The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

“The False Prince” is a story about Sage. Sage is an orphan boy who is quite defiant. He gets into a lot of trouble. In fact, it is as he is stealing some meat that he is nabbed by Conner along with 3 other boys. Conner presents a plan to the 4 boys. Sage isn’t very cooperative with the plan. He causes problems for Conner but Conner keeps him involved in his plan mostly because he doesn’t give Sage or the others any other option. This is no minor plan. Conner wants to present one of them as the long lost son of the king.

Even though Sage is a bit of a rebel rouser, I couldn’t help but thoroughly enjoy his character. I loved all of the characters of this story. I felt a part of their life as I read.

I had just finished a book before this one and so I picked this book up just to read a little to see what it was about because I was going to read it next. Next thing I knew I had been up all night and I finished it. This book is great from page 1.

One thing I like about it is that even though it is the first book of a trilogy (the Ascendance trilogy) it had a really satisfying ending. I don’t often see that in trilogies. I could see where this book was going but I also feel that many loose ends were covered. It was great.

I highly recommend this book.

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

This book won the Newbury Metal.  A girl known as brat or beetle or anything else cruel is in a dung pile staying warm for the night when a midwife finds her and takes her home.  This girl renames herself Alyce and becomes the Midwife’s apprentice.  It is hard for me to imagine someone getting so little love and ending up in her circumstances.  I like this story because it is a story of determination and of learning and one of figuring out individual worth.  The book deserves its Newbury Metal.  It is a very high quality book.  It was hard to put the book down.

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15 Books in a Month

I was trying to SPRINT and all through July I have read 15 books.  WHEW!!!  I have enjoyed many and I'm not sure if I will slow down...I think I'd better.  Before July, I had only read 5 books this year.  My "to read" book pile was getting really big.  It is still big but I put a big dent in it.  Here is what remains after my reading spree. (And that is just part of it.)  Ugggghhhh! 

Ballad of Lucy Whipple, the by Karen Cushman

California isn’t happy to be going to California. She’d rather be in Massachusetts with her Grams. Her mom has taken her to California with her brother and sister. She tells everyone that her name isn’t California anymore she wants to be called Lucy because she doesn’t want any part of California even though it was a dream of her mother and late father’s. Lucy does what she can to try to earn money to go back home. Not everything happens according to her plans.

This is a good book. It is Historical fiction based on the California Gold Rush. It’s hard to believe it is historical fiction because it is easy to get lost in the story. I liked and enjoyed this book. It made me want to be content with wherever and whoever I am.

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Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Catherine is quite the interesting girl. She would be the typical everyday girl in this period in England (1290). She lives in a manor. It is a small manor but she helps her mother to tend to sicknesses and embroiders a lot. She is not too happy with her lot in life. She is especially not excited to be told she has to marry who her father choses for her. This is a story of her defiance and her dreams of her own life.

I like this book. I thought it was most unique. Some parts could be a little crude such as talking about relieving one’s bladder and body parts but I think it helped to understand the crudeness of this period of time. This is not a lady like girl. The book is also written like a diary which is a fun way to get the idea across.

I learned much about this period of time especially about how their homes worked in regards to the king. I love how the author adds notes at the end. I didn’t realize what a Historical Fiction kind of person I am. This book is right along those lines.

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Matilda Bone by Karen Cushman

This is a story about a girl named Matilda. Matilda has an interesting background. She was raised by Father Leufredus in a very religious manor. She didn’t worry about food or clothing. She only had to worry about learning Latin, French, Writing and Religion. Her life is about to change as she is on her way to the Bonesetter’s to be a help to Peg. Peg doesn’t quite fit into Matilda’s background and she has to learn a new way of life. She seems to always be longing to be back with Father Leufredus.



This is a story about book learning versus real life. It is about real people versus theory.

There is a greater theme though and I’ve had a hard time putting a finger on what it is but I think it has something to do with listening to oneself and how we feel as opposed to something we may have learned from others or instead of believing what others sometimes erroneously believe even if many join in that belief.


I found the notes at the end of the book very valuable. The Author gave some more information about bone setting and medicine. It is interesting, some of the theories about medicine. I am glad we’ve come a long way since then.

I think this is one of the great books.

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Rodzina by Karen Cushman

I enjoyed learning a bit while I read this fun little novel. It talks of orphans being transported to the West by trains from the overly orphaned populated Chicago. The interesting part is that this really happened in America. It helped me to think about what it would be like to be one of those orphans.


This book is about a 12 year old girl named Rodzina. Rodzina is a big girl for her age. She doesn’t describe herself as pretty either. She has been well taken care of as she’s grown up but suddenly she finds herself without family when her mother passes away. She’d like to stay in Chicago but the orphanage doesn’t give her an option. This is her adventure with the train of orphans headed West.

I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more of Cushman’s books. I like the way she writes. This book helped me want to treat people better. It makes me want to think about how the children around me are treated and to remember that they are people too. It made me ponder a different day and relate it to my own. I’d definitely recommend this book.

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Winning Mr. Wrong by Marie Higgins

Cute, romantic, funny little story. This book is a really fun read. It was the kind of feel good reading that I often crave. It was a story about a girl named Charley. In High School, Charley had a crush on a boy from her High School.  His name is Max.  She is surprised to find out that he is now employed at the same place she is.  She reads an article on the internet about “10 Ways to Win Your Man.” She decides to try the ideas on Max. She has quite a bit of help from a neighbor who ends up being a big part of the story.

