Orphan Train: A Novel

I recently finished reading the book Orphan Train: A Novel by Christina Baker Kline.  It was so touching and magical and amazing.  I first chose this book because I saw it on the shelf at Target!  I had to wait to read it, as I had requested it at the library and there was quite a list of people waiting.  Once I started reading it, I could not stop!

Orphan Train takes place near Bar Harbor, Maine, where I have visited several times due to my dad's family living near there. The main character is a teenage girl who is in foster care and finding her own way of "dealing" with the emotions that come along with that.  This leads to her needing to do community service to right some wrongs.  Her service comes in the form of assisting an elderly woman clean and organize her attic.  While helping the woman sort through boxes, the two, so opposite at first glance (one young and poor, one old and rich), find out that their histories are more alike than different.

Things I loved about the book: its setting is a real location and is vividly detailed -- if you have not been to Bar Harbor, you will see it in your mind; its characters have real depth; there is a character near the end with my last name!  That came as a shock as it is not a common last name! 

11-8-11

i have less than 150 pages left in the stephen king novel i have been reading -- "under the dome" -- it is an interesting story about a town trapped under a dome of unknown origin...it is not the typical king novel full of scary clowns or creepy girls...it has been (for the first 900+ pages) about the distrust that can occur in a small town, especially in the wake of a major crisis situation...as usual for  king novel, it is set in maine...seeing as i have family in maine & have been there many times, i recognize some of the town names and some of the dialect and regional terms that are used (do you know what chop suey is in new england?)...

Today I am thankful for the weather -- no matter how severe the changes in St. Louis, we always have the weather that is needed.  God is the ultimate meteorologist...too bad he doesn't tell use the forecast!

sorry!

i have been a bad blogger this week...the blogging mojo has taken a hiatus...i would love to post more, but i am not sure what to say...

today was a cropping day, so i am happy about that...i finished cards for a swap, saw a bunch of friends, bought the new basic grey, and finished some pages, too...

and meghan started reading harry potter so i am super happy about that!

not much else happening -- lots of job searching...

toodles

library

I returned a bag of books & CDs tonight...

I have 2 books currently checked out (they are on their 2nd renewal)...finally i am going to read Behemoth and Keeper of the Grail...

i have 7 items requested...
* 2 CDs (gLee volume 3 & volume 4)
* 2 DVDs (Social Network & Secretariat)
* 2 books that come out in April or May
* 1 book that is currently out

2 items are "in transit" to my library -- the book that is in & one of the CDs...I am hoping to get at least one of the books finished that I have had for about a month now before these make it to my library -- save myself a trip!!

happy reading :)

toodles

Gone

so i started with the book "Gone" by michael grant -- an interesting story reminiscent of "Lord of the Flies"...but with more fantasy involved (think super powers)...it took me awhile to get into the story, but once i was in, i was stuck! i had to finish to find out what happened...

then i learned there was a second book (which i do not like to learn once i have started since i have to finish a series once i start it!)..."Hunger" is another novel set in the FAYZ with the same characters facing some different problems in their new reality...so i checked this one out from the library as well...finished it tonight -- good conflict, some parts were slower than others, but an overall good book...

so i head to amazon to link to the books, and see there are TWO more!! one came out last spring ("Lies") and another, "Plague," comes out in a little over a month! i have requested both at the library, so maybe then i will be able to finish this series!! since the story can be slow at times (for me), i am hoping the series is over...i am having trouble imagining what else could happen in the FAYZ, but i am sure michael grant has come up with some great stories to add to the tale!!

reading away....

so the pile of books from the library has been morphing -- i have 4 left to read...i also have 2 CDs i need to listen to/upload...i am also down to 4 requests (from a high of 20+) -- this is 1 book (which has not been released yet), 2 CDs, and 2 movies...it is going to take awhile on some of them, but i am willing to wait!

happy reading (or listening)(or watching)...enjoy your library!!!!!

toodles :)

3 1/2 down....

here are the books i have checked out from the library right now -- all 13 of them! i have finished 3 and am about 1/2 way through a 4th...these are all books that are appropriate for middle & high schoolers...most have been nominated for missouri's various book awards -- truman and mark twain -- i have basically read a book a day since i went to the library last...this will continue...although, with the weather that is predicted, i should be able to read more & be finished quicker ;)

toodles & happy reading!!

13

so i returned 2 library books yesterday...and picked up the requests that had come in -- all 13 of them!! i read one today, and will finish at least one tomorrow (i know)...

i also requested 4 CDs (gLee)...so i now have 7 items on hold -- 1 is currently in transit...1 of the books comes out in early may, so i will have a book on hold for quite a while!!

lots of reading in my future! :)

toodles

p.s. i bought a book at borders tonight with a gift card...i am bad, aren't i??

2 books tonight

i read 2 books tonight...

the first was Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith....cute story, good for younger kids (i could see a 3rd or 4th grader really loving it)...some middle schoolers may enjoy it -- especially if they are a lower reading level, or just love funny books...it took me less than an hour...

the other book was Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret...good story! Kehret writes a lot of stories with kidnappings or abductions or runaways, but this had a great twist with the long lost twin scenario...lots of intrigue and interesting stories...family and love underlie everything (in this book and in life)...

toodles :)

Freaky Green Eyes

I am reading a book for the second time right now -- Freaky Green Eyes by Joyce Carol Oates. It is a teen novel, but it is for upper teens. It is a great story -- mystery, love, internal & external conflicts galore. It is about a high school girl and the issues she deals with within her family. Divorce & abuse & lies abound...how will it end? You will have to read it to find out! I recommend it to anyone who likes a good book, but make sure your little kids are not reading it with you as it contains some language and questionable content.

i love the library!

i love the library (NOT liberry)...i have very find memories of going with my mom & brother and picking out bags full of books. we read all the time & went through books like crazy!! every summer was reading & completing the summer reading program (with cool prizes like pencils & bookmarks). i still love the library, but i do not always like the search of the shelves like i used to, so now i do a lot of requests -- tonight i requested 4 books -- i am 1 of 1 on two of the books, and they are on the shelf at at least one library, so i will have them this weekend...one is a book that is not even out yet, but i am 23 on the list, and it is by a popular writer, so i figure i will have it the first day as the library system will most likely buy 25+ copies...

are you a library fan? did you visit a lot as a child? do you still?

Artichoke's Heart

i started reading the book Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee today...

i am about 1/3 of the way through the book & i am really enjoying it...maybe it is because it makes me think about myself, even if it is about a 15 (almost 16) year old!

it is about an overweight teenage girl and the struggles she is having with wanting to lose weight, but not knowing a good way to go about it...it also deals with: single parent family, overbearing parents/family, crushing on a boy, family health issues...and this is only 1/3 of the way through!!

it is a funny book...it is a sad book...it is a happy book...it is just a GOOD book!

i have some predictions on what is going to happen to the main character...

toodles!

i had an idea for a blog post.

and then i forgot it!!

so, i will just tell you that i have been reading a book series by a st. louis author, heather brewer -- the chronicles of vladimir tod -- it is a vampire series (no, he is not sparkly or imprinting on anyone else) about a teenage boy who is half vampire...full of funny puns...enough "violence" to keep boys involved...enough friendship & emotion to keep the girls who want that involved...i am really enjoying this series!!

so far i have finished the first two -- "eighth grade bites" & "ninth grade slays"...i am reading the 3rd book "tenth grade bleeds" and am looking forward to borrowing & reading the final two ("eleventh grade slays" and "twelfth grade kills")...i will eventually buy them so i can have the complete series in paperback...


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toodles!