Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger (An Origami Yoda Book)

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

The hilarious, clever, and much-anticipated follow-up to the breakout hit, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda!
It is a dark time at Ralph McQuarrie Middle School. After suffering several Origami Yoda–related humiliations, Harvey manages to get Dwight suspended from school for being a “troublemaker.” Origami Yoda pleads with Tommy and Kellen to save Dwight by making a new case file—one that will show how Dwight’s presence benefits McQuarrie. With the help of their friends, Tommy and Kellen record cases such as “Origami Yoda and the Pre-eaten Wiener,” “Origami Yoda and the Exploding Pizza Bagels,” and “Origami Yoda and Wonderland: The Musical.” But Harvey and his Darth Paper puppet have a secret plan that could make Dwight’s suspension permanent . . .

With his proven knack for humorously exploring the intrigues, fads, and dramas of middle school, Tom Angleberger has crafted a worthy sequel to his breakout bestseller.

My thoughts:
This was another fun read that engaged my children while we listened to the audio book in the car.  Harvey makes his own origami character calling him Darth Paper and brings him to school to counteract Dwight's Origami Yoda.  The tone and content again reminded me of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

The chapters are short and easy to follow, even for younger listeners, and I love how the students are writing a book or as they call it, a case file, to prove that Origami Yoda and Dwight need to stay at school and not be suspended.  Harvey is always there to fight them on their facts and add his sarcasm.  It was nice to see the boys working towards helping a friend that they aren't even sure they really like.

I think this series is good for taping into the interests of all readers, but especially boys, who at times are less likely to want to sit down with a book.

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9781419700279
• Publisher: Abrams, Harry N., Inc.
• Publication date: 8/23/2011
• Series: Origami Yoda Series , #2
• Pages: 176
• Age range: 8 - 12 Years

The People of Sparks by Jeanne Duprau

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

The People of Sparks picks up where The City of Ember leaves off. Lina and Doon have emerged from the underground city to the exciting new world above, and it isn’t long before they are followed by the other inhabitants of Ember. The Emberites soon come across a town where they are welcomed, fed, and given places to sleep. But the town’s resources are limited and it isn’t long before resentment begins to grow between the two groups. When anonymous acts of vandalism push them toward violence, it’s up to Lina and Doon to discover who’s behind the vandalism and why, before it’s too late.

 

My thoughts:
After a little break, my children were curious to find out what happened once Lina and Doon made it out of Ember following the builder's directions.  Where they able to get the rest of the town to follow them?  Where were they going to go and what were they going to find outside of the cave they had lived in for over two hundred years?

The note that the children sent down was found and many of the townspeople made it out alive.  After walking for three days they found the city of Sparks.  The townspeople have been working for years to get everything running smoothly and to have enough food and supplies for their inhabitants, so they are wary about more than doubling their population, but at the same time they are not near any other settlements to send these weak, pale people on to.  The three city leaders try to work out a plan together to help these new people, people many of them cannot believe actually came from living in a cave, and teaching them skills so that they can one day be independent and start their own settlement.  In Ember the people had electricity and plumbing, while Sparks has no electricity and pumps and wells to provide water.  They cook with fire while the Emberites are terrified of fire as it had the potential to kill them all back in their city.

Some relationships go well, others get hostile pretty quickly.  There is resentment from both sides about having to share food that the one group didn't work for and the other group does not feel they are getting enough of as they are always hungry.  The Emberites have to deal with sunburn and heat for the first time ever.  Some of the acts of vandalism are not what they seem.

When things get to a breaking point it is again Lina and Doon who step in to show children and grow ups alike how to move forward.

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9780739331699
• Publisher: Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Publication date: 5/9/2006
• Series: Books of Ember Series , #2
• Format: CD
• Edition description: Unabridged, 6 CDs, 7 hrs. 55 min.
• Age range: 9 - 12 Years

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions. In this 

children's fantasy about two young heroes who attempt to solve an ancient mystery in time to prevent their underground city from being swallowed by darkness. The City of Ember was built over 200 year ago, deep below the earth, where the destruction of a mass-scale disaster couldn't reach it. Equipped with a massive generator and vast supplies, the people of Ember have thrived happily for generations -- but the city wasn't meant to be lived in forever. The generator is breaking down and the supplies are running out, but two centuries in isolation have robbed the Emberites of their knowledge -- nobody knows how the electric lights work anymore, and nobody understands that there's something beyond the city besides darkness. Nobody, that is, besides Lina  and Doon , two twelve-year-olds who still have the hope that everyone else has lost to ignorance and apathy -- not to mention a sheet of instructions left by the Builders themselves explaining how to leave the city. But the 200-year-old paper is falling apart, and pieces are missing. So with the lights threatening to flicker out for the last time and leave Ember in darkness forever, Lina and Doon set out on an adventure through the streets, sewers, and dark caverns of Ember to put the pieces back together. To solve the mystery, they'll have to get inside the Builders' heads, and avoid the grasp of corrupt Mayor Cole, who wants to keep Ember the way it is -- no matter what the cost.

