Reader Girls Blog

Since we're new to this book blogging universe, we'd thought we'd join in with what other notable book lovers are doing: In My Mailbox (which was started by The Story Siren). We think it's a great idea to have a round-up of the books we get each week. For us, opening a package or bag from a store is just as exciting as unwrapping Christmas presents! This is what we found in our mailbox this week (and thanks to our post man for leaving our packages on our front step--always show a good post person some LUV when you can with a little token of appreciation). All of these titles were swapped this week and we can't wait to begin reading them, especially THE SECRET YEAR since it just came out and Laurie read an excerpt a while ago and loved it.

Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 140 pages Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (January 1989) If only he had a second chance!  Chris Palmer is always competing with his brother. Hotshot Terry,star athlete, is their father's pride and joy, and Chris is tired of being number two. But if he hadn't been trying to show up Terry, the accident would never have happened.          Chris was just going out for a little skiing and a little hunting. The hungry coyote seemed an easy mark, and big brother Terry had never shot one. Then the echoing crack of his rifle sets off an thundering avalanche, and Chris is buried alive under a moutain of snow. No one saw him go under. He is all alone. MY REVIEW: This book was part of my English class's required reading so I had to read it, but it was pretty interesting. Chris is skiing and hunting but when he shoots his rifle it sets off an avalanche that traps him for about a week. Being buried in an avalanc...

Date : July 2006 Page Count : 217 Reading Level : Ages 10-12 BOOK DESCRIPTION: "How many classes do we have together, again?" Tam whispered again nervously as she eyed the school. "One," I said miserably. "I guess it's time to start the first day of the rest of our middle school life," Justin said as he slid into the  aisle. Yeah, I thought as I stood up. Time to join the other wild creatures of the sixth grade. MY REVIEW: Allie, 11, enters sixth grade and loses her BFF, but she meets new friends. She is witty, funny and bubbly with her definitions for the so-called "strange beasts" she encounters in her new middle school. My favorite word is "norks," a combination of a nerd and a dork. Sixth grade is a year of change, a new building, and new faces, not to mention the possibilities of making new friends. During the year Allie makes new friends and finds her true self. I really loved Allie's sense of humor whic...

Publisher : Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers Date : March 2007 Page Count : 306 Reading Level : Ages 14-17 BOOK DESCRIPTION:   Imagine that you're going through one of the hardest parts of your life--being a teenager--when your parents are killed in a horrific car crash. Now you, your 17-year-old sister, and your three-year-old brother are on your own.  Imagine what that would be like. Then read this book and find out. MY REVIEW: I was taken away by Vincent's true life story. Once you start reading, you realize how much you love your family and how much they matter in your life. Sometimes we forget this, but we shouldn't because in the blink of an eye, the author's parents are. . . . Gone. Killed in a crash. And her family is just her, her older sister and much younger brother. Wow, to be honest, this book made me cry. It was a complete page turner, but also very heartbreaking. The first chapter gets you hooked. It moves qui...

Publisher : Grosset & Dunlap Date : October 2007 Page Count : 158 Reading Level : Ages 9-12 BOOK DESCRIPTION: Brynn’s just transferred to a brand-new school in a town close by. A town in Bizarro World, that is, where academic excellence is the fast track to popularity and Candace—yes, quiet, seemingly insecure Candace—is the reigning queen bee. Brynn’s not sure how she’ll ever fit in to this parallel universe, until one day she notices Candace crumbling under the weight of some serious self-imposed stress. So Brynn takes Candace under her wing and teaches her the fine art of chilling out before she turns into a complete basket case at the tender age of thirteen. MY REVIEW: Like all Camp Confidential books, they're real to life. But in this book they're not at camp, they're at school. In this story, Brynn just moved and is going to a new school. She expects to be "the new girl" and also expects the normal, average middle school....but once she arrives ...

Publisher : Scholastic Press Date : May 2009 Page Count : 250 Reading Level : Ages 9-12 BOOK DESCRIPTION: Rissa Bartholomew didn't plan on declaring her independence from all of her friends at her own birthday party. But somehow, that's exactly what she did. Now she's entering sixth grade without a single friend, and she's determined to make new ones without simply following the herd. MY REVIEW: This book was a really quick read. Seriosly, I read it in one evening. Rissa is 11 and entering middle school (which I can relate to since we're the same age). She's tired of the way of her old friends are always talking about clothes and shopping, stuff she's not really interested in. What Rissa wants is to be independent--like her new friend, Violet. During all of this, she's forgetting about her BFF since birth, Beth (they were born at the same hospital on the same day). Rissa is trying to be true to herself and not just a copycat. Then Violet and R...