Ms Rush Reads

copyright date: May 2013 primarily marketed for: young adults (middle/high school) What a treat to find an unexpected sequel to a book I love!   Formerly Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham is the sequel to Shark Girl .   Both books are written in poetry form, which means each chapter(poem) uses sparse language to pack an emotional punch. Formerly Shark Girl tells what life is like for Jane now that over a year has passed since she lost most of her right arm in a shark attack.   Although she has already faced the initial struggle to heal and face life without the talent of her drawing hand, Jane’s struggles are not over.   She has to decide where to go to college, has to choose whether to study art or nursing, and has to make up for precious time in the dating scene that was lost while she focused on her physical recovery. The same thing that struck me when I first read Shark Girl struck me while reading this book—how real the chara...

copyright date: January 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) After reading a few heavy books, I picked up The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith from my shelf of to-be-read books expecting a light, fluffy romance.   I should know better by now.   I wouldn’t have purchased it if it were just a light, fluffy romance.   Of course I was completely sucked in by the premise that everything happens for a reason, even if the reason is not apparent at first.   Hadley is on her way to London for her father’s wedding—the beginning of a marriage to a woman Hadley has never met because why would she want to meet the source of the affair that broke her family apart?   Anyway, she misses her flight because of a series of choices and mishaps.   Now, having changed her path to London, Hadley encounters a guy.   An attractive guy.   A charming guy.   A guy who insists...

BOUNCE by Natasha Friend copyright date: August 2007 primarily marketed for: young adult (7th grade up) Bounce by Natasha Friend has sat on my shelf for years.   Because it is nominated for the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award this February, I finally picked it up and cracked open the cover.   And, boy, am I glad I did.   In its pages I not only discovered reasons to laugh and reasons to get choked up, I also discovered a new favorite author.   Since reading Bounce , I have been on a mission to read all of Natasha Friend’s books. Bounce is the story of a girl named Evyn , who, although her mother died years ago, is not ready to see her father move on.   While she and her brother were away at camp for the summer, her father has met a new woman and plans to marry her.   To make matters worse, Evyn’s future stepmom has 6 children for Evyn and her brother to embrace as siblings.   With hilarious scenes th...

copyright date: May 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (14 and up) Kekla Magoon is the amazing author who won me over with The Rock and the River (historical fiction) and captured my heart with Camo Girl (contemporary realistic fiction).  I have been waiting impatiently for her latest book 37 Things I Love to be released.  Did you know she will be our visiting author for the 2012-2013 school year?  I. Can’t. Wait. 37 Things I Love has been described as Magoon’s first book that is really meant for a high school audience.  I agree.  Although, I think mature 8 th grade readers will also appreciate this story. High school sophomore Ellis is struggling to remain positive in the face of some major challenges.  Her father is on life support, putting strain on her relationship with her mother, and her best friend is becoming increasingly self-centered and self-destructive.  With little support around her, Ellis turns to a ...

copyright date: May 2010 primarily marketed for:   young adults (high school) Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler is one of those books I wish I would have had when I was in high school.  This is what I would’ve liked to have read then.  I picked it up after reading a letter-essay about the book by one of Nancie Atwell ’s students.  The excerpt she included showed the realism of the friendship between Anna and Frankie.  It was humorous and the dialogue felt like conversations I could’ve had with my high school best friend. I had no idea how serious the book is, too.  Anna and Frankie have always been best friends.  They grew up together and were part of a trio of best friends that included Frankie’s brother Matt.  It was a relationship they all trusted and relied on. That is, until Anna’s fifteenth birthday when everything changed.  That was the day Matt and Anna finally admitted to each other that they had stron...

copyright date: September 2011 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) I am a sucker for a novel told in verse.   I am a sucker for anything having to do with Mexican culture.   I am a sucker for a metaphor involving a tree.   I am a sucker for a novel that makes me feel .   So, needless to say, Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall has found its way into my heart. The protagonist, Lupita, is the oldest of 8 siblings!   She is used to caring for her brothers and sisters and almost has a friendship with her mother as opposed to a mother-daughter relationship.   But there are still some things her mother doesn’t think Lupita is ready to hear.   When Lupita hears her parents whispering and realizes they are keeping something from her, she demands to know the truth, and finds out that her mother has cancer.   From that point forward, Lupita’s life will never be the same.   She does all she can to keep...

copyright date: February 2012 primarily marketed for: (a mature) 12 and up Ever wonder what becomes of the broken hearted?   Read the Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg to find out.   Aubrie, or Brie as she referred to by friends, heard the words she never wanted to hear from her boyfriend: I don’t love you.   Moments later she was dead.   Her heart had literally split in two.   She died of acute broken heart syndrome.   Her story picks up after Brie’s death and follows her journey towards acceptance and, ultimately, peace.   Along the way, she meets a host of interesting characters—including Patrick, her sarcastic guide, who looks like he is ready to attend a costume party dressed as Tom Cruise from Top Gun .   Brie also learns more than she ever thought she might about her family, her ex-boyfriend and the best friends she left behind.   She even discovers she might not be the Brie she always tho...

copyright date: February 2011 primarily marketed for: intermediate readers (grades 4-6) Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LeFleur is nominated for the 2013 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award in the state of Illinois.  I can see why.  This is one of those stories that is good for the soul, and the craft employed to tell it is just as nourishing.  At the start of the book, Aubrey is home alone.  She keeps referring to her mother as if she will be coming home.  However, it doesn’t take long for readers to figure out that her mother is not coming back.  At first, Aubrey tries to hide her mother’s disappearance in an effort to protect her.  Eventually, though, she is discovered and is taken to live to with her grandmother while her mother is located.  Life with Aubrey’s grandmother is not smooth sailing for Aubrey.  She is still mourning the loss of her younger sister and her father in a car accident.  She needs her ab...

The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han: Ever since I first read Shugby Jenny Han (her first book, completely separate from this series, but just as good), she has been on my list of all-time favorite authors.   Recently, at the NCTE convention in Chicago, I got to meet her!   Twice!   I could write a stellar review of the trilogy, but if you click on the links to Jenny Han’s fabulous author site by clicking on the books above, you can see that’s already been done!   When it comes to growing up as a girl in America, Han just has a way of getting it right.   Apparently, I am not the only one who sees it that way. When I heard her speak at a workshop about culture at the NCTE convention, Han mentioned that she is often asked why she didn’t write about a protagonist who is Asian-American, since she is Asian-American herself.   Her answer was something to the effect that her story is not just a story about growing up Asian-American...