School starts tomorrow!
I'll say that again:
SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!
Where did the summer go?
Technically, we are homeschooling so we can start whenever we want. But, the school down the street starts tomorrow, so we are going to start tomorrow (helps with the transition).
I have not read as many books as I thought I'd be able to read this summer. However, I have read quite a few. So, here's a list and my rating for the books I have read. (One of my friends gives out Oreo ratings ... I decided to follow suit, but I'm not that fond of Oreos ... however, I love Haagan Daas Dulce de Leche ice cream. So, my ratings are in scoops of Dulce de Leche ice cream.)
You'll find that most of these are fantasy, Amish romances, or books in a series (or both!). I think I'm stuck! But, I keep going back to the Amish books because their way of life intrigues me for some reason. Maybe it's nice to escape into their simplistic world for a little bit and not worry so much about questionable content.
And, I've missed most of the books for my online book club because I couldn't get them digitally from the library ... it's been hard to find the time to sit down to read, so I listen most of the time.
The Crossroad
The story of an Amish girl who tries not to fall in love with an Englischer who comes to town to write a story on the Amish for his magazine. She has to overcome her fear of falling in love after living through a tragic car & buggy accident. This is the second book in a series ... I skipped the first and found that I didn't feel like I missed much.
Rating: 3 scoops
The Sound of Sleigh Bells
An Amish story about a girl who is past her prime in life and still unmarried. She works at a general store and travels to other Amish communities to take orders of goods to sell in her store. On one of her travels she finds an amazing carving and wants the carpenter to make more for her store. She sends her old maidel aunt to meet the carpenter, who is young and unmarried. Her aunt doesn't want her niece to end up like her (unmarried at 36), so she asks the carpenter to write her friendly letters (which is appropriate as she is old and he is young) .... which she then gives to her niece. It's a story about friendship growing over the miles.
Rating: 3.5 scoops
A Great & Terrible Beauty
On her 16th birthday, Gemma Doyle fights with her mother. She wants to leave India where her family is living, runs off when her mother refuses to send her to London to school, has a dreadful vision and witnesses her mother's death. Two months later, Gemma is enrolled in London's Spence School, still troubled by visions, and unable to share her grief and guilt over her loss. She gradually learns to control her vision and enter the "realms" where magical powers can make anything happen and where her mother waits to instruct her. Gradually she and her new friends learn about the Order, an ancient group of women who maintained the realms and regulated their power, and how two students unleashed an evil creature from the realms by killing a Gypsy girl. Gemma uncovers her mother's connection to those events and learns what she now must do. (I copied the description from Amazon ... but I will end up reading the next two books in the trilogy. I enjoyed it.)
Rating: 4.5 Scoops
Abram's Daughters Series:
The Covenant
The Betrayal
The Sacrifice
The Prodigal
The Revelation
This Amish series chronicles the life of a family over the span of seven years (I think that's how long). The main character is in love with someone against her father's wishes. Her older sister strays from the Amish faith just enough to need moral support from her sister. There are three younger sisters as well who also need their older sister. This series is about family commitment and ultimately finding your own faith and being strong enough to stand up for what you believe in.
Rating: 4 Scoops
Ella Minnow Pea
Such a great book! This is about an island that is off the coastline of the US. They revere the man who came up with the phrase "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." In the city square they have built a statue to honor this man, with the phrase written in tiles. One day one of the tiles falls off: a "z." The city officials determine that it is this honored man speaking to the islanders from the grave, telling them to eliminate the letter "z" from their vocabulary (both written and spoken). Very funny book ... I loved reading every minute of it.
Rating: 5 Scoops ... with cream on top because I don't like cherries
Forever
The conclusion to The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. I loved reading this series just because the setting is in Minnesota. Well, that's not the only reason. The first book in the series, Shiver, is about a young girl who gets bitten by a werewolf. But, the wolves of Mercy Falls are not your typical werewolves. They only shift when it is winter ... and then they become typical wolves for the winter ... returning to their human form when it is warmer. After the girl is bitten, the wolves wait for her to change, yet she does not change. But, years later when one of the wolves shifts in her yard after having been shot, she brings him in and helps him get the medical aid he needs. That's when she starts her investigation into the wolves and how they shift, ultimately finding out why she hasn't shifted yet. In the second book, Linger, the girl continues her search for the "cure" to the werewolves, but basically it's because she is dying and she figures it's because she hasn't shifted yet. The townspeople are getting more and more concerned about the wolves. And, finally, in this last book, Forever, things come to a head when the locals are going to "exterminate" all the wolves.
