Morpheus Road: The Light

Marshall Seaver is being haunted. I know you may not believe me, and I have trouble believing it as well. He is being haunted by a character that he created in his mind. Gravedigger. Marsh thinks that he may have lost his marbles, and he is having crazy hallucinations or… or what? While Marsh is being haunted by his own creation, his friend Cooper is sent up to his parents lake house to straighten things out. Recently Coop has been getting into trouble with the police and his parents are getting him away to hopefully clear his mind. But he mysteriously disappears and nobody knows where he went. But are Marsh’s hallucinations and Cooper’s disappearance connected? Read Morpheus Road: The Light to find out.

Here are the next two in the series though I have not read them:

Coming Soon: The Blood!

The Bridge to Never Land

The Bridge to Never Land

The Bridge to Never Land (Peter and the Starcatchers, #5)By Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson  – just like you’d hope, 438 pages, what readers of the series will love –  perfect for readers looking for exciting adventure….

Matt,

Tell Ben Ombra’s back!

I have loved sharing Peter and the Starcatchers and Peter and the Shadow Thieves with a couple of my 3rd grade classes (Matt and his classmates were the first).  My daughters and I have enjoyed listening to Jim Dale read the audio recording of the first book and we have consumed the three final books, saddened by the ending, but satisfied too.

And then I saw The Bridge to Never Land in a book review – the weekend after, I saw it in the bookstore and so of course it had to be mine.  It is a terrific melding of past and present.  The connections between the Aster’s time with the Starcatchers and the contemporary characters are clear, believable and fun.  The twists and turns and connections between fantasy and physics clearly work for those who love fantasy first.

From the very start (I read the Shadow Thieves first), I loved to hate Ombra and the fact that his chilling badness permeates this new book makes it exciting.  How will Sarah and Aidan keep their shadows safe?  How will they find the link between the past and the present to the future?  Are there contemporary Starcatchers? Does star stuff still fall?  What will happen?  How much of the story will live on?

Have fun reading The Bridge to Never Land.  There are so many fun questions to think about and maybe, answer.  Will there be another book?  What do you think?

 

The Fires Beneath the Sea

The Fires Beneath the Sea: a novelThe Fires Beneath the Sea

by Lydia Millet

Fantasy     248 pages – for middle grade readers looking for a book with an exciting challenge

What would you do if your mother had been missing all summer?  What would you do if it seemed as though your family was slowly dissolving, and you had the sense there was more to it than what you could see? What would you do if suddenly it seemed as though the ocean was sending you a message? What would you do if you discovered truth in legend?

Cara is stuck in the middle of these questions, wondering what to do.  Her older brother, Max is moving into high school.  He’s a great guy but he’s got lots on his mind.  Jax, her younger brother, is different.  He’s brilliant, but in the way that makes you feel as though he should be protected.  He has the amazing ability of reading minds.  If he wants to, Jax can know what she is thinking and they can talk without a sound.  They don’t because it is totally unnerving, but when the Pouring Man begins to move through water into their lives and signs and visions become more intense, Cara knows they must do something, but they must do it together.  The power is in three.  What they do will amaze you.  Cara’s mother, Cara’s family is much more than you imagine.

The struggle between good and evil is strong in The Fires Beneath the Sea making it a great choice for fantasy lovers.  The struggle has begun because humans have put earth’s balance in peril so there’s an environmental twist too. And for readers who like strong, real characters to move through the story with, you couldn’t ask for better. The Fires Beneath the Sea is the first in the “Dissenters” series.   I will be reading them as soon as they are released.  I know you will too

Mark Your Calendars!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

NATIONAL  AUTHOR  DAY is November 1st, 2011!

Who’s your favorite author??? Think about it and tell us who it is by leaving a comment with your name, favorite author and a book that your favorite author wrote. Then, on November 1st, we will put all the favorite authors on a post and share them with you so you can see what others thought!

Example Comment Form:

 

 

 

Anna Hibiscus

Anna HibiscusAnna Hibiscus

By Atinuke  illustrated by Lauren Tobia

Realistic Fiction – each book is about 100 pages long and seems right for most Grade 2 to Grade 4 readers (though I have to say I really enjoyed them and what I learned about Africa in the process)

School has begun and I am missing the relaxed luxury of reading each day.  I am missing the long quiet hours to plan and reflect.  School has begun, and yes there are things lost, but there are also wonderful things gained.  I have a chance to talk books with many reading friends and I have a new set of readers to learn about and find the books that will excite and engage them.

I think many of the girls in my classroom will love Anna Hibiscus.  I did. I read the four volumes and I learned about living in “Africa, amazing Africa.”  Anna lives in a compound at the edge of a city.  She is with her entire family – her father from Africa, her mother from Canada, her twin brothers, her cousins, her aunties and uncles and her grandmother and grandfather.  Living there is special.  Through Anna’s stories we learn about special talents and secret wishes.  We learn how family traditions contrast with modern life and how a balance can be found.  We learn about customs and culture.  Mostly we learn about differences and how to better appreciate them.

Anna is a strong individual.  She is adventurous and brave, concerned and caring, curious and inventive.  She does amazing things – shares her best Sunday clothes with children more poor than she could imagine, sings a solo for a visiting president in the National Stadium and finds a way to save water in the dry harmattan months.  It is good to read them in order because the stories in each volume connect (even when you don’t think they will.) Anna Hibiscus is growing up in a world that is finding a way to balance the old and the new – a real global community.  You can join her there she has a lot to offer.

Hooray for Anna Hibiscus! (Anna Hibiscus, #2)Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! (Anna Hibiscus, #4)

Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus!

Leepike Ridge

Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson

Eleven year old Thomas Hammond has always lived next to Leepike Ridge. His house is chained on top of the ridge for fear of it toppling off in high winds. One night, unable to sleep, Tom heads down to the stream that borders their (his mother and Tom) land. He discovers a large piece of refrigerator foam lying on the bank of the river. He tentatively steps on it with one foot, two feet, and miraculously it held Tom’s weight! What seems to be an aimless trip on the river, Tom falls asleep and then the aimless trip on the river turns into the deadly rapids that suck Tom into an underwater cavern. Read Leepike Ridge to find out what happens.