Every time Ms. Provence, aka Ms. P, reads a good book, she adds a brief entry here to let everyone know who would like this particular book. She also lets you know if it's available here at the BHS Library, if it's on order for us, or it you'll need to go the the Berkeley Public Library to get it.
Her goal is for everyone to help add to the blog and chat with each other about what we've read. Please feel free to comment on any of the books or reviews here. There may be a slight delay in your comments being posted, but you should see them within one day.
Have you enjoyed a book you read recently? If so......tell others about it, so they might enjoy it also. Your Book Review can be as simple or complex as you want it to be:
1. Tell the title and author of the book
2. In 1-2 sentences, tell what the book's about?
3. Why did you liked it? This is a great time to tell an incident from the book or use a good quotation.
4. Give it a rating--1-10, A-F, __ out of 5 *'s.
5. What kind of reader would you recommend it to?
To write a review, write it in any word processor, sign it with your first name only, and send it to (click on Ms. Provence to open up an email addressed to her)
Rebecca is a brilliant mystery written by the authoress Daphne du Maurier. Several film versions of the book have been produced, the most famous being Rebecca (1940), a “psychological thriller” by the celebrated Mr. Alfred Hitchcock. The story is about a deceased wife named Rebecca, who has died in a sailing accident on the shores of Manderley Hall. The story is told through the second wife of Maxim De Winter; we never learn what her name is. When she moves into Manderley with Maxim de Winter, she starts to feel the presence of his late wife, and at times, she feels as if she’s channeling Rebecca, as if she is Rebecca. She fears that Max’s love for her is not as strong as she wishes, but when Rebecca’s body is found, Max reveals a secret to her, which surprisingly brings the two together. I recommend this novel to people who enjoy drama, lots of suspense, and a little romance. But this is not a romance novel; in fact, it’s a little creepy at times! But that’s the fun of it.
This is truly one of my favorite books from this fall! It’s the story of Mary who lives in a land and time very different than our own. In Mary’s world, a chain link fence surrounds the village, protecting the townspeople from the Unconsecrated who live just beyond the fence. These eternally hungry undead being inhabit what has become know as the forest of hands and teeth. One bite from an Unconsecrated dooms you to become on also; a choice Mary’s mother made in order to join her husband when he became one of the undead.
In this post-apocalyptic world, a religious order called the Sisterhood rules the community. Their rules don’t always make sense, but disobeying is not an option–Mary discovers that the punishment for this is banishment into the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Unfortunately for her, Mary dreams about the ocean, ” a place where there was nothing but water as far as you could see an that it was always moving, rushing toward you and away,” that her mother used to tell her stories about. She dreams about leaving the confines of the village and harsh rules of the Sisters. One day she gets her chance to escape, but that journey is one she may not survive.
Here is a great video you can look at when you’re not at school.
In an alternate history of World War I, European powers are not split as much by political preferences as by their philosophies on progress: Germany and Austro-Hungary are known “Clanker” countries, and are powered by extraordinary machines. England, on the other hand, is a powerful “Darwinist” country, creating fantastic recombinant animals. The main characters each represent one of these powers: Deryn is an English girl, disguised as a boy to serve in her country’s air force, and Aleksandar is the only son of the Archduke Ferdinand, whose assassination started WWI. I was drawn to Leviathan largely on account of Deryn: “Without hesitation, without a thought of what Jaspert [her brother] had said about not drawing attention, and with the last squick of nerves in her belly gone, Deryn Sharp took one step forward. ‘Please, sir. I’d like to fly.’” (P. 33). The quick referral I gave to my friends went like this: “It’s a truly awesome Steampunk version of World War one, with giant flying beasts, a girl proving that there is no “weaker sex”, and it has really nice pictures now and then, as well!”
Letter Grade: A+ . The + was almost taken away on account of the sequel not available yet, but was brought back many times over by the amazing illustrations by Keith Thompson.
This book is about a sixteen year old boy who is on trial for murder. He might have robbed a liquor store with friends and shot and killed the owner of the store, but the reader isn’t told what really happened. It is a trial that, if the jury finds him guilty, could result in the death penalty at worst,and at best, over twenty years in prison. Steve Harmon needs to keep his hopes alive while he is sitting in jail, while he is sitting with his friends/co-participants. He says he does well in school and says he has a future. In this book there is no plea-bargain; it’s all or anything. Steve, an amateur filmmaker, tells his experiences in the form of a movie screenplay. In addition to the movie script, Myers include Steve’s journal entries that tell more about his character and his time during the trial. Read the book to see what happens to Steve.
