record, I have never read a Nicholas Sparks novel and do not necessarily plan on reading another one. However, after reading The Hunger Games I needed something that would have a real love story to it and the same friend who let me borrow The Hunger Games left The Last Song sitting on my night stand as though anticipating my need before I ever knew it, so as I closed Mockingjay (the 3rd book), I picked up The Last Song in hopes of something mushy. Nicholas Sparks did not disappoint. Although not what I would consider, great literature, it was a good read and I even learned a little about sea turtles. There were a few parts that were questionable in content, namely the chapters that are from Marcus' point of view, but as his personality was so horrific, I quickly forgot about those chapters. In the end, The Last Song is the story of a mad-at-the-world-teen who is sent to live with her Dad for the summer and ends up falling in love with the local rich jock (totally not her type). The underlying story is of family love and hardship and ultimately, a real tear-jerker (not that it takes much for me).

The Hunger Games Trilogy

Talk about a page turner! I could not put these books down, which was not a good thing seeming as how I started them at the beginning of another school year. So, I spent most of September and the first week of October halfheartedly doing school with the kids just counting down the clock until 3pm when I would jump on the couch and read some more until I would finally pry myself off to make a dinner and pretend like I hadn't been reading all afternoon, only to jump right back into it as soon as the kids were in bed. Chris even decided that if he was going to have anything to do with me he'd better start reading the books so that we could talk. It reminded me of when I worked at Alexander's Copy Center in college while Chris and I were engaged and I was so into my job, that Chris had to get a job there just so he could see me.

A few things I learned about myself while reading The Hunger Games (not all good):
- I have an addictive personality, meaning that whatever the latest thing is that I'm into, it becomes all consuming in my life. I noticed this first with The Hunger Games and later with photo editing as well as buying, cataloging and yes, even reviewing books.
- I like books that are dark and violent, to a degree. The Hunger Games had the right amount of dark with little glimmers of light. As opposed to Wuthering Heights which I hated because there was not a single ray of cloudy or dim light in the whole book.
- I actually do like a love story and a happy ending after all. As much as I loved The Hunger Games, neither the love story nor the "happy" ending were enough for me.
- When a book is really, really interesting, I can read fast. I am generally a slow reader, but not with these books. It only took me so long because I just don't have a lot of time for reading.

Enough about me, would I recommend this book? Definitely, but I realize that having said that, not everyone will like it. It will be too gory, or too anti-war/government, or too unrealistic for some. And...I would definitely not recommend it for children. I'd say 16-17 is probably a good age to read this.

The Magicians Nephew

I love, love, love The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. I have read them all before, but had the opportunity for our Book Group to re-read The Magicians Nephew as I was reading it to the kids. I know some people don't like this book that much, but this is one of my favorite books in the series. It's not my favorite because the storyline is so riveting, but first of all because the writing is like pure poetry in it's perfection and because of the analogy to The Creation and all the elements therein. I have never read this book when I haven't read the Creation account in Genesis alongside it. I just can't get over how beautifully C. S. Lewis synchronizes literature with faith and spirituality. This is truly a classic for all ages and one that I personally could read over and over again.

Walk Two Moons

by Sharon Creech
While preparing to take our 3-week long road trip across the United States, I stumbled upon this book that talked about a girl who tells her story as she is traveling across the United States. I was excited to find that in the story she travels from the Chicago area to Idaho, exactly the way we were planning to go. I really enjoyed reading about her travels as we were making the same trip. I tried to stay a step ahead in my reading and I actually found that as we arrived in places like The Badlands (see picture of me and Clarissa above), that I already knew some of the touristy information from the book or was able to tell the kids a story from the book about the place we were visiting. Although this book was a tear-jerker, I really enjoyed it. Oh, who am I kidding, I love books that make me cry. I love the idea of this girl sharing her stories and experiences with her grandparents. This is a children's book, but again, I wouldn't read it to my younger children, I would wait until around Jr. High before letting them read it as it does have some dramatic events that take place.

The Maltese Falcon

by Dashiell Hammett
I picked up this book for free at a children's museum that had a literature promotion going on. This is a 1930s detective novel that is so typical of the 30s crime scene that I'm pretty sure every detective movie and book must be based off of this one. Although detective novels are not my typical genre and as a result I may not be qualified to judge this, I think it was a very good book. All the details were described so well, that I felt like I was watching a movie instead of reading a book. There is, as a side note, a movie that was made in 1931, but I haven't seen it yet.

Jacob Have I Loved

This book was written by Katherine Paterson, the same author as other children's books like, The Bridge to Terabithia and The Great Gilly Hopkins. I remember my friend reading this book when we were kids and I had no interest in such books at the time. I was too busy reading Choose Your Own Adventure books, or Elvis by Priscilla Presley. As I write this review, it is several months after reading the book and I honestly can't remember much about it. It doesn't happen very often that I forget the main points of a book I've read. I usually read most of the book about three times before I'm done with it. Having said that, I remember it being about a girl who was more interested in crabbing and the sea than in the arts and beauty like her twin sister. I do think it was a good book, but apparently, not life-changing. This book is suggested for children ages 9-12. Although I don't think that it would be inappropriate for younger children, I think that it is more suited toward the Jr. High, High School level readers.