Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot

Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Meg Cabot has done it again. Katie Ellison and her cast or friends and boyfriends are real, not just characters on a page. From the first page, the reader falls for Katie watching her wait tables at the Gull n’ Gulp. She is a very likable character, as are her host of boyfriends, friends, and family. This story is full of characters, but easy for the reader to follow. Everything about Katie from her fear of germs and love of photography, to her inability to find a balance with the guys in her life endear her to the reader and remind us of what high school was like. I absolutely loved this story. It is amazing how some books can help us understand life better. This is one of those books.

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Buried in Beads

It is one o'clock in the morning and what am I doing? I am sitting here trying to put a website up and make it so people will actually be able to find it. As a matter of fact, that is all I have been doing for days and days and days and days. The kids are sleeping and the house is actually quiet for once. I should be in bed, but no. Here I sit covered in beads. I have gemstone jewelry coming out of my ears. I shake my head and amethyst falls on the floor. There are beads in the drawers and on the floor and on my desk. Possibly the most amusing part of this whole endeavor has been writing the page descriptions. In order to get the search engines to actually find your site, you have to use the words over and over and over. Then when someone searches the word, they will find you. But the repetition does make for amusing text. I hope to be writing something other than jewelry descriptions by the end of the week. But, if you have time, go check out my newest wild scheme: www.jewelryjungle.com.

Book Adventure

For parents who home school or just parents who want to encourage their children to read more, we are using the most amazing site and you should check it out. www.bookadventure.org is incredible. Many classrooms use the accelerated reader program where students can read books, take a quiz on them, and collect points to win prizes. I love this program and it seems to work wonders in the schools, but most individuals can’t afford the test for their home use. Book Adventure is very similar to the accelerated reader program, but it is online and free. You can search the “book finder” for books to read (there are thousands) by title, author, subject, or even reading level. Then, you can take a quiz on the book to see if you remember what happened. I love using this as a test for reading comprehension. If the child gets all of the questions right, they get points for the book. The site also has a “prize-o-matic” where companies have donated prizes for the kids or parents can list prizes just for their child. When the student has accumulated enough points for a prize, they can request the prize, but the parent has complete control and has to approve the prize for the child to receive it. There are even parent controls on what reading level your child can quiz on. This is a truly wonderful site. Best of all, it is FREE. You will not need a credit card or a social security number to sign up. All they require is an email address to set up your account. This is a site all parents should take advantage of.

Do you know any great sites everyone should visit?

"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow, nothing but wow. This story takes place in a dark future where the United States no longer exist. Many people are starving, and each year the "districts" must send two "tributes" (one girl and one boy, between the age of 12 and 18) to the capital to fight to the death. 24 children enter the arena, only one can come out.


I tend to shy away from the killing everyone, violent, depressing stories. However, this book spent a lot of time on the best seller list and, as a writer, I felt the need to see what the fuss was all about. It didn't take but a few pages to find out. Collins creates a main character the reader can't help liking and pulling for surrounded by other characters that feel real.


From the prospective of a writer, the story is amazing. Collins chose first person, present tense for this story. It is very difficult for me to write anything in present tense, but the story grabs you from the very beginning. After you love Katniss, the author throws her in to fight for her life.


I loved watching the love story develop and wonder where it will go in book two. The fighting wasn't my favorite, but the children truly have no choice other than to die. The reader feels the wrongness in the way the districts are treated by the capital and hopes Katniss can somehow right the wrong. Yet, we have to realize not all wrongs can be righted by one person. Due to the strict government, in this story there doesn't appear to be much hope of the district ever gaining freedom. But there are two more books.


Another aspect of writing Collins demonstrates beautifully is not giving the reader too much information. Although the story takes place in a fictional setting, the reader gains information through what is happening instead of having a block of information dumped.


This book was wonderful. While I am not ready for my son to read it yet, I would recommend it to older children and adults. But give yourself some time, it is nearly impossible to put down.


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Catching Up

I have gotten behind and not been able to catch for weeks. I can finally see the light and the storm clouds. The house is about clean, I've read all of the books by my bed, my son is busy with his school work, and I am trying to start a new writing project.