I recommend this book to people who like edge-of-your-seat drama. It had me waiting for more.
These are my favorite books from 2009. The short summaries are from World Cat, an amazing online catalog that contains the collections of libraries in our community and thousands more around the world. We own copies of all the books, and any that I haven’t already had on the blog will be showing up here soon!
Ms. Provence
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson. In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a seventeen-year-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering from memory lapses, learns a startling secret about her existence.
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness. Alternate chapters follow teenagers Todd and Viola, who become separated as the Mayor’s oppressive new regime takes power in New Prentisstown, a space colony where residents can hear each other’s thoughts.
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. By winning the annual Hunger Games, District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have secured a life of safety and plenty for themselves and their families, but because they won by defying the rules, they unwittingly become the faces of an impending rebellion.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. Suddenly able to see demons and the Darkhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizzare world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the Unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.
Identical by Ellen Hopkins. Sixteen-year-old identical twin daughters of a district court judge and a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, Kaeleigh and Raeanne Gardella desperately struggle with secrets that have already torn them and their family apart.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman. While in a coma following an automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weighs whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. Abandoned by her drug-addicted mother at the age of eleven, high school student Taylor Markham struggles with her identity and family history at a boarding school in Australia.
Looking for Alaska by John Green. Sixteen-year-old Miles’ first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash.
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater . In all the years she has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house, Grace has been particularly drawn to an unusual yellow-eyed wolf who, in his turn, has been watching her with increasing intensity.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman. In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives “unwound” and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs–and, perhaps, save their own lives.
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. Following a cataclysmic natural disaster, Adam One, leader of the religion known as God’s Gardeners, and his followers make their way through an altered, depopulated world, while Ren, a performer trapped in a high-end sex club, and Toby, a God’s Gardener barricaded inside a luxurious spa, try to decide how to proceed.
I originally read this book because one of our students had asked me to order it, and kept coming back once a week to see if it was here yet! She was right; it is a wonderful love story, sort of like Romeo and Juliet but with a much more satisfying ending. Brittany Ellis is a beautiful cheerleader who looks like she has the perfect life. Alex Fuentes is a gang banger who can intimidate anyone with one of his dark, piercing looks. They both look like perfect stereotypes, but in this case looks can be very deceiving. When they are forced to be chemistry lab partners by the dictatorial Mrs. Peterson, each teen must face their own prejudices, while dealing with their own personal problems at the same time. The truth is that Brittany’s perfectionist mom is making her crazy, especially when she threatens to send her disabled sister to an institution. And Alex who saw his dad murdered when he was just six, is only a member of the Latino Bloods gang to protect his family.
After accepting a bet to bed Brittany by Thanksgiving, Alex does his best to seduce his lab partner, but finds himself falling for her despite his common sense. This book is definitely filled with plot twists, and what I liked about it is that it’s way more than a love story. It also deals with the facades people all put up to protect themselves from getting hurt. The gang activity feels pretty realistic, without glorifying the street life like some urban drama does. I also appreciated that the story tackled the difficult subject of honesty in a friendship, when it’s all you can do to be honest with yourself.
Don’t be fooled the the romantic cover of this book; it’s way more that a simple romance. Simone Elkeles did a great job blending tough teen issues with a love story, and I can’t wait to read more of her books.
It is my guess that every reader of this book will have a strong emotional reaction to it. This award-winning book made me so angry and sad, that I almost abandoned it a number of times. It is the true story of a childhood written by journalist Jeannette Walls. She and her two sisters and brother were raised by unique parents who Walls portrays realistically, but at the same time sympathetically. Her father was an eccentric, brilliant, and alcoholic man, who couldn’t hold down a job, but whose charisma was so strong his children and wife were always his defenders. In contrast, Wall’s mother was an artistic, free-spirit who viewed the responsibility of a family as an inconvenience she refused to allow to interrupt her life. When the children were very young, the family lived a nomadic lifestyle, travelling through the Southwest, usually living in the poor section of town when they settled for brief periods of time. Eventually, they were forced to moved to the small coal town Rex Walls has left as soon as he was grown, living in a ramshackle structure that could hardly be called a house. The four children had no indoor plumbing, no food most of the time, and little clothing, despite the freezing winters. Even though the kids lived through poverty, hunger, and constant jokes and bullying from the other students at school, Walls never judges her parents, telling her story in a straight-forward, non-judgmental manner. In fact, it is clear that all the children continue to love their parents, in spite of the neglectful, even abusive in my opinion, way they were raised.
