HOB Book Notes for 2005 Books
| author | pub. Date | bookTitle | WebComments | myRating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Jeapes | 2005 | The New World Order | Instead of the European invasion of the Americas in the sixteenth century how about an alien invasion of England. What a turn around when a superior civilization comes through a gate with a modern invasion force. Oliver Cromwell and the King Charles of England must deal with this invasion in this turn about adventure. Within the story Dhon Do s son, Daniel, comes of age within the story of political intrigue. I don t know what sixteenth century politics was like, but the story line includes interesting possibilities that suggest how behind the scenes negotiations, deal making, and dastardly deeds might have changed history. Great story. There is some discussion of different kinds of sex acts as cultural descriptions to set a tone of reality not gratuitous in nature. | Three Stars |
| Patricia Santos Marcantonio | 2005 | Red Ridin in the Hood: and Other Cuentos | Creative modern fairy tales told from a Hispanic perspective. Fantastic read aloud or read alone for that matter. | Five Stars |
| Ann Rinaldi | 2005 | The Color of Fire | Fast paced action laden Phoebe s best friend is charged with setting fire to buildings and starting an uprising. Threatened to be burnt at the stake unless he identifies the leader, Phoebe is plunged into this outcry of fear and mob brutality desiring a scapegoat needing to decide to do what is right or seek her own freedom. | No Rating |
| Michael P. Spradlin | 2005 | Book One Spy Goddess: Live and Let Shop | Beverly Hills teenager Rachel Buchanan gets in trouble with the law and ends up in the mysterious Blackthron Academy in PA, where she uncovers secrets about the school and becomes entangled in a case of international espionage. | No Rating |
| Lois Lowery | 2005 | Gooney Bird and the Room Mother | Gooney Bird Green likes to be in the middle of it all. Thanksgiving Pageant lead and room mother provider with her absolutely true stories and vocabulary development. | No Rating |
| Angie Sage | 2005 | Septimus Heap Book One Magyk | After learning that Jenna is the princess, she is whisked away from her home and carried to safety by the Extraordinary Wizard. Leaving those who she had always thought were her family she is pursued by the same characters that killed her mother ten years earlier. Action packed adventure of good versus evil. First children s book to include a CD? | Four Stars |
| Jeff Smith | 2005 | Bone: Out from Boneville | Cartoon that may be too advanced for me. I don t know why, but I did read it from beginning to end and would like to know WHAT? | Two Stars |
| Garth Nix | 2005 | The Keys to the Kingdom: Drowned Wednesday | The third installment, of the saga of Arthur Penhaligon. How could any 12 year old survive a week of this... Wait it has only been three days. Start with Mister Monday, then Grim Tuesday for a wild adventure. How long? Seven days? or in real time how long till Garth Nix turns out the rest of the story? | Four Stars |
| Peter Abrahams | April 2005 | Down the Rabbit Hole: An Echo Falls mystery | Ingrid, an eighth student, is challenged from a variety of directions. Her algebra teacher, soccer coaches, brother, parents, friends, desire to be an actress, are making life more complicated everyday. How can she deal with all of them when an even greater concern is what the sheriff might know about her and her shoes being at a murder scene. Will she be able to save herself with the use of her intellect, as her idol Sherlock Holmes did? This is the best children s murder mystery I ve ever read. If you like adventure movies like the Goonies, Ferris Bueller s Day Off, and Home Alone (without the slapstick) you ll find this story compelling. |
Five Stars |
| James Patterson | April 2005 | Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment | Mutant Erasers abduct the youngest members of their group. In pursuit of their abductors they find themselves struggling to find out their own origins and purpose. The book starts with a warning and again in the first paragraph: Yes, you, standing there leafing through these pages. Do not put this book down. I m dead serious - your life could depend on it. Genetic mutants? Author of adult murder mysteries Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls. |
No Rating |
| Joseph Bruchac | 2005 | Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two | A story told in American Indian oral narrative style about Ned Begay and a group of Navajo men that were taught in a boarding school and were then recruited by the Marines to become code talkers in World War II. Great story and very good read if the didactic preachy tone is overlooked. | Four Stars |
