"Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble" D. Robert Pease

This book was a bit too much science fictiony for me, but it was still an enjoyable read. Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble by  D. Robert Pease tells the story of Noah, a member of the only family allowed to travel through time.  Their mission is to go back in time and collect two of each animal in their ARC (a rather impressive space ship) in hopes of repopulating earth with an animal kingdom in the future.  But of course, an evil mastermind has a plan to stop the Zarc family from succeeding.  This book takes the reader everywhere- the ice age where we meet an awesome cave girl, to a city on the planet Mars, to Earth in a thousand years from now.  Noah Zarc presents an interesting new spin on the theory of time travel.

Though the book doesn't meet my usual taste in what I read, I still felt myself caught up in this strange world.  This is a great book for middle grade boys who just can't get enough of futuristic reads or those interested in a bit of history- it has some of both!  It seems that books set in the future are going to be a trend in youth literature for awhile- I can't wait to read more!

Check out Pease on Twitter, Facebook and on Goodreads.



My interview with D. Robert Pease!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

“Ten Rules for Living with My Sister” by Ann M. Martin

Picture it: I’m walking into the post office, dreading checking the box because I figure there will be nothing more than junk and bills. So imagine my surprise when I find no bills and an ARC of Ann M. Martin’s Ten Rules for Living with My Sister. Then imagine the looks of random strangers as a half run, half dance back out to my truck (what can I say, I love Martin’s books more than just about anything).

Fans of Martin’s Baby-Sitter Little Sister series will likely enjoy this book. It follows Pearl, a fourth-grade girl growing up in Manhattan. Pearl’s only real friends are her cat Bitey and her first grade neighbor. She enjoys making crafts and (though not always intentionally) annoying her older sister Lexie. Pearl keeps an ongoing list comparing herself to her sister, for instance, Lexie has a boyfriend and she doesn’t. The girls must learn to get along when their grandfather moves from his home in New Jersey to their New York apartment- meaning the sisters now have to share bedrooms! This book is just what I expected; lighthearted, but with many lessons for young readers. I would recommend it for girls around 1-4 grades and if readers like this book, it is likely they will enjoy Martin’s The Doll People series, Main Street series, Belle Teal, and A Corner of the Universe. In addition, readers who just can’t get enough of Ann M. Martin’s books should check out The Baby-Sitters Club series (check out used bookstores for books that haven’t been reprinted yet).













Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Perfect" by Ellen Hopkins

As always, Ellen Hopkins has written a captivating book that I found nearly impossible to put down. I won and ARC from a contest offered by Fire And Ice back in July. I pretty much danced around the post office when the book arrived (a rather common thing for me in libraries, bookstores, the book aisle in grocery stores...) and had to suffer through an afternoon of waiting to get off work to rush home to read. And read I did.

Perfect is a companion to Hopkins' Impulse. If I had to select my favorite of Hopkins' books, Impulse just might be at the bottom of that list. However, I absolutely loved Perfect. The novel centers around four characters (I often find myself forgetting who's who when there are multiple leads, but Hopkins always handles this well), Cara (the sister of Conner from Impulse), Kendra (Conner's ex-girlfriend), Sean and Andre. I was instantly swept into the lives of these characters.

Hopkins, as always, captures the emotions of her characters and in the process creating something more. I do not feel as though I am simply reading a book when I read her work. By starting the book, I am with the character until the end. Often no one is aware of the character's delima until they are too far gone. Because of this I find myself wanting to scream at those who could help, “pay attention!” It is often to hard to remember that these characters are fictional, Hopkins paints them in such a realistic way. In case you haven't guess, I heavily recommend this (and all of her other books) to just about everyone!

Check out Ellen on LiveJournal, Twitter, and Facebook!

And check out Fire and Ice on Twitter!

Happy Reading!

-Melly