The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival: Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low

Petronella is all set for her coming out party when something horrendous happens. Her uncle swallows a beetle at tea and suddenly begins craving insects.  On top of that, a kidnapping occurs at her party.  So Petronella, a forward-thinking and boisterous girl, decides to help in the investigation and winds up saving nearly everyone.

Although James's laughter irritated me, he looked absolutely endearing, with a dark shadow of beard just beginning to appear.  I longed to stroke his cheek to feel its roughness even as I longed to punch him in the jaw for being so obstructive and medieval.  p. 132

Funny and charming.  Those are the two words that come to mind when I think about trying to describe this book.  I loved the Wodehouse style writing with the jokes and the very proper way Petronella has of speaking.  This had the air of a mystery along with a comedy of manners and I thought it was an entertaining little book.

Petronella is a spunky, smart and determined heroine and she takes it upon herself to protect her uncle's secret and rescued the kidnapped from her party.  Partly to do what is right and partly because she cannot stop herself and partly because she is very clever.  She is a 1930's British Nancy Drew in a way.  I liked her best friend, Jane, and Jane's brother (who is also Petronella's secret crush) James is very cute.  Although I do hope he wisens up or he is going to lose the fabulous Petronella.

I checked the author's website for the next book and was sad to learn that, although it has been written, it hasn't found a publisher yet.  I hope that it does soon because I would love to read more of Petronella's adventures.

Hogwarts: Charms
Take a Chance

Take a Chance Challenge 3 - ABANDON

ABANDON 8/20/11 I have to let this one go.

The Take a Chance Challenge hosted by Jenners is back and I'm joining again.  I always enjoy this challenge.

• The concept of the challenge is to take chances with your reading  by finding books to read in unusual or random ways. I’ve listed 10  different ways to find books below. Feel free to complete at many as you  want. However, anyone completing all 10 challenges by December 31, 2011  will be  entered in a prize drawing to win a book of their choice from  Amazon.

• The challenge will run from January 1, 2011 until December 31, 2011.

• Crossover books from other challenges is fine. You can read books in any format.

The 2011 Challenges

1: Staff  Member’s Choice: Go to a bookstore or library that has a “Staff Picks” section. Read one of the picks from that section.

2: Loved One’s Choice: Ask a loved one to pick a book for you to read. (If you can convince them to buy it for you, that is even better!) Recommended by my mother Spying in High Heels by Gemma Halliday

3: Blogger’s Choice: Find a “Best Books Read” post from a favorite blogger. Read a book from their list.
The Book Cellar
Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly

4: Critic’s Choice: Find a “Best of the Year” list from a magazine, newspaper or professional critic. Read a book from their Top 10 list. From EW's Best Books of 2010: Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

5: Blurb Book: Find a book that has a blurb on it from another author. Read a book by the author that wrote the blurb.
Blurb on Not a Girl Detective by Susan Kandel by Mary Kay Andrews 
The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews

6: Book Seer Pick: Go to The Book Seer and follow the instructions there. Read a book from the list it generates for you. Matched by Ally Condie

7: What Should I Read Next Pick : Go to What Should I Read Next and follow the instructions there. Read a book from the list it generates for you. Eighth Grade Bites (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Book 1) by Heather Brewer

8: Which Book Pick: Go to Which Book and use the software to generate a list of books. Read a book from that list. The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin

9: LibraryThing Pick: Go to LibraryThing’s Zeitgeist page.  Look at the lists for 25 Most Reviewed Books or Top Books and pick a  book you’ve never read. Read the book. (Yes … you can click on MORE if  you have to.) The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

10: Pick A Method: Pick a method for finding a book from the choices listed below (used in previous versions of the challenge).

• Random Book Selection. Go to the   library. Position yourself in a section such as Fiction, Non-Fiction,   Mystery, Children (whatever section you want). Then write down random   directions for yourself (for example, third row, second shelf, fifth   book from right). Follow your directions and see what book you find.   Check that book out of the library, read it and then write about it. (If   you prefer, you can do the same at a bookstore and buy the book!)

