The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Summary:

"The Summoning" is the first book in the Darkest Power Trilogy. Chloe Saunders never thought she was crazy, she may have seen a few ghosts in her life but nothing that would ever land her in Lyle House or be labeled a Schizophrenic. The only problem is that she DOES see ghosts and CAN communicate with them because she is a necromancer. The interesting thing is that everyone at the Lyle House seems to have some kind of label to describe their "supernatural" powers. Is this a coincidence? You will have to see!

My Opinion:

Normally when it comes to ghosts and the afterlife I am a little chicken, usually avoiding all movies, books, and anything else related. So I was very hesitant to read The Summoning. But the book kept popping up in blogs and colleagues were raving so I just had to bite my nails and read it. I did stay away from reading the book at night (I really am chicken) but once I started the book I lost my worries of ghost and scary ghouls. Okay enough about me and my fears. Armstrong does a wonderful job with the characters. Each teenager at the Lyle house has his or her own story and toward the end of the book they become connected to each other by one common purpose. "The Summoning" not only is a great thriller and fantasy book but holds its own as a great coming of age story. Chloe is faced with a huge realization about many things in her life. Not only does she find out that she has a supernatural power but she finally gets her period at the late age of fifteen, and she is betrayed by one of the most important people in her life. Can't wait for the next book "The Awakening"!

Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong

The Summoning

The Awakening

The Reckoning

Australia Storytime

Theme: Australia


When I find a really cute book I usually end up planning my storytime around it's theme. For this week's storytime I found"Wombat Walkabout" by Carol Diggory Shields illustrated by Sophie Blackall in our new books. I love this book so I had to do an Australia theme. "Wombat Walkabout" is a great book for storytime because it is ADORABLE! The little wombats each have their own name and personality which the children love to follow. At the end of the story I always ask the kids which Wombat is their favorite. Not only is "Wombat Walkabout" adorable it has some great educational componants as well. Each wombat goes missing one at a time so that you subtract and count down as you read each page. The books is obvisouly great for learning about Australia, for instance children are introduced to Australian terms like Wombat, Kukaburra, Golden Wattle, Dingo, Billabong, and of course Walkabout.


My next book was "Big Rain Coming" by Katrina Germein illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft.


This is a very simple and easy book perfect for three and four year olds. The illustrations are beautiful and shows the cultural side of Australia.

My last book I read for my Australia storytime is "Where to Little Wombat?" by Charles Fuge. This books is our funny book for the morning. Little Wombat is put in compromising positions as he finds a new home. For instance his head gets stuck in the mole hole or he falls into the wet pond. The "Little Wombat" series is cute and I use it a lot for back up stories.


Overall the Australia Storytime went well!

Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Summary:
"Untamed" is the fourth book in the "House of Night Series". Zoey Redbird has lost about everything and the only people that have her back is undead and unmarked. But soon enough Zoey gains back the trust of her "Nerd Herd" just in time to fight the new evil High Priestess Neferet has released. Zoey develops a new crush with a new fledgling James Stark and is re-united with Eric Night only now he is her Drama professor.

My Opinion:
I am still not completely sold on the "House of Night" series even though I have read all four! I feel like P.C. and Kristin could have combined all four books into one. I felt this way especially with "Untamed." It takes nearly 400 pages for the “Nerd Herd” to unravel the mystery of High Priestess Neferet’s evil venture. The extra fluff of hot boys and smart bickering will entice teens. I felt the conversational informal writing was a bit too much but also will be great for reluctant readers.

A few wonderful things about this series I have come to enjoy are the relationship between Zoey and Aphrodite, who once were intense enemies and now in the fourth book have found a unique bond. The relationship grows with Zoey’s kindness for Aphrodite even when her friends and the whole school discard her. I have enjoyed Aphrodite’s witty retorts as well as her depth even when she has turned from gifted fledgling to ordinary human. She finds strength to help Zoey and the “Nerd Herd” fight the evil plans Neferet creates. Zoey’s downfall at the beginning is what allows her character to grow and mature, she becomes stronger as a female character as well as a high priestess who will defeat Neferet. We will see at least in “Hunted" the fifth installment of the House of Night series.

House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Marked
Betrayed
Chosen
Untamed
Hunted
Tempted

Two Books a Librarian will Actually Buy!

I rarely EVER buy books, let alone new books, but these two I am picking up at the bookstore with my gift card!

Write Right! : A Desktop Digest of Punctuation, Grammar, and Style. 4th Edition By Jan Venolia

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to be become a better writer and speaker. What got me started is my amazement of Jane Austen era conversation. I am so mesmerized by the way they talked and wrote during that time. Not like I will ever actually do this because people will look at me like I am crazy, but I think now-a-days we don't really think about what we say or how we sound (my use of UM and LIKE drives me crazy and I am sure others too).

This book is great, I am reading it from cover to cover, I am still on the first chapter trying to get down all the grammar terms like what is a conjunction!!!! I think my biggest downfall is spelling, which you would think as a Librarian I would be amazing at but I am terrible!!! I have already had about 10 spelling mistakes writing this post! And about 5 run on sentences which I am terrified of thanks to high school English class.

Wish me Luck!

My second book that I will be purchasing is;

You Grow Girl: A Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening by Gayla Trail

If you are an expert or just a beginner at gardening this book is AMAZING! It covers everything from growing a huge backyard garden to a few pots on your urban windowsill. Great illustrations and I love the homemade green friendly solutions to garden problems. Also the book has a great DIY vibe which I of course support! My issue with my garden is always the winter, how do I prepare my plants for the coming cold blast? Well I found all my solutions in this manual! Also an added plus is this book is NOT boring often Gayla has many a witty comment about those pesky aphids and cat friendly plants.

Related Library Tip: Libraries are great places to try out books. Check them out and if you find the book to be AMAZING and you feel it will last you a lifetime then support your local bookstore and buy it. That is how I do it and I am a Librarian so trust me!

Too Many Books to Read

I always have the dilemma of taking too many books home from the library. It's an impulse that I am sure many librarians have. I am always hesitant to go in the stacks because I end up finding all sorts of books to take home. This is EXTREMELY hard to maintain! But my goal is to try to read a book a week (I know some of you may be laughing at my slow pace!). I could probably read more, but then there is my crafting addiction and of course the sunny weather which leads to gardening (my little porch), hiking, and biking.

Here is my list of books to read soon!!

A Great and Terrible Beauty (First book of the Gemma Doyle trilogy) by Libba Bray

Vamped by Lucienne Diver









Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: the classic regency romance now with ultra violent zombie mayhem by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith









Alis by Naomi Rich









The Summer I turned Pretty by Jenny Han









When It Happens by Susane Colesanti









Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris









An Abundance of Katherines by John Green









Looking for Alaska by John Green









Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
(I have been wanted to read this SOOOOO bad, I keep hearing amazing things!)

Being by Kevin Brooks

Cathy's Book by Sean Stewart

Life as we Know It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

I think that is everything on my reading list for now (could be longer but these are my necessity reads, I have to read them RIGHT NOW!).