A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

This amazing graphic memoir by Dan Santat is out in the world today and if you teach middle school especially, you need this book for your classroom library.

I read this book on my flight back home from NCTE back in November and I have been impatiently waiting to share this book with readers, but no more!

The premise of this book is that the summer before high school, Dan is presented with an opportunity to travel to Europe with a school group for 3 weeks, but he is initially ambivalent. He wants to experience new things, but he's not sure he wants to do it with some of his classmates. But as the trip goes on, he realizes how much bigger the world grows for him as he tries new and forbidden things for the first time (beer, cigarettes, coffee, and even steals a bike... this was the 80s... we were all feral in the 80s ), has his first summer romance, and he sees what the world has to offer beyond his small hometown.

I read this book on my flight home from NCTE and it was the perfect book to read on a plane. My experience living in Europe was in my 20s but I saw so much of my own experience in this book and how the world became so much bigger for me. I loved the way the story was structured, I love how it ended in a way that it felt like you were watching a movie, oh, and I also love that I understood most of the German throughout the book and laughed so hard when Dan was baring his soul to Helga, his Austrian host mother whom he lived with for a week and she said "Es tut mir leid, dass ich nicht verstehe was du sagt." This book has so much heart and is relatable in so many ways, whether that's the travel angle, the "middle school was torture" angle or the pining away for a summer romance angle. So many readers will devour this book and I'm so glad it's finally out in the world for more readers to love.

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

Published: February 28, 2023

Publisher: First Second

Pages: 320

Genre: Graphic Memoir

Audience: Older middle grade/younger YA

Disclosure: ARC received at NCTE 2022

Purchasing the book from the above Bookshop affiliate link supports independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale. 

Brunette Ambition by Lea Michele

Lea Michele is best known for her role as Rachel Berry on the wildly popular TV show Glee, but she was also an incredibly successful Broadway performer before she rose to TV stardom. In this memoir/how-to book, Lea tells her story of her rise to fame, as well as gives health, fitness, and beauty advice.

Brunette Ambition is beautifully laid out with many color photos and organized in such a way that makes it feel more like a magazine than a book. I know its unconventional and innovative approach to a memoir will appeal to teen girls, but as a thirtysomething teacher I wasn't impressed. The best parts of this book were when Lea forgot about the gimmicky layout with ridiculous diversions like recipes, beauty advice, and photographs of exercises she does to stay in shape, and just got real and told her story. She is not someone I would consider an authority on food or fitness, so adding those advice column-type diversions lessened the impact of her story. Instead, this book comes off as more novelty than substance.

What also didn't sit well with me about this book is that Lea talks a lot about staying true to who you are and not changing your appearance for the sake of Hollywood, yet the photos in this book are clearly heavily airbrushed. In addition, she comes of as a bit boastful when she talks about how to be red carpet ready, which she tries to downplay by attempting to approach her advice to the  "commoner"  by saying that her words hold true whether you're getting ready for the red carpet or your high school prom.

I'm not saying there aren't special moments in this book. I really do find Lea's story and her life fascinating -- I especially loved her story of when she met her hero, Barbara Streisand. But I wish she would have just focused on being real instead of distracting the reader with so much superficiality. I don't think this is a book I will be adding to my classroom library.


Brunette Ambition by Lea Michele
Published: May 20, 2014
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Pages: 208
Genre: Memoir/How-to
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Finished copy provided by publisher


If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.  

Bomb : The Race to Build - And Steal - The World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

He had a few more minutes to destroy seventeen years of evidence. 

Still in pajamas, Harry Gold raced around his cluttered bedroom, pulling out desk drawers, tossing boxes out of the closet, and yanking books from the shelves. He was horrified. Everywhere he looked were incriminating papers - a plane ticket stub, a secret report, a letter from a fellow spy.

All I had to do to book talk Bomb with my sixth grade literature classes was have them read the prologue. Now I have 40+ students who are clamoring to read it. When we read the first few pages of this book together as a class, I had them examine and dissect what made this an effective lead. Just about every single student hit it on the head: Sheinkin jumps right into the story, gives you just enough information to help you understand what is going on, but holds back enough to make it suspenseful and leaves you wanting more.

Bomb is a wonderful antidote to the mind-numbing history textbooks kids have to read in school these days. Ironic since Sheinkin is a former textbook writer himself. But, his author bio tells us he's trying to make up for his "crimes" as a textbook author by writing engaging nonfiction for kids and young adults. I think he's been reprieved.Sheinkin not only writes in an engaging, accessible way, but this nonfiction text reads like a spy novel. It's almost hard to believe that this is a true story. Bomb absolutely deserves all the shiny stickers it won at the ALA awards in January. 


