The Parting

The Courtship of Nellie Fisher: The Parting by Beverly Lewis. October 2007.

Set deep within the Amish community in 1966, our heroine Nellie Fisher is not your typical seventeen year old. Grieving the loss of her younger sister, Suzy, in a boating accident, she throws herself even harder into the work at her bakery. Six days a week, Nellie rises early and begins the long day of baking sweet and tempting sweets and breads to sell in her shop. Their customers, mostly Englischers who enjoy the quaintness and authenticity of the bakers almost as much as they love the treats themselves, keep her busy, busy, busy. But not too busy that she doesn’t notice that Caleb Yoder is beginning to pay attention to her. That he has even smiled at her once or twice. While it’s true, he hasn’t asked to drive her home from the weekly Singings yet. She holds out hope. After all, she knows that he knows that her grief and pain are still new, still fresh, still raw. And what hurts even worse than the pain of losing her sister is the fact that people are beginning to spread rumors about her sister. Scandalous rumors. It’s bad enough that her sister died unbaptized--in the midst of her rumschpringe--and hadn’t joined the church. But surely the rumors couldn’t be true. If they are, then...then her sister is surely lost to her forever.

Revivals. Hidden Diaries. Secret Courtships. The Parting is a very exciting read, and the first in new series by Beverly Lewis.

Read the full review here

Dear Author

Kaywell, Joan F., ed. 2007. Dear Authors: Letters of Hope: Top Young Adult Authors Respond to Kids' Toughest Issues.

To millions of kids, the books they read are more than entertainment--they are mirrors to hold up to their own lives. And the creators of those books are more than just writers--they are mentors, confidants, friends, sometimes the only ones who understand. There is often an unspoken, unseen bond between an author and his or her readers. Dear Author: Letters Of Hope brings this bond to light for the whole world to see and celebrate. What better way to honor the relationshp between writer and reader, fact and fiction, character and real kid than this compilation of letters, based on real fan mail to today's top YA authors, and the authors' reactions to that mail.

The authors: Laurie Halse Anderson, Sandy Asher, T.A. Barron, Marion Dane Bauer, Joan Bauer, Cherie Bennett, Edward Bloor, Sue Ellen Bridgers, Chris Crutcher, Christopher Paul Curtis, Lois Duncan, Alex Flinn, Adrian Fogelin, Nancy Garden, Patricia Hermes, Sara Holbrook, Catherine Ryan Hyde, Anne C. Lemieux, Chris Lynch, Janet McDonald, Rodman Philbrick, Marilyn Reynolds, John H. Ritter, Neal Shusterman, Shelley Stoehr, Jerry Spinelli, Ann Turner, Ellen Wittlinger.

The topics or issues are serious, real, authentic. And the responses are genuine and sincere. This book is a nice read. I enjoyed reading about how the books made an impact on each reader's life. It's a very thoughtful book.

The Baby Shower

Bunting, Eve. 2007. The Baby Shower. Illustrated by Judy Love.

The Baby Shower is a cute, adorable book about Ms. Brindle Cow and her animal friends. Ms. Brindle is expecting a baby. The book opens with the cow--very pregnant cow--reclining against a tree reading a book called 1001 Baby Names. (Written by Daisy, Flossie, and Bossy). By her side is a basket of milk, pickles, and what appears to be a sleeve of crackers or cookies. (Hard to judge!) And in the shady tree there is a nest full of birds. One of the birds passes along the news to his friend, the Chipmunk. And, of course, the Chipmunk has to spread the word as well. Before you know it, there is a large group of animals--a chipmunk, a turtle, many rabbits (mother and offspring), four pigs (mama and three piglets), and a duck--a preacher duck--on their way to celebrate the arrival of Ms. Brindle's calf. They're preparing a special song to sing at the celebrations and showing off their gifts for the new one. Very cute gifts I might add. But a big surprise awaits them all...something which means an even bigger celebration is in order!


I loved the story. I loved the pictures. It was just so very cute and adorable. I know not every reader likes *cute* stories with animals--some of which are dressed as humans--but there are many people who do. So judge this one for yourself. But as for me and my family, we loved The Baby Shower.

