Candy's Raves (and Rants)

I guess I’ve read one too many kid detective books lately. I wasn’t really expecting much from this one after reading the description. It sounded cute, but not anything to rah rah me. And then I read it.

This is an absolutely delightful well-written children’s hard-boiled mystery. Somehow the author has managed to not only give us a good story for adults and children alike, but he also managed to keep the story on pace for both age groups.

I read this myself and when I was done was telling my kids about it. Both my 8 and 10 year old read it and both thought it was really cute. My 8-year-old, in particular, was sure to tell me that it was funny and she really was trying to figure out who the bad guy was.

For myself, I really enjoyed the story and, even more importantly, I enjoyed sharing the laughs, giggles and thoughts about the book with my kiddos.

I would recommend this for 2nd graders on up to great great grandparents. Also for families of book nerds (like mine) who really want to enjoy a book together.

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Book count for 2011: 46

History books for kids are usually very narrowly focused. They take a look at one snippet in time and unfortunately, they usually don’t go very in depth on their subject matter. I was afraid that “Just Fine the Way They Are” was going to fall into this same trap, but even worse. A history of transportation in the United States spanning 200 years? I envisioned pretty pictures with little text. I was very happy to be surprised!

The illustrations are indeed very pretty. Each page captures not only the time in history that it represents but also the energy and excitement of change. While many characters in the book are quoted as “Things are just fine, why should they change?” They are always, thankfully, in the minority and progress marches on. I love how the pictures often span two pages, adding a sort of “epic” feel to the text as you read about both the reasoning for change and the opposition.

The writing is also top notch. Both sides are represented: both those wanting things to stay the same and those proponents for change. I love how the book ended with both the facts about how we have changed our world and why we need to continue to develop new transportation technology.

I look forward to presenting this in my classroom. This will make a great crossover between social studies and science as we look at how transportation has affected our world.

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Memoirs are my favorite genre. I love learning about people’s lives, hearing their stories, digging into themselves with them. I find the whole genre fascinating. I first heard about this author when I stumbled on a post on his blog and bought his book, Learn Me Good, after reading a funny and heart-filled blog post. I got distracted and it took almost a year before I finally read it. I won’t rehash it, but I absolutely loved it. Heck, I even bought a paperback copy for the teachers at my kid’s school to read and pass around (they continue passing it around and giggling madly).

John’s latest offering is one of the best made follow ups that I have ever read. In some ways, it’s more of the same, but in other ways, it’s an expansion into John’s life as a teacher, his life as a writer, his trademark humor and his heart. I believe there are several ways you could take this book after reading it. You could take away that it’s a group of humorous stories by a teacher. That’s that. BUT I think if you are truly reading this book (and especially if you know anything about the teaching profession and/or have read his first book), you’re going to walk away with so much more of Mr. Pearson.

I laughed when I read this book. It’s no secret that the author has an amazing sense of humor. He’s just downright funny. Yeah, sometimes he tries too hard – but he’s a bit of a geek, so he pulls it off very well.

I also smiled when I read this book. You can feel the genuine love that he has for his students. He actually cares about them and their welfare and he enjoys every minute of his career (well, okay maybe not ALL of it – but every moment in the classroom!).

I also cried when I read this book. Cried with laughter, of course, but also for a few tender moments when the author’s heart really shined through. Oh, he keeps throwing humor at us to try to hide it, but it’s there and you cannot help but feel honored that he’s sharing this with us.

I also was confused when I read this book. This is a tough one for me because I get the memoir thing. His memoirs are about his time in the classroom. But I love that he gives us insight into his personal life a little as well (his dating life, etc). What I really am confused about here is that I want more. I realize that borders on prying, but I feel like there’s more to HIS story and it makes me curious. But I also don’t want him to spoil it and take himself too far out of the classroom. I think this may be why the email format of these books work so well, he’s able to drop notes about what he does with his buddy as well as what’s going on in his life and quickly move on to his teacher life again before we get too bogged down. As I said, I’m confused on what I want here.

At the end of the day, this is a hilariously written, absolutely beautiful memoir that makes me realize that not all books are straight forward. Sometimes you have to dig down into them to read between the lines.

I highly highly recommend this book to just about anyone. If you’re looking for a teacher gift, I think this would be a great idea to give someone (well, the set of two). If you want something funny to read, this is it. If you just want something to read that is easy to put down and pick up, yet un-put-down-able, well, this is the book for you as well. Seriously. Just go read it. This book falls onto my “Must Read” list for the year.

