Author: booknutgirls

booknutgirls http://thebooknutdotcom.wordpress.com I read. I blog. I sell books. I chauffeur my kids. What more do you need to know?

Christmas Gift Tradition: American Girl Dolls

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Over the years that I’ve participated in the Virtual Advent, I’ve talked about lots of things: books, the tree, music… but never toys. I’m changing that this year. 

When I was younger, my mother gave to me a couple porcelain dolls that she’d had when she was a child. I loved those dolls, played with them, and cherished them. (Granted, this is all in retrospect; maybe I didn’t.) They, somehow, managed to survive me as a child, and I saved them to pass down to my daughter.

And then I had four girls.

There was no way I could pass down two dolls to four girls (well, there was only three at the time I made the initial decision), and I wanted them to have the same sort of experience with dolls that I had as a child. The Christmas M was in second grade, we were searching for gift ideas for her, and I hit upon the perfect solution: American Girl Dolls.

I feel a need to justify this a bit: they are expensive, somewhat extravagant, and definitely over-commercialized. There is a part of me that dreads getting the catalog whenever it shows up, because there’s always more in there that the girls want then we can get.

But.

The dolls are well-made, the clothes are well-made, they’re not Barbies (a big plus in my book!), and they are made to be played with and yet will last to be handed down. And there’s enough stuff to last through birthdays and Christmas presents for a few years.

Additionally, the historical ones — which are the ones that I require they choose from — are fascinating in their detail (which is hopefully accurate), and they make history accessible and fun to the girls. But best of all, they come with books. Possibly not the best-written books, but ones that a second-grader can read on her own, ones that help make the doll that much more interesting.

Thankfully, M (who picked the now-retired Samantha) and C (who picked Kit), and now A (who has picked Molly) were able to find dolls that fit their personality, whose stories they were interested in, and ones they loved to pieces. M no longer plays with her doll, having put it in storage for the time when she (hopefully) has a daughter she can pass the doll and books down to.  C still keeps hers around, playing with her on occasion, but mostly keeping her because she likes to have her things around her. A is over the moon with anticipation of getting her doll this Christmas. And K has already spent hours with the catalog, looking at the dolls, trying to decide which one she will like in a couple of years.

It may be extravagant, but it’s a tradition I’m glad to have started with the girls.

I’m not the only one posting today. Check out these other posts:

Martina Kunz @ Book Drunkard

Six Sentence Saturday: Unfinshed Books

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Guys Read
ed. by Jon Scieszca
ages: 10+

It was a good idea to get together a bunch of talented writers and compile a collection of thriller stories. The problem was, in my humble opinion, that none of the stories (that I read; I bailed, I have to admit) were even remotely thriller-y. Perhaps if I were a 10-year-old boy, these would have some appeal. (Maybe it’s just that my humor is more along the lines of a 10-year-olds, that I liked Funny Business better?) Or maybe I just don’t go in for thriller stories anyway. Whatever the reason, this fell flat.


The Power of One
by Bryce Courtenay
ages: adult

This was a case of me just not being interested in the book. I tried; I got about 100 pages in, but this boy’s story just wasn’t to my interest. And the writing wasn’t holding me. And I have a huge pile of other books to read. So, I abandoned it. Who knows, though: maybe someday I’ll come back to it.

City of Orphans
by Avi
ages: 10+

Heaven knows, I enjoy an Avi book. The detail, the characterizations, the plots: all top-notch. But, this one didn’t grab me. The language, while authentic, was off-putting, and the plot was just so dang slow. I gave it 75 pages, and then realized that my time is much more precious than to slog through a book I have no interest in.

Heat Rises

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by Richard Castle
ages: adult
First sentence: “The thing about New York City is you never know what’s behind a door.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Nikki Heat is investigating the murder of a local parish priest, found at an S&M studio (is that what they’re called?). The investigation takes her in all sorts of directions, but then she’s called off the investigation, on the orders of her precinct captain. It’s nothing, he assures her. Which only makes her — and her lover, companion, sometimes partner, Jameson Rook — more suspicious. And since Nikki Heat doesn’t give up, she ends up digging into things she really shouldn’t have.

