Minding the Middle

Ninth Grade Slays: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer is the second installment in the messed up life of half vampire Vladimir "Vlad" Tod. He had a date with his dream girl at the end of the last book, but since he was too chicken to kiss her, he's now too chicken to talk to her on the phone. His uncle Otis is sending him to Siberia to get vampire training, but no one wants to talk about the prophecy surrounding his birth. Could he really be the Pravus? Is that why he's being hunted again? And will he ever get up the nerve to talk to Meredith?

Review
Poor, angst-ridden Vlad just can't seem to catch a break. Even though he is potentially the most powerful vampire ever, he still continues to be bullied by mere mortals and someone exposes him in the school paper. Vlad is likeable in his dorkiness.

Cirque du Freak #3: Tunnels of Blood by Darren Shan

Synopsis:
Darren and Evra, the snake boy, leave the Cirque and follow Mr. Crepsley on a mysterious mission. While the boys enjoy the city, Mr. Crepsley spends night after night on the town, however, when six bodies are found in an abandoned building with their blood drained out of them, Darren has to find and kill the monster, even if the monster is Crepsley.

Review:
The third book of Cirque du Freak is fast paced and easily devoured with a suspenseful climax that had me questioning Darren's motives. Will Darren ever see his love interest again? And seriously, while he's in the city, can't he get rid of that pirate costume?

Scholastic put on a wonderful webcast on the 39 Clues, and brings in 5 of the authors.

The Women Unbound challenge runs between now and November 2010 so that is a whole year to read any book that focuses on women and their issues.  Like I said, I want to combine minority lit with women's lit with YA lit as well as non-fiction so I have some possible titles, but I'd love to collect recommendations that will specifically appeal to YA readers.


Some that I think qualify and are interesting for YA readers, but I'm not adding because I already read them:

Non fiction:
She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martydom of Cassie Bernall by Misty Bernall (Columbine)
Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family and Fighting to Get Back on the Board by Bethany Hamilton, Sheryl Burk and Rick Bundschuh (Shark bite)
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patillo Beals (Little Rock 9)

Fiction:
The Adoration of Jenna Fox  by Mary E. Pearson
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Skim by Mariko Tamaki (graphic)
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
Chiggers by Hope Larson


Any recommendations? The only definite so far is Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Meme hosted by Miz B at shouldbereading.wordpress.com

Tenth Grade Bleeds: Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, book 3 by Heather Brewer

Ignatius slipped the curved blade into the leather holster on his leg. It wasn't the only tool he would need in torturing the Tod boy, but it was by far his favorite. - page 54

Vladimir Tod, 8th grader, "goth boy" and punching bag for the 8th grade bullies also happens to be a half vampire who just lost his parents (vampire father, mortal mom) in a mysterious freak fire, and the best friend of Henry, who Vlad accidentally bit when they were 8 years old.

As if 8th grade weren't hard enough, he's also being followed by a mysterious substitute teacher who seems to know his secret.

This is an action-packed read, even for reluctant readers and Vlad is likeable as the dorky vampire whose caretaker, Nelly, keeps him supplied with his blood from the local blood bank. No human feasting in this one.