New Challenge for Fall

In the so-isn't-me area of challenges, Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting the RIP II challenge. (Readers Imbibing Peril)

R.I.P. II is a September 1st through October 31st celebration of all tales gothic, eerie, creepy, and dark. Tales that one reads in the dark of night, experiencing delicious shivers of terror and suspense at each creak of the floorboards or each gust of wind. As in previous challenges the definition for what type of books fit into this category will be very broad. I would venture to say that there is something for everyone that could count as a R.I.P. book.

Peril the First:

Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

Peril the Second (Otherwise known as the Obese Book Peril):

As you may know, some books are scary not just because of their subject matter but because of their size. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is 737 pages of small type, for example, and Gordon Dahlquist’s Glass Books of the Dream Eaters is 637 pages long with type so miniscule it makes Strange’s look like large print!

For this peril simply read two weighty tomes during the challenge period.

Peril the Third:

If you think you have it in you, this third choice of perils is the Scary Sandwich Peril…choose two large books like those described in Peril the Second and read a smaller qualifying tale in between.

Peril the Fourth (Otherwise known as Just a Bit of Peril):

Some of you wonderful readers, or would-be readers, may have a tendency to shy away from this genre, thinking it is just not your cup of poisoned tea. However, it wouldn’t be a challenge if I wasn’t challenging you.

This peril is for those of you who want to take a chance. Simply choose one book that you feel meets the criteria for Readers Imbibing Peril II and, well, imbibe it!

Additional Perils:

For those of you who have never done so, or want those who want to do so again, choose one or more of the following books to read after you have completed your other peril of choice:

1.Dracula by Bram Stoker 2. A collection of tales by Edgar Allan Poe 3. The Mystery of the Sea by Bram Stoker 4. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

For those that are curious, I'm probably doing Peril 4. I plan to read Frankenstein. I plan to read Dracula. I may be adventuresome and seek out one or two more. But I'm only committing to those two at the moment. I may read Blood and Chocolate. The Island of Dr. Moreau I happen to have checked out at the moment. (I have the seven novels-in-one book of H.G. Wells.) May being the key word. I've already read and blogged about Coraline....and Twilight...and New Moon...and Eclipse...and Blue Bloods....and Masquerade....and a few others that would qualify.

As Carl pointed out in his post, there are some great YA choices...

<>Blue Bloods and Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz (book one, book two of a series)
Bloodline and Bloodline: Reckoning by Kate Cary
The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos
Devilish by Maureen Johnson
Vampirates by Justin Somper
The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause
Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
Tithe and Valiant and Ironside by Holly Black (books one, two, and three of modern faerie tales series)
And perhaps the Jonathan Stroud series (very magical indeed) would count as well. I can't recommend those highly enough! (Amulet of Samurkand, Golem's Eye, Ptolemy's Gate)
NOTE: Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith would certainly be a good choice!
As would some of the fiction by Vivian Van Velde.

Edited 8/22/07: My list is Dracula, Frankenstein, Vampirates: Tide of Terror, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. My alternates include the three Orson Scott Card Books that Chris recommended. They all happen to be checked out of my local library at the moment. But I would imagine that they're bound to reappear on the shelves by the end of the challenge. But by that point, I may have all these others read. We'll just have to see what works out.

Among the Impostors

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. 2001. Among the Impostors.

Among the Impostors is the second in a seven book science fiction series entitled the Shadow Children. Once again our narrator is Luke. After making and losing his first friend, Jen, Luke’s life changes dramatically when Mr. Talbot hands him a ticket out of the shadows. With a fake i.d. Luke (aka Lee Grant) is off to a boarding school for troubled boys--Hendricks School for Boys. But how can a boy who’s never met anyone outside of his immediate family react in the real world meeting teachers, secretaries, nurses, students without rousing suspicion? Can he really blend in like Mr. Talbot told him to? How do you know what’s normal when you’ve never been exposed to anyone else? Life at school isn’t easy, in fact he’s tormented by a class bully or two, but he thinks he’s free from the danger of discovery. But is he really? Just who should he trust with his real identity? Could telling some secrets cost him his life?