Summer of Love

Summer of Love!  Dad, J and I jamming on the porch

At the beginning of the summer, my mom dubbed this the Summer of Love.  I'm not exactly quite sure why, but the name fit!  This summer I found love in every corner of the country.  Starting off with a dear friend's wedding, in my week back home to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday, my drive across the country with my dad, a college reunion in Roslyn, Washington, a wedding in Blue Hill, Maine, even in a quiet night in with Harry and Sally.  Through all of this I was able to devour all the kids books I set out to read and then some!  The only neglected book on my list was the Garcia Marquez book, which breaks my heart.  This will be the first summer I have not read a book of his.  I should have known better than to pick a long one during my summer of love but alas, there it sits.  So here they are folks, reviews and pics of the Summer of Love!

Noah Barley Water Runs Away by John Boyne

I read this book at the beginning of my travels.  It was a great way to start.  This tells the story of a boy who runs away from home, why we are not sure, and travels through a magical land.  It has a taste of magical realism to it, which I loved.  Noah meets a talking donkey and a helpful dachshund who direct his attention to a toy store filled with very curious puppets.  Noah discovers the toy maker, a curious man himself, and the touching lives of both characters are revealed through stories told around a cup of tea.  There is a special little twist to the story that I definitely will not give away but will make a smile slowly creep across your face.  This was my most magical story of the summer.






Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool.

Heading to the Grand Canyon.

I wanted to get this book as my dad and I were driving through the heartland of America and I am so glad I did.  It tells of a girl who wanders off a train and into the town of Manifest.  Manifest is a dying small town in Kansas and Abilene Tucker, the main character, has been sent there by her father.  She learns of the town's past through newspaper clippings and the local gypsy.  She also discovers a thing or two about some infamous boys who used to raise ruckus in the town.  What I loved about this book was how they story was told through different perspectives.  Whether it was Abilene, the gypsy woman, or the old newspaper articles featured in the book, the story unfolded beautifully.



Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.


Uglies was a much more serious book and one that I would recommend for late junior high or high school kids.  It is a dystopia book that reveals a world where everyone is ugly until they turn 16.  Then, with plastic surgery that makes botox look like nothing, everyone becomes a "Pretty."  They move to Pretty Town and never look back.  However Tally, the main character, discovers a secret world outside of everything she has known.  She has to decide if being pretty is worth losing so much more.  Can you think of a more powerful message for the youth of today?  Living in a place like Los Angeles I can say that this book should be read by more than kids.  Not as good as Hunger Games but definitely worth a read.

Uglies was read in a beautiful town: Roslyn, WA.

And then some...
When I arrived in LA I met with the other 4th grade teacher and we decided on some books we want our kids to read this year.  This meant, however, that I needed to catch up.  The bonus books for the summer are: Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko, By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman, The Stowaway: A Tale of California Pirates by Kristiana Gregory, and Zia by Scott O'Dell.  Yes, they are all related to California history.  Sadly, my least favorite was the pirate story.  By the Great Horn Spoon was my favorite.

Although I didn't read a single grown-up book this summer, I am happy with the 7 chapter books I read!  Happy reading everyone!

Dad snapped this one of me, feeling the love!