Monday, July 16, 2012

IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

This week, IT'S MONDAY, WHAT ARE YOU READING? comes from Ana, my (Franki's) 12 year old daughter. Ana is a huge fantasy/fairy tale/dystopia reader. And she likes a little bit of romance in the books she reads. She is one of my best sources for good young YA stuff.  She's read several books lately that she's loved and wanted to share some of her favorites:-)


Wings by Aprilynne Pike
This book was written by Aprilynne Pike. I just read the book about 3 weeks ago. The book is about a girl named Laurel and how she starts to feel different. Then one day she looks in the mirror and sees she has wings on her back. While she tries to figure out what’s going on, she then meets two guys. One of the guys is named David and he is human but the other is named Tamani. Tamani is like Laurel, he’s not human. Throughout the story David and Tamani are fighting to get Laurel’s attention. Meanwhile, Laurel finds out that things are not what she thought they were. Things start to happen and Laurel realizes that she doesn't like to feel weak. She figures that out very soon in the book. She is also very stubborn. Soon, bad magical creatures start to show up in the human world. What will happen when her stubbornness gets her into trouble and danger?

Halo by Alexander Adornetto

Right now I’m reading Halo. I’m only about halfway done with the book but so far it’s great. The main character in the book is a girl named Bethany. She has an older brother, Gabriel, and sister named Ivy. Beth and her sister and brother are not normal. They are angels sent from heaven to protect the people on earth. While Beth is on earth she meets a guy named Xavier who she starts to have feeling towards. I like the book because the whole part of them being angels is really cool to me. The way Beth acts as a human is funny. Her brothers and sister have been to earth before but she never has so being in human form is all new to her. I hope to finish the book soon.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Elisa is 16 years old and a princess and so is her sister Alodia. Alodia is the heir to the thrown. Elisa is not the prettiest or skinniest of girls but there is something remarkable about her. She is the bearer of the god stone. There is only one person who bears the god stone once every century and she was chosen. Elisa is about to get married to a man she has never met. This man is named Alejandro and he is king of Joya. They are hoping that if Elisa is the queen that the city will go back to how it was in the beginning and the kingdom will come out of there hard times. Though that is not what happens. Elisa is taken to a city where their people are in a bad time. Along the way she falls in love and they have to run away from people that are trying to get Elisa for her god stone. This is a great story about love, adventure and finding out who you really are.

Gone by Michael Grant



What if in one second your life could change forever? What would you do if there no longer were any adults? If you were trapped from the outer world by a wall that surrounded you? How would you cope when the once safe world ruled by adults was now ruled by bullies? That’s what happens to Sam and the kids that live in Puerdo Beach, CA. Sam, his friend Quin and a really smart girl named Astrid from his school try to set things right while the adults are gone. Along the way the three of them meet some friends and make some enemies. Throughout the story you get to see the story from a bunch of characters' points of views and see how they deal with their new life. Michael Grant did a great job at putting a bunch of twists and turns in the story and describing everything that happens well. There is violence, sadness, love, mystery, and creepy things that go on in the book. It’s kind of like The Hunger Games when they get thrown into the arena but more violence in a way. Within the first chapter I was hooked and had to keep reading so I could find out what happened to the characters. The GONE series is one of my favorite books and is an intriguing series.

Divergent by Veronica Roth



16 year old Beatrice has come to a point in her life where she has to make a choice that will change her life forever. In the world Beatrice lives in, the people are divided by factions. The factions are Candor: the honest, Abnegation: the selfless, Dauntless: the brave, Amity: the peaceful, and Erudite: the intelligent. Beatrice and her brother Caleb were born in the faction Abnegation. Now they both have to choose if they want to stay in Abnegation or join another faction. One of the hard things about being in a faction is that once you chose there is no going back and you are only allowed to socialize with people in your faction. Beatrice ends up choosing to join the faction Dauntless. Before she can be Dauntless, she has to go though a camp were she learns what you need to know to become Dauntless. The camp is not easy though. People who get eliminated from the camp become faction-less.

Entwined by Heather Dixon

If you like stories about the Twelve Dancing Princesses, then you will like this book. Azalea is the oldest of all her sisters. During the story, the twelve sisters lose their mother and they have to go into a time of grieving. During this time they are not allowed to do any thing that is remotely happy like dancing. All the sisters want to find a way to escape the grieving in the castle, so they find a mysterious place. But, when the sisters meet a mysterious and dashing man named Keeper that lives in the mysterious place things start to change. Azalea also meets a handsome young man during the story who happens to take a liking to Azalea. Will anyone be able to find out where the Twelve Dancing sisters go at night and why their shoes are always torn up and beaten the next morning? During the story you see how one thing lead to another and how things get entwined with each other.



Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this great weekly event at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS!


15 comments:

  1. Oh, Franki...You read some of my favorites this week!

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  2. Mindi--I didn't read many of these--this is a guest post from my 12 year old daughter about her recent spring/summer favorites. From what I can tell, I need to add them all to my stack!

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  3. Thanks, Ana, for these recommendations. I'm teaching at a K-8 school next year, and need to read more YA. I don't typically read or keep up on fantasy, but I know it's a genre that lots of kids really like. I will definitely be looking for some of these at the library this week!

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  4. Great recommendations, Ana! I haven't read all of these yet - will add to my "to read" list.

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  5. Girl of Fire and Thorn and Divergent are pretty high on my TBR pile.
    Thanks, Ana, for sharing your thoughts about them.

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  6. The sequel to Divergent (Insurgent) just came out in May. It was also great ... especially if it wasn't months ago that you'd read Divergent on a plane back from Hawaii when you were so tired but you could not put it down so you don't remember all of the details like maybe you should.
    Oh, wait. Did I say that out loud? That was me. ;]

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  7. Thank you, Ana! Some of these were on my "should I get this for my classroom" list - now I know I need to!

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  8. Anonymous10:00 AM

    Great list Ana! I'm reading The Girl of Fire and Thorns this week, and I've heard nothing but great things about it.
    Keep us updated on what you're reading!

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  9. Ana, this is an AWESOME list! I loved Wings -- I think it was a free Nook book last year. Entwined & The Girl of Fire & Thorns are both on my TBR list. Keep reading!

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  10. What a great list of books and reviews. I have only read Divergent which I really enjoyed. Have you read Insurgent yet? I think I enjoyed it more!

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  11. Anonymous2:50 PM

    This is such a great list of books. If you can add more example, that would be wonderful. Thanks

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  12. I love that your daughter has such a great list of books. :-)

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  13. I've read Wings and both books in the Divergent series. I love all of them! I'm going to add some of these to my TBR...the others ones, I'm pretty sure are already on there, I just have to read them now!

    Thanks for sharing Ana!

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  14. LOVED Divergent! Added the rest to my list.

    Laurie
    Chickadee Jubilee

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  15. Ana, Thank you for the reviews. I was looking for book titles for my 12 year old for our upcoming vacation. She read Entwined and really liked it. I hope you will do more what you are reading posts.

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