Lost and Found

Lost and Found by Andrew Clements

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

Identical twins Jay Ray and Ray Jay have spent twelve years being mistaken for each other. On the first day of school in their new town, Ray stays home sick while Jay goes to his classes and discovers that due to a clerical error, the school doesn't know he's a twin. The boys decide to take advantage of this and find out what it feels like to be a unique individual for a change. It's fun at first, but their plan has some unexpected challenges.

I enjoyed the peek into the world of twelve-year-old boys. It was a fun, quick read. Frindle is still my favorite, but this is fun, too.


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The Lost Duke of Wyndham

The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read book #1 after I read book #2 (Mr Cavendish, I Presume), and maybe it's because I already knew the basic story overview, but I liked book #1 better. The heroine seemed a little more mature, a little funnier. It was the perfect book to read while curled up on my couch during a snowstorm.


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New Moon

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

My review

rating: 3 1/2 of 5 stars

Whew! I finished it! Now on to the next one...

New Moon wasn't quite as good as Twilight, largely because I got irritated with Bella for ever believing Edward didn't love her and for not figuring out MUCH sooner what was going on with Jacob. But it was still an engrossing, fast-paced, couldn't-put-it-down read. Obviously the second in a series, since the end of the book left so many things unfinished.

I think my most favorite part of the novel was the way Stephenie Meyer showed the passage of time in the months after the Cullens left. I really felt and understood Bella's pain, even as I disagreed with her logic and actions.

Bring on Eclipse!


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Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

Riveting. That is the best description I can come up with. I felt immersed in the story, in the pain felt by the main characters. It's a beyond-the-grave story of a teenage girl explaining how she came to commit suicide and the 13 people who unwittingly did (or did not do) things that contributed to her decision. Reading it felt like watching a Titanic movie--you KNOW how it's going to end, and yet you are hoping so very very hard that somehow THIS time things will go differently.

The book is filled with the angst of teenagers: very real pain and yet lacking the perspective that comes with age & outliving high school. Full of so many of the decisions of youth, especially the bad ones that seem good or harmless at the time.

I especially liked the structure of the story, how Jay Asher writes it as almost a dialogue between Hannah's voice on the cassettes and Clay's thoughts and interactions with the (living) world.

There are definitely some sexual themes, though, so I would recommend it for high school age or older rather than middle schoolers.


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