Directions: Go to the second bay of books from the right, fourth shelf, 8th book from the left.
Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone: The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival by Dene Low

Blockade Billy (e-book) by Stephen King

 While I was searching for books on the other tasks for the Take Another Chance Challenge, I realized I was outright dismissing certain writers.  One of the them was Stephen King and I realized that I always assume that I will be scared or won't like a King book.  Once when I was around 10 or so, I wanted to read The Stand and a neighbor told me that I wouldn't like it because it might be too scary (I can agree now that The Stand might be too much for a 10 year old esp. one prone to nightmares) and so I never read anything by him.
I was suppose to read Dolores Claiborne but in the end I couldn't do it.  So I picked Blockade Billy, a novella by King, which combines two thing I don't read, Stephen King and sports.

Told in an interview form, Blockade Billy tells the story of a rookie coming in to catch for a professional New Jersey baseball team in 1957.  But bizarre things begin to happen for the team and something is up with the new guy.

There was something strange about him, something off, something that made folks nervous...but that something made people take to him too.  p.13

Going in I wasn't sure at first.  Like I said I'm not usually up for Stephen King and I'm not a huge sports fan, but I enjoyed this novella.  It was suspenseful waiting for the secret of Billy and even interesting to hear about the bad luck that followed him around.  The ending was as disturbing as I had anticipated.

Even though I enjoyed this, I don't think I'll read any more Stephen King.  I am just a huge fraidy-cat and I know that I won't sleep reading a lot of his books.  Though, even saying that, I might have to give The Stand a try or maybe just try to graphic novels of that book first.

Hogwarts: Defence Against the Dark Arts
Take Another Chance
Library

The Loud Silence of Francine Green

*Sorry for the double post today*
Francine lives in America in 1949/1950 at the beginning of the Cold Ward when everyone was fearful of Communists and bombs and Senator McCarthy was beginning his inquiries.  She is a quiet girl who wants nothing more than to stay out of trouble.  She cannot even write a big part for herself in the screenplay in her head.  But when Francine meets the irrepressible Sophie, things begin to change for Francine and she begins to think outside of her own neighborhood and into the world beyond.

Favorite quote: "I think it's wrong when people look like something they're not."

This was my Random Word (Silence) book for the Take a Chance Challenge.  It was different from what I expected.  I thought it was going to be about a girl who likes movie stars and is quiet and silly and that's about it.  But I was wrong.  I mean, Francine does like movie stars and is quiet, but she is worrying about big issues like the H-bomb and Communisim and none of the adults will listen to her or talk to her about the state of the world.  I guess, in the 1950's, children and especially girls weren't taken seriously and were expected to be quiet and accept things the way they are, to stand still and look pretty so to speak.  Francine makes friends with Sophie, who doesn't accept the status quo and asks a lot of questions and gets in trouble a lot.  Sophie makes Francine think about what is going on in the world.

It was interesting to see this era through the eyes of a girl.  It was funny how they thought if you ducked under a desk, then you'd be okay in the event of a nuclear blast.  And how radioactivity wasn't really that dangerous.  There was also a small view of the damage that Senator McCarthy did with his inquiries.  Sophie's father is a screenwriter and he and his friends fall under scrutiny. The fallout was so sad.  The ending made me sad, but it was well worth the read.

Thus ends my part of the Take a Chance Challenge. It was so much fun.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Welcome to the town of ChewandSwallow where the food rains down and you never have to worry about your next  meal.
That is until the weather starts acting wacky and giant food comes crashing down, crushing buildings and schools.




