I have quite a few books to read right now, and I really want to read them all!! But where do I start? I walk around my office(s), scan my to-read piles, pick up many of the books and try to decide which will be next. Sometimes it just clicks and the mere act of lifting the book in my hand helps me know which one is next. But most times, it is not so easy!
When I do finally decide, and I look back at my Goodreads READ shelf, I always smile ---because they bring me back to the good memories each book carried. I wanted to share a recent list here and tell a bit about them-- not a full review but enough to give my perspective.
Korman, Gordon. Masterminds. New York, NY: Balzer Bray, 2016. Print.
I just finished the first installment of the Masterminds series by Gordon Korman. (I know I should have read it sooner! I know!) This one is part mystery, part science fiction, part coming-of-age middle grade. What do you do when you find out your life is not as you think it is? When everything and everyone (including your parents) aren't who you think they are? That's what these characters face, and each of them is very compelling. What I especially enjoy about Gordon Korman is his ability to keep us guessing and then bring in a point of plot we weren't expecting at all! I am not trying to read the next two installments and hoping I get time to do that.
Gravel, Elise. Olga and the Smelly Thing from Nowhere. New York, NY: Harper, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2017. Print.
Olga and the Smelly Thing from Nowhere is a very different kind of book with a very different kind of main character! It's a quirky chapter book/graphic novel about a girl who finds a mysterious pet that is indeed VERY strange. It's pink and covered in trash and not any recognizable animal that we would know at all. Olga's love of science, observations, Jane Goodall, and animals drive her to figure out what this pet is and to take the very best care of it. It reminded me a lot of the Pusheen the Cat books for some reason -- with much more of a storyline and a strong voice!
Kelly, Erin Entrada. Hello, Universe. New York, NY: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2017. Print.
I finished this one in one sitting which is very rare for me. (I still think about Erin Entrada Kelly's previous book The Land of Forgotten Girls and how much I was moved by that book.) This one is about a boy's search for acceptance through random (or not so random) events. I didn't expect it to have as much suspense as it did, and the plot moved fairly quickly. There are four major characters and the other is a bully -- all are unforgettable! I'll say it is a middle-grade must-read!
Butler, Dori H. King and Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats. Illus. by Nancy Meyers. Atlanta: Peachtree, 2017. Print.
This is the first installment in a new early reader mystery series from Peachtree Publishers and a definite page-turner! King, Kayla's dog, tells us the story, and he is a very endearing narrator! Kayla has baked some dog treats for a friend's dog, but three of them are missing! Together, they use clues to solve the mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed this one! The second book in the series is King Kayla and the Case of the Secret Code.
I wonder what my Goodreads shelf will show me next week!
How do you decide what to read next?
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