Chuyển đến nội dung chính

My faves!

2014  has already come and gone and I have yet to share with you my favorite reads of the year. For those who don’t follow me on social media, the answer as to why is simple: I was dying of the plague. Okay, not really. I REALLY had the flu. And not just one. I had TWO different strands. So for my Christmas vacation, I spent 16 days in bed. Sleeping. Barely moving. Barely reading—which is the real tragedy. But now that we have enjoyed a full two weeks of 2015, let me share with you my favorite reads of 2014. First, I met my Goodreads goal of 115 books. As a matter of fact, I didn’t meet it—I spanked it. By year’s end I read 144 books (mostly YA and mysteries). I really like rounded up numbers, so I am bummed I didn’t reach 145, but hey, since I spanked my original goal, I will take it. Of those 144 boys, below I am sharing with you 15 of my favorite tween/YA reads in no particular order. Enjoy! ‘The Impossible Knife of Memory’ – Laurie Halse Anderson      I did...
Đăng nhận xét

The Secret

The Secret

Review: Scary School (Book 1)


love the cover
Title and author: Scary Schoolby Derek the Ghost
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 237
Date: June 21, 2011
ISBN: 9780061960925
Source: The author

Summary (from Goodreads):
You think your school's scary? 

Get a load of these teachers:
"Ms. Fang," an 850-year-old vampire
"Dr. Dragonbreath," who just might eat you before recess
"Mr. Snakeskin"--science class is so much more fun when it's taught by someone who's half zombie
"Mrs. T"--break the rules and spend your detention with a hungry "Tyrannosaurus rex"

Plus

Gargoyles, goblins, and Frankenstein's monster on the loose
The world's most frighteningly delicious school lunch

And

The narrator's an eleven-year-old ghost 

Join Charles "New Kid" Nukid as he makes some very Scary friends--including Petunia, Johnny, and Peter the Wolf--and figures out that Scary School can be just as funny as it is spooky

My Thoughts:

This novel is quite a clever idea. What happens when you combine a moat, a giant squid, and a twenty-foot T-Rex wearing a blue dress and a blue bonnet? An introduction to Scary School!

The mission of the school is simple: to bring humans and other beings together as one unit, but what happens when a student accidentally calls a teacher by the wrong name? DEATH! No seriously, she drains them because the teacher is a vampire, and she cannot have students call her by the wrong name. But no student of Scary School should attempt to break a rule because the punishment is not worth the price, unless it turns the student into a dragon. Then it becomes a cool price to pay.

There are allusions to some of the best “monster” stories in literature and in movies. 

There are life lessons to be learned in this book as well – never judge someone based on their looks, always speak up for yourself, cleverness counts, and most importantly, do not betray your school: “‘I pity the fool who betrays his school,’ Mrs. T replied, licking her chops.” It’s the one-liners such as this that will make adults reminisce and young readers laugh.

Readers are also treated to a gaggle of goblins acting out “The Three Little Pigs” as a Halloween treat. If it can go wrong, it does.

And then there are the Ghoul Games: a survival of the fittest between monsters. With Scary School being both participant and host, the stakes are higher because now it becomes monsters vs. monsters and humans. There are some in the monster community that believe this is wrong, and thus they create the ultimate monster prize: the winners of the Games get to eat the losers. Or they can choose a lollipop instead.

The illustrations enhance the storytelling, giving a visual that many will find to be much more frighteningly comical than their own imagination.

The chapter titles are clever and the overall plot is hilariously engaging. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I think reluctant boy readers will enjoy it as well.

This is a winner for young readers in more ways than one. Add it to your summer reading list.

Be sure to check out the next in the series, Scary School: Monsters on the March out on June 26, 2012! 


Nhận xét

Đăng nhận xét

Bài đăng phổ biến từ blog này

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine .  It’s designed for bloggers to spotlight the upcoming releases that they simply can’t wait to read. This week my choice is one that I am sure many of you have. I’ve seen it all over Twitter, and my interest is piqued. Title: 'The 5 th Wave' Author: Rick Yancey Publisher: Putnam Juvenile Release Date: 7 May 2013 Summary (from Goodreads ) : After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or ...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm

Review: A Snicker of Magic

First, let me say that if a cover has a large ice cream cone on it, dibs are I am going to pick it up. Period. I am a cover shopper, and nothing says, “Pick me up Hodgenator” like a giant ice cream cone. Also, the title has the word “magic” in it. I am going to touch it. In this case, I saw it on Netgalley and realized I needed this book in my life. Little did I know that while reading it, I did need this book in my life . Title: ‘A Snicker of Magic’ Author: Natalie Lloyd Pages: 320 Publisher: Scholastic Press Available: NOW at your local library/book store Source: Netgalley Summary (from Goodreads ) : Introducing an extraordinary new voice---a magical debut that will make your skin tingle, your eyes glisten…and your heart sing. Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is ...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm

Review: Origin

I bought this at B&N after viewing the cover an d title and thinking it looked interesting. It was - I did not want to put this book down. I had to because of my teaching responsibilities, but it was a captivating read. If you're looking for a gift for the YA reader in your life, you should consider adding this title to your gift-giving list.     Title: Origin   Author: Jessica Khoury   ISBN: 9781595145956   Available: NOW at your local bookstore and library   Summary (from the book jacket):   Pia has always known her destiny. She is meant to start a new race, a line of descendants who will bring an end to death. She has been bred for no other purpose, genetically engineered to be immortal and raised by a team of scientists in a secret compound hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest. Now those scientists have begun to challenge her, with the goal of training her to carry on their dangerous work .   For as long as she can remember, Pia’s...
Đăng nhận xét
Đọc thêm

Free $100

Free $100