It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12-2-13


Visit our hosts Jen & Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers for their reviews as well as links to all the other blogs participating in the book sharing fun!

Books I Read this Week:

Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Disney-Hyperion Books, 2013
Fantasy
390 pages
Recommended for grades 7+

If you know me in real life you know that I can sometimes get excited about a book I've recently read and loved.  This is one of those books that I can't stop praising!  And as much as I urge my students to avoid the phrase "It was a good book," I find myself saying over and over: This is such a good book!
So pardon me for being elementary in my review, but I've got to say, this book is really, really good.
We find ourselves in London, time period unknown.  The Problem is in full effect, that being the issue of ghosts plaguing citizens by threatening to give them "ghost touch."  Ghost touch can range from being short and painful to stronger and lethal.  
Lockwood & Co. is a team of three young investigators that risk their lives to enter haunted locations to locate the source of the haunting.  Once they uncover the item that is tying the spirit to Earth it can be destroyed or through other methods, un-haunted, thus ridding the danger of ghost touch on people living with or near the haunting.
Full of English wit and incredible visual imagery, I simultaneously wanted to keep reading and also to never finish.  You will love the characters for their vivid individual personalities, and the action literally never ends.  Thank goodness there are more to come in this series!

The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield by John Bemelmans Marciano, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Viking, 2013
Science Fiction/Fantasy
140 pages
Recommended for grades 4-5

And then I read this one...
Now, I'm a big fan of fantasy, grim humor, and naughty characters.  But I just couldn't fall in love with this story.  In a nutshell, Alexander Baddenfield gets a mad scientist to remove the 9 lives from his cat and transplant them into Alexander.  Next Alexander goes on a dying binge, doing reckless and deadly things simple because he has so many lives to spare.  Until he is down to the last one, and naughty Alexander takes a turn for the worst, too scared to do anything at all.  Too scared to live his last life.  The illustrations and size of the book will appeal to young readers, but the content is slightly iffy to me.

I'm Currently Reading:

On Deck:


Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great reading week!



Comments

  1. I have heard of Otis Dooda, but the rest of these titles were completely new to me. Lockwood & Co. looks great. Thanks! readingtl.blogspot.com

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  2. Lockwood and Co looks so interesting - do you think my 11 year old would like it? I am always desperately in search of series for him? He loves adventure and intrigue. He's also a very strong reader. It looks amazing. I love the book love!

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    1. The only reason I put this book as a grade 7 and above is because of the following two reasons: The word hell is used a few times (maybe 3-4 times), and there might be some scenes that are scary to younger readers. Though what scares us is all dependent on each individual! Sorry, that's not helpful! Personally the minor swearing isn't enough to deter me from passing it on to younger family and friends, but as a teacher I have to be a little more reserved :)

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  3. Hello there Nicole. I am a huge fan of the Bartimaeus trilogy and can't wait to read the new book of Jonathan Stroud. Would definitely find Lockwood and Co soonest. Thanks for sharing your reservations too about Baddenfield. Have a great reading week!

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    Replies
    1. I want to go back and read his other works, Stroud is an amazing writer! Have a great week!

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