Reading Review for April
Wow, I read a lot of Young Adult and Middle Grade Fiction this month. That’s new for me.
I read 14 books during the month of April. 2 Adult Fiction, 3 Young Adult fiction, 8 Juvenile/MG Fiction, and 1 non-fiction.
This brings my yearly total to 17 Adult Fiction, 13 Young Adult Fiction, 21 Juvenile Fiction, 2 parenting and 4 non-fiction for a total of 57 books.
Here’s my reading review for April:
Fiction
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy
Young Adult Fiction
I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Zel by Donna Jo Napoli
The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Juvenile/MG Fiction
Mud City by Deborah Ellis
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Criss Cross by Lynn Rae Perkins
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schiltz
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Sirens and Spies by Janet Taylor Lisle
Torn Thread by Anne IsaacsÂ
Non-Fiction
The Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
Children’s Picture Book ( not counted towards my numbers)
Walk On: A Guide for Babies of All Ages by Marla Frazee
Of these books, I break down my recommendations like this:
Highly Recommended (this recommendation usually for social issues)
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (review coming soon)
Torn Thread by Anne Isaacs (review coming soon)
I Enjoyed and Would Recommend
I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Zel by Donna Jo Napoli
Walk On: A Guide for Babies of All Ages by Marla Frazee
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schiltz
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Sirens and Spies by Janet Taylor Lisle
Mud City by Deborah Ellis
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy (review coming soon)
Good but Maybe You’ll Like It More Than Me
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
Not Worth It
Criss Cross by Lynn Rae Perkins
Other posts from this month
April’s Keywords Used to Find My Blog
3 Days Left in Giveaway & Weekly Geeks
New York Times Bestsellers – April 27th
Let’s Play a Game
Reading Hobby + Gardening Hobby = Book Signing with Stephanie Meyer
Book Titles in my 100th Post Giveaway
Recent Book Acquestions from Huge Library Book Sale
Analyzing My Blogs Keywords and Stats
New York Times Bestsellers – April 20th
Help! Do You Have a Favorite Book Light?
Two New Arrivals: Bookmarks Magazine and What is the What
Farworld Blog Tour with J. Scott Savage
My 1ooth Post Giveaway
A Special Tribute in Honor of National Library Week
New York Times Bestsellers – April 13th
Nominate an Author
And the Winners of My Book Giveaway Are . . .
Breaking News: Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced
New York Times Bestsellers – April 6th
Here’s March’s reading review
Here’s February’s reading review
Here’s January’s reading review
I finished The Jewish Literature Challenge this month:
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy (review coming soon)
Torn Thread by Anne Isaacs (review coming soon)
These are books that I still plan on reading although the challenge is officially over:
If This is a Man by Primo Levi
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Night by Eli Weisel
Hitler Youth Growing Up in Hitlers Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartolletti
I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing up in the Holocaust by Livia Bitton Jackson
Set during WWII, but not necessarily about Judaism itself:
Sirens and Spies by Janet Taylor Lisle
The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (review coming soon)
Thanks to everybody who made this a great month!
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To go with your Jewish literature challenge (even though it’s over), I recommend you try Maus by Art Spieglemen. It’s incredible. Hmm, that challenge had some great books on it – some of both mine and my mom’s favorites.
on April 30th, 2008 at 1:02 pmOooh, I like your idea of the wrap up. I may have to steal this…
on April 30th, 2008 at 1:20 pmI love Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place! It’s so inspiring.
on April 30th, 2008 at 1:52 pmAlso, thanks for entering my contest!
on April 30th, 2008 at 2:21 pmI’m still trying to determine why “Criss Cross” won an award. It really did nothing for me. Maybe I’m too old? I’m currently reading the Gregor books and just can’t get enough! Hope to see these books win an award (or have they?). In case you are not familiar, Book 1 in the series of 5 is Gregor the Overlander.
on April 30th, 2008 at 3:48 pmFantastic month, Natasha! Night and The Hiding Place were both very powerful books for me. As you saw with Nymeth’s post on Primo Levi, it is a tough read–but important.
on April 30th, 2008 at 5:46 pmHi Natasha,
Number The Stars — one of my & my daughter’s favorite Jewish books ever!!
We also just finished a new mystery book (first in a planned series) that reminded me so much of the Nancy Drew series I loved as a child. It’s Bitter Tastes by V.B. Rosendahl and both of us had a great time trying to guess what would happen next. The main character is 11 year old, Kathy, who is gutsy and who isn’t afraid to do what she thinks is right. How refreshing in this day & age.
Hope you like it as much as we did.
Cheers,
on May 1st, 2008 at 4:56 pmLinda (& my daughter, Melody)
Liviania – I’ll definitely look into Maus by Art Spieglemen. Thanks!
Terri – I was definitely lukewarm on Criss Cross. Not the best book book I’ve read for a Newbery by far.
Trish – I just finished The Hiding Place a couple of days ago. It’s one that you have to sit on before you write up a review.
Linda – Sounds like a great read for the kids. I’ll look into this one as well. Thanks!
on May 5th, 2008 at 9:52 pm