My thoughts:
I listened to this audio book with my children.  I had never heard of it, but one of us picked it out at the library and we listened to it together in the car.  In writing this post I found out that not only is it a book, but there is also a graphic novel and a movie from 2008, which makes it seem like I should have heard of it.  Since reading it together it was also picked by the children's librarian at one of our local libraries for a summer discussion group.  Plus it is just the start of a series of books.  I love making new discoveries!

Lina and Doon were childhood friends who grew apart, but the mission of putting together a secret message found in a box but chewed up by Lina's little sister reminds them of why they became friends years ago.  The City of Ember has prescribed times of light and dark, at 9PM all the lights go out and at 6AM they come back on.  All citizens receive a job assignment when they are 12 by picking them from a hat.  Some work at the pipe works, some work with electricity, some go to the green house, others are messengers and some work in the store room and so on.  Lina longs to be a messenger, but gets a job below ground as a pipe worker, by trading with Doon they both start to get a new view of the city.  The shortages that are coming about in the storehouses, the flickering of the lights, the sicknesses and failed crops in the greenhouse start suspicion that the city is failing.  Then Lina finds a message in a box, a message her grandmother is looking for but unable to find with her failing memory, unfortunately Poppy, her two year old sister, finds it first and mangles it up.  Lina can't get anyone but Doon to take the message seriously.

The children work together to find a way to solve the riddle and save the city while dealing with some society members who have been hoarding supplies and want to keep the status quo.

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9780375822742
• Publisher: Random House Children's Books
• Publication date: 5/25/2004
• Series: Books of Ember Series , #1
• Edition description: Reprint
• Pages: 288
• Age range: 9 - 12 Years

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

In this funny, uncannily wise portrait of the dynamics of a sixth-grade class and of the greatness that sometimes comes in unlikely packages, Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren’t strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight’s classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, he assembles the case file that forms this novel.

 

My thoughts:

This book was a fun, easy read that gets young readers engaged and laughing while showing social interactions.  Middle school can be a scary time, transitioning to being more independent and having more chances to embarrass yourself, like school dances, and can cause quite a bit anxiety.  I liked how these boys handle it with the help of a finger puppet that may, or may not, have magical powers.  Each chapter in this case file is written or recorded by different students in the same middle school and they each have their own, distinct voice.

 

I checked both the hardcover and the audio book out of the library, I read through the book on my own and then played the audio in the car for my children.  My older two have already read it on their own as well. It is fun to hear them laughing along with the story and repeating silly lines.  It reminds me a bit of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, but in a good way.  I think that it is great that it is mostly told from a male perspective as I've found it can sometimes be harder to keep boys interested in reading for fun.  It is amusing enough that adults aren't going to bored either!

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9780810984257
• Publisher: Abrams, Harry N., Inc.
• Publication date: 3/1/2010
• Series: Origami Yoda Series , #1
• Pages: 141

Meet the Author

More by this Author

• Art2-D2's Guide to Folding and Doodling: An Origami Yoda Activity Book
• The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee (Origami Yoda Series #3)
• Darth Paper Strikes Back (Origami Yoda Series #2)
• Fake Mustache: Or, How Jodie o'Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (And Some Nerdy Kid) Saved the U. S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genius

Applying for a job as a newspaper artist, Tom Angleberger was mistakenly assigned to cover local government meetings. Fifteen years and countless town council meetings later, he is still writing instead of drawing, currently as a columnist for the Roanoke Times in Roanoke, Virginia. He began work on his first book while in middle school. Tom is married to author-illustrator Cece Bell. They live in Christianburg, Virginia.

Angels at the Table by Debbie Macomber

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

In this joyous and whimsical holiday novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber rings in the season with laughs, love, and a charming dose of angelic intervention.

Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy know that an angel’s work is never done, especially not during such a wondrous time as New Year’s Eve. With an apprentice angel, Will, under their wings, they descend upon Times Square in New York City eager to join in the festivities. And when Will spies two lonely strangers in the crowd, he decides midnight is the perfect time to lend a heavenly helping hand.      

Lucie Farrara and Aren Fairchild meet after bumping into each other—seemingly by accident—in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. They immediately hit it off and find they have a lot in common: Lucie is a burgeoning chef and Aren is a respected food critic. But just as quickly as they’re brought together, another twist of fate tears them apart, leaving Lucie and Aren with no way to reconnect.

