Just a quick reminder before we get into this month’s jacket flap-a-thon: the nominations for this year’s Cybils awards open tomorrow. Go make a nomination: the more, the merrier, and you know you don’t want your favorite book to be left out!

On to this month’s reading:

Rules (Scholastic): “No toys in the fish tank. Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She’s spent years trying to teach David the rules from “a peach is not a funny-looking apple” to “keep your pants on in public” — in order to head off David’s embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the potential next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal? Filled with humor and warmth, Cynthia Lord’s debut novel takes a candid and sensitive look at feeling different and finding acceptance — beyond the rules.”

I thought this captured the spirit of the book — humor and tenderness and all — while making it intriguing enough that someone would want to pick it up.

Twilight of Avalon (Touchstone): “Ancient grudges, old wounds, and the quest for power rule in the newly widowed Queen Isolde’s court. Hardly a generation after the downfall of Camelot, Isolde grieves for her slain husband, King Constantine, a man she secretly knows to have been murdered by the scheming Lord Marche — the man who has just assumed his title as High King. Though her skills as a healer are renowned throughout the kingdom, in the wake of Con’s death, accusations of witch craft and sorcery threaten her freedom and her ability to bring Marche to justice. Burdened by their suspicion and her own grief, Isolde must conquer the court’s distrust and superstition to protect her throne and the future of Britain. One of her few allies is Trystan, a prisoner with a lonely and troubled past. Neither Saxon nor Briton, he is unmoved by the political scheming, rumors, and accusations swirling around the fair queen. Together they escape, and as their companionship turns from friendship to love, they must find a way to prove what they know to be true — that Marche’s deceptions threaten not only their lives but the sovereignty of the British kingdom. In Twilight of Avalon, Anna Elliott returns to the roots of the legend of Trystan and Isolde to shape a very different story — one based in the earliest written versions of the Arthurian tales — a captivating epic brimming with historic authenticity, sweeping romance, and the powerful magic of legend.”

It’s a little misleading — it made me think it was more of a romance than it was — but otherwise, a good picture of the plot without giving too much away.

Willow (Dial Books): “Seven months ago on a rainy March night, Willow’s parents drank too much wine at dinner and asked her to drive them home. But they never made it — Willow lost control of the car, and both of her parents were killed. Now seventeen, Willow is living with her older bother, who can barely speak to her. She has left behind her old home, friends and school. But Willow has found a new way to survive, to numb the new reality of her life: She is secretly cutting herself. And then she meets Guy, a boy as sensitive and complicated as she is. When Guy discovers Willow’s secret, he pulls her out of the solitary world she’s created for herself, and into a difficult, intense, and potentially life-changing relationship. Julia Hoban has created an unflinching story about cutting, grieving, and starting anew. But above all, she has written an unforgettable tale of first love.”

I thought this was nearly perfect: captured the intensity and desperation, and the whole bit about it being unforgettable is spot-on.

Catching Fire (Scholastic): “Sparks are igniting. Flames are spreading. And the Capitol wants revenge. Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol — a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create. Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying. In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before… and surprising readers at every turn.”

Had to include this one… how do you write a blurb about one of the most anticipated books of the year and not give anything away? This is how.

Other books I read this month:
Just Listen
Faith, Hope and Ivy June
Babymouse: Dragonslayer
The Beef Princess of Practical County
The Moonstone
Perfect Chemistry
From Cover to Cover
Dreaming Anastasia
The Great Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
A Finder’s Magic
The Princess and the Bear
My Life in Pink and Green
The Conch Bearer
The Purloined Boy (DNF)
Tess of the d’Urbervilles