When You Reach Me

by Rebecca Stead

I love this book! When You Reach Me is the story of Miranda, who starts receiving mysterious notes that confuse and frighten. The story is partly about time travel (and pays homage to one of my favorite books, A Wrinkle in Time, and partly about friendship and growing up. (According ton one of the reviews on amazon, it also takes its cues from two of my other favorite books, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Mom the Wolfman and Me.) It's engaging and well crafted.

Someone Like Summer

by ME Kerr

This book sucks. It's about a white girl who falls in love with an undocumented immigrant. The plot is non-existent, the writing is awkward, and the dialogue is stilted and unrealistic. Don't bother with it.

The Mighty Queens of Freeville

by Amy Dickinson

I pre-ordered The Mighty Queens of Freeville last year when I read an excerpt of it in a magazine, and I read it as soon as it came in the mail. I decided to reread it because I needed something to read, and we might use an excerpt of it at church. I love this book. It's super funny, honest, and totally real. You should definitely read it.

Does My Head Look Big in This?

by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Does My Head Look Big in This?, which is the last book I'm rereading for my school project, is about an Australian Muslim girl who decides to wear her hijab (head scarf) full time. Here's what I like about the book (and why I decided to use it at school):

• I think it can help kids (especially kids from this part of the country) see that Muslims are real people. It's not overly religious, but it does give a glimpse into the life of a Muslim teen.
• It has lots of cultural references (Sex in the City, Friends, Starbucks), which I think will help make it more accessible to kids.
• It's an enjoyable read.

Here's what I think are some weaknesses:

• It's unnecessarily long--over 300 pages. Now I have nothing against long books if they need to be long to cover everything, or if they suck you in so that you don't even realize the book is that long, but this book could have been edited.
• Some of the minor characters are pretty one-dimensional.
  
• Some of the dialogue is awkward.

Other than that, it's a pretty good book.

Bee Season

by Myla Goldberg

Bee Season is another book I've read before, but it's been a long time. I love this book. It's funky yet intimate. And what other book deals with spelling bees, Jewish mysticism, Hari Krishna, family dysfunction, kleptomania, and mental illness?

Water Witches

by Chris Bohjalian

I've read Water Witches several times before, but I never get tired of it. One of the things I love about Chris Bohjalian is that his books are worthy of more than one read. I also love the moral ambiguity of his books; he sets up these opposing groups, but neither group is entirely right or wrong. In this book, the narrator, Scottie, is a lawyer who married into a family of dowsers. His occupation (and identity) as a lobbyist is threatened when he and his daughter see catamounts (mountain lions) on a mountain slated for a new ski path. And of course, neither the ski industry nor the environmentalists have the market cornered on the truth.

Walking on Air

by Kelly Easton

Set during the Great Depression, Walking on Air tells the story of June, who performs as a tight-rope walker in her preacher father's traveling revival shows. I enjoyed the book. The characters were well developed, but the ending was a little too happy for my tastes.

Mountain Solo

by Jeanette Ingold

Mountain Solo is told from the perspective of Tess, a violin prodigy who messes up at an important concert and retreats to her father's home in Montana to examine her priorities. Intertwined is the story of a homesteading family whom Tess's archeologist stepmother is studying. This is a good read. I had trouble putting it down. This is one of those books that gives you an idea of what it would be like to be truly talented.

Weedflower

by Cynthia Kadohata

Weedflower is another book I'm rereading for school. It's about a Japanese-American girl placed in an internment camp during WWII. I like this book because it's a good historical book that has doesn't hit the reader over the head with the theme.

The Society

by Michael Palmer

I'm not even posting a link to this book on amazon because it is so bad no one should read it, let alone consider buying it. The plot is stupid and completely implausible, the characters are poorly developed, and the theme (managed care is evil) is so unsubtle it's insulting. Stay away.

I Feel Bad About My Neck

by Nora Ephron

I read about I Feel Bad About My Neck when it first came out, and I thought it looked interesting, but I never seriously pursued reading it. I really just grabbed it off the shelf at the library on a whim. It's funny, but not as funny as other books I've read this year. I enjoyed reading it, but it's not one of my favorite books or anything. I had a hard time relating to Ephron's New York lifestyle of weekly pedicures, biweekly hair appointments, doormen, etc.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

by Rhoda Janzen

In Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Rhoda Janzen tells a story of going home. Janzen was raised Mennonite but pursues a decidedly non-Mennonite career in academia. After her bipolar husband leaves her for a man he meets on Gay.com and a drunk driver hits her car, causing significant injuries, she returns home to regroup and recuperate. The book is seriously funny. Janzen pokes fun at herself and her family but always in a friendly way. I learned a lot about Mennonites, and I laughed out loud.