For any parents interested, I found the coolest website last week. Sea World has teachers guides online. There are some awesome lessons. http://www.seaworld.org/just-for-teachers/guides/index.htm

These are the books I read last week:

The Wish by Gail Carson Levine

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Levine always adds a little magic to her books and that is part of what makes them fun. I liked this book. The characters were real and likeable. The hardest part of middle school is fitting in. The only issue I had with the story is the ending not being very satisfying. I felt as thought the main character didn't really learn much from her experience. She still wanted to use magic to change her life instead of dealing with her problems herself. Of course, she is young. This is a book I would recommend to a friend, but probably not read over and over.


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Coraline by Neil Gaiman

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I liked "The Graveyard Book" better than this one. However, that is just my opinion. The book is well written with great characters and an interesting plot. It was too scary for me. I love the idea of a little girl wanting an adventure. Kids get bored. But that other mother made me uncomfortable. The button eyes and whatnot were a little too much for me. I wouldn't want my child to read this yet.


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Jinx by Meg Cabot

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I loved this book. The main character is lovable and in a mess. She takes responsibility for her actions and learns from her mistakes. I would enjoy a sequel. The minor characters are interesting too. I liked the treatment of magic and the rivalry between the cousins. As always, I am a sucker for a love story. I'd read this book again and recommend it to my friends.


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What have you been reading? Any great websites or articles?

The Price of Love is Grief

Those aren't my words. I'm copying something one of my family members quoted. Just as you are trying to settle into your rut, some earthquake comes along and cuts a whole new path. I only thought life was returning to normal.

I try to keep my blog upbeat, but this has been a really tough couple of weeks. On Saturday, my Grandaddy went to be with God and my father (his only son). It is so hard to lose someone you care about. He was a wonderful man. We visited with him three or four times a week. The boys are heartbroken. Now, we have to find a new "normal."

Since I have finally moved (although the old house isn't sold and the boxes aren't unpacked) and I have this funeral behind me, I no longer have any excuses for not blogging, reading, and writing. I am trying to ease back into everything. The funeral was yesterday and I spent today reclaiming my house. If you turn you head for just a second, chaos will take right over.

My oldest son is at camp this week from 9:00 to 4:00(except for yesterday), so I don't have to worry about home schooling him right now. I have to check, but I think he has camp next week too. He is having a great time learning about the solar system, but he can't tell me what yet. I have to wait for the play on Friday. I am looking forward to it. We have swim team and martial arts in the evenings, so he keeps us busy. The younger one is only two. We haven't put him in stuff yet.

I am looking toward a productive full week (I hope). I have three books on my bed stand, a new classroom to organize, a pile of laundry that grows each time I look at it, and a story with a first line sitting on my computer. In a few days I will let you know how all of it goes.

Thanks for reading. Leave a comment and let me know what books you are reading, what you are writing, what fun summer activities you have planned, and what has turned your plans on their head.

Returning to Life as Normal

We have moved. The old house still isn't on the market and the new house is still boxed up, but we are moved. So life is beginning to return to normal, at least as normal as things ever are around here.

I have been able to start reading again. I LOVED Being Nikki by Meg Cabot. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson was good, but heavy. Then, I read The Noah Confessions by Barbra Hall. I haven't decided how I feel about it yet. Maybe I didn't get it or maybe the main character's attitude toward the south elicited an unconscious negative response. Now, I have moved to Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

As far as homeschooling goes, my son is on a field trip with a home school group and my mother in NY, NY. He is getting to see sites I only dream of. One day I'd like to take the whole family and visit Broadway, The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Grand Central Station, The Natural History Museum and some of the other places he is now.

I have several ideas for my writing, but nothing is hopping onto the paper yet. I want to write a sequel to my chapter book, but hate to start when the first one hasn't been accepted yet. I need to get something done soon. My critique group meets Tuesday.

The rest of my day is full of laundry, dishes, meals, and unpacking. Now who packed these boxes? I grab one full of books and put them on the shelf. There is a box of sweaters and one of dishes. Then, I find a box with two dirty shirts, a couple of magazines, the missing telephone, a shoe (note, one not two), and bag of skittles. I can only guess what happened there.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend. What books have you found recently? Are you writing? If you home school, what are your summer plans?