Cybils Announced

Looking for a good book? It's your lucky day...The 2009 Cybils Awards were just announced. For those of you who don't know, The Cybils are a grassroots award for kids/teen books created by avid book bloggers. Lots of categories, like picture book, early reader, teen fiction, poetry, non-fiction mean that there is something for everyone. For more great books, be sure to check out the short lists too.

More on J.D. Salinger

One of my current favorite authors, David Levithan, has written a great essay on J.D. Salinger's influence on young adult literature in the Wall Street Journal. He said so well, what I and many others think.

The Catcher in the Rye

I was so sad to read in the paper this morning that J.D. Salinger has died. For those of you who are saying, "Who?," he was the author of The Catcher in the Rye; one of my all time favorite books. This is one of those classics about not fitting in that is well worth the read.

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins is one hot tamale!

She had no trouble keeping me turning the pages of The Hunger Games, the first in her dystopian trilogy. It's a frighteningly convincing post-apocalyptic world which televises an annual brutal fight to the death of one randomly selected boy and girls from each of twelve districts ruled over by a ruthless and decadent government called The Capital.

Fatherless si

xteen year old Katniss Everdeen isn't chosen, but her little sister is. That day irrevocably changes her and her family's life.

The pacing and plot of The Hunger Games are brilliant, but so is Ms. Colns ability to create characters that live and breathe. I suspect, that you, like me, won't be a

ble to put The Hunger Games down, and once

you are finished, you won't wait to read the sizzling second

installment, Catching Fire, where the whispers of a rebellion heat things up even more for Katniss, her family, and anyone else not wise enough to distance themselves from her during the lead up and the abrupt conclusion to the 75th anniversary of the Hunger Games.

Sadly, I hear we have to wait until August before the final book hits the shelves. I don't doubt though, that it will be worth the wait.

Intertwined by Gena Showalter

Harlequin has a new teen list. Not much out so far, but they'll be coming your way soon. I'm reading their first release which, not surprisingly, features both vampires and werewolves. If you're a romance fan, check out Intertwined by Gena Showalter.

a review of Graaceling coming

Ok, so I'm almost, but not quite finished Graceling by Kiristin Cashore. I thought I'd have some down time while at the Portland Jazz festival, but you'll be happy to know that I instead caught the Portland Jazz Youth Orchestra, and they were awesome. Also couldn't help spending a few hours at Powell's Bookstore, which was even more awesome. If you ever get to Portland, don't miss it. So, the gist is, no Graceling review yet, but I swear it's coming! Sheryl

Persopolis by Marjane Satrapi

It's been forever since I've blogged here, although I swear I am keeping up with my reading. Finished a most interesting graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi called Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. At first I found it a little flat for my taste, but after watching the film of the same title, chatting about it over coffee with my bookie friends, and rereading it, I've warmed up a little. It's a black and white graphic memoir set amidst the turbulence of Iran's overthrow of the Shah and the subsequent rise of the Islamic right and it's everyday implications. The point of view is innocent, that of a young girl, and yet layers of meaning lie behind the simple text. The daughter of Marxists parents and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane's childhood is unique and fastinating. I still find the illustrations flat, but now think that Satrapi's intention may have been to reflect the move from a rich free existence to a more two dimensional one once the Islamic Religion limited the choices of it's citizens to bring them in line with the extreme religious right that had come into power. Many of those restrictions, particular those aimed at women, squashed the most basic freedoms that we take for granted. Reading Satrapi's novel and watching the film would be a great into into a discussion on how art reflects life.