Bomb: The Race to Build - And Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Published: September 4, 2012
Publisher: Flash Point
Pages: 272
Genre: Nonfiction/History
Audience: Middle Grade/Young Adult
Disclosure: Purchased Copy 

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis

Peter Sis grew up in communist Czechoslovakia under the watchful eye of the secret police during the Cold War. Under communism, Peter grew up a typical, brainwashed child of the Soviet regime. But as he grew older and art and western culture began to seep into his belief system, he realized that life under communist rule was not the ideal that the Soviet puppet masters made it out to be.

As an artist, Sis was constantly under suspicion from the secret police and his life in Prague was a discontented one. This book is the story of an artist's life behind the Iron Curtain.

Let me start off by saying right away that this is not your typical children's picture book. In fact, The Wall is a perfect example of why you can't assume that all picture books are for young children. There is a great deal of complexity going on with the text and illustrations that I would be so bold as to say that this book is geared more for high school, but definitely no earlier than middle school.

As a teacher, when I read a book like this, I can't help but get excited at the idea of using it in my classroom to teach text complexity. So many people are under the mistaken presumption that classic novels are the only texts that can show students any sort of sophistication and complexity that I wish more people would look to picture books. I highly recommend The Wall if you teach English or social studies in a middle school or high school setting. You will be surprised at the wealth of lessons your can pull from this text. If  you're a teacher in desperate need to stop using boring textbooks and start finding real texts full of voice (which, let's face it, we should ALL be that teacher!) then get yourself a copy of The Wall today!

 The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis
Published: August 21, 2007
Publisher: Ferrar, Straus, and Giroux
Pages: 56
Genre: Graphic Memoir
Audience: Middle School/High School
Disclosure: Purchased Copy

The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn

This biography of Mark Twain is not like any other biography you'll ever read. It is told from the point-of-view of Twain's most famous fictional character, Huckleberry Finn. Narrated in Huck's distinctive, unlearned voice, this book is sure to surprise and delight big kids and little kids alike. I might be so bold as to say that I don't think I've enjoyed a piece of nonfiction text more than this one. I spent most of my time reading this book laughing out loud and sharing entertaining passages with my husband who was watching TV and had to pause the DVR on many occasions just so I could read out loud to him.

Despite the fact that Huck is telling the story of Mark Twain and trying to showcase Twain's accomplishments, Huck is really stealing the show here with his humor and lack of learnin'. With passages like this, it's no wonder this book is rife with teachable moments, whether it's  real-life grammar lessons or a lesson on voice in writing:

Livy was always askin' Sam to talk about his days on the Mississippi. Maybe it was this that got his rememberies up. There's no knowin' for certain, but in the end his famousest book is about times when he was a boy.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (wherein I plays a very important part myself, if it don't seem like peacockin' to say so) tells about the doin's of a boy, sorta like Sam was way back.


The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Barry Blitt
Published: March 8, 2011
Publisher: Atheneum
Pages: 48
Genre: Biography
Audience: Middle Grade/Young Adult
Disclosure: Library Copy

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

I could've sworn I reviewed this book last summer when I read it, but alas, it went unreviewed, which is a crying shame because this book is beautiful. And with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day coming up and Black History Month approaching, this is a book that needs to be on everyone's radar.

One of the reasons kids (and adults for that matter) find history so boring is because they are forced to read "un-biased" texts void of any voice. Told from the perspective of a "grandmother-like figure who would allow me to focus on major historical milestones that affected both her family and the rest of the country," Kadir Nelson creates a history of the African American experience full of, well, Heart and Soul.

Once you put a book like this in the hands of students, suddenly history comes alive. I am not ashamed to admit that I teared up a couple times while reading this book. For a non-fiction text to do that is quite a feat.

This would be a great mentor text to use with kids about voice and writing about history through someone else's lens.



Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson
Published: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 108
Genre: Nonfiction
Audience: Middle Grade/Young Adult
Disclosure: Book checked out from my local library

Teen Boat! by Dave Roman and John Green

The teen years are full of awkward, angst-filled moments. But if you thought your teen years were awkward, you've got nothing on Teen Boat, a boy who can turn from teen boy into a boat at will. The tag line of this graphic novel says everything you need to know about it: the angst of being a teen, the thrill of being a boat. And with that, you get an idea of the quirky humor and ridiculous yet intriguing premise.

