Pride and Prejuidice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Now, if you are anything like me, you always hear about "the classics" and think that maybe you should read them. But...when you actually pick them up, they bore you to tears. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to read Moby Dick *insert puking sound here*. Sorry, but I just can't get into Ishmael and all that.

So...when I heard that there was a version of Pride and Prejudice coming out that involved zombies and ninjas, I thought 'hmm, this could possibly keep me awake!'. I listened to it on audio, which I very much enjoyed because it was then all in an English accent, as it should be. It was a fun romp of a book! The zombie part did get quite graphic, and there was a part where I was literally gagging in my car, but overall it was great. At this point, I am not exactly sure what there would have been to the story if it were not for the zombie story line. Why would Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth had any interest in each other if it was not because they were both first-rate warriors? But, let I give something away, I'll end. And, I am going to try Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter very soon!

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

I read this YA book just for fun and it was a lark! I'm going to recommend it to my friend Meredith, as I think she will enjoy the word play. Synopsis from B&N:
"Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father's "Bunny Rabbit."
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer.
Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew is lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind."

Frankie masterminds so many great pranks that you find you want to be her.

Unwind by Neal Schusterman

I'm not going to say too much about this book, in case some of my book club members tumble upon this post before July 15. It is really good, you should read it. Here is the blurb from B&N:
"

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them

Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until theireighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

In Unwind, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award winner Neal Shusterman challenges readers' ideas about life -- not just where life begins, and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive."

Read it.

Fancy White Trash by Marjetta Geerling

This book was absolutely hilarious. I found myself thinking that I couldn't believe a book could be so far out and yet so believable. Abby is 15 and lives with her two older sisters, her niece (daughter of oldest sister), her mom and Guitar Player (mom's new husband). All of a sudden Mom announces that she is pregnant. Oh, I also forgot to mention that middle sister is also 8 months pregnant (by Guitar Player, but before he was married to her mom). And possibly older sister is preggers too? So, Abby has come up with the One True Love Plan to keep her from ending up like the rest of her family. She is assisted in this major quest by her best friend, the boy next door who is adamantly trying to insist he's not gay. All in all, a very fun book. Aimed to teens, but great for adults too.

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

I had read and seen quite a bit of pre-pub hype for this book. May times when there is too much hype, the book is not all that good. That was not the case with this title. The Chosen one is about a 13 yr. old girl, Kyra, who has grown up in a polygamous sect of a cult. She has 24 brothers and sisters and her father has 3 wives. Suddenly, it is announced that the Prophet has had a vision from God and she is to marry her uncle, age 60, in 4 weeks time. While her father does all he can to fix things, the Prophet insists it must be so. So, it is up to Kyra to decide if she should save herself and never see her family again, or go about life as "normal" and enter into an incestuous marriage to a man 4 1/2 decades order than she, as a 7th wife. Excellent book, I was cheering her on and hissing at the bad guys.

The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier

I probably would have had an easier time with this book if I had read it instead of listening to it on audio. The book focuses on the murder of a 7 yr old girl, Alicia. The main character, a 12 yr. old boy named Jason, is under suspicion for her murder, although he doesn't know it. The bulk of the book is Jason being interrogated by a professional police interrogator named Mr. Trent. This made me so uncomfortable that I had to shut the tape off at least 5 times.

See, Jason's mother lets him go to the police station alone, thinking he is only there to give police some background information to help their investigation. Once there, they corner him in a small stuffy room with Mr. Trent and let him at Jason. Mr. Trent has been promised political favors if he secures a confession from Jason. I'll stop there, so I don't give everything away. A thought-provoking book, although the subject matter was uncomfortable.

Princess Mia by Meg Cabot

If you've read any of the Princess Diaries books so far, this book isn't anything different. Princess Mia's boyfriend has broken up with her while he's in Japan for the next year. Her best friend, Lily, isn't speaking to her. Her grand mere is being horrible and no one understands the depression she is going through. Her dad even makes her see a therapist.

I understand that teens like series books, and normally I do too, but I am ready for Mia to graduate high school and move on to something else. Probably a good book if you are under 15.

Schooled by Gordon Korman

I read this book because a 6th grade teacher told me that her class just finished it and loved it. I have to admit that I loved it to. The story revolves around a boy named Capricorn Anderson otherwise known as "Cap". He has lived his entire life in a hippie commune called Garland Farm. Only, he and his grandmother, "Rain", are the only people still living there. The commune has been around since the 1960s, but it is now over 40 years later.

