On to the next.....

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout is one of the best books I've read in quite some time. I was clueless about this book until a coworker asked me if I had it in the library at the start of the school year. Apparently, this book managed to win a Pulizter Prize without me knowing it. Okay, so I let one slip...and what a good one it was, too!

This book is exactly my type of book. Set in a small northeastern town along the coast, we see the ins and outs of small town life through the venerable Olive Kitteridge, a former teacher and local bastion of cynicism. I think I fell in love with Olive straightaway because she reminded me so much of my grandmother. Not grandmotherly in the least but crass and williing to speak her mind at the drop of the hat. Very endearing, really!

In short vignettes, we meet the characters of the town one by one, and take a trip into the back rooms of their lives and see, in the words of a famous song, "...who's cheatin' who, and who's being true." Olive's character weaves in and out of each vignette, in some way impacting each life we get a chance to spy upon. Throughout the book Olive, grows, too. From a woman who is cynical and doubts that there is good in anything, to one who sees the possiblities of a new life late in the game. Dedicated to her husband, she sees him through a stroke and stands by his side until the end. She even comes to salvage some sort or relationship with her distant son Christopher all before she finds her second chance at love.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - My wonderful sister, Corina, let me borrow this book, and it sat on my shelf for quite some time as other books weasled their way past its spine and into my hand. Being a dog lover, I picked the book up several times, but each time replaced it, unread. I just knew the book was bound to be sad, and there are few things I look forward to less than another sad book about a dog that dies (thanks to Gordon Korman!). I'm not sure what occurred that finally made me grab the book and commit to it (probably the impending need to return it to its rightful owner), but I finally sat down with the book and that was all it took. This is a GEM of a book, even if I did have tears in my eye by the end of chapter one.

This book is told from Enzo's point of view. Enzo being the dog, you can see how this might seem a bit, pardon the pun, far-fetched at first. However, one can only distinguish Enzo's non-human status by the events he relates, not in the way he relates them. Chapter one was hard. Enzo is at the end of his life and realizes that his "time" is indeed approaching. From there, we take a ride through Enzo's life, from the day his master picked him from his liter. He is on a journey with him, through his marriage, the birth of his daughter, his car-racing career, and all the tragedies (both big and small) that accompany a life well-lived. The love and admiration Enzo shows for his master is compelling and heart-warming. And the love that he is given in return is nothing less than the same.

This book gave me a new and fresh perspective on what it means to truly love and admire those you are closest to in life, be they dogs or humans. Love is unconditional, and your best friends should always be your biggest fans, no matter what bone-head moves you might make along the way. One of the most lasting lessons I learned from this book is to, in the words of a cherished friend, "Live each day so that I'm as good of a person as my dog thinks I am."

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - One of my goals for the year is to read as many award-winning YA titles as I can. That said, I've not been doing a great job! However, The Graveyard Book was last year's winner of the Newbery Award so that sounded like a super place to start.

I'd compare this book to Hugo Cabret in that there are some wonderful pencil sketches that supplement the reading throughout. The story was on the YA side of the spectrum and I didn't really find it all that compelling. Set in a Graveyard, the story tells us about a young man named Bones who is an orphan being "raised" by the ghosts of the graveyard. When he was a child, Bones' entire family was murdered as he narrowly escaped the knife of a man named Jack with the help of the ghosts. Taken under their care, he grows into an inquisitive young man who thrives under the "freedom of the graveyard" until he becomes restless to explore the world outside its gates. When he does, he learns of the true story of how he came to live there, and vows to avenge his family's death and rejoin society in the process.

A good, escapist read. One I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to a 4th-7th grade student, but not necessarily one I'll be singing the praises of as I speak with my colleagues!

Looking for Alaska by John Green - So, I honestly think I am the last school librarian to read this book, and I don't know why I haven't done it until now. Honestly, it's one I've recommended to SO MANY of my guy readers over the past two years. It's a book that hooked several boys, and even has become a favorite among many of the reluctant readers I'd struggled to find a book with which they could identify. I cannot keep this book, or his subsequent books (An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns) on the shelf. It wasn't until I learned he would be attending and speaking at the annual ILF Conference did I force myself to get it read. I mean, I can't be non-conversant about such an important book and author, can I? Really, now....

Miles is a smart, if not socially inept, young man. Feeling stifled in his virtually friendless but not unhappy life at home, he sets off to the boarding school his father attended, to the Great Perhaps inspired by the poetry of Fracois Rabelais. Culver Creek Boarding school isn't exactly what he had evisioned. First, he had not envisioned that Alabama would be hotter than Florida (it is). Second, he didn't envision himself as the nickname type (this skinny kid is apparently a "Pudge"). Lastly, he didn't envision himself falling head-over-heels for an unpredictable, screwed-up, clever, and amazingly beautiful girl (her name is Alaska, and he does).

This is a wonderful book. If you cracked open the head of a sixteen-year old boy, this is the stuff that would come seeping out. So, consequently, it may not be appropriate for the younger kids! However, it is a great read for high school boys and adults who can remember what it was like to be a teenage away from home for the first time and falling in love.