I’m realizing that the books really do follow not only the plots from the season (yes, this one has elements from Castle season 3 episodes), but also the mood. Which means, this book wasn’t as fun as either Heat Wave or
Naked Heat. Not to say that there wasn’t fun moments (like the passing Firefly reference? Cracked me up.) in the book. There were. It just wasn’t as fun as the previous two. (Also: not as sexy or foul; they really pulled back on the language and the sex was entirely off-screen.) It’s still good brain candy, and it was gratifying to see Nikki do so much entirely on her own. She really does rock.

Oh, and if you’ve seen the entire season 3, there’s a nice twist on the ending in the book. Which means, of course, that there will be a fourth. And yes, I will read it. (Hopefully, considering the way season 4 is going, the next book will be more fun to read overall.)

November Jacket Flap-a-Thon

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Drink, Slay, Love (Margaret K. McElderry): “Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire . . . fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil . . . until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops. Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don’t exist), and they’re shocked she survived. They’re even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl’s family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King’s feast—as the entrees. The only problem? Pearl’s starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she’s definitely dead if she lets down her family. What’s a sunlight-loving vamp to do?”

I love how this one not only reflects the tone and the style of the book, but makes you 
want to read it. And can I say that cover is just gorgeous?

Ten Miles Past Normal (Atheneum): “Janie Gorman wants to be normal. The problem with that: she’s not. She’s smart and creative and a little bit funky. She’s also an unwilling player in her parents’ modern-hippy, let’s-live-on-a-goat-farm experiment (regretfully, instigated by a younger, much more enthusiastic Janie). This, to put it simply, is not helping Janie reach that “normal target.” She has to milk goats every day…and endure her mother’s pseudo celebrity in the homemade-life, crunchy mom blogosphere. Goodbye the days of frozen lasagna and suburban living, hello crazy long bus ride to high school and total isolation–and hovering embarrassments of all kinds. The fresh baked bread is good…the threat of homemade jeans, not so much. It would be nice to go back to that old suburban life…or some grown up, high school version of it, complete with nice, normal boyfriends who wear crew neck sweaters and like social studies. So, what’s wrong with normal? Well, kind of everything. She knows that, of course, why else would she learn bass and join Jam Band, how else would she know to idolize infamous wild-child and high school senior Emma (her best friend Sarah’s older sister), why else would she get arrested while doing a school project on a local freedom school (jail was not part of the assignment). And, why else would she kind of be falling in “like” with a boy named Monster—yes, that is his real name. Janie was going for normal, but she missed her mark by about ten miles…and we mean that as a compliment. Frances O’Roark Dowell’s fierce humor and keen eye make her YA debut literary and wise. In the spirit of John Green and E. Lockhart, Dowell’s relatable, quirky characters and clever, fluid writing prove that growing up gets complicated…and normal is WAY overrated.”



It’s a little long, but it hits all the high points without giving away everything. And I really like the final line.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Square Fish): “Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.  With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.”


I like that they managed to sum up a very un-sum-up-able book. And make it sound as whimsical and charming as it really is. That said, I think if I have to read about another “unforgettable” book, I may scream. Please, publishers, find a different adjective.

Other books I read this month:
Caleb’s Crossing
The Help (audiobook)
Addie on the Inside
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick 
Chime
The Scorpio Races
The Son of Neptune
Jeremy Bender vs. the Cupcake Cadets
The Buddha’s Diamonds
War and Watermelon
Precious Bane
Floors

Floors

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by Patrick Carman
ages: 9+
First sentence: “Merganzer Whippet was an impulsive young man of fifteen when he raced into his father’s room just in time to hear these fateful words.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Leo Fillmore lives and works with his father in the most amazing place: the Whippet Hotel. It’s small, exclusive, and very, very wild (and weird). All the rooms are themed: from the Cake Room, to the Pinball Room, to the Caves and Ponds Room; it’s a kid’s dream (and possibly a maintenance man’s nightmare) to live in a place like this, even if it is only in the basement.

