Ann Brashares photo gallery

I just heard this week that the final installment in the popular teen series Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares is due out tomorrow. It is called Forever in Blue. I can't wait!

I stumbled across an interesting article with good dirt on Ann Brashares, and a photo gallery of her newly renovated carriage house in New York. Indulge yourself!

Bookshelf

There are a lot of books on my bookshelf now, but I've been spending a lot of time online, watching season 4 of 24 to get caught up, and reading the piles of magazines that came after the snow. Got to start reading this stuff!

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan

The World to Come, by Dara Horn

Framed, by Frank Cottrel Boyce

The Crimson Portrait, by Jody Shields

Insatiable, by Marne Davis Kellogg

London Calling, by Edward Bloor

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, by Ally Carter

Blood on the River: James Town 1607, by Elisa Carbone

Clementine, by Sara Pennypacker

I also recently read the amazing and well-reviewed What is the What , by Dave Eggers. It's been reviewed to death by everyone from People magazine to NPR to the New York Times Book Review. Needless to say, I loved it.

Newbery Medal Speculation

Last month I wrote about Caldecott award speculation. This week, my colleagues are getting together to discuss the young readers' novels they think may be contenders for the American Library Association's Newbery prize.

Here is the short list, according to Denver Public Library librarians:

One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone
Victory by Susan Cooper
Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman
The Braid by Helen Frost
The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
Drita, My Homegirl by Lombard
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson
Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

I have Clementine, Blood on the River, and The Loud Silence of Francine Green on my bookshelf right now, so I'll let you know how they are.

Kiki Strike

I just finished reading the girl-power young adult novel Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller. What an awesome book!

The story follows a group of girls with spy power skills as they navigate an old city under New York and fight crime. It couldn't get any better - with tips on disguises, how to tell if someone's lying to you, and self-defense, this is a sure-fire winner.

I love it!