I loved every part of the book but, there were some parts of the book that I really smiled because the story is really fun.

I recommend this book for anyone wanting to read a “get away from life” book. It is a great book to read to get totally involved in a good story. I liked this book.

A Coming Evil by Vivian Vande Velde

I love, love, loved this book. It is s a story of a girl named Lisette whose parents send her away to her aunt’s in the country so that she is away from Paris and the bombings. When her father drops her off, both she and her father find out that it is not just the Aunt and her cousin that live there. Her Aunt is hiding some Jewish children in her home. This is a time when harboring Jews could lead to death or imprisonment. The Germans’ are trying to eliminate the inferior races.

In the story, there is even mention of a ghost in the story. I was a little trepid to read this book thinking it would be the bad kind of scary. I found it a very cool story of two periods of time: Hitler’s time and a time of knights, kings, priests, and nobles. I learned much from this story and found it to be a very moving story. I’d recommend this to everyone. This was a very great story.

Hoarders, the by Jean Stringam

Amazing kids...just AMAZING!!!

This is a book about two boys, Cheyenne and Joaquin Walker.  Joaquin sounds like Walking when you say it and so his name is Walking Walker.  I thought that was a pretty fun name.  There's a lot about this book that I really, really liked.  These two boys are very worried that they will not have any food in the future.  So they start saving food in their backpacks and hiding the backpacks.  One week their mom will shop and the next week there will be no food in the house.  Their Aunt Amy helps them with advice and feeding them when she is around but that isn't nearly enough.  The book has twists and turns that I just loved.  It ends in a place that I did not foresee.  I love it when a book can surprise me like that.

One of my favorite things is about two characters in the book that were twins.  Their family called them all sorts of things like: Ketchup & Mustard, Salt & Pepper, Ham & Cheese, Stars & Stripes, Bread & Butter etc.  Each time they were referred to they had a different name.  I liked that and wondered what they would be called next.  That just made the story so fun.

I would highly recommend this quick, fun, well written book.  It is an amazing book!

Carnival Girl by Sonja Herbert

The author of this book had a rough childhood. She lived in a carnival growing up and she traveled from town to town in Germany. Her mother was part Jewish and had escaped the Nazi’s by joining the circus and then later her mother and father (who owned a carnival) married.

Sonja tells many stories. Some stories make me sad and a bit disturbed but the over-all story is of survival and getting through tough times. It is a memoir and sometimes real life isn’t so glamorous. To me this was an eye opener of how hard someone’s life can be. I had a lot of sympathy for her and I am glad she is doing well now.

Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park

Maggie (or Maggie-0 like Joe DiMaggio because her parents love baseball) loves to listen to baseball games on the radio. Sometimes she goes down to the firehouse to listen. One time she goes down to the firehouse and watches Jim keeping track of the score on paper. She is intrigued and learns how. She becomes very good at keeping score. Then Jim gets called to the Korean War. She learns to keep track of the war on paper.

This story has twist and turns. It is hard to stop reading because I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. I like this story because I learned about baseball while reading and I learned about the Korean War while reading. It also brought back memories of keeping score as a kid myself which I forgot all about. This is a touching story and it makes me a better person for reading it.  It even had some insights into prayer and hope.

First Boy by Gary Schmidt

This is a good solid book.   This book has strong messages of strong values, of hard work and of things that truly matter.  This is a story about a boy named Cooper.  Cooper has some challenges in his life.  Homework, Cross Country running, and getting chores done are all things he struggles with.  But then, suddenly his grandfather passes away and he has to worry about everything by himself.  It has mystery that starts with dark, black Sudans that are hanging suspiciously around the town.  Find out who is in the vehicles and how this amazing boy figures out how to get by without his grandfather.  I enjoyed this book that wasn’t afraid to talk about religion either.  It is a refreshing book.  I liked it a lot.

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine

I feel like I’ve just returned from an adventure after reading this book.  Elodie is from a little town called Lahnt.  That is where her family lives but she is venturing off to hopefully get an Apprenticeship in the town of Two Castles.  Right off she gets bad news.  It appears that they have done away with free Apprenticeships.  It is too late to turn back so she sets out anyway.  She is hoping for a lot of good luck but finds everything seems to be the opposite of good luck.  She doesn’t know who to trust but makes unexpected friends in places she hadn’t dreamed of. This was a book full of adventure.  There are castles, ogres, dragons, magical animals, kings, princesses, dogs, lions, an ox, poison, acting and plenty of adventures await her. 

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Okay, so, this is part of the story of twilight.  I went in reading and knowing that it is a tragedy because I have read the Twilight series.  It was good to get her story.  I was rooting for her even though I knew the ending. 

I like this story because it helped me understand her and what she had been through.  It was easy to dismiss this character.  I didn’t know her background.  That is what I did first when I read about her in the twilight series.  I wasn’t worried about whether or not her life ended.  I didn’t know her.  It was good to get to know her and feel with her. 

 I am glad to have read this book and think it is worth the read.  It helps one in real life by realizing that following someone with a blind faith isn’t always wise.  Sometimes feelings help us to know that we need to not follow that person on blind faith.  We need to trust our feelings.  That is a good lesson for me.