Except Merganzer Whippet, the owner, has disappeared, been gone for more than 100 days, and the hotel is falling apart. Then, a small purple box arrives for Leo, and he finds out that saving the hotel is up to him, his new friend, and a duck named Betty. They’re in for some wild (and weird) adventures, as they figure out who is sabotaging the hotel (because it’s just not falling apart on its own) and save it from being sold to developers.

Part mystery, part buddy novel, part adventure story, this quirky little book has a lot going for it. Carman’s writing is accessible without being overly simplistic, and the whole whimsical aura gives it a very carnival-like feel. There’s a couple of nice twists and turns throughout the book, and the story wraps up quite nicely. Which leads me to my only concern: this one is billed as Book 1, and I have no idea where the story could go in book 2 (or 3 or 4 or 5). It’s a self-contained story, one that is quite entertaining and very sweet, and doesn’t need a sequel. At all.

*sigh*

Sometimes children’s publishing these days frustrates me. In spite of that, the book is more than worth reading.

Precious Bane

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by Mary Webb
ages: adult
First sentence: “It was at a love-spinning that I saw Kester first.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Prue Sarn was born “hare-shotten”, with a hairlip. Because of this, she has been told her whole life that she is cursed, that no one will want her, that her lot in life is to just support her family, which includes her older brother, Gideon, in his ambition to become wealthy, for he believes that only money can buy happiness.

However, money doesn’t buy happiness. Although Gideon skimps and makes Prue slave (granted, he works hard, too), and although he’s in love with and engaged to fair Jancis, grudges, ambition, and pettiness kept him from his happiness. Cursed Prue, however, with her kind-hearted nature, and willingness to help others helps her get her happy ending, in spite of her appearance.

It took me the longest time to get into reading the book. It’s in dialect, set in Shropshire, but I’m not sure that’s what it was. I think a lot of it is that it’s just a slow-starting book. However, I stuck with it, and halfway through, I figured out not only what was going on, but the story that Webb was trying to tell. And from there, the story picked up. It’s a both a heartbreaking and a hopeful one. There’s a message, yes, but it’s told in such a way that it isn’t heavy-handed. As a reader, you feel pain for Gideon, and see what the consequences of his stubbornness will lead him, and yet are powerless to stop the outcome. It’s a hard read, but one most definitely worth the time.

A Thankful Blogiversary

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I’ve been thinking for weeks now that my first post was on November 24, 2004. I figured since that fell on Thanksgiving this year, that I’d combine my seven year (!) anniversary with all the things my blog has brought me that I’ve been thankful for over the years.

Turns out that I was wrong about the date, but I was only off by a few days, so I’m still going to go through with my idea here…

Seven reasons why I’m thankful for my blog:

1. My on-line book group, Sequestered Nook: I would have never known about this (not having met anyone on there in real life when I joined up), if I hadn’t complained about my in-person book group on my blog. And then Corinne, bless her, mentioned that she’d started this on-line book group, and would I like to join? Of course! It’s a wonderful place, somewhere where we can discuss books and life and movies. I value our discussions and the small community we’ve built. I’ve actually met several of the members in real life over the years, too, which just makes it that much more special.

2. KidlitCon (well, shoot: the whole KidLitosphere): when I first started blogging, I felt I had to justify my love for YA and MG books. Then, a couple of years into it, I discovered that there’s this whole community of people who have the same love of these books as I do. And they get together to talk about books and blogging. And they’re passionate and fun. And they’ve accepted me as part of their community, even if I’m not a librarian or a teacher and I’m “just” a mom and a reader and a lover of books. I couldn’t ask to be a part of a better community.