For me this book was so difficult because my family has always viewed children as treasures, to be cherished and given as many enriching and positive experiences as we can afford. To see children so completely neglected was hard for me to read, and impossible for me to comprehend.
I recommend this title to students who want to read about how strong and forgiving the human spirit can be. It is the perfect choice for readers who loved A Child Called It or White Oleander.
Here is a short video interview with Walls you can look at when you’re not at school.
This is one of those books that will grab your interest on the very first page. It tells the story of Zoey Redbird, who lives in a world that’s always had vampires. When she finds herself “Marked” by an exotic tatoo to become a vampyre, her whole world changes because now all her friends are afraid of her, and she has to transfer to the House of Night, a vampyre-in-training boarding school. Life there is fast paced, with Zoey making new friends with the other fledging vamps, getting used to her new and strange classes (Vampyre Sociology), meeting the super hot Erik, and clashing with the two-faced Aphrodite, head of the exclusive Dark Daughters sorority. The story moves on at a frantic pace, with each episode leading to the next, wivh enough uncertainty about the outcomes to keep the readers on the edge of their seats. I couldn’t put this book down and finished it in less than two days. I’ve ordered the entire series for the library; be sure to come by and check them out.
Tweak: Growing up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff
“I am so afraid. I’m afraid to hope again,” says Nic during his fifth stint in rehab. Nic is a methamphetamine junkie who started on his trail of addiction with his first drink at 11-years-old. This 22-year-old has tried almost every drug you can name, and liked most of them. Raised in LA and San Francisco, he always thought he would be able to quit when he was “ready” to, but his habitual relapses have made him nearly give up. His divorced parents barely return his phone calls because they can’t trust him because he’s stolen so many times to support his habit, and they just can’t take being heart-broken again by the son they love. The story is told through Nic’s eyes, and is sad, but ultimately hopeful. Nic’s father wrote Beautiful Boy, about his son’s addiction from a dad’s point of view. BHS owns a copy of each title!
WARNING: This book has very graphic language and descriptions of drug use. For me, this makes it extremely realistic, but some may find it offensive.
“Sometimes what you don’t say means more than what you do…”
Bouncy Trina, with her mind on her art, brushes past Dominique. Dominique, already angry, is insulted by Trina blowing past her, and vows to jump Trina after school. Leticia overhears Dominique’s plan and can see that Trina doesn’t have a clue what’s in store for her. Should Leticia tell what she knows? What would you do?
Jumped is an intense story of one day in the life of 3 girls – and the drama that results when their paths cross. Each chapter of this powerful book is written in the voice of Trina, Dominique or Leticia. I rate this book a 9 out of 10, and recommend it to anyone who is looking for an exciting story that’s also a fast read.
Written by Carla, BHS library volunteer
When you’re at home, check out the book trailer on YouTube:
If you haven’t read this book yet, all I can say is that you must read it this year. The movie based on it is opening today, and has gotten mixed reviews but the book is just wonderful. It tells the story of Susie Salmon and starts like this: “My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighborhood. My mother liked his border flowers, and my father talked to him once about fertilizer.” Fourteen-year-old Susie is narrating the story herself from heaven. She watches as her family and friends, and even her murderer, deal with her tragic death and change over the next ten years.
Although this book sounds rather somber, Susie’s sense of hum0r, her own struggle adapting to the afterlife, and the injustice of her death will keep you interested until the last page.
Here is a link to the movie review from today’s San Francisco Chronicle. From what I’ve read, the director decided to exclude certain events from the movie, which in my opinion, changes the story somewhat. If you’ve read the book and seen the movie, add a comment to the blog telling how you think they compare.
