Recommended Reads - an update

It was pointed out to me twice today that 1) I haven't updated my blog in awhile (one more semester of grad school and I'm DONE!!!) and 2) I recommend books all the time, but could I please just come up with a list?!?  So here's what I have for you for right now.  I do plan to blog about all of these books (if I haven't already), but for my faithful fans (apparently now there are like seven of you...yeay!) here are the books I've been talking about for months now and some that I haven't mentioned yet.

Normally I would hyperlink all these titles, but it's late, so you'll have to google them yourselves!

Hush by Eishes Chayil - written by a Chassidic Jewish woman about the suicide of her childhood best friend.  Openly wept.  Not snotty hyperventillating wept, but I wept.  Beautifully told story that somehow is able to respect the Chassidic community while exposing a weakness.  Loved loved loved it.  Go get it. NOW.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly - already reviewed this one in March.  Can't get over how awesome this book is.  And yes, I will take the 30 seconds necessary to link to my own post.  Why, because I'm a little selfish.

Unwind by Neil Shusterman - amazing sci-fi story of a society where unwinding, or retroactive abortion, is the "solution" to the abortion debate.  Definitely an action packed book, but it also really makes you think about the right to life and what "life" is.  Wonderfully done, could NOT put it down (but really, when can I put books down?)

Graceling by Kristin Cashore - fantasy novel about a world where people are "graced" - have special abilities to do various things.  Katsa's grace is killing, something that until now, her uncle has used to his advantage.  But when the king from another kingdom is kidnapped, Katsa must learn to trust Prince Po, who - it turns out - has a very interesting grace of his own.  Started out listening to the audiobook and HATED it, but my bff Sarah convinced me to finish the book, and she was right - it's fantastically written.  Looking forward to a long weekend where I can dive into the companion novel Fire.

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock - speaking of audiobooks, this one is fantastic.  The Wisconsin accent makes the reading of this book fantastic.  The entire trilogy is worth reading, though Dairy Queen is my favorite.  And yes, I took the time to link my own review.  It's how I roll.

When I was Joe by Keren David - teenage kid living in London witnesses a murder and he and his mother must enter the witness protection plan.  Tyler (I think that's his original name) now has a chance to reinvent himself - something all teenagers wish they could do.  Love the suspense in the story of the murder.  The sequel, Almost True is sitting on my bedside table right now.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine - story of a little girl with Asberger's (I think) whose brother died in a school shooting.  It's supposed to be a novel for young people (middle school-ish), but it's definitely an adult book.  I think middle school kids will get something out of it, but I think some of the nuiances will be missed by young readers.  Tissues are a necessity for this one.

White Cat by Holly Black - Cassel is the only member of his family that isn't a "worker".  "Workers" all have the ability to do something - erase memory, impose luck, inflict pain, even kill - with a simple touch of skin on skin. Cassel also happens to have killed his childhood best friend in cold blood when they were much younger, only he has no idea why and can hardly remember the event.  When he gets kicked out of boarding school, he slowly starts to figure out what happened so long ago. Truth be told I'm a little torn about this book.  I really enjoyed it, but I figured it out pretty early.  I will say that Black's writing is AWESOME, and that the writing kept me reading.  But the sequel Red Glove isn't high on my reading list simply because I'm afraid I'll figure it out just as quick.

There are more, but I'm sleepy.  That and I'd like to read a little before I go to bed.  I'm currently reading The Radley's by Matt Haig.  This book is pretty darn good so far, and it won an Alex Award (books written for adults that cross over into YA stardom).  The Radley's are a normal family, except that they're vampires.  Oh, and the parents have never told their kids that they're blood sucking night fliers.  Yep, it's pretty good.

Ok, sweet dreams, and happy reading!