Know-it-all...

Over the past weekend, I finished three books. One is a children’s book, one a tween book and the last an adult non-fiction book.

The children’s book was Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman. This is the second book in the Land of Elyon series.

The tale begins nearly a year after the events of the first book. Alexa has returned to Bridewell, only to leave soon after on a quest given to her by the late Warvold. Along with some old friends and some new ones, Alexa travels across the land to the City of the Dogs, which lies beyond the Valley of Thorns. Here they must defeat the evil Victor Grindall and save two people once thought lost to the world. In doing so, they just might save all of humanity.

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first tale. I started reading the third book in the series – The Tenth City, but returned it shortly after picking it up. I felt that the story was getting too preachy, with near blatant religious overtones that just annoyed me. How sad…the series was off to a wonderful start.

The tween book I read was The Letter Writer by Ann Rinaldi. I loved this book…until the ending, which I thought was kind of pat and bleh. Even though I don’t like the ending, I highly recommend this book.

Eleven-year-old Harriet lives on a plantation with her half-siblings and her father’s wife. Her brother rules with a stern hand, partially due to his religious beliefs (he is a Methodist minister), but she is accepted, and even loved, by Mother Whitehead.

Mother Whitehead is going blind, and cannot write all of the letters needed to run the plantation and to maintain their place in society, so Harriet is given the task. Harriet is also told to write to her Uncle Andrew in England, in order to practice her writing skills.

Several of the letters Mother Whitehead has Harriet writing are to the owner of a talented slave named Nat Turner. Mother Whitehead would like to borrow the slave to do some woodworking around the plantation.

This is how Harriet finds herself a witness to the bloodiest slave rebellion in United States history.

The last book I finished this past weekend was The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs. This is a non-fiction book written for adults. Jacobs has decided to read the 2002 Encyclopaedia Britannica in its entirety. It is a task that will take him over a year to complete, and which will change how he views many things in the world.

One thing I liked about this book is that you could pick it up from time to time and not lose your place. While Jacobs discusses various things going on in his life at the time, it is not necessarily an ongoing story. Going from A to Z…or rather from a-ak to Zywiec…Jacobs writes a commentary on a variety of topics – some which may not seem at first to deal with the heading assigned.

I really liked this book, though not nearly as much as I enjoyed the other book I recently read by Jacobs (Year of Living Biblically).

Wandering around Wonderland

I just finished reading Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew.

This graphic novel tells the story of Mary Ann – the White Rabbit’s housemaid – and what happens in Wonderland after the Alice returns home. In often humorous illustrations, we learn a bit more about several of the minor characters in Lewis Carroll’s fantastic tale: The King of Hearts, The Duchess, The Mad Hatter, Jabberwocky, and more make appearances in this story. Overall this is a delightful read. There are several illustrations that I would love to frame for my office!

I finished three books over the past week. The first was a teen novel: Voss: How I come to America and Am Hero, Mostly by David Ives. It was…interesting in a ha-ha funny sort of way.

Voss is a Slobovian. He, along with his uncle and father, smuggle themselves to America in a crate of black market cheesy poofs. Once there he befriends a heiress, saves hundreds of fellow illegal immigrants from a ghastly demise and becomes a hero, mostly.

The story is told in a series of letters, written in English, but full of misspellings, etc. It actually reminds me a lot of the little I know of Borat. But the book has better humor.

The second book I finished is a children’s book. The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman is the first book in The Land of Elyon series.

This wonderfully written tale is told from the first person viewpoint of twelve-year-old Alexa Daley. The daughter of one of the four rulers of her “nation”, each summer Alexa and her father make the journey to Bridewell, where they meet with the other rulers. Their nation is made up of four cities completely enclosed in walls. Alexa loves to explore the grounds and try to find a way outside the walls. When the founder dies, Alexa is left with a mystery to solve – the meaning of Warvold’s last words. Will Alexa find her way beyond the walls?

I enjoyed this book so much that I put the second and third on hold.

The last book I finished was Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. This was a book group pick. It was also my dinner reading…which was odd. Why? Because I was only reading it while eating…and the main character is anorexic. How’s that for some weirdness?

For the past several years, eighteen-year-old Lia has been struggling with anorexia. She doesn’t think she has a problem, and resists the help from family. When her former BFF dies alone in a hotel room, Lia is haunted by Cassie’s ghost. Cassie tried calling Lia – more than 30 times – but Lia didn’t answer. Now, Lia is spiraling down the road to her quest to be the ultimate wintergirl.