Ms Rush Reads

copyright date: September 2013 primarily marketed for: young adults (7 th grade and up) Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson is not the kind of book you would typically find in my stack of books to be read.   However, something about it called to me.   And boy am I glad it did!   I am eagerly awaiting the sequel, promised to be released this fall. The story begins with a gripping prologue that takes place years before the action of the rest of the book.   It is the story of a young boy named David witnessing his father’s death at the hands of Steelheart, a sort of superhuman called an Epic.   Although David is in awe of Steelheart’s power to turn anything that is not living to steel, he is even more amazed to witness Steelheart reveal a weakness.   David is the only human who knows the truth about what happened during that attack and survived. Years later, when David is eighteen, he has finally caught up with a group of ...

copyright date: September 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults I love a good murder mystery.   Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro is just that. Although the writing will not amaze you with literary quality, the story is well structured and manages to wrap itself up satisfactorily while still leaving loose ends enough to leave readers yearning for the next in what is sure to become a series. Tandy, short for Tandoori, Angel is one of four children left behind after her parents, the wealthy and well-known Malcolm and Maud Angel, are murdered.   There are no signs of forced entry and nobody heard any noise.   The factual evidence leaves only Tandy, her three brothers, and her mother’s live-in assistant as suspects.   The story is told in Tandy’s voice, including chapters titled ‘Confession’ that seem to let readers deeper into her story by revealing background.   Throughout the book...

copyright date: October 2011 primarily marketed for: young adults (high school) The books I love the most are the ones I find myself most compelled to write about.   I am woefully behind on posting about the books I’ve read this school year, yet here I am making time to share another incredible story. I find it is most difficult to share the books I love.   Something about my connection with a story like this makes it seem almost as if nobody else could possibly enjoy it as deeply as I have—surely it was tailor-made to fit my heart and stick to my ribs—how could anyone else find it as perfect a fit?   I don’t know the answer to that, but I sure hope you try this one on because part of me suspects it might fit you just right, too. Since I closed the covers of Maggie Stiefvater ’s The Scorpio Races early this morning, I have been haunted by the rhythm of the story.   The magic of sea still beats in my chest.   Puck’s connectio...

copyright date: June 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (14 and up) “We spent the rest of the evening together, hanging out in my room, my mother telling my father and me the stories behind each and every one of those worn swatches of fabric.   As I listened, losing myself in each little tale, I realized that the quilt would not have been the same, not nearly as beautiful, without the sadness.   The robin’s egg blue patch from a baby blanket that had belonged to my uncle who died when he was two, the purple satin ribbon found after a tornado destroyed my grandparents’ first home, the black silk from the dress my grandma wore to her father’s funeral—those slices of life, they were just as important as the rest.” -a taste of the amazing book One Moment by Kristina McBride Thanks to my friend Ruth , I am a Kristina McBride junkie.   After reading her amazing first novel, The Tension of Opposites , I was excited to hear she had ...

copyright date: August 2009 primarily marketed for: young adults (13 and up) Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is not new to the world, but it is new to me.   I have had it on my shelf for years and just didn’t get around to reading it until a friend convinced me it was well worth it.   She is a good friend.   With impeccable taste in literature. Within the first few pages I was enchanted.   Shiver is not just an enchanting story, but the way it is written is beautiful as well.   Lines like this make me want to stop and marvel at Stievfater’s way of crafting words to trigger the readers’ emotions: “Behind the counter, I slouched on my stool in the sun and sucked in the summer as if I could hold ever drop of it inside me.” Shiver alternates between the voice of Grace and the voice of Sam throughout the story.   Grace was attacked by wolves as a young girl and saved by a single wolf out of the pack.   Since then she ...

copyright date: August 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) Although there are still a few days until UnWholly by Neal Shusterman is released on August 28 th , I managed to get my hands on an Advanced Readers’ Copy, thanks to Mrs. Foreman (formerly Miss England).   This book confirms what I have believed for years: Neal Shusterman is brilliant.   Why he isn’t winning awards left and right is beyond me.   If you haven’t read the first book in this series, Unwind , you have to start there.   The basis of the story is that it takes place in the near future, after the fictional Third World War, which was fought over the issue of abortion.   In an effort to end the fighting and reach an agreement, both sides compromised, banning abortion as we know it, and sanctioning the retroactive abortion (through a process called unwinding) of teenagers whose parents okay it.   But that doesn’t even begin to scrat...

