New Book Day!

Well, sort of.

A while back, hubs and I went to New York to visit some friends and stopped by the Strand Bookstore and bought this book.



I was planning reading it pretty quickly, but I kept putting it off due to school work. (I was scared I would get sucked in and ignore my academic duties.)

Recently a friend passed along her copy of the audio book. Now, I can totally rationalize listening to a book on my commute to work. So, I listened. AND FELL IN LOVE.

So yesterday, I headed out to my local chain bookstore and purchased these:


(Sorry for the glare. Being the book nerd that I am, I have covered my book jackets library style.)

Yep. I'm hooked. I heart Edward. I think Bella rocks.

And I can't wait to see what happens next. (And to see the movie that is coming out on 11/21!)

YALSA Literature Symposium

This weekend I will be attending the YALSA Young Adult Literature Symposium in Nashville, TN. I am SO excited to get to hang out with some YA book lovers and hear what is the latest and greatest in that world. I'm looking forward to some great informative sessions and meeting some great YA authors!

Check back early next week for a wrap-up of my experience!!

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

When Vermeer’s painting A Lady Writing comes up missing, Calder and Petra, sixth grade classmates put together a number of clues and coincidences to find the priceless painting while clearing the names of their teacher, neighbor, and friend. Calder is fascinated by patterns and always has his set of pentominos, which seems to guide them by enlightening him with words that spark their actions. He even corresponds with his friend Tommy by code in a letters that must be decoded to read. Petra is a gifted young lady who comes across a book entitled Lo! By Charles Fort, which discusses a number of odd events that have happened in the world at various times but seem to be connected. A woman in the painting who seems to be guiding the duo to her fascinates Petra. Throw in an eccentric teacher who sparks free thinking, curiosity and discovery and you have story that will be hard to put down.

What I Thought:
What a fun book! What makes this book even more interesting is the "secret code" that is inserted throughout the text that the reader must decode to grasp a portion of the story. (The code key is given in the book.) Fans of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin or The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Franweiler by E.L. Konisburg will devour this book.

I'm excited to read the next two books: Wright Three and Calder Game.

Want to see more? Check it out on Amazon: Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett.

Paper Towns by John Green

When Quentin was younger, he and his neighbor friend Margo stumbled across a dead man in the park.

Years later, he is weeks away from graduating high school, and the same Margo taps on his window and talks him into a night to remember. As they cross the city of Orlando playing pranks on some of Margo's friends (er, former friends, they were claiming revenge) who had committed various offenses, Q learns more about this girl whom he is so crazy about.

The next day, Margo vanishes into thin air.

As Quentin and his friends dig through a number of clues to find out where Margo is, they learn about themselves in the process. And have a heck of an ending to their high school experience!

Will they find Margo? You'll have to read it to find out!

What I Thought:
I was highly anticipating the release of this book and was not disappointed! I loved this book! I loved the mystery, the friendship, the longing for a love that may not be so out of reach. It is the end of high school, it is fun and full of memories.

Teens will devour the book for the plot and characters, adults will love the book for the same, but will also relate remembering this special time in their own life.

Green does an outstanding job, this book is very highly recommended. It is pure awesome.

A movie of this book is already in the works...

Want to see more? Check it out on Amazon: Paper Towns by John Green.

Sock Monkey Goes to Hollywood: A Star is Bathed by Cece Bell

Sock Monkey has been nominated for a prestigious Oswald Award and needs to attend the award ceremony in Hollywood. Just one thing...Sock Monkey needs a bath. Of which he has never had, so he is very dirty. He's a little nervous about the whole process, but he has some great friends to help him through the process.

So, he is all clean...will he win his award?

What I Thought:
Such an adorable book, especially if you are a sock monkey fan! The illustrations are cute -- digitally created with the sock monkey appearing to be a photograph of a knitted sock. Very interesting! I literally laughed out loud on several occasions, though the ending was a little disappointing. A super read aloud that kids are bound to enjoy. Overall, highly recommended!

Want to see more? Check it out on Amazon: Sock Monkey Goes to Hollywood: A Star is Bathed by Cece Bell.