“The nail that sticks out the farthest gets hammered hardest.” This describes Bret Hendricks to a tee: his long, green-tinted ponytail, his interest in drama instead of sports, and his aspirations for college in a blue-collar, working class family. Bret plays in a rock band with his two best friends, Alex and Sean, but can’t stop one of the school’s jocks from harassing him daily in his English class. It doesn’t help that the teacher doubles as a coach, and does nothing to discourage the continual taunting and sly physical bullying. He adores his quirky girlfriend Kylee, but is intimidated when she wants to sing with the band.
This gripping novel is told by Bret in the first-person perspective, making it immediate and hard to put down. He writes a debate speech in which he empathizes with the Colombine high school gunmen, and all heck breaks loose. “I said what happened at Columbine was terrible,” he explained. “But I also pointed out that how they had been treated at their school was wrong too. I said they were the first victims.” NOT what the principal wanted to hear! While Bret is a nonconformist daring to be different in what he calls a “jockarchy,” it’s easy to identify with the problems he faces as he tries to stay true to himself, maintain his self-respect and sanity, and forges a relationship with his emotionally distant father.
If you can’t see the video, look at it from your home computer as our BUSD filters block out most videos!
This book was amazing! It had mystery, romance, suspense, and even werewolves. A must-read for Twilight fans and anyone who is looking for a story about the turbulent road to romance. Don’t tell anyone, but I liked it better than Twilight! Be sure to recommend it to a friend when you’re finished. The second book in the trilogy, Linger, will be coming out this summer.
This book surprised me, in a totally good way. I know of the writer from the books she’s written for tween and teen girls, but this is something completely different–a creepy horror story that kept me on the edge of my seat once I got involved in it. It takes place in 1969 and begins when Bliss is dropped off by her hippie parents at her grandmother’s house in Atlanta. She’s never really gone to school, and when he grandma enrolls her at the prestigious Crestview Academy, it’s a complete culture shock. To add to her culture shock, she starts hearing an eerie voice in her head, that starts off just saying “blood,” but soon expands and has much more to say. Bliss befriends two girls who couldn’t be more opposite: the class beauty Sarah Lynn who couldn’t be more icy, and Sandy, who has a strange obsession with a former student who is rumored to have killed herself by jumping off one of the tallest campus buildings.
Part of the story’s narration is told in a journal written by “S.L.L.,” which just gets creepier and weirder as time goes by. Blend in with these entries the strange voice (written in a scary font) that Bliss keeps hearing, and it’s hard to go worng with this title. This is the perfect book for horror fans, and even reminded me a little bit of one of my favorites, Stephen King.
Here I am, reading one of my favorite genres again, this time titles recommended by one of our amazing library volunteers, soon to be a librarian herself.
Unwind is the gripping story that follows Conner and two other “Unwinds” as they struggle to escape their fate as becoming human organ donors, used for every part of their bodies from their brains to the tips of their toes. After the world war fought by pro-life and pro-choice armies, the Bill of Life was signed, allowing unwanted teens to be unwound without actually ending their lives–they would become unwilling organ donors. Conor’s being unwound because he’s just too much trouble for his parents. Risa’s problem is that she’s a ward of the state, living in a StaHo, and they have to make room for more babies. In contrast, Lev has known since he was a child that as his parents’ tenth baby, he was destined to be tithed as an unwind, something that has always been viewed as a great honor in his religion. The books follows their story from their original escape to the Happy Jack Harvest Camp and beyond.
This gripping story kept me up at night reading with a flashlight in bed as my husband slept peacefully next to me. It is an amazing book I can’t recommend highly enough.
Rash, on the other hand, was a much for straightforward story, with fewer ethical complications. What I especially appreciated about this story was that it is a combination sports novel and dystopian commentary on our society, all at the same time! The year is 2076, and the United SAFER States of America has outlawed anything remotely hazardous, including most sports, verbal abuse, and even schoolyard fights. The problem for our main character Bo is that he has a terrible temper, probably inherited from his father who’s currently in prison for a road rage incident in ‘73. Interesting, the prisons are run by conglomerates like McDonalds and Coca Cola, and the inmates are basically free labor in their enormous fast food factories.
When Bo gets the opportunity to enhance his meager living conditions by playing on the sadistic warden’s illegal football team, his natural athleticism forces him to jump at the chance. Although football has been outlawed in the USSA fro years, Warden Hammer played in college and still loves the brutal sport. Unfortunately, Hammer wants his team to win against the nearest prison’s team at any cost, and the situation gets complicated rather quickly. Add to this the killer Polar bears that live outside the frigid work camps and artificial intelligence program named Bork that has taken on a life of its own, and this novel moves along at a rapid clip.
