Differing paths.

This was different from the previous books I have read of Picoult's, but I enjoyed it.  I was thinking it was going in a few different directions, but was ultimately pleased with the path it led the reader on.

There are philosophical discussions on the paths we choose, and take in our lives. The character development and various reveals are all quite good.  There is a quote I would love to use, but can't until the book is published. I also think though, that the quote is best read within the text, when it is said, so I guess I will simply say it is a quote that will truly stick with me. 

This will be published in September; put it on your TBR list now :-). 

Couldn't put it down

I truly enjoyed this unique thriller.  It was well paced, an engaging plot, with characters you root for. I couldn't put it down, and loved every minute of this. The red herrings were nicely placed, and had me guessing for most of the book.

The master storyteller

I loved this. I mean, really, King is a master storyteller, and each story here is just beautiful.  4 differing novellas, with interesting themes and plots. The beautiful part is each is comprised of heartfelt, well developed characters.

There wasn't a misstep in any of the four.  I love his prose, and fell into each story easily.  Highly recommend. 

Lovely

This is just a great story. What it means to be a family, have dreams (small or big), respecting differences, being kind, and some wonderful magic. If you need a nice, fairy-tale like pick me up, read this.

                                                       ANOTHER GREAT DEBUT!
We are so fortunate that we have another wonderful author coming to our school. She is a debut author, whose wonderful debate experiences in college, led to her job as the debate consultant for the Tony-nominated Best Play on Broadway: What the Constitution Means to Me.

Her Debut novel, is a middle grade book titled Pippa Park Raises her Game.  It is essentially an ode to Great Expectations, or perhaps a wonderful new version of it.

Pippa lives with her sister and brother-in-law, since her mom had to move back to Korea.  She is dealing with juggling her love of basketball, her struggles with math, and just generally being a young teen, when she suddenly receives a scholarship to a private school.

She now has to adjust to new friends, and a host of other issues.

This was a great story, and will make a wonderful read aloud as well.

Perfect for my students

More to the Story, by Hena Khan is a wonderfully engaging book. It centers on Jam (Jameela), a 7th grader who loves writing for her school, (and home) newspaper.  She has 3 siblings: Maryam is the oldest, Bisma is younger than Jam, and Aleeza is the youngest.  Each are nicely described, and Khan shares details that add more depth to each character as the story moves on.

Jam is dealing with quite a bit here! She is excited that she has been picked to be the features editor for her school paper. She has many supporters, but when one of her biggest, her dad, leaves for a job overseas, she starts dealing with some harder aspects in life.  In addition to that, her younger sister, Bisma get seriously ill. I thought the ways Jam dealt with this, what she thought, how people helped, how Bisma dealt with it, were all realistically portrayed.

I also thought the themes around the newspaper club were handled deftly.  I will share the story here with my media journalism class, as so many ethical issues were dealt with well.

While there are serious issues to contend with, humor abounds in this novel.  It is perfect for older ES students, and MS students.

I truly loved it.