Written in 1978 I'm using Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs as my birth year book for the Take A Chance Challenge.  It's been years since I read it.  It was one of my favorites growing up.  I always loved the idea of all the food coming down and everything looked so yummy on the page.  I especially liked the giant pancake on the school and the hamburgers in the sky.  Now some 20 years later, I still like those things, but I also kept thinking how sticky and messing everything would be and how much it would smell.  It's a little long to read to the 2 year old right now, but it is definitely one we will be reading to him later.  I hope it becomes one of his favorites too.

The art is very simple and line with strong lines. 

I love the art work in this book.  It is so pretty and I like the pictures a lot.

 cross posted with Annie, I think

Catching Fire

After The Hunger Games, Katniss is settling into her new life with plenty of food and confusion.  She has feelings for both Gale and Peeta and doesn't know what to do.  But soon, she has bigger problems to worry about.  After defying the Capital in the last Games, they are out for revenge.  Can Katniss convince them that all is what it seems and that she really loves Peeta? And if she can't, what will be the consequences?




Was this book better than The Hunger Games?  I can't tell you that.  In many ways, it was a different kind of book and it was the same in other ways.  I found the beginning rather boring.  I will admit it.  I was waiting for the action.  But then the action came and I was hooked. Katniss still makes me want to shake her when it comes to Peeta and Gale.  It's like without an adrenaline rush, she can't think clearly.  And the love triangle thing seemed a little out of place in the midst of all the craziness.  I love Peeta.  He is made of win in many many ways.  And Haymitch is pretty awesome too.  What they accomplish is unbelievable.  However (not to get all braggy or anything) I saw most of the plot coming from a mile away.  In fact, on page 122 (I marked it) I knew what was coming up.  And I wanted to be surprised.  But the only surprise I got was at the very end and it was a doozy.

Despite that, Collins can write an absorbing book.  The problem with middle books in a trilogy is that they set up and move the over-all arc along and provide more questions than answers.  Such is the case with Catching Fire.  And I have so many questions now.  I hope the next book comes out sooner rather than later and I hope to be surprised.

BONUS:

For the Take a Chance Challenge, one of the task is a poetic review.  Here are my attempts at this for Catching Fire.

Haiku

Katniss survived
The Capital seeks vengeance
Katniss prepares

Limerick

There once was a girl named "Catnip"
who caused the President pique.
While revenge he contrived
she tried to stay alive.
Of entertainment the Capital wasn't deprived.

Free Verse

Smart Girl
Hungry Girl
Plays the Games to save her sister
Wins by a trick
By a "love"
By a deception

Smart Girl
Confused Girl
Off on her Victory tour
Waits for the Capitol's anger
For their vengeance
For her own revenge

James and the Giant Peach - Book/Movie Comparison (Based on a Book)

After his parent's are killed by a charging rhinoceros, James goes to live with his two detestable aunts. They beat him and treat him horribly. One day he meets an old man who gives him some magic things to make his life better but James trips and loses them. The next day, the old peach tree grow a giant peach and James' adventure begins as he rolls away in the giant peach with the company of some giant insects.

I'm a big Roald Dahl fan but oddly I'd never read James and the Giant Peach before. It was cute and had some nice insect lessons. The aunts are typical Dahl adults, abusive and stupid and they get theirs in the end (they are crushed by the giant peach). They weren't really in the book that long. It was a pretty straightforward adventure after that with a message about the usefulness of bugs. James and his friends encounter sharks and escape by tying a bunch of seagulls with webbing and flying off. Then they are attacked by "cloudmen" and escape from them and then get stuck on the Empire State Building in New York. I liked it although it's not my favorite Dahl book. I still like Matilda the best.

So one of the parts of the Take a Chance Challenge is to do a movie/book comparison so I watched the film version of James and the Giant Peach. It is a combination of live action and stop motion animation. The beginning and the end are live action. The aunts look so horrible and mean (they are) although they don't die like they do in the book. After the man gives James the crocodile tongues (the green things) and he goes into the peach, it becomes stop motion. All the insects look really cool. The story is about the same except that James is afraid of the rhino. There are no real sharks but one giant metal shark, but they trap the seagulls the same and fly high into the air. Instead of "cloudmen" they go somewhere cold and there are ghost pirates (one who looks like Jack Skellington), but they escape those and travel to New York. The aunts arrive in New York too and try to take James, but are prevented by the insects and taken away. I thought there'd be more songs since there are quite a few in the book, but there included some of them so it was cute. It was fairly faithful to the book and definitely had a Dahl feel to it. I liked it and so did my 2 year old so good job.

Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris

After seeing a Dior at one of her client's houses, Mrs. Harris or 'Arris as she says, a London char(cleaning)woman decides that she must have something so wonderful for herself. So after scrimping and saving, she goes to Paris and the House of Dior to get an original for herself. The good heart of Mrs. 'Arris changes the people around her and she ends up with more than just a dress.

This was my Random Bestseller (1959 although it was written in 1958) from the Take a Chance Challenge. And I'm glad it was! This was such a delightful little book. I love how plucky and determined Mrs. 'Arris was and how she changed people's lives just by being herself. While I don't understand the drive to have a Dior dress, I can understand wanting something of beauty beyond yourself and your own little world. It seems that there are more books about Mrs. 'Arris and I think I'm going to read them. I think I can count this part of the challenge a success!

Saving Juliet

This one I'm reading for the Take a Chance Challenge. The challenge is to pick out a book based SOLELY on the cover. First, write about what you expect the book to be about based on the cover art. Then read the book and write about how the book was different from and/or similar to what the cover art led you to expect.

I'm writing the summary before I read the book but I'm posting this after I've read it.
So I picked Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors. I liked the cover since it reminded me of Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty and The Luxe by Anna Godberson. Covers like this, with half the girl's face cut off and just a torso or upper body shot are popular for some reason right now. But I like the old fashioned dress. Only since the girl is blowing a bubble with her gum and has sunglasses hanging from her dress, I'm guessing this just isn't a period piece, maybe some kind of time travel is involved or a play (most likely Shakespearean) and the girl is the lead character.

Mimi is playing Juliet at her family's renowned theater, The Wallingford Theatre though she is suffering from stage fright. She's been acting ever since she was 3 so this sudden onset of stage fright is causing her big problems. Also causing her problems is her mother who wants to control Mimi's life and dictate where Mimi should go to college. On the night of the final performance of Romeo & Juliet, Mimi is magically transported, with her gorgeous co-star Troy Summers, to Verona, Italy and into the story of Romeo & Juliet. But her presence is changing the story and she doesn't know how to get back to her life. Can Mimi save Juliet and save herself?

So I was right about my guess based on the cover. Only I said time travel or a play and I got both. It was a very cute book, a little contrived, but cute nonetheless. It didn't take much time to read. I understood Mimi's problems and her mother was so overbearing that it was ridiculous. Lady Capulet was the same way. The author tried very hard to parallel Mimi's problems with Juliet's, but sometimes it was a little forced. And I wasn't really crazy about Troy. He just bothered me. It was cute how Mimi changed the story of Romeo & Juliet and it all ended up alright. It was fun seeing the characters of the classic play reacting to life outside of that story. All in all, it was a cute, fun book.

The Hunger Games

Katniss lives in District 12, a poor place that is responsible for mining coal. There are 12 Districts total and the Capital who controls everyone. To remind the people of their control, each District is required to send one girl and one boy, tributes, to the Hunger Games where only one can survive. Katniss volunteers to go in the place of her sister and soon she is embroiled in a deadly game where killing is the only means of survival.

Many people I know have read this book and I've actually had sitting on a shelf in my office for a long time. It was one of those going to reads. But when I joined the Take a Chance Challenge and my random author came up as Collins, I googled "author Collins" and this was the first hit I got. And I am so glad it did. This book was amazing. I started at lunch on Monday and finished at lunch on Tuesday. I literally couldn't put it down.

