A Small Town, A Rich Fantasy, and Traveling Through Time (or What I Read Last Week)

I've resisted doing "What I'm Reading" or "What I've Read" posts in the past, because I simply thought I should just do post on my responses after finishing a book. And those responses should be one post/one book. I've come to the realization that I simply don't have the time make the time to do a worthy response for EVERY book I read. Sometimes, I just don't know what to say. Other times, I just don't feel like writing a post. Suddenly, I realize I've read something like TEN books with no posts. Yikes! Even though it's not what I originally had in mind, I've decided it's better to post some general, multi-book posts than not at all. I still hope to write some thoughts on individual books as I'm able.

That said, since it's the start of a new week and a new month, here's some of what I read last week.


Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage.
Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone's business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her "upstream mother," she's found a home with the Colonel--a cafe owner with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss Lana, the fabulous cafe hostess. She will protect those she loves with ever bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.

Reminded me of Because of Winn-Dixie with the small-town, quirky characters and a strong sense of community family, but add in the mystery of Mo's background and a local murder. It's one of my favorites of the summer so far. I can't wait to see what my students think when school starts again. A rating.

Sabriel by Garth Nix.
Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. She soon finds companions in Mogget, a cat whose aloof manner barely conceals its malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories. As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death--and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own destiny.


Okay, this one has been on my To Be Read list for a super long time. I adore YA fantasy, and this one has been recommended to me numerous times. I could just kick myself for not reading it sooner, because it's absolutely a-mazing. Simply unforgettable. Nix creates a complex world in the Old Kingdom, but one that's so richly described I had no trouble visualizing and immersing myself there. I have already added Lirael to my lists and hope to get to it before school starts. A+ rating. This one is going on my "Keeper" shelf.

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone.
Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett's unique ability to travel through time and space brings him into Anna's life, and with him, a new world of adventure and possibility. As their relationship deepens, they face the reality that time might knock Bennett back where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate--and what consequences they can bear in order to stay together.


I received this ARC from NetGalley, as the book isn't scheduled for release until October. I think this time travel romance has something special to make it stand out, and I personally can't wait to get it into some of my teens' hands this fall. Although I am generally a fan of romances, I don't always care for the time travel ones. (Usually, it's travel to a completely different era where the traveler stands out as Not From There. Here, with the travel being only 17 years in the past, most of my concerns were erased.) I think what really resonates with the story is how Anna gets the strength, or maybe gains enough confidence, just by knowing Bennett to change her life. She's a better person for knowing Bennett. It's not a perfect story, by any means. I still had some questions at the end. Will we ever know Bennett's story completely? What happened back home with his sister? Argh! I don't like being left hanging.  That said, it won't keep me from recommending it to my students. B rating.


Now, back to some reading.

Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan

I have loved Lois Duncan's teen novels ever since I first read them as a beginning teacher in the early 90s. I love how she creates a feeling of suspense and terror with references to the paranormal. For some reason, I never read Down a Dark Hall, so when I saw this edition where the author has updated the story to give it modern references, I thought I'd give it a try.

The story starts with Kit being driven by her mom and new stepdad to Blackwood Hall, the boarding school she will soon be attending. She's not at all excited about being left at the new school while her mom goes off to Europe on an extended honeymoon with her new husband. When they arrive at Blackwood Hall, the description of the school is straight out of a gothic novel. Creepy with a capital C. The reader feels Kit's foreboding when exploring the house and the hallway to her new room. You just get a sense that something is off. All the clues are there -- how there are only four students at the school, how no one from the closest village wants to work there, how strange it is that there are locks only on the outside of the girls' bedrooms. This is one sinister place.

Kit and the other three girls each have some weird experiences in the house and are seemingly more and more isolated from the rest of the world. Lynda suddenly exhibits a talent for drawing and painting, even when she couldn't do anything artistic before. Sandy feels as though some presence is in her room at night. Kit is haunted by a melody in her dreams, but has no idea where it comes from. It seems that of the four girls only Kit and Sandy really question the oddness of it all and want to know more. Is the house haunted by ghosts? What's the real reason each of these girls were accepted to Blackwood Hall.

This is a quick read. The reader is quickly immersed into the sinister events at the school and Kit's quest to uncover all the secrets. Ms. Duncan does a nice job of building suspense without making it overdramatic. I really didn't get some of the secondary characters (like Ruth or Jules) -- they seemed a bit too one dimensional. I'm sure it would have helped to see just a bit more into their thoughts. Some things at the end of the book seemed incomplete, as I have way too many questions. I realize some things should be left to the reader's imagination, but I'm a bit confused about exactly how things worked. (I know that's a bit fuzzy, but without giving away spoilers, that's the best I can do.) Even with my questions, this is a terrific horror story to give you some spine-tingling chills. B rating.

Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel (American Fairy #1)

Plenty of suspense and drama surrounded Callie, a teen from the Dust Bowl era in Kansas. When her mother disappears, Callie discovers that her father is a fairy prince and she is the heir to the fairy throne. Suddenly, she's thrust into the middle of a feud between the Midnight People and the Seelies, not knowing what is real and what is illusion. She teams up with Jack, a boy traveling the rails to California, in order to find both her parents and discover what is exactly the truth.

I really, really liked the first 3/4 of the book. I could most clearly visualize the Kansas of the Dust Bowl era, with the dried up fields, the dust storms, the despair of the people and even the subtle commentary on the racism common in this time. I was certainly intrigued with the mystery of Callie's heritage and where on Earth her parents had disappeared. That said, once Callie and Jack get to Kansas City, I was less than enamored, and I certainly found the ending less than satisfactory. I realize that this is the first of a trilogy, but I like to have a few things wrapped up. I don't like it when I have more questions than answers at the end of a book. Here, I just finished the last page with a huge question mark? Huh? That was it? We still don't know the least bit about Callie's parents -- we know what Callie suspects -- but we don't KNOW anything. And the last part with the train (No specifics here, so I don't give spoilers.) ... I know the purpose of that in giving Callie a choice with her future and let Jack have some closure, but it was just plain strange for me. Possibly this is a book that could be salvaged when the trilogy is complete. If the reader could immediately continue Callie's story, maybe the end of book one wouldn't be as weak as I now see it. That's something only time will tell. C+ rating.

P.S. I'd highly recommend putting the suggested playlist (located after the author's note at the end of the book) on while reading the story. It does wonders for putting you into the mood of the era!