Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard

Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard

"If you are reading this, you have happened upon it by accident.  Call me Is Male." pg. 1  Alex is a sixteen year old student at an all male boarding school, who is writing his memoir of an event that changed his life forever.  He is also trying to read the great American novel, Moby Dick while at the same time he hides his journal behind it in the school library. 

Alex feels guilty because his best friend Thomas died jumping off a rock outcropping into the river and when it came to telling the officials what happened, he lied about it.   He was right there when it happened and the lines between truth and guilt become blurred.  "Such is the nature of guilt; such is the nature of truth.  But it is also the nature of guilt to sideline the truth.  Welcome to the sidelines, Dear Reader." pg.1

"By the way, Is Male has a big crush on his teacher." pg. 8.  Miss Dovecott teaches English and she sees potential in Alex and gives him special attention.  She also has suspicions he is not telling the whole story in regards to Thomas's death.  Alex communicates with Miss Dovecott through her varied and creative homework assignments.   He tells his story through poetry, essays, newspaper accounts and letters.  He is a rock who writes excellent papers.

Throughout the novel, are quotes from Moby Dick and the narrator Alex uses them to explain his own battle and struggles.  Hubbard is a former English teacher and her natural writing ability shows as she using her creativity to craft a wonderful, smart and witty novel.  The writing is beautiful and I was enthralled with Paper Covers Rock from the very first page. 

"Read to your heart's content.  Though if you are a reader, the heart is never content." pg. 2

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Miles made a life changing decision when he decided to enroll at Culver Creek Boarding School for his junior year.  The only thing he left behind was his parents as Miles had no friends and zero possibilities.   He felt stagnated in Florida and wanted to venture into "The Great Perhaps". 

Miles is a witty, intelligent narrator who loved to read biographies and memorize famous last words.
"Francois Rabelais.  He was this poet.  And his last words were 'I go to seek a Great perhaps.'  That's why I'm going.  So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great perhaps." Pg. 5.


At Culver Creek, Miles earns himself the nickname, Pudge, because he is so skinny.  His roommate, the Colonel, is a intelligent, short in stature, teen who hates rich people.  Down the hall lives the most beautiful elusive girl, that Miles has even seen.  He falls instantly in love with Alaska, who is a train wreck waiting to happen.  Alaska teaches Miles "Pudge" how to love, get to 3rd base, smoke, create fabulous pranks, celebrate life and more.  Alaska is essentially, a life changer, a force of nature, and a whirlwind of emotions. 

Green has created a fabulous cast of characters who will make you laugh, cry and ultimately capture your heart. Once you start reading Looking for Alaska it is hard not to get caught up in the labyrinth.   Looking for Alaska is a philosophical look at the turns you take in life and how twisted the labyrinth is.  One of the teachers creates a final exam where students must ask themselves what the most important question facing people is and answer it according to the three religions they studied in class.  Alaska's questions is:  "How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?"Pg. 158

Looking for Alaska is a intelligent, brilliant novel for teens and adults alike.  It is a coming of age novel that is unique, daring and downright enjoyable to read.   From the first page to the last word, this book will have you quickly turning pages and savoring the unique moments.
Once you meet Alaska you won't ever be the same.

My last words in the blog post will be one of the Colonel's cheers because they made me laugh.  Enjoy! 

Cornbread!
Chicken!
Rice!
Peas!
WE GOT HIGHER SATs.
Hip Hip Hip Hooray!
YOU"LL BE WORKING FOR US SOMEDAY!

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Nell's life has been a complete lie until now and she has no idea who she is.  On what she thinks is her 21st birthday, her father, the man who Nell thought was her father, told her the truth about her life.  He told Nell that she arrived in Australia, abandoned on a ship with a little suitcase that contained a dress and a beautifully illustrated book of fairy tales. He estimates that she was about four years old, in the year 1913.  

Telling no one about the family secret, Nell continues to live her life focused on the past and sets off on a quest to find out who she truly is.  Unfortunately, she doesn't find the answers to her life's questions but what she does find is a cottage in England with a forgotten garden on the Cornish coast.

Nell passes away in 2005 and her granddaughter Cassandra inherits her assets, including a cottage in England and a family secret she knows nothing about.  Cassandra's destiny is to search for her grandmother's history, put together the puzzle pieces of the past and unlock the family secrets.

The Forgotten Garden is a sweeping mystery with a fairy tale backdrop.  The book travels between two continents and through many generations of woman in the same family.  It is beautifully told and imaginative as the stories intertwine and unravel the past.  The Forgotten Garden is an ode to fairy tales.  The book contains a wicked woman (lets just call her a witch), a beautiful princess, secrets, foggy nights, murder, crazy carriage rides, a mysterious man, a ghost ship, pirates, a maze, a locked garden hidden behind a door and so much more. The Forgotten Garden is a place to lose yourself, smell the roses and try to solve life's mysteries.

Kate Morton wove a mysterious tale that will make readers beg for more.  Morton is able to lead the reader where she wants and thus remains an author in control of her story. I was able to figure out the mystery in The Forgotten Garden early on but Morton successfully led me off track.  Morton neatly ties up all the loose ends in the story and as you sit back and digest the book you realize, everything is connected. 

