Ghosts of War by Ryan Smithson (Abe Book)

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the War or Memoirs. Ryan Smithson does a wonderful job introducing the War in Iraq. Especially, for those of us who know nothing of what is going on in the middle east. Smithson made the war personal and detailed everything from his training to what soldiders are eating on a daily basis. I was fascinated while reading this book. I feel I can better relate to the young soldiers who are serving our country.

I just started Peeps by Scott Westerfeld, so far so good. I'll keep you posted when I finish

Compound by S. A. Bodeen (Abe Book)

I read this over Spring Break and really enjoyed it. For six years, Eli Yanakakis has lived three stories underground in a lavish fallout shelter. On his ninth birthday, his father ushered his family away from what he said was a nuclear attack and into The Compound. The door to the compound is sealed and set to open in fifteen years, enough time for the nuclear waste from the attack to become harmless. The only people Eli has seen or communicated with for years are his mother, father, and two sisters. He desperately misses hamburgers, his twin brother, Eddy, his grandmother, and his dog. Though The Compound seems stocked with everything he could ever want, Eli knows there are many faults in his father's plan for survival. Their food supply is not what it should be. He catches his father lying about the ability to connect to the Internet. As the book goes on, Eli learns that his father's ultimate plan for a food source, what they call The Supplements, is not the result of poor planning but of his father's near-insanity. Eli knows he has to get out, but only his father knows the secret code to opening the door.
This was a fast and exciting read. I highly recommend it. I'm finishing up Ghosts of War by Ryan Smithson ( also on the Abe List) and going to start Peeps by Scott Westerfeld.

Book Club Book May 4th, 2011

The LPHS Book Club is reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman this week. This was a different genre than the book club usually reads. I would categorize Neverwhere  as Sci-Fi. I am typically a big sci-fi fan as well as a Neil Gaiman fan. Gaiman did not disappoint! From the first page I was hooked and trying to find out what was going on and who all these strange characters were.

At one point in the book I was worried the story was copying Wizard of Oz. Just as I was thinking that, Gaiman made a reference to Wizard of Oz. After the reference I knew something interesting was in store.
Also, the Chicago Public Library is using this book as One Book, One Chicago. Here is a link One Book, One Chicago

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

I read this over spring break and wasn't certain how I felt about the book. Initially, I wasn't liking the plot of the book, but as I continued reading I really started to like it. This definitely was not one of my favorite books, but I would recommend it.

The main character, Zoe, is a music therapist struggling to get pregnant with her husband of nine years. After two miscarriages and a baby born stillborn her husband has had enough and files for divorce. Zoe finds a new friend in Vanessa, a school counselor she has worked with before. Vanessa and Zoe's relationship blossoms and the two of them become a couple, eventually marrying in Massachusetts. Vanessa and Zoe decide to try and start a family with Zoe's remaining embryos. 
Meanwhile Zoe's ex-husband has found Jesus and become very religious. When he hears about Zoe becoming a lesbian and wanting to use the embryos he sues her for the rights. A trial ensues and the reader is left questioning who has the right to those embryos?

Spring Break

Today kicks off our Spring Break at Lincoln Park High School. I am planning on reading while on vacation in Arizona. I am currently reading Columbine by Dave Cullen which is on the ABE 2012 List and planning on reading The Compound by S.A. Bodeen which is also on the ABE 2012 List. If I have time I would love to read Jodi Picoult's new book, Sing me Home. Picoult is my favorite author and I have been eager to read her newest book.

Let me know what you are reading over Spring Break

LIBRARY WEEK

April 11th- April 15th is National Library Week
Lincoln Park High School is observing Library Week with activities EVERY DAY

Monday April 11th              Match the Fictional Character to the Book
Tuesday April 12th              Library Crossword Puzzle
Wednesday April 13th         Name that quote
Thursday April 14th             Book Word Search
Friday April 15th                 HARRY POTTER DAY

Invisible Bridge

I just finished the book Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer and I loved it. The book takes place in Budapest, Hungary in 1937-1945. The story follows Andras Levi on his quest to become an Architect. Because of the restrictions on Jews he is not able to attend Architectural School in Hungary and receives a scholarship in Paris. After two years in Paris, Andras is deported back to Hungary where he is put in various labor camps, starved and unaware of his families fate. I though the book was interesting and told a new story of the Holocaust I was unfamilair with. I wondered what life must have been like  for Jews living in Hungary when it was allied with Germany and Hitler from the very beginning of the war. The character development was so wonderful in this book. I felt like I personally lost family members along the way.

Next on my to read list is Columbine by Dave Cullen. Columbine is on the Abe Lincoln 2012 List.