The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Percy has more adventures with Thalia (and Zoe, a new friend, too) as they try to save the Hunting goddess, Artemis and to try to save Annabeth.  Atlas is in this volume as are many Gods and Goddesses from Greek Mythology and their friend, Luke comes to play in this volume too.)  I enjoy the Percy Jackson books.  Percy comes out of some amazing situations usually with the help of others.  It was a fun read.  I am excited to read the next two volumes.

Daphne's Book by Mary Downing Hahn

This book was fun.  As I was reading, I started to think about when it was written.  Things reminded me of when I was growing up.  Things like combs in the back pocket made me wonder how old the book is.  I looked in the front of the book.  It said: "First Avon Camelot Printing: May 1995"  and it said copyright was 1983.  So then I understood because it was made back in the day when I was the girls age.  That was kind of fun to think about.

This is a book about a girl named Jessica.  Jessica is really shy.  She is paired up in class with a girl named Daphne.  She doesn't dislike Daphne but doesn't want to have people make fun of her like they make fun of Daphne.  She's afraid to say anything. 

But, as Daphne and Jessica work together to on their school project of a children's book they become close.  Daphne draws and Jessica writes the story.  Then Jessica learns something about Daphne that is a secret and it is a secret that might be too big for Jessica to handle. 

This book was well written and I enjoyed it.

December Stillness by Mary Downing Hahn

I finished this book last night. The last book I read of Mary Downing Hahn's I didn't recommend but this one I would recommend.

This is a story about a girl named Kelly McAllister.  She is given an assignment in her class to write about something controversial.  She decides to write about homeless people.  She tries to talk to Mr. Weems.  Mr. Weems is a homeless man who comes to the library each day.  Mr. Weems doesn't want help or friends.  This is a story of how she struggles to help this man and the reactions of the people around him.   It is a good read and I was able to really think about some of the issues.

I think this book could really help a youth to see this issue in a different perspective and discover along with Kelly more about Vietnam and about Homelessness and what a problem it can be.  A good handle on a controversial topic.

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.  :)