| William Sleator | 2005 | The Last Universe | Fourteen year old Susan s brother insists to be taken into the mysterious backyard garden that was designed by their quantum physicist great uncle. Each twist and turn of the garden maze creates unpredictable results of fortune and misfortune. What is the key? Is there one or are they doomed to the same fate as their strange uncle. | Four Stars |
| Louise Erdrich | April 2005 | The Game of Silence | Continuing story of Omakays, Little Frog, an Ojibwa from the first book in the series: The Birch Bark House (1999). The series follows an Ojibwa family on an island in Lake Superior beginning in the summer of 1847. First book Grandmother s Pigeon, takes you through a year with all the seasons. Omakays is 8 winters old. Very good cultural and historical view. |
No Rating |
| J. D. McNeill | May 2005 | The Last Codfish | 15 year old Tut lives with his father and hasn t talked since his mother died. He is befriended by Alex, talkative, outgoing, in your face type. Compelling story of loss and survival, with one of a kind characters. | No Rating |
| Lois Lenski | May 2005 | On a Summer Day | Classic 1953 picture book is back with bright colors. Summer means the outdoors to kids. |
No Rating |
| Astrid Lindgren and Patricia Crampton translator | April 2005 | Red Bird | Marit Tarrnqvist reimagines Lindgren s wistful tale of two children (author of Pippi Longstocking) alone in the world that watch and follow a red bird. Notice the change in color as the children move from their colorless world of poverty to the meadow... to ... Translated from Swedish by Patricia Cramption. |
No Rating |
| Ariel Dorfman and Joaquin Dorfman | May 2005 | Burning City | Simmering summer of 2001 in New York City. Heller is the youngest employee of a messenger delivery service that delivers bad news orally. He is the best deliverer of bad news and is allowed to deliver by bike instead of roller blades. He is drawn into a wildly diverse cast of characters and learns to relate to people in a whole new way. | No Rating |
| Hiawyn Oram | May 2005 | Giant Surprise | Picture book with rich fanciful color pictures of the main characters (Puddleglum the Marsh wiggle and his niece Lally) are on an adventure to save their mice friends from the marauding and frolicking giants in the land of Narnia. The setting of Shribble Gorge, The Giants castle, and Lally s Rocks is colored with rich earth tones and supports this tale of rescue well. The illustrator s personification of background objects assists the fanciful tone of the story with objects such as rocks and clouds personifying characters in the story. The story is markedted as a new Narnia adventure based on characters in C. S. Lewis The Silver Chair. |
Four Stars |
| Livi Michael | May 2005 | The Whispering Road | Joe and Annie escape the abusive farmer they work for and head for Manchester in Victorian England. It is an adventure with helpful strangers and swindlers that would even sell them. No matter how he tries Joe and Annie get separated, Joe joins a gang, and it is questionable if they will ever find what happened to their mother. Epic novel that will grip the reader from the first page. Winner of four English awards for novels for adults. |
No Rating |
| Henry Winkler | 2005 | Summer School: What Genius Thought that up? | humorous story... What else would it be? | No Rating |
| Ron Koertge | May 2005 | Arizona Kid | 16 year old Billy, from MO, spends summer with his cool gay uncle Wes in Tucson and works at a race track; where he meets an outspoken horse exerciser Cara Mae. Billy discovers that gaining stature and manhood come from places you least expect. Wes is a strong character and positive role model. |
Four Stars |
| Tony Johnston | April 2005 | The Whole Green World | Young girl with her shaggy dog plant seeds, care for them, and then enjoy the flowers and trees that make the whole round world. Each verse matches actions in the book with a repetitive verse. Folk art paintings with detailed actions of nature. Art is paint and paper. Search of detail will find many wonders. Use to increase students respect for the Earth. | No Rating |
| Jon Scieszka | May 2005 | Seen Art? | Museum of Modern Art in N.Y. City is the setting for this work on art appreciation and first person narrative that becomes tiresome by the end of the book. Why did Scieszka believe lame humor would add to the quality of his book? Forget the rule of three, even Letterman wouldn t repeat the same gag over twenty times. Jon Sciezka, on the other hand, in one way or another repeats the title of the book as a pun twenty or more times. However, the shape of the book and display of art is worthy a view; especially before a trip to a gallery or an online art study. The gag line, I am looking for Art, have you seen him? MoMA (Museum of Modern Art). |
