Last summer, Ginny spent the summer traveling around Europe following directions left by her Aunt Peg in thirteen little blue envelopes. However, in Greece, her backpack is stolen along with the envelopes including the last one. Almost six months later, she is contacted by Oliver who informs her that he has her backpack and all of the letters. She returns to London where she, Oliver, Keith, and Ellis travel once again following the directions to collect parts of Aunt Peg's work of art. While traveling, Ginny must deal with her love for Keith even though he is dating Ellis.
I thought this was a good sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Once again, Ginny learns more about herself during this adventure. I strongly recommend reading the first book before reading this one.
0 Comments
Even though he is starting high school, Wilbur can never live down the humiliation from the first day of middle school when a student found a private letter and read it to the school. His only friends are Alex and his elderly neighbor, Sal. Wilbur plays triangle in the school band. When the band participates in an exchange program with a school in France, Wilbur is paired up with Charlie. Wilbur really likes her, but she sees him only as a friend. This is a wonderful coming-of-age story. Alex and Sal help build Wilbur's confidence and going to Paris also gives Wilbur the opportunity to find himself and grow. Leo Caraway has his post-high school plan all figured out. The president of the Young Republicans will be going to Harvard in the fall. That is until a simple misunderstanding leads to his ousting from the Young Republicans and his scholarship revoked. Then he learns that his father isn't his biological father and that his real father is the lead singer of heavy metal band Purge, King Maggot. Hoping to get his tuition from the rock star, he meets King Maggot, who invites him to join the band on tour over the summer so he can get to know his son. Will these to polar opposites find common ground? This was a book I have had on my "to read" list for some time, and I am glad that I finally read it. This was a funny adventure where both Leo and King Maggot learn more about themselves. Leo discovers his "wild" side. There are a variety of characters among them that really help the story move along and add to the humor. Oscar Olsson enters his senior year of high school with hesitations. Instead of going to school, he'd rather work on his grandfather's food truck making rulleknebab, donuts and other Swedish delicacies. His saving grace is his independent study cooking class until Lou presents a project involving recycling discarded apples from the cafeteria into muffins, cider, and other goodies. Through this project Lou gets to know not only Oscar but also his grandfather, Farfar. This is a fantastic coming-of-age story. These characters are so likeable and well developed. I loved the setting of a food truck and the difficulty in maintaining a food truck business. Oscar grows in so many ways as well as Lou. This was the type of novel where you feel like you'll miss the characters after you read the last page. Mischa Abramavicius has spent her high school career doing whatever she can so she can get into an Ivy League school. She has received a scholarship to attend Blanchard Prep. She studied hard to keep her grades up and her SAT score high. She participated in as many clubs as she could manage. However, when the acceptance letters and emails are sent out, Mischa receives rejection letters one after another. Even her safety school, Paul Revere, said no! With the help of her best friend and the Ophelia Syndicate, a group of hackers, Mischa investigates why she was refused entry to all of the colleges she applied for. This was a unique mystery with elements of romance, humor, and realism. Mischa does go through a depression which makes sense. If the dreams you've worked so hard for were suddenly shattered, you too would suddenly question what's the point of doing well in school and participating in everything. I recommend this story to those who enjoy mysteries or a good story about high school. Gabe's life is turned upside down when his band instructor informs the band that there will be no marching camp next summer. The funds for it which were raised by the pop vending machine are now going to the new dance team. Mr. Shaver doesn't seem willing to stand up and fight for the band program, so Gabe decides to take a stand resulting in the "Spunk River War." The novel is told by Gabe, but as a transcript of what Gabe told his lawyer at the police station after his arrest for stealing the money out of the pop machine. So, you know right away that big things are going to happen. Overall, I think this was a fun read. There are a number of laughs in here. Gabe does grow as a person throughout the novel, even makes new friends. Recommend this to those who want a funny novel. This is the third book of Don Calame's Swim the Fly series. This novel focuses on Sean. Coop comes up with a new scheme. He wants to film a horror movie for a local film festival. Sean and Matt are really not excited about Coop's newest adventure, but Sean changes his mind when he comes home and learns his mother's big news. She is pregnant which isn't too bad until he is told that he will have to move out of his room and into his twin sister's room! Sean realizes if they could win the film festival, he could use the prize money for an addition to their house. Then he wouldn't have to move out of his room! This is a funny, funny book. It is full of sophomoric humor, but like the other two books in the series, you see Sean mature and grow. Sophomore boys are perfect audiences for this book. |
AuthorMr. Andrusyk is a school librarian at IC Catholic Prep in Elmhurst, Illinois. Past Book RecommendationsClick here to view a listing of Mr. Andrusyk's list of favorite authors, series, fiction, and nonfiction. Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|