What I'm STILL reading now

Hi PEEPS! Hope everyone had an awesome three-day weekend (if you are a student). Hope all of you read a book :0). So I finished 39 Clues: Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan and started 39 Clues: One False Note by Gordon Kormon. This one picks right back up where the twins, Amy and Dan, and their nanny--ahem--au pair are leaving Paris for Vienna in search of the next big clue. From Benjamin Franklin to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; from Rick Riordan to Gordan Korman, you never know when the next twist or turn is gonna happen! I'm also STILL reading The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. I know...it's taking me forever, but I don't read grown-up books like I eat chocolate. Nope, it takes me a little while...and besides, this book should be savored...it really is THAT good. I also just started reading a fan-freaking-tastic book called The Last Invisible Boy by Evan Kuhlman. The chapters are uber-short, which I really love, and the story reminds me a lot of the Wimpy Kid books, but a lot sadder (oh, and in case you didn't know, the third Wimpy Kid book is out). So, anyway, that's where I am.

Okay, so how awesome was TLF '09? OMG if you didn't get to go, you missed out, and you better plan your ride for TLF '11, 'cause we're lining up authors RIGHT NOW! I got to be Gail Giles's (What Happened to Cass McBride?)host for the day, and I'll tell you what, I had a BLAST. I also got to have dinner with Rene Saldana (Whole Sky Full of Stars), Terry Trueman (Stuck in Neutral and Hurricane), Deb Caletti (Honey, Baby, Sweetheart), and Sonya Sones (What My Mother Doesn't Know). Talk about a group a fun CRAZIES! I had a total BLAST, and I got to meet Terry Trueman's TWIN! Did you know he has a twin? Yeah...he had no idea either....! YIKES! Ask me about about it when you see me. Here's the TLF '09 animoto...enjoy! Gladden out!

Okay, Mrs. Fontenot....

I'm posting...we have this little thing going on called the TeenLitFest, oh and a few tests from here to there, but that hasn't stopped me--oh no ma'am. But I have to tell you guys...I did not read a darn thing over the holiday break. I had family in town and so what did we do? We played with the Wii! I am the tennis master! Someone send me to Wimbledon...




Okay, so I am back to reading, and I am almost finished Book One of the Rick Riordan's 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones. This book is fantastic...it's like The DaVinci Code for kids...the Amazing Race for teenagers. Twins Dan and Amy have been offered the option from their grandmother's will: take two million in cash or the adventure of life following the 39 clues; survive, and find power and riches like you've never known at the end. Talk about edge of my seat! And the second one is already out! YAY!

And for my grown up friends out there...still reading The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. Can I OMG this book enough? A husband and wife trying to navigate their way through the survival of the Columbine tragedy. Did they lose a child? No. Did one of them die? No. THEY WORKED THERE. This story is so much more than that. It's a story about redemption and forgiveness and hurt and blame and regret and I could go on and on, but I won't because you have to read this book. No excuses.

AND FINALLY...don't forget the TeenLitFest! Saturday, January 31, 2009--FREE! Kingwood High School from 10-4. If you want to go for free and you don't have a ride, let Ms. Teresa Johnson or myself know...we have a bus going!

Gladden OUT!

This is FANTASTIC! Check it out!

Okay, so it's been awhile...SORRY!

SHEESH! You guys sure do get irritated with me when I don't update. Hello...two words: BOOK FAIR! Did you miss it? I was standing there all day...didn't you see me? Okay enough. Our book fair did wonderfully because you guys are the BEST STUDENTS EVER! Did you hear that Timberwood, huh? Sterling students ROCK! We sold over $3800, and now we can get even more cool stuff for our library, so way to rock it out Bearcats.

Okay, so what's new? Well, the LONE STAR books have been announced... Hellooooooooo...where have you been? I know...no displays yet...I'm still cataloging a lot of the books, but who can pick 'em? Me, that's who! Tons of the books we have talked about that you guys check out like rabid dogs--Compound, the Hunger Games, Gym Candy, Suck It Up, The Dead and the Gone, Unwind...oh and not to mention...Neal Shusterman, author of Unwind and Antsy Does Time (um, yeah, he made it on the Lone Star list this year TWICE) will be at the TeenLitFest in January. You get to meet all kinds of fab authors, get their autographs, hear them speak. We are planning on getting a bus together to go to this free event at Kingwood High School on Saturday, January 31, 2009, so if you are interested, let me know, and I'll give you the hook up.