Mr. Pearson – you done good.

Note: John did offer me a preview copy, which I did indeed read. I still bought a fresh copy, with my own funds, to have in my Kindle account. It really was just THAT good.

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Book count for 2011: 45

First the bad – the current cover for this book doesn’t do it justice at all and really has very little to do with the content. I must say that had someone not pointed this one out to me, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it, much less purchased it. Yes, I judge books by their covers.

I am really glad that a friend of mine did point it out to me because this book was just what I needed to get me out of a reading slump that I found myself in this Summer. It was reasonably light and beachy, but had enough of a plot line and a few serious issues to keep me interested in the storyline.

I was actually quite surprised by the plot and how the authors managed to weave the serious issues between and with Rod and Judith into a lighter read. In some ways, it was sad, yet also made it feel just a little more real.

The writing was great, I saw one little error where Tammi answered Rod’s phone and then just seemingly a few hours later, he couldn’t use it because it ran out of battery the night before, but if that’s the biggest content edit problem I found, we’re doing pretty good. The grammar was well done and it was overall very well written and edited.

This is highly recommended for those that enjoy chick lit, but also like a little meat with it.

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Book count for 2011: 44

Ah, the 4th book in a series. It is usually really good or really bad (like most book 2 offerings). This one was a little middling for me. Let me say that I absolutely adore Imogen Rose, I’m a big fan of her work and she makes sure I get a preview copy. She has an amazing ability to bring the people and places in her books into my own reality and I sometimes feel like I kinda of know them – if Arizona were to walk by me in the mall, it wouldn’t phase me to stop and say hello.

This book picks up where Equilibrium left off very well… and then I kind of felt like it meandered a bit. It does manage to pick back up and the story straightens back out about one third of way in. There did feel like a bit of a disconnect there in the first part of the book. While I’m complaining, I’ll also say the cliff hanger might have been too much as well. No, you cannot please me.

I’m going to try to not spoil it, but there’s a phone call early on in the book that made me grin. I nearly wet myself hoping that two people would meet like I’ve been waiting for since book 1. I won’t share if it happened or not… but… well, you’ll see!

The writing and editing, as always, was absolutely spot on in this book. Imogen has always delivered nothing less than darn near perfection in that respect. I like that she is consistent in that regard. I do think it could have dealt with a little bit more of a content edit to straighten out a straggling plot point or two. Or perhaps that was on purpose for book 5? Hmmm…

Here’s what you really need to know about this entire series… it’s clean. There’s a few curse words (not a big deal, my kids hear worse in Elementary School) but it’s interesting and really well done young adult books. The characters (even the bad guys) are very likable. I especially like the main character, Arizona. I’ve watched her grow up in these books and I find her to be a very likable teenager (yes, I realize that’s a huge oxymoron). Honestly, she’s a great kid.

At the end of the day, I recommend this for teenagers, pre-teens and adults alike. I’m 30-something and I totally wanna hang out with Arizona and the crew.

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Book count for 2011: 43

My daughter is a big fan of Candy Wars: The Tooth Fairies vs The Candy King so when I told her this one had come in from the author for review, I am pretty sure the entire state of Texas heard her squeal. I couldn’t get it on her kindle fast enough. I was excited too. Candy Wars was one of my fave kiddo books from last year. Adventurous fun with a whole lot of heart.

So, my 8-year-old daughter and I read this one at the same time. I would be sitting there reading and she’d come over and say “OMG, Mom! It’s brown sugar!” or “The archers are back!!!!” or something like that. I don’t want to spoil it, but honestly, it was a lot of fun with some of the characters we came to know and love in the first book and new ones that we love – and love to hate.

I won’t mince words… the author can write. How on earth he’s not been picked up and published traditionally, I’ll never know. The level of fun in this series is over the top. It’s a great age group to target, they are still into magic and fantasy and fun. It’s funny because my 10-year-old, who refused to read it at first, is now reading it from hearing my daughter and I talk about it – so is my husband. To me, this is important… it’s a story that we both enjoyed. I didn’t feel like it was dumbed down for me and she didn’t feel like it was over her head. It really gave us a good bond to be able to talk about it and to have both really completely enjoyed it.

I recommend this book for kids – and adults alike. You don’t have to have read the first one, but I would tell you to go ahead and get ‘em both. They are also available as a set called Candy Wars I and II: The Sugar Hit

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Book count for 2011: 42

When I was a child, I lived in a rural area and my parent had about 140 acres of land that I was allowed to prowl pretty much at will by the time I was 10. I had many adventures (some real, some imagined) and sometimes I wish that I could allow my own children that same luxury. Unfortunately, we live in the city now and I don’t think my neighbors would appreciate my kids prowling around their yards.