Rating: 4.5 Scoops
The Throne of Fire
The second book in Rick Riordan's new series, The Kane Chronicles. I really dislike these books, and only read them because Eliza likes them. The Kane Chronicles are not as well written at Percy Jackson. There are a few flaws that make it really hard for me to like them, but I'll only focus on the one that bugs me the most. The series is about a 14 year old and an 13 year old brother and sister duo (I think those are their ages, but they aren't any older than that) who must save the world from the Egyptian mythological creatures that could destroy it. What I didn't like was that they were treated like adults by all the adults in the series ... even when they fought against each other. It just doesn't make sense ... why would adults with decades of experience be afraid of preteens who are just barely learning to control their powers? It's a little far fetched for my liking.
Rating: 2 Scoops
Entwined
The story of the 12 Dancing Princesses. Such a great story. They dance the night away and only one man can find out where they go and why. There is an evil twist to this story that makes it even more likable.
Rating 5 Scoops ... with whipped cream on top
Iron Queen
The third book in the Iron Fey series. Interesting story about a girl who is half faery and half human. She is the daughter of the summer fey's king and in love with the son of the winter fey's queen. They embark on a quest to save all of the fey from the iron fey who are trying to take over the faery world.
Rating: 4 Scoops
When the Heart Cries
Another Amish story. This is the first in the Sisters of the Quilt series. It was the name of the series that drew me to this book. Unfortunately, there isn't much quilting going on in this book. It is about a girl who is attacked and must live with the consequences.
Rating: 3 Scoops
Currently I have four books that I am reading right now ... but I think that will come to and end with homeschool around the corner. We'll see ... maybe I'll start writing reviews for books like Corduroy, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, and James and the Giant Peach. :)
I'll say that again:
SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!
Where did the summer go?
Technically, we are homeschooling so we can start whenever we want. But, the school down the street starts tomorrow, so we are going to start tomorrow (helps with the transition).
I have not read as many books as I thought I'd be able to read this summer. However, I have read quite a few. So, here's a list and my rating for the books I have read. (One of my friends gives out Oreo ratings ... I decided to follow suit, but I'm not that fond of Oreos ... however, I love Haagan Daas Dulce de Leche ice cream. So, my ratings are in scoops of Dulce de Leche ice cream.)
You'll find that most of these are fantasy, Amish romances, or books in a series (or both!). I think I'm stuck! But, I keep going back to the Amish books because their way of life intrigues me for some reason. Maybe it's nice to escape into their simplistic world for a little bit and not worry so much about questionable content.
And, I've missed most of the books for my online book club because I couldn't get them digitally from the library ... it's been hard to find the time to sit down to read, so I listen most of the time.
The CrossroadThe story of an Amish girl who tries not to fall in love with an Englischer who comes to town to write a story on the Amish for his magazine. She has to overcome her fear of falling in love after living through a tragic car & buggy accident. This is the second book in a series ... I skipped the first and found that I didn't feel like I missed much.
Rating: 3 scoops
The Sound of Sleigh BellsAn Amish story about a girl who is past her prime in life and still unmarried. She works at a general store and travels to other Amish communities to take orders of goods to sell in her store. On one of her travels she finds an amazing carving and wants the carpenter to make more for her store. She sends her old maidel aunt to meet the carpenter, who is young and unmarried. Her aunt doesn't want her niece to end up like her (unmarried at 36), so she asks the carpenter to write her friendly letters (which is appropriate as she is old and he is young) .... which she then gives to her niece. It's a story about friendship growing over the miles.
Rating: 3.5 scoops
A Great & Terrible BeautyOn her 16th birthday, Gemma Doyle fights with her mother. She wants to leave India where her family is living, runs off when her mother refuses to send her to London to school, has a dreadful vision and witnesses her mother's death. Two months later, Gemma is enrolled in London's Spence School, still troubled by visions, and unable to share her grief and guilt over her loss. She gradually learns to control her vision and enter the "realms" where magical powers can make anything happen and where her mother waits to instruct her. Gradually she and her new friends learn about the Order, an ancient group of women who maintained the realms and regulated their power, and how two students unleashed an evil creature from the realms by killing a Gypsy girl. Gemma uncovers her mother's connection to those events and learns what she now must do. (I copied the description from Amazon ... but I will end up reading the next two books in the trilogy. I enjoyed it.)