copyright date: February 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (14 and up) I started Dead to You by Lisa McMann one night before I went to sleep.   I also finished   Dead to You by Lisa McMann before I went to sleep that night.   I just couldn’t close the book without knowing the end. Dead to You is the story of Ethan, who was abducted when he was only seven-years-old, returning to his family as a teenager.   As he tries to adjust to his current life at home as a teenager with his younger brother Blake and new younger sister Gracie, Ethan struggles to make sense of his past.   Blake pushes him to find out why he got into that car with strangers and challenges Ethan’s memory every chance he gets.   Gracie is too young to understand who Ethan really is, since she grew up in their family without him.   Ethan fights to remember the family he left behind and struggles to understand his need to protect Ellen, ...

copyright date: April 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (high school) I’m just going to put this out there:  I like books about death.  I didn’t know this about myself as a reader until my students this year pointed out how many of the books I booktalk (basically all of them) involve someone who died or someone who is dying. I am not sure if that is just a me thing, or if that is a common thread in books since it is such a major part of life and conflict.  I’d like to think it is the latter. At any rate, I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga , is obviously my kind of book—it is quality literature with sophisticated vocabulary, and it is about death.  Jasper Dent, known as Jazz, is a teenager who is struggling to overcome the odds, to say the least.  His father, Billy Cornelius Dent, is the most infamous serial killer, with victims totaling triple digits.  Since his father’s arrest, Jazz has had to care for his grandmother ...

copyright date: November 2011 primarily marketed for:   young adults (12 and up) I finally, reluctantly picked this book up after hearing lots of talk about how awesome it is.  I have to admit, I just couldn’t believe that ANOTHER post-apocalyptic-book-for-the-fans-of- Hunger-Games could really be that good.  Well, let me tell you, Legend by Marie Lu is really that good.  I think I might even like this one a little bit better than Divergent by Veronica Roth. Legend is told in alternating viewpoints and follows two protagonists: June and Day. June is one of the elite.  She is following in the footsteps of her esteemed older brother Metias by working her way up the military ranks with the speed only a prodigy could manage.  She is fully determined to do whatever it takes to defend the Republic’s honor.  Day is the Republic’s most wanted criminal.  He is a devious mastermind, but is driven by a love for his family and ...

copyright date: March 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up) Starters by Lissa Price tells the story of Callie, a teenager living in a world where Spore Warfare has killed off anyone who was middle-aged.   When Spore Warfare was in use, the government gave the elderly (Enders) and those under the age of twenty (Starters) priority when it came to getting vaccinated because they were most at-risk.   So, it turned out they were the only survivors.   Now, without her parents or any surviving grandparents, Callie is left to care for herself and her sickly younger brother.   She has support from a childhood friend, Michael, but that is not enough to keep them safe and well-fed.   Callie is tempted to earn enough money to save her brother and friend by becoming a rental Starter.   She is invited to undergo a complete makeover, and earn a large sum of money simply for signing up to rent her body three times to Enders who ...

copyright date: November 2010 primarily marketed for: grade 6 and up Hero by Mike Lupica was a refreshingly fast-paced exciting book to read after slogging through Matthew Cody’s Powerless as a class read aloud to prepare for our author visit with the author.   Although both books are appropriate for a 6 th grade audience, Hero is much more appealing for students beyond 6 th grade.   Hero starts out describing a few moments of Zach’s father’s life, from his father’s point of view.   The rest of the book flips to a third person account of Zach’s adventures after his father is gone.   Zach begins to discover he has superpowers, but Lupica manages to tell this superhero story so well that it almost seems plausible.   The story is set in New York City. Being a fan of the city, I enjoyed the talk about landmarks and the city feel to the book.   Not to mention, how fun it is to imagine living Zach’s life as the child of parents w...

copyright date: 2010 primarily marketed for: Grades 7 and up The premise of this book promises a good story and April Henry delivers just that: a good story.  Cheyenne Wilder’s stepmom has left her lying in the backseat of the car while she runs into the pharmacy to pick up medicine to help Cheyenne fight off pneumonia.  Cheyenne begged her to keep the car running so that the heat would stay on.  When Griffin sees the Escalade running with the keys inside, he thinks he has scored big time.  He jumps in and takes off with a stolen car to impress his criminal-minded father.  Griffin has no idea there is a girl in the back, which means he also doesn’t know she is the daughter of the owner of the Nike corporation.  Cheyenne is in trouble.  She has pneumonia.  She has been kidnapped.  And she is blind. This story is satisfying.  It has just the right amount of creepiness, the right amount of character development, the right amo...