Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Each year at our Sisters' retreat, we give gifts to each other. Traditionally we give the same gift to each person, so we all have the same things (it's so fun). This year my daughter-in-law, Carolyn, gave us this book. It is one of her all time favorites. I was excited to read it, and have another glimpse into Carolyn. Plus, what could be more fun than a new addition to the family who also likes to read?

This was a cute book. It had a mystery to solve from the very beginning, so of course I liked it.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

I read this on the plane ride home from Seattle. When we got home, I brought my suitcase in, set it in my bedroom, and picked up this book to keep reading. The next morning I finished the book. Then I unpacked.

I loved this book. It's by the same author as Code Name Verity, which I also loved. (It turns out that not everyone I know also loved that book.) Rose is an Air Transport pilot in WWII, and ends up in a concentration camp for six months. You know from the beginning that she makes it, because she is telling the story herself.

It has a little profanity - a few F bombs in the Concentration Camp era of the book. Really just a few. (Which does make me sad in a young adult book.) It's not a light read, but I felt like it was uplifting.

I recommend it!

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I find my mind reaching back into parts of this book several times a day. I just can't seem to shake it.

Audrey read it and loved it. Joseph read it and loved it. Audrey was going to return it to the library and  I said, "let me keep it. I'll return it when I'm done." I read it and loved it. I bought it.

It is a story that takes place in occupied France and in England during WWII. When I finished the book, I had to bring myself back to the present, and it wasn't easy. I didn't want to let go. I wanted to turn  back to page one and start all over again right then and there. Unfortunately I had a meeting to attend, or I would have. Meanwhile I haven't started a new book for a few days. Still mulling over this one.

It is a young adult book. I found it in the teen section when I went to buy it. It's clean except for some swear words that seem entirely appropriate in context.

It's my turn to choose our book for reading group next month. I was going to do a different book, but now I am going to review this one. I can't wait to read it again.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I read this for my book group. It is the story of a boy with a severe facial deformity who enters the public school system at middle school age.

The book is told from several of the characters' viewpoints, and I liked how that added depth to each of the characters. One of our local middle schools had every child in the school read the book--they've done this for other books in the past. Wonder is an excellent choice for that.

It was a quick, enjoyable, thought-provoking read. I highly recommend it.

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

This man can write! I don't know where to start, there are so many things I loved about this book.

I'll just say this: this morning I decided I would read while on the treadmill. Before I knew it, I closed the book (finished) and discovered I was turning the corner on four and a half miles.

Schmidt weaves a great story with consummate skill. He is subtle and just lets the aha! moments slip right in among the rest of the story. He draws the characters by their actions and conversations. All emotions are appealed to without feeling "played" by the author.

I could go on forever. Bottom line: read this book. It's excellent.

Other books I've read by Gary D. Schmidt: The Wednesday Wars, and Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. Both excellent as well.

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman

I read this book as a possible choice to review for one of my book clubs. It turns out that lately I've recommended books for other people to review, not thinking ahead that I'd have to come up with one for myself to review. So at the last minute I was going through lists of books I've read and not finding one I was in the mood to review.  Audrey suggested this one, so I read it to see what I thought.

I liked the book. It's a young adult book, and only 70 pages long. It's about a group of people who turn a vacant lot into a community garden area in the city of Cleveland. Each chapter is from the point of view of a different person. I zipped right through it, and had decided to review it next month. I think you could have some good discussion about people in general, which character you thought you were most like, and which character you liked the most.

In the end I went with another book. Probably not as good for discussion, but it was a book I really liked, and I think everyone else will also like. I'm just in the mood for a feel good, fun book. Sometimes that just has to win.

Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson

This is the sequel to Hattie Big Sky, but stands alone just fine. I can't find a review of Hattie Big Sky on my blog--I must have read it before I started the blog. It's excellent, a Newbery Honor winner. I highly recommend it. Hattie is an eighteen year old girl who inherits a homestead in Montana. Hattie Big Sky is the story of her life there.

Spoiler alert: if you want to read Hattie Big Sky, read it before you read the rest of this review. I mean it. It's worth reading the other book first. Then come back and read this book. It's also well worth reading.

Hattie Ever After picks up a few months after the end of Hattie Big Sky. I can say that it stands alone just fine, because I didn't remember a lot of details about Hattie Big Sky. Hattie moves to San Francisco, and wants to become a reporter. I don't want to give away what happens, so I won't give any more details. I really like Kirby Larson's writing, and I loved learning more about that particular time in San Francisco. The book was fun, and insightful at the same time.