Rockin’ Reads

Self-portrait by Jeanne Betancourt book one of the Three Girls in the City series.

I really liked this diverse group of girls. After her mother died, one moved from Wyoming to live with her father, one lives part time with her mom and part time with her dad, stepmom and baby brother, and one lives in the Bronx with her family in an apartment above her Grandmother’s house. They all end up in the same summer photography class where they end up paired off (in a group of three) together. They come from very different backgrounds and don’t even like each other, but by the end of the book, they realize they are becoming good friends.

Flush by Carl Hiassen is another eco-mystery similar to Hoot.

When his father ends up in jail for sinking the Coral Queen, a gambling boat, Noah is left to help figure out what’s really going on. His dad swears that the boat is illegally dumping their sewage holding tanks into the bay and it’s polluting the local beaches making them unsafe for kids and sealife. Noah enlists the help of a former boat employee with the unfortunate but apt nickname Lice but he goes missing and they’re pretty sure that he’s been killed by one of the Coral Queen’s goons. Will Noah find a way to prove that the Coral Queen is the cause of the sludge in the nearby bay? Will his father get out of jail and work things out with Noah’s mom before she heads to Canada with a fresh divorce? You’ve got to read this book to find out!

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson is a teen pregnancy story told from the point of view of the father-to-be.

Both of their parents taught them to be responsible and safe, but things don’t always work out the way we hope. When Bobby’s girlfriend tells him she’s pregnant, Bobby follows his dad’s advice and keeps his mouth shut about what she should or should not do. He lets her make all the calls. Somehow though, between the day he finds out (at 16) that he’s going to be a father, and the day that the baby is born, the decision to put the baby girl up for adoption is altered. Bobby faces the anger and frustration of his mother and the fear and exhaustion of being a first-time dad.

I love Hiassen’s novels. Use this thread to discuss Hoot. I read recently that the book is being made into a movie. Jimmy Buffett is producing the movie and will be writing some original songs for the soundtrack. I can’t wait to find out more details. I’m pretty sure that it is supposed to come out in 2006. I wonder who they’ll cast as Roy?

I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Thursday. It was excellent. I know that the students will really enjoy it when they can get their hands on it!

There were an awful lot of surprises in it. I’d heard rumors about what happens in the book before I read it, so I was prepared for some of what happened. The biggest surprise for me involved Severus Snape. I hope that it’s worked out in the conclusion to the series.

My question is: do you think Rowling’s left an opening for the possibility of more than one book to conclude the series? I feel that she has. Feel free to discuss this in the comments section.

I don’t want to post any spoilers, but if you can get your hands on a copy, you’ll be glad you’ve read it!