This is a graphic novel that one might initially dismiss as fluff, but don't allow yourself to only be enamored with its quirkiness; there's a lot happening beneath the surface too. Upon first reading, I'm sure I missed all the symbolism permeating the story because I was just so delighted by the quirk factor. I think I will have to encounter a second reading very soon because I know there will be things I missed the first time around.

This book was a delightful surprise and I'm looking forward to reading more of Roman's work, especially after getting the chance to talk to him at NCTE/ALAN.

Dave draws in my copy of Teen Boat!

My personalized copy of Teen Boat!

Oh, and just in case you were wondering (like I was), the John Green of Teen Boat! is not the same as the John Green of VlogBrothers, The Fault in Our Stars, and Looking for Alaska.  Thanks Alyson Beecher for clearing that up for me! :)


Teen Boat! by Dave Roman and John Green
Published: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Clarion Books
Pages: 144
Genre: Graphic Novel
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Copy acquired at the 2012 ALAN conference

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

ARC review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

That whole day, being with Willem, being Lulu, it made me realize that all my life I've been living in a small, square room , with no windows and no doors. And I was fine. I was happy, even. I thought. Then someone came along and showed me there was a door in the room. One that I'd never even seen before. Then he opened it for me.

When Allyson Healy takes a trip to Europe with her best friend Melanie the summer before her Freshman year of college, she quickly discovers that most of the trip is drudgery: filled with schedules, a motherly tour guide, and tourist trap after tourist trap. But close to the end of their trip, in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Melanie and Allyson ditch their tour group to attend an underground performance of Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night. That is where she sees Willem for the first time, a ruggedly handsome Dutch actor performing in the play, and there is an irrefutable spark. So when their first chance encounter leads to a second, Allyson decides to ditch her normally good girl persona and take a risk, choosing to run off to Paris with Willem for the day.

That decision vaults her into one of the most tumultuous years of her life, filled with angst and self-discovery, and perhaps even some love along the way: love of herself and of others.

True to Gayle Forman's touching, sentimental style, she writes a page-turning narrative full of heart and soul in Just One Day. I must admit, I was a bit dubious of Allyson's intentions midway through the novel, and even found her to be a tad too emo and angsty for my liking. At certain points of the story I even found it extremely difficult to empathize with her. But I should not have doubted. Forman once again proves her writing chops and shows her readers how to truly craft a three-dimensional character.

There were so many beautiful moments in this book, and they all revolve around Allyson's journey of self-discovery. The friendship she forms with the vibrant and flamboyant D'Angelo Harrison - AKA, "Dee" - is one of the most endearing parts of the novel and helps keep the plot moving. Dee is the perfect example of how a secondary character could steal the show, and would have, if plotted incorrectly. But in this case, he came in, did his job (offered some lightheartedness to some otherwise dark and dismal scenes) and then left Allyson to do the rest.

Equally as compelling is Forman's use of travel as self-discovery (which I am obviously a big proponent of given the theme of my blog). There is a particular scene in the book where Allyson is in Paris and she enters a patisserie where there is much celebration and the people inside ask her to join them even though she doesn't know a soul in the room. Her reaction to the events that unfold along with the reason for the celebration  proves to be one of the most beautiful and memorable scenes in the book, and a perfect case for why people should travel the world: to seek out those beautiful, unexpected moments that you can't get from, as Mark Twain would say, "vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

Given that most people who have put this book on their to-read list know that there will be a second book told from Willem's point-of-view, the ending shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Though I have to admit, I'm glad we don't have to wait a year to read Just One Year, since the planned publication appears to be some time in 2013. I for one will be one of the first people clamoring to read it.

If you're someone like me who loves tales of travel and self-discovery, put Just One Day on your to-read list today!

If you like these books, then you might like Just One Day (and vice-versa):
Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman


Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Expected Publication: January 8, 2013
Publisher: Dutton Juvenille
Pages: 368
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: ARC acquired at NCTE conference

Audiobook Review: Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin

When Anya Balanchine is released from Liberty Children's Facility, she wants nothing more than to go back to school and live a normal, peaceful life with her younger sister Natty. Unfortunately, wherever Anya goes, controversy and illegal activity is sure to follow, and it isn't long before the family business she wishes so badly to escape comes back to put a stranglehold on her. At first Anya spends a great deal of time and energy trying to break through the chains of her family business, but she soon realizes that escape is futile and she must surrender to what Michael Corleone and she now know is true: "Every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in."

