Parts 1 and 2 and below.
So, to continue with what I've read so far this year.
29) The Letter Writer by Ann Rinaldi. I have a special fondness for Ann Rinaldi books, but this one didn't transport me the way some of her others have. But I didn't know that much about Nat Turner's rebellion, so it was interesting.
30) Dramarama by E. Lockhart. This was a fun quick read with pretty likeable characters in an entertaining setting.
31) 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares. This book was fine, but I kept thinking it would be better if she weren't trying to connect it into the Sisterhood books - the connection felt forced, and the new characters could have stood on their own just fine.
32) Read My Lips by Teri Brown. This was good but I wasn't always convinced by the main characters motivations.
33) Maezli a Story of the Swiss Alps by Johanna Spyri. This was another book that had been on my shelf for years (I have a very old copy). But where Heidi has such beautiful imagery and a charming story, I felt hat Maezli fell flat. There was a good story of misplaced Dukes and such and of course the orphan children that find out they belong to the castle, but it took me months to read this relatively short book because it didn't really hold my interest.
34) Oh. My. Gods. By Tera Lynn Childs. This was a very fun read. Kind of Percy Jackson for the teenage girl set. Fun and imaginative with very likeable characters.
35) Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper. Elizabethan and Shakespearan fiction at its finest. Was Shakespeare married to two different woman? What if the other Anne was his muse but could never acknowledge him publicily as her husband? A great romp through Elizabethan England.
36) My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald. I got this book at an author's event where I heard Lisa speak about her book. Lisa was warm and charming and funny and her book is the same. Great characters, great story. And my 12 year old daughter loved it as well (and normally she goes for fantasies)
37) The House on Prague Street by Hana Demetz. A fictionalized memoir set in Prague in World War II. This is a book I've owned for quite some time and have read several times. It is told very much from the point of view of someone growing up in difficult times which means that some of the grounding details are omitted - like specific dates.
38) Bewitching Season (Book 1) by Marissa Doyle. Twin sisters are secret witches and must rescue Princess Victoria from a wizard. A fun read.
39 & 40) Of Time and of Seasons and A Striving After Wind by Norma Johnston. The civil war books of the various family saga books that Norma Johnston has written. These are books I own and have read many times. Though this time through I was beginning to think there was maybe a bit too much moralizing going on.
41) The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Training Them by E. Lockhart. A sequel to The Boyfriend List, I didn't find this one quite as engaging, but it was still a very enjoyable read.
42) How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles. Talk about being thrown into an uncomfortable situation: Amy is taken to Israel by a father she barely knows to meet relatives who don't know she exists. The story was good and characters realistic, but I found myself wondering about the adults who would let a kid flounder around in a situation like that without offering a bit of help. Makes for a good story, but did make me question the logistics sometimes.
So that's it so far this year. About eight of them are books I've read before, so I don't think they count for the challenge. So that puts the number of "new-reads" at 34. I think I can meet that challenge of52 books for the year.
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