Book Review: Going Bovine

This week's book is one that I actually won online from Teens@Random. It's called Going Bovine and it was written be a new favorite author of mine, Libba Bray. To win it, I completed a series of super fun assignments and earned points. I then "shopped" for a book and chose this one because I'd heard so much about it.

Interestingly enough, I read all the time and my husband is a virtual non-reader. He has read four or five books in the seven years that we've been together. I read at least four or five a week! (Note: My husband is very intelligent and I have the utmost respect for his talents.) But, as I started this book one night before I went to bed, my husband leaned over and started reading this title over my shoulder. He feel in love with it and we proceeded to read it aloud together every night for about a month. (It's a looong book!)

I have to say that this book is a crazy awesome adventure. There is absolutely nothing predictable or formulaic about this plot. There are twists and turns on every page. Basically, Going Bovine is the story of a 16 year-old boy named Cameron. He's not the coolest kid or the smartest kid, but when he contracts a form of Mad Cow Disease, he becomes a kids with a lot less life span than your average teen. When an angel named Dulcie urges Cameron to escape his hospital bed to save himself and the world, Cameron starts a wacky, unreal (or is it real?) adventure with his new friend, a hypochrondriacal little person named Gonzo.

This quest is not an easy one and the duo must go through many, many perilous stops in order to reach their destination and find a cure for Cameron's lethal disease. Along the way, you'll laugh out loud and hope for the best. Because, you surely won't want the adventure to end, no matter how many pages this book ends up being! My husband rates this as his favorite book of the decade, which puts it right above the three that he's read thus far!

Spring Break Reading Challenge: Last But Not Least

Karin the Librarian is celebrating the first day of Spring with a huge blizzard. Here, all of our snow has melted and is causing a muddy mess. I guess I'd rather have snow! (It was actually 70 degrees outside yesterday--Weird for the mountains of Maine!)
So, rather than think about daffodils and tulips, we're going to pay homage to some wintery reads. Here are the instructions from the Spring Break Reading Challenge:

I want you to find 5 books. These 5 books need to meet a certain criteria. These 5 books need to either be about or take place in a winter wonderland. In other words, snow, ice, or other winter-like weather needs to be involved.

Create a post on your blog with the titles, covers, and book descriptions.

Here are the five six books I chose for this challenge:

Peak by Roland Smith. This is the first book that came to my mind and it is sitting on my To Be Read pile. I've been putting it off because I'm not a huge adventure reader, but I think I'm going to have to start it soon because I probably won't want to read it in July!

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I don't think that this book takes place in a "wonderland" but it definitely involes a lot of snow, freezing weather, and ice. Lots of it. Plus, it's an amazing book! I do love nonfiction and feel in love with Christopher McCandless, the subject of this biography.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I loved this book. It kinda freaked me out a little because I read it during a huge snow storm, but it really caused me to think about whether or not I'd be prepared to live after a natural disaster. This book doesn't start out as a wintery read, but is covered in snow and subzero temps by the time it's done. It's a fantastic read!

The White Darkness by Geraldine Mccaughrean. This book will bring you to the Antarctic--One place I have no desire to go. The main character of this read, Sym, is obsessed with the men who explored the South Pole. Her uncle surprises her with a trip to that will take her directly to this ice-covered land, but once she gets there reality seems to slip further and further away from Sym. This book won the Printz Award.

Shackleton's Stowaway by Victoria McKernan. I have not yet read this book, but I have read a lot about it. It's been on a lot of Good for Guys book lists. I've read the description a few times at the book store, and it actually sounds pretty interesting. It's based on a true story (another Antarctic adventure) and it's told in a journal-style format, which I usually enjoy.

The Trap by John Smelcer. As I was writing this post, I remembered this book. I already had my five, but I need to talk about this read. It's both a gripping story and is loved by lots and lots of my reluctant boy readers--a tough audience to please. The story takes place in Alaska and is told in a series of back and forth narrations between a teen boy named Johnny Least-Weasel and his grandfather, Albert. Albert is getting older and has been gone too long checking his trap line. Albert is in a bad situation and needs his grandson to come and find him. This story is a bit of a thriller because you don't know if Johnny is going to make find his grandfather in time. I loved both characters and so have many of my students!

Book Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

I belong to four book clubs. One of my favorite clubs is for English teachers and librarians in our school district. This club also meets online on the English Companion Ning. As I write this post, we have 132 online members. Pretty exciting. I highly recommend this ning to anyone who teaches English or who is a librarian. It's a pretty dynamic place and there's a whole lot being discussed.

Anyway, back to the book review. I read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks because it was the February selection for this book club. I have to admit that I was not super excited about reading this title. I don't know if it was the prep school premise or the cover or the synopsis on the book flap, but I wasn't "feelin'" it. Almost as soon as I started it, though, I was hooked. Now, I want to caution you that this if not going to be a glowing review. I have some serious issues with the choices of the main character, Frankie. But, it is a surprisingly good read.

The book starts with a letter penned by the title character. The reader can surmise that Frankie has gotten herself into a bit of trouble and that this trouble involves a series of pranks. In this letter, she confesses to being the brains behind the pranks and excludes others from blame for the result of said pranks. This is an interesting way to start the book, because when you meet Frankie you quickly see that she is not the type to pull off a bunch of crazy capers. In fact, she seems a little whiny and slightly boring. So, it's interesting to watch her transformation from super geek to super cool within the first few weeks of her sophomore year.

My problems with Frankie are not related to her being involved in pranks or being a bit of a rabble-rouser. I like that in a teen girl. Kinda reminds me of myself at her age. What I did not like was her false notion of what it means to be a strong woman. I don't think I'll give too much away if I say that Frankie becomes a bit obsessed with an all-male secret society at her school. She finds ways to get information about the society and infiltrates their ranks without them knowing. So, she's smart. But, I don't think that she proves anything by ruining their harmless fun. She does not seem to be stronger for having shown-up a bunch of guys. It seems a little sad and cruel to me. Maybe I'm over thinking this, but I just could not cheer her on as I kept reading.

I did get into this book, though. I was flipping pages as fast as I could to see where it was going. I just didn't agree with Frankie's motivations throughout the book. That's all. I think that this is a good book for a girl who's looking for a mystery. I'm glad I read it, and you probably will be too!