Things really start happening when Rain falls from a tree and shatters her hip. Cap, who has been driving since he was 8, drives her to the hospital and gets arrested for driving without a license. Since Rain needs several weeks of rehab, and she is his only living relative (and also his home-school teacher), he moves in with a social worker's family temporarily.

Next, Cap is sent to Claverage Middle School a.k.a. C Average Middle School. He has never been to school before. He dresses in clothing that he and Rain made, as in grew the cotton, made the thread, wove the cloth, sewed the clothing and tie-dyed it themselves. Even his shoes are made from corn husks. You can about imagine the reaction of the rest of the students at this school. Next, he is elected 8th grade president, even though he is against government. Little does he know that it is a tradition to elect the worst candidate and then try to force them to slowly go insane. He befriends the most picked on kid in school, Hugh Winkleman, president of the Chess Club. The popular kids start an all out campaign to torture him. Luckily, Cap's clueless-ness is on his side. This was a great book, even if you're an adult.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

This was a book that I read for CENA, which is the Chesaning High School book club. I missed the meeting last week, but I still finished the book last night, which tells you that I really enjoyed it. Part of the reason is that my friends and I used to be really into Greek mythology. If you sat at our lunch table in high school, you had a Greek god or goddess nickname.

In this book, Percy is a 13 year old boy who has never stayed at one school longer than one year. These huge incidents keep occurring that force him to change schools. At the beginning of the book, the one that occurs is his math teacher tries to kill him on a field trip. Then, after he manages to save himself, killing her in the process, no one, including his friends and other teachers has ever heard of her.

It turns out that Percy is what they used to call a demigod. He is the offspring of a human (his mother) and a Greek god (his father). All of these incidents that have been occurring are monsters that have been sent to kill him by other Greek gods that feel he is a threat. After this latest incident, he manages to make it to Camp Half-Blood, where all demigods and demigoddesses go for the summer for training, since they are constantly being attacked.

There he finds that his best friend and one of the teachers at his last school are actually mythical creatures sent there to guard him. Once at Camp Half Blood, Percy longs to find out which god is his father. This affects what magical abilities he has and which of the other campers are his siblings. Ok, I think I've already said too much, so I'll just add one small thing. Percy and two fellow campers set off on a quest that involves visiting both Mt. Olympus and Hades. All this is set in modern times and the United States. Mt. Olympus is at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City, and the entrance to Hades is located in L.A. Pretty fitting, eh?

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie

Remember how I said that I had to start reading more YA books? Ok, this is one of them. It was a totally excellent book. Unfortunately, I don't think that I can book talk it at school because there are a couple of touchy subjects in here.

Anyways, the gist of it is that this kid, Junior, is 1/2 white and 1/2 Indian and he lives with his family on a reservation. You learn all about the social problems that seem to run amok on reservations. Lots of drinking, and because of it, lots of stupidity. Junior decides that if he wants to have a better life, that he needs to go to school at a nearby (20-30 miles away) non-Indian school. He is ripped on by almost everyone in his tribe for that and his best friend starts to hate him. I'm not going to go into any more of the plot because I don't want to give it away. One of the coolest things about this book is that Junior likes to draw, so the book is filled with his cartoons and sketches that show the things that are happening in his life. If you need a good book for a teenage guy, I would recommend this one, but not if the boy is under 14.

Notes from Spinning Planet: Ireland by Melody Carlson

Warning: this is a young adult book. I will probably be reading quite a few of these in the next month, as I have to book talk to approx. 15-20 middle school classes in May and I have to have something to read to them.

This book stars a girl who has grown up on a farm in rural Oregon. Her aunt is sent on assignment to Ireland and decides to take Maddie along as a companion. At the last minute, her aunt also brings along Ryan, her godson who's mother just died. Maddie has to come to grips with a lot of differences in culture in Ireland. In my opinion, she is extremely overexcited about her no drinking theories. In her opinion, Christians should not drink at all. I guess she didn't grow up German Lutheran, where you can drink with family as soon as you are confirmed, especially if you are a boy.

Once she is able to unwind a bit about the alcohol thing, she learns a lot about Ireland and its culture. I learned a lot in this book about the IRA, the RIRA, and all the reasons behind the fighting and violence that has been occurring in Ireland for generations. All in all, a very good book. We have the next two in the series too, so I'm sure I will read them soon.