Good Books

This is a great book. I was a bit nervous starting it, afraid it would be a sort of fluffy cotton-candy sort of book. I was wrong. Although it does have a bunch of teenage girls fighting to become a princess, it is about much more than that. Miri, the main character, is a strong, smart and has a wonderful sense of humor. She is a wonderful role model for young girls who read this book as she tries to build relationships with her family, her friends and those in her community.

I've really enjoyed Shannon Hale's writing. This is the second book I've read of hers (the first was Austenland which is not nearly as lovely and deep as this book, but still fun) and I can't wait to read more of her books.





Another super cute book is Ida B by Katherine Hannigan. Ida's youthful imagination had me laughing out loud many times. She talks to the nature around her, and they talk back:

Some people might stop me right there and say, "Ida B, you could wait for eternity and a day and you're not going to hear one of those trees talking to you, let alone a brook. Trees don't have mouths and they don't speak, and you might want to take yourself to the doctor's and get a very thorough check-up real soon."

And after I took a minute to give my patience and forbearance a chance to recover my mouth from the rudeness that was itching to jump out of it, I would just say this: "There's more than one way to tell each other things, and there's more than one way to listen, too. And if you've never heard a tree telling you something, then I'd say you don't really know how to listen just yet. But I'd be happy to give you a few pointers sometime" (8-9).

Things aren't all humor and conversations with Ida B. The trees tell her of trouble on the horizon and when it comes and threatens to destroy the life she's grown to love, she strives to save it. Not necessarily in the best way, but she learns and grows from it. I absolutely loved this book and recommend it highly.