When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

This is the 2010 Newbery Winner, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

“I am coming to save your friends life, and my own. I ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter”
That’s the letter that Miranda receives first and they keep coming.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this book, especially being the Newbery Winner for this year. I enjoyed the story, the characters were good, though a couple could have been developed more. There was mystery, suspense, a good story all round. Left me wondering how it was going to end and I was happy with that. My only disappointment was that Miranda had a favorite book, also a Newbery winner, A Wrinkle in Time, which pretty well gave away the story and ending. I haven’t read it yet, in fact I am awaiting its arrival via the postman and it is part of my February reading .

I have started a Project Newbery. I would like to read all the winning books and the honor as well. It might take away, but thats okay. So far 2 down and lot more to go. :))

looking for jj by Anne Cassidy

I found this book at Value Village and it sounded interesting.

"dark, chilling and clever" Celia Rees caught my eye because I have read only one of her books and enjoyed it. So I thought that was a good reference and bought it. I like getting books cheap.

Three children walked away from the cottages on the edge of the town toward Berwick Waters. Later that day only two of them came back.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. It was a good story, I felt for jj throughout the books, but then feel that I should have been feeling sympathy to the other girls family and heard there side of the story. But since this book was about jj that might not have worked.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Winner of the 2009 John Newbery award.

This is the first time I have read Neil Gaiman, he writes both youth and adult fiction. I will most likely read some of his adult works, he is an interesting author and I like his style.

I am not good at writing book reviews, hopefully the more that I do, the better I become.

This is a fantasy, which is a new genre to me. I have to remind of something that I read while I took my Intro to Children's Lit course "The writer of fantasy creates another world for characters and readers, asking that readers believe this other world could and does exist within the framework of the book. The acceptance of this other world requires of the writer an ability to make the imaginary universe so credible that we wish it were all true. for sheer pleasure we believe" (from A Critical Handbook of Children's Literature by Rebecca J. Lukens)

Nobody Owens was raised in the graveyard, kinda reminds me of The Jungle Book (which I have never read and might read now). One of the things I loved about this book was what was written on the tombstones.

Miss Letita Borrows, Spinister of this Parish "Who Did No Harm to No Man all the Dais of Her Life. Reader, Can You Say Lykewise?"

Digby Poole "As I Am So Shall You Be

Joji G Shoji " I was a stranger and you took me in" pg 48

There were others that I can not remember (of course). I would love to see a sequel to this book, the ending has left that possibility open and I have grown fond of Nobody Owens

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

I read Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett as required reading for a course. I enjoyed it the first time and again the second time and even the third time. I loved the quirky comments that put a smile to my face. The characters stood out and I am on the lookout for a little cat and rat figurine to put on my shelf.

This year I will start to go through the DiscWorld series, starting with The Colour of Magic. This time I am recording some of the quirky comments and quotes that grab my attention.

Here are some of them:

Page 165
It was a backwards memory of an event in his future too terrifying that it had generated harmonics of fear all the way along his lifeline.
This was not the event, but it was good practice for it.

" `Why must you always panic ?' asked Twoflower petulantly.
`Because the whole of my future life just flashed in front of my eyes, and it didn't take very long, [...].'"
- Rincewind panics

Kring - "What I'd really like to be a ploughshare. I don't know what that is, but it sounds like an existence with some point to it."

Page 199
Rincewind speaking to Twoflower
"Don't you get scared of heights?" he managed to ask.
"No" he said, "why should I? You're just as dead if youfall from forty feet as you are from four thousand fathoms, that's what I say."