Because It Is My Blood is the second book in the Birthright series by Gabrielle Zevin, the first book being All These Things I've Done, which is where we learn that Anya Balanchine grew up in a world where coffee and chocolate are illegal, but her family runs a very successful chocolate company in Russia, selling their wares on the black market in the U.S. And just like All These Things I've Done, Because It Is My Blood has a quiet power to it. Anya is one of the strongest, fiercest female protagonists I've ever come in contact with and yet that ferocity is coated under a thick layer of stoicism and control. And despite her reserved nature, Anya is not cold. She comes across as quite likeable even though in the hands of a less dextrous author, I'm sure she would have come across as icy and robotic. I continue to marvel at what a contradictory yet empathetic character Zevin has created in Anya Balanchine.

Just as with the first audiobook, Because It Is my Blood is narrated by Ilyana Kadushin and she is every bit as perfect for the role of Anya as she was in the first book. If you read the first book and enjoyed it, there is no doubt in my mind that you will enjoy the continuation of Anya's story in Because It Is My Blood. 

My only real contention with this book is that it is categorized as dystopia when it reads nothing like a dystopia. In my review of All These Things I've Done, I called it dystopia-lite because while society has degraded and become more corrupt, it wasn't drastic enough to feel dystopian. There was no Big Brother, or factions, or an arena full of kids fighting each other to the death. Corruption was evident but not perverse as it is in most dystopias.

Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin
Series: Birthright #2
Audiobook Narrator: Ilanya Kadushin
Published: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan Audio
Pages: 350
Audiobook Length: 10 hours, 51 minutes
Genre: Dystopia? <------ I'm still not convinced of this
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Audiobook received for review from publisher

 

See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles

I never felt like the special youngest child before Charlie was born. Only that one day when I was sick. Most of the time I felt like the extra kid to clothe or take to the dentist. But when Charlie came along, my parents totally changed. They doted and coddled and adored. They filled a baby book with all of Charlie's firsts, while my own baby book remained mostly blank.

 Fern has always felt like the neglected child in her family. Her dad is always coming up with some new scheme to bring more customers into to their restaurant, her mom is always meditating somewhere private, her sister, despite taking a year off after high school, does minimal work at the family restaurant, and her brother is too busy running away from his problems whenever things get too real for him. Of course, there's also Charlie: the baby of the family and the child whom Fern feels is the most loved by her parents despite the fact that she seems to play a major role in helping raise him. If it weren't for her best friend Ran, Fern would be alone in the world. Which is exactly how she feels one unassuming morning when her family's lives are changed forever...

See You at Harry's is my first experience reading a Jo Knowles book but it will certainly not be my last. This book is special. And Fern, despite her resentment toward her family at feeling like a neglected child, does not come off as unlikeable in the least bit. She's a character you immediately empathize with and wish you could wrap your arms around to make up for all the affection she's missed out on from her self-centered mother and oblivious father. We get a sense of Fern's resentment at being the neglected child from the very first page when she declares that the best day of her life was the day she "threw up four times and had a fever of 103 degrees." Why was that such a special day for her? Well, it was because her mother actually spent time with her and doted on her. Until that moment and every moment after, she has felt ignored and unloved.

Normally when the main character of a book is in middle school you can usually bet that it is categorized as middle grade, but because it deals partially with the main character's brother struggling with his sexual identity,  I have to say that it straddles the line of middle grade and young adult. Right or wrong, there will obviously be people and parents out there who won't like the idea of their middle grade child reading about any character struggling with their sexuality and so it is bound to cause some controversy. But just as divorce has become a societal norm, so too has it become the norm to find families with children who are struggling to deal with their homosexuality. Again, whether or not you think it's right or wrong should not be the issue here. We need to put our own morals and prejudices aside for a moment and recognize that this is becoming a part of our society and we can't just ignore the fact that families are dealing with these issues.

This is a book that you will struggle with because it deals with a family that is slowly falling apart. It contains a great deal of sadness within its 300+ pages, but have faith in Fern. She makes it worth your while to keep turning the page to the very end.

I recently finished this book in a weekend. With my frantic schedule as the school year is quickly winding down, I haven't had time to sit down and devour a book in this way in quite a few weeks (maybe even months). But that speaks to what kind of book this is. It's one that, as Kate Messner said, "will break your heart and put it back together again."


See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles
Published: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Candlewick
Pages: 311
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Middle Grade/Young Adult
Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines

So I haven't done anything foodie related in a while. When the school year goes full force, my passion for food often takes a backseat and I end up eating a lot of cereal for dinner. But alas, I just recently picked up The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook at the library and thought I would write my thoughts about it. I don't often review a cookbook without having made at least one recipe from it, but since this is so much more than a cookbook, I thought I could justify giving my thoughts on it without having made anything from it.

