So excited to be reading a book that I'm finding hard to put down. It's been awhile since I've felt that fire, but Insurgent is working its magic on me. I haven't finished it yet--but I couldn't wait to share how great it is. I've heard Allegiant will make me mad, but there's no stopping me now!

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I FINALLY read Divergent.

I finally finished reading all of the current award book nominees, so I've been able to read some different things. I finally had a chance to read Divergent. It was pretty good. I will definitely read Insurgent. I'm just waiting for the person who has it checked out to return it. In the meantime I bought a couple of books at the Book Fair. I just finished The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie. I love a good, spooky story and that one fit the bill. When I googled the title for the author's name, I found that the book has been made into a web series that can be found on YouTube. Right now I'm reading another ghost story that I bought at the Book Fair. This one is by Dan Poblocki and it's called The House on Stone's Throw Island.  He's one of my favorite ghost story authors, so if you like that genre and you've never read any of his books--you should definitely check one of them out.

I have been reading next year's Truman award nominees, but last week I finished the one I had checked out and needed something else to read, so I dug into my pile of "other books to read" and pulled out The Pinballs by Betsy Byars. This book was written in the late 1970s and was a Mark Twain Award winner. The Pinballs is the story of three foster children who come to live with foster parents at the same time. Their situations are all different and their interactions form the basis of the story. It was easy to see why this book was a reader's favorite--even if it was 40 years ago. It was a great book--highly recommended.

Rogue by Lyn Miller-Lachmann was the second Truman nominee that I've read for next year. It was a good book. The main character has Asperger's Syndrome and struggles in social situations. After an incident at school, she gets expelled and is being home-schooled. She desperately wants to make friends and her hopes rise when a boy her age and his little brother move in across the street. The new boys have family secrets, though, which threaten not only their friendship, but their lives. This was a great read--give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

I recently finished The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau. It is on the list of Truman nominees for next year. It is the first book I've read from next year's list. It was good. It's a dystopian novel. If you like books like The Hunger Games, Life as We Knew It, or City of Ember--then you'll love this one. I liked it enough to read the sequel, but I want to read all of next year's nominees first.

Shiloh

So--how is your reading of Shiloh going? Do you like it? Did you read ahead?

I just finished The Shadow Throne, which is book three in Jennifer A. Nielsen's The Ascendance Trilogy.  I really enjoyed this trilogy. The False Prince was the first book and I read it because it was on the Truman list this year. I enjoyed it, so I read the sequel--The Runaway King. I don't always read sequels. I really have to like the story. Reading all three books in the trilogy says a lot about how much I like the story and Ms. Nielsen's writing. I tried to read the second book after Cinder--which is called Scarlet, but I lost interest a few chapters in and just couldn't make myself read it. I may pick it up again someday, though. Next on my list is actually another sequel to a book in this year's Truman list. The first book was called Shadow and Bone. The second book is called Siege and Storm.  I'll let you know how I like that one.

I just finished reading Unstoppable by Tim Green. Judging the book by it's cover, I thought it was going to be a "sports book" because it had a picture of a football player on it. Boy, was I ever wrong! Sure, it had football in it, but it was so much more than a book about sports. I don't want to give the storyline away, but this book is about fear and courage and perseverance and I would recommend it to anyone. This book has been nominated for the 2014-2015 Truman Readers Award and rightfully so!