Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

First of all, I just have to say that I read this book a few years ago and only now realized that I never reviewed it…  Shame on me!  Second, I feel compelled to tell you all how much I love the complete/crazy-long title of this book — Princess Ben: Being a Wholly Truthful Account of Her Various Discoveries and Misadventures, Recounted to the Best of Her Recollection, in Four Parts — which is a lot!  It has such a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?  Seriously, though, I think it helps to set the tone for the book.  Because this is not your typical princess story!

It is true that Princess Ben (short for Benevolence) has been hidden away in a tower by her overbearing aunt, Queen Sophia, since her parents and her uncle (the king) were assassinated.  Queen Sophia has plans to marry Ben off to the first mildly suitable man to present himself, but Ben is not the kind of princess who would be content to wait for a prince to come to her rescue.  Thanks to her inquisitive/mischievous nature, she manages to find an enchanted room in the tower and begins to teach herself some magic with the books therein.  Not only does this magic give her something to do with all of her “free” time, but it also buys her some freedom and increases the odds that she will be able to save both herself and the kingdom from Queen Sophia.

Happy Reading!

P.S.  If you like this story, I also recommend the sequel — Wisdom’s Kiss: A Thrilling and Romantic Adventure Incorporating Magic, Villainy, and a Cat.

Poison by Bridget Zinn

Although I don’t generally “do” the whole Twitter thing, I technically have an account through which I [supposedly] follow a few people.  One of those people is the amazing John Green and, because I actually read one of my Twitter digests last month, I read this Tweet.   Though I hadn’t previously heard about this book, I trusted John Green to know what he was talking about and requested a copy from another library in my system.  I absolutely loved it, so I made sure to order a copy for my library AND bumped this book to the top of my “to review” list.  FYI, in case you were not aware, I am way better at reading books than following through with reviews, so my “to review” list contains no fewer than 5 books at any given time and often has books that I finished months ago!

You may be wondering, “What was so great about Poison?”  How about the fact that it had action, adventure, humor, magic, romance, AND strong female characters all rolled up into a unique fantasy story?  Kyra, a potions master, used to be best friends with the princess.  Until, that is, she tried to kill her.  Since no one seemed to understand that trying to kill the princess was a good thing, she had to run away to avoid being jailed/hanged for the attempted assassination.  And, while being the infamous “Princess Killer” made it rather difficult for Kyra to travel through the kingdom unnoticed, her bag of potions and the help of a cute little enchanted pig was enough to give her hope that she could find the princess and finish the job before it was too late…  

The only thing I didn’t like about this story, to be honest, was learning that there won’t be a prequel or a sequel [since the author passed away before this book was even published].  I wish I could learn more about Kyra, but I guess it’s better to have loved and lost [a character] than never to have loved at all.

Happy Reading!

Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procratinator by Josh Berk

Guy Langman wasn’t really good at anything — quite the opposite of his dad who seemed to be amazing at everything without even trying.  Guy was rather thrown when his dad died, even though his dad was technically old enough to be his grandfather, and became suddenly intrigued by all things having to do with death.  So, it wasn’t exactly a stretch for him to accept an invitation from his best friend, Anoop, to join Mr. Zant’s Forensics Club.  (Especially since it provided a chance to impress some cute girls!)  For once in his life, Guy really cared about something and was actually good at it.  Which worked out rather nicely as some mysteries popped up in his own life…

Happy Reading!

Passive Aggressive Notes: Painfully Polite and Hilariously Hostile Writings by Kerry Miller

If you’re looking for something funny and light to read during your winter break, this is just the ticket!  It almost made me wish I would have saved the passive aggressive notes I’ve encountered throughout my life so I could send them in to the author for inclusion on her website (or calendar!).  For a taste of what the book has to offer, or for more once the book is done, check out her website: http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

Happy Reading!

Don’t Sit on the Baby: The Ultimate Guide to Sane, Skilled, and Safe Babysitting by Halley Bondy

Despite the silly title and humorous “TALES FROM THE CRIB” anecdotes from real-life babysitters, this book is not a joke — it’s a wealth of helpful information!  I especially like the fact that it begins with information about what you can expect as a babysitter and includes a quiz to see if you’re ready for the job.  The book is presented in three major sections: Babysitting Breakdown, Essential Skills, and Business Basics.  Aside from the thorough index, there is also a list of resources for the topics Basic Training, In Case of Emergency, and Edu-tainment.  I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks s/he is ready to babysit, and I think it belongs in the YA non-fiction collection of every school or public library.

Happy Reading!

Stuff on My Cat: The Book by Mario Garza

This is NOT a book for serious readers…  It’s just a book of funny pictures that people took after putting stuff on their cats.  That being said — this book is hilarious!  I am pretty sure my favorite was the picture [near the middle of the book] of a kitten dressed up in a red shirt and a tutu-like pink skirt.  Darn near melted my heart!  This would be a fun book to look at with a friend or two when you have nothing better to do.

Happy Reading!