First of all, you wouldn't think with a title like The Hunger Games that there would be much to put inside a cookbook, but coming in at 239 pages, there's a lot more things food-related in the series than I first remembered. The blurb on the back of the book states:

Recipes inspired by foraging with Katniss, hunting with Gale, baking with Peeta, and indulging at the Capitol.

The chapters are divided thusly:
Chapter 1: Breakfast of Champions
Chapter 2: Breaking Bread
Chapter 3: Keep the Campfires Low and Forage: Soups, Stews, and Salads
Chapter 4: Humble Beginnings
Chapter 5: Sink or Swim - Seafood
Chapter 6: Don't Call me Chicken - Poultry Dishes for the Brave
Chapter 7: Put Some Meat on Your Bones - Beef, Lamb, and Pork
Chapter 8: Wild Game for Wild Girls
Chapter 9: Just Desserts
Appendix: Katniss's Family Book of Herbs

Each recipe has an explanation for why it's in the cookbook and how it connects to the series. Some connections are directly relevant to the story, such as the recipe for Katniss's Craved Cheese Buns:

Katniss loves Peeta's family's cheese buns, and throughout The Hunger Games trilogy the buns become a symbol of home and of Katniss and Peeta's lives before they became tributes. This symbolism is so pervasive that Katniss's preferences for cheese buns becomes part of Peeta and Katniss's "Real or Not Real" game to help Peeta find himself after the Capitol violated and changed his memories.

But some connections feel like you're playing the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but with The Hunger Games instead of Kevin Bacon. Like this recipe for Super Healthy Dried Fruit Quinoa Salad:

While Katniss is able to find and gather her own fresh food, the Careers can only survive on pre-made, preserved snacks that they grabbed when they first entered the arena. This juxtaposition gives you a good idea of who is more likely to survive. If only she had some quinoa, Katniss could blend it with the stolen fruit to make the incredibly healthy (not to mention filling) quinoa salad below.

And some recipes, while not entirely connected to the series, have lovely symbolism, such as the White Chocolate Chocolate Cookies:

A twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie, this cookie is similar to Katniss's spirit - mostly dark, with patches of light throughout.

While most of the recipes in this book are well-thought out and written with great respect and care for the food, it is a bit inconsistent in places. Many recipes call for making everything from scratch, but every once in a while you will come across something that requires you to use a boxed cake mix or a can of cream of mushroom soup. It's like the book jumps around from Julia Child to Sandra Lee.

The recipes in the wild game section are definitely, in my opinion, more of a novelty than something a reader of this series is likely to make. With recipes like Mr. Mellark's Favorite Fried Squirrel, Hazelle's Beaver Stew, and Grilled Tree Rat with Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce, I'm not sure how many die-hard fans are going to be clamoring to give those dishes a try any time soon. I wonder if the author even tried them?

On the whole, I enjoyed reading this cookbook and being reminded of just how important food was in the series: whether it was, as the back of the book says, "foraging with Katniss" or "indulging at the Capitol." Every fan of the series should at least give this book a look, but I highly recommend checking it out at the library before committing yourself to a purchase. I might buy the book for the simple fact that I showed it to my students and they were excited about reading it and possibly trying some of the recipes (they wanted to have a Hunger Games party where everyone made something from the cookbook) but as for including it in my own personal cookbook collection? I'm still on the fence.





The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines
Published: December 1, 2011
Publisher: Adams Media
Pages: 239
Genre: Cookery
Audience: Young Adult/Adults

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

From Goodreads:

Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era! Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon, the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

When time travel is involved, you automatically assume that it will be an action-packed plot where the writing is constantly moving the story forward. Not so in Ruby Red. I found that, for a book about time travel, there wasn't enough actually happening in the story. I got a lot of family background information and explanations about chronographs that thoroughly confused me, but I had a really hard time envisioning Gwen and Gideon's travels through time and the purpose for their trips. 

I really struggled through this novel. I'd like to say that part of the issue was that it is a translated text, but I don't think the translation was the problem. I think there wasn't enough plot in the story or vivid, empathetic characters to keep me excited and interested. Gwen was a pleasant enough, but she didn't leap off the page. Gideon's character was supposed to be a love/hate relationship with Gwen, but I found him rather dull. I know a lot of people have read and loved this book but as for me, I'm still debating whether or not I want to continue with the series.

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
Published: May 2011 by Henry Holt & Co.
Pages: 324
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi
Audience: Young Adult

*Book received for review