The Forgotten Garden is a perfect summer book, it has the power to take you to interesting places in your imagination.   What is your perfect summer book? 

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Laura Lanik's News Auxiliary

           April 27, 2012

I hope all of you are enjoying a glorious day today and are celebrating the joys of Spring.  The News Auxiliary of the Manifest Herald is taking a break from talking about the news around town to tell you all about Moon Over Manifest, the most recent Newberry Prize winner.   I am just tickled pink and knew you would be interested in reading all about it.

Abilene is as sweet as pie and she just arrived here in Manifest, Kansas in 1936.  Her daddy decided to send her for the summer and so she is staying over at Shady's place.   I heard she found a hidden box in her room containing all sorts of mementos and letters and she is looking for someone called the Rattler.  Abilene's favorite thing is a compass that her father gave her, but one night, while out spying with her friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, she lost it.  Doesn't that just stink.

Well I want to tell you first off that Abilene found her compass hanging off a porch on the Path to Perdition.  She was so scared but she knew she had to get her compass back and so Abilene approached Miss Sadie's Divining Parlor.  Well divining is hard work, as you well know, so Abilene was committed to helping out around the house.  Lucky for her, Miss Sadie was a great story teller and told Abilene about Manifest during World War I.  He stories mainly focused around the two boys Jinx and Ned and their adventures about town in 1917.  Ned, like many of the boys in town, signed up and went off to fight in the trenches of the War leaving Jinx brokenhearted and without a friend.  Well, adventure always finds someone whose looking and Jinx got caught up in plenty of fun for the times.

I really enjoyed reading the letters Ned sent home and the News Auxiliary from 1917.  I loved the characters and there semi-southern feel. So much has changed since then and it is like stepping into a time capsule to try and solve the mystery of the Rattler and trying to figure out who Abilene's father really is.  Why, reading this book is almost like taking a step back through time.

Well there you have it folks.  I hope you visit (I mean read) Moon over Manifest real soon. 

The Butterfly Key

The Butterfly Key by Andrew D. Neudecker

Author, Andrew Neudecker, wrote this book for his wife who suffered a devastating miscarriage and as a result lost her faith in God.  One Christmas Eve, he weaves an intricate story about loss, love, forgiveness and faith.  Lucky for us, he wrote it down and it became the premise for The Butterfly Key.

The Butterfly Key is a heartfelt, heart wrenching book that will twist your emotions and make you cry.  It is a beautiful tale that connects every life and decision with divine providence.  The butterfly key is deeply hopeful and makes you rejoice in life and all of God's gifts.  If you have ever loved and lost someone, this book will touch your heart.

Christian and Abigail are in love and have grown up together, seeing each other frequently as their parents are best friends.  Christian never meets his mother as she dies after his birth.  Christian's father, Noah, raises him while he battles cancer to which he eventually succumbs.  Luckily Christian has a surrogate family, who keeps him safe in love and hope.  He marries his sweetheart and heads off to Iraq with his best friend on a army mission.  What happens next tests every character's faith.

My favorite character is the butterfly.  When Christian visits the graveyard he sees a monarch butterfly who plays a role in the story.  I really related to this because my grandpa told me that when he died he would visit me as a bird.  After he died, a blue jay would sit on my windowsill and peck my window.  After my grandma died, for a whole year, two blue jays would sit on my windowsill and look in my window at me.  I couldn't help but think my grandparents were visiting and telling me how happy they were.  I believe in miracles.  Do You?

Enter the contest to win a copy:  Contest for The Butterfly Key

The Cigar Maker

The Cigar Maker by Mark Carlos McGinty

"Salvador had been in Ybor City  less than one day when he saw a man bite the head off a live rooster."  The first sentence of The Cigar Maker quickly grabs your attention and doesn't let go.

Travel through time and place with Salvador Ortiz as he fights Spain for independence in Cuba, finds the love of his life, moves his family to Ybor City in Tampa, makes fine cigars at a Cigar Factory, Joins La Resistencia, goes on strike, is kidnapped to Honduras, all under the backdrop of the turn of the 20th century.  What an adventure in reading!

This book will entertain you while it teaches you about the Cuban immigrant experience in Florida.   I found the backdrop of the novel compelling and the history of Ybor City fascinating.  The characters are unique and interesting people who are like an extended family minus the corrupt police and the mafia street thugs.  Racism and anti-worker rights run high in the capitalistic system that is trying to make the cigar making industry more productive. 

I love reading books that offer me a new experience and teach history.  The Cigar Maker taught me a part of the history of Cuba and America that I never knew, particularly the Cuban immigrant experience.  The author Mark McGinty makes you feel like you are a part of the Ortiz family as you laugh, love, dine, smoke, hope and cry with them.

Have you ever smoked a cigar?
This is the perfect novel to light up a cigar (or not), kick your feet up, sit on the porch, and read.  It will take you back in time to a distinct and diverse place.  Enjoy!