Rating: 4.5 Scoops
Abram's Daughters Series:The Covenant
The Betrayal
The Sacrifice
The Prodigal
The Revelation
This Amish series chronicles the life of a family over the span of seven years (I think that's how long). The main character is in love with someone against her father's wishes. Her older sister strays from the Amish faith just enough to need moral support from her sister. There are three younger sisters as well who also need their older sister. This series is about family commitment and ultimately finding your own faith and being strong enough to stand up for what you believe in.
Rating: 4 Scoops
Ella Minnow PeaSuch a great book! This is about an island that is off the coastline of the US. They revere the man who came up with the phrase "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." In the city square they have built a statue to honor this man, with the phrase written in tiles. One day one of the tiles falls off: a "z." The city officials determine that it is this honored man speaking to the islanders from the grave, telling them to eliminate the letter "z" from their vocabulary (both written and spoken). Very funny book ... I loved reading every minute of it.
Rating: 5 Scoops ... with cream on top because I don't like cherries
ForeverThe conclusion to The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. I loved reading this series just because the setting is in Minnesota. Well, that's not the only reason. The first book in the series, Shiver, is about a young girl who gets bitten by a werewolf. But, the wolves of Mercy Falls are not your typical werewolves. They only shift when it is winter ... and then they become typical wolves for the winter ... returning to their human form when it is warmer. After the girl is bitten, the wolves wait for her to change, yet she does not change. But, years later when one of the wolves shifts in her yard after having been shot, she brings him in and helps him get the medical aid he needs. That's when she starts her investigation into the wolves and how they shift, ultimately finding out why she hasn't shifted yet. In the second book, Linger, the girl continues her search for the "cure" to the werewolves, but basically it's because she is dying and she figures it's because she hasn't shifted yet. The townspeople are getting more and more concerned about the wolves. And, finally, in this last book, Forever, things come to a head when the locals are going to "exterminate" all the wolves.
Rating: 4.5 Scoops
The Throne of FireThe second book in Rick Riordan's new series, The Kane Chronicles. I really dislike these books, and only read them because Eliza likes them. The Kane Chronicles are not as well written at Percy Jackson. There are a few flaws that make it really hard for me to like them, but I'll only focus on the one that bugs me the most. The series is about a 14 year old and an 13 year old brother and sister duo (I think those are their ages, but they aren't any older than that) who must save the world from the Egyptian mythological creatures that could destroy it. What I didn't like was that they were treated like adults by all the adults in the series ... even when they fought against each other. It just doesn't make sense ... why would adults with decades of experience be afraid of preteens who are just barely learning to control their powers? It's a little far fetched for my liking.
Rating: 2 Scoops
Entwined
The story of the 12 Dancing Princesses. Such a great story. They dance the night away and only one man can find out where they go and why. There is an evil twist to this story that makes it even more likable.
Rating 5 Scoops ... with whipped cream on top
Iron QueenThe third book in the Iron Fey series. Interesting story about a girl who is half faery and half human. She is the daughter of the summer fey's king and in love with the son of the winter fey's queen. They embark on a quest to save all of the fey from the iron fey who are trying to take over the faery world.
Rating: 4 Scoops
When the Heart CriesAnother Amish story. This is the first in the Sisters of the Quilt series. It was the name of the series that drew me to this book. Unfortunately, there isn't much quilting going on in this book. It is about a girl who is attacked and must live with the consequences.
Rating: 3 Scoops
Currently I have four books that I am reading right now ... but I think that will come to and end with homeschool around the corner. We'll see ... maybe I'll start writing reviews for books like Corduroy, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, and James and the Giant Peach. :)
Comments
I'm starting school August 22. I can't wait to hear how your first week goes! I'm sure it'll be great. Please post about it, if you feel up to it. I need some motivation and encouragement until I start with my kids. The next three weeks seem so far away to me right now!