Peasant Queen by Cheri Chesley

This was a fun little tale that I enjoyed.

Krystal is a girl that her brother's take care of since her mom is blind and her father has died.  Her brothers set up an arranged marriage for her.  She is not happy about it and runs away.  As she runs away though she is surrounded by some guards and kidnapped.  Magic is used and she is very far from home and taken to a castle and to King Gregory.  This is a different life and there is lots of adventure in this distant land.

One thing about the book I would have liked to have different is I kept wanting to make the main character eat. It seemed she never ate. She was always too involved in what was going on around her to bother eating.  Her stomache was often upset.

This book has magic, romance, kissing, adventure, beauty and is just a fun read.  I enjoyed it.

The Wind Blows Backward by Mary Downing Hahn

This book is about a girl who starts to hang out with an old best friend from her younger years.  Though she resists she finds she still likes him even though he wouldn't talk to her for many years.  Now he seems to want to share something with her.  She has to wait for him to share it when he is ready.  They become quite close and he does share his secret with her.

I probably wouldn't recommend this book. While this book gives me an idea of another way of thinking different from mine, I think I would have like to have spent my time on a different book.  I picked this one up because she was an author at the BYU Symposium on Books for young Readers.  I think she handled things well, but I would have rather had a book take a stand to not have sex before marriage.  I think she is a great author.  She weaves a great story and she writes with interest BUT it just wasn't my kind of book.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

This is a GREAT book.  I highly recommend it.  At the first, there is his teacher.  He is sure she is out to get him.  I love this book and enjoyed the ups and downs at school.  This is just so full of fun stories.  You'll love it too.

Fever by Laurie Halse Anderson

LOVED this book!  I enjoyed reading this story.  It is a sad story but I think she handled the sadness with great care.  There was a comforting hope in the story too.

The more books I read of Laurie Halse Anderson, the more I just love and value her writing.  She is a very talented writer that is able to handle difficult topics in a wise manner.
 
This is a story about the Fever that happened in 1793.  At first, there was talk of an outbreak.  It was thought that only the people by the docks were affected.  Then later many more die and are affected.  Many flee the city to go to the country to get away.  This is a story about a young girl that has to grow up awfully quick to get through the situation happening where she lives.

I loved her characters especially the grandfather.  He was quite the character.  What a fun, quick read!  I recommend this book.  :)

Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

This book is beautiful.  I am still finding myself pondering some of the words and thinking about the story.  There are so many lessons to learn in this book.

This story is based on South Africa.  It is a story about a man who goes from his small village in search of his son in the big city.  In the process I learned much about South Africa that I did not know.  I fell in love with the characters and was inspired by their actions.  Human kindness, Poverty, Big Cities, Africa, Family, Politics, and Choices are all talked of in the book.  This book is written differently than most books I've read and I enjoyed learning a new way.  The conversations are written differently and many times I noticed that the dialogue had changed on me and I didn't notice it right away.  It kept me on my toes.

I highly recommend this book and recommend re-reading it if you have.  :)

Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

I enjoyed this book as much as the first.  I did have a problem though.  I lost it after reading the first little bit and I couldn't find it.  When I did find it again...it didn't take me long to finish it at all.  I really enjoyed the adventure.  I like the new Tyson character and am really excited to read the next volume to hear about some characters that were a surprise for me.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

I couldn't help but giggle when I read this book.  It is such an enjoyable read.  I picked this book up not really intending to read it right away.  My neighbor had given it to us for Christmas....THANK YOU NEIGHBOR!  I picked it up to see how hard it would be and ended up stuck to it.  I enjoyed it thoroughly!   This is a super fun story about some mean, not well cared for, troublemaking kids.  These kids are bullies.  It's interesting how they come to be in the Christmas Pageant at church.  It totally made me think about the Saviors birth and it also made me wonder and feel compassion for children that struggle.  I finished feeling uplifted after reading it.  I really LOVE this book.