George and the Bee is the next best thing! Michael Johnson has written a great book that tells the story of George and his adventures in the “wild” around his home. Every small boy needs a mentor and friend, and George finds his in the person of the Bee.

George is a young boy about to enter Kindergarten, and it is his last summer of “freedom” before entering into school. This book serves multiple purposes: 1.) It introduces children to some basic animals in the wild, 2.) It introduces the change from pre-school years to entering into school, and 3.) it breaches the topic of imaginary friends and making new, real friends.

I love this book and will definitely be reading it to children for many years to come!

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A friend bought me this book shortly after I had a surgery. It was the perfect book because I needed a laugh (or 300).

Ya know, there’s just something about a humorous gay dude that can freaking write. The author is amazingly funny. This book actually reminded me of another book I read earlier this year, The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers. It’s the same basic idea, a long time gay couple decide to get away from the city and move to the middle of nowhere. Only, Wade moved to the middle of nowhere and is obviously insane. Dude, the snow alone would send me screaming back home. Nevermind the freaky neighbor.

The writing itself is absolutely perfect. There was nothing in there that made me cringe. He’s very self-depreciating and very gay – I’m not just saying that, HE told me that in the book – repeatedly (which might be a little over the top to be honest). Having said that, his gayness makes the book. Without him sashaying outside dressed in $400 worth of clothes simply to take the trash out and getting attacked by a raccoon… yeah. His stories are only accentuated by the fact that he doesn’t mind the rest of thinking he’s a real big idiot.

This will most definitely NOT be my last book by this author. I’m trying to figure out which of his I want to read next. It also left me wanting to invite this guy over for dinner one night. Not because he was funny (well, not only because of that) but because he also shows that he has quite a big heart. At the end of the day, the heart is what needs to show through and despite his best attempts to cover it up, we find out that Wade is one heck of a guy. Gary is one lucky man.

This goes on my must read list for the year. I seriously laughed out loud so much that I was really glad I had pain meds to blunt the stitches pulling from the rolling.

I recommend this for just about everyone. It’s damn funny and we all could use a good laugh now and then.

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Book count for 2011: 41

10 years ago few and far between were the fantasy novels for young kids. Luckily, things have changed quite a bit since then and now there are many series and stand-alone novels in the fantasy genre for pre-teens to choose from. Of course, this can make it easy to miss some real gems.

Born to be a Dragon is one of those gems that I plan to share with my own kids. Set in a sort of “Alternate Reality” where dragons and magic are real, Eisley Jacobs has crafted a story that is on one hand pure fantasy, but on the other easy for children to identify with. The dragons are as big and as powerful as in any series, but what sets this book apart is the protagonist, Meia, is so likeable and easy to identify with that it was hard for me to put this book down.

You see, Meia is different in a lot of ways. But two things really set her apart from the other kids at school: 1.) She is a foster child that never knew her parents at all and 2.) All she talks, thinks, or even dreams about are dragons. And everyone knows, there is no such thing as dragons! Her last foster family definitely didn’t understand, and this new foster family doesn’t even seem to want to give her a chance, they’ve already called her case worker at least once. But soon Meia comes to realize that for her dragons are not just her obsession, they are her destiny.

This first book in the series is really promising and I’m looking forward to more. The book is completely stand-alone; it is a complete story with a great climax. However after reading, I’m sure you’ll be just like me, waiting to continue the journey of Meia and her friend Deglan.

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I believe this author was giving this book and I saw it on Twitter. Maybe I bought it. I don’t remember how I found it, but I did earlier this month and grabbed it because… okay, because I liked the title, okay? I mean, seriously!

These are a few short stories and all were fun and light and would be perfect to sit out on the beach or by the pool, chill out and read for a bit while ignoring your children and trying to lose yourself in something that makes you forget that you have sand creeping in places that it doesn’t belong.

I won’t go into each story except to say that the title one was my absolute favorite. They are all a little far-fetched, but you get exactly what you are expecting in this quirky little book of short stories.

The only real problem I saw was that a couple of the stories seemed unfinished, even for short stories. I wanted just a little bit more.

I recommend this one for the ladies that can laugh, smile and not take their reading too terribly serious. This is fun.

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Book count for 2011: 40