Four Stars |
| Walter Mosley | 2005 | 47 | Story of a slave, 47, who endures harsh treatment, meets Big John, hopes to escape... | No Rating |
| Toby E. Huff | May 2005 | Age of Science and Revolutions 1600-1800 | No clue waiting... | No Rating |
| 2005 | Project Mulberry | Girl and friend explore their roots and difficulties of unforeseen events as they work together on a school project. | No Rating | |
| Charlie Higson | 2005 | SilverTin | James Bond in print for the younger set. | No Rating |
| Adele Griffin | 2005 | Where I Want to Be | Two teen sisters Jane and Lily drift apart, but death brings them together. This powerful story of Jane, with mental illness, and its grip on her family is told in alternating voices from two very different sisters who try to bring light to each other. The mixing of voices blurs the line between imagination and reality, life and death, grief and guilt, hanging on and letting go. | No Rating |
| Narry Yourgrau | 2005 | Nasty Book | 43 humorous short stories. Internet witches, Panda marauders... | No Rating |
| Duncan Weller | May 2005 | Night Wall | Julie and her sister Sarah are on vacation and desire to build a wall to keep out the wild things (Maurice Sendak revisited?). Rich detailed forest scenes... Sarah helps her sister find the monsters. |
No Rating |
| Avi | 2005 | The Book without Words: A Fable of Medieval Magic | This book isn t the book without words. It has 200 pages of them. The story is set in 1046 England. Master Thorston dies and dies some more toward the climax of his lifelong quest to discover the meaning of a book without words so that he might create gold and eternal life. Sybil, his servant, with the aid of Oto a talking Raven, must continue the master s work to rediscover the use of magic to find the secret of the Book without Words and the truth to this fable. | Four Stars |
| Edward Bloor | 2005 | Story Time | After getting in trouble and being sent to a new school the main character discovers that the school has gone mad with desire to have all students do well on achievement tests. A madcap adventure lampooning the standards testing movement in schools in the style of the best madcap satyr movie comedies. Maybe more interesting for teachers than students. | No Rating |
| Isabel Allende | May 2005 | Forest of the Pygmies | Third book in Isabel s trilogy (City of Beasts, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon). Alexander (18), Nadia, and Grandma Kate are off on a new International Geographic expedition too Africa. Jaguar and Eagle totemic animal spirits help return leadership to its rightful hands and a transformation of an extraordinary friendship. | No Rating |
| J, K. Rowling | July 2005 | Harrry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | If you have read previous J. K. Rowling Potter books, then you will know most of this book. How do you write a sequel and not include pages of information to remind the reader of the intricate relationships of the characters and the characters ancestors while at the same time keep the story moving ahead at earlier paces? Probably not a problem for the average reader, but for the avid Harry Potter reader and movie viewer the reminders overshadow the continuing plot. However, what avid Harry fan isn t going to read and enjoy Harry reruns? | Four Stars |
| John Flanagan | 2005 | Ranger s Apprentice Book one: The Ruins of Gorlan | Excellent high fantasy tale set in the background of the story of the main character, Will, coming of age, being selected apprentice for the mysterious and feared Ranger Corp against his desire for apprenticeship as a knight. The story describes Will s struggles as his boyhood friendships develop to life long friendships. As he discovers who he is. As he accepts his abilities and desires for what he would become rather than what he believes others would want him to be. And how he discovers the uses of force for good and evil as well as the limits of force when people use it to control or attempt to control other people. | Four Stars |
| Christine Morton-Shaw | 2005 | The Riddles of Epsilon | A fourteen year old girl, Jess, must solve a series of riddles to save more than just her Mom. The author twists and turns this story creating riddles with secret artifacts, strange markings, letters, notes, diary entries, sketches, and character behaviors that make it difficult to know if a character is allied with good or evil or what might be the right thing to do. On top of all these puzzles is the mystery of how a person living around a hundred years earlier seems to know Jess and what she has done before she herself does. | Four Stars |
May 2005