Book Bits

Books are my life! Here are some books you to enjoy.

10/18/2009

Finished reading Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci. It was a terrific read. Victoria/Egg is a character full of both fun and complexity. It's an unusual read yet entertaining and I love the ending. Very satisfying! 

    Jimi and Me by Jaime Adoff

-Keith James' dad is very cool. He's an amazing musician who is doing well. Keith's dad calls him Little Cool and together they share a love of music and many other things. But one day out of the blue Keith's dad is shot in Brooklyn. The tragic event would be enough all by itself to move this free verse novel, but there's much more. Keith has to move from his native, big city of New York life to a little tiny town somewhere in the middle of Ohio. Keith's mother is inconsolable and can't seem to pull out of the fog of grief.

Keith copes with life in his new town but just barely. As a biracial boy and he feels close to his father when he listens to Jimi Hendrix. What an unusual story with trememdous sticking power. I thought about this book quite a bit after closing the covers. Image finding out you have a brother or sister years later. Keith finds out that his father had another son before marrying and fathering him. He also finds out that his father was responsible for a terrible accident that crippled Jimi.

The writing is gripping and deeply moving. I enjoyed it. Check out the wall in the LMC for other free verse reading. They are such amazing stories and provide a completely different reading experience.