3. The Cybils: I’ve valued every moment of my experience being a part of the Cybils. I’ve followed it since the beginning, and love the lists of books that the award generates. But more than that, it’s amazing to be a part of something larger than oneself, something I would have never experienced without my blog.

4. Challenges: I’ve joined many challenges over the years, and even hosted a couple of my own. I am so glad for these, for the ways they stretched and pushed my reading in directions I never would have gone otherwise. And even for the piles and lists of books to be read that have been created as a result.

5. Book recommendations: Before my blog, I would wander the bookstore and the library stacks looking for books that sounded good. Seriously. And a good 6 times out of 10, my initial instincts (“ooh, pretty cover!”) were wrong. SO wrong. After my blog, when I started to create relationships and find people with tastes and opinions I respected, nearly everything I read is good. Sure, I still get a clunker here and there, and sure I still don’t finish books. And sure I sometimes don’t like the “in”book that everyone else loves (The Book Thief anyone?). But for the most part, my reading experiences are so much better for blogging about books.

6. Friendships: I’ve kind of alluded to this already, but I honestly value the people I’ve met over the years. From Andi and Heather and the experience writing for Estella’s Revenge, to Pam and Charlotte and Liz and Abby and Jen, to Becky and Julie (and Julie, even though she doesn’t blog anymore) and Laura and Suey and Amira, and many, many more that I both have and haven’t met in real life: my life is richer for having known you. Thank you for blogging, and for being awesome.

7. My job at Watermark Books: I firmly believe that if I hadn’t been reading and writing all these years, I wouldn’t have the coolest part-time job ever right now.

And all this because my husband suggested that I start a blog. It’s been an amazing seven years!

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

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by Catherynne M. Valente
ages: 11+, good for read aloud 6+
First sentence: “Once upon a time, a girl named September grew very tired indeed of her parents’ house, where she washed the same pink-and-yellow teacups and matching gravy boats every day, slept on the same embroidered pillow, and played with the same small and amiable dog.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Once upon a time, there was a blogger who got an email about a book. This book had a very long, somewhat pretentious title, and the blogger thought to herself, “It can’t be any good” and proceeded to delete that email.

Then she started seeing reviews of it pop up all over the place, reviews saying how wonderful and amazing and delightful this little book with the long, pretentious title is. And still she said to herself, “It can’t be true” and didn’t read the book.

Then, one day, while she was shelving other titles, she saw the book, and picked it up. Once she had it in her hands, she began to question her firm belief that this book wasn’t any good. And so, she checked it out.

And was absolutely delighted.

To be sure, she is not sure that September’s story and adventures in Fairyland would be appealing to children. The book is pretentious and precocious, and not at all something that she can see many 10-year-olds picking up. Sure, there’s magic and danger and adventure, but it’s not flashy or laugh-out-loud hilarious. The language is a bit advanced, and she thinks that Valente sometimes talks down to the reader (and sometimes talks over the reader as well).

And yet, there’s a whimsicality about it all, a sense of timelessness, of a telling of Every Story, that makes this story work. She could envision reading it aloud to her children, smiling at the humorous asides, being afraid at the tense moments, sharing the adventure. It would be a delight, actually, to read this book aloud. She also found herself captivated by September and her adventures, as well as the sometimes fickle narrator, though she has to admit that her favorite character is the Green Wind, even though he only briefly appears.

At any rate, she regrets not getting to this one sooner, and since it’s always better to get to things later than never, she’s happy she finally arrived at the gala, giving this story its’ much deserved happily-ever-after.

The End.

The Scorpio Races

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by Maggie Stiefvater
ages: 13+
First sentence: “It is the first day of November, and so, today, someone will die.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy picked up at KidlitCon 2011

Life on the island Thisby is not easy. Life is harsh, jobs and food are scarce, and the population is always leaving for a better life on the mainland. And then there are the capaill uisce (pronounced CAPple ISHka; yeah, it doesn’t look like that to me, either): bloodthirsty water horses that are caught, somewhat tamed, and raced in the Scorpio Races every November 1st.