The idea, of course, is repugnant; sending teenagers, children really, in to kill each other on required viewing national television. But this book was so compelling. Katniss is a strong character and it was interesting to see what lengths she would go to survive. She was very cunning and quick and that was very important, but still clueless about social situations. I liked Peetra, the boy tribute from her district. I could see his story coming so there wasn't much of a surprise there, but he was a good character. The last scene of the game was the most disturbing of all for me and made me a little sick, it was almost too much. It won't stop me from reading the next one though. This was definitely an A++.

The Real Deal: Unscripted

Claire has an opportunity to do a reality TV show about her big break into Broadway, but she learns that life on the stage and life on the screen are hard work and can create a lot of problems. Adding to this is her new relationship with her long-lost sister and her attraction to her co-star.

I read this as my random book for the Take a Chance Challenge. I had originally picked the 1st bay, 2nd shelf, 8th book, but those turned out to be all Meg Cabot books so I moved over bays and this was it. Normally I wouldn't have picked it up since it looks like a little "throwaway" paperback (and it is), but I committed so I read it. I enjoyed it for the most part. It turned out to be a sequel, but you didn't need to read the 1st book to know what was going on. It would have provided a little character background though. Clarie is a relateable teenager and she experiences her new TV show and Broadway show with the kind of excitement that seem real enough. The romance with her co-star is cute and predictable as is a lot of the plot. But it was fun and quick and a good summer read.

The Giver

Jonas lives in his own Community, where people are assigned everything in their lives from wives to house to jobs, where emotions are dampened by a pill and food is always available, where everything is orderly and rules are to be obeyed without question. At the onset of the book, it seems like an ideal world and Jonas does not question it. Until at his 12th ceremony, he is named the new Receiver of Memories. Once he meets the old man, the Giver, he starts to learn of how things were before the Communities and how even a perfect world contains its own horrors.


Amazingly I had never read this Newbery Award winner before. I genuinely liked it. There were parts that I found especially disturbing, like when Jonas finds out what it means to be "released" and the pills they start taking at the onset of puberty. Lowry creates a world here that shows that a "perfect" society comes at a price. I know this is an oft challenged/banned book but I don't think that I would have really understood certain things when I was younger. I think this is one of those books that you see differently as you grow up.

I actually listened to this one and Ron Rifkin, the narrator, does an excellent job. He gives Jonas the perfect voice and creates tension when needed. The only thing about the audiobook was the little music accompaniments to the memories. I found those distracting.

*Read for the Take a Chance Challenge - Public Spying book
*Also counts for Audio Book Challenge

Take a Chance Challenge - COMPLETE

So I have been contemplating this challenge for a little while now and since I finished the YA Challenge, I've decided to join. So here is the Take a Chance Challenge from Jenners' Find Your Next Book Here. The challenge will run from June 1, 2009 through November 30, 2009




This challenge is all about taking chances in your reading. There are 10 tasks in all -- 7 involve finding a book to read in very random ways. The last three tasks are about taking chances as a writer as you are challenged to take on the role of short story writer, poet and movie/book reviewer. The challenge is meant to be fun and no pressure. Complete as many or a few of the 10 challenges as you want. However, the more you complete, the more chances you'll get to win the grand prize.

I'll list my books here as well as on her blog. This will be a true challenge for me.

Here are the challenges:

1. √ Unscripted by Amy Kaye (Random Book.)
   
2. √ The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman (Random Word. Silence.)
   
3. √ Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi & Ron Barrett (Birth Year Book. 1978.)
   
4. √ Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors (Judge A Book By Its Cover.)
   
5. √ The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Phoning An Author) Collins. (googled YA author collins and this was first)
6. √ The Giver by Lois Lowry (Public Spying.)
   
7. √ Mrs. Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico (Random Bestseller.)
   
8.    Lit Riff. write about a song. not doing this one.
   
9. √ Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Poetic Review.)
   
10. √ James and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl) found at this website. (Movie/Book Comparison)