25. Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm

I've been meaning to read this book for quite a while. I really like Jennifer Holm and she won her second Newberry Honor for this book. She also visited our library last year and the girls and I were very impressed by her fun, bouncy personality. She won her first Newberry Honor for Our Only May Amelia, which I read a while back and really liked. She also writes the Babymouse series with her brother, who does the illustrations which Emma and Mary both really enjoyed. So when they decided on this book for this month's Mother-Daughter Bookclub, I was very excited.

I loved it. The book centers around 12 year old Penny who lives with her widowed mother and maternal grandparents in 1950's New Jersey. That side of her life is pretty sedate. Her deceased father, however, came from a big Italian family that adds spice and excitement to her life. She has lots of uncles, aunts, and cousins, along with a spunky grandma, who provide her with all the excitement she could ever want. There are lots of fun characters and stories about this Italian family. But along the way, Penny begins to unravel the mystery of her father's death and uncover the hardships suffered by this Italian clan in WWII. I had never really heard a lot about the Italian-American experience in WWII so it was enlightening to me. As a kid in school, we always talked about the Japanese-American experience because Topaz (a Japanese internment camp in Delta) was so close. (I grew up in Orem.) I enjoyed learning about it. I thought I was WWIIed out, after Kate's Holocaust play, but still enjoyed reading this different perspective on the war. I also liked that it was loosely based on the author's family history (her mother being the inspiration for Penny). I would highly recommend it to anyone.

24. Blind Justice: A Sir John Fielding Mystery by Bruce Alexander

I picked up this book because it is the book for my book club this month, as recommended by Darlene. She's a mystery buff and this is a favorite series of hers, so I was pretty confident that it would be good. I wasn't disappointed. This mystery series is loosely based on the real historical figure, Sir John Fielding, who started what became the London police force. (I was more familiar with his brother Henry Fielding who wrote Tom Jones.) It is set in late 1700s London. The series is told through the eyes of a 12 year old boy, who Sir Fielding rescues from the streets, and who serves him as a helper in his investigaions because Sir Fielding is blind. It is just the kind of mystery I like, interesting but not graphic. A reviewer on the internet complained that it was not gritty enough, but that's exactly what I like about it. Why does everything have to be gritty nowadays? I like reading the mystery without having the lingering "gritty" images. Blind Justice is the first of the series and explores the apparent suicide of Lord Goodhope. I really liked it and would recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction or mysteries. I definitely am going to read the next and am just waiting for it to come in at the library.

21-23. The Tripod Trilogy by John Christopher

When I was in college I had to take a Young Adult Literature class for my major. In that class I originally heard of the first book in this trilogy, The White Mountains. It was on several recommended lists for science fiction for young adults. So later, after John and I were married, our library used to sell their discard books for a quarter. I would look through the stacks and if I recognized anything I would buy it. One time I saw this book and picked it up. I promptly put in on the shelf and it has sat there for the last 11 years. About a month ago I needed a small paperback book that would fit in my purse so I would have something to read while waiting for kids. The White Mountains was the first book I saw that met my qualifications.

As I started reading it, I realized this is the first real sci-fi book I've read in years. There are aliens and everything. It really feels like Ray Bradbury or George Orwell. I loved it. I was thoroughly intrigued by the set-up: Aliens have taken over the Earth and roam it in 3-legged metallic tripods. They control the humans by putting a "cap" on them at the age of 13 and controlling their brains. They have set the world back to the dark ages, pre-technology and printing press. Although it sounds crazy, it is written so well that it seems completely believable.

After reading the first, I had to see what happened next, so I checked out the other two in the series, The City of Gold and Lead and The Pool of Fire, at the library. They are equally intriguing. So I must say that if you like classic science fiction, you'll love this trilogy. These books are creative, well-written, and they make you think about some great philosophical questions, as all great science fiction does. They are great stuff!!

20. Dragon's Breath by E. D. Baker

This is the second book in The Frog Princess series. It's another great book. My girls love this series and I think this is my second time listening to this book. This time Emmarelda and Eadrick try to help her aunt find all the ingredients that will transform her aunt's love from an otter back into a human. Along the way they meet sea monsters, sirens, and dragons. This story is funny, with lots of adventures and really interesting characters. I listened to the book on CD and the lady who read it was awesome. The books are some of the best fractured fairy tales out there. I would highly recommend them.

19. Bobby VS Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee

This author was recommended at a children's and young adult literature class I went to at my library's literacy conference. I just randomly picked one or her books. I found this book silly and off-beat. It's about a fourth grade boy who's not sure what to do about having a best friend who is a girl. They pretty much pretend not to know each other at school, even though they do things after school and walk most of the way to and from school together. I remember being that age and having boy friends, even though you were only supposed to like girls. He ends up doing something dumb and making his friend Holly really mad, along with all the other girls in his class. My favorite parts though are his dad who is a stay-at-home dad who used to be a star NFL linebacker (nicknamed "The Freezer"), and the friendship he develops with his pet goldfish, Rover. The book is very funny, clever and well-written. I can't wait to read another book by Lisa Yee.

18. Joy the Summer Vacation Fairy by Daisy Meadow

This is another great fairy book that Ruth picked out. My favorite part of this book is when Jack Frost steals all the sand on the beach to make a giant sand castle. Classic!! I'm not sure what a beach would look like with all the sand missing, but it sure would be interesting. And the best part is when all the sand gets blown back at the end of the book, and no one seems to be terribly surprised, just grateful. I really love these fairy books.

17. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

I'm not sure what compelled me to read this book, except that I have read all of her others and I was curious. It must have been OK because I read it all in one day. I find her writing kind of hypnotic. Though I read Eclipse, I didn't really remember the character Bree Tanner, but it didn't matter. It is a fun, short novella. If you like the Twilight novels, you'll probably like the book. I think my favorite part about it though was that $1 from each book was donated to the American Red Cross. How appropriate.

16.The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

This was last month's Mother-Daughter Book Club book. It is a cute, short book with beautiful pictures. It's not really a picture book, but more a novella with lots of pictures. It is the story of a little night fairy (a fairy who is awake at night and sleeps during the day) who accidentally has her wings ripped off by a bat and gets trapped in a garden. She is so traumatized that she decided to become a day fairy and has a bunch of adventures. It is a cute, short read and the fairy learns a lot about being herself. I liked it and so did both Kate and Mary. I think it would make a great read-aloud for any little girl. The author also won the Newberry Medal in 2008 for her book Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village.

15. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

My kids love this book. They have it on CD and have listened to it several times, to the point that they have some of it memorized. This was Mary's bedtime story pick. It was her way of getting me to read the book. Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe I read it too slow, but it was not my favorite book. It is very clever and well-written, but something about the tone of it turned me off. John says I lost my sarcasm meter when we got married. Maybe that was my problem, I don't know. However, I really do have to give Sanderson credit for the books' turn-things-upside-down plot. I especially like the dinosaurs who are small, well-educated, non-violent, and speak with an English accent. There are lots of really funny parts and I would recommend it but I'm not sure if I will read any of its' sequels. We'll see.