For Sean Kendrick, the capaill uisce have become his life. Sure, he works for the wealthiest man on the island at his ranch, but really his heart and soul live for his water horse (in all but actual ownership), Corr. They’ve raced together and won four times. Who’s to day that this year they won’t come out on top.

Kate “Puck” Connelly, on the other hand, lives and breathes the island. Her parents were killed by capaill uisce, and she normally would have nothing to do with them. However, her older brother has dropped the bomb that he’s leaving for the mainland, and in a desperate attempt to keep him around a little longer, she announced that she’s going to ride in the races. On her regular horse, Dove. Suddenly, she finds herself the talk of the island, and discovers that perhaps she’s in over her head.

To be fair, this is not a book for the faint hearted. Bloodthirsty, flesh-eating horses does not for a happy tale make. (Kind of awesome, yes. Happy, no.) And yet, in Stiefvater’s hands, it isn’t a gruesome one. Yes, there’s death and mauling and unhappiness, but the book isn’t about those things. It’s about Puck and Sean, (and, yes, there’s a romance between the two, but it’s wonderfully understated) and their love of the island and all things that belong there. It’s a wonderfully hopeful book, intriguing its twists and turns and subtle use of magic, with a sweetly touching ending.

While it’s not quite a delight to read, it is incredibly captivating. Which is just as good, I think.

Six Sentence Saturday: Three Middle Grade Boy Books

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Jeremy Bender vs. the Cupcake Cadets
by Eric Luper
ages: 10+
First sentence: “Jeremy Bender once heard that every time a person learned something, a new wrinkle worked its way into his or her brain.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Jeremy Bender has a problem: he’s ruined the engine of his father’s prize boat and needs to come up with $500 (because it’s just too scary to tell his dad) to fix it. So he and his friend come up with this brilliant, if a bit far-fetched, idea: infiltrate the Cupcake Cadets (think Girl Scouts with cupcakes instead of cookies), win the Windjammer Whirl with it’s $500 grand prize and get off. Easy-peasy, right? Well, not so much. At turns weird and hilarious, Jeremy and Slater learn that sometimes the easy way out is not, well, so easy. Luper gets boys and their impressions of girls down-pat, making for a very fun read.

The Buddha’s Diamonds
by Carolyn Marsden and Thay Phap Niem
ages: 8-12
First sentence: “In the gloom of the dusty temple, Tinh bowed to the Buddha.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher for the 2009 Cybils (I think)

The simple story of a boy, Tinh, who has to learn responsibility in the face of a big storm. Tinh and his father makes it back to shore just ahead of a typhoon, but because Tinh wasn’t brave enough to save the boat, it’s ruined. So, it’s up to Tinh to get the boat — the source of his family’s income — fixed. I picked this one up as part of Wichita’s Big Read (the main book was Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, but I had no interest in reading that), not really knowing what to expect. It was a sweet little story, but I felt it lacked any sort of emotional punch. Mostly, I felt like I was looking at the action from the outside, never really connecting to either the characters or the story.

War & Watermelon
by Rich Wallace
ages: 11+
First sentence: “I look across the pool and see Patty Moriarity and Janet DeMaria hanging out by the refreshment stand.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

It’s the summer of 1969, and everything’s changing in Brody’s world. His brother, recently graduated from high school, and their parents are stressed about the draft; Brody’s dealing with girls, and football, not to mention seventh grade and junior high; and it’s the summer of Woodstock and the Mets have just taken over first place. Seeing this summer of through a 12-year-old’s eyes is an interesting venture: a lot happens in the course of the book, and yet Wallace keeps it light enough for middle grade readers. Yet, as an adult, I didn’t think Brody’s story was particularly interesting. Or perhaps Wallace was trying to cover too much in too short of time. Either way, this one fell flat in the end.