A year later, Lucie is the head chef of an acclaimed new restaurant and Aren is a successful columnist for a major New York newspaper. For all the time that’s passed, the two have not forgotten their one serendipitous evening—and neither have Shirley, Goodness, Mercy, and Will. To reunite the young couple, the angels cook up a brilliant plan: mix true love, a second chance, and a generous sprinkle of mischief to create an unforgettable Christmas miracle.

 

My thoughts:

A little bit Sleepless in Seattle or an Affair to Remember and a little bit of angelic intervention leaves Lucie and Aren pushed together and then pulled apart.  When they do mange to cross paths again, this old trio, who is now a quartet, manage to make their usual mischief to make things anything but simple.  Macomber raises issues such as, does everything happen for a reason?  Is God behind the people you meet each day?  How much does our own free will help and how much does it hinder?

 

I wish I had made the time for this book at Christmas time, but I didn't get around to reading it until last month.  Still a fun story, but I think the spirit of the season would have made it all the more compelling.  My son told me something sweet last week, he said his friend from school told him that when you are looking into the sun and it blinds you a little it is just and angel taking your picture.  I guess his friend read or was read a book that said this and I thought that was such a nice thought, that angels are always looking out for you and watching.  Maybe they are!

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9780345528872
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Publication date: 10/23/2012
• Pages: 240

Meet the Author

More by this Author

• Starting Now (Blossom Street Series #9)
• Valerie (Orchard Valley Series #1)
• Stephanie (Orchard Valley Series #2)
• Starlight: A Novel
• Norah

Debbie Macomber, the author of A Turn in the Road, 1105 Yakima Street, Hannah’s List, and Twenty Wishes, is a leading voice in women’s fiction. Five of her novels have scored the #1 slot on the New York Times bestseller list, with three debuting at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly lists. Debbie Macomber’s Mrs. Miracle (2009) and Call Me Mrs. Miracle (2010) were Hallmark Channel’s top-watched movies for the year. This prolific author has more than 160 million copies of her books in print worldwide.

The Husband List by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

THE HUSBAND LISTJanet Evanovich So many men, so little time…New York City, 1894. Heiress Caroline Maxwell would like nothing more than to join her brother and his friend, Jack Culhane, on their adventures. While they are off seeing the world, she’s stuck at home, frightening off the list of men her mother hopes will ask for her hand in marriage. Caroline longs for adventure, passion, love, and most of all…Jack Culhane, an unconventional Irish-American bachelor with new money and no title—a completely unacceptable suitor, in the eyes of Caroline’s mother. Can Jack and Caroline find love, against all odds, with danger looming and despite the forces pulling them apart?

My thoughts:
I love reading books by Janet Evanovich and I thought when I picked this one off it was going to be a second in the series that started in the fall with the brewery, but it was set back more than a hundred years while still involving what might be the same brewery.  I love the spunk Evanovich gives to her main characters and how they often get themselves in unexplainable predicaments, but it didn't always feel right in this setting.  Caroline is feisty and independent and unconventional, but at a time when being that unconventional caused a whole lot of problems.

At times this reminded me of The American Heiress which I listened to over the summer, American women who are courted by European royals for their dowries, very unromantic to current standards.  Caroline has made it a habit to ward off suitors one way or anther, until her mother puts her foot down and gets down to business getting her oldest daughter married off.

There are still some funny predicaments, but it just isn't the same watching Stephanie Plum get car after car blown up and the dog doesn't get anywhere near as big a staring role as usual either, I think I missed both of those things.

I can appreciate Evanovich wanting to try something out of her usual, change things up for fun, but the results was a little uneven.

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9780312651329
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 1/8/2013
• Edition description: First Edition
• Edition number: 1
• Pages: 320

Meet the Author

More by this Author

• Notorious Nineteen (Stephanie Plum Series #19)
• Explosive Eighteen (Stephanie Plum Series #18)
• Back to the Bedroom
• Wicked Business (Lizzy and Diesel Series #2)
• Smokin' Seventeen (Stephanie Plum Series #17)

JANET EVANOVICH is the #1 bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum novels, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels, and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author. She lives in Florida.

Visit Janet Evanovich’s Web site at www.evanovich.com, or write her at P.O. Box 2829, Naples, FL 34106

DORIEN KELLY lives in Michigan with one or more of her three children, two very spoiled West Highland White Terriers, and a handicapped Coonhound named Bubba. She is an award-winning author and the President of Romance Writers of America.

It's Monday, What are you reading?

I had another slow reading week, as usual I always seem to be reading, but I haven't finished very much this week.  Some audio and some children's books, but nothing too involved.

This week I finished:
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (audio)
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

Still reading:
Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin (audio)
Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

What would a day be without books?