This is totally me being lazy here. I’m in Boston, and I’m on vacation, so I’m putting up the four jacket flaps that I had already set up before we left. Happy July!
Waiting for Normal (Katherine Tegan Books): “Addie is waiting for normal. But Addie’s mom has an all-or-nothing approach to life: a food fiesta or an empty pantry, jubilation or floom, her way or no way. All or nothing never adds up to normal. All or nothing can’t bring you all to home, which is exactly where Addie longs to be, wiht her half sisters, every day. In spite of life’s twists and turns, Addie remains optimistic. Someday, maybe, she’ll find normal. Leslie Connor has created an inspirting novel about one girl’s giant spirit. Waiting for Normal is a heartwarming gem.”
Dragonfly (Marshall Cavendish): “Sworn enemies… Forced to marry… And unite a divided land. Princess Taoshira of the Blue Crescent Islands is appalled when she is ordered to marry Prince Ramil of Gerfal. And he’s not too pleased, etiher. She is used to a life of discipline, ritual, and splendor. He is used to hunting and carousing. They hate each other on sight. But both of their countries are under threat from a fearsome warlord, and the only chance of peace is to form an alliance. When Tashi adn Ramil are kidhnapped, they fear there’s no escape — from their kinappers or from each other. Can they put aside their differences long enough to survived ambush, unarmed combat, brainwashing, and imprisonment? And will the people they meet on their adventure — including a circus strongman, a daring rebled leader, a sinister master of spies, and the best female fighter they have ever seen — help them or betray them to the enemy? THe latest novel from Nestle Prize-winning author Julia Golding, Dragonfly is a thrilling mix of fantasy and adventure.”
Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer (Broadway): “What is it about sports that turns otherwise sane people into raving lunatics? Why does winning compel people to tear down goal posts, and losing, to drown themselves in bad keg beer? In short, why do fans care? In search of answers, Warren St. John seeks out the roving community of RVers who follow the Alabama Crimson Tide from game to game. A movable feast of Weber grills and Igloo coolers, these are hard-core football fans who arrive on Wednesday for Saturday’s game: The Reeses, who skipped their own daughter’s wedding because it coincided with a Bama game; Ray Pradat, the Episcopal minister who watches the games on a television beside his altar while performing weddings; and John Ed, the wheeling and dealing ticket scalper whose access to good seats gives him power on par with the governor. In no time at all, St. John buys an RV (a $5,500 beater named The Hawg) and joins the caravan for a full football season, chronicling the world of the extreme fan and learning that in the shadow of the stadium, it can all begin to seem strangely normal. Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer is not only a hilarious travel story, but a cultural anthropology of fans that goes a long way toward demystifying the universal urge to take sides and to win.”
Other books read:
Mad Love
Alibi Junior High
Cicada Summer
Magic Under Glass
Play, Louis, Play!
Scones and Sensibility
A Thousand Days in Tuscany
Sean Griswold’s Head
Runemarks
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
The Heart of a Samurai
Gods Behaving Badly
The Trouble With May Amelia
Twelfth Night
Southtown (DNF)
A Corner of the Universe
Pastwatch
The Book Nut 