Okay, so what am I reading?

Well, I started on The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (a Lone Star winner). The cover has the question "How far would you go for someone you love?" OMG. Not only is that question enough to get me to dive right in, but the book is like eating birthday cake in little bitty pieces when you really just want to shove the whole thing in your mouth. Itty bitty little chapters about a girl who has been in a coma for a year and who can't really remember anything, but she can remember extraordinary facts about random things that have nothing to do with her. Her parents are freakishly rich and kind of freakish as well. When Jenna asks her grandmother, Lily, "Why do you hate me?" Lily responds. "I don't hate you, Jenna. I just don't have room for you." OUCH. That had to hurt. So what really happened to Jenna? I DON'T HAVE A CLUE, but as soon as I'm done, you can check it out.

I'm also reading Laurie Halse Anderson's (Speak) new one Chains. WOW. This one is an historical novel about young Isabel who was promised her freedom by her original owner who dies. The owner's nephew swoops in and quickly grabs hold and sells Isabel and her sister Ruth, who both become the possessions of a hateful couple in New York. That's as far as I am, but I can tell this one will not only be one that keeps me on the edge of my seat, but I better keep the Kleenex box handy as well.




Last, I am reading a grown-up book, which I am loving because it is by one of my all-time favorite authors, Wally Lamb. The book is called The Hour I first Believed, and it is about a couple's struggle to stay married before, but mostly after, their encounter with the students during and after the Columbine massacre. The male was a teacher there and the female, the school nurse. The story really isn't about the shooting--instead, it's about people and how they relate to each other, which is why I love Wally Lamb so much. One of my all-time favorite books is I Know This Much is True, which is a book about twin brothers, one of whom is schizophrenic. His writing is special and slow...I know he loves what he does because he takes his time, making every word count.



Gee Whiz! I hope I never have to make a top five list of my all-time favorite books. I could never pick! Gladden OUT!



p.s. Here is a video I made of the current Lone Stars...I cannot get enough ANIMOTO!

So, I WORDLED my blog, and look what happened...

READ ONE BOOK...need I say more?

Who wants to Wordle? www.wordle.net

So Now What?

Hey guys...so I haven't posted since about oh, a trillion dollars ago :0)...so here's what I am reading, what I've read and what's in my STACK. First, I just finished John Coy's Crackback, a story about a kid who loves football, has a jack for a dad, makes great grades, and is being pressured by his friends to shoot steroids. He decides--SHOCK!--to do the right thing, but instead of getting rewarded, he gets bumped to third string where he learns that life's lessons aren't all they are "cracked" up to be--depending on who your teacher is. OMG. I love this book--boy or girl, it's fast paced, quick chapters, and even a little romance thrown in for fun. Grab it while you can. Which brings me to a book in my stack...Box Out--also by John Coy...his new one with an interesting twist...this one is about a kid who plays JV basketball and gets moved up to Varsity. He is so pumped...until he realizes that the coach leads prayer before every game. This may not bother you, but this character has some moral dilemmas he must face and some choices he must make. John Coy isn't shy about writing the angles, that's for sure. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into this one.

So, what am I reading now...? Two books, actually. Let's start with the Hunger Games. Can I OMG enough about this book? Those of you who have talked to me for five seconds know that I always tell you to never read a book you hate. Well, this ain't that book! This book HAS TO BECOME A MOVIE! This book crazy-good. Now, Ms. Rayburn and I may disagree (she donated her copy to the library, thanks, Ms. R), but this one definitely falls into one of my YA Top Ten. So, the U.S. as we know it is over. It is split into 12 districts, run by one Capitol. Every year, two children from each district--a boy and a girl, ages 12-17--are picked at random and sent to the Hunger Games. They must kill each other off one at a time. Whomever wins the game--stalking, hunting, hiding, chasing each other for days, weeks--wins food for that district for the year. Sick and twisted. Need I say more? It's like Survivor for kids without the million and death. YIKES! The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. READ IT!

Last but not least, I am also reading Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks--a green shelf book for sure. Gail Giles (What Happened to Cass McBride and Right Behind You) sort of recommended this book indirectly, and when one of your fave-all-time authors tells you to read something, hello, you go and get it! So far, there has been violence, deception, teenagers...what more could you want from a book where you need your parents' permission to read?

So that's it, kiddies. Don't forget about the book fair. Bug your parents. Bug your teachers. Read. Read. Read. Gladden OUT.