Six Hours In...

It's been a good day so far. Got to sit outside some and read, and it's gorgeous here. Completely blue sky, sun, green trees. I started with The Big Splash by Jack Ferraiolo, and it was excellent. A first novel for him, and a Kirkus star at that. As soon as I read the back cover, it reminded me of The Fourth Stall books by Chris Rylander, but from the opposite viewpoint. In The Fourth Stall books, the kid giving out answers to tests, candy, and hall passes is the good guy. In The Big Splash, that kid is the bully and the "bad guy" in a sense. He's the one to look out for. When he approaches Matt Stevens for a job, $20 is too good to pass up. But the second he finishes that job - getting a figurine back from a girl - the girl gets sent to the Outs, the outsiders, the kids that get bullied. Now Matt wants to figure out who sent the girl to the Outs, as he feels partially responsible. He has to deal with 7th grade love, friends and enemies, and try to keep his mom out of the loop. There was a great part on page 158 where Matt's mom talks about the two girls he kind of likes and how they're different and such, and that really connected with me. By the end, things end up the way they should. There's a sequel, The Quick Fix, that now I am dying to read because the first one was so suspenseful and fun to read. I can definitely see multiple ways that the sequel could go or different characters it could be about.

After that, I read my one reread book - Page by Paige. I loved that book when I read it back in 2011, and after seeing Laura Lee Gulledge finally having a new book out - Will & Whit, I wanted to go back and enjoy her first book. Granted, it was only two years difference, but it felt like much longer. I highly recommend Page by Paige as it is a gorgeous graphic novel but also has many terrific metaphors in it. It's really beyond any words I can say about it.

Then I took some time to go outside and listen to my audio book, The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex, which is laugh out loud funny so far and quite bizarre, but in an Adam Rex-y kind of way. I pushed through even when I wasn't sure it was my type of book, and now I'm glad I did.

Finally, I started a Roland Smith book I hadn't read yet as I love his action/adventure stuff. It reminds me of Anthony Horowitz's books about Alex Rider. This one is called Cryptid Hunters and is about finding those different non-scientifically provable animals such as Sasquatch (which is actually the sequel to this book). I have two other Roland Smith books in my TBR pile because I like to catch up on stuff during this weekend that I've been meaning to read for awhile.

So I'll read a couple more hours and then go to work and probably stop at the library on my way home to pick up the latest Doug TenNapel book, Tommysaurus Rex, and my TenNapel every 48hbc tradition will continue. I love all his graphic novels. Saving my networking time for after work when my grandma will probably be awake and I won't be able to focus on a book too well.

Keep commenting; I love to hear your thoughts and what everyone else is doing!