Best of 2010: Best Books

Snagging the idea from Kate Hart and Sarah E:

Here's a list of my FAVORITE books of 2010

I read a lot of books this year--- most of them trendy and cool with lots of buzz.  The Duff, Paranormalcy, If I Stay...  these books were excellent reads and I highly recommend them, but there were a few books I wanted to feature because I enjoyed them more.

Half Life of Planets:
I loved this book- I reviewed it on my blog and e-mail the author.  I loved this book more than Will Grayson Will Grayson.  It's a story told from two POV and one of the character is an boy with Asperger's syndrome.  As a teacher, every year I teach at least one student with  Asperger's syndrome and I never stop to think how they are going to handle their first love. This book touched me on personal and professional level.  And I wasn't the only one who loved this book.

The Ghost and The Goth
100% solid FUN.  Every page 100% fun.  The voices of the two characters were very distinct voices and very different motivations.  The plot was solid.  Will was one of the most interesting characters I've read all year.  I even gave him a Christmas Gift this year.

Little Brother
Possibly one of the most important books I've read all year.  The story about a boy who's a techie kid and the government thinks he's a terrorist.  He's not and doesn't become one until the government kidnaps him and goes too far.   It's about friendship and impossible odds.  It raises lots of questions about privacy and safety. 

Perfect Chemistry:

HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT. Did I mention this book is HOT?  A gang member makes a bet he can sleep with the perfect girl in school.  Seriously her rep is that she's perfect.  However once the story goes on, she's not perfect by a long shot.  It reads fast and it's fun and powerfully touching.  I loved this book.

October Sky:
I didn't want to teach it.  I didn't want to read it. I was convinced my students would kill me or complain the board of ed and have me fired.  You know what? I loved it.  I cried at the end.  I whimpered. My students LOVED it- three students finished it in a week.  Before we left on winter break nine students finished the book.  20% of my students finished the book before the class got to page 60.  Nearly 50% of the students were further in the book then we were reading as a class.   The story is about a boy growing up in a West Virgina Coal mining town who decides to build rockets.  It's a wonderfully inspirational story. 




Go forth and read-- What are your top books of 2010?

Road Trip Wednesday- Best book of July

This week's question is, what was the best book you've read in the month of July.


Oh that's the easiest question EVER.

 I LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED this book.  I wrote a review on it here.  

Long review short I gave it 11 out of 10--- for the record I gave The HUNGER GAMES a 7.  So yeah.
It's about a girl who has a reputation for kissing boys and gives up kissing boys as a science experiment.  Then she meets Hank, she thinks he's cool and mysterious like an artist but really he has aspbergurs. 

I loved this book SO much Friday I'm posting an interview with the author. 

I loved this book so much, one of the MYSTERY boxes will be containing it!

What's a MYSTERY BOX?  Well, it's a cool prize you could WIN if you enter my contest in celebration for my 50 followers.  (55 now!) 
Go enter!  

Book Review Half-life of Planets

One sentence review: THE BEST BOOK I'VE READ ALL SUMMER.


The Half-life of Planets <--- go buy it!

Why did I read it: Real reason, I loved the cover. That's it.

Plot: Lianna is a rep for kissing boys and running away, she's also doing a summer program about stars. Unlike most of the female protags, out there, Lianna is science smart. Hank has Asperger’s syndrome and his hyper obsessed with music. (BTW stars and music are my two interests so they should have renamed this book, Erinn here is the perfect book for you). Lianna and Hank meet in the woman's room of a hospital. He's freaking out because he has a huge stain on the front of his pants. Lianna helps him, (not in a dirty way, get your mind out of the gutter) later on they meet back up at a vending machine and chat some more. They form a friendship and it starts to morph into something more. But Lianna doesn't know he has Asperger’s syndrome, she thinks he's a moody artist. She's also sworn off kissing for the summer as well. How will she react when she learns the truth about Hank? How will Hank react when he hears the first girl he's ever liked and likes him back won't kiss him. What I loved about it: Hank! Asperger’s syndrome has a very special place in my heart. Nearly every year I have one student with Asperger’s syndrome and they are my FAVORITE kids to teach. Kids with Asperger’s syndrome make a lot of sense if you spent 30 seconds and put yourself in their shoes. Brendan Halpin nailed it perfectly.
I also loved that Lianna and Hank were both smart and thought about everything they did and said. They felt real to me.
During the scene where Hank is trying to figure out his "masturbation problem" I laughed so hard I woke my daughter up.
Its real and painful and wonderful.

What I would change:
nothing. I thought it was perfect. I found myself stopping to mentally write more to the scenes, which is what I do only with a book I love.

Final Review: This is the first book I've read all summer that I want to go back and reread. I'm off to buy multiple copies off the book, one for me, one for my classroom, and one for whoever wins my blog contest.

Rating 11 out of 10 <-- Guys I gave the Hunger Games a 7, that has to mean something. Ok, I'll pull out the big guns for this book. I liked it more than I liked Will Grayson Will Grayson... A JOHN GREEN Book and by now you should all know how much I love John Green.

I wrote an AMAZON review for this book.

I sent Brendan Halpin an e-mail with interview questions which I'll be posting soon. That's how much I loved the book. I E-MAILED THE AUTHOR TO TELL HIM!!!!!