The girls and I have finished Heist Society. Light enough to be a fun read, with enough of a background story ( art theft by the Nazis ) to be intriguing. A touch of romance and a feisty, clever heroine.
Trying to find new books for the girls took a while. Both are middle graders age wise, and young adults reading wise, and the dark and gloomy themes of many a YA novel seem to be less Gothic, more Emo. No thanks. We want adventure and girls with spark.
With the help of kindly recommendations and booklists online, we've a few books lined up that sound interesting.
The Explosionist had me at 'alternate Scotland, 1938'. Ooh, Scotland! Ooh, alternate history! The protagonist's name is Sophie. Lovely! I'm not entirely sure the girls will go for this one, but I want to read it.
Between Shades of Grey is one for Lucy. She's been interested in the experience of young girls and women during WWII for a long time now, and has read widely in this area. This sounds like a book she'll read in a day. I know it sounds gloomy, but her tolerance for gloom is greatly increased when in a historical context.
If I can get hold of it, 10 Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell will be our next read-aloud. It sounds as if it's a quirky, coming of age tale, with a heroine who is ready to move on from being 'the girl from the goat farm with the mother who blogs.' Sounds charming and a little left of centre.
Also on the list are the Wolves, Boys and Other Things that Might Kill Me and Sorta Like a Rock Star, both of which I found here.
Of course, we are also impatiently waiting for the for latest Penderwicks novel to arrive at the bookshop and for a new Montmaray book.
Should keep us going till August!
Oh, The Explosionist. I really liked that book. But it was really not very good. That disconnect is so interesting to me in literature... when you're reading a book and you can see so, so many flaws, and yet you just keep going because you're enjoying it so.
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