In many ways this story reminds me of Holes by Louis Sacher, and fans of that book won’t be disappointed by Bo’s journey.
In the second quarter of the school year I found myself intertwined in every word written by the wonderful author Cecil R. Cross II in his smashing book, First Semester. The book revolves around an incoming college freshman named James “JD” Dawson, who struggles to adapt to his new college and his new surroundings in Atlanta, Georgia. The book was nonstop laughter and evoked an outpouring of emotions.
The concept of the book can be summarized in one scene: JD sits in his room pondering where his hyper religious friend Timothy could be and why Timothy hadn’t taken his bible to class. Timothy walks in the room and discusses how God has failed him and how he believes he should drop out of college and pursue something that wont “put him in a box.” At that moment JD realizes that college isn’t for everyone, and that if you have this chance you should value it. He saw that education will get you every and anywhere but squandering your precious opportunity will only lead you down a path of confusion and despair.
First Semester deserves a 10 out of 10 because the book went smoothly and there was not one moment where my eyes left the bold black words; Cecil Cross has out done himself. I recommended this book to: Black males, future college students, and people who enjoy urban fiction and romantic fiction.
Written by Persiah, class of 2011
From Ms. Provence: This title is part of the Kimani Tru series. So far we own sixteen books in the series and have more on order.
I almost abandoned this book after about 40 pages, and I’m so glad I picked it up again the next day. This mystery novel has high school junior Cody Laredo at its center. He used to be an amazing quarterback until he got benched for the season after a serious knee injury and the ensuing surgery. Then his amazing girlfriend Clea is coerced by her rich father into going to a boarding school in Vermont, allegedly to increase her chances of getting into a school like Harvard. Cody knows for sure that she’s brilliant enough to follow that path, but can’t help feeling like their relationship is the real reason her father wants her across the country from their small hometown of Little Bend, Colorado. So with no football practice and no girlfriend (he broke up with her before she left), Cody completely loses interest in school and actually drops out.
Nothing means much to him until he sees the newspaper headline, “Local Girl Missing.” Clea had just sent him a cryptic letter just the day before, and with that as he only clue, he head out to the Dover Academy in Vermont to try to find Clea. The part of the letter that felt like some type of clue was:
“…Some of the kids are cool, some are snobby, some make me feel kind of hickish. One or two I don’t like at all. It’s hard to know who to trust sometimes. Like rolling the dice–a cliche’ that turns out to have real meaning. But that’s true everywhere–right?”
This book is the edge-of-your-seat thriller; I could not put it down until I finished it. With lots of twists and turns, I guarantee it will keep you in suspense until the surprising conclusion.
The publisher sent me an ARC (advanced readers copy) of this book over the summer, and I finally got around to reading it. Definitely a fun read. Email me @ alexand278@aol.com if you would like to be the first to read this new title.
Brad Pitt! My favorite movie vampire of all time from the 1994 movie adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview With a Vampire.
Here are some vampire titles we have in our collection. We have lots more ordered so keep an eye on the clear, plexiglass New Book shelves for Vampire Diaries and the House of Night series. To find the books in the online catalog, just search vampire and click on All Words (its version of Keyword).
City of Bones (and the rest of the The mortal instruments series) by Cassandra Clare
Classic Vampire Stories by Molly Cooper
Darkangel trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Fledging by Octavia Butler
In the Forests of the Night (and the rest of the The Den of Shadows quartet series) by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Interview with a Vampire (series) by Anne Rice
Life Sucks by Jessica Abel
Peeps by Scott Westerfeld
Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Sweetblood by Peter Hautman
Thirsty by M.T. Anderson
Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers
Vampires : a collection of original stories edited by Jane Yolen
Vampires by Jean Marigny
Vampires by Russell Roberts
White Night : a novel of the Dresden files by Jim Butcher
This is a professionally created book trailer for this title.
Those of you that know my reading habits, know that fantasy titles are not my favorites, but this book blew me away. It had mystery, romance, family issues and even a strange